Prim went to the mansion alone, and when Noa and I were about to return to the inn, Noa spoke to us in a low voice.
"Yuna-san, a knight came out from the hut." (Noa)
When I looked towards the mansion, I saw a knight on horseback heading toward the gate from inside a hut on the premises.
Then, after speaking a few words to the knight in front of the gate, he got on his horse and left the mansion.
"Is he going to go kill monsters?" (Noa)
"I don't think he'll go alone." (Yuna)
I saw knights fighting, but they were fighting in groups.
Well, even if the captain noticed my magic, I couldn't imagine him heading out to subjugate monsters alone.
"Then I guess it’s just normal shopping." (Noa)
That line was possible, but traveling on horseback?
The city was large, so I couldn't deny that, but there was also the possibility of going outside the city.
Hmm, what should I do? Follow him?
Even if we stayed here, we wouldn't get any new information.
I couldn't follow Prim into the mansion, and even if I tried to wait for Prim to return, I didn't know when she would come back.
I decided.
"I'll follow him around for a bit. Noa..." (Yuna)
Should she wait alone at the inn, stayed with Carla-san at the adventurer's guild, or used the bear's transfer gate to stay in a safe place?
I was thinking about what to do.
"If you don't mind, I'll go with you." (Noa)
Noa said a little hesitantly.
What should we do?
Noah was staring at me.
"If you think it's dangerous, I'll ask you to go inside that door." (Yuna)
"Yes!" (Noa)
Noa happily replied.
Noa and I decided to follow the knight, but since my appearance stood out, people would notice if we didn't keep our distance.
The fact that my appearance was not suitable for following was proven when I followed Juubei-san in the Land of Wa.
"Yuna-san, you'll be out of sight." (Noa)
"If we go out now, people will notice us, so we'll move once he's a little further away." (Yuna)
"But if this continues like this, we’ll lose sight of him…" (Noa)
"It's okay." (Yuna)
I had already marked it using my detection skill. However, it was a visual marking.
Unfortunately, the detection skill could tell people's reactions, but it didn't tell whose reaction it was. There was also no convenient marking function. So, I used the detection skill to visually mark the knight and followed him while keeping an eye on his reaction.
I would like to have a marking function, but if I could do that, it would become a stalking skill. "You're here now," "You came home after work," "Maybe you're with another woman." You could be stalked even if you are far away.
However, even if such a marking function were added, I wouldn't use it for that purpose, but it would be useful when tailgating.
Once we confirm that the knight had left, we began following him.
"Noa, let's go." (Yuna)
Noa and I chased the knight from a distance. Although he was riding the horse, he was not running. If we trot, you could catch up.
"Yuna-san, I can't see him, but do you know?" (Noa)
Even though I couldn't see the knight, she asked me if I'm making good progress.
"Yeah, well." (Yuna)
I said this while looking at the detection skill.
"Yuna-san. Where have you been looking since a while ago?" (Noa)
I looked at places where my detection skills were, which Noa couldn't see.
It probably appeared to Noa that I was looking at an empty space.
This had been confirmed with Fina before. Only I could see the detection skill display.
"Well, with magic, I can find out where that knight is." (Yuna)
"With magic, you can do that." (Noa)
Noa accepted my explanation without even doubting it.
This was a skill, so it was different from magic, but I couldn't explain the skill, so it couldn't be helped.
The knight advanced slowly.
Still, he was faster than a person walking. We couldn't just keep trotting around forever.
Noah was breathing a little heavily. A trotting bear was also noticeable.
I moved to an empty back alley.
"Noa, I'll hold you for a while." (Yuna)
When I said that, I held Noa, who was holding Kumakyu, in a princess carry.
"Yuna-san!" (Noa)
Noa was surprised but didn't care and held it.
"Kumayuru, rides on my back." (Yuna)
"Kuu~n" (Kumayuru)
Kumayuru jumped on my back.
"Hold on tight." (Yuna)
I ran through hidden back alleys and moved unnoticed.
It was in that direction.
I used my detection skills to keep an eye on the knight's reactions.
The knight's reaction was to move away from the center of the city, where buildings were densely packed, and began to move towards the edge.
There was a city wall at the end, and there were parts of it that were shaped like column.
Looking up, it looked like a lookout tower.
There was a door under that column, and it looked like we could go inside and go up from here.
I set Noa and the others down and took a look at the knight.
The knight hooked the reins to a nearby tree and used the key to enter the door.
"Maybe a change of guard?" (Yuna)
I tried to follow him, but it seemed like a waste of time.
"Yuna-san, what should we do?" (Noa)
"Shall we return?" (Yuna)
""Kuu~n""
When I decided to go home, Kumayuru and Kumakyu cried.
It was not an emergency call, but a call to someone.
"What's happened?" (Yuna)
"Kuu~n" (Kumayuru)
Kumayuru looked behind me.
I used my detection skill.
There was a reaction of someone.
Who?
The cries of Kumayuru and Kumakyu were not an emergency.
