Housekeeping Mage from Another World, page 3
“Ah, fantastic,” he said. “I take your presence to mean you have accepted the request?”
“Yes. But what are you doing here, Jens?”
“It was I who recommended you for the job, so I wanted to be here in case you needed anything.”
A night earlier, Jens had come to the Cathedral for the evening mass and to give his scheduled report—that was when he’d bumped into Conny, who was running around trying to work out how to help the suffering orchestra members, and what he should do next.
“I was called here on business, but took the chance to see you. And by the way,” Jens said, turning to Alec. “It’s Alec, yes? Thank you ever so much for your visit. The children loved your performance.”
“Oh... They did?”
“Very much so, yes. Many of the children have become enamored by swordsmen as a result. If you have some time, I do so hope you can share more of your stories with us. The children would love it.”
Alec’s eyes bulged with surprise, then settled as he felt suddenly self-conscious.
“Well...in that case, when I next have the chance I’ll be sure to visit.”
“Please do. But if you don’t mind me asking, what are you doing here, Alec? Are you helping Shiori?”
Having reunited with Shiori and essentially scheduled another adventurer visit, Jens next let his curiosity take the lead in their conversation. Shiori herself was slightly embarrassed, clearly unsure of how to explain. Alec chuckled, doing the explaining for her.
“Yes, that’s the long and short of it,” replied Alec. “We started working together recently.”
“Is that so? I see... Though come to think of it, having you here is actually quite fortuitous.”
There was something more to Jens’s statement, and Shiori and Alec didn’t know what—all they knew was there was a touch of something ominous to his words.
“In what way?” asked Alec.
“Miss Felicia—er, that’s the songstress’s name—is terribly worried. She seems to think all this commotion of late is part of some kind of plot.”
Shiori gasped—this was the last thing she had expected to hear.
“Plot, you say?” asked Conny, his gentle expression hardening. “I’ve heard nothing of this.”
As the organizer of this very event, this was not the kind of topic that Conny could allow to slip by unaddressed. As they walked towards the room in which the songstress was staying, they lowered their voices and continued their conversation.
“She seems to think it’s all a little strange, and called on me for a consultation. When I asked what was on her mind, she revealed her suspicions.”
Being that Jens spent his days looking after kids, each with their own individual problems and complicated inner lives, he had become quite adept at getting information out of those he spoke with. When Conny had left for the Adventurers’ Guild, the Archbishop Oskar Lundgren had come to check up on the songstress, but the visit had ended up being little more than that, and so the songstress had then called upon Jens to listen to her troubles.
“She says she suspects all of this to be the work of her rival,” said Jens. “The rival in question is a top starlet who has her eyes set on being the most famous in the capital and has, in the past, bullied the songstress on numerous occasions... Apparently this rival made it quite clear she wasn’t happy about Felicia being invited to perform at the Nativity Festival.”
Being invited to the Nativity Festival was indeed quite the honor, and very prestigious. No rival would have enjoyed seeing such a thing happen—it only made the songstress’s position harder to reach.
“It is true that a variety of singers were considered for the performance,” said Conny. “However, in the end it was Miss Felicia who was deemed the most suitable. She’s capable of a stunning range, from current hits and lullabies, to ancient melodies and religious pieces. I don’t know who this rival is, exactly, but if they weren’t selected, well...I would hope they’d at least understand the reasoning for it.”
Conny’s face scrunched up with displeasure. He then seemed to realize that, given his position, it was unbecoming of him to disparage Felicia’s rival, and apologized profusely.
“But are we quite certain that there’s a plot or conspiracy going on?” asked Alec. “If someone is getting people sick intentionally, it sounds like we should bring the knights into this.”
Jens’s eyebrows drooped and he shook his head.
“Apparently there’s no proof of such a thing. Nonetheless, Felicia is quite shaken by the timing of it all. And if it is true, it’s a huge problem. However, I’m hopeful that having two distinguished and high-ranking adventurers at her side will put her at ease.”
