Vermillion

While the two were training, the prime time for breakfast had ended, leaving the dining room relatively empty.

“Oh, hello you two. You seem to be energetic today too, training since morning and all.”

As they entered the hall, Jamie gave them a friendly greeting while busily moving about with a tray in one hand.

“Hey, morning. We have to do it or our bodies will grow dull.”

“So, up for breakfast?”

“Yeah, the usual please.”

“‘Kay, give me a moment.”

She headed over to the kitchen. For some time, she had been suffering every morning when watching Kei and Aileen being together, but nowadays she had grown accustomed to it, not minding it any longer.

Kei’s partner, Aileen, on the other hand, did not even look in Jamie’s direction and was instead stealing glances at the other customers’ dishes, muttering, “So it’s a toastie today…”

Ever since the post-tournament party, Aileen didn’t try to proactively talk with Jamie, and Jamie did not meet her gaze either. Kei sensed a womanly discord between the two, but he decided to pretend that he was not noticing it. It was pretty obvious that things would just get icky if he were to touch upon this topic.

“So, what do we do today?”

Aileen asked as she cheerfully sat down.

“Not like there’s anything to decide… we’ll be doing the same as always.”

“You’ve got a point there.”

Aileen slumped over on the table at Kei’s curt reply. Kei also sighed, staring vacantly into the air with his chin resting on a hand.

For the last two weeks, Kei and Aileen had been absorbed in reading books at the library from morning till evening, except for Sunday when the library was closed.

They were looking up words that interested them in the Encyclopedia while using reference books and related publications as assistance at the same time. It had no handy search feature, so it was up to the reader to decide what kind of information they were looking for, and as such, Kei and Aileen could only keep reading everything they could find. Both were already fed up with getting tortured by linguistic, poetic terms, and expressions that glued them to the English-English dictionary they had borrowed.

That said, their efforts certainly bore fruit and their investigation had progressed quite smoothly.

You could even say that they had already obtained all the information that they needed.

From the beginning, Edda had told them quite precise information about the Étranger of the Fog beforehand, so they could proceed with their research based on what they already knew, but the more they looked up the more interesting tales of the Haunted Forest and Wiseman in Red they discovered.

With the Haunted Forest, in particular, the research data of the magic corps dispatched a few decades ago had been disclosed, so the information was highly accurate. As a result of coordinating it with other stories from multiple angles, they came to a conclusion: It was either a high-ranked Spirit, the aforementioned Wiseman, or perhaps some magical phenomenon — the exact details were unclear, but there was a high chance that a clue about their transfer awaited the two in the Northland’s Haunted Forest.

Additionally, Northland’s topographic map ranging from the central to the southern parts was open to the public (despite the fact that the topographic map of the duchy was considered a banned book for strategic reasons), so they managed to identify the location of the Haunted Forest, as well as several routes leading to it.

Now that they had the information, the question was how to put it to use. Kei and Aileen had to choose their next action.

“Sorry for the wait. Here you go, ham and cheese toasties.”

“Oh, thanks.”

Jamie returned from the kitchen and put plates in front of Kei and Aileen. Kei paid for them while Aileen poured water from the jug into their cups. Then wished each other a good appetite and dug in the piping hot toasties.

“Mmm, delish.”

“We sure have gotten used to the goat cheese too.”

The cheese had a thick and rich flavor. Unaware, their gloomy expressions got dyed by faint smiles.

—Why were they still staying in Urvan despite everything?

Taking their usual drive to take action into account, it would not have been strange for them to have departed for Northland right away. Then why were they still remaining in Urvan? There were many reasons, but the biggest of all was their lack of making up their resolve.

They were prepared to spend months, or perhaps even years, without finding a single clue as they gathered info at the library. However, they discovered the key to the solution far too easily, which felt quite anticlimactic instead.

Was this really enough? Was there nothing else to find? They could not shake off their doubts and were unconfident.

