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Lucia showed no real reaction even in the face of an unexpected encounter.

It hadn’t been long since I last saw her, so saying it was a long-awaited reunion felt a bit off, but still, I thought she would at least greet me with something pleasant.

Yet, Lucia’s small lips remained tightly shut, unmoving, like someone who was utterly astonished.

The silence lingered for a moment.

Just when her lips started to twitch—

She suddenly lowered her gaze and shyly opened her mouth.

“…I’m glad to see you too.”

—

Episode 12 – The Ultimate Magician

—

“Where have you been headed off to?”

“Yes… The nun from the parish asked for some help, so I was just on my way back after assisting her.”

I ran into Lucia while looking for a certain room at the request of Saint Veronica.

Here I was, acting on a request from the saint, while Lucia was simply fulfilling a nun’s request.

At first glance, it appeared to be a mere coincidence, but I could feel in my bones that it was anything but. More accurately, I suspected Veronica had a hand in this.

There was no need to search for evidence.

After all, it was Veronica.

She really had a knack for scheming, like a human who must have been born a fox in another life.

I sighed inwardly, picturing Veronica who was probably giggling away in some room.

Then, I turned my attention back to Lucia, who was awkwardly avoiding eye contact.

“I heard from Saint Veronica that you have some issues?”

“……”

To combat the demon, Veronica had made Camila, Lucia, and Francesca her water-bearers. She asked two things from me.

One was the half-serious gun import request, and the other was to get closer to Lucia.

Lately, since the fight with the demons, Veronica mentioned that Lucia’s condition seemed quite off, and thus tasked me with looking after her.

I couldn’t help but wonder if Veronica had caught onto what happened between Lucia and me, but judging by her demeanor and hints, it didn’t seem like she knew anything.

In other words, Veronica had entrusted me with Lucia’s care with pure intentions.

Her request was mainly for me to stay close to Lucia and monitor her condition.

I wasn’t some undercover investigator. Under normal circumstances, I would have flatly refused, but considering Lucia was involved, I found it difficult to say no.

“Saint Veronica was worried. She mentioned you aren’t feeling well these days.”

“……”

“So she asked me to find out what’s going on.”

I took a step closer to Lucia.

“Is there something wrong?”

“…No, not really…”

“Lucia.”

I grasped the hand of Lucia, who was attempting to discretely pull away.

Her white and delicate hands still held a warmth despite the chill of winter. I suppose that’s because, even if not to Camila’s level, Lucia possessed a high body temperature.

The sudden grasp of her hands caused Lucia, who was stepping backward hesitantly, to stop in her tracks.

She swallowed hard, breathing stilled, her body frozen as she didn’t know what to do. I slowly lifted her hands.

“Lucia.”

“……”

“Look at me.”

Her blue eyes slowly raised to meet mine. They sparkled like the depths of the Sea of Jerusalem—breathtakingly beautiful beyond words.

“Is there something bothering you?”

Lucia stared at me vacantly before shaking her lightly flushed face.

“N-no, not at all.”

“Really?”

“…….”

With her head bowed, Lucia—who had her hand captured—sank deeper, as if she might entirely turn away, so I held her hand firmly. The same went for Lucia.

Through the strands of her flowing hair, I could see a new expression on her face that I had never witnessed before.

It seemed like a mix of joy and sorrow, as if she was trying to hide her surprise and delight.

I couldn’t pinpoint her exact feelings, but one thing was certain: Lucia did not want to reveal her emotions to me right now.

Thus, I slowly released her hand.

Small hands slid away gently. In tandem, Lucia’s gaze lifted a fraction.

“If it’s uncomfortable, you don’t have to speak up. But if you happen to change your mind, please come find me.”

“…….”

“If you can promise me that?”

With her stare fixed on the ground, Lucia turned her body sideways. Her head rose slowly.

“Near sunset—at dusk.”

Her radiant golden hair nearly concealed her features, leaving only her nose and lips barely visible. After a brief pause, Lucia shyly moved her fingers and spoke.

“There’s a confessional prepared northwest of here.”

There was nothing more to add.

