The pope gazed intently at the lady’s back as he spoke in a voice filled with earnestness. “When I first laid eyes on you at the Academy’s entrance ceremony, how I trembled with joy. Your features bear a certain resemblance, but the color of your eyes is truly the princess’s very own. Of course, the missing golden ring is unfortunate. It’s not something you come across every day. I’m not saying I haven’t considered swapping out your entire head, you know? But I also feel sympathy for you... Being called talentless and incompetent for so long—isn’t that pitiful? It was groundless, but the princess was called that too. To me, it feels like the same person and the same story. And then there’s that Sharona Robur, who was only ever protected by the princess...”
The smile vanished from the pope’s face. What was that? An expression almost as dark and foreboding as the one the first prince occasionally wore?
“I cannot tolerate the princess’s hair being the same color as Sharona’s,” he spat. “Therefore, I shall take your face and eyes. You will lose your sight, but there will be no pain. If you are cast out of the Robur family, I shall take you in as an apology.”
“I see,” said Lady Robur. “So you’ve already conducted human experiments?”
“Yes. I used the previous pope, who stole the princess’s achievements, for experiments. And the queen from two reigns ago too! It was most satisfying! Watching them slowly lose their selfhood, their bodies taken over, becoming vessels for demons! The looks of despair on their faces as they died! I wish I could have shown that to you, Princess!” His voice grew rough in his excitement, and his face twisted with delight.
“Did you help Sriarde summon that demon too?” Lady Robur asked. Sriarde? Who was that? I’d never heard that name before.
“Oh? Someone as uneducated as you knows the name of the queen who was erased two generations ago? Even though the last king, and the two queens before now, deliberately erased them from this country, ensuring they’d be as forgotten as possible?”
The pope’s words made me gasp in shock. How could the name of the queen before last be associated with those three, of all people?! They were the true rulers who’d weathered the chaotic era brought about by the compassionate queen and the infamous villainess!
“Even if uneducated, one’s position affords more opportunities to learn such things than most.” Lady Robur’s tone had changed again. A subtle shift, but it was undeniably different. The emotions I’d sensed before were completely gone? No, not gone... Void? Wait, why void? It was as if all joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure had vanished into nothingness. Was that even possible?
The pope frowned slightly too—he must have noticed the change. “Indeed. Your position is that of a lady. That is only natural, I suppose.”
“Did Sriarde take you in so easily?”
“Hm...yes.” He smiled at Lady Robur’s back. “What have you heard about Sriarde’s character? It would have been impossible to win her over in her youth. She was always a meticulous and cautious woman. But after the princess passed, her alleged retreat into seclusion was, of course, just a facade. In reality, she was confined and watched over by her husband, the late king, in the villa where the princess once resided. She had no choice but to rely on me—it was most fortunate.”
The pope seemed to be reminiscing about those times as he spoke, yet it felt like he was stalling for time. “Ah yes, it wasn’t just this face that proved useful, but this magic too. When Sriarde was imprisoned, her magic was sealed, and her magical tools were taken from her. She became utterly captivated by my magic, believing in me like a devotee. She immediately spilled the beans about where that woman had hidden the princess’s hair. Once I had the hair, I made a pact with the demon there, Jabi. I coaxed the cornered Sriarde into becoming a vessel, fed her body and soul to Jabi, and kept that fading existence bound to this world. Of course, during that time, I infiltrated the church and won over the previous pope as well.”
“I see.”
What?! The pope could see the woman in the robe, and he’d called her a demon... No, no way?! And the demon’s vessel was the queen from two reigns ago?! I couldn’t... I felt like I was going to pass out.
“Hang in there!”
That ghostly voice again?! And this sensation—something soft, like a small animal’s short, fluffy tail tapping lightly on the back of my head?!
My head felt icy cold, and my heart was frozen too... But, well, we were in a basement, after all. That voice was just an auditory hallucination. Maybe it was because my mind had wandered off, but my awareness had returned.
“You accepted the power of a demon and made a contract?” Lady Robur asked.
“Well, now, you seem quite knowledgeable about such matters. Could it be that your lack of talent and incompetence are merely camouflage? My magic was still immature back then, so I absolutely needed that demon’s power. But, thanks to you, the contract will be finalized soon.”
“I see...” Lady Robur said under her breath. “Not yet...” She spoke quietly, but I heard it. What did she mean by “not yet”?
“Hey, I’m getting bored,” the demon named Jabi cut in, her mouth twisted into a pleased grin. “Have you grown fond of the lady? Or are you giving up on reviving the princess?”
