Volume 3 Chapter 36 The Marquis Family - That Person Is Probably A Time Traveler
"Phew. This feels amazing!"
Cedric is enjoying the new bath that Randy and the others built. His dad, the Marquis, told him it was okay to make changes to the house, but he never expected them to put a bath in the backyard.
"Seriously, what a weird kid."
The small fridge attached to the bath was made by Randy. He said it's fine to drink the fruit drinks and beer inside, so Cedric quickly opened a bottle of beer and took a sip.
The cold alcohol and fizz felt great going down his throat.
With all the gadgets like cameras and the bath, it seems like Randy is really into his hobbies. But then he says something crazy like, "I wonder if we can take down the church with this info."
Honestly, whether that info is enough to take down the church is questionable.
Sure, hiding the existence of ghosts is deceiving the followers, but it's hard to say how many people would actually be angry about it.
But the way he wants to use that info along with the camera... that's just devilish. Of course, he needs to think about when to share the info and the situation of the other person. Still, the idea of randomly saying, "Should we attack the church?" is just wild.
It took Cedric some time to figure out what Randy really meant. Of course, Randy probably thought it was impressive how quickly Cedric caught on, but Cedric has his own pride.
In a world where business and nobility are super important, he takes pride in being the best at using information.
Yet, he couldn't immediately think of how Randy wanted to use the info.
After taking another sip of beer, Cedric looked up at the ceiling.
He could hear the sound of someone washing up from the other side of the wall.
"Hey, Miranda──.'
'Please don't talk to me suddenly!'
Her voice from the other side was a bit muffled, but it sounded both sultry and cute.
"Sorry, sorry."
Cedric chuckled as he took another sip from the bottle. He could hear the sound of someone stepping into the bath on the other side of the wall.
"So, what do you need?'
"Well, it's not a big deal, but..."
As he said this, Cedric leaned back against the wall and looked up at the ceiling.
"I wonder if Randolph is from the future."
Cedric's mumble got a big "Huh?" in response, full of confusion.
"I mean, the way he uses that info and thinks about things. It's just weird."
Cedric pouted as he shared his thoughts about the future.
"Right now, mailbird is the main way to communicate, right? It still takes a day or a few days... but I think there will be faster ways to share info soon.'
'Like what?'
"Well... like using light magic to send info."
He shrugged and said it in a childish way, but Cedric was half-serious. He often thought about how cool it would be to send info instantly like light magic.
How to carry the info and how to send it isn't fully figured out yet, but he believes that faster ways to share info will happen in the near future.
'If information comes from a future where things are faster, how does that relate to Sir Randolph being good at information battles?'
Miranda sounded skeptical, and Cedric laughed.
"Information will be faster. The amount of information flying around will increase, right? Especially truths that people don't want to be known.'
'...I see. So he's good at handling and choosing what to share.'
"Exactly."
Cedric nodded, but he was really focused on how info spreads. It spreads quickly. Or maybe it's better to say there are ways to spread info quickly.
"Scandals are usually things you hide, right? Of course, you spread scandals about your enemies."
Just like Cedric said, his plan this time was to use the church's scandal. He knows that scandals are great entertainment for the people.
He has used that to spread info before.
But even with that in mind, the way he shows or uses scandals, or more accurately, the way he creates them, isn't something that feels normal.
"With so much information in the future, I wonder if there's a way to create scandals and make people believe them."
Water drips from Cedric's hands.
Cedric is right. Even though he's not from the future, Randy, who has lived in modern Japan, has seen tons of information spread around. He knows how much scandals can entertain the public.
How to show it.
How to tell it.
When to do it.
Getting the evidence ready.
The order of revealing it.
All of these things can be figured out based on the information he's dealt with before. This is actually an advantage for Randy as a modern person.
'Even if he was from the future... so what? Sir Randolph is still Sir Randolph.'
Miranda sounds a bit exasperated, and Cedric pouts, saying, "Come on."
"If I were from the future, it wouldn't be a big deal if I fell behind a little──."
As Cedric dips his mouth into the hot water, a big sigh comes from the other side of the wall.
'Are you the kind of guy who admits defeat just because you're from the future? Cedric von Braubelg?'
Imagining Miranda's completely exasperated face, Cedric suddenly looks up from the water.
'The Cedric I know gets more motivated the bigger the challenge is, right?'
"Yeah... that's true."
Cedric gives a wry smile and slaps his cheeks hard. The sharp sound echoes in the bath.
"It seems like this time the challenge is too big, and I was a bit scared."
Cedric laughs as he talks about facing the church. No matter what, it's the church. A huge organization with influence all over the continent, and a mere noble trying to take it on. That could be seen as spitting in the sky.
He probably felt a bit intimidated and was escaping into jealousy over Randy's confidence and abilities.
'That's right. Please have confidence.'
Miranda's voice from the other side sounds a bit happy.
'This is... I was told to keep it a secret, but──'
Miranda mentions that Randy was impressed by Cedric's plan.
