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Chapter 7
“Get out of the way!”
At a knight’s shout, Rirenzo looked up.
“…!”
A massive ball of fire was flying straight toward him.
Grinding his teeth, Rirenzo pulled the sword buried deep inside the monster’s body and threw himself to the side.
Boom!
A deafening explosion shook the ground, leaving a deep crater where he had been standing only a moment before.
As Rirenzo sat there in a daze, unable to get back up right away, the captain of the Imperial Knights, Karis, rushed over.
“Your Highness! Are you alright?!”
Helping Rirenzo to his feet, Karis exploded with anger.
“That crazy Magic Tower Master has completely lost it! He’s throwing spells everywhere without even looking!”
“I didn’t die, so it’s fine. Stop making such a fuss.”
A gentle smile appeared on Rirenzo’s otherwise stern face.
Karis had no intention of accepting the joke.
“You can joke at a time like this? Seriously, what is wrong with the Tower Master today? It’s like he’s protesting because we forced him to come. Your Highness, please go talk to him. If this keeps up, he’ll kill one of our own before any monsters do!”
At those words, Rirenzo looked toward the hill where Roakin stood.
Even to him, Magic Tower Master Roakin Arzen seemed strange today.
Normally, Roakin was someone who pursued efficiency above all else.
He read the flow of battle instantly and used his power at exactly the right time to turn the tide.
But today, he couldn’t seem to focus.
His attacks were completely random, and he unleashed excessive, merciless spells even on weak, low-level monsters.
Just moments ago, Rirenzo himself had almost been caught in the blast.
…What’s wrong with him?
Watching Roakin standing absentmindedly like someone whose soul had left his body, and the swamp below him that had become a pit of hellfire, worry appeared on Rirenzo’s face.
“Even I have to admit… something is definitely wrong. I’ll go speak with him. Karis, finish things here.”
“Understood.”
After patting his loyal knight on the shoulder, Rirenzo headed toward his friend, the magician who was acting unusually strange today.
* * *
“I’ve been watching you. You haven’t been paying attention to the battle at all. Is something bothering you?”
“Not really.”
Roakin wasn’t in the mood for meaningless small talk.
He answered shortly and looked ahead again.
As his thoughts returned to reality, the scene beneath his feet finally came into focus.
The ground was soaked in sticky, dark-red blood.
The valley had become a wasteland where not even weeds remained.
Black smoke rose as monster corpses burned.
The stench of monster blood filled the air.
The foul, choking smell made Roakin frown.
“Are you sure nothing’s wrong? Then are you saying that reckless fire bombardment earlier was done while you were in your right mind?”
“It ended the battle faster, didn’t it?”
“It did, but that kind of dangerous fighting is unacceptable. In an extermination mission, protecting our soldiers is even more important than killing monsters.”
“So how long are you planning to drag this out?”
“If everything goes according to schedule, another three or four days.”
“That’s too long.”
Roakin tilted his head back, trying to suppress his irritation.
His messy black hair fluttered in the sparse breeze.
…Damn that contract.
After the peace negotiations ended the war between humans and mages, the Magic Tower, headquarters of the mage race, came under the Empire’s authority.
The Magic Tower wanted broad autonomy, and the Empire accepted those demands in exchange for the Tower’s promise to help eliminate monsters and protect humanity.
The regular investigation of the Valdeas Mountains was an important imperial mission.
Leaving without permission would result in punishment.
Of course, Roakin wasn’t staying because he feared disciplinary action.
He had no idea when Serphine Mirabel might disappear, and he couldn’t afford to be tied down by annoying duties.
If the worst happened and he ended up imprisoned in Alcasa’s underground prison for several days…
…he might just destroy the entire agreement with the Imperial Family and walk out.
“Do you have some urgent business?”
“And if I do? You’re not going to let me leave anyway, so why keep asking?”
“I knew it.”
Seeing Roakin radiating dissatisfaction, Rirenzo fell into thought.
He had realized Roakin was fighting so recklessly because he wanted to finish the mission as quickly as possible and return.
Even as Crown Prince, he couldn’t simply dismiss the Tower Master, the strongest member of the expedition.
But if things continued like this, Karis was probably right.
Instead of monsters, one of the knights might end up dead.
“Can you be back by tomorrow morning?”
Today’s operation was practically over anyway.
Looking down at the soldiers setting up tents for the night, Rirenzo continued,
“As long as you’re standing right here by tomorrow morning… then officially, I won’t know anything about it.”
The blur in Roakin’s eyes disappeared.
His gaze became sharp.
“Are you serious?”
“As the Crown Prince of the Empire, how could I lie?”
“I’ll never call you weak again.”
