Chapter 171

Was this room a secret storehouse? A magical tool for illumination provided the only source of light, there were no windows, and Caroline could see steep stairs behind her brother. Perhaps this was a basement? “I didn’t know our house had a secret cellar.” “I learned about it directly from Uncle Ruiz. Father doesn’t know about it.” Robert tacitly told her that no help would come. The young lady felt just a little relieved. If this is my brother’s secret place, and it’s related to the Aguinas family, no one else will be here. Caroline understood her brother’s character and made this conjecture. Although Robert was brilliant, he had rather strong fixations and a troubling disposition. For example, he was obsessed with everything related to the alchemists. Alchemists were a subject the Aguinas family had protected for generations, and Robert hated allowing outsiders to interfere with such things. Even in the development of the new medicine, he made the alchemists he summoned from the imperial capital help him bound by black magic. This place, connected to the alchemy the Aguinas family so closely protected, was a personal space for Robert. A place he allowed only his supporters, or those he could completely control, to enter. He said their father, Royce, didn’t even know about this cellar. If this was truly such an important place to Robert, he really wouldn’t have wanted to hold someone, even Caroline, here. In other words, Robert had no other place, no other person, he could depend on. My brother has had no friends for a long time… Caroline thought if she asked him about it, she might embarrass him and encourage him to start rambling on for an hour about his theories. She knew her brother quite well. He was extremely brilliant, and that was probably why he was so confident in his own solutions to problems. If he thought something would work, he’d barrel ahead with his plan. Robert would likely have been open to other ideas had he talked to more people, but he was too awkward for that. Despite his troublesome pride, he was actually a very kind man. “You saved me, didn’t you, Brother?” “You…you shouldn’t simply go along with people so easily…” Robert likely expected his sister to be upset as his words, but she only gave a gentle smile. Perhaps emboldened, he continued, “To think you were a scapegoat for the alchemist the Labyrinth Suppression Forces seized… Moreover, they’re selling potions on the market. What is the house of Margrave Schutzenwald thinking?!” “My, my. You must have read my letters,” Caroline replied, gazing affectionately at her indignant brother. “How can you be so cheerful?! Do you even understand what’s happening?” Robert cried. “Forcing the alchemist to make as many potions as possible to sell on the market is exploitation! It goes too far! Doesn’t the army know the alchemist isn’t just some tool?! They were too quick to start selling potions in the first place. No one considered a production or sales plan. The yagu merchant caravans have created a structure of vested interests, and this upsets the whole order. Do you understand?! It’s out of the question for a civilian to be in military employ!” The alchemist herself had continued to mass-produce potions at an unthinkable rate, but she hardly saw potion-making as a problem. Mariela got mad at her master, laughed with Sieg and her friends at Sunlight’s Canopy, and spent her days happy and healthy. Robert had assumed otherwise, but that was his own bias. However, as befit the former successor to a family that had managed potions for so long, he had a point about the problem of selling the concoctions on the market. Over the last two hundred years, the Labyrinth City had entrusted the transportation of all goods across the mountain range to the yagu merchant caravans, and the cost was enormous. This had brought a large amount of profit to the many territories on the merchant caravans’ route. The villages along the main road flourished as relay stations, and trade between territories prospered through the use of the established main road. Places like the territory of Countess Beratte, located at a junction of roads leading to the Labyrinth City, the imperial capital, and the family of small nations, flourished as transit points. They grew not only as spots of commerce between the Labyrinth City and the imperial capital, but for transporting high-quality weapons and armor made by Rock Wheel to the borderlands protecting the Empire from the wars of the small nations as well. The distribution of arms by the Rock Wheel Autonomous Region, which sat closest to the Labyrinth City—and farthest from the imperial capital—would probably continue through the territory of Countess Beratte. However, if the Labyrinth City’s merchant caravans were able to travel through the Fell Forest, those profits would start on a steady decrease. The sale of potions would completely rewrite the vested-interest structure brought about by distribution up to this point. Although reorganization was profitable for the Labyrinth City, it was highly unlikely that those with investments in ventures