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Chapter 6: In Daregas
A carriage drove down the streets of the capital beneath a summery, vivid blue sky. Inside was Olivia, wearing a bright blue dress. Beside her was her usual leather satchel and a large suitcase with anti-theft properties containing her clothes and some magic jewelry.
She looked out the window, feeling impatient.
I can’t wait. It’s been so long since I’ve visited Daregas.
The carriage exited the streets and arrived in the square in front of the capital’s horsecar rail station. Olivia disembarked, paid the driver, picked up her suitcase, and went into the station. She cut through the crowds, heading toward the platform Elliot had told her in advance.
Once at that platform, she found a special horsecar waiting. There was a sign on it saying “Reserved.” Elliot was reading documents beside it, dressed casually in a button-up shirt and vest.
Е̄n̄ u̇ m̆ å
“Elliot!” Olivia hurried over to him, and he looked up from the documents with a smile that crinkled his eyes.
“Good morning, Olivia. I’ve been waiting for you to arrive.”
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“Good morning. Thank you so much for letting me come along today.” She bowed to him.
He smiled in return. “It was nothing. Besides, this carriage is too large for just me.” He then took her suitcase and carried it into the horsecar, where he placed it on the overhead rack. “Is that all your luggage?”
“Yes. Thank you.” Olivia climbed on board as well.
It was a spacious four-person carriage with two leather benches facing each other. There was a long table between the benches, already holding a teapot and cups.
Е n ù mа̃.іd
It’s as fancy a carriage as always.
Olivia sat across from Elliot and rummaged through her satchel to find a package that smelled pleasantly of coffee. She set it on the table. “One of my coworkers at the Research Institute told me about these. They’re coffee-flavored cookies, I thought you might like them.”
“Thank you,” said Elliot as he breathed in the aroma. “They smell wonderful. I can’t wait to try them.”
The horsecar then departed at the scheduled time, leaving the station and steadily traveling toward the outskirts of town. A short while after the scenery outside the window had changed to rolling farmland, Elliot took some documents out of his bag.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
“I’m sorry, I hope you don’t mind if I work a little.”
“No, of course not.”
Ẅ еb̈ň о̆ v̌ el̇ E nům̂ а̌
He became engrossed in his reading, his long eyelashes turned down as he focused. Olivia also took her book on magic items, but glanced out the window. Beyond the green of the earth, a towering, pure white column of clouds pierced the blue sky.
It must have been in this area that I saw the airship.
Images of Robin and Daisy cheerfully seeing her off came to her mind. When she’d first started at the Research Institute, she’d been motivated by a strong desire to become an artificer even better than her father. Now, she had another desire just as strong, and that was to accomplish something with her team.
I hope I can find a clue in Father’s underground study on where to go.
The horsecar continued, carrying Olivia as she thought about work and her goals.
When evening began to show in the sky, the horsecar arrived in Daregas. Olivia and Elliot disembarked the carriage and left the station. She looked up at him and said, “Let’s go to my house first, then we can go out for food.”
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“All right.”
Elliot was going to stay at her family’s home, but only for the first night. Olivia had suggested it because she felt bad that he was always doing her favors and never the other way around.
They boarded an express carriage outside the station, which hurried through the streets of Daregas toward the residential area.
Once they arrived at her family home, she unlocked the gate and welcomed Elliot inside as she unlocked the front door.
Then she opened the door and looked into the dimly lit building.
“Hm?” She cocked her head.
Е́n û m а̌ . і̌ d
At first glance, it was the same somewhat lonely-feeling house from before. But something looked slightly off. There was a wrongness that she couldn’t put her finger on.
“What’s wrong?” Elliot asked when Olivia froze in place.
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“I…don’t really know why, but something feels wrong.”
“Wrong?”
“Yeah. Like something’s different from usual, but it’s probably just my imagination,” Olivia told him as she went to step inside the house, but Elliot stopped her, his expression intense.
“Wait a moment.”
E̊nŭ m̆а́.іd̄
“What is it?”
“You said that nothing in particular seems different, but you feel like something’s wrong, right?”
“Y-Yeah, I guess,” she stammered in bewilderment.
He rang the bell attached to the door. “Hello?” he called. The chime’s clear sound echoed deep in the house, then went quiet. “It doesn’t look like there’s anyone in there…” he murmured as he stared inside.
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He then pulled what looked like a rod from the bottom of his suitcase and flicked it, causing it to extend into a slender sword. Turning to Olivia, who was still puzzled, he cautioned, “I don’t think anything is going on, but you never know. Do you have protective magic items on you?”
“U-Uh, yes, this,” she replied, pressing her hand to her chest over the protective amulet underneath her clothes.
Е̃ n̈ um_а̇ .і d̂
I-It’s not a burglar, is it?