As I nodded, Lucia raised her fidgeting hands to her lips. She looked either embarrassed or like she was silently pleading to keep a secret.

Just as I turned to leave the corridor after finishing my matters.

A small voice whispered in my ear.

“…I’ll be waiting.”

—

The northern regions were enveloped in an ominous atmosphere.

The ferocious blizzard that unexpectedly swept through brought chaos to the entire north, entangling its web of interests into a complicated mess.

Although there hadn’t been an official announcement, everyone was beginning to feel that war was looming at the doorstep. I felt the same.

An indescribable sense of dread clung to my body like the sticky weight of summer monsoons, something I simply couldn’t shake off.

The reason I had such ominous feelings in the perfectly maintained Cathedral was none other than—

“The demon told the colonel to leave the empire before the new year?”

“Yes.”

In one of the highest rooms in the Cathedral, I began to speak in the office designated for Veronica, who had been appointed as the chief exorcist against demons.

“When I was conducting the Grand Exorcism with Lucia, the demon hinted at some things to me.”

“For example?”

“It seemed to know my true identity. It questioned what I was doing, why I had come to the north, how I treated those around me… and then it told me to leave the empire right away if I didn’t want to die.”

I swallowed the brandy in my glass and exhaled a hot breath as I set it down.

“I came to ask if you know anything about this.”

“Hmmmm…”

Draped in a pure white robe affirming her saintly status, Veronica pondered. She tapped her red lips thoughtfully with a finger as she let out a few pained sighs and occasionally frowned, appearing deep in thought.

“A demon’s warning? I don’t think it’s anything particularly special.”

“What do you mean by that? Not special?”

“Just as it sounds.”

Veronica, who indicated my experience was anything but extraordinary, began to explain with her arms crossed.

“Demons are quite the liars, to the point where you should be suspicious if they say they make pasta from flour. This may depend on the nature of the demon, but most exorcists enter with the assumption that whatever comes out of a demon’s mouth is a lie.”

The term demon refers to wicked beings that emerged from hell.

Demons, devils, Satan, Ifrit, Mara, and so on. While the terms vary slightly depending on the religion, the 58th saint of our cult defined demons like this.

“Regardless of the specifics, they generally…”

“These useless bastards who can’t do a damn thing are a well-known fact in religious circles.”

What a sharp assessment.

I tilted my head.

“But if they’re no help, why do people still reach out to demons?”

“That’s because demons throw something to those fools who beg for help,” she replied.

“That doesn’t add up. You just said they don’t help, right?”

“Paying at a restaurant doesn’t help the owner or the chef, does it? That’s not help or charity; it’s just paying for the food you ate. Demons are the same. They give back because they received something. They’re not volunteers, you know.”

Veronica, leaning back, adjusted her posture and twisted her body.

“In the same vein, the nonsense that demons spout isn’t any different. Do you think a demon would say nice things to the Colonel just because he did something for them? They’re so low that they’d suck the soul out of a necromancer to survive. Do you think they did any favors for the Colonel? It’s probably just some random insult.”

The insufficient explanation layered with a blunt tone made it rather unfriendly, yet Veronica’s point was simple.

Don’t worry.

“Don’t let it bother you. It’s already a busy day, and we can’t afford to be distracted by the demon’s nonsense, can we?”

“…….”

It was something someone who had taken down two demons would say, so it was right to believe her. However, even Veronica’s explanation wasn’t enough to shake off the strange unease nesting in the corner of my heart.

Maybe she noticed my feelings.

Veronica, who had been silently watching me with her arms crossed, sighed deeply and said,

“If you’re really worried, I’ll investigate what the demon’s up to or if there’s something else going on. Would that suffice?”

“…Thank you, Veronica.”

“If you’re really grateful, treat my little sister well. She seems to be struggling these days… Or you could do me a favor later.”

“I don’t have any money.”

“Then you’ll have to pay with your body.”

With that silly joke, Veronica wrapped up our conversation, picked up a fountain pen from the tray, and softly uttered a summoning spell.

