"Hey, Lina?" Gourry said in a low voice. "What?" "I understand that we need to know what's going on here. I understand that we need to find a proof to explain the whole story. But is it reasonable to sneak into the castle in order to find a proof? I think it's too... dangerous." Both of us put on the black clothes and the black masks, and we got under cover. After all, we had made up our mind to sneak into the castle of lord Langmeyer. It was the midnight. The dark silhouette of the castle stood under the moonlight and the starlight. "It's no use to complain now. It's you who accepted my proposal to sneak into one of their places." I said. "Yes, I did. But I didn't hear that we sneak into the castle." Gourry still complained. "It is because I only said 'one of their places', not 'the castle'." I replied easily. "... I see..." Gourry said in a tired tone. In that afternoon. After Luke had gone back to his job, I had gone out to the city and tried to get more information. In the end, I could find some information. One. There certainly was a man with the name "Baitham" in the lord Langmeyer's family. Two. Laavas, the acting lord, had appeared some months earlier, and none of the citizen of Solaria hadn't known about him. They hadn't heard his name until Laavas himself came to Solaria. There was a rumor that Laavas was an illegitimate son of lord Langmeyer. By the way. I could find out that all of the happenings in Solaria city -- Baitham Langmeyer's disappearing from the city, the lord's becoming ill in bed, and their constructing new mysterious establishments -- started after the acting lord, Laavas Nexaria Langmeyer, had come to Solaria. From those facts, I couldn't remove Laavas' name from my list of the suspects. I knew that there was a possibility that Laavas was actually an illegitimate son of the lord, and Baitham, the legitimate son, got an ambition after he had been told about his half brother. ... But, my gathering information got the poor fruits. I don't have a tiny clue for the most important matter... Who is the leader of the revolt? Anyway, when I'll find out which is the wirepuller of all those happenings, I'll be in the side of the opposite, and get a few magical swords or two or three hundreds of gold coins. It will not be so bad. It was necessary for me to find out which side would be my enemy. "Hey, Lina," Gourry asked. "When we will sneak into the castle, will we be able to find a clue or evidence there?" "I'm not sure." "...Come on." Gourry said. "At least, the castle is the place where the possibility for us to find a clue will be higher than other places." I explained. "In the disguising chapel or something else, it's difficult for us to find out an evidence for a revolt. Remember. We sneaked into the plant yesterday, and we found a hidden stairs, and in the basement, we found a lot of chimeras. But we can't say those are the evidences for a revolt, and also we can't find out which is the wirepuller, Laavas or Baitham. But when Laavas is the wirepuller, we can find a clue in the castle. For example, one group of the men in black attack us as soon as we sneak in the castle." "... You like dangerous action, don't you?" Gourry said. "It's an example. I don't mean to be found on purpose." "I see. So, when we can't find out any clues of revolt in the castle, we will have a conclusion that the missing man is the wirepuller, right?" Gourry asked. "There will be another conclusion." I replied. "The acting lord is very, very cautious. Anyway, it's time to go." I took Gourry's hand and began to chant a Levitation spell. It wasn't difficult for us to sneak into the castle. We went up to the sky by a Levitation, went over the wall, and landed on the roof of the main building of the castle. Then I checked a room from the skylight if there was someone in the room, opened the skylight of an empty room by an Unlock spell, and got into the building. -- We can make it easily so far, but I know that it will be hard for us from now on. If the acting lord was the wirepuller, there might be some evidences of his evil devices, however, we didn't know where to investigate. There were a few of guardians out of the building, there had to be the patrolling soldiers. Moreover, the important places had to be heavily guarded. It was very difficult for us to find out the truth avoiding the guardians. ... In the heroic saga, there is a pattern that the evil guys are talking about their evil deed and the sneaking hero can find out what is going on. I hope this easy pattern happens here, but it is rare... If it can't happen, then, what shall we do? ... We have to go where we can find out the truth... I stood in the moonlight shone through the skylight, thinking hard. "Alright." I said in a low voice. "I decide where to go." "Where?" Gourry asked. "To the room of the lord who is ill in bed somewhere in this castle." "... Come on..." Gourry said in a complaining tone. "There must be a heavy guard there, but we can hear the detailed story." I explained. "Are you sure that the lord will talk us?" He seemed to be doubtful. "I'm not sure, but the lord will talk what he knows when we tell our story well. I have a plan, so don't worry." I said. "... A plan? ... Then, okay, I'll go..." Gourry wasn't enthusiastic, but he didn't refuse any more. We cautiously investigated the sounds and the signs outside of the room, and then we opened the door and went out of the room. "... Hey, Lina. I think that we are going to go to the outskirts of this castle, don't we?" Gourry said in a low voice after we sneaked around the castle for a while. We were hiding ourselves in the dark narrow corridor. After we got out of the room, we began to investigate here and there, but the soldiers on guard went round on patrol here and there. It was natural for us to move on to the place where there were no soldiers, and finally, we arrive in the area that seemed to be abandoned. There wasn't a soldier standing at the door, neither a patrolling soldier who came and went the area. There were only a few lamps on the wall, and the corridor was almost filled with darkness. "I... I think so. But there is no other way, you know!" I replied. "How about letting those soldiers on patrol fall asleep with your magic spell?" Gourry said. "How