༺ Who Is Naru’s Mom? (5) ༻
Spark—
A small light sphere formed above Brigitte’s finger.
A magic candlelight.
“I don’t see any signs of intruders.”
Brigitte double-checked the locks on the windows and doors in her laboratory.
“The protective barrier is also functioning properly.”
It looks like there are no problems.
But I was still on high alert.
All the lights turning off in the beginning was very suspicious.
It’s a basic precautionary step thieves take before getting to work.
If there was a thing such as a Thief Manual, then it would undoubtedly be on the first page.
Whoooom—
An engine-like sound resounded, and with that, the lights came back on in the laboratory.
Brigitte then extinguished the magic flame she had conjured on her finger and said.
“See. It was just a power outage after all. I heard it happens once or twice a year. A professor probably used more magical energy than what was allocated and tripped the breaker.”
Really?
If Brigitte’s words were true, maybe my suspicions were unfounded.
Even in this world, you still need good reasons to be suspicious.
“I guess I was being too paranoid.”
Knock—
At that moment, someone knocked on the door of the laboratory.
Knock—
Someone knocked on the door again.
Soon, a strange male voice came from the other side.
“Is Professor Brigitte there? I am Manager Provence, responsible for security and surveillance in Building A. I have a few things to check. Could you please open the door?”
Manager, huh?
Brigitte nodded as if she recognized his voice.
“It’s Provence, the manager, he has three daughters and four sons.”
He sure has a lot of kids.
Still, I had yet to lower my guard.
“Brigitte, don’t open the door just yet.”
It was common for thieves planning an intrusion to mimic the voice of someone the victim was familiar with.
I’ve seen thieves who could perfectly imitate others’ voices a few times already.
They were really good; it was hard to tell it was an impersonator.
“Maybe this Provence is a thief imitating the manager too.”
I was almost convinced.
Of course, Brigitte looked at me with a puzzled expression.
“Judas, I’ve thought about it for a long time, but you’re really overly suspicious.”
“But my suspicion has saved our lives multiple times. Have you forgotten the spider den? If I hadn’t been suspicious, we would all have been spider food back then.”
I reminisced about the past.
There was a time when we fell into a trap and ended up scattered in a deep cave.
I was confused by the spider webs everywhere and the voices of my colleagues coming from all directions.
━Judas, it’s me, Brigitte! Come to my side!
━What are you saying? I’m Brigitte! It seems like the enemies are trying to deceive us!
It was very confusing.
At that time, I doubted everything and used my wits to survive.
━If you really are Brigitte, tell me what color underwear you’re wearing today to prove it! By the way, I already know the correct answer!
━Today’s color? White!
━You crazy-! How do you know the color of my underwear?
━So you’re the imposter! Also, I actually don’t know about color.
It’s been a year already.
Anyway, because of experiences like these, I couldn’t easily shake off my habit of suspecting others.
I’d rather be a bit stressed than be caught off guard.
Was my opinion somewhat reasonable?
Brigitte, who sighed heavily, spoke towards the other side of the door.
“Mr. Manager. What kind of cake did you bring me last time? You said it was leftovers from your daughter’s birthday party.”
━Cake, you say?
It was a short question.
Perhaps it was a question that only she and the person involved could confirm, like the question I had once uttered into thin air to distinguish Brigitte.
━The one I gave you back then was not a cake but donuts.
“That’s right.”
Brigitte seemed somewhat relieved.
She then finally opened the door to the laboratory.
Creak—
The door opened.
Soon, a plump man holding a lantern stood in front of the door.
“We had a recent power outage, and there might be a malfunction in the magic circuit. I’m here to check and repair it. May I come in?”
“Please, come in.”
Brigitte welcomed the caretaker inside.
He appeared friendly.
He carefully inspected the magic circuits installed in various corners.
But I still couldn’t shake my suspicious gaze off him.
It felt very suspicious—.
Just as I thought that.
Knock—
Someone knocked on the door again.
━Professor Brigitte, I’m the manager, Provence. I came for an inspection after the recent power outage. Could you please open the door for a moment?
It was extremely surprising.
The voice on the other side of the door sounded exactly like the caretaker’s.
“Does Provence have a twin?”
“Well, not that I know of.”