And their destination being Northland was not making things better either. For one, Kei did not speak the language, but even Aileen, who spoke Russian, was not very willing to separate from the duchy now that they had gotten so used to it.

Above all, it was that Alexei’s home — meaning, if they traveled to that place they would surely get dragged into some kind of trouble. Had it been a large-scale city like the port city Kitene or mining city Garon, or even a remote region — as long as it was within the duchy — the two might have felt like going there…

“……”

Finishing their toasties, the two started to brood while drinking their water.

—They just needed one more push.

They did not spell it out, but their thoughts aligned on this. If they wished to arrive at the heart of the “transfer” matter, they had to head for Northland. Something both of them understood rationally.

But there was no conclusive evidence. And just the information obtained through books and documents was not enough.

They wanted some kind of trigger which would push their backs…

“…We really have to go to talk to them, huh?”

Aileen broke the ice while tapping on the table with her finger.

“Talk? With whom?”

“Uhh… an expert, I guess?” Aileen answered Kei’s question with a questioning tone.

“An expert, huh…?”

Kei groaned while holding his chin.

The ducal library had various research facilities and institutes in its vicinity, and it also acted as a salon where intellectuals like scholars and researchers gathered. Naturally, some of them should be knowledgeable about Northland.

“Let’s see… We don’t even know which route would be the best to take for reaching the Haunted Forest, so it’d be nice to get some advice on that front too.”

When it came to that kind of advice, they could just find a Snowlander and ask them directly, and in fact, they did search for one through Holland’s connections. However, the Snowlanders living in Urvan were mostly former residents of the western parts, so they were not able to offer any more information than the library had where the southeastern Haunted Forest was concerned.

Looking at it like that, instead of the former residents who were more biased, a Plainsfolk specialist with (expected) general knowledge would be able to offer more trustworthy advice.

“Personally, I’m thinking we should try our luck with the Encyclopedia editors. The Northland and Haunted Forest entries had the same editor if I’m not mistaken, right?”

“Did they? That’s some memory you’ve got. Okay, Let’s take care of that part today then.”

With their talk coming to a conclusion, the two emptied their water cups and left their seats.

†††

“You’re looking for an editor?”

The monocled receptionist asked quizzically at the entrance counter of the ducal library.

“Yeah. They are the editor of the “Northland” item in the Encyclopedia. I believe they were called—”

“—”Valgren Kremrart,” right?”

Aileen continued Kei’s words. He shrugged at the receptionist, commenting, “What she said.” The receptionist pondered with an audible murmur.

The three had become quite familiar with each other.

Her name was Alyssa. She was an expressionless tall beauty, but once they got to know her, she unexpectedly turned out to have a playful side too.

“Mr. Valgren Kremrart, is it…?”

“…Is there a problem?”

Alyssa’s expression darkened a little.

“No,” she answered Kei’s question with a shake of her head, “It’s just that Mr. Valgren is quite peculiar among the editors.”

“Do you mean he’s stubborn, narrow-minded or something like that?”

“No, not in that way, it’s just… he’s quite elusive.”

Alyssa had difficulty answering Aileen’s blunt question.

“We were thinking of talking with him directly… would it be difficult?”

“Yes. Frankly said, it’d be very hard for you to book an appointment with him. He’s a very busy individual.”

“I see… Can we at least leave him a verbal message?”

“Well…”

He thought he would be able to contact him via the reception at least, but Alyssa’s reaction was not favorable.

“That may be difficult too…”

“Huh? I mean, couldn’t you just drop a few words when he enters?”

Aileen exclaimed in confusion. After all, they weren’t asking for something overly unreasonable. Seeing the two stand in front her with puzzlement written all over their faces, Alyssa, looking troubled, lowered her voice in consideration of the surrounding people.

“…The library has more entrances than only this one here. It’s not said that I would be there to welcome him.”

