5

Lydia sat down on the bed again.

With a sigh that was half resignation, as if to ask whether this was still not over, Lizelotte sat in a nearby chair.

Mireine, who stood behind Lizelotte while dragging her aching leg, glared hatefully at Lydia, but Lydia did not seem to take any notice of her at all.

Seeing Lizelotte sit in the chair, Lydia moved the wineglass to her right hand, took the bottle that had teleported in her left, and poured.

“Here, witch, you drink too. Don’t hold back.”

“That belongs to me. …Hah, my head is starting to ache, Mireine.”

Lizelotte, having put away her fan, opened her now-empty right hand.

In it, a new glass appeared in an instant. It was done by Lydia’s sorcery.

It was one of the glasses that had been placed near the wine cellar. When Lizelotte checked from the corner of her eye, one of the glasses that had indeed been there had vanished.

From Lydia’s movements during her attacks, Lizelotte was gradually beginning to unravel her sorcery.

…Hmph. All that remains is the restriction.

However, Lizelotte still could not be certain of that part.

Next, she took the bottle handed to her and poured wine into the glass herself. She held the bottle out behind her, and Mireine, who was standing by, received it.

Lizelotte took a sip, and Lydia took a sip, each rolling the wine over her tongue.

For an instant, Lizelotte nearly forgot Lydia’s presence because of the deliciousness of that deep crimson wine, but since she was facing her directly, once she took her eyes off the glass, that unpleasant face naturally entered her field of vision, preventing her from savoring the aftertaste.

Lydia removed the glass from her mouth, swallowed the wine, then opened her mouth.

“I want to know about the sorcerer called Ains.”

Lizelotte frowned.

“I have a subordinate named Rubelmel. You two have met her, haven’t you?”

During the incident at the Sorcery Academy, both Kirishiya and Lizelotte had come face to face with Rubelmel.

Lizelotte’s expression did not change at all, but Kirishiya, who still lacked control in that regard, let it show clearly on her face.

“If you remember her, this’ll be quick. In the reports from my Rubelmel, that fellow’s name kept coming up strangely often. How the Original Canon she had once obtained was stolen from her, how the one who interfered with our operation in Elias was also Ains.”

Lydia folded her fingers as she counted.

“He was also the one who repelled Corbelli… Well, that one doesn’t really matter. I hated that guy anyway.”

Lydia snorted and dismissed it, then slapped her thigh and continued.

“Well, anyway, if that fellow is going to become our enemy, then we have to deal with him accordingly. That means I first need to know about Ains.”

“And why does that bring me into it?”

“It’s not like you’ve lived all this time for nothing, right? In this world… well, that might be an exaggeration, but there aren’t many living dictionaries greater than you. After all, you’re the witch who has lived through eternity.”

“Hmph. …What will you do after knowing?”

“Obviously, I’ll go greet him. Courtesy is important, you know? Begin with courtesy and end with courtesy. As long as you pay proper respect, there’s no problem even if you beat someone up afterward. Important, isn’t it?”

“You have twisted chivalry so badly that even knights would weep in sorrow.”

“Twisted or not, it’s still an interpretation. In a world of ten people and ten colors, it’s only natural that ways of thinking differ too. Dismissing that as a twisted interpretation is nonsense, witch.”

Lydia spoke with a grin. Of course, she was not saying it from the heart.

“Enough sophistry. Continue.”

“For now, I won’t know anything unless I meet him and talk to him. If we talk, see, I might learn that even the witch will surprisingly keep me company in idle chatter.”

Lizelotte had thought that the leader of the Next-Era Luminaries would be an extraordinarily eccentric person, but she was surprised to find that Lydia was unexpectedly flexible. That said, her frivolous attitude still grated on her nerves.

“And if you decide you are incompatible?”

“Then it’s simple. I beat him up. Paying my respects is for that too. It leaves no hard feelings, right? Well, my compatibility with the witch’s sorcery was bad, though.”

Lydia thought about it simply, but she did not know Ains’s sorcery.

Considering she had said it came from Rubelmel’s report, Lydia had probably heard the rough effects to the extent that Rubelmel had recognized them.

However,

“You will likely be unable to hit him. At best, you may leave a scratch.”

Lizelotte, who knew Ains’s sorcery, snorted at Lydia as she spoke with such confidence.

“Looks like the witch knows about this Ains fellow. Tell me.”

Lizelotte found it irritating to teach someone who grated on her nerves so carefully and kindly. However, when she remembered Ains’s hateful face, she also did not want to answer Lydia’s question with silence and act as though she were helping Ains in some way.

“…He is an infuriating man.”

That was the answer she finally squeezed out.

“Pfft, what’s that supposed to mean? For a witch, you sure revealed a strangely human emotion. But fine, now I’m suddenly interested. In other words, I should go meet him myself, right?”

Lydia, who conveniently misunderstood the words that had simply slipped from Lizelotte’s mouth, rose from the bed and drained the contents of her glass in one gulp.

“Thanks. Well then, I’ll go greet him. I hope it ends peacefully.”

Mireine, who had been attacked by Lydia, immediately braced herself at Lydia’s movement and watched what she would do next.

“Catch it, attendant. If you don’t grab it properly, you’ll make me drop and break it.”

Lydia tossed the glass to Mireine.

The glass traced an arc over Lizelotte’s head and floated down toward Mireine’s chest, while one of her hands was occupied by the wine bottle. Tensing herself, she caught it with her other hand.

Seeing Mireine’s relieved expression at the sudden event, Lydia laughed softly, and in the next instant, she vanished without a trace.

Even after some time passed, Lydia did not show herself in the room again.

“She finally left…”

Lizelotte let out a sigh.

“I will go report about her!”

Mireine placed the wine bottle and glass on the table and was about to leave the room while dragging her aching leg, but Lizelotte called her to a stop and handed her a potion.

“Drink it. That should make things somewhat better.”

Mireine, who had never expected Lizelotte to hand her a potion, widened her eyes as she received it and immediately drank it down.

Though not completely healed, Mireine’s wounds mended, and she left Lizelotte’s room to make her report.

Only Lizelotte and Kirishiya remained in the room, and at last, silence returned.

“That was noisy.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Lady Lizelotte.”

“Mm, I am sorry, Kirishiya. For now, I am glad nothing serious happened to you.”

Lizelotte urged Kirishiya to sit in the empty chair, then slowly waited for her to lower herself into it.