Distinguished and high-ranking. The sudden and excessive words of praise startled Shiori, and Alec chuckled at the sight of it before giving her a pat on the back. Jens smiled warmly at them and went on.
“I’ve heard that you’re very much an equal to the S-rank Zack, Alec. And I am hearing more and more of Shiori these days. Ever conscientious and considerate, and always courteous and respectful, regardless of the request. You’ve had to work very hard just to master the language here, and yet in just a few years you’ve risen through the ranks—you have made quite the impression on many of those around you, Shiori, and you should be very proud of yourself.”
Jens’s words were kind and heartfelt, and it warmed Shiori’s heart to know that someone completely unexpected had, in his own way, been watching over her. She bowed her head a little to accept his words graciously, and felt Alec’s hand circle up to her shoulder from her back, where he gave her a few reassuring pats.
“Felicia’s room is just over there,” said Conny. “To begin with, let’s just hear what she has to say.”
The room was at the end of the corridor on the second floor, which was protected by knights at either side. One look at the two knights’ faces made it crystal clear that they were not merely there for show. Conny spoke a few words to them, then turned back to Shiori and Alec.
“Let’s head inside,” he said. He pushed at the thick wooden door with a hand, before announcing himself. “It’s Conny, miss. I’ve brought the adventurers.”
“Please come in,” replied a refined female voice.
The adventurers stepped inside. The first thing that they noticed was a thick pillar, adorned with an engraving of a bird in flight against a gentle backdrop of vines. There was not an oppressive or overbearing feeling in the room, however, and the tranquil ivory wallpaper helped to give a relaxed impression. In the middle of the room, which was clearly reserved for guests of a particularly high standing, was a long sofa, upon which sat a girl with kind features, who wore her wavy, golden-brown hair up. Beside her was a woman who resembled a home tutor—she wore silver-rimmed glasses and kept her dark brown hair in a ponytail. Around the two women sat a number of other girls. Shiori assumed the woman in the center was the songstress, and those around her the orchestra members who had managed to escape catching the schoner virus.
“Thank you so much for coming,” said the songstress. “Please, come in.”
She stood to give an elegant bow, and with a soft smile, gestured for them to enter. Though her appearance gave off an impression of sweetness and frivolity, the light in her eyes showed there was something stronger and deeper at her core.
If the holy woman existed, perhaps this is what she’d be like.
This was the feeling Shiori got as she and Alec moved farther into the room, but as they did so, the songstress’s eyes went from intelligent to suddenly sultry. Her gaze, which wafted with more than a hint of passion, was not aimed at Shiori, but rather at the man standing by her side. Shiori knew exactly what meaning lay in the girl’s eyes, and it sent a needle through her heart.
I, erm... I don’t like this much at all...
Shiori didn’t like it one bit, but she was a professional, and so didn’t let her feelings show in her expression. Still, in a moment of worry, she allowed her gaze to flicker to her partner, at which point she had to stifle a gasp.
In contrast to the lust that wafted from the songstress, Alec’s handsome features were the very portrait of how Shiori herself felt. His brow was furrowed, his eyes were narrowed sharply, and his mouth was drawn into a line of discomfort. He was doing his best to hide it, but failed to conceal the disgust that bubbled up within himself.
“Alec...” Shiori whispered.
Shiori’s soft admonishment—a gentle prod to tell him he was being too obvious with his distaste—brought Alec back to reality. His expression lightened, and he walked with Shiori towards the songstress as if the last instant hadn’t even occurred. The songstress smiled at Alec, her eyes still wafting with desire, but Alec merely held her gaze, his body language conveying that he was completely uninterested in her.
Shiori felt herself getting flustered at the tension drifting through the air. Jens and Conny glanced awkwardly at one another. Just then, a giggle drifted from a corner of the room, spreading through all the girls who were seated around the songstress. They seemed to be enjoying the moment, or perhaps they were poking fun at the songstress herself.
