Edit: forgot the footnote

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That’s…

“I wonder.”

I tilted my head.

Or rather, I wondered why someone younger than me was saying something like that.

“However, you try to be strong.”

“Especially because I’m in this sort of situation.” I said.

“I understand that. However, when you’re defeated, it’s in the blink of an eye. That’s why it’s good to rely on those around you.”

It sounded almost as if she had been listening to my counseling session.

Like she heard that I had witnessed the scene of a murder. And that I had lost a memory from the shock.

Well, it wasn’t that strange for her to know something like that. Nothing really was coming from her, considering her appearance and position.

“I’ll rely on people.”

I laughed bitterly. “That is, I rely on what I need to and use what I need to. That’s the way I work.”

“If so, then fine.”

Elizabeth stabbed her fork into a slice of pumpkin pie. A smile spread on her stuffed cheeks.

“This is scrumptious.”
Elizabeth really had trouble reading the atmosphere.

I stole a glance at Claire who was still silent and seemed to be pondering something. She noticed my glance and whispered.

“Now that I think about it, you’ve always been like this. Secretive.”

“Huh?”

“You are very good at reckless behavior that gets you into trouble, so please, sometimes before you get yourself into trouble take a step back and think a little bit.”

“I won’t get myself into trouble.”

“I wonder how.”

Claire shifted her gaze back at Elizabeth. “May I also hear the results of the counseling session?”

“Hold on, Claire.”

“Is it that because you don’t trust the mistress, you and Matilda and the Chief are listening in?”

“You need to trust me. We’re going to be spending a long time together.”

As she said this, her cold gaze fled. What on earth?

“Matilda and Edgar work together.”

Elizabeth finished eating her pumpkin pie, at some point having grabbed a café au lait from the kitchen counter. While slurping, she settled herself down into a chair and grinned.

“I’ll ask about it later. Sid…er, the Chief is tired right now from organizing so many doc.u.ments and won’t show his face, so of course it will be Matilda.”

“I see.”

I groaned, looking at Elizabeth’s smiling face.

She’s unreadable. This girl, her thoughts are unreadable!

For the time being, I scratched my head, attempting to change the subject.

“You act like she’s your older sister, but it doesn’t really fit.”1

“That’s because we’re not siblings!”

Elizabeth, seemingly in a panic, opened her eyes wide. “Matilda is my benefactor. I just treat her kind of like a sister. She goes to the trouble of taking care of my needs, always helping me out.”

“Benefactor?”

Claire and I both questioned her.

“She recommended me to be accepted as an officer to the higher ups in the Administration of Justice Department. Kind of like a back-door acceptance, I guess.”

“Hey there now.”

I frowned as Elizabeth waved her hands frantically saying, “It’s a joke, a joke!”

“So, what should we do this afternoon?”

Elizabeth seemed to deliberately divert the subject.

After staring at her in silence for a moment, I replied curtly.

“I want to go to the library.”

We spent the rest of the day in a stupor at the library.

At any rate, the Department’s library was vast, and anyone who likes books would’ve had a hard time getting bored.

Seeming to have been manufactured for reading, the desks and chairs were a bit shorter than usual. I, appropriately, took a book off one of the shelves and sat down.

From there, I looked about the library once again. Because of its s.p.a.ciousness, it felt kind of empty. However, there were definitely officers around.

While they had a lot of regular books, specialty publications were abounding. There was even an inaccessible section, filled with what were most likely magic books. Most of the officers seemed to be gathered there.

“By the way,”

I called out to Elizabeth who sat near to me. She seemed drowsy, with a full stomach and all.

“Would you think there would be information about personality transfer in those magic reference books? Could I possibly find a way to switch me and Gray back?”

“Ah-“

Elizabeth’s eyelids floated down sleepily. “That’s forbidden, so you won’t find that sort of information in those books.”

“But there are so many! Not even a single one?”

