Meanwhile, Katherine cursed her own folly.
Grrr! How could I let myself get distracted by a pretty face?!
Truth be told, the magic circle at her feet was so advanced, she could scarcely comprehend its structure. All she knew was that it was pinning her feet in place, draining her mana. Before her stood Maxwell, the Mage of legend, looking very pleased with himself.
“Heh heh... I see now... The mana of the albino foxkin... I hadn’t considered it before now. Why, it’s... it’s marvelous!”
Katherine stared back dismally as he chuckled. Just you wait until I bust out of this trap, buddy.
He reminded her strongly of one of the regulars at the Little Vixen—a drunken old geezer her grandmother once described as “a sad little man clinging to his former glory.”
This was the Court Grand Mage who had sat at the center of the Empire for centuries?
✦ ✦ ✦
There was a light snapping sound—and a moment later, all the guards of Ode Castle were fast asleep.
“There we are. That’s one problem we can cross off the list,” Laplace mused to herself.
Meanwhile, Tanya was in awe. Now there’s a real Sorceress for you—she put the whole castle to sleep! Almost like something out of a fairytale... Actually, now that I think about it, there’s already at least one fairytale that clearly includes her, so I guess that makes sense...
“Alrighty then, let’s get going!”
And so the four of them—Tanya, Laplace, Arianora, and Vis—descended through the slumbering castle.
“...In the event anyone tries to harm Her Highness, I shall deal with them myself,” Vis declared, holding a short sword at the ready.
Laplace giggled and did an aerial backflip to show off. “You’re the one who chose to tag along with us, so you’re free to do as you like. But let it be known, I’ve already decided I’m going to protect Ari.”
“You presume to refer to her with a nickname? Such insolence!”
“Well, it doesn’t really make sense to call her ‘Princess’ after the conversation we just had, don’t you think? Besides, nicknames are fun.”
“Rrgh... You had better get Her Highness out of this mess. Or I swear to god...”
“Don’t worry, Vis! Lady Laplace is really quite powerful! You’ll see!”
Tanya brought up the tail end of the procession, keeping a watchful eye for any would-be assailants. Come to think of it, she’d taken up the rear a lot of times back when she was in Ryan’s party. Well, except for areas where traps abounded, in which case they suddenly changed their tune to “Ladies first!”
Man, those guys were such assholes! I hope your teeth fall out, Ryan!!!
With Arianora leading the way, they soon arrived at a staircase hidden in the dungeons—a staircase that led to Maxwell’s laboratory.
“Oh dear... To think we’d end up going full circle, right back to where we started... I can’t believe I overlooked this,” Laplace sighed.
And so, licking their lips in trepidation, they headed down the spiral staircase. And after a long, long time... the stairway suddenly opened up.
There, waiting for them, were rows upon rows of glass tanks, a single human figure contained in each one. Some looked identical to Arianora; others had slightly different features.
“Ah, yes... I had a feeling you would come. When I saw you in the arena, I was sure I had to be dreaming, but evidently not... Long time no see, Laplace.”
His soft baritone voice echoed across the laboratory. He sat in the very center, surrounded by tanks on all sides, a king on his throne.
✦ ✦ ✦
Arianora flinched. “M—I mean—Lord Maxwell...”
Tanya positioned herself in front of the Princess, shielding her. In addition to the tanks, there were dozens of other instruments, the likes of which Tanya had never seen before... but based on the magical mechanisms positioned throughout the room, she could tell at a glance that all of them were used for the extraction and exploitation of other people’s mana. To be clear: deeply forbidden magic.
A chill ran down her spine. What exactly did he do in here? What did he do to this tiny girl every night?
Laplace moved to the forefront of the group, bobbing up and down in midair as she glared at the man before them. Behind her, Tanya stared up at her. It’s going to be okay, Laplace. We won’t let this creep beat us.
Then Laplace’s shapely lips parted... and she addressed Maxwell directly.
“You...”
Her crisp, firm voice rang out across the room as she asked—
“Wait, sorry, who are you supposed to be?”
“WHAT?!” Tanya shouted at the top of her lungs.
“Gah! Tanya, will you calm down?!”
After what you just said?! I think I have the right to be a little confused! Do we have the wrong guy or something?! Hello?!
