Betting on the Future
“Lude, how's the situation?”
The childlike boy who had been sitting still with his eyes closed before the Sacred Flame opened them. Lude, the Windsor Knights' magus, spoke up.
“Captain. Something's off about this.”
“Specifically, what do you mean?”
Lude pointed at the flame with his finger.
“There's nothing wrong with it.”
“That's what I thought too.”
Viaton, who had been standing behind them with his hands clasped behind his back, approached.
“There's no change in the flame's performance. It's neither stronger nor weaker than before.”
“Sisilia's just being overly sensitive from the start. Even for a magus like me, it's a bit hard to pick up on.”
Lude brushed the dirt off his butt and stood.
“It's an extremely faint tremor. I can say with certainty that only a handful in our knight order could even detect it.”
Chiron stared at the flame with an impassive face. He too could barely sense the tremor with extreme focus. To the point where he had to know it was shaking just to notice it.
“That said, Sisilia isn't wrong. It is shaking, plain and simple. How did she even spot it? Gotta pat her head for being such a good girl.”
Lude's come to the same conclusion, huh.
The kingdom's top mage. The knight order's greatest magus was saying the same thing. The odds of them being wrong were vanishingly low.
But...
“I talked with that girl yesterday.”
There was something nagging at him. It felt just like the moment he'd first laid eyes on Sisilia. An intuition that defied logic had reared its head again.
“She thinks the goddess's power has weakened.”
“...!”
Viaton and Lude were mildly surprised. Viaton seemed lost in thought, while Lude squinted one eye and ruffled his hair.
“Hmm. I'd love to side with Sisilia, but that's a stretch, Captain.”
“Why?”
“The principle behind the Sacred Flame is simple. It's a barrier spell narrowed to a specific area, limited to demons as targets. The only difference is that it's powered by divine power instead of mana.”
And peering into a structure with known blueprints wasn't all that hard.
“The Sacred Flame exists perfectly. No gaps, just like always.”
“What do you think, Marquis Viaton?”
“I agree, but... it's not impossible,” Viaton mused.
The marquis was a mage through and through, down to his bones. He pursued truth without ever claiming absolute certainty about anything. Unlike magi who battled by dismissing low probabilities for higher ones, his way was different.
“The visible shaking is extremely minute. If the power has weakened, it would be by just that much.”
“Eh, I don't buy it, old man. It's faint, sure, but detectable. If the power weakened, we'd definitely know.”
“Is there anything more foolish than judging a god's domain by human standards?”
“Hmph, I'm a magus. Blocking the whims of the gods is my calling.”
The debate grew heated. Neither man would yield. But the real topic wasn't “the goddess's power has weakened”—it was whether they should affirm it or not.
“...We should keep the possibility in mind. We'll maintain the current status quo for now.”
“Captain, that's a waste of manpower. A massive loss for the kingdom too.”
Lude sounded a bit annoyed that his side hadn't won out.
“If this tremor weakens the barrier even slightly, the capital's outskirts could be exposed to demon incursions.”
“Well, that won't happen.”
Chiron's eyebrow twitched faintly. Edward was approaching from no great distance.
“We've scoured the capital vicinity, but no significant demon traces were found.”
Edward stopped before Chiron.
“Lifting the emergency is the right call. We have neither justification nor benefit like this.”
Chiron didn't even glance at him.
“...My decision to observe for now stands.”
Edward's expression hardened slightly. But he soon wore an easy smile again.
“Because of Sisilia?”
“...”
Chiron couldn't respond.
“I know well how clever Sisilia is, but this time her opinion's a bit of a stretch.”
Quite the irritating remark.
Only then did Chiron turn to Edward.
“Want to make a bet?”
“A bet?”
“If Sisilia's right, I win. If not, you do.”
“Bets need stakes.”
“If I win, don't interfere with Sisilia taking the vice-captain position.”
A faint crack appeared in Edward's perfect smile.
“...You think I'd obstruct Sisilia?”
“Will you take the bet?”
“Fine. But if that's your stake, then if I win, don't give her the vice-captain role.”
Chiron answered without hesitation.
“Deal.”
Edward smirked oddly.
“Captain, you sometimes forget she's only sixteen. She's still a child. More interested in throwing tantrums than the greater good—”
Sisilia the child stood before the mirror. A black mirror that reflected nothing. Known as the Mirror of Truth.
A name straight out of a fairy tale, but it was truly a holy relic.
“Gotta have the qualifications, huh.”
This Mirror of Truth had rather simple abilities for a holy relic. Wear the black sapphire accessory, stand before the mirror, and ask. It would reveal undeniable facts.
“...Thanks, Leo Ric. I'll help coordinate your next date with the young lady.”
