“I can’t believe it. What kind of suspicious-looking building is this?”
The carriage stopped.
Standing on the dirt ground and looking up, there was a large castle towering on the ridge.
It seemed to have been abandoned for a long time; parts of the walls were crumbling, and moss was thickly growing, resembling a Demon King’s castle.
It was a place that anyone would find suspicious.
“We’ve moved quite far from the city. No matter how loud it gets here, it won’t be heard.”
“…”
Sylvia murmured with a worried voice as she looked back.
We had already traveled quite a distance from the city.
Since we had to climb another mountain from here, it was normal that sounds from inside that castle wouldn’t be heard in the city.
In short, no matter what happened there, it meant we would never get caught.
“Additionally, a barrier’s activation has been detected inside.”
“So, do you think we should retreat?”
“No, it’s fine. You may enter.”
Sylvia replied immediately, without any hesitation, with a calm expression.
There was no external help to be had.
With an unidentified barrier spread inside, it was practically Irene’s home ground.
Yet, Sylvia boldly declared, ‘I can win.’
If she thought she couldn’t win, she would throw away her pride and run away in a disgraceful manner to plan for the future.
Seeing her radiate confidence like this made it impossible not to trust her.
As always, I stepped forward with the spirited Sylvia.
Alright, let’s go.
To face Irene head-on.
“Haah, Haah…!”
“My Lord. You are falling behind. At this rate, the sun will set.”
“Oh no! I’ve fallen for your scheme!”
“What on earth are you talking about…?”
The steep mountain path.
Struggling to extend my trembling legs, I caught a glimpse of the fragments of a huge conspiracy and froze.
Making me come all the way to such high mountains where even the carriage couldn’t go?
Climbing here drained all my stamina, making it easy to deal with me!
“It looks like an ordinary neighborhood back mountain, but did you set a spell to drain my stamina using the barrier?!”
“It’s just an ordinary neighborhood back mountain. And there’s no barrier here. In fact, that kind of barrier doesn’t even exist.”
“…”
In any case, being positioned at such a high place was undoubtedly Irene’s scheme to wear me out.
I shuddered at her cunning.
Finally, I reached the eerily lonely castle gate.
“The gate…”
Creeeak.
Just as Sylvia was about to step forward, the castle gate began to open on its own.
It seemed to have decided to open by itself, fearing that Sylvia would break it down.
Inside the opened door, a dark corridor was revealed.
Sylvia blocked my way.
“From here, a barrier is spread out.”
“What does it do?”
“Please wait a moment. Ah! This, this is! It seems to be a barrier that annihilates all mana, including the mana in the body, within the space…!”
Putting her hand in the air, Sylvia faltered, panicking.
Though her movements seemed exaggerated in surprise.
it was so obvious it was an act that I struggled to hold back my laughter.
‘Just as I expected.’
The scene was just as Julia had scouted it.
Exactly as I anticipated.
A barrier that absorbed and erased all mana.
Since all mana disappears here, the use of magic becomes impossible.
Moreover, it absorbs even the mana stored in one’s body, rendering the knights’ characteristic physical enhancement using mana also impossible.
In here, anyone becomes a normal person without a drop of mana.
But Irene didn’t stop there.
-Leave all your weapons behind when you come in.
-If you bring any weapon inside the barrier in any form, you will feel pain like your whole body is burning.
The warning written on the sign in front of the corridor.
It was an order to enter unarmed, without weapons.
It was akin to an order to enter in a completely defenseless state.
But Sylvia and I.
“We will enter.”
“Okay.”
We had no qualms about stepping inside.
Our bodies crossed the barrier without any resistance.
Of course, we had already assessed everything in advance, but still, we began to pass through the corridor without easing our tension.
The sound of three people’s footsteps echoed in the corridor.
In the pitch-black darkness, Sylvia continued to advance endlessly, somehow able to see ahead.
After turning corners for quite some time, a faint light began to appear.
“Oh my. My lovely little brother, Aslan, is here?”
“…”
In a spacious room where sunlight seeped through a hole in the ceiling.
Irene greeted me with a smile in a room that was practically a ruin.
Irene sat in a chair, crossing her legs and tapping her high heels.
The moment I spotted those heels, a tingling sensation shot through my groin, sending chills down my spine.
I knew I was safe as long as Sylvia was by my side…
But still, the fear etched in my instincts was impossible to ignore.
Overcoming the fear that I might be trampled by those heels again.
I pressed myself tightly behind Sylvia.
“It’s been a while. It’s really hard to see my little brother’s face. Do I have to come find you? Wouldn’t it be better if you came to share updates with your sister on time? We’re siblings, after all.”
“I’ve been a bit busy.”
“Yeah, you seem really busy. You’ve spread your hands everywhere, haven’t you? Father would be so proud to see it.”
“…”
Irene smirked as she rested her chin on her hand.
It was sarcasm.
If the Count of Vermont, who hated the royal family and nearly reached the point of hostility, saw the state of the family now, he might faint in shock.
“You’ve really stirred up some interesting trouble, sister.”
“Oh, that? It was just an excuse. Since my beloved little brother completely ignores me, I wanted to get your attention… But don’t worry. Emilia is safe.”
“Kyaahh…!”
