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Early dawn, the atmosphere changed with the sudden arrival of an unexpected guest.

“What should I do…?”

Just barely covering herself, Lucia mumbled while looking around the messy room, oblivious to the blanket dragging on the floor.

Her usual calm and serene demeanor was nowhere to be found; her face was filled only with anxiety and restlessness.

—

Episode 12 – The Mightiest Magician of All Time

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*Knock. Knock. Knock.*

The sound of someone banging on the door urged her, a noticeably sulky voice coming from beyond.

“How long are you going to leave your sister outside?”

If I opened the door now, I’d probably see Veronica pouting with her lips jutted out.

With her arms crossed and legs crossed in a defiant posture, she was honestly displaying that she was upset.

But,

“Uh? Uh, sis, that’s—”

“Lucia? Is something wrong?”

Despite Veronica’s urging, Lucia didn’t open the door. No, she couldn’t.

The moment her sister saw her in the same room with a naked man, the Cathedral would surely erupt with a terrifying scream.

If the priests heard that scream and came running to witness this sight, surely one of them would end up hanging today. Most likely, it would be the man who shared her bed.

What should I do?

Holding the doorknob as if it were a lifeline, Lucia squeezed her eyes shut.

If she had the bad habit of biting her nails when nervous, they would probably be ragged by now. Lucia prayed for the door to remain shut, anxiously calculating how to save someone from her sister, who even the Pope had given up on.

There was no place to hide in the room. She could crawl under the bed and conceal her body, but even the slightest movement would likely give her away.

What about escaping through the window? That probably wasn’t a good idea either.

An ordinary person jumping from a four-story building wouldn’t come out unscathed. Surely, something would break. It would be fortunate if it only ended with a broken bone.

—

*Creek!*

As she anxiously held onto the doorknob to prevent her sister’s entry, suddenly, she heard the sound of the window being opened from behind.

She reflexively turned her head and saw a man leaning out of the window.

“F-Frederick…!”

A shrill scream escaped Lucia’s lips.

For months, she had been too shy and awkward to call him by name instead of ‘Brother’ or ‘Sister.’ Yet now, perhaps due to her panic, she could naturally call out his name.

Lucia darted to the window, halting the man who was about to jump. Afraid he might get hurt.

“Wh-what are you doing…?!”

“Don’t you see? I’m getting out of here,” he replied.

“I can’t believe you’d jump out a window…!”

“Better than getting caught and ending up with a broken leg, right? If you’re really worried…”

His upper body suddenly tilted forward.

His blue eyes widened. It was such a sudden and shocking action that it took her completely off guard.

For a moment, their lips touched. The hand gripping her collar fell away slowly.

“Just pray I don’t die here.”

Frederick locked eyes with the dumbfounded Lucia, kissed her briefly, and then launched himself out of the window.

—

Despite being a well-known fact, jumping from a four-story building is not exactly a pleasant experience.

Especially if that reason is to avoid being discovered having relations with a saint, Lucia, and trying to evade Veronica’s gaze as he jumped out.

“Hah…”

A sigh mixed with groans escaped in silence, swirling with relief and self-loathing.

As I lay sprawled on the stony main street beside the cathedral, I felt the morning sun blessing me and glanced up at the window where I had just stood.

In the end, since I wasn’t hurt, it was a success, but unlike my sound body, my heart was uneasy.

I never imagined in my life I would jump from a window over a woman…

Lying flat on the ground, unable to hide my dismal feelings, I wiped my face. A slush of sweat, dirt, and cold tears mixed together pooled in my palm.

I stared at the filth gathered in my palm, wondering how my life had come to this.

A wave of deep skepticism washed over me, but I had to move. I needed to leave the cathedral before anyone saw me, so I pushed aside my thoughts.

“Ugh… it’s all because of alcohol…”

Wobbling as I got up from the ground, I looked back at the window one last time before leaving the cathedral.

There stood Lucia, now dressed appropriately, closing the window.

“…Ah.”

She gave me a gentle smile and waved goodbye.

I waved back to her for a moment, but she quickly turned, shouted something, and then bowed her head before closing the window.

Watching her retreating figure, I felt a tinge of regret as I began to limp down the stairs.

—

Morning broke.

Leaving behind the dreamlike night of midsummer, it was time to return to reality. I headed to the hotel to change clothes before getting back to work.

Arriving at the military government headquarters, the hectic atmosphere felt oddly different, as if it had changed in some uncanny way.

The previous night’s escapade with Lucia was fresh in my mind. The battle with demons and necromancers, monsters, had happened just the day before, so it was likely related to that incident.

“Welcome, Colonel.”

“Good to see you! You’re working hard this morning!”

“The interpreting officer, Senior Lyudmila, is waiting for you. Please follow me this way.”

