* * *
In the dead of night, I crept quietly down the hallway, careful not to make a sound. All the maids had been sent away, and on my tiptoes, I slipped into the central library of the renowned mage Kalinos family. For a brief moment, I admired the long rows of bookshelves. As expected, the library of the great mage house Kalinos is amazing. But that thought lasted only a moment. Because right there, in the <Medicine> section, I came face-to-face with Neslan, who was huddled together with Garno.
“Ba-Baby?”
“…Father-in-law.”
“What brings you to the library at this hour…?”
On instinct, I cupped my face with my hands like flower petals and replied, “Hng, Giselle came to check off something on Giselle’s bu-bucket list! Giselle’s head is usually empty, so Giselle thought to try to fill it up a bit!”
Of course, that wasn’t true. The real reason I’d come to the library was because of the key, my father’s keepsake.
“Look, there’s an engraving here! See?”
“Coocoo. (That’s right! It says something here!)”
The raised engraving on the key felt almost like Braille, so I kept running my fingers over it. Coocoo, looking impatient, reached out to touch the key.
“Coocoo. (This is! Looks like it’s in the language of the fairy folk!)”
“You don’t know the fairy language?”
“Coocoo. (It’s the one thing the great dragon doesn’t know! I know dragon tongue and human language, but not the language of other creatures!)”
The squiggly writing Coocoo pointed out looked like a sentence, but it was in a script I couldn’t read. I was sure this sentence was a clue for how to use the key, but I couldn’t make any sense of it. That’s why I came to the library of a prestigious mage family, to find information about the language of the fairy….
But there was nothing good about anyone finding out I’d entered the library. Objectively speaking, I’m supposed to play the role of the airheaded flower, so if people see me sneaking around the library, they might get suspicious, right?
I didn’t want anyone to discover the existence of the key, no matter what, so I moved as secretly and carefully as I could. And yet, I ended up getting caught by Garno and Neslan.
I smiled at their stiff faces and added, “Giselle is going to write a letter to the duke in the language of fairy! It’s a trend these days! Isn’t it just ve~ry romantic and cool? Right?” Even though I knew I was spouting total nonsense, the two of them just looked at me with a mix of suspicion and pity, and each made a remark.
“A bucket list…? That’s so-something you do before you die…”
“D-D-Don’t worry… when it comes to languages, I know a thing or two.”
I was about to brush off Neslan’s words, but Garno’s comment made my eyes light up. “Ah, really?”
“I might be able to help. I’ve traveled all over the Eastern Continent and picked up all sorts of languages.”
Not that I minded, but why was this old man suddenly being so nice to me?
“Okay, then what’s the catch?”
“What catch? We’re family. Just come by for pie every now and then.”
You said I wasn’t family before!
At that moment, Garno bowed his head and muttered. “…Right. Then, what kind of sentence do you want to write? I even made a fairy language dictionary once. Come, sit here.” He tugged at my sleeve, trying to hurry me into a chair at the library’s desk, but then he paused. “…Why are you so skinny?”
What’s he talking about? I eat plenty, and I’m actually kind of chubby!
And that’s how I ended up taking Grandpa Garno’s <Crash Course in Fairy Language>. Of course…
“If you learn the fairy language properly, it’s easier than you think. Start with the spelling.”
“Aah, but Giselle doesn’t want to spend ages studying… Giselle’s brain’s about to cramp up! Isn’t there a quick and easy way to learn?”
“W-What? A cramp? I’ll make you a quick and easy summary that even a child could understand in thirty minutes!”
…Wait, I was just trying to get out of studying for too long by taking a shortcut. Why is this old man suddenly being so nice to me?
Neslan, completely oblivious to how weird this situation was, endlessly fed me health supplements like a mother bird.
And so, the bizarre fairy language tutoring continued throughout the night. At last, I finally learned what the sentence written on the key meant.
* * *
It was the next morning. Giyet, who had woken early, looked around the potion stall and frowned. “I was supposed to meet Grandma in front of here…” But among the crowd of people buying potions, his grandmother was nowhere to be seen. His expression darkened with unease.
Come to think of it, it was a bit strange. While he had been busy working, a letter from his grandmother suddenly arrived. Its contents were rather suspicious.
In her usual terse handwriting, she’d written: [Come to the potion display at the coffeehouse you frequent.]
