“So, that’s what happened.” Elnet explained the circumstances.
“This means the Prince collapsed on January 1st, and today is January 3rd, so exactly two days have passed.” Rachel confirmed, counting the days with her fingers from when Gordon collapsed to the present.
“If there’s medicine, we have to take it to the castle immediately.”
“That’s important too, but there’s something we need to do before that.”
“What do you mean?” Elnet, thinking that if the medicine was already prepared, it should be used immediately, spoke. However, Kent stated there was something to be done first. Elnet wondered if something should take precedence over the Prince’s life and asked Kent.
“If it’s the game’s scenario, Josette should be trying to procure medicine somewhere right now. But the medicine she obtains will be a fake, not only failing to improve his condition but worsening it. That medicine will then be used on Gordon, Josette will be apprehended, stripped of her status for that crime, and exiled.”
“What!” Elnet looked surprised as Kent spoke of the future that could be anticipated.
“So, before helping the Prince, I think the highest priority is to find Josette and stop her actions.”
“If it were me in the past, I might have thought ‘serves her right,’ but I absolutely don’t think so now. I agree with my older brother’s opinion; now that the event has definitely occurred, the priority is stopping Josette. Besides, the Prince will be fine even if left alone for about a week, so there’s still time. In any case, we absolutely must find Josette before she sneaks into the castle.” Kent and Rachel passionately discussed the highest priority matter.
“Master. May I say something?”
“Hm? Al, do you have something to say?” Al raised his hand and requested to speak. Kent, though not the facilitator, acknowledged Al’s request.
“Are you aware that Josette has acquired a special skill due to the influence of your divine power, Master?”
“I remember hearing that from the Queen before. I believe it was something about making her harder to find when she blended into a crowd?”
“Yes, it’s like that. When she consciously wills it, she appears just like everyone else to people, and no one pays any particular attention. The troublesome part is that even we fairies can’t distinguish Josette if we’re too far away.” Al spoke about Josette’s special ability.
“Ehhh! Josette had such a cheat skill? That’s unfair!”
“I see, so that’s why I sometimes couldn’t call out to my sister at the party venue.” Rachel and Elnet were surprised to hear this. Marie wasn’t surprised because she had heard about it from Margaret when she was with Kent before.
“Unfair, you two also have acquired so-called cheat skills due to the influence of your Master’s divine power, don’t you?”
“Could it be that my swordsmanship suddenly improved because of that?”
“That is correct.”
“…Is that so?” Elnet asked Al, probing for an explanation. She received the expected answer. Elnet wore an ambiguous expression upon hearing it.
“Then, then, what about me? Nothing particularly unusual has happened to me, has it?”
“It is impossible for an ordinary person to make multiple dresses that upper aristocrats can wear within a few days.”
“Ah, I see. I thought it would be something flashy like being able to hit harder with my sword or use magic, but sewing… now that you mention it, there are scattered instances that come to mind…” Rachel also had instances of her own abilities come to mind and seemed convinced.
“If that’s the case, then Marie should have something too, right?”
“Ehh? Me? I… ” Marie, caught off guard by Rachel mentioning her, began to panic. Marie herself had been informed about her abilities by Margaret and knew, but she couldn’t say anything because revealing her ability would expose what she was most concerned about.
“Hm, this is a picture of Mom from before.”
“Ehh? Let me see? Uwah! Compared to now, you look younger, Marie, as if on a home shopping channel!”
“Wh-why do you have something like this, Hanako? It’s embarrassing, don’t look!” Hanako placed a photo on the table. The photo showed Marie working at Marie’s Bakery. The Marie in the photo had messy hair, wrinkles on her face, her skin lacked the firmness it has now, and despite her smile, she looked somewhat tired. Seeing it, Marie hastily retrieved the photo from the table.
“A special ability for rejuvenation. It must be enviable for a woman. However, judging by the window placement, this is probably the shop, but the interior decoration has changed quite a bit from now. When was this taken?”
