I’m staying in the capital for four days, and have an audience with the queen on the last day.
This is the second day, and we’re going to talk to the saintess of the Kingdom of Merzelia. Her name is Cornelia.
I’ve never spoken to her directly, but I’ve seen her from afar a few times, so I know who she is when I see her.
She’s a young woman with vibrant purple hair, and a face that would put a model to shame. And she has plenty of adult charm.
Iris knows her from when she was a saintess, and they talk in a familiar way.
Last night, Iris said she didn’t draw a line between her private and professional lives when she was a saintess, but she speaks normally with Cornelia.
Cornelia was very concerned about Iris being expelled from the Holy State of Roland, and hearing her story brings tears to her eyes.
She shows intense anger towards the first prince Ghise, and she’s very happy to hear about Iris living in Minerva.
After we’re done talking to Cornelia, we leave the great church of Merzelia.
Then we do some sightseeing, and eat the famous Merzelia pie. It’s a sweet pie that uses a lot of strawberries, and Iris loves it.
And our second day ends without any trouble in particular.
We’re free on the third day, and everyone does what they have to in preparation for the audience with the queen.
Iris has a meeting with Till, to establish what it is they’re going to talk about with the queen.
Isolte said the queen has a positive attitude about Iris living in the Kingdom of Merzelia, and she would like her to judge the Southlight region.
Incidentally, that’s where Minerva is.
‘Minerva is far from the capital, so if the land starts degrading, it would help if you handled it instead of Cornelia’ she said.
It wouldn’t be official, but basically, Iris would be in charge of the Southlight region.
That doesn’t sound bad.
It might be surprising, but Iris wants to stay in Minerva anyway, not the capital. That means she gets what she wants, and the queen solves one problem in a remote area. It’s a win-win.
This is unrelated, but when I asked Iris why she wants to live in Minerva, her face turned red and she didn’t answer.
Tomorrow is our last day here, so I’m getting what I need.
Minerva is a remote town, so excuse me for saying this, but the quality of their stuff isn’t as good as the capital’s. And there are a lot of precious items that I can only find here. I want to get a few magic books Lela wanted too.
I open the Item Box, and look at my shopping list.
But as I rummage through the Item Box, a piece of paper falls on the ground.
“What is this?”
It says, ‘I want curry for dinner tonight’.
I put my hand on my chin as I think, and then remember the paper Ruby threw in here just before I left.
I was too annoyed to look at it then, but this is what she wrote.
It’s just like Ruby.
I wonder what she’s doing now. It’s been two months, so I assume she already hired another exclusive mage, and is running circles around her alchemy cauldron.
I don’t want to admit it, since I broke up with her, but her skills are very real. It’s no exaggeration to say she’s a genius that comes around every century.
I leave the mansion in the afternoon, and spend most of the day shopping. I even buy a lot of things I wasn’t planning to get.
Around four o’clock, I reach the prison where Black Raven is being kept.
Isolte already took care of the paperwork, so when I tell them I’m Loyd, I’m let inside.
I wasn’t planning on seeing Black Raven again, but I came here because something popped into my mind that I want to ask.
Black Raven is now wearing a black and white prison uniform instead of his black outfit. And not only are his limbs restrained, but he has a gag too.
It really is strict.
The moment Black Raven sees me, he gets furious. And since I’m here for information, I have the gag temporarily removed.
“That annoying dull face… You’re that mage!!”
I hear a female voice from Black Raven. Young too, like early teens.
“Who are you? Your voice sounds kind of weird for Black Raven.”
And don’t call my face dull.
“This is my real voice.”
“You’re a girl?”
Did she change it with magic back then?
My master told me about that kind of magic a long time ago, but it’s my first time seeing it.
I’m really surprised to learn Black Raven is a girl.
Looking at it more closely, she does have a feminine face, and a humble curvature in her chest area.
“Fufufu, I am a woman. Do you want to save me now that you know that?”
“Not even a bit. You need to be judged for your crimes. Your gender doesn’t change that.”
A younger, female assassin.
She’s full of adjectives, but she committed serious crimes. She’s an assassin that doesn’t hesitate to take lives. It’s not something you can accept just because she’s a girl.
“So what do you want with me?”
She asks with a frown.
“I want to know about the people that hired you.”
“That’s pointless. I’m not going to talk about the ones that hired me.
That kind of trust is vital to our occupation.”
She sure talked a lot during her introduction though. I’m baffled about her suddenly making sense.
But looking back, I didn’t get any important information then. I figured from the start she was an assassin from the neighboring country, but Black Raven mostly talked about herself. She’s got it together in a weird way.
Information gotten through torture isn’t very reliable, so I need a different approach.
Let’s start with the standard way first, appealing to her good will.
“Black Raven, you’ve done a lot of bad things. But it’s still not too late. You can stop this immoral way of life that robs people of their happiness, regret your crimes, and atone for them.”
“Nah. Like I give a damn about others’ happiness.
I’m all about myself!”
“If you keep going like this, you’ll definitely go to hell after you die.”
“I’m fine with that! I can kill all the people I want there too!”
