DMHS 58

Frederick’s words were backed by Daisy and the princess.

“I think so too. Anyone can see it is a watermelon, right?”

“Lord Lucien, why did you suddenly show us a watermelon? And it is a really badly drawn one at that. Even a child would draw it better.”

Kian was hit three times over.

‘You are saying my drawing is that bad?’

Lucien, on the other hand, spoke on without care.

“It is not a watermelon. It was copied from a magic circle.”

“Come on, no way. How could this be a magic circle. Uncle Frederick, does such a magic circle exist in the world?”

“No―it―does―not.”

Kian hid his flushed face and pulled out the drawing Lucien had made. When the group checked the new drawing, their reaction was clearly different.

“It is a magic circle.”

“Uncle Frederick, you agree it is a magic circle too, right?”

“Yes―it―is.”

Kian coughed and changed the subject.

“Come to think of it, why did Sir Frederick grow so big?”

“Wi―sh―ma―gic―stone.”

“The magic stone really granted your wish?”

One of Kian’s eyebrows rose. The princess asked a question as well.

“But why did you wish to make your body bigger? You could have wished for all of us to gather in front of the tower.”

“Tha―t―.”

Since his body had grown, his reactions were slower. Before Frederick could answer, Daisy cut in.

“He just wasn’t thinking. You know the foolish people in old tales. It also takes brains to wish efficiently.”

“Tha―t―is―not―it―.”

“Anyway, since we are all gathered, let us move on to the next matter.”

“Alright. Then where was this magic circle found?”

“U―uh―.”

Leaving the pouting Frederick behind, Kian began his explanation. Since the Tower Master was dead and an entire tower had vanished, a thorough investigation was needed. Kian looked Frederick and Daisy in the eyes and described in detail what had happened just before.

How he had met again the woman from the village and why he had been certain she was a doll.

The chimeras that had been released and the Tower Master who was found murdered. Finally, even the suspicious book of prophecy he had read. He told everything except the episode with Betias.

The group was shocked. The one hit hardest was Frederick. Daisy organized the situation in his place.

“Then these beads on the ground must be what was left when the dolls disappeared. We should gather them just in case.”

“Let’s do that!”

The group circled the tower and picked up the beads. Two large pouches were soon filled.

“Next we will look inside the tower. Since it could be dangerous, princess, please stay here with Sir Frederick.”

Kian entered the tower with Daisy. Starting from the master’s room, Daisy checked step by step through the laboratory where the chimeras had run wild.

“Fortunately, if we close the doors, the chimeras do not come out of the tower. Since the situation is just as Sir Kian described, I will immediately send letters to the knights. We must also inform the other towers, the royal palace, and the temple.”

Daisy sat down and wrote several letters. She called her own bird and Frederick’s, and even the birds Lucien and the princess kept, and tied the letters to their legs.

Flap flap flap.

The birds all took off toward their destinations.

“There is much to do. We must block entry so ordinary people cannot come here, and we need an official from the towers to check the situation closely. First let us return to the village.”

The group followed Daisy’s direction.

Crossing the forest was Frederick’s task. Each of them got into a pocket of his trousers. With only a few of his huge steps, they were out of the forest.

“What should we do next?”

At Daisy’s question, Kian glanced unconsciously at Lucien. Standing at an angle, Lucien answered.

“It is best to stay here for the days we planned to lodge at the tower. We must leave testimony anyway.”

“Then Sir Frederick will wait here until the magic fades, while the princess, Lord Lucien, and Sir Kian return to the inn. I will go meet the mage named Wendy.”

“I will go with you.”

So the group scattered in different directions.

***

The Third Tower, the center of battle mages.

In a room that looked more like the office of a knight captain than a mage’s laboratory, a middle-aged man with sharp eyes sat. His name was Samuel Erlesia, master of the Third Tower and Frederick’s father.

Knock knock.

Someone knocked on the door, Samuel responded.

“Come in.”

“Excuse me for a moment.”

With a bow, the attendant came in and set a crystal ball in front of Samuel.

“It was sent by the master of the Second Tower. He told me to tell you that it contains an amusing sight you must see.”

