Chapter 240 |
The Archmage looked at the Inquisitor, who was silently releasing immense amounts of Divine Power, her lips sealed shut like a clamshell. The young woman’s eyes, once as green and vibrant as fresh leaves, now held no vitality or light.
The same went for her mouth, which once formed such bright smiles. As days passed, the one who used to smile so brightly and freely had grown stiff, just as she’d been when she first left the Temple.
It was all because of a single person’s absence.
“Miss Wizard.”
But these changes hadn’t occurred to just one person. There was another who’d also been deeply shaken by that someone’s absence.
“The lord has sent for you.”
Watching Deathbringer, who looked as dry and cold as a winter wind, the Archmage took a moment to choose her next words carefully. The incredibly dark shadows under the young man’s eyes were hard to miss, even at a glance. They were doubtless the result of suffering countless sleepless nights.
His face, which had grown gaunt, and cheeks, which had adopted an ashen tinge, were hidden beneath the shade of his hood as he pretended to be fine.
“…I see. Did he mention what it’s about?”
So the Archmage didn’t bother mentioning it and smoothly changed the subject. Deathbringer shook his head.
“I see. I’ll hear it myself, then. Is the meeting place over there?”
“Yes.”
With her primary purpose of checking on the Inquisitor’s condition now complete and someone waiting for her, she had no reason not to go back. Besides, the meeting was also taking place where she worked.
So the Archmage nodded obediently and turned to leave. Deathbringer followed behind her, seemingly having only come here to deliver that message. However, the direction he went next was different.
“…Is Berserk there as well?”
If he was heading that way, he was probably going to help reinforce the shelters. Even though the Inquisitor was doing her absolute best, no one knew how long this would last.
“I don’t know.”
“…I see. Don’t push yourself too hard.”
However, if asked whether what they were doing was right, the Archmage would find it difficult to agree. While it was true that everyone here was struggling and had no time to relax, there was something absolutely wrong with rejecting even the bare essentials like eating and resting just to keep working.
Frankly, she wanted to tell them outright that this wasn’t devotion but self-abuse, not service but self-destruction. But she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
“It seems your influence runs deeper than I thought…”
No, even if she told them those things, would they even listen?
The Archmage recalled how strongly they’d reacted when she’d brought up something similar—either leaving the room or showing harsh self-reproach.
They wouldn’t stop.
Not until they could forgive themselves first.
“Madam Archmage.”
“Ah, I heard the lord was looking for me. Did something happen?”
If there was one thing she was grateful for, it was that Berserk, unlike those two, hadn’t resorted to these extreme acts of self-harm. Then again, judging by her state these days, she didn’t appear to be doing well either.
But in Berserk’s case, her behavior didn’t seem to stem solely from the Demon Knight’s departure.
In other words, no one really knew why she was like that. And since no one knew the cause, how could she possibly find a solution?
“That’s…”
How did they all end up so consumed by unsolvable problems?
While the Archmage used half of her brain to mull over the party’s state, she used the other half to focus on the words of the lord’s messenger.
It wasn’t that arduous a task. If everything about her party’s situation hadn’t been so incredibly difficult, that is.
“An emissary role, huh…”
The lord’s request was certainly a tough one. However, setting aside the fact that the Mountain Lord could only communicate using a handful of characters used in the Great Forest, that wasn’t even the hardest part about it.
Instead, the Archmage turned to look to where the Mountain Lord was. Thanks to the golden barrier, they couldn’t feel anything of the storm, but the moment you stepped outside it, you’d feel just how strong nature’s fury could be.
“Understood. Tell the lord I accept.”
It was rather daunting to think of braving such weather to reach the lord’s castle where the Mountain Lord was… but considering how many lives were at stake here, she had no choice but to go.
She accepted the lord’s request.
“Would it be best to leave immediately?”
“His Lordship didn’t give any specific instructions, but we would appreciate it if you could.”
“Understood. I’ll depart right away.”
“I’ll bring the escort here.”
“Thank you.”
It would likely be about ten minutes until the escort was brought here, so the Archmage estimated how much time she had to prepare before heading to a nearby tent, opening its entrance flap.
Inside, someone shackled at the ankles with something else occupying his hands raised his head.
Despite him being under suspicion of heresy, they couldn’t afford to leave a great sage idle in their current situation. And so, placed under severe restraints, Surging Azure Lake was still lending them his strength.
Incidentally, this was also where the Archmage worked. Calling her a watcher… would be a bit excessive. The decision to place two great sages together was probably just for efficiency’s sake.
Risk of collusion? Unfortunately, the current situation wasn’t stable enough for anyone to consider such things.
“They say if kindness is given too often, people start thinking it’s a right. Doesn’t that describe this situation perfectly?”
“So you were listening?”
“If you don’t want to be overheard, maybe you shouldn’t have those conversations right outside my tent.”
He wasn’t wrong. The Archmage shrugged.
“It’s shameless, but what other choice do we have?”
