“Lam, everything will be resolved if you use the item you’ve prepared, won’t it?” Char asked.
“Oh, right.” Lam nodded, producing a magic tool from the pocket of her knight uniform.
A box-shaped object that could comfortably fit in Lam’s palm floated in the air above her hand. Apparently, this was an item from five hundred years ago that was used to record events. It could then project them as images in the air and play the sounds for everyone to listen to. Back then, people used it to record council sessions at the royal palace as well as for other things, such as enhancing dramatic performances in plays.
Lam hadn’t really made any items at the Mercure estate so far, but she’d claimed that she would get down to crafting more of them from this point forward. She had diligently been working on this one since she heard about the Faith’s plans to use Epocha’s weapon prototype, hoping to use it to capture proof of their schemes—she had barely made it in time for the hunting tournament. From what she’d told Char, she had contacted Épée and Flèche in a hurry to ask them to prepare the necessary materials for her. With one of her disciples being the king of a nation and the other the head of a so-called “company,” they had managed to immediately teleport the supplies over to Hanche.
“I’ll undo the dancing spell on anyone who confesses their wrongdoings here and now. Come on, tell us what you’ve been up to since joining the knights,” she called out to the dancing men.
While reluctant at first, they eventually spoke up, and Lam broke them free from the spell one after another.
“I was against the captain’s methods at first,” one started. “But he’s a noble, so I couldn’t risk crossing him.”
Another nodded. “The things he orders us to do are crazy. Even when I manage to meet his demands, he never acknowledges my efforts; he just expects me to replicate them the next time.”
“Same here. At first, I hated following his commands, but I had to adapt to the way things are done here.”
Seeing their comrades confess their wrongdoings and be freed from the spell, the other knights eventually admitted to their own transgressions as well. All save for one: Gahariet.
Lam used her magic item to record her questions and the knights’ answers. Though a crime was a crime, Char would be lying if he said a part of him didn’t feel a little bad for them. But as the target of their assassination attempt, he refused to let them get away scot-free.
Once she had gotten a confession out of every knight except Gahariet, she proudly held up the magic item in front of Char.
“I already recorded proof of the Faith’s schemes earlier. Now all we have to do is show it to the people of the kingdom. We’ll use this opportunity to raise awareness about the Royal Knights’ evil deeds as well.”
“Good idea. But it’s Thibault’s job to spread the news, not ours,” Char pointed out.
That was their agreement, after all.
“You’re right... But I wonder if we can really let him handle it.”
“I get what you’re trying to say.”
Thibault was a frail and unreliable man, so it was only natural for Lam to doubt whether he could deliver on his word. Char, however, firmly believed that he would pull through.
“I was concerned he wouldn’t manage to perform his role when we first joined the knights, but now I suspect he’ll be fine,” he said.
If he had the resolve to stand up to a group of knights all by himself, he likely had what it took to achieve his goal.
“If someone as critical as you puts their faith in him, I’ll trust your judgment,” Lam said, squinting as if it were suddenly too bright outside. Then, she looked up at Char and gave him a smile.
Char was very, very weak to Lam’s smile.
Suppressing the instinct to reach out and pull her into a hug, he nodded. “I’m sure he’ll be fine,” he said, making a conscious effort to maintain his composure.
They had barely finished their conversation when Gahariet began shouting curses in his shrill voice. He hadn’t stopped performing the strange dance moves enforced by Lam’s spell, not even for a single second. In contrast to the other knights who all stood there with glum looks on their faces, as if their spirits were broken, Gahariet was still full of energy.
As she glanced at him, a look of resentment registered on her face. “Good grief, captain, you still haven’t learned your lesson? Well, if you don’t have any intention to correct your behavior, I need to think of what to do with you.”
Char agreed with her assessment that Gahariet would be back to his usual shenanigans if they let things be as they were.
After a moment of contemplation, a spark lit up in Lam’s eyes as she exclaimed, “I’ll send you to learn about the world at my friend’s company! You’ll discover how to cooperate with others!”
Char was speechless.
She just said something absolutely crazy. That “friend” of hers is her first disciple, right? He’s absolutely not running a company; he’s a mafia boss.
Char knew Épée would immediately agree to help if Lam asked.
But we can’t just throw Gahariet to that pack of thugs... Actually, that might not be such a bad idea.
Having to survive in a group of people much stronger and more brutal than him might knock some sense into him. Maybe.
While Char was lost in thought, Lam used her magic to arbitrarily teleport Gahariet to Lèvres without further ado.
