“I’ll do it right away!” I wasn’t trying to cover up my own muttering at all! I was already overwhelmed by the sheer terror of this situation! If Lady Robur grilled me any further or revealed another concept I couldn’t comprehend, my head would explode from exhaustion!
To focus, I closed my eyes first. I released magic power from my hands, spreading it as if it were crawling through the air, connecting it to the rock on the side of the space like a lid.
Next, I amplified the magic by visualizing the rocks I’d connected, altering the soil, then activated it as a spell.
“Hang in there. It’ll be fine. You can do this.”
“Okay!” My voice seemed to echo again—I heard my own words doubled. Echoes really did make voices sound younger... A chill drifted from the top of my head and down my spine.
“Not yet,” Lady Robur instructed. “Keep solidifying it steadily without letting up until the material’s permafrost transformation is complete. Increase the magical power sealed within the soil... Yes, that’s it. Imagine the permafrost gradually eroding water into the soil, then envision large ice formations to alter the material. Then compress the density within the magically created earthen wall... Yes, very good. Just a little more... Almost there... Now solidify it there, refine the magic power, and complete the spell.” She really sounded like a seasoned mage.
“It’s done!”
“Excellent. Well then, shall we dissolve the wall on the pope’s side now?” She was smiling gently, but I was startled by her suggestion.
“Wh-What? But if we do that...”
“No need to worry. This has a separate function built in for when it breaks.” She waved the staff she held in her hand.
“Wh-What?! More importantly, how did you know that?!” Of course, I was stunned by what she was saying. I was clinging to the sudden, faint hope that I might be saved, but I was afraid of being disappointed. After all, rumor had it that Lady Robur was talentless and incompetent, with low magical power. Even if she possessed genius-level talent in certain areas, her lack of magical power was undeniable. Sure, the advice she’d just given me and her sense of magic made me feel she had some aptitude, but surely that was different from magical artifacts...right?
“Well, I am a second-year in the magic tool course, after all.” Her cheerful, matter-of-fact reply made me snap to attention.
“Ah... Right. I’m sorry for doubting you.”
Truthfully, magic tool course students were notoriously hard to come by. Most nobles assumed it was a path taken by wealthy commoners or lower nobility who lacked the magic power to become mages.
That was true in a way, but apparently just studying in the magic tools course didn’t guarantee that just anyone could become a magic tool craftsperson. I’d heard that regardless of how much magical power one possessed, only those skilled in manipulating magic and possessing exceptional manual dexterity could create advanced magical tools.
“That’s fine,” she said, smiling. “Many people misunderstand magic tool craftspeople, but you actually knew about it. I’m so happy.”
“What? Oh, um... Yes, I did a little research.” Seeing Lady Robur smile so naturally and happily made my heart skip a beat! Her genuine smile was so devastating it could make even a woman’s heart flutter, and I ended up giving a weird reply! How embarrassing!
“Now then, now then, how about quickly erasing this wall?” The pope’s voice rang out abruptly again. “The magical beast stored within that magic circle is strong enough that even Lady Robur or whoever is hiding over there couldn’t defeat it, surely.”
The frozen ground where the hole had been sealed showed no abnormalities. Maybe because my heart had been pounding wildly just a moment ago, I was still afraid, but the feeling was less intense than before.
“Then I’ll take him up on that and have you remove it,” Lady Robur said. “It’s unlikely the pope will do anything straight after it disappears, but just to be safe, you should erase your presence. Besides, look—we have this. Don’t worry.” Those kind indigo eyes, somehow reminiscent of my grandmother, still seemed fixed on the top of my head. Still, the words of this magical tools course student were reassuring and dependable.
“Okay.” When I replied, my voice echoed back to me again, trapped by the wall I’d erected. I no longer reacted to how young it sounded—and the chill drifting from the top of my head down my spine was surely because both walls were made of frozen earth.
“All right then, I’ll release it!”
“Good luck, Di... Mmm! Miss Linda!” Lady Robur stumbled over her words even though she usually spoke so smoothly, but well, that could happen to anyone! Maybe she was just a little nervous.
“Thank you!” And so, as I dispersed the magic power woven into the wall, it crumbled away in pieces, now just ordinary earth again.
The pope must have been standing right near the wall; he was standing there with a cool look on his face. He only caught sight of Lady Robur standing behind me, though—or rather, behind my concealed presence.
The demon stood slightly behind the pope, her mouth still twisted in a grimace.
“You’ve finally emerged,” the pope said. “Oh? And who might be the one who came to your aid?”