dare you say such a dangerous idea? It was you who complained that my plan was too dangerous." I replied. "It's easy for me to break my way through the patrolling soldiers letting them fall asleep by my spell. But after I move on, there will come another group of soldiers on patrol and they will find the sleeping comrades. The soldiers will alert all of the soldiers in the castle, and we will do nothing but run away. I can't stand such situation. It's a time wasting action." "I see... But isn't it a time wasting action as well to go around the area where seems to be empty?" Gourry replied. ... Wow! It's a sharp refuter! How can be Gourry so sharp? "I see... Then, we shall go ahead toward somewhere else." I said and both of us began to move again. When we turn around and go back the way, the patrolling soldiers will find us. Then we shall go ahead on this safer way for awhile, and find another way to go... We went through the dark corridor without purpose for some time. "?" Both of us, Gourry and I, stopped at the same time. Before us, we could see the corridor was ended in the shape of capital "T", and there were two corridors running toward right and left. We didn't stop because we saw the end of the corridor, but because we found a sign of some persons in the area ahead of the rightward corridor. It was mysterious for us that the corridor was still dark. If there were some persons, they might put the light on the walls of the corridor, but there was no light. The word "ambush" came in my brain, but I realized that they didn't hide their sign. ... Well, then?... I thought hard in the darkness. Some persons are there. Then there must be a reason for them to be there. It is impossible for other spies sneaking into the castle in the same night and standing there not hiding their sign. I can't hear a talking voice, so this isn't a secret meeting. Then, what is going on there? Wow, I'm curious. Okay, let's go and see! If we got closer carelessly, they could notice us, but there seemed that no soldiers on patrol come to the area. I knew that I could use the spell. I began to chant a spell in my mouth. "Sleeping!" I cast the spell with a low voice. Soon after that, we heard two moaning voice and the sound of something falling down on the floor in the place ahead of the rightward corridor. -- Gotcha. I gave a sign to Gourry with my eyes, and we went ahead. Turning around the corner, we found two soldiers sleeping on the floor. There was a small door just behind them. The area seemed to be abandoned and the door seemed to be thin and old. It seemed that the room behind the door had to be a room for the junks. But it wasn't logical that two soldiers stood on guard for the junks. "... What is this room?" Gourry asked. "I don't know." I replied. "I don't know what they are guarding. If we want to know, then, enter the room." I put my hand on the knob. The door wasn't locked, and with a squeaking noise, it opened. I could smell the air of ill. There was a lamp which shone a dim-light in the room. There was an old bed with a canopy. And there was an old man lying on the bed. He seemed to be dried and thin. He didn't wake up for our entering, and just breathed irregularly. I knew that such breathing sounds were made by those who were seriously weak. ...Why do they put this sick person in this room? Is he a case of infectious disease? No, if he were, there would be no soldiers on guard... "Well?" When I saw the color of the sick old man's face, an idea flashed in my head. I went closer to his bed. I felt the sick man's pulse, checked the condition of his skin, and leaned over his face to smell his breath. "What are you doing, Lina? Are you investigating this old man?" Gourry asked. "I found out that this old man is poisoned." I said. "What?!" Gourry moaned. I explained him. "His condition tells me that he has been poisoned constantly with small amount of the poison which affects the victims slowly. -- Now, we found a poisoned man who is left in a small room, and two soldiers stand guard over him. Those facts bring me a conclusion." "What conclusion?" Gourry asked again. "It is a guess. But I think that this old man is the lord who is said to be ill in bed." I said. "Wait! Wait a minute!" Gourry was surprised. "If you are right, then what is going on here?" "Only I can say is that the acting lord Laavas is telling a lie to us." I said in a low voice. If it was Baitham who had a plan of a revolt, there was no reason for Laavas to put a poison to the lord and to let the sick lord be shut up in a room in the abandoned area of the castle. -- But all of these conclusions are based on the assumption that this old is the lord Langmeyer. We need to confirm the assumption. The best way to do it is to ask the sick man. I put my hand on the shoulders of the old man and shook him a little. It was possible for him to cry for help when he woke up, but I had a plan to let him be silent. If he woke up, I would tell him that we were the spies of the king, who were investigating the rumors about a revolt. I would tell him that it would be no use to cry for help. I know that it's a cheating, but when the princess of another kingdom was here, she would say 'when we work for the justice, there is no problem to get information by hook or by crook'. But, I didn't need to tell him a lie. He didn't wake up even when I shook him again and again. "Oh, it's no use..." I said. He wasn't asleep, but was in a coma. "Then, what shall we do?" Gourry asked me. "We shall leave him alone." I relied. "I see. But then, where shall we go and what shall we investigate?" Gourry asked again. "Well. Then, how about waking one of the sleeping soldiers up and grilling him for the information?" I said. "We can cheat him to confess the truth, and when he says that this old man is the lord Langmeyer, the acting lord Laavas had taken over the lord's position and he is the wirepuller for the reinforcement of the army." "I see. Good idea." Gourry said and he and I walk out of the room through the door. "Who are you?" Someone said from far away in the corridor. It was a familiar voice for me. What? I turned around in haste and found that there stood Luke and Millina. Why are they here? |
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