Episode 67: Ghost Estate, A New Beginning for Three People (7)
“Me too… Can I come with you?”
It was Ondal.
Muriel nodded with a smile more affectionate than usual. It was because she felt guilty for returning to her room in the morning as if nothing had happened. She felt like she’d somehow deceived him.
“Of course.”
“Ondal, actually, can you come with me?”
August said he intended to buy the necessary items and groceries for their future in a nearby territory. He knew that Sharan was frantically looking for Ondal, but for him to say that, it seemed like it wasn’t just a simple shopping trip.
“With Muriel…”
“Ondal, that sounds good. You can also explore the market. Ask August to buy you lots of delicious things too.”
As Muriel quickly helped August, Ondal’s face became blurry.
“It’s dangerous for Muriel to go alone. There are so many wanted posters… It’s better if I’m with you…”
“In that case, I can use a disguise spell on her. Luckily, I have some lingering pacio, so we don’t have to use a transformation potion.”
Kaiton looked at Muriel with a sneer, but she pretended not to notice and avoided his gaze. Although she already felt a chill just thinking about going to the cold plateau and using pacio, she had no intention of stopping or blaming him. Instead, she thought it was fortunate that she had found a way to avoid the numerous inspections and searches.
“What do you mean pacio, haha. Crawford also jokes sometimes? But if you could help, I’d be relieved. When I go to the market later, I’ll buy lots of transformation pills for the next time, so I’ll owe you this time.”
“It’s going to get crowded and busy here in the future. When I go to the plateau, I’m going to bring back a bunch of black wizards. Please also gather materials that they can use too.”
Muriel said, ‘Spend money generously, as if it’s someone else’s ‘ August said ‘You don’t have to worry about that’ as if he’d already intended to, but his expression was murky. It seemed to be because she mentioned bringing back black wizards branded as followers of the Demon King to the kingdom.
“Is it because… of the demon fortress you mentioned that you’re trying to bring black wizards? Do you really intend to create it?”
“Yes. That’s why I’m bringing them in; I’m really going to make it. They say demons keep coming out of here endlessly. Instead of hanging demons on ropes here and there forever, it’s much better to build a proper wall, don’t you think?”
“But… sigh… Once the demon fortress is built in earnest, the surrounding fiefdoms will start paying attention to this place. I already don’t know what kind of excuse we’d have to use to persuade the conservative lords around here. In addition, there would be a wanted person and black wizards within the estate…? If we make a wrong move, this will be branded as a villain’s den, and Sharan will send his knights here.”
Auguste winced, holding his forehead as if he had a headache. Muriel, who could imagine the expression he would make when he found out that there was the Demon King Ur too, chuckled and patted his shoulder reassuringly.
“Don’t worry about that. I have a plan of my own. Just trust me and get ready to spend some money. Hahaha.”
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
While August was busy preparing to leave the estate, Ondal and Muriel were given a disguise spell from Kaiton. However, Muriel’s reflections in the mirror remained the same – fierce eyes and blue hair.
She wondered if Kaiton had made a mistake, but Ondal standing beside her had transformed into a completely different person. He had black hair and a vague, unfamiliar impression. He said that if Ondal took off his blindfold right now, his eyes would look black.
“Kaiton…? I think my face is the same? but Ondal seems to have changed properly.”
“It did change. I didn’t distort your actual faces because it might cause aversion if it looks too different. This magic only distorts the perception and senses of appearance recognition, it doesn’t change one’s actual appearance.”
Most manipulation of the mind involved black magic. As expected, Kaiton had little intention of hiding he was a black wizard from August, and Auguste seemed to have vaguely realized that Kaiton could use black magic. Since he didn’t explicitly mention it or make an issue, she didn’t seem to have to worry. Muriel nodded and lifted her hair.
“Are you saying that I have black eyes and black hair now?”
“For others, yes.”
Kaiton tilted his head.
“How do I look to you?”
“…The same as before.”
“Does it not work for people who know my face? Then disguising myself would be pointless…”
Muriel’s face must be known to everyone in the kingdom by now.
“Don’t worry, except for you and me, no one will see your face.”
Ah… Except for her and Kaiton, everyone…
“I… I also want to see M-Muriel’s face.”
Ondal’s words made a flicker of confusion cross Kaiton’s face.
“I thought you were blind. You can’t see with your eyes, can you?”
“It’s just… I can’t… handle a lot of light.”
“I can see,” Ondal said as he lowered his head and nervously fidgeted with his fingers, perhaps a bit sad. Muriel gently took Ondal’s hand, making sure he didn’t harm his fingers.
“I also want to see Ondal’s face as it is. If removing the distortion isn’t too difficult, may I ask for that?”
“The more conditions there are in the magic, the more complex it becomes, and the more magical energy it consumes, but do as you please. Afterall, it’s my pacio that’s going in.”
“Then please.”
