Volume 5 Synopsis

“Noelle Springfield, we don’t need a good-for-nothing like you at our workshop. You’re fired.”

Noelle was working at a mages’ guild in her hometown so that she could take care of her mother after graduating from a prestigious academy of magic. Fortunately, her mother had recovered, but Noelle still needed to put up with the mean, prejudiced guild chief, who finally fired her.

Just when Noelle was devastated after being cut off from a career in magic, an old school friend appeared. Luke, Noelle’s erstwhile rival, had risen through the ranks as a royal court magician and reached the adamantite class faster than anybody else in history. He told Noelle that he wanted to nominate her as his mentee in the Third Unit of the Royal Court Magicians’ Division.

Noelle soon began working as a royal court magician, but although she had Luke as a mentor, nobody at the court was willing to believe in a commoner like her. However, even with the odds against her, she smashed the wall designed to test new recruits’ magical abilities, passed the so-called “Sixty Seconds of Blood,” saved a visiting queen, and fought a wyvern. She then went on to stamp out a sinister crime syndicate’s illegal weapons operation, and even hold her own against a master swordsman at the Royal Invitational Tournament.

She made it through every hardship with her own talent and hard work, her bonds with her coworkers, and her devotion to magic! These two young magicians—Noelle, the magic-loving commoner, and Luke, the heir to a noble household—have begun to usher in a new era in the kingdom!

Now, Luke has become the youngest magician in history to reach the top rank of magus, while Noelle has been promoted to the adamantite class! However, it seems that even after a beating from Noelle and Luke last time, there is still life left in the sinister Order of the Dragon...

Finding something...and losing it. If they’re just two sides of the same coin, then why is it that losing something is so much more painful?

Prologue: The Path of Least Regret

Luke hadn’t shown up at the fountain where we’d agreed to meet.

Honestly, that realization shook me. This was a popular meeting spot, so there were a lot of people around on a Friday night like this. I saw others sitting on the edge of the fountain, waiting for somebody to come, but the difference was that somebody did arrive for each of them, and they vanished away into the crowd in pairs. Even for me, waiting all alone by the fountain on a busy evening took its toll.

A man approached me casually. Oh, here we go... I thought, but then he looked at me with concern in his eyes.

“Hello there, little lady. Are you here by yourself?” he asked. “Is everything all right? Should I call for a guard to help you?”

How can he mistake me for a child when I’m dressed up all nice?! I clenched a fist in indignation. This isn’t right. The world is against me!

More importantly, I wanted to understand why the guy who told me to come here in the first place had never shown up. Surely it was the proper adult thing to at least contact me? This was unacceptable. I decided that Luke deserved a fitting punishment for putting me through this trouble.

He’s getting a smack in the face, for starters.

The only way to deal with a sneaky devil like Luke was to take a running start and funnel my rage into a devastating blow. There was no room for even a shred of mercy or moderation; I would have to give him a real beating. Finally, I’d make sure he took full responsibility for saddling me with these uncomfortable feelings.

Boiling with rage, I bought myself some skewered steak and fried potatoes from a nearby stall. It was great.

Food, I mused, really can bring world peace.

Now buoyed by the delicious food in my mouth, I mulled over my situation again.

Let’s see... Has Luke ever stood me up like this before? No, this is pretty strange.

I’d heard that Luke had quite a standoffish attitude with other people, but in my experience, he tended to turn up early when we were supposed to meet. In fact, in all the years I’d known him, I couldn’t think of an instance when he’d failed to meet me as planned.

I guess something urgent came up...

I could imagine that he had all sorts of important duties now that he’d been promoted to magus. Alternatively, he might’ve had to deal with business as the Waldstein family heir. Unlike me, a commoner with few obligations, Luke was right in the thick of high society with all its strict expectations. I assumed he was caught up in something unavoidable.

I pictured Luke in a situation where he was unable to meet or even contact me. In my head, he was full of regret about having missed our appointment. That thought eased my mind a little bit.

I’ll settle this with a nice, satisfying punch in the face.

That was still my intention when I went to work the following morning.

It was quieter than usual in the palace. I entered the Seventh Unit captain’s office that I shared with Luke, where two empty leather chairs sat a little apart. I arrived thirty minutes early so I could pile completed documents up on Luke’s desk. The paperwork formed a tall, swaying tower that almost reached the ceiling light. I felt pleased with myself for having devised such a cunning act of retaliation.

Excited to see the look of shock on his face when he arrived, I waited with bated breath. I heard a knock at the office door, which opened to reveal not Luke, but Letitia standing in the doorway.

“Noelle, you’re awfully early—” Letitia started. “Wait, what’s that?”

“This is the Great Tower of Paperwork, built with the power of unbridled rage.”

“It’s really tall!”

“It is really tall.”

Letitia looked like she was about to expand on that, but she didn’t in the end. Eventually, she changed the subject. “Is Captain Luke not here yet?”

That had an unusual ring to it. It occurred to me that this was possibly the first time I’d heard Letitia refer to him as “Captain Luke.”

“That’s right,” I replied. “I haven’t seen him this morning.”

“That isn’t like him. He’s usually here by this time.”

“True. Normally, he would’ve come in by now for sure.” Our business hours began in only ten minutes. “Maybe he’s cutting himself a bit more slack now that he’s a magus.”

“I’m not so sure that fits his personality...”

“Yeah, but he’s been working toward this ever since he became a royal court magician. I think this promotion is a much bigger deal to him.”

Luke had finally achieved something he’d always dreamed of. I felt like it wasn’t so strange for him to need a bit of a breather, especially at a time like this—maybe it was the “occupational burnout” I’d heard about.

Besides, life was complicated; sometimes hardship liked to come right when everything else was going great. My hellish time working at the mages’ guild had given me the skills to succeed in the Royal Court Magicians’ Division, so I knew all too well how hard it could be to separate the good from the bad.

“I suppose that’s true,” Letitia said. She raised a hand to her lips in thought. “Did he say anything to you?”

“Like what?”

“Anything out of the ordinary.”

My heart skipped a beat. Luke had wanted to tell me something that night—something special. I didn’t know what it was, but it must have been very important to him.

“No, he didn’t say anything to me.”

“I see.” Letitia nodded thoughtfully. “Maybe he got cold feet.”

“Cold feet...?”

“Never mind. Just carry on as normal.” Letitia produced a stack of papers and handed it to me. “There’s some admin work Luke has to deal with following his promotion. Could you give these to him?”

I accepted the papers with a nod. As the cool, glamorous Letitia left, I did everything I could to express my deep respect for her, then returned to my work. I pulled off my boots, clambered onto Luke’s desk, and added the new papers to the top of the Great Tower with utmost care.

That should do the trick.

I wondered what face he would make when he appeared. Surprised? Exasperated? Maybe he would be at a total loss for words.

This is actually really exciting!

I waited for him to come to the office, eager to see his look of astonishment.

The working day began, and he was still nowhere to be seen. Wanting to avoid any trouble arising, I did my best to cover for him and keep the Seventh Unit operating as normal.

“Sorry, Luke seems to be running a little late today. I’ll handle it instead if that’s okay.”

I did Luke’s tasks on his behalf, telling myself all the while that I’d have to get him to buy me dinner to make up for it. And still, I kept having to step in for him.

“Isn’t this pretty weird?” Misha remarked. “It’s been an hour.”

Even an optimist like me had to admit this was troubling. By now, I’d already finished off the day’s most pressing tasks out of sheer annoyance, and it seemed to me that the remaining work could go ahead smoothly without me.

“I’m going to go and investigate,” I announced. Then I left work and made my way to the Waldstein villa, where Luke lived.

The villa was a grand residence situated quite far from the city center. Through the trellis fence, I could see lush, verdant lawns filling the space.

I rang the doorbell, and a butler answered. I asked for Luke.

“Master Luke has not been at home since yesterday evening,” the butler responded.

“Yesterday evening...?” My mouth went dry; I had a bad feeling about this. “What time did he leave?”

“It must have been around seven thirty.”

The timing suggested that he probably had left to meet up with me—but I knew for a fact that he’d never arrived at the fountain.

Did something happen to him?

I immediately headed back to the Royal Court Magicians’ Division headquarters and told Gawain what I knew so far.

“I’ll go and look for him,” Gawain said. “You report this to Captain Ernest.”

“Got it.”

Ernest Maeterlinck was the captain of the First Unit and leader of the Central Administration Office. In the absence of Secretary-General Chronos Casablancas, he also acted as the division’s chief executive. I went to him and explained the situation.

“Understood,” Ernest said. “I’ll deploy whoever I can for a search party.”

“Can you let me—I mean, the Seventh Unit help too?”

The Seventh Unit was the newest unit in the organization. With Luke as its captain, it was composed of me, Misha, and several new recruits.

Ernest fixed his gaze on me, pausing to consider for a moment. “Permission granted. The Seventh Unit will be under your command.”

“Thank you!”

I enlisted the help of the others in my unit, and we searched for Luke to the best of our ability. It seemed fair to assume that if something had happened to him, it was likely to have occurred on the way from the villa to the fountain. I followed the path he would have taken, trying to gather information.

“Excuse me. Have you seen this person?” I used a magic projector to show a photograph of Luke to a man in his thirties.

“No, sorry.” The man looked puzzled. “I don’t know who this is.”

“Okay, thank you.”

I had roughly the same conversation many times over, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t find even the slightest clue.

“Let’s leave it there for today,” I told the others eventually. “Thank you all for your efforts. I won’t ask you to work overtime. It’s important to get some rest too.”

However, once they’d all gone home, I continued the search by myself.

“Excuse me. Have you seen this person?”

“I’m in a hurry.”

The passersby I spoke to gave curt replies and went on their way. The big city could be a cold place; everyone was totally caught up in their individual troubles and worries. Even so, I knew that I’d get nowhere if I didn’t do anything. Without even stopping to sleep that night, I kept up my search, but I still couldn’t find anything that might lead me to an answer. Time just went on by.

One evening, a week later, something finally happened.

“Have you seen this person?” I asked a bulky man with a scarred face.

“Hell if I know. I ain’t seen him.”

“Thanks anyway.”

After I thanked him for his time, the man walked away. After just a few steps, though, he stopped.

“Hold on,” he said. “Lemme see that again.”

I showed him the photograph through the magic projector. The man narrowed his almond eyes, peering intensely at the image.

“A week ago—in an alleyway. Must’ve been near the central plaza. I saw a guy who looked like that. Somebody was helping him walk, and I figured he was drunk. Something bothered me about him, though.”

“What was it?”

“Liquid was dripping from the cuff of his sleeve. It looked like his coat was soaked, and at first, I thought he’d spilled booze on himself. But then I saw him in the light, and it seemed too red to be booze. I remember saying to myself, ‘Is that blood?’”

I felt a chill wash over me.

In hindsight, I’d been so lucky; I could always just assume that the people I saw yesterday would still be around today. Although I’d always understood in theory that something unexpected could happen at any time, I’d still generally believed that life would always go on without change.

That was why I was so stunned.

“Where did you see him?” I asked.

“Ah, sorry. I’m in a rush right now.”

“Please! This is important.”

The man showed me the back alley where he’d seen Luke walking. I focused my mind and searched for any traces of magic, but I couldn’t find anything promising.

I guess it was raining up until yesterday. Any remaining evidence from the past week has probably been washed away by now.

I saw the glow of magic lanterns at the end of the dim, narrow lane, where it opened up onto the central plaza.

So he got this far, huh...?

It was such a short distance to the plaza—so why hadn’t I spotted him at the time? If I had only come this way that night, none of this would have happened. I knew that dwelling over what might have been wouldn’t change anything. Besides, even if I were to go back to that night, the chances of me coming down this alley were minimal. Even so, I couldn’t help thinking about it.

Maybe I could’ve done something.

And if I had, maybe Luke would’ve still been here.

I heard footsteps approaching. They sounded somehow cold and mechanical.

“You must be Noelle Springfield.”

I turned around and saw a young man. He pulled a pocket watch from his coat pocket.

“My name is Cranel. I work in the First Unit of the Royal Court Magicians’ Division,” he said. “Captain Ernest has issued a summons to all unit captains and lieutenants. Please make your way to the central assembly room without delay.”

The big, heavy doors opened, and the icy air of the Royal Court Magicians’ Division central assembly room penetrated my skin. In the large room stood rows of empty chairs; the one exception was the chair right at the far end of the room, where Captain Ernest was seated.

“Sorry I didn’t call you sooner,” he said quietly—as if he were speaking to somebody right next to him.

The size of the assembly room made me a little nervous. I walked up to Ernest, keen to make sure I didn’t miss anything.

“That’s all right,” I replied. “Actually, I was under the impression that you had summoned the captains and lieutenants from every unit.”

“That meeting just ended. I’ve been waiting here to tell you what we decided.”

“I’m terribly sorry for arriving late.”

“It’s fine. I know you’ve been carrying out an unauthorized investigation without coming back to headquarters too, but I’ll let that slide.” Ernest looked at me closely. “We’re calling off the search for Luke Waldstein.”

He spoke quietly, but his voice seemed to echo around the room.

“Calling it off...?” I repeated. “What do you mean?”

“The prime minister and His Majesty the King both want us to stop. The Royal Court Magicians’ Division exists to serve the kingdom. They have concluded that we cannot keep devoting funds and personnel to looking for a single individual.”

“But Luke is the Seventh Unit’s captain! People know his name throughout the kingdom and beyond. It would be an incalculable loss to be without him. Besides, there’s nobody else who works as hard for the country as he does. In my opinion, helping him is the best thing we can do for this country.”

“I understand how you feel. Nevertheless, the king is right in saying that it is inappropriate to use taxpayers’ money to search for one of our own. Moreover, the prime minister argued that there is a significant chance that Luke cannot be saved.”

“I don’t understand...”

“More specifically, that Luke may no longer be with us.”

My breath caught in my throat. I wanted to refute it. I wanted to say it was impossible. However, I couldn’t come up with a counterargument. A week had already gone by. If the perpetrator had been planning to take Luke out of the picture, they’d had plenty of time to make it happen by now.

I stared down at my feet, then closed my eyes, pursed my lips, and looked up once more.

Even if all of that is true, it’s no reason for me to stop trying.

“But right now, it’s early enough that we might still get to him in time,” I said. “Otherwise, we could end up regretting that we didn’t do something when there was a chance to make a difference.”

“There’s another problem,” Ernest replied. “It was suggested that he could be somewhere beyond where we can conduct investigations.”

“But where would that be?”

“The Holy Nation of Clares.” He paused. “Relations between Clares and Ardenfeld are shaky at best. We don’t have the authority to investigate there, so as royal court magicians, we can do nothing within their borders. Therefore, there is a high likelihood that the Order of the Dragon is hiding out there. I should also mention that somebody raised the possibility of Luke having betrayed us and left of his own accord.”

“Betrayed us?” I was baffled. “What makes you say that?”

“According to an eyewitness report, he provided them insider information in exchange for letting him into their inner circle. Last week, there was an assassination attempt against the great priestess of Clares, and he was supposedly spotted during that incident too.”

I was speechless.

There was a chance Luke was still alive. That thought alone filled me with relief, even if the reports sounded troubling. In fact, that meant I needed to push back. Luke wasn’t here to defend himself, so I had to stick up for him. I had to make it clear that the report was mistaken.

I racked my brain, trying to work out who could be behind these events and what they might be after.

“This must be a ruse,” I insisted. “Somebody wants us to think he’s done these things. They could’ve used a shape-shifting potion to disguise themselves as Luke.”

“That’s not all. Several nobles have given evidence that he was involved in illegal activities.”

“Luke has dirt on a lot of nobles. He knows they’ve been up to no good, and that gives him power over them. It’s possible that those same people are taking the opportunity to try and bring him down now. If nothing else, I know for a fact that Luke was attacked and taken away from the Royal Court Magicians’ Division against his will. I have evidence that proves this.”

“What kind of evidence?”

“A man saw Luke on the day of his disappearance. He couldn’t stand up by himself and needed somebody to help him walk.”

Once I explained the testimony I had heard, Ernest replied, “I see. I’ll conduct an interview tomorrow. Depending on what we find out, the outcome of today’s meeting may be overturned.”

“Thank you.”

There was still a chance that the search could resume if we could prove that Luke was the victim of an attack. Perhaps we wouldn’t have much in the way of resources, but even then, it would drastically increase the likelihood of being able to help Luke. Our inability to carry out an investigation in the Holy Nation of Clares was a blow, but I was sure there was something we could do.

Whatever it takes, I have to make sure the search continues!

The following morning, Ernest called me into the First Unit captain’s office.

“My subordinate spoke with the man who gave you evidence,” he said.

“Thank you for taking such swift action,” I replied.

“His account contradicted what you told me. The man said that Luke Waldstein did not lose consciousness, and that he chose to walk away with somebody.”

“Huh...?” I felt myself turn pale. My mouth went totally dry. “That can’t be right. Yesterday, I could’ve sworn he said...”

“I have to make a difficult call now. Either you’ve lied to me to cover for him, or there’s an enemy informant in our division working two steps ahead of us.” He went on bitterly, “Now, we don’t have the authority to operate in Clares, where the Order is most likely based. On behalf of the Royal Court Magicians’ Division, I’ve determined that, as things stand, we have no way to continue our search.”

“Then let the Seventh Unit do it—or even just me. I’m willing to work solo. I’ll take full responsibility, so—”

“The Holy Nation of Clares is an insular theocracy that does not take kindly to foreign interference. It could cause an international incident if you, as one of our unit lieutenants, were to push ahead with this. It’s too much for you. As your commanding officer, I absolutely cannot allow you to do this. Many things in life may seem unfair, or illogical, but as much as it might hurt, as hard as it might be to endure, there are things you simply must accept.”

I couldn’t concentrate on work for the rest of the day. With Luke gone, it was my responsibility as lieutenant to steady the ship, but I was completely unable to focus on any of my tasks.

Out of nowhere, I would start questioning what I was doing or whether I should really be there. After all, a dear friend of mine could be in trouble. If I didn’t do anything, I might never see him again.

Iris, a first-year court magician who worked under me in the Seventh Unit, glanced at me quizzically. “Lieutenant Noelle? Is everything all right?”

“Sorry, I’m a little out of it today.”

“You needn’t apologize. If you’re distracted, that gives me more of an opportunity to prove my superior talents. Feel free to slack off forevermore.” Iris flashed a combative smile.

Just then, Miles—another Seventh Unit rookie—approached. “Can you double-check this for me, please?”

“Sure,” I said. “Wait a minute. I was supposed to do this.”

“Iris told me to do it since you were having a hard time.”

“Hey, don’t say that!” Iris butted in. “He’s talking nonsense.”

I watched as Iris grew distressed, while Miles remained amused. It brought a smile to my face to see these former problem students getting along together.

“I appreciate it,” I said. “Sorry I’ve been so useless.”

“You’re not useless,” Iris replied. “Anyway, it’s fine if you take it a little easy today.”

I decided that if they wanted to indulge me, I’d let them.

I returned to my chair in the Seventh Unit captain’s office and lost myself in my thoughts. With nobody sitting in the chair against the back wall and no coat on the hanger, the room felt so big. Luke’s desk was strewn with unchecked paperwork. It wasn’t like him to let it get so messy. Every little thing I saw in the office seemed like it was shouting out to remind me that he was missing.

Is this really right? I wondered. Of course, I knew it wasn’t—but what could I do? A decision had been made at the top level of the organization.

Luke was probably in Clares, a country that had bad relations with ours. Since Clares and Ardenfeld were neighbors, there had been several conflicts surrounding mineral reserves in the border region. Besides, it was against the religious laws of Clares to extend investigative authority to foreign organizations. As a member of the Royal Court Magicians’ Division, I couldn’t go there to help him.

People in this division had such high hopes for me; they’d even entrusted me with the role of Seventh Unit lieutenant. My success was practically unheard-of. I’d been blessed with luck beyond my wildest dreams. It was like a miracle.

And yet, I felt an emptiness inside.

Humans just want and want and want, don’t we? All it took to make me feel awful was being without one person.

“Are you okay?” somebody asked.

I looked up to see Letitia standing in front of me in the office. I was so distracted that I hadn’t even noticed her come in.

“Of course you aren’t,” she added.

“Why are you here?”

“Misha asked me to come. She said she was concerned about you.”

Misha—a woman with terrible luck in love, who enjoyed spending time with her cat instead—was truly a wonderful person. It warmed my heart to hear that she was thinking of me.

“Sorry for making you both worry,” I said.

“Don’t be. I wanted to come and speak to you anyway.”

“You did?”

“Yes. As somebody who has been keeping an eye on you—and him too—there’s something I need to say.” Letitia watched me intently. “I have a lot of respect for both of you as individuals. What I appreciate most is that you have your own values. You won’t let anybody else talk you out of what matters to you.”

“But you’re like that too, Letitia.”

“No, all I’ve ever had was a stupid desire for revenge. I’m fundamentally different from you two. And maybe that’s why, under these circumstances, I really see the beauty of your perspective.” She placed a hand on my shoulder. “Right now, you’re torn between the two things that mean the most to you: the job you love and a precious friend. You can’t have both at once.”

I looked down. I stayed silent for a moment, trying to find the words to say. I wanted to express my honest feelings before they slipped from my grasp.

I raised my head again. “What I really want is to go and help him, without any other considerations. But there are people here who mean a lot to me too, and if I go, I’ll cause them problems. Even worse, I could cause an international incident or something else really serious.”

“But you’ll lose him if you do nothing.”

I nodded.

I wasn’t quite sure what Luke was to me, but I knew that he was an important friend I couldn’t bear to lose. On the other hand, there were other people in the Royal Court Magicians’ Division who were important to me. I was incredibly lucky to be here, working in a job that enabled me to use magic, the thing I loved above all else.

It was impossible to choose between those two things. I was left paralyzed, unable to do anything at all.

“The important thing is to reach your own decision,” Letitia said. “That’s the only way to avoid looking back later and wondering about what could’ve been. I suggest asking yourself this question: ‘What is the path of least regret?’”

“‘The path of least regret’?”

“There are times in life where you must pick between two options that will both cause regret later. There isn’t a right and a wrong answer. Both options have aspects that feel right and aspects that feel wrong. And no matter which one you choose, you’ll eventually find yourself lying awake one night, thinking you made the wrong decision. The option you rejected will seem so appealing, like a neighbor’s green grass or a nostalgic memory.” Letitia spoke slowly and deliberately. She clearly wanted to express something very important, even if it wasn’t easy to put into words. “I’m asking you to work out what you’re more prepared to regret. Don’t let the thought of doubting your decision later get the better of you now. Follow your heart. There’s no need to worry about causing trouble. Whatever you choose, I’ll be on your side, and I’ll support your decision.”

The path of least regret—there were a lot of different ideas bound up within that phrase, but Letitia’s explanation had helped me unpack them.

A solution hazily came to the surface. Like the north star coming into view above the dark ocean, it had been there all along, but it had been obscured in the midst of my indecision. Now, I could hear the tiny voice coming from inside.

I didn’t know whether it was the right thing to do, but I had an answer. I knew what I was and was not willing to regret.

“I’ve made my decision,” I said.

“Good.”

“I used to look up to you so much. I thought you were so cool. I wanted to be just like you.”

“And now?”

“Now I like you even more.”

Letitia opened her eyes wide and watched me closely. “Follow the path you believe in.”

“I will.”

It didn’t take me long to prepare the documents I needed. After all, working fast was my specialty.

Just as I was about to bring the documents to Captain Ernest, I stopped. After some thought, I opted to deliver them to Captain Gawain instead. Gawain was the kind of generous man who surely wouldn’t pass up a chance to offer assistance. Going about it this way would probably be best for the others in the Seventh Unit.

I knew some people wouldn’t be happy with my decision. Some would criticize me, and others would probably be upset. As that thought churned in my stomach, I wished this could have been avoided.

However, I had chosen the path of least regret, and that meant pushing ahead through sadness and difficulties. For the sake of something too precious to give up, I had to leave behind my beloved workplace. There was no going back.

But I know I’m ready to do this.

◇ ◇ ◇

Gawain Stark’s office was bathed in deep red sunlight when he saw the envelope from Noelle Springfield. He opened it to find several smaller envelopes inside. This seemed ominous.

His heart racing, Gawain composed himself and took out the first of the envelopes. He broke the seal unceremoniously and read the letter inside.

“She’s really done it.” His voice reverberated around the quiet office.

He sat back in his chair and pressed his fingers against his temples as he tried to suppress a smile.

“She’s a wild kid, that’s for sure. Wow, I sure am getting older.”

On the front of the envelope sitting on his desk were the words LETTER OF RESIGNATION. A gold pocket watch, inlaid with adamantite, lay inside it.

Chapter 1: The Road to the Holy Land

I knew this looked bad. After submitting my resignation, I was supposed to continue working for the next month, avoiding putting any new pressure on my remaining colleagues while I prepared everyone for their responsibilities once I was no longer around. Handing in a resignation letter and immediately leaving was the most immature, irresponsible thing one could do.

I didn’t have time for all that, though. I cared about social expectations, but not at the cost of Luke’s life, and as long as the Royal Court Magicians’ Division couldn’t do anything, I was the only one who could rescue him.

I have money saved away, so I’ll manage for the time being. It might be hard to get another job after the way I left this one, but I know this is the right thing to do. I’ll endure whatever I have to.

It probably wouldn’t be easy to find another magic-related job. Still, even if I couldn’t find other work in Ardenfeld, there were plenty of jobs where I could use magic in other countries.

It’ll be hard on my mom, though...

My sole lingering doubt concerned my mother, who lived with me. She was the one who had worked so hard, to the detriment of her own physical health, just to be able to send me to a magic academy. I was the only income earner in our household; I didn’t want to worry or disappoint her.

When I got back to the house, I gathered my belongings, then found my mother at the end of the dining table, watering a pothos with her back turned to me.

“Mom, I want to talk to you about something,” I said.

“Hmm? What kind of something?”

“I’ve decided to leave the Royal Court Magicians’ Division.”

She fixed her eyes on me. “I knew you’d been acting strange lately.”

“You could tell?” I was surprised. I’d tried my best to act as naturally as possible at home so as not to cause concern.

“Of course. You’re easy to read. So, what made you decide to quit?”

“My friend is in serious danger. If I don’t go to help him now, he could end up beyond saving. I know I’d regret that for the rest of my life.”

“And if you go, is there anything you can actually do? Are you sure you’ve thought this through?”

“I have. I’ve thought about it a lot. Honestly, I didn’t want to have to do this, but I figured out that this is the only way.”

“Hmm. Seems you’ve made up your mind.” She lowered her gaze before she continued, careful with her words. “I’m not a good mother. I don’t have the patience for it. Still, listen to what I have to say—I never wanted you to leave your job. I wanted you to keep on working there. I’d hoped you’d find a wonderful, protective person to marry and that you’d put my mind at ease.” Then she stared at me head-on. “But none of that really matters.”

I could see tears sticking to her eyelashes as she blinked.

Full of emotion, she went on. “You don’t need to get married. You don’t even need to have a job. I know I’m demanding and I ask a lot of you, but that’s not what I want most of all for you. I just don’t want you to be in harm’s way, Noelle.” She balled her hands into tight fists. “You’re planning to go off somewhere really scary, aren’t you? You could die out there.”

“No, it’s not like—”

“No more lies. Be honest with me.”

I looked down in silence for a moment. “You’re... You’re right. That’s what I want to do.”

“Do you understand how hard this is for me?”

“Yes. I’m sorry. I’m a bad daughter.”

“No, you don’t understand. You have no way to understand this unless you’re a parent yourself. I was so impressed by your work ethic and your never-say-die attitude. You were always odd, different from other people, but I loved that about you. I felt terrible not being able to make more time for you. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“Mom...”

“If you’re still planning on going, promise me you’ll come back alive. I don’t care if you slip up. I don’t care if this all turns out to be a total disaster. Even if you can’t help anybody and you come back to nothing but criticism from every side, that’s okay. I’ll accept you no matter what other people think of you. All I want is for you to come home safe.”

Our eyes, the same color, locked on to each other. Hers were so passionate.

For a moment, I couldn’t say anything at all, and I wasn’t sure why not. She’d sounded so critical, and yet I felt oddly encouraged. I could see how emotional I made her. I was amazed that anybody cared that much about me.

“I’ll be back,” I said after a long pause. “That’s a promise.”

“As long as you keep that promise, nothing else matters. Forget about the money. Your old mother’s tougher than she looks.”

“I know. I learned everything from you, after all.”

“You know just the right thing to say, huh?” She shrugged her shoulders. “Anyway, go out there and give it your best shot. No regrets!”

“Yeah! No regrets!”

I quickly stuffed my big travel bag with the very basics before I went on my way. As I left, my mother didn’t take her eyes off me. Even when she was nothing but a little speck in the distance, I could still see her standing outside the house. Somehow, seeing her look so tiny made me feel tears coming on.

Thank you for everything.

I turned the corner, and then she was out of my sight, but I could feel her eyes on me. In my heart, she was there with me. Even though I couldn’t see her, I could still hear her voice from within, and that was as precious to me as the real thing.

I made my way to the capital’s central stage station to board a stagecoach toward Clares. As I was about to enter the station, a familiar voice stopped me.

“What are you doing, Lieutenant?” Glaring at me with her sharp eyes, her voice shaking with quiet anger, was Iris.

“I heard you’d resigned. That’s just a joke, right?” Iris demanded. “It’s not true, right?”

I paused briefly to think. “No, it’s not a joke. I’m really leaving the Royal Court Magicians’ Division.”

“Running away? I suppose you had to. You were scared of my ability. You knew you couldn’t get the better of me.”

“Sure. Something like that.”

“Don’t give me such a flimsy answer,” she said quietly. “I know very well that I’m not as strong as you right now, and I know it’s because of how much you’ve worked and how much you’ve sacrificed. But that’s why I think your opinion is worth hearing. The masses are self-indulgent and weak, but you’re different. Nobody is as devoted to magic as you are, and that’s why I care what you have to say.”

Elegant as always, Iris somehow seemed to stand taller than ever. I looked up at her and said nothing. She took that as a sign to continue.

“And so, I followed your advice. I made more of an effort to behave appropriately. I communicated with ordinary people on their level, and I even enjoyed it more than I expected. I thought I was doing the right thing.”

She reached out and grabbed my collar. I could feel her fingers trembling against the back of my neck.

“So why are you the one behaving inappropriately now, Lieutenant? You’re causing problems for everyone. We’ve all expected great things from you, and now you’re letting us down... What’s gotten into you? This isn’t like you at all.” Iris shifted her gaze to the floor. “If you’re focused on magic, you mustn’t leave. This is the ideal place to grow. You can’t just give up your place at the top.” Her slender fingers gripped harder. “Don’t go. It’s not too late to take back your resignation. I’ll go with you and apologize.”

“I’m sorry. I know what you’re saying, but I have to go.” I squeezed her hands, and her firm fingers loosened one by one. “You’re going to be all right, Iris. You’ll become a better magician than I ever was.”

“But there’s still so much I want to learn from you...”

Iris slowly crumpled to the ground. She looked like a helpless child. It made me want to console her, give her encouragement—but time wasn’t on my side. My dear friend was in grave danger, so as much as I cared about my subordinates, I needed to go to him.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, turning away.

Choosing one thing meant giving up on something else. I had to move forward, even if I brought pain and guilt along for the ride.

“Lieutenant,” I heard Iris say from behind me. “Please make sure you come back. I’ll do anything. I’ll even apologize on your behalf if you need me to.”

The headstrong, self-centered Iris I’d first met would never have said anything like that. It was even stranger that she’d say it now, speaking to an ingrate like me. If the change in her personality were even partially because of my influence, that would have made me very happy indeed.

“Thank you. Iris, keep up the good work. I’ll always be on your side.”

It was too late to change my mind now, and I knew it. Even so, hearing Iris say all of that had brought me genuine happiness.

I didn’t look back as I walked away from her. Maybe she thought I was the worst kind of superior officer, but I’d made peace with that possibility. I just hoped that she’d enjoy the bright moments to come in her life.

Stagecoaches left for the Holy Nation of Clares three times a day. It was a fourteen-hour journey with stops at three relay station towns along the way. At one of those stops, I relieved myself in the bathroom, got some food for myself, and posted some letters I’d written during the coach ride.

Now that I’d quit my job, I had no formal backing from anybody. I’d be more restricted than before. There was less I could do alone, and that made it especially important to seek help from others.

