PandoraHearts ~Caucus Race~, Vol. 1 (19 page)

“I’ll head over right away. —Oh. Before I do, though.”

“What?”

“I’ll stop by the office first.”

“Wherefore?” Rufus’s expression seemed to say,
Would you hurry up and go?

“I’d like to organize the information I’ve found so far.”

…In a report.

Even if he had nowhere to submit it, the act of drafting it would help him get his thoughts in order. Reim took his leave
of Rufus, went to the office, and drafted his report in a very short time. It came out rather rough, but since it wasn’t a formal report, he ignored that.

When he’d finished the report, he left the Barma mansion for Pandora Headquarters.

It was already evening.

Reim could tell he was going to use up his entire day on this matter.

Still, as he walked toward Pandora, Reim seemed dignified and untroubled.

The following is a continuation of Report 1.

An investigation of the library at the main Barma residence conducted by the author (hereinafter “I/me”) did not produce favorable results. While I searched through a vast number of books at the aforementioned library, Rufus-sama visited me and instructed me to visit Pandora Headquarters and continue my investigation there. Although the Pandora library holds many books as well, when I compared it to the Barma library, I found myself unable to expect much from it.

However, Rufus-sama had something else in mind. He suggested interviewing the members of the distinguished noble houses at Pandora Headquarters. As this was an instruction from my master, I had no room to object. In the evening, I went to Pandora Headquarters where, in addition to conducting my investigation in the library, I interviewed members of the aristocracy.

A list of those interviewed follows:

*Note 1: There was no real reason for the selection of these particular individuals. I simply encountered them by chance at Pandora. Additionally, while the conversations I had with them were not uniformly useful, I have recorded them here in light of their value as future evidence and documentation.

Below, I present the content of these conversations in an interview format. Interviews are recorded in the order in which I encountered the respondents.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

On the first floor of Pandora Headquarters, Reim happened to see Oz.

Oz was about halfway down the long corridor on the west side of the first floor, and he seemed to be looking for
something. He was peeking into vases and looking behind the frames that had been hung as part of the furnishings. He didn’t seem terribly desperate. It was as if he wasn’t really expecting to find anything, but was looking anyway, just in case.

Perplexed, Reim approached Oz, wondering what he was looking for. He would have liked to offer to help, but he couldn’t. He was on a mission of his own.

Still, Reim thought, he could afford a conversation. He had things he wanted to ask as well.

“Oz-sama,” Reim called.

He walked up to Oz.

After leaving Oz, Reim went up to Pandora’s second floor.

In a second-floor corridor, he saw Alice, who was walking along with a partially eaten sparerib in one hand, humming to herself. She seemed to be in a good mood. She was gnawing at the meat between hums, and her face was cheerful and satisfied.

She didn’t seem to notice Reim.
I really can’t approve of eating and walking at the same time
, Reim thought, frowning.
…Should I tell her Oz-sama
was looking for her? But Oz-sama was looking for those Alices from last week, not
this
Alice… Still, according to Oz-sama, this Alice and those Alices are the same thing… Rrgh, what a nuisance.

Reim thought back to the uproar that had occurred the previous week. It had turned Pandora Headquarters completely upside down. Reim had been at headquarters at the time, and of course he’d been pulled in as well.

…I’ll leave that aside for now
, Reim decided, and hailed Alice.

He’d been startled that Oz knew about “the curse of Mahani,” and he didn’t think Alice would know anything. Even as he thought this, he called, “Alice-kun, do you have a minute?”

Alice turned to look at Reim.

After parting with Alice, Reim headed toward the Pandora library.

I’ve just learned something bloodcurdling…

Reim’s face was rather gray.

Who would have thought that Sharon-sama… No, I’d better forget about this. I didn’t hear a thing! Never mind that, there’s a curse to investigate!

As Reim walked down the corridor, shaking his head hard, passing Pandora employees glanced at him as though they were seeing something very odd. Reim didn’t notice. Finally, when Reim had managed to calm himself down, he saw a lone woman standing at a corner in the corridor, up ahead.

It was rare to see this particular individual at Pandora Headquarters. It was Ada Vessalius, Oz’s little sister.

Oscar, Oz and Ada’s uncle, was one of the four great dukes, and as the current head of the House of Vessalius, he held an important post at Pandora. It was plausible to assume Ada was here because Oscar had summoned her for something.

Ada seemed to be hiding at the corner of the corridor, stealthily peeking into the other hallway.

???
Reim thought, puzzled, and walked up to Ada from behind.

Doing his best not to startle her, he called her name softly, laying a hand on her shoulder. “…Ada-sama?”

“—?!”

Ada flinched violently, giving a soundless scream. She whirled around as if she’d been struck.

I don’t think I could have startled her worse if I’d tried…

“I beg your pardon,” Reim said, bowing. “But…could I ask what you’re doing here?”

“Oh, n-n-n-n-n-no… It—it isn’t like that, I was—” Ada insisted. Her face was bright red, and her eyes were full of tears.

Hearing right off the bat that “it wasn’t like that” told Reim absolutely nothing.

On closer inspection, Ada was holding a book with a black cover to her chest, as if it was something very, very precious.

Ada vanished like a whirlwind down the corridor Reim had just come up.

“…What was all that about?”

Murmuring to himself, Reim picked up the book that had fallen where Ada had been standing. The cover was made of plain black leather. When he opened it, he saw that the book’s title was written on the first page. The title was:
A Children’s Primer—Easy Black Magic—Elementary Ceremonies Edition
.

Easy? Black…magic…?

It was a book far removed from Reim’s mental image of Ada.

Pushing his glasses up with his index finger, Reim flipped through the pages. Although the book claimed to have been written for children, its contents seemed fairly professional.

What could it mean?
Reim thought.
Ada-sama is, well…a bit naive… Erm, I mean, she has unique sensibilities. She must have mistaken this for a slightly eccentric volume of poetry or something similar.