"Yuna-san, what about Kumayuru-chan and Kumakyu-chan?" (Noa)
Noa asked me as if I understood what Kumayuru and Kumakyu said.
"It looks like someone is coming towards us." (Yuna)
"Is he a knight? Yuna-san, can't you tell by magic?" (Noa)
"Sorry, I don't understand that much." (Yuna)
At that, Noa closed her eyes.
"I don't feel any mana connection, so I don't think he's a knight." (Noa)
"Do you know that?" (Yuna)
"Until now, I was confused because I could feel the mana from various places and didn't understand it. But after seeing the knight, I understood the reason, so I can now understand it somehow." (Noa)
Noa might be better at detecting knights in this city.
When you talk about things like that, someone's reactions started to get closer.
We hid and watched. It was guildmaster who came to hide.
Why guildmaster?
The guildmaster was watching the lookout.
Is he looking into something?
I appeared before guildmaster to hear his story.
"Girls!?" (Guildmaster)
The guildmaster looked surprised.
Even I was surprised.
"Why are the girls here...?" (Guildmaster)
"We just came here when we were following the knight. What about Guildmaster?" (Yuna)
"I can't just let the girls do the work, so I came here to investigate because I wanted to do the work too." (Guildmaster)
"Is there something here? Isn't it just a lookout tower?" (Yuna)
"It's a lookout tower." (Guildmaster)
"Then why?" (Yuna)
"Before, it was a job that was done by guards or so, to put it bluntly, by subordinates. However, after the feudal lord took over, the knights started coming in and out, and the things that used to be guarded were now I was sent to guard the city." (Guildmaster)
I understood what he said.
To put it bluntly, being a lookout was not a job that a knight would do.
I had an image of him yawning and looking bored.
"Then, does Guildmaster think there’s something on the lookout tower?" (Noa)
"You're so sharp, girl." (Guildmaster)
Noa looked a little happy after being praised.
"That said, I can predict it to a certain extent. There is something here that steals the mana from the city's residents." (Guildmaster)
"Magic circle?" (Yuna)
If you thought about it normally, if you wanted to take mana away from the residents, you would build a city around it.
"Ah, there are many similar lookout towers." (Yuna)
Guildmaster picked up a tree branch, drew a simple picture of the town on the ground, and circles the location of the watchtower.
There were 6 locations.
"I tried searching several times to see if there was a place where mana could not be stolen, but there were some areas near the walls of the city where it could not be stolen." (Guildmaster)
Does that mean it's outside the magic circle?
"Were you investigating by yourself?" (Noa)
"In case you get caught, it's just an excuse. It's better to be alone." (Guildmaster)
That was true though. The more people, the more likely you were to be suspicious. However, if there were few people, it would take time to be found.
He might have been working hard on his own, not wanting to involve Carla-san or the Adventurer's Guild.
In order to preserve the Adventurer's Guild, maybe he bowed to the knights he hated, took on the task of dismantling the monsters that the knights had subdued, and protected the Adventurer's Guild.
At first, I thought that if I relied on Prim's older sister's handkerchief that was in Noa's body, I would be able to easily find her and bring her home.
But now, there were lords, knights, adventurers' guild, and town residents.
Prim's older sister involved various people and causes trouble to various people.
I just hoped this wasn't Prim's older sister's intention.
"So, what did you come to find out?" (Yuna)
"I was wondering if we could come inside." (Guildmaster)
That was downright reckless.
"It is dangerous" (Noa)
It seemed that Noa thought the same thing as me.
"I know. I wouldn't do anything dangerous either. I was wondering if you could ask a fairy to check it out. Just do some homework. Come to think of it, isn't there a fairy? Or do I just not see her?" (Guildmaster)
I briefly explained Prim.
"Even if they can't see her, don't do anything reckless. There's a possibility that they can see that fairy sister. If they find her, what will happen?" (Guildmaster)
"That's what I thought too. She just jumped out at once. But apparently just because they're sisters doesn't mean they look the same." (Yuna)
"That's true, but the fairy you girls brought in hold the future of this city in her hands." (Guildmaster)
"In spite of that, it seems like she was trying to get to look inside." (Yuna)
"I'm stuck, too. Even though I wanted to find out, I couldn't really find out." (Guildmaster)
Well, there were limits to what one person could do. Even if he had friends, I didn't think he would be able to move much. If he failed, it was over.
That was probably why he confided in me and Blitz, who were outsiders.
An outsider could easily cut off his tail. Maybe it was just my bad personality that made me think that way.
Let's just say that it was not my personality's fault, but that I was influenced by reading manga and novels.
Author's Note
After I finished writing, I hated myself for not making any progress in the story.
The story should move forward from next time. Probably...
Since I don't keep any notes, I always worry about what information to publish and where.
It's been a while since I wrote it. Ah, I wish I had given the information at that time. I think about it often.
It's really difficult to write a novel.
I really respect people who write multiple novels at the same time with future developments in mind.
* 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.