I felt my legs give out from under me, and I almost collapsed to my knees right there and then. Char, who was standing behind me, caught me just in time before I hit the floor.
“Th-Thank you, Char.”
We had been listening in on a conversation between the members of the Faith who were staying at the palace of Hanche.
“That bishop... He said that he has a weapon that one of the Faith’s cardinals developed, right?” I asked my husband for confirmation, my voice trembling.
“Unfortunately, that’s also what I heard,” he replied stiffly.
“Could it be the weapon prototype Epocha intended to use...?”
“That’s likely. I thought we’d gotten rid of them all. To think that one of those men snatched it from the main church...”
The weapons Epocha had tried to popularize had caused an enormous disaster five hundred years ago; they altered the mana of the user and released it into the air. More recently, Epocha had hired Épée’s company to manufacture more of them, but my disciple had quickly realized that they were the same weapons that nearly destroyed the world in the past. As such, he’d modified their design so that the weapons wouldn’t release altered mana, adding a functionality that turned the users into hedgehogs, and then he’d sent them to the Faith. Thanks to him, we managed to avoid another altered mana disaster and successfully dealt with Epocha.
“If he found this weapon at the main church, it might be the original one made by Epocha—not the modified version your first disciple crafted,” Char pointed out.
“In other words, this one might produce altered mana...”
“The person speaking mentioned making mana wielders use it. Poor souls. It must be unbearable for them to be forced to use dangerous weapons just because the Faith is a bunch of bigoted idiots.” Char’s tone was heavy. He knew what it was like to be discriminated against and bled dry by the Faith.
“I agree.”
“And if that weapon is the kind that has been altered by the madam’s first disciple, the poor mana wielders forced by the Faith to use it will be turned into glitzy hedgehogs,” one of the twins said from behind us.
That was a good point.
I debated going to confiscate the weapon right there and then. There were many members of the Faith in that room, but I should be able to destroy the weapon with my magic.
“Perhaps I should use a spell to erase all of their memories,” I said.
Shock shot across Char’s face.
“You’ll struggle to manipulate the memories of so many people at once. Are you sure that you can make it so that you’ll only erase the relevant information?”
Spells that pertained to memories required precise adjustments. They weren’t the kind that could be used on many people at once. The result of a mass spell in this case would likely put the members of the Faith into an unpredictable mental state.
“I’m not confident I can. But it’s better than leaving this weapon in their hands.”
That bishop didn’t know the dangers of altered mana. If people in Hanche discovered how powerful this weapon was, they’d probably try to get them mass-produced and round up innocent mana wielders to use them.
“We have to stop them.” I forced some strength back into my legs and was about to barge into the room when Char stopped me.
“Hold on, Lam. What if they’re hiding more weapons? We don’t even have proof that the one they have is dangerous. Let’s grill them for information first, then deal with them.”
“I assume that they will indeed talk if we use enough spells on them,” I said in agreement.
A panicked Thibault intervened. “Please wait! It’s just as Mr. Char said—we haven’t finished our investigation yet. The government must’ve convinced the people of the kingdom that my article was a hoax by now. I need concrete proof to show them that I was speaking the truth. And besides...” He paused, seemingly hesitant to speak, but eventually resumed. “If we cause too many waves without collecting concrete evidence of the Faith’s wrongdoings, King Flèche will be the one dealing with the consequences of our actions. I don’t want that!”
“You...have a point,” I conceded.
I might be able to solve the crux of the issue on my own, but that would mean making my dear disciple suffer the repercussions. I absolutely refused to let that happen.
He and Épée sacrificed their lives to save me. I can’t keep causing them trouble. But I don’t want to leave that weapon in the Faith’s hands either...
What was the best way to deal with this situation?
As I stood there anxiously pondering the question, Char set a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry, Lam. These people should stay here for some time still. We’ll expose their wrongdoings and make sure there’s no way for them to talk their way out of it. They won’t use that weapon—and any other they may have hidden—until the day of the hunting tournament. We just have to destroy them before then.”
I nodded reluctantly. He was right.
“Until then, we need to see if they have stashed other weapons away. I’ll find out,” Char said.
“You?” I asked.
“I agree that we shouldn’t leave this matter alone. But I’m counting on you to handle these guys on the day of the tournament.”
“A-All right.”
So he was going to carry out the investigation himself yet let me destroy the weapons... I had a feeling that he was looking out for me. Seeing him make so much progress as a person, I forced myself to regain my composure. I had almost lost control when I saw the weapons, but I was slowly managing to cool down.
I need to pull myself together and remember our primary objective.
Things were different from how they were five hundred years ago. Epocha was gone, and there weren’t as many of these weapons as there used to be then. Besides, the Mercures and my disciples were there to help me.
Yes. I’m sure that things will be fine this time.
Having collected myself, I decided to heed Char’s advice and wait until the day of the hunting contest to destroy the weapons.