There Is No Place For Fakes

“… what?”

“A building that has not received proper disposition, such as demolition, from the relevant authorities, even after a considerable period of time has passed since its completion, is deemed to have been granted permission in exactly ten years. It is a way to protect the legitimate rights of those who have lived there for ten years.”

The man opened his mouth.

Philomel asked the owner.

“No matter how you look at it, it looks like this building has been built for well over ten years, isn’t that correct?”

The owner nodded several times.

“Have there been any dispositions from the government office in the meantime? The demolition was not carried out, even though it seemed a pretense… Did you receive a notice to vacate?”

“As far as I know, there is none! This building was built by my grandfather, but I haven’t heard anything from either my grandfather or my father.”

“Then it’s safe to say that permission was granted earlier.”

“Is that true?”

“Of course. As long as you pass the safety inspection, there shouldn’t be any problem.”

Hearing this the man on the floor screamed loudly.

“Nonsense! Where in the world is there a law like that? I will go to the government office and tell them all! They’ll take that bastard’s safety inspection or whatever and then he’ll be operating in an unauthorized building.”

“Do as you please.”

Philomele scoffed.

“But if the safety inspection results are in favor of a demolition, the government office will be in trouble. You mean you’ve left a dangerous building that could collapse at any moment for over ten years, is that it?”

The official in charge must have been aware of the existence of this building but neglected it. It was more beneficial to collude with these people and extort money from the owner.

They took advantage of the fact that most people, except for some intellectuals, are ignorant of the law.

“I’m going to officially complain to my superiors, so we’ll see.”

“No, do you really think high-ranking people will listen to you?”

Philomel couldn’t exactly say that the highest ranking person the Emperor in this country would listen, so she put Jeremiah forward.

“Whose son is he?”

As expected, the title of a nobleman was not given for nothing to the second male lead. Jeremiah looked like a young noble from an aristocratic family who deliberately wore shabby clothes.

“I, I…”

The man struggled to see if he wanted to respond, but eventually lowered his head.

So they kicked all the men out of the store.

The owner cried and bowed his head to Philomel and Jeremiah.

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

“It’s okay. I haven’t done much.”

“I don’t know how to repay you…”

“It’s really fine”

Philomel waved her hand with a puzzled expression.

“No. Please let me know if you need anything. If it wasn’t for you two, I would have been threatened by them all my life.”

The owner spoke with a sharp eye that made it hard to refuse. 

“Well, in that case…”

Philomel glanced at Jeremiah and opened her mouth.

Thirty minutes later.

A new apple pie arrived at the table where Philomel and Jeremiah were sitting.

The owner was worried that this Pie allone wouldn’t be enough, but it was enough and overflowing. Jeremiah opened his mouth while slicing a new apple pie.

“Anyway, you seem very well versed in the law.”

“Yeah, after studying this and that in the Palace I memorized a few.“

Of course, the education of the successor also included the study of the law.

Although she did not learn all the laws of the empire, she was familiar with the laws that had a profound impact on the lives of the people. Among them, Article 34 of the Commercial Act was familiar because there were many related legal disputes.

“Rather than that, try eating the apple pie. It’s very delicious.”

“Since you insist that the pie is delicious, let’s see how delicious it really is…”

Finally, Jeremiah put the piece of pie into his mouth.

In an instant, his eyes shimmered like glass beads.

“…it’s not to the point where I can’t eat it.”

Although he praised the pie to be just edible, yet he kept shoving pieces of pie into his mouth. Unlike Philomel, he didn’t drink black tea.

“What are you laughing at?”

“Me? I didn’t laugh.”

“You laughed.”

Philomel quickly changed the subject before Jeremiah got angry.

“By the way, Jeremiah, you fought really well when I saw you earlier. I also noticed you wear a sword around your waist, are you perhaps both, a swordsman and a mage?“ 

Philomel pretended to have no clue, even though Jeremiah’s abilities were clearly described in <Princess Ellencia>.  So rather than genuine curiosity, she used her knowledge as a groundwork to start a conversation. 

Jeremiah, unaware of Philomel’s intentions, answered sincerely.

“Exactly, I’m a swordmage.”

