《Mark Carved in the Dark Night》 Chapter 19: Fuso Pass and the Vanished Blue Shadow

Japanese Translation

Chapter 19: Fuso Pass and the Vanished Blue Shadow

Lisina has cut off all communication in Orpaki.
Ordered to remove her Silver Dawn insignia and infiltrate as a "mere traveler," Claire
tracks her footsteps in the city, but all leads end at "ten days ago."

And then—the moment the princess herself interrupts the communication,
this disappearance ceases to be a mere failure to report,
turning into a sign that shakes the lines of the dark night.

Midnight.

Just as her headache began to subside at the inn,
the adjutant's voice echoed directly into her mind.

The voice was cold from the very first word.

“Claire, this is an emergency.
Enter Orpaki first thing tomorrow morning and—
confirm the whereabouts of our operative, Lisina Prieupis.”

Claire froze for a moment, then immediately sat up.

“...You can't reach her?”

The adjutant did not answer, continuing calmly.

“Unknown.
That is why I need you to confirm it.”

The voice dropped even lower.

“When you enter the city gates, remove all Silver Dawn insignias.
Enter the city as a ‘mere traveler.’”

“...Why is that?”

“I don't know why she disappeared.
I don't know if the city is safe either.
If you enter revealing your Silver Dawn status—
you will put both her and yourself in danger.”

A chill ran deep through her chest.
The situation was more serious than she had imagined.

However, she realized another problem.

“...But I don't have a regular pass, do I?
I can't use the Silver Dawn one.”

The adjutant paused for a beat, then sighed.

"Take out the 'round candy box' you received from Yuri."

"Huh? What does Yuri have to do with—"

"Open the false bottom."

As instructed, I removed the small container and opened the bottom—there, tucked away, was a pass, carefully folded along the creases. The official seal of the Fuso lord was stamped vividly upon it.

"Yuri... when did she...?"

Claire lost her voice. The adjutant spoke quietly.

"She is a shrine maiden and the supplier of your shikigami arts. She understood what would be 'needed' before you did."

"If they ask at the checkpoint, say, 'It was issued to me when I worked in Fuso.' You won't be suspected."

Then, the adjutant's voice concluded coldly.

"Claire, remember this. Do not reveal your identity. Do not go near the City Hall. Do not fight. Your mission is only one—to confirm their whereabouts."

"...Understood."

"Contact me periodically."

After a faint burst of static, the communication cut off.

Claire stared at the candy box and sighed deeply.

"...Please, I'm begging you, don't let me have a headache just for tomorrow..."

The next morning.

Removing all of her Silver Dawn insignias, she carried only the Fuso pass and headed toward the Orpaki checkpoint.

The moment she presented the pass, the knight's gaze paused slightly.

"...Fuso? You went quite a long way."

"I went for work. It was sudden, so they had the pass made for me over there."

"I, too, went to Fuso a few years ago."

The officer, who appeared to be the captain, stepped forward and took the pass in his hand.

"...Did you just return from over there?"

Claire nodded.

The captain stared at him for a moment—
then suddenly asked.

"Then, do you have any idea who might be over there?"

It was an incredibly unnatural question.
But unable to lie, Claire answered honestly.

"...A person named Hanazono."

At that moment, the captain's expression stiffened slightly.

"...I see.
An acquaintance of the Hanazono family. My apologies, you may pass."

After passing through the gate, a soldier whispered behind him.

"Captain... that name, could it be—"

"It's the real deal."
The captain immediately cut him off.

"There is no way one could name-drop that family line so lightly."

The soldier gasped.

"Shall we report this to the lord?"

"Do not."

His voice was low and suppressed.

"Someone who can speak that family name so naturally...
is not of a rank we can get involved with.
Besides, the mess those guards made will come to light sooner or later.
If we pick a fight with them—
you and I wouldn't have enough heads to pay for it."

Meanwhile, Claire walked on with his head full of question marks.

(...Who on earth is Yuri?)

After safely entering the city,
he immediately began making inquiries based on the information he had.

Lisina has blue hair.
In a city of this size, that is a fairly conspicuous feature.

He thought she would be easy to find—
but it was completely different.

First, he headed to the market.
The stall owners said they had indeed seen her.
...But that was a week ago on market day.
It was exactly the day of her last regular report.

Next was the general store.
The clerk also said they had seen her.
...But that was ten days ago.

Both points in time were too old.
And it was all too quiet.

At lunchtime, he sat at a terrace seat of a diner across from the city hall,
staring at the entrance as if setting up a military cordon.
When break time arrived, people poured out like a wave.
But—not a single shadow with blue hair appeared.

