Chapter 16
“So the dad who created a horror atmosphere at home was actually involuntarily addicted to drugs, and once that issue is fixed he suddenly turns over a new leaf?”
That’s a more unrealistic fantasy than any other story.
“Pepper’s actually lucky. Most domestic abusers never repent.”
“Is that… your personal experience, woof?”
“No? I don’t have a dad.”
“Uhkek—!”
“Kidding.”
“What kind of joke is that, woof!”
“Well, the part about not having a dad wasn’t a joke.”
“…Uhk…”
“Sorry, sorry.”
“Eat this.”
I pushed a peeled roasted sweet potato into Dubu’s mouth.
When I set the fire earlier, I’d also swiped some sweet potatoes from the kitchen. I roasted them over the blazing flames, so it was time to eat.
“Wait a sec. I need to peel it first.”
“Arrr…”
“Wait.”
“Woof!”
“Hey. Wait.”
Dubu’s eyes rolled back the moment he smelled sweet potatoes, so I pushed his forehead away and peeled another.
Sitting on the roof—one bite for me, one bite for him—we looked down.
“Collie!”
“Woof!”
“COLLIE!! WAAAH!”
Pepper came running from far away with her mom and threw her arms around Collie’s neck. She buried her face in his yellow fur and burst into tears.
“I thought I’d never see you again…”
“Woof!”
Reporters with huge cameras took turns photographing Pepper, Collie, and the Ingrid mansion still smoking behind them.
After burying her tears into dog fur for a while, Pepper lifted her head.
“What’s this?”
She pulled a card tucked into Collie’s collar. Pepper couldn’t read yet, so her mom read it for her.
“I fed Collie roasted sweet potatoes earlier. Don’t give him any more. —Magic Saintess…?”
“Woof!”
“The Magic Saintess saved you?!”
“Woof! Woof!”
Startled, Pepper screamed as Collie barked toward the sky.
“He says the lady we met earlier is the Magic Saintess and that she’s sitting on the roof right now, woof.”
“Oh dear. Collie doesn’t know how to keep secrets.”
Demotion: Silver Retriever.
“WOOF! WOOF!”
Fortunately, dogs and humans don’t actually speak the same language.
Collie could talk all he wanted—Pepper would never understand.
“Collie? What’s wrong?”
“WOOF OA WOOF WAAAH WOOF!”
I peeled the last bit of sweet potato skin while watching Collie look like he was ready to die of frustration and Pepper look confused.
“Ow.”
My fingertips were burned a little from earlier. Seeing my swollen red fingertips in my mouth, Dubu nagged me.
“That’s what you get for starting a fire, woof.”
“But wasn’t it satisfying?”
I couldn’t deny that.
When Dubu sniffed around asking if there were more sweet potatoes, I showed him my empty hands and glanced at the main gate.
“But why’s he here?”
From this roof, I could clearly see Arden escorting the Ingrid merchant leader and deputy away. He wrapped his hands in a handkerchief so he wouldn’t have to touch drug offenders and shoved them into the carriage—the same fancy carriage the merchant leader rode to parties, now reduced to a prison wagon.
‘Straight to the Investigation Bureau? Or maybe the Imperial Knights?’
Illegal crop cultivation and trafficking were major crimes, after all.
But seriously, what was he doing here at this hour?
Was it because of what Pepper said earlier?
That fast?
‘It took me all night to tail them and track this down—how did he…?’
I glared sourly—then Arden suddenly looked up. I flinched and ducked.
“What the—why is he looking up here?”
“He wants sweet potatoes too, woof.”
“He’s still staring?”
“Give him sweet potatoes and he’ll tell you why.”
“……”
Well, at least the ledger is in Arden’s hands. He won’t deal with this sloppily.
Which means the only thing left to do is—
I poked Dubu’s side.
“Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“To the other Temeren crew members’ houses.”
I got all their addresses from Pepper’s dad earlier.
“Why?”
“To beat them up, obviously.”
Addiction eradication by hammer☆
“Thank you, Saintess!”
Pepper, cheeks dirty from tear tracks, grinned at me. Collie barked like crazy.
I took one last look and left.
“……”
“Seraphina, why are you smiling, woof?”
“No reason.”
* * *
“Did you hear? The Magic Saintess appeared again last night!”
“She exposed the Ingrid merchant guild’s corruption!”
“She set fire to an illegal crop field in their estate!”
“It’s total chaos!”
The Ingrid incident exploded across the Empire.
