The Black Mage (4)

This was serious.

What was serious, you ask? Everything, basically.

The situation was serious, the atmosphere at the Holy See was serious, and most serious of all was the mood among the Holy Knights.

Andreus had apparently called every Holy Knight to assembly, and I could only wonder what on earth had happened. From the perspective of someone who'd done their military service, I had a rough idea of the kind of hell those knights were going through, and all I could feel was pity.

But I was in no position to say anything. Three full days, and I hadn't produced a single result. The black mage wasn't even hiding out in some remote, uninhabited region — they were right here in the capital, bold as anything, and we still couldn't find them.

"…Yeah. Fair enough."

Something had happened that had never once occurred since the Church first started hunting black mages.

That was right — I was living through a historic moment. If only that historic moment hadn't been a moment of utter humiliation for the Church, how wonderful that would have been.

"Just what kind of person is this black mage?"

No, seriously — was it even possible to slip through a net of Holy Knights that tight? If the knights were slacking off on the job, maybe. But every last one of them had bloodshot eyes and was hell-bent on catching the black mage.

At this point, just as the Fairy of Bombardment said, it was practically confirmed that something was up.

"From what I've heard, they're even considering putting in a request for cooperation with the Imperial Court."

The Church had never once requested outside cooperation when hunting a black mage, so that alone told you how serious this had become.

But would imperial cooperation actually break the deadlock on this search? I didn't think so.

We already had enough people on the search. More than enough, honestly. Throwing more bodies at the problem under these conditions wasn't going to accomplish much.

The Church leadership knew that too, which was why they were still hesitating over whether to ask the Imperial Court for support.

We needed a different approach. We needed one, all right.

"…Easy to say."

How was someone who'd never run a search operation in their life supposed to come up with a different approach?

I was starting to genuinely worry that the black mage would pull something before we found them.

Especially since I'd seen the tragedies a black mage could create with my own two eyes.

"…She's got a point."

I cupped my cheeks in both hands and rubbed at the muscles in my face, trying to loosen them up. I would have liked to check my expression in a mirror, but of course there wasn't going to be one inside a carriage.

"We have arrived."

The moment I heard the coachman's voice, I stepped down from the carriage. The Holy Knight who'd been riding up front beside him took position right behind me.

And what I saw was the most magnificent building in the entire capital.

That was right. I had come to the Imperial Palace. In the middle of all this, no less.

"I'm surprised. I never expected Maria to say she'd come to the Imperial Palace."

"Well, I figure I should visit you fairly once in a while too."

Of course, the biggest reason was that the Holy See's atmosphere had gone completely to hell, and I simply couldn't bring myself to show Chartia the current state of things there.

If it hadn't been for that, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I would have happily said yes when Chartia asked if she could drop by the Holy See for the first time in a while.

But ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I also couldn't look a friend I hadn't properly seen in a month in the face and flat-out refuse her request.

So, inevitably, it had been decided that I would go to the Imperial Palace instead.

If, by some remote chance, they found the black mage while I was away, it would throw a wrench into my plan to act as a brake on the Holy Knights…

But sorry, knights — I really didn't think they were going to find the black mage in the single day I was gone.

Everyone… I'm truly sorry…!!!

"Last time you were only here briefly for the medal ceremony, so you never got a proper look around the palace. How about we tour the Imperial grounds today? Oh, and I got permission to use the guest reception garden! We absolutely have to stop there — it's the pride of the Imperial Palace!"

"Yeah, I can tell you're pretty excited about this, Char."

"Ah, sorry…. This is my first time doing something like this, so I guess I got a little carried away."

Chartia gave an awkward little smile as she said it. …Ah.

Hey, how was I supposed to know that?!

I felt wronged, but what could I do? I was the one who'd put my foot in my mouth.

"No, no. I've been looking forward to this too, even if I didn't show it!"

At that, Chartia's expression brightened again. …She was easy.