“Ah, no…! It’s okay, Muriel. P-Please don’t.”
“Why, Ondal. Won’t it be awkward?”
“We’ll be apart anyway today… We can see each other again at night, so I’ll endure… I can wait.”
Didn’t he always look at Kaiton through Sharan’s eyes when he used magic? Come to think of it, she forgot to ask. Did Ondal only see Kaiton everytime he used Magic, or did he also see Muriel?
Muriel rose from her seat, determined to ask out of Kaiton’s sight.
She had to hurry to get to the plateau and come back. In fact, she wasn’t sure if she could fulfill Ondal’s wish to see each other again today.
“Then I’ll be back.”
“Muriel, be careful, okay?”
“Don’t worry. I have Fen.”
“The magic you’re under isn’t a weapon. A capable wizard will be able to see right through it. They can even unravel your disguise. Besides, there are twisted and wicked black wizards lurking in the plateau. Don’t you think it’s better to worry a little?”
“Well… Thank you for your concern?”
“…Ha! Being delusional is also a disease.”
As Kaiton turned around with a disgruntled expression, Muriel burst into laughter. It felt like she’d paid him back properly for making her unable to get a word in last night.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Muriel wondered if the true identity of the spirit that Kaiton called Fen was the wind. Fen swiftly and lightly carried Muriel to the entrance of the plateau, like a soft gust of wind. He was already agile and swift, but today he seemed particularly excited.
“I can’t believe we’re already here… You’re great, Fen. Are you actually the wind?”
-Crrrr.
The pen made a sound, which she was unsure was confirming or denying.
Muriel gently patted the brusque blue-eyed beast, unable to read its mind, and looked up at the entrance of the plateau. As if aware of the people entering the plateau, there stood oa massive statue of Sharan. That’s why the entrance to the plateau was also called the Hero’s Square.
However, that statue… It was cruel and wicked.
The statue depicted the moment Sharan and the three guardians defeated the Demon King Ur and his followers. Sharan stood at the forefront holding the sun, which later became the symbol of Sharan’s eyes, while his other hand held the severed head of the Demon King. The black wizards, depicted in a way that made it difficult to tell if they were human or monsters, lay beneath Sharan’s feet alongside the demons.
Every element of the statue was a narrow-minded, subjective interpretation and a result of a politically motivated attempt to impose an evil frame.
Among the black wizards depicted as monsters, there were exactly two individuals with ordinary human faces, and they were Kaiton’s parents. So, Sharan had committed a heinous act of inserting the faces of the real victims into a statue commemorating his own victory.
There were many paths to the plateau, but Muriel chose this path because of the statue. It was much too evil. Hero’s Square had to disappear.
Thunk!
Thunk!
Thunk!
It was when Muriel froze the statue and created a massive ice sculpture on top of it.
-Skkkrrreee! Skkiiit! Skkkreee!
A gruesome sound, like a nail scraping against metal, echoed as a monster appeared. It had one eye and three legs, a tripedal creature. A fire-breathing monster appearing near the plateau was an unnatural combination.
The tripedal creature was as massive as the statue. With a single flap of its wings, the wind blew so strongly that her body wobbled, and when it spread its wings fully and soared into the sky, the sun was obscured, casting darkness over the surroundings.
-Grrr…
Fen, who had been separated from Muriel and standing between her and the statue, barked fiercely, guarding against the tripedal creature. The white beast had a brave appearance as if it could leap out at any moment, but Muriel could sense that he was panicking. Normally, Fen would have rushed out the moment the demon appeared, but now it seemed like he was gauging the distance while alternating his gaze between Muriel and the tripedal creature.
The opponent is stronger.
As soon as Muriel thought that, she leaped towards Fen without hesitation.
The only magic Muriel could inflict was a series of insignificant water and ice spells.
It was clear that her powers would be ineffective against the tripedal creature spewing massive flames.
“Fen! Let’s run!”
Just before Muriel’s hand touched Pen’s beautiful white fur, a scorching flame poured down from above, and Muriel reflexively created an ice shield. But she knew.
Ah, I’m going to die.
It was evident that the thin ice barrier created by Muriel would be pierced almost immediately.
Was last night’s dream meant to foresee today?
The dream was grand, but this felt a little bit empty.
At that moment, Pen leaped forward in front of Muriel. The white beast blocked the massive flames with its entire body and then disappeared without a trace.
Small ice fragments fell from the sky, fluttering and trembling. The melted ice turned into vapor, dispersing and then freezing again in the cold air of the plateau. The sight was delicate and beautiful, like the morning frost descending.
“Fen…?”
The fine ice particles melted and flowed down like tears when they touched Muriel’s cheek.
He was ice, not the wind.
Now Muriel finally found out what Fen was, but no matter how much she called his name, he did not appear.
NOO MY SASSY FUR BABYY
thanks! Aaahhg fen! Well, can be revived once, can be revived again!