“What’s going on? I don’t understand... Is that not Maxwell?”
Puzzled, Laplace tilted her head. “I mean, judging from his mana, it’s definitely him, but... I’m afraid I don’t recognize him at all. Last time we saw him, at the arena, I didn’t really get a good look at him, so I simply assumed... but this? Non, non! The Maxwell I remember wasn’t this handsome! And is it just me, or does he look a little too young?”
While the Maxwell she remembered was fairly gifted as a Mage, frankly speaking, he was leagues away from anything even in the ballpark of “handsome.” After all, it had taken a large sum of money in order to acquire a descendant of the Dragon God as his wife. In addition, something about the way he carried himself just radiated creeper vibes.
Then he began to laugh.
“Heh heh... pffhaha! Hahaha!!! Oh, how very human you’ve become, my sweet Laplace. Is it not only natural for one’s appearance to change over time? But... I suppose you didn’t get the memo, hmm?” Maxwell(?) chuckled, seemingly in spite of himself.
Meanwhile, Tanya was starting to panic. Seriously, what if we got the wrong guy? We can’t risk hurting an innocent man! Wait... She’d realized something. Have I... seen this guy somewhere before?
“Um... L-Lord Maxwell... He...” Arianora began in a trembling voice.
“Foolish little girl, surely we needn’t tell the whole world.”
“Man, where have I seen him before...? Oh!”
“Perhaps it is time I shed this form. It was only meant to be temporary, after all.”
“What?!” At this, Tanya suddenly remembered where she recognized Maxwell’s face. “That’s right! Weren’t you at the Sparring Tournament last year?!”
“...I don’t know. Was he? Heh heh... Normally I keep the face hidden with a mask or a cloak, but I daresay this reaction is entertaining.”
“I knew it! That’s the star of last year’s winning team!”
Last year, Tanya had participated in the Sparring Tournament with Ryan and the rest of their party—and this man had been there, too. As she recalled, he had demonstrated extraordinary strength in the championship round singles match. Yes... This smirking man sitting before them was the spitting image of that competitor.
At one point she’d noticed that he’d stopped coming by the Adventurer’s Guild... but thinking back, there were rumors that his reward for winning the Tournament was a cushy job at the Imperial Court...
“What’s going on...?” she murmured to herself, perplexed. Had Maxwell entered the Tournament under a fake name?
“Oh, I see now,” Laplace mused under her breath. “I knew you couldn’t possibly be immortal, you rat bastard. You’ve abandoned your own body, haven’t you?”
“What? Abandoned... his body?!”
“Oui, oui. He looks nothing like the man I remember... which can only mean he’s been transferring his soul from body to body, like a hermit crab. How uninspired.”
Instantly, the man’s shrill laughter pierced the air. “Hahahaha! Close, but no cigar! Do you really think I wasted these last 300 years researching hackneyed old transmigration magic and nothing else?”
Just then, Tanya spotted a figure behind Maxwell:
“What the... Katherine?!”
“You’re kidding!”
A foxkin Mage lay unconscious, hands and feet bound together, in the center of a magic circle. It was, beyond a shadow of a doubt, their good friend Katherine.
“Oho! So you do know each other... This albino foxkin mana is simply exquisite, I must say. I’d heard rumors that one who consumed beastkin mana would be possessed by fox spirits, but in actuality it seems rather compatible with the humanoid form. Fits like a glove.”
“Mon dieu—you’re draining her mana?! Stop that at once!”
Laplace was viscerally reminded of the plot Maxwell had once hatched—to absorb mana from unsuspecting civilians using a large number of cursed orichalcum coins. This was, of course, the very same plot that Laplace foiled, only to be thanked by getting sealed away for 300 years.
The human body could only withstand so much mana exhaustion. In the early stages, the victim would merely fall unconscious, but further depletion could result in permanent physical impairment and even death.
This despicable man had tried to drain mana from the most populated city on the continent, all to further his own immortality. Fortunately his plans were dashed, and the cursed coins were relegated to mere paperweights gathering dust on antique store shelves... but his obsession never faded. Why was he so desperate, to the point that he’d abandon his own body?
Maxwell smirked at them.
“With this, I can finally complete the perfect Bride!”