“He resembles us? If that’s the case, shall I invite him to join the Knights of the Black Lion?”
“Hadn’t you already decided to do that?”
“I intended to respect that child’s resolve. It also feels a little too early to invite him right now. After all, isn’t he still in the middle of growing up? In my personal opinion, he really doesn’t need to learn magic, but….”
“It’s not like he’s wasting his time by learning magic, right?” Gion asked optimistically.
Carmen gave a cold reminder, “That’s as long as it doesn’t cause him to drift from his path.”
Gion recalled Eward. Could that child really have… attempted to learn black magic? Gion had yet to accept such a fact. Carmen glanced over at Gion’s troubled face.
“…Eward will be placed under surveillance,” she said eventually.
Gion remained silent, “….”
“We have already dispatched one of our Black Lions to Tanis’ relatives. Since he’s the eldest son of the main family, Eward will be spared having his throat cut, but there will be no next time. Eward will live under surveillance for the rest of his life. And of course, his right of succession will be stripped from him.”
He wanted to live freely.
Gion heard that was what Eward had said. However, no matter how much Eward wished for this, he would remain under guard for the rest of his life.
Carmen revealed, “We’ve heard that Tanis is looking for a tutor to teach her son magic. We will allow this to happen. Because if a mastermind is truly behind this incident, they may attempt to reestablish contact with Eward.”
“…Understood,” Gion acknowledged, left with no choice but to nod in confirmation.
* * *
In the end, Eugene wasn’t able to talk much with Gion, whom he had finally reunited with after several months.
He could smell the scent of blood wafting from the Knights of the Black Lion. It was clear what had taken place since they had gone to interrogate a black wizard. It appeared that he had been interrogated, tortured, and finally executed.
“…Alright then, we’ll see you next time,” Gion said with a low voice as Ciel waved her hand from beside him and cried out, “Goodbye.”
For a moment, Eugene thought about what he should say to Gion, but in the end, he just bowed his head and said, “See you next time.”
“Do you have any thoughts about joining the Knights of the Black Lion?” The one who had suddenly spoken up was Carmen.
Confused, Eugene turned his head only to see Carmen standing there with her arms crossed.
“Huh?” he grunted.
“They say that you have great talents. If you have no interest in becoming the Patriarch, you should just join the Knights of the Black Lion as soon as possible.”
“Thank you for the offer—”
“Currently, the position of the Second Division Captain’s squire is vacant. If you want, I can recommend you for it immediately.” .
“Thanks, but—”
“If you become a captain’s squire, you can learn a lot. The apprenticeship period is about five years, but if it’s you, you should be able to become a full member of the Black Lions when you become an adult, three years later.”
“I hope you have a safe journey.”
She should allow people to finish what they were saying. Why did she have to keep cutting him off like that? Eugene bowed his head deeply as he said farewell to Carmen.
“That’s a shame,” Carmen said as she turned around.
Before they entered the warp gate, Ciel waved at Eugene once more.
“Has there been any word from the White Tower Master?” Eugene asked Lovellian once the visitors were gone.
“Nope. If she had successfully managed to sign a contract, she would have come here right away to brag. But, seeing that there is no news, it seems that this contract won’t be so easy,” Lovellian speculated.
That son-of-a-bitch Tempest. Eugene’s brows furrowed deeply as he clicked his tongue.
“Fucking Tempest,” a voice cursed on the roof of the White Tower of Magic.
Standing there being struck by strong gusts of wind, Melkith had also spat out a few swear words regarding Tempest. Without a single thread covering her, she was completely naked and holding a staff.
By embracing the wind in this primal fashion, it had taken her several hours just to excite all her senses and maximize her sensitivity to the wind. She had feared that the wind might still not be strong enough, so she had risked using magic to summon even stronger gusts. Finally, she had aroused the blessing of protection placed on Wynnyd and personally transmitted her intentions to Tempest.
However, there was absolutely no response from Tempest. Even though she had clearly conveyed her intentions to the spirit world… it felt absurd that he still hadn’t replied even once.
The sun was setting, and the day was turning into night. To raise her sensitivity to its absolute limits, Melkith couldn’t even use magic to warm her body. Her skin was forced to endure these freezing cold winds and was already covered in goosebumps. Melkith had to sniff through a runny nose as she continued infusing her mana and will into Wynnyd.
She finally heard a voice, [Contractor….]
But Melkith didn’t feel any joy upon hearing it.
“Levin…!”
It was the Spirit King of Lightning. As Melkith called out his name, a crackle of lightning was mixed into the loudly blowing wind.
“I haven’t even called you, so why are you the one appearing?” Melkith demanded.
[Put on some clothes first…,] muttered the crackling lightning.
However, Melkith had no intention of putting on her clothes.
Instead, she pulled up her body, which had curled up from the cold, and cried out, “Great Spirit King of the Wind, Master of Storms! I, Melkith El-Hayah, wish to make a contract with you!”
Levin sighed, [Tempest asked me to tell you to shut up….]
