“She hasn’t noticed me, has she? Why has she been spending so much time training in the forest? Iroha has to be hiding something…” Like a hunter stalking its prey, Carol tracked Iroha as she made her way into the forest.
“Even if she’s been fighting monsters, there’s no way she could have improved that fast. There aren’t even that many monsters here. It’s impossible! I’m not a fool. I’m not gonna fall for her lies.” Carol remained close enough not to lose sight of Iroha, but not so close that Iroha would detect her presence.
“The way she’s moving is weird. Isn’t she looking for monsters to fight? She’s walking like she has a destination in mind.”
After following her for a few more minutes, Iroha came to a stop. “What the hell?” Iroha had arrived at her destination. “Is that a portal? That bitch… So this is what she used to train. I can’t believe this is where the portal was. She found its location and didn’t even tell anyone. How dare she? Of course she’s not gonna have trouble finding monsters when she knows where they’re coming from.”
Iroha casually walked towards the portal, like it was harmless. “Hey, what is she doing? Why is she getting so close? Doesn’t she know the portals are dangerous? Is she trying to get herself killed?” Carol couldn’t stand to watch Iroha’s stupidity and raised her voice. “Stop! Are you-” In an instant, Iroha stepped into the portal and disappeared right in front of Carol’s eyes. “-stupid?”
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“Hm?” Did I hear someone? It’s probably just a bird.
I came back to the game world without thinking too much, and now I’m not sure what I’m gonna do. I just wanted to get away from Hecate and take my mind off things. I want to see Ririna, but she’s still busy with her request. She said I would be able to see her in a week, but it has only been a few days.
Maybe I’ll head to the coffee shop again. Sarasa and Flanne should be there, and they might be able to tell me how Ririna’s work is going. I really want to see her soon. I hope she finishes sooner than expected. Maybe she’s already done. How nice would it be if she were already there waiting for me?
I enter the town of Rocky Ridges and head towards the coffee shop. There’s a sign over the door saying “Gathering of Flowers”. Is that the name of the shop? Cute name. How didn’t I notice last time?
I push the door open and step inside. Is that Sarasa? Looks like she’s alone. Is she feeling down? She’s not as energetic as she was the other day. She even has her cat ears folded. I’m getting scared. Did something bad happen? “Hey… Sarasa… Did something happen?” I sat down with Sarasa, and she lifted her head.
“Haven’t you heard?” Sarasa looked extremely troubled.
“Hm? Heard what?” This is really bad. I have a bad feeling about this. What happened? I’m very scared now.
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“Ririna got arrested.” Eh…?
What? Ririna got… arrested? “No way! How did that happen? What’s going on?” Ririna? Arrested? There’s no way! Why? Why would she get arrested? What did she do?”
“The soldiers, together with Flanne, were waiting for her at the fast-travel station. She was delivering the batch of magical dirt she had created for the day to the merchants’ guild when they arrested her. Apparently, the recipe she was using was very effective in making crops grow larger. But it also attracted a lot of monsters. Now there are monsters on the fields, trampling all the crops. The farmers all retreated inside the walls, and the soldiers are going to organize to clean up the mess. The problem is that it’s going to take a long time, and since it’s Ririna’s fault, she got arrested. They called it an attack on the town, and the soldiers are investigating Ririna’s actions. They’re gonna announce the outcome tomorrow.”
“It’s not Ririna’s fault!” Why is this happening? I can barely keep up. Why is everything going bad now? “She was only following orders! The recipe wasn’t even hers. The culprit is that merchant! He’s the one who gave Ririna the recipe. It was Armand!”
“Is that really true? How could Ririna not know anything?” My words confused Sarasa, and she didn’t know what to believe.
“Ririna would never do something like that!” We may not have known each other for a long time. But Ririna’s not that kind of person. She was always worried about me and about others. “You’re friends with her. You know she’s not that kind of person. It had to be some kind of mistake! You were there when Ririna tried out the recipe for the first time, Sarasa! It didn’t do anything bad back then. How could she have known?”
“You’re right… What was I thinking? This is not like her. Ririna loves helping others with their problems. She doesn’t have anything to gain by destroying this town’s crops. Maybe it is some kind of mistake…” Sarasa’s voice regains some life.
“She’s innocent then. There’s no way anything bad is gonna happen to her, right? She didn’t do anything wrong.” I was so shocked when Sarasa first told me Ririna got arrested, but it’s not like they’re saying she’s guilty yet. I’m not sure how fair the judicial system in this world is, but they can’t do anything to her if she’s innocent, can they?
“Flanne’s the one leading the investigation. She’s gonna try to protect Ririna if possible.” Sarasa has calmed down, and now she’s able to look at the situation more objectively.
“Flanne’s leading the investigation?” She has that kind of authority? Wasn't she just a normal knight? “Well, then Flanne can get all the evidence she needs. If she questions the alchemist’s guild, Armand, and the other members of the merchant’s guild, it will be obvious that Ririna is not the one at fault.”
“I think you’re right, Iroha… It's all a misunderstanding, and Flanne is gonna get to the bottom of that. Thanks, Iroha. I feel a lot better now.” Sarasa let out a long sigh and finally relaxed. She got up from the table but didn’t leave yet. That's right. We don't need to start panicking. Things will work themselves out.
“Ririna is my best friend here. I wish I could do more for her, but I can’t afford to involve myself in things like this… My sister… it would be terrible… I can’t. I can’t do anything…” Sarasa turned her back to me, and her voice grew strained. What’s this about a sister? It would cause trouble for Sarasa’s sister if she involved herself in Ririna’s situation? “What about you, Iroha? What’s your situation like?”
My situation? What kind of question is that? “I don’t want to get involved in any crimes either… It’d be really bad for me too.” I’m not even from this world. I barely understand how this world works, and if they were to interrogate me, I don’t know where I’d begin. There’s so much that I wouldn’t be able to explain.
“Is that so? Well, it’s not like we can do anything about it then. We just have to believe in Flanne and Ririna. They’ll work something out.” Sarasa was on her way out and walked towards the exit. Was she expecting something else? She said she was unable to do more for Ririna because of her family. Would it damage her reputation? Is she from a reputable family? I have no idea. Ririna will be fine. The two of us immediately jumped to conclusions, but there was no need. We started imagining the worst-case scenario, but reality is often not like that.
I wanted to meet Ririna, but that’s not gonna be possible today. I should just head home. Today has been a hard day. It’s like everything’s going wrong. They’re gonna announce the results of the investigation into Ririna tomorrow. And I want to be here when that happens. My mind can’t keep up, so gotta go back. I need some rest…
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Then, the next day, a sea of people gathered around the town center of the town of Rocky Ridges. Flanne stepped up to a wooden platform in the center of the crowd. The town couldn’t stop murmuring in anticipation.
“Attention! The investigation into the most recent farming incident has finished!” Flanne’s loud voice cut through the crowd, creating a desert of sound. “The suspect, Ririna, the alchemist, has been found guilty and will be sentenced to death!”