6

Haral, or perhaps Wenceslav, who had received Mireine’s report, would eventually come rushing into this room to ask Lizelotte for the details, but for now, it was a calm moment for Kirishiya and Lizelotte alone.

“She was Lydia of the Next-Era Luminaries, was she? Is she also, um… the same as you and Ains-san—”

“Yes, a sorcerer.”

Lizelotte spoke calmly, but Kirishiya felt a sense of danger toward Lydia, who was a sorcerer.

She did not know what principle it worked on.

But Lydia had invaded Lizelotte’s room, the heart of the royal castle. And before a state of strict alert could be imposed, she had vanished in an instant with sorcery.

“…Will Father be all right?”

Lydia had openly declared that she would take the head of Wenceslav, Kirishiya’s father and the current king of the Santia Kingdom. If Lydia, who possessed such powerful sorcery, were to direct her sorcery at only one target, Wenceslav, what would happen?

Kirishiya could imagine only the worst possible outcome.

“A magic practitioner is no match for a sorcerer. No matter how much they strengthen the defenses, it would only buy time. The result would not change.”

“!”

Lizelotte did not offer sweet words.

Those words made Kirishiya catch her breath.

If things proceeded normally, the next king would be Kirishiya’s older brother, Haral. But would Lydia’s target stop at Wenceslav alone? It was entirely possible that it would extend to Haral as well. And then—.

Kirishiya felt her breath catch, and an intense chill ran through her.

Perhaps seeing Kirishiya’s pale face, Lizelotte spoke gentle words to her.

“Do not worry, Kirishiya. No matter what happens, I will protect you alone.”

“Thank you, Lizelotte-sama…”

If Lizelotte, who had so easily repelled Lydia, said so, then nothing could be more reassuring.

However, Kirishiya felt something catch in Lizelotte’s words, “you alone,” and felt a little lonely.

“First of all, who knows whether she will even have the chance to take his head?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“She may die before then. After all, she said she was going to greet Ains.”

A greeting. Lydia had indeed said that, but if that greeting was the same as the one she had given Lizelotte, then it meant she would end up fighting Ains.

“Is he that powerful?”

“To me, it is something that does not matter, but to Ains, it is something that excites him more than anything else. Seeing sorcery, and dueling a sorcerer.”

“But Ains-san is…”

Did he possess sorcery powerful enough to overwhelm Lydia? Certainly, his knowledge and skill concerning magic might be considerable. After all, he had taught Laika to manifest magic without chanting in only a short time.

But if it was sorcery, Kirishiya could not honestly accept Lizelotte’s words. Not after seeing Lydia’s sorcery.

Ains’s right-arm sorcery. Kirishiya understood it as sorcery that, when he desired something and it was possible for him to obtain it, twisted reason and allowed him to take it into his hand.

In that case, it was entirely possible that Lydia, who could teleport, held the advantage. Of course, the detailed conditions of Lydia’s sorcery were also unknown, but it would be easy for her to stand behind Ains in an instant and thrust a blade into his neck.

“That is true. I did not see this directly myself, but… it is an answer connected to your earlier question, Kirishiya.”

“My question?”

Ains had provided magical knowledge to Darius. This was the opposite of the effect of Ains’s right-arm sorcery. Deprivation and bestowal. Kirishiya had felt a sense of incongruity there.

Lizelotte let out a small breath.

“…There are stages to sorcery.”

“Stages?”

“Those who awaken to sorcery reach the first stage. The use of a partial power of the awakened sorcery: Limited Release.”

Limited Release. Kirishiya had also heard those words from Lizelotte’s mouth.

Lizelotte continued.

“The use of sorcery’s power that comes even closer to its truth: Incomplete Release. Reaching this is no halfhearted matter, but I have reached it.”

Lizelotte murmured softly, “Though I do not really wish to use it,” while gazing into the distance.

Kirishiya was shocked as she listened to Lizelotte’s words. Lizelotte and Lydia had shown battle in a completely different dimension. Yet the sorcery of these two was merely one part of its true power.

“Has Lydia not reached that point as well?”

“I doubt it. I did not ask her directly, so I cannot say for certain, but that was not the face of one who had reached it. She was the very image of a child who had obtained a powerful weapon for the first time and was swinging it around for fun.”

“I see…”

Lizelotte, who had easily repelled Lydia, still had plenty of strength left and had not yet shown her overwhelming power. Of course, compatibility with the opposing sorcery would likely matter, but just as a magic practitioner was no match for a sorcerer, there was a vast difference between one who had reached Incomplete Release and one who could only use Limited Release.

“What about Ains-san?”

“He has undoubtedly reached it. Even I have reached it. There is no way that man has not reached that domain.”

That was precisely why Lizelotte regretted showing Ains the Incomplete Release of her sorcery, the strongest trump card she possessed, in the Forbidden Archive.

It was not something she should have shown so easily.

“If we assume that he has reached Incomplete Release, the so-called second stage of sorcery, then what kind of power would he manifest?”

“The next step beyond sorcery that obtains what he desires…”

Kirishiya placed a hand on her chin and thought.

The power of sorcery was immense. That was clear from watching the battle between Lizelotte and Lydia. It was a power that magic practitioners—no, magic itself—could not oppose.

Ains’s actions were like producing sorcerers one after another who would obtain such immense power. If they became enemies, that meant he was easily creating beings who could become threats to himself, and normally, anyone would naturally want to monopolize such power.

After thinking that far, Kirishiya arrived at the faint possibility beyond it.

“…Monopoly.”

Would Ains truly not desire sorcery that was so powerful one would want to monopolize it, powerful enough to become a threat to himself? Could Ains, who held such a strong interest in magic and sorcery, possibly not desire sorcery he had yet to see?

“Lizelotte-sama.”

“What is it?”

“Is sorcery singular?”

If it was not.

“No, it is not. That earlier black-flame sorcery—there were many sorcerers who reached that as well. There are as many desires as there are people, but that does not mean desires held by only one person are common.”

“Then, Lizelotte-sama, could Ains-san’s questioning and his provision of magical knowledge possibly be…”

Kirishiya arrived at what lay beyond the right arm, as Lizelotte had inferred it.

“That is not provision. Rather, it should be seen as an act of obtaining.”

Even Lizelotte did not know what it was. It was not the sorcery to which she had awakened. Therefore, it was only a guess, but Ains might be acquiring some kind of factor that led to sorcery.

“For what purpose? A thirst for knowledge?”

Lizelotte looked at Kirishiya, who had reached that conclusion, and smiled faintly.

“When you were a small child, what did you do when you were given a toy you wanted?”

“Of course, I forgot the time and played with it.”

“Exactly. Just because one has obtained it does not mean one would simply look at it and be done. One uses the toy and plays with it.”

“! Then Ains-san is—”

“I do not know how many toys that man’s right arm contains. But it steals away the desires and prayers that people strongly held before they took form.”

The title of witch was far too lukewarm before a Demon God.