CHAPTER 062
In the original story, there isn't a magic stone that interferes with Louis.
However, Alain did come to this island to live in seclusion even though he was a wanted man.
Thanks to his expertise in disguise, he completely changed his appearance and lived a rather comfortable life.
So here we are-
“Marquis, it's over there.”
He could come to the cafe for breakfast in the morning.
His face was exactly the same as yesterday's. The only differences were the larger frame of his glasses and the change in his hair color.
We quietly approached the man.
The man was so focused on the waitress that he didn’t even notice us getting closer. He came to this cafe every day just for her. On this island where he had fled, he found a woman who perfectly matched his ideal type.
Seeing him up close, it was clear why he was wearing glasses.
The disguise felt so unnatural, didn’t it?
Lewis put a sly smile on his face and placed a hand on the man's shoulder.
"Is the meal tasty?"
"·······!"
The man turned his head abruptly towards us.
His eyes widened in surprise.
"Wh- who are you?"
"Must be nice to have time for a meal."
Lewis taunted him nonchalantly.
At the same time, the man tried to stand up abruptly.
But he couldn't move. Lewis had immobilized him.
Then, the guards who had talked with us beforehand entered the cafe.
"Is this really Alain Hood?"
"You can tell by looking."
Lewis placed his hand under Alain’s chin. Without hesitation, he tore off the man’s face.
Rip.
The fake face disappeared, revealing his true face.
It was the exact face on the wanted poster!
"Oh my god!"
"How did······?"
People in the cafe murmured in surprise upon seeing this.
The guards quickly tied Alain's hands with rope, preventing him from moving.
"Wait."
Lewis gestured to them.
The guards obediently stepped back.
Alain looked worried. He couldn't move and was facing Lewis.
Lewis asked Alain.
"It's you, right? The one who bothered me in the capital that day."
"N- no!"
Alain denied it, claiming he knew nothing about it.
But his answer changed soon enough.
"Ugh!"
Alain twisted in pain.
Lewis seemed to be pressuring him with his abilities.
"Ca- can't breathe·······! Ugh!"
Alain grabbed his neck with his tied hands.
Was Lewis strangling him? With an unamused face, Lewis spoke to him.
"Talk while I give you the chance. It was you, wasn’t it?"
"Y- yes!"
"Who ordered you to do this?"
Had Alain's strength given out? He fell to his knees with a thud.
With a face close to crying, he answered.
"I- I don’t know·······."
"Don't know?"
"I don’t know their identity or name! The voice was so low it sounded altered········."
So they used voice-altering magic when meeting Alain.
Alain explained the situation with trembling.
"I’ve been successfully conning people without getting caught. But recently, I accidentally conned a high-ranking noble·······!"
"So you became a wanted man because of that."
He seemed genuinely aggrieved over something that wasn't worth pitying.
Alain nodded vigorously at Lewis’s words.
"Yes! I suddenly became a wanted man and planned to leave the capital. But then they came! They promised to give me funds to use while in hiding if I just did what they asked!"
"Did what?"
"Yes. They asked me to send a magic stone to the Tower Lord."
Alain said he planned to go to the magic tower as the client.
He thought leaving it in the magic tower was the closest he could get the magic stone to Lewis.
"You went to the magic tower?"
"No·······. I couldn’t."
But after deciding to go to the magic tower, he coincidentally saw Lewis on the street.
"I knew the Tower Lord’s face. I received a portrait along with the advance payment·······."
The moment he passed by Lewis, he noticed that Lewis suddenly reacted.
His gaze changed, and he looked around.
That must have been scary········.
"I thought I had been caught. It felt like the Tower Lord had sensed I was trying to approach him········."
Lewis isn’t an ordinary person.
Even if he got paid, he underestimated Lewis too much.
"Where's the magic stone you were going to send to me?"
"In the inn, it’s at the inn!"
At those words, Lewis spoke to the guards standing by us.
"You heard everything, right? Go search his lodgings immediately. Bring me anything suspicious."
"Yes, Marquis!"
Several guards immediately rushed out of the cafe.
The remaining guards held Alain firmly to prevent him from escaping.
"I didn’t expect him to have changed his face, but thanks to you, Marquis, we caught him!"
"Not me, but my companion. Thank Countess Elsner."
Lewis shifted the credit to me.
The guards expressed their gratitude to me as well.
"Thank you, Countess!"