Thinking over the magic he’d just seen, Ves pensively studied the knights. All of them were crouching on the forest ground, looking as if they had lost the will to live.
“A spell that makes others dance under certain conditions, huh? I’ve never seen anything like this before,” he said.
Apparently, that was the part that caught his attention the most.
Lam, on the other hand, seemed to be gazing intently at the swollen forest floor, curiosity clear on her face. She appeared a little shocked.
“I’ve seen this spell before...” she murmured.
“Aren’t you familiar with pretty much all spells?” Char asked, puzzled by his wife’s reaction.
“That’s not it. This spell, it’s...” She paused and nervously turned to Char. “It’s one that my teacher invented herself. I was there when she came up with it, so I’m sure. I’ve never met anyone other than her who could use it.”
According to Lam, her teacher, Finis, was an elfin—a tribe of long-lived people—with an incredible knowledge of magic. However, she had disappeared once Lam had reached what was considered adulthood in her past life.
After defeating Epocha, Lam had declared that she wanted to go look for her teacher, and Char had promised to help her.
But I never expected that we would stumble upon a clue so early on in our journey.
Lam seemed quite disturbed as well.
“H-Hey, Ves? Could you tell me where you learned that spell?” she asked, her voice trembling.
The young man stayed silent for a moment before saying, “If I tell you, will you answer my question? How did you learn all these things about magic in this day and age? The Motar Faith erased nearly all useful spells from the world centuries ago. No mana wielders except the Faith’s saints should be able to use powerful magic. But you all don’t look like saints. If anything, you seem to be against the Faith.”
So Ves did know that magic had declined in the past centuries and that the spells Lam could use weren’t common knowledge.
What should we do? Char hesitated.
Beside him, Lam simply replied, “Sure. I’ll answer your question.”
Char began, “Lam...”
“It’s not something I have to hide, and if it causes any issues, I’ll deal with it when I have to.”
“But—” Char tried to argue, but she wouldn’t hear it.
“I might learn a hint about my teacher’s whereabouts. I would like to hear what Ves has to say.”
Char wanted to grant Lam’s wishes as much as he could, and she seemed to really want to see her teacher again.
I won’t stop her, then. If something bad happens, I’ll be there to protect her.
He gave Lam a nod. Ves seemed satisfied with their arrangement as well.
“You might not believe me, Ves, but my magic teacher was an elfin. Ah, do you know what elfins are? Perhaps people don’t know about them nowadays.”
“I do know about elfins,” Ves confirmed, a serious look on his face.
“Oh, so they’re still around these days? My teacher taught me magic five hundred years ago. After that, complications happened, and I was reincarnated through magic five hundred years later. That’s why I can use spells from back then.”
“I see. My lie-detecting spell didn’t react to your words, so it looks like you’re telling the truth. Although I suppose you could have overwritten my spell and erased it,” Ves said.
When had he even cast a spell on Lam?
Char truly couldn’t underestimate this man.
“I would never do something as tedious and roundabout as overwriting your spell. From what I’ve seen so far, you would have noticed anyway,” Lam said.
“Fair point. Then I’ll assume you’re telling the truth. Still, I’ve never heard of a reincarnation spell succeeding before. I’m really curious about it. Could you tell me more?”
“First, I want to know how you learned the spell that you used earlier. Your magic really reminds me of that used by elfins.”
“That’s probably because my teacher is an elfin,” Ves said.
“I se— Wait, what?! Is it common for elfins to take humans as their disciples? Did I just never know about it all this time?!”
Lam’s eyes had shot wide open—an understandable reaction.
Elfins almost never showed themselves to humans, and there were very few of them. It was said that the last sighting of an elfin by a human was an age ago.
It’s just like Lam’s third disciple said: Some elfins are still alive in this day and age. Perhaps Lam truly will be able to meet with her teacher again.
Char glanced at Lam, and she met his gaze with a nod. Then, she raised her voice, acting as if she had suddenly remembered something. “Oh my! It slipped my mind, but we need to get back to the guests’ tent! I left them in there before rushing over here. They’re probably still dancing as we speak...”
“Did you use that weird spell over there too?!” Char exclaimed.
“Yes. They started kicking up a fuss after giving me their testimonies and tried to behave indecently toward the female knights. They’re supposed to be clergymen, for goodness’s sake. What a troublemaking bunch.”
“I see...”
Why hadn’t she used a more sensible spell? He could easily picture the chaos inside that tent.
Well, there’s not much point in me saying this to her. For now, let’s get out of these woods.
Temporarily pausing their conversation, Char, Lam, and the twins teleported to the resting area where Lam had left the Faith’s big shots.