Chapter 17
IT SHOULD BE TIME.
Having left the House of Asteria, Mira checked the clock and then began heading back to Café Kraftbell Antiques. It was time for the photo shoot.
She’d managed to get a look at the Danblf card that she’d been eagerly wanting to see at the trading card game preliminaries. While she was happy to see herself in card form, she was especially happy that her card was able to beat one of the Forty-Eight Nameless Generals.
Curious, Mira pulled out her Legends of Asteria cards. “Now that I think of it, it was all because of this card.”
In her hand was a card of Fuzzy Dice, a clue used to piece together the information that led to finding Lastrada. Mira laughed to herself as she walked into the antique shop where the shopkeeper was waiting. It had been a quirk of fate.
Meanwhile, back in the waiting room at “House of Asteria.”
No way… I never would’ve guessed that the A-rank adventurer, Grandhiel the Moonlit Snowflake, would be into young girls. Now it makes sense why I’ve never heard about his love life. All the women who go up to him are adults, after all…
He had refined features, a calm disposition, and was an ace card player. But more than anything, Grandhiel the Moonlit Snowflake was a very capable and handsome A-rank adventurer. Given that he had all the qualities that made a man attractive, he’d always had loads of women throwing themselves at him. Plenty of these were the daughters of nobility or women so beautiful that they seemed utterly out of most people’s league. However, not even once had Grandhiel accepted any of their advances.
Surely, he had to like at least some of them… A lot of the ladies wouldn’t even mind sharing.
But none of this mattered, as none of them were able to sway Grandhiel. Soon, his adventurer friends began to wonder if he was more into guys. It had been an uncomfortable time to be around Grandhiel when those rumors were going around.
This friend was a B-rank adventurer in the same guild as Grandhiel. Relieved as he was that Grandhiel wasn’t into guys, he had mixed feelings about him liking young girls as he walked to the main area.
In front of the large room that’d been set up as a tournament space stood a well-dressed man in an area where cards and card-related merchandise were sold. His name was Elio, and he was a sales representative from the Grimoire Company. Beside him stood a female staff member from the shop.
“Ah, so the tournament must’ve wrapped up.”
Having started to watch the tournament when it began, Elio had stepped out midway and had just gotten back. He watched as the tournament space was being dismantled and readied for the awards ceremony, a weary look on his face.
“Leona will be advancing to the championship.”
“I see, so she did win,” Elio muttered in response, looking as if he’d expected as much.
“But I was surprised to see you hurry out of the store. Did something happen?”
About an hour before, right in the middle of the heated tournament, Elio had dashed away.
He then sighed about how it’d all been for nothing before explaining what’d happened. He’d gotten some reliable intel from an acquaintance that they’d spotted a cute young girl with long silver hair.
“You’re aware that an airship landed at the academy yesterday, right? I was curious about it, so I went to have a quick look. And after carefully inspecting it, I wasn’t able to see anything that might tell me what country it came from.”
Airships were extremely rare vehicles, and most of them were state-owned. However, the one that’d landed at the academy was not. Elio then rattled off every individual thing he’d seen or heard.
First, a large number of children had been riding on the airship.
Next, the children had gone into a newly erected orphanage that was behind the academy. Some of the children who’d seen the airship said that there were also a large number of spirits onboard. One said the airship had come all the way from far-off Grimdart.
Moreover, the children on the airship had kept saying, “Mira.”
Having said all of this, Elio then said that he’d heard about the Spirit Queen a few days prior from his cousin Furio, who was working the same assignment.
“That all happened in Haxthausen, in the Kingdom of Linkslott. The Spirit Queen showed up in the middle of all that hubbub over Phantom Thief Fuzzy Dice…”
Elio then continued, as if he were connecting all the dots… The Spirit Queen had been in Linkslott, the country neighboring Grimdart. The airship had come from the direction of Grimdart and had been full of spirits…
“But the most important point was that the children all mentioned Mira, which is the name of the Spirit Queen!”
It seemed as if the Spirit Queen was on everyone’s mind these days. That name had gained so much traction that it seemed like no one was really saying her true name.
Having finished listening to Elio and connecting the name Mira to the Spirit Queen, the female staff member finally showed her surprise.
“The Spirit Queen is here in the city?!”