In the afternoon, he checked the faces in the surrounding alleys over and over.
...Still, she wasn't there.

Four o'clock in the evening. The moment the tavern opened,
he was the first to enter.
He asked the bartender and the owner—
no one had seen her.

The setting sun began to sink,
and the people coming out of the city hall became sparse.

While staring at the darkening city,
an uneasy speculation surfaced in Claire's heart.

“...Could it be that she is the type
to go straight home as soon as work is finished?”

It was a plausible speculation—
which was exactly why his anxiety increased.

Putting a candy in his mouth,
he endured the rising headache and connected the communication to his adjutant.

“...Adjutant, something seems strange.”

The next moment, another voice cut into his mind.

“Claire, go to the document dispatch office and ask directly.”

It was the Princess.

“...Your Highness?”
Even the adjutant could not hide his surprise.

Claire is bewildered. "Such... actions, are they permitted?"

The princess's voice was colder than usual.

“Permitted. Remember this. Call her by her 'surname'. You are to go under the guise of being her relative.”

“There are only two answers from the dispatch office. Either she is there, or she is not. You will know as soon as you ask.”

After a half-beat, the voice drops even lower.

“──However, when the person answering clearly hesitates or becomes evasive... that is when it is most dangerous.”

The adjutant sensed something, but said nothing.

“Go,” the princess commands. “Report back immediately once you have confirmed. This is all under my instruction. You bear no responsibility whatsoever.”

Claire entered the municipal building, passing by people leaving for the day. The reception room (document dispatch office) is right next to the entrance.

He tapped lightly on the glass window.

“Yes, yes~” A blonde girl came running over and smiled brightly. “It’s already past closing time, but what can I do for you?”

“Is Miss Prieupis in?” (This surname is a tongue-twister... Claire thought to himself.)

“Prie... ah, you mean Lisina?” The girl looked up, as if trying to recall.

“She was called to organize the warehouse today, so she isn't here. She should be heading straight home from there. Do you have business with her?”

“I am a relative of hers, and I have something I would like to discuss with her.”

“Then it would be faster to wait at her house, wouldn't it?” The girl tilted her head slightly.

“For the past two days, she’s been called by the Lord to organize 'old documents.' It seems she’s been coming home very late every night.”

Saying that, she lowered her voice.

“...She might have caught someone’s eye. Those documents were supposed to have been sealed away a long time ago...”

Claire immediately filed her report.
The adjutant's voice came back.

"Where is the warehouse?"

"That is... she says she doesn't know. Apparently, she was only just assigned to this position last week."

There was a slight silence on the other end of the communication.
What followed was the princess's cold voice, sounding like a suppressed fire.

...Understood.
At the very least, we have confirmed that she is 'alive' as of today.

Claire involuntarily swallowed hard.

The princess continued.

We haven't been able to pinpoint the location of the warehouse either.
It is also unclear what time she returns home.

For a moment, a silence as if holding one's breath fell.

...Actually, that might be better.

The voice was quiet, but it was clear she was desperately suppressing impatience and irritation.

Wait near her house.
With your intuition, you will be able to act the moment you think something is 'wrong'.

It was less of an order,
and more of an urgent instruction, oozing with the frustration and anxiety of insufficient information.

"Understood."

After the communication cut off, a silence of about a second fell over the room.
The princess pressed her forehead with one hand and it took her a full minute to steady her ragged breathing.

The adjutant spoke up timidly.

"...Your Highness?"

The princess slowly raised her face.
In her eyes, a lingering, unextinguished fury still simmered.

"Do you think I can stay calm after seeing this report?"

She tapped the stack of documents on the desk with her fingertips.
These were the materials brought back by the members who had been lurking in the official residence.
The maid had only just arrived in the royal capital a short while ago and hadn't even unpacked her luggage.

"Embezzlement, abuse of power, collusion between officials and merchants..."
"And to top it all off, there's even a shadow of human trafficking."

The voice was as cold as the night frost.

"After doing all this, it's impossible that 'no one has died'."

She suddenly looked at her adjutant.
At that moment, the adjutant gasped and straightened his back.

"To be honest—"
"If I hadn't handled a mountain of even darker cases,"

The princess said indifferently.

"I would probably be trembling and unable to speak by now."

The adjutant turned bright red and had no choice but to look away, as if his shame had been exposed.

The princess let out a long sigh.

"...I just hope Claire finds her safely."

Her voice was uncharacteristically tinged with exhaustion.

"But—I am prepared for the worst-case scenario."

She pondered for a moment, her eyes once again holding the sharp light of a commander.

"Valrena is currently stationed in the royal capital, isn't she?"

