We each separated and began our actions.
Blitz and the others headed off to subjugate the monsters, while Noa and I went to investigate the lord's mansion.
"Is Prim-san’s sister staying with the lord of this city?" (Noa)
Noa asked on the way to the mansion.
"If we have so much information about fairies and Noa senses Prim's sister from this town, then I think she's there." (Yuna)
With this, we would be in trouble if she wasn't there.
"Sister. I wonder why she's there." (Prim)
"What kind of person is Prim-san’s sister?" (Noa)
"She's a kind sister. She doesn't do anything bad, and she warns me when I'm naughty. That's why I don't think she would lend her strength to a bad person." (Prim)
If that was the case, I guessed it was more like the lord's coercion.
However, they said that people were easily influenced by the environment around them.
She was happy to meet someone who could see her and listened to what he had to say.
In any case, I couldn't move forward without understanding Prim's older sister's situation.
"It looks like over there." (Yuna)
We arrived close to the lord's mansion that Carla-san told us about.
The lord's mansion occupied a large plot of land away from the center of town, and there was a forest a little further away.
Only here was a mansion located in a place that felt like another world.
"If we get any closer, we'll be noticed, so let's check it from here." (Yuna)
"Do you mean from here?" (Noa)
Even though from here, it was far away so I couldn't check it.
I turned my attention to the larger tree.
"Let's take a look from above that tree." (Yuna)
Then, Noa opened her mouth while looking up at the tree.
"I can’t climb trees." (Noa)
Indeed, I couldn't even climb a tree without the bear equipment.
So, I used earth magic to create stairs behind the tree.
"Yuna-san, you can use magic really easily." (Noa)
"Noa, if you practice, you'll be able to do it." (Yuna)
Noa and I climbed the earthen stairs and looked at the mansion from the top of the tree.
A lone knight was standing in front of the mansion's gate, looking bored, and the inside of the wall was large, resembling a garden, and the distance from the gate to the mansion was about 100 meters.
Rich people had a house.
"My sister in that house..." (Prim)
"Noa, can you feel it?" (Yuna)
If she got close, she might be able to sense her mana.
Noa closed her eyes and began to concentrate.
Then, she immediately opened her eyes and looked straight at the mansion.
"How is it?" (Yuna)
"Just like yesterday, I can feel it from around me, but I can also feel it from inside that mansion. And..." (Noa)
"And?" (Yuna)
"I can feel it from that knight." (Noa)
Noa turned her attention to the knight standing in front of the gate.
"Perhaps the mana I felt from Prim-san’s sister was something I felt from the knights in the city." (Noa)
Just as guildmaster and Carla said, Prim's older sister might be giving her fairy powers.
"My sister gives power to those humans..." (Prim)
"So, you said you could feel it from the mansion, but does Prim’s sister seem to be there?" (Yuna)
"I don't know if Prim-san's sister is in the mansion or if it's because there are so many knights, but I feel a strong connection to the mansion." (Noa)
She didn't know for sure, but there was no doubt that Prim's sister was involved in that mansion.
"I'm going to look for my sister. Yuna and the others went back first." (Prim)
Prim rushed out.
"Hey." (Yuna)
Before I could stop her, Prim flied towards the mansion. Prim's figure became smaller and smaller, and she was no longer visible.
There were knights, so I couldn't jump out.
"Prim-san, is she okay?" (Noa)
"I'm worried, though. Fairies can't be seen, they can fly, and they're small, so if she wants to explore the mansion, I think it's a better option than us." (Yuna)
I was worried about Prim, but I didn't want Noa to worry, so I said some words of reassurance to her.
"I know you're worried, but I can't chase her." (Yuna)
"...That's right. Then, what should we do? Should we wait for Prim-san?" (Noa)
"I'd like to get some more information, but I think I'll leave this to Prim. Well, I don't think it's too late to move after hearing information from Prim." (Yuna)
There was still too little information to act in a hurry.
