50

“David Gilmore… Yes, of course I remember.”

Professor Agnes nodded as if recalling a painful memory.

After a moment, she looked up as if realizing something and turned to Hamel.

“Now that I think about it, the priest’s name is also…”

“Yes.”

Hamel nodded.

After all, the reason for visiting the Magic Tower in the first place was to get information on David.

Agnes let out a self-mocking laugh and muttered.

“If it hadn’t been for that David fellow, the priest might not be here either. Should I call that fortunate?”

“I suppose.”

“If the priest hadn’t been here, the Magic Tower would by now…”

“…”

Hamel couldn’t bring himself, even as empty words, to say the Magic Tower would have been safe.

This time the Magic Tower had truly been in danger.

A week had already passed since the incident.

The missing students had all been found dead.

And above all…

“Because the Tower Master was struck down.”

It was confirmed that the Tower Master, the archmage, had died.

He was absurdly found in his chambers, surrounded by cocoons.

The death of the owner and archmage of a Magic Tower shocked everyone.

It was unsurprising—one of the three great powers shaken by the meddling of a mysterious demon.

The professors, realizing they’d been toyed with by it, panicked as a group.

The Magic Tower was currently occupied with cleanup.

If Vice principal Agnes had not rallied everyone, the Magic Tower would have struggled to recover.

It still wasn’t an easy situation, but one thing was clear.

“We’re alive all thanks to the priest.”

Agnes met Hamel’s gaze with a clear look.

Her eyes were full of sincerity.

Hamel, meeting those eyes, felt embarrassed and averted his gaze.

“It’s nothing.”

Lately he seemed to feel emotions he hadn’t before.

A ticklish, somewhat hot feeling.

Yet also a swelling feeling deep in his chest.

If he had to name it, maybe exhilaration.

Agnes looked surprised at Hamel’s reaction and widened her eyes.

Then, relaxing her tired expression for a moment, she smiled.

“The priest has a cuter side than he looks.”

“…Yes?”

Hamel, doubting his ears, blankly asked back.

Agnes chuckled and shook her head.

“No. Rather, let’s talk about David. Fortunately, I can give you some information on him.”

“Really?”

“Yes, our Magic Tower also broke taboo to chase after the one who fled.”

Hamel’s expression changed at the news.

“A taboo…”

“He researched Chimera. Of course, researching Chimera itself isn’t taboo. But…”

Agnes continued with a strange expression.

As if probing Hamel.

“In the direction of reviving the dead.”

“…”

Hamel nodded.

Resurrection magic.

It was research forbidden by the order as well as the Empire.

Not only did it fundamentally violate the laws of the world and the order’s doctrines, but its research inevitably involved all manner of unethical experiments.

If David had meddled with resurrection magic, it was natural the Magic Tower and the order would pursue him.

“Do you know anything?”

“This is the first I’m hearing of it.”

Agnes shrugged disappointedly at Hamel’s answer.

She spread a map and pointed to red dots with her finger.

“These are the movements of the one who fled from Haidern.”

The red dots started from Haidern and marked Sorn, where Rosel Forest is.

Lonely birch at the entrance to Dekan.

And all the way to the heart of the north, Sturnhelm.

They trended northward in sequence.

“The last sighting was a month ago in Sturnhelm. Our pursuit team was beaten by him.”

“Are you talking about David?”

“Probably.”

Judging by his movements so far, it wasn’t just resurrection magic that was the issue.

From the Magic Tower incident, the group David belonged to was more dangerous than expected.

“Normally we’d send more pursuers, but we simply don’t have the capacity now.”

Agnes quietly placed a pouch on the table.

─clink

Through the deliberately shabby tied cord, the gold coins inside flashed golden.

“I have a commission. Secure his alive body. If that’s impossible, you may kill him. On success I’ll pay five times the advance.”

“Not difficult. Very well.”

Hamel accepted the commission without hesitation.

He had to pursue him anyway, and now he’d be paid, so there was no reason to refuse.

Though he’d been gone a while, he was still the lord of an estate. There were many expenses.

The fee was larger than expected; it was Agnes’s way of showing gratitude.

“Then.”

As Hamel rose to express his thanks, it happened.

Agnes, flustered, hurriedly called him back.

“Wait a moment.”

“Is there something more you want to say?”

“You don’t think I’m expecting this commission to replace the gratitude for saving the Magic Tower, do you?”

“…”

Hamel fell silent, having his thoughts read.

Agnes laughed as if amused by him.

“…If you did this elsewhere they’d call you a fool. For a priest, your accounting is terrible.”

Perhaps Hamel’s shabby side made him seem more human.

While scolding him, Agnes handed over a bag with a friendly expression.

“What’s this?”

Hamel took the bag, began to open it, then froze.

Inside were several flasks filled with a shimmering red liquid.

And from that liquid flowed an unmistakable power.

“Dragon’s blood.”

The power that formed the basis of Hamel’s strength.

It filled the bag.

“I couldn’t prepare much. Still, I scraped together what the Magic Tower had, so use it well.”

“…You know my power. How much do you remember?”

“Who knows?”

Hamel had assumed Agnes wouldn’t remember when she was turned into a puppet.

But if she knew his power, that changed things.

Agnes lightly rubbed her neck and asked back.

“I think I know why my neck aches—shall I tell you?”

“…No, that’s fine.”

