In Ruiple, the festival is in full swing.
Everyone is embracing the atmosphere, putting aside their concerns and worries, and Agnes and Belka have blended right in.
“Whew… It’s refreshing…”
Belka had been holding an ice cup to her cheek for a while, while Agnes merely rolled a cube every now and then without putting anything in her mouth.
“I think this mission is easier than expected…”
Agnes looked at Belka with a blank expression.
“This is still a mission. Don’t let your guard down.”
“Oh, right…”
“No one knows what situation might arise.”
“Yeeees…”
Belka, feeling deflated, just glanced at Agnes.
After all, for a girl like Belka, who fears social interactions, Agnes is like her natural enemy. Her tone is stiff, and her expression is cold.
“Um, how long do we need to stay in Ruiple…?”
“At least a week.”
Agnes answered while turning a cube with one hand.
Based on the assumption that they haven’t identified the cause, isn’t it right to observe for at least a week to see if Ruiple is truly a safe area? Performance is also needed.
…If they can find and remove the cause, returning immediately could be possible, but that, too, is easier said than done.
“This bet… it’s super important, right? I heard that if we win, we can go in and out of the Imperial Family’s reports…”
“Of course, it’s a very important bet, but it’s not just because of the Imperial Family’s reports.”
“Eh…? Is there some other important reason…?”
Belka’s pink eyes widened in surprise.
“Isn’t there going to be an Exchange Meeting among the six Magic Towers soon?”
Belka still looked like she didn’t get it, so Agnes added slowly.
“The Imperial Magic Tower hasn’t attended the Exchange Meetings more than ten times. Other Magic Towers must be starting to realize that the Imperial Magic Tower is unstable, right?”
“Right…?”
“But if we achieve results in Ruiple, the gaze of suspicion towards the Imperial Magic Tower will diminish somewhat. It also reduces the chance of slander.”
“U-uh, slander? Do they do that at the Exchange Meeting?”
“…Do you think the Exchange Meeting is some sort of tea party?”
Agnes clicked her tongue.
“It’s merely disguised as an Exchange Meeting, but in reality, it’s a battlefield. A place where your life is threatened.”
“W-why? Why would such gatherings exist…?”
“To keep each other in check and for magic to progress, there must be struggles to survive. Just like with swords, magic is also a discipline built on blood.”
“That’s scary… Can’t we just not participate…?”
“We’ve delayed the sale of the Magic Tower on the agreement to produce results. How can we not participate? Think it through…”
Agnes paused her words and sighed heavily.
…Why am I so unlucky with people?
My superior is utterly unpredictable, and my junior seems unbearably dull. Am I crazy for quitting my position as an Imperial Administrator…? Crazy…
At least one good thing is that Belka is Agnes’s junior. In other words, she can be controlled.
“If you have questions, don’t just act on your own. Please go through me, your superior. Do you understand?”
“Ah, yes!”
For once, Belka answered cheerfully.
“Agnes, since you say this bet is super important, is it really okay for us to be here…?”
“Of course not.”
“Then why is the Inspector…”
“…It’s a person you cannot comprehend with common sense.”
That question was relatively normal.
However.
The next moment.
“Um, Agnes, are you superior to Sunweed?”
“…?”
An incomprehensible question flew in.
“I won’t respond to nonsense from now on.”
“This isn’t nonsense…”
Belka wriggled her fingers.
A moment later.
“Agnes… Can I go to the bathroom…?”
“There’s no need to ask about that either.”
Agnes unconsciously pulled out a notepad.
[ Junior has no answers. ]
[ It seems better to just enjoy the festival. ]
She quickly jotted down two lines.
Her superior also had no answers, but her junior had less than that. It felt like it would be better to continue enjoying the festival inside the manor.
Rather than wandering outside and causing a huge incident while losing the bet, it was a simple judgment to spend time in a place where safety is guaranteed.
“Um, Agnes…”
“Think three times before speaking to me.”
Agnes cut off Belka’s words.
“If, after thinking three times, you still feel that it’s something you must say, then you can speak. Understand?”
“No… It’s not that…”
Belka pointed towards the manor’s wall.
“Isn’t that a monster…?”
Rumble rumble rumble─!
“…?”
It was real.
“…!”
Like waves crashing over a breakwater, countless monsters leaped over the wall and rushed in.