Brigitte became visibly tense at that.
She then asked again.
“The man who just entered our house, where did he disappear to?”
“He’s gone.”
Clank— Clank—
When I regained my composure, I noticed the window was open.
A chilling and ominous breeze was blowing in.
Did he escape through there?
* * *
“Brigitte, check your valuables. I’ll check Naru’s room.”
I first opened the door to Naru’s room.
Fortunately, Naru was peacefully asleep on the bed.
“Mmm… Elizabeth bread… pizza bread…”
She seemed fine.
Perhaps the thief wasn’t after Naru?
In that case, it’s more likely that he was after physical possessions.
“Brigitte, what about it? Anything missing?”
I stepped out of the room and asked Brigitte.
Upon hearing my question, Brigitte, who had been searching through her wardrobe, shook her head.
“Nothing seems to be missing.”
“Is that so?”
What’s going on?
Can such a thing even be possible?
Regardless, the thief must have had remarkable skills.
There were no stolen items, and nothing seemed to be missing, so I couldn’t definitively call him a thief.
Maybe it was someone sent by the “Council of Shadows,” like a test directed at me?
“Did we experience a group hallucination, like when the Wizard of Devastation, Valdes, cast an illusion on us?”
“I remember that. It was I, Brigitte the Black Wizard who dispelled it, after all.”
Brigitte clenched her fist with a self-satisfied expression.
Valdes, the Wizard of Devastation, was one of the three Grand Demons of Pandemonium.
He used all sorts of magic to trap us.
Brigitte dispelling the illusion was a well-known story.
Yes.
A famous story.
“In reality, it wasn’t you, Brigitte, but a warrior who did it. By singing a peculiar song. But the warrior wanted to keep the fact that he sang the song a secret. So you took the credit, Brigitte.”
“……”
“You’re not Brigitte. You seemed to have researched us to some extent, but some differences are bound to appear.”
Swoosh—
I stood in front of the door to Naru’s room, blocking it, and drew a dagger from my sleeve.
While remaining on high alert, Brigitte chuckled.
Her lips stretched all the way to her ears.
A very chilling and eerie face.
It was a facial expression that Brigitte would never make.
“Why are you doing this? Even if I say, ‘I’m Brigitte,’ it’s probably too late. But Judas, since you’ve already allowed my intrusion, there’s no hope for you. Seems like your skills have rusted during this era of peace?”
Indeed.
The guy was right.
I never expected someone to infiltrate the laboratory.
When did this switch occur?
Was it when I went to check on Naru’s room?
Did Brigitte switch with this ‘impostor’ at that time?
What I needed here was to ensure Brigitte’s safety.
“What have you done to Brigitte?”
“Don’t worry, she’s not dead. I just temporarily silenced her so the wizard wouldn’t go on a rampage. I don’t want the Demon King’s Castle’s party’s wizard going berserk either.”
Berserk.
Did he already know about Brigitte, who possessed destructive black magic, and her potential to unleash tremendous power in times of crisis?
“But she might be if you don’t help her within a minute. I used Red Scorpion venom. I have the antidote. I’ll give it to you if you tell me what I want.”
Whoosh—
The fake Brigitte extended her hand, and a scorpion crawled out from her sleeve, landing on her palm.
Red Scorpion.
I’ve heard of it before.
Once stung, even an elephant would be paralyzed within minutes.
“What do you want?”
I asked.
Since she didn’t seem like a common thief targeting valuables, she must have some other motive.
In response to my question, the fake Brigitte calmly spoke.
“The truth.”
“The truth?”
“Judas, I’ve heard you have a daughter. The little girl sleeping behind that door. But as far as I know, you’ve never been married. What’s going on?”
“……”
“If you don’t tell the truth, I won’t give you the antidote. Time is passing even at this moment. Don’t waste time thinking. Just answer truthfully. All I want is the truth right now.”
“Fine, you’re right. I have a daughter. But I haven’t been married.”
I spoke the truth.
Of course, I didn’t reveal everything, just about 10 percent of the truth.
But the fake Brigitte furrowed her brows in a terrifying manner and shouted.
“Lies! Lies! Don’t lie to me! I met your wife!”
“What?”
Met my wife?
