Having finished our investigation of the Motar Faith in Hanche, we all gathered in the barrack’s mess room—Char, the twins, Thibault, and me. We had fixed the biggest of the Royal Knights’ issues and teleported the Faith’s big shots to the former main church. Now, all we needed to do was wait for Thibault to write his article. After that, we had to find a way to make it public, along with the evidence I had recorded with my magic item where you could clearly hear the members of the Faith confessing to their wrongdoings.
“Here, Miss Lam!” Thibault said, laying out the article he’d spent hours writing on a table, using the recordings as a reference.
“You wrote a lot,” Char said, scanning the documents, visibly amazed.
“It’s time for the truth to come to light.”
If the strained look on his face was anything to go by, he was quite nervous.
With Thibault’s article in one hand and the magic item in the other, I offered him a smile. “I have one last thing to give you, Thibault. When I told my disciples about my plan, they both sent me tons of the same items as the one I made.”
They truly were good boys, always willing to help their teacher.
“I copied the recordings and transferred them to the new items.”
This way, the evidence of the Faith’s machinations could be played from any of the magic items.
“Char also came up with another magic trinket. This one can project a scene in real time.”
He had said that it would be more convenient to have something like that on hand.
My husband always made me very proud.
“So that’s what this pile of crates in the corner was—magic items. I’ve been wondering what their contents were. Miss Lam, Mr. Char, thank you so much for the wonderful items. I’m ready to fight for my cause now,” Thibault said, grabbing his article and glaring at the empty air, having steeled his nerves.
“Leave the items to us,” I assured him. “Meanwhile, um... Could you talk to the people of Hanche about your article? My disciples sent me voice-amplifying items as well, so we can project your speech throughout the entire capital.”
“P-Public speaking really isn’t my forte, though!” Thibault exclaimed in a panic.
Throwing him a sidelong glance, I used an illusion spell to make copies of his article, which I reformatted to look like something you’d find written in an actual newspaper. Then, I teleported them in the middle of the sky above the capital so they’d scatter throughout the streets. That way, most people should see them drifting by.
“Now, all we need to do is project the recordings.”
Not only would this grant the article more credibility, but it would also allow those who weren’t literate to understand the situation with the Faith. But I couldn’t help worrying that this might be too shocking an experience for the citizens of Hanche. People these days weren’t used to magic, after all.
Right now was the perfect moment to carry out our plan, as most people were currently out shopping for dinner. Like I’d done with the articles, I teleported all the magic items into the sky to project the recordings above the city.
Meanwhile, Char began preparations with his own item. His was made of two boxes: one that he teleported into the sky alongside mine and another that he placed in front of Thibault to project his speech in real time above the city.
“I’ve imbued an enlargement spell into the item,” Char explained to me. “I didn’t have time to make more than one, but I figured that if I made it big enough, people would be able to see it from afar.”
Though he had only just learned how to perform an enlargement spell, he’d already incorporated it into his creation.
Char’s talent never ceases to amaze me. I didn’t even teach him how to make items, but he’s started making his own inventions. Now that I think about it, five hundred years ago, we used to have a similar tool to the one he made. Back then, when the king had to make important announcements, he would project his image through a mirror to the entire city.
Char’s item was very useful, indeed.
He and I teleported to the city square to make sure that our items were in working order. Rectangles of light appeared in the sky, and the images I had recorded earlier began to play out above the capital.
First up were the confessions of the bishops and priests of the Faith, with each member confessing their schemes.
We can hear them loud and clear. Thank goodness.
Next, the recording I had taken of the king and his minister admitting that they were aware of the Faith’s dissolution began to play, followed by the knights coming clean about their own wrongdoings.
Exclamations of shock and confusion reverberated throughout the city. Most people had stepped out of their houses to watch the images playing overhead, and from my vantage point in the city square, I could see their reactions quite clearly.
“They’re watching the recordings,” I said, relieved. “I was a little scared that they would refuse to even look at them, since they’re unfamiliar with magic.”
Char nodded. “That they didn’t run away is already a win.”
Once the recordings had played through and the light screens disappeared, Char’s item turned on. An enormous, clear wall appeared over the Royal Knights’ barracks, so big that I was positive people could see it from miles away. Thibault’s face appeared in the rectangle of light.