Chapter 1-42 : The Girl Finds Out About Her Father’s Whereabouts
「Now that you have an ID card, you can move freely in this city. Is there a place you want to visit?」(Ingrid)
「As I said before, I want to go to the library, but… you said a lower-class citizen can’t enter.」(Elle)
「Umm, actually, there’s a way for lower-class people to enter that place.」(Ingrid)
「Really?」(Elle)
「Yeah. There’s a wide variety of jobs in this city. Even though you’re a lower-class citizen, if your job requires you to look for information in the library, you’re allowed to enter the place. However, you will need a letter of approval from the guild, and since I’m a magic tool engineer, I can ask the receptionist to issue it for me.」(Ingrid)
「That meansー」(Elle)
「Yeah. We can enter the library.」(Ingrid)
「Awesome! But… Even if we can enter the library, can we borrow the resident register? You said ordinary people couldn’t access it.」(Elle)
「Don’t worry. I’ll think of something once we get there. Anyway, first, I’ll go get the letter of approval. You wait here.」(Ingrid)
「Alright.」(Elle)
This time, Ingrid was the one requesting something from the receptionist, while Elle waited.
It took about twenty minutes of waiting for the guild to issue the letter.
The receptionist wasn’t very friendly, but she did her job quite well.
「I got the letter. Let’s go to the library.」(Ingrid)
「Lead the way.」(Elle)
◇◇◇
While heading to the library, Ingrid showed Elle around the city.
Elle arrived in the city a few hours before dark yesterday afternoon, when the city had already dyed in the orange color of the sunset, so the view of the city at noon looked a bit different to her.
After walking and enjoying the city for a while, they arrived at the library. It was a brick building just like the guild, but it wasn’t as big as the guild, and there were not many people going in and out of the building.
When they entered, Elle could see the beautiful stained glass on the ceiling. It was half-translucent, so the sunlight came through the ceiling and poured down onto the floor, resulting in a beautiful dream-world-like interior.
「It’s so pretty.」(Elle)
「Elle, we need to exchange our ID card for a visitor pass at the receptionist first before we can read any book. Let’s go.」(Ingrid)
「Un.」(Elle)
While admiring the interior of the library, Elle followed Ingrid to the reception desk.
The receptionist was a young woman of about twenty years old. Unlike the unfriendly receptionist in the guild, she greeted Ingrid and Elle with a smile and a bow.
「Welcome~」(receptionist)
「Two visitor passes, please.」(Ingrid)
「May I have your ID card, Miss?」(receptionist)
「Yeah. Elle.」(Ingrid)
「Un.」(Elle)
Elle handed Ingrid her freshly made ID card, and then Ingrid handed it together with her ID card to the receptionist.
The receptionist, who looked friendly, suddenly changed her expression when she saw Ingrid and Elle’s ID cards. Her friendly smile turned into a frown.
「You’re lower-class citizens, huh?」(receptionist)
The receptionist lady thought Elle and Ingrid were from a rich family at first since there were two artificial spirit toys, Yoyo and Neige, behind them. However, realizing that they were not even middle-class, she sighed as if she regretted wasting her energy to greet them politely with a smile and a bow.
「You have the letter from the guild?」(receptionist)
「Yeah.」(Ingrid)
「…..」(receptionist)
After Ingrid handed the letter of approval to her, the receptionist read it briefly and gave Ingrid two visitor pass cards.
「Don’t enter the prohibited areas and keep quiet. Got it?」(receptionist)
「Got it. Thanks.」(Ingrid)
Ingrid nodded, took the passes, and proceeded to the main area of the library.
「She obviously changed her attitude after seeing our IDs…」(Elle)
「Well, most people who come to the library are middle-class, such as nobles and scholars, after all. It’s rare for lower-class people like us to be here.」(Ingrid)
「I see… I don’t like this class-thingy at all.」(Elle)
「No one does. This citizen classification system is the most stupid system the government came up with.」(Ingrid)
「Yeah… What a shitty system…」(Elle)
If Moritz were to hear such dirty words coming from Elle’s mouth, he would probably explode with rage, but unlike him, Ingrid couldn’t help but giggle.
「Pfft! Yeah, right.」(Ingrid)
「So, where can we find the resident register?」(Elle)
「We won’t be able to find it. It’s in the restricted area where only a few people can enter.」(Ingrid)
「Eh? Then how are we…」(Elle)
「I told you I would think of a way. He should be here around this time… Hmm…」(Ingrid)
Without answering Elle’s question, Ingrid started looking around the library. She seemed to be looking for someone.
There were books, books, and more books as far as your eye could see.
There were also some people who seemed to be the library staff. They were sorting the precious books carefully on the shelves.
Other than them, there were a few people who seemed to be scholars. They were reading and writing with full concentration.
「Oh, there he is.」(Ingrid)
Ingrid found the person she was looking for and approached him.
He was one of the scholars. There were a few huge piles of books on his table. He seemed to be doing some research.
「Yo.」(Ingrid)
「…Hm? What the hell are you doing here?」(scholar)
He frowned as soon as he saw Ingrid’s face under her hood.
「I’m looking for someone’s information. You can access the restricted area, right? Can you bring me the resident register?」(Ingrid)
「Huh? Why would I wanna do that?」(scholar)
「Oh, come on. I’ll give you a huge discount for your next purchase.」(Ingrid)
「Hmm…」(scholar)
Ingrid mentioned that she sold her magic tools to scholars sometimes. Judging from their conversation, Elle thought that this man must be one of her customers.