“Oh, so there’s another entrance too?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re saying Mr. Valgren uses that other one?”

“Unfortunately, I can’t disclose the details.”

Alyssa frankly answered, drawing a clear line, which made the two look at each other. Apparently there was more going on here than met the eye.

“I see… Then we’ll try something else.”

“I think that would be a wise choice. Mr. Valgren has special circumstances… If it’s another editor, you should be able to easily get in touch with them. I could also pass on a message for in that case.”

“No, we don’t have anyone but Mr. Valgren Kremrart in mind so far. We’ll go check the Encyclopedia once more.”

Kei shrugged with a smile and turned around, but then, “Ah, please wait,” the receptionist called out from behind. “Since you’re here, I may as well tell you some details about Mr. Valgren. He’s truly elusive, but he’s often near the Encyclopedia on the second floor, so if you’re lucky you might encounter him there.”

“Ohh, that’s great to know.”

Editor Valgrem Kremrart — he was being treated like an exotic animal. Be it the special circumstances, or the potential signs of trouble if they were to get involved with him, the two’s curiosity was piqued. They were immensely curious, in fact.

“Alright. As for Mr. Valgren himself, he is a man in his fifties. He has a round face and a medium build. He wears no specific clothes — but he has one characteristic feature.”

Alyssa twirled her forelocks around a finger, making them sway.

“It’s his hairstyle. He has very neatly arranged, transparent silver hair. Like a mushroom.”

Kei imagined an old gentleman with a silver mushroom haircut. Next to him, he heard Aileen snort, trying to hold back laughter.

“…He sounds like quite a unique person.”

Kei muttered while checking out the other customers around them.

This world’s technology was far more advanced compared to the medieval ages of Earth, but when it came to male hairstyles, medieval would be a fitting term. Men typically cut their hair short, using simple hairstyles, so that it would not get in their way. Then again, Kei was in no position to talk about other people in this regard as he himself casually tied the longer ends of his hair behind his head.

“Yes, he most certainly is. I’m not aware of anyone else who has silver hair and such a hairstyle, so if you spot someone matching that description, it should be him.”

“I see, we’ll make sure to keep an eye out. Thanks.”

He thanked Alyssa and the two went inside.

“Now, will our days of searching the Encyclopedia start all over again…?”

Kei muttered with a sigh as they headed for the second floor.

“Yeaah… Honestly, Valgren Kremrart would’ve been the best person to consult. This old man edited both the Northland and Haunted Forest entries, and his explanations were the easiest to understand too.”

Aileen sighed as if to say that there was no helping it.

“Exactly. Still, silver mushroom hair huh…? That would stand out for sure.”

“You wouldn’t be able to miss someone like that, even if you wanted to.”

“At any rate, I didn’t know there was another entrance to the library. Could it be for VIPs?”

“Maybe it’s the ‘people with high status won’t use the same entrance as commoners’ thing?”

“Which would mean… Mr. Valgren is someone of high class too.”

“That seems most likely. But well, he’s busy and also elusive, right? I doubt something as convenient as randomly encountering him here could…actually…”

Just as they reached the second floor, Aileen slowly stopped while still holding onto the handrail.

“…What’s wrong?”

Kei asked Aileen as she was standing still in a daze. Following her line of sight—

“…Oh.”

Kei spotted a slender person visible through the gaps of the Encyclopedia shelves.

It was a medium-built man clad in a low-key green robe who was completely absorbed in reading some kind of file. They couldn’t see his face as he had his back turned on them, but his hair was of an unnaturally beautiful silver color.

And he had a peculiar hairstyle where the hair did not reach his ears while being cut evenly on all sides.

“……”

The two remained standing while taken aback for a bit, but quickly recovered.

“Hey, Kei.”

“What is it, Aileen.”

“That…should be the one, right?”

“Yeah…probably.”

Kei nodded with a solemn expression.

—A silver mushroom stood over there.