Collector’s Cage - Chapter 48

It was just that he didn’t show his anger and sadness outwardly. He had learned that showing weakness only brought joy to one’s enemies.

But the man who was usually so adept at controlling his emotions was different this time. He skipped meals and refused to leave his room.

To console his despondent friend, Jobern paid him a visit.

“My friend, how long are you going to be like this?”
“…Get lost. Get out of my room.”

Jobern clicked his tongue at the sight of his friend reduced to a wreck. Seeing him clutching the cage on the bed was truly heartbreaking and infuriating, leaving Jobern speechless.

“The fairy is probably living happily, eating and sleeping well in the fairy realm. Do you think the fairy that left will come back just because you’re like this?”
“…She was definitely stolen. I have to see that mage.”

Froy suspected the mage who had come to the mansion to retrieve the fairy. How could that tiny, frail Hermie have possibly escaped the mansion alone? Besides, she hadn’t even been fully healed.

Hermie had been kidnapped. He couldn’t conceive of any other possibility. Every time he thought of Hermie in danger, the pain was unbearable.

But Jobern’s thoughts differed.
“They say that mage is currently imprisoned in the Magical Tower. How are you supposed to meet him?”

The mage was imprisoned in the Tower, unable to leave. It was unclear what wrong he had committed, but how could someone imprisoned in the Tower steal a fairy?

Even when Jobern tried to persuade him that Hermie had run away on her own, Froy wouldn’t listen at all. The sense of loss from losing the fairy was too great, robbing him of his judgment. He clearly needed someone to blame.

“I have to go to the Tower.”
“The Tower hasn’t granted your request for a visit.”
“They must have a guilty conscience to act that way.”
“Hmm.”

In truth, there wasn’t a complete lack of suspicious points. The Tower was being uncharacteristically uncooperative.

They had even refused a simple request for an audience with the mage named Dormi. They didn’t budge even when pressured with money and power.

They claimed that since the fairy was lost due to Froy’s negligence, the Tower bore no responsibility. It wasn’t an incorrect statement, but they were evading responsibility to a suspicious degree.

‘Did that bastard really take her?’

If that were true, he’d have some nerve. No matter how much of a mage he was, he couldn’t escape punishment for insulting a noble.

To sell a fairy for a fortune of 2,000 gold, then steal it back? It would be a swindle that insulted the nobility, and the Tower would likely have to pay a settlement of at least double the fraud amount.
“…How will you get in? Do you have a good method?”

Jobern couldn’t think of any way to drag out the mage imprisoned in the Tower. But a sinister light flickered in Froy’s eyes. It was an expression Jobern saw only occasionally, but it was frightening every time.

“With money.”
“The other party is the Magical Tower.”
“An enormous amount of money will do.”
“…Well, now.”

What a brilliant strategy. Jobern scratched the back of his neck.

While he deeply sympathized with the sorrow of losing a beloved animal, a man who refused to accept a parting was truly a handful.

Well, he’ll figure it out on his own. Since his own interest was starting to wane, Jobern switched off his concern.

“Anyway, I hope you get your energy back soon. If you get really bored, I’ll gift you another animal.”
“Get lost. If you’re going to spout nonsense like that, don’t come. Nothing can replace Hermie.”
"You're awful. It's an awful obsession."

Tsk tsk, look at that scary expression. With an obsession that terrifying, no wonder Hermie got fed up and ran away.

“That’s precisely why Hermie ran away! If you had treated her well, would she have followed that mage? She would have said she wanted to live here! The animals I raise never even think of leaving home!”
“You bastard.”

As Froy rose from his seat, Jobern hastily stumbled backwards. When Froy got angry, he could be quite frightening, so running away was the best policy.

His core strength was no joke, and he was very strong, so one shouldn’t be fooled by his pretty face. Back in their academy days, more than a few people, taken in by his looks, had challenged him to duels only to get thoroughly beaten.

Jobern fled without looking back. Alone in the room, Froy, breathing heavily, ground his teeth until they ached.

Hermie was his. His own, complete fairy that others could not covet.

He would get her back, no matter what it took.