However, the truth was that there weren’t many people I could go to. I’d been so busy ever since I started working at the mages’ guild in my hometown; at this point, my social life was fairly empty compared to my student days. Even then, my obsession with magic was never exactly conducive to meeting friends on time. The only school friends I could imagine contacting were my snarky old roommate and the snooty girl who’d used to keep feeding me treats. On top of that, it would be strange for me to contact them out of nowhere to ask them to help me fight off somebody who had managed to capture Luke without resistance.

And everyone is off living their own lives now too.

I was most comfortable approaching a childhood friend with whom I’d been reunited when I fought the wyvern from Dragon Mountain: Nina. She’d told me she lived in Clares, and I figured she was tough enough to look after herself given her experience as an adventurer. Of course, I had no intention of dragging her into direct confrontation with Luke’s captors, but at least it felt easier to get in touch with her than others.

There’s another option too... This probably won’t work, but it’s worth a shot.

I’d addressed my other letter to an elf living in the Great Forest in the Holy Empire of Vellmar: Evangeline, the Fairy Queen, whom I’d met during the World Magic Championships. Of all the people I’d fought, she was the strongest. I felt sure that she would provide reliable help.

But on the other hand, she was in big trouble that time somebody used a relic to block her magic. I can’t be totally confident.

I had no idea what might happen in this battle. One drop of poison could kill the toughest soldier. There were all kinds of ways to fell a strong opponent. Losing focus was not an option.

Evangeline had some truly astounding skills with magic, so I wanted to get her on my side if at all possible. But then again, I knew she had to have a lot on her plate as the queen of her people. The likelihood of her actually coming was slim.

And then that leaves the dragon of Dragon Mountain.

The wyvern still owed me one after I’d rescued it from the control of a supreme relic. It had given me a whistle that I could use to summon it to my location, and told me it would come to my aid at any time. I’d finally called it to help me during the incident at the World Magic Championships, and at that time, the wyvern had reiterated that I could summon it whenever necessary. There was a real chance that I would need its help again soon.

But that would cause so much chaos. It has to be a last resort.

Through my clothes, I clutched the transport whistle hidden against my chest.

As the night wore on, the stagecoach continued its journey. Places I’d never seen before passed by the window. There were six other passengers with me, three of whom appeared to be a family. There was also a pair of well-dressed men and one other man who reeked of alcohol.

The seats of the coach were rock-hard. Sitting in the same position for even a short time made my bones ache. It clearly wasn’t a suitable environment for sleeping, but conveniently, I had a wealth of experience and know-how when it came to sleeping in uncomfortable spots.

This is like a deluxe suite compared to the mages’ guild workshop.

In the old days, I used to fall asleep around sunrise, as quickly as if I’d been knocked out cold. I would then awake three hours later and start working all over again. Since I’d had to sleep on hard chairs all the time, I’d turned the pain into an advantage, helping me avoid oversleeping. But now that I was free from snoring coworkers, assigned tasks, and deadlines, I was practically in heaven!

Getting to sleep without worrying about deadlines is an amazing feeling...

Thankful for my new circumstances, I rested my head against the window and got ready to sleep. My forehead felt cool against the cold windowpane. I exhaled, and my breath fogged up the glass. Soon enough, I fell asleep, and by the time I opened my eyes, the morning rays of sunshine were lighting up the scenery outside the window.

“Immigration check,” a voice said. “Please write your occupation and the reason for your visit on this form.”

We had reached a checkpoint on the border. I took the form and followed the immigration officer’s instructions.

“Noelle Springfield...” the officer murmured, looking at my completed form. “Unemployed.”

As much as I knew it wasn’t a bad thing, it still somehow made me feel quite small to be described as “unemployed.”

“And you’re here for sightseeing...” the officer went on. “Can you confirm that you aren’t a royal court magician of Ardenfeld?”

“I used to be,” I replied. “But I left my job. Now I’m unemployed.”

The man sitting opposite me opened his eyes a little wider when he heard that. I figured it wasn’t every day that people encountered a former royal court magician.

“You were involved in the World Magic Championships, were you not?” the officer asked.

“That’s right. I was a participant.”

“Why did you leave your job?”

“Personal reasons.”

“Since the terrorist incident two years ago, the Holy Nation of Clares does not offer investigative authority to any foreign organizations. There are strict punishments for false statements. Now, let me ask you once more. Could you be misrepresenting your employment history in order to enter the country to perform work as a royal court magician?”

I see. That’s how it sounds to an immigration officer.

The officer’s interpretation sounded pretty sensible, really. It was very unusual for somebody to quit their job as a court magician, and here I was within a matter of days of resigning, trying to enter a country where court magicians were barred from operating. It wasn’t unreasonable to think that I could be lying to continue my work in Clares.

It was always hard to know somebody’s real intentions. Telling the honest truth didn’t necessarily mean that other people would believe it.

But I have to make it through this inspection—or else I can’t do what I came here to do.

I’d left the Royal Court Magicians’ Division so that I could help Luke as quickly as I could. I couldn’t afford to lose precious time getting detained and possibly even deported.

“I left my job because I wanted to have a long think about my life,” I said. “I’ve started thinking that maybe there’s more to life than work. I’ve come to the Holy Nation of Clares to visit an old friend of mine and get some life advice.”

“There are strict punishments for false statements...”

“This is no deception. I’m telling you the truth.”

I was no good at lying, so I hoped my bluff would hold up. I stared right back at the immigration officer. I knew I had an important reason to come this way.

The officer continued to watch me in silence for a little longer before he finally acquiesced. “Enjoy your trip. Blessings be upon you.”

“Thank you.”

I bowed my head lightly. On the inside, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. As the other passengers went through the immigration process, I turned over the officer’s final words in my mind.

“Blessings be upon you.”

I wasn’t very smart when it came to anything except magic, but I guessed this was something that people in Clares said as an everyday greeting.

“Thank you for your cooperation,” I heard the officer say at last, and the stagecoach slowly began to move again.

Wondering what time it was, I felt around for my pocket watch, but then it hit me: I no longer had one. I wasn’t a royal court magician anymore. I would need to buy a watch of my own.

Judging from the position of the sun in the sky, I supposed it was probably around seven in the morning. I leaned my head against the window again and closed my eyes. It wasn’t long before I drifted back to sleep.

I was awoken some time later by the noise of busy city streets.

Is there a market or something going on?

I looked out and saw rows of stalls selling fruit, fish, and exotic dishes.

So, this is Clares.

The bustle of people going about their business didn’t seem so unlike what you might see in Ardenfeld. On the other hand, I saw statues of the Goddess Clares and artworks based on scripture, which served as a reminder that this was a country with a very different history and culture from Ardenfeld.

The stagecoach stopped in front of a fountain in the middle of a plaza. Obviously, it wasn’t the same one where I’d planned to meet Luke, but the sight of it hurt all the same.

“Thank you for traveling with us today. Please watch your step as you disembark.”

I followed the family of three out of the coach, taking care not to bump into the child. Blinking in the morning sun, I’d found myself in the Holy Nation of Clares.

◆ ◆ ◆

“Noelle Springfield has resigned from the Royal Court Magicians’ Division and gone directly to the Holy Nation of Clares.”

In Crown Prince Michael Ardenfeld’s private office, the prince listened to his aide from the King’s Guard, a security team assigned to the royal family.

Prince Michael’s expression revealed nothing. “I see,” he replied curtly.

His aide was surprised by the crown prince’s tone of voice, given his close interest in Noelle Springfield ever since he’d seen her during the Sixty Seconds of Blood, the Third Unit’s notoriously brutal initiation.

Prince Michael rarely showed much interest in anything, so the girl’s ability to light up his eyes to such an extent was exceptional indeed. That made it particularly odd that he was taking the news of her resignation with such disinterest.

“Is that...acceptable?” the aide asked.

“Is what acceptable?”

“Well, I mean, Your Highness seemed to have a particular interest in Noelle Springfield.”

The prince’s golden eyes turned toward the aide, unsettling him with their lack of emotion. A chill ran down the aide’s spine.

“But of course, it’s perfectly understandable if you’ve lost interest,” the aide added quickly. “There are other talented people around. There’s no need to focus on an inept magician from such a lowly background.”

“There’s no one quite like her. If anyone has the qualities necessary to best me, she may be the one.”

“What does that...?”

“Indeed. What does that mean?” Prince Michael smiled, his eyes glinting as if he were a mischievous child.

“Then is this all right with you? If Your Highness thinks so highly of her, perhaps we should be trying to bring her back...”

“And why would we do that?”

“The Holy Nation of Clares is very suspicious of its neighbors. Besides, the Order of the Dragon operates with great care. She won’t be able to handle them by herself. I can see them eliminating her if she’s careless in her pursuit of them.”

Prince Michael looked out the window. “Yes, that may be the normal way of assessing this situation. However, none of you understand her true worth.”

“Does Your Highness think differently?”

“The more difficulty that girl faces, the stronger she becomes. We all know she has a higher limit than the average person, but I believe that it is in fact much higher than you think.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“She has something hiding within her that I myself cannot fathom, and I want to bring it out. After everything I’ve done so far, I still don’t quite know what it is. How deep does this go? That question keeps me awake at night,” the prince said lightheartedly.

The aide blinked. “Do you really mean to say that you think Noelle Springfield can go toe-to-toe with the Order of the Dragon without any organizational support?”

“Precisely. I wouldn’t have gone to these lengths otherwise.”

“What lengths...?” The aide narrowed his eyes dubiously, then gulped as a thought occurred to him. “Surely you can’t be saying that the prime minister pressured the Royal Court Magicians’ Division to call off their search because of—”

“I’ve known him for a long time. I have a fairly good idea of how my words affect his actions.”

“Your Highness deliberately manufactured a situation where Noelle Springfield had no other choice but to travel alone to Clares?”

“I thought it would take her a few more days to make up her mind. She really does exceed my expectations at every turn.” Prince Michael pressed his fingers to his temple, feigning exasperation to disguise the smile that appeared on his face. “What can we do but anticipate the day the monster inside her awakens?”

Chapter 2: The Holy Nation of Clares

I decided to get to work in my search for Luke as soon as I arrived in Clares. The plan was to blow the bad guys away and return Luke to Ardenfeld. I had no doubt that he would fall at my feet and lavish me with gratitude.

“I can’t believe it!” I could hear him crying out. “I’ll never be able to surpass you as long as I live!”

I smiled to myself at the mental image of him on his knees, admitting defeat. Now, I just needed to figure out how to achieve this happy ending. I began to deliberate, expecting that somebody as smart as me would come up with a bright idea right away.

Ten minutes went by.

This is way harder than I thought it would be!

It shocked me to realize that although I’d successfully made it here, I was a solo traveler with absolutely no information. I had no clues to lead me to the enemy—a particularly dangerous one that had even managed to slip under the radar of the Royal Court Magicians’ Division. It had taken me this long to see the true scale of the challenge.

What am I supposed to do...?

Any time I didn’t know what to do, I remembered what he had said to me one day.

“You try to solve the whole thing in one go without taking your time, don’t you? Try to break it into smaller pieces. Work methodically to work out each part one by one. Do that, and you can close in on the right answer, no matter how difficult the problem is.”

That was my strategy whenever I was stuck. I closed my eyes and transported myself to when I was a student, when he was at my side. Since then, I’d gone through so much: both the madness of my job at the mages’ guild and the frequent incidents at the Royal Court Magicians’ Division that had pushed me beyond my limits.

It’s gonna be all right. I’ve got this, I said in my head, over and over. The first step was to believe in myself. I can’t rush in headlong. I’ll start at the easiest point, then move on methodically, one step at a time.

Like any time I needed to handle a large volume of work, I started small. I bought a cheap pocket watch from a watchmaker and made my way to the city’s biggest library. I perused the three newspapers in operation in Clares to gather the basic information I needed.

The top news item was an attempt on the life of the great priestess the previous week. The incident, which I’d also heard Captain Ernest mention, had been met with shock and fear in Clares.

In one of the newspapers, I saw a black-and-white photograph of the perpetrators. One of them really did look like Luke—actually, it was clearly him, at least from the outside. The would-be assassins certainly wouldn’t have let such an incriminating photo be taken if it wasn’t him.

The goal must’ve been to make things messier by implicating the Royal Court Magicians’ Division.

My old friend was being used. That realization made me clench my fist in anger, painfully digging my nails into my palm. I took a deep breath to calm myself down before returning my attention to the newspaper.

It became clear to me that the great priestess had a very special role in the Holy Nation of Clares, but I didn’t really understand, so I went and found a hefty encyclopedia to help improve my knowledge. There was a detailed entry about the history of the great priestess of Clares.

Before the great priestess’s first appearance one thousand years ago, monsters from the country’s western frontier had tormented the people. They had killed many and had laid waste to the farmlands, causing even more to die of hunger. Though the country was on the verge of total annihilation, no neighboring nations offered support. In fact, some took the opportunity to invade, plundering the country’s land and resources. The Kingdom of Ardenfeld was not one of the invading forces, but the kingdom was arguably complicit due to its deliberate ignorance of the people’s plight.

In the face of increasing misfortune and cruelty, the people prayed for salvation. They believed that even pain and sadness were divine gifts. They would be judged after death, and if they had lived their lives honestly right until the end, they would go to heaven and enjoy eternal happiness that could not be found in this life. I didn’t know whether that was true—after all, what happens after death is a mystery to the living—but I understood that these teachings at least eased the people’s minds and gave them hope to help them through the bad times.

The people continued to pray until eventually, their prayers were answered in the form of a miracle. In a village deep in the mountains, there was a girl with prodigious magic power. With her healing magic, she had the ability to heal any wound, however severe, in an instant. The ravaged land was soon bursting with new growth, and the girl’s magical barriers held back both the monsters in the west and the raiding soldiers from other countries.

The girl, Clares, was exalted by the people and became the symbol of the nation. After her death, she was reincarnated as a new great priestess who went on to continue to help the plants grow, heal the sick, and protect the people from invaders.

The nineteenth great priestess, who currently held the position, was twelve years old. She had been selected as the one believed to be the true reincarnation of Clares from ninety-seven potential candidates. Even now, the people’s lives revolved around their gratitude for the original miracle, and more than thirteen hundred statues of Clares could be found throughout the country.

It makes sense that even a failed assassination attempt on somebody so important would make huge waves.

My main takeaway from everything I’d read was the strange structure of the Holy Nation of Clares. Everything from food production to social welfare to defense was largely dependent on one person. Losing the great priestess would be like losing the sun; it would plunge the entire country into chaos.

I’m not so sure I agree with giving that huge task to a twelve-year-old girl, but wanting to kill her is even worse! Who would do such a thing?

Longing to crush the criminals, I continued to gather information. Before I knew it, time had flown by, and it was the afternoon. I left the library for a nearby bakery, where I bought five bags’ worth of bread for lunch. I then took a seat on a bench to enjoy my food.

It’s a bit tougher than what I’m used to at home, but it’s good for what it is!

After sampling the local flavors, I moved on to my afternoon activities. My first goal was to visit the Holy City’s adventurers’ guild in case anybody there knew Nina. I had also used this guild as my address when writing my letters earlier. To make life easier for active adventurers without a fixed address, adventurers’ guilds offered a service for receiving letters and packages on members’ behalf.

I arrived at the guild and asked the woman at the front desk to sign me up.

“To register as an adventurer, you need to agree to the guild’s regulations,” she explained, handing me a form that I dutifully skimmed and signed. “Miss Noelle Springfield—am I correct in understanding that you have no experience as an adventurer?”

“Uh...” I hesitated. It wasn’t that I had no experience, but since I wanted to register solely to receive mail here, I decided that I’d best keep things simple. “Yes, that’s right.”

“I see. In that case, here is your F-rank guild membership card. Please present this to collect any packages and letters.”

“Thank you. By the way, do you know an adventurer named Nina Lawrence?”

“Nina? Indeed, I do.”

“I’m looking for her. Do you know where she is?”

“At the moment, she’s exploring a dungeon just beyond the western border. She’ll be back whenever the quest is complete, but that probably won’t be until next month.”

“Next month, you say...?”

I’d been expecting this, but it was still a big disappointment. I’d have to wait nearly two weeks, and since I’d addressed the letter to the house she was living in, she wouldn’t even know I was here until she got back. It didn’t seem very realistic to ask for her help with my mission.

Well, I’d better focus on what I can do for now.

I wrote a new letter to Nina and sent it to the supply base closest to the dungeon she was currently exploring.

And then there’s Evangeline... I’m not totally confident that the first letter will actually reach her.

I had no idea how long it would take for a letter to be delivered as far away as the Great Forest. Complicating matters further was the fact that, according to one of the newspapers in the library, the Fairy Queen was on a diplomatic trip in southern Vellmar.

My other option was the dragon’s transport whistle, but even the dragon might have plans or other issues to deal with. I couldn’t necessarily count on it for assistance either.

I’m in a foreign land and don’t know anybody. I’ll just have to fight this battle alone.

I couldn’t help feeling uneasy. It was as if I were walking a lonely road in complete darkness.

It’s okay, I kept telling myself. Everything’s gonna be okay.

Suddenly, I heard a man speaking hoarsely. “Excuse me. I wanted to ask about the request I submitted recently.”

“Oh, it’s you, Darcy,” the woman at the front desk replied. “I’m afraid nobody has come forward to take on the task.”

The customer was an old man with a crooked back. “Nobody at all? It’s been a month already.”

“There just isn’t anybody going for cleaning jobs.” The woman gestured toward a noticeboard covered in requests. “Some of them have been posted for over a year without anybody taking them on.”

Sure enough, I could see lots of old F-rank requests on the noticeboard, stuck one on top of the other.

“Isn’t there anything that can be done?” the man asked. “That creek is very special. I cleaned it myself for sixty years, but my old bones can’t take it anymore.”

“I’m very sorry. If nobody accepts the request, there’s very little that we can do.”

“Look, I’m begging you!”

“I’m sorry.”

The old man hung his head quietly. He seemed to be trying to find the words to say, but eventually he let out an impotent mumble. “I see. Thanks for your help.”

His shoulders drooped, and he left the guild.

He really seems to be at a loss. I wish I could do something to help, but I have an important mission. I don’t have time to clean out a creek...

Or do I?

If I take on this request, could it help me find out where Luke is?

“Excuse me,” I said to the woman at the front desk. “Which of these requests is the one from that man?”

“It’s that one right on the edge.”

I removed the notice from the board and handed it to her.

“I’d like to take on this task.”

The woman at the front desk of the adventurers’ guild stared at me in total bewilderment. “Are you sure? This is physical labor. It won’t be much fun.”

“I don’t mind. I’m pretty good at physical tasks.”

As a child, I’d spent many moons running around the fields and delivering justice upon bullies. After putting that same strength to use at the mages’ guild too, I was confident that I could hold my own—even against grown men.

“But the pay isn’t great either...” she went on. “And between you and me, there are a lot of people who ditch jobs halfway through when they realize they’re not worth the effort. That’s an even bigger disappointment for the customer, so I really don’t want that to happen. Now, are you positive that you want to do this job?”

It sounded like this work was going to be seriously demanding, but I was determined to do whatever it took to find Luke.

“Yes, please. I want to do this.”

“All right. Well, here’s an idea. Today, you can do the first twenty-five percent and see how it goes. If you still think you can handle it after that, we’ll ask you to keep going.”

I got the impression she was expecting me to give up partway through. I was a little offended, to be honest. Then again, I could remember lots of new staff failing to show up for work at the mages’ guild. That must’ve caused all sorts of problems for the people in charge.

Now, I was in a place where nobody knew the first thing about me. I had no choice but to earn people’s trust from the ground up.

“Sure,” I said. “I’m happy with that plan.”

The guild receptionist gave me a copy of the request and a map of the work location. I had a hard time finding my way there in this unfamiliar territory. Along the way, I kept getting lost and having to backtrack, but I eventually arrived at a small, dirty creek.

Wow... It sure is filthy, huh?

The creek crawled below a stone bridge in a residential nook of the city. Perhaps because it was mostly out of sight, it had become a dumping ground for all kinds of everyday waste—rusty cartwheels, smashed crates, and discolored sofas to wine bottles, chairs with broken legs, and assorted fragments of other items. The water was thick with oil, and the blackened bodies of fish floated on the surface.

First, I’ll need to get boots, gloves, and clothes I can afford to get dirty. I should rent a handcart and some crates for carrying away the garbage too.

After finding a shop and getting the things I needed, I changed my clothes and returned to the creek with a handcart. When I arrived, I saw the old man from earlier, standing on the bridge and gazing down at the riverbed. Just as I was about to call out to him, he began walking away, so I quietly watched him go instead.

“Okey dokey,” I said to myself. “Time to get messy!”

I pulled on my boots and waded into the water. Everything felt slimy, and there was some sort of algae coating the bottom of the creek. I was just lucky it didn’t smell as bad as I might’ve expected.

I wanted to collect the smaller items first. I began by accelerating my perception of time with Spell Boost, the spell that had become my specialty when I’d worked at the mages’ guild. I nimbly gathered trash and tossed it into a crate.

Mindlessly working through a simple, repetitive task transported me miles away from my worries. The wall of garbage all around me disappeared a little bit at a time, and I started to see more and more value in the job. That sense of progress made me feel energized and motivated. It was interesting how something could seem like a hassle beforehand but turn out to be quite enjoyable once you got started.

I can move onto some bigger items next. A bit of an Air Slash should scrape away some of that grime too.

The more work I did, the more I found myself wanting to do.

Strange how that happens. Looks like this might be more fun than I thought!

I couldn’t tell how much time had passed. On the one hand, I felt as if I’d been working for hours on end, but on the other hand, it seemed like it couldn’t have been very long at all.

It’s always so hard to keep track of time when I’m using Spell Boost.

I took a look at the cheap watch I’d bought earlier the same day. Apparently, I’d been working for five hours. That was quite a long time, but then again, I’d already finished most of what I had set out to do. Smiling broadly with the satisfaction of a job well done, I wiped the sweat from my brow.

“J-Just look at that!” somebody exclaimed overhead. “Did you do all this?”

I looked up to see the old man who had submitted the original request. He was standing on the bridge again, looking down toward me.

“Oh, yes, that was me...” I replied.

“I can’t believe it! It doesn’t even look like the same place I saw earlier.” He looked in astonishment at the huge pile of trash on the handcart. “How did you...?”

“Oh, you know, I just tidied up.” His surprise was the cherry on top of my hard work’s results. Proud of myself, I made my way up to the street where he’d been watching. “By the way, I wanted to get rid of all this junk. Is there somewhere near here where I can throw it out?”

“Let me show you. It looks like too much for one person to handle, though...”

“Nah, I can deal with this much.”

I slowly began to move the handcart. Success! I thought as I spotted the man staring at me in disbelief.

While I pulled the handcart to the designated disposal site, the man happily chatted with me. He told me about how he’d lived in the area ever since childhood. He and a girl in the neighborhood had played in the creek together, meeting every day in their hideout under the bridge. That girl had been keeping a secret.

“It was a gloomy summer’s day when we were both ten years old,” he explained. “The rain wouldn’t stop. We were both drenched. We went under the bridge to our hideout, and she suddenly asked me, ‘Do you promise you’ll be my friend, no matter what happens?’”

The old man paused and looked down as he continued the tale. “I didn’t know what she was talking about, but I didn’t hesitate for even a second. ‘I’ll be your friend, no matter what happens,’ I said. She smiled sadly and said, ‘I have a secret to show you.’”

His manner of speaking had a way of drawing me in. It occurred to me that this story might just be the most important thing that had ever happened to him. I felt a strange power emanating from the man, all because of his storytelling ability.

“She quietly took off her soaked shirt,” the man continued. “Nearly seventy years have passed, but I still remember that moment like it was yesterday. Her wet hair, her slender fingers, the way her skin was slightly browned by the sun. And the burn marks on her body—those were from her father. At that moment, I decided I would do whatever it took to keep her safe. That wasn’t easy, though. I was a powerless ten-year-old, and her father was a raging alcoholic. I suffered a lot, but I couldn’t give up on her. I was ready to die for her. That’s really how I felt at the time. I was so young.”

More passion entered his voice. He spoke with greater and greater confidence, as if somebody else was briefly taking over his body. It was like the memory had brought back his younger self.

“For the next seven years, I did everything in my power to protect that girl. But in the end, I couldn’t save her. One day, when I was seventeen, something happened. She was selected as a candidate to be the next great priestess.” He heaved a sigh, the strength leaving his voice for a moment. “The adults took her away to the Central Dicastery. I never saw her again.”

“Did she end up becoming the great priestess?”

“No, she wasn’t chosen. I tried everything to find out what had happened to her, but I never worked out where she was or what she was doing. Anything to do with the great priestess is top secret in these parts, you see. Maybe she’s dead; maybe she’s happily married. I hope it’s the latter. I could live my final few years in peace if I knew she was happy.”

His voice didn’t sound so confident in that last sentence. Some of his feelings were less straightforward than others.

“Sounds like you’re still fighting for her after all these years,” I said.

“I guess you’re right. I can’t deny that I still cling to old feelings I could never express. Even now, there’s a part of me that believes she might suddenly come back. Sometimes I dream about seeing her again, only to wake up in tears. Isn’t it just pathetic? There’s something poetic about it too. I was truly prepared to sacrifice myself for her safety. It still warms my heart to remember how I felt back then.”

The old man watched two children skipping around the twilit city streets and smiled.

“That old creek means the world to me, you know. Thank you for cleaning it up.”

After finishing the day’s work, I returned to my lodgings to take a bath and eat what I’d bought for dinner.

My room had a nice, soft bed and a private bathroom. I was staying at a cheap inn popular with adventurers, but as a reward to myself for all my hard work, I’d splurged on a relatively expensive room. I figured I could afford a little bit of luxury considering the money I’d saved up from working in the Royal Court Magicians’ Division. Nonetheless, as a lifelong cheapskate, I had instinctively opted for half-price clearance items for dinner.

I can’t help feeling kind of guilty about spending money, like I’m doing something bad.

Maybe it was because we never had much money at home when I was a kid. I’d become used to eating whatever grew wild in the surrounding area. After that upbringing, I needed nothing more than a filling meal to achieve genuine happiness.

As I enjoyed my lavish, half-price banquet, a thought suddenly occurred to me: What is he up to right now?

I could barely imagine what he was going through. Still, though I knew it wouldn’t make a difference, I couldn’t help wishing for his safety.

Please let him be okay!

◆ ◆ ◆

“Noelle Springfield has returned to the inn. I’ve sent my report on her movements so far.”

In an apartment near the inn, a man was speaking to somebody using a communication relic. This kind of relic was an advanced piece of technology that used electromagic waves to deliver compressed, encrypted data.

The man’s notebook was full of detailed records of the girl’s actions that day. Everywhere she’d been and everything she’d bought—without exception—was carefully noted.

“Are you sure the target really purchased everything you’ve listed?” the person on the other side asked.

“Yes.”

“But this is more food than a human could possibly eat.”

“That is definitely what she bought,” the man said calmly. He found it strange too, but all he could do was report the facts.

“Fine. She’s obviously trying to look for him, but there’s very little she can do on her own. She’s in no position to track us down. Just continue to tail her.”

The call ended, and the man breathed deeply. This was an easy job. The target was inexperienced, and the Order didn’t see her as a threat whatsoever.

It’s nice to be able to take it easy, he thought, lighting a cigar. The smoke filled the room like mist.

Meanwhile, after checking that there were no surveillance devices around, Noelle Springfield removed a few items from her bag. She had test tubes for conducting basic experiments and some magic powders that she’d brought from home. She laid it all out on the table before producing three more test tubes from her inner pocket containing water from the creek. The creek was much cleaner now, thanks to her efforts, but she’d taken samples of its water before she’d started her work.

She mixed the powders together and added them to the test tubes, as she’d done many times before. She watched closely for a reaction, and she was rewarded; the color in the test tubes changed. It became ultramarine and cloudy, and then it separated, settling at the bottom.

Noelle’s experiment had shown that the water in the creek contained unusual levels of magical energy. As for why that would be, there was a strong chance that the answer lay with the Order of the Dragon and the relics in their possession.

Alone in her room, Noelle pumped her fist in the air. She was getting closer. She could feel it.

◇ ◇ ◇

Over the next three days, I completed fourteen more cleanup jobs. Though it took me five hours to sort and dispose of all the garbage on the first day, I developed a more efficient approach with each task. By the end, I was able to finish six requests in one day.

“You managed to do that whole job in one day?!” the woman at the front desk exclaimed at the end of the first day.

After a few days, surprise had given way to abject fear. “Six requests in one day...? What’s going on with this girl? This isn’t right...” she muttered to herself. “You’re hiding something, aren’t you? How in the world did you manage to do this?”

“No, I’m perfectly ordinary. I just used magic to accelerate my perception of time and get the work done extra fast.”

The woman went pale. “You shouldn’t be working on F-rank requests. I feel like you should be getting promoted to B-rank, or at least C, but I don’t have that kind of authority. Besides, it’s true that all you’ve actually done is fifteen F-rank requests...” She was totally discombobulated. “Sorry about this. Here’s an E-rank card. I know that’s still far too low, but there’s nothing else I can do... I’m so sorry, I really am.”

Taking the endless apologies as a compliment, I couldn’t help but smile. “No, I appreciate it. I made more money than I expected as well. I feel like you’ve done a lot for me.”

“And you’re even nice about it?!” The woman gasped, stepping back. Her episodes of shock knew no end. “Thank you so much for taking on the requests that nobody else wanted to do. All the customers have been amazed at how well you’ve cleaned everything. I can’t thank you enough for your hard work.”

“Oh no, it was no big deal.”

“It’s a very big deal! Most of the other young adventurers these days ditch their requests right after starting, or they come back saying they’re done after only picking up a little bit of trash. It makes the customers furious, and then it gets worse when the adventurer stops showing up...”

She sounded worn out. It’s like I’m watching myself or the other guys back at the mages’ guild... I thought.

“Please don’t work too hard. Remember, your health matters more than your job.”

“You’re so nice... You’re like an angel...” The woman began to well up.

Seeing the exhaustion on her face reminded me how tough work could be. I felt a bit closer to her now.

“Can I take on this request today?” I asked.

“That’s the last of the cleaning jobs, isn’t it? Thank you very much. Let me just process—”

She suddenly stopped speaking and stared unblinkingly at somebody behind me. When I turned around, I was taken aback to see a man standing right before my eyes.

When did he show up...?

I hadn’t felt his presence at all. I held my breath nervously, but he didn’t even look at me.

“I’m an inspector from the Central Dicastery. I want you to cancel a certain individual’s membership card.” He walked over to the front desk and showed the woman his identification card.

The woman checked his details. “Yes, I see. Whose card do you need us to cancel?”

“This person’s.”

He handed her a scrap of paper. I caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of my eye and tried not to let my thoughts show on my face. Wow, didn’t see that one coming.

My name was written on the paper.

I couldn’t remain at the adventurers’ guild. I reacted quickly to this sudden development, leaving the building and hurrying back to the inn.

The enemy was ready for me. I didn’t know the official reason for banning me from the guild, but I supposed they’d cooked up some story. If I protested, it would surely just give them ammunition to use against me.

I needed to keep my priorities straight. The important thing was to find out where Luke’s captors were. Conveniently, I’d spent the last three days studying the water quality in twenty-nine different locations. I had a pretty good idea of where the most concentrated magical energy was being pumped out. I was closing in on the bad guys faster than they knew, and that meant I couldn’t afford to let this chance slip away.

I returned to my room at the inn and closed the door behind me. Without letting go of the handle, I stayed perfectly still, held my breath, and listened carefully.

It was like time was going by especially slowly. I felt a bead of sweat run down my neck onto my shirt.

I heard footsteps approaching, not too loud, but not too quiet either. They sounded like they belonged to an ordinary person—or like somebody who wanted me to think that. When the footsteps drew close enough, I flung the door open and leaped out into the hallway.

A man jumped back in surprise. I recognized his face. I grabbed him by the collar and shoved him up against the wall, then pressed a handkerchief soaked in sleeping potion over his mouth. He tried to resist, but I seized both his wrists and pinned them back.

“I knew you were watching me from the day after I got here,” I whispered. “You’re no slouch, but you were following me all by yourself. You never stood a chance.”

The man lost consciousness. I dragged him into my room, bound his hands and feet, and shoved some fabric into his mouth to stop him from speaking. I felt a little bad for him, but I didn’t exactly have a plethora of options at my disposal.

