──2──
This young girl with gentle and wavy blonde hair with clear blue eyes was named Charlotte. She had participated in the auction held in the imperial capital, and luckily, she was the lone daughter of the House of Count Warren, who owned the land of the town that Gratt Commerce’s branch was located in. That was why she was able to pick up on Ristia’s presence so quickly. After discovering that there was a girl putting up Artifacts for sale in the territory of the House of Count Warren, Charlotte decided to have her servants investigate into the rumors surrounding Ristia.
At first, it was to satisfy a mild curiosity. If she possessed an Artifact or an equivalent enchanted item, then she planned to ask Ristia to let her see it—maybe even ask to purchase it, if things went well—but, all in all, it was just a passing fancy at best. That was, until... Charlotte realized that none of the information she was receiving made any sense.
Her servant reported that Ristia had rescued the survivor of a wiped out reconnaissance team and took on a dragon, who dwelled in the labyrinth they were searching, blowing it to smithereens. Next, he reported that she had traded an enchanted item to compensate for the identification paper issuing fee upon entering town, going on to state that the severely injured wife of the gatekeeper, who had accepted that item, was perfectly healthy by the next morning. He suspected the enchanted item in question was an Artifact of some kind. After that, he reported that the next day after she had arrived in town, she headed to the orphanage and filled the seat of director. The shady former director went missing and was presumed eliminated. Considering this, she didn’t have any plausible ties with the mayor. Also, she seemed to be a daring, by-any-means-necessary type of girl, but was extremely popular among the children. Then, he reported that she had spent an enormous amount of her own money to help rebuild the orphanage, apparently “wanting to help all the needy kids,” in her own words. It was believed that the reason she had sold off the brooch at the auction was to fund this endeavor.
Continuing on, he reported that while rebuilding the orphanage, Ristia had moved the old orphanage off to a corner of the facility grounds, as well as carried over a hundred kilograms’ worth of materials with the greatest of ease. That lead to the report that the new orphanage utilized all sorts of unknown technology, with rooms always maintaining a comfortable temperature and being able to pull water by the twist of a faucet-like item. Following up on that, he reported that the cafeteria that had opened in the orphanage was selling a number of gourmet confectioneries packed with sugar at prices so unbelievably low that any person off the street could purchase them. Lastly, he reported that the cute little Ristia in question was an angelic little sister, and that the next time he visited the cafe, he would definitely ask for Ristia to serve him—et cetera, so on and so forth.
There were a number of other things written down in the report, but Charlotte couldn’t really make heads or tails of them.
“...I mean, what exactly was his final impression, then?”
The more rumors she gathered, the less sense it all made. Now finished reading the report, Charlotte suddenly looked exhausted. But if even half of the rumors written here were true, then she wasn’t dealing with just anybody. She had to go assess whether or not Ristia was going to be a help or a hindrance to Count Warren’s territory. There was a chance that she might introduce her into the fold... or, circumstances permitted, rub her out of the picture. Charlotte was hesitant, however, wondering what the best way to assess that possibility was. That was when her eyes fell upon the information about the orphanage cafeteria. It said that Ristia was working there as well, so going undercover and making contact with her was an option. Charlotte rang her bell and informed her maid that she would be heading to the town Ristia resided in.
A few days then passed. Charlotte, now disguised as a commoner, found herself at the front door to the orphanage. She ordered the bodyguards she’d brought along to keep watch over the perimeter as she stepped inside the eatery.
“This is... the cafeteria of an orphanage...?”
Charlotte scanned around the inside of the establishment and was blown away by the interior design. Not even a single wall made any sense. Bricks, stones, or even wood boards would have been normal, but the walls here were made out of some sort of cloth with elaborate patterns drawn on it. She found herself touching it and discovered it had elasticity.
...This material is somewhat peculiar. Why would she use this sort of material to begin with? So that it doesn’t hurt if you should bump into it? Or perhaps... for insulation?
Educated in the ways of a statesman, Charlotte made her analysis from the environment of the room and came to a relatively accurate conclusion. It left her astonished that the director of this orphanage could possibly have this level of technology and knowledge.
This is truly incredible. Now that I have a better look, the walls are not the only thing peculiar here. What is that transparent glass in the window about? I’ve never seen that before. Not even in castles. Also, this vase standing over here has such a brilliant luster, and... Yes, it is quite heavy, to boot. What in the blazes is it even made of?
Noticing that each and every furnishing, including the glass of the windows, was more flawless than the works of art in her family’s estate, Charlotte stood dumbfounded.
“I’ll surely become overwhelmed if I do not keep up my guard.”
“Welcome home, Big Sis!”
“—Wh-Whuh?!”
The sudden greeting from over her shoulder caused Charlotte to flinch in surprise. As soon as she did, she lost her grip on the vase in her hands.
—Ka-shhh! went the artistic-looking vase made of mysterious material as it hit the floor and shattered into pieces.
“O-Oh, no... This is terrible. This is a disaster.”
“Oh, goodness... Is everything alright?”
“It’s far from alright! I cannot believe I was so careless as to break a vase in... I mean...! I sincerely apologize!” Charlotte went pale over breaking the piece of art that was fascinating enough to catch her eye, even as the daughter of a count, but...
“No, I’m not talking about the vase. I meant you. You’re not hurt, are you, Big Sis?” said the voice in a tone more concerned over any damage to Charlotte than the furniture. Finding that odd, Charlotte finally turned around to face the source of the voice. There stood a smiling girl around the same age as her, clad in a refined maid outfit with jet black hair shining in the light pouring in from the window—making her seem like an angel.
“...What’s wrong? You look out of your wits. Did you actually hurt yourself?”
“Oh, I-I’m sorry. No, I am not hurt, but I did break your vase. I will make sure to reimburse you for the damages!” Charlotte replied after coming back to her senses, apologizing frantically yet sincerely.
“You don’t need to reimburse me. It will self-repair soon enough.”
“But I must. Anybody with eyes can estimate that it will take a few hundred gold pieces to... Wait, self-repair?”
What in the world does she mean by that? Charlotte thought, as out of the corner of her eye, a pale light emanated from the area where the vase lay scattered in pieces across the floor. Charlotte glanced over and was absolutely shocked. The smashed vase was restoring itself whole, all while emitting a pale light. Although, she didn’t find the sight of the vase regenerating unbelievable. Her shock was due to her having a hint as to why that phenomenon occurred.
“This can’t be... This can’t possibly be...! An Artifact enchanted with self-mending abilities?!”