Ahem... to each their own, I suppose.
In any case, I guess we would now be using this strange-looking bear to search for Keith’s whereabouts. In order to locate him, I needed something of value to him. So I returned to the manor and started searching for something that would fit the bill.
But hmm... what does Keith value? I had been with him all this time, but I couldn’t think of anything. With that in mind, I decided to ask the servants who were usually in Keith’s service.
“What Master Keith treasures? Hmm... Perhaps it would be something in this wooden chest?” The servant fetched me a large wooden chest from Keith’s room. It was really fancy and ornamental for a chest. Hmm, I’ve never seen this before.
“Under normal circumstances, it would be most unbecoming to take out something like this without Master Keith’s permission, but we are in most pressing circumstances...”
“Thank you. I will apologize personally to Keith, don’t worry about that.”
The box was somewhat heavy. I placed it on a table and opened the lid. “Eh? This is...” I remembered these things. They were the birthday presents that I had given Keith, year after year. “Wow... even this, from all that time ago!” Among the items was a slip of paper with some childish handwriting on it that said: “Whatever you wish for! Wish-granting ticket.” Judging by the writing I was the one who had written it, but honestly, I didn’t remember doing it.
He had set all these things aside... it’s so touching. Keith really did think a lot about his big sister!
Since I couldn’t decide on which item would be the best, I ended up bringing the entire thing to Larna.
When I went to meet up with Larna again, I found one other person in her room.
“Well hello, Lady Katarina Claes.”
I remembered this person and their flippant smile. It was Jeffery Stuart, the first crown prince of the kingdom, and the older brother of both Jeord and Alan. Huh? Why is the first crown prince here...? In spite of my hesitation and mild shock, I still managed to issue a ladylike greeting in the way that noble society had taught me to.
As if reading my troubled expression, the still-smiling Prince Jeffery glanced at me and said, “Actually, I asked Larna to develop a certain magical tool for me, and I am here to check on its progress, you see.”
“A magical tool?” I hadn’t even heard about magical tools until recently. Unlike me, Prince Jeffery apparently knew enough to put in requests for them to be made. As expected of the royal family... But I wonder what Prince Jeffery had asked for? From what Larna had told me, there was a wide variety of magical tools.
“What kind of tool did you request?” I asked the prince.
It was Larna, however, who responded. “Ah, it is the tool for locating missing persons.”
“Missing persons... Hm? So does that mean...” Although I wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, I picked up on that point somewhat quickly. A magical tool for locating people... Isn’t that the very same one that I was about to borrow? That ugly bear!
“Yes. It’s the tool that we’ll be using during our journey,” Larna said, still sounding casual.
Eh? Is it really okay for me to simply grab something the first crown prince requested? Wouldn’t that be bad? I started to panic.
“Ah, there is no need to worry, Lady Katarina. I have already heard all about the matter,” Jeffery said, sounding as carefree as ever. “I am not really in a rush, you see. We don’t really know how it would work, after all. Take this as its first run, and if it does work, I will use it next.”
“...Is that so? Thank you, Prince Jeffery.”
The prince merely waved his hands this way and that. He didn’t seem upset with me borrowing the tool at all. It would seem that our search party would be able to use it first without any issues.
Prince Jeffery really didn’t seem like royalty at all. Jeord and Alan didn’t put on any airs either, although Alan was pretty haughty in his younger days. Even so, neither of them had that carefree, casual atmosphere that Prince Jeffery had about him.
I had met him at the school festival, and according to Anne, Prince Jeffery was seen as a very capable person, and he had a large political following. But I couldn’t quite make a connection with that image now that I was here and speaking to him in person. I suddenly realized that I was staring at him.
“Hmm?” He just responded with that same friendly, flippant smile.
“U-Um... if I may ask, Prince Jeffery, what do you intend to use that magical tool to do?” I couldn’t tell him that he didn’t seem like a royal, so the question just slipped out before I thought about it. But then it occurred to me that this probably wasn’t an appropriate question to ask someone who I barely knew. Perhaps it was for some really important mission on behalf of the throne. I started to feel uneasy as I thought about it.
“Hmm! Well, you see... I’d just like to know where the ones I love the most are at all times!”
“Th-The ones you love most?”
“Yes, the ones I love most in the whole world, indeed! I’d like to know where they are... all the time.”
“...Is that... some mission you’re doing for the kingdom?”
“Hardly! It has nothing to do with that, actually. This tool is meant for my personal use.”
...So it has nothing to do with the kingdom, I see. Even so, there’s something about his line of reasoning. To know where the ones he loves the most are at all times... wouldn’t that make him some kind of stalker? Hmm. No... I should stop thinking too deeply about this. I felt like I could see something truly terrifying behind this flippant prince’s smile.
I quickly erased the thoughts in my mind and changed the subject. “Well then... with your permission, Prince Jeffery, we will use it first.”
“Why yes! Of course, of course,” the prince replied, with that smile still plastered across his features.
With the prince’s permission obtained, I handed Larna the wooden box I had taken all the way from Claes Manor, only for her to raise her voice in surprise as she lifted its lid. “What... is all this?”