I gathered the materials from my experiments into a small bag. Next, I reached into a gap behind the bed to find a piece of paper I’d hidden there and slipped it into my pocket. On the paper was a map of the Holy City and its surroundings, with information on what I’d discovered about the water in various locations. If I followed the flow of the water, I expected it would lead me to where Luke was being held captive.

I left the inn and swiftly aimed for one of the points marked on the map.

The night before, I’d worked a little more on pinpointing the areas where the wastewater had the highest concentrations of magical energy. The drainage system flowed gently toward a basin near the Sacred Cathedral of Clares in the city center. A little upstream of that area, the magical energy sharply declined.

This has to mean that somebody is producing concentrated magic waste somewhere close, a spot before that energy drop-off.

As I walked down the streets of the Holy City, I caught a glimpse of tall railings, upon which were security personnel, in my peripheral vision. I got closer and found a magical barrier rising up high, dense enough to affect the color of the sky.

Behind the railings and the barrier was the Sacred Cathedral of Clares, home to important members of the clergy and the great priestess herself. The barrier was unlike any other in the western continent, formed with no fewer than fifty combined magic sequences. I almost let this amazing piece of work distract me, but I managed to hold back my awe for the time being.

Of the many drains in the area, I took a guess at where I might find the highest magical concentration. I picked a stream tucked behind the cathedral and quickly got to work cleaning it up. This was the stream I’d originally been hoping to clean that day anyway. I couldn’t formally accept requests anymore, so the least I could do was attempt a task that might boost my experience.

After every twenty meters, I tested a sample of water. Next, I continued this process for the other drainage points, selecting promising locations and testing the water in them one at a time until eventually...

Aha, the color changed! This is the one!

The opening where the most magical energy was flowing out into the water happened to be just wide enough for a person to fit inside if they crouched. I entered and found myself in a large space, enveloped in total darkness. Liquid was trickling along the floor. I reached into my bag for a lantern I’d bought the day before, and I began looking around with it. Fortunately, it didn’t smell too unpleasant, but the air felt vaguely warm and damp compared to the outside.

I walked a little farther inside and encountered some wire netting, set up to keep people out. I raised my lantern to see past it and saw that the tunnel widened. Lukewarm air wafted by my face as I grabbed the wire netting to examine it more closely. The wire was worn out and looked like nothing special, but the more I looked, the stranger it became.

There’s all this rust and dirt, but something about the placement feels off.

The use of time acceleration magic deteriorated nearby materials. The appearance of this wire reminded me strongly of that effect. I concluded that this fence had been put up quite recently.

After using wind magic to carefully cut through the netting, I continued along the tunnel. When I saw that it branched out in two directions, I stooped down to collect some water in test tubes, added some powder, and watched for a reaction.

Which water contains magical energy? Looks like the one on the right.

I went along the right pathway. When I turned around, the distant light I’d seen at the entrance was now gone. I was a long way inside now. It was so dark that it was like the air had been painted over; I couldn’t even see my hand in front of my face. I could see my lantern, but it didn’t seem all that reliable.

Hmm, another fork in the road.

With three paths to choose from, things were becoming more complicated. I tested the water and chose the tunnel on the right again.

The magic in here is intense!

I had a bad feeling about this. There was something in these tunnels with an unusual amount of magical energy.

I tried shining my lantern into the depths of the tunnel. At first, I thought it was empty, but I was sure that couldn’t be true. There had to be something out of the ordinary up ahead. I squinted, and suddenly I noticed a transparent wall, interwoven with one magic sequence after another. The sight made me gasp. I was so amazed that I lost track of time for a moment.

It’s so beautiful...

I moved my face closer to the wall and examined its construction. It was a dense barrier composed of holy magic.

Wait, but this means...

A crazy thought crossed my mind, but I shook my head, telling myself it couldn’t be right. I closed my eyes tightly and took another look, but nothing had changed. If anything, my sense of concern grew stronger. I double- and triple-checked, wanting to refute what I’d just found, but the evidence pointed to one possibility only.

“No way...” I said aloud.

Astonished, I let out a long breath. I’d just run into the greatest magical barrier in the western continent: the barrier protecting the Sacred Cathedral of Clares.

It was well-known that some magical energy washed off into water that passed through a magical barrier. Then again, it was equally known among magicians that the amount of that magical residue was infinitesimal. Back in my final year of elementary school in my home country of Ardenfeld, our class had conducted an experiment to show that the magical concentration in water increased ever so slightly after passing through a barrier.

The magical concentration increases due to a reaction between the magical energy of the barrier and the water molecules. The level of concentration doesn’t have much to do with the composition of the barrier. The amount of magical energy I found in the water can’t be caused by that kind of reaction.

Basically, the unusual levels of magical energy present in the water could only have been caused by something on the other side of the barrier. I was working under an assumption that the Order of the Dragon had supreme relics capable of boosting the user’s physical and magical power, based on what I’d seen when the Seventh Unit fought against them. That had given me the idea that the enemy hideout must be at the other end of the streams.

Then why has the water led me to the country’s most central institution...?

I couldn’t get my head around this twist. I tried to force myself to remain calm. As far as I could imagine, there were two possible explanations.

The first possibility was that something inside the cathedral—that is, something under the control of the authorities—had produced the water pollution.

The other was that the people I’d been seeking in the Order of the Dragon had infiltrated the cathedral.

I didn’t want to consider that second option. As the principal holy site of Clares, the cathedral was known for some of the strictest security in the entire western continent. I couldn’t begin to imagine how I would pursue them beyond its walls.

On top of that, the photograph I’d seen of Luke strongly suggested that the Order was involved in the attempted assassination of the great priestess. The prospect that their members were inside the cathedral itself sent shivers down my spine, even as somebody with no personal connection to the Holy Nation of Clares. I would’ve been more comfortable writing off the idea as impossible, but my instincts told me that this water would surely lead me to the Order.

The worst-case scenario would be if the Order is actually connected to the clergy. If so, somebody on the inside must’ve plotted the assassination attempt...

But I can’t waste any of my precious time worrying about the great priestess too! The only way for me to save Luke is by getting inside the cathedral.

I looked closely at the magical barrier, searching for any way to breach it, but it was no use. As long as I was on my own, nothing I could do would produce even the slightest break in this impenetrable wall.

I’ll just have to come up with some other method...but how?!

I was so lost in my own thoughts that I didn’t notice the figure coming up behind me.

Suddenly, my pursuer was right next to me, having spotted the chance to strike. I saw the flash of a blade in the darkness. With only the motion of the air to tell me his position, I narrowly dodged the attack. My lantern fell noisily into the water.

Just as the attacker had my undivided attention, I was startled by a presence coming from the side.

There’s another one?!

I instinctively twisted out of the way. The attackers were aiming to take me out in close quarters rather than risk giving me the opportunity to use magic. They were armed, and I imagined they had an advantage over me in terms of both build and fighting skills—but I was an expert in assessing my surroundings based on movements in the air. If they thought they could go easy on a little girl, they were about to be proven wrong.

A blade tore through my skin. Wincing through the pain, I clocked the first man on the jaw with Magical Magic Punch, one of my (physical) signature moves. Next, I spun around and struck the other man on the temple with a flying kick. They both tumbled to the wet tunnel floor with a splash.

As I caught my breath and sighed with relief, I failed to spot the third individual lurking in the darkness.

“Paralyzing Lightning!”

Lightning magic coursed through my body and rendered me motionless. I lost my balance and fell to the floor, where I felt water against my cheek and jaw. My vision blurred.

The spell was one I’d seen Luke use many times, but something about it was clearly the work of somebody else. I heard footsteps come closer through the water and saw a magic sequence flash in the darkness.

“This is the end of the road for you,” a man said.

His spell was ready. He cast it with lethal force...but what followed instead was a dull sound as he, too, crumpled to the floor. Somebody approached from behind him.

“Wow, that was like a dream! I’ve always wanted to come to somebody’s rescue like that.”

It was a dignified but gentle voice—and one that I knew very well.

“The cavalry has arrived! I’ve come to save you, Noelle.”

Nina Lawrence, my friend with whom I’d roamed the western wilds long before I’d even enrolled at the magic academy, smiled triumphantly down at me.

Chapter 3: Into the Cathedral

As I lay on the tunnel floor, Nina tended to me with healing magic and spells that relieved anomalies. I could feel power surge through my body.

This was how it felt to be looked after by a qualified witch doctor like her. In my opinion, her healing magic abilities were on par with anyone in the Royal Court Magicians’ Division, and I told her so.

“Oh no, I’m nothing special,” she replied with a modest smile.

I wanted to go on showering her with compliments, but neutralizing the three men who had attacked me was the bigger priority. I used the clothes they were wearing to bind their hands and feet.

Once I was done with that, I picked up my lantern and held it up to look at Nina’s face. Seeing my old friend’s features again brought memories flooding back, but I got the sense that she’d matured a bit more since our last meeting.

“Nina, what are you doing here?”

“My mom got your letter and forwarded it to the base where I was exploring.”

“But weren’t you in the middle of a major quest?”

“A friend in need is much more important,” she said matter-of-factly. “But you know, it was quite the shock when I got back and heard that your guild membership card had been canceled. Worse still, somebody was already hot on your tail.”

“I guess that’s when you came looking for me.”

“I had a hard time keeping track of both you and them without raising suspicion, but then you took out the guy who’d gotten closest to you, and it threw them into disarray.”

“Ah, I see what happened.” I realized now that catching that one pursuer outside my room at the inn had set off this chain of events.

“When you’d incapacitated one of them, I think it made the rest of them hypervigilant when it came to you. That made it easier for a novice like me to avoid detection.”

“Your surprise attack at the end there was pretty cool.”

“I’m thinking of calling it ‘Super Magical Blunt Force (Physical).’ The trick is to thwack them on the back of the head with my staff.”

“You’ve developed a real taste for violence in the short time we’ve been apart.”

“No, it was always there. After all, I picked it up from my very first teacher.”

Wow, that sounds like a crazy teacher! How did sweet Nina end up learning from such a brute?

Hold on a second. Is she talking about me?!

I thought back to our childhood, when Nina loyally followed me around. I didn’t generally think about that time as quite so rough, but now I reassessed my younger self. I remembered the way I’d used my self-styled “magic” techniques to chase down bullies with a variety of dropkicks and flying headbutts.

I wasn’t sure how to respond. I was beginning to feel like I’d been a bad influence on the sophisticated and polite young Nina.

Don’t think like that! I told myself. If she’s happy about it, I must’ve been a good influence.

Now that I’d reinterpreted my memories to suit this new worldview of mine, I explained the entire situation to Nina.

“Wow, you’re right...” She observed the magical barrier and my experimental results with astonishment. “The strange levels of magical energy in the water are coming from inside the cathedral.”

I could tell from her wide-eyed reaction that this was shocking even to somebody who lived in this country. “Do they have anything in the cathedral that could’ve caused this?”

“I have no idea. Most people don’t know much about the goings-on in the cathedral. We’ve had some real issues in recent years with the culture of secrecy in this country. There have been scandals about church priests assaulting young boys too.”

“Boys? Not girls?”

“Yes. I think it’s got something to do with the strict doctrines around interacting with the opposite sex—not that I really know, though, as an outsider.” Nina looked down at her feet. “This is just between you and me, but I’ve been inside the cathedral quite a few times. They wanted me to help with medical procedures involving holy magic, because I’m a healer with witch doctor qualifications. This isn’t supposed to be public knowledge, so please keep this to yourself.”

After a pause to emphasize her point, she continued. “From what I’ve seen, I think there are two possible explanations. One is that somebody in a position of power is secretly keeping something in there that has vast magical energy. The other is—”

“That whoever abducted Luke is operating out of the cathedral.”

Nina nodded. She had reached the same conclusion as I had. Getting inside the cathedral was the only way for me to make any progress. Moreover, I believed that Luke himself was being kept prisoner there.

“How can I get into the cathedral?” I asked.

“It’ll be difficult, maybe even dangerous. But you have to do this, don’t you?”

“I do.”

I had no doubts. I knew that this was something I needed to do, no matter what it took.

“You might be able to get inside as an aid volunteer. Every day, priestesses—former candidates for the role of great priestess—go around the city’s aid shelters with priests to heal the impoverished who are sick or injured. They need volunteers, but I remember hearing that they’ve been struggling to find people. A lot of volunteers can’t handle the squalid environment of the shelters.”

“No problem. Squalor is my middle name.”

I smirked. I’d grown up eating all kinds of stuff out near the western border, so I’d never been a stickler for cleanliness. Besides, I knew more than most about harsh, hectic working environments.

“All right. Let’s give it a shot,” Nina said. “Come with me.”

We soon found out that it wasn’t so hard to become an aid volunteer after all. They were short-staffed, and Nina already had a glowing reputation among the priestesses and priests.

“Excuse me. I have a question about how we carry out the healing...”

Once the work had been explained to me, I considered how to get to all the shelters and heal everybody as efficiently as possible. Because I’d worked in such a brutal environment before, it was second nature to me to think of ways to improve methods and get tangible results. On the other hand, I got the impression that as this was considered to be a sacred duty, nobody had ever given much thought to efficiency.

When I first arrived, the priest raised a disbelieving eyebrow, not expecting a small girl like me to be up to the task. However, once we’d worked together for a little while, he was amazed by my abilities.

“If you can,” he pleaded, “come with us to the next shelter.”

I was happy to oblige.

By the end of the afternoon, Nina and I had visited three aid shelters. More than four hundred people were healed—nearly twice the usual number.

“You’ve been a huge help,” the priest said. “Thank you ever so much.”

His praise made me beam with satisfaction. “The pleasure’s all mine! I really enjoyed it.”

I’d really gotten invested in performing such rewarding work, but I hadn’t forgotten my real goal: to find a way inside the cathedral.

Wanting to keep my hidden motive under wraps, I tried playing things smooth. “Actually, I was wondering if I might be able to turn this into a long-term job.”

“You’d be more than welcome! Let me put in a good word for you. Do you have time to come along to the cathedral?”

“Of course. Thank you very much.”

After exchanging a look, Nina and I followed the priest and the priestesses back to the cathedral. When we reached the cathedral gates, there were four armed knights standing guard. The mood was unusually tense, likely due to the recent assassination attempt.

There was a magical voice recognition device at the entrance. It was a new model that could detect the use of shape-shifting potions. This was just what I expected from a country known for the western continent’s strictest security measures.

We walked through the gate and behind the magical barrier.

So, this is how the barrier looks from the inside, I thought in awe. I nearly stopped in my tracks to gaze at the barrier’s construction. I did my very best to resist, though, as I knew that any strange behavior might put an end to my request for employment.

I want to stare at it in detail, but— No, I can’t! I told myself, focusing on acting like a calm, responsible young lady.

The sight we were met with was one of staggeringly tall spires, a stone courtyard, seasonal flowers, and all manner of grand ornamentation speaking to the cathedral’s history. All I’d done was enter the gate, but it felt as if I’d found myself in another world entirely from what I knew. Perhaps this was to be expected when standing on holy ground.

The priest led us further inside the Sacred Cathedral of Clares. I responded as necessary to his small talk, but I was focused on inconspicuously observing all the facilities and how they were arranged. Somewhere in here, the enemy lay in wait. As I wondered where they were keeping Luke, I wanted to get whatever information I could find.

The priest escorted us to a room far inside the cathedral.

“I’m going to speak with the cardinal,” he said. “Please wait out here for now.”

The cardinal? Isn’t he the great priestess’s chief advisor? The top dog in the cathedral?

I waited alongside Nina, trying to remember what I’d read in the library’s reference books.

Four little girls—maybe around seven years old—walked by the door, wearing habits that were too big for their diminutive bodies. They had their hands up, pulling back their veils like curtains to stop their vision from being impeded.

“Who are those girls?” I whispered to Nina.

“Priestesses, I think. Girls with magical ability and talent for holy magic come here from every part of the country.”

“Do they live in the cathedral?”

“I imagine that they came from an orphanage or a poorhouse. Nowadays, a lot of priestesses come from those kinds of places.”

Nina’s explanation reminded me of the old man I’d cleaned the creek for. His childhood friend had been taken away to become a candidate for the role of great priestess. Had she remained in the cathedral as a priestess ever since?

“Some girls get taken away from their families too, don’t they?” I asked.

“Not by force. Usually the family has problems, or they choose to send their daughters here.”

“Why would they want to do that?”

“Many believe it’s an honor to be selected as a candidate to become the great priestess. Besides, the families of chosen candidates receive a lot of support from the state. And for families without much money, it’s enough just to have one fewer mouth to feed.”

“I guess that means that most priestesses come from poor families.”

“The exact numbers are a secret, but I think so. You hear about upper-class families sending their daughters to earn prestige, but they must be in the minority.”

Ah, so that’s how this works.

The old man had told me that his childhood friend’s father had been violent at home. That could’ve been one reason for her to be taken away to join the priestesses.

“If you become a priestess, can you stop and be a regular citizen again?” I asked.

“I’m not entirely sure, but I get the impression you can’t. The idea is that a priestess dedicates her life to God.”

I tried to imagine what their lives must have been like, cut off from the world, eating only plain food and spending their time helping the sick in aid shelters. That kind of strict lifestyle would be too much to handle for most people.

Just then, the great door in front of us creaked open, and the priest emerged, slowly opening the door wider.

“The cardinal has granted permission for both of you to work in the Sacred Cathedral. However, there are two conditions.” He looked at us gravely. “Before I explain, please let me be frank. You’d be better off not working here.”

The priest had two reasons for discouraging us from working in the cathedral. One was that we were to be assigned to the herb garden—or as some in the cathedral called it, the “penal colony.” The garden was for the cultivation of rare medicinal plants from far-off lands, but it faced constant difficulty in growing anything due to its position in a corner of the cathedral’s grounds and the limited sunlight available there. Everyone had given up on it by this point, and it had effectively become a place to banish people who had screwed up in other sections.

“The other condition is that you must live on-site. The cardinal said that you are permitted to work here only if you use the garden’s storage shed as your quarters. But let me tell you, that is no place to live. I can only imagine that the cardinal wants us to give up on the whole idea. I’ve never experienced anything like this before.” The priest heaved a great sigh. “I’m very sorry to cause you two such embarrassment after you came all the way here. I don’t think you should work in the cathedral. There are other places where people will treat you with the recognition your abilities warrant.”

He seemed genuinely concerned on our behalf, but I was determined to gain access to the cathedral, no matter what.

“I have no problem with those conditions,” I said. “I’d be happy to do the job.”

The priest blinked. “Are you sure about this?”

“Yes, I am. I want to work here.”

As I firmly returned the priest’s gaze, Nina chimed in too. “I also agree to the conditions. May I join her?”

Flustered, the priest turned to her. “Really?”

“If Noelle is happy with it, I am too. Honestly, living in a storage shed in the cathedral sounds like a fascinating experience.”

I smiled. It was reassuring to hear that from Nina.

“Yes, but... Even so, I... The thought of living and working there...” the priest spluttered, his eyes darting back and forth. “Well...all right. Come with me. Maybe I can secure a better position for you with a little more time.”

We followed him through the cathedral. I saw women in habits in the windows of a building on the other side of the courtyard. I took it to be the priestesses’ living quarters.

The priest stopped in front of a door flanked by potted red wildflowers.

“Mother Louise,” he called. “May I have a moment?”

Footsteps approached from within, and the door opened wide to reveal an old nun.

“You may. What is it?” she asked in a hoarse voice, looking at the priest with eyes as sharp as knives. I’d seen this same woman speak to the priest at one point while working in the shelters.

“Well, I was hoping you might be able to suggest a solution.” As the priest explained our circumstances, Mother Louise didn’t take her eyes off Nina and me, observing us carefully.

“Yes, these girls put in quite a shift today,” she said. “You don’t often see such hard workers. But we’re in a tricky situation right now. The great priestess is under threat. I don’t think it’s a good idea to cause a commotion in the cathedral at the moment. We shouldn’t reject a proposal from the cardinal.”

“Yes, but...” the priest murmured.

Mother Louise shook her head and looked at the two of us again. “I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do for you.”

I trusted that she was being sincere. I felt like she was treating me just like another person, paying no mind to rank or background.

“Thank you for your concern, but please, don’t apologize,” I said. “I’m ready to work in the garden.”

“Haven’t you heard? Working in the garden isn’t all fun and games.”

“The priest explained everything. However, in my opinion, the true value of a job is decided by the people doing it.” With Mother Louise’s eyes fixed firmly on me, I added, “It’s worthwhile to me at least.”

That was a white lie. I wasn’t particularly interested in working in the herb garden. It sounded like unglamorous work, and I expected it to be tough. Still, that didn’t matter when it came to accomplishing my true goal. I needed to find Luke and bring him back to Ardenfeld. If I thought about working in the garden as a means to achieve that, it didn’t seem so bad.

Somewhere in the distance, I heard the harsh sound of a calling bird.

◆ ◆ ◆

“Noelle Springfield’s guild membership has been revoked?”

“That’s right. Our undercover agent in the Central Dicastery successfully implemented the plan.”

In a room beneath the Sacred Cathedral of Clares, unmarked on any map, two men were having a discussion. Dressed entirely in black robes, save for the masks covering their faces, they were more like amorphous shadows than individual humans. Ancient numerals were etched into their masks.

“I doubt there’s anything more that the girl can do now, but we in the Order like to err on the side of caution,” one of the men said, “XV” visible on his mask. “She can no longer work at the adventurers’ guild, and we have four qualified men watching her every move. It is virtually impossible for her to find us at this point.”

“Good.” The other man, Number IV, nodded quietly.

There was a knock at the door. After the sound reverberated around the room, another man walked in, wearing a different mask marked with “IX.”

“I have news,” he said.

“What?” Number IV asked curtly.

“We have lost communication with the agents tailing Noelle Springfield.”

A weighty silence filled the room for a moment.

Number IX continued, “The girl is still searching for us. According to their last report, there is a chance that she’s deduced that we are operating out of the cathedral.”

“How the hell did she do that?” Number XV swallowed nervously but tried to reconstruct a calm appearance. “Well, that isn’t an issue. The cathedral’s security is top-notch. It’s sealed off from the outside world. Gaining entry is no simple task.”

“She has already been sighted inside the cathedral. The cardinal dealt with her, but one slipup might just let her into the cathedral’s inner sanctum.”

The room fell silent once more. It was as quiet as the deep, dark sea.

“Quite the remarkable achievement,” Number IV commented, frankly impressed with the girl.

“We’ve at least prevented her from getting further inside,” Number IX went on. “She has been posted to the herb garden, and she shouldn’t be able to find us from there. Under our round-the-clock observation, she can’t do a thing.”

“This must be our top priority,” Number XV said. “We cannot let Noelle Springfield take even one more step closer to our base.”

◇ ◇ ◇

I returned to my room at the inn to collect my belongings. The man I’d tied up was nowhere to be found. Somebody had presumably come to retrieve him once they’d lost contact with him.

I carefully inspected my remaining bags for signs of tampering. After discovering three transmitters and two listening devices, I decided I’d leave the bags in the room and went to pay for another week at the inn. I wanted to compensate the inn for any trouble my situation might cause as well as dupe the enemy into thinking that I might still come here again. Once I’d dealt with that, I bought some basic necessities and made my way back to the cathedral.

We spent that night in the herb garden’s storage shed. It clearly wasn’t intended for people to sleep there; even worse, there were people watching us from a nearby building, hidden with concealment magic.

“What do we do now?” Nina asked.

I pulled a squishy cushion out from my bag. “First of all, we make this place habitable.”

“What do you mean?”

“Good ideas come from good environments. Let’s give this storage shed a makeover!”

Using things we could find in the shed, we went ahead on turning the shed into a comfortable living space. Luckily, it was never hard to cater to my tastes: books on magic and materials for experiments, a bed and cushions to lounge on... If I just had those—and lots of bread and snacks, of course—that was all I needed to live happily.

“You know, this is a bit like when we used to make secret bases as kids,” Nina remarked.

I could immediately picture the days when we were younger, playing together under the boundless summer skies.

“Ahhh, you’re right! Those were good times.”

“But wasn’t our first base full of mosquitoes? That was less than enjoyable.”

“Right, and then we built a new base somewhere without mosquitoes and put out bug-repellent leaves all around it.”

“And we stored all kinds of things in there, like books and sweets... Oh, but there was that time we got there and a stray dog had ripped everything up.”

“That was the worst! A terrible, no-good day.”

“But the dog ran for its life when you started chasing it! That was so funny. The old man who saw you couldn’t believe his eyes.”

It was all coming back to me now. The days of that summer seemed as vivid as if they’d just happened.

“I remember spending hours walking to a faraway town,” Nina said.

“That was a big adventure! And on the way back home that night, we got caught in a huge shower.”

“We were soaked to the bone by the time we got back.”

“But the strange thing is, that was fun too. I feel like getting drenched didn’t seem like such a bad thing back then.”

More and more of those old moments entered my mind, like water seeping into dry sand.

“I’m so glad I get to go on adventures with you again, Noelle.” She smiled fondly. “Hey, Teach. Can you tell me how to fight?”

“How to fight?”

“Yeah, like your tactics. I saw the way you whipped out those moves on the guys who were following you. Can you teach me how you did that?”

I grinned. “No problem.”

We’d heard that the herb garden was the so-called “penal colony” of the cathedral—a place of exile for all the biggest failures from every section—and sure enough, it wasn’t a nice place to work. The equipment was old enough to appear in an antique shop, and the garden itself was in terrible shape. All life had drained from the eyes of the other workers. Some seemed to spend more time dozing on the ground of the garden than actually doing any work.

“What should we do?” I asked the man in charge when I arrived.

“You don’t have to do anything.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just what I said. Don’t bother trying to get work done. All you gotta do is hang around.”

I got the sense that everybody else here had received the same instructions. No wonder they were so remarkably unmotivated, sprawled out on the dirt.

Between the two of us, Nina and I began gathering information on the people working in the garden. We learned that many of the workers were female because troublemaking priestesses were banished there. After speaking to everybody there, I picked out two workers who seemed relatively reliable.

“I had enough of life as a priestess. Ya know they don’t let you drink? What the heck kind of life is that?” one of them said, looking up at us and sniffing an empty wine bottle on the ground. This former priestess’s name was Ellie.

“Do you believe in God? I certainly do,” the other said, every bit like the most devout of nuns. Her name was Liza. “As a sign of God’s love, we all are blessed with the precious gift of illicit gambling.”

Nina was caught off guard. “Th-They’re a colorful pair.”

“Sure,” I replied, “but who else here can we trust?”

“I’m not sure these two are any different from the others. For that matter, these two are concerning even by the standards of this place.”

It was hard to disagree. Ellie had lost her status as a potential great priestess after secretly drinking all the wine meant for a party of over one hundred guests, and Liza had embezzled funds from the cardinal and spent it all on illegal gambling. They seemed distinctly troubled out of all the former priestesses in the herb garden. While I was talking to Nina, I could see Ellie’s hands trembling from withdrawal and hear Liza continuing to proselytize about the joys of gambling.

“It’s just wonderful when there’s no limit to what you can bet. Oh, and the feeling when you lose a huge amount of money in one go! When the blood drains from your face and your heart leaps into your throat... Ah, that’s when you truly feel alive. It’s the most perfect pleasure you can experience! God has given us no greater gift.”

Nina stared at Liza the way one stares at an insect. As Nina’s parents had raised her with such care, I figured that a gambling addict like Liza was the polar opposite of everything that made sense to her.

“If there’s anybody we can’t count on, I think it’s these two,” Nina declared.

“Nah, we can trust them. They care less about the rules of society than about what they love most. I can relate to that. That kind of person will never turn their back on what matters to them.”

“I’m not convinced you’re really the same as them, Noelle...”

“Don’t worry. I doubt they’ll keep their promises, but they’ll always stay faithful to booze and gambling.”

In an ideal world, I would obviously have preferred to put my trust in more upstanding citizens, but I didn’t have that kind of luxury right now. I could only play the cards I’d been dealt. Even the other people in the herb garden had given up on this pair, so I couldn’t imagine that the bad guys would’ve chosen either one of them as a collaborator.

I coaxed each of the former priestesses with her respective vice, and their eyes sparkled like they were children waking up to a pile of gifts. Nina looked at them coldly.

“Take this shape-shifting potion once every thirty minutes,” I explained to Ellie and Liza. “Make sure nobody sees you with it. If you fail to take the potion even once, you won’t get your reward.”

“What...?” Ellie was aghast.

“Please have mercy!” Liza whimpered. She shook her head and gazed at me imploringly. “Please let me have a little money first. If I can gamble just a tiny bit right now...”

“No. Absolutely not. You have to finish the job first. Capisce?”

I was as strict as I could be. I knew that making concessions for them would only result in them taking advantage of me, so it was of vital importance to remain firm.

We took turns to visit the bathroom. Ellie and Liza drank the shape-shifting potion to disguise themselves as Nina and me. Once the lookouts had taken their eyes off us, we cloaked ourselves with concealment spells and left the garden behind. Ellie and Liza were notoriously unreliable, so I felt comfortable with the idea that if they were missing for a while, nobody would be worried. That behavior wasn’t exactly atypical of them.

Nina and I split up to explore the cathedral. During the daytime, the hallways of the cathedral were quiet and empty, presumably due to the priests and priestesses doing their rounds at the aid shelters. The cardinal appeared to have guests in his office.

Who could they be? I wondered.

I studied the layout of the cathedral. Apart from the palatial building where the priestesses lived, there were three chapels, seven large halls, and a treasure room housing artworks. The walls and ceiling of the treasure room were decorated with gorgeous frescoes, while sculptures of saints lined the walls. I found myself straightening up in awe at the room’s grand, majestic atmosphere.

As I hid in the shadows behind a staircase, I suddenly heard a voice. “What are you doing?”

I didn’t even know how to react at first. There was no shred of human warmth in that voice, almost as if it hadn’t come from a person at all.

There certainly was a person standing there, though—or at least something that looked just like a person. The person’s outward appearance was that of a young girl, around ten years of age, with delicate features and silvery hair.

“What are you doing?” she repeated, cocking her head to the side.

I thought about my response for a moment. “I’m looking for bad guys.”

“Bad guys...?”

“They might be hiding somewhere, you see. I got asked to come here and look for them in secret.” I raised my finger and placed it against my lips. “So remember, it’s a secret that I’m here.”

“I must...keep it a secret?”

“Can you? I’d be super happy if you did.”

“Yes. I will keep it a secret.”

Her cooperation came as a huge relief.

I looked at the girl again. Her manner of speaking was slow and peculiar. She had big, dark eyes that gave away very little emotion, creating a mysterious aura.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

“I am Melle.”

“Nice to meet you, Melle. What’re you up to?”

“Hide...and seek.”

“Ohhh, that game, huh? Are you playing with your friends?”

“No. I do not have friends.”

“You don’t?”

“Everyone...leaves me out.” She sounded detached, but I couldn’t help but sense a tinge of sadness.

I guessed she was one of the many girls brought here as candidates to become the great priestess. Children of her age faced all kinds of challenges, but as Melle seemed quite unusual, I could envision her having a hard time fitting in and making friends with other children.

After thinking to myself for a bit, I had an idea. “Wanna play Secret Society with me?”

“What is that...?”

“We’ll sneak around and round up the bad guys together. I’ll be the leader, and Melle, you can be my deputy.”

“Melle... Deputy?” Her eyes lit up. I’d gotten her attention.

I’ll just have to make sure I don’t lead her into trouble. And I’d better avoid ending up betraying her.

I braced myself for action. “Melle, do you have any idea where there could be bad guys hiding in the cathedral?”

She considered the question for a moment. “No.”

I knew that children were smarter than adults often realized, so I’d hoped that she could give me some sort of clue, but it looked like things wouldn’t be quite so simple.

“But I know...many things about this place.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yes. I know who is here...and what they are doing.” It sounded like there was a lot more to this statement.

“Can you tell me more?”

Melle nodded. “Some people tell lies. Some people are being tricked.”

“Who are they?”

“The grown-ups tell lies and trick everyone. But they told me...those lies are the most important thing in the world.”

“Really? Wow.” The way she spoke was so ambiguous that it was hard to grasp what this was all about, but I couldn’t afford to pass up the chance to learn more. “Are the adults tricking the great priestess too?”

Melle shook her head. “The great priestess...is the biggest liar.”

I breathed in sharply. I hadn’t anticipated that.

I heard approaching footsteps and quickly shrank back into the shadows. I peeked out, and when I saw who it was, I sighed with relief and raised my hand.

