What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 609

#609

The Interpreter and the Tracker (7)

For over three hours, the delivery woman, Ms. Leticia, dedicated herself to delivering the mail.

The crimson postal carriage meticulously stitched through the main streets and alleys.

-Clatter, clatter, clatter······

As the sun began to rise in earnest, the streets became increasingly crowded.

Every time the Imperial Guard passed by the window, we quickly ducked our heads and held our breath.

My heart pounded whenever I saw suspicious-looking people being stopped for questioning.

Fortunately, no one seemed to pay special attention to the postal carriage.

The closer we got to the heart of the Imperial City, the more luxurious carriages of nobles appeared.

We were gradually blending into the background. Thankfully!

-Click!

“Thank you so much, Leticia. I’ve been waiting for this all day!”

“Don’t even mention it. It’s the Crown Prince’s birthday month, so the delivery volume is enormous.”

“It’s like that every year! Our kids flew sky lanterns [small hot air balloons, often released during festivals] for the first time this year, and they loved it so much that they want to do it again next year······.”

“Boss, did the corn finally arrive?”

“Yes. Fortunately, it looks to be in good condition! Let’s carry it together.”

Every time she opened the carriage and took out boxes or envelopes, we did our best to help.

Sir Johan mainly carried the heavy crates, and occasionally the Crown Prince—under Ms. Gain’s glare—helped out.

The delivery woman was very pleased, saying, ‘Suddenly, I have handsome assistants,’ and ‘The magician’s relatives are all so good-looking.’

Prince Yeser looked as if he had seen a ghost as he obediently did chores as the man ordered.

He had somehow accepted that Cedric Riester he knew was a ‘different person,’ but he still couldn’t adapt to his excessively unconventional behavior.

Seeing his dumbfounded face even in this urgent situation made me burst out laughing.

The prince smiled back, saying, ‘This side of you is really unexpected.’

It was already noon.

-Clatter, clatter, clatter······

“Sir Haines, be careful not to get water on your dyed hair. The magical tools sold as party supplies are generally of poor quality, so be careful.”

“Understood, Commander.”

Camille warned, and Herrit, now with brown hair and green eyes, readily replied.

I was wearing the magical glasses that Francois had made for me a long time ago.

My appearance was so ordinary that I wouldn’t stand out, but I decided to change it just in case someone recognized me.

Ms. Schu was wearing magnifying glasses and holding a long ash wood cane.

With a thin summer shawl over her shoulders and sitting next to the mottled goat, she looked exactly like a harmless old woman.

Ms. Gain exchanged a silver coin for Leticia’s hat (“Good heavens, I got the price of a golden carriage for riding in a postal carriage!”).

Her pink hair was too noticeable······.

“I’ve made a name for myself at the costume shop for a few days. The nobles in this neighborhood have such a good eye that it’s scary.”

“Mendi has been talking about you often.”

Camille said with a sigh.

He looked incredibly tired, having stayed up for several nights trying to find us.

I blinked, stopping myself from looking out the window.

“Come to think of it, Bakari seems to be with Lady Berenice. Perhaps······.”

“Absolutely not. She’s just an acquaintance.”

“No, no. Not that kind of talk.”

I waved my hands in front of the serious teenager.

Ms. Gain, who was organizing the remaining mail, glanced at us.

She still seemed curious and intrigued by Camille’s ‘synchronization.’

But that was the same for all of us.

“Did the princess help with this? From what I’ve heard, your movements have been so dynamic······.”

“Yes. She agreed to help me retrieve my family’s sacred artifact.”

Camille finally started chewing on our jerky.

It seemed like his blood sugar was dropping because the bread was gone.

“Traveling with the Duke’s daughter means there’s almost no chance of being suspected anywhere. Even a Mendi family servant is on our side, so it was easy to borrow a carriage. We’ve been acting together for a long time, so our teamwork is good.”

Wow. He says she’s just an acquaintance, but······. Sounds like best friends.

“How many people have you fooled to get here, Commander?”

“Easily over dozens, including family members. Just yesterday, I tricked Prince Debbie Andre.”

“Amazing. It’s like [a reference to the movie about a con artist].”

Ms. Gain chattered, cuddling Tete.

“In return, I decided to provide her with stories.”

“Stories?”

“She likes to write novels. She’s probably waiting for my review by now. We’re meeting at the salon before dinner.”

The teenager stood up from his seat, clicking for no reason.

His appearance felt somehow cute.

He took out a long staff and suddenly cast a magic spell on each of us.

‘Whoosh!’ ‘Buzz······!’ Crimson magic illuminated the carriage and quickly faded.

Then he looked up at Cedric.

“Doesn’t Your Highness know a magic spell to obscure your presence?”

“······.”

“You haven’t needed to learn it until now, but you should definitely memorize it when you return. Most non-combat mages above level 6 memorize this formula in preparation for emergencies.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Whoosh······! Finally, magic was added to the Crown Prince’s robe.