I figured she’d be surprised, given that she hardly had any context. “These are all presents I’ve given to Keith. It would seem that he treasured each and every last one of them.”
At my words, Prince Jeffery, who had been peeking into the box beside Larna, had something to say too. “This... is quite something,” he said, sounding impressed. “He treasured all your gifts this much... they must really mean a lot to him.”
“Treasured?” I asked, unsure of what the prince meant.
He smiled at my meaningfully. “Well yes, Lady Katarina. This means that he treasures you that much.”
“Yes... he really does appreciate his sister,” I responded with a smile of my own, only for Prince Jeffery and Larna to shoot me strange looks. Hmm? Did I say something weird?
According to Larna, the object of value that the plush toy needed had to be presented to it at regular intervals, so something I could easily take along with me would be best. With that in mind, we isolated several contenders from the box. In the end, we chose an embroidered handkerchief that I had given Keith a long time ago.
Honestly, I had forgotten about it completely, but Keith had kept it in very good condition. It had been beautifully preserved; there wasn’t even a speck of dirt on it. We decided to present it to the plush toy.
“How do we have the bear remember this item?” I asked.
Larna merely flashed me a confident, anticipatory smile as she handed the handkerchief to the bear. “Just watch and see.”
The plush bear, which had apparently gained the ability to move after becoming a magical tool, soon nodded, accepting the handkerchief. It brought it close to its nose — which was just a button of some kind, by the way — and started sniffing it.
Eh?! It’s sniffing like a dog would? Actually, do plush toys even have a sense of smell?! I could only watch on, stunned, as the bear did its thing. It handed the item back to Larna
, nodding in a way that suggested it was aware of its actions.
“Um... Lady Larna. Will this really help us in our search...?”
“Yes, perfectly. All right, Alexander, tell us where Keith is.”
“Eh...? Alexander?”
“Yes, it’s this bear’s name. It’s a cool name, if I do say so myself.”
“I... see...” I no longer understood if Lady Larna wanted a cute bear or a cool one. In any case, it didn’t fit a bear as ugly as this one!
I suppressed my feelings about it as Alexander the plush bear stood up and pointed in the eastern direction of the room.
“Oh, Alexander! Well done!” Larna said, seemingly impressed.
Slowly, I turned my eyes toward the bear, unsettled by its behavior... only to see it glance ever so slightly in my direction, and then, as if to mock me, do a little “harumph.”
...For some reason, I felt that Alexander the Ugly Bear and I would not get along.
In any case, now that we at least had a direction to work with, as pointed out by the Ugly Bear (I really didn’t want to call it “Alexander”), our plans were more or less decided, and we prepared to set out right on schedule.
All I had to do was wait at the academy’s gates for the arrival of Larna and Sora from the Ministry. Also gathered here were Mary, Alan, Sophia, and Nicol.
Sniff. “...I wish I could go with you as well, Lady Katarina...” Mary said with a lonely look on her face.
“Nothing we can do about it this time, you know,” said Alan, Mary’s fiancé, as he offered her some words of comfort.
“Me too, Lady Katarina...” Sophia also seemed very sad. She was practically being propped up by Nicol, who was standing behind her.
I would have liked to take everyone along too, but that would make our group too large. And also...
“It would be unthinkable for members of the student council to simultaneously vanish during this busy time.” At Nicol’s words, Sophia’s expression became one of determination, and Mary’s brows furrowed.
“It is as Master Nicol says. At this busy time, when the graduation ceremony is so near... to think that the president himself would be away! Unbelievable,” Mary said as she leveled a stern gaze in Jeord’s general direction.
But Jeord merely responded, “But you see, most of my work has already been squared away. Consider that Nicol is with you — if anything were to happen, I am sure he would offer his assistance. You are all but prepared.” He sounded completely carefree. On the other hand...
“I-I’m sorry... to be stepping away at such a crucial time...” Maria said, beginning to apologize frantically.
Mary started becoming flustered at the sight of this. “Ah, but your presence is needed for this particular event! Please pay it no heed...” she said desperately.
Having escaped from Mary’s clutches, Jeord immediately approached me, holding my hand in his. “I will make sure to protect you, Katarina.” He smiled faintly.
“...R-Right...” Why is he getting so close to me so quickly? I thought as I replied in an absent-minded fashion. I noticed Jeord’s expression change. Hmm? What was it?
“C-Could this be...” For some reason Jeord, who was always calm and collected, seemed terribly shaken.
Nicol interjected with his usual calm demeanor. “She has forgotten, most likely. She probably has nothing but Keith’s safety on her mind.”
“?” What are they going on about now?
“It is as you say... there was, after all, that one incident where she forgot a string of recent events and thought of it as a dream — but to think that she would be... to this extent...” For some reason, Jeord’s shoulders slumped.
Mary had been listening to the conversation from the side. She was in such a bad mood before, but she started smiling again almost immediately. And then there was me, Katarina Claes, with an almost-visible question mark floating above my head.
“Ah, it is nothing, Lady Katarina. Please, pay it no heed.” Maria flashed me one of the best smiles I had seen to date.
