82.5 – Nikolaus, Part One

The desolate hellscape that formed at the site of the dragon’s death came to be named the 「Dragon Death Realm」 because of the distinctive circumstances of its creation. Being also the land where the next calamity would be born, this Demon Realm alone could not be left unwatched.

However, there were places in the world where magical power naturally pooled, and several Demon Realms had formed in such locations. Disasters are a thing that does not occur at mankind’s convenience, so signs of monsters becoming more active had been confirmed in a Demon Realms separate from the Dragon Death Realm as well.

(Of all times, why now…)

Upon receiving the news, Nikolaus clicked his tongue and returned to the royal castle. After meeting with the ministers to discuss how to respond, it was decided that a large quantity of magical tools would be deployed and the remaining holy knights sent there.

After using magical power to adjust and produce those magical tools, he returned once again to Bit Village already burdened by exhaustion, only to find that some insolent fools had caused a commotion by trying to steal something belonging to a demonfolk. His irritation had reached its limit. …Though perhaps the one saving grace was that the Witch, having noticed Nikolaus’s return and happily deepened her smile, did not seem all that discouraged.

(Damn it… When you make a face like that… Well, I guess I can work for a bit more.)

――And so. Taking the three thieves with him, Nikolaus teleported to a certain prison in the north. Four people in total. The magical power expenditure was considerable, and nausea was beginning to rise in him, but he pressed his lips tightly together and kept it from showing on his face.

「Court Mage-dono…!? What brings you here so suddenly…!?」

「…I brought serious criminals. The documents are here.」

The prison officer, startled by the people who had suddenly appeared from the teleportation circle, hurried over, and Nikolaus handed him the documents. They contained details of the circumstances leading up to the criminals’ arrest, the charges against them, the extent of the damage, and so on.

He did not like that eyepatched knight, but he handled work related to the Witch with precision. If the documents had been prepared by Leonhart, there would be no omissions in the charges, nor would he have shown them any leniency.

　

「I see… Even if it’s only attempted theft, it’s still a grave offense if it’s demonfolk’s personal property. Life imprisonment at magical labor site would be appropriate.」

「What…!? B-But it was just theft…!?」

The thieves, who until then had remained quiet as though trying to appear remorseful, began making a fuss, and Nikolaus snorted at the sight. Since they had been caught before actually stealing anything, they had likely assumed that, as an attempted crime, the punishment would not be as severe. No doubt they had thought they would be out in a few years at most.

Magical labor imprisonment was a punishment in which a criminal’s magical power was collected and used to operate magical tools that served the country. Nikolaus himself had developed most magical tools, and since Vanilia was a nation where someone like him served as Court Mage, there were many magical tools in the country and they were actively used. The more magical power available, the better.

There was nothing more wasteful than letting criminals sit idle in prison. They could become a power source and work like draft horses until the day they died.

「You stole from the wrong person. Naturally, the punishment changes depending on the victim and the value of what you tried to steal.」

「But… just because we tried to steal some slightly unusual animal pet from a remote place…」

「…Your victim was a demonfolk. What part of that is slightly?」

It was only natural that the prison officer let out an exasperated sigh. The status afforded to demonfolk under this country’s laws was that of a 「Court Mage.」

Those laws had been created to accommodate Nikolaus, who until now had been the only demonfolk remaining in the world. Now that the Flower Witch had been recognized as a demonfolk, she was to be treated on the same level. It was nothing like stealing from a commoner.

「…Then I’ll leave the rest to you.」

「Yes, I have indeed taken them into custody. Thank you for your hard work, Mage-dono.」

Nikolaus answered the saluting prison officer with a nod and once again used teleportation magic to return to Bit Village. He knew perfectly well that he had used too much magical power, but a wave of fatigue so intense that he could no longer remain standing struck him, and he dropped to one knee where he stood.

The sun had already set and the surroundings were dark, so at least no one had witnessed him in such a pathetic state, but it did not seem as though he would be able to move for a while.

(…I didn’t have time to make a recovery potion…)

Cutting corners trying to return to this village as quickly as possible backfired on him. No, he would have been fine if all he had done was return. The problem was that when he came back, there had been insolent fools disrespecting the Witch, forcing him to use even more magical power. It was entirely those thieves’ fault.

(I suppose that’s enough for today… I’ll rest a little, go back to the inn, and visit her tomorrow.)

Nikolaus remained sitting on the magic circle and meditated while waiting for his magical power to recover. After some time, he sensed someone’s presence and opened his eyes.

A large pink flower stood out beneath the moonlight, faintly glowing, as he realized that the presence belonged to the Witch’s familiar, the tension left his shoulders.

「…Oh, it’s you. Come over here for a bit.」

One of the Witch’s familiars, that one wearing green cloth, timidly approached Nikolaus. He picked it up and placed it on his lap, where its weight settled heavily against him.

It was a high-quality mandragora, brimming with moisture. It would surely make excellent medicine, but using these familiars with their distinctive personalities as ingredients would be a waste.

(Come to think of it, everyone except this one has clothes. Isn’t anyone going to dress this one?)

Thinking back, the mandragoras wore all kinds of outfits. The light-blue one he had seen today wore a cloak, the pink one wore a maid’s outfit, the yellow one wore a dress covered in frills, and he had seen the purple one wearing a new outfit that seemed to have been inspired by the traditional clothing of another country.

Apparently, the clothes had been given to them by villagers they were close with, but it seemed no one ever dressed this green one.

(…Ah, I see. It’s because this one is usually with me…)

In that case, Nikolaus would have to give the green one some kind of clothing himself. He spent the time until his magical power recovered vaguely considering what might suit it, and once he felt capable of moving again, he lowered the green plant to the ground and tried to stand, only to discover that his legs had gone numb, leaving him unable to rise for a while.

「…You really are heavy. You’re getting too much nutrition.」

At the spiteful remark that had slipped out of him, the green plant stretched its short arms and legs toward its mouth and trembled as if it was hurt by it. These mandragoras could not speak, and in place of that, they trembled quite often. …Though, well, that was what made it amusing to watch.

(…Tomorrow I really will go see the Witch. I’ve been gone for a while, so she must’ve been wondering about me.)

He would at least go explain the reason. Thinking that, Nikolaus slowly rose to his feet and took one step forward, then, decided that it perhaps might be better, if he remained standing where he was for a while longer.