When I awakened, I couldn’t find Regina even though she should be sleeping in the same inn as me. Neither her Caru familiar Maya nor her belongings were in the room either.
“…It doesn’t look like robbery, abduction, or any such things. Her bedsheet and blanket are tidied up neatly, too.”1
The bed next to mine was made so tidily, it made me even more puzzled. She must have disappeared of her own accord, else there would be no reason for Maya not to stay.
With that being said, it is a mystery how she could tidy up her things, make her bed, and leave just like that without me waking up the whole time… In fact, seeing the position of the sun outside the window, it is pretty clear that I have overslept.
How very odd. I know I always wake up before sunrise no matter how tired I was the day before, and yet on this particular day, I failed to wake up on time, and just slept through it all like a baby…
I thought for a while, and I realized that I had drank the apple juice Regina had prepared for me before going to bed.
“We’re finally in the Imperial Capital. We’re just one leg away from the teleporter, and beyond that, our nostalgic Tenebrae Nemus! Our dear missed home! I know it’s a little early, but let’s have a toast!”
Celebrated Regina, cheerfully smiling. In retrospect, it was painfully obviously fishy.
“…she drugged me, I see. What was she thinking, that mentor of mine?”
I know I could blame it on me for being incautious, even so, what kind of mentor would deceive their own— once my thought reached there, my mind recalled the many, many times my mentor deceived me in the past.
One example of this, she tricked me into believing that we were going on a vacation in a tropical country, only for me to be chased by worms that could easily gulp down a single horse in the middle of a desert.
She also made me spend the night with Vier huddled together in the sub-zero desert— which, fun fact, desert is a place where the temperature changes extremely from day to night. Especially at dawn, frost even formed from my breath! All in search of a certain cacti flower that only bloomed at dawn. (Also fun fact, I hallucinated so hard I thought an orchestra of angels was welcoming me to heaven!)
One time she told me to run an errand to a village where beastfolks lived, and I trusted the map she gave me and followed it to reach the area, which, guess what? Turned out to be the holy ground of the beastfolk, and I was almost executed for sacrilege. (Although, the misunderstandings were cleared as soon as they saw a divine beast, which was my Sirius Pet.)
That was also how I got stranded in the tribe of beastfolk, given a two-week intensive (and by intensive, I mean devilishly rigorous) course on the Healing Art by their priestesses.
So much for a vacation! In the end, I was only doing what I had always been doing… except everything was in hard mode!! I wanted to scream throughout the four months of hell, before we finally returned to Conwallis, the capital of the Graviol Empire, by sailing on a large ship called the Magic Sailing Ship.
From there, we stayed in an inn that allowed familiars, which apparently belonged to someone Regina knew, but after a night of rest, she disappeared. What was her deal? She was just up and left under the cover of the night.
That was when I noticed a folded piece of paper and an envelope tucked under the pillow of the bed Regina was sleeping.
“Dear Jill,” When I unfolded the paper, I saw the familiar streamlined letters of Regina dancing on it.
“By the time you read this letter, I will already be far away from these lands. There are still many things left to teach you, but due to unavoidable circumstances…well, to be frank, I just decided to flee until the heat cools off since it looked like I’d be thrown into some bothersome mess if I stayed.
It may be months or years before I return, so make sure you clean up the hermitage every once in a while.
(This chapter is provided to you by Re:Library)
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Christy, your sister apprentice, will be in charge of your training while I’m gone. However, since I haven’t discussed this with her yet, she will have to agree after the fact. I did write a letter of introduction, so she should be able to handle it if you hand the letter to her. If she refuses, do whatever you see fit.”
Reading the content of such an utterly self-serving note left my entire body feeling weak.
“P.S. You didn’t need it throughout our journey since you had mine, but it would be inconvenient if you didn’t have an ID from now on. I had an acquaintance of mine make one for you with a name I made up on the spot. Make use of it.”
“—So. Is it this one?”
Underneath the envelope addressed to Ms. Christy, I found a metal plate the size of a driver’s license —It was a scarlet metal with an exquisite rose and ivy relief around the edge upon closer look. When I took it, another, smaller note was tucked beneath it.
“P.P.S. The inn hasn’t been paid. You go and pay for it.”
I plopped on the bed.
By the way, the name she assigned me, Julia Fortuna Gravis, was something that could be shortened to Jill, and the name Gravis was Regina’s family name.
♢♦♢♦♢
Now then, Regina being selfish and absurd was nothing new, but the immediate problem I had to face was the cost of lodging. As I recall, this room was supposedly a room exclusive for magicians, and since it had a spacious layout that could accommodate Maya and Vier, two large demon beasts, the cost should be quite high. However, I’m carrying very little cash on hand.
During the trip, it was Regina who handled all spending, and since there were no inns where we could stay with our familiars, we got by staying out in the fields or at rest stops along the roads, and we had no problem getting food from the great outside or bartering in remote villages, so I hadn’t had a chance to handle money.
“What a pickle…”
By the way, regarding IDs. Dark Teal ones are for ordinary citizens, Chestnut ones are for knights and similar standings, Silver ones are for higher ranking nobles, Golden ones are for royalties, Orichalcum ones are for imperial families2 , and Scarlet ones are for Superempire’s Immediate Retainers.
And also, Gravis is the singular form of Graviol, so Regina Gravis translates to Graviol Empire’s Queen Regnant. Fortuna Gravis means The Destined Child of Graviol Empire.
…yeah, this is officially outside my expertise. You know what? Sue me.
