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“Rude, how’s the situation?”

A young child quietly closed his eyes in front of the sacred flame.

Rude, the mage of the Windsor Knight Order, opened his eyes and spoke.

“Captain. This is weird.”

“Specifically, what are you talking about?”

Rude pointed at the flame with his finger.

“There’s nothing unusual.”

“That’s what I thought too.”

Marquis Biarton, who had been standing with his hands behind his back, approached.

“There’s no change in the flame’s performance. It’s neither stronger nor weaker than before.”

“Honestly, Cecilia is just too sensitive. Even for me, a mage, it’s a bit hard to detect.”

Rude brushed off his pants and stood up.

“It’s a very slight fluctuation. I can confidently say that only a handful in our Knight Order could detect it.”

Kairon stared at the flame with an indifferent expression.

Even he had to focus intensely to barely sense the fluctuation.

It was so subtle that you could only notice it if you were already aware that it was “fluctuating.”

“That doesn’t mean Cecilia is wrong. It’s definitely fluctuating. How did she notice it? She deserves a head pat for being so sharp.”

‘So Rude’s conclusion is the same.’

The Kingdom’s greatest mage.

The top mage within the Knight Order was saying the same thing.

The chances of them being wrong were extremely low.

But…

“I spoke with that child yesterday.”

There was something bothering him.

It was the same feeling as when he first saw Cecilia.

An intuition that was hard to explain logically was resurfacing.

“She said the Goddess’s power might have weakened.”

“……!”

Both Biarton and Rude were slightly surprised.

Biarton seemed to be deep in thought, while Rude frowned and scratched his head.

“Hmm. I want to side with Cecilia, but that’s a bit hard to believe, Captain.”

“Why is that?”

“The principle of the sacred flame is simple. It’s a barrier technique that reduces the range of effect and limits the target to demons. The only difference is that it uses divine power instead of magic.”

And it wasn’t that hard to examine structures with the same design.

“The sacred flame exists perfectly. It’s in the same state as always, not allowing even the slightest gap.”

“What do you think, Marquis Biarton?”

“I share a similar opinion, but I can’t completely rule out the possibility.”

Marquis Biarton was a mage to the core.

He pursued truth and never “certainly” believed anything.

He was different from mages who excluded low probabilities and fought with higher certainties.

“The fluctuation visible to the naked eye is very minimal. If the power has weakened, it would only be as slight as that fluctuation.”

“Well, old man. I don’t think so? Even if it’s minimal, it’s still detectable. If the power had weakened, I would definitely know.”

“Is there anything more foolish than evaluating the divine realm with human standards?”

“Hmph, I’m a mage. It’s my mission to stop the dice games of the gods.”

The debate was intense.

Neither of the two was willing to back down.

But the topic wasn’t “whether the Goddess’s power has weakened,” but “whether it’s right to confirm it.”

“…It’s better to keep the possibility in mind. For now, we’ll maintain the current situation.”

“Captain. That’s a waste of manpower. It’s also a huge loss for the Kingdom.”

Rude was slightly annoyed that his side wasn’t being taken.

“If this fluctuation, even by a small chance, weakens the defensive barrier, the outskirts of the capital could be exposed to demon invasions.”

“Well, that won’t happen.”

Kairon’s eyebrow twitched slightly.

Edward was walking over from not too far away.

“We’ve thoroughly searched the vicinity of the capital, but no significant traces of demons have been found.”

Edward stopped in front of Kairon.

“It’s the right decision to lift the emergency. There’s no justification or benefit in continuing like this.”

Kairon didn’t even look at Edward.

“…My decision to observe for now remains unchanged.”

Edward’s expression stiffened slightly.

But he spoke again with a relaxed smile.

“Is it because of Cecilia?”

“……”

Kairon couldn’t answer.

“I know Cecilia is brilliant, but this time she’s made a somewhat unreasonable suggestion.”

That was quite a provoking statement.

Kairon finally turned to look at Edward.

“Shall we make a bet?”

“A bet, you say?”

“If Cecilia is right, I win. If not, you win.”

“If it’s a bet, there should be a prize.”

“If I win, don’t interfere with Cecilia taking the vice-captain position.”

A slight crack appeared in Edward’s perfect smile.

“…You think I would interfere with Cecilia?”

“Will you take the bet?”

“Fine. But if I win, the opposite condition applies. If I win, don’t give Cecilia the vice-captain position.”

Kairon answered without a hint of hesitation.

“Agreed.”

Edward smirked strangely.

“Captain, sometimes you seem to forget that she’s only 16. She’s still a child. More prone to throwing tantrums than thinking of the greater good—”

**

Little Cecilia stood in front of a mirror.

It was a black mirror with no reflection.

Known as the “Mirror of Truth.”

A name that sounded like it came straight out of a fairy tale, but it was indeed a “sacred relic.”

“You must be qualified enough.”

This “Mirror of Truth” boasted a rather simple function for a sacred relic.

Wear a piece of jewelry made of Black Sapphire, stand in front of the mirror, and just ask.

Then, the mirror would reveal a definitive “truth.”

“…Thank you, Leoric. I’ll help you with your date outfit next time.”