A fire in one of the wealthiest districts of the capital, illegal crop cultivation strictly banned by imperial law, and a conspiracy to destroy the famed Temeren crew—representatives of successful commoners.
On my way to work, everyone was talking about it. The newspaper boys were practically dancing.
“Seriously, how could they do that?”
“That’s what I’m saying. Those big merchants…”
“If not for the Magic Saintess…”
“So what happens to the Temeren crew?”
“Are they going to jail, even though they were tricked?”
“Apparently there was proof they were drugged without knowing. Instead of prison, they’ll receive addiction treatment at the hospital founded by the Crown Prince.”
“And they’re getting compensated for being exploited!”
“The merchant family’s assets were confiscated and will be used to help the Temeren sailors!”
“What about the merchant leader?!”
“Life sentence, of course!”
“Look at this!”
[A Merchant Who Loved Taxidermy—Will He Be Stuffed in Prison for Life? Magic Saintess Appears Again!]
[31 Illegal Taxidermy Specimens Found in Ingrid Estate… Animal Rights Salon Says, ‘Stuff the Merchant Too.’]
[How Far Will Greed Go? The Dark Underbelly of the Empire]
“Good thing she set fire!”
“So satisfying!”
yawn
“……”
“……”
My coworkers stared at me.
I ignored them, rubbed my eyes, and stretched my aching arm. Hammering sailors all night gave me muscle pain.
“Seraphina, are you okay? Your arm hurts?”
“You look exhausted.”
“How hard did you party last night?”
“You probably didn’t even know there was a fire!”
Hahaha—
I just smiled at their worried chatter.
Ding-ling.
“Senior.”
“Arden.”
Arden entered the moment we opened the store.
Just like I thought, after using handkerchiefs like crazy this morning, he came straight here.
“You’re here for handkerchiefs, right? Wait a moment.”
“What happened to your hand?”
Arden looked at my bandaged fingertips.
While handling explosives—
“I burned it ironing dresses.”
I lied without blinking and turned away.
Seraphina! Seraphina!
He’s so handsome!
Kyaa!
Shh!
My coworkers clasped their hands, sparkling like idiots. I signaled for silence and went behind the counter.
When I glanced again, Arden was still standing exactly where I left him.
He really did stay still because I told him to “wait.”
Dubu couldn’t wait even if I begged—gimme sweet potatoes now—but this human obeyed like a trained dog.
Humans wait better than dogs.
* * *
“You’re here for handkerchiefs, right? Wait a moment.”
“……”
Arden was suspicious.
Last night, after hearing Pepper’s story with Seraphina, the Magic Saintess appeared.
She saved the yellow dog that was about to be stuffed and revealed the illegal crop scandal tied to the Temeren crew.
Was it coincidence?
‘Maybe.’
But—
‘She didn’t go home last night.’
The very night the Saintess appeared.
I wasn’t stalking her—our landlady told me. Still, it bothered me.
Arden narrowed his eyes at the burn on Seraphina’s fingertips.
The Magic Saintess set fire to Ingrid’s illegal field using explosives.
And today, Seraphina had burn marks on her hand.
“Can’t find handkerchiefs. I’ll get some from the storage.”
“No, Seraphina. Rest.”
“Yeah, we’ll get them. You look tired.”
“You stayed up all night, remember?”
“…?”
Stayed up?
How did they know?
Were the seamstresses accomplices too?
“Yeah. Seraphina drank all night.”
“She partied like a maniac.”
“She danced on the table.”
“She rolled on the floor!”
“WOW!”
“……”
Not the Magic Saintess?
“She’s just a drunk, huh…”
“Yeah.”
As if reading Arden’s sinking thoughts, the employees pushed Seraphina away.
Seraphina wasn’t a holy figure. She was a menace.
“…Well.”
Of course someone like her wouldn’t be the Magic Saintess. She only went to the temple when free food was involved.
Devotion? She couldn’t spell it.
“……”
Feeling stupid for even imagining it, Arden shook his head.
Ten minutes later, Seraphina returned with a bundle.
“Arden. Hand.”
“…Yes?”
I instinctively held out my hand.
“Wow.”
Seraphina looked impressed.
“…?”
“You were so good at ‘wait,’ I wondered if you’d be good at ‘hand,’ and you really are. Amazing.”
If you get fired as a knight, apply as a dog. Seraphina grinned brightly and handed over the bundle.
“You’ll never starve.”
“……”
There’s no way that woman is the Magic Saintess.
