Rizelotte, who had been wrapping herself in dark magic power and making mysterious movements in her place like she was dancing, finally stopped lightly after chanting the last incantation.
“Om ॐ.”
The dark magic power that had escaped from her body was sucked into a single sheet of paper in her hand. After exhaling deeply, Rizelotte handed the paper to Kail and spoke.
“My child, I’ve put everything you asked for here.”
“With this…”
“Yes, you’ll be able to roughly locate that Apostle or whatever his name is.”
Rizelotte complained of fatigue, rotating her arms as if her shoulders were sore. Seeing this, Kail quickly ran over and began massaging her shoulders to lift her spirits.
“You’re amazing, High Witch.”
“Ahh, what- at my age, anyone can do this.”
“But your appearance is that of someone in their 20s.”
“Do I really look that young?”
“I was actually going to say teens but bumped it up a little.”
“What? Ahaha-!”
Seeing Rizelotte bloom with laughter, Kail took the opportunity to casually slip in a few more requests.
It was about the problem that had arisen here.
“However, my lady witch, there’s another request… Ah, thinking about it, it seems impossible.”
“What? What is it?”
“After considering it, even a Great Witch might find it difficult… I didn’t want to trouble you by mentioning it.”
“Eh! What can’t I do? Tell me anything!”
“Then…”
Kail then explained the issue that had arisen on this land—the matter concerning the waterway that had appeared between two territories.
A waterway that originally flowed towards one territory had completely reversed its flow, causing war to break out between the two territories.
“Ideally, it would be great if the river could flow both ways… but that’s impossible, right?”
“What are you talking about? It’s easy! Lead the way.”
“Huh? No, how exactly…”
Like extras in movies or dramas, Kail babbled on about how it was an absolutely impossible task, even for a Great Witch, stimulating her competitive spirit.
As a result, Rizelotte followed Kail’s guidance to the upper reaches of the river. From somewhere high above, where no one knew how high, she descended along the river path until suddenly stopping.
“Alright, this spot will do.” “What exactly are you planning to do…”
“Just watch.”
Saying that, Rizelotte pressed her staff firmly into the ground. A moment later, the large waterfall that had been flowing quietly along the river split into two.
The divided waterfall began to flow simultaneously along the original river path and a newly formed one.
“This works, right?”
“How did you…?”
“Hehe, didn’t I tell you? There’s nothing I can’t do.”
Watching Kail’s astonished expression, Rizelotte smiled with satisfaction. Kail maintained his expression to make her feel even more pleased.
After confirming multiple times that there were no issues while descending along the river path, Kail finally parted ways with Rizelotte.
“I hope we can meet again sometime.”
“Yes, Great Witch. Farewell.”
Only after she disappeared far away did Kail drop his expression, gawking at the great feat she had accomplished.
“Wow… just tapping a staff and splitting a river… Aura Masters are truly hopeless.”
It was impossible for an Aura Master to do such a thing. Sure, they could if they tried, but they’d have to engage in backbreaking labor for days, digging up the riverbed with Aura Blades.
Masters of that caliber don’t have time for the manual labor that laborers would normally do—it was practically impossible.
“Sigh, maybe I should’ve learned magic.”
Joking around, Kail returned to the foot of the mountain and immediately contacted the Princess.
And reported.
“The problem has been resolved.”
All by himself.
* * *
Clatter— Every time the carriage moved, a slight vibration struck the bodies of the two people inside.
Even for a physically weak ordinary person, it would have just been a nauseating jolt, but for Myeongwol, who was injured, it was irritatingly painful.
Although the priest had healed all of his injuries, the lost blood hadn’t been restored.
Inside the swaying carriage, Myeongwol furrowed his brow and started sucking down a potion mixed with honey. Watching him, Kail burst into a smirk.
“Waaah—doing nothing but slurping honey, and now he’s at it again.”
“…Shut up.”
“Waa—can’t do anything against those Evil God Cult bastards, but snaps at the comrade who saved him.”
Kail kept flapping his mouth until he saw Myeongwol reach for the sword hilt, at which point he finally shut up and looked out the window.
In the distance, the Imperial Capital came into view. The road back after successfully completing the mission given by the Princess.
Of course, not everything was over yet. He still needed to write a report and inform them about the appearance of the Evil God Cult.
‘How bothersome.’
