Ellen and Charlotte left the temple.
Charlotte had an artifact that cast a spell to hinder recognition, while Ellen wore a robe as a disguise. They were prepared in case they attracted unwanted attention.
As they walked down the street, Charlotte briefly explained to Ellen where they were going. She recounted how she had found a clue while exploring the shopping district of the Aligar district with Reinhardt, how Reinhardt had played the role of a messenger and delivered a letter to the shopkeeper, and how they had ceased contact after the evidence became conclusive.
And finally, how she had told him to leave the empire.
Upon recalling all this, Charlotte realized anew just how much she had contributed to the growth of this massive problem. If only she had pursued that magician relentlessly and captured the child.
If only she had killed the Demon King.
None of this would be happening now.
Charlotte came to a sudden realization that she was a sinner not only to the empire but to all mankind and the entire era.
She had been nurturing a cancerous growth that threatened the empire, all because she had been swayed by worthless approval, faith, and attachment.
If it weren't for Reinhardt, she might have awakened as a Demon King herself, causing yet another bloodbath.
Overwhelmed with guilt, Charlotte spoke in a barely audible voice, "…You probably can't understand me, can you?"
"I don't understand your actions, but I don't know what you've been through either."
Ellen didn't say whether Charlotte's actions were right or wrong.
She didn't know how much pain Charlotte had suffered or how terrible she had felt in the Demon King's castle.
However, the boy who had saved her from the wretched life of a prisoner, just as death was upon her.
At that time, there would have been no room for doubt.
Ellen didn't think it was possible to doubt someone who had risked their life to save you in such a situation.
Of course, it was a fact that Charlotte's actions had caused them to miss the opportunity to capture the Demon King.
The boy who had saved her life.
She had tried to trust him until the end, but eventually learned the truth that she had merely been used.
Ellen knew that Charlotte's heart must be in a lot of pain.
Ellen didn't know how to comfort someone.
However, it was true that Charlotte's choices had a very negative impact on the continent and the empire.
"Blaming yourself is pointless."
It was not comfort, but an attempt to offer solace.
That was all Ellen could say.
"…You're right."
For now, all they could do was hope to find even the smallest clue.
—---
Even if the existence of the Demon King stirred the world, everyday life continued.
The relentless solicitation in the Aligar shopping district was just another part of life that went on, unrelated to the Demon King.
In fact, due to the appearance of the Demon King, protective items were being aggressively sold.
Seeing the adventurers just starting their journey, Ellen felt a sense of novelty.
Although she wasn't genuinely interested in being an adventurer, Ellen had seen the true face of adventurers in the Darklands with Reinhardt.
Adventurers continued to emerge even as the Demon King threatened the continent at this very moment.
Charlotte, passing by the scene, spoke to Ellen.
"They say a labyrinth, presumed to be the Tomb of the Lich, has been discovered in Darkland."
"A Lich?"
"Yeah."
At the sudden mention of a Lich, Ellen cocked her head.
"It's not completely cleared, but there are adventurers who've wandered around and brought back a few magical tomes. I don't know much, but the level of these tomes seems quite significant. That's why it's quite a commotion."
"Really?"
"If the discovery of the labyrinth, which hasn't even been fully explored, is that significant, I wonder what could be inside."
It was only natural to think that if the magical tomes, which were mere byproducts of the labyrinth, caused such a stir, there would be even greater magical tomes or artifacts inside.
Charlotte, walking quietly, suddenly clicked her tongue.
"Tsk, I hope yesterday's incident wasn't related to the Demon King."
"Yesterday?"
"...There was a murder inside the royal palace. I only received the report this morning."
At the mention of murder, Ellen furrowed her brow.
"In the royal palace...?"
"Yeah, a member of the magic department killed the guards, stole some magic tomes, and fled. It would be one thing if it were a simple theft for profit... But it's not related to the Demon King, is it?"