“Tell him to come here personally and say it to my face!”
[Tempest just… doesn’t want to make a contract with you….]
“Tell him that he should at least come and hear me out for a bit! Tell him that I can give him whatever he wants!”
[Contractor. You are not able to give Tempest what he wants.]
“What does Tempest want?!”
[That’s…,] the lightning trailed off. After a few moments of silence, he released a long sigh and continued, [You really are lost in your own delusions….]
“What?” Melkith demanded.
[He wants you to return Wynnyd to its original owner….]
“It’s mine! I’m the owner!”
[Don’t lie…. Even Tempests knows that you only borrowed it from the true owner of Wynnyd for a short while….]
“So he was listening in all this time! Tempest! I am the greatest spirit summoner in all of history! I am the only spirit summoner in the world who deserves to make a contract with you!”
Melkith threw down her staff and grabbed hold of Wynnyd. Then she started randomly swinging Wynnyd around on the roof of the tall White Tower of Magic, her body still stark naked.
She desperately pleaded, “That’s why you should appear in front of me! Although I don’t know what you want, I can give you whatever you desire?!”
Levin groaned, [Contractor… please… have some shame….]
“I said get out here!”
[Tempest says… stop this vain attempt….]
“Kyaaagh!”
An eruption of stress caused the sound of a crow’s cry to escape Melkith’s lips. Her hair raised on end as she continued her harsh screams. The lightning, which had been watching this silently, sighed once more.
—Fizz.
A streak of lightning descended from the sky above the White Tower of Magic. This merciless lightning strike engulfed Melkith.
“Kyaaaaak!”
With a piercing scream, Melkith’s eyes rolled up into the back of her head. If she was an ordinary person, this lightning would have killed her instantly, but as the one who had made a contract with the Lightning Spirit King, Melkith wouldn’t die from a lightning strike like this. However, all the strength left her muscles, and she collapsed onto the floor.
[The Storm… wishes to go northward. To defeat the devildom in the north that no one has been able to conquer…. To deal with the regrets that have yet to be forgotten after hundreds of years….]
Although Melkith was already unconscious, the lightning continued to mutter to her with a sorrowful tone.
* * *
Melkith came to find Eugene after ten days had passed.
Eugene, who had been staying in Sienna’s Hall within Akron, couldn’t stop his jaw from partially dropping when he saw Melkith’s appearance as she stepped out of the elevator.
How could a person become so exhausted in just ten days?
Eventually, he remembered to ask, “…So, the contract?”
“Why even ask when you can clearly tell, you motherfucker?” Melkith cursed.
Caught off-guard, Eugene asked, “What’s with the cursing?”
“That son of a bitch Tempest!” Melkith burst out.
Mer narrowed her eyes at Melkith’s sudden cry. She slid off of a chair that was about as tall as she was and turned to glare at Melkith.
“Miss pants-wetter, this is a place where you’re supposed to keep quiet,” Mer reminded her.
“Kyaaaagh!” Melkith squawked in anger.
“Hah, really,” with a sigh, Mer’s expression twisted even more as she raised a finger. She was thinking of shutting Melkith up and kicking her out, but before Mer could use her magic, Eugene stepped forward to stop her.
“So you really weren’t able to sign a contract with him?” Eugene confirmed.
“Why! Would! I! Lie?!” Melkith growled.
“Tempest hasn’t asked you to lie about it, right?”
“Kiyaaaaak!”
Was she really a human? As Eugene tsked his tongue, he tapped on the Cloak of Darkness that he had slung around his shoulders.
“As long as you borrow it for the rest of the day, that would be a full ten years, though,” Eugene said with some regret.
“Kiiiih…,” Melkith hissed.
Eugene offered, “If you return Wynnyd to me now, I’ll round it down to nine years for you.”
Melkith’s head fell forward as her shoulders shook. Then, with shaking hands, she held onto Wynnyd.
“N-nine years…?” Melkith struggled to comprehend it.
“This is nice and warm,” Eugene gloated over his latest acquisition.
“…It isn’t too hot even when you wear it in summer.”
“How should I clean it?”
“You don’t… need to. There’s magic that does that….”
“Wow, that’s great.”
Eugene really was happy to have it. With a snort, Melkith returned Wynnyd to Eugene.
“…Take… good care of it,” she reluctantly requested.
“Please take care,” Eugene first put away Wynnyd, then bowed his head in farewell.
After looking at Eugene with desperate and unwilling eyes, Melkith got up to leave.
“What am I supposed to do when he doesn’t even come when I call him…,” Melkith grumbled to herself at an audible volume as she headed back to the elevator.
He didn’t really care why she felt the need to do this, so Eugene didn’t pay her any attention.
[Hamel was an asshole, and Molon was an idiot. Although it was difficult to determine who was worse between them, Hamel was at least a little better than Molon.]
It was painful for Eugene to even read this.
Saying that he was better than that fool, Molon didn’t bring Eugene any comfort….
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