As the topic shifted back, Surging Azure Lake stopped his fingers.
“Yes. There’s no other choice. There’s nothing that can be done about it. This world never gives anyone a choice. He wasn’t given a choice, either.”
His eyes clouded over with regret for something unseen.
“I see. Then, let’s stop talking about this. It’ll just leave a bitter taste in our mouths.”
Archmage couldn’t help furrowing her brows slightly at his expression and subtle wording. She quickly took out an object that Surging Azure Lake had given her before he got arrested from her coat.
Click. The device activated, absorbing all sound within its range and trapping their voices within the tent. Now, even the guards deployed by the Temple standing right outside wouldn’t hear their conversation.
None of the wizards had reported the existence of this device to the Temple, which made this trick possible.
“More importantly, by ‘him,’ do you mean the Demon Knight?”
The Archmage kept her mouth shut as she awaited his answer. The only one who could say anything about the Demon Knight’s choice was Surging Azure Lake.
Well, he’d been the one who’d maintained absolute silence on that subject ever since the Demon Knight left, though.
“Who knows?”
“Can’t even tell a friend?”
More than that, “he wasn’t given a choice”?
The Archmage chewed over the slight clue Azure Lake had finally given her. It wasn’t really that shocking.
To begin with, she’d never believed the Demon Knight had left this place without a reason. How could she, when Surging Azure Lake, of all people, had helped him escape—he denied it, of course, but honestly, there was no way he’d committed such a stupid mistake.
“I trust the Demon Knight. And I trust your choice as well.”
That’s right. If the Demon Knight really had escaped after being tempted by the Demon, just as the Temple accused—or even worse, had been consumed by it—how couldn’t Azure Lake have noticed? And if he had, there was no way in hell he would’ve let the Demon Knight escape so easily, right?
So she sincerely believed he’d assisted the Demon Knight’s escape of his own volition, and the Archmage was more than willing to respect that because they both were people worth trusting.
“But trust aside, I just want to know. I want to understand why he did this.”
However, trusting someone and wanting to understand them were two desires that could coexist. You could believe in someone without knowing everything about them, but to understand someone, you had to know them first.
Also, the Archmage was someone who badly wanted to understand the Demon Knight. She’d missed so many chances to do so, and now she felt like this was her last chance to grasp even a single piece of the puzzle. That’s all this was.
“Will you still remain silent?”
“…”
But if even this was denied to her.
“…I see.”
She’d then have no other choice but to humbly accept it.
After all, it was her fault for missing her opportunity.
“…If the sacrifice of one innocent person could bring peace to everyone else, would you believe that sacrifice is just?”
“…?”
“If we offered up something so common yet infinitely precious as a sacrifice so that only the foolish and ignorant might survive, is that truly wise?”
For the first time, the man who’d remained silent for so long finally gave a hint. For the first time, he left a clue as to why he’d had no choice but to help the Demon Knight.
“…Is this a moral issue?”
She already knew Azure Lake was more sentimental than he let on. However, he certainly wasn’t the type of man who’d risk everything just because he felt pity for one person…
“This isn’t about morals. It’s about rights.”
“…?”
However, before she could even fully process what he meant, Azure Lake shook his head.
“He chose not to endure any longer, and I chose to respect his decision. I had no right to stop him. That’s all.”
His words were rather vague. He chose not to endure any longer? The Demon Knight?
…The one who’d always treated himself as a Demon and quietly resigned himself to death?
“Tell me a little more. What was it he refused to endure? What in the world did he learn that he was willing to resort to something he usually would’ve never done? He, he of all people…”
The sound of armored boots reached the Shaggi’s ears. Without a doubt, they were the footsteps of soldiers coming to escort her. There was no more time.
“I can’t tell you.”
“Azure Lake.”
“He didn’t permit it.”
There was no more time left.
“We’ll talk again later.”
The Archmage turned off the sound-canceling tool, promising to come back later. Of course, she and Surging Azure Lake both knew there would be no next time.
She hurriedly gathered her things.
“If you have the time, please check on my grandson. I have no idea how he’s doing.”
Just as she was about to don her robe and step outside, Azure Lake spoke up again. The Archmage narrowed her eyes slightly.
“…You haven’t heard anything?”
“I can’t leave this place. And that brat can’t enter this place either.”
Was this a hint or not?
The Archmage racked her brain as quickly as she could but simply nodded outwardly.
“Okay. I’ll look for him on my way back.”
Beyond the open tent flap, the soldiers assigned to escort her stood waiting.
* * *
* * *
Even if you wanted to help people with your inventions, technology lost half its meaning without materials and tools.
And so, Meister, an inventor, scientist, engineer, and architect, did the only thing he could still do.
“What are you doing?”
“Looking for someone.”
He was doing something completely different.
“You’re still searching?”
“Yeah.”
Surprisingly, it wasn’t a complete waste of his talents. After all, once he’d finished the layout of the refugee camp and drainage routes, there wasn’t much left for him to do. It wasn’t like he was the only one capable of planning such things.
