Chapter 290: Riflesia
As I was led into the room, I found the person I was looking for lounging on the sofa. True to the information I had received, she had a few more wrinkles than in the photograph, and her wine-red hair was beginning to show strands of white. Dark circles under her eyes made her appear even more fatigued and aged.
“Welcome. Please, have a seat.”
She stood up to greet me, but there was an air about her that suggested she was plotting something. Perhaps she thought to take advantage of me, an S Rank Adventurer. As I settled onto the sofa, El stood behind me, waiting attentively.
“I’ll prepare some tea,” the maid said before stepping out of the room.
“Nice to meet you. I am Riflesia,” she introduced herself.
“Hello. I am Shuu, an S Rank Adventurer.”
I held up my Adventurer’s Certificate, making sure she could see it clearly.
“I heard you were looking for someone… but when I think of the people I’ve met recently, only regulars come to mind.”
“Ah, the person I’m searching for isn’t someone from recent times; it’s someone from about five years ago.”
“…Five years?”
Riflesia reacted sharply to the mention of five years. Her expression tightened slightly, as if recalling something unpleasant.
“Yes. I’m looking for a woman named Yanagihara Kaede, who has black hair and black eyes. Do you know her?”
“…”
The moment I spoke her name, her frown transformed into a look of surprise. I pulled out a photograph of Kaede from five years ago and handed it to her. As she took it, her eyes widened even further. She stared at the picture as if it might reveal secrets, even flipping it over to check the back.
It seems that showing a photograph to a resident of this world elicits a similar reaction every time.
“From your reaction, it seems you know something.”
After a moment of silence, just as I was about to speak again, there was a knock at the door.
“…Come in.”
“Excuse me.”
The maid entered, pushing a cart with tea. She seemed to sense the tension in the room, beads of cold sweat forming on her forehead.
“Please take your time.”
After pouring the tea, she hurriedly left the room, and Riflesia finally spoke.
“…By the way, who did you receive the request from?”
Now, how should I respond? Should I say it was from her parents and gauge her reaction? …Come to think of it, I had only met Jushiro and Mr. Jinpei; I hadn’t encountered her mother. It might be best not to bring her up.
“I received the request from Kaede’s father.”
“What? …What did you say?”
“I also received a request from Kaede’s grandfather.”
Once again, Riflesia fell silent, deep in thought. I took a sip of the tea that had been served. It was decent, but it seemed El’s tea was still unmatched.
“So, you mean to say you contacted the clients directly before coming here?”
While I did contact them directly, it is also possible to receive requests through the Adventurer’s Guild without meeting the clients face to face. Riflesia’s eyes glinted with suspicion, but if she knew that Kaede had come from the Otherworld, it would be a significant matter.
“Yes, that’s correct. My task is to find Kaede and return her to her family.”
“Is that so…”
She rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought again. If she didn’t know anything, she could simply say so, but it seemed she had some knowledge after all.
“Given that, I would appreciate it if you could share anything you know.”
“Ah, right. I do know a few things about that girl.”
As she spoke, Riflesia picked up her cup of tea and took a sip.
“I’ve confirmed the other two as well. Unfortunately, neither of them seems to be Kaede-chan. They didn’t have black hair and black eyes…”
I was impatiently waiting for her to share what she knew when I received a telepathic message from Rio. Unfortunately, it was disappointing news.
“I see. Thank you. I’ve only managed to find out that a woman here knows Kaede.”
“Really? That’s great!”
“The details will come later, so please wait a bit longer.”
“Okay!”
I set my cup back on the table and turned my attention back to Riflesia, who was now looking at me.
“I’m willing to share information, but of course, it won’t come for free.”
“I understand. Depending on the content, I will ensure you are properly compensated.”
Now we were getting to the crux of the matter. If she turned out to be involved in Kaede’s abduction or related to it, the nature of my compensation could change drastically.
“You say you want to return her to her family, but may I ask how you plan to do that?”
Normally, one would think it was just a matter of taking her back, but her question suggested she was looking for something more specific. I had mentioned that I met with the clients directly, but now she wanted to know how I intended to reach them.
“How I plan to do it? Well, it’s just a matter of crossing the sea…”
I recalled El’s words about how there were other continents beyond this one, and that not all of the world had been explored. However, the crossing would be through the Sea of Dimensions.
“The sea…?”
Her reaction was unexpected; she looked stunned. Perhaps she thought Kaede, who she believed to be from the Otherworld, was actually from an unknown continent within the same world.
“…No way, but then again…”
As Riflesia muttered to herself, I began to feel anxious about whether this conversation would end amicably.