“Wow…!” Seraphie exclaimed in awe. That’s magic…!
As Peonia knelt on one knee, placing her hand on the ground and chanting a spell, dark energy emanated around her. The dark energy began to form a large circle on the ground with Peonia at its center. Inside the circle, complex symbols, patterns, and ancient characters that were difficult to read and write began to fill in.
“This isn’t the first time you’ve seen magic, is it?” Orkis, standing next to Seraphie, asked nonchalantly.
While everyone was marveling at Peonia’s magic, Orkis alone remained indifferent, almost bored.
“You’ve seen my father’s magic, haven’t you?” Orkis said, adjusting Seraphie’s hat.
The shadow cast by the hat revealed Seraphie’s blue eyes more clearly. Those blue eyes that always observed the world now sparkled with childlike wonder. Orkis found themselves staring into those eyes without realizing it.
“It’s not my first time seeing magic.”
But should that even be called magic?
“I didn’t even know it was magic.”
The first magic Seraphie saw was ‘something’ Duke Felicia did to check The Land Abandoned by God.
“He just stood on the ground for a moment, and then it was over?”
Expecting something more magical, Seraphie was disappointed by the anticlimactic land assessment.
“Ah.” Orkis, understanding what Seraphie meant, replied nonchalantly. “That’s just a difference in style between my father and that brat.”
“Style?”
“My father is a very powerful magician. In his youth, he was often mentioned as a candidate for the Magic Tower Master like Peni.”
However, Duke Felicia had to give up the position of Magic Tower Master to inherit his title. The Magic Tower is a politically neutral organization, so someone with a title cannot become the Magic Tower Master. The duke himself had no desire for the position of Magic Tower Master either.
“My father dislikes anything flashy. That’s why he doesn’t show off his skills.”
It was said that highly skilled magicians could hide their magic circles.
“On the other hand, that brat has a bit of show-off steak. She likes being the center of attention.” Orkis criticized Peonia with determination.
Hearing the criticism from afar, Peonia, who was deeply focused on magic, glared in Orkis’s direction.
Seraphie couldn’t believe it, but when Orkis muttered, “Good ears,” she secretly struck out her tongue.
“But I like ambitious women,” Seraphie replied sincerely.
To become the Magic Tower Master.
In the original story, Peonia didn’t become the Magic Tower Master, but this time, Seraphie hoped she would. That way, Peonia might help find a way for Seraphie to return to the world she originally came from.
“Lady Felicia will become the greatest Magic Tower Master.”
“…”
“I believe that.”
“Don’t praise her too much,” Orkis said, looking back at his sister with a disapproving gaze.
Peonia, who was chanting her spell, had a noticeable smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Even from a distance, it was evident.
“…Well,” Orkis sneered. Despite that, he acknowledged what needed to be acknowledged. “Her skill is top-notch.” He was confident that her sister would secure the position of Magic Tower Master.
“You really care about your sister.” Seraphie teased. She could feel Orkis’s sharp gaze on her, but she wasn’t intimidated. “After all, you can only make such insincere insults when you’re close.”
“Countess doesn’t have siblings so you probably don’t know,” Orkis scoffed. “Insults between siblings are always genuine.”
“Even those insults are rooted in affection.”
Seraphie’s blue eyes seemed to lose focus as she was looking into a distant place, and Orkis fell silent.
“That’s something you can only do with a family you truly care about,” Seraphie said, recalling her real family from the world she originally came from. “If you truly dislike each other, you rarely even speak, and when you do, the words coming out are like weapons.”
Her eyes, which had momentarily drifted, refocused as she remembered the horrific violence she had recently experienced in this world.
“So take good care of your sister.”
Remembering the original story, Seraphie knew how much Orkis cherished Peonia, and Peonia cherished Orkis. They were siblings and family who were irreplaceable to each other.
“Don’t speak ill of her behind her back,” she joked with a smile, returning her gaze to Peonia.
“…”
Just as Orkis was about to say something, boom! With a huge explosion, a thick cloud of smoke rose like a storm over the wasteland.
“Wow!”
Startled, Seraphie stumbled. Orkis quickly reached out and supported her back to prevent a fall.
The smoke spread rapidly to where the distant people were. However, it stopped at a certain point as if blocked by an invisible wall. It was thanks to the magic prepared in advance by the Magic Tower’s magicians.
“That’s amazing…!”
Barely regaining balance, Seraphie thanked Orkis and stepped away from his arm. In doing so, her hand naturally brushed against his arm.