outside the City would remain silent much longer. “The alchemist is a thorn in the side of anyone who benefits from the yagu merchant caravans, Carol. To them, both the defeat of the Labyrinth and that reborn alchemist will cause nothing but trouble.” Caroline knew that her brother was a kind man. Robert was extremely angry, but not for himself. He was indignant because the alchemist and Caroline had been put in danger. “Yes. I agree, Brother,” Caroline replied, her smile unbroken. Robert seemed hesitant as he continued. “You wanted to protect the alchemist, didn’t you, Carol? That’s the true spirit of an Aguinas, and as your brother, I’m proud of you. However, it’s not the alchemist you’ve volunteered to protect, but the image and honor of the Labyrinth Suppression Forces.” If the Forces had control over the alchemist, they would remain constant in protecting her no matter what kind of assassins went after her. Even if they shut her up in a tall tower or a deep cellar as a result. But if they did that, the house of Margrave Schutzenwald might go down in infamy for inhumane treatment. That’s why they needed to make it known inside and outside the City that Caroline, who shouldered the role of “the alchemist,” was acting freely and had chosen cooperation with the Labyrinth Suppression Forces. Caroline’s desire to protect the alchemist was exploited not to ensure Mariela’s safety, but rather to safeguard the Labyrinth Suppression Forces’ honor. That, above all else, was something Robert couldn’t tolerate. “I truly appreciate your concern, Brother. Nevertheless, I want to carry out this duty.” Neither Caroline’s facial expression, nor her intentions, had changed one bit thus far. Although she was a calm, graceful, beautiful young woman, her stubbornness was reminiscent of another member of her family. “Carol, there’s no value in putting your life at risk.” Robert searched for the words he needed to stop his sister. However, Caroline looked at him with eyes full of powerful intent and continued, undeterred. “Brother. Our lineage protects the alchemists. Of course we must bear the full brunt of this. If I draw the eyes of the public, and someday the Labyrinth is destroyed, creating a new world brimming with alchemists, then the one who survived the Stampede will finally be able to live as an ordinary person.” Yes. That was Caroline’s wish. Someday, she wanted to make potions with Mariela in Sunlight’s Canopy, and if it was no longer unique as the single potion shop in the City, she wouldn’t mind. No matter how many rival stores there might be, they would never make potions any better than the ones she and Mariela would make. There would never be a day when people didn’t come to bask in the warmth of that place. Mariela was a rare and special alchemist, but she was also a commoner. If she were used as a political tool and put on a pedestal to draw the public’s attention, it was unlikely she’d be able to live freely. Protecting the alchemist was the duty of the Aguinas family, of Caroline. “Carol, you…” For the first time in their conversation, Robert understood what his sister meant. He knew Caroline had assembled a variety of magical tools and herbs to make medicine. When Robert was a child, his sister would follow him everywhere. He thought she’d aspired to be like him. But he’d been wrong. She’d inherited the blood, the will, of the Aguinas family, and Caroline herself was no doubt an alchemist of some fashion. Of course, she hadn’t actually made a Pact with the ley line, so she had no skills to make potions. However, skills were an embodiment of one’s body and soul. If there were no potions, she would make medicine instead. It was a logical conclusion for one with the spirit of a true alchemist. How could Robert oppose his sister’s decision? Caroline seemed more worthy of being called an alchemist than anyone else. “…I understand, Carol. If that’s the case, I will help you, as a fellow bearer of the Aguinas name.” “Thank you, Brother!” Caroline was overjoyed from the bottom of her heart. I don’t have much longer to live. But at least let me protect Carol. Robert now understood how his sister felt. Though neither had moved, the space between them felt smaller. It was time to marshal all the power the Aguinas family had acquired governing potions and alchemists over these past two hundred years. Robert gripped the flame seal carved onto his hand and prayed. The seal of the capricious sage who liked to play with fire was a useful, but time-limited item. It didn’t reduce one’s life span, or anything like that, however. Unfortunately, Robert still misunderstood one crucial thing. “Incidentally, Brother, where are we?” “Our family’s hidden storehouse in the forests east of the Labyrinth City.” The violent rain didn’t seem likely to stop, but after Caroline insisted that she should notify everyone of her safety before the sun set, the pair crept out from their hiding place. The top of the steep staircase leading from the basement was black and sooty like the inside of an old furnace. Emerging outside from a half-crumbled entrance, the surroundings