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The Golden Fairy – Part 08

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Translator: Kell

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The station they were headed to was located in a bustling city along the Mediterranean Sea. A large port city, it was so full of life compared to the village at the foot of the Alps that it was hard to believe it was the same country. The faint smell of the sea wafted even to the station.

Kazuya disembarked on the platform along with Victorique. Unlike the station in the village, there were several platforms here, and the ceiling was incredibly high. They had to be careful, or they’d get lost in the station.

Seasoned travelers passed by, and porters in a red uniform carrying large pieces of luggage rushed across the station.

Countless people made their way to the platforms, and countless also disembarked. An urban station, where people converged endlessly. There were few children. People passing by occasionally cast curious glances at Kazuya and Victorique.

After alighting on the platform, Victorique kept looking around. When Kazuya finally found the ticket gate, he tried to walk there with her, but he had a hard time because she frequently headed somewhere else. He decided to hold Victorique’s hand tight.

It was a tiny hand. He felt like he had his little sister with him, not a classmate.

“Stay close to me, Victorique.”

“…”

She kept looking around. Whenever she saw something unusual, she would ask.

“What’s that?”

“An ice cream stand.”

“And that?”

“A newspaper stand. Walk straight ahead. You’ll get run over.”

Kazuya wrapped his arms around Victorique and walked out onto the street.

The wide street was divided into several lanes, where carriages and cars streamed past nonstop. The sidewalk was full of people, weaving through traffic with familiar steps, hailing carriages and entering them. Dazzling stores lined the sidewalks, their windows adorned with fine confectionery, beautiful dresses, hats, folding fans.

There was a faint smell of the tide in the air. The sea was close.

Kazuya stopped and whistled. A four-wheeled carriage clattered towards them and pulled over.

“Was that magic?” Victorique asked, startled.

“It’s how you hail a ride. Come on, get in.”

Even after boarding the carriage, Victorique kept her gaze outside, observing the people and buildings curiously.

After telling the driver their destination, Kazuya said, “I take it you don’t go out often?”

Victorique did not answer. Kazuya thought she looked upset, so he didn’t pry deeper.

By the time they arrived at the coast of the Bay of Lyon where they were to meet the inspector, Kazuya was completely exhausted.

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Luxury yachts belonging to the aristocracy and the rich, as well as cruise ships with exotic designs, were docked in a corner of a large wharf facing the Mediterranean Sea. Sailors of various skin colors boarded and disembarked.

A young man was standing on top of a shiny yacht moored to the jetty.

He wore a striped sailor shirt and white, tight-fitting trousers. A red bandana was wrapped around his neck, and his head was still as pointy as always. It was none other than Inspector Grevil de Blois.

The inspector caught sight of them and waved. “Ahoy there, matey!”

Exhausted, Kazuya waved back wearily.

Inspector Blois nimbly jumped off, and struck a sensational pose before Kazuya and Victorique, his one foot in front of the other.

“Ah, it’s been bugging me,” he said suddenly, seemingly devastated. “Why am I spending my weekend with you guys?”

“I was wondering the same thing,” Kazuya replied. “Nice yacht.”

“I call it the Blois. By the way, Kujou.” The inspector’s face suddenly turned serious.

He stooped lower so Victorique could also hear him—there was at least a forty-centimeter difference in height between them—and whispered.

“About the case… The first shot in the next room…”

“There you go again, trying to take advantage of Victorique…”

Kazuya felt his anger flare, but Victorique gave him a nudge, telling him to stop. Her face said she wanted to hear the details, so he begrudgingly kept quiet.

“A mirror was shot. Shattered to pieces. Apparently, it was an antique mirror that Lady Roxane used in her divinations.”

“A magic mirror,” Victorique murmured.

Inspector Blois shuddered. “There were many divination tools in the room. Like—”

“A silver jar filled with wine, a copper jar filled with oil, and a glass jar filled with water.”

The Inspector looked at Victorique with frightened eyes.

Victorique shrugged. “They’re tools for divination, Grevil.”

“You sure know a lot about that sort of stuff,” Kazuya interjected. “But you don’t know how to buy a ticket.”