“Yes, those were my thoughts exactly. I have to say, ‘a cute girl with long silver hair’ isn’t a lot to go on. But if you take into account all the intel we have that points to the Spirit Queen coming here, then the chances are quite high that it’s her.”
There had been a huge event that saw the abominable group Chimera Clausen taken down. It’d become the talk of the entire continent, and so the Grimoire Company was currently planning an expansion set based on those very events. They were going to reprint cards of some of the famous adventurers who’d been involved and include new cards of those who’d played a prominent role…such as the Spirit Queen.
For that reason, it was the Grimoire Company’s sales representatives’ top priority to obtain permission to use the likenesses of these new individuals. Elio had flown out of the store when he’d heard a tip from a witness.
“But I’m guessing it didn’t work out?” the female staff member asked after looking at the thoroughly exhausted Elio.
“No, it didn’t. I heard she was in an antique shop, but it seems like I just missed her.”
After running out of the shop, Elio had gone to check out the area near where she’d been spotted. However, she was no longer there, so he’d run around town trying to gather information.
With a bitter smile, Elio said it hadn’t been of any use. The additional information he gathered had come too late, and the Spirit Queen had already left the antique shop. He was unable to get any other information, so he came back.
“That’s a shame. If you can get her to sign a contract, then you’ll get a bonus, right?”
“Yeah. There goes my chance to go live it up in Bacchus…” Elio said, muttering with a deep sigh that he deserved as much for getting his hopes up.
Then a man came running over to Elio and the female staff member.
“Emma, have you seen a girl with long silver hair? I asked the other guys and they said she just left,” Grandhiel’s friend asked, stopping just before he bolted out the door. He’d left the waiting room and gone straight to find Leona’s fans, where he heard that the person he was looking for was a Danblf fan and had left just a moment before. He figured that if he went after her quickly, then he might just be able to catch her. But he had no idea whether she’d gone right or left after leaving the shop.
So he asked Emma, who was always standing nearby the entrance to the shop. But Elio answered the friend first.
“Hold on, let me ask you something!” His apparent fatigue vanished in an instant as Elio jumped toward the friend with a feverish look on his face.
“Huh? Well, now’s not really…”
He wanted to leave to find her as quickly as he could—he didn’t have time to sit and explain the whole situation. Or so he thought… Overwhelmed by Elio’s intensity, he was stopped dead in his tracks.
“The girl with long silver hair. Was she, by any chance, dressed up like a magical girl?”
“Do you happen to know her?”
From what he’d heard from Grandhiel, the girl had been garbed in magical girl-style clothes. But aside from that, he had no other information about her. The only thing that the friend knew about the girl was what she looked like.
Elio’s words had struck a chord. He seemed to know more about her than just her appearance. Elio replied, “All I know is what I’ve heard about her.”
“Got it. Then I’ll tell you what I know, and you tell me what you know.”
“Deal.”
Agreeing to share what they knew, the two traded information about the silver-haired girl.
“The Spirit Queen… I didn’t expect we’d both be in the same line of work.”
The way Grandhiel had described her matched Elio’s description perfectly. Which meant that the Spirit Queen had been in the shop only moments ago. The girl he was searching for was none other than the A-rank adventurer known as the Spirit Queen. While shocked, the friend was nonetheless ecstatic that he’d found such a useful clue.
Elio was feeling particularly dejected that he’d have found her if he’d just stayed in the card shop and continued to watch the tournament. Emma tried comforting Elio by telling him that nobody could’ve predicted that such a thing would happen.
“I’m surprised an adventurer doesn’t know about the Spirit Queen. The whole thing with Chimera Clausen was pretty big news.”
The friend smiled bitterly, replying that they’d been so focused on polishing their card-dueling skills for the tournament that they’d neglected their adventuring a bit.
“Now that I think of it, you two have been playing every day for the last two months,” Emma murmured. She smiled, remarking on the fact that his friend had still lost despite the training. She thoughtfully added that in every discipline, there are always bigger fish.
“All right, I’ll go left.”
“Then I’ll go right.”
All that aside, the important thing now was that they found the Spirit Queen and asked her to come back to the shop. If that didn’t work out, then they’d get her contact information. Having decided this, the two dashed out of the shop.
Well, even if I’m not able to find her this time, at least I’ve learned she’s in the same line of work… Or so the friend thought as he scoured the city.