Black Raven raises her shoulders with indifference.
Her idiocy makes me sigh.
“I’ll bury you before I go to hell. Face me again! Give me a sword give me give me!”
She repeats herself like a mad woman, and struggles on her chair.
But the restraints don’t budge.
“Those magic restraints aren’t coming off. I’m sure you’re frustrated, but that’s what it is.”
I tell her, but she shows no sign of quieting down.
I’m getting nowhere like this, so I decide to take firm measures.
“All right then. If you won’t tell me who hired you, I’ll have to stop holding back.”
“Are you going to torture me? I told you before, but I received plenty of training to resist torture in Catastrophe.
Your silly little torture won’t work on me.”
“Who said anything about torture? I can cast Marionette.
I’m going to hypnotize you and make you tell me everything you know about who hired you.”
“Marionette? That fake magic?
I’ve heard about it. It’s something to control other people.”
“I’m glad I don’t have to explain. If you don’t talk, I’ll use it on you.”
“Hahahahahaha! Are you serious, mister mage?
Hypnosis isn’t gonna work on me.”
“We’ll see.”
“I don’t mind at all if you cast it. Hum, I just have to stay quiet and look at that staff, right?
Like you can control people by just getting them to look at your staff. If that was possible, everyone would be doing it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Shut up already! I’m at the top of Catastrophe. I’m the dark god of death that plunged the eastern continent into fear! Hypnosis won’t work on me!”
“Marionette!”
“Fuah…!? M-my head…!”
Black Raven starts acting strangely, looking at me with drowsy eyes.
“What’s your real name?”
“Infa.”
It’s a very oriental name.
There’s a lot I don’t know about the eastern continent, but that name sounds to me like she’s from near the Brilliant Crimson Empire.
There’s something else I just learned. Even great eastern assassins can’t beat Marionette.
“Release!”
I snap my fingers, and undo her hypnotism.
“Fufufu…! Come on, try it already. Or are you just incapable?”
“I already did it, Infa.”
“W-why do you know my name!?”
Black Raven is very shaken.
It sounds like she doesn’t have memories from being hypnotized, and didn’t even notice she gave me her name.
“How do you think I learned it?”
I say while grinning.
“Uhe, don’t turn that creepy face to me.”
“What!? Take this, Marionette!”
“…”
I hypnotize her again, and she quiets down.
“Tell me what’s bothering you the most right now?”
“I, Infa, have a flat chest.”
Ah, I see. I actually like them regardless of size.
Rather than liking girls because they have big boobs, I naturally like the boobs of the girl I like.
I keep asking the hypnotized Black Raven questions.
“Who hired you?”
“It was done through Bishop Crail, but the person who hired me was Archbishop Ghise.”
“The first prince of the Holy State of Roland?”
“Yes.”
Seriously? He’s behind this?
He expelled Iris and then sent assassins after her? What complete trash.
The first prince just shot up to number one on my list of people I want to punch. It’s not like there’s a number two or three, but that guy’s unforgivable.
“Why is he trying to kill Iris?”
“To maintain the tradition of one saintess per country.
But this Archbishop Ghise deeply resents Iris, so he’s always thought about erasing her from this world.
There’s a good chance it’s just a personal grudge.”
What Black Raven says matches what Iris told me a couple of days ago.
Prince Ghise is after Iris for personal reasons.
“Do you have any evidence connecting to him?”
“I’m sorry. All the evidence leading to Archbishop Ghise has been erased.”
I see, that’s too bad. It would help Iris.
There’s no point in asking for what she doesn’t have, so let’s ask something else.
“Tell me about his features.”
“Understood.”
Black Raven then tells them to me in detail. She remembers not just Bishop Crail who acted as an intermediary, but she knows Prince Ghise’s too. Good girl.
I’ve learned everything I wanted, so I’m happy with that.
This Marionette spell is a dangerous one that controls people’s actions and robs them of their freedom.
My master warned me about it too. I shouldn’t use this unless it’s a special circumstance.
I hope my master forgives me, but I used it this time to protect my friend and her life.
Then I cast Sleep on Black Raven, and leave.
Bye bye Infa. I doubt we’ll meet again.
Don’t commit crimes in your next life too.
When I get back to the mansion, Till calls me.
Isolte is in the guest room with a very grave expression. What happened while I was gone?
Till signals with her chin, and explains it to me in a way I can understand, since I just got here.
Apparently, a threat was sent from the Holy State of Roland to the queen.
If Iris isn’t detained and handed to the Holy State of Roland within three days, the queen will be excommunicated from the Emeraude religion, and war will be declared on the Kingdom of Merzelia.
Author’s note:
Since magic is complicated, here’s a supplement.
Magic difficulty: Master rank > Highest rank > High rank > mid rank > low rank
Marionette: Few people can use it, but it’s a forbidden master rank spell that controls an opponent.
Sleep: A low rank spell that puts someone to sleep, and one of Loyd’s specialties.
Mega Sleep: A high rank spell that puts someone to sleep for a long time
Full Sleep. A master rank spell that puts someone to sleep forever.
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