This is the final update of the Heisei era.
“Hey, you, maid! You’re the one scaring my sister, aren’t you!”
I heard a voice and turned around to see a boy of about ten who looked a lot like Baron’s daughter, Maria-sama. Assuming the boy is Maria’s younger brother, that would make him a noble too, but somehow… his kneecaps, visible from the short trousers exposing his legs below the knees, were covered in scrapes, and his cheeks and nose were also scratched. If it weren’t for his clothes, he’d look more like a ruffian from around here than a noble son.
“Hey, don’t just stand there, say something!”
“…Are you Maria-sama’s younger brother?”
“That’s right! Ever since you came, my sister and everyone else has been acting strange! If you’re a bad guy, I’ll take you down!”
“Are you confident in your skills?”
“Of course! I’m the boss around here. Even Chico and Harry can’t beat me in a fight!”
…Who are they?
Well, I can kind of see his background. Even though he’s a noble, there aren’t many noble children around here in the frontier. Even if there are, they’re the children of viscounts or knights who govern the towns and villages, but even then, it’s rare to have more than ten.
So, his playmates would be the children of servants or soldiers, and because it’s the countryside, he probably plays rough games similar to commoners, right?
But if that’s the case, then this is perfect. I was wondering how to subtly inquire about the situation, but I’ve been having trouble getting close to not only the young lady but also my fellow maids.
Someone who won’t complain even if I treat them a bit roughly is just what I need.
“Oh, what’s this? You wanna go?”
The boy turned to face me head-on, making a fist and taking a stance. I ignored it, beckoned with my fingertip, turned my back, and started walking.
“Follow me. Show me around.”
“Eh… huh? W-wait!”
The boy, whose brain couldn’t process the crude command, let out an inarticulate groan, then snapped back to reality and hurriedly caught up to me as I walked ahead.
“Y-you, you’re just a maid!”
The boy’s hand touched my shoulder. But before his hand could grab my shoulder, I smoothly dodged it, lightly pushed his chest, and cornered him against the wall—
Thump! I slammed my palm against the wall next to his face and peered into his eyes from close range.
“You want to save your sister, don’t you? If you’re serious, then cooperate.”
“…………”
Staring down the boy, who was almost the same height as me, from a distance of about ten centimeters, he widened his eyes for some reason, his face bright red, and nodded repeatedly.
＊
“So, you don’t know when the ‘Weirdo’ will appear?”
“That’s right. Sometimes he comes back in about three days, and sometimes there’s almost a month between appearances. That’s why I asked a Magician introduced to me by another noble to be a bodyguard once before, but he didn’t show up at all then…”
For some reason, the now suddenly cooperative boy is telling me about when the “Weirdo” appeared.
The boy’s name is Rody, and he’s the eldest son of this house. He’s a fast-growing noble, and since he looks about ten years old, I thought he was about the same age as me, but he’s actually nine. …I thought he was a ruffian, but he’s older than me.
Like his sister Maria, I thought they weren’t growing much for nobles, but it seems they both have very few Mana-based Skills, and their low Mana Capacity is the reason.
I was wondering why there was such a difference when new information surfaced from “Knowledge.”
Whether it’s education or Magic, you need an environment to learn it.
The reason orphans like me couldn’t get an education was because we weren’t in that kind of environment. For orphans, survival is the top priority, and the next thing they seek is wealth.
But orphans who haven’t been educated don’t realize that you need education to become wealthy. That’s why the priority of creating an environment to gain education becomes low.
In other words, you need “wealth” to gain education. Only those who can create that environment will gain wealth in the next generation, and in this country, only the upper nobles will gain even more power.
…If that woman had that much “Knowledge,” she should have trained seriously.
As I walked through the mansion with the Baron’s heir, I received subtle glances from the other servants again.
In the end, my outfit was just the dress I brought with an apron dress attached, since the Baron’s house didn’t have a maid uniform for children.
Since it’s a maid uniform for taking care of a Princess, it’s naturally different in quality from the Baron’s house’s maid uniform, and that might be one of the reasons why I’m being distanced.
“Do you know why Maria-sama is being attacked, Rody?”
“…Why do you only call me by my first name?”
“Talk.”
“O-okay…”
The Weirdo appeared in this town half a year ago. No one has died yet, but the people who were attacked were injured, and some were seriously wounded.
The Weirdo became obsessed with Maria about three months ago, and since that day, he leaves a “Blood Handprint” every night, but she hasn’t been harmed yet.
But since the handprint is gradually getting closer, the Baron’s family must be worried about when Maria will be attacked.
Since the opponent is “apparently” human, this situation could cause various problems with Maria’s engagement.
I thought it would be okay if Grave didn’t solve it since it’s out of his jurisdiction, but it would be better to solve it sooner rather than later. If possible, I want to settle things with the next attack.
But in order to do that, I’m curious about the Weirdo’s “purpose.”
Why did he attack the townspeople but not Maria right away?
I heard that there’s no consistency in the people who were attacked or the intervals at which the Weirdo visits, but is that really the case?
If I know the enemy’s “purpose,” it will be easier to read their actions, and I can also guess their weaknesses and identity.