The two immediately started searching for one person.
“W-we need to call the Inspector…!”
“Damn Inspector…!”
Just as the two women turned their heads toward their residence.
WHOOSH─
The entire residence froze white.
An immense chill spread throughout the manor.
Tap tap─
On the now icy ground, Ezekiel walked without slipping, slowly closing the distance to Tirbi.
‘There’s not a single gap. No, is every part a gap?’
Ezekiel approached with an air of leisurely strolling, yet he didn’t seem careless at all.
Such an attitude could only come from a strong conviction in oneself. Tirbi acknowledged it cleanly. It was a Ice Magic Technique that deserved such a mindset.
“D-don’t come closer.”
Tirbi gripped her greatsword’s handle tightly. Her wrist trembled; it was her first experience of this.
“I said don’t come closer─!”
WHOOSH─!
The greatsword traced a near-perfect horizontal arc. Its might was as tremendous as the size of the blade.
“…”
However, that strike narrowly missed its mark.
Tirbi stood frozen in place.
“…”
The reason she remained frozen was different. It wasn’t because her strike didn’t hit the enemy.
‘…He didn’t even blink.’
Moments ago, some strands of Ezekiel’s hair had been sliced and scattered.
It was an incredibly close call; had the blade gone merely a bit deeper, his skull would have split, and brain matter would have sprayed everywhere…
…But he didn’t flinch.
As if he knew from the beginning that it wouldn’t hit.
No, as if he believed it was just a trivial attack even if it did hit.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
That was the end of his calm reaction.
He was different from the humans Tirbi had faced before.
In any duel, Tirbi had always been in a favorable position, winning with ease. Humans inherently possess fear.
…but what if the enemy is one who has no fear?
‘That can’t be! It can’t be….’
Tirbi gathered energy into her greatsword.
‘Soul Cutter.’
A technique that gathers the fears of gathered souls to swing down. Wasn’t that an immeasurable accumulation?
—I’m scared!
—I’m terrified!
—Help me!
The wails of the souls began to resonate.
Rumble rumble rumble─
Simultaneously, the entire residence started to shake.
An overwhelming power that can be distinctly felt.
This strike should do it, Tirbi thought. She had amassed the fear of over a thousand souls. If all these memories flood in at once, there would be no way to resist.
She might even burst her brain.
Tap─
The moment Ezekiel took another step forward.
“GGAAAAAHHHHH!”
Tirbi swung down her sword with all her might.
The souls, rising from her sword, opened their mouths wide as if to swallow Ezekiel. In that fleeting moment, she saw Ezekiel still standing there without having taken any action.
It will connect. It will definitely connect.
BOOM─!
With a roaring sound, the four walls of the residence exploded. The ceiling turned to debris, raining dust.
Eventually, when all the rubble cleared.
“…!”
Ezekiel was unscathed.
His neck was wrapped in ice like armor, and the greatsword hadn’t cut through at all, remaining embedded.
Tirbi’s eyes nearly bulged out of her head.
In her entire life, had she ever encountered such an absurd gap in ability? At least in Tirbi’s mind, she had never once imagined it.
Ezekiel calmly opened his mouth.
“What an interesting sword that swallows fear.”
“W-what….”
“Hey.”
Ezekiel said.
“Have you ever thought about your own end?”
“…”
When Tirbi couldn’t respond, Ezekiel opened his mouth again, his voice still completely calm.
“Decide. In what form you wish to freeze.”
“Ah… ah…”
Tirbi couldn’t continue her words.
Her head had completely locked up. She had lived her life without a single thought that the day she would face her end could ever come.
Then, at some moment.
Ezekiel nodded as if he had had enough.
“Right now, that expression suits your end.”
The reflection of her face on the icy ground.
It was an expression of sheer terror.
“Ugh!”
Simultaneously, Tirbi felt immense pain and dropped her sword. The Demonic Sword that swallows fear tried to devour her whole.
The reason was obvious.
‘I’m… feeling fear? Me?’
The moment she felt fear, she couldn’t grip the Demonic Sword. The absence of fear was the minimum condition to wield this greatsword.
Ezekiel quietly reached out a hand.
“Perfectly matching.”
With those final words, everything in the vicinity froze.
A single high-ranking Fiend.
With a terrified expression, she halted, breathless.
“Conclusion.”
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