[V3C23] Protection Office Director Böll’s Interrogation
Translated by Jodas 3: The Fateful BrothersHütter walked alongside Protection Office Director Böll to a break room somewhere in the First Spire: White Smoke.
Even though this room had been packed with people during the midday break, at this time of day there wasn’t anyone there.
(But I wonder what it was she wanted to ask me……)
If she had said ‘I have a request for you,’ he could imagine what it might have been.
—It would be about Sevil, the Imperial Princess.
Something along the lines of ‘it’s a bother when Sevil wanders outside like that, so please put a stop to it,’ or ‘stop sending her to the Protection Office for training.’ He’d thought if she wanted to complain about something like that, then he really had no choice but to accept.
That was why he had tried to head to the Protection Office to get his word in as soon as possible, but he never managed to make it there while she was available.
(But since she said she had something to ask, I feel like the nuance is a little different…….Something she wants to ask me……Wait, there’s no way she’s figured out my true identity yet, right? ……)
Böll’s expression as she took a seat across the table from him looked dangerous.
Considering that she was the Director of the Protection Office, she had to be pretty strong. And it wasn’t just her physical strength either; she had a sharp and assertive air about her.
If the Extermination Office were professionals at slaying Monsters, then the Protection Office were professionals at fighting people.
For that, you needed more than arm strength. Hütter only knew a few people who had eyes and mannerisms like that which were able to control the atmosphere in a room by their mere presence. One of them being the Black Lion Emperor.
Böll must belong in the same category.
“Dream Mage Caspar Hütter. You…..”
Hütter inhaled sharply.
—You’re not the real Dream Mage, are you?
Anticipating that question, he thought quickly about how to respond.
Ideally, he would like to act natural and play dumb. However, if she had already found some supporting evidence, then he would need to consider an escape plan……..No, if she already had evidence that Hütter was an imposter, then she would have already reported it to the Spiremasters by now. Just what could this woman’s objective be…….
“You….. What do you think about Liese?”
“………………………….Excuse me?” The third-rate con man ‘Smoke Fox’ forgot his act for a second and responded in his natural voice.
(Shit, shit. I’m supposed to be the Dream Mage Caspar Hütter right now!)
Convincing himself of that fact, he thought of the meaning behind Böll’s words.
Liese — that referred to his fellow Instructor, Anneliese Röhm.
What does he think of her? He didn’t really have anything to hide on that front, so Hütter answered honestly.
“She’s a good Instructor. And a diligent learner.”
“Is that all?” “Umm……. She’s considerate of her students, she’s kind…… Oh, and since I’m new to the Tower, she’s always been very supportive and helpful to me.”
Böll frowned and glared at Hütter with piercing eyes.
“Is that re~~~~~ally all?”
“Umm…… Director Böll, I’m not sure what you’re trying to make me say here…..”
When Hütter returned her question without hiding his conflicted tone, Böll’s started nervously fidgeting with the golden hair framing her surprised face.
“Oh dearest me…… My apologies. I got a little too private there…… Just, I’d noticed you’d been getting along with Liese really well lately…… and I was curious, so……”
Hütter recalled what his drinking buddy, Management Office Director Kappel, had said to him.
Kappel was an old-timer at the Wedge Tower, so he knew a lot about the various Spiremasters and Directors.
When he’d brought him a good bottle of liquor and asked questions while pouring glass after glass, he’d heard something along these lines:
—Protection Office Director Böll is a real gossip……. she loves any kind of talk about love and romance.
“Ah…… Director Böll, were you perhaps thinking that I held feelings for Ms. Röhm?”
“You know, lately that girl always brings up your name no matter what we’re talking about. ‘Mr. Hütter this, Mr. Hütter that,’ and all.”
“You do know that I’m ten years older than Ms. Röhm, right…….?”
“That doesn’t matter, it wouldn’t be unusual around here.”
Böll pursed her plump lips. Despite being one of the Wedge Tower’s biggest powerhouses, she was also the type of woman to care meticulously about her makeup and haircare.
Her slim fit clothing looked reasonably athletic, but it was dyed with bright, well-matched color schemes.
She was a stark contrast to Röhm, who clipped her bangs too short and had no eye for makeup.
(Ah~~~ It was that kind of misunderstanding……. I thought my identity had been exposed for a second there…… Sheesh, I almost had a heart attack……)
Balling his hand into a fist to suppress the urge to clench his chest, Hütter started to think.
Now, how do we deal with this situation? If weird rumors started to spread, it would make it harder for him to do his job, so he would like to try not to make an enemy out of Director Böll here. Ideally, he wanted to resolve this misunderstanding quietly.