“Over here, Nina,” I called out softly. “Any clues?”

“Nope. Nothing at all.” Nina shook her head.

“Me neither. I recruited an ally, though!”

“An ally?”

“Yeah, she’s right here.” I gestured with my head.

Nina looked behind me and raised an eyebrow. “I don’t see anybody.”

“Huh?”

I turned around. Nobody was there. Melle had vanished, almost as though she’d never been there in the first place.

“Are you okay, Noelle?” Nina sounded concerned.

“Uh, yeah...”

I’m certain that wasn’t a dream...but what does this all mean?

I couldn’t figure out what had happened back there. Perhaps the history and solemn aura of the cathedral had produced an illusion, or perhaps it was some kind of ghost. Or maybe I’d just met a girl who was really good at playing hide-and-seek.

One way or another, the experience served as a springboard for me to think about the system surrounding the great priestess. Melle had told me that important adults were liars, and that the great priestess herself was the greatest liar of them all. I tried to work out exactly what she’d been trying to tell me, but I couldn’t wrap my head around it. I just didn’t have enough information.

I went to the former priestesses Ellie and Liza to ask them what they knew about the great priestess.

“The great priestess, huh?” Ellie drawled. “Sure thing. I know more than you’d think.”

“I’m not much of an expert,” Liza added. “But I’m happy to discuss gambling.”

Ellie went on to explain the position of the great priestess in the Holy Nation of Clares.

“God sent us the original great priestess a thousand years ago, during the Patriotic War. The country was suffering. She appeared as our savior, helping needy people with her prayers and amazing magical power. But right from the beginning, there were people who didn’t believe that she was the real deal. Records from back then make it sound like most people were nonbelievers. People were writing about how she didn’t work miracles or how she was a liar or even a devil.”

“I’d rather move on to gambling.”

Ignoring Liza, Ellie continued. “People started to believe she really was sent by God after an event called the Miracle of Luttach. At the Battle of Luttach, the great priestess got hit by an arrow and died. People found that her heart had stopped and her body had turned cold. Everybody grieved for her. But two days later, she was resurrected. Even though the arrow had definitely killed her, she returned and appeared in front of everybody. Right after that, a lot of people gave the great priestess their support.”

“Resurrection is also possible in gambling.” Liza’s voice sounded just as modest and virtuous as usual. “Even if you were to lose five million gold coins of borrowed money, you could borrow another million, win at six-to-one odds, and pay it all right back. That moment is when you feel the most alive. I’ve even paid off fifty million gold coins of debt in one night before! Nights like those truly are the stuff of legend.”

Ellie didn’t dignify Liza’s lecture with so much as a glance. “After that, people formed a religion around the great priestess: the Church of Clares. And this country grew based on the church’s teachings. Right before she died, the first great priestess made a prophecy, saying that she would be reincarnated. People looked all over the country for a girl who might be the one, and in the end, they found a new great priestess with lots of magical power. Today, they still use the same process of selecting the great priestess out of many candidates, just like they did after she died.”

“But what happens to the other priestesses—the girls who don’t get selected?” I asked.

“I guess most of them stay in the cathedral or work in other church institutions.”

“Do they ever go back to civilian life?”

“Nah, never heard anything like that. I’m not confident in saying it’s never happened, but basically, no.”

“Gambling...” Liza prattled in the background. We both ignored her.

“If anything about the great priestess’s story were untrue, what do you think that could be?” I asked Ellie.

“Nothing about her is untrue,” she responded firmly, looking me dead in the eye. Her dark eyes were as still as if they’d been nailed in place. “I’m telling you about history here. Facts. God saves all who believe. Even a worthless boozehound like me won’t be forsaken.” She clasped her hands together. “And in the end, we’ll all be together with God in heaven.”

Ellie believed fully in the great priestess and the church’s teachings. As far as she was concerned, every word was the truth, and it had all happened exactly according to the story. I supposed that those teachings were her salvation. They helped her feel like she was good enough, no matter how much she might’ve messed up in life. If her religion gave her a reason to accept herself, then doubting it was not an option. She had no patience for anybody who called her beliefs into question, because that constituted a rejection of the thing that gave her strength. Without it, she would have to confront the cruel possibility that an alcoholic priestess might be beyond saving.

Just believing in something could bring individual salvation. Looking at it that way, I could see the positive side of religion.

On the other hand, there were religious organizations that took advantage of those desperate feelings. I didn’t know whether the Church of Clares was an evil organization like those, but I suspected that not everything the church said was the truth. On top of that, I had a feeling—nothing based on hard evidence, just a hunch—that the lies at the heart of the church could lead me to where Luke was.

I sneaked into the cathedral’s library and wasted no time in gathering data. I learned that the cathedral housed dozens of dungeon relics excavated from the ruins of Ancient Almeria. The Holy Nation of Clares was relatively close to the western frontier lands and the ruins, so it had benefited significantly from those relics over the years.

However, that was all I could find. There was a limit to what I could achieve by myself. The only way I could get an explanation of what Melle had meant was by seeing her again.

As luck would have it, I reunited with Melle the very next day. It was three in the afternoon, and I still hadn’t found any scraps of evidence for where Luke could be. That was when she called out to me again.

“What are you doing?”

Just like last time, I briefly paused for thought. “I’m looking for the bad guys that are hiding somewhere.”

“Secret Society.” Her face glowed with excitement.

“You got it. Let’s go looking for them together.”

Those seemed to be the magic words. Melle nodded enthusiastically and joined me in searching the cathedral.

As we enjoyed our adventure together, I nonchalantly placed a hand on her shoulder. She was physically present. Her body was warm. There was no way she was some kind of ghostly apparition.

“I like you. You play with me.” Her tone was as flat as ever, but I sensed at least a touch of real happiness. “You are not like...the others. You never tell me...not to play.”

“Do other people say you can’t play?”

“Yes. They...leave me out.”

“Why aren’t you allowed to play, Melle?”

She didn’t respond. Maybe she didn’t want to answer the question.

We spent a while longer playing in the cathedral hallways, taking care not to let any passing priests or nuns spot us. I taught her a two-player hand game that had been all the rage when I was a kid.

Melle beamed with pleasure. “Wow. I have never had...so much fun.”

“Oh, there you go again! That can’t be true.”

“No. It is true.” She paused and stared at me. “Did you think about...the great priestess’s lie?”

“Yeah, I did. I tried my best to find out more, but I still can’t figure it out.”

“Ah.” Her monosyllabic response seemed to hint at some more complex emotions lurking beneath. “Do you want me...to tell you?” she added suddenly.

“Tell me what?”

“The great priestess’s...lie.”

After a pause, I nodded carefully. “Yes, please.”

Melle fixed her eyes on me and began quietly. “The Church of Clares says it can help everyone in pain. It is nice...but it is a lie. That is why...the grown-ups must trick everyone. No one can know the truth. If people know it is a lie...they will hurt even more. That is why...I must not ask for anything. I must deny myself. I must give everything...and die...for other people. That is my duty.”

She didn’t say it as if it brought her great pain or anything, but her words didn’t sit right with me.

“That’s not fair, Melle. You have a right to be happy and live your life the way you want to.”

“No. I do not.”

“But why—”

“I am not...human.” She smiled gently. “A supreme relic created me. I grow old and die...and then I become a child again. I look just like a human...but I am an automaton.”

As I gulped wordlessly, Melle flashed a mischievous grin.

“In the western chapel. Under the pipe organ...I saw some strange people go into...a secret door. Thank you...for playing with me.”

Her childlike smile in that moment would go on to stay with me forever.

Just as Melle had told me, there was a secret door hidden in the western chapel. I considered exploring behind it right away, but I ultimately decided to save it for tomorrow. I was running out of time before the end of the working day in the herb garden. If I didn’t get back there on time, Nina might worry, and it would definitely make things difficult for Ellie and Liza.

Once I returned to our living space in the storage room, I told Nina about the secret door.

“This is the moment we’ve been waiting for!” she exclaimed. “Let’s check it out as early as possible tomorrow.”

I didn’t feel so sure about that, though. “Nina, I’d prefer for you to stay behind.”

“But why?” she asked quietly.

“If we both get into trouble, nobody will be able to help us.”

“You just don’t want to lead me into danger. Am I wrong?”

Unable to answer at first, I pursed my lips. “No, it’s not that,” I said finally. “But under the circumstances, I think the best approach is to—”

“I know what you’re like, Noelle. When we broke the town hall window, you covered for me. You said I’d never been there.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t want it to go on your record. You were a good student and a proper young lady.”

“But I’m not a ‘good student,’” she shot back. “And I’m not a ‘proper young lady’ either. I’m Nina Lawrence. I’m my own person, and I’ve never demanded anybody’s protection. I want the two of us to stand and fight, shoulder to shoulder. Isn’t that how you feel about the person you’re looking for? I get the feeling that you and Luke have something in common. You both have a bad habit of taking every bit of burden and risk on yourselves.”

“I’m not like that. I can’t stand that about him.”

“Are you sure those aren’t related? Maybe you can’t stand it because you know you’re the same. That’s how it seems to me.”

There was so much that I wanted to say to refute that accusation, but I ended up saying nothing, not wanting to make matters worse. In all the times I’d quarreled with my mother, I’d learned the value of knowing when to back down.

“Fine. You can come, but if things get dangerous, we have to stick together.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to say!” Nina rolled her eyes.

Just then, we heard a knock at the door. Feeling uneasy, I cautiously opened the door. Standing before me was a nun I’d never seen before.

“Noelle Springfield,” she said. “Mother Louise would like to see you.”

I was worried that this could be a trap, but strangely enough, I felt like she was telling the truth. She did lead me to Mother Louise’s room, and I didn’t smell any shape-shifting potion once I’d arrived there.

On the other hand, there were ways of disguising the smell. It was also possible that Mother Louise had some connection to the Order of the Dragon. I kept those doubts in mind as I listened to what she had to say.

“First, let me apologize. I didn’t mean for you two to have to work in the herb garden for very long. I thought I might be able to arrange for you to work somewhere closer to me instead if I spoke to the cardinal. As it happens, I’ve met with him several times over the last few days, but to no avail.” She bowed her head solemnly. “It appears the cardinal had a special reason to assign you to the garden. Do you have any idea what that reason could be?”

I actually had quite a few ideas, but I wasn’t so sure that this was the right time or place to express them. I had no idea whether it was true that Mother Louise wasn’t in cahoots with the cardinal, and I knew I could get myself in huge danger if I made the wrong move.

“No, not really,” I said eventually.

“I see.” Her tone of voice gave away nothing, leaving me none the wiser about whether she believed me. She looked down at me with a penetrating gaze. “Well, I called you here today because I have a few questions for you.”

“What did you want to ask?”

“About your previous job.”

A chill ran down my spine. If this had something to do with my time as a royal court magician in Ardenfeld, there was a real risk that this would lead to an international incident. I needed to tread extremely carefully. I remained silent for the time being.

“Is it true,” Mother Louise went on, “that you took on jobs cleaning up streams as a first-time adventurer?”

“Yes, I did.”

“I understand that you completed fifteen requests in total, primarily near the cathedral.”

“That is correct.”

“Was this creek one of them?”

She pointed to a book lying open on the desk. She was indicating a point on a map of the Holy City. I recognized it as a place with a little stone bridge.

“Yes, it was,” I replied. “That creek was the first place I worked.”

I heard a sharp intake of breath. Mother Louise immediately became restless: She folded her arms and avoided eye contact, her eyes darting around agitatedly and blinking over and over. She bit her lip and nervously looked at me again.

“Who made the request...?” she breathed, sounding like a different person entirely. “Actually, never mind. It’s nothing.”

There was clearly some significance to this. It wasn’t just nothing.

“Is there something I should know about the creek?” I asked.

For a long time, she was quiet. Finally, she sighed deeply and began to speak. “That creek is somewhere I used to play with a friend, many years ago. I had quite a boyish streak back then. My friend always looked after me, and he treated me well even when I was being selfish. On top of that, he did everything he could to protect me from my violent father. I loved him. Before I could tell him that, though, I was chosen to be a priestess. For us, romantic relationships are forbidden, but even so, I remember him from time to time, after over half a century. I still wonder what might’ve been if I’d only told him how I felt back then. But that’s just a silly old story.”

“I think it’s a wonderful story. You know, the old man who requested the cleaning also said it was a very important place. He told me all about how he’d spent time there in his youth with somebody he loved, until she left to become a priestess.”

Mother Louise’s eyes slowly opened up wide, still looking unsettled, before she sighed and looked down. Each little action ran the gamut of emotions from pain to joy.

“Oh dear, I’m just a silly old fool,” she said, and the room fell silent.

I had an idea. “Would you like to see him?”

“That is not possible. I cannot go beyond the bounds of a priestess. I am required to be someone who renounces all worldly desires.” She narrowed her eyes. “But I also must thank you for what you have told me. Is there anything I can do for you?”

“For me?”

I wondered what I could possibly ask her for. I thought about what might help me find Luke, but I knew there was a risk in revealing my mission to Mother Louise. The best way to keep this a secret was to involve as few people as possible. I was desperate to achieve my goal of saving Luke, so maximizing the chances of success was essential.

Instead, I thought about Melle—the girl who’d claimed she was an automaton.

“There is a question I’d like to ask,” I said.

“And what would that be?”

“Is the great priestess an automaton created by a supreme relic?”

Mother Louise gulped. Her shoulders trembled and she stared wildly.

That reaction told me everything I needed to know. All kinds of little details had given me a strange feeling about Melle. First, she’d mentioned the lies of the great priestess and the adults in the cathedral. I’d then heard about the Miracle of Luttach, where the great priestess came back from the dead, and wondered how the church always managed to find a young girl with sufficiently impressive magical ability to be the reincarnation of Clares. I’d wanted to understand why Melle had nobody to play with and why she was willing to forsake herself.

She wasn’t just any priestess. Melle, the automaton, was the great priestess.

“Of course, that can’t really be true. I know that,” I said. “Please take good care of the great priestess. I hope you can let her enjoy her life a little.”

I bowed and took my leave.

The church’s big secret was that the system of selecting girls with the potential to be the next great priestess was a sham, designed to hide the truth that the great priestess was an automaton. I didn’t necessarily blame them for lying. Many people would be hurt and upset to know the truth.

All the top people in the Church of Clares worked earnestly to protect this secret. Obviously, this was very restricting for Melle, who had no freedom to do as she wished. I found it unfair. I wanted to enable her to live her life in her own way. But then again, her sacrifice allowed others to be saved. I didn’t think that was right, but I couldn’t really say it was wrong either.

I didn’t know what was best, but I hoped that Melle could at least experience some more joy after acting as the great priestess for everyone else’s sake for so long.

Now, does the Order of the Dragon know about this secret? They plotted to assassinate her.

I’d been suspicious of the cardinal’s activities, so I figured there was a strong chance that the Order was aware. In that case, their real aim might not have been merely to kill the great priestess.

Well, whatever. Whether it was meant to be an assassination or something else, I won’t let them get away with it. Time for me to lay waste to the enemy and get Luke back!

With renewed determination, I forged forward.

The following morning, Nina and I went to the secret door. We entered the door to find a surprisingly cramped and dusty space with a metal ladder extending downward, bathed in a dim orange light. When we descended the ladder, we were faced with a heavy steel door.

“What should we do?” Nina whispered. “We can’t get through here.”

I peered into the keyhole. “Maybe with a bit of luck, we can open it?”

“You wanna try picking the lock?”

The two of us tried copying techniques we’d seen before, but no amount of poking and jiggling could make the lock budge.

“I’ve never seen such a complicated lock,” Nina said. “Looks like the only way to open it is with a real key.”

I agreed, but it felt too late to go back up the ladder and start a whole new search for a key. For all we knew, finding the key might take so long that the enemy could make another assassination attempt or even relocate the hideout.

I also had my doubts about Ellie and Liza’s ability to go on pretending to be us without blowing our cover. Even as things stood, a stray “Booze...” or “Gambling...” would slip out now and again, so they weren’t exactly maintaining their disguises with great care.

“There must be some other way to break through,” I said.

“Yes, but how...?”

At that very moment, we heard the sound of approaching footsteps on the other side of the door. We both gasped.

“This is bad!” Nina was having a hard time keeping her voice under control. “They’re gonna catch us!”

I put my hands on her shoulders to calm her down. “Let’s hide beside the door and wait this out. It’s dark in here, and we’re concealed. If we can just suppress our magical auras, we won’t get caught as long as we don’t do anything to raise suspicion.”

Hidden in the shadows at the edge of the door, we remained still and held our breaths. Beyond the thick door, the footsteps came closer. I heard a faint sound of metal repeatedly scratching on metal as somebody put the key in the lock. Gears turned within the door, and with a crunch, it began to open.

A tall, bulky, masked man emerged. I could tell that under his entirely black outfit, he had broad shoulders and strong muscles.

The man turned his back to us and closed the door. The very moment he slid the key back into the lock, it was my time to strike.

I activated a magic sequence and pushed hard against the floor. From the corner of my eye I spotted Nina blinking in astonishment, but I was in no position to think about anything besides carrying out my attack as swiftly as possible. I slammed the man against the door and the wall and then hit him hard on the back of the neck. After checking that he was out cold, I slipped him some sleeping potion just to be on the safe side.

“I figured that since we didn’t have a key, our best shot was to rob a passerby,” I explained.

“You think just like an outlaw.” Nina had a faraway look in her eyes. “You’ve become so tough, Noelle.”

“You think so?” I paused. “I guess it’s because I work with somebody who always acts as a lone wolf and goes to extremes. Now that I’ve known him longer, I’ve gained the courage to do things I couldn’t before.”

“I think you always had the courage.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely. All the local troublemakers feared you after you hit their leader with a flying knee to the face.”

“You sure you aren’t thinking of somebody else? I don’t remember doing that.”

“Well, you were often mistaken for one of the neighborhood bullies.”

In hindsight, I’d been quite the tomboy when I was younger, cavorting around the hills and fields. But those times in the great outdoors had given me the strength I needed now.

“Anyway,” I said, “let’s quickly take everything this guy has and see if it’ll help us.”

“You are like an outlaw!”

Ignoring Nina’s stressed expression, I began to strip off the man’s clothes. I caught a whiff of something pleasant—perhaps some kind of cologne. When I searched his pockets, I found a tiny dungeon relic that I’d never encountered before and a little notepad, which I skimmed through briefly.

“Nina, can I ask you to put on this guy’s clothes?”

“You want me to what?”

“We can get more done if one of us uses a disguise to blend in.”

The truth was that I thought Nina would be safer that way, but I didn’t say that out loud because I knew she would then insist that I wear the disguise instead.

And besides, if I were to wear it, there’s no way it would fit... No, stop it, Noelle! You’re cool! You’re hot! You’re a grown woman!

Once I’d deluded myself into casting away the unfortunate truth of my childlike stature, I began helping Nina into the man’s black clothes. They were too big even for her, but by adjusting the belt, I managed to make that not so obvious. Nina wiped the inside of the mask a few hundred million times before finally putting it on and looking down at the man we’d just robbed of all his possessions.

“Look how muscular he is. It’s incredible,” she remarked.

“You’re right. This doesn’t seem normal.”

“Even speaking solely on anatomy, something isn’t right. No matter how much somebody trains, they’ll never look like that.”

“Now that you mention it, I think there was something about this in Luke’s research notes. He said they use potions and supreme relics to raise their physical and magical power to unnatural levels.” More details started coming back to me. “And it doesn’t stop there. There are signs that the Order has methods for augmenting their brains too.”

“How?”

“Stuff like improving memory or using relics to brainwash people.”

“Brainwashing...?”

“I bet that’s how they make their fighters so strong and loyal.”

Nina knew more about medicine than I did, so hearing that she agreed with me on this made me more confident of something: When I’d fought those masked men with the Seventh Unit, the enemies’ behavior was totally inhuman.

I need to bring them down!

Together, Nina and I opened the heavy door. We hid the unconscious man’s body near the ladder and entered the enemy base.

The base looked much as I would’ve expected from an armed organization’s hideout, but it also seemed like some sort of research facility. I could sense an unusual magical aura in the air throughout the space.

We slipped into an uninhabited room and started to explore. Huge vats filled with violet fluid lined the wall of the room. A human being was suspended in each vat, dressed entirely in black and wearing a mask. Evidently, this was where the Order carried out experiments connected to physical traits. The people in some vats were so absurdly musclebound that they tested the limits of their containers, while others seemed to be melting into slush. Still, others appeared to be fused with animals. Clearly, these were the results of trial-and-error experimentation.

There was nothing enjoyable about seeing this done on people. We quickly grabbed as much documentation as we could and made our way toward the other rooms.

“I’ll investigate this one on the right,” I said.

“Sure. I’ll try the one on the left, then.”

Dividing the rooms between us, we continued our search.

The next room I entered was for experiments on memory and other mental processes. There were eight vats, once again containing one person each. I leafed through the experimental reports on the bookshelves and found details on how to wipe memories and destroy one’s free will. They also described a variety of methods for altering the patient’s brain chemistry to be more powerful.

The reports revealed a hell borne of intellectual curiosity run riot. I could barely imagine what would happen if I attempted the things written here. Much like a child killing an insect, the urge to try was a pure, innocent one. It was unacceptable, abominable...and yet, I felt that a little bit of that same curiosity lurked within me. Maybe it was because I was the type of person who others saw as excessively devoted to magic, or maybe we all had at least a small bit of that inquisitiveness.

And that’s exactly why this is wrong.

Just then, I heard the door open behind me.

“Don’t move a muscle,” somebody demanded.

A group of masked men in black poured in, sealing off the exit. They had me surrounded.

“I never thought you’d make it this far,” the first voice went on. He wore a mask etched with the numerals “IV.”

He continued, “You’ve surprised me with your ability to overcome obstacles, Noelle Springfield. Without any organizational support, you managed to locate our base and infiltrate the Sacred Cathedral of Clares, even though it is protected by the strongest magical barrier in the western continent. Not only that, but you’ve made your way into our underground base undetected.”

“How did you work out that we’d come down here?”

Number IV turned to a masked man behind him and signaled an order with a jerk of his head. The man dragged out two priestesses. They were both tied up, and their familiar faces hung forward.

“Uh, any chance of a drink?” Ellie slurred.

“I was wondering if you might consider offering me a gambling break,” Liza prattled.

Those two haven’t changed a bit...

The masked men ignored the priestesses’ requests.

“The jig is up,” Number IV said. “You’re smart enough to know that. Victory is ours.”

He paused before going on in a plain, indifferent tone. “One month ago, you managed to narrowly defeat three of our men, thanks to support from Luke Waldstein and his unit. First, let me commend your ability to lead inexperienced fighters and turn the tables in the face of certain death. But unfortunately for you, there are thirteen of us here right now. Thirteen to one. There’s no way out of this for you. With that in mind, I’d like to make you a proposal.”

“What sort of proposal?”

“You’re very impressive—particularly how you recently outmaneuvered several of my subordinates and found your way here alone. It’s just what I’d expect from someone they call the rising star of the Royal Court Magicians’ Division. Your talent and ability are truly special; no potion or relic can replicate that. And so, I’d like to offer you three times what you earned as a royal court magician.” Number IV held out a hand toward me. “Join us, Noelle Springfield.”

I looked unflinchingly at the number on his mask. I could see no emotions, but it sounded to me like this was a genuine offer. He really meant it.

I took a deep breath. “All right. I’ll join you.”

I extended my right hand.

Number IV laughed softly. “You’re not much of a liar.”

“Is that right?”

“You obviously want to lure us into letting our guard down.”

“For someone who hides behind a weird mask, you can see things pretty clearly, huh? It’s my turn to be impressed,” I said. “Like hell I would join you, maskhole! I’m here to bring back the idiot who stood me up and get him to pay me back for all the time I wasted! I bet you know where he is, so just spit it out already. Oh, and by the way—leave the great priestess alone. If you quit now and get lost, I’ll be nice and only beat you half to death.”

“Your life is on the line right now. Don’t you see the position you’re in?”

“I reckon you’re the one who doesn’t get it. You must’ve wanted me to believe that all your guys are as strong as the three I fought last time, but that just isn’t true, is it? These guys don’t have that same intense magical presence. I guess you gave those three from before a special potion to power them up before sending them out to do the deal. I’m pretty sure the majority of you here are weaker than they were.”

“But you have nobody on your side.”

“I’m pretty good at holding my own, you know. After you look crunch time in the eyes once, it gets easier the second time out. And I’ve fought you guys once already. I know that when people use relics and potions to pump up their muscles, it restricts their range of movement. I know what their magic sequences look like too.”

Number IV stared at me in silence for a moment. “Fine. Let’s say you’re right. Maybe defeating you won’t be quite as simple as we predicted. However, you’ve made a miscalculation.”

“What are you talking about?”

“We do have somebody stronger than the three men you faced before.”

Another masked man walked out, shrouded in a black cloak. Inscribed on his mask was “XIII.”

Where did he come from? His aura is ridiculous...

I gulped. I could feel my heart racing and my body temperature soaring. This man was like a monster; I’d never encountered anybody with this sort of power.

Calm down... Compose yourself...

I tried to stop myself from trembling so much. I knew I’d ridden out plenty of desperate situations before. As long as I could escape the first attack, the second would be easier to avoid. If I could draw out the fight, I would stand a chance.

But as much as I told myself those things, in the back of my mind, I knew I couldn’t beat this man. I’d faced Eric Rashford in the Royal Invitational Tournament and Evangeline Runeforest in the World Magic Championships, but this guy felt stronger than either of them. This gap was too wide to bridge.

“The power of a tool is determined largely by the materials it is made from,” Number IV said. “And we made this one with only the very best materials. You won’t even be able to respond to his attacks. I’m sure it’ll be over in an instant. There will be no fairy-tale miracle. This isn’t make-believe—it’s real life. And real life is not a matter of good versus evil. The powerful win, and so, you will lose. Life is cruel. There will be no solace, no ray of hope. Now, let me tell you the truth one last time: All hope you had was already lost.”

Number IV barked an order, and Number XIII ripped his own mask off. A sinister light shone from his silver hair. His facial features, handsome as they were, were so devoid of human warmth that they seemed ghostly. There was no light in his blue eyes, as if his very heart and soul had been worn down, defaced, and finally lost entirely.

Number XIII was familiar but utterly transformed. I felt like he wasn’t the same person he appeared to be; I wanted to believe he wasn’t. I couldn’t fail to recognize him, though, no matter how much I didn’t want to. After all, his face was unmistakably that of the same person I’d gotten used to seeing for so long.

I couldn’t begin to imagine what sort of drugs and psychological manipulation it must have taken to turn him into this monster. My rage was building up just thinking about what he’d been through.

Unable to control myself any longer, I accelerated time with Spell Boost and immediately targeted Number IV with a rapid-fire attack. I let the fury take me over, not caring about the consequences. All I wanted was to wipe this man from the face of the earth.

However, I couldn’t deploy my magic sequence. It simply dissipated into nothing. All of a sudden, I was on the floor with no power left in my body. I didn’t even know what had just happened, but I was numb all over and unable to move an inch.

I couldn’t see it in time...

It must have been a lightning attack, but it had hit me faster than I knew him to be capable of. Even under the effects of Spell Boost, I’d been unable to react. I was growing lightheaded, but I still gritted my teeth like I was trying to break my jaw.

I hate this. I hate this, I hate this, I hate this!

But there was nothing I could do.

“There is nothing left of his inner self,” Number IV said icily. “Speaking with him is no longer possible. He is just a tool now; an empty shell in the shape of a man. The human he was is gone. There is no escape from this harsh reality.”

As I lay in the darkness somewhere unfamiliar, I had only one outlet for my anger, a single thought swirling around and tying me up in knots: Damn you.

Damn you, damn you, damn you, damn you!

I couldn’t understand why Luke had met such a terrible fate. It wasn’t right that a good person like him should’ve ended up like this.

But I was beginning to come to terms with an unmistakable truth: Bad things happen to good people. Even if you did nothing wrong, you could unfairly land in a horrible situation, whereas bad people could go on hurting others again and again. That was reality.

But although I understood that, I couldn’t accept it. It was twisted. Wrong. It shouldn’t be this way.

I let out a silent cry. Tears streamed down my face. The light makeup I’d applied that morning must have looked hideous by now, but that was of no consequence.

Please, God, I’ll do anything. I’d give anything if it means I can speak to Luke one more time. If it means the real Luke could still be recovered...

I’m ready to give up all the things I love. All my joy and happiness. Food. Magic. Please...

I pressed my cheek against the floor and wept. Weeping was the only thing I could do. Gripped by this heartbreaking sadness, I paid no attention to anything going on around me.

I went on crying wordlessly, utterly helpless.

I couldn’t tell how many hours went by. I couldn’t even hazard a guess. By the time I came to my senses, my cheek was submerged in a puddle of tears.

All my strength was gone, but oddly enough, I felt a little better. Perhaps I’d cried so much that I’d flushed away all my sorrow. I felt refreshed, like I’d just slept in. Somehow, I had the sense that things might just work out. I could barely understand why I’d grieved so much. It was as if somebody else had cried all those tears.

But then I thought about him, and the sadness and anger came rushing back just as intensely, and I cried like a fool again.

I’d always thought that nothing mattered more to me than magic—that it was the only thing in the world I needed, but I’d been stupid. I supposed I had been happier back then, when I didn’t yet know the pain of loss. My heart shuddered as I imagined never seeing him again. Once more, I prayed earnestly to God that I’d give up anything, even magic, to have him back.

I probably only had this realization because the pain was still so fresh. I was so naive that it would never have occurred to me until I lost somebody. It didn’t have to be Luke. There was my mother, Nina, Letitia... Each one was precious and irreplaceable. Still, even this sorrow would surely ease with time. It would hurt if I thought about it, but the feeling of immediacy would disappear.

I remembered times I’d wished for my mother to disappear over some trivial argument. That had been such a terrible thing to think. I’d thought I knew how hard it would be for me if she’d really disappeared, but I’d had no idea really.

You can never truly understand until it happens. You think they’ll just stay around forever.

I’d been so stupid. I wished I’d been kinder to Luke. I wished I’d listened to him more and thought more about his well-being. He’d always cared so much about me, but I’d valued myself more than him. And I’d valued magic more than myself. I’d foolishly spent those days blissfully unaware of the importance of what I had.

The truth is, deep down, I knew.

I knew that you loved me.

I’d known that Luke’s feelings went beyond friendship; they were special, passionate. But I had been afraid that things would change if I acknowledged that. The idea that nothing would be the same again had terrified me. I’d never wanted to lose him or cause him suffering. I’d always just wanted to keep things the way they were. I’d wanted us to go on being friends.

Luke mattered to me too, but magic had always been my top priority. I’d been so childish, only thinking about myself. Of course, I had fantasized about romance as it appeared in fiction, but I’d never seen how it might apply to me. It always made me wonder whether love was something I needed.

But if nothing else, I needed him. There was a significant part of me that I would lose if he was gone. He was so important to me. I wanted him to be near me; I wanted to talk with him for hours on end; I wanted to compete with him; I wanted to argue with him; I wanted us to share in our struggles and spend our time together.

Why? Why...?

My clenched fist shook. My fingernails cut into my palm and drew blood, but I barely even felt it. That pain couldn’t compare with the emotional anguish consuming me.

It hurts. It’s cruel, and it’s hard, and it hurts, damn it! Why, Luke...? Why, why?

Curled up hopelessly on the floor, I cried like crazy.

I heard the sound of my cell door opening. I opened my blurry eyes to see a masked man enter the cell. It was only then that I even realized I was imprisoned in the first place.

In no mood to sit up, I continued to lie on the floor, face-first in the puddle of tears. I gazed vaguely at the cell bars, unable to focus properly.

“We’ve captured Nina Lawrence,” the man said. “She was your last hope.”

I snapped upright. I needed to defeat this man to help Nina. I wanted to get up and hit him with a headbutt, right in the middle of the “XV” on his mask, but when I tried to move, I was startled by the sound of rattling chains. As it turned out, my hands were cuffed behind my back and fixed to the rear wall with heavy chains. As I writhed frantically in an attempt to loosen the chains, I felt the handcuffs cut into my wrists. The pain was almost unbearable, but that was the last thing on my mind.

Come on! I just have to take this guy out—

“Like a rabid dog,” Number XV sneered, shrugging his shoulders.

He pressed a handkerchief against my face. I tried to shut my mouth immediately, but I wasn’t fast enough. Some kind of fumes filled my mouth, and I lost all strength in my legs. I crumpled back down to the floor. I was left feeling disconnected from my body.

