Chapter 57: The Unsettling Situation Has Arrived...!

Chapter 57: The Unsettling Situation Has Arrived...! The Unsettling Situation Has Arrived...!

* * *

One week has passed since I was hired by the Salar Baronial Household.

During that time, there were no assassins targeting Sara and the others.

Peace, peace, peace was at peace.

As always, the Maid-senpai’s cleaning was excellent, Sara’s magic water balls didn’t fly, and the gruff-looking elderly butler kept making snide remarks.

That’s right! That butler! The sinister butler!

Anyway, he really dislikes me and blatantly harasses me.

The other day, when I was late because I was eating a snack in the forest, he kept making endless snide remarks to me afterward.

Well, that’s fine.

It was my fault for being late in the first place.

I’ve reflected on that, and since then, I’ve made sure to finish my training and snacking before the sun rises.

But still...

“You shabby, filthy cursed child.”

“Don’t show your ferocious appearance.”

“The mere fact that you breathe the same air as the madam is unforgivable.”

“You’re not fit to work in this household. Beast, go back to the mountains at once.”

That’s how it is, every time we meet, he demeans me in a low voice and tries to drive me out of the mansion.

And he does it in a way that the other household members can’t hear.

It’s like a grade-schooler’s bullying!

Well, I’ve been raised being demeaned by people both in my previous life and this life, so it’s not a big deal.

I’ll just ignore it, ignore it.

But you know, that sinister butler, during dinner the other day, he put bugs or something as a topping in my soup, didn’t he?

Well, I didn’t actually see him put the bugs in the soup, so it’s just a “probably” level assumption.

It’s just that, for some reason, the butler, who is supposed to be a butler, personally brought me the soup and served it to me, a mere maid apprentice, so I think he probably put them in.

They were quite crunchy and pretty tasty.

Honestly, with my body craving a massive amount of food these days, even a small quantity like that is really appreciated as a service.

I’ve been secretly eating any bugs I find even while on duty, so yeah.

Maybe that old man noticed that and secretly tried to increase my food intake?

Is he a tsundere or something?

My evaluation of the old man went up a little because of that, but then the snide remarks started right after, so it went back down again.

It’s a net zero.

I wonder what he wants?

But anyway, that’s how it went.

No particular incidents occurred, and time just passed by.

...Until today, that is.

* * *

“Emiiiiii! We’re going to practice magic again today, so come to the entrance!”

Called by Sara’s booming voice as usual, I paused my weeding and headed for the entrance.

After cleaning and laundry, it’s weeding for me. This is my daily routine.

Anyway, the weeds in this fantasy other world are incredibly tenacious, and no matter how thoroughly I pull them out, they’ll grow back to their original state in just three days, so it’s a lot of work.

By the way, I eat all the weeds I pull.

“Today, for sure, I’ll easily succeed at 【Water Bullet】 and blow away the target in one shot, just like Emi!”

As always, Sara is energetic and enthusiastic today.

This past week, she hasn’t succeeded with magic even once, but her persevering attitude is admirable.

But, as I keep saying, there’s no need to blow away the target, is there?

After all, it’s a self-defense magic, right?

Look, even the madam’s face is grimacing.

“Hey, hey, Emi! After we’re done with magic practice today, I want to play together! Teach me more about flowers and stuff!”

Ah, she’s already thinking about playing after practice...

“Well, the barrier doesn’t extend all the way up to the roof. So it’s not strange if someone was lurking on the roof...”

He sighed and seemed deep in thought, toying with his thin mustache.

A moment of silence passed.

The magical lamp illuminating the room from the ceiling cast deep shadows on the Baron’s face, making his expression unreadable.

“...Alright, I get it! Oh my, calling you out so late, I’m sorry about that, Emi! You can go back to your room now.”

After a while, the Baron looked up and smiled, but it was a forced smile. Even I could tell.

As I left the study and headed back to my room, I pondered this and that.

<There are some puzzling aspects to this incident.>

Extra-sama began speaking.

<What puzzles me is why the culprit chose a roofing board as their weapon.>

Yeah... that’s true, Extra-sama...

If an assassin or someone like that wanted to attack Sara and the others, I think there would be more convenient weapons available, like throwing knives or something.

A roofing board is something that might not even hit its target when thrown, so why choose that as a weapon?

<The only plausible explanation is that they were trying to make it look like an accident.>

Hmm... yeah, that’s true.

To be honest, if I hadn’t been there, if I hadn’t insisted on sensing murderous intent, this incident would have likely been written off as just an accident.

But still...

<There’s no need to make it look like an accident anymore, is there?>

That’s right! When you think about it normally, that’s true!

The previous assassins who attacked Sara and the others were bandits.

There was an open, undisguised malice there.

Since it’s already clear that Sara and the others are being targeted, there doesn’t seem to be any need to try to cover up this incident as an accident.

And yet, in this incident, the culprit tried to conceal the truth.

It just seems kind of inconsistent, doesn’t it?

<There are various possibilities to consider.>

Such as?

<Hypothesis 1: The mastermind behind the previous carriage attack and the culprit of this roofing board incident are completely unrelated individuals. That’s why their methods differ.>

Hmm, is that even possible?

After spending a week together with everyone in the Baron’s household, they seem like incredibly kind people.

They’re not the kind of people who would incur resentment and malice from others.

And yet, to have their lives threatened by completely unrelated multiple culprits, that’s just too unlikely, isn’t it?

<Hypothesis 2: The mastermind is the same for both incidents, but the perpetrators were different, hence the differing methods.>

Ah, that does seem more plausible.

<But Emi... the problem with both Hypothesis 1 and Hypothesis 2 is the question of why the perpetrator wanted to make the incident look like an accident.>

...So they wouldn’t arouse suspicion towards themselves?

<That’s the most natural assumption, yes? In other words, the culprit behind this roofing board incident is someone who doesn’t want to be seen as the culprit.>

Eh? Who would want to be seen as the culprit?

<For example, if it was a third party hired for money, they would just escape after the crime and wouldn’t bother concealing it. The bandits from before are a good example.>

I see...

<In other words, the culprit in this incident is someone who needs to remain in the mansion even after the crime.>

Remain in the... mansion...?

Hey, hey, wait a minute, Extra-sama!

Does that mean...?!

<That’s right. It means the culprit is someone living in the mansion.>

...........................

Outside, the cloudy sky didn’t show a single star.

A sudden wind began to blow, rattling the mansion’s windows as it hit the walls.

The pitter-patter of raindrops started to hit the roof as well.

Um, well... You see... This is...

The unsettling situation has arrived...!