But even after many officials and Magicians investigated, they couldn’t figure out anything about his identity or purpose.
Various theories were put forward based on human-like reasons, such as resentment, political reasons, or simply falling in love with Maria, but none of them had any evidence to support them.
Then I should investigate from other perspectives. …After all, I don’t understand the subtleties of human relationships anyway.
The Magician who investigated discovered traces of Mana in the handprints that were left behind, and thought that the Weirdo was also a Magician.
The soldiers didn’t witness it, but Maria said she saw a fat man. The townspeople’s testimonies also mentioned fat men, old men, and children, so the current theory is that the Weirdo is either a Dark Magic Magician who can change his appearance with Magic at least at level 4, or a crime committed by an organized group of people.
“…………”
But is that really the case? If it’s a crime committed by multiple people, it should be easier to leave behind evidence such as belongings and footprints. Even if it’s a Magician, using such powerful Magic should leave traces.
If you use Attribute Magic, the Mana Particles of that Attribute will remain. They disappear quickly at levels 1 and 2, but that Female Thief’s Magic left Earth Attribute Mana Particles at the scene for a while.
With my eyes, I can see the Attribute of the remaining Mana Particles.
But as far as I can see, there don’t seem to be that many Dark Attribute Mana Particles.
“Tell me about your family’s Mana Attributes.”
“Father is Wind and Mother is Water, but my sister and I can’t use them, you know?”
“What about Utility Magic?”
“…I think my sister is Water…?”
That matches my investigation. There were many Wind and Water Attribute Mana Particles left in this mansion.
Even if your Mana Capacity isn’t high, if you live there, many of your Attribute Mana Particles will remain. And as far as I can see, this mansion has a strong presence of Water Attribute Mana Particles.
This… I might have to re-investigate the town.
＊
“…I heard that you are investigating for me.”
On the fifth day since I started working at the Baron’s house, Maria, who had been avoiding me until then, muttered that to me as I was changing the cloth in her room.
“Did Rody-sama tell you?”
“That child seems to have taken a great liking to you. He told me in a fun way, saying it was a secret.”
Maria said that and smiled happily. …It’s not a secret.
Boys have pride, so I didn’t think he would tell anyone that he lost to me, but did he become strangely attached to me again after I threatened him…?
“Will I… be saved?”
“If you’re lucky, you’ll be saved. If you have a god you believe in, you should pray.”
“…I see.”
Maria muttered that to my words, which I said as if pushing her away, then raised her worried face and smiled softly.
“Then I will pray to the same god as you.”
“…………”
＊
That night, just like the day before, I used Utility Magic 【Water】 to run water through one of the drainage channels in the mansion.
Yesterday was no good. But the 【Water】 I ran last night should have flowed through the drain and reached “him.”
I looked around the mansion and searched for places where a lot of Water Attribute Mana Particles remained.
Maria’s room is humid due to the influence of Mana Particles, and she changes the fabric every day. But that’s not it. It’s not because there are many Water Attribute Mana Particles, but because Maria’s Water Attribute is strong.
Maria’s Mana Capacity isn’t high. That’s why no one noticed.
But I, who can see Mana Particles with “color,” could tell that Maria was enveloped in extremely deep ultramarine-like Water Mana Particles.
If she enters the Magic Academy that she’s supposed to attend from next year, that talent will probably bloom all at once.
However, the Mana remaining in the mansion isn’t just hers.
The Weirdo appears irregularly, but the testimonies are always during ‘dark nights.’
Dark nights… nights when the moon and stars are hidden. He appears on cloudy or rainy days with high “humidity,” and all the victims who were attacked had Water affinity.
There was a river flood six months ago when the Weirdo started appearing, and it seems they put up a simple barrier on the river to suppress the Water Spirit power at that time.
The barrier itself wasn’t meant to last for a long time and was soon lifted, but as a result, “he” who was cut off from the Water went mad.
The Weirdo is seeking Water attribute Mana Particles. Thanks to Maria’s dense Water attribute, the Weirdo has been going back after just obtaining the remnants accumulated from many years of living here.
But with Maria’s low Mana Capacity, the amount of Mana Particle remnants is gradually becoming insufficient, and he’s getting closer to Maria herself.
The rainy season has passed, and he’s starving now. That’s why he’s drawn here by the Mana Particles of the 【Water】 I keep flowing.
“There!”
When I threw a stone onto the drainage, “something” jumped away to avoid it, stuck to the wall, and released its water veil of disguise.
A fat man stuck to the wall. Swollen like a drowned corpse, with pus-like blood and water overflowing from the ruptured flesh, as if bursting from the inside in several places.
Not alive. But not Undead either. Using the corpse like a hermit crab to prevent evaporation, its true identity is probably—
“…A crazed Water Spirit…”
As I muttered that, the fat drowned corpse, its true identity exposed, turned its cloudy eyes towards me.
【Lesser Water Spirit】
【Mana Capacity: 337/503】
【Overall Combat Strength: 371/553】
【※Condition: Mad】
Spirits are quite troublesome opponents. A small fry of Rank 1 or 2 can’t fight them alone.
Does Aria have a chance of winning?
Next time, a battle with the crazed Water Spirit.
Scheduled to update on Thursday.