Elliot reached into the gloomy hallway and turned on the lights. “Let’s go,” he beckoned before advancing cautiously into each room.
Olivia followed him, feeling on edge. She looked around the rooms, but didn’t see anything unusual.
I don’t know why, though, I still feel like something is definitely wrong.
After looking through the kitchen and bathroom, Elliot turned to Olivia and asked, “Did you see anything abnormal?”
“Nothing in particular. I think it’s the same as I left it last time.”
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He ran a finger along the top of the dresser beside him. He looked thoughtful after seeing the line he left in the thin layer of dust. He then went to inspect the garden, and Olivia checked every nook and cranny of the house, making sure nothing was missing or broken.
I can’t find anything. After checking the storage cupboards on the second floor, she thought, There isn’t even anything here worth stealing.
The only things of value in the house were the magic items in the bathroom and kitchen, like the heater and stove, or maybe some furniture. Then there was a bit of clothing, linens, and a few books.
I did feel like something was wrong, but maybe I was imagining it.
Thirty minutes later, Olivia went out into the garden and found Elliot looking at a window with a frustrated expression.
“I’ve checked everything,” she called out to him. “I couldn’t find anything that was broken or stolen.”
Е̇ ǹu m̂а
“I also didn’t find anything that seemed out of the ordinary. But I also feel like everything is a little too perfect.” He looked at her with a serious expression. “Are you absolutely certain nothing is missing? Maybe something that was in storage? Or maybe there’s something new somewhere that wasn’t there before?”
Just as she was about to say there was nothing, Olivia remembered one thing. She didn’t know if the things in the underground study were all right. “Now that you mention it, there’s one place I haven’t checked. Would you come with me?”
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“Of course.”
They went to her father’s room. Once inside the dark room, they turned on a lamp.
Elliot checked the window. “The shutters are very sturdy,” he noted.
“Yeah, they are. And they must be rusted or something because they don’t open at all.”
Ё ñ ûmа .i d
While talking, she opened the closet, then placed her hands on the floorboards and carefully poured magic into them. Once detached, she removed them, and Elliot looked surprised when she showed him the trap door.
“What is that?” he asked.
“I guess you could call it my father’s secret base.”
“It does seem like a secret base… It would not at all be easy to find.”
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He pulled the trapdoor open, and the two descended the stairs by lamplight. The smell of old books stung their noses.
Once inside the small study, Elliot looked around, his eyes wide. “Is this…your father’s library?”
W е̄b̊n̂ о̂ v е l Е n̊ ů m á
“Yeah.”
“When you said you wanted to look into something, were you talking about these documents?”
She nodded. “I’m hoping I can find a clue in here.”
“I see,” he whispered. “Olivia… Do you know the contents of the documents in here?”
“Of course. I’ve only glanced through them, though.” Pointing at different sections, she recalled, “From here to here are magic items he made for the shop. This side is research into fields my father was interested in. And over here are things for children, like toys or what he made when I was little.”
“I see… By the way, who other than you knows this study exists?”
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“No one. I only found out about it in a letter my father left me when he died. I haven’t even told Jack.”
“All right. Then, is there any chance that someone might be able to guess that a study like this exists?”
Olivia mulled over that for a moment. “Jack and Carol know that I have my father’s documents in the house. And Robin and Daisy know too; I told them when I asked for time off. And then…well, we were talking about it in the cafeteria, which was full of people. Someone might have heard. That’s about it, I think.”
Olivia walked over to the shelves as she spoke, thinking nothing really seemed out of place. She turned back to Elliot and saw he was looking grimmer than she’d ever seen him. It looked like she’d caused him more worry than she needed to.
I feel bad now…
She told Elliot that, and he grew apologetic. “No, I’m sorry. Working in the field I do has given me a habit of jumping to the worst conclusion. I’m sorry to worry you.” He then smiled as if trying to change the mood. “You wanted to clean, didn’t you? I’ll help.”
Е̄ n ům̂а̊. і̇ d̂
“Thank you. I hope you don’t mind. It’s not often I get a helping hand.”
They left the underground study, sealed the entrance, then put away their belongings before doing a quick clean and getting things ready for their stay.
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It was dark at that point, and they went to a nearby restaurant for dinner, where they savored food made with plenty of olive oil, which Daregas was famous for.
Elliot left the next morning, after reminding Olivia to remain careful. Now alone, Olivia spent her time reading in the underground study, visiting the shop for the first time in a long while, and giving Carol advice on making magic jewelry.
After three days, “I might be able to use this…” she murmured, having found a possible clue in her father’s documents. Still in the underground study, she tried drawing a magic circle to test whether it could work. She activated it, imbued stones, and ran a variety of experiments.
On the fourth day, Olivia was flying high on the hope that her new idea could work, and she boarded a horsecar back to the capital.
Ŵ е̃b̃n ò v ӗ l È n̊ u̇ma
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