Charlotte had been with Ellen to track down the traces of the Demon King, but the royal family must have been in turmoil.
"I wonder if Harriet was questioned too..."
Only then did Ellen seem to understand the significance of the serious conversation between Harriet and Reinhardt earlier today.
Harriet must have been questioned about the incident that happened last night, and the two were planning something because of it.
What were Reinhardt and Harriet doing right now, and where?
It would be nice if they weren't getting involved in something dangerous.
That's what Ellen thought.
"Were the stolen magical tomes... important?"
"That's the biggest problem right now."
Charlotte said, furrowing her brow.
"The fact that we don't know the content of the stolen magical tomes."
"...What?"
For a moment, Ellen couldn't understand what Charlotte was saying.
"What do you mean? How can we not know what was stolen?"
"They had arrived at the palace less than a day ago, and they disappeared before we could fully understand their content."
Thus, they couldn't determine how dangerous the magical tomes were.
"Well, I should tell you this too."
Charlotte intended to tell Ellen everything about herself. Only by knowing all the secrets could a knight properly fulfill their role.
"Those magic tomes, I brought them from the underground of the Demon King's castle yesterday."
—---
Harriet and I left the temple and headed towards the royal palace. We didn't know what we could do, but it was natural to go to the scene to find out about the incident.
I wore a hood, as my face might be recognized, and Harriet did the same, wearing a hood like me. I don't know why she copied me.
Roswin.
Why had he stolen the magical tomes and fled?
"Obviously, they must be valuable, right?"
"Valuable, and possibly much more than that."
Upon hearing my words, Harriet nodded her head.
"Obtaining the qualifications to own a magic tome is extremely difficult. Most mages either access or borrow officially issued magic tomes from large institutions, schools, associations, or guilds. And without the proper qualifications, you can't even view magic tomes exceeding a certain rank or level of danger."
Just as enchantment magic is strictly managed, there is a stringent system in place for the management of magic tomes.
"Though it's understandable that widely available magic tomes are heavily regulated, having money doesn't necessarily make it easy to acquire them."
"So, they're not easy to sell either, then?"
Harriet stared at me intently upon hearing my words.
"Exactly."
"…It's difficult to buy, but easy to sell?"
"There are countless wizards who would want to possess a rare magic tome all to themselves. As long as they don't get caught, it's not a problem, right? They'd likely be willing to pay a hefty sum for rare magic, wouldn't they? Especially if it's a very rare magic that has not yet been revealed to the world. Its value would come from the possibility that it contains new methods of using magic or theories, rather than its effectiveness."
A rare magic tome is indeed a very expensive item, provided it is truly rare. It may be challenging to officially possess dangerous magic, but secretly owning it is another story.
Anyway, the point is that magic tomes can be quite valuable, particularly if they are rare.
"It wasn't about the money, though. Definitely not."
"But you just said magic tomes are valuable?"
Harriet looked at me with a subtle curl of her lips.
What's with this condescending feeling?
"If they were a magician capable of working in the royal magic department's research lab, they could make a fortune selling copies. There would be no need to steal it."
"…Right, that makes sense."
It was an obvious point when I thought about it.
"So, the reason why Roswin stole the magic tomes wasn't about money."
Listening to Harriet, her words seemed to make sense.
There were countless safe ways to make money if that was the motive, so why would someone resort to murder within the royal palace and steal magic tomes?
"It is strange. He must have received considerable treatment and status in the empire, and his identity would have been verified thoroughly…"
Only those with proven skills and trustworthiness would be able to work in the royal magic department's archives. Yet, someone with such credentials murdered someone and stole magic tomes for an unknown reason.
If it wasn't about money, what was the reason?
Was it the magic itself?
Cantus Magna.
I couldn't help but think of that group.
Could it be that Roswin was a member of Cantus Magna?
"Do you know what the stolen magic tomes were about?"
