Chapter 1827: The Truth About the Lost Child ①
As Makina-san said in my dream, this time, I remembered the exchange I had with Makina-san in my dreams even after waking up.
Well, persuading Makina-san had been really difficult, so I’m kinda feeling more like I would rather forget all that…… No, it’s not that Makina-san herself doesn’t listen. If it’s my words, she usually listens, but this time, maybe because she was overly excited, every word I said seemed to inflate her imagination hundreds of times, and she would endlessly talk within her madness, then punch herself and calm down for a while, only to repeat this cycle.
Well, even though her contemplation progressed at a pace like that of a tortoise, Makina-san eventually agreed not to intervene this time.
While recalling the struggles I had in that dream, I shifted my attention to the guests relaxing in the room.
[……Tre-san, what are you reading?]
[Unn? Oh, this is a catalog for new magic tools. Not from our company though, but from another trading company. It’s interesting how each company has its own unique features in their catalogs.]
Tre-san lounges on a sofa, casually flipping through a catalog. This time though, she had normally come over along with Cento-san and Cien-san.
Cento-san and Cien-san seem to be enjoying the tea and snacks provided while sitting on the sofa opposite Tre-san.
[Are you planning to buy something?]
[I’m actually thinking of buying the Detection Magic Tool that this trading company is releasing next month. It’s quite high-performance, as it can function normally even in places with dense magic power where previous Detection Magic Tools couldn’t detect properly. Plus, if I carry the magic tool attached to it, it could also serve as a measure against me getting lost.]
[Ahh, I see, that sounds like a good idea.]
Indeed, if Tre-san becomes easier to detect, it would reduce the burden on Cento-san and Cien-san, which should make the two happy but…… Arehh? Why do the two of them have a doubtful look on their faces?
[Esteemed Sister Tre, let’s stop this. It’s just gonna be a waste of money.]
[She’s right. Even if you have money to spare, let’s avoid wasting it, especially since that tool’s going to malfunction again at a crucial moment.]
[N- No, but you see, it might work out this time……]
Arehh? That’s strange? Despite always struggling with Tre-san getting lost, Cento-san and Cien-san seem to be trying to stop her with a somewhat pitying expression on their faces instead.
Confused by the situation, I tilted my head, and noticing my reaction, Cien-san explained with a wry smile.
[Ahh, Kaito-san didn’t know about this, right? Actually, this isn’t the first time Esteemed Sister Tre is considering buying a Detection Magic Tool. It’s not like Esteemed Sister Tre is intentionally getting lost, so she does feel sorry for inconveniencing us.]
[She’s just overly positive. Once she strays away from us, she would just say “We’ll probably meet again soon” and start doing whatever she likes, so measures are taken to prevent her from getting lost. This isn’t the first time we bought a Detection Magic Tool.]
Following Cento-san’s lead, Cien-san also explains with a wry smile. Apparently, this isn’t the first time Tre-san has taken measures to prevent getting lost……
[Fufufu, actually, I already have almost all types of existing Detection Magic Tools!]
[……And so, judging from your reactions earlier…… Does that mean all of those didn’t work?]
[Yes. Somehow, no matter how high-performance those magic tools were, they never seemed to work properly when Esteemed Sister Tre got lost. Those magic tools would either malfunction or stop working altogether.]
[It’s not just limited to Detection Magic Tool. We once purchased Communication Magic Tools for us to contact each other in case Esteemed Sister Tre got lost, but those magic tools would also stop responding when she actually got lost. And strangely enough, after finding Esteemed Sister Tre, they would start working perfectly again, and there were no malfunctions when examined.]
[……That’s quite mysterious.]
It’s truly mysterious, not only does Tre-san not get detected by Detection Magic Tools when she gets lost, all the precautionary magic tools they prepared also seem to malfunction. Seriously, is she cursed or something?
[It has to be that, right? How about I just wear a collar and you two hold the leash?]
[Please stop with that! Are you planning to socially kill both me and Cien…… Besides, even if we do that, I have a feeling the leash would just snap when it’s most crucial.]
[It’s not like Esteemed Sister Tre gets lost every time we go somewhere, and it’s not feasible for us to have you leashed all the time either.]
[Hmmm. Things really aren’t working out huh~~]
As Cento-san and Cien-san said, it seems Tre-san herself has been trying various things to prevent herself from getting lost. Well, since Tre-san is a monster of positivity, if things don’t work out, she’d probably just go “Oh well” and shrug it off but……
[It would already be great if we could find her quickly, but it always takes a long time to search for Esteemed Sister Tre.]
[That’s also rather strange. Both Cent and I have the power to search through every spot in a small town within a second, yet we still can’t find her every time……]
[Hnn~~ But Kuromu-sama always finds me quickly though?]
[Is that so?]
That’s a piece of new information, but it seems Kuro always finds Tre-san easily. When I inquired further, Cento-san and Cien-san nodded in agreement.
[Just as Esteemed Sister Tre said, Kuromu-sama always easily finds her with her Detection Magic, so when we can’t find Esteemed Sister Tre, we eventually rely on Kuromu-sama.]
[Is it because of the difference in our skills compared to Kuromu-sama’s? However, Detection Magic shouldn’t be affected by such a skill difference……]
[Ahh, come to think of it, Kaito can also find me quickly!]
[……Now that you mentioned it, that’s true. It might just be a coincidence since the number of instances was still low, but considering how long it takes me and Cien each time, just like the times in the White God Festival, you do find her incredibly quickly.]
Fumu…… Unnn? Arehh? Kuro can find her easily, and I can find her easily too. However, even people who were as skilled as Cento-san and Cien-san, who are at a level of Count-ranks, have trouble finding her.
Something’s off…… It’s as if Tre-san’s tendency to get lost is somehow related to Shiro-san’s power, and Kuro, who can neutralize that, and I, who have Shiro-san’s Blessing, was unaffected by it and can easily find her…… No, as expected, that’s probably not it…… There shouldn’t be any reason for Shiro-san to reach her hands towards Tre-san……
(……Ah.)
Wait, what’s with that reaction of yours!?
Serious-senpai : [……As expected, she really is the culprit for most things.]