Does the Assassin Girl Dream of the Mana Doll?

“Really? Do you usually have more variety?”

“That’s right~. But lately, flour’s been getting expensive… I wish I could give more to kids like you who eat so happily.”

In a bakery on the main street, Ellie and the shop owner were chatting happily, after having purchased several loaves of bread.

After calming down the crying Thomas, Letty had accepted his request and officially taken on the case. She’d been a bit overwhelmed by the large pouch of mithril coins he’d thrust upon her, but she’d put it aside for now.

To gather more information and verify Thomas’s claims, they had started by casually asking questions of the locals. It was a common tactic to gather information during the day through everyday conversations.

“…Ellie… isn’t it strange how good you are at this?”

“Oh, really? I’m just making small talk, aren’t I?”

Letty asked with a slightly suspicious look, but Ellie replied with a sweet smile.

Though she calls it “normal,” the information she had gathered through small talk is quite something..

Grains like wheat and flour, their processed products, not only that also tubers and other long-lasting foods are hardly available in the market anymore.

Not just that, alcohol and cloth are also in short supply, and for some reason, despite it being summer, there’s a rush to buy firewood..

She’d also discovered that while the number of carts coming from other territories hadn’t decreased, the number going to other territories had.

Trade with Balandia had resumed to a small extent, but there had been an increase in merchants coming from Balandia, mostly to buy goods. Furthermore, she’d learned that Count Azal was a haughty and self-serving nobleman who was disliked by the common folks.

“Are you… really just making small talk?”

“Of course! I wouldn’t lie to you, Letty~.”

True, I don’t think she’s lying… but seeing how easily Ellie gathers all this information from such natural conversations would change anyone’s view of her.

That said, the fact that we’ve confirmed the information and gathered even more is quite something…

“…Firewood, I hadn’t considered that… but you’re right, you’d need a lot for a large-scale military operation.”

“Yes, with so many people, they’ll need it for cooking and other things. So our suspicions are confirmed. Now, the question is what to do next.”

“Let’s go back to the inn for now. We’ll continue our investigation at night.”

They had gathered enough information for one day. Discussing plans to infiltrate at night in a public place wasn’t wise, so they returned to the inn.

Thomas had suggested they stay at the guild, but just in case their trail was getting picked up, they decided to stay at an inn instead. After a brief meeting there, they left the inn and headed back out to the main street.

After carefully examining several inns, they decided to enter the largest one. As it was late afternoon, the inn was bustling with customers. They found an empty table and sat down, ordering a simple meal from the busy waitress.

“…Ellie, I’ll leave it to you for a bit.” Letty whispered to Ellie

“Yes, you can count on me.” Ellie said after a quiet exchange,

Letty leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, focusing intently. She listened to the Flood of voices around her.

“… This ale is too expensive and tastes terrible and it’s such a small serving…”

“…This food never fills me up…”

“…My mother’s always complaining about how little she earns…”

Sifting through these everyday complaints, she searched for something more significant.

“…After this, I’ve got another job to do…”

“…The usual, in the western woods?”

“…What is the count even thinking?”

“…Don’t say such foolish things…”

“…Be careful and don’t get caught…”

She had cast a hearing enhancement spell before entering the tavern, and now she focused her attention on these hushed conversations.

“I think I’ve found something,” she murmured, opening her eyes. She glanced at the group of men who had made those comments, making sure not to stare.

As Ellie engaged her in casual conversation, Letty quietly cast a tracking spell on the men.

A simple spell that leaves a magical trace on a target.

It has no direct effect on the target itself, but the mana traces can be used as a reference for certain other spells.

For example… detection spells.

“…You’re really good at those subtle spells.”

“Well, yeah… but they’re useful, right?”

“Definitely. I’m honestly impressed. Only because it’s you, Letty.”

As they finished their meal, the men they were watching stood up and left. Letty waited until they were out of sight before paying and leaving the tavern.

With those words, they started eating the food that had arrived.They dipped the slightly stale bread, probably baked that morning, into the somewhat bland soup as they kept an eye on the men, who soon stood up.

They hadn’t had much to drink, it seemed. The men left with steady footsteps, and as they finished their meal, the men had disappeared.

“Let’s head back to the inn,” Letty said.

After a brief discussion in their room, Letty took out her change of clothes from her bag and changed into her black outfit, the one she wore for ‘work’.She equipped herself with daggers and throwing knives.

Since her mission was to gather information tonight, she kept her equipment light. After checking her gear once more, Letty cast a detection spell on one of the men she’d heard in the tavern.

The tracking spell, following the traces she had placed earlier, informed her that the men had indeed headed to the western forest.

“I’ll be going now,” she said to Ellie.

“Be careful,” Ellie replied with a smile.

With a slight distortion, Letty vanished from sight, following

the trail of the spell she had cast.

**Next: If you want to hide something, hide it in the woods.**