“Not even. I read all of them and there was nothing, so…”

While rubbing her eyes, Elizabeth murmured quietly.

Don’t sleep, wake up.

No, actually, leak everything you know in your sleep!

Besides that, you actually read every single book? Everything here!?

“Forbidden, meaning magic that is only pa.s.sed down orally. Because you’re not supposed to know about personality transfer magic.”

“Why not?”

“Um…”

Elizabeth opened her eyes, staring at me. “Because, people don’t have pure desires? Eternal life.”

“Huh?”

“If you’re able to use personality transfer magic, gaining new bodies as you grow older, you’d be able to live for hundreds of years.”

“Ah…”

So that’s why. Kind of like limitless immortality. If you never got caught in an accident or something, you would be able to live for a long time.

…though, wouldn’t that be depressing?

Even though you would have a young body, before you knew it you would become old again… that sort of thing.

“That’s why it’s forbidden.”

Elizabeth once again closed her eyes.

Don’t sleep.

“So then how was Gray able to use forbidden magic?”

Elizabeth replied faintly.

“We were not completely certain about that either, however… Sid spoke of it. Gray’s master might have known of it. He was a fascinating pupil, so his master taught it to him… or so he theorized.”

“Gray’s master? A sorcerer?”

“Yes. A seemingly malign master. I don’t know much about it.”

“Oh.”

If so, then his master would know how to switch me and Gray back. “Where is he?”

I added on to the stack of questions, but Elizabeth had completely fallen into the reaches of sleep.

Only a little bit more, and I could’ve-

“Are you planning something?”

A serene voice sprung up from beside me. I looked to see Claire facing me with a distrustful gaze.

“I’m just collecting information.”

I smiled at her.

Claire sighed.

That night, I was called to the Chief’s office.

Matilda came to get only me, walking a pace ahead of me.

As we entered the room, the Chief had a grim expression, garnished by Elizabeth behind him hanging her head.

  Did something happen? I thought, taking a spot next to Elizabeth. The Chief began to speak.

“It seems that our little ditz has leaked some information to you.”
“Excuse me?”

I stole a sidelong glance at Elizabeth. She smiled stiffly, breaking into a cold sweat.

“I haven’t heard anything in detail.”

I tried to stay nonchalant.

“Is that so…?”

The Chief narrowed his eyes.

“Perhaps you don’t recall, ‘Sid spoke of it. Gray’s master might have known of it. He was a fascinating pupil, so his master taught it to him…”

Elizabeth’s eyes seemingly started to go blank as she apologized. “I’m sorry, I’m very sorry, I was a bit sleepy.”

Before the Chief- Sid could say anything, I spoke.

“I imposed on her while she was dozing off and may not have been fully aware. Looking this beautiful is also an advantage.”

I forcefully grinned, causing Sid to sigh.

“No need to cover for her. You, write a note of apology.”

He spoke sharply at Elizabeth. She had been wilting in disappointment, but his words seemed to give her some relief.

“Is that all?”

“…do you want me to further the punishment?”

“No, not at all! I love written apologies!”

“You really are hopeless.”

Sid shook his head and looked at me with tired eyes. “So, what are you thinking?”

“I would like to meet with Gray’s master.”

I tried to form another smile.

“Absolutely not. Denied.”

“Why?”

“We have no power to allow you to do so.”

“Power?”

The smile on my face faded. What sort of position was this master in?

“Either way, you can’t meet that person. Furthermore, if you met them it would be dangerous.”

“What do you mean?”

“The person who adopted Gray as a young child and turned him into a fine murderer? Manipulating someone as naïve as you would be a breeze for someone like that.”

“Naïve…”

It was a harsh way of putting it, but I guess it was true.

Then, what was I to do?

I stayed quiet and stared at Sid.

1 Elizabeth refers to Matilda as お姉さま (oneesama) which means older sister, though it is also used for an older woman who is close to the speaker. I choose to leave out honorifics because it doesn’t feel appropriate to the setting of the story.