“You can’t even put up a little resistance anymore. We’ve decided your mind is an obstacle we wish to remove. You have a lot of promise, but if you refuse our offers, this is our only option.” Number XV produced a syringe full of purplish-blue liquid. “Relax. This is where your suffering ends. This drug will irreversibly destroy your inner self. You’ll lose all thought and individuality. It sounds scary, but there’s nothing to fear. All your troubles and sorrow will be wiped away. You’ll be freed from this living hell. Death of the soul will be your salvation.”

I gritted my teeth and tried to move, but my body wouldn’t budge. The best I could do was let out a feeble groan as Number XV secured my head and brought the soul-destroying syringe closer.

It can’t end like this. There’s so much I still have to do. So much I haven’t been able to say. So many things I want to try.

I tried with all my might to escape, but it was like I was trapped in thick mud. The needle pierced the back of my head at the base of the skull.

“May God have mercy on your soul.”

This was the end. My very humanity would be stripped away. Oddly, it didn’t hurt. I didn’t feel anything. Perhaps this was what it meant for the soul to die.

Suddenly, the man’s body went limp. I could vaguely see him slumping over me.

Footsteps approached, and I saw another masked figure in black crouch down in front of me—this time the mask etched with “XX”—and firmly take hold of my head before swiftly removing the needle. The syringe clattered onto the floor, still completely full of the iridescent liquid.

“Yes, it appears as though you are safe,” Number XX said in a dignified, ringing woman’s voice that sounded familiar.

She removed her mask to reveal long, flowing hair reminiscent of gold thread. Her face evoked a supernatural aura.

“I came to thank you for showing me around the city, Noelle.”

I knew exactly who this was—one of the Three Mystic Rulers, the leaders of nonhuman magical beings. Ruler of the elves of the Great Forest and the strongest magic user in the Holy Empire of Vellmar, she was none other than Evangeline Runeforest, the Fairy Queen.

Chapter 4: All I Needed

“What are you doing here?” I spluttered.

Evangeline smiled sweetly. “What could be more important than helping a friend?”

It was an honest and warm sentiment, but I’d been in full-time employment for too long not to look at this from a more pragmatic perspective.

“Isn’t the Fairy Queen supposed to be on a visit to the south of Vellmar?”

“I ended the visit early.”

“And are you sure that’s okay?”

“No. I imagine it was quite dreadful.”

“Really?!”

As I panicked, Evangeline softly placed a finger on my lips. “I am very clear about my priorities. Naturally, I have adult responsibilities, like carrying out official duties and keeping up appearances. These are of great importance. Nevertheless, helping a friend out of trouble is of even greater importance. It matters more than anything else.”

“So cool...”

Evangeline giggled happily. “You may go on praising me if you wish. Anyway, we have shape-shifting potions, so Cynthia will handle things at home. But right now, we must help your friend.”

“Right. But let me explain.”

After telling her how I’d ended up in this situation, I described Luke’s terrible transformation into a being stronger than anybody I’d ever faced in battle, capable of taking me out of action before I even knew what had hit me. I also talked about the drugs that the Order had used to destroy Luke’s free will.

“What an awful state of affairs. Even though it wasn’t enough in the end, I still remember how he fought me with everything he had at the World Magic Championships. It’s a shame. He was a promising young man. Is there no way to turn him back to how he was before?”

“Not according to the man in the mask. And after I took one glance at Luke myself, I could tell that was true.”

“I see.” Evangeline cast her eyes downward, then bent down to pick up the syringe from the floor. “Is this what they used on him?”

“I think so.”

“Interesting. Yes, I can see that this would thoroughly and irreversibly crush the victim’s soul.” She looked back up at me. “But listen to me, Noelle. There is still a chance we can bring him back.”

I couldn’t fully understand what she was saying. It was like she was speaking the language of a faraway land. The idea that there was any hope seemed too good to be true. I was afraid to believe her, as much as I wanted to. If that hope turned out to be misplaced, or if it was dashed, I’d be in greater pain than ever.

“What...do you mean?” I asked despite everything. I couldn’t help but want to hear what came next. Even if it brought me torment, even if the shining light of hope was too bright to bear, I would still do whatever it took for any slim chance of setting things right.

“A long time ago, powerful people from Vellmar attempted to reproduce a biological weapon used by the elves. They made a drug that would destroy the victim’s inner self, reducing them to a puppet to be manipulated at will. This drug is like that one. It appears that these people have made modifications, but in principle, it is basically the same. The total erasure of one’s personality takes fourteen days. Within that time, recovery is still possible with the use of an antidote and a great deal of healing magic. Now, I have heard Order members say that due to unforeseen problems, they were late to start administering the drug. I suspect that they used a vulgar display of power to break your spirit, lest their enemy find out that a glimmer of hope remained.”

“You really think there’s a chance...?”

“I do. The possibility is still there.”

Light shone in from a little window above the cell. As I felt the substance of Evangeline’s words permeate my body, power began to flow through me. Amid a flurry of dust particles twinkling in the dim light, I pulled myself to my feet.

“Can I ask for your help?”

“You may.” Evangeline smiled.

There was still hope. We still had a chance.

That was all I needed to keep on fighting.

It took surprisingly long for Evangeline to undo my handcuffs.

“There might be a key around here somewhere,” I said, trying to help.

“I am the world’s leading expert in teleportation magic. I have gone my entire life without a need for keys.” Evangeline flashed an intrepid smirk. “Worry not. I’ll have you out of those handcuffs just like that.”

She launched a magic sequence...to no effect.

“What is this? Why is nothing taking place?”

“Good question. I can’t use magic either. Only the people who touch anti-magic material are affected by it, so you should still be able to cast spells even if I can’t.”

“I see. These handcuffs have all sorts of bothersome safety measures.” She inspected them closely. “They appear to be imbued with some kind of protection against teleportation magic. Of course, teleportation is the natural enemy of physical restraints, so it makes sense that they would prepare for that eventuality.”

“Hardly anybody can use teleportation magic, though. And it’s especially hard to use at close quarters.”

“Indeed. It would be disastrous to end up teleporting even a single matchstick inside somebody’s body.”

“I don’t even wanna imagine that!”

“Then again, because it is so very difficult to get the parameters just right to teleport one material inside another, errors like those are actually extremely rare. Regardless, it is most displeasing that they have set up measures against that possibility.” She thoughtfully raised a hand to her mouth. “Could they have expected my arrival? No, I can see no way that they would have anticipated this. In that case, perhaps the most reasonable explanation is that they were preparing for you, Noelle, or one of the unit captains in the Royal Court Magicians’ Division.”

“But royal court magicians don’t have investigative authority in Clares. That’s why I came alo—”

“True as that may be, they could have been planning further ahead. After all, they have already abducted one unit captain. They may be working under the assumption that they will have to deal with the Kingdom of Ardenfeld sooner or later.”

“Well, anyway, we need to focus on rescuing Luke.”

“You’re quite right. Now, how can I remove those handcuffs?”

“Are you sure there’s no key? Maybe that guy has it.”

“Let me see.” Evangeline rummaged through the pockets of the man’s cloak. “No, he is lacking in keys.”

“How about somebody outside?”

“Oh, I know. There was another one earlier.” Evangeline cast a spell, and another masked man, already unconscious, appeared at her feet in a flash. “I knocked him out when I arrived, just in case.”

“You sure don’t waste any time. I should’ve known!”

“Pocket, pocket, pocket...” Evangeline fished around in the man’s pants pocket situated at his thigh. “Aha! This might be the one.”

“That looks right. Please, do the honors.”

“How many millennia has it been since I last opened a lock, I wonder? Ah, I remember now. It was one evening when I tried to read my teacher’s diary in secret...”

“Can this wait until after I’m no longer wearing handcuffs?”

“How strange that the common people still use such complicated means to remove handcuffs.”

“I have a feeling the average person would think that this method of teleporting just the handcuffs is much more complicated.”

It wasn’t just a matter of learning the magic sequence. Actually being able to activate it was even harder. I’d heard that teleportation magic was so difficult that if somebody wanted to try and learn how to do it, they would likely have to devote so much of their time to it that they would go their entire lives without ever having time to achieve anything as a magician. That was why elves, who had the benefit of long lifespans, were the ones who could realistically practice it.

“There, all done,” Evangeline said as the handcuffs popped open. “Now, shall we exact revenge on the mastermind behind all of this?”

“First, we’d better find the antidote to help Luke recover. And Nina is supposed to be imprisoned somewhere too. I want to rescue her.”

“Who is Nina?”

“She’s a friend I’ve known since we were both little, though now she lives in Clares. She’s been helping me.”

“If she is your friend, then we absolutely must rush to her aid!” Evangeline said with renewed enthusiasm.

We left the cell and searched for her together. It seemed like we were still somewhere within the Order of the Dragon’s hideout under the cathedral. As we passed the cells, a familiar face in one of them stopped me in my tracks.

“Aren’t you...the cardinal?”

“You know...who I am?” the cardinal wheezed feebly. His hair hung down limply past his shoulders, and a beard covered the lower part of his face. His body was so withered and scrawny that his legs poked out like chicken bones from the rags he was clothed in.

“How long have you been in here?”

“I don’t know. At least a year, perhaps...”

“A year?”

I was shocked to hear that the cardinal had been down here for so long. It occurred to me that this man was probably the real cardinal; the one I’d seen in the cathedral was a fake.

I saw other church staff in the cells, including two familiar priestesses.

“Get me out of here! I can’t live without booze!”

“There is salvation for all those who believe. God and gambling will save us all. Join me, and you too can experience the thrill, hot as hell and cold as ice, of seeing all your money vanish in an instant.”

Those two haven’t changed a bit...

Telling myself I’d come back and break them out once this was all over, I kept going. In the farthest cell, Nina was sprawled on the floor. She was as motionless as a corpse.

“Nina!”

Evangeline and I opened the cell, ran inside, and cast healing magic on her. Slowly but surely, she began to move, and her eyes fluttered open.

“Noelle...?”

“What a relief! I’m so glad you’re alive...” I held her tightly in my arms.

“Come on, don’t be dramatic.” Nina smiled at me, before turning to Evangeline. “Who’s she?”

“This is Evangeline Runeforest, the Fairy Queen. She came to help us out.”

“I don’t see you for a short while, and this is who you befriend?”

While Nina stared in astonishment, Evangeline awkwardly avoided eye contact and prodded me in the shoulder.

“Um, Noelle,” Evangeline murmured. “What is the correct etiquette for meeting friends of friends? I would like to be friendly, but I am unsure of the best way to act upon our first meeting.”

Her shy side had reemerged. I figured this was the result of spending hundreds upon hundreds of years secluded with the same circle of people in the Great Forest.

“N-Nice to make your acquaintance,” she said.

“A-And you,” Nina replied.

Their awkward little meeting brought a smile to my face.

“Okay, Nina, let me fill you in,” I began. “I found Luke, but he’s like a soulless puppet because the Order injected him with this drug. We need to find an antidote to bring back the person he used to be.”

As I explained what I’d encountered, Nina gasped. “That sounds very familiar.”

“You know something about it?”

“I investigated a room where they were storing different kinds of medicine. There was one that stood out to me—a fluid that they had strictly under lock and key. If it’s connected to their most dangerous weapon, it’s no wonder they handle it so carefully. I think the label on the container said ‘Pamegralate.’”

Evangeline looked up. “Yes, that’s the one. It is made using seeds from the Tree of Rebirth.”

“We’ve gotta go grab it right now!” I stood up to make haste, but Nina grabbed my arm.

“It’s not there anymore.”

“Huh?”

“The masked men stormed in and destroyed all the drugs in the room. It was over in a flash.”

“But why...?”

“They probably wanted to head you off, knowing that you’d need it if you wanted to get Luke back.”

Evangeline pursed her lips. “They started by eliminating the main threat.”

“That room has nothing left.”

I couldn’t think straight. Our last hope might already have been dashed. I could only stare into space. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nina take something out of her pocket.

“This is the last of what was there.”

My breath stuck in my throat. “You took it? Why?”

“I grabbed one vial because I had a feeling it might come in useful. It wasn’t easy to keep it hidden from them, but I’m glad I thought to grab it.”

“Nina!”

I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed as hard as I could. Just as I’d thought that all hope was lost, it turned out Nina’s efforts had kept it alive a little longer. I took the little vial and put it away carefully.

“The antidote should be administered through an injection directly to the back of the head. We can use this syringe.” Evangeline held up the tool. “To reverse the drug’s effects, we need to use that entire vial and follow it with extensive healing magic.”

“How extensive exactly?” I asked.

“I am not entirely sure, but if you and I use all our strength, we may be able to make it work. I understand that Nina is very capable as well, so between the three of us, I think we can do it, though it may take nearly everything we have.”

That meant we needed to locate Luke without losing anybody along the way, deliver the injection to the back of his head, and use all our might to cast healing magic until his soul was restored. This was no straightforward task. In his current monstrous state, Luke was tougher than anybody I’d ever faced, and plenty of the men in the masks had superhuman ability too. I was certain that this was going to be trickier than any other situation I’d been in before, but oddly enough, I felt no doubt or anxiety. As long as there was still hope, I could go on fighting. Unlike when I’d believed I would never speak to Luke again, I had cause for optimism now.

I’m putting everything on the line to bring the real Luke back!

Once again ready for action, I went to where they kept the prisoners’ belongings to recover my bag. Just then, I heard a thin, gentle voice.

“Excuse me, may I have a moment?”

I turned around and saw a woman dressed in a neat habit. It was Liza, the gambling addict.

“Go on,” I said.

“I heard something when I was telling the men in masks about the wonders of illicit gambling.”

“Uh...” I could barely believe that that was still on her mind in a life-or-death situation.

“The men had no interest in gambling. They ignored me and began talking among themselves about moving on to initiate their plan.”

“What kind of plan?”

“They talked about using their drug on the great priestess, Mother Louise, and all the priestesses, and bringing the entire cathedral under their direct control. It seems that everything until now was in preparation for this plan. The assassination attempt was a ploy to make the great priestess less likely to leave the cathedral. I suspect they are aboveground now, carrying out their attack on the great priestess and the others. I was a bad priestess, a slave to her own desires. In the end, I was reported after popularizing baccarat among the priestesses, but the others never looked down on me. They had sympathy for my issues. They were kind to me and wished for me to be happy.”

She turned to me quietly, her eyes locking on to mine.

“As a failed priestess, I know better than anyone how wonderful the others are. I understand the extent of their sacrifices. They abandon all desire and attachments and pray for other people. They even want those who mistreat them to be happy. They devote their entire lives to God. The great priestess and Mother Louise are the same. They cast aside all their own wants, and they work to be the kind of people others need them to be. That way of life seems like a living hell to me, but they are earnest and hardworking, not thinking of themselves but offering unconditional love to all.” Liza’s voice grew more and more impassioned. “It would be a tragedy for their lives to be taken away in such a cruel fashion, so I’m asking you to do everything in your power to help them. Please, please...”

Her clasped hands shook slightly as she leaned forward, desperately repeating her pleas. She was the very image of a selfless priestess, praying for the sake of others.

“I’ll do all that I can,” I told her.

I turned again to Nina and Evangeline. Once we’d made sure we were ready, I reached into a dainty box among the valuables taken from the prisoners and retrieved a tiny, elegant silver whistle, carved from a single magicite crystal. It was inscribed with a magic sequence written in what looked like Ancient Almerian magic runes, designed to deploy a high-level summoning circle of teleportation.

A dragon had given me this transport whistle. Once I blew into it, there’d be no turning back. The consequences would surely be considered historic not only in the Holy Nation of Clares, but across the western continent. But right now, drawing the world’s attention was exactly what I wanted.

I blew into the transport whistle, causing an enormous summoning circle to appear. As if lightning had struck this very room, a bright light consumed everything. A cacophony assaulted my eardrums, and a fierce wind swept me off my feet. Looking up in awe from the floor, I saw a blue sky extend overhead. Though the hideout was buried deep, the matter between it and the surface had been blown open in an instant, revealing a huge wyvern.

IT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME, LITTLE ONE.

The dragon’s telepathic voice resonated in my head as it looked down at me from far above.

DO YOU NEED MY ASSISTANCE?

“I do. I desperately need you to lend us your strength!” I called out. “Help us blow the bad guys away!”

The corners of the dragon’s mouth curled upward.

AS YOU WISH. FOR YOU, MY FRIEND, I WILL REDUCE ALL YOUR FOES TO ASH.

◇ ◇ ◇

The Order of the Sacred Cross was a knights’ order in the armed forces of the Holy Nation of Clares. Its commander, Issed Tornus, looked inside a paper bag hidden in his office and smiled to himself. The bag was brimming with gold coins in the local currency. He’d won it all the previous weekend at an illegal gambling den near the Sacred Cathedral of Clares.

That was a damn good night, he thought smugly, remembering the events of that evening.

After blowing all the money he needed to clothe and feed his daughter, he’d finally been on the verge of losing his house. If he’d failed to win at that stage, the debt collectors would probably have shown up soon afterward to repossess all his belongings. When his wife had found out about their financial situation, she had regarded him with such disgust that he’d suspected it was the final straw for their marriage.

But that night got me out of danger. God must have given me this gift for gambling. I still have this much gold left even after paying back all my debts. But if I want to send my little girl to a good school, I’d better get some more...

Issed grinned as he started planning out his future.

I’d like to pay back the loan on my house while I’m still fit and healthy. That’ll give me some security in my old age. I have to win for my family’s sake too.

He imagined his wife and daughter showering him with praise.

“Dear, you’re incredible! I can’t believe you earned this much so fast.”

“Daddy is so cool.”

All right, Daddy’s gonna do his best! I’ll go win some more this weekend!

Just then, his magicom rang. Issed was still in vacation mode, his head full of wonderful memories of his success, as he answered the call.

“Issed speaking.”

“Commander, it’s an emergency! A wyvern has appeared in the cathedral!”

“What on earth are you talking about? Are you still asleep?”

“I’m fully awake, Commander. This is really happening!”

“We would’ve received notice from the observatory if a wyvern was even in this country. This is the Holy Nation of Clares. There’s nowhere that any sort of dragon could hide. And besides, the cathedral is protected by a magical barrier.”

“I don’t understand it either! But it’s there! A wyvern—in the cathedral!”

Issed knew the man on the other end of the call well. He was a younger knight who worked as a guard at the cathedral. He was impressive, having worked his way up from a lowly background, but ever since the attempted assassination of the great priestess, he’d seemed stressed out by his increased workload.

Maybe I should let him take some time off, Issed thought.

“It’s fine,” he said. “No need to panic. You’re just overworked.”

“If now isn’t the time to panic, when is the time?! Go to the window and look at the cathedral yourself!”

“I did. There was nothing there. It was as calm as can be.”

“You did not, you idiot. Just hurry up and look out of the window so you can finally give us some damn orders!”

“Hey. I know you’re tired, but you need to watch your mouth,” Issed warned him, before walking to the window.

For a few seconds, Issed was frozen in place. The guard’s frantic voice wasn’t even registering in his mind. After an indeterminate amount of time, the voice calling out to him from the magicom finally got through to his brain.

“This isn’t some kind of perception-altering magic, is it?”

“It’s real. It’s a real wyvern, in the flesh!” the guard shouted.

“I’m coming.”

Issed ended the call, his heart pounding as violently as when he’d gambled away his daughter’s meals. Never in the country’s history had there been a disaster like the one unfolding before his very eyes.

◇ ◇ ◇

I had two reasons for summoning the dragon. One was that our victory here was more important than ever. The other was that I wanted all eyes in the country on us. The Order’s goal was to control the great priestess and the entire system surrounding her, so the ideal outcome for them would be to pull off the operation with the general public being none the wiser. Given that the cathedral was cloaked in secrecy already—as they had to hide the fact that the great priestess was an automaton—the Order must’ve thought it would be straightforward to manipulate everything behind the scenes without anybody finding out.

I was therefore determined to cause them as many problems as I possibly could. A certain meanie had taught me that was the most effective way to fight.

Ugh, what a jerk!

I remembered the time we’d spent together. The worst of all was when we’d played board games. He always won in the most frustrating manner possible and then gloated at my suffering. It always made me determined to give him a taste of his own medicine, but in the end, I had begged for him to stop and knocked over my own piece on the board. I remembered him smiling at me.

“It’s very amusing to watch you, Noelle.”

I thought he was mocking me. I swore back then that I would have my revenge.

But in hindsight, even times like those were precious memories. I’d taken them for granted, but that was a mistake. Now I was locked in a desperate battle to win those good days back.

“While the dragon distracts the Order members, we’ll catch them off guard,” I explained to Nina and Evangeline as we ran up a flight of stairs toward the surface.

Nina could barely respond. “How in the world did you get to know a wyvern...?”

“We were brothers-in-arms in the Guardian City of Grambern,” Evangeline replied, as casually as if she were describing the weather.

“Grambern...? Do you mean that’s why a wyvern was seen in the Holy Empire of—”

“N-No!” I blurted out. “L-Let’s just forget about that, all right?”

“It sure sounds like that’s what happened...” Nina’s voice trembled.

“R-Right now, we need to focus on rescuing Luke!” I didn’t want to spend any more time discussing the last time I’d nearly caused an international incident.

“Noelle, my legs grow weary,” Evangeline said. “I wish to use teleportation magic.”

“No! We need to save our magic for when it really counts.”

“Worry not. I am confident I will still have sufficient magic reserves.”

“No teleporting!”

“Well, aren’t you a nag?” She puffed out her cheeks and began to grumble. “Miss Nag from Planet Cheapskate. Miserly Monster. O Great Worldly Manifestation of Nagging...”

“You were always a bit like that,” Nina chimed in. “Even if something was far enough to go by cart, you’d insist it wasn’t worth it and walk instead.”

“How dreadful! Noelle, you must be more considerate of your elders.”

“Yeah, but you need exercise for the good of your health,” I said.

“Are you trying to suggest that it’s because of my old age?! I am but a sprightly three thousand years young!”

“Didn’t you just call yourself an ‘elder’?”

“Age is a very delicate topic! I’ll have you know that three thousand is quite a challenging age for an elf! Any time somebody comments on my youthful attire, I worry that they’re trying to say it doesn’t suit me!”

Evidently, this was something of a touchy subject.

“But you know, running like this brings back memories of youth, don’t you think?” Nina offered.

“Yes, I suppose running is not so bad in that case,” Evangeline replied slowly. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. “Come, Noelle! Let us outrun the setting sun! The prime of my life is finally beginning!”

It was a relief to see Evangeline getting excited again. Just then, Nina closed in beside me and whispered in my ear.

“Are you sure about this? If anybody finds out you’re the one who summoned the dragon, you could get locked up.”

“This is our one chance to rescue Luke. Maybe this’ll end badly, but I have to do it. If our positions were reversed, I’m sure he’d do something even more reckless.”

“And that means recklessness is your only choice?” Nina sounded exasperated, but she smiled all the same. We locked eyes. “All right, let’s shock the whole world.”

“You’ve got it!”

Evangeline’s golden hair fluttered in the breeze as she asked, “How would you two like to enter the cathedral?”

“I want to get in unseen. Can you make that happen?”

“Not a problem.”

Evangeline cast a teleportation spell, and suddenly we were inside the cathedral, still running full pelt. The abrupt change underfoot threw me off-balance, and I had to place both hands on the red carpeted floor to stop myself from tumbling over.

“Wow!” Nina exclaimed. “So this is what teleportation magic feels like...”

“It’s perfectly simple in my hands. Now, Noelle, what do we do next?”

“The enemy’s main base is farther inside, but I think there are also people at risk through this door to the left.”

I closed my eyes and concentrated on sensing signs of magic. Just as I thought, the strongest concentration came from deep in the cathedral, but there were several sources on our left too. The priestesses were probably already under attack from the masked men.

“If we are to save Luke, we must save our magic for later use,” Evangeline said. “That would mean abandoning those in danger. However, those women would surely perish.”

I considered it. I couldn’t afford to be mistaken in my priorities. This was the kind of situation where sacrifices needed to be made, and I knew that Luke wouldn’t hesitate to focus on what mattered most to him. But just then, I suddenly heard a voice in my head, loud and clear.

“The others never looked down on me. They had sympathy for my issues. They were kind to me and wished for me to be happy.”

I pictured Liza as I’d seen her earlier, her hands clasped piously together.

“It would be a tragedy for their lives to be taken away in such a cruel fashion, so I’m asking you to do everything in your power to help them. Please, please...”

I realized this wasn’t a smart choice—Luke would think it was ridiculous if he ever found out—but I knew myself well enough to understand that this was my path of least regret.

“We can still help everyone,” I said. “Let’s start by going left.”

“You’re soft,” Evangeline remarked, “but that is no bad thing.”

Nina flashed me a smile. “I knew you’d say that, Noelle.”

“If we teleport there, we can take the enemy by surprise.” Evangeline broke into a run once more, launching a jade-green magic sequence.

The next moment, we were right by a group of masked men. Before they could react, I hit them up close with a wind spell, activated Spell Boost just like I’d done way back in the brutal workplace of the mages’ guild, and began to assess my surroundings.

Evangeline was facing three enemies at once. When I spotted another trying to attack her from behind, I quickly fired off a spell to blow him away. That left me open for another man to target me, but I could tell that Nina was watching my back. She knocked him to the floor with a great swing of her holy magic-imbued staff while Evangeline blew her opponents out of sight with a single Air Blaze.

In terms of ability, these masked men were more than a match for the three of us, but by teleporting into the room, we’d managed to strike them hard and fast without giving them a moment to spare. That enabled us to fight them off without sustaining much damage on our side. Once our opponents were out cold, we tied their hands and feet so they couldn’t move.

But they weren’t the only ones tied up in this room. Before our arrival, they’d bound and gagged more than thirty of the priestesses.

“What do we do now?” Nina asked. “Should we go straight upstairs?”

“Let’s get some information first. Maybe they can tell us something.” I began removing the priestesses’ restraints and asking them about the situation. “We’re here to help you. Do you know what’s going on?”

“The great priestess and Mother Louise are upstairs!” one exclaimed.

“We got instructions from Mother Louise over magicom, but the call ended with a scream,” another said.

Things weren’t sounding good.

“How many men do they have on their side?”

“I saw two heading farther into the cathedral earlier, but I don’t know how many there are now. They seemed to be thrown off by reports of a wyvern sighting.”

I was relieved to hear that the dragon’s presence was causing some disruption.

“Let’s get going,” I told Nina and Evangeline.

Our feet hammered on the carpeted floors as we hurried deeper into the cathedral. We passed between columns and under arches, which stood dramatically like trees blanketed in ash on a grand boulevard. We came to a set of double doors and teleported our way to the other side.

In front of us was Number IV, standing among the neatly arranged black wooden chairs of the chapel. The walls were lined with exquisitely carved candlesticks standing like a battalion of knights. High on the white walls, an image of Clares looked down on us. The floor was of white marble with a red carpet running down the center toward a mural at the far end, behind the altar. Sunlight pouring in through the stained glass windows illuminated two figures next to the altar, Mother Louise and the girl I knew as Melle, who I now understood to be the great priestess.

“You never cease to surprise me, Noelle Springfield,” Number IV said. “An ally came to rescue you from certain death, none other than the Fairy Queen, one of the Three Mystic Rulers. You summoned a wyvern to disturb our operation, and you even caused the supply of our main weapon to spoil. I can’t deny that you’ve done impressive work. We now have no choice but to go to our other storage facility to procure more of the drug.”

Huh? We made the drug spoil? Did Nina do that?

I glanced at Nina, but her expression suggested it had nothing to do with her. Evangeline didn’t appear to know what had happened either. Maybe there was a third party at work alongside us.

“But all you’ve done is buy yourselves a little time,” Number IV went on. “The outcome is a foregone conclusion. Unlike in fairy tales, real life is unfair and unforgiving. He has been robbed of his free will; his soul is gone. And now, the great priestess has fallen into our hands.”

Number IV snapped his fingers. Suddenly, thirteen masked men appeared and surrounded us. Their magical auras were on a whole other level compared with when I’d been caught earlier. Alarm bells were ringing in my head as I tried to grasp what was going on.

They’re so much stronger than they were earlier. But how...?

It didn’t take me long to put two and two together. The men around me were behaving nothing like they had back when I first encountered them. All human feeling had vanished from their movements. They were like puppets without individuality or soul. The explanation for all this sent a chill running down my spine.

“Y-You couldn’t have given them the drug...?” I stammered.

“Eliminating anything that might lead to failure is the way I operate. Without free will, they can fight without concern for their own safety. Repeat doses also raise their magical and physical strength. No matter how talented you are as a magician, you don’t stand a chance against them now. You see, they sacrificed their very souls in the name of accomplishing our mission.”

I bit my lip as the masked men slowly closed in on us. How do we deal with thirteen of these guys...?

Evangeline sighed. “How unfortunate. You went to such great lengths to assemble this team.”

“Your defeat is assured,” Number IV responded calmly. “But you needn’t worry; your magical ability will be put to good use, as will your physical attributes. After all, the original source material has a significant effect on the final outcome. Without a soul, you’ll even reach new heights. Just like these men here, you will become a wonderful tool—I’m certain of that.”

“Yes, truly unfortunate. An unfortunate misunderstanding,” Evangeline said, unworried.

“And what do you mean by that?”

“The unfortunate thing—it baffles me, really—is that you think this will be enough to defeat me.”

The next moment, the space was full of magic sequences for teleportation spells. Teleportation magic was one of the toughest and most complex of all types of magic, but Evangeline was multicasting these elaborate spells as easily as she breathed.

“Air Blaze.”

She extended her right hand, and with just that movement, a masked man vanished into thin air. His enchanted cloak and magical barrier meant nothing. Just witnessing such ruthless violence was enough to trigger a primordial fear response.

The remaining twelve men rushed forward, but in an instant, Evangeline was right behind them. Before they’d had the opportunity to respond, she gently tapped one on the shoulder.

“Air Dimittis.”

The spell launched the man into the distance like a giant kicking a ball. The man next to him was hit too, and he flew through a wall of the chapel and became lodged in a stone wall on the other side.

Wow! A spell that releases the compressed space between her and the target...

Her power was incredible. By the time the other men realized that Evangeline had teleported behind them and changed course accordingly, she was already behind them again. Three of them lost so swiftly that it was like they’d never been there. Evangeline’s movements were on such a superhuman level that any person with sense would surely be frozen to the spot in fear.

However, these transformed men were unmoved. Without any hesitation, they launched magic sequences in a bid to destroy their target, unleashing countless spears of ice. They had extraordinary power thanks to their use of drugs and dungeon relics, which granted them greater strength and speed than any normal person could achieve.

I hoped Evangeline would dodge their attacks, but she didn’t. In fact, she didn’t need to; the icy spears dissipated without even reaching her body.

She has subspace surrounding her body like a barrier!

She was using spells I’d never seen before. Even though we were in the thick of battle, I found myself captivated by her magic sequences.

Wow... This magic is amazing!

I knew I needed to concentrate, but I couldn’t contain my excitement. I was too distracted to remember what was going on or what I was supposed to be doing.

One of the masked men raised a knife, brought it down...and disappeared. Evangeline skipped around gently, lighting up the inside of the cathedral with one jade-green magic sequence after another. It was just like watching a dance. She moved around with such ease, it almost seemed like she wasn’t fighting at all.

After not even twenty seconds, none of the thirteen men remained.

“I suppose you saw me at the World Magic Championships and thought you could defeat me,” Evangeline said. “You must be disappointed. One can never know when the Holy Empire of Vellmar might encroach upon the Great Forest. I could not afford to risk revealing my full capabilities for a mere exhibition match.”

“You’re a monster...” Number IV breathed.

“I will choose to take that as a compliment.”

So this is the true Evangeline! She’s really something else.

Her intensity was so overwhelming that I felt like even Captain Gawain, who boasted the greatest firepower in the Royal Court Magicians’ Division, couldn’t compete with her. But it shouldn’t have been a surprise, considering she was one of the Three Mystic Rulers and the strongest magician in all of Vellmar.

Can I put up a fight against her now? I wanna find out!

My eagerness was taking over, but at the same time, my more sensible side was crying out for me to stay focused. I’d built up good instincts and situational awareness over the years, and I knew we weren’t out of the woods yet.

“Very good, but we still have another storage facility,” Number IV said. “Besides, I know where your weaknesses lie—or where the weaknesses of all magicians lie. If you can’t use magic, there’s nothing you can do to avoid being reduced to common fools.” He reached into his pocket and produced a dungeon relic shaped like an hourglass. “You won’t make it out alive without magic.”

