EPILOGUE: A Soft Wall

EPILOGUE: A Soft Wall

EPILOGUE

A Soft Wall

“Heyyy, Monica. You awake?”

Lying back in the ruins of the fountain, Monica wheezed. Out of breath, she answered, “I…think.”

“Man, that was crazy,” continued Nero. “You’ve got basically no mana left, right?”

“…Yeah, I haven’t…used this much in a long time…”

Monica’s typical combat style involved using precisely controlled spells to defeat her enemy, keeping her mana consumption to a minimum.

But the Witch of Thorns’s rose cage had been too quick to regenerate. Her only option to defeat it had been to use an extremely high-powered spell.

Right now, all she wanted was to succumb to her exhaustion and fall asleep, but she still had things she needed to do. Slowly, she got to her feet.

Casey laughed weakly, her face haggard. “Ha-ha. I was only thinking about making you like me—I was totally fooled… I never really looked at you, the real you. And that’s why I lost.”

“Casey…”

The girl with the ponytail smiled sadly. She didn’t seem hateful or angry—it looked more like she’d just given up. “What’s that look for? I’m a bad guy. I deceived you.”

She’d been kind to Monica to get close to Felix. And she’d succeeded, too. By placing herself at Monica’s side, she’d found out what the student council members’ plans were and carried out her own scheme to assassinate the prince.

…Casey had used her.

“But I still…,” murmured Monica, clutching the fabric of her uniform as words rose from deep inside her chest. “When you said you’d teach me how to ride a horse, I…I was really, really happy.”

Even if everything Casey had said and done had been to take advantage of her, Monica still couldn’t bring herself to hate the other girl.

Not the girl who had put her fried fish between slices of bread and taken a big, hearty bite.

Not the girl who had casually smoothed things over when Claudia and Lana started to fight.

Not the girl who had unfolded that pretty handkerchief she’d embroidered with a bashful smile.

Monica had liked her.

“…Stop, Monica.” Casey closed her eyes and slowly shook her head. “I tried to kill the prince. I’m the worst of the worst… You have to hate me.”

For plotting to assassinate the prince, Casey and her family would be put to death.

…Executed…

A chill ran down Monica’s spine at the thought. As she tried to stop her heart from pounding its way out of her chest, Nero looked up at the sky and clicked his tongue.

“Hey, Monica,” he said. “We’ve got a problem. I’m gonna hide.”

Her familiar quickly leaped away—he would probably duck into the shadow of a tree and change back into a cat.

She’d known he’d show up sooner or later, once she’d tampered with the barrier. Her legs wobbled, but she managed to stand and steady herself before turning to look up at the sky.

Far in the distance, she could see a tiny black speck. It was heading this way at incredible speed… Had they even considered how they would land? Monica had a bad feeling and took a few steps back.

Moments later, two figures descended from the air—they were spinning like a top, with enough force to drill themselves into the ground.

One of them—a beauty in a maid’s outfit—continued her high-speed rotation, standing straight up. She stopped once she’d submerged herself in dirt up to her knees.

The other figure, who had been positioned behind her, swung his staff and levitated just in time, avoiding a crash landing.

The one with the staff was furious. “Why…you…horribly moronic maid! How many times have I told you to rethink your landings?!”

“I have named this one the Tornado Kick,” came the other’s monotone voice. “It has a high attack power and is extremely stylish.”

“You’re knee-deep in the dirt. ‘Stylish’ is the last thing I’d call it.”

With a dramatic click of his tongue, the man, dressed in a robe embroidered with gold thread and sporting a long braid, took a look around—it was the Barrier Mage Louis Miller.

Seeing Monica standing amid the remains of the roses and the fountain, he heaved a sigh. “…I knew something awful had happened to my barrier, so I came to have a look…and I see you were indeed the culprit, my esteemed colleague.”

“H-hello again, Mr. Louis.” Monica bowed her head.

Louis observed her face for a few moments; then his expression turned suspicious. “Well, this is unusual. You seem to have expended all your mana. I’ve never seen you use so much of it—you, who destroyed that entire pterodragon horde without breaking a sweat.”

