Slayers vol.06: Vezendi's Shadow by Hajime Kanzaka

Author:Hajime Kanzaka [Kanzaka, Hajime]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General, Comics & Graphic Novels, Manga, LN
ISBN: 9781595325822
Publisher: TokyoPop
Published: 2005-12-12T23:00:00+00:00

Without waiting for an answer, Radok turned on his heels and marched out of the room. Abel waited until his father was gone before making an ugly sneer. “Wonderful,” he muttered.

My sentiments exactly.

On his way out, Abel paused to look back at us. He spat out an expletive before flouncing away down the corridor. I would’ve returned the favor with an obscene gesture if the room hadn’t been full of Radok’s servants.

“Don’t let it bother you, dear,” offered a plump middle-aged maid as she waddled toward us. She spread her palms in a conciliatory gesture. “The master and his son are both short-tempered, but they’re only quarreling because the master’s life is in danger. They usually get along very well.”

Amelia rolled her eyes skeptically. “I’m sure.”

“It’s true,” the woman maintained. “After his wife departed, the master raised his son to manhood all by himself.”

Ugh… I really don’t want to think about Abel’s manhood.

I could feel it coming on—a technique with devastating effects, simple to learn but difficult to master. It’s commonly called The Idle Chitchat, and I had no doubt that the prattling old maidservant was magnificent at it.

I’d definitely gotten enough of that at the magic shop. Besides, it’s hard to be patient in the middle of the night and right after being jumped. I knew I had to think fast.

“Sure,” I said quickly. “Fine. Then we’d better get rid of that assassin, for both their sakes.”

The woman nodded solemnly. She opened her mouth to talk again, but I cut her off with a question. “If the assassin came here to kill, er, Master Radok, someone hired him to do so. Can you think of anyone who would do that?”

The plump old woman pursed her lips. “Master has no enemies that I know of. Oh, but you never know, do you? There are many troubled and resentful people about in the world. I don’t know much about his business affairs, but perhaps the killer is somehow involved in them? If that’s indeed the case, perhaps the culprit is Rezak.”

Rezak? I wondered. But I didn’t wonder long, because the lady didn’t stop to breathe.

“He was my former master,” she said, “the gentleman who resided here before Master Radok. He supposedly lost his house due to mismanagement. Then again, mismanaging money doesn’t sound like Rezak. But if that wasn’t the case, I don’t know why—”

“Thank you,” I broke in loudly. “Then I’ll just be going!”

“Ah!” the maidservant exclaimed, completely igno­ring me. “Perhaps it’s a grudge against master’s father, then! His father was generous, you see, but some knew him to be quite greedy. I’m sure there were many who resented him!”

“Thanks, I’ll look into—”

“Mister Balom, for instance—he’s the preeminent merchant in Vezendi right now. But the master’s father, when he was alive, was always one step ahead of him.” Talk about opening a can of worms!

The maidservant went on and on like that ‘till daybreak. No matter how hard I tried to sneak into Amelia’s bedroom, the maid always managed to grab my arm, lean in closer, and unleash another round of babbling.

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