The supreme relic emitted a bright violet light, and I felt my magical power disappear.

Evangeline pressed her fingers to her temples. “Well, that changes everything. I had no idea that you could pull a trick like that.”

“You don’t stand a chance. Didn’t I tell you that from the very start?”

“It is really quite infuriating. This is my third time facing that relic, and yet I still have no way of dealing with it.”

Evangeline shrugged, and Number IV gasped suddenly. He looked down at his hand to see that the relic had vanished.

“Subspace is unaffected by the relic’s powers,” she explained. “I prepared a magic sequence and hid it in subspace, then I bridged the gap between subspace and the physical world just in time to cast the spell before you activated the relic. I could not use just any spell, given the limitations on how much magic can be stored in subspace, but it was certainly enough to teleport one small item.”

The supreme relic that Number IV had revealed as his trump card was now in Evangeline’s hand, still glowing purple. She threw the hourglass to the floor and crushed it under her heel. It splintered, scattering fine white sand onto the carpet.

The electromagic particles returned to normal after having briefly been impeded. I could feel my power coming back to me.

“It appears the shoe is on the other foot,” Evangeline said. While Number IV remained silent, she took a few steps toward him. “You cannot defeat me. Now, I shall make you pay for the pain you have inflicted on my friends.”

“Yes, you’re strong. I can admit that.”

“Your honesty comes as a surprise.”

“But you see, I have a tool that is even stronger.”

Suddenly, somebody else appeared—somebody I had been unable to perceive until now. The intense concentration of magic emanating from that person made my breath catch in my throat and my hair stand on end. I froze, and the blood drained from my face. I knew instinctively that this new opponent was more fearsome than any I’d faced before.

A magic sequence flashed bright yellow, and the sheer force of the spell knocked me to the ground. A fissure opened up in the marble floor. The environment could not withstand this level of magical energy. With a great roar and an all-consuming flash of light, a bolt of lightning cut down toward Evangeline.

Her response to the attack was nothing short of miraculous: She did away with any of the standard procedures like establishing summoning circles or calling out spells, instead producing a threefold magical barrier. It appeared to be a purely reflexive action, involving no active thought on her end.

Perhaps she’d always had this counterattack ready for such a situation. She would’ve had to practice over and over again to train her body to be able to activate this emergency measure, fit for her enormous responsibility as the Fairy Queen who protected the Great Forest.

The threefold barrier was strong enough to neutralize any spell, but against such devastating lightning attacks, even the efforts of one of the Three Mystic Rulers paled in comparison. The barrier broke, and Evangeline was hurled through the air. She flew through a wall and still kept going. The force of the attack shook the entire cathedral, causing a great groan to reverberate around the walls like screaming voices. Dust filled the air as Evangeline collided through another two walls, finally coming to a stop in a pile of rubble against a stone wall. She lay there, as still as a dead body.

Number IV’s voice rang out. “Each of the earlier moves were covers meant to lay the groundwork for my real strategy. My sending thirteen augmented puppets after you was to give you the illusion of your own superiority, while the relic eliminated subspace attacks as an option. My greatest weapon, of course, is the most powerful of my puppets. His power is greater than that of the Fairy Queen, but this approach was the safest way to guarantee victory.”

Cold footsteps echoed around the chapel. A dark, masked figure loomed out from the dim light. As I felt the oppressive force of his magical aura, I knew immediately who it was.

“Luke!”

I moved without thinking. I felt instinctively that I couldn’t be satisfied if I didn’t thrash him. Magic wasn’t going to be enough. I wanted to run full pelt toward him and punch him on the side of the face with all my might. I wanted to grab him by the collar and demand to know what the hell he was thinking.

How could a drug defeat you so easily, huh? There’s no way you’d just lose your free will like this. Show me those skills that always get on my nerves!

Come back. Come back to me. Please. I don’t care what I have to give up.

I pushed hard against the floor and established a jade-green magic sequence.

“Spell Boost!”

I was now at three-and-a-half-times acceleration—the fastest I could manage. If I had any chance of winning, it was right now after the transformed Luke had expended his resources to take out Evangeline. He wasn’t ready to face me.

In a moment that seemed to take forever, another spell coming from nearby took me aback.

“Holy Ray!”

Firing past me was a light-type magic attack, the fastest a healer could use.

Now is our only chance, and Nina figured that out faster than I did!

She’d worked as an adventurer—and more importantly as a witch doctor. Having been responsible for people’s lives, she possessed a fine-tuned power of judgment.

The transformed Luke didn’t even react. When the dazzling beam of light was just about to hit him, he finally turned his head ever so slightly and glanced at it. His response was so slow—dangerously slow, I would’ve thought—but then he suddenly let loose a ferocious strike of lightning that swallowed up Nina’s attack entirely. Before I knew it, it had engulfed Nina too.

Nina?!

I would have run to help her right away if I’d had the freedom to do so, but then I realized what she’d been doing. She’d wanted to draw the opponent’s attention, and that was why she’d focused on using not her strongest attack but her fastest one.

If I struck now, I could catch him off guard. I prepared to attack with maximum force and firepower at point-blank range.

“Wind Blast!”

This spell was my specialty. I couldn’t even begin to count how many times I’d cast it in his presence. He’d seen me use this spell since before I’d even known how to do it properly.

Wake up, Luke!

He looked my way, his blue eyes taking in me and the attack hurtling his way. He activated a magical barrier, but it wasn’t fast enough. The cannonball of wind struck him and cruised on past, tearing up the marble floor beneath the altar.

In response to my full-power attack, Luke staggered backward...and that was it. He was completely unharmed.

“No...”

Number IV looked at my stunned expression. “There is no need for a barrier. During his creation, he was suspended for thirty hours in a vat of pure, ultra-concentrated, liquefied magic gems. He can endure pain and mental strain far beyond ordinary human limits. And it’s all because the person he was is no more. You can forget about poetic justice. In the real world, it’s the strong and the smart who win.”

His calm, level voice echoed around the room as Luke manifested another bright yellow magic sequence.

“You never really stood a chance.”

I couldn’t tell what happened next. I must’ve lost consciousness. By the time I came to my senses, I was lodged in the marble wall.

I felt no pain, but I also couldn’t hear anything. All my senses were dulled, as if everything going on was taking place in another world. Still feeling like it wasn’t happening to me, I tried to take in my surroundings.

I tasted dirt and blood. Dust was drifting in the air. My legs, jammed in the wall, were both crushed. I was bleeding everywhere like an engine leaking fuel. The blood flowing from above my right eye was impeding my vision.

A great tremor shook me as the huge body of the dragon fell and opened a gaping hole in the wall. The rumbling of the earth seemed to signal painfully that something had reached its end.

I must have lost.

No mercy. No saving grace. I’d lost tragically, violently, and completely.

In the distance, past two crumbled walls, the dark figure of a masked man appeared as no more than a speck.

“You never really stood a chance.”

He must have been right. He was cleverer than I was, and I’d been too stupid to even realize it. I was an irredeemable fool. And as further evidence of that fact, I still had no intention of giving in.

There had to be a way to turn the situation around. I only had to muster up all of my focus to find it.

◆ ◆ ◆

Just what was going on in those moments? That question has remained unanswered. Since then, many researchers have studied the change that occurred within Noelle Springfield and have attempted to reproduce it, but to no avail.

There are several influential theories, however. One leading theory posits that it came about from her battle experience in the Royal Court Magicians’ Division. Her expertise at the time of her enrollment was not in combat but in managing the stresses of work, having learned how to overcome all manner of difficult situations in her demanding former workplace. Compared to high-level magicians, her battle experience was shockingly limited at the beginning, but that itself led to her dramatic development.

That was in part due to her outstanding situational awareness; she had often proven her success in assessing her surroundings to find the best course of action. With her broad perspective and discerning eye, she unknowingly absorbed skills and knowledge from the others around her. She came to understand what was and was not effective, how certain people were able to cast such wonderful magic, and how those people differed from her. Combined with her personal obsession with magic, her power of observation helped to raise her abilities to new heights.

She learned from the very best: Gawain Stark, Letitia Lisette-Stone, Eric Rashford, Chronos Casablancas, Evangeline Runeforest, Vicente Cera, Chris Sherlock, and of course, Luke Waldstein. She also continuously improved her skills through all her encounters with magicians, adventurers, and other people along the way. All that knowledge and experience stuck with her thanks to her remarkable situational awareness.

Most importantly, she was always determined to improve as a magician. She loved magic passionately enough to devote her life to it—her focus on it was almost perverse—and that led her to study it even more intensively. She was more than happy to spend twenty-four hours a day thinking of nothing but magic. She was easygoing by nature, with a blasé attitude toward the necessities of daily life like household tasks and the pursuit of happiness, but even those aspects of her personality fueled her growth as a magician.

Only two could see it at the time: Crown Prince Michael Ardenfeld and Royal Court Magicians’ Division Secretary-General Chronos Casablancas. However, there was something that even they failed to recognize.

Humans do not have the capacity to simply keep on improving, step by step, at a constant rate. Their development inevitably follows a curve, reaching a plateau where no amount of experience appears to lead to further growth. Some might give up entirely at this stage, but like a roosting bird suddenly taking flight, a lengthy period of stagnation might give rise to sudden, explosive improvement.

Noelle Springfield’s power suddenly increased because, with her academic knowledge and real-world experience, she had so much room for improvement. Despite her continued development up to this point, the truth remained that, as a magician, she had stagnated.

However, it was during the battle in the cathedral that her intense willpower and the desperation of her situation would finally bring out the potential that had lain dormant within her.

Swaying slightly, Noelle Springfield rose to her feet. In total defiance of all conventional wisdom, a true monster was emerging.

Number XVI, one of the men in the black masks fighting the wyvern, was the first to notice the change in her. As the man tasked with commanding the troops, he still had control over his own mind. As soon as he realized that the wyvern was meant as a distraction, he quickly returned to the interior of the cathedral, bringing three of the soulless Order members with him.

When he spotted Noelle Springfield appearing amid the rubble, he opted to attack her immediately. Such quick and decisive judgment might suggest to most onlookers that he was an extremely proficient fighter, but good judgments didn’t always produce good outcomes. In this situation, he would probably have been better off giving up and getting as far away from her as possible. Provoking her was the worst thing he could have done.

The very next moment, Number XVI and the other three masked men flew through the air, crashing through multiple stone walls and finally producing a huge hole in the mural behind the altar deep in the cathedral.

She established her wind-type magic sequences with enough speed to rival even the transformed Luke Waldstein and activated her spells with an equally fearsome amount of power.

“How did she—?!” Number IV gasped.

As cracks appeared on the cathedral ceiling, the immense power of the magic in the atmosphere made even his mask start to creak under the pressure.

“What’s wrong?” Noelle muttered, looming before him. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Her hair hung in front of her face, hiding her eyes, and her lips curled into a fiendish smirk.

“How are you still standing after that attack?” Number IV demanded. “That should’ve been impossible.”

“Yeah, I wonder. I don’t know the answer myself. That’s fine by me, though. Now I can think about magic and nothing else. That’s all I need. I should’ve known from the very beginning.”

“Known what?”

“Before today, I felt like I’d learned about ten percent of what there is to know about magic. But I was wrong. It’s probably only now that I’ve come to understand even one percent.”

“One percent? What good will that do?”

“It’s enough to defeat you.”

Noelle established a magic sequence. Its green arcs of electromagic particles shone more vividly than ever before. In an instant, Number IV was thrown against a pillar, knocking a great chunk out of the masonry before sliding down to the floor.

“This can’t be right...” he spluttered. “That was an elementary spell...”

“True. But I put a lot of love into it, so now it’s too strong for you to handle. See, the thing about magic is that it’s so full of possibilities, you wouldn’t believe it. Just the thought of it is enough to make you obsessed. It’s beautiful. Pure. Dazzling. Precious. It’s more important than anything in the world. Never mind people. Never mind everyday life. I don’t care about any of that! All I need to live is magic.”

“You’re a freak.”

“I know. But that doesn’t mean you have what it takes to beat me.”

“Yes, you’re probably right about that.” Number IV nodded slowly. “But he still can.”

With an enormous wave of magical force, a bright yellow magic sequence suddenly burst into existence.

“Magia Vortex!”

Luke unleashed a lightning attack at close to the speed of light. It swept in a wide arc toward Noelle, who couldn’t dodge in time. The cathedral walls shook with the impact, and the stench of scorched dust hung in the air. The lightning was fierce enough to melt marble and instantly blow a person to smithereens.

“I wanted to draw your attention to give him an opportunity to strike,” Number IV said. “He still hadn’t attacked you at full power. You couldn’t have counted on him being able to hit you with this much force. Just as you described, he sacrificed everything else in his life to devote himself to magic. I, too, have made sacrifices so that I could turn him into this incredible fighting machine. He is now the product of two men’s madness. On your own, you cannot measure up. Anyway, I doubt you can even hear me at this point.”

“You might want to reconsider that.”

Noelle reemerged from a cloud of smoke.

Number IV gulped. “But how...?”

She turned to her attacker. “Hey, Luke. You’ve always gotten on my nerves. I’m still angry about you not meeting me at the fountain. And after I got my promotion, I hated that smug look on your face when you told me you’d outdone me again. The only way I could let off some steam was to scribble insults in my diary. ‘Stupid Luke. Dumb Luke. Mean, nasty, poo-poo-head Luke.’ And way back when we were at the academy together, we started out at about the same height, but then you went and got tall all of a sudden! What a betrayal! Oh, and I’ve never forgiven you for the time in second year when you ate my pudding.”

She paused to catch her breath, but she wasn’t done yet.

“I’ve always wanted to teach you a lesson, but you keep telling me that I’m the best. You always put me first and do so much for me, even though I’ve only thought about myself. And that’s why I quit my job as a royal court magician and came here. I wanted to pay you back. And you know, I realized something—all I wanted was to be able to stand in front of you and say with certainty that we were equals.”

She focused intensely on the man who had once been the Luke Waldstein she knew.

“I’m gonna wipe the floor with you and get you back to normal!”

◆ ◆ ◆

Nicholas, a knight in the Order of the Sacred Cross who was stationed as a guard at the cathedral, was in a predicament.

“I’ll be carrying out a secret ceremony today. It’s an extremely important ritual,” the cardinal told him a few hours before the incident. “Your job today is to keep watch here. Whatever happens, you must not leave this room.”

“But I have a duty to guard the cathedral,” Nicholas responded. “What if something were to happen to Your Grace or the great priestess?”

“The magical barrier here is unmatched throughout the western continent. We haven’t needed guards to defend us in over a century. The most important thing right now is for me to complete this ceremony without any information leaking out, so I have only one responsibility for you: Do not leave this room. If things go badly, you could be out of a job. Don’t you have a newborn baby? You can’t afford to lose your livelihood.”

A knight with any amount of pride in their position would find such an order unacceptable. Nicholas had no idea what ceremony the cardinal was planning to carry out or whether it was even real. He certainly hadn’t heard anything about this from the great priestess or Mother Louise. Altogether, it gave him a bad feeling.

But even so, Nicholas agreed. He was a new father who needed to make loan payments for his new house. He had to look after his family, so losing his job was not an option. For the greater good, he set aside his professional pride.

He remembered something he’d said in his younger years: “Never mind what the higher-ups think. It’s always more important to do what makes sense as a knight, as a person.”

He’d held a negative view of older knights who bent to the will of important people in the organization. In contrast, he’d been in awe of the ones who were proud to be knights and believed in always doing the right thing.

I want to be just like them, he’d thought at first.

Over time, he came to see the warped nature of the organization. Many of the most successful people in the job were those who discarded their principles and buttered up their superiors. The survivors were the people who managed to pin the blame on those below them when things went wrong, while the type of knight who stayed true to their beliefs was also the type who fell behind, had to take responsibility for those same problems, and ended up quitting the Order of the Sacred Cross.

Nicholas had found those knights impressive—but “impressive” didn’t pay the bills. Life kept going after they left the job, and it could be merciless and unforgiving. After quitting, they often struggled, and he would see them looking overwhelmed, always dressed in shabby clothes. Worst of all, by their own previous standards, these former knights looked like failures who had run away. It took no time at all for them to ruin their own good names and turn out just like the sleazy superiors they’d once scorned.

This is for my family’s sake. I have to do it.

He’d ultimately decided that there was no sense in fighting the powers that be. His rank and pay improved, and that made his family happy. The people around him treated him with respect. In the interests of looking after his family, he’d thought that was good enough—or at least that’s what he always told himself.

But that day, there was an unprecedented incident that Nicholas couldn’t have imagined in his wildest dreams: A wyvern had suddenly appeared on the inside of the cathedral’s magical barrier.

This was obviously a major emergency, but Nicholas found himself unable to respond. The cardinal had told him not to leave the room under any circumstances. That order must have been in preparation for a dramatic event like this.

Could the cardinal be plotting to murder Mother Louise?

Nicholas tried not to consider that possibility, but if it were true, it might help to explain some situations that had made him uneasy lately.

Even so, he couldn’t risk leaving the room. The cardinal already had total control over personnel decisions in the cathedral, and with Mother Louise out of the picture, his authority would only become more unquestioned. Nicholas could easily lose everything if he rubbed the cardinal the wrong way, but if he got on his good side, Nicholas’s life could become very comfortable indeed.

That was the path he’d followed thus far, and it had led him to a position that was the envy of everybody else. He had stability. He had many jealous admirers. He had a wife and a child, and time for his hobbies too. He was a success story.

The cathedral shook. Nicholas heard a thunderous roar that sounded out of this world. He covered his ears, closed his eyes, and crouched down in fear.

“Destroy it all,” somebody murmured.

The building shuddered once again, so violently this time that Nicholas couldn’t stand on his feet. It made him wonder if the world might be ending.

He lost his balance and tumbled to the floor. As a great noise assaulted his ears, an intense white light washed over everything.

What’s going on...?

The light was so bright that it took some time for his eyesight to return to normal. Looking up toward the ceiling, he could see the blue sky. Beyond a gaping hole in the wall, two people were fighting. They were far away and moving at tremendous speed, but Nicholas could tell at a glance that they were magicians.

Every hair on his body stood on end. A chill ran down his spine. The magic concentration was so outrageous that the air appeared to distort. Unable to stand under the pressure of the magic force, he could do nothing but continue to crouch on the floor.

What is this?!

Nicholas had just seen a monster that looked ready to demolish everything in sight.

◇ ◇ ◇

When the transformed Luke Waldstein first overwhelmed Noelle Springfield, that marked merely the beginning of their battle.

He had the power to incapacitate Evangeline Runeforest, the Fairy Queen, in one shot—even if it had been a surprise attack. The removal of his free will enabled him to move at inhuman speeds, no longer afraid of physical harm.

Knowing that this soulless puppet had once been Luke, Noelle couldn’t help picturing the person she knew in the back of her mind. His extraordinary power caught her off guard and initially eliminated her from the fight.

However, she managed to adapt. It took mere seconds for her to learn how he moved and develop the right strategy. She evaded the attacks that she couldn’t quite deal with, giving her the chance to respond with impeccable timing.

Noelle’s movements shocked Number IV. Just reacting to these attacks is one thing, but fighting back too? he thought.

Noelle’s and Luke’s spells crisscrossed in the air in the blink of an eye. Each attack was followed instantaneously by another counterattack.

This must be her swift adaptability I’ve heard about...

Number IV shuddered as he saw what Noelle was capable of, but at the same time, even though she’d begun to truly compete, she was the only one getting hurt. It didn’t make sense to him, but as he watched, he realized why Noelle seemed unable to land a direct hit.

She’s afraid to deal Luke Waldstein a fatal blow.

Healing magic had its limits. If somebody sustained an injury serious enough to kill them, then no amount of magic would save them from the inevitable.

With the kind of magic they’re working with, she could be the cause of her friend’s death if she gets this wrong. That’s why she’s letting him block her attacks.

If an attacker had a good sense of when their opponent was putting up their guard, they could ensure that even a strike guaranteed to connect wouldn’t cause any harm. But in Noelle’s case, that meant she was hesitating, leaving openings and ultimately causing her to take one hit after another.

Number IV smirked. Well, we’d better take full advantage of her reluctance.

Noelle dodged one of the spells from Luke, and just as she launched her counterattack, Number IV implemented his strategy. Luke collapsed his own magical barrier, opening himself up to Noelle. She panicked and redirected her attack. A direct hit would’ve been powerful enough to obliterate a person in a second; instead, it destroyed Luke’s earring, grazing past his left ear, and flew toward the ceiling, where it blew a huge hole in the fresco.

Because of the effort it had taken to forcibly aim the spell elsewhere, Noelle was left open to a full-power lightning attack. At such a short distance, she had no way of avoiding it, and her magical barrier crumbled. The force ripped holes in the shoulders of her shirt. She convulsed as the lightning coursed through her nervous system.

Noelle would have reflexively activated a healing spell, but she hadn’t had enough time. For just a moment, she was completely defenseless. While she couldn’t put up any kind of resistance, another lightning attack vaporized everything around her.

This is it.

That was clearly a lethal strike. The walls of the cathedral were blown apart, and the electricity filled the air with blinding white light. Dust floated in the air above the mangled floor.

But Noelle Springfield was unscathed.

Number IV blinked. It didn’t hit her? Did she somehow dodge the attack?

Suddenly, she began to move as if she had springs in her feet. She was reacting to everything even faster than she had at the start of the battle, but it still wasn’t quite enough to handle everything the transformed Luke threw at her. After one lightning attack she failed to dodge, she lost her balance, creating a window of opportunity—just for a brief moment—to bring the battle to an end. Another deadly attack came down...and all it did was singe a few hairs from her head.

Why won’t these attacks hit their mark...? Does this girl have something else going on?

Number IV’s expression clouded. Just then, he realized his mistake.

Wait, it’s not that she’s dodging the attacks... Could it really be that Luke Waldstein’s mind and body are resisting the brainwashing...?

Number IV’s eyes opened wide. This shouldn’t have been possible, based on the way the drug worked on the human brain. However, the reality was that Luke appeared to be fighting back against its effects.

I’ve never seen somebody so stubborn...

Besides the mysterious intricacies of the human heart, a likely cause for this situation was that the drug hadn’t quite had long enough to complete the process of breaking down Luke’s free will. Somebody had sabotaged their efforts two weeks prior, forcing them to delay their plans to begin administering the drug.

It had now been only seven days since his first dose, so they had devoted extra time to repeating messages to indoctrinate him into a new set of beliefs. They told him that reality was unrelentingly cruel, that the good die young, and that the bad succeed in life. They said that God cared about nobody and that no amount of prayer could bring relief.

That was one way of looking at the world, but the little magician before Number IV believed from the bottom of her heart that miracles were possible. He’d done everything he could to destroy that hope within her, but even now, she fought for it with focused determination.

Worse still for Number IV, she was right to think that she still had a chance.

I need to deal with this right now. I can’t afford to wait.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring, a supreme relic known as Solomon’s Ring, which had the power to control the target’s mind and force them to act as the user commanded.

Violet light shone from Number IV’s hand as he tightly gripped the ring. Luke immediately writhed in agony and beat his head against a wall.

“Stop it!” Noelle shrieked.

“It’s too late,” Number IV said. “His body is entirely under my control.”

Luke stopped moving suddenly. He swayed eerily like a ghost.

No more slipups. I’m getting rid of this girl now, once and for all.

Number IV cast support magic on Luke. He transferred his own power, boosted by relics and drugs, increasing Luke’s magical capacity and speed. For somebody like Luke, a tool far beyond the capabilities of regular humans, this was no more than a drop in the ocean, but even a tiny shift could be enough to tip the balance in the tight contest between him and Noelle.

“This ends here,” Number IV announced.

The air was filled with lightning-type magic sequences. Hundreds upon hundreds of attacks barreled down on Noelle, bursting through her barrier. One of them struck her directly on the side. The unbearable power of the spell sent sharp waves of pain through her body, freezing her to the spot. She couldn’t breathe.

Noelle was left utterly defenseless with her last barrier destroyed. With a golden flash, another bolt of lightning surged toward her unprotected head, but just as it was about to strike, she felt a familiar warm sensation energizing her.

Support magic?! Noelle thought.

With the extra speed granted by the support spell, she managed to slip out at the last moment before the lethal blow could land. As the walls shook and crumbled, Noelle spotted Nina out of the corner of her eye, casting a spell on her. She had managed to drag her bruised and beaten body just close enough for support magic to reach Noelle.

It’s now or never!

Noelle stepped forward boldly, pushing through the pain and exhaustion. Nobody there—not Number IV, not even Noelle—could have imagined this twist. Nina was clearly in no state to fight any longer, but she had returned to focus all her energy on providing Noelle with support. If anything could be described as a miracle, surely this was it.

Now that another fighter had unexpectedly returned to the battlefield, Noelle was determined to take advantage of the complex situation.

“Spell Boost!”

She summoned all her remaining power. At three-point-seven times the acceleration, she was faster than she’d ever been before. Ignoring her body’s protests, she closed in on Luke in a split second.

Even so, he was still faster than she was. His neural circuits had been honed through maddening amounts of training. Now, after years of working to keep up with Noelle, he was using those same neurons to try to kill her.

He got out of the way in the nick of time and quickly backed away. He now had a brief window to launch an attack that wouldn’t have landed otherwise.

She’s dead meat, Number IV thought with a smirk.

However, the magic sequence that emerged glowed not with the yellow light that Number IV was anticipating, but a jade-green light instead. It was one of Evangeline Runeforest’s teleportation spells.

“Noelle, now!” she shouted.

The very moment Luke’s lightning attack swept the area, Noelle was teleported away. And with her unbeatable awareness of her surroundings, she knew just what she needed to do next. From her pocket, she retrieved the antidote-filled syringe she’d been carefully holding on to throughout the intense showdown.

But once again, Luke activated a bright yellow magic sequence and fired off a high-speed lightning attack from up close, which Noelle narrowly evaded.

Come on, Luke, I thought. Nobody knows better than me how you fight!

We’d had countless mock duels in school back in the day. The time we’d spent together and everything we’d been through gave me the strength and the will to keep pushing forward.

I got behind him, jammed the syringe into the back of his head, and delivered the antidote.

Damn it, Luke! Come back to me right now!

I mustered the last of my magical power and forced it into a healing spell. Nina and Evangeline joined in with their own healing magic, and together we enveloped Luke in a pale-green light.

Please... Please let this work!

I’ll do whatever it takes. I’ll never ask for a miracle again. I’m willing to accept my fair share—no, more than my fair share!—of rotten luck.

So please, just this once... Please, God...

Luke slowly turned toward me. His sapphire-blue eyes fluttered open and locked onto mine. His eyes were as cold as ice.

Suddenly, an electric blade cut through my abdomen.

“Noelle?!” Nina yelped. I could see Evangeline, too, staring in astonishment.

All my magic reserves were devoted to casting healing magic on Luke. I had no protection from barriers, support spells, or any other kind of defensive measures.

Oh. I’m gonna die, aren’t I?

I’d learned enough over the years to know that my wound was too deep for healing magic.

In that case...I’ll give you all I have left to give.

I continued to use up my remaining magic in an effort to bring Luke back. Meanwhile, his expression was unchanging. He was so emotionless that it seemed almost like his eye sockets were empty.

I had failed. Tears clung to my eyelashes. I buried my face in his slender neck and held him tightly even as his electric blade continued to pierce my body.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t bring you back,” I said through sobs.

He was my most precious friend in the world, and my sole regret was that I’d been unable to save him.

I tried to cling on harder, but I couldn’t. There was no strength left in my hands or in any part of my body. I slowly sank to the floor...until somebody put their arms around me.

“Noelle?”

That voice sounded almost like somebody I remembered. It was a weak, weary voice, like somebody waking from a nap.

Have I died and gone to heaven...?

No... I’m still here.

I smiled. “I see you’ve come crawling back,” I managed to mutter.

“Noelle... What’s going on...?”

The blade vanished and Luke held me in his arms. He spotted the blood seeping from my abdomen. He stared in disbelief; perhaps he didn’t want to believe it. As he gazed wordlessly as if he were witnessing the end of the world itself, he was nothing like the unfeeling monster he had been.

No need to be so dramatic.

I couldn’t help but smile as I slipped out of consciousness.

Watching all of this was Number IV in utter disbelief.

“Impossible! How could you have shaken off the mind control of Solomon’s Ring? You’re supposed to be at my beck and call! Well, it appears I have no other choice. I’ll do whatever it takes to wipe you out.”

The air quivered as he activated a magic sequence. Over a thousand spears of ice flooded down toward Luke Waldstein and Noelle Springfield.

Luke’s deep blue eyes shot him a glance. “Begone.”

His own magic sequence shone yellow. A bright light filled the air, smashing the ice spears to dust.

With a dull thud, Number IV slumped to the floor. The enchantments on his mask and cloak were just enough to save him from death, but Luke’s interest was focused elsewhere anyway.

“Noelle... Noelle!!!” he cried.

His frantic movements were a world away from his characteristic nonchalant grace as he laid Noelle on the ground and cast healing spells on her.

Weak though I was, I blearily looked up at Luke trying to heal me.

How many times is this now?

He had the same look he always did when I was beaten up and out of commission. It had happened after the battle with the wyvern and after the incident in Count Wilhelm’s villa too. So many times, he’d desperately told me to stay put, as if he were warning a naughty cat.

Maybe he loved me too much. The thought made me smile.

Why me? I wondered. He surely would’ve been much happier if he had picked anybody else. I was a pain in the neck who was obsessed with magic and never thought about anything else.

But you know, you were just as important as magic. I mean it. I want to thank you for making my life so good.

No, it’s not enough to think it. I need to say it.

I propped up my cheek and tried to speak, but nothing came out.

I was dying. This injury wasn’t something that Luke’s healing abilities could resolve. I felt my energy sapping away.

Weird. I can’t even hear him calling my name.

I don’t want to die.

I still have regrets. There are things I still want to do.

But I guess it is what it is. At least I lived a good life.

But even now, I had somebody desperately trying to keep me from slipping away. Just knowing that was more than good enough for me. I smiled faintly and closed my eyes.

Just then, I began to feel a warm sensation. An angel stood before me with flowing silver hair. I began to wonder if such things really existed.

“You must...not die,” the angel said. “I...will save you.”

Great Priestess Melle was casting her superhuman holy magic on me, while Mother Louise stood chanting beside her. The strange warmth flooded through my body.

Soon, the other priestesses came rushing over to provide support. Holy magic was more powerful than typical healing magic, and this was enough for a major ritual. The entire space, from the floor to the cavernous ceiling of the chapel, was packed with magic sequences. Numerous summoning circles tessellated into one enormous oval. A dazzling light filled the chapel; it was too bright to bear yet strangely gentle.

Nothing could resurrect the dead. However, it seemed that I, on the verge of death, had not quite crossed the barrier. I could still be brought back by holy magic.

The strength returned to my body. I could hear excited voices and see smiling faces.

Somebody was gripping my hand tightly. They wrapped their arms around me. It was hard to fathom why they cared for me so much. I was confused, but I was overjoyed nonetheless.

How strange that I should feel this happy after nearly dying, I mused, grinning from ear to ear.

Epilogue: One Night by the Fountain

After all that, some high-level healing magic quickly revived me. While knights from the Order of the Holy Cross rushed in to round up masked men who had been fighting elsewhere in the cathedral, Luke, Nina, and Evangeline received medical attention too.

“But wasn’t he on their side?” Mother Louise whispered, glancing at Luke.

“It’s complicated.” I took some time to explain that the Order of the Dragon had stripped Luke of his free will to control him.

“But all the same, he attacked you, Nina, and the honorable elf woman with lethal force. You’ll need proof that he couldn’t control his own actions...” She pursed her lips.

Just then, Evangeline stepped in. “He never attacked me.”

“But I saw—”

“I daresay it was an illusion caused by the magical energy in the air. It is quite common for that to happen to people who witness my power at close quarters. Nina, did he attack you?”

“Nope. Noelle neither, right?” Nina winked, just subtly enough for nobody but me to see.

“That’s right,” I joined in. “It must be a misunderstanding.”

“But...” Mother Louise wavered. “Very well. We should respect the word of those who came to our rescue. He can’t be charged in this country if he was of unsound mind, and as long as there are no victims, there should be no case for violent conduct either.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. This wasn’t going to end with Luke being arrested. It would’ve been such a disappointment to do all this...only for him to get locked up.