However, since he had recently become busy and his daily routine of eating with his grandmother had changed a bit, he had assumed she might be feeling lonely and had hurried out. Just what was going on?
As Giyet anxiously looked around, the elderly woman living next door to him suddenly grabbed him in a hurry. The elderly woman, her hair completely white, looked at him with an uneasy expression and spoke.
“Doctor Giyet! Something terrible happened, your grandmother is gone.”
“What? G-Grandma disappeared? What do you mean…?”
“That’s right. Oh dear, I was supposed to play cards with her today. I got so flustered… When I saw your reply had come in, I rushed right over!”
For a moment, Giyet’s pupils widened in shock. “W-What are you talking about? Grandma wouldn’t just go somewhere. She’s not the type to break a promise with me.”
“That… My granddaughter said she saw your grandmother follow some strange men. Just in case, why don’t you report to the guards?”
“What? G-Grandma did that?”
What in the world was happening? When he collapsed onto the ground, his legs trembling in panic, he noticed a small note left on the potion display. Giyet instinctively sensed it. No way, could that not be…. He hurriedly straightened up and unfolded the neatly folded note.
[Your grandmother is with us. Don’t worry. She won’t be harmed. However, bring ‘Wot’ to this spot by tomorrow. We would like to have an honest conversation with Doctor’ Wot,’ Doctor Giyet.
P.S. If you discuss this matter with anyone other than Doctor ‘Wot,’ we cannot guarantee your grandmother’s safety.]
The note tried to sound polite, but its message was simple. They had kidnapped his grandmother. And they wanted him to bring Wot.
As soon as Giyet finished reading, the note floated up into the air. “Ha…!”
Whoosh! The note burst into flames, as if to destroy the evidence, and Giyet’s hands trembled as he frantically looked around.
The people who took Grandma must be somewhere nearby! He couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching him. But thankfully, there was at least one thing he could deduce from the note. They don’t know that Doctor Wot is actually Lady Giselle. So what he needed to do was…
Giyet gripped his medical bag tightly and bit his lip. Just then, his gaze landed on the coffeehouse. He saw a shadow moving in front of the second-floor private room window. And as a devoted ‘Wot worshipper,’ Giyet could recognize her silhouette instantly.
“M-My hands are shaking so much… I think I need a cup of tea before I go in.”
No matter who was watching him, there was no way they’d ever guess he was on his way to meet Wot. Thinking quickly, Giyet, hands trembling, quickly came up with a plan and pushed open the door to the coffeehouse.
* * *
“I nearly died memorizing these damn letters and words all night…”
The one place I could review fairy language without anyone catching me. That would be my coffeehouse’s private room.
I muttered to myself as I checked the <Fairy Language Dictionary> Garno had piled into my arms. “Let’s see… here it is.”
<Only when God>
“God…?”
Was this about that unfair god who gave divine power to that damn mosquito and only handed me a heroine’s debuff? I furrowed my brow. Moving on…
<Shines His light on me will the door open.>
I stroked my chin, lost in thought. Suddenly, an idea flashed through my mind. “I think I’ve got a hunch.”
“Coocoo? (What is it?)”
You know how people say that when you die, there’s a flash of light and then your life flashes before your eyes?
“…Maybe ‘Only when God shines His light’ means when you die.”
“Coo, coocoo! (So you can only use it when you die?)”
But my father doesn’t seem like the type to leave behind an artifact like that.
Ugh, what is it supposed to mean? Only when God shines His light… I was frowning, caught between understanding and confusion, when the door to the private room swung open, and Giyet rushed in, looking like he’d aged ten years. The door slammed shut, and Giyet hurriedly took a seat across from me.
“…Huh? Giyet? What’s going on?”
“L-Lady Giselle. M-M-My grandmother, she…”
“Tell me. What about Grandma?”
“She’s been ki-kidnapped.”
“Kidnapped?”
Giyet went on, breathlessly explaining the details. The message was: if we wanted to see his grandmother again, we had to bring Wot. It was obvious who was behind this.
“Wow, sh*t. That damned mosquito’s really crossed the line now.” I gripped the key I’d been studying for so long and slowly retorted, “Where is it?”
“Huh?”
“The last place they found Grandma’s trail. Where is it?”
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