She Professed Herself The Pupil Of The Wiseman (LN) - Volume 12 - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

MIRA RELAXED TO THE FULLEST inside a classy inn in Grandrings, a city near the border of the northern nation of Grimdart. She was in extremely high spirits, no doubt because she’d accomplished her top secret mission to search for one of the Nine Wise Men in the Ancient Underground City below.

The summoner had successfully reunited with the necromancer Soul Howl and secured his promise that he would return. He was the third such Wise Man, after Wallenstein and Kagura.

Even more exciting were the beings Mira had encountered down in the Ancient Underground City. The progenitor spirit Martel reputedly had power rivaled only by the Spirit King himself, and the divine beast Fenrir proved an incredible ally with power beyond even Eizenfald’s. That wasn’t all. Mira had obtained the mansion spirit, an evocation unlike any before. That was a new magic brimming with potential. Moreover, she’d scored super precious materials courtesy of the Machina Guardian.

What had surprised her most was the sprawling research facility even deeper below the city, which had revealed traces of what she recognized as modern society. That facility could be key to solving the mysteries of this world. Her original plan had only been to find Soul Howl, yet the city had yielded so much more.

“Goodness. Part of me feels like this has just been too much to take in,” Mira said, reminiscing over the past week. The thought of how she’d report it all to Solomon drew a pained chuckle out of her.

She lazed on the couch for a while before finally beginning to straighten out the situation in her head—specifically, where she should go next.

She recalled that, in the inn lobby, a group of girls had discussed the phantom thief Fuzzy Dice’s impending appearance in the city of Haxthausen. Fuzzy Dice donated to many orphanages, so it was possible that he had information on the orphanage where Artesia worked.

However, Mira had obtained a boatload of information that she wanted to report to Solomon as soon as possible—about Soul Howl, about the message and mysterious plate left by the mechanized doll that had appeared upon the Machina Guardian’s defeat, and about that diary page’s fascinating contents. The geniuses in the castle would be eager to analyze any and all of these clues. Mira also wanted to report to Solomon about the research facility.

Couldn’t she return home quickly, report to him, then head to Haxthausen?

Hrmm. From here, it’d take three days to get back to Alcait, then another three to get to Haxthausen. Six days total…

From what Mira had heard, Fuzzy Dice’s appearance was anticipated five days from now. In that case, she’d be too late if she reported to Solomon; the phantom thief wouldn’t hang around town after he finished his task. If she wanted to question him, she’d surely have to arrive before the day of the deed.

“If I go directly from here, I might get there in time, but…”

If her priority was getting leads on the Nine Wise Men, she needed to go straight to Haxthausen. Garuda could reach the city in a couple days’ time. Going there now, and delaying her report to Solomon, would make contact with Fuzzy Dice much likelier. That would increase her likelihood of gaining info on Artesia.

So…take the information and items she’d obtained back now, or aim to intercept the phantom thief who might know Artesia’s whereabouts?

“Hrmm. What to do…?” Mira murmured as she sprawled on the large sofa.

This inn room cost 150,000 ducats a night, and its luxury matched its price. Sipping the fruit wine left to welcome her, Mira gazed through a large window with a commanding view of the hotel street.

The weather didn’t look good tonight. Neither the moon nor stars could be seen, and drops of water splattered the windowpane. It seemed it was beginning to rain.

Would that rain continue into tomorrow? Fortunately, Garuda and the wagon were a powerful combination that let Mira fly without fear of bad weather. While she pondered that, another idea bubbled up in her mind.

“Actually…I might just be able to accomplish the report itself with ease…”

It was simple: She’d use the communicator that had been installed (without her consent!) in the wagon. She couldn’t deliver the plate itself, but she could communicate all the rest through speech. That realization gave her a third option: report via the communicator, then head straight to Haxthausen.

However, there was a problem with that plan.

Hmm. I should’ve asked for his number in case of an event like this. If only the communicator just connected us when I picked up the receiver, like it did at Kagura’s base.

Indeed, Mira had no idea how to use the communicator. When she’d contacted the Isuzu Alliance headquarters from its Sentopoli branch, all she had to do was pick up the receiver. The communicator in her wagon looked entirely different, though. It had numerous buttons and levers, so it seemed unlikely that just picking up would connect her to Solomon.

What to do? While she racked her brain, she heard a knock at the door.

Forget it. I say I just press random buttons on it tomorrow! If he didn’t know how to use it, she’d just have to try methods at random.

Now that she’d thought of a way to accomplish both her goals, all that remained was to attempt it. But that was for tomorrow. Mira opened the door and smiled broadly at the lavish dinner the inn employees brought to her table.

“When you finish your meal, please ring the bell by the door. We’ll take your dishes,” an employee said before they all left the room.

Mira put aside thoughts of work and immediately set upon her meal.

As one ought to expect at an inn that cost 150,000 ducats a night, the feast laid before her was truly fit for a king. A thick slice of roast beef, a sauce with black pepper’s exquisite spiciness and scent, a fresh and colorful salad and soup, and finally, garlic rice with an appetizing aroma.

“Ah, this meat’s just too delicious!”

Mira first ate a bite of the two-centimeter-thick slice of roast beef and broke into a smile at its tenderness and juiciness. The roast beef, which had just a faint tinge of pink, was much less tough than its thickness suggested. It seemed to melt in her mouth.

This roast beef was certainly something special. Mira didn’t know much about cooking, but the dish was delicious enough that she could tell serious time and effort had gone into making it.

My dinner a few days ago was exquisite, but this is even better!

The dinner she was remembering, which Martel had treated her to, had included multiple courses of undiscovered fruits and vegetables. They’d been simply sublime, even more so because they were prepared for Mira herself. When it came to salads—dishes that naturally depended on the quality of the vegetables they contained—nothing else could ever compare.