Samuel spat out curses.

“That annoying bastard, what did he send this time to get on my nerves.”

“Shall I send it back?”

“Leave it. I need to know what it is so I can send something back just as good.”

Samuel placed both hands on the crystal ball, as large as a child’s head. When he poured mana into it, an image began to appear on the clear surface. The picture quality was poor, like something filmed from far away.

“What is this?”

Samuel crossed his legs the other way and stared at the crystal ball.

“Is it an image of a distant forest? Have those lunatics run out of things to do that they are sending their scenery now. No, wait…”

Only after a moment did Samuel lean forward.

“That is Frederick.”

More precisely, it was Frederick grown to a giant’s size, towering over the forest like the giant race that was said to have gone extinct in ancient times. Soon Frederick started moving. He seemed to step forward, then backward again. His clumsy flailing arms knocked down thick trees one after another.

“Tsk, disgraceful.”

At last Frederick tripped over his own feet and fell. Dust rose high into the air.

Thud.

Samuel shook his head with a face that showed no emotion.

“Worthless bastard.”

It was an overly cold remark for his own son. But neither Samuel himself nor even the attendant reacted to it.

The scene changed, and a woman with heavy eye makeup appeared.

–A parent’s heart is all the same. No matter how grown, in the eyes of a parent a child is still a child. I thought our master would be curious about what his son was doing after he sent him out. With such a remarkable reflex ability, I can see again that battle magicians are different. Until next time, please stay well.

The crystal’s image ended there.

Samuel slammed the desk with his fist.

“That South dog… Let’s see how long he can keep acting up.”

Samuel growled as he stood. He pushed the magic orb with his foot and smashed it, then ordered the attendant.

“Gather everyone in the tower at the training yard within thirty minutes.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And send a letter to Frederick. Tell him if he does not behave properly, I will kill him. For one who disgraces the family’s honor, there is only death.”

“I will obey.”

Even after the attendant left, Samuel could not hold back his anger. Breathing hard, he rang the bell that connected outside. Samuel grabbed a wooden sword by the window and spoke.

“Send Morris up.”

Not long after, a young man with a gloomy look came in. He was Morris, Frederick’s half-brother.

“……”

Already guessing the situation, Morris looked at his father Samuel and the wooden sword in his hand, then bent over at the window. Samuel raised the wooden sword high.

Thwack.

The flat blade came down on Morris’s thigh.

“You, as the older brother, cannot even control one younger brother.”

Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.

“You made him into a fool.”

Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.

“How far will you disgrace our family?”

Thwack. Thwack. Crack.

The wooden sword broke under Samuel’s strength.

“Nothing ever goes my way.”

He threw the broken piece to the floor and grabbed a new sword.

“Stupid bastards.”

The one-sided beating started again with curses. Samuel had no idea what kind of face Morris, head bowed, was making.

***

Celestia Grand Temple.

A man in high priest robes walked quickly, glancing around him. After circling the corridor for a while, he arrived at the underground Inquisition chamber.

‘They should at least change the meeting place.’

A few days earlier he had received an anonymous letter.

[ I saw the Cardinal leave his lodging at dawn. Where were you in such a hurry to go? ]

Only two sentences, but they were enough to chill the heart of Cardinal Marcello.

‘I should lay low for a while.’

The cardinal sent a letter to the Master, asking to postpone the meeting scheduled a few days later. But the merciless Master forced today’s meeting. The cardinal had no choice but to obey.

Creeeeak.

The cardinal opened the door that had been closed for a long time and went inside.

When he sat down in the prisoner’s seat in the middle of the hall, as he always did, the Master was already there, sitting with legs crossed in the gallery.

‘Did I hear the door open?’

He had not heard anything. Not even the faint sound of footsteps or breathing. The cardinal once again felt fear of the Master’s ability.

“You are here.”

“Yes.”

A narrow jawline was visible below the mask. That was the only part of the Master’s body the cardinal could guess at.

‘Even that appearance could be fake.’

Afraid that his impious thoughts might be read, the cardinal lowered his head. The Master continued to speak.

“The fourth prophecy has come true.”