Cecilia expressed her gratitude and took out a “pendant worth a whopping 1000 gold” from her pocket, hanging it around her neck.

Staring at the black mirror, a figure slowly appeared.

A girl with perfect beauty was reflected.

It was Cecilia herself.

“Mirror, mirror.”

A somewhat childish phrase escaped Cecilia’s indifferent mouth.

The mirror glowed blue, as if resonating, brightly illuminating the cabin filled with Cecilia’s affection.

“Answer the questions I ask from now on.”

As if agreeing, the expensive pendant reflected in the mirror floated up.

It was proof that the sacred relic recognized the “Pendant of Elasia” as a valuable item.

‘Finally, I get to ask this.’

Cecilia was excited.

The Mirror of Truth would answer anything.

But it wouldn’t tell the future.

It wasn’t that kind of supernatural relic.

It only told the present. But an unconditional truth.

That’s why Cecilia hadn’t been able to ask until now.

“The Goddess.”

About the Goddess, Saint Michael.

“Saint Michael, year 499. The current Goddess governing the dimension where Cecilia Windsor exists.”

Cecilia guessed the official opening was a year later because of the “Another World” setting.

Michael, who granted humans the power of “blessing” to fight against demons.

Her power weakened every 500 years.

She could no longer grant “new blessings.”

So humans sought a new breakthrough.

That breakthrough was summoning beings from “another world.”

Even if Michael’s power weakened, she could still grant blessings to beings from “another world.”

That’s how Another World began.

So there was only one thing Cecilia wanted to ask.

“Is it true that her dominion over this world is clearly weakening compared to before?”

“……”

Her heart was as still as if it had stopped beating.

As the mirror’s light flickered, she waited for the answer, forgetting even to breathe.

“Yes.”

The girl in the mirror answered as if it were an obvious fact.

“Without a doubt.”

“……!”

Cecilia’s eyes widened as she looked down at her neck.

The pendant was gone.

The mirror had also returned to its previous black state.

The Mirror of Truth had spoken the truth.

In other words.

“Yay, yahoo!”

A year later, newbies are coming!

**

“Something’s weird.”

“Why?”

“Something… I suddenly feel really happy.”

“You too? I’m feeling a bit like that too.”

Cecilia spread her happiness virus and headed home.

Her expression was still indifferent, though.

When she arrived at the mansion, Marie, dressed in her usual maid outfit, bowed respectfully.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Miss.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll prepare your bath.”

“Okay, okay.”

‘……?’

Marie, a 28-year veteran maid, had a big question mark above her head.

Normally, Cecilia would say, “I’ll do it later,” and Marie would have to refuse.

But this time, she said “Okay.” Twice, even.

‘Why does she seem so happy today?’

…Whenever she was like this, she usually caused a big mess.

Marie spoke with a uneasy feeling.

“First, the head of the family is calling for you.”

“Okay.”

Thump thump.

Cecilia was in an exceptionally good mood.

Today, she could generously forgive anyone who tried to steal the strawberries she had been saving for last.

“Sorry… about this.”

“Huh?”

“I bet on your future.”

As soon as she opened the door, Kairon’s serious voice made Cecilia tilt her head.

My future…?

Did he get engaged or something?

If so, Kairon would get to see Cecilia run away from home.

“I still have no desire to get married.”

“Marriage? What a horrifying thought. Even if dirt gets in my eyes, that won’t happen.”

Kairon quickly denied it with a stern face.

Cecilia, relieved, thought for a moment and then asked.

“Then, did you make a bet about me?”

“Yes.”

“With yourself…”

Kairon felt a bit unfair being lumped together.

“No, with Vice-Captain Edward.”

“Yes.”

Kairon paused for a moment.

The Knight Captain making a bet out of personal feelings. It was… a bit embarrassing.

“It’s about what you said yesterday.”

“About the Goddess’s power weakening, right?”

It didn’t matter if they didn’t believe her.

It would become clear eventually.

She could just wait patiently.

“Yes. I made a bet about that.”

“What’s the condition?”

“I bet your vice-captain position… on it.”

“Yes.”

Cecilia’s face seemed to ask, “So what?”

“You don’t seem surprised.”

“Because- I’m going to win.”

Kairon let out a small laugh.

“Typical of you.”

“But you didn’t call me here just to tell me that, right?”

‘I did call you just to tell you that.’

Kairon thought carefully.

Cecilia was the type to hold a grudge for a long time if she got upset.

“I’ll give you a reward. Tell me what you want.”

“Allowance.”

“…Fine. If I win the bet, I’ll double your allowance.”

‘Wow, double.’

Cecilia swallowed hard.

That was a massive raise.

But settling for this wouldn’t make her a great person.

Cecilia aimed for something bigger.

“…And lift the allowance ban.”

“Hmm…”

“I’ll save and spend wisely from now on.”

Kairon let out a thoughtful hum.

‘Is this too much?’

Just as Cecilia was starting to feel a bit nervous, Kairon nodded heavily.

“But, spend it on something meaningful…”

Kairon swallowed his words.

Then he sighed as he looked at the empty spot where Cecilia had been.

“She must have gone shopping for clothes.”

She was at that age, after all.

 

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