The Mysterious Child: An Adventure Tale Beginning with Numerology

"There, you're safe now, Nichika-san."

"Waaah! I was so scared, Ruruk-kun!"

In a corner of the guild's tavern.

I had rescued Nichika, who had been tied up and stuffed in a cloth sack, and brought her back immediately. As soon as I untied her and removed her blindfold, she tried to hug me.

I avoided it, so she ended up hugging Saaya who was behind me.

"Sniff, I was so scared. Please, hold me tight."

"...Is this okay?"

"Yes, this is— Wait, why is it you, bitch!"

"You're the one who hugged me!?"

Nichika immediately pulled away.

Another fight between the girls had started, but at least she seems to be uninjured, which is the most important thing.

Suimoku bowed his head again.

"I don't know how to thank you enough... Thank you so much."

"It's fine. More importantly, Suimoku, do you know why the Maguu Empire is targeting Nichika-san? It seems like quite a large organization was involved."

In the end, it seems the ninja was also just a low-level operative, so we couldn't get much useful information.

The knights arrived quickly, so all three of them have been arrested. While we'll leave the rest to the country, I'm still curious about the circumstances.

"I have no idea. My sister hasn't been involved in any activities other than being a dancer."

"Yeah. It doesn't seem like the act of an overzealous fan either."

"That's right. We've never even been to the Maguu Empire in the first place."

It's a mystery.

Well, there's probably no point in speculating about the kidnappers' motives.

For me, the concerning part was that a criminal organization had a base in my hometown, but it's more or less under my father's—the knight commander's—jurisdiction. Maintaining the security of our own town is my father's responsibility, so I have no intention of interfering.

"Anyway, let's eat. Suimoku, you must have had a tough time too, let's eat together."

"Yes! I'd be happy to join you."

Suimoku and I sat down away from the noisy girls and reordered our food. My companions had already eaten what we ordered earlier before it got cold.

After that, we enjoyed a pleasant dinner while chatting about trivial things with Suimoku. Perhaps because the anxiety and tension from earlier had dissipated, Suimoku was smiling more than before.

Despite the trouble, it was worth it to be able to protect my friend's smile.

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

The air in the underground prison was stagnant.

There must be ventilation shafts, but even so, moisture accumulates. Although it was kept clean, one could never say it was comfortable.

Without being able to see the sun, time became vague. The sun must have long since set, but the exact time was completely unknown.

Gavin, who was starting to feel anxious about how long he'd be left here, noticed the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Commander, this way."

"Ah."

The one who opened the door and entered was his father.

"Father!"

"Gavin."

"Yes! What is the meaning of this? If you could please explain—"

Gavin caught his breath mid-sentence.

He had thought his father had come to check on him, but that wasn't the case. His father was also being put into the cell opposite him.

"...Father?"

"Don't say anything. Conversation between prisoners is forbidden."

He sat down heavily in the tatami room with his usual stern tone.

While it was concerning that he showed no signs of being flustered, Gavin hadn't expected his father, the commander of the Second Knight Order, to be treated the same way. What on earth was happening?

"Then, Commander, I'll bring your meal. We'll prepare the same for your son."

"We are prisoners. From now on, treat us accordingly."

"...Yes, sir."

The knight saluted with an awkward expression, then immediately turned on his heel and left.

It seemed there was indeed no surveillance. Gavin lowered his voice.

"F-Father... what is the meaning of this?"

"I told you conversation is forbidden."

"But I can't accept this! At least tell me what you know!"

"I can't. Gavin, if you're a knight of the Muuteru family, steel yourself and stay quiet."

"B-But..."

Just as he was about to press further, it happened.

From outside the door—from the direction of the stairs—came a familiar voice.

"Let me go! I am a princess!"

"We can't do that, Princess! Even if you are a princess, entry to the special prison is forbidden!"

"I don't care! I came to talk to Gavin! Don't get in my way!"