Troubled, Luke approached me. “Noelle, I...”

“Do you remember what happened?”

He shook his head. “I can’t remember a thing. But when I came to, I...”

“What is it?”

“I saw that I’d...stabbed you with a magic blade.”

His voice was weak, and his eyes looked unsettled. He must’ve been shocked, and I couldn’t blame him. I could only imagine how distressing it would be to return to consciousness and find yourself in the process of stabbing your best friend.

I poked him. “You think you’re tough enough to finish me off with something so basic? ’Tis but a flesh wound!”

“I don’t understand how you can be so blasé about it...”

“Yeah, well, I got rescued. Everything’s cool now. Buy me dinner when we get home, and we’ll be all square.”

But even then, he still seemed upset. I was growing tired of his sullen expression, so I flicked him on the forehead. He clutched the point where I’d hit him and trembled.

“Aha!” I said triumphantly. “See that? Where I’m from, nobody flicks as hard as I do.”

“I actually can’t believe it hurts this much...”

“That’s what you get for being so gloomy. Smile, and the world will look a little brighter. Keep your chin up.”

Once I felt I’d teased him enough, I politely asked Melle and the priestesses to provide him with some more healing magic. I thought he wasn’t quite over the psychological damage of the drugs.

Nina came over and whispered, “Does Luke seem normal to you?”

“Yeah, nothing that feels off so far.”

“That’s good to hear. There probably won’t be significant aftereffects in that case. There might be gaps in his memory, though.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, some of his existing memories might have disappeared.”

I swallowed my nervousness. I hadn’t realized that was a possibility. “They can still come back later, right?”

“Yes. But in the meantime, he won’t necessarily remember things properly.”

I was worried about whether it would all work out and also a little sad to think that he could have lost some of his memories of our time together.

Still, I was mostly just relieved to have him back in one piece. I’d thought that I might never get to speak to him again, but here he was—alive. We could go on spending more time together. As ordinary as that sounded, it wasn’t at all. It was priceless.

And hey, I nearly died!

I’d really worried I was about to meet my maker. Until then, I had never thought I particularly believed in such an entity, but I did tend to feel like the god of magic would look kindly on me if I worked hard, and I often prayed for help when my tummy really hurt. Perhaps I’d always been more of a believer than I’d realized.

There was a tap on my shoulder.

“May I inspect your injury?” Evangeline asked.

We moved somewhere out of sight, and once I was sure nobody else could see, I rolled my shirt up to show her the wound on my abdomen.

“Ah, yes,” she murmured. “I did see correctly.”

“Is something wrong?”

“Not wrong, exactly. You see, the attack narrowly missed your vital organs. Make no mistake, this was a potentially fatal wound, but perhaps the exact location of the injury is what allowed you to be revived.”

“But why do you think it missed?”

“That I cannot say. Perhaps it was mere chance. That would be the most likely explanation. However, I posit that something else occurred. I think that once we learned the drug crushed Luke’s soul and the supreme relic controlled his mind, we were more determined than ever to fight back.” She smiled. “Your friend is very impressive.”

That comment warmed my heart so much more than praise of my own abilities would have. And as she was the opponent who had defeated him at the World Magic Championships, her recognition would surely mean even more to him.

I need to tell him about this.

Actually...no. It’ll go to his head. Maybe I’d better keep it to myself.

It was all because we were both safe that I was able to fret about such trifling things again. This rescue mission could have easily gone sideways. Now, I could finally succumb to relief.

Next, the priestesses approached me. One said, “Thank you ever so much for coming to our rescue.”

“No, not at all! It was all thanks to your holy magic that I’m still here.”

I’d never seen a magic sequence like the one constructed when they’d carried out their healing ritual. I beamed, thinking about how so many people had worked so hard to help me.

The priestesses also came to speak to me individually, each habit-clad woman looking at me with shining eyes.

“I’ve never seen such incredible magic before!”

“What did you do before you joined us here?”

“Surely you can slay the dragon too?”

Huh...?

Somewhere along the way, the subject of conversation had taken a more serious turn.

Hold on a minute. They still think the dragon is an enemy?!

Flustered, I quickly tried to explain to them that they had the wrong idea before I ran with them to where the dragon lay. I realized only then that it had spent all its energy fighting the masked men to keep them busy. I had no idea it had worked so hard on our behalf.

While we all used healing magic on the dragon, I could see knights from the Order of the Sacred Cross still apprehending men in masks. It all took quite some time, since I also had to tell them that this wyvern wasn’t a threat. That didn’t stop them from insisting that it was frightening and indistinguishable from any other dragon.

IT SEEMS THAT I INSPIRE FEAR...

The dragon spoke while awkwardly drawing circles on the ground with its talon. The knights, concerned that it was up to something, tried to stop us from healing it. The priestesses and I had no luck persuading them, but soon, Mother Louise and Melle came over.

“What are you doing?” Mother Louise demanded.

“M-Mother Louise! Great Priestess!” a knight stammered. They all knelt reverentially. “I beg your pardon, ma’am! These people were attempting to revive a wicked beast.”

“It is no wicked beast. Stand down.”

“But...”

Before the knight could argue, Melle stepped forward and said, “I will heal...the dragon. It came...to my aid.”

“M-My apologies, Your Holiness!”

Turning pale in shame, the knights withdrew immediately. I was struck by the power the great priestess had over them, even though she was only a little girl. Then again, she did have a thousand years of experience.

“I will...make you better. Please allow me,” she said, raising a hand to the dragon’s face.

The sight of little Melle healing an enormous wyvern hardly seemed real. Now that she was acting in her role as the great priestess, she conveyed a sense of sacred solemnity that made me unconsciously want to stand up straight.

Wow... This is what holy magic looks like when the great priestess does it...

It didn’t resemble other modern magic at all.

I leaned in afterward and whispered, “I don’t suppose you could teach me how to do that at some point?”

“If you...play with me,” Melle replied instantly.

“B-But you’re the great priestess! I don’t know about that...”

“Then...I will not teach you.”

“Let’s play! We’ll play so hard!”

“Good. I will teach you...many things.” Melle smiled sweetly.

Unsure if this was really acceptable, I glanced in Mother Louise’s direction. She was watching Melle and frowning like a teacher handling a rowdy child. As I’d suspected, playing wasn’t allowed.

“We can play...in secret,” Melle said confidently.

I knew it was forbidden, but when the request came from none other than Melle herself, I decided I’d better take the risk of getting into trouble. She had worked hard in the interests of other people for so long. She’d assumed that role all this time—I figured God might just look the other way if she was a little naughty.

Next, the dragon addressed Melle: I FEEL MUCH BETTER NOW. I MUST THANK YOU, LITTLE ONE.

“Think...nothing of it. I should be thanking you...large one.”

It was hard not to chuckle at this exchange between two individuals who couldn’t have been more physically different.

“Thank you so much for taking on such a big responsibility,” I said to the dragon.

MY PLEASURE. I ENJOYED THE CHANCE TO FIGHT STRONG-WILLED OPPONENTS. BUT OF COURSE, I MADE LIGHT WORK OF THEM.

“Are you sure? Didn’t they knock you out?”

A deep, long silence followed.

I APOLOGIZE, the dragon answered eventually, FOR MY WEAKNESS.

Its voice was thin and uneasy, like somebody else entirely. Its shoulders dropped, and it scratched at the floor, seeming embarrassed.

“Don’t be. I asked you to do far too much.”

MY BRETHREN WILL MOCK ME FOR BEING DEFEATED BY HUMANS. AND AFTER I MADE SUCH A GALLANT ENTRANCE...

“But those people were different—they weren’t human anymore. You were more than strong enough. Holding them off as long as you did was no mean feat.”

ARE YOU SURE? WILL YOU CALL ON ME AGAIN? DO YOU STILL WANT MY ASSISTANCE?

“Of course! I’d be happy to have your help.”

THEN PLEASE DO SUMMON ME AGAIN SOMETIME, MY FRIEND.

After staring at me solemnly for a time, the dragon stood up, causing the ground to tremble. Unlike mere moments before, its presence was now grand and imposing.

This dragon is surprisingly sensitive. It bounces back real quick, though...

You should never judge a book by its cover. I realized now that that principle applied to dragons as well as humans. As I watched it become a shrinking black shape in the sky, I smiled and thought about how I’d seen a new side to this long-term ally.

After we were questioned by the Order of the Sacred Cross, Mother Louise and the other cathedral workers treated us to a generous banquet. The tables were laden with a staggering variety of dishes. Normally, life in the cathedral meant following a modest lifestyle with simple meals, but I learned that they sometimes threw these lavish parties on special occasions like birthdays.

“But there are always those who smuggle away the food to eat in secret...” Mother Louise sighed wearily.

I knew that wasn’t a good thing to do, but I found myself sympathizing strongly with the culprits, as I sometimes did the same thing myself.

“Ah, but that’s because it doubles the enjoyment,” I explained. “Food tastes so much better when it feels like a guilty pleasure.”

“Do you have the same habit, Noelle?”

“I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m an expert in that area.” I nodded strongly and earnestly. “But I guess I’m surprised that that happens so often here. I always thought that priestesses were honest, rule-stickler types.”

“I thought the same before I arrived, but the reality is quite different,” she replied. “There’s no such thing as a perfectly honest person. Of course, there are people who try their best, but too much moderation or too much abstinence can end up having the opposite effect. Just in the time since I became the head nun, there have been several secret pregnancies among the priestesses. After all, they say that the forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest.”

“Right. Ellie and Liza had the same kind of problem.” This conversation had inevitably reminded me of the alcoholic and the gambling addict who had assisted us.

“How very embarrassing. If only I had worked harder as the head nun, then those two...”

“Don’t worry. It’s their faults that make me like them. Even if illegal gambling is pretty bad...”

“Yes. It is terrible, indeed.”

“But you know, Liza was so insistent that I should rescue all the priestesses. She really understands that they resist the things they truly want and try to be perfect so that they can provide people with emotional support. She said it would be a tragedy if their sacrifice was undone like that.”

“She really said that?” Mother Louise stared in disbelief. She quietly looked down for a moment, then continued with a newfound warmth in her voice. “It’s true that she was a nice girl at the beginning. Perhaps it’s time to give her a second chance.”

“Is there nothing you want to do, Mother Louise?”

“What do you mean?”

“I got the feeling you’d been holding yourself back for a long time, but I don’t think it would be so bad to ease up a little.”

“As the head nun,” she said slowly, “I must set an example for the other priestesses. If I breach protocol, more and more will follow. It is my job to show them how they should be.”

“I understand, but do you really want to deny yourself forever?”

“There is a verse in our holy scriptures: ‘One who sacrifices nothing will gain nothing.’ Meaning, if you want anything in life, you must also sacrifice something. Nobody can live getting everything their heart desires, but when we lack something, that gives greater value to what we do have. The beauty of life lies in the fact that not all of our wishes can be granted. A life of endless fulfillment is a boring life. That is what I believe.”

I understood the basic truth of what she said, but I knew that I myself had been unable to choose what I should sacrifice. I loved magic above all else, but my friend was also precious to me. I couldn’t give up on him. I’d gone to ridiculous lengths to help him.

I was still immature enough to say “I’ll take both!” without hesitation, but at some point, I would probably have to grow up and make a practical decision: magic or friendship? I might not always be able to have both.

I don’t wanna choose! I despaired, leaning back in my chair to gaze at the ceiling.

The banquet was a lively affair.

“Ah, I have been unable to enjoy human food for so long!” Evangeline exclaimed, her eyes bright with joy.

Meanwhile, Nina watched as I added my seventeenth empty plate to the stack in front of me. “Some things never change,” she remarked, smiling cheekily.

“Another!” I called. “I still have room!”

“I’ve always liked your big appetite, Noelle.”

“Amazing... I did not think...anyone could eat so much,” Melle said, staring at me with a mixture of fear and admiration.

“It’s like if a gem combustion engine was turned into a human...” a priestess whispered.

Ellie and Liza spotted an opportunity to sneak into the party.

“Another round! Please, more drinks! More!!!”

“Now, what does everyone say to a commemorative game of baccarat? No table limit!”

Neither could listen to reason, and it was no time at all before they were caught and removed from the hall with their arms pinned behind their backs.

At one point, the real cardinal, now freed from the underground cell, approached Evangeline. “C-Could it be...that you are the F-Fairy Queen?”

“No.”

“Oh, b-but—”

“You have the wrong person,” she responded bluntly, with a perfect poker face.

One person who stood out in a big way was Luke. Because priestesses lived at the cathedral, they often did not see many men. As the only young man present at the banquet, he was the center of attention.

“How very unusual for a man to join us!”

“Please, eat up!”

“What do you do back in your homeland?”

Somehow, the voices of the priestesses sounded a few tones higher than normal.

Why’s he so popular...? I thought, my fist quaking with rage. It was quite understandable, really, given that he was the only man around and how he’d always had girls fawning over him at school for his almost girlishly beautiful face, but that didn’t mean I had to accept it.

He didn’t even do anything this time!

For that matter, he had been on the enemy’s side, smashing up the cathedral. He’d even nearly obliterated the place! I didn’t see why he should be more popular than the person who’d saved everybody. It seemed only proper that I should be the one they were all making a fuss over.

I just don’t get it. Something isn’t right with the world...

A voice broke through my furious thoughts.

“I like you...Noelle,” Melle said, standing right to me.

So cute! I thought. She was just like a sweet little kitten.

“Oh, yes, yes, you’re a little cutie, aren’t you?” I pinched her cheeks.

“Do me too!” Nina suddenly appeared on my other side.

Huh? Was Nina always like this?

“Heh. Hi, Noelle...” she murmured, smiling goofily.

Glancing away from her red face, I caught a glimpse of a once-full wine glass. Looks like someone’s a lightweight.

I now knew that Nina was the touchy-feely kind of drunk. She normally had her act together so well, so perhaps her hidden desires came out at times like this.

But whatever the reason, I didn’t mind having these two girls hanging around me so sweetly. It was almost like I was popular!

Maybe for their sake, I can forgive Luke for all the fuss everybody makes over him.

The truth was, Luke himself seemed pretty uncomfortable about his situation.

In the old days, he’d played the part of a model student. As dashing and smooth as he’d seemed on the surface, he had really been as cold as ice. He’d always had a hard time getting close to others. It was somewhat nostalgic to see him now and think about those times again.

We happened to make eye contact, and he immediately glanced away awkwardly. It wasn’t the sort of reaction I expected from him.

Nina’s words from earlier came back to me: “There probably won’t be significant aftereffects in that case. There might be gaps in his memory, though.”

I’d been hoping to speak to him in private and see for myself how he was doing, but unfortunately, it wasn’t until the very end of the day that the chance arrived.

For one thing, Melle and Nina had been hanging around me through the banquet, and to complicate matters further, Evangeline appeared toward the end, complained that those two were getting all my attention, and began jostling with them for position. Meanwhile, Luke was in such demand among the priestesses that Mother Louise, fearing for the women’s decency, decided to quarantine him in a guest room.

“I apologize,” he said as Mother Louise led him away.

The nun shook her head. “You are not at fault. This is for your own protection.”

“What do you mean?”

“You looked like a rabbit surrounded by a pack of hungry wolves.”

After the party, Nina and I returned to the same storage shed we had stayed in. We were given the offer of sleeping in a guest room, but after the past few days, we’d grown quite fond of it. The fact we’d turned such a shabby room into a livable space gave it a sense of adventure that reminded me of organizing school festivals in the past. To my surprise, Evangeline joined us in the shed.

“Staying over with friends on a trip!” she exclaimed. “This is a dream come true!”

I wouldn’t have characterized this whole experience as a “trip,” but if Evangeline felt that way, I wasn’t going to correct her.

Just as we were preparing for bed, there was a knock at the door.

Who’s there? Could it be Luke?

“Heyyy, Noelle... Look who’s got booze!”

“I’ve brought cards for a game of baccarat.”

Surprise, surprise—it was Ellie and Liza.

“Didn’t you two get thrown out and sent back to your rooms?” I asked.

“Sure, but we managed to sneak out.”

“But you’ll get in trouble again.”

“Nah, it’s cool, so long as we get back before lights out.”

These two were perhaps the world’s least qualified people to be considered for the role of great priestess. I, on the other hand, was an upstanding citizen. It was one thing to sneak around after curfew as a student, but could I condone this behavior at my age?

I shook my head, but then I quietly added, “Turn out the magic lights. We can use candles.”

And so, our exclusive late-night afterparty began. I dug around in the shed for something to use as betting chips, and then the five of us played baccarat and drank Ellie’s wine. Nina was a serial winner, while Evangeline and Ellie had their moments too. In stark contrast, Liza and I were having an absolute nightmare of a time. Our bad luck was utterly relentless. We lost game after game and then borrowed more chips from moneybags Nina, only to lose those too.

“I’m begging you!” I whimpered. “I swear I’ll win the next round! Just let me borrow a little bit more...”

“You’re cute when you’re down on your luck,” Nina said, looking down on me with an inebriated grin. She handed me some of the wooden sticks we were using in place of gold coins.

Once again, the money I borrowed returned directly to its source. As Nina’s funds increased, so did my debt.

“Wow, Nina...” Ellie murmured. “You’re like a pro! Do you run an illegal den or something?”

Liza was stunned too. “No, this is worse than anyone in the real underworld...”

Nina seemed to have a real knack for dragging people into debt.

During the party, Melle appeared and joined us for a few rounds. Playing baccarat with the great priestess certainly seemed like something people went to hell for, but if it was what she wanted, I was willing to accept my fate. Besides, she didn’t get opportunities like this every day.

As the six of us continued to play, an ominous sound approached: footsteps. I raised my head, wondering who could be there. Ellie and Liza leaped up from the floor.

“It’s her!” Ellie whispered frantically, immediately recognizing the footsteps. “Mother Louise!”

“Quickly, put out the candles and pretend you’re asleep!” Liza urged us.

We rushed to blow out the candles and get into bed. Ellie, Liza, and Melle hid under our blankets.

The sound of knocking echoed around the shed.

“Excuse me,” Mother Louise called. “Is anybody awake in there?”

I checked to make sure that the playing cards were all under the covers and that Ellie was holding the wine tightly like a child with her favorite toy. Feeling that it was safe to show my face at least, I got up and cautiously opened the door.

“Good evening, ma’am. How can I help you?”

“May I see inside?” Mother Louise asked. “I’m not suggesting you’ve done anything wrong, Noelle, but there could be troublemakers around.”

She sternly raised her lantern and peered into the shed.

Uh-oh... If she looks any closer, she’ll see how suspiciously lumpy the blankets are!

The situation in the shed was obviously strange. There was no denying it. After a weighty silence, Mother Louise saw the anxiety plain on my face, and she chuckled.

“Nothing out of the ordinary here,” she declared. Then she added in a whisper, “Take good care of the great priestess.”

Her kind smile before she went on her way would stay with me for a long time afterward.

Some time later, I opened my eyes in the dark shed and realized I must’ve fallen asleep. In the cramped space, I’d ended up in an awkward position, such that the slightest move would mean hitting somebody’s arm or face.

Not wanting to wake anybody, I lay there quietly until my eyes adjusted to the darkness. At that point, I looked around a little. Nina and Melle were lying asleep on either side of me, and next to them were Evangeline, Ellie, and Liza.

No wonder it feels so cramped. There’s six of us here with only enough bedding for three.

Ouch...

I got up from my unnatural position, disentangling my stiff limbs. I emerged from the blankets gingerly, trying my best not to disturb anybody.

I gotta pee.

I opened the door as quietly as I could and slipped out of the storage shed. The night air felt cool on my skin as I walked past carved white pillars, beautiful seasonal flower arrangements, and images of Clares. There was something ethereal about the cathedral so late at night, as if I were in a dream.

After relieving myself in the bathroom, I decided to take the scenic route back. I felt like making the most of this rare chance to see the cathedral in the middle of the night. I passed the outside of the priestesses’ quarters. In the courtyard between that building and the administrative area, I spotted a fountain.

Luke popped into my head. Not so long ago, I’d been waiting for him for ages, sitting on the edge of a fountain like this one. And although I’d never made the connection before, there had also been a fountain nearby when we’d danced together after the Red Rose Ball. It was as if there were some special connection between memories of Luke and fountains.

I had a funny feeling that he was near that fountain at that very moment. The guest room where he was sleeping wasn’t far away, so it wouldn’t be that strange.

However, when I approached the fountain, he was nowhere to be seen.

I guess that makes sense. It was silly of me to think he would be here.

I’d somehow convinced myself that Luke would be sitting on the edge of the fountain, but I was alone with the moon, which shone in the partially open air of the courtyard. Beginning to feel cold, I turned to head back to the storage shed, but I stopped when I heard footsteps approaching.

It was a familiar sound—careful, calm, but with a hint of uncertainty.

“Trouble sleeping?” I asked.

“Something like that,” he replied.

Standing there when I turned around was Luke Waldstein.

After some hesitation, Luke took a seat next to me on the fountain’s edge. Neither of us said a word. I felt droplets of water caress the back of my hand.

“Sorry I didn’t meet you that day,” Luke said suddenly.

“I don’t forgive you.”

“Huh?”

“That place is a standard meetup spot. How do you think it feels to be the only person still waiting there while everybody else walks away with their friends and loved ones?”

“I can only apologize.”

“Some guy came up to me at one point. I thought he was going to bother me, but do you know what he said? He called me ‘little lady’ and asked me if I needed help. He wasn’t even trying to hit on me! He was actually concerned that I was lost or something!”

“You weren’t wearing childish clothes again, were you?”

“I was in my nicest outfit! I’ll never forget that humiliation. And I’ll never forget that you indirectly caused it!” I furrowed my brow in indignation. “I’m not asking for your heartfelt words. I want you to buy me dinner to make up for this.”

“Then may I humbly offer to treat you?”

“You may!” I nodded emphatically. “Anyway, how are you feeling? Nina told me you might have some memory loss.”

“Well...” Luke wavered for a moment. “No, I’m okay. Everything is fine.”

“Tell me the truth.”

“That is the truth.”

“I know you don’t like to show weakness—being such an accomplished liar and all—but it’s fine. I won’t tell anyone, and I’ll make sure it doesn’t affect your reputation. I’m on your side.”

I watched him closely, awaiting his response.

Eventually, he took a deep breath and spoke. “There are quite a few gaps in my memory and my knowledge. There are events I can’t remember even though I know they happened, and things I could’ve sworn I knew but can’t come up with anymore. I’ve forgotten what I did with my classmates at the magic academy and many of the details of incidents I was involved in as a royal court magician. Much of my expertise in magic is missing too.”

“How much of your magic knowledge is gone?”

“Perhaps around...eighty percent.”

I quietly absorbed this revelation. I knew I ought to make an effort to cheer Luke up, but I was still reeling from the news.

No, this isn’t right. Why am I so worked up when Luke is the one suffering here?

“That’s okay,” I said slowly, trying to calm myself down. “You’ll have the muscle memory even if the knowledge isn’t there yet. After all the magic sequences you’ve constructed over the years—that ability won’t just go away. It won’t be a big problem. Besides, you’re smart; you’ll be back to normal in no time.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

“Huh?”

“Eighty percent of my knowledge may be missing, but I don’t see myself being troubled by an average magician. I’ll probably reach my old standard again very quickly.”

I was stunned. What’s up with this guy? I’m trying to show him I care! Typical child prodigy behavior...

“What’s that look supposed to mean?” Luke asked. My displeasure must have shown on my face.

“It’s supposed to mean ‘This guy’s too self-assured. I can’t stand it!’”

Luke chuckled, and that brought me some relief deep down inside. As long as he was his usual self, I thought he would be able to return to the Royal Court Magicians’ Division without issue. Being a magus came with huge responsibility, so I expected that he would start with a lot on his plate, but I was confident that he’d get through it. As much as he came across as a genius blessed with talent and family connections, I knew that underneath it all, he worked harder than most people realized.

He can get by even without me around.

I still hadn’t told him that I’d quit the Royal Court Magicians’ Division. I’d decided I wouldn’t reveal that information until we got back to Ardenfeld. I knew it would just make him worry needlessly. He had such a strong sense of responsibility that I could see him blaming himself for my resignation.

I wished that he could just understand that I was responsible for my own decision, but at the same time, I knew that I’d feel culpable if our positions were reversed. I couldn’t really complain when we’d both be as likely to take on that burden.

I guess I should start looking for a new job now.

I thought back to my job search following my dismissal from my old mages’ guild. I’d applied to every single magic-related job in the area and faced nothing but rejection. It’d been a tough time.

Ugh... I’m still traumatized!

Even though I knew that the guild chief’s personal dislike of me had been the real reason behind it all, I couldn’t easily forget the pain of being told repeatedly that I was unwanted.

And all thanks to Luke’s help, I got a job beyond my wildest dreams. I can’t afford to be picky now. If I have to take a pay cut or put up with something I don’t like, that’s life! Time to take this job hunt seriously!

“If anything is likely to be a problem,” Luke said, cutting through my thoughts, “it’ll be my day-to-day. I feel like there’s a lot I can’t remember about my home life and high society. And I’m not sure I can still socialize.”

“That makes sense. This kind of situation can have a big impact on your private life. From what I’ve read in books, there are a lot of things people have trouble with.”

“Books—as in medical books?”

“Not really, but I’m pretty well-informed about amnesia,” I explained. “In romance novels, most of the male love interests get amnesia at some point. In some stories, it’s up to the heroine to fix him, or sometimes there are plots where his amnesia causes them to fight. That sort of thing.”

“I don’t think fiction is an accurate reflection of reality.”

“Nah, they’re not so different,” I said, perfectly serious. “Fiction is the product of people’s dreams, you know. It can be even more valuable than real life. Anyway, I know you might’ve forgotten things about me, but that’s okay. I won’t let it bother me.”

Luke watched me quietly for a moment. “I haven’t forgotten.”

“What do you mean?”

“I remember everything about you. I remember every trivial conversation we’ve had in the office. I even remember standing with you in the school corridor six years ago when it had been raining, talking about our favorite snacks. Those are my most precious memories.”

He gazed at me with his sapphire eyes. Seeing him bathed in the light of the moon, I thought there was something different about his expression now. My face began to feel hot, and I avoided eye contact.

Luke grabbed my sleeve, his hand trembling ever so slightly. “I’ve always wanted to tell you this.”

As he cast his eyes downward, his long eyelashes sparkled gently in the moonlight.

“I love you.”

My heart leaped into my throat and got stuck. I could barely breathe. My mind went completely blank.

Nobody had ever said this to me in my life.

Of course, I was pleased. I was beyond grateful. I’d suspected this was the case for some time, but hearing it face-to-face affected me like nothing else.

His voice was as calm and as gentle as I knew it to be. It made me feel like running away with him. If Luke and I were together, I would’ve been able to escape some of my troubles. It would certainly have made things easier with respect to my employment situation. He could look after me when I was tired and keep me company when I felt lonesome. He came from a wealthy background and would ultimately inherit his family’s riches, so perhaps the life of a housewife was an option for me.

“That’s the idea!” my mother’s voice echoed in my head. “Marriage is every girl’s dream! Go for it, Noelle! Earn your stable, secure happy ending!”

Part of me wanted to do as she always suggested and seize the opportunity. Hers wasn’t the only voice I remembered.

“Regrettably, we have decided not to move forward with your application at this time.”

My heart was struck once more with the pain of the day I heard those words.

I’m so weak-willed...

I was genuinely tempted by the possibility that I could run away from my problems, but that was exactly why I couldn’t. Luke was being totally sincere; it wouldn’t be right to go along with it for my own convenience. No—I needed to respond in kind. I needed to let him know how I really felt.

“Thank you for telling me. I’m really happy that you feel that way. And I love you too—but I’m not really sure whether I love you as a friend or in a romantic way. Still, I can say for sure that there’s no man I feel stronger about than you.”

As Luke watched me with an intense expression, I thought about how best to express myself and went on.

“On the other hand, there’s something else that matters a lot to me. I really want to improve my magic skills. Since I joined the Royal Court Magicians’ Division, there have been times when I even surprised myself with what I was capable of, which made me so happy. Now I feel like I might be able to reach a level that always seemed impossibly high.”

I wanted to say more, but I hesitated. I couldn’t afford to treat this lightly. Even in my own mind, there was a voice telling me I didn’t have what it took, but it was time for me to embark on my next steps. I couldn’t keep putting myself down and shying away from big decisions. I needed to have my own back and believe in my own potential.

“Luke, you told me before that you wanted to be the greatest magician in the kingdom. At the time, I didn’t understand how you could say such a thing. I thought it was incredible. But now, I understand a little better. I can see that you had the determination to push forward through doubt and fear.” I paused. “I want...to be the strongest magician in the world.”

He probably hadn’t seen that coming. As his eyes flitted about, I got the sense that he was still processing my declaration.

“And because of that,” I continued, “I need to focus on magic more than ever before. I just don’t think now is the right time for a relationship. I’m sorry.”

I was being foolish. Luke was a great person; he deserved better than me. My mother would be at her wits’ end if she could hear what I was saying.

But what else could I do? These were my true feelings. It would’ve been even more unfair to Luke if I began a relationship with him while I felt this way. If he wanted us to act like a real couple and I didn’t take that seriously, I could hurt him. Even if I had the chance to go through this all again, I would surely have made the same choice every time.

I felt a pang in my chest. I thought Luke might want to leave. He might even want to stop being friends. That prospect made me truly sad. After all I’d done to bring back my precious friend, I was loath to lose him now.

But some choices in life required making sacrifices. I couldn’t always have everything I wanted. Two different things were so important to me, and I couldn’t bring myself to approach either one with less than total conviction.

After a period of silence, Luke responded, keeping his emotions in check, “The strongest in the world? That’s a lofty goal. Do you understand how hard that path can be?”

“I do. But even so, it’s a goal I want to pursue. I know I’ll regret it later if I don’t try.”

“That’s just like you.” Luke sighed heavily. “Ugh, how did I end up falling for someone like you? A short, clumsy girl who only has eyes for magic. Useless at household chores. No social skills. When you don’t have work to do, you don’t do anything at all, and you’re messy to boot.”

“Excuse me?! That’s going too far! I am not messy, and I’ll have you know I do some things! I’ve never been so insul—”

“When did you last clean your room?”

“I... I don’t remember.”

Luke spread out his hands. “Meanwhile, I’m tall, physically adept, and good at housework. I can read the room when I set my mind to it, and as I prefer not to live in squalor, my bedroom is spotless.”

“Grrr...”

“But I love you all the same. There’s no use in fighting it.” He smiled wryly. “Do you mind if I continue to feel the way I do now?”

I felt conflicted. “Is that what you want?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“I’m flattered, but it sounds like you’ll just be hurt. Besides, I think you’d be better off if you developed feelings for somebody else instead.”

“Maybe. I think you’re probably right about that. But if it were as simple as that, I wouldn’t have worked with such reckless abandon to earn promotions and get to bring you in as my mentee.”

“Wait... Are you saying that even that was because of me?!”

“You couldn’t tell?” Luke covered his mouth to suppress his laughter, before smiling elegantly. “Everything I’ve done until now was for your sake. If you’ll allow me, that’s how I’d like to go on living. And even if it goes against my own interests, your love of magic is part of what I love about you.”

The real cardinal had arranged for lavish horse-drawn carriages to take us all back to our respective homes.

“Thank you ever so much,” he said happily. “You are the heroes who saved our country from disaster.”

He explained that the Holy Nation of Clares was taking responsibility for dealing harsh punishments to the apprehended Order of the Dragon members. Those with power in the country were incensed that the Order had threatened the safety of their beloved great priestess.

“If you are ever in trouble, please don’t hesitate to let me know,” the cardinal added. “I will do whatever I can to help.”

His kindness brought a wide smile to my face. Moments later, more people from the cathedral were bidding me farewell.

“Let’s get some drinks together again some time!”

“And another game of baccarat, of course.”

Ellie and Liza’s behavior was, as ever, amazingly unbecoming of priestesses.

“You two can expect another serious talking-to,” Mother Louise said mirthlessly.

Next, Melle sidled up to me. “That was...fun. Please come again.”

“Why are you on such good terms with the great priestess...?” Luke muttered, perplexed, as I patted Melle on the head. I didn’t really have an explanation for him—we had become friends before I knew it.

“By the way, Mother Louise, I wanted to tell you something.” I took a few steps closer to the nun.

“Yes?” she responded quizzically.