The Spirit Queen was an A-rank adventurer, so he’d be able to contact her through the guild union. Even if he couldn’t find her, it’d still be entirely possible to arrange a meetup with her. But it would take time to do that, and the real issue would be when exactly she’d get the message. It often took a lot of time to follow adventurers dungeon crawling or traveling from town to town.
Depending on how things played out, it could take months for her to reply to the message they sent and arrange a time to meet. And during that entire time, Grandhiel would stay lovesick. He couldn’t imagine anything more annoying. So he searched for the Spirit Queen, making the utmost use of the knowledge and skills he’d picked up while adventuring.
Please let me find her…
Meanwhile, Elio figured that the only way to achieve his objective was to get in contact with her. He wasn’t allowed to reach out to anyone for commercial purposes via the guild.
Elio had managed to secure deals under trying circumstances several times in the past. For now, he’d just do what he always did—make use of the connections he’d established and his people skills to question people on the street to track her down.
While this great search was underway, Mira had made her way to a room that’d been converted into a photo studio.
“Now, Spirit Queen, come and take a seat on the sofa,” the shopkeeper said, gesturing to her recent purchase. She noticed that there were many other antiques set up around it. When she asked what the deal was, the shopkeeper tried deflecting the question. But after being further pressed by Mira’s gaze, the trembling man revealed the truth.
This photo would be so significant that it would change the entire world of antiques. It’d be serving as proof. The photo and the name of the place where’d it’d be taken would likely make their way all across the continent. Word would probably spread from person to person and from antique-enthusiast to antique-enthusiast in a way that was impossible to even imagine.
Considering that, he wanted to promote the store a bit. He’d brought out some of the finest and most highly prized antiques in the store.
“I began thinking that I’d be able to advertise to the entire continent without needing to pay a dime in advertising. It’d be a shame to not take advantage of such an opportunity…” the shopkeeper admitted, as if he was confessing a crime. Though, he didn’t appear to feel too bad about it. Then his expression grew serious, and he added, “Of course, if they make you feel uneasy, then I can clear them away!”
“No, there’s no need. We’ll do it however you’d like.”
While he may have been an antique enthusiast, he still had a business to run. Realizing how shrewd of a move it was, she smiled at how everything looked perfect and decided to turn a blind eye to the whole advertising angle.
“Thank you. All right, then I’ll go ahead and take the picture,” the shopkeeper said, bowing politely. Then getting into position with the camera as if the time had at last come, he rattled off some instructions. “Ah, just…be normal. And please look this way.”
“Hrmm… Is this okay?”
Having been lounging imperiously on the sofa like some sort of queen, Mira reluctantly returned to a more modest pose. Her attempt to look cool had failed.
Now sitting demurely, Mira had the look of a nobleman’s daughter, which further emphasized her ladylike charm.
“Yes, that natural and innocent look is perfect! Wonderful!”
Expertly able to bring out the inherent cuteness that hid within Mira’s petite form, the excited shopkeeper snapped a photo. Then, while looking up as if he might ascend to the heavens, he murmured, “I may have just taken the greatest photograph.”
He’d managed to capture the exact picture they needed to use as proof.
“Wow, really? Then I guess this will help the spirits.”
Mira was pleased that the unfortunate plight of manmade spirits was likely to now improve. But as she was getting up, the shopkeeper told Mira to wait.
“Ah… One moment, Spirit Queen. Just to be safe, I’d like to take just a few more. Taking into account things like glare and the camera going out of focus…it’s plausible that the first one might not be any good,” the shopkeeper implored. While he seemed rather apologetic, he also looked deadly serious.
While he had felt he’d gotten the perfect shot, depending on how it turned out, it might well be unusable.
“I see… I guess only taking one does seem a bit risky,” Mira murmured as she stared at the camera mounted on the tripod in front of her.
Only then did it hit her that the camera was not likely a digital one. The photo-taking device that was popular in this world had been developed from technology that former players were familiar with. All of these devices used film. Unlike digital cameras, there was no way to instantly check how the photo looked or if there were any issues with it.
If they only took one photo and that photo wasn’t usable, then that was that.
Fully understanding the shopkeeper’s point, Mira sat back down on the sofa. She assumed the very same pose and said, “Ready when you are,” while smiling for the camera.