Whoosh. Something suddenly flew from behind me toward the pope.
“Hmph, throwing something like that...!” The pope dodged it casually, glanced at Lady Robur just as casually, and immediately gasped in surprise.
Well, of course he would. As soon as she’d thrown the staff, Lady Robur grabbed my shoulder and, with a shout of encouragement—“Heave-ho!”—shoved me hard, with terrifying force...straight into the pope!
“Huh?!”
“Wha—?! When did you—?!” Even the pope was startled—it was point-blank range and I’d been hiding my presence! Honestly, I never imagined I’d be charging headlong into danger like this, straight at the pope!
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the lady sprinting off in that full-speed dash style of hers. Had I just been used as a decoy?!
“Secret Technique: The Whip!” shouted Lady Robur as she plunged her hand into her skirt pocket, grabbed the familiar handle she’d hidden there, and unleashed the whip.
“Again?!” I blurted out.
A purplish-blue rope sprang from the handle. I’d seen this before! Just like I remembered, the rope wrapped around my waist. Lady Robur pulled the handle, drawing me toward her. This was exactly what had happened last time.
“Using your stealthy shadow as bait? Nice move! But I won’t let you escape!” The pope raised his hand. Who was the stealthy shadow?! I was just an ordinary count’s daughter!
“Miss Linda,” Lady Robur called out, “throw the orbs!”
“Y-Yes?!?!” Screaming, I hurled the frozen earth orbs at the pope, triggering the indecent activation. “Naked sea butterfly soup over rice!”
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! They exploded midair.
As expected, I was pulled toward Lady Robur and used as a shield. Sensing the pope was about to retaliate, I immediately blocked his shock wave with a wall of frozen earth. If it had been a regular earth wall, it definitely wouldn’t have held!
“There you go!” With a carefree shout, the lady picked up the staff that had fallen unnoticed and flung it over the shield. For an instant, it felt like her magic flowed through the staff, and the whip at my waist was released.
“What now?!” scoffed the pope. It was supposed to be a surprise explosion, yet it barely seemed to affect him! He just sounded irritated!
The staff, tracing a gentle arc, fell toward his head only to be deflected by a simple hand strike. Though we couldn’t see it past the wall shield, we heard a clattering sound as it hit the ground and rolled away.
So the alternate function when the staff was broken meant physically throwing it? Really?
But my thoughts were interrupted as I sensed the activation of a magical device from beyond the shield. If I could feel it this clearly, that meant a major spell was definitely being cast...
Huh? A magic circle had appeared at our feet?! But now it was wavering. What was going on?!
“Of course you interrupted us.” Suddenly, Lady Robur’s voice came from behind me. It was cold and mocking, something I’d never heard from her since we met.
Then, two familiar male voices came from beyond the shield.
“Huh?!”
“So you finally activated it, huh?”
“I’ll leave the rest to you two!” Lady Robur’s voice had suddenly become cheerful.
“Leave it to us.”
“Don’t just leave it to us! At least explain the situation!”
Before the man could finish speaking to Lady Robur, the scenery shifted dramatically.
“Perfect formation, Miss Linda.” Lady Robur gave me a thumbs-up and winked... Ugh, she was so cute. She’d used me as a physical attack and as a shield...but that smile was just unfair. “I believed the two of you could do it!”
“Ha ha ha... Really?” I asked, gasping for breath. Her laid-back demeanor made my knees buckle, and I collapsed onto the wooden floor just like the first time I’d been used as a shield. Questions about what “the two of you” meant were shoved to the back of my mind.
“Yes... I’m saved... Ugh... Uuugh...” That was when my tear ducts gave out and I started crying... Well, I guess that was inevitable.
“Oh dear, you’re already crying without even drinking any alcohol!” Lady Robur started patting my head gently. Why bring alcohol into this? She really was a genius beyond the comprehension of ordinary people like me.
But...was there something wrong with my sense of touch? I could feel the vibrations in my head, but it was like I was wearing a hat—I couldn’t feel Lady Robur’s elegant, luxurious hands touching me.
“What on earth is going on?” said a familiar voice. “Why are you in my room...?”
“Now, now, Priest Nax. It’s been a few hours. Heh heh heh, I’m most relieved the curse was lifted without difficulty. To cover up the lingering effects and various other matters... A banquet... Ahem. No, to celebrate the divorce being finalized between Robur family head and his wife, we’re hosting a feast to honor the church officials who worked so hard!”
Hold on, Lady Robur! That wasn’t the kind of thing that should be celebrated! Even I knew that!