Artifact and the Witch's Surprise Attack (1)
Sylvia reached out without thinking and shamelessly ran her hand across Cloud's heaving chest. At the same time, everyone watching from a distance dropped their jaws.
“W-what is she doing?”
“She just touched his chest!”
Sylvia pressed and poked at Cloud's abs, her face lighting up with genuine surprise at how firm they were.
“This is incredible! Look at these muscles! You didn't have them before!”
“Surprised?”
She stared at his face for a long moment before it finally hit her. The current Cloud was radiating an overwhelming masculine charm. His skin had taken on a bronzed tone, his muscles had grown defined, and his face looked like it had been sculpted by the gods.
His jawline… it's a perfect V-shape!
Her heart lurched. Her pulse quickened. She quickly averted her eyes. Her face burned so hot she couldn't even look at him properly.
“You've… become quite handsome, Cloud……”
She was one second away from hearts floating in her eyes.
At some point, Felipe had come running over. The glance she shot toward Cloud was sharp enough to be downright terrifying.
“My lady. There are many eyes watching. Please deliver only the important message and leave quickly.”
“Understood.”
Sylvia straightened her softened expression and cleared her throat.
“What were you going to say?”
The moment he asked, his smile bloomed across his face like a sunflower. Even the beads of sweat on his forehead looked attractive. Sylvia's heart pounded again. She'd never felt anything like this before. It was as if a nobleman with wind-tousled hair was gazing at her with sorrowful, passionate eyes.
She felt so nervous her voice might tremble, so she couldn't speak.
“C-Cloud. I'll tell you next time. I have to go now. It was fun.”
“Already? Didn't you say you had something to tell me?”
“Something urgent came up. So… I'll see you.”
She hurried away as if fleeing. Felipe, left behind, glared at Cloud.
“Who exactly are you?”
“Me?”
“I'm asking why my lady cherishes you so terribly.”
“Well, that's……”
Just as Cloud was about to give a vague answer, a sudden explosion loud enough to shake the ground cut him off. People turned in shock toward the source of the noise. Flames and black smoke were rising from a building in the distance.
Suddenly, a pigeon landed on Felipe's shoulder. It was a messenger pigeon. The bird spoke.
Nicholas has escaped.
Nicholas has escaped.
Nicholas has escaped.
“Nicholas?! Oh no……!”
Felipe's expression hardened with severity as she rushed off. Sylvia, who had been walking ahead, did the same. Cloud followed after them, wanting to see what was happening. Everyone ran toward the building engulfed in flames.
When they arrived at the scene, screams echoed through the thick smoke and fire. Just then, an old man wearing a mage's robe slowly walked out from the flames. A transparent barrier surrounded him. His eyes were completely devoid of pupils. Holding a staff in one hand, he raised his gaze and shouted loudly.
“It has begun! For daring to raise your blades against our Lady Bathory, the armies of hell will mercilessly trample you all! Everyone, look to the sky! The legions of hell have come to destroy this city! Ahahaha!”
Everyone looked up at the sky he pointed to with tense expressions. There was nothing there. It was a clear autumn sky.
“Seize him!”
Deciding it was nonsense, the soldiers swarmed forward and surrounded him. The mages forcibly dispelled the barrier spell protecting him.
“Just try touching me! Lady Bathory is watching you all clearly, you fools!”
He raised his voice and put up a bit of resistance, but in the end he was captured by the soldiers and dragged off to prison.
“Even though he's like that now, he used to be a good person……”
Sylvia wore a bitter expression. Cloud, standing beside her, asked.
“Someone you know?”
“His name is Nicholas. He was the greatest mage in our family. Just a year ago he was perfectly sane, but after fighting the witch, his mind was consumed by dark power and he ended up like this.”
“Ah, I read about it in the library. A year ago, Lord Aaron sent troops to the witch's castle in Sutmag.”
“That's right. Nicholas was part of that expedition. Even though he's currently bewitched by the witch and out of his mind, we still hold hope that he'll return one day. He is an irreplaceable person to our family. We've received so much help from him.”
Felipe approached.
“My lady. It's time to choose a new dress for the banquet tomorrow evening. The dressmaker is waiting in the reception room with the newly fitted dresses.”
“Understood.”
Sylvia looked at Cloud.
“I'll contact you again soon. Let's finish our conversation then. Stay healthy.”
“You too.”
Sylvia gave a faint smile, nodded once, and left with Felipe.
Left alone, Cloud stared blankly at the burning building.
“I wonder if this witch hunt will actually succeed……”
The witch, who could destroy a person's life or conversely grant them strength and hope, suddenly felt like a far greater being than he had imagined. The thought filled him with fear.
