the terrible illusion repeated constantly and wore her down. it became an ominous prophecy, breaking her will and wearing her spirit. it was a demonic power.
âif you listen to me carefully, everything will be fine. only fun will follow.â
looking at his fingertips, seira thought out loud, âwhat kind of a scoundrel is the high priest?â
ânow, what do you say?â
âoh⦠sorry. i didnât mean to speak out loud. iâm only talking to myself, so pretend you didnât hear anything.â
she spoke with her eyes closed, her face so innocent and lovely that tesser lost his words.
of course, for a short while, his expression immediately stiffened as he shouted in a cold voice, âit is foolish to insist on suffering!â
at the same time, the signs that surrounded them without stopping suddenly rose from the shadows and attacked. his almost guardian-level magic swirled around her.
he was a difficult opponent to face even if she held a sword against him.
however, the smile on seiraâs face wasnât disturbed at all.
âiâm sorry, but iâm not interested in fighting when i donât make money.â
bang!
the wall she had been holding all along burst open. no, it wasnât just the wallsâ¦
kurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
the whole building shook as if there was an earthquake.
âinstead, i am very interested in fucking up the people who messed with me.â
âno! stop it!â
tesser reached out to her, but he was already too late. her body passed through the open wall by hitting the stairs with all her might.
as seira assumed, she mistakenly climbed a tower and wasnât underground anymore. she seemed to have climbed quite high, and she jumped from about five stories. even when she was falling, seira only looked at the building she destroyed with her powers.
âthe people who were praying for fertility wouldnât be buried, right?â
if she had come to her senses when calrad and mel clashed, she wouldnât be in any trouble. of course, she didnât have to worry about the two men. werenât they monsters that would still be fine after being buried under a 10-story pile of stones?
âiâd be glad if they donât track me down.â
seira counted down, expanding her senses.
â5, 4, 3, 2â¦â
just before landing, it was time for her to protect her body by raising her powers. the body that shouldâve been thrown to the floor suddenly settled into someoneâs arms. his arm strength was so strong that he was able to support her fall. far from shaking, he was firm like a centuries-old tree.
seira wasnât surprised by his sudden appearance. she already noticed his familiar presence approaching.
âhello, baron.â
seiraâs eyes curved into a lovely arc. in response, baron squeezed her tightly in his arms.
âiâve come to pick you up, seira. am i not too late?â
she stared into his face as he strode along. seira remembered calrad had mentioned baron was scouring the entire ecliptic just to find her.
come to think of it, he was dressed more beautifully than he was at the royal banquet. he even wore a cravat! it seemed obvious he was looking for his missing date.
âhow did you know i was here?â
âthe fox gave me a hint.â
âlouis to aven?â
baron nodded.
âyou seem to know something about the man who kidnapped you.â
âwhere is aven now? he didnât go in there, did he?â
âis there any reason to worry about him? even if he went in, he wouldâve escaped easily.â
baron wasnât wrong. there was no way that aven wouldnât notice her power had swept the tower down.
âweâve made a promise, so i wanted to meet you soon.â
although they were a bit delayed to avoid pursuers, baron and seira safely crossed the temple walls. where a black and rugged carriage was parked, seira found aven standing in front of it.
âduchess.â
seira escaped baronâs arms and landed lightly on the floor.
âis there anything wrong?â avenâs face, looking at her, was stiff.
âaven, did you enter and escape from there?â
âyes.â
âthen maybe⦠did you meet him?â
was it because of her random question? or maybe it was because she already had a hunch. there was a faint crack between avenâs brow.
âwho might you mean?â
seira carefully examined avenâs expression, but soon shook her head as she said, âno, itâs nothing.â
even if she said it, it wasnât something to mention in front of baron.
âiâm sorry to have worried you. you must have been surprised because of my sudden disappearance. i hope you didnât starve yourselves while you searched for me.â
âduchessâ¦â aven couldnât find the right word to say and blurted out loud.
âaven, i assure you,â seira smiled, âi am fine.â
âare you not coming with me?â aven asked.
âno,â came seiraâs firm reply, âi have a prior engagement.â
she smacked baron on the arm and smiled.
âhe came all the way here, so i canât let him down.â
a promise was a promise, but she couldnât return to askan mansion without any preparation.
âi donât know where those guys suddenly came from, butâ¦â
if she was unlucky, she realized that even the askan knights wouldâve been in danger. not only mel, but the high priest was like a con artist and the monsters he commanded were formidable.
âthere is no way to counterattack other than with jeff or franto.â