"I don't know much about it. And it seemed like Roswin didn't know either. But recently, a lich's tomb was discovered in Darkland. It was said that they might have been taken from there… Oh, right, he seemed curious about the origins of the magic tomes."
The lich's tomb.
A trap set up to lure out Cantus Magna.
The leaked grimoire had made its way to the royal palace, and it was Roswin who stole it?
According to Harriet, Roswin was curious about the origin of the grimoire.
That meant...
If he was indeed Cantus Magna, it meant that information about the labyrinth of Darkland could fall into their hands.
It meant that Cantus Magna might gain access to the labyrinth.
Had Harriet been caught up in something strange, or was it actually a task I had to undertake?
It's not certain yet. However, if the Roswin incident has even the slightest connection to Cantus Magna, I have to investigate this matter regardless of Harriet's will.
—---
My face is not yet at a level where it serves as my calling card. Of course, I don't wish for that either. My sanity would be stretched thin just from dealing with matters at the temple, let alone being recognized everywhere on the continent.
Of course, my qualifications to enter the royal palace were substituted by my crest, and since Harriet frequently visited the palace, we could easily enter.
However, there were many who restricted access to the palace.
-The royal palace is currently on lockdown.
It was natural for the entire palace to be on high alert since a disturbance had occurred within the palace. Aside from a very few exceptions, most of the nobles and bureaucrats who had business at the palace were being denied access.
The atmosphere inside the palace was just as tense.
The incident took place in the magic department, which was located in the southern region of the palace. It seemed that the security measures throughout the palace had been strengthened, with soldiers and knights busily coming and going.
"Of course... it's not an ordinary incident..."
Upon arriving at the scene, Harriet's voice trembled slightly as if overwhelmed.
Even a simple murder case would be a problem, but this was a murder that had occurred within the royal palace. Although Harriet wasn't a witness, she had just talked with the culprit yesterday.
It seemed that she was just now realizing the gravity of the situation, as she unconsciously grabbed the edge of my sleeve.
"Don't worry. In this situation, there's no way anything else could happen. Let's go to the scene."
"Uh, umm..."
Harriet and I took the tram that operated within the royal palace and headed towards the location of the magic department.
Based on the central palace Tetra, to the north was the spring palace where Charlotte lived, to the east was the summer palace where the royal family members resided, the south housed the various departments in charge of the empire's main duties, and to the west was the winter palace where Bertus lived.
Our destination was to the south, not far away.
The southern area of the royal palace, where the departments handling the empire's main duties were located, was filled with massive buildings, and the magic department building, boasting an imposing scale, was one of them.
The huge marble structure was both massive and elegant.
However, the area was now surrounded by countless soldiers, and the entrance was blocked by the royal guards.
The atmosphere in the already serious royal palace was even more tense around the magic department.
"...Should we really get involved in this?"
Harriet spoke hesitantly, as if she believed this was not a matter to be taken lightly.
"Why be afraid? We're not necessarily going to do anything; we're just trying to gather information."
At my words, Harriet stared blankly at me for a moment before sighing deeply with a defeated expression.
"I'm sorry to say this, but... why are you so fearless?"
Harriet wondered why I wasn't scared at all, despite the fact that even I, a great princess, felt intimidated by the many soldiers. I didn't have a good answer.
Why indeed?
I wasn't even someone who was used to this kind of thing.
Perhaps, due to constantly maintaining a delinquent persona and now being treated as a hero, I had become nonchalant about such matters?
Comparing myself to when I first fell into this world, I had changed quite a bit.
"What can I do? I was born this way."
"You're incredible," Harriet said cautiously as she followed me.
Naturally, the Magic Department, being the epicenter of the incident, was off-limits for the time being.
"Access to this area is currently restricted."
"I'm aware, but I'm..."
"Reinhardt? Saint Owan...?"
Just as I was about to explain, a familiar voice called out to me from behind.
It was a voice I had grown quite accustomed to.
"What's happening here?"
Bertus had just arrived at the Magic Department, leading a group of people.