What on earth is this guy talking about?
Ironically, I started to become interested.
“Meeting my wife? Where on earth? When?”
“Why are you so surprised by the mention of a wife? Did it finally prick that ignorant bachelor act you’ve been putting on all this time? Using and then discarding innocent maidens as you please. That’s who you are!”
Who is this person?
She must be misunderstanding something if she thinks I’ve been using innocent maidens.
“It seems there’s a misunderstanding—.”
“I don’t want to hear it! You scumbag!”
She seemed to hold a grudge against me.
But with Brigitte’s face, it felt somehow… strange.
Clank— Clank—
At that moment, the wardrobe shook vigorously.
Boom—!
With a powerful explosion, a scantily clad Brigitte emerged from the wardrobe.
Two Brigittes.
Of course, the fake one yelled in shock.
“She can move even after being stung by Red Scorpion venom? Without even taking the antidote? What kind of a wizard are you?”
“Fake, you’ve imitated me well, but you probably don’t know who I am. I would have lost my life already if some venom was enough to take care of me.”
It seemed like the one wearing just underwear was probably the real one.
Her eyes were bloodshot, and blood was dripping from her lips, indicating her resistance to the venom.
She then opened her mouth and chanted a spell.
“Destruction. Death. Despair and Fear.”
Negative words were uttered.
Anticipating what might happen, I had to stop Brigitte.
“If you use your magic here, the entire area might be blown away. Your attacks are too powerful; I’ll handle this problem.”
I drew my dagger and accelerated toward the fake Brigitte.
Then, she followed my speed and clicked her tongue.
Unsheathe—
Soon, she also pulled out something from her sleeve.
It turned out to be a throwing knife-shaped dagger.
Slash—
The fake Brigitte threw the throwing knife.
Her target seemed to be the ceiling’s chandelier, not me.
Crash—
The light shattered, and the room went dark.
I asked Brigitte in the darkness.
“Hey, are you okay!? Red Scorpion venom is pretty potent! Why did you force yourself to move?”
“Go after that fake! She stole my clothes! She’s a clothes thief!”
However, the thief had already escaped through the open window.
She had taken off Brigitte’s clothes and put them on herself.
Brigitte gritted her teeth, more furious about losing her clothes than the venom she’d been stung with.
“Even if I let my guard down, to suffer such humiliation… I can’t forgive it. And Judas, you should have chased the thief instead of worrying about me!”
She had a point.
Under normal circumstances, I would have acted the same way.
But somehow, I was more concerned about Brigitte than chasing the thief.
I felt that if something happens to Brigitte, it would make Naru sad.
Splat—
Brigitte coughed up black blood.
“Ugh!”
She groaned as if suffering from a hangover, looking quite painful.
However, her complexion clearly improved after that, as if nothing had happened.
Her bloodshot eyes returned to their normal state.
Seeing this, Brigitte scowled.
“Why, what are you looking at?”
“Your underwear.”
“Y-You pervert…!”
“No, I mean this on the floor, the Rai-setsu1(雷切) throwing knife. It’s a throwing knife that’s as fast as lightning. It’s quite expensive. Should be a million arcs at least.”
Thieves commonly fall into two categories.
Dagger thieves.
And throwing weapon thieves.
I am a dagger thief.
Meaning I primarily use daggers.
I was proficient in various types of daggers.
But if you were to ask about my preference, I like daggers that can be concealed in my sleeves, I guess?
That’s it.
But throwing weapon thieves were a bit more complicated.
It all changed depending on what throwing weapon they used.
The Rai-setsu throwing knife that the fake Brigitte had thrown was a prized item among throwing weapon thieves.
It was a valuable item not everyone could use.
Would Naru like it?
Naru seemed to be inching toward being a dagger thief for now, but since she was still young, the possibilities for her future occupation were endless.
With that thought in mind, I put the throwing knife in my pocket and said,
“I think I know who the culprit might be. Even though we were both careless, we’re talking about a thief who could momentarily incapacitate you, Brigitte. There are probably not even five of them in the world.”
She had excellent skills in concealing her identity.
But ironically, her extraordinary skills revealed her true nature.
“Brigitte, I’ll find your clothes.”
Thud—
I jumped out into the darkness outside the window.
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