Behind his monocle, Louis narrowed his eyes dangerously. Then, he looked toward Casey, who stood a short distance away.

“Now then,” he said. “The young lady over there… I can see she’s a student of this academy. Is she an enemy or an ally?”

As Monica hemmed and hawed, Casey shrugged a little before stating plainly, “An enemy. A foolish enemy who tried and failed to assassinate Prince Felix.”

“I see,” said Louis. “Ryn, restrain her.”

The beauty in the maid’s outfit pulled her legs out of the ground and tied Casey’s hands behind her back. Casey didn’t resist—she just let it happen.

“Now then, my fellow Sage,” continued Louis, “I don’t expect a formal oral report…but could I trouble you to explain a little of what’s going on?”

“Ummm, she set up a Spiralflame in the west storehouse, where they were bringing in fireworks.”

The word Spiralflame made Louis frown. He, too, was well aware of the terrifying magic item—not to mention the havoc it might cause in close proximity to fireworks.

“And, um,” continued Monica, “I didn’t think I’d be able to completely prevent it with a defensive barrier of my own, so I, um, borrowed yours, Mr. Louis.”

“I seem to recall the esteemed Witch of Thorns having set a trap around the defensive barrier.”

“…I broke it. By summoning a Spirit King.”

“And I spared no effort layering dummy formula upon dummy formula to prevent others from rewriting it.”

“I’m good at figuring stuff like that out, so… Oh, but it took me almost a whole minute to do it. Really!”

“One minute… All that in one minute…? I spent a month making it… One minute?” Louis’s face twitched. His eyes looked vacant. “Henceforth, should another one of my barriers be rewritten, I shall immediately suspect you.”

“Hwah?!”

“What I mean to say is that almost no one else could manage that,” said Louis, muttering under his breath, “I wouldn’t stand for it. What hogwash .”

Monica pretended not to hear that last part. Louis Miller tried to appear refined, but deep down, he was considerably less polite.

“All right, I have a good understanding of the situation,” he said eventually. “Has the second prince discovered your identity?”

“N-no, I don’t…think so.”

“Good. We’ll retrieve the Spiralflame in secret and take the girl into custody. Please continue to guard the—”

“W-wait!” interrupted Monica.

Louis frowned—this wasn’t like her. “What is it?”

“C-Casey… What’s going to, um, to happen to her?”

“They’ll conduct an investigation and get the names of everyone involved in the assassination. If she’s too tight-lipped, they’ll probably use mental interference magecraft.”

Magecraft that interfered with the mind, such as to force someone to confess their crimes or obey a command, was generally designated as forbidden. It was permitted only in specific circumstances, such as interrogations of violent criminals, and it severely damaged the mind of the target. In the worst cases, the person would fall into a coma and never wake up.

Guessing from her expression what Monica was thinking, Louis smiled coldly. “You object to the use of mental interference magic, don’t you? Unfortunately, in her case, it may be better if she never wakes up. The attempted assassination of a member of the royal family demands capital punishment. Being executed while unconscious will at least spare her the pain.”

Casey went pale.

Monica swallowed the saliva that had built up in her mouth and forced her trembling body to look straight at Louis. “M-Mr. Louis, you’re…with the first prince’s faction…aren’t you?”

“Well, now that was abrupt. Why do you ask?”

“Please…answer my question.”

Louis leveled an intelligent, searching gaze at Monica. Normally, the Silent Witch would immediately look away—but now she was staring him dead in the eye. That caught his interest.

“All right, I shall. I went to school with First Prince Lionel. I’ve no objection to people thinking I am part of his faction. But there is one thing I don’t want you to misunderstand. I have no special desire for the first prince to ascend the throne.”

“…Huh?”

Monica had expected him to insist that Prince Lionel was the rightful heir, so she was a little taken aback.

Louis continued. “I claim to be part of his faction because I don’t like Duke Clockford or the second prince.”

“……”

That reasoning was very like Louis. But it was true that he was friends with the first prince. Now that she was sure, Monica made her next play.

“C-Casey is connected to Landor—she’s part of the first prince’s faction.”

Louis’s eyebrow twitched.