“…What an honor.”
Rirenzo answered awkwardly.
But before he even finished speaking, Roakin had already disappeared into the distance.
Rirenzo watched his friend’s back suspiciously.
Roakin Arzen.
A blessed mage born with overwhelming magical power.
By the time he was barely grown, no one could rival him.
Immediately after graduating from the Academy, he was appointed Master of the Magic Tower.
He had been only eighteen years old.
Even in the Demon Realm, where absolute strength ruled everything, it was an unprecedented achievement.
People even praised him as the reincarnation of the legendary mage Igfrid Arzen.
Yet despite spending his entire life at the very top without facing real hardship, Roakin had always looked bored.
He was indifferent to everything, as if nothing in the world interested him.
…What’s gotten into him?
Seeing his friend so full of motivation for the first time left Rirenzo deeply puzzled.
Unaware of his thoughts, Roakin disappeared into the darkness far beyond the camp.
* * *
As soon as he arrived at the Magic Tower, Roakin immediately went looking for Serphine.
Instead, he found an empty secretary’s office.
Her belongings were gone, and the once-lived-in room was now spotless.
“…Already?”
It felt as though someone had struck him on the back of the head.
He even searched the storage room in the corner of the office.
Serphine wasn’t there.
Roakin immediately went downstairs and burst into Elisher’s room.
“Elisher. Where’s Serphine?”
Elisher, who had been completely absorbed in tinkering with something, looked up in disbelief.
“Huh? Master? Why are you here? Weren’t you supposed to be in Valdeas?”
“That can wait. Where’s Serphine Mirabel?”
“Why are you asking me? Shouldn’t she be in her room?”
“She isn’t. That’s why I’m asking.”
“I… don’t know…”
Expecting Elisher Hilbris to know had been his mistake from the beginning.
Roakin left Elisher’s room and searched the Magic Tower from top to bottom.
Every place Serphine might possibly be.
If anyone discovered that he had abandoned his post, it would become a serious problem.
But Roakin didn’t have the time to care about that now.
“Lady Serphine? I haven’t seen her.”
“Maybe she went home?”
Serphine had no family.
The Magic Tower was the only home she had.
If they didn’t even know something that basic, there was nothing else worth asking.
“…Forget it.”
Roakin gave up questioning the people of the Magic Tower.
They’re all completely useless.
Not just Elisher.
Not a single person in the Magic Tower knew where Serphine had gone.
They didn’t even realize she had disappeared.
Even the usual troublemakers who constantly clung to her were just as clueless.
Returning to his room empty-handed, Roakin collapsed into his chair.
As he rubbed his face wearily—
His eyes caught something neatly placed on the desk.
A letter?
Instinctively knowing it was from Serphine, he hurriedly opened it.
I’m taking a vacation for a while. Please don’t look for me.
— Serphine
“A vacation?”
Where?
Why?
Why would she suddenly go on vacation?
Just as panic began to overwhelm Roakin, someone finally offered him a lifeline.
“Meow.”
Lucifer approached him with graceful, elegant steps.
Roakin immediately picked the black cat up.
“Lucifer. Do you know where Serphine Mirabel went?”
“Meooow.”
As if it understood his words, Lucifer meowed.
Then its bright golden eyes, shining like lanterns in the middle of its jet-black fur, looked directly at Roakin.
Through the cat’s mysterious gaze, the image of a house hidden among dense trees flowed into his mind.
“The Laberia Forest?”
Lucifer quietly closed its eyes and struggled to be put down.
As if saying its job was finished.
“Good boy.”
So that was why muddy paw prints had been scattered all over the room.
It must have followed Serphine.
The only useful thing in the entire Magic Tower wasn’t any of those absent-minded mages.
It was a single cat.
After setting the struggling Lucifer down, Roakin filled its food bowl to the brim.
But Lucifer merely nudged the bowl with its paw and proudly turned its head away.
“Even if you’re upset, eat something. I’ll bring Serphine back.”
Lucifer flopped weakly onto its cushion and smacked its tail against the floor several times, telling him to hurry up.
Sometimes it feels like that cat belongs to her more than to me.
He couldn’t tell who its real master was anymore.
Its attitude toward him grew worse every day.
Still, considering today’s achievement, Roakin decided to overlook it this once.
Summoning a magic circle, he pictured the Laberia Forest in his mind.
The place where Serphine Mirabel was waiting.
* * *
A house appeared among the thick forest trees.
Roakin examined the outside of the house with clear dissatisfaction.
“So… you really disappeared again.”
A helpless laugh escaped him.
Though he appeared calm, his hurried footsteps betrayed the impatience he couldn’t hide as he walked toward Serphine’s house.
