Chapter 87 — In which they meet (1)

The woman called Monachra passed through a dimly lit up corridor, while thinking:

‘I can appreciate their devotion to appear as villainous as possible, but for dear life’s sake, can’t they have some consideration for poor people’s eyesight?’

The floor creaked, when she approached the door, as if agreeing with her.

Before her hand could touch the handle, the sliding door opened on their own.

A man with a gloomy face appeared in the gap.

He looked at her with a cold gaze.

“You’re the one they call Monachra?”

The woman didn’t answer and instead asked:

“I came up to pick up materials. Are you a supplier?”

“Yes… Come in.”

He made some space for her to enter and closed the door.

Then he pointed at the boxes piling up in the corner.

“The materials you requested are there.”

Monachra nodded, as she approached the boxes and examined the content.

They were full of candle wax.

While she was assessing the quality, the man, who was observing her, asked:

“Is that all you need? No…” He hesitated. “Biological components needed?”

“Yes. Naturally, the quality of work varies depending on the materials used and wax isn’t the best, but it’s easy to use. I can quickly fulfill the quota I had been asked for with wax alone.”

“I see…”

The man seemed a bit relieved to hear that there won’t be any biological components needed.

The woman pretended not to notice that.

Instead, she asked flatly:

“Can I ask a question in exchange?”

“Sure.”

“What is Lord Candidate doing delivering goods himself? Wouldn’t it be easier to just send your subordinate?”

The man, Orche, stared at her with an expressionless face for a moment.

His gaze was unnervingly still.

But the woman who faced all sorts of dangerous individuals in the past wasn’t shaken by it even a bit.

Rather, she just raised an eyebrow, as if asking ‘What are you staring at?’.

Orche finally replied:

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

“I wish to ensure that operation goes well and…”

He gave the woman the last glance.

“I don’t trust my subordinates very much.”

*-*-*

“… Then silence fell, and they didn’t speak any further.”

Saffra moved two hand puppets holding boxes off the stage, or rather the tea table.

She put them down, clasped her hands and said with a proud smile.

“At least that’s what I think happened.”

She was rewarded with astonished silence.

Finally, Citrie slowly raised his hand.

“Yes, Sir Citrie?”

“Young Lady, why a puppet show?”

“Sir Citrie, we’re in the middle of a strategic meeting. Your question is irrelevant.”

“No… Young Lady, that’s why I’m concerned about the puppet show.”

“And I say that your artistic taste is irrelevant to the goal of our meeting.”

“… Can I at least ask why lord Orche has a head of a monkey instead of a human?”

“A political satire, Sir Citrie. And no, you can’t.”

Citrie lowered his hand with a bit of a hurt expression.

Next, Apric raised her hand.

Saffra nodded at her to speak.

“The narration, the voice acting, the usage of minimalistic props were outstanding. Though it was a very short moment, I think I gained some insight into the targets.”

“Indeed, I think I can understand Lady M a bit better now, even though she is still a complete mystery.”

Following Apric, Tangeri added.

Her eyes were quite cold when she looked at the ‘Monachra’ doll, but the murderous intent was restrained.

A week ago, when thanks to the conversation Saffra eavesdropped on, and Tangeri managing to confirm that the suspicious alchemy book was written in the pre-Luminere language, they determined that the woman called Monachra was not in fact Monachra Tangeri knew.

At the time, the young woman was quite devastated, suspecting the worst, but through Saffra’s consolation and Apric and Craya’s emotional support, she was able return to her stable state.

To spare her pain, they decided to call the woman ‘Lady M’ for now.

And currently, they were holding a strategy meeting before departure to the Rubrun to participate in the Lesser Lord Mage’s coming of age ceremony.

As the information they possessed indicated that some forces were on the move with an ulterior motive in mind, they tried to come up with ideas about what could they want and how to prevent it.

Though they couldn’t be certain what their opponent’s goal was, they all agreed it was probably war, considering their apparent connection to the pro-war candidate Orche and the brutal history between Rubrun and Flavun.

The problem was how were they planning to start the war.

“That’s indeed a splendid play, but I’m a bit lost, My Lady. What is that ‘product’ Lady M planned to make with wax?”

Craya quietly expressed her doubts.

She blushed slightly, as if embarrassed that she didn’t understand what her lady was trying to show.

Saffra put a slice of lavender cheesecake in dark chocolate in front of Craya, as she replied:

“My suspicion is that as an alchemist, Lady M is able to create living dolls.”

“Living dolls?”

“Yes. Consider this, the two Golderodies looked identical. Therefore, they must be able to create identically looking bodies. Such bodies probably consume massive amounts of biological material.But what if there is no material?”

According to the conversation Saffra eavesdropped on, the delivery of ‘goods’ from Purplus was delayed.

Though Saffra couldn’t be sure, she suspected the goods they were referring to couldn’t be anything rare or expensive, because otherwise it would be difficult for it to cross the border.

In addition, Mimosa checked the trade reports after hearing Saffra’s story, but didn’t notice anything particularly suspicious beside slightly higher than average import of meat.

Purplus, which was situated on the most fertile soil in Luminere and had the biggest pastures, was naturally the main agricultural producer.

It wasn’t particularly strange for them to export a lot of meat.

Flavun, which was especially rich with ores, was also exporting massive amounts of metals, minerals and gems.

Rubrun, though it wasn’t rich with natural resources, as a technological center they exported all sort of manufactured goods.

When compared with those it just appeared as if Luminere was experiencing a stage of rapid development, which resulted in massive movement of goods.

So the Purplus’ meat wasn’t that strange, but Saffra remained suspicious.

Because after seeing the ‘additional’ body, she couldn’t stop thinking about its potential manufacturing process.

Especially as she saw something similar a long time ago.

Only then, no biological tissue was involved.

And today Saffra heard the information that drew her to the current conclusion.

— The wax boxes from the secret passage disappeared.

The secret passage where Spider Golderodi died.

It was full of boxes of unknown origin.

When Saffra asked about it later she learned that they were filled with wax.

And now, after their return from the vacation those boxes were gone.

‘Wax dolls… It’s been some time since I saw them…’

Saffra put a chilly chocolate in her mouth to distract herself from old memories flooding her head.

She looked at the gathered people.

Her explanation was quite lacking because she couldn’t tell them ‘I saw it before somewhere’, but people looked convinced.

Perhaps beside Citrie, who looked at her as if he saw a strange creature, but didn’t raise objections, so she took it for a win.

“If they can create living dolls… Perhaps they will model them after my and Orche’s subordinates.”

Mimosa spoke quietly after some thinking.

Saffra nodded.

If it was her who was trying to cause a war, she would do exactly that.

Mimosa suddenly smiled slightly.

“I just realized that the subordinates I planned to take with me are going to be busy. I hope Lord Archmage won’t mind changing his guest list a day before the ceremony… As I’m doing it in consideration for him.”

Her smile was as cold as moonlight.

After that, they discussed their countermeasures for the possible wax doll affair.

*~*~*