“You’re completely fine! I should’ve expected as much from the Phantom Alchemist. How’d you manage that?” asked Merlin, looking quite confused.
Alchemists were a class that dealt with potions—in other words, noncombatants.
Yet, Wil—an alchemist—had managed to protect himself against that blast. It was only natural that she had some questions.
“It’s a trade secret. If I told you how I did it, you’d come up with a work-around. But really, though! That was a close one! What were you gonna do if it was someone else?”
“Aha ha ha! Sorry, it’s just a habit.”
Wil sighed. “This is exactly why Lloyd’s gonna start to hate you someday.”
“Lloyd has nothing to do with this!” He must have hit her where it hurts. Merlin seemed quite rattled.
Wil watched her curiously. “It seems like Lloyd already can’t handle liquor at all thanks to a certain someone.”
“Ugh... About that...”
“Really, I wonder who could have been so terrible to him. Oh, that’s right! That person also—”
“Shut up already!” Merlin launched some more fireballs at Wil. She might have just been drunk, or perhaps she was too rattled to aim correctly, but...
The majority of her fireballs came nowhere close to him. Countless trees were mercilessly toppled by the force of the blasts.
“Hey, Merlin! Rein it in a little! Are you trying to kill me?!”
“Who cares! Lloyd hates me! Damn it! Why do I always...”
“It’s your fault, y’know. Can you not take it out on me, though?”
Despite Wil’s attempts at persuasion, Merlin’s onslaught continued. Though Wil was complaining, he actually seemed to quite enjoy himself.
Merlin’s magic toppled countless trees. Apparently, neither of them were paying attention to their surroundings. That’s when a certain woman appeared.
“Hey! Cut it out, you two!” scolded a blonde-haired woman who had appeared from inside the house.
“Lily! Long time no see!”
“Yes, it has been a while! Wait! Like I said, cut it out already! Can you not see what’s happening around you?!”
Merlin and Wil took a moment to observe their surroundings.
“Yeah, you’re right. Any more of this could be bad.”
“You just noticed that?”
“Aha ha! I lost myself in all the fun,” said Wil, bowing his head. While he apologized, it didn’t sound like he had truly reflected on his actions.
Lily let out a dramatic sigh. “Seriously, you two... Especially you, Merlin! How many times do I—”
“Y-You’re wrong! Wil was bullying me, so I had to!”
“Merlin? If you’re not going to listen to me, I’ll transform all your liquor into water again,” said Lily, beginning to activate some purification magic. She likely intended to use it to carry out that threat.
“Wait, Lily! There’s no need for that! Y-You’re joking, right?”
“I’m a woman who carries out her promises,” said Lily, glaring at Merlin. She kept her mouth shut, but the message that this was not a joke came across loud and clear.
Merlin’s eyes, on the other hand, were pleading, Please! Anything but that!
Wil seemed quite amused.
“Hey, Lily? What are you doing?” That’s when a bespectacled man appeared.
“I just thought I’d give her a little punishment. That’s fine, right?”
The man looked around the forest. Countless trees were downed, and chunks of earth had been blasted through. Anybody could tell at a single glance that this was the result of Merlin’s reckless spell casting. “I see. There does seem to be a need to remonstrate Merlin.”
“Right?”
“Yes, but first...” The bespectacled man glanced at Wil. “If you’re here, that means they’re up to something, yes?”
Wil’s expression grew serious. His vibe completely transformed, making him seem like a completely different person. “Yes... But let’s discuss this inside.”
“Indeed...”
Merlin and the others sat around a table in the living room on the first floor. Their expressions were serious, while Merlin’s alone was that of discontent.
“Have you calmed down, Merlin?”
“Yes, thanks to Lily’s magic!” she answered, glaring at Lily.
Lily, however, ignored her and instead urged Wil to speak.
“So? What are they up to?” asked the bespectacled man, named Toll.
“After abducting the second princess of the empire, they controlled monsters to attack Ishtar. Rather, they were specifically after toppling one of the Heroes, though they failed.”
“I see...” said Toll, breathing a sigh of relief at the news their attempt had ended in failure. However, relief was not all he felt. There was something odd about the woman who had appeared in this tale. “Wait, the second princess, you said? The empire guards her strictly due to her powers. This is the first I’m hearing that she was kidnapped.”
If the second princess had disappeared, it would typically be the talk of the town, and news should have spread to the kingdom, which neighbored the empire. Yet, this was news to Toll, and the others seemed to be equally shocked.
Their eyes all gathered on Wil. It was a silent plea for an explanation. “Oh, you want to know why? That’s because the empire was hiding it. Not only had demons infiltrated their borders, they managed to break through their sturdiest defenses. If word of that spread, they’d lose not just the faith of their neighboring nations, but the trust of their people. Their citizens would be terrified.”
As the second princess possessed a certain magical ability, she typically lived under close watch, and only a small number of the top brass in the empire and very few in the kingdom and principality knew of it. But if she was kidnapped, the culprit must have known as well.
“Indeed... The fact intel on the second princess was leaked is disastrous enough. If the empire was trying to conceal the incident, I can see why I haven’t heard talk of it in town.”
If worse came to worst, they could announce the second princess was battling illness. That would be enough to keep the citizens from questioning her absence, and that was especially true if they employed the help of neighboring nations. As long as no one betrayed them, the incident would remain a secret.
But that begot another question: Why did Wil know this?
“And how do you know all this, Wil?” asked Toll. He found it odd that Wil would be in possession of such clandestine information.