"Ouch! Wait, Princess!"

Bang!

The one who burst through the door was, as expected, Maple.

"Gavin!"

Maple's face brightened instantly, and she ran over.

Gavin panicked.

"N-No, Princess! You shouldn't come to such a dirty place! Your clothes will get soiled!"

"I don't care about that! More importantly, Gavin, why are you locked up in here? I'll get you out right away!"

"T-That's..."

That's what Gavin wanted to know.

All he had been told was that it was under the pretext of treason against the state. Of course, he didn't believe it at face value and was convinced he had been caught up in some kind of conspiracy.

And he was also aware of the danger of conveying this to his young lord.

"Hey Gavin, why are you here?"

"T-That's—"

His father was glaring at him from the cell across.

Telling the truth was out of the question.

Gavin took a deep breath before answering.

"This morning, I ate a bit too much in the dining hall. That is... it's punishment from the knight order."

"...For eating too much?"

Maple's eyes widened.

Gavin smiled with a deliberately bright expression.

"Yes. As you know, Princess Maple, I have a big appetite... Look, my father is over there, right? For us in the Muuteru family, the meals in the dining hall are small, so I ended up overeating."

"...Gavin's father, is this true?"

"Yes, Princess Maple. However, we judged that we should be role models as knights, so we took this measure. But please don't worry, this punishment will only last a few days. We've arranged for a substitute to ensure there's no disruption to your attendance, Your Highness."

His father went along with Gavin's story.

Maple furrowed her brow and said,

"I-I see... Gavin, will you really come back soon? Can we play again?"

"Of course, Princess Maple. So, please think about what we'll do next time we play. And don't get into any mischief while I'm gone, okay?"

"I-I won't! I'm not a child anymore!"

"I apologize for my rudeness. Now then, Princess Maple, the air here is bad, so please take your leave."

"...I understand."

With a somewhat reluctant expression, Maple was led away by the soldier.

When the door closed and she was out of sight, Gavin let out a sigh. He thought he had managed to deceive her well. For an impromptu response, it wasn't bad, was it?

"Gavin."

"Yes, Father?"

Surprised to be addressed by his father, Gavin straightened his back as he responded.

His father, Digray, with an expression as if suppressing a headache, said,

"As you probably realize, we are here in a special position. The fact that Princess Maple even knew about us must be due to someone's carelessness... But even so, making up a story about being arrested for overeating is far too childish."

"Is that so? I thought it was a good reason for Princess Maple's education as well."

"Fool. Rumors of us being in the special prison will soon spread. Princess Maple will almost certainly be the first to spread the word... Imagine her going around telling everyone that we were arrested for 'overeating'."

"Ah."

There's no way we would be arrested for such a thing.

The young princess who innocently believed it would be pitied by those around her.

Moreover, the Muuteru family holds a ducal title. Unnecessary rumors would spread about Gavin and his family as well. It's clear they would be ridiculed.

"...I'm sorry."

"Well, it's fine. The real problem is that Princess Maple found out about this. Only the vassals and a select few knights should have known about this... No, perhaps we can trace it from that line...?"

His father seemed to start pondering something.

Gavin, realizing once again how immature he still was as a noble, reflected on his actions.

And that rumor would spread through the city far faster than expected.

□ □ □ □ □

"Now then, today's search will be above ground. The matter of the labyrinth core is confidential, so officially we're conducting a criminal investigation as court magicians and you're assisting. That's why it'll just be me and you lot."

The next morning, in the Guildmaster's room.

Only our party, Cardel, and Daisoma were in the room. I had been wondering why Verugana and Quinard weren't there.

Well, if it's not dungeon exploration, I suppose excessive firepower isn't necessary.

"Understood. Is it okay for all of us to go?"

"You guys don't know the geography of the royal capital well, right? Take this chance to go around the capital with everyone and familiarize yourselves."

"That's true."