The same applied to his work as a wizard and inventor. As previously mentioned, without materials, tools, or time, there wasn’t much he could do. At best, he could build water purifiers using pumps salvaged from the city and install stoves throughout the camp to reduce fire hazards.
Even his battery prototype was useless because it needed to be dropped from a certain height to recharge, and there weren’t any Arcane tools designed to run on it in the first place. He didn’t have any time to fix any of these problems either.
What else was there to do but manual labor?
So Meister kept looking around, his fingers still itching for a cigarette. The tent village had grown rather chaotic, mostly due to the arrival of additional reinforcements and the need to move the tents in the lowlands as a precaution. Unfortunately, he’d yet to find the person he was looking for. Ever since the Demon Knight escaped, he’d searched for that person daily.
Whether it was coincidence or intentional, finding that person was impossibly hard.
“Just who are you looking for?”
“An adventurer who arrived with the reinforcements a few days ago.”
But he couldn’t just give up. Meister was the type who wouldn’t stop until he got the answers he wanted.
“An adventurer? Why?”
“I have something to tell them.”
Most weren’t aware of it, but Meister knew the Demon Knight had received something before he disappeared.
And the very same Demon Knight who’d seemed resigned and unwilling to protest his execution, who’d even refused to argue when Meister tried talking sense into him, had suddenly escaped the very same day he got said thing.
It was just too perfect to be a mere coincidence.
“Erm, is this… somehow connected to what you’re charged with?”
“You’re not wrong to assume that, but also, shut up. If that were the reason, would I be looking around so openly? I’m looking for them because they did an absolute shit job on what I made them do, so I wanted to call them out on it.”
“Ah…”
But if that really was what changed the Demon Knight’s mind, just what could’ve been written in that stack of paper?
Meister had always seen the Demon Knight as someone who wasn’t so easily shaken.
“Wouldn’t it be easier to just go through the guild, then?”
“Look at the state of the guild right now. It’ll be faster to look for that guy myself than wait for them to do their job.”
“Well, you’re right about that.”
That’s exactly why he was searching for that guy now. He couldn’t ease this restlessness within him before he found out what had pushed that stubborn bastard to escape.
It’s possible the adventurer didn’t even know what had been delivered or could hide behind some sort of confidentiality clause, but he had to try at the very least.
“If that’s all it is, then fine… But still, be careful. If the Temple catches wind of this, they might accuse you of collusion. You haven’t even fully cleared yourself of all charges yet.”
However, his companion tried to stop him. The reason was that Meister was still under suspicion of heresy—to the point where he wasn’t even allowed to visit his own grandfather.
Of course, Meister just scoffed at that advice.
“What’s the big deal? You really think I’d go down over a baseless mess of claims and opinions with no proof to support them?”
It was true that he’d met the Demon Knight the night of his escape. The Temple might not know it, but he’d argued with him, encouraging him to protest the verdict, and secretly passed him an item.
However, calling him a heretic over that was beyond idiotic. If he were truly a heretic—not that he ever would be—he wouldn’t have done something so obviously suspicious to begin with.
“Hmm, ah. Now that I think about it, maybe I should be careful. Arguing with those brain-dead imbeciles who apparently have decorative ornaments on their shoulders instead of heads would be seriously annoying.”
“No, that’s not really what I meant…”
He did have some items prepared just in case, but they were a perfect solution. The more he thought about it, the more he realized those Temple guys would never listen, no matter how much he argued. Those idiotic fanatics believed that faith was the answer to everything.
So, even talking to one of them would be a massive waste of time, and it would feel like he was losing brain cells from being exposed to such blatant idiocy.
“I’ll be careful.”
“Good…”
For one reason or another, Meister finally decided to accept the other person’s advice. Said companion looked pretty exhausted but didn’t argue further. They just took this as a win and shut up.
“…! Found him!”
“Oh.”
Meister finally spotted the adventurer from that night. Gray ponytail and a plain face. There was no doubt about it.
“Hey, Adventu—!”
But before Meister could call out, someone else grabbed the adventurer first. A hood pulled over their face, green ears peeking out from beneath them. It was that guy whose name he didn’t know but whom he’d once been seconds away from dying together with.
Why the hell is that guy here…?”
Why was Green Ears looking for that adventurer as well? Why was he grabbing him by the collar?
Meister’s mind quickly searched through any possible connection. However, his legs were already moving toward them. Whatever the reason, he wasn’t about to lose track of that guy he’d finally found.
“There you are.”
“…What, the Temple? Why again?”
However, it seemed more than just Meister and Green Ears were looking for that adventurer—though, considering he’d spoken to Green Ears first, maybe he was the real target.
Before Meister could even properly explain that he had business with that adventurer, an ash-haired Inquisitor he’d never seen before barged onto the scene.
And just like that, four people connected only by coincidence now stood facing each other.
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