seemed to be the ruins of a place once used for making charcoal. The slope of the foot of the mountain had been used to build three charcoal-making kilns made of stone and mud side by side, and the interior of the rightmost kiln connected to the hidden storehouse. All of them were ancient, and any chimneys that hadn’t collapsed were choked with ash and soot. Charcoal wasn’t currently used much in the Labyrinth City, but long ago, dwarven master blacksmiths had used it in the process of making steel, so it was no wonder that the forest contained the remains of a place that produced it. Seems our ancestor was fond of tricks like the hidden door to our family’s cellar and this hidden storehouse. I’d like to show Mariela sometime. Although it was an elaborately hidden storehouse, the only things inside were some boxes, one of which Robert had used as a chair. They’d been scattered around on the floor, and he’d even sat on one, so perhaps they weren’t storing anything particularly valuable. While Caroline considered such things, she followed behind her brother along an animal trail. The cloak Robert had borrowed from the Labyrinth Suppression Forces was waterproof, so it protected Caroline from the downpour, but the road was muddy with rainwater. It was very hard for Caroline to walk in her thin heels. Robert had offered to carry her, and perhaps she wouldn’t have minded if she were unconscious. But the idea of a mature young woman being carried by her older brother was too embarrassing. It was absolutely out of the question. That reminds me—I became very sleepy after I had my tea… Caroline had begun arguing with Robert as soon as she woke up and spotted him, so she’d had no time to recall what happened before she was abducted. I am unharmed, and my brother was the one who did it, so Father and my escorts should be safe as well, but… Perhaps due to her fatigue from the difficult trek back into the City, Caroline began to fuss at Robert, though it was against her better judgment. “Brother, you are terribly unkind. We could have talked like we just did and settled the whole thing; there was no need to resort to something as vile as sleeping powder…” But Robert’s reply went against Caroline’s expectations. “I didn’t use sleeping powder. I admit to sneaking into the base to look for you, but when I arrived; the escorts, Father, everyone was asleep.” “What…?” “I was able to get you out of there thanks to the power of this seal. That, and my luck reaching you just a little before the bandits would have.” “Brother, is…is Father… Is he all right?!” “I didn’t confirm it myself, but I think he’s probably fine. I didn’t have time to take Father with me, but there were many escorts around him, and I left the door to the guesthouse open to make it easy for someone to notice something was wrong.” A young girl would be more effective than an aged man, whether she was used as a hostage or murdered as a warning to others. That was why Robert had prioritized securing Caroline’s safety in what little time he’d had. Robert had no way of locating their enemy, but he was certain someone had been lurking nearby, ready to abduct Caroline. The seal burned into Robert’s left hand was strong. By putting his magic energy into it, his presence, magical power, and even his physical stature seemed to be perfectly hidden. It hadn’t made him transparent, but instead he appeared insignificant to others, like a stone on the roadside. After experimenting with the seal’s effects against a few street dogs and cats, Robert concluded that the magic would maintain the same effect if one was holding an unconscious person. The effect was weakened if holding a conscious body, however. Luckily for both Robert and his sister, Caroline had been drugged and then passed out. He was able to outsmart the very people who’d schemed to kidnap her. Someone else had drugged Caroline and was about to take her away. This revelation filled her with fear. When she’d woken up, Robert had been the one with her, so although she was surprised and confused, she had also been somewhat relieved. He had strayed from the path and turned to the dark arts, but to Caroline he was still her kind and beloved sibling. Speaking with him had allowed them to understand each other, and he had come to her rescue. There was no misunderstanding, and Robert had saved and hidden her before the real villain could close their grip on Caroline. She should have been prepared—Caroline knew that now. But even armed with that knowledge, the thought that someone had come after her made her chest tighten in fearful anguish. 