“Come now—that’s very unbecoming of you, Felicia,” said the woman in the silver-rimmed glasses.
The lust and desire dissipated immediately from the songstress’s eyes, and her face filled with a cheeky, playful grin.
“I’m sorry. I felt bad doing it, but I wanted to test you a little,” she said in a friendly tone, with a graceful bow. “I am Felicia Amren, a singer from Alvestam Hall.”
“I am Shiori Izumi, a B-rank adventurer hailing from the Tris Adventurers’ Guild, and a housekeeping mage. This is my familiar, Rurii.”
“Alec Dia. I’m an A-rank adventurer from the same guild, and a magic swordsman. I would appreciate it if you could explain to me exactly what kind of ‘test’ you were talking about.”
Alec’s question showed he was at once both annoyed and confused, and as she gestured for them to take a seat, Felicia proceeded to reveal all.
“Whenever a gentleman is to be hired, I like to make sure they are worth it. We’ve hired a number of men for protection services, but there are just so many who have more on their mind than just the job at hand...”
Felicia’s eyebrows drew an awkward and apologetic, if still beautiful, arc as she spoke.
“And so what you did just now was your test, so to speak?”
“Yes.”
“And you can learn all you need from just that alone...?”
Alec was still suspicious—even if he had passed, he couldn’t be sure her opinion wouldn’t shift on a whim.
“Indeed I can. I do my best to be very observant. Surprisingly, people will either reveal their interest right then and there, or make it obvious that they’re pretending not to notice. When they do, it makes it clear to me that their attitude will impact their work.” Felicia then tilted her head and grinned. “But you passed with flying colors. Nobody has ever looked at me the way you did just now.”
The girls around Felicia giggled quietly. It was a very curious atmosphere indeed—perhaps because most of those present made their living in the field of the arts.
Shiori wasn’t sure how to feel about it all, and looked at Alec, who let out a sigh and shrugged. At his feet, a concerned Rurii gave the man’s leg a few sympathetic pokes.
Still, I can’t help feeling like they’re all acting with a kind of false bravado...
Shiori surveyed the room and the people in it without drawing attention to herself. Though at a glance it seemed they were all up to mischief, they were also unusually spirited, to the extent that it felt almost unnatural. Anybody could tell that much—in some sense it felt like their behavior was an attempt to push away their worries.
“Miss Felicia,” said Conny, clearly uncomfortable, “shall we get down to business?”
The laughter stopped at once, and the air in the room grew tense—clearly, they really were worried about the situation they were in.
“I’ll handle the explanation,” said the woman in the glasses, with an air of control.
Though she had eyed them with some enmity earlier, that was gone now, replaced by a friendly smile. While her outfit and dress were simple, anything but ostentatious, her smile was refined and elegant.
“I am Karina Svanholm, Felicia’s manager. I had heard that we were requesting only Miss Shiori, but seeing as you have brought this gentleman with you, am I right to assume that you have already heard about...the potential danger to Felicia’s person?”
“No, we still haven’t heard anything in detail. Alec is my partner. We work together as a team.”
“Ah, I see. Nonetheless, it is terribly good fortune that you’ve brought a swordsman with you. We are asking two jobs of you—the first is supporting us with the musical performance, and the second is protection.”
As Karina spoke, Felicia sat up straight, though Shiori still noticed the slight trembling at her fingertips. This must have been a manifestation of the worry in her heart. Karina cast a kindly glance in the songstress’s direction, then put a hand softly to her shoulder.
“Let’s start with the protection request,” said Karina. “I believe that will help put everyone at ease.”
Felicia cast a worried look at her manager, who replied with a resolute nod before continuing.
“Felicia has a rival—a fellow songstress looking to usurp her throne, so to speak. Her name is Hildegarde Lindi. She matches Felicia in terms of singing ability, emotion, and intensity, but Felicia is a step ahead in terms of the variety of genres she can perform. Perhaps that is what bothers Hildegarde. All the same, she is constantly criticizing Felicia... And that’s not all.”