After a brief silence, the pope exhaled as if in self-mockery. “Yes, you’re right... Yes, I understand.” He took a slow step toward the lady, holding his right hand out toward her feet and concentrating his magic. A pattern resembling a magic circle appeared.
It was scary, but I wouldn’t let him! I steeled myself and grabbed Lady Robur’s hand, pulling her back. Honestly, even looking at her face right now was somehow terrifying!
“We’re escaping now, my lady!” I shouted, and as I ran away from the spot, the magic circle that had begun to appear at Lady Robur’s feet dissipated into mist.
Noticing my presence for the first time, the pope and the demon panicked.
“Wh-When did you...?!”
“Huh? Where was...?”
But the pope wouldn’t let us escape. He raised his hand toward us as we tried to slip past him. Several small magic circles appeared in the air, summoning beasts I’d never seen before—no, they were probably chimeras. We were cornered by the chimeras and back where we’d started.
“Wrong.” As the chimeras floated lightly through the air, closing in around us, Lady Robur showed intense agitation for the first time.
“M-My lady?” I stuttered.
“Hmph, it seems the young lady has finally grasped the situation and is terrified...or so it appears, eh?”
So the pope had noticed too—that Lady Robur was wearing a delighted smile. Why would she react like that?! I couldn’t fathom Lady Robur’s thought process at all! One chimera looked like the insides of a snail had grown feather-like things on its back and was flapping them to float?! And yet she was delighted?! I wanted to activate this staff right now and escape alone! Not that I would!
“No, that’s a misunderstanding! Miss Linda is certainly astonished, but she’s definitely not terrified!” Lady Robur declared. “She’s just surprised! She doesn’t understand the principle behind it, but this translucent chimera floating softly through the air has sparked her creative urge, and she’s just surprised by that reaction in herself! Right, Miss Linda?”
“Huh?!” A completely unfounded misunderstanding was going viral!
“I knew it! Because this chimera is the very embodiment of those ice fairies, the clione!”
I didn’t agree with that! And suddenly naming the chimera?! Why ice?! I didn’t get it!
“Hm, ice fairies? Clione? I’m terribly sorry you’ve given them such a cute name, but...” The pope was still the pope—he had absolutely none of my confusion! Smirking with smug composure... Wait, what was that sparkling expression full of expectation on Lady Robur’s face? “Will you still think that after seeing this?!”
Gyaaah! The clione’s head popped open! Something stretched out vertically from inside?! No way?! It cracked into six pieces!
“Eek! My lady, let’s run!” I squeaked.
“No, Miss Linda!” she told me. “What good would running away do?! Oh, right. You couldn’t have imagined this far. Relax! That’s a buccal cone! What a splendid metamorphosis!”
“Why on earth are you so excited?! What is a buccal cone?!” sputtered the pope. Even at a time like this, I had to agree with him! Why did he seem like the sane one here?!
“Yes, it’s wonderfully shocking!” Lady Robur said eagerly. “To unknowingly recreate a buccal cone! A perfect recreation of the naked sea butterfly clione! Mollusca, Gastropoda, Gymnosomata, Clionidae! And yet, the size has been upgraded to palm-sized! Impressive!” She gave him a thumbs-up, a huge smile, and a wink.
“Why are you making that face at me?! Wh-What the—?! What is all that even supposed to mean?!”
“It’s in the Clionidae family, a group of invertebrates in the animal kingdom, Mollusca phylum, Gastropoda class, Gymnosomata suborder! Naked sea butterflies!”
Wait, my lady! Such naked shamelessness even from you!
“Wh-What was that?! That last lewd, indecent attribute?! Please don’t sneak an indecent attribute onto my chimera in the confusion!” The pope’s face flushed red as he finally lost his temper. Only Lady Robur could make this man so angry.
“Heh heh heh, you’re still so childish no matter how big you get.”
“Wh-Why are you suddenly acting like a parent... No, more like an old granny...”
“It’s fine. That’s part of growing up too.”
“So why are you looking at me like that?”
“Hey, can we get serious now? I’m getting annoyed with your usual antics.” The demon spoke, and all the clione released their buccal cones, transforming themselves!
“Jabi! How did you interfere with them?!” the pope demanded.
Could the demon actually interfere with chimeras too?!
“Now, now, Miss Linda, calm down,” Lady Robur said into my ear as the transformed clione approached. “Could you put up a barrier wall?” Her demeanor had changed completely—she was utterly calm.