There Is No Place For Fakes [EN]: Chapter 23

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“Take it.”

A moment later. The owner of the leg, the man in the robe, threw a pouch towards Philomel.

“T-Thank you.”

Philomel, accepting the pouch, thanked him, dazed.

“Are you wandering around with your head in the clouds? Don’t you know that scammers are rampant around here, especially near the Magic Tower?”

“I didn’t know.”

Philomel replied quietly.

“Such a naive child.”

She felt a surge of emotion, but she couldn’t argue with the statement that she was naive. That kind of thing wasn’t the type of knowledge you could learn from books.

At that moment, the scammer, taking advantage of the conversation between Philomel and the man, began to crawl away.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Thud-!

The man in the robe stomped hard on the scammer’s back.

“Argh! You little brat! Do you know how old I am? Don’t you have parents?”

The scammer screamed, even with his back pinned down.

“Unfortunately, my parents didn’t teach me the virtue of respecting those who prey on the vulnerable.”

The man in the robe replied in an indifferent voice.

As more force was applied to his foot, the scammer’s face turned ashen, accompanied by choking sounds.

“You must know that this is the Magic Tower’s territory. I’ll deal with you according to the Magic Tower’s laws, not the Imperial law.”

Philomel couldn’t see his face properly because of the robe, but she instinctively felt it.

‘He’s seriously thinking of killing him. Right here.’

Her body stiffened.

She had never witnessed a murder before.

“Tch.”

At that moment, the man, seeing Philomel turn pale, removed his foot from the old man and shouted towards the surroundings.

“Lexion! Don’t just watch, come out!”

“Oh dear, I’ve been found out.”

Suddenly, a stranger popped out from behind Philomel. It was a red-haired man wearing glasses.

“Are you just going to stand by and watch a visitor get scammed?”

“I was just observing the situation since you stepped in first. More importantly, you doing a good deed is quite unusual.”

“Good deed, my foot. I’m taking this bastard to the disciplinary department, so you listen to what she’s here for.”

Following that, he grabbed the scammer’s collar and dragged him towards the Magic Tower.

The scammer was unconscious, probably because he had been directly exposed to the murderous intent earlier.

The handsome man with an intellectual air, who remained next to Philomel, responded kindly.

“Now that things have turned out this way, please tell me your business, and I will guide you with all my heart.”

Still in a daze, Philomel pulled herself together and replied. It was an opportunity she couldn’t miss.

“I want to meet the Magic Tower Lord, Le Guin. Can you arrange a meeting for me?”

“Oh ho. Why do you want to see him?”

The man asked, pushing up his glasses.

“…Because I am his daughter.”

Philomel said in a slightly trembling voice. She didn’t know if the man would believe her, but it was the truth.

A strange light flickered in the man’s golden eyes as he faced her.

“I see. If that’s the reason, then of course we must let you meet him.”

“…Yes?”

Philomel, who hadn’t expected the man to believe her, widened her eyes in surprise.

“Follow me. I’ll guide you through the back entrance.”

However, the man started walking ahead with an indifferent expression.

Even as she followed behind him, Philomel couldn’t shake off a sense of unease.

The reaction was different from what she had expected. According to what was known, Le Guin was a bachelor, but even when she said she was his daughter, the man didn’t seem suspicious.

He seemed surprised, but not greatly so.

For a moment, the assumption that Le Guin might be married and have children crossed her mind.

Philomel spoke to the red-haired back of his head as she walked ahead.

“Excuse me, Magician.”

“My name is Lexion.”

“Oh… then, Mr. Lexion?”

“Just call me Lexion.”

“Then, Lexion.”

“Yes.”

“Is Le Guin married, by any chance?”

“Of course not.”

That’s a relief. At least the possibility of him having an affair with Katrin had disappeared.

Philomel nodded with a stiff face.

After a while, Lexion drew a geometrical pattern on the firmly closed iron gate with his finger, and the spot turned red before the gate opened with a metallic sound.

The two entered a stone building. There were few people walking in the wide hallway.

“The building is big, but there aren’t many people.”

“It’s still early dawn for nocturnal magicians.”

A ridiculously shaped dragon statue. A person running around with a bubbling test tube. A tree bearing various fruits.

There were plenty of bizarre and strange things, but Philomel was careful not to let her attention be diverted.

The building’s structure was maze-like, and there was a risk of losing Lexion if she let her attention wander even a little.

“Hey, Lexion, who was the person who reserved the 6th laboratory for today?”

“It’s Kadin. But he ran off last week saying he was bored, so it’ll be a while before he comes back.”

Lexion answered leisurely to the question from a passerby.

He didn’t forget to tap the magician who was collapsed on the floor reeking of alcohol with his foot.

“Go inside and sleep. You might get facial paralysis.”

And after leaving Philomel in front of a certain room, he came out with an old booklet about ten minutes later.

“I’m sorry. It took me a while to find it because it’s old data.”

“It’s okay.”

He said, flipping through the pages.

“I’ll need to confirm a few things before I can let you meet Le Guin. What is your mother’s name?”

“Pardon? Ah, Katrin Hounds.”

“It’s here.”

“How old is she? Please tell me her height, weight, and any other physical characteristics you know.”

As Philomel stammered, answering as much as she could remember, Lexion closed the booklet.

“Confirmed. Let’s go to Le Guin’s room.”

It was a strange exchange.

‘Could Katrin’s information be written in that booklet?’

Philomel tilted her head.

As they entered a wide hall, Philomel asked him for the first time.

“Excuse me… aren’t you surprised?”

“About what?”

“That I’m Le Guin’s daughter.”

“Not really. I’m just a little curious as to why you’re late.”

“Late? What do you mean…?”

“Watch your step.”

“Eek!”

At that moment, the floor moved. No, the object she thought was the floor moved. A circular platform separated from the floor and floated upwards.

“…It’s a floating stone [a stone enchanted to levitate].”

Philomel, belatedly regaining her composure, murmured quietly.

Floating stones, stones that float in the air, were common in high buildings even in the Imperial Palace, so she was familiar with them.

“It seems you have experience using them.”

Oops. Philomel hurriedly explained. If she said she had seen something as precious as a floating stone, there was a risk of her identity being exposed.

“Of course not. I saw it in a book.”

Philomel tried to ignore Lexion’s intrigued gaze.

“We’ve arrived.”

When they reached the top floor and arrived at the room at the end, he watched Philomel’s hand.

“And you might want to take that off? He doesn’t particularly like divine power.”

At the end of his gaze, the red gem of the ring sparkled.

“…I didn’t mean to hide my identity with any bad intentions.”

Philomel said defensively, taking off the Ring of Red Flame and putting it in her bag. From Lexion’s perspective, she might have looked like a suspicious person trying to hide her identity.

“I know. Your identity as well.”

However, Lexion said nonchalantly, bringing his clasped hands behind his neck.

Philomel widened her eyes in surprise and looked at him.

“Unlike other magicians, I read the newspaper regularly and am very interested in what’s going on in the world. Princess Philomel.”

“…Are you going to report me?”

She asked in a very nervous voice.

“Haha. If I were going to do that, I wouldn’t have guided you here. Don’t worry. If I were to give you one piece of advice, it would be not to take Le Guin’s words too seriously.”

Saying something incomprehensible, he opened the door.

“…Thank you.”

Philomel bowed her head and entered the room.

The room was filled with miscellaneous items, making it feel cramped despite its considerable size.

While Lexion stayed outside, Philomel stood at the doorway. Having come all the way here after a week, she suddenly felt nervous.

Her biological father is here.