Swift Edgar And Spica

It was a night in the Royal Capital.

Only after the sun had set did the written statement on the counterfeit Puchi Elixir finally get finished, so I returned to the shop.

I had roughed those men up, but since there were no injuries and there were plenty of witness statements, my counterattack was deemed legitimate self-defense.

The shop was closed, but when I used my key to get inside, Edgar was there.

The moment he saw me, he gave a light nod.

“Good work, Alec-san.”

“Sorry to keep you waiting. And sorry for calling you out so suddenly. You really saved me.”

“No, this much was nothing.”

“So, you said there was something you wanted to talk about.”

At my words, Edgar looked around the empty shop before speaking.

“Those punks from earlier were low-level goons under an underworld outfit.”

“Yeah, they didn’t look like ordinary civilians.”

“And about that outfit’s boss… he’s got a statue of an evil god.”

“Huh?”

I asked back, not understanding.

Edgar’s black eyes, half-hidden behind his messy bangs, gleamed.

“You said you’d investigated this country and the surrounding countries, right? They’ve got an evil god statue. And in the Royal Capital there are three… one’s Thomson, though.”

“Then the counterfeit Puchi Elixir and the cultists are working together…? No—are they the same at the root?”

“Probably. You catch on fast. As expected of you, Alec-san.”

“What about the last one?”

“It’s the medicine dealer, Medici.”

“Medicine… are they connected?”

“I thought so too, so I looked into it, but the underworld outfit and the medicine dealer aren’t connected. They’re moving separately.”

“Separately targeting me—targeting Puchi Eli? Different motives, but the same mastermind?”

I could sort of understand why a medicine dealer would target Puchi Eli.

If the production method wasn’t public, stealing it would make it theirs.

Edgar nodded at my words.

“The mastermind is probably—”

“The statue’s maker. That artist, Skla.”

“Skla might be one of the collaborators. But they’re a mysterious figure.”

“Then maybe we should go meet Skla.”

“In the end, that’s what we’ll have to do.”

“In the end? What do you mean?”

I voiced my question.

Edgar shook his head as he spoke.

“Now’s not the time.”

“I see. If I leave the Royal Capital, the mastermind’s lackeys will take that as their chance to go on the offensive.”

“As expected of you, Alec-san. Yeah—dangerous. Better to beat them down some first, then move.”

“Agreed… What’s the medicine dealer doing?”

“Doesn’t look like they’ve moved yet.”

“Then we start with the underworld outfit.”

Edgar’s eyes sharpened.

“I’ll dig up every member.”

“Yeah… that matters, but I also want evidence we can use to arrest them on another charge.”

Edgar cocked his head.

“Something other than the Puchi Elixir stuff?”

“If we can prove they’re evil-god cultists, that’s best… but if there’s an evil god statue, we can raid on another case and wipe them out for the crime of worshipping an evil god, right? We can rope in not just the kingdom’s knights, but the Church too. Thomson was luck, but this time we make the same thing happen on purpose.”

“I see! So that’s the angle—nice one! Then I’ll go investigate.”

“I’m counting on you.”

Despite his casual tone, Edgar left the shop with swift, crisp movements.

The shop fell quiet.

I walked over to the entrance, locked the door, and let out a sigh.

“This is getting kind of annoying…”

An underworld outfit probably did illegal things all the time, so evidence should be relatively easy to find.

The problem was the medicine dealer.

I didn’t want to be caught on the back foot, but if they hid the evidence cleverly, they’d be hard to pin down.

—If it were monsters, I could charge into their camp and cut them down with no consequences.

Dealing with humans was a hassle.

Feeling a bit tired, I shook my head and headed deeper into the shop, toward the back where the dungeon entrance was.

While I was walking through Kou’s dungeon toward the mansion, I spotted Rāna—the Sacred White Dragon girl—at a plaza along the way.

She noticed me and came running up.

“Reku, reku! Kyai!”

Her white hair streaming behind her, she lunged at me at full speed.

I took a step back and caught her small body firmly in my arms.

“There, there. Did you protect the dungeon again today?”