Neither of them responded, leaving him dejected.

“And the Arab maid…”

“Ahuh.”

“She’s gorgeous.”

“I read that in the paper.”

“The maid uttered some cryptic words about her motive. The only Arabic translator we got isn’t that good, so it’s taking some time to communicate with her. The translator mentioned that she said…” He paused, and lowered his voice. “This is the box’s revenge.”

Victorique raised her head, making eye contact with the inspector.

It was the first time that Kazuya had seen the two look at each other. He swallowed, wondering what would happen next.

Suddenly, strange-sounding voices came from a distance.

“Inspectoooooor!”

“Pectoooor!”

The three lifted their heads and saw two familiar men running from the other side of the wharf. Wearing hunting caps, they were trotting toward them, holding hands.

It was Inspector Blois’ men.

“What is it?! Did something happen?” The inspector puffed out his chest and pointed at them, stopping them in their tracks.

“Nice pose, Inspector!”

“You look so cool!”

Kazuya cast the men a sidelong glance.

Your pampering’s making him a weirdo. And he still has the weird hair…

Wondering if Victorique would say the same, Kazuya looked beside him, but she was gone. He looked around and saw that she had boarded the yacht and was eagerly examining the inside. The curiosity bug had bitten her, it seemed.

“Inspector, we have a problem! The Arabian maid—”

“—escaped!”

“What?! Are you serious?!” Inspector Blois jumped.

He was about to run off with his men, when he realized something and came back.

“Kujou! I’ve got to go! You can board the yacht, but don’t take it out. I’m the only one with a license.”

“What? Just boarding, no driving? That’s boring.”

“I know! Just suck it up!”

He held hands with his men and sprinted away.

Kazuya watched them go, dumbfounded.

Don’t take it out? Just suck it up? Come on.

Weakly, he looked back at Victorique. She had stepped off the yacht, her frilly dress all dirty, and her glistening blonde hair disheveled.

She glanced at the inspector receding into the distance, but didn’t seem bothered.

“This yacht belongs to Roxane’s granddaughter, right?” she asked.

“I think so.”

“The granddaughter inherited Roxane’s estate. So this yacht originally belonged to Roxane.”

“…It checks out.”

“So…”

Disappointed that he couldn’t drive the yacht, Kazuya only vaguely responded. When Victorique noticed this, she became annoyed and showed something she had been holding.

It was a white envelope.

“What’s this?” Kazuya asked.

“I found it in the yacht. It’s an invitation, addressed to Roxane.”

Curious, Kazuya opened the envelope.

They both sat on the edge of the yacht and read the letter inside, which was written in fluent French.

The content was a dinner invitation on a luxury liner moored on a nearby coast. The date was this evening.

“…Some parts are curious.”

“Same…”

One was the menu. The following words were spelled out in dramatically large letters:

The main course is “Hare”.

Hare.

The same animal that Roxane the fortune teller raised and fed to a hound.

Another one was the title of the dinner.

The Miniature Box Garden Evening.

“Box… We heard the same word earlier, right?”

“We did.”

Kazuya and Victorique shared looks.

Victorique’s expression had already changed to when she pestered Kazuya about being bored. He couldn’t really say what it was exactly that changed, but he knew from experience.

Kazuya glanced back at the yacht. It was shiny and luxurious, but not being able to drive it was boring.

They nodded at each other.

“Let’s check it out.”

“I agree.”

They relied on the map on the invitation to find the cruise ship. By the time they arrived, it was almost dark. They showed the invitation to the man standing by the ship moored on the dimly-lit shore, and boarded.

They seemed to be the last guests. The ship soon left the shore and began to move, drifting through the waves.

Huh?

It was a quiet ship. Its color was so dark that it seemed to blend with the darkness. Like a phantom, you’d miss it if you didn’t look closely. A thick funnel towered eerily into the night sky. Kazuya shuddered.

Wait, this ship’s name… He cocked his head. I think I’ve heard it somewhere before. Hmm… I can’t remember where. Oh, well.

The ship sailed along, splitting the surface of the sea.

Thunder rumbled in the distance. The weather was not looking good.

The ship bore the name Queen Berry in subtle letters.

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