"Y-yes. She should be assigned to the royal palace."

The princess ordered quietly, but without hesitation.

"Call her immediately."
"We are moving to the 'next stage' now."

The continuation is

The above translation is based on a translation by ChatGPT, which I have proofread and supervised myself.

If there are any unnatural parts in the style or tone, I would appreciate it if you could point them out.

If you have any thoughts or questions, please let me know in the comments section. I will do my best to reply.

Once again, thank you very much for reading this work.

Chinese Text

【Chapter 19: Fuso Pass and the Vanished Blue Shadow】

Lucina stopped responding in Olpachi.
To avoid provoking local forces, Claire was ordered to remove her Silver Dawn badge,
and enter the city as an "ordinary traveler" to check the situation.

It should have been a simple investigation—
but from the market to the city hall, all leads stopped at "ten days ago."
When the princess intervened personally, bypassing her adjutant,
this disappearance was no longer an accident, but a spreading dark signal.

Late at night, Claire finally recovered from a headache at the inn,
when the adjutant's voice came directly into her mind.

The adjutant got straight to the point:

“Claire, we have an emergency.
Enter Olpachi city first thing tomorrow morning—and confirm the whereabouts of our member, Lucina.”

Claire froze and immediately sat up straight.

“...She lost contact?”

The adjutant did not answer, only saying coldly:

“We are not sure.
That is why we need you to confirm.”

His tone sank:

“When entering the city, remove all Silver Dawn badges.
Go as an ordinary traveler.”

“Why?”

“Because we don't know why she lost contact.
And we don't know if the city is safe.
If you enter as a member of the Silver Dawn—
you might end up getting her killed, and yourself as well.”

Claire's heart sank.
Things were truly dangerous.

But she thought of another problem:

“...But I don't have an ordinary pass?
And I can't use the Silver Dawn one.”

The adjutant clearly paused for half a second, then sighed:

“...Take out that small candy box Yuri gave you.”

“Huh? What does this have to do with Yuri...”

“Open the inner compartment.”

Claire did as he was told.
The candies inside were held in another small container, and after picking it up—
lying underneath was a neatly folded, exquisitely printed pass.

It was stamped with the official seal of the Fuso Lord.

“Yuri... when did she slip this in?”
Claire could hardly believe it.

The adjutant said indifferently:

“She is a shrine maiden, and the provider of your shikigami.
She knows better than you what you will encounter in the future.”

“If the checkpoint asks, just say you once helped out with work in Fuso,
so you got the permit there.
No one will suspect a thing.”

The adjutant's tone turned completely cold at the end:

“Claire, remember—
do not reveal your identity.
Do not approach the official residence.
And do not take action.
You have only one mission: confirm the whereabouts.”

“...Understood.”

“Stay in touch.”

There was a slight static in the communication, and the adjutant ended the connection.

Claire looked at the candy box and sighed silently:

“...Please, I just hope it doesn't hurt like hell tomorrow.”

The next morning, he removed all his Silver Dawn badges,
and stood before the Orpachi checkpoint with the Fuso pass.

The moment he handed over the pass,
the knight's eyes clearly lingered for half a second.

“...Fuso? How did you end up so far away?”

I went there for work, and since I was in a hurry, I got the permit processed there.

I also went to Fuso a few years ago.
An officer who looked like a captain walked over, took the permit, and said in a tone that was neither heavy nor light:
Did you just return from there?

Claire nodded.

The captain stared at him for a moment, then suddenly asked:

Then... do you know anyone there?

The question was too strange.
Claire hesitated for a moment, but could only answer truthfully:

I know a... Miss Hanazono.

In that instant, the captain's expression changed as if he had been struck.

I see.
You know someone from the Hanazono family... My apologies. Please pass.

After Claire walked away, a team member nearby couldn't help but ask in a low voice:

Captain... that surname, isn't it—

The captain immediately stopped him:

It is true.
No one would just make up a surname of that social standing.

The team member gasped: Should we report this to the lord?

Absolutely not.
The captain's tone was low, as if suppressing something.

Someone who can mention that surname so casually... is not a class of person we can afford to provoke.
Besides, those guards—the mess that bunch of private soldiers is making will cause trouble sooner or later.
If you provoke him... both you and I will die very quickly.

Meanwhile, Claire was full of questions:

Yuri... just what kind of person are you...?

After successfully entering the city, he immediately began searching for the person based on the information.

Lucina has blue hair.
It is a striking feature in a medium-sized city.

I thought it would be easy to find—
but it turned out to be anything but.

He went to the market.
The vendors had indeed seen her—
but that was during the market a week ago, which happened to be the day of her last routine report.