02 “Sieg, call Mariela back.” Freyja’s sharp voice reverberated in the rear yard of Sunlight’s Canopy, cutting through the constant sounds of the rain. Sieg rushed to the young alchemist’s side, put his hands on her shoulders, and called her name. “Mariela!” Whether or not she heard, he was unsure. But Mariela turned her face toward the one-eyed man with an unsteady movement. “Mariela, come back. You found her, right? You can come back now!” There was no clear reaction to Sieg’s plea. Her eyes were vacant. At that moment, Sieg became aware of something for the first time. Though he’d often looked into Mariela’s eyes, he’d only now realized they were the same golden color as Freyja’s. Her eyes didn’t reflect Sieg’s face peering into them, but instead a faint, fleeting light shone from their depths, disappearing as quickly as it had come. Drops of Life? No, isn’t it the color of the ley line Mariela told me about?! He knew the color of Mariela’s eyes, and it hadn’t changed. Yet there was no reflection to them. Her body was here, but her spirit was in a faraway place. “Mariela! Come back! Mariela! You can hear me, can’t you?!” Sieg refused to part with her, refused to let her go. He gripped Mariela’s shoulders, calling louder and louder to her, wherever she had gone. But her golden eyes reflected only a river of light with an unknown source. Sieg wasn’t sure if his voice could reach her. “Mariela…! I made a promise, didn’t I?! Fruit, pastries, and orc king meat! I haven’t gotten them all for you yet! You have to come back! Mariela! Mariela!!!” Sieg searched her eyes for the girl he knew. He called to her with everything he had. Perhaps his screams, his feelings of longing, reached out through the air and rain to reach Mariela before she could spread too wide and thin into the earth below. “…Meat?” “Mariela?!” Or perhaps it was only Meat Man who had called her back. In the middle of the pouring rain, Mariela, the girl Sieg knew well, giggled and stood with meat—with Sieg reflected in her eyes. The man didn’t know whether to sigh in relief or disappointment. He could feel the deathly chill of Mariela’s body. Her spirit had returned from a harsh journey beyond his comprehension. Even so, Sieg made a diligent effort to swallow his feelings and speak to her as he always did, now that her golden eyes held their familiar smile again. “…For now, take a bath, and then you can have some fruit.” “And the meat?” “Next time.” “But you promisssed!” “Ahh, I’ll keep the promise. Next time, I’ll definitely bring some back. So for now… Welcome home, Mariela.” “Okay, I’ll be looking forward to it. I’m glad to be back, Sieg.” And after that exchange of greetings, Mariela and Sieg headed back into the house. Neither of them realized that the distance between them had shrunk, ever so slightly. After a moment of regarding the two with a warm expression, Freyja said, “All right, today we’ll have orc meat roasted in oil!” and followed them into the house. 03 “I’ve identified the components of the sleepin’ powder!” The appraisal of the drug, which they thought would take only a matter of moments, had taken hours. There were a variety of materials containing sleeping toxicants, but it was possible to narrow down the possibilities to a certain extent by looking at the condition of the affected soldiers and Royce, as well as the remaining tea. After that, if they tested the possibilities one by one, they could hopefully ascertain the type of sleeping powder and find a lead from there. This wasn’t particularly time-consuming work. Provided the materials in question could be gathered in the Labyrinth City. Ghark had identified the powder as something that couldn’t be found in the Labyrinth City, however—an important clue in its own right. “This is a sleepin’ powder often used in the small nations.” The substance was mixed not as a curative to insomnia, but to tranquilize people. It dissolved easily in water and was colorless, tasteless, and odorless. It also decomposed and disappeared over time. Since it wasn’t a potion, its effects were slow and short lived. It was a strategic medicine that, if used repeatedly, could cause serious side effects. If Ghark’s appraisal had been just a little later, the sleeping powder would have decomposed beyond recognition. His answer caused a small commotion in the council room. A country somewhere in the family of constantly warring small nations, or a territory of the Empire that traded with the family of small nations, had acted to hinder the sale of potions in the Labyrinth City. For what purpose? Had the change in routes truly troubled them so? Realizing the answer, Weishardt called Malraux over and whispered some sort of instructions to him. Malraux nodded silently and left the council room. Meanwhile, Nierenberg, having been involved with the interrogations, wore an expression of comprehension. The Aguinas family had been attacked three times today, and the result of the interrogations established that the crimes were by three completely different groups. After the culprits had been captured, it became clear there was a clear gap in the capabilities of the groups that attacked the atelier, the Aguinas estate, and the base. Speculation suggested that the first two attacks were by independent criminals or hired diversionary units. First were the three thin raiders who’d attacked the atelier. They were slaves of the merchant who’d been on the scene. Given the merchant’s performance in the whole charade, he was apparent thinking, “I’ll save them from an attack by villains to make them indebted to me. Then I can break into the potion