How am I not supposed to think about it? Well... if Maria says it’s fine, I guess I can let it go.
Before long, Larna and Sora arrived.
“It is good to see you again, Lady Katarina.” The person who said this while bowing was a blue-haired, almost playboy-looking young man. I hadn’t seen Sora since the kidnapping incident. He still had the same smile, but I did notice one difference — he was now speaking very formally to me.
“Yes, it’s good to see you too—”
As I responded, Jeord darted between us, positioning himself in front of me. “Ah, Master Sora, yes? It is a pleasure to meet you.” He flashed Sora one of his fairy-tale prince smiles.
“Oh, just Sora is fine, Prince Jeord. The pleasure is all mine, I’m sure.” Such was Sora’s polite response... but for some reason, I could feel tension sparking in the air. Perhaps I was just imagining things?
“Sorry to keep you waiting! Well then, since we are all present, I suppose we should be off,” Larna said, oblivious and impervious to the tension in the air.
With a few goodbyes and waves, I said my farewells to my friends, and our little party set off on our journey in search of Keith.
★★★★★★
When I awoke, I found myself in a room I’d never seen before. I could not move my arms or legs. From what I could see, I had been bound with rope, and was laid down on a bed. It was obviously not a normal situation.
I remembered following the woman who invited me into an alleyway... and my memories stopped short there. From that point on, my recollections were hazy. Perhaps some things happened... perhaps they did not. I could not remember a thing.
I deeply regretted blindly following after that woman. To begin with, she was really good for nothing. I thought I had understood that from way back then. I suppose it was because I had been living happily all this time. Because I was always with my sister, and was influenced by her... I had started doubting people less.
In any case... endlessly regretting my circumstances would get me nowhere. Firstly, I had to confirm my situation. Just as I started to look around, the only door to the room opened. A man I had never seen before entered the room.
Upon noticing that I had woken up, his eyes narrowed and he walked toward me slowly. “Been a while.” The man walked up to the bed and looked at me with a twisted smile on his face. Messy hair, a seemingly endless amount of flesh on all parts of his body — to the point where even his face was almost buried under it. His skin shone under the tension of fat under skin, and I could see rolls of it escaping his clothing.
This man... I did not remember ever meeting such a person. That was why I thought it was best to remain silent and see what he would do. Perhaps that upset him. The man’s face seemed more and more displeased.
“Yeah, don’t say anything, then. Guess you don’t want to say anything to lower-class nobles, huh!” He practically spat out his words in his rage, and that revived some old memories. Memories of my childhood... one of the boys who was raised in the same place as I was.
“...Thomas?”
The moment I said that word, a streak of pain flashed across my face. The man, now red-faced, had apparently swung his fist across my features.
“D-Don’t you dare... someone like you... say my name so freely! SOMEONE LIKE YOU!” The man known as Thomas raised his fist once more, striking me. Although he now looked completely different from his younger self... yes, he was just like how he used to be.
With my arms and legs restrained, all I could do was endure the beating. Ah. An almost nostalgic sensation. Back then, I always held it in. Endured it. I would close off my heart and wait for the storm to pass. It had been a while since I’d felt anything like it. I had never crossed paths with this feeling since.
As I hazily entertained those thoughts and looked at Thomas, who was still railing on me, in an equally hazy way... I became aware of a woman standing behind him. Her black hair had no order to it — it
just flowed. She appeared to be almost the same age as I was.
Her form naturally drew my eyes to it. It wasn’t because she was stunning, or beautiful, or anything like that. It was because she was smiling. She was smiling as the red-faced man before me continued pummeling his fists into my body.
Her innocent smile sent shivers down my spine. I felt an intense sense of fear — not of this man who was hitting me, but the woman who smiled as she watched. Perhaps she sensed my gaze, as her eyes soon met mine. Those eyes were innocent, like a child’s.
Ah... what will become of me? Will I never see her again? I thought... as the smile of the woman I loved most in the world floated into my mind.
Chapter 2: Where the Road Takes Us
The journey in search of Keith had begun. Trailing Keith’s scent (well, more like his memories, I suppose. One cannot see smells, after all), the carriage advanced steadily in the direction Ugly Bear had pointed out.
To keep things simple, our group was advancing in the direction indicated by the bear, and that was that. As for whether this bear truly knew where it was going... well, all we could do now was place our hopes in it.
The carriage we were in was somewhat large. We had chosen a model usually used by merchants and the common folk. Six people could fit inside easily, and we only had five. Sora was acting as the coachman, so he wasn’t even in the carriage at all.
Shortly after we set off, Maria had a question for Larna — something about magic, I guess. This conversation went on for a while and still showed no signs of ending. Maybe because Maria asked her question first and felt some sort of obligation to keep the conversation going, she continued listening to Larna’s passionate explanation with a serious expression on her face.
It seemed like Jeord, who was sitting in the row of seats in front of me, hadn’t been in a good mood since we’d left. He was quieter than usual, and though he had a smile on his face when he engaged in casual conversation, it was fainter than usual.
My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, Volume 4 Page 4