Karina took a breath, sighed, then went on.
“Perhaps she’s frustrated that she can’t turn the tables on Felicia, but Hildegarde has since resorted to the contemptible—intimidation. At first, it was merely the hiding of personal belongings and other such trifling pranks, but as of late, things have escalated. It’s to the point now that we fear there is real danger to Felicia’s life.”
“To her life? That’s certainly crossing the line.”
“Yes. Felicia’s stage shoes were tampered with so that the heels would break and send her tumbling down the stairs, and pins have been found in her outfits. Once, during rehearsal, one of the lights in the ceiling fell.”
Karina’s voice trembled as she spoke, as though she were reliving these very memories. By her side, Felicia grew pale, which was an odd match for the vibrant blush she’d applied to her cheeks. Shiori frowned. This was no longer mere intimidation—it was a crime.
“Have you not filed a report with the knights?” she asked. “Going that far is attempted murder.”
“We would like nothing more than to do so. However, at this point we’ve been fortunate to avoid injury, so we haven’t had to. If any incident were to be revealed within the Hall, it would erupt into scandal—if we’d filed a report, we’d have been stopped from even coming here.”
They clearly wanted to avoid any harm to Alvestam Hall’s name and reputation, but on the other hand, doing nothing about the situation was extremely dangerous.
“I recommend filing a report as soon as you notice anything new,” said Shiori. “If you wait until the next time something happens, it might well be too late.”
“Yes, we intend to do just that. And we will,” said Karina, nodding. “In any case, we can’t help wondering if the recent events are related. That’s why we’d like to request someone to protect Felicia.”
Karina glanced at Alec, who nodded.
“Understood. I’ll do it,” he said.
“Thank you so much. That’s such a relief,” said Felicia, the tension in her shoulders easing as she spoke.
Her relief seemed to spread across the room, to all the girls around the songstress.
“Very well. Let’s move on to the topic of the performance,” said Karina.
Now this was something that Shiori had to undertake alone, without Alec’s assistance.
“Before you begin, do you mind if I make a few things clear?” asked Shiori.
“What’s on your mind?”
“I have agreed to support the performance...but there are certain things that are beyond the scope of my abilities, and I would like the chance to explain the ways in which I can support you.”
“Go on.”
The songstress and her orchestra members looked at each other with worried expressions, and Shiori began her explanation.
“Firstly, when it comes to musical ability, I am in every way an amateur. My experience goes only as far as enjoying music as a listener, and sometimes attending concerts. With that in mind, I cannot use my illusion magic for a song that I am not familiar with. Considering we have only one day before the performance, I simply am not able to play the missing parts of a professional orchestra.”
“Oh, dear me!” uttered Felicia.
The songstress had gone pale once more, and was about to stand up when Karina sat her back down, assuring her that the housekeeping mage’s explanation was not yet done.
“What I can do,” said Shiori, “is project a movie for the audience that works in harmony with your performance.”
“A movie...? Whatever do you mean...?” asked Felicia.
Everyone looked skeptical—none knew what Shiori’s word meant.
“I will project moving images upon the stage.”
“Images...that move?!” exclaimed Felicia, completely forgetting her manners for a moment.
Though silent, Karina’s expression, too, looked no different.
“Yes. I believe it will be easier to understand if I simply give a demonstration. Hm...”
Shiori dropped into a moment of thought, then projected an image no larger than a kamishibai picture-book performance—a lavish retelling of a particular fairytale scene. In the scene, a poor girl was made into a beautiful maiden with a beautiful dress by a kindly fairy, and attended a castle ball. She danced with the handsome prince, but when the clock’s bell chimed and she realized she was out of time, the girl panicked and ran away, leaving only a single glass shoe, which the prince held in his hand, a lonely look wavering in his eyes.