He went to the general store.
The clerk had seen her too—
but that was ten days ago.

Both timeframes were too long ago.
And too quiet.

At noon, he sat at an outdoor seat of a restaurant across from the city hall,
staring at the entrance as if waiting for enemy forces to break through the line.
Waves of people flowed out during their lunch break,
but the blue figure never appeared.

In the afternoon, he repeatedly checked faces in the nearby streets and alleys.
Still nothing.

At four in the evening, the tavern had just opened.
He was the first one to walk in.
He asked the bartender, he asked the manager—

Still, no one had seen her.

The sunset gradually sank,
and the crowds at the city hall dispersed in twos and threes.

Claire stared at the darkening street,
an unsettling deduction rising in his chest:

“...Could she be the type of person who goes straight home as soon as she gets off work?”

This deduction sounded reasonable—
and it made him even more uneasy.

He popped a candy into his mouth,
enduring the rising headache, and connected to his adjutant.

“...Adjutant, I’m afraid something isn’t right.”

The next second, another voice cut into his mind:

“Claire, go to the mailroom and ask directly.”

The Princess.

“...Your Highness?”
Even the adjutant was startled.

Claire hesitated: “Is this... allowed?”

The princess's tone was unusually cold:

“Fine. Remember, address her by her surname. Say you are her relative.”

“There are only two possibilities in the mailroom: she is there, or she is not. You will know once you ask.”

She paused for half a second, her voice dropping lower:

“—But if the person answering is clearly hesitant or evasive... that is when it is most dangerous.”

The adjutant clearly understood something, but said nothing.

“Go.” The princess ordered. “Ask clearly and report back immediately. Everything is under my instruction; you bear no responsibility.”

Claire brushed past the crowds leaving work and walked into the city hall.

The mailroom was right near the entrance. He knocked on the glass.

“Coming, coming~” A blonde girl ran over. “We’ve already finished for the day~ Is there something you need?”

“Is Miss Pleupis here?” (The surname was such a mouthful, he nearly bit his tongue.)

“Pleu... ah, you mean Lucina?” The girl thought for a moment.

“She was called away to organize the warehouse today, so she isn’t here. She’ll probably head straight home~ Is there something you need?”

“I am her relative; I have something to discuss with her.”

“Then it would be faster to wait at her house.” The girl tilted her head.

“She’s been called by the lord to organize old records for the past two days, and she doesn’t get home until late at night.”

After saying this, she lowered her voice:

“...I don’t know if she offended someone, but that pile of records was supposed to have been archived long ago...”

Claire reported back immediately.

The adjutant's voice came through:

"Where is the warehouse?"

"She says she doesn't know... she only transferred to this position last week."

The other side of the communication went silent for half a second. Then the Princess's voice rose, cold as if suppressing a fire:

"...Understood. At least confirm that she is 'still alive today.'"

Claire couldn't help but swallow hard.

The Princess continued:

"We don't have the location of the warehouse. And we don't know when she goes home."

A brief silence.

"...That's fine, too." The Princess's tone was light, but clearly suppressed agitation.

"You go to the vicinity of her home and stand by. Based on your intuition—if something feels wrong, you can react immediately."

That was not a simple order. It was anxiety, anger, and the extreme repression brought on by 'missing data.'

"Understood."

After the Princess ended the communication, the entire room fell into a second of dead silence. She held her forehead with one hand, taking a full minute to calm her rapid breathing.

The adjutant called out cautiously: "...Your Highness?"

The Princess looked up, the lingering anger still pressing in her eyes. "How could I not be anxious after seeing this report?"

Her fingertips tapped the stack of documents brought back by the undercover members at the official residence—that maid had only arrived in the capital in the evening, not even having put down her luggage yet.

"Corruption, dereliction of duty, collusion between officials and merchants... there are even shadows of human trafficking." Her voice was as cold as night frost. "When I saw it, I wondered how they could have done all this without any 'deaths.'"

She looked up at the adjutant. In that instant, the adjutant straightened up as if their breath had been stifled.

"Honestly, if I hadn't handled darker cases before," the Princess said calmly, "I would probably be too scared to speak by now, wouldn't I?"

The adjutant blushed as if caught in the act, and could only turn his head away.

The princess let out a long sigh.
“...I hope Claire can find them.”
Her tone was uncharacteristically weary.
“However—I have also prepared for the worst.”

She pondered for a moment, and the sharp light of a commander reignited in her eyes.
“Varlena is on duty in the capital, right?”
“Yes, she is.” The adjutant responded immediately.
The princess ordered calmly:
“Please have her come here immediately. We are going to begin the next phase of the operation.”

Continued