Chapter 75

A shock ran through my face.

But there was no pain.

Something soft was hitting my face.

"――Samma! Master Sieg!"

"Hmm?"

I opened my eyes when I heard Helen's voice. It was pitch dark, so I turned on the bedside lamp and saw Helen giving me cat punches.

"Please wake up!"

"I'm up... It's dark, is it morning... Wait, it's 4 a.m.?"

It could be considered early morning, but it was way too early.

"The doorbell is ringing. And I feel strange magic."

"Hmm?"

As I was thinking that I could indeed feel the magic, the sound of the front doorbell rang out.

"What is it?"

"It's been ringing continuously. Something must have happened."

I didn't understand, but I got up and left the bedroom. As I did, I heard a knocking on the door, so I went to the front door and opened it. There stood Erica in her pajamas.

"What is it? What time is it... Huh?"

"Sieg! There's a fire!"

As Erica said, the building in front of the apartment was on fire.

Actually, it was the branch office.

"Huh? What's that?"

"I don't know! I woke up because it was bright, and when I opened the curtains, I saw the fire!"

From the layout, I couldn't see the branch office from my room, but Erica could from hers.

"Damn! Where are Leonora and Adelheid!?"

"They're still asleep!"

"Go wake them up and evacuate them! I'll put out the fire!"

"Got it!"

Erica hurriedly went up the stairs, and I went to the front of the branch office.

"It's burning..."

"There's nothing here that should burn like this."

There were some firestones for delivery on the third floor, but I hadn't made many yet.

This was clearly not an accident.

But... no, that's not the time for that now!

"Water Ball!"

I raised my hand and cast a spell, and a sphere of water appeared in the sky above the branch office and fell.

However, while the fire's intensity decreased, it wasn't completely extinguished.

"Damn!"

This time, I gathered more water vapor from the air and created an even larger sphere of water.

"Water Ball!"

I cast a water spell with more magic power, and the sphere of water fell.

The fire was extinguished, but smoke still filled the air, and the branch office was completely blackened.

"What!? What, what!?"

"What happened!?"

I turned around when I heard voices and saw Leonora and Adelheid in their pajamas with Erica.

They seemed to have been woken up.

"There's a fire. The military... Yuriana."

Yuriana was running towards us from the side street next to the branch office.

"Everyone, are you all right!?"

"We were sleeping."

"What happened!?"

That's what I wanted to know.

"Wait a moment... You three, go change."

The three girls were completely disheveled, still in their pajamas, and their hair was messy.

They weren't dressed to go out in public.

"Ah, yes."

"We'll go change quickly!"

"Me too!"

The three girls returned to their respective rooms.

"The military?"

"They were just about to start extinguishing the fire outside. When they saw the water magic in the sky, they thought it was Sieg."

The military had just arrived...

"Who's in charge?"

"A colonel. He's outside."

I remembered he was on a business trip but was called back temporarily.

"Let's go."

"Is it okay for Sieg to not change?"

Of course, I was also in my pajamas.

"It doesn't matter. Let's go."

"Yes, sir."

We went through the side street and out to the main road.

There were many soldiers on the main street, and I spotted the colonel among them and approached him.

"Colonel! Everyone at the branch office is safe!"

"That's good... I'm glad everyone is safe. What about the others?"

The colonel asked.

"It's this time of night, so they're in their pajamas. I sent them to change. The branch manager is on a business trip in the capital, so I'm in charge now."

"Ah, I met the branch manager in the capital. He was supposed to return today... What happened?"

"I don't know. We were all sleeping..."

It was 4 a.m., so we were definitely asleep.

"Who noticed the fire?"

"Erica. We live in the apartment behind the branch office, and from the layout, Erica's bedroom could see the fire. She woke me up, and I quickly put it out."

"Ah, I see..."

The colonel thought for a moment.

"Colonel, please investigate. No one was in the branch office yesterday, and the only thing that could burn inside is a few firestones. It's not a situation that could cause such a fire."

"Understood... Hey!"

"“Yes, sir!”"

When the colonel gave orders, the soldiers began investigating the burned branch office.

"Colonel, this..."

Yuriana looked at the colonel.

"It's too early to say, but..."

Hmm?

"Colonel, do you have any suspects?"

"Yes... This is just a thought, but the senator backing that merchant guild is close to a certain lieutenant colonel."

Damn!

So it's that.

"I apologize, but I will report this to headquarters, and investigators from headquarters will come."

"That's understandable..."

This is going to get even more complicated.

"Sieg!"

The three girls, now changed, arrived.

"Colonel, these are our alchemists."

"Ah. Are you all hurt?"

The colonel asked the three girls.

"No."

"I'm not hurt, but..."

"What will happen now?"

The three girls looked at the burned branch office, stunned.

"The investigation is ongoing. It's fortunate that none of you were hurt."

"That's good, but..."

"What will happen to us?"

"Our workplace is completely gone..."

That's true.

"For the time being, you'll work from home. We'll discuss the details with the branch manager when he returns today."

"Understood."

Sigh...

"But why were we targeted?"

Leonora tilted her head.

"Some senator is close to some lieutenant colonel."

"Ah, I see... That's taking a grudge too far. We were just doing our job."

"This is going to be complicated... There are no witnesses at this hour."

Exactly...

"Don't worry!"

Hmm?

A voice came from above, and everyone looked up.

There was a crow perched on the roof of the opposite house.

"Huh? Did that crow just speak?"

"Crows don't talk."

"That's true... Wait, that crow..."

Hmm?

"Master Sieg, isn't that Dorothea from Chris's place?"

Ah, it is.

"Dorothea?"

"Yes, it's me. Dorothea, the most beautiful glass in the world."

Dorothea said this and flew over, landing on Leonora's shoulder. She looked very fitting with Leonora in her witch costume.

"What are you doing here? What about Chris?"

"I have a job. Specifically, investigating Sieg's surroundings."

Huh?

"Me? I haven't done anything."

"Being demoted to a place like this and doing nothing is unlikely... But that's beside the point. I was watching from that roof, so I saw the culprit."

What?

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