"Also, depending on the situation, the appearance of children might come in handy. You might be looked down upon as adventurers, but there are many situations where it can be useful for information gathering. Make full use of it."

Come to think of it, Saaya also uses her child-like appearance when gathering information from ordinary people.

"And while we're at it, we're going to take down a few dark guilds, so lend a hand."

"Okay... Wait, what?"

"Got a problem with that? With your abilities, it shouldn't be too dangerous."

"Well... if it's just ordinary opponents, sure."

But what's a dark guild? Something like an assassination guild?

If we're dealing with those kinds of people, we need to be careful.

"Don't worry. The knights will be there when we deal with the dark guilds. They're actually the main force."

"Oh, of course. That's a relief."

"Well then, we'll spend the morning searching for the labyrinth core. I'm counting on you, little sheep girl."

"Mm."

Still, dark guilds being taken down as a side job... somehow it feels pitiful.

We left the Guildmaster's room and went down to the first floor. The lobby was crowded with adventurers choosing quests.

We don't have many acquaintances in this guild yet, so we were about to pass through without greeting anyone when—

"Ruruk-sama, good morning."

"Ah, good morning, Mamared-sama."

Waiting at the entrance, not even glancing at the quest board, was Mamared.

It's a bit awkward, considering what happened just yesterday.

"Ruruk-sama, do you have a moment?"

"Me? Um, a little bit, I guess."

It seems she was looking for me.

I exchanged glances with Cardel before leading Mamared to a corner of the tavern.

"What can I do for you?"

"First, thank you for the valuable item yesterday."

"No, no. Please make good use of it."

"I'm indebted to you. And also, I couldn't convey this properly yesterday, but if you wish, I'm prepared to become your wife. Please feel free to tell me at any time. I'll persuade my parents myself, so don't worry."

"Uh, I'll have to decline."

"I see. Then, I'll think about something else I can do to repay you."

Parents means the King and Queen, right? No way, I don't want that.

As I was breaking out in a cold sweat, Mamared narrowed her eyes beneath her glasses.

"Now, to the main point, I hear that Ruruk-sama is looking for something?"

"Well, yes. Has it become a rumor?"

"Tanya-san mentioned it. Everyone knows that you went on a joint quest with our country's top party."

"Well, I suppose that's true..."

We might not stand out, but [Holy Night] certainly does. After all, they're the adventurers who saved this country.

"By the way, are there any other rumors?"

"Nothing particularly noteworthy. When I asked Tanya earlier, the newest ones were things like 'Poisonous mushrooms are proliferating in the southern district's sewers' and 'The head of the Muuteru family and his son were arrested for the crime of overeating'."

"...What did you just say?"

"The 'Southern District Poisonous Mushroom Incident' and the 'Ducal Family Overeating Crime'. For details, please ask Tanya."

"Crime of overeating!?"

I couldn't help but laugh.

What is that father doing? I wonder who was arrested with him. The only one with a big appetite is Gavin, so it must be him. Even just the rumor is funny.

As I was laughing, Mamared said,

"About the item you're looking for, I was wondering if I could help. You don't need to tell me what it is, but if I come across any information, I can pass it on to you. Especially when it comes to monsters, I pride myself on having extensive knowledge."

"Ah, then let me ask you this. Do you know of any small monsters that can swallow something about a meter in diameter? We've already searched for large monsters, so if there are small monsters capable of this, I'd like to know."

Still, monsters are living beings.

From a biological standpoint, it's quite unusual for a creature to be able to swallow and store something its own size.

I asked without much expectation, but Mamared immediately nodded.

"Yes, there are monsters that can store objects of their own size."

"Really? There are?"

"It's a monster you often see in dungeons, so I think Ruruk-sama has probably encountered them too. A monster that disguises itself as a treasure chest to attack adventurers and can store items inside—the Mimic."

Ah.

We had completely forgotten.

The existence of Mimics—the standard low-level trap that everyone knows about.