He said he would do it big.
He said he would involve the Adventurers' Guild.
None of that would have crossed Randy's mind. Miranda heard about it through Liz.
'Sir Randolph trusted you because you're Sir Cedric... He believes that if a future person is you, you'll do better than him.'
Cedric nods again and stands up, saying, "That's right."
"Thanks, Miranda. I really appreciate having you around."
Cedric gets out of the bath with a smile. When his presence disappears from the bathroom, Miranda lets out a big sigh and mutters something Cedric doesn't hear.
'...I kind of feel like it's good that it's just between the walls.'
Miranda will understand the meaning of that statement a little later.
* * *
"What are you making?"
"I told you! Don't come to a guy's room at night... ugh!"
Randy scolds Ellie, but then he sees Cedric's intense stare behind her and lets out a scream.
"...I was just wondering what you two were doing."
Cedric smiles, but his eyes aren't smiling at all, and Randy shakes his head quickly, saying, "N-no, it's not what you think."
"At night, a guy and a girl are in the same room. There's only one thing they could be doing, right?"
Ellie laughs mischievously, and Randy grimaces, saying, "Hey!"
"Hmm."
Cedric steps into the room, giving off a dark vibe.
"Wait, it's a misunderstanding!"
Randy panics and raises his eyebrows at Ellie, telling her to explain properly. Ellie bursts into laughter at Randy's reaction.
"Don't get so worked up, brother. There's nothing going on between us. We just came to talk a bit."
Finally calming down thanks to Ellie's explanation, Cedric still gives Randy a suspicious look and asks, "Is that really true?"
"It is, I swear..."
Randy drops his shoulders and glares at Ellie with a frown.
"So, what are you doing here?"
Randy, looking annoyed, pointed at what he was secretly working on and said, "Well, wait. It's what you're making first." It just looked like a big piece of white leather...
"Oh, this? I just had a little idea."
Randy's mood changed, and he said, "It's almost done," as he mixed the white leather with a liquid in another white container. A soft light wrapped around the leather, and when it settled, the leather that should have been in Randy's hands disappeared, replaced by something that reflected like a mirror.
"Alright, it's done!"
Randy nodded with a smile, but Ellie and Cedric both tilted their heads in confusion.
"What is that?"
Ellie frowned, and Randy grinned.
"It's a cloak made from Valion's skin, with Valion's body fluid set into it. I call it the invisibility cloak."
Randy, looking proud, said, "It was tough to set the body fluid without drying it out," but Ellie and Cedric didn't really understand.
The only one who seemed to get it was Cedric, who chuckled dryly, "You're definitely from the future."
"What are you planning to do with that? You're not thinking of using it while I'm bathing, are you──."
"Are you crazy, Ellie! Don't say dangerous stuff like that!"
Randy quickly interrupted Ellie, knowing that if she said that, Cedric would start laughing again.
"It's not for that purpose. I thought it might be useful──."
As he said this, Randy handed the invisibility cloak to Cedric.
"Is it okay for me to take this?"
"Of course, it's necessary for the plan."
Randy shrugged, and Cedric opened it up and tried it on. The cloak was big enough to cover his tall frame completely; anyone of average height could probably put it on and hide their feet too.
"It's not really an invisibility cloak; it's more like a mirror..."
"It's an invisibility cloak."
"Either way, it works."
Randy shook his head at Ellie's disbelief and looked at Cedric, who was wrapped in the cloak like a mirror.
"Try using your magical power on it."
Cedric nodded at Randy's cue, and when he channeled his magical power through the cloak, the leather that was reflecting like a mirror suddenly disappeared.
"It was strange. It was reflecting the scenery, but it didn't look like a mirror. So, I tried different things, and I found out that passing a tiny bit of magical power through the body fluid bends the light."
"I see. But if that's the case, couldn't you use something other than this leather?"
"No. This leather acts as a filter and has a function like a magic stone."
Just as Randy said, Valion's leather not only served as a screen but also worked as a filter that let the right magical power seep into the body fluid, and it acted like a battery to hold any leftover magical power.
The magical power trapped in the leather changed the body fluid, bending the light and showing the image.
That's why the scenery beyond Valion was reflected. While making this film, I wondered why it didn't show what was behind the paper like Valion did, but now I've managed to create something new and fun.
"You can't see in front of you, so it would be good to make a few pinholes. You probably won't be able to see anything unless you're really close during the day."
Cedric nodded, satisfied with the finished invisibility cloak. "This is useful."
"So, what do you need? Coming here at this hour means you have some interesting news, right?"
When Ellie visits Randy late, it usually means she has some weird story to share. And this time was no different.
"If you already know, let's get to the point. We're still planning to take down the church, right? Then let's go. To the New Moon Tower... or rather, the Tower of Time."
"Here we go again, with those tempting words."
Randy laughed happily, unaware of what Cedric was thinking while watching him, "The Tower of Time, definitely from the future..."
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