“So… you went to talk to Sif about work and ended up playing with her younger siblings?”
“Yeah. The only ones I met today were Sif and the siblings, so that’s probably what Perry saw.”
Instantly, the expressions of two, no, three people relaxed. It was Perry’s misunderstanding for thinking I had a secret girlfriend, no, another lover, especially since that ‘lover’ was Sif, the misunderstanding was easily resolved.
After all, both of them spent half their vacation with Sif.
“I see… I’m sorry. I misunderstood…”
“Sorry, sorryyyy…”
There was no need to look so dejected. I stretched out my arms and pulled the two who had their heads down into a hug. The sudden embrace seemed to catch them off guard, and they let out cute little sounds, but I acted as if I didn’t hear and spoke up.
“There’s no need to apologize. Everyone makes mistakes, right?”
“Johann…”
“Johann!”
“I too! I also want to!”
What is even happening? I couldn’t help but look down at Millia, who had wedged herself between Karina and Elisa, wrapping her arms around my waist. Millia was rubbing her cheek against my chest like a cat.
“Rhum, rrum!”
At the sound as if she wanted to be noticed, I looked up and saw Viola and Renny scratching their cheeks and staring at me.
Their cheeks were slightly flushed; it seemed that watching this kind of scene was a bit embarrassing for them.
It must be painful to see such displays of affection.
After all, for a single person, couples’ affection can be quite annoying.
“Let’s go have dinner soon.”
We only had a light lunch and wandered around, so my stomach was completely empty. I nodded shyly to the kids and headed to the cafeteria.
———————
Three days later.
After having lunch, I headed to the upper floors.
I was curious about the strange atmosphere Sif mentioned the last time, and also because the ordered prosthetic arms had all been made.
I could wrap things up quickly and then decide whether or not to intervene in the upper floor’s affairs.
I diligently made my way to the front of the upper floor building I had seen a few days ago. The building was just as extravagant as usual, but the guard standing in front of the door looked as if he hadn’t slept, his eyes were dull.
“Hey, is something going on?”
“Oh, Sir Quartz. Nothing much. Just didn’t get much sleep…”
He seemed to be hiding something.
But I couldn’t pry, so I stepped inside the door he opened. The upper floor employees were bustling about as usual. But just like the guard’s dull eyes, the atmosphere on the upper floor felt chaotic.
I heard that the upper floor leader has been acting strangely lately; could it be related? Or was there another reason?
My curiosity grew. Instead of grabbing a passing employee, I headed to Sif’s office. I didn’t think a lowly employee would know anything, and there was no need to inadvertently raise suspicion.
Since Sif’s office was on the outskirts of the upper floor building, it didn’t take long to arrive. As soon as I reached the door, I quietly knocked.
“Sif. It’s me.”
“Oh, you’re here? Come in.”
The office hadn’t changed much since I visited three days ago. The only difference was the stack of papers piled up on one side of the desk. I set the bag containing the prosthetic arm on the sofa and sat down next to it.
“The prosthetic arms are all finished. And what about the matter you mentioned earlier… did it resolve?”
Sif crossed her arms and shook her head. She looked very troubled. What on earth had happened? I urged her to quickly share the information she had found out.
Sif finally spoke up after a few seconds.
“Well, it seems that the upper floor leader isn’t in his right mind.”
“…Not in his right mind? Is that really true?”
The idea that the upper floor leader wasn’t of sound mind was odd. Just a fortnight ago, he was completely fine, and now Sif was saying he didn’t seem right; I gazed at her.
“It’s not precise, but… Recently, work has been progressing poorly, and he’s looking gaunt, like someone else.”
“So, you haven’t actually seen him, then.”
“I do go between the workplace, cafeteria, and lodging. There’s no need to make a scene, right? If I draw attention while trying to gather information, it could get troublesome.”
Sif was right.
If I could quietly gather information and have it passed to me, that would be much better than taking risks. If Sif got caught, my position could get difficult too.
“So it seems that they’re trying to oust Dern from his position as the upper floor leader and place someone else in his stead.”
“Someone else… do you know who?”
“He has a son, so the son should be the heir, right? I heard that he’s not the only one wanting to become the upper floor leader…”
“Not the only one…”
The sudden health decline of Dern and the hidden competition was starting to smell. A terribly bad odor indeed.
This was clearly suspicious. A person who used to take care of their health shouldn’t suddenly be deteriorating. Illness can strike unexpectedly, but not to the extent of someone completely degenerating in just two weeks.
“It’s a hassle.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I need more information.”
“Hmm, I…”
“Don’t dig any deeper. And quietly pack your things. If anything happens, you need to run right away.”
I shouldn’t do anything to provoke Sif too much, but there are always crazy people in the world. If the theology department folks had been in their right minds, they wouldn’t have tried a 1 vs 300 fight.
If I naively believed that common sense would apply everywhere, I would definitely get blindsided.
“I’ll meet with Dern.”
“Is that okay? Isn’t it dangerous?”
“No one dumb enough to touch me exists.”
With this upper floor’s strength, they wouldn’t be able to resist me even if they wanted to. The very building of this upper floor was a strong weapon for me.
While I didn’t intend for civilians to get hurt, scaring off a few guards would likely keep them from trying anything with me.
“Try to stay with your siblings if possible. Until this is resolved, don’t take any more requests.”
“Okay.”
I pushed the worried looks from Sif behind me and opened the office door. The long corridor seemed to lack foot traffic today. It felt as if I could hear a bug crawling.
Stepping on the soft carpeted floor, I headed towards Dern’s office. I encountered a few people along the way, but they didn’t hinder me.
No idiot wouldn’t recognize me, and those who knew who I was would know that messing with me would only lead to disaster.
Even if someone was insane enough to try and bother me, it would be pretty much equivalent to placing their neck on the guillotine if they dared to touch a noble from the empire.
Arriving at Dern’s office door without any resistance, I saw guards I hadn’t met before glaring around, keeping an eye on passersby.
“Hey.”
“Ah, Sir Quartz?”
“Is Dern in there?”
“Uh, he’s out.”
Out, huh? On a business trip or something?
“Do you know when he’ll be back? I have something to discuss.”
“We don’t know either.”
“He left without telling the guards where he was going?”
Usually, even just for guests like me, they’d make sure to inform the guards where he went and when he’d return. I frowned at the obviously strange situation.
Should I just muscle my way through?
No, that wouldn’t be right.
Starting off by causing a ruckus wouldn’t be a good choice.
I have a social standing, after all. No matter what, I can’t just charge in like a thug. Still, some pressure wouldn’t hurt.
I glared at the guard with the sharpest glare I could muster and asked again.
“Where did Dern go?”
“Well, that is…”
“Ah! Nice to meet you. Are you Sir Quartz?”
At the sudden voice from the side, I turned to see a young man walking towards me, resembling Dern. Is this guy Dern’s son?
He approached, flanked by two guards, and extended his hand towards me.
“It’s an honor to meet you. I’m Adam.”
“Are you Dern’s son?”
“Indeed. I’m in charge of the medicinal herbs business at the upper floor.”
“Medicinal herbs…”
“With your versatile nature, Sir Quartz, you must know a lot about herbs. If you don’t mind, would you like to see the high-quality herbs I’ve collected?”
Adam continued with an amiable tone, as if he wanted me to forget about Dern.
What a shallow tactic.
He’s either wanting to erase his tracks while my interest is diverted or simply wishing I’d leave.
Should I play along for now?
But first…
Tap tap tap tap.
[Hmm, that guy seems interesting.]
Let’s see what he’s hiding.
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