“Is that so? What a pity.”

Agnes laughed playfully.

But for a moment she looked at Hamel with concern.

“I don’t care, but you should hide that power as much as possible.”

“…”

“People always fear the unknown.”

He knew that well.

In this world, dragons belong to legend.

Perhaps he had hidden it because he couldn’t predict how the order would react.

No matter that dragons are revered as symbols of Parma, they’re still an unknown power.

Hamel reflected on that again.

“Thank you. I’ll remember.”

Agnes smiled approvingly at his response.

“Good. And please know this one thing.”

“What is that?”

“The colorless Magic Tower and I, Agnes Lowell, will always be on your side.”

“Whenever you say…”

“Exactly as I said. Even if it conflicts with the Will of Gold,”

“…”

Hamel was silent for a moment, unable to answer.

The Will of Gold.

It pointed to only one thing.

The ruler and steward of the Empire.

The Royal Court.

It was a statement that could cost him his head, but the intent was clearer than any explanation.

That they would not betray him even at the cost of their lives.

Only then did Hamel realize how the Magic Tower regarded him.

Then Hamel also had an obligation to answer their will.

“Yes. I feel the same.”

Hamel and Agnes nodded to each other.

There were no written vows or shared drinks, but their bond was firm.

“Are you ready? It takes a while to Lonelybirch, so you’d better prepare well.”

“I suppose, since we have to leave the Empire’s east and head north.”

Daniel answered as he loaded gear onto the saddle.

“Enough talk—let’s depart.”

Ono, looking annoyed, mounted his horse.

“Very well.”

Everything was prepared.

It was time to leave the Magic Tower.

Lonelybirch, located at the entrance to Dekan in the Empire’s north.

It was where David, who fled Haidern, was said to have appeared.

According to the Magic Tower’s pursuit team, he had stayed there for a considerable time.

Surely some trace would remain.

The last place he was seen was Sturnhelm, but it’s on the way.

First they planned to investigate Lonelybirch.

As he was organizing those thoughts,

“Hamel. Who’s that kid behind us?”

“…?”

Hamel turned and saw a girl leading a horse.

Black hair, black eyes.

Hamel greeted the familiar face.

“Miss Rena.”

“Priest.”

She bowed with an expressionless face.

For some reason, she hadn’t been seen once in the past week.

“What brings you here?”

Hamel tilted his head and asked.

“I want to follow the priest.”

Hamel flinched at the unexpected answer.

What could that mean out of the blue?

Many questions rose, but after thinking, Hamel asked the most important one.

“Why?”

“Because I want to follow.”

“It’s dangerous.”

Hamel shook his head and turned away.

She grabbed his sleeve and said calmly.

“Dragonian.”

“…!”

Startled by the unexpected word, Hamel stared at her.

Did she know something?

She looked straight at Hamel and continued.

“My specialty is ancient magic. Among them I studied the primal magic of words, the tongue-spells.”

“Why bring that up to me?”

“At the Magic Tower battle site, there were traces of dragon-speech.”

Hamel nodded as if to say ‘go on.’

The girl before him was certain she was a user of dragon-speech.

Just recognizing that proved her ability.

Lena calmly laid out her conjecture.

“From the traces, the dragon-speech seemed a kind of earth-shake. Not wrong, but incomplete. I can help.”

“…”

Hamel pondered for a moment.

He had been wondering if he could further develop the dragon-speech he obtained by helping Tarka, the owner of Rosel Forest.

Her offer was certainly appealing.

Her motive to follow was odd, but she was not incapable of taking care of herself.

There was no reason to refuse her accompaniment.

Hamel looked at Lena.

Expressionless, but the fingertips holding his sleeve trembled slightly.

She seemed nervous.

Hamel calmly asked her,

“Can you ride a horse?”

Lena calmly nodded and answered.

“Yes.”

“Then that’s settled.”

Her expression brightened for a moment at his answer.

It was the closest thing to a smile he’d seen from her.

Hamel felt a sense of déjà vu at that sight.

Come to think of it, Antonio had started traveling together in a similar way.

Had he done something unnecessary?

Hamel, troubled, shook his head.

He just had to avoid repeating the same mistakes.

There was no need to be bound by the past.

About to turn away, Hamel suddenly looked back at Lena as if remembering something.

“By the way, what happened with the Academy?”

“I graduated.”

“…Not just a leave of absence?”

“I had met the graduation requirements already. I just had to submit my thesis, so I wrote and submitted it in a week.”

“Then why hadn’t you done it before?”

“Even if I graduated, I’d have to get a job. I didn’t want that.”

“…I see.”

He mulled over her words briefly, but her mindset was hard for Hamel to understand.

People lived in many different ways, after all.

Ono, listening nearby, clicked his tongue lightly.

“Tsk, kids these days…”

Rena immediately tilted her head and asked,

“Who are you, mister?”

“What? Haven’t you always been beside this guy? I saved you in the forest too!”

“I don’t remember…”

“Ugh!”

Ono realized quarreling further only made him look worse and fell silent.

Daniel, watching, merely clicked his tongue.

Hamel nodded and mounted his horse.

There was no need to hesitate further.

Four riders guiding their horses left the Magic Tower.

They headed to Lonelybirch at the entrance to Dekan in the Empire’s north.

They rode toward land where the snow had not yet melted.