In other words, now that Mira had experienced the very best, she could no longer be satisfied by an average salad.

But her attitude differed when it came to meat, which was outside Martel’s field of expertise. The human element—the fact that it was cooked—contributed to the contrast.

“Cooking truly is a wonderful invention.”

The inn’s colorful salad was no match for Martel’s, but the cooked dishes, such as the soup and garlic rice, were quite unlike raw food. Their warmth filled her with a mysterious calm.

Only human cooking could measure up to Martel’s supreme fruits and vegetables. While Mira savored the luxurious feast on the table, she imagined feeding Martel the meal and seeing her shock.

***

After she finished eating and had her dishes taken away, Mira went to the bath chamber. Given the room’s massive price tag, it had a large private facility.

“Now, this is spectacular.” Mira undressed, then admired the view from the large window at the bathroom entrance. From the window next to the tub, one could see all of Grandrings. 

Mira wasted no time sinking into the bath. There, she stretched out and reclined, groaning happily as she gazed at the sparkling cityscape. It seemed just a bit brighter thanks to the tinge of steam on the window.

“Things are still bustling down there, but up here, it’s as quiet as can be.”

In the distance, beyond the inn street, all the lights near the Adventurers’ Guild Union were ablaze. Plenty of adventurers were still out there at this time. Here around the inns, though—especially the classier ones—things were much calmer.

Mira saw few people below. Instead, the calm lights of streetlamps dotted the world beneath. Two knights in matching armor passed the inn.

“Ooh. Do I spy wandering security guards? Keep up the good work, friends.”

Mira had seen guards around town here and there. The fact that two had been dispatched here proved how classy this area was. Their devotion to crime prevention impressed Mira.

Just then, she saw the knights move. They both stared in a certain direction, then squatted.

What’s going on? Curious, Mira continued watching.

The truth turned out to be extremely boring; it was a stray cat, of all things. 

The guards found the kitty by the side of the road and coaxed it over, then picked it up and started petting it lovingly. They even fed it some food that they happened to have. The cat seemed quite used to this and showed no wariness. One had to wonder how long they’d been feeding it.

“That would be the perfect opportunity to exploit.” Mira started to worry over whether those two guards really were devoted to security. This area attracted wealthy merchants and excited tourists, but the guards were more focused on the stray cat than their work. For a villain after people’s valuables, this would be a perfect hunting ground.

However, Mira realized something. Now that I think about it, there are lots of veteran adventurers here. Perhaps they’d apprehend any would-be criminals in no time.

Indeed, this hotel street was chock-full of adventurers and hunters of evildoers; they were easily tougher than any mere guard. Trying to commit a crime here would mean fighting at least one adventurer. Surely that was an insurmountable obstacle for criminals.

If security stepped into any situation, it would be a conflict between adventurers. Maybe that’s why they’re so lax.

When Mira looked at the guards again, she saw that another person and two more cats had joined them. The person seemed to be a woman, apparently an adventurer staying at a nearby inn. Mira couldn’t hear them at all, but they seemed to be discussing the cats. Both the new felines were small—perhaps the first cat’s kittens. The adventurer took a few things out of her Item Box and gave them to the strays.

It was a quiet night, and the hotel street was peaceful.

In the bathroom’s faint indirect lighting, Mira relaxed and murmured, “So peaceful.” Then her gaze returned to the room. “Hmm… What’s that?” 

In one corner of the luxurious bath chamber, a glass partition wrapped protectively around a large device. What did it do? Curious, Mira got out of the bath and approached it. When she got close, the device’s function became clear.

“As I recall…this is called a phonograph.”

On the other side of the glass sat a record player. Unlike the ones Mira was used to, it was a large, high-tech device with a single switch that could swap out multiple records.

Records. Hmm… Something else players made, I guess.

Looking back, Mira realized that she hadn’t paid much attention to this world’s music. The first thing she could immediately recall related to music was the spirit of song, Leticia—followed shortly by the traveling bard Emilio. Apart from them, she only remembered hearing faint traces of music at an inn she’d stayed at during her rail journey.

Will we see a day when Emilio’s songs are recorded to replay on phonographs?

His singing voice was wonderful. If it reached the ears of someone involved in record manufacturing, they’d no doubt try to scout him, Mira thought as she gazed through the glass. Then she saw the labels on the records installed in the player.

“A phonograph in the bathroom… How opulent.”

No doubt the glass barrier was meant to protect the record player from splashing and humidity. Reaching the phonograph itself would be difficult, but the switch that controlled it was in the open, covered in something like vinyl. The intention was surely for guests to listen to music while they bathed. Yet another elegant way to enjoy the extremely expensive inn.

“Let’s see… What kinds of music do they have?”

When in Rome, Mira thought, then skimmed the record labels. There were around fifty. She didn’t know how they’d been chosen, but the titles included Standing at Dawn, Rollick Hymn, Dandelion Bouquet, Rabbit Under Moonlight, Magical ♪ Happy Smile For You, All My Plowing Just Gets Me Potatoes, and Will the Onion Fit in the Pot?

It was a very adventurous lineup for such a place. Some of the records sounded interesting, a couple sounded like idol songs, and still others sounded like parodies.

“Aside from those ones, I guess I won’t know what these are until I listen…”

Picking a record, Mira pressed Play. With a soft whirring, the record player moved; an arm picked up the record below and placed it onto the turntable. The record began spinning, and a needle lowered onto it. The needle finally touched the groove, and a sort of nostalgic music spread through the room.

“Oh ho. Not bad at all.”

It seemed she’d picked classical music. The comforting melody was perfect for an elegant bath.

Savoring the luxuriousness, Mira sank back into the tub and murmured, “Aah. Paradise…”