“Thank you. All right then…” the shopkeeper said before adjusting the photo-taking device and snapping another picture. “And just to be safe, let’s take another,” he added before snapping two more.
“Thanks to you, I was able to take some fantastic photos, Spirit Queen,” the shopkeeper said, smiling cheerfully.
But the smile only lasted for a moment. A mysterious look appeared on his face as he took the camera off the tripod and began pacing, as if examining the area around Mira.
“It just struck me that we might be able to accentuate your charm even more by photographing from a different angle,” the shopkeeper murmured. He asked if he might be able to take a few more pictures, arguing that a truly impressive photograph could generate a lot of interest in a subject.
If that happened, then this would go beyond the antique world and reach the masses at large. It might serve as a gateway for those with no interest in antiques to get into the hobby. And that would create a great business opportunity while further spreading awareness of the furniture-dwelling spirits, improving how they were treated.
“Hrmm… I’m not sure. Do you really think so?” Mira tilted her head quizzically, questioning whether the pictures he had just taken hadn’t been good enough. She added that she wasn’t really familiar with advertising or publicity, and so she didn’t get it.
The shopkeeper seized the opportunity to persuade her further. “Were I just photographing some random object for promotional purposes, then it would be good enough. But someone with angelic beauty like yours—well the idea of what’s good enough is different! Good enough simply won’t cut it, don’t you think? To get it just right, I want to try a different angle!” the shopkeeper said, raising his voice.
With such fiery passion that it felt like he might burn the room to a crisp, he looked into her eyes and added, “It’s only because I’m taking a photo of you that there’s such an opportunity.”
“Oh ho… You can only get a photograph like that with me, huh?”
“Precisely. It would be inconceivable with anyone else.”
It’d been a short exchange, but it was enough to change Mira’s mind.
The photos they were taking were meant to confirm the existence of and spread awareness for furniture spirits. It would also serve as a bit of publicity for the shop as well. In such a case, compromise was not an option for Mira, who was very much concerned about the plight of spirits.
“Okay, I hear you. Let’s take some pictures that’ll convince everyone that spirits live in antiques!” Mira said enthusiastically, facing the camera and posing as if she was ready to go. She then flashed a bold smile and adopted a relaxed pose.
“Thank you. Yes, that captivating smile is wonderful!” the shopkeeper cried loudly, snapping a photograph with gusto.
Having started with that one, he then went on to take photos from several other angles.
“I should’ve expected nothing less from the Spirit Queen! Great, just great! Yes, I caught that regal smile! Okay, now look up! Good! Okay, now how about looking down a bit?!”
As the photo shoot continued, the shopkeeper’s passion reached new heights, and he got so into it that he seemed like a master photographer.
He deftly moved around to not miss any of Mira’s charm, which also allowed him to take photos from every possible direction. From time to time, he’d also direct her to make a certain pose to bring Mira’s inherent and coquettish allure into maximum focus.
“How about this?”
Infected by the shopkeeper’s enthusiasm, Mira followed along just as he instructed.
In keeping with her title of Spirit Queen, she did some regal poses…but before she knew it, she was lying on the sofa like some sort of pin-up model. The photo shoot continued with them also taking several sexy shots in addition to the cute, nymph-like ones.
“That’s it! Perfect!” the shopkeeper said, releasing the shutter as he photographed Mira. He seemed to be in higher spirits than ever.
The photo shoot had started for the sake of his beloved antiques. That was the stated reason anyway. But gradually, with every shutter release and every new pose Mira struck, the look in the shopkeeper’s eyes changed.
“Nice, and this’ll do it!”
Having taken a sexy shot of Mira’s feet with his final shot and the last of his film, a smile of such satisfaction washed across his face that he seemed ready to die and go to heaven. The man fell to the floor. He shut his eyes, which were filled with equal parts love and lust, as if he’d finally succeeded. He looked as content as someone who was finally passing away after living a long, full life.
The shopkeeper had accomplished his primary goal: fully capturing Mira’s charm on film. And he’d also gotten a photo that would change the history of the antique world. If he could get the photo and information out, it would no doubt change the status quo when it came to the previously unresolvable issue of “haunted” antiques.
The shopkeeper thanked the gods for the ray of hope that had shone on the world of antiques, and the fact that he’d managed to capture something that he’d treasure for the rest of his days.
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