business.” Apparently, the three slaves forced to play the role of the assailants had been promised their freedom if they acted threatening and then ran away. Of course, the merchant was not willing to leave free and living witnesses, so he’d planned from the beginning to make his unsavory escorts kill the poor trio. Malraux had felt something was off before the assailants lost consciousness, and he designated the slave trader, Reymond, as their interrogator. Through him, the trio of slaves were coerced into breaking the Order from their merchant master. The interrogation of the merchant father-son duo was simple. With Nierenberg’s gentle questioning, they told him everything, and there appeared to be no falsehoods in their testimony. The only remaining uncertainty was the fact that the attacks happened one after another all on the same day. Both the merchants and their escorts said they’d decided the day of the attack themselves, and they had no acquaintances in this city to help them. The merchants were independent criminals and had no relation to the other attackers, nor had they been hired by anyone. Next was the group that had attacked the Aguinas estate. They appeared to be a gang of thieves who’d operated out of the imperial capital. Although they were a gang of thieves, it didn’t mean they were pros at kidnapping. As a somewhat high-caliber group, they were stubborn and resistant to pain, but according to Nierenberg, who had been a medical engineer in the Labyrinth City without potions for a long time, “The soldiers of the Labyrinth Suppression Forces have far more backbone.” Nierenberg had a thorough knowledge of the human body and could inflict very precise and acute pain, and his face as he did so was terrifying enough to bend beasts to his will. Among those who considered it common sense for injuries to be treated with healing magic and potions, Nierenberg seemed like a demon performing his dissections. The assailants immediately revealed what they knew to Nierenberg, but they had been hired through an intermediary and didn’t know anything about their true employer. Their orders had been to abduct Caroline. Negotiations were carried out in the imperial capital, and detailed instructions were delivered by letter to the Labyrinth City inn they were staying at the night before the deed. The house where they were supposed to detain her was empty, and Nierenberg couldn’t gain any information about their employer. Two interrogations had been dead ends, but the invaders Freyja had captured at the base were considered to be the best chance the Forces had. Among the three Freyja had knocked out and caught, two of them woke up and immediately committed suicide with poison they’d prepared. The remaining member was prevented from killing himself, but even with Nierenberg’s questioning, nothing was revealed. Yes, even the fearsome Nierenberg got nothing. The intruders Freyja had apprehended were a part of some top-notch covert force accustomed to pain. Given this, it seemed probable that this faction had come from the family of small nations. Strife was constant in that region. It was whispered that groups who made a living off war had taken root and arranged things so the disputes would never end. Professional spies with sleeping powder had snuck all the way into the base of the Labyrinth Suppression Forces. They had to have been extremely skilled—professionals who charged a high price. As Nierenberg watched Weishardt give instructions to Malraux and whisper with Leonhardt, the doctor felt his conjectures were at least close to the truth. However, Weishardt’s expression remained clouded, and he didn’t issue an order to dispatch the Labyrinth Suppression Forces. It was safe to assume not everyone in this group of spies had been apprehended, either. Whoever put the medicine in the tea at the guesthouse and taken Caroline away hadn’t been caught. The doors to the base were closed, and although they searched every nook and cranny inside, they could find neither Caroline nor anyone resembling an intruder. Whoever they were, they’d most likely made it outside the base. By now this mystery person could be anywhere. Hopefully Malraux would turn up something wherever he’d been dispatched to. The room was thick with tension. Perhaps I was too lenient in my interrogation…? If Nierenberg did any more than he had already, it was possible the intruder wouldn’t be able to be returned to normal, even with the use of a potion. Nierenberg hadn’t been instructed to perform such severe questioning, but the clock was ticking. He should’ve been able to shake up the intruder with the information they just obtained about the sleeping powder and squeeze more out of him somehow. The face of Nierenberg’s daughter, Sherry, suddenly came to mind, but he deliberately shut it away in the innermost depths of his heart and left his seat, determined to make the captured spy confess. It was right about that time when— “Reporting in! We have a messenger from the alchemist. She said she knows where the young woman is!” Dick had arrived, and he’d brought Sieg with him. 04 A group of