“Kyui! Māmo!”

“Hm? Oh—the mansion garden where Mama Mireine is, too? Good girl.”

When I patted her head, Rāna grinned.

That was when Teti came over.

“Welcome back, Alec-sama! What happened with the fake Puchi Elixir?”

“Yeah, sales got halted, and besides insulting the King they’ve got a ton of extra charges, so it sounds like those two are going to prison.”

“Thank goodness! The Crown brand is amazing! Now we can relax!”

“…Not yet. That’s why you must never be alone, Teti.”

“Huh?”

“Same for you, Rāna. Always move with someone.”

“U-uh, okay. Got it.”

“Kyui!”

Teti’s happy smile vanished as she nodded seriously. Rāna also frowned with determination and nodded.

—There was a chance they could be kidnapped. We had to be careful.

The mood had gotten heavy, so I laughed to loosen things up.

“Alright, then. Wanna eat dinner?”

“Okaaay!”

“Kyai!”

Holding hands with the two girls, I headed for the mansion.

Before dinner, I took Liricia out into the garden.

The angel softly spread her white wings and held her hands forward.

“—Dark Mana Detection (Aura Detect).”

A white wave spread out like ripples.

Then it vanished into the surrounding forest.

After a while, Liricia lowered her hands and relaxed her stance.

“There aren’t any sacred beasts in the forest besides the boars.”

“I see. More could be born suddenly, so can you check morning and night?”

“Understood, Master. I want to rescue unfortunate children like Spica-chan as quickly as possible.”

Liricia nodded as she folded her white wings.

Then a voice came right from our feet.

“Good evening, Alec-sama.”

When I looked down, Spica—the white sacred rabbit, the Almiraj—was there.

Her white fur had become clean and fluffy.

“When did you get here?”

“She should have been in the stable until just now.”

Liricia and I crouched to speak to her.

Spica stood on her hind legs and puffed her chest out proudly.

“Listen, Alec-san. I learned how to move quickly, slowly.”

“Oh? Quickly, slowly?”

“Like this~”

The moment she finished speaking in her relaxed tone, Spica’s body blurred.

She appeared all over—on the lawn, in the garden, up on the fence, near the field.

It looked like she was repeating high-speed movement and sudden stops to create afterimages.

Sure enough, wind flowed and dead leaves danced up.

“Whoa! That’s amazing movement. That’s a sacred beast for you.”

“I’m glad Spica-chan seems to be feeling better.”

I nodded along with Liricia.

“Looks like nobody can catch you anymore.”

“Not even you, Alec-san?”

“Nope, no way. You’re way too fast. That’s incredible.”

“Yaaay, I got praised~”

Spica wagged her horn happily, leaving afterimages as she did.

—Hmm. This speed could be useful.

“Spica, can you do something for me?”

When I held my hands out with my palms together, Spica hopped onto them in a flash.

The white fur covering her was a bit long—softer than I expected.

She felt like she’d gotten about one size bigger since the first day. Still tiny, though.

She tilted her head on my palms. Aside from the sharp horn, she looked like a normal rabbit. Cute.

“What is it~?”

“With that speed, can you patrol the forest?”

“Yup! I can do that~”

“Do a few rounds a day. Check whether any humans are coming near the mansion—any weird ones, anyone suspicious, anyone in white. If you find them, don’t go close. Tell Mama Mireine right away. And be careful of boars. Can you do that?”

“Yup! I’ll do my best~”

Even while speaking gently, her big dark eyes sparkled.

“Don’t overdo it, okay? But I’m glad you’re doing better.”

Liricia smiled as she stroked Spica’s back.

“You’ve been eating properly too, haven’t you?”

“Yup—Mama’s milk, and Puchi Elixir, and~ fruit is yummy too~ This place might be heaven~”

“Are you getting along with everyone?”

“Ciel-oniichan and Teti-oneechan are kind~”

Spica narrowed her eyes and smiled.

Liricia returned the smile with gentle eyes.

After that, we checked on the other sacred beasts, then went back to the mansion for dinner.

I’d ask everything at once—whether anything happened while I was gone.