The white smoke rose into the sky, and the barren wasteland gradually became visible again. Peonia, who had been standing alone in the middle of the smoke, remained in the same spot. Her relaxed posture almost appeared lazy. But her crimson eyes, gazing downward, were sparkling.
She’s incredibly strong. Seraphie could sense immense confidence and strength in Peonia’s appearance.
“…”
The onlookers watching from afar held their breath.
“Incredible…” The magician who had come to fetch Seraphie murmured. And Seraphie agreed with the magician’s sincere muttering.
The wasteland where Peonia stood alone was stripped bare, with the entire dry ground shaved off. Peonia wasn’t standing on the ground but floating exactly where she had originally been.
The white smoke that had surged earlier was the dust from the ground, carved away by the magic. Everyone looked up at the sky, where the dirt-colored smoke had gathered, floating like a low-hanging cloud.
“Look over there!”
“My goodness, that’s…!”
“The treasure of God…”
Cheers erupted from the crowd. It was because beneath the revealed wasteland lay an enormous amount of the gods’ treasure.
The cloud formed by the gathered smoke slowly moved aside, allowing sunlight to shine underground as if the god themselves were watching over their treasure.
The gods’ treasure, bathed in sunlight, emitted a brilliant light, and people couldn’t take their eyes off the sacred and divine sight. Some even knelt and clasped their hands in prayer. And Seraphie was among them.
“My goodness…!”
Seraphie clasped both hands together as if in prayer and tightly shut her eyes. I’m rich now…! She was overwhelmed with the realization that they no longer had to worry about money. Tears welled up in their eyes, and eventually, a single tear rolled down their cheek.
“…”
Orkis, watching Seraphie, unconsciously placed a hand over his own chest. What is this…? It wasn’t because of Peonia’s magical skills or the divine treasure hidden in the wasteland. Although he was somewhat impressed, it wasn’t enough to make his heart flutter.
Orkis felt like something was struck in his chest. It was as if a tiny bit of the hazy smoke that had surrounded them earlier had seeped into him. And the back of his hand, which had brushed against Seraphie’s, itched.
* * *
Once the drilling work was finished, the workers waiting outside began their tasks in earnest. They set up an entrance at the closest point to the surface and created a path following the buried divine treasure.
In the meantime, scholars and magicians descended to study the divine treasure and sketch the surroundings. Some even collected tiny grains of the divine treasure that had fallen to the ground into experimental glass tubes. Of course, this was all done with Seraphie’s permission.
This is truly amazing. Seraphie watched everything from above.
The revealed mine was a treasure trove. Divine treasures here, divine treasures there.
All of this, according to my will…
The Land Abandoned by God recognized Seraphie as its master, and the land accepted Seraphie’s will. The reason so many people could go down and explore the mine was because of her permission. At first, no one could even approach the mine.
“W-What is happening…?”
“I can’t get in?”
“Countess! Countess Vallidus!”
The flustered people hurriedly sought the owner of the land.
“…They may enter.”
Except for the thieves. Only after the conditional permission was granted could people approach the mine.
In the meantime, some truly couldn’t get in. It turned out they were thieves who had come with the intention of secretly stealing the treasures of the god.
“…”
Seraphie pressed her lips together. This is amazing…! Her cheeks twitched with joy, and her eyes, like those of a forlorn puppy, were filled with materialistic happiness.
“My Chubby…”
Finally, Seraphie knelt on the ground. She was in awe of the land’s abundance, which would bring her immense wealth and honor.
“…Chubby?” Orkis, who was helping Seraphie up, was puzzled by the unfamiliar name.
“It’s the name of the land,” Seraphie said.
For a moment, Orkis’s face stiffened slightly.
“To name the land…”
“Isn’t my Chubby so kind and cute?”
“I wouldn’t know,” Orkis replied seriously.
Regardless, Seraphie was already busy praising her land.
“My Chubby is better than most people.”
“At the end of the day, it’s just land.”
“In the end, it’s just land.”
“Oh, if I buried my biological father here for a few days, would he be reborn as a new person?”
“He would end up dead.” Orkis looked at Seraphie with a slightly pitying gaze.
But the other people around didn’t find Seraphie strange. In fact, they fully understood. If they were in her position, they would have acted the way she did. How could they not adore the land that brought immense wealth and only listened to its owner?
“That’s the best saying I’ve heard,” Peonia agreed with Seraphie’s words. “Trash should be buried.”
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