“I’m so impressed by the way you follow your teachings and work to be the best person you can be. I’m not saying that you should stop that, but I do think it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to allow yourself to do what you want every once in a while.” I looked her in the eye. “God knows how hard you’ve worked. I’m sure you’d be forgiven for taking a little bit of time for yourself.”

I didn’t know whether this was the right thing to say. I wasn’t all that familiar with the doctrines of the Church of Clares, so perhaps I was leading her astray. Still, I felt like it would be a mistake not to express these thoughts.

“She’s right, you know,” Ellie said. “Have a drink now and again. They say that drinking in moderation is good for your health.”

“Illicit gambling in moderation is good for your health too,” Liza joined in, sounding perfectly serious.

“If something is illicit, moderation is not possible,” Mother Louise replied coldly. After a moment, she turned back to me. “Thank you. Yes, I do understand your point of view.”

She seemed to be grappling with complicated emotions. That wasn’t so strange. Feelings could be hard to pin down. I didn’t know what conclusion she would reach, but I hoped that she would get the bright future she deserved for working so earnestly.

Just as I was about to ascend the steps to my carriage, Evangeline waved me down and came over to whisper in my ear. “I managed to flawlessly cover up my involvement in this whole affair, but sooner or later, word is likely to get out. It was a surprise attack at least, but the truth is that for a brief moment, I, the Fairy Queen, was knocked out by Luke Waldstein. Meanwhile, you were a match for him, even when he was out of control. Your success in that battle was greater than simply winning a fight. People will certainly come to know your name after that display. Once they know that the two of you are on the level of the Three Mystic Rulers, expectations on you will grow more than ever, and some people may attempt to impede you.”

Evangeline pursed her lips for a moment before continuing.

“You may call for help whenever you need it. We can overcome anything with the power of friendship. I will always be on your side, Noelle.” She flashed me a cheeky smile.

Nina joined in as well. “I’m totally happy for you to ask me for help any time too. Or just get in contact for any reason. If you ever need anything, I’ll be there.” She grasped my hand. “By the way, Evangeline and I have been talking. We were thinking about having a motto for the three of us.”

“Indeed,” Evangeline said, leaning forward ever more eagerly. “I used to read about mottos in books. It is wonderful to think about intimate friends banding together to recite their motto. Something like, ‘You can’t put a price on friendship!’”

A...motto? I don’t really get it...

I was still pretty bewildered, but Nina’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Come on, let’s do it! All together now. Three, two, one...”

“You can’t put a price on friendship!” we all chanted. Somehow, I was reminded of my younger years, as if we’d just put the finishing touches on a secret hideout or something.

The three of us waved to one another and boarded our respective carriages. We were each following different paths to different destinations, but I believed we had a special connection. I wasn’t alone.

“Best buds with the Fairy Queen too, huh?” Luke didn’t sound too comfortable about that. But again, it wasn’t something I could fully explain.

I had lots of things to talk to Luke about: magic, everything that had happened in Clares, magic, the lengths I’d gone to in order to bring him back, and—of course—more magic.

“It’s time...for a magic quiz!”

“You’re obsessed.”

“The loser buys the winner ice cream! All right, here comes question one.”

There were some gaps in Luke’s knowledge due to the side effects of the drug, but as we went through the quiz, I concluded that he knew as much as ever about his specialty of lightning magic. It was an encouraging sign. Maybe the memories he’d lost were primarily the ones that mattered least to him in the first place.

“I remember everything about you. I remember every trivial conversation we’ve had in the office. I even remember standing with you in the school corridor six years ago when it had been raining, talking about our favorite snacks. Those are my most precious memories.”

I turned red as I recalled what he’d said to me earlier. I pretended everything was normal and moved on to the next question. It occurred to me that I should teach him the kinds of magic he ought to know for work so that he could handle the job on his own. Because I’d dropped everything and run off, he would now have to return alone to the Royal Court Magicians’ Division. I couldn’t go back to my beloved workplace.

Ahhh, that was stupid of me.

Nevertheless, I didn’t regret my decision. If I could’ve gone back to that time, I wouldn’t have done anything differently. I’d only been able to rescue Luke because I’d quit my job.

But even though I knew that, I couldn’t shake this sharp feeling of loss. I couldn’t bring myself to tell Luke what I’d done until the last minute. I knew it would worry him, and I knew that it would mean we’d have less time together in the future. At least for now, I wanted to make the most of our remaining time.

By the time the carriage passed the city limits of the royal capital of Ardenfeld, I’d had my fill of the magic quiz. It was time to tell Luke the truth.

“So, I left my job at the Royal Court Magicians’ Division.”

“Y-You’re kidding, right...?”

He sat in stunned silence, his expression grim, as I explained the entire situation.

“What were you thinking? You must’ve known that was a terrible idea.”

“What else could I do? As long as I was still a court magician, I couldn’t go to Clares to look for you.”

“All the same, there must’ve been some other—”

“You would’ve done the same thing in my position, right?”

Luke quietly pressed his fingers to his forehead and looked down. “Maybe.”

“See? A friend’s life is way more important than a job.” I shrugged my shoulders.

“I can try talking to Captain Ernest. I’m sure there’s still a chance if I explain the situation. Actually, I’d better speak to Gawain and Letitia first...”

“There’s no need. I’m resilient. I’m confident I can find joy in just about any job if it lets me use magic.”

“But you’re also naive and careless. Somebody could easily take advantage and use you like in your old job.”

“I mean... I guess that’s true.” Looking back, I’d never even contemplated quitting my job at the Mages’ Guild, despite how awful the environment was. “It’s easy to get blinded by your love of something.”

“Now is no time for platitudes. We need to come up with a strategy.”

“And I’m telling you not to worry about it. You don’t have to do anything for me.”

“Don’t you want to go back to the Royal Court Magicians’ Division?”

I hesitated. There were so many competing thoughts in my head making it difficult to detangle how I really felt. I wanted to make sure I didn’t say the wrong thing.

“I do,” I said eventually. “But I also know that what I did was really irresponsible. People looked out for me, and I disregarded their feelings. They expected great things from me, and I betrayed those expectations. I neglected everybody in the Seventh Unit. I have no right to ask for my job back.”

I pictured their looks of disappointment and confusion again. I understood the seriousness of my decision better than anyone. I’d never received so much praise before becoming a royal court magician. I’d obviously been pleased that people thought I showed real promise, but now that I’d rejected their kindness and trampled on their hopes, I was in no position to try and make a comeback. It was sad to think that I couldn’t show my face again without acknowledging that, but I told myself there was no alternative.

“I wanna start over again from the very bottom,” I declared. “I’ll overtake you in no time, Luke. You’d better watch your back.”

“Are you sure about this?”

“I am. All our previous contests were just a warm-up. Now it’s time for the main event.”

Just for a moment, I spotted a hint of sadness in Luke’s expression, but it quickly gave way to an intrepid smirk.

“You say you want to be the best in the world, but I’ve been training to be Ardenfeld’s top magician,” he said.

“Yeah, your goal doesn’t sound so ambitious anymore, huh?”

“Well, as long as I’m Ardenfeld’s best, you’ll never be the best in the world. I still have no intention of lying down and letting you get the better of me.”

“Didn’t you hear me? Just you wait and see. I’ll wipe that smile off your face.”

Realizing that we sounded just the way we used to when we hated each other, the two of us burst into laughter.

The carriage came to a halt. We were back at the stage station where I had started this journey. But as I now looked ahead to a new life, another journey was just beginning. I would need to grapple with this new reality all on my own, with nobody else at my side.

Still, this is the choice I’ve made for myself.

With a touch of melancholy deep in my heart, I disembarked. I carefully watched where I was placing my feet to avoid falling over, and hopped gently onto the ground.

When I looked up, I saw that there were ten people standing around, all of them staring at me. Letitia and Captain Gawain were there. So were Misha and all the youngsters from the Seventh Unit.

“What are you all doing here...?” I breathed.

“We heard our captain and lieutenant were coming back, so we had to come and greet you,” Misha replied matter-of-factly. “Welcome back, Lieutenant Noelle.”

The looks on my subordinates’ faces were nothing like I’d imagined. Something gnawed at me in the pit of my stomach. They should’ve been telling me off; I certainly didn’t deserve this kind of reception.

“But I’m not...”

“Oh, that’s right,” Gawain said, his arms folded. “You aren’t the lieutenant anymore. But starting next week, you will be.”

“Um, what do you mean...?”

Letitia pressed her fingers to her temple in exasperation. “He, uh, claimed it was all on his orders. He said it was a top secret mission. You were to pretend you were quitting the Royal Court Magicians’ Division to avoid political complications. And when Gawain said he would take responsibility and resign too if you didn’t make it back, it caused chaos among the top brass.” She sighed deeply.

I could hardly believe my ears. “B-But why would you do that...?” I stammered.

“I have a duty to look out for younger colleagues,” Gawain said flatly.

“But I’m a grown-up, and I made a grown-up mistake.”

“Doing things by the book doesn’t always work. Just as you were prepared to give up your job to help your friend, I was prepared to do what I could to help you. Besides, if I’d done my job right, Luke would never have been in a position to get kidnapped in the middle of the capital.”

Gawain spoke as if this were all to be expected. I was more astonished than grateful. It was incredible that he was so willing to put himself in the firing line. Just as everybody said, he had a real soft spot for his comrades.

“Come on, Noelle,” he said, tossing something my way.

The object nearly fell to the ground, but I caught it just in time. In my hands was a gold pocket watch inlaid with adamantite, which gently reflected the evening light. It was the same one I’d previously carried as a court magician.

“Do you really want me back...?”

My eyes immediately found Iris. As she watched me with pursed lips, I pictured the way she’d looked on the day I left. Once again, she was frowning irritably.

“I can’t accept someone who runs away,” she said sharply.

Despite her barbed tone, I could tell that she wanted me around. Before I knew what I was doing, I rushed over to hug her.

“What are you doing?!” she shrieked. “You’re all sweaty!”

“Sorry, I just can’t help myself!”

“What are you talking about?!”

Despite her protestations, Iris and I held on to each other and revolved slowly in the cool evening air. A gentle breeze blew through my hair.

My eyes met Luke’s. He was still here. I couldn’t take that for granted. The slightest mistake or unfortunate incident could take him away from me. I had to treasure every moment. I wanted the time we had together to continue, even for just one more day. That was my selfish, little desire.

◆ ◆ ◆

“Sure enough, Noelle Springfield is taking a major new step as a magician.” Through an office window, the light of the setting sun shined upon master swordsman Eric Rashford. “Everything is moving forward just as you predicted, Your Highness.”

“You’re wrong. This is not what I predicted.” The light reflected off Crown Prince Michael Ardenfeld’s golden hair. “Noelle Springfield constantly surpasses my expectations. It’s truly a remarkable thing. After her latest exploits, the world’s strongest now have no choice but to sit up and take notice. There are many talented magicians besides her, but none with the potential she has.”

“Do you think the time is now?”

“Perhaps.” A smile formed on Prince Michael’s lips. “But then again, I didn’t think Gawain Stark would protect her and help her return to work as a court magician.”

“Yes, if things had gone according to plan, it would have been possible to recruit her for the King’s Guard without any need to interfere with the Royal Court Magicians’ Division.”

“It makes very little difference in the end. Provided we have her playing the role of queen on our side of the board, we may soon have the world in checkmate.” The crown prince paused for a moment. “The Royal Court Magicians’ Division can no longer refuse. Go ahead with the plan. We will make Noelle Springfield the chief magician of the King’s Guard.”

◇ ◇ ◇

In the Holy Nation of Clares, an old man was cleaning up a creek that led to the cathedral in the center of the capital. His body was thin and withered, and his hair was nearly all white.

Two months had passed since the little magician girl’s appearance.

The old man’s joints creaked. Even the slightest action caused his weary muscles to cry out in agony. However, even with his sluggish, dog-tired movements, he continued his daily cleaning. When he decided he was done for the day, he heaved a great sigh, wiped the sweat from his brow, and ascended the steps to the stone bridge.

He gasped. Standing on the bridge was an old woman. At a glance, he knew exactly who she was. His heart began to race.

But at the same time, it occurred to him that he might be mistaken. Surely this couldn’t simply happen. If anything, it seemed more sensible to imagine that he was making assumptions. After all, more than sixty years had gone by. No matter how much she’d meant to him in the beginning, he couldn’t reasonably expect to recognize her now. Perhaps he had just overlaid a nice memory on top of a random stranger’s face.

Not wanting to bother the woman, he decided not to say anything. As he walked slowly across the bridge, she passed by next to him. He held his breath for a moment.

The wind blew through their hair, and the old man stopped in his tracks. He smelled a familiar scent. He stared straight forward for a moment, but then he turned around.

“It’s been a while,” he said.

The woman’s eyes opened wide. At first, she could only silently nod.

“Yes, it has,” she said in the end.

Rain began to fall softly, but the two of them paid it no mind. As they locked eyes, they were momentarily transported back to their teenage years. The drizzle soon cast a gentle smell over the scene while their voices soon rang out. They couldn’t stop talking; they had so much to discuss.

The joyous sound of their reunion mingled with the pitter-patter of the falling rain.

To be continued in volume 7

Extra Chapter 1: More than Money

Two figures could be seen creeping around in the dead of night, their black cloaks swaying. They cautiously observed their surroundings, making absolutely sure that nobody was on their tail.

One had the appearance of a long-haired aristocrat, but that was only thanks to his use of a shape-shifting potion. Really, he was Gawain Stark, captain of the Third Unit of the Royal Court Magicians’ Division. The noblewoman beside him was secretly Noelle Springfield, lieutenant of the Seventh Unit.

Their dark forms slipped through a back alley and darted down a flight of stairs into the basement of an unmarked building.

The circumstances that led to this pair sneaking about under cover of darkness all began a little earlier...

◇ ◇ ◇

Captain Gawain was telling me he wanted my help for an exciting mission.

“Are you sure?” I asked doubtfully. “Is the underground casino in the Ninth District really that interesting?”

Apparently, this unlicensed casino had been popular among the court nobility lately. More and more of these establishments had sprung up around the country in recent years, with the distinctive selling point that they had no limits—that is to say, you could bet as much as you wanted.

“You can win or lose unbelievable sums in a second,” Gawain said. “According to the nobleman who let slip the location to me, there’s no other feeling like it.”

“I’m not sure if that’s a normal reaction or just a terminal symptom of gambling addiction...”

“In your report, you said you’d met a priestess in Clares who knew all kinds of things about the world of illicit gambling. I was hoping you could share some more details.”

“Sure, if you want.”

As I passed along what I’d heard from Liza, Gawain listened with intense focus, nodding throughout. “Fascinating. Truly fascinating,” he murmured.

He was obviously planning on going there to gamble.

“I’d better tell Letitia about this,” I said.

“Stop!” he blurted out, grabbing my shoulder. “Don’t breathe a word to Letitia. She can’t find out about this mission.”

I sighed. “You want to keep it a secret because you’re up to no good, right?”

“Wrong! Letitia goes overboard with things like this. If she gets involved, the casino will be wiped off the map within hours.”

“Isn’t that better for society?”

“Look, we all want the same thing. His Majesty the King assigned me to maintain public order, and I’m proud to carry out my duty. But is it wise to crack down so swiftly on a gambling establishment? What exactly is going on down there? I think it would be better in the long run to investigate more closely.”

“Sure, but that’s also a handy excuse to try some illegal gambling for yourself, isn’t it?”

“This is an undercover mission. I want to infiltrate the casino, identify the ringleader, and prevent further incidents in the future.” His eyes flashed with passion. “It’s very important.”

At first, I’d thought that Gawain simply wanted to gamble, but I was wrong. He didn’t simply want to gamble.

He really wanted to gamble.

“I think I should absolutely tell Letitia about this.”

“Please don’t. There’s no need to get her involved. I’ve already arranged for my Third Unit subordinates to raid the casino at midnight, but we have no intel on what it’s like inside. To avoid giving the leader a chance to flee, I need somebody to infiltrate, disguised as a patron.”

“And I take it that ‘somebody’ will be you?”

“Correct. But I want you to join me, Noelle.”

“Me?”

I hadn’t seen that coming. From when I’d joined the Royal Court Magicians’ Division until the founding of the Seventh Unit, I’d worked under Gawain in the Third Unit, so we’d been on missions together many times, but this was the first time he’d ever specifically requested to have me accompany him.

Why me, though?

“Why do you want me to go with you?” I asked.

“Because I thought you could be persuaded.”

“All right, I’m gonna go tell Letitia now.”

“No! I helped you out when you quit your job and ran off to Clares. Don’t you owe me a favor?”

He was right. I’d caused all sorts of problems when I’d submitted my resignation, but Gawain had claimed responsibility for the whole affair. The situation wasn’t totally resolved—as there were still people in the division who were unhappy about what I’d done—but I was genuinely indebted to Gawain for his support.

“And you want to play that card now?” I challenged him. “Don’t you wanna wait for something more important before cashing in your favor?”

Gawain didn’t take his eyes off me. “Nothing is more important than this mission.”

Oh boy, he’s cooked.

“You can keep pleading, but I just don’t think so...” I turned to leave.

“What if I tell you that in order to blend in with the other customers, I’ve arranged a suitably large pot of money?”

I stopped in my tracks, mulling it over. “Should you really be using your unit’s funds this way? That’s taxpayers’ money, you know.”

“Two hours after we enter, we’ll expose the people behind it and recover their assets. That means that we’ll recoup any money we lose.”

“So...we’ll disguise ourselves as high rollers, and you can guarantee that there’ll be no negative consequences?”

“Precisely.” Gawain grinned quietly.

“Oh, I shouldn’t...but I suppose I do owe you one... Fine.”

I wasn’t interested in experiencing the underground casino—not in the slightest!—but the night before the mission, I was somehow too excited to sleep. I ended up taking the day off from regular work so I could get a little bit of rest and prepare myself for the nighttime mission. I made an effort to do some good deeds, like picking up trash and scrubbing the bathroom. I went to the local Big Belly Cafeteria and wolfed down an extra-large breaded pork meal. Finally, I was ready for action.

I rendezvoused with Gawain, and once we’d gone over the plan, we drank shape-shifting potions and headed for the casino.

We descended the dusty steps into what felt like a cave. In a room dimly lit by candles, I saw a vivid red rug on the floor and a huge stag’s head mounted on the wall. A dealer and patrons surrounded a beautifully textured wooden table strewn with playing cards.

So this is what a casino is like...

My heart raced as I absorbed all the information laid out before me. Gawain appeared from behind me and took me to some kind of reception desk to buy betting chips.

“All right, I’ll go and play a few rounds of baccarat,” Gawain announced.

“Shouldn’t we be investigating?”

“We can’t afford to rush in and invite suspicion. We need to fully inhabit our roles as customers.”

Humming happily to himself, Gawain bounded over to the baccarat table. He was evidently considering nothing other than his own enjoyment. I knew he was likely to lose, but there was no point in trying to stop him, so I turned my attention toward a game for myself.

I decided to try out blackjack. I’d never played it before, but I quickly found myself putting together an unexpected winning streak. Just an hour later, my chips had increased eightyfold.

Huh?! H-How did this happen?

I couldn’t believe this. After a lifetime of being terrible at games of chance, this turnabout shocked me. I’d been in this no-limits casino for only an hour, and I’d already won the equivalent of sixty months’ salary. Five years’ earnings!

Wh-What’s going on?!

The sheer magnitude of my winnings was making my head spin. I saw a bead of sweat trickle down the dealer’s forehead, as if they’d realized they had made a terrible mistake.

I took a swig of my shape-shifting potion to maintain my disguise and walked toward the bathroom. Gawain was leaning against a nearby wall.

“So, uh, I’ve been winning like crazy,” I whispered, showing him the chips I’d amassed.

“Huh?! You’ve won that much?” His eyes were as wide as dinner plates. “I guess you applied your fabled power of observation.”

“Not really... It was pure luck.”

“Who would’ve thought we’d have the best luck of our lives tonight?” Gawain muttered.

“You too?”

“Yeah, I’ve had a winning streak as well. Nothing compared to you, but I’ve increased my money fifteen times over.”

“This is incredible.”

“I have a feeling they want us—or at least who they think we are—to pick up some easy wins. It’s a tried-and-true strategy: Let newcomers win and have a good time, and they’ll become regular customers. But I think something might have gone wrong along the way.”

“Right, it’s like they ended up letting us win too much.”

“The problem now is what to do about our winnings. An hour from now, my team will raid this place. The Royal Court Magicians’ Division will seize everything in here, and our chips will become worthless.”

“Isn’t there something we can do?!”

“If we cash in before the reinforcements appear, we might be able to pocket our profits. But that would be unacceptable behavior for people in our position.”

“I guess you’re right...”

Part of me thought it was a waste to let it all go after everything we’d done to win the money, even though I knew that was wrong—rather, because I knew it was wrong.

“We serve the kingdom,” Gawain said. “Our professional pride is worth more than money.”

I had been on the verge of succumbing to my most selfish impulses, but now I came to my senses. I remembered the importance of my duty to protect the well-being of the people of Ardenfeld.

I should’ve realized. Deep down, Gawain is one of the most conscientious people I know.

I took a deep breath to dispel any lingering doubts.

“You’re absolutely right,” I said at last. “We need to give up on the money.”

“Now, suppose we keep no more than triple—no, let’s limit ourselves to double—the amount we came in with...d’you think anybody would notice?”

“Captain Gawain?!”

“Come on! Look how much we’ve won!” he whispered frantically. “What kind of person wouldn’t want to keep at least some of it?!”

“I mean, I want to keep it too! But there’s no way we can do that!”

“How about we take one and a half times what we came in with? And to make things better, we’ll return what we borrowed with interest and only keep the little bit left over after that.”

“Y-Yeah, that’s not too much... That would be justifiable, right?”

“I think so. We’re working for the people, after all. And I did some good deeds earlier! I picked up some trash during my lunch break.”

“Oh, me too!”

What lowlifes we were, only trying to be good citizens when we had a gambling trip to make up for.

“Let’s cash in,” Gawain said.

“Aye, aye, Captain!”

As we approached the reception desk to cash in, somebody tapped me on the shoulder. I turned to see another pair of aristocrats.

“What are you doing here?” one of them asked. There was something instantly familiar about his voice that rocked me to the core.

“L-Luke...?” I stammered.

His eyes opened wide. He nodded quietly.

And if that’s Luke, then...

I nervously turned my gaze to the person standing beside him. She was also disguised with a shape-shifting potion, but I would’ve recognized that dignified posture anywhere. After all, I’d spent such a long time admiring her.

“What’s going on here, Captain?” Letitia demanded, as cool as always.

The expression on Gawain’s face at that moment was unforgettable. He looked like he was witnessing the end of the world. His cheeks spasmed, and the skin around his eyes tightened. Every muscle began to quiver. His eyes, bulging out of their sockets, stared blankly into space.

He obviously couldn’t believe his own eyes. He didn’t want to accept what was happening.

“It’s all over...” he mumbled incoherently, as if a lifelong dream had just been crushed.

“I expect to hear the details later,” Letitia said.

With Luke and Letitia joining us, the undercover mission was quickly wrapped up. We exposed the casino, and soon, raids were carried out on other dens under the ringleader’s control.

“Luke told me that you were up to something.” Letitia stopped and shook her head. “Sorry, I should say Captain Luke.”

“I think you can drop the title. You have been a court magician for longer than him.”

Letitia’s expression remained unchanged. “If we don’t uphold standards of respect, it sets a bad precedent for others.”

“Sure. Anyway, Luke’s pretty on the ball, huh? He figured out what Gawain was up to even though they aren’t in the same unit anymore!”

“He said he saw Captain Gawain speak to you about it.”

“Ah.”

We’d been caught in the act. Sure enough, Gawain had met with me in a hallway that was visible from Luke’s office. Even so, hearing that this happened because Luke had been watching me made my heart begin to race.

Ugh, that boy loves me too much!

Desperately hoping that Letitia hadn’t noticed my cheeks turning red, I tried my best to act casual. “But why d’you think Gawain decided to ask me to join him?”

“Because you can take care of yourself. On top of that, he could count on Luke showing up to provide support if anything were to go wrong. And if Luke passed the information on to me—as he did on this occasion—the chances of this operation’s success would increase, reducing the likelihood that Captain Gawain’s subordinates would be exposed to danger.”

“Wow, the captain is such a nice guy!”

“However, I don’t think that was his main motivation for choosing you. This is just a hunch, but I believe he simply wanted to work with you and Luke again. He’s seemed a little down since you and Luke left the Third Unit. It was even worse when Luke went missing and you quit the Royal Court Magicians’ Division entirely.” Letitia paused. “I’m glad we all got to work together again. I believe the captain shares my feelings on this matter as well.”

I had a sudden urge to give her a hug. I tried to hold myself back, but I couldn’t. Her soft hair and clothes brushed against my skin as I wrapped my arms around her.

Man, Letitia and Gawain are the best! I thought. Getting to spend time with them is way better than gambling could ever be.

Extra Chapter 2: The Special Study Program

Luke wasn’t his usual self after we got back to Ardenfeld. In the past, he’d always seemed weirdly perfect, devoid of weakness. He’d often come across as strained and unyielding, but since our return, he’d become oddly lax.

I assumed this was due to his memory loss, which was the result of the drug administered to him when he was in the Holy Nation of Clares, but I couldn’t just leave Luke hanging. I decided to offer him a special study program.

“You’ve always struggled with this kind of magic,” I remarked during one of our sessions.

“I have?”

“See? You can’t even remember that you found it hard. We’d better drill it into your head so that you don’t get caught short when it really matters.”

It was our second day off since our return to Ardenfeld, and I’d brought Luke to a nearby eatery to study magic.

“I told you, it’s fine,” he insisted. “I don’t have it mastered, but I still have my instincts to get me by.”

“But you could really mess up if you aren’t prepared. You might get into serious danger again!”

I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t teach him what I could, while I could. There’d be no point in these drills after something bad happened. Then again, maybe I was also being a little overcautious because it was so soon after that harrowing experience in Clares.

“This part is really important!” I snapped. “This is essential! Commit it to memory!”

“I don’t get it, Professor.”

“Yes, you do! Don’t be silly. See, you can do this. I know you can.”

Luke had always been so competitive before, insisting he could do things that he couldn’t, but here he was, claiming he couldn’t do things I knew he could do. It was as if the memory loss had even affected his personality.

On the other hand, it energized me to see him acknowledging his own weaknesses and following my instructions. I’d always wanted to turn the tables on him, and now I had the prodigy I’d been so determined to defeat in the palm of my hand.

This is it! A flawless victory!

But as I basked in the glory of reducing my rival to a pupil, I desperately wished him to be his old self. What mattered above all else was that he was here with me. That brought me far more happiness than any petty feelings of triumph.

◇ ◇ ◇

Luke Waldstein’s typically tense aura had softened up, primarily due to one reason.

Noelle is being so attentive to me!

Ever since the pair’s return from the Holy Nation of Clares, Noelle’s concern for Luke’s well-being had been plain as day. She’d made all sorts of preparations and was providing constant support to prevent his memory loss from having a negative impact on his work.

She had never gone to such lengths for him before. Indeed, Luke had always been so put together that he had very little experience of anybody fussing over him. He could imagine nothing better than receiving that kind of care and attention from the object of his affections, of all people.

Wanting to keep on monopolizing Noelle’s attention, Luke started pulling tricks like feigning ignorance about things he knew perfectly well.

“Again? You’re being ridiculous!” Noelle exclaimed irritably before explaining the lesson again.

Luke couldn’t get enough of her reactions. This can go on forever as far as I’m concerned, he found himself thinking. For Noelle’s sake as much as anything else, he intended to return to his usual standards as quickly as he could, but he was full of admiration for the way that she had organized her own schedule to enthusiastically take up the role of his tutor.

Ah, I love how thoughtful she can be...

As he gazed at her, she pouted back at him. “What are you smiling about? You look like you suddenly thought of something good.”

“Correct. Do you know what it is?”

“You were thinking, ‘Stew for dinner tonight!’”

“Yeah, you sure love your mother’s stew.”

“Wait, how did you know I’m thinking about eating my mom’s stew?!”

Noelle staggered backward in disbelief, but Luke thought that her thoughts would’ve been equally obvious to anybody.

“Easy. You’re a simple person,” he said.

“Excuse me? I’m very complex! Five hundred years from now, scholars will continue to puzzle over my deep intricacies.”

“You always have two things on your mind: magic and food.”

“I-I mean, yeah, but...” Noelle scowled. “Well, what are you thinking about?”

“Would you like to know?”

“I bet it’s something super fancy. Go on, tell me.”

“I was thinking about how thoughtful you are, how you’re doing all this for my sake, and how I love that about you.”

Noelle fell silent, as if frozen in time. She didn’t stir; she didn’t even blink.

Suddenly, she pointedly avoided Luke’s gaze. “Shut up. My heart’s gonna give out.”

“Did I make you blush?”

“Shut up! I forbid you from embarrassing me like this!”

Luke couldn’t help smiling to himself as he saw Noelle’s face turning red. He wanted to keep on teasing her.

Maybe I can take my time relearning magic. I just want this to last a bit longer.

I love you. You’re all I need.

But although he continued to embarrass her, Luke kept his deepest feelings close to his chest.

Afterword

This morning, I woke up from a dream where I was working in a yakiniku restaurant. It was a nightmare.

Why is that a nightmare? you might ask. Well, that’s because when I got to the kitchen, I couldn’t do anything right. I tried as hard as I could, but I was so much slower than everybody else. I made an effort to hurry up, but then I did a bad job and got scolded. I still remember the cold look on my boss’s face.

The dream was based on my first job, working part-time at a yakiniku place right after I started college. Everything I’ve said about it really happened. I’ve never felt so helpless before or since. I tried everything I could think of to make things better, but even being an average employee seemed out of reach. I couldn’t help but wonder how other people found this work so easy.

I have no idea how many people can relate to this experience, but if you can, I want you to know that there’s nothing wrong with you. Fish are best suited to life in the water. Monkeys are best suited to life in the trees. There’s a place out there for you, and that’s a fact.

Having said that, I know that you can’t always escape your troubles. It isn’t easy to find where you belong when it takes so much energy and courage to find it.

But now, I can see that my experience helped me create Noelle. She works quickly, and as somebody who could never do that, I always longed for that ability.

While I’m talking about this, I want to share another experience that influenced Noelle’s character. Fresh out of university, I got a sales job for a building materials manufacturer. Something the vice president said left a lasting impression on me: “Nobody builds fences around their land quite like Japanese people.” Our company sold the materials for demarcating people’s territory, and I liked that.

I remember one day when the branch manager said during a meeting that he was thinking about encouraging more women to work in the sales division. At that time, the industry was quite old-fashioned. Everybody in sales was male. In that context, I was impressed that a man in his sixties was making such a suggestion.

But everybody over the age of forty laughed. It wasn’t that they were mocking the branch manager; it was more like they just couldn’t see how it would work.

I remember that their reaction bothered me. I don’t think those guys were bad people. They did their jobs well and taught me a lot. I still remember many of the things they told me. But all the while, there was a culture of looking down on anything that didn’t quite align with the habits they’d been accustomed to for so long. It’s a phenomenon that you can see in a lot of situations, like classes or meetings, and I think it’s disgusting.

I feel like Noelle, a girl who does things her own way but carries out her job with aplomb, emerged from my desire to push back on that way of thinking.

And speaking of bad vibes, now I’m remembering the horrible time I had when I was a first-year college student and nobody in my club liked me... *barf*

Anyway, maybe some of you understand what it’s like to struggle with something you can’t do well or to feel left out of a group. But there’s nothing wrong with you. You just aren’t in a place that suits you. Don’t give up on yourself. After all, your very existence is a precious thing, the end result of four billion years of life on Earth. Like all your ancestors who have lived and died before you, the most important thing you can do is to keep on living. You are irreplaceable.

Perhaps the reason I write is because I wanted to convey that idea—and to get myself to believe it too.

One more thing: The wind in my hair as I rode my bike home from the terrible yakiniku job late at night was the best feeling in the world. What I mean by that is there are things that only come about because of your negative experiences.

Everybody reading this exists due to a series of miracles. I hope that you can all be free from problems like peer pressure and self-denial, and that you can live your lives with happiness and positivity. My wish is for this novel, full of hopes for human connection but written by somebody who overthinks everything and finds actual interpersonal relationships to be a hassle, to bring you some of that happiness.

Shusui Hazuki

Looking Back on Previous Afterwords on This Day in February and Freaking Out over How Much I’ve Revealed