cavalrymen ran through the downpour. Even the rain pelting them parted as they charged forward. The wind did little to slow their progress. It appeared that the weather was on their side, but in actuality, they were allowed passage because Weishardt was riding in front and using wind magic to cut through the air. He wouldn’t allow the likes of a storm to stop him now. “Weis, take the third unit with you.” Leonhardt had listened to the information Sieg brought and appointed Weishardt to lead Dick’s unit to rescue Caroline. “My master ordered me to save the young lady Caroline without fail. Please take me as well.” With that, Sieg joined the tail end of the group. Mariela had indicated Caroline was in the forest east of the Labyrinth City. She had seen worn charcoal kilns near her abducted friend, and there were a great many of those in the eastern woods. However, Mariela’s vision had also provided them with the knowledge that these kilns sat at the edge of a slope that lead up a mountain. That was enough for the Forces to get a rough idea of where Caroline was. Their destination wasn’t terribly far from the Labyrinth City. Even though they dismounted at the forest entrance to walk the rest of the way, the forest was shallow. They could get there in under two hours. However, fate would not make their task so easy. When they arrived at the place the young alchemist had described, Caroline was already gone. Fresh footprints on the muddy ground followed a trail about halfway, then turned to enter the forest and disappeared. “Split up and search! She can’t have gone far! These footprints show someone else is with her! Hurry!” At Weishardt’s instructions, the soldiers split into groups of three and pushed into the forest. “Found you.” It was around the time Weishardt arrived at the charcoal kilns when Caroline heard the voice. Robert was the first to react. The words carried an accent from a foreign country. Robert spread a smokescreen curse around himself and his sister, grasped Caroline’s hand, and broke into a run. Together they fled deeper into the forest. If it had still been raining, the fleeing siblings would have been at least somewhat concealed. However, the downpour had since stopped, and the ground underfoot was soggy and damp, which made running even more difficult for Caroline. Her entire dress was heavy from the water it had soaked up, and the forest vegetation became natural snares that grasped at Caroline and her brother. “It’s useless, shaman.” A man in black dispersed the curse, sauntering toward Caroline and Robert in a demonstration of his superior strength. This was probably the one who’d used the sleeping powder in the guesthouse. His lightweight, black clothing and concealed face told them he was a spy or something like it. This person could have easily made himself disappear in the trees, yet he purposefully revealed himself, drawing nearer very much like an animal cornering its prey. “Rgh.” Robert tempered a curse to try to keep the approaching hunter at bay. At the same time, he desperately sent magical power into the seal on his left hand to try and conceal his and Caroline’s presence. If his sister had been unconscious, he probably could have taken advantage of the slightest opening to hide them both. After all, Robert had already slipped past this spy once when he’d taken her out of the guesthouse. However, since she was conscious, their presence would remain faintly detectable, no matter how powerful the seal was. “Admirable concealment. That information is valuable, heir of the Aguinas family.” Had he noticed the seal? Or did he assume it was Roberts own spellcraft? The spy’s hungry gaze fixed on Robert, his prey. “The circumstances have changed. I cannot take two people. Therefore—” “Carol! Run!” Guessing the situation, Robert pushed Caroline deeper into the forest and jumped in front of the spy. “I told you, your efforts are futile.” “Brother!” Robert charged at the unknown man, but the spy sidestepped with practiced grace. The mysterious agent closed on Caroline in just a few steps and raised a sword he’d drawn from its concealed place of rest. “Carol!” Robert screamed his sister’s name and stretched his hand out toward her. The dream the alchemists had left to him had slipped through his fingers before, and so had the love of his life, Estalia. Was this hand so stained in sin that it could not even save the life of his own sister? Was this his true punishment for seeking the power found in dark curses? Robert’s eye caught the seal of flame emblazoned on his outstretched hand. For the briefest moment, the image of the incarnation of fire who had given him the seal crossed his mind. He was certain she wasn’t of this world. If he desired a miracle above what he’d already been given, he would have to give up not just the hope for a peaceful life, but the hope for a peaceful death as well. Does that even matter anymore? If he couldn’t hold on to anything and simply lamented his own powerlessness, there was no meaning in life or death. He would give his life, his soul, everything, without exception. He pleaded with anyone