[V6C14] Hide-and-Seek at Midnight
Translated by Jodas 6: Secrets of the Wedge TowerAt night, Wren silently slipped out of his dorm room and made his way to the meeting point where Tia and Sevil were waiting.
Wren now wore his outdoor coat over his simple sleepwear. His hair was untied, falling naturally onto his back.
Tia and Sevil were roommates, so they didn’t have any issues, but Wren had to get out of his room without alerting his roommate Gerald, making it impossible for him to take care of his appearance as he usually did.
(It’s been getting cold lately… I guess Winter is coming.)
It wasn’t quite cold enough for his breath to turn white, but it was definitely a too chilly to be out here in just his sleepwear.
Wren pulled his coat tightly around his chest and shivered.
This coat was a hand-me-down from his brother that his mother had adjusted to fit him, so there was plenty of extra fabric. Since that extra fabric was simply rolled up instead of being cut off, the coat was a little heavy, but that also made it warmer.
Wren moved in the shadows where he could, heading for the First Spire: White Smoke.
Somewhere on the campus of the Wedge Tower, was there a path that lead underground? Would the girl called Fiene still be there?
As he thought, the first candidate that popped in his head was the First Spire: White Smoke.
Both of Fiene’s regular visitors, Headmaster Möbius and Assistant Headmaster Miriam, spent most of their time in the White Smoke. That being the case, it would be natural to assume that the path underground was also there.
Thus, Wren and the others decided to sneak into the White Smoke at night to search for the entrance to the basement.
The Wedge Tower was humanity’s final line of defense against the Monsters. Therefore, even in the middle of the night, the business of the Spires did not cease.
Mages from the Second Spire: Golden Needle took shifts keeping watch, always on the lookout for a potential Monster attack.
In the Third Spire: Water Bubble, the artisans of the Management Office often stayed up through the night working on magical devices… Also, they tended to stay up late drinking.
In the First Spire: White Smoke, everyone from the General Affairs, Finance, and Guidance Offices returned to the dorms at night. Nevertheless, as the center of command for the Tower, there were always a few people in the Spire, including the Headmaster or Assistant Headmaster.
On this occasion, once they decided to sneak into the First Spire: White Smoke, Wren and the others took shifts staking out the Spire to see if Assistant Headmaster Miriam entered or left.
Wren was responsible for the evening shift. After nightfall, Tia and Sevil took turns.
Since Tia and Sevil were roommates, no one would know if they weren’t in their rooms. That made it easier for them to take the night shifts.
“Oh, there they are. Hey! Your pretty boy is here!”
He found Tia and Sevil already waiting for him under a tree near the First Spire: White Smoke.
Both of them wore normal clothes, not sleepwear.
Upon seeing Wren’s outfit, Tia raised a “Piyo!”
“I see, you couldn’t change, Wren… Did Gerald notice? Are you safe?”
“I think we’re fine. That guy’s early to bed and early to rise, he sleeps like a log.”
Wren tilted his head a little bit and brushed aside his free-flowing golden hair.
“Besides, even if we do get caught, I’m sure anyone would be satisfied thinking this pretty boy was just heading out for a salacious encounter! Having a salacious encounter isn’t a crime if you’re a pretty boy!”
“Sal- a - cious?”
“Oh? How bold of you to have a clandestine encounter with two beautiful young women, Wren.”
Wren responded to Sevil’s casual comment with a smirk.
“Don’t blame me if the newspaper headlines read ‘Imperial Princess Caught in Massive Scandal!’ tomorrow!”
All three of them turned their eyes towards the First Spire: White Smoke.
Towering over them in the dark of night, a few rooms on the Spire remained illuminated. As they suspected, there were still some people inside.
Wren asked in a whisper.
“What about Assistant Headmaster Miriam?”
“She hasn’t come out. I think she should still be inside the Spire…!”
Tia’s amber eyes shot open and she rapidly turned her attention up towards the top of the Spire.
‘What happened?’ Wren wanted to ask, but Sevil put her index finger to her lips, signaling for him to stay quiet.
Seemed like Tia could hear something. Did that mean someone was nearby?