"So, it is" (Noa)
At present, there was nothing we could do.
Prim's perspective
Sister, where are you?
I cut off the mana between Yuna and headed towards the building without being seen by humans.
The building was large, with many windows, and was much larger than Yuna's bear house.
I could not open human's doors.
Somewhere, somewhere to go in...
As I flew around the building, I noticed that the upper windows were open.
When I approached the window, I saw a human woman wiping it with a cloth.
I entered the building through the open window without worrying about it.
The human woman didn't notice me when I entered the building.
I took a long road.
The houses where humans live were large and had many rooms, but just as it couldn't be entered from the outside, the doors and windows on the inside were closed, so no one could go inside.
If Yuna and Noa were here, they could open it.
But I left both of them and came alone.
Maybe even if I told them, they would have stopped me.
But when I found out that my sister was here, I couldn't help but go.
Sister, where are you?
Somehow, I managed to get into the rooms through open doors, small windows, and gaps, but all the rooms were the same, and there was no sign that my sister was there.
If Noa was there, she might have found out where my sister was.
Or if I had my sister's handkerchief. That's what I thought about. Both Yuna and Noa came with me to look for my sister.
It was wrong to say that.
Noa could have refused. But she didn't refuse. So was Yuna.
This was my selfishness.
Without Yuna and Noa, I wouldn't have been able to come to this city.
No, I couldn't come from the fairy forest to such a remote place by myself.
I didn't think I had the courage. If I had been alone, maybe I would have been scared and turned back.
Although I was grateful to them, I never complained.
What about this room?
There was a nice little door. But like any other door, I couldn't open it. I was looking for somewhere to go in.
...There it was.
Like the other rooms, there was a small window above that was open.
I slowly entered the room through the small window.
There were no humans. I looked around the room. The atmosphere was different from other rooms.
There might be something.
As I looked around the room, a picture hanging on the wall caught my eye.
"Oh, sister." (Prim)
There was a fairy drawn in the picture, and that fairy was my older sister.
I approached the painting.
My older sister in the picture was dignified and beautiful.
"Sister..." (Prim)
I touched my sister's picture.
My sister was here after all.
There might be a clue to my sister somewhere in this room.
I searched the room, but since I didn't know much about humans, there were many things I didn't understand.
If Yuna and Noa were there, they might know, but they weren't here.
As I was looking for clues about my sister, I heard a clicking sound, followed by the sound of a door opening. I quickly hid behind something.
Even though I know they couldn't see me, I still wondered if it was possible.
A human man entered the room.
When the man enters the room, he stood in front of the picture of my sister hanging on the wall and stared at it.
"...You are mine." (The man)
This man was the great man in this town that Yuna and the others had talked about, and he saw her and brought her here.
I wanted to rush out and asked about my sister, but I was scared.
I didn't know why, but I felt like I wanted to get away from this person.
Go somewhere quickly.
However, that human just stared at my sister's picture and didn't move.
Run away now?
When I thought about this and moved, I touched something.
There was a small rattling sound.
The human reacted to the sound and turned around.
Did he notice?
Even if he noticed me, they wouldn't be able to see me.
But I had a feeling that maybe he could see me. I used my small body to move while hiding behind objects.
That human came to the place where I was just a moment ago.
Then, as if searching for something, he began to look around the area.
He couldn't see me, and he couldn't notice me because I was hidden.
I caught a glimpse of a human face, but his eyes were scary.
He was different from Yuna and Noa.
I noticed that the two of them had kind eyes.
That human walked around the room as if searching for something.
A man approached.
I had to run away. I looked around.
I noticed that the window was open.
I flied all at once and rushed out of the open window.
Don't look back.
I want to get away from this person as soon as possible.
Author's Note
It's Golden Week!
Actually, it's already May. It's fast.
That's why Prim broke into the mansion, but she ran away.
However, she did find a picture of her sister.
* Thank you to everyone who reports typos.
Please note that some kanji have been revised to match the book, so some may not have been revised.