At that moment, a scream echoed through the underground staircase.
The chilling voice made the corners of Irene’s mouth rise even higher.
I was so flustered that cold sweat began to trickle down my forehead.
‘This is bad. This is where the script ends.’
I hadn’t prepared any lines from this point onward.
It meant I had to improvise now.
Would I be able to do well?
Worried about making a mistake, I had struggled to remember that woman’s name.
That woman’s name was definitely… uh… uh… uh…
Damn it. I forgot again.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Well… if I don’t do this, you won’t show any interest in your sister, will you? I think about Aslan all day long, go to sleep, and dream of you. You act like you’ve completely forgotten about me.”
“Let’s settle this nicely. There’s only one condition. If you agree to this, I’ll let this matter go quietly.”
“What? Did I hear you correctly? Are you asking me to agree to your condition?”
Irene’s expression twisted in disbelief.
Yes, you heard correctly.
Since Irene had taken such a hard stance, I had no reason to back down either.
“Right. Just give me the chunk of Neomium. If you hand that over, I’ll forgive you.”
“Huh…? What? Neomium? Do you really want to get Emilia back? If something happens to her…”
“I don’t need that woman. I came to meet my sister. You said you wanted to see me too, right? Wish granted.”
“…”
Irene’s mouth fell shut, seemingly in disbelief.
She only needed an excuse to draw me in; she had no intention of harming Emilia at all.
I had only come to get Neomium from Irene.
Along with Neomium, I was planning to receive something else as well…
“Are you kidding me? Neomium? You want me to give that to you now? What a ridiculous thing to say!!!”
“…!”
Krrrrrr!
At that moment, a loud noise reverberated, and the pile of stones scattered around the room began to move.
One by one, they adhered to each other and began to take the shape of a massive doll.
That’s… a golem, isn’t it?
“Isn’t that magic?”
“It’s a magic tool. The material properties are bestowed upon the object through magic, so it’s not affected by barriers.”
“You can beat it with your bare hands, right?”
“…You’d be mistaken if you think of me as having the same power as a Stone Golem.”
Sylvia hesitated and took a step back.
I also stepped back a little, and a small sound escaped from behind me.
How can something like that be a magical tool?
“It’s not too late, Aslan. Kneel. Both of you. If you keep resisting, I’ll have no choice but to hurt your porcelain-like skin…”
“Sylvia. Draw it.”
“Understood.”
“…What!?”
Sylvia swiftly drew her sword from my mouth.
A look of shock spread across Irene’s face, which had been so confident.
It was as if she was expressing disbelief at what was happening.
“Golem! Knock them both down immediately!”
“Go, Sylviamon.”
“Understood!”
With a light tap of her foot, Sylvia leaped forward.
It was clearly a pure physical jump that didn’t use any mana.
In an instant, Sylvia shot out with a speed that I couldn’t follow with my eyes.
“This is ridiculous…!”
Kwaang!
With a swing of her sword, she sliced the golem in half with one strike.
Though it collapsed in an instant, it began to reassemble almost immediately.
Sylvia continued to split and break the golem again and again without pause.
“How is this possible without being a Sword Master!?”
“Sylvia is already halfway to being a Sword Master.”
“Ugh!? What can you do that you…”
While Sylvia was dealing with the golem, I quickly approached Irene.
As I got closer, she bared her teeth and reached out to me.
I felt helpless as her hand grabbed my neck, slowly tightening and bringing a painful pressure on my breath.
“I thought you might have trained or something. But you’re just the same as before. Weak and feeble…”
“Gah! W-Well… I haven’t changed too much in being foolish, have I?”
“…What?”
Clank!
At that moment, a sharp metallic sound rang out, and Irene’s eyes widened.
In the blink of an eye, a thick iron cuff was secured around Irene’s wrist.
The other end of the cuff was now connected to my wrist.
“Good job, Charlotte.”
“Hehe.”
Smiling brightly, Charlotte dashed over to Sylvia’s side.
From the very beginning, ever since we entered the castle, Charlotte had been hiding in the shadows.
Irene had trusted the barrier so much that she hadn’t even suspected another person had entered.
“It’s a magic tool. It can’t be torn off with ordinary brute strength.”
“Take it off, Aslan! Right now! If you don’t, I’ll cut off your wrist…!”
“If you wanted to cut it off, you should have done it earlier. Isn’t it too late now? According to your plan, Laura’s clone should be covering this position right now…”
“You, you! How do you know that!?”
As I tapped lightly on the floor marked with chalk, Irene’s face turned pale.
Yes, it’s already too late.
Just as Irene was desperately trying to break the cuffs, the sunlight pouring from the sky was suddenly obscured.
[Ahhh…!]
“Lady Laura!?”
A gigantic shadow loomed over us.
.
.
.
[Uhmmm…!]
Boom!
From the hole in the ceiling, a massive gray form descended.
With a huge mouth wide open, it swallowed everything in the center of the room, tables and chairs included.
With a satisfied expression, it gulped down what it had taken and, three seconds later, the gray form glanced around and immediately sensed that something was wrong, its expression turning stiff.
[…!!!]
Huh? It even swallowed Irene!
What should I do? This wasn’t part of the plan?!
Laura’s clone quickly turned to a sulky expression.