Sisilia offered a small thanks as she pulled the “genuine 1000-gold pendant” from her bosom and hung it around her neck.
Staring into the black mirror, a shape slowly emerged. A girl with flawless beauty reflected back.
Sisilia herself.
“Mirror, oh mirror.”
From the impassive Sisilia's lips came words tinged with childlike wonder. The mirror resonated, glowing blue and illuminating her cozy little cabin with affection.
“From now on, answer what I ask.”
As if in agreement, the pricey pendant on her reflection floated up lightly. Proof that the holy relic recognized the Pendant of Elasia as valid currency.
Finally, time to ask this.
Sisilia's heart raced. The Mirror of Truth answered anything. But not the future.
It wasn't that kind of supernatural relic. Only the present. Unyielding truth.
That's why she hadn't been able to ask until now.
“The goddess.”
About the goddess, Saint Michael.
“In the year 499 of Saint Michael, is the goddess currently governing the dimension where Sisilia Windsor exists—”
She'd guessed the official launch was a year away because of the Another World setup.
Michael, who granted humans the power of Aura to fight demons. Her power waned every 500 years. No more new auras could be bestowed.
So humans sought a breakthrough: summoning beings from other worlds.
A weakened Michael couldn't grant auras to this world's humans, but she could to otherworldly ones.
That's how Another World began.
So there was only one thing Sisilia wanted to ask.
“—clearly weaker in her dominion over this world than before?”
“...”
Her heart went utterly still, as if it had stopped beating. As the mirror's light trembled, she forgot to breathe, waiting for the answer.
“Yes.”
The girl in the mirror answered as if it were obvious.
“No doubt about it.”
“...!”
Sisilia's eyes widened as she looked down at her neck. The pendant was gone. The mirror had returned to its black state.
The Mirror of Truth had spoken truth.
In other words...
“Yay! Woo-hoo!”
One year from now, newbies arrive!
“Something feels off.”
“Why?”
“Something... suddenly making me super happy.”
“You too? I'm kinda feeling it right now.”
Sisilia spread happiness virus as she headed home. Her face still blank, of course.
Upon arriving at the mansion, Mari in her maid uniform bowed politely as always.
“I've been waiting, miss.”
“Yeah.”
“Shall I prepare your bath?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
...?
Mari, the 28-year veteran pro maid, had a giant question mark over her head. Normally she'd get “Later,” and she'd have to refuse. But “yeah”? Twice?
Why does she look so happy today?
...She always causes big trouble on days like this.
Mari spoke with unease.
“First, the family head wishes to see you.”
“Yeah.”
Thud thud thud.
Sisilia was in the best mood ever. Today, she could forgive someone even if they swiped her last strawberries she'd been saving for dessert.
“Sorry... about that.”
“Pardon?”
“I bet your future.”
Sisilia's head tilted at Chiron's grave voice as she opened the door. My future...? Did he get her engaged or something? Then he'd witness Sisilia's grand escape.
“I have zero interest in marriage yet.”
“Marriage? What horrific nonsense is that? Even when dirt's in my eyes, that won't happen.”
Chiron straightened up and denied it swiftly. Sisilia sighed in relief, then asked after a moment's thought.
“Then... did you bet on me?”
“Yes.”
“With yourself...?”
Chiron felt a bit wronged at being equated that way.
“No, with Vice-Captain Edward.”
“Ah.”
Chiron paused slightly. A knight captain betting over personal feelings... it was a bit embarrassing.
“It's about what you said yesterday.”
“About the goddess's power weakening?”
She didn't mind if they didn't believe her. They'd know for sure eventually. She could just wait patiently.
“Yes. We bet on that.”
“The stakes?”
“Your vice-captain position... that's what we bet.”
“Ah.”
Sisilia's face was pure So what?
“You're not surprised.”
“Of course not—I'll win anyway.”
Pfft. Chiron let out a small chuckle.
“That's you, alright.”
“But you didn't call me just to say that.”
That's exactly why I called.
Chiron thought carefully. Sisilia held grudges surprisingly long if slighted.
“I'll give you a reward. Name it.”
“Allowance.”
“...Fine. If I win the bet, I'll double your allowance.”
D-double?!
Sisilia swallowed hard. That was a massive raise.
But settling for that wouldn't make her big-time. She aimed higher.
“...And lift the allowance ban too.”
“Hmm...”
“I'll spend wisely from now on.”
Chiron groaned. Did I go too far? As Sisilia shrank a bit, Chiron nodded heavily.
“But spend on things with meaning...”
Chiron trailed off. Then he sighed at the empty spot where Sisilia had already vanished.
“Off shopping for clothes, I suppose.”
She was at that age.