“I’m busy, so I’ll take my leave now. Don’t forget to say hi to my sister on your way out.”

*

War is a continuation of politics.

War and diplomacy are acts carried out to achieve the goals pursued by a nation, and actions taken to assert the interests of countless individuals constituting that nation.

In other words, nobody comes crawling out to the battlefield because they love war. Just as there aren’t people who join the army for the love of the military.

Therefore, the magicians of the Magic Tower, dragged out to the scene, wore expressions as if they had bitten into stone.

A passing member of the military brought an interpreter and shouted at the magician,

“Hey! You there! Start digging from that spot over there!”

“Yes….”

With a face like he had bitten something hard, the magician responded, when suddenly a decrepit loudspeaker crackled above his head.

“This is the Emergency Response Division of the Fire Department. The ground is in a very unstable condition. Be careful, as buildings may collapse during the search! While people are entering to search for survivors inside, we ask that the magicians be especially mindful not to exhaust their magic power! Repeating….”

At the collapsed site of a major city in the Northern Regions.

Rubble from fallen buildings and sunken roads filled the blocks. It looked as if a giant had stomped through, leaving a path of crushed concrete and steel rebar on either side of the sunken road.

Firefighters dispatched from the Empire climbed the fallen buildings bearing heavy equipment.

-Thunk!

With a sound that shook the road, a giant made an appearance.

The clay doll-like giant carefully moved toward the buildings, avoiding the police controlling the scene and making sure not to bump into anyone.

Upon reaching the site, the giant’s first action was to clear the wreckage of the fallen buildings.

-Crack!

Dust-covered fingers wrapped around a chunk of concrete with exposed rebar, causing bits and pieces to fall away from the mountain of concrete.

In the midst of the struggle with the concrete block, the giant finally succeeded in clearing the debris.

Thanks to that, a gap opened up between the buildings where no path existed before, allowing the search team dispatched from the Military Government Headquarters to rush in and squeeze through the narrow hole.

The giant moved down under the fallen building to a safe location. Like a wrestling player moving its heavy bulk, he suddenly stopped at a designated spot and froze as if turned to ice.

At that moment, the clay body of the giant began to crumble.

-Rumble…!

Like a sandcastle swept away by a wave, the mound of earth poured down. The giant transformed into a handful of dirt. What remained was a small mound of earth and a slowly rotating gear floating in mid-air.

As a woman approached and reached out her hand, the gear was attracted to her like a magnet.

Her luscious purple hair swayed as the magician gazed at the core of the golem that lay in her grasp. At that moment, a butterfly, carried by the wind from somewhere, gently landed on her index finger.

“……”

Seeing this, Francesca reached out and grasped the butterfly. Despite a hand that was much larger than hers descending upon it, the butterfly showed no resistance at all.

Francesca slowly brought her closed hand closer to her mouth. The hand hovered near her lips, within which a butterfly was peering out at her.

As Francesca stared at her hand, she eventually pulled her gaze from the butterfly.

Then, with an indifferent expression, she exhaled hot breath onto the hand that held the butterfly.

“Ha.”

The breeze swept through the small cave formed by her fingers.

As the fingers that trapped the butterfly slowly relaxed, a cold winter breeze brushed across the palm where the butterfly had been trapped.

The strikingly patterned butterfly had vanished without a trace.

“……”

The cavity filled with the chill of winter air. Francesca took a deep breath and turned her gaze to the side, where her colleague was speaking to her.

“What are you thinking about?”

Fiery red hair. Eyes like a clear blue sky.

Camila, who had drawn near without me noticing, smiled brightly and questioned Francesca.

“What was that just now? The butterfly disappeared. Was it magic?”

“Well, unfortunately, it’s not a trick,” Francesca replied.

“Then what was it? Please tell me!”

“Of course. If you’re curious, I’ll gladly enlighten you. But first….”

A pair of violet eyes gradually turned to the side.

Where Francesca’s gaze fell, a massive pit lay in ruins.

As she stared at the traces of battle left in the underground waterway, Francesca turned to Camila and said with a smile,

“It seems we should meet with the Colonel right away.”

 

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