[V6C12] Improv Poetry Is A Con Man’s Pastime
Translated by Jodas 6: Secrets of the Wedge TowerThe third-rate con man Smoke Fox wasn’t particularly strong or agile, nor had he undergone training in infiltration or espionage. He was just an ordinary middle-aged man.
As a result, even though he said he was going to poke around while Headmaster Möbius was out of town, he wasn’t about to do anything like climbing up ropes and breaking in through windows that you might see in an adventure novel.
He wouldn’t say that he’d never climbed a wall before, but he didn’t want to try it unless he had no other choice.
He didn’t let himself get overweight, but just by living, the years have taken their toll on him. That was part of being middle-aged.
With that in mind, tonight Hütter pretended to stay late in the Guidance Office dealing with left-over work. He stayed in the First Spire: White Smoke and staked out Assistant Headmaster Miriam’s office.
His stakeout location? A nearby commode.
If anyone asked him anything, he would just say he was having stomach pains that kept him on the toilet for a while.
(The question is, once Assistant Headmaster Miriam leaves the room, do I follow her, or do I search the room? … I wonder? There’s also the third option of searching Headmaster Möbius’ room next door, I suppose… The only problem is, I don’t have a key.)
If it was a simple lock, then he would probably be able to get it open with some wire, but it would still take time to open. Plus, if there were any magical traps or sealing barriers installed, he’d be out of luck.
The only other person who had keys to Möbius and Miriam’s offices was the Spiremaster of the First Spire: White Smoke, Abel.
It would be just about impossible for him to borrow or steal anything from her.
(And tailing her’s definitely out of the question… Hmm?)
As he climbed the staircase towards the highest floor of the White Smoke, Hütter stopped at a window halfway up.
He noticed something moving outside the window.
It was dark and hard to make out, but he recognized the black hair and the pattern on the robe.
(…Is that Julius?)
He was aware that Julius had been searching for the reason his father, Samuel Löwenich, was exiled from the Wedge Tower.
Samuel’s exile was deeply entwined with the falling out with the previous Emperor, so Hütter wanted Julius to keep poking around as much as he could.
(I get why he’d want to investigate while Headmaster Möbius is away, but… why is he outside?)
The only notable structures on the Wedge Tower’s campus were the First Spire: White Smoke, the Second Spire: Golden Needle, the Third Spire: Water Bubble, and a couple dorms and sheds.
If he was looking into the reasons behind Samuel’s exile, it would be reasonable to investigate three people: Headmaster Möbius, Assistant Headmaster Miriam, and Spiremaster Abel. All of whom were in the First Spire: White Smoke.
Regardless, Julius showed no signs of approaching the White Smoke.
Hütter approached the window and traced Julius’ path. However, Julius’ form quickly blended with the darkness of night and disappeared from view.
(What in the world? What is Julius trying to do?)
“What are you doing there?”
He heard a cold voice call from the highest floor.
Hütter slowly turned to face that voice.
Standing on the top floor landing and shining a lantern towards him was a thin, tall, blonde woman wrapped in a nun’s habit.
— Assistant Headmaster Miriam.
At the moment, Hütter was halfway up the staircase leading towards the highest floor, leaning out of the window.
The only ones who could venture up to the highest floor were Directors or higher. Unless called for by name, underlings like him had no reason to be up here.
(Shiiittttttttt….!)
The con man put everything he had into coming up with an excuse on the spot.
A joke wouldn’t fly in this kind of situation. A forced smile would also come off poorly.
(‘I was just enjoying the night breeze’ … No, you wouldn’t lean out of a window on the highest floor to do that. That would be insane.)
If he was going to lie, he had better make it as serious-sounding an excuse as possible so she couldn’t call him out on it.
Hütter wore a morose and slightly cynical smile on his face.
“…I assure you, I wasn’t thinking of jumping from here, Assistant Headmaster Miriam.”
Her ice-cold eyes assessed Hütter. Trying to ascertain his true intentions.
Hütter leaned on the window frame and cast his eyes outside. Julius’ form was long since gone.
“Do you know what’s over in that direction?”
“You’re referring to the Mage Association Headquarters, I assume?”
(Oh, that’s right!)
Had Miriam said nothing, he was planning to just say something reasonable-sounding like ‘my hometown’ or ‘a place that lingers in my memories.’
Hütter continued to act like a man with a deep, dark past.
“On a quiet night like this… It made me want to look back at the place where I used to belong.”
He questioned himself why he felt the need to wax poetically, but decided not to think too deeply about it.
Looking down on him, Miriam resembled a statue of the Holy Mother.