Having finished his work, Camille turned to us and earnestly asked.

“This is completely different from the ‘presence-obscuring robe’ you wore in your original world. That was a kind of magical tool with mana and magic stone powder involved from the weaving stage, but what I just did is only a temporary measure.”

“Yes.”

“Yup.”

“It doesn’t even obscure your presence, it probably just makes you ‘unnoticeable.’ If you do anything even slightly out of the ordinary, the spell will break quickly.”

“But it’s still high-level magic.”

Sir Johan said, as if in doubt.

Then the prophet answered with a very sleepy expression—it didn’t suit the situation, but it was true.

“That’s how camouflage magic is. Deceiving other people’s senses is no ordinary magic.”

“······.”

At that, everyone in the party turned to Ms. Schu. The old woman shrugged and moved on.

-Awoo, awoo······

Tete, who was unusually excited today, fluttered his flipper-feet and looked at Camille.

*

Some time later.

“End of the line, end of the line!”

-Click!

With that noise, the carriage became brightly lit.

Even though I knew who was outside, I couldn’t help but feel nervous.

-Squeak······!

“Arrived at Legho General Trading Post! Our magician, is your butt okay?”

“I don’t have any butt fat! I’m just old and skin and bones.”

“Oh, why do you say that again? I was just wondering if you were uncomfortable because I drove so gently. I’ll hold your hand.”

A sigh of relief escaped at the simple conversation.

Ms. Leticia, the kind and well-regarded delivery woman, was truly good at her job.

She completed the operation safely without a single misdelivery or accident, parked the carriage in the deepest part of the garage as Ms. Schu requested, and opened the carriage door only when the other delivery drivers had emptied the garage.

Her hand escorting the old woman looked very skilled.

We got off in a rush and bowed politely to her (actually, only Ms. Gain and I did). Then the delivery woman scratched her chin and smiled.

It was around lunchtime.

“Call me again if you need a secret passenger carriage, relatives. You suffered from being crammed in the luggage compartment. Especially the baby animals. Oh, by the way, did you say you were going to Evelyn? You didn’t forget the portal location, did you?”

“Look here, I’m still in good shape. I even remember your daughter’s ex-boyfriend’s name.”

“Oh my, what can’t you say!”

The two laughed and tapped each other’s shoulders and elbows.

It felt like the taut string of tension was loosening for a moment.

That’s how we said goodbye to the kind Ms. Leticia.

As we walked into the huge lobby of the trading post, hundreds and thousands of people and numerous shops came into view.

The group walked as naturally as possible, a few steps apart.

Each of us carefully hid a divine beast in our luggage.

The shiny beige interior and transparent glass windows didn’t seem as welcoming as before.

I also saw a few people in guard uniforms here and there. I almost moved the same side limbs forward at the same time.

Around that time, Camille slowly stopped walking and turned to us.

“I should be going now. I have to clean up the mess since I gave a false prophecy to the Royal Guard and the Imperial Family.”

“······Yes? Huh?”

“······Eee?”

My eyes widened as if they would pop out at any moment. You lied? To whom?

“······Marquis Francois Duem of this place is determined to catch Sir Haines. To bring down such a great man, I had to scatter clues. Mixing lies with the truth is easy.”

“No, still, isn’t that too dangerous······.”

“Uh, is it a bit much······?”

Ms. Gain and I creaked like a rusty seesaw.

Even Prince Yeser opened his eyes wide at the confession that he had deceived the Imperial Family.

Ms. Schu, surprised, only sighed deeply. ‘How is this getting so big?’

Nevertheless, Camille calmly turned to the Crown Prince.

I witnessed his eyes shimmering with a mysterious blue light.

“The Fleur de Lis’s pathetic reversal is a common occurrence. Isn’t that right, Your Highness?”

“······I agree.”

“I’ll take my leave now.”

The prophet, having received forgiveness, not forgiveness, from the royal family, bowed politely.

Then he looked up at me last. Without glasses, his impression was very different.

Even though it was a face I had seen somewhere before.

“Princess. Please don’t forget the story of the sacred artifact I told you.”

“Yes. Definitely······. I’ll do as you asked. I promise.”

I answered solemnly, touching the pocket under my robe with my hand.

Then the commander smiled faintly.

A few water-colored grains began to rise from his shoulders.

Uh······.

“Thank you. Then, I’ll see you on the other side soon. I wish you good luck.”

It was a situation where neither ‘the other side’ nor ‘soon’ could be guaranteed, but since he, who possessed the special skill of prophecy, was wishing us good luck, I decided to accept it gratefully.

The teenager didn’t do anything more noticeable and walked away from us at a moderate pace.

I waved my hand, watching his back for a while.

What’s coming out of Camille’s body right now, could it be······.

“It seems that ‘synchronization’ has begun to unravel.”

“Oh, do you think so?”

“I can feel a subtle water energy from the commander. It’s probably Tete’s power.”

Sir Johan whispered, loud enough to be heard.