I waved my hand and smiled.
"Don’t mention it. I’m just glad we caught the criminal."
Ah, this is the advantage of being reincarnated in a book!
It was the first time I felt such satisfaction.
* * *
It took the guards only a few hours to bring the magic stone from Alain’s lodgings.
Lewis decided to keep the magic stone.
Alain was charged with fraud, and the magic stone was unrelated to that.
“It’s the same color as the last one.”
Lewis and I examined the magic stone as we headed to the hotel.
This time, it was roughly shaped. A black raw stone with magical power inserted into it, not processed.
“It seems like the power is stronger. The noise’s intensity is greater than last time.”
“Oh no. It's even worse?”
“It seems to have advanced during this time.”
Lewis said sarcastically.
"I'll have to assess the magic level when we return to the capital. And find the person behind it."
He seemed determined to find the person who ordered Alain.
Well, we now know someone deliberately targeted Lewis.
"Are we leaving today?"
"No. Tomorrow. We'll stay here tonight."
But contrary to my expectations, we didn't leave for the capital immediately.
It was still daytime, so there wouldn’t be any problem heading back to the capital.
"Even after finding this?"
"This is a resort. I didn't come here just for work."
"That’s true, but········"
"We were supposed to enjoy it, just the two of us. Did you forget?"
"Of course not."
Lewis genuinely seemed to want to spend time with me.
"Then I’ll keep this."
I took the magic stone from Lewis’s hand.
"It’s not something good to have right next to you, is it?"
"It’s the same whether you have it or I have it."
"I’ll keep it in my room while we’re at the hotel. Better than it being right next to you."
After saying that, Lewis finally nodded.
We stopped by the hotel to place the magic stone in my room before heading out again. It was already our last night in Sillon.
Thankfully, the weather was still nice, allowing us to enjoy our time.
We went to the beach and saw people playing in the water.
Surprisingly, there were swimsuits in the Ravens Empire too. They looked very different from swimsuits in my previous life, though.
The women's swimsuits had sleeves that went down to the elbows and skirts that reached the knees. Underneath, they wore baggy capri pants.
That was the women’s swimsuit.
Men also wore swimsuits that covered their torso and thighs.
They were so impractical that sometimes accidents happened where the swimsuits would get soaked and lead to drowning.
But it must feel refreshing to play like that·······.
"It would have been nice if Bella was here."
Lewis looked at me.
"Bella again?"
"If we were here with the twins, we could have played in the water."
Then Lewis replied as if he found it absurd.
"You can play in the water with me."
"You?"
Lewis playing in the water?
I looked at him blankly and then lowered my gaze.
The water was close enough that I could see the waves washing over the sand and receding.
I quickly scooped up water with both hands.
"Like this?"
Then I splashed it.
I couldn’t bring myself to splash it on Lewis, so I threw it next to him, hesitantly.
"Can you do something like this?"
"Why not?"
At his words, a water droplet from the sea floated up. It then popped suddenly right in front of me without warning.
"Kya!"
What is this?
"One of my arms is soaked!"
"Isn’t it strange not to get wet when playing in the water?"
"But using magic is cheating! It’s unfair."
"When was I ever fair?"
He’s too right to argue with. Self-awareness at its best!
His playful tone sparked a competitive spirit I didn’t know I had.
Luckily, I had an opportunity. We were at the beach, and getting wet was a given, as Lewis just said.
Let's have a proper water fight!
I quickly took off my shoes and grabbed Lewis’s wrist.
"What now?"
"Come in!"
I pulled him into the water as I ran, and Lewis followed with a surprised look.
Soon we were standing in water that reached our calves.
Lewis asked, looking perplexed.
"Is your dress okay?"
"Of course!"
I had to get a bit wet to drag Lewis in!
"You wanted to play in the water, didn’t you?"
Let's do this!
I really intended to splash Lewis with water. Annoyingly, Lewis moved to dodge the water I splashed.
But if I kept splashing, he wouldn’t be able to avoid it!
Since I couldn't use magic, I just had to move my hands vigorously.
Eventually, I saw the rare sight of Lewis faltering.
I thought he might defend himself with magic. But instead, he frowned and shouted.
"Wait. Stop for a moment!"
"You said you wanted to play in the water. Water play!"
And so, we had a big water fight.
Surprisingly, the water play ended with Lewis’s surrender.
He’s not one to lose easily.
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