A beautiful stone figure that, illuminated by the lantern’s soft glow, appeared at once cold, yet merciful.
“Dream Mage Caspar Hütter. Do you regret leaving your old home?”
“As of now, my home is here at the Wedge Tower where my students are. But…”
Hütter cut his sentence short and laughed bitterly.
“All of a sudden, I felt the urge to look back and think back on the path I’ve taken to get to where I am today. Do you not have those sorts of nights yourself?”
With a reasonable-sounding line for the occasion, Hütter started prodding for information.
— Regrets from a place you once lived.
— The path you’ve taken.
Miriam was once a candidate to become the Ras Belsch Orthodoxy’s Saint Helena.
The fact that there was now a Saint Helena in the Wedge Tower would make this confusing, so let’s refer to that one as ‘So Sad Helena.’
This was the generation before ‘So Sad Helena.’ Back then, among the candidates who weren’t chosen in the selection ceremony were Miriam and Otto’s wife Satie.
Unable to become Saint Helena, Miriam and Satie came to the Wedge Tower as part of their duties.
There, they studied magecraft alongside Möbius and Otto.
Considering that past of hers, Hütter wondered what she thought when Hütter started talking about the past.
Miriam’s expression remained unchanged. Hers was the cold, yet merciful face of the Holy Mother.
“It is important to learn from your past. However, should you halt your progress and remain stagnant as a result, God will not be pleased. Furthermore —”
Her cold voice reverberated through the dimly lit corridor.
“It would be unreasonable to cling to one’s past.”
He could sense a faint wavering in her stern voice.
Hütter reached his hand into his pocket and stepped up the staircase.
Wary of him, Miriam took a step back.
Once he’d reached the top of the stairs, Hütter pulled a small bottle he was looking for out of his pocket.
“If you’d like, you can have it. It’s honey candy.”
“……”
“Your throat hurts, doesn’t it?”
He’d noticed during their conversation. Her throat was in pain. She’d been speaking in a way that tried to hide it, but her voice shook whenever she had to make any extended sounds.
“It’s been getting colder lately. Please, take care of yourself and find somewhere warm.”
As he spoke, Hütter offered her the honey candy.
There was nothing untoward about this candy. He’d started to carry it around once he noticed a cold was going around as a way of buying favor with anyone who looked to be suffering from the cold.
Once he’d confirmed that Miriam’s pale fingertips had grabbed the candy, Hütter took two or three steps down the staircase.
He wasn’t so insolent to think he deserved to stand on the same level as her — That was the impression he wanted to leave her with.
“… The wavering of my voice is not due to a cold. My throat has hurt since I was young. As a consequence, I was unable to sing the hymns properly and I was disqualified from the Saint selection before it even began.”
It seemed that Miriam made no secret of the fact that she was a candidate to become Saint Helena, nor the reason why she was not chosen.
That was the voice of a person who had come to terms with her past.
“I do not regret coming to the Wedge Tower, nor the days I’ve spent living as ‘Miriam.’ I do not regret a single thing.”
Hütter got the sense that those words were not merely an attempt to convince herself.
She truly did not regret a single thing she’d ever done.
She simply chose to keep walking the path that her convictions, or perhaps her beliefs, told her was correct.
— Even should that path be stained in blood and grime. Even should it ring of screams and laments.
“Return to the Guidance Office at once, Caspar Hütter.”
“Of course, I apologize for bothering you so late at night.”
As respectfully as he could, Hütter bowed his head and turned down the staircase.
Miriam spoke to him as he left.
“I thank you for your concern.”
The tiny bottle in her hands made a small tinkling noise.
“I pray that your kindness and sincerity shall be a guiding light to the youth who will bear the future of the Wedge Tower.”
As he listened to her beautiful voice, Hütter thought.
Should he be exposed as a con man, would this woman act on behalf of the rage of the God she believes in and tear him to shreds?
Terrifying. Too terrifying.
(Either way, I made it out of this one!)
He established a mood with an on-the spot poem, then added some ambiguous words to help the proverbial tea go down. That was the true talents of the third-rate con man Smoke Fox on display.
(Ah, I’m drenched in sweat. What do I even do now? I can’t explore the top floor any more at this rate…)
For the time being, he should return to the Guidance Office, get his intel straight, then come up with a plan.
With that in mind, Hütter pushed open the door to the Guidance Office, when a cheerful voice reached his ears.
“Oh my, what are you doing here, Mr. Hütter?”
Looking at Hütter with a wide smile on his face was a man with a pretty face who never stopped smiling. The smiley bastard himself, Guidance Office mage Sombart.
(Out of the frying pan and into the fire—!!)