"Then let's go right away! First…"

After making a full circuit of the Imperial Palace, the last place we arrived was the guest reception garden Chartia had been so insistent about.

"…Holy crap."

The words slipped out of my mouth the instant I saw it.

I found myself thinking that no amount of gem-encrusted extravagance could ever match the beauty of this garden. It was that exquisitely designed.

I couldn't even begin to imagine how much manpower had gone into creating it, or how much effort it took just to maintain.

I finally understood exactly why Chartia had been so excitedly insistent. If the Holy See had a garden like this, I would have been bragging about it with the same energy.

If anything, Chartia had shown remarkable restraint.

"What do you think?"

"I don't think I could ever get tired of looking at this, even every day."

"I didn't make it or manage it myself, but hearing that somehow makes me proud."

We walked a little farther into the garden and came upon chairs and a table of pure white that blended seamlessly with the scenery.

"This is where we enjoy tea time."

"…Char, this place is actually insane."

Wouldn't any hopeless romantic who set foot here drown on the spot from sheer aesthetic overload?

I settled carefully into a seat, and the chair's surprisingly comfortable cushioning welcomed me.

Once Chartia sat across from me, the maid who'd been trailing us headed off somewhere.

"If we wait, she'll bring refreshments. I can confidently say they'll be quite good."

"I feel like anything would taste good in a place like this."

Chartia nodded at that.

"I think so too."

So, what should we talk about now. …Ah, right.

"Come to think of it, when we met a few days ago, you were checking the target's infiltration route, weren't you? Did that go well?"

"Of course! I'm a righteous thief who knows no failure, remember?"

Chartia… she really might have a genuine talent for the righteous-thief business. Hearing that she'd never failed even once was a little surprising.

…I almost took the bait for a second. It wouldn't cost anything, and there was nothing to lose by asking.

But was this really something I should go blabbing about outside the Holy See? The Saintess herself, airing the Church's dirty laundry?

"Um, O righteous thief who knows no failure? This is a real secret, okay? But I genuinely need someone's advice, so… can you promise you won't tell anyone else?"

"…I swear on the honor of the First Emperor, and on my name as Imperial Princess of the Empire. I won't tell a soul. Even if it kills me!"

"No — if it looks like it's going to kill you, you should talk."

"So? What's the secret?"

I hesitated one last time, then made my decision.

Fine. I'd tell her. As long as Chartia kept the secret, no one would ever know that I'd gone around airing the Church's shame.

There was that famous saying, after all — it's only a crime if you get caught.

"Well———"

And so I poured out the entire story of the black mage incident.

"Any good ideas?"

After hearing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠everything, Chartia closed her eyes for a moment, scratched her head, and then spoke with a slight frown.

"Hmm……. Sorry. I'm still not good enough — I don't think I can help."

"I see…."

"…Ah. But I do know some people who might be able to help. Want to meet them?"

The moment I heard that, a gut feeling that things were about to get much bigger crawled up my spine. Should I pull out now while I still could?

No. A man who draws his sword has to cut something, even if it's just a radish. If I chickened out and backed down now, only to miss a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity — then what?

"Yeah. Can we meet them right now?"

"Uh, right now? That might be a little difficult, don't you think?"

Rather than disappointment, a spark of anticipation started ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to grow. Someone that even the Saintess and the Imperial Princess couldn't just meet whenever they wanted? Were we talking about a real heavyweight here?

Watching my expression, Chartia spoke as if I'd forgotten something obvious.

"We have to eat the refreshments the maid's bringing first."

"Ah."

I'd completely forgotten.

So we finished the refreshments, and exactly thirty minutes later, we arrived by carriage at a certain location.

And there I learned the true identity of the "people who might be able to help" that Chartia had mentioned.

The place I was standing in was the capital's detention facility for potential criminals.

And the people I was about to meet were the ones locked up inside it.

That was right. They were potential criminals.