Wren and Sevil silently awaited Tia’s reaction.
As she stared up at the Spire, Tia spoke in a whisper.
“I hear people talking. Mr. Hütter and…… That Woman. The blonde nun.”
“You mean Assistant Headmaster Miriam!?”
“Yeah. I think they’re talking with the window open.”
Wren leaned out from behind the tree and looked up at the Spire.
He could see a light from around where the staircase that leads to the top floor is. That must be it.
Tia furrowed her brows and made a stern face.
“I can’t hear everything, but… ‘have some candy,’ and ‘I don’t have any regrets’ … Oh, right now she just said ‘Return to the Guidance Office at once, Caspar Hütter.’”
The lights that had been stationary around the staircase started to move. One went up, the other went down.
Wren followed the lights with his eyes as he muttered.
“If those lights up there were them, then Assistant Headmaster Miriam has gone back to the office on the top floor, while Mr. Hütter went back down to the Guidance Office… Why is Hütter still there, though? Is he still working?”
“Mr. Hütter is passionate about teaching, after all. I suspect he is preparing for his next lesson. More importantly, I recommend we get moving. This spot is relatively close to the Guidance Office. Mr. Hütter might spot us.”
Sevil’s suggestion gave Wren an idea.
At the moment, they were currently on the side of the Spire closest to the dorms. It would be convenient to go back from here, but that also raised the possibility that Hütter might spot them from the nearby Guidance Office.
In that case, it might be best to circle around to the side opposite from the dorms.
“It’s a bit roundabout, but how about we go through the gardens to get to the other side of the Spire? There’s a lot of good hiding spots over there.”
“Piyopp! I think that sounds good!”
“I agree. Let’s move.”
The moment they decided, Sevil got moving, leading them off.
Wren and Tia tried their hardest to keep their footsteps silent as they followed her.
As they moved, Tia kept her ears on alert for any noises around them.
At night, people from the Protection Office would patrol the campus at regular intervals. The closer they got to the main gate, there would be gatekeepers as well, so they had to stay on guard as they moved.
As they moved, sticking to the shadows, the garden had just come into view when Tia came to an abrupt stop. She could hear footsteps that didn’t belong to one of them.
“Wait, someone’s here.”
When Tia whispered, Sevil and Wren stopped as well.
Even in dark places, Tia could see better than humans. So, she instantly spotted the silhouette wandering around the gardens.
It was a young boy with black hair wearing a robe — That was Julius.
“Julius is here. What is he doing?”
It didn’t look like Julius was going anywhere in particular. He moved around like he was looking for something.
He wasn’t holding a lantern, either. Instead, the ring on his finger was letting off a faint light and, relying on that light, he searched every tree, flowerbed, and stone in the gardens.
“Is he looking for something he dropped?”
“No, there’s something off about this.”
Wren immediately shot down Tia’s suggestion.
“If he was just looking for something, wouldn’t he do it in the daytime? Even if it was something super important that he wanted to find immediately no matter what… Then he would probably bring out Agniol and have a lantern and everything.”
Certainly, the glow of his ring wasn’t very useful compared to an actual lantern.
Julius was searching for something in secret, trying as hard as he could not to draw any attention.
“Julius is kinda like us, then.”
They were both sneaking around and looking for something.
When she expressed those thoughts, Sevil looked like an idea had struck her.
“Tia. I believe your thoughts may not be so far off the mark.”
“Piyo?”
“Julius often tries to make factions and talks about taking over the Wedge Tower… Perhaps he is engaged in his own investigation in order to dig up dirt about Headmaster Möbius as well.”
Sevil’s way of thinking definitely sounded plausible.
As Tia considered the idea, Julius brought the ring close to his mouth and whispered something.
Then, suddenly, a tiny ball of fire floated right in front of Tia’s eyes.
“Pevu!?”
“Wah!”
Tia and Wren let out shouts of surprise, then clasped their hands over each other’s mouths in sync… but it was already too late.
Julius had already noticed them. The ring on his hand holding Flame Spirit Agniol flickered.
“Ooh, hide-and-seek! How fun! I’m really good at finding things!”