As the man crossed his arms and thoughts, he moved his gaze toward Elle.
「Who is she?」(scholar)
「I… Umm…」(Elle)
「Don’t mind her. She’s my friend.」(Ingrid)
「Friend, huh?」(scholar)
Looking somewhat doubtful, the man bent forward and looked at Elle’s face closely.
「You… I feel like I’ve seen you before… Have we met somewhere…?」(scholar)
「Eh? Umm, I don’t think so. I just arrived in this city yesterday.」(Elle)
「Really? …Hmm… Oh, well, whatever.」(scholar)
After observing Elle’s face for a few seconds, he returned his gaze to Ingrid.
「Back to business. Give me a seventy percent discount, and you’ll get to see the record.」(scholar)
「Se… seventy…? Ugh… Alright.」(Ingrid)
「It’s a deal then. Wait here.」(scholar)
He closed the book he was reading and went into the restricted area.
He then returned with two thick books. One was the record of lower-class residents, and the other was of the middle-class.
「I don’t know who you’re looking for, so I brought both.」(scholar)
「You’re thoughtful as always. Thanks.」(Ingrid)
「Don’t forget your promise.」(scholar)
「Yeah, yeah~」(Ingrid)
Ingrid casually waved at the man and left him.
She then sat at an empty table with Elle.
「I didn’t expect it would go so smoothly. The security in this place is not very good, it seems.」(Elle)
「Yeah. They don’t care that much. Besides, these books don’t contain any country-level information that can’t be seen by the public. They just contain the data of the citizens such as name, age, and address. Anyway, let’s get started. What’s your dad’s name?」(Ingrid)
「Hugo Harzheil.」(Elle)
「Alright, let’s see…」(Ingrid)
Ingrid opened the one that recorded lower-class residents’ information and started searching.
「Hugo… Hugo… Hugo…」(Ingrid)
「Hmm…」(Elle)
There were about ten people with the name ‘Hugo’, but none of them was Hugo Harzheil.
「This is weird… Your dad’s name is not in the record. Are you sure he’s working in this city?」(Ingrid)
「He told me he was working in the royal capital as a laborer. Do you think he lied to me?」(Elle)
「How would I know? But since we can’t find his name here, there are two reasons. Either he has never been in this city, or he used a fake name.」(Ingrid)
「So, there’s a possibility that he lied to me about working in this city…」(Elle)
「Could be… By the way, can you tell me what kind of person your dad is?」(Ingrid)
「He isー」(Elle)
「ーA worthless, good-for-nothing man.」(Yoyo)
Yoyo, who had been silent and behaving like a good cat, suddenly interrupted.
「Yoyo!」(Elle)
「What? Am I wrong?」(Yoyo)
「Haha! Looks like your cat hates your dad.」(Ingrid)
「Ugh… I can’t deny that he’s kinda… worthless… He always has messy hair and an unkempt beard. He can’t do chores very well and is very sloppy. If it wasn’t for my master who taught him how to do things properly, I don’t think he would be able to raise me.」(Elle)
「I see… What a unique father… But… wait a minute…」(Ingrid)
Ingrid put her thumb and index finger on her chin and thought all of a sudden. She seemed to have realized something.
「Say, Elle… Are you sure your dad is a lower-class citizen?」(Ingrid)
「He’s a laborer, so he’s a lower-class, right?」(Elle)
「What if your dad did lie to you about his job?」(Ingrid)
「What…?」(Elle)
「Look. Judging from what kind of person your dad is, I don’t think he is a laborer. Lower-class people, especially laborers, should be able to take care of themselves and do a certain amount of housework. Being unable to do anything properly is proof that he grew up with servants who took care of him.」(Ingrid)
「That’s… Now that you mention it… That means…」(Elle)
「Your dad is probably a noble.」(Ingrid)
「…Dad is a… noble…? ーAh!」(Elle)
Learning that her dad was probably not just a commoner, Elle remembered about the warranty card she got from the Long Tail Factory’s shopkeeper.
She took it out from her bag and showed it to Ingrid.
「What is this?」(Ingrid)
「Neige’s warranty card. Dad bought Neige two years ago, and he used this name back then.」(Elle)
Ingrid looked at the warranty card closely and read the name on it.
「Hugo de Neurindor…? So, he’s not Hugo Harzheil?」(Ingrid)
「Yeah. If my dad really is using a fake name, then this is probably his real name.」(Elle)
「I knew it! Elle, he is a noble. You see, nobles have the prefix “de” between their first and last name.」(Ingrid)
「So dad is really a noble… I can’t believe it…」(Elle)
「If that’s the case, we may find his name in the other book.」(Ingrid)
While Elle was flabbergasted, Ingrid opened the other book, which was the resident register for middle-class citizens, and started searching for the record of The Neurindor Family in it.
「Neurindor… Neurindor… There it is!」(Ingrid)
It didn’t take long for Ingrid to find the page about the Neurindor Family.
It seemed that the Neurindor Family was one of the top five noble families in the kingdom, with the title of marquis.
「Wow! Elle, seems like your dad is a powerful noble!」(Ingrid)
「…..」(Elle)
They found Hugo’s name in the list of the Neurindor Family members. He seemed to be the third child of the current head of the family.
However, they then discovered a shocking truth about him.
「ーWhat!? He… Your dad has…」(Ingrid)
「ーー！！！」(Elle)
“Hugo de Neurindor ーー Status: Deceased ーー Died at age 37.”
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