who might hear him for the life of his sister. When he was ensorcelled by the black arts, dropped from the family inheritance, and shut away in that place where the world had frozen, Caroline’s letters had been the only things that made time move forward for him. Even after she’d seen him in his current state, she still saw him as the same brother she’d always had. Fwsh. Just then, a single arrow was loosed. It was half by accident that Siegmund found Caroline and Robert. Freyja had summoned Sieg frequently—every time the alcohol was gone, or when she wanted a snack, or when they were out of toilet paper, or when other extremely inconsequential chores needed doing—but instead of using a bell, she used magical power. Over time, Sieg felt like he could sense the direction from which Freyja sent the magic signals. Mariela was insensitive to the magical power of others, and no matter how much Freyja sent to her, the girl took no notice. So the master would simply call to her pupil in her own voice. If Mariela couldn’t hear her or wasn’t around, Freyja would signal for Sieg to relay the message. It was something that had progressed beyond a simple manipulation of magical power. The lady sage made heavy use of advanced magical skills for utterly pointless things. The other half of the reason Sieg had found Robert and Caroline was his skill as a hunter. Being thrown into the Fell Forest day after day at Freyja’s decree had forced him to remember his former huntsman ways without even realizing it. So as soon as he turned his attention in the direction of the magical power he had sensed, Sieg was able to find Caroline and Robert despite how far away they were. When he saw the spy approach Caroline, Sieg drew his bow on reflex. It was a fluid movement as natural as breathing. Ever since he’d taken up archery again in the Labyrinth City, Sieg thought back to when he still had his Spirit Eye with each pull of the bowstring. Back then, he’d always made the best possible shot, as if an invisible hand were guiding him on where to aim and how to nock the arrow. I want to shoot like how I used to. I want to be as skilled—more skilled—than I was back then. Every time he thought like that, the correct stance, the correct movements, it all became unclear to him. It got harder to tell what he was doing wrong. Sieg’s archery became a reflection of his own hesitation, and his arrows missed their mark. When Freyja made him hunt in the forest, he’d had no time to think about things like hitting or not hitting, skillful or unskillful. He secured meat by throwing stones or even by killing with his bare hands if it was necessary, then returned home to Mariela. Perhaps it had been good for Sieg to lurk in the grass, or to hide in the canopy of the trees, and fire his bow at prey without the luxury of second-guessing himself. His body remembered the correct motions and postures he’d repeated countless times in the bygone days of his Spirit Eye. Sieg hadn’t lost the hunting knowledge he’d carried with him since he was a child; it had been lurking within him this whole time. The Spirit Eye was powerful. It showed him his prey’s weaknesses, taught his body the correct movements, corrected the trajectory and power of his fired arrows, and strengthened Sieg himself. It covered his own failings. But he didn’t need the likes of the Spirit Eye anymore. His hesitation, mistakes, and weakness had been laid bare many times over, but Sieg had overcome them all. I won’t let anything else important to Mariela be taken away! Siegmund readied an arrow. The correct posture, the correct movements, and his steadfast heart would lead his shot to the target. The arrow flew straight and true. A shot like this would have been impossible even with magic, but Siegmund’s arrow pierced the spy’s arm. “Gaaah, where did that come from?!” An arrow had struck the spy from so far away that he couldn’t even detect its origin. He dropped his sword and scanned the area. The forest was dense and thick; the idea that there was an opening an arrow could weave its way through was already a miracle, and that was to say nothing of the actual aiming. Had the trees themselves made way for the projectile? Whatever it was, it wouldn’t happen again. There was no path an arrow could possibly travel here. The trees had provided the spy with cover, protecting his vital areas from the first missile. It was his right arm that had been pierced, meaning the spy was victorious. The man yet lived, and still had use of his left arm. The assassin was confident he had time enough to kill the young woman and take the shaman away. Moving to draw another of his weapons, the assassin suddenly found his body no longer moved. I’m being frozen…?! Where is that coming from? Assessing that the mysterious archer wasn’t his only cause for concern, the spy immediately surrounded his body with magical power. If he used magic to force his steadily freezing body to move, it would probably result in injury, but that was acceptable as a temporary solution. Failing his mission meant certain death anyway; injury was a preferable alternative.