After exchanging greetings, I met with Lyudmila, who had been waiting in the office. She looked utterly exhausted, perhaps because she had arrived early in the morning.

Her uniform collar was soaked with sweat and wrinkled, and the trash can was overflowing with food wrappers that seemed to suggest she had forgotten her meals during the night shift.

At this point, I realized that she must have been unable to leave the office for quite a while.

I also noticed that the senior officers of the Imperial Army had been trapped in the Military Government Headquarters all night, just like her.

Everyone was walking around half-alive. Ashtrays in the corners were piled high with cigarette butts and paper cups. From the building and the air surrounding them, I could sense that the atmosphere in the Military Government Headquarters was quite tense.

The reason for the change in atmosphere was obvious. It must be due to the incident that occurred the other day.

It was strange that the Military Government Headquarters remained quiet after such a huge commotion.

While they might not have fully grasped the situation yet, or perhaps they were just hiding their worries, the group most bewildered by the current state of affairs, aside from the demons and necromancers, had to be the Military Government Headquarters.

Sure enough, as soon as I stepped into the office, a request from the Military Government Headquarters came in to check on Camila, Francesca, and Lucia.

I passed through the corridor to use the communication equipment while eavesdropping on the conversations around me. The discussions among the officers gathered in front of the communication room were far from ordinary.

“They say the ground collapsed?”

“Yeah. The ground gave way. A few buildings collapsed, and the fire department sent magicians to evacuate people, but it seems some were buried. They’ve said they can’t conduct rescues.”

“They seem to have evacuated a couple of hundred, but where do we put them? The shelters are already at capacity.”

Reports came in about buildings in the area collapsing due to the sewer system breaking down, and even though they deployed magicians, signs of further collapse were appearing, prompting evacuations of citizens.

I also heard that citizens were expressing their anxiety about the sounds of gunfire and howling coming from underground all night. Words like Inquisition, joint investigation teams, Magic Tower, patrol, Magic Battalion, gathering information, and civil unrest came up in the conversation.

It was hard to discern the entire content due to the surrounding noise, but judging by the serious expressions of the officers, I could somewhat anticipate what they were discussing.

As for matters involving the Magic Tower, I had my own suspicions.

“…Hmm.”

I felt it was time to meet Francesca.

Right now.

*

Receiving a request from the Military Government Headquarters to understand the situation of my companions, I began to check on the three of them.

Honestly, considering the information-gathering skills of the Military Government Headquarters responsible for the northern region, it was highly likely that they knew much more about the whereabouts of my friends than I did. Still, the communication work was my original duty, and I was just as curious about their current situation, so I decided to play along with the Imperial Army’s game.

After entering the communication room provided by the Military Government Headquarters, I attempted to contact my companions.

The first person I reached out to was Camila.

-‘Oh? Have you started work?’

“Yes, I just got in. What about you, Camila?”

-‘I’m just getting off work! On my way back from overtime!’

“What do you mean, overtime? You’re just burning down mountains; that’s not overtime, that’s a campfire!”

-‘Come on, as if I’d only burn down mountains? I had to fight monsters too! I thought I was going to die from exhaustion!’

Over the communication line, I could hear her whining.

Riding back in a military truck with an escort, Camila grabbed onto the Imperial Army’s communication equipment and vented her frustrations.

-‘I sent my clothes for cleaning, but not even a day later, they smell like smoke again! This time, there’s monster guts on them, and they say that can’t be cleaned. Apparently, the fabric itself is ruined. They say I have to throw them away and get new ones!’

“Some of those monsters are pretty nasty. Sometimes they even melt boots. Are you hurt anywhere?”

-‘Me? I’m always fine. The demon still doesn’t show its face, and the monsters only come out occasionally. This front line is still quiet today.’

It seemed that Camila had no injuries, thankfully.

As always, she was like a bouncy little energizer, spouting off all her words before hanging up.

Worries had subsided when she showed her usual self—still, I couldn’t help but want to give her a playful belt on the head.

Right after finishing up with Camila, I connected to Lucia.

The connection to the Cathedral, where the priest always waits, was successful, but I couldn’t hear Lucia’s voice. The priest I spoke to said, “I’m sorry, but Saint Lucia is currently unavailable,” avoiding giving a concrete answer.

Perhaps Lucia was occupied because of Veronica.

I felt curious yet a bit uneasy about what those two might be discussing, but there was nothing I could do right now. In the end, I had to move on to contact the next person without having heard Lucia’s voice.

Unlike Lucia, who I couldn’t even hear, the next person answered herself.

“Hey, Francesca. How have you been?”

-‘Colonel.’

“Is everything alright? I wanted to meet for a moment, is there any chance you have time?”

-‘Something big is happening, Colonel.’

“What?”

-‘It feels like there’s going to be a riot.’

“What?”

-‘I think the magicians are going to stage a protest.’

“What?”

 

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