“If you’re a swordmage, then you’re someone who can use magic and wield a sword, right?”

“Yes. I’ve always been interested in swordsmanship since I was a kid. And there were several swordmage in the Mage Tower.”

“Then, are Le Guin, Lexion, and Cardin also masters of magic swordsmanship?

Philomel was genuinely curious about this.

Unlike Jeremiah, there wasn’t much information about the other three in the book.

 Le Guin’s face was only briefly described, and Philomel’s two other brothers did not even appear.

“Cardin is also a swordmage. Lexion has no interest in swords… and I’ve never seen Le Guin handle a sword.”

 Jeremiah briefed philomel, shoving a piece of pie into his mouth.

“It’s a bit embarrassing to say in front of Jeremiah, but I thought all of the mages only used spells and such.”

“Did you think we are all that worthless?”

“No it’s because I’ve never met a mage who is also a swordsman…“

It was true.

Most of the court wizards that Philomel knew, including Humphrey, seemed to only use their brains and didn’t train their body at all. 

“You’re not wrong. In the wizarding world, people who train their bodies are treated as a different kind…”

He raised his fist.

“Fists are quicker and easier than magic. This is also one of Le Guin’s principles.”

It’s a brutal yet practical principle.

The rest of the conversation between the two continued in a similar way. Philomel asked questions and Jeremiah satisfied her curiosity.

Time passed by on conversations about miscellaneous yet everyday topics.

After emptying the plate containing the apple pie, the two left the Rainbow Bakery.

“Goodbye!”

The owner followed them to the door and bid his goodbyes.

Philomel looked sadly at the shabby exterior of the store.

“The apple pie is really good, but it’s a pity there are no customers.”

“There’s such a flashy store across the street, so who’s going to go over there?”

“That’s true.”

Instead, Philomel decided that she should come to the store often so that it wouldn’t collapse. Even though she didn’t know how long it’ll take to come back here again. 

Afterward, Philomel and Jeremiah walked together around the Central Plaza.

Originally, the purpose of their outing was to show Jeremiah around, but Philomel also fell in love with various attractions before she knew it.

When Philomel went out in stealth in the past, her escorts were constantly by her side, so she couldn’t freely look around to her heart’s content. 

After running away, Philomel saw people live freely for the first time in Saint Gen, the largest city in the north, and yet the streets of Saint Gen aren’t comparable to the capital’s Central Plaza.

Philomel’s eyes lit up as she watched the man control the snake with his flute.

“Wow, look at that! Do snakes recognize the sound of flutes? How does he do that?”

“It’s just magic. Take a good look. The magic circle drawn on the flute.”

“… Jeremiah breaks people’s fantasies.”

“Hmph, you complain even though you asked.“ 

“I’m kidding. Thank you.”

“… It’s been a while. Let’s go get something to eat.”

Embarrassed, Jeremiah turned around and moved away.

Since they had already filled her stomach with apple pie, they simply ate street food for lunch.

Philomel, who was sitting on a bench and eating sausages on a paper plate, felt Jeremiah’s gaze.

“… Is there something on my face?”

“No.”

“But why are you looking at me like that…”

“It’s fascinating.”

“What?”

“Even though you’ve lived as the precious princess, you aren’t a picky eater. Besides, you said that it’s a wish that’s not like a poem, such as visiting the Plaza.”

“It’s not like a poem. It’s not just a Plaza tour.”

“Then what?”

“It’s meaningful because it’s a tour with Jeremiah.”

Jeremiah was silent for a long time before answering.

“You say embarrassing things so easily.”

is it? It was only an embarrassing thing to say, but Philomel said it without thinking. In fact, her visit to the Plaza was a behind-the-scenes work to make Jeremiah on her side.

After eating, they continued walking on the main road again, but Jeremiah suddenly stopped.

“Wait, in the end, we only talked about useless things and looked around. So what the hell did you want to tell me?”

Oh, no. he noticed.

Philomel shouted, pointing away as if she hadn’t heard Jeremiah’s voice.

“Ah! It’s an open-air theater over there! It looks like they’re putting on a play, so let’s go and watch it!”

“Hey! Slow down!”

And she ran toward the theater to keep him from speaking.