“Hm, around April of last year. I obtained it from a certain source.” Hanako answered Elnet’s question. The photo was taken inside the building of Marie’s Bakery; it was currently used as a workshop for making bread, but it was previously used as a sales area. Unlike the current black maid uniform-style uniforms, she was attending to customers wearing a white apron over casual clothes. Neither Elnet nor Rachel, who started working after the major renovation, knew the situation at the time.
“Alright, enough about me, let’s get back to the story quickly.” Marie, not wanting to dwell on the past, desperately tried to steer the conversation back.
“Being by your side, it’s like an area effect in games, isn’t it?”
“That depends on Master’s feelings towards the person. For individuals Master doesn’t consciously acknowledge, even if they are nearby, the effect is minimal, not as visible as for Rachel and the others.”
“Oh. So, that means you acknowledge me, Older Brother. Hmm.” After hearing Al’s explanation, Rachel said, glancing suspiciously at Kent.
“It’s… as a sister, you know.”
“Wow, Older Brother is blushing.” While teasing him, Rachel’s expression was somewhat gleeful.
“We should probably get back to the topic. The search for my sister was the highest priority, wasn’t it?”
“That is Master’s intention. Therefore, I propose that this time, we should conduct the search in pairs. If Josette is consciously trying to blend in with her surroundings, no matter how much everyone searches, they won’t find her. So, I propose that we fairies each support one of you to search for Josette.” As Elnet returned to the topic, Al made a proposal regarding Josette’s search.
“Al-chan, that’s fine, but we have four people, and only three of us fairies. What about the remaining one?”
“That’s simple. Rachel can bring her contracted fairy with her.”
“Ah, that’s right. There was something like that.” When Rachel asked Al how they would manage with four humans and only three fairies, he told her to bring her contracted fairy. Rachel seemed to have forgotten about Mike’s existence until Al mentioned it.
“So, I will be acting together with Master.”
“Hm, unfair.”
“Don’t just decide on your own!” Al said this and decided to act together with Kent. Hanako and Emily, whose chances were taken, voiced their dissatisfaction.
“Well then, Hanako and Emily, who will you team up with?”
“Hm, you team up with me.”
“Oh? Oh, me? Please take care of me, Hanako.” Kent, wanting to avoid wasting time because he anticipated arguments about who would team up with whom, decided to team up with Al. He then proposed how the remaining two pairs would be formed, but Hanako immediately grabbed Elnet’s hand and offered to pair up with her.
“Ehh? Then, I’ll be paired with the Owner.”
“Please take care of me, Emily.” Emily and Marie, the remaining two, formed a pair, and all the combinations were decided.
“Then, I’ll stop by the second store after I’m ready to pick up Mike. Contact me by phone if anything comes up.” Rachel hurried upstairs to prepare to leave.
“I’ll go back to Kent-san’s house once to get ready. What about you, Emily?”
“Yes, I’ll accompany you.” Marie and Emily said this and left the shop.
“Alright then, Al, let’s go.”
“Understood, Roger that.” Kent uttered this and left the shop with Al in tow.
“Well, the dress is inconvenient for movement, so I should change first.”
“Hm? Are we returning to the Duke’s mansion?”
“Actually, I would like to, but it would be a waste of travel time. I was thinking of looking for something suitable to wear in my room upstairs… but all I have there now is the shop uniform! I guess I have no choice but to wear that!” Elnet basically didn’t keep any clothes here. Her everyday wear was kept in her detached building on the Duke’s mansion grounds, so all she had in her room upstairs was sleepwear, work uniforms, and underwear. Of these, only the evening party dress was unsuitable for going out due to its restrictiveness, and the sheer nightgown was out of the question. All that remained was the shop uniform, but its strong design made it conspicuous when worn outside. Therefore, Elnet hesitated.
“Hm, then, I’ll move to the detached building.”
“Ehh? Uwah!” The dining space suddenly lit up intensely, and Elnet and Hanako were seemingly sucked into the light and vanished from the spot.