That evening, Cloud headed to the library. It was filled with military texts. He planned to start reading books related to martial arts one by one, beginning today.
As he wandered between the shelves, he absentmindedly pulled out a thick book. The title was 10-Year War (101 Battles of Victory and Defeat). On its cover was an illustration depicting the heroic figures of two female heroes—Ophelia and Isabelle.
He stared intently at the illustration for a moment before noticing something strange.
“For some reason, Isabelle's drawing looks a lot like the witch's face I saw two months ago. Sticky pretty.”
Above all, Isabelle's black hair—the same color as the witch's—particularly gave that impression. But he soon dismissed the thought. Since it was an illustration, it was probably exaggerated compared to her real face. People would want her drawn as cool, beautiful, and valiant as possible for the masses, so it was just a coincidence that it ended up looking similar. He chuckled lightly and moved on.
“It's not like the illustrator actually saw Isabelle's real face. Besides, there's no way a hero respected and loved by the public would turn out to be an evil witch.”
Cloud kept the book in his hand and continued browsing before pulling out another. This one's title was Close Combat Weapon Manual (Basic Edition). Carrying both books, he sat down at the nearest spot.
Reading the weapon manual from the start seemed too dry, so he opened the book about the 10-Year War first to spark his interest.
That evening, Cloud read until lights-out.
It was lunchtime the next day. The menu was salted pork and bean soup. He normally wasn't a picky eater, but military food was undeniably bad. Cooking dozens of portions in one giant pot meant the seasoning was always off. He ate just enough to keep his body going, then got up earlier than the others.
After finishing his meal, he went to a nearby grassy field, lay down with his arm as a pillow, and recalled the contents of the book he'd read yesterday. For a war story, it had been surprisingly entertaining. The author had described the causes of victory and defeat in each battle during the 10-Year War in a really interesting way. He'd been hooked the entire time.
For example, there was a battle where there weren't even any enemies, yet their own forces had been inexplicably wiped out. The soldiers had gotten drunk and were messing around when someone jokingly shouted “Enemy attack!” In the middle of the night, everyone panicked and fled, trampling each other to death. Cloud let out a small laugh, thinking it sounded like a lie but apparently such things really happened.
“Ah! There you are! I finally found you!”
A hearty male voice suddenly rang out. He turned to see Thor. Since he'd already signed a mercenary contract with Valua, he could freely enter and exit the military district.
Cloud sat up and offered a handshake first.
“Whoa, long time no see, Totty. It is Totty, right?”
“Wahaha!”
Thor burst into loud laughter.
“Have you forgotten my name just because we haven't seen each other for a while, brother? Please tell me you're joking! If you've really forgotten my name, it'll be a huge shock!”
“You didn't show your face once in all this time. What have you been up to?”
At Cloud's slightly sulky question, Thor grinned from ear to ear.
“I've been busy blooming love left and right with the ladies I met during the parade last time, brother! Wahahaha!”
Cloud wanted to kill him.
“You didn't even come visit for over two months and you call yourself a brother? Forget it.”
“Sorry, brother! But once you see what I brought, your anger will completely vanish, won't it?”
“What is it?”
In his hand was a basket. Inside were dozens of letters written by Sophia and Cecil, along with a mountain of Cloud's favorite foods. The sincerity of it brought tears to his eyes. Even though he'd just eaten lunch, he felt like he could eat again. No—he could eat it all.
“Sophia and Cecil are really worried about whether you're sick or not, brother. They can't even get any news about how you're doing.”
“That's why you should've come more often, Thor.”
“Now I feel bad! If it weren't for those girls!”
“Did you only think of me after getting dumped by those women?”
“Wahaha! I won't deny it! I'm quite the romantic, you see! Please understand that once I fall hard for a beautiful lady, I can't see anything else around me!”
Cloud wanted to kick that laughing face.
“Oh! Speaking of which, I almost forgot this!”
“There's more?”
“There is!”
Thor pulled a letter from his pocket.
“What's this?”
The envelope only had Cloud's name written on it.
“Sophia said an elf-raised bird delivered it. It's for you.”
He quickly tore it open.
Cloud?
I'm coming soon.
Look forward to the surprise gift.
— From Elena
Just three lines. True to Elena's usual way of speaking, the letter was refreshingly short. Yet it contained everything that needed to be said. It was about how she, who had returned to her hometown two months ago with her comrade's body, would soon be coming back to Valua.
It was a headache. At the same time, it sparked his curiosity.
Look forward to the surprise gift? What on earth could it be?