Monica continued, wasting no time. “If it was made public that a member of the first prince’s faction with ties to Landor plotted to assassinate the second prince…that would cause problems for the first prince’s faction, wouldn’t it?” If the truth got out, the first prince’s camp would be in a position of considerable disadvantage.

Louis’s lips curled, and he narrowed his eyes. “I never thought the day would come when you, someone so disinterested in politics, would try to make such a deal with me… How truly cunning of you.”

“Nobody knows of this attempted assassination,” said Monica. “Not even Prince Felix. The only ones who know are Casey and me.”

“Are you telling me to pretend this incident never happened, then?”

“……”

She hadn’t considered quite so convenient an outcome, but she wanted to prevent Casey from being executed at all costs.

Seeing that Monica wouldn’t back down, Louis gave her a little lecture. “The first prince’s faction isn’t monolithic. Frankly, both the first prince and his mother have no interest in the throne. They prefer to keep things aboveboard—they’d never go for an assassination…but that doesn’t necessarily apply to everyone supporting him.”

Louis paused there, directing a chilly stare at Casey. “That’s why they have to purge any problem elements from their group, such as those who might stupidly attempt an assassination of the second prince.”

“Th-there should be a way to, um, handle things s-secretly.”

Monica bit down hard on her lip and glared at Louis, tears in her eyes.

At the same time, Louis’s mind was racing with calculations. Using mental interference magecraft on Casey, forcing her to confess the name of the extremists, and then eliminating her and everyone else involved would be the safest option.

But if he did that, he would likely lose Monica’s cooperation in the future. The Silent Witch’s powers were even greater than she herself realized. She was too valuable a resource to give up.

Weighing his options, he made a proposal.

“If the girl confesses honestly to everything, I promise not to use mental interference magecraft. She’ll be sent to a convent, never to appear again in elite society.” That was the best Louis could do.

Monica bowed deeply. “Thank you, Mr. Louis.”

“In exchange, I want your continued cooperation guarding the second prince.”

“Yes, sir!” Monica nodded without hesitation. She took him at his word without a doubt in her mind.

That wasn’t a good sign. One of the reasons he’d chosen Monica to guard the prince was because of how much she distrusted others. The Silent Witch feared other people. She trusted no one, and she opened her heart to no one. That was why he’d thought she’d make a good bodyguard.

A trusting person made for a bad bodyguard.

“…Don’t you think you’ve grown a little soft?” he said.

“Huh?”

Louis pointed a finger right at her forehead and peered into her face. “You are Monica Everett, the Silent Witch, one of the Seven Sages… Monica Norton, student of Serendia Academy, is a false identity .”

Monica gave a start.

“Pray never forget that fact,” finished Louis.

“…Y-yes.”

Monica’s gaze wandered as she nodded.

Watching her, Louis couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

Thank goodness… At least I managed to stop Casey from being executed… I think.

Monica privately breathed a sigh of relief. Not only was Louis intelligent—he could talk, too. With her terrible negotiation skills, it was no easy task to win over someone like him.

But she’d been able to force him to compromise—a big victory as far as she was concerned.

As Ryn bound Casey, Louis gave her instructions. “Ryn, escort our esteemed noble to the nearby Magic Corps outpost. Give them my name, and they should provide her with a room.”

“Understood, sir,” replied Ryn. “What about you, Lord Louis?”

“I need to do something about this misshapen barrier,” he answered, gesturing with his chin at the collapsed fountain.

Monica had borrowed the barrier and rewritten it to contain the Spiralflame, so it was no longer capable of protecting the entire school. She knew he couldn’t just leave it like that. And even if he could, the remnants of the fountain and tattered roses had left the place in a terrible state. She shrank in on herself, feeling guilty.

Casey, her limbs bound, turned her way.

“Monica.”

Monica shook. She knew this would be her final farewell to Casey.

Casey would never return to the academy. But Monica didn’t know what to say to her.

She looked back at the other girl like a lost child, unable to apologize or say good-bye.

Casey lowered her eyebrows and offered a troubled smile. Then she laughed a little, as if to say, What are we going to do with you?