“This is just my subjective opinion, but……”
As he spoke, Hütter kept his voice down. Acting like he was sharing a big secret, he caught Böll’s attention and she leaned forward.
“Ms. Röhm is what I’d call a magic idiot. And that’s not an insult, you know? How do I say it… I think she’s the type of magic idiot who thinks only about magic and is not only aware of that fact, but proud of it.”
“…….Well, yes. I can’t deny that.”
Böll’s made a face that looked like she knew what he was talking about.
As her peer, she should know Röhm far better than Hütter did.
Hütter then continued, with a serious attitude.
“However, I would also consider myself an illusion idiot who thinks about nothing but illusions. That’s why I feel like maybe Ms. Röhm feels a kind of kinship with me. Both of us also suffer from mana organ damage, too.”
An illusion idiot who thinks about nothing but illusions. He’d said that completely off the cuff in front of Röhm when they’d first met, but it seemed like Röhm had been touched by those words.
She probably sympathized with him. Because she, too, was a magic idiot who thought about nothing but magic.
“If Ms. Röhm has any feelings towards me, I would assume those would be feelings of trust and sympathy with me as a colleague……. If I were to show something like a romantic feeling towards her, I bet Ms. Röhm would be taken aback by that.”
That was not just humility; that was what he truly believed about the woman named Anneliese Röhm.
If he were to walk up to her and asked do you like me? like some creepy old man, Röhm would immediately lose interest in him.
“Naturally, I do think Ms. Röhm is an attractive and wonderful woman. However, I already have my hands full with my own responsibilities……. I don’t have time to waste pursuing romance, Director Böll.”
They really did keep him busy as an Instructor.
On top of that, Hütter still had his original goal of investigating the reasons behind the falling out between the Emperor and the Wedge Tower. He had his hands full with his Instructor work and laying the foundation for his search throughout the Wedge Tower, so he really didn’t have time to spare.
(At the rate this is going, His Majesty the Emperor really might just cut my head off, you know?)
In a situation like this, this old man had no time for sweet romance.
Böll had listened quietly to Hütter’s explanation, but eventually she took a long sigh and bowed her head deeply.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Hütter. I misunderstood and ended up asking you a rude question….. It was really rude of me…… Aahhh, it’s common sense not to bring up this kind of thing, too…..”
As she spoke, her voice became more hurried and she buried her reddening face in her hands.
Not wanting to see her in such a dejected state, Hütter tried his best to cheer her up.
“No, I have to apologize for acting in a way that invites such misconceptions. Going forward, I’ll pay closer attention so I don’t end up alone in a room with Ms. Röhm or act too comfortable around her……. If there’s anything else that bothers you, don’t hesitate to bring it to my attention.”
“Uuuuu, thank you very much…….”
Good. I’ve made it through this conundrum, Hütter internally breathed a sigh of relief.
Hunched over, hiding her beet-red face, Protection Office Director Böll lost herself in her thoughts.
(Mr. Hütter’s so mature……. He’s such a mature adult……! Aaahhh, and yet silly ol’ me had to say something so rude—!! Aaaahhhhh, if there’s a hole I want to hide in it……!!)
Böll loved to gossip about romance, but she had never been so crass as to ask a person’s feelings to their face.
And yet, the reason she just couldn’t help herself and cornered Hütter for questioning was because she knew about another man who was in love with Röhm.
—Röhm’s old rival, Extermination Office Director Fritz Haydn.
He’d been holding unrequited feelings for Röhm for a long time now.
Böll, who had known about his feelings since they were Apprentices, secretly wanted to cheer Haydn on.
You can do it, Fritz! Liese is a little dense, so push harder! …… She’d thought such things countless times when watching the two of them.
Thus, when she heard that Röhm had been getting friendly with Hütter lately, she couldn’t keep herself from jumping in.
(Ahh….. I’m such an idiot…..)
Böll spoke to Hütter with a shaking voice.
“Um, Mr. Hütter. Could you keep this from Anneliese…..”
“I won’t say a thing. Actually ……. If Ms. Röhm asks what I talked about with Director Böll, I’ll say we talked about how one of my students has been visiting the Protection Office…… How about that?”
“Thanks for being so considerate……. Uuuu…”
“Well, actually, I think my students are going to be visiting your office a lot from now on anyways. Sevil has always been difficult to deal with, but she truly does want to learn how to use magic swords, so I hope you take good care of her.”
When Hütter said that and bowed politely, Böll could only think in amazement ‘He’s an adult! He’s a mature, considerate adult! This is a man who knows how to act like a human being!’