I glanced at Ms. Gain’s bag and nodded.

Hmm. We should wish Camille good luck.

*

-Tick, tock, tick······

-Step, step, step······

“This way. There are two Evelyn portals here, one for the Imperial Family and the other for users like me who use separate palaces. Just walk as normally as you have been.”

“Yes, Ms. Schu.”

Like any other travelers, we busily moved our feet with lots of luggage.

We acted as if we were looking at our passports (notebooks) and plane tickets (jerky) like we were at Incheon Airport [major airport in South Korea], looking for the boarding gate (portal entrance).

As we entered the spacious waiting room, it was overflowing with users dressed similarly to our group.

People with children and pets, families going on late vacations, nobles and servants walking as if running somewhere······.

Only then could we breathe a sigh of relief.

At this rate, it might be possible to completely blend in.

That person is even wearing the same shoes as me.

“Crazy. Princess, there’s a birthday ad here too. Look!”

“Yes?”

Right then, Ms. Gain grabbed my wrist and whispered wildly.

I raised my glasses and looked up. If it’s a birthday ad—

‘The miracle of August 13th, Your Highness is our star.’

“Ah······.”

“Ahahaha.”

With the prince’s small laughter in the background, a huge pointillist billboard filled our view.

At the same time, the memory of visiting this place sometime in the past spread under my eyes like paint.

That was probably the day I visited Serenite for the first time after receiving the title of Marquis.

Not only Ms. Gain but also Ganael was by my side that day.

We ate snacks while doing quizzes all the way, and near the lord’s castle, we met the genius painter Joan for the first time. And······.

‘Haade O. Jansen, oil on canvas.’

“······What?”

I slowly took a step and froze on the spot like a stone statue.

A jolt close to a momentary electric shock hit my whole body and ran away.

It was hard to fully accept what I had just read with my own eyes.

Then Ms. Gain quickly followed my gaze. ‘Princess, what’s wrong?’

“Uh······? Wait, was there something like this back then? This is unfamiliar to me.”

“Me too······. Me too. I swear I’m seeing it for the first time. Your Highness?”

The man replied coldly, looking at the label under the painting.

Sir Johan and the prince, feeling puzzled, turned to us.

I was flustered and trembled my lips. No······. It’s not.

“It’s strange, Sir Johan. This can’t be Joan’s painting. If it were, Ganael would have proudly explained it that day, and above all, Benjamin, who knows Jansen’s style, couldn’t have missed it······.”

Ah.

Ah ah······.

‘I just found out too. If you mix the letters of Haade O. Jansen, you get the name Joanne de Haas.’

It was what Benjamin said in the prison of Serenite Lord’s Castle, where Joan was imprisoned.

Like a great writer, he freely used anagrams in his head.

“No way. Could it be······.”

In a place a whole world away, I was vividly feeling Benjamin’s presence.

My brother said that he was ‘given a special name and it just happened to be,’ but to me, it wasn’t just such a setting.

I hurriedly rummaged through Ms. Gain’s bag and took out my notebook, and Ms. Schu approached, asking what was wrong.

I quickly raised one hand to signal her to wait.

Just a moment, it’ll really only take a few minutes. Please, just give me a few minutes······.

-Flap, flap flap, flap flap······!

“Princess? Did you suddenly get inspiration?”

“That, it’s definitely an anagram. The names of the grandmothers who said ominous things to you and me.”

“Grandmothers? Ah, maybe the three sisters you mentioned the other day······?”

Scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch scratch scratch! I frantically moved my pen and started writing their names again.

‘Pacs Becka’, ‘Capes’, ‘Nerte’.

They were very plausible Latin-style names.

But if you change the order of the letters, a new name appears. It definitely will.

The sudden appearance of Joan’s pseudonym, which wasn’t here, can’t be a coincidence.

-Scratch, scratch scratch, scratch scratch scratch······

I glanced at the Hyun Seo-chang [a type of phoenix] even as my fingers were cramping.

The phoenix looked as relaxed as ever. The avatar of the main god is not here now.

If so.

‘「We are beings who fill the blanks.」’

“In Pacs Becka, first send B to the front, then you need a vowel. If you put A at the end······.”

Someone is intending this.

Not my brother, but someone else.

“‘Back’! Princess, you can make ‘Back’ if you combine the front part!”

“Thank you. If you don’t mind, could you take care of Nerte?”

“Yes! It’s short, so it’ll be easy.”

Ms. Gain, taking another pen from me, immediately jumped into the riddle.

The Crown Prince narrowed his eyes and observed what we were doing.

It was then.

-······Ah. We would like to inform customers visiting the Legho General Trading Post. Due to the unfortunate kidnapping of Prince Yeser Fenetian, the Imperial Guard is currently conducting baggage checks and identity verification at all portal entrances. We ask for your active cooperation and be sure to bring official documents to avoid inconvenience to your trip······.

Stop. My hand stopped.

I slowly raised my head and met the man’s gaze.

#610