If he could, he’d hire a secretary to handle all the paperwork for him. But he couldn’t. The Princess herself had given the order.
Anyone capable enough to relay messages to royalty would be nobility, and hiring nobility required an astronomical amount of money. He wasn’t so financially reckless as to spend that kind of money on a mere messenger.
When speaking directly costs nothing, why waste money?
Squeak!
‘Have we arrived?’
While lost in these thoughts, the carriage arrived at the Imperial Palace. Kail lightly stepped out and, under the escort of the guards, headed toward the Princess’s chambers.
The guard who had escorted them to the Princess’s door soon disappeared, and instead of knocking himself, Kail nudged Myeongwol.
With a sigh, Myeongwol knocked on the door a couple of times before speaking.
“Miss.”
—Myeongwol? Come in.
Hearing Myeongwol’s voice, Princess Ludmira invited the two in. As the door opened and Kail peeked his head in first, the Princess tilted her head and asked.
“You were there too?”
“Yes, well. We returned together, Your Highness.”
“Good. I was planning to call you both anyway…”
Ludmira requested refreshments from her maid. As the maid scurried out of the room, Ludmira rushed to Myeongwol, looking worriedly at the bandages wrapped around his body.
“Myeongwol! What happened this time…?”
“Let my guard down.”
Myeongwol said this while staring intently at Kail. Following his gaze, the Princess began glaring at Kail.
Feeling the weight of their stares, Kail realized that the relationship between the two was anything but ordinary.
‘Are they dating?’
Come to think of it, it was hard to believe that someone of Master-level skill would join the Princess’s service for just a single sword. Hadn’t he himself acquired a magic sword identical to Myeongwol’s through a simple commission?
Sure, he had complained about the price, but he hadn’t refused the commission or avoided payment. He had deemed it worth the cost.
In other words, complaining about the price was just a formality; the true value of a Master was that high.
‘And Myeongwol must know that too.’
Myeongwol surely knew his own worth wasn’t equivalent to just one sword, yet he hadn’t stepped down from his role as the Princess’s knight.
What if the reason wasn’t materialistic? What if the Princess and Myeongwol were dating, and he was sacrificing himself for his beloved?
While everything in the world could be measured materially, the heart couldn’t. Actions others might call foolish could be justified under the banner of love.
‘Are they really dating?’
On second thought, the Princess’s face seemed familiar. Lost in thought for a moment, Kail realized her face bore a striking resemblance to Agni, the Apostle he had seen recently.
As Kail stared at the two with the eyes of someone reading a third-rate tabloid, the Princess, realizing the meaning behind his gaze, coughed awkwardly a few times.
“S-so, Kail Meyer. Report what happened. Why is Myeongwol injured like this…?”
“It’s a bit long.”
“That’s fine. I’ve already taken care of urgent matters.”
At the Princess’s words, Kail recounted the events that transpired between the two territories. How they had gone to prevent the war, yet the war broke out anyway, and how they chased the culprit.
How Myeongwol had been subdued by the culprit, and how Kail had pursued but ultimately lost him.
After hearing the entire story, the Princess began glaring at Myeongwol.
“Is that true?”
“……I’m ashamed.”
“Myeongwol, I always believed you were an invincible swordsman who never lost to anyone…”
“Carelessness─no, saying it like this is embarrassing. I was overpowered due to insufficient ability.”
Hearing him admit his lack of ability so frankly, the Princess sighed deeply. Not making excuses was one of his virtues, but in moments like this, she wished he’d show a little bravado.
Something like, “Next time I’ll win,” or “I was ambushed and couldn’t help it.”
As the Princess shook her head repeatedly, Kail seized the opening to blurt out crucial information.
“So—the identity of the culprit was the Evil God Cult, Your Highness.”
“Yes, so the culprit… the Evil God Cult?”
“Yes. The Evil God Cult.”
A smile spread across the Princess’s face, previously filled with disappointment. The archenemy of the entire continent. An adversary that could compel support not only from the Empire but also other kingdoms and the Holy Kingdom.
This incident could now be spun as not a failure in managing her territory but as successfully uncovering traces of the Evil God Cult.
Kail added one more piece of affinity to this.
“And I have a talisman that can reveal the location of those Evil God Cult members.”
“I’ll buy it. How much?”
Facing the Princess who looked up at him, Kail smiled devilishly.
“Make me an offer.”
