Red Magic Tower (5)
Erinn looked around a little blankly. Elk had faithfully carried out the price he had been paid. In an instant they were transported, arriving in the middle of a forest with the Red Magic Tower in clear view.
When did he even set this up?
He was her master, yet there were still times when his eccentricities defied understanding. There was no way the Magic Tower could have failed to notice a magic circle planted this close—so how was it still here?
“It’s closer than I expected. The Red Magic Tower must have sensed it, right?”
To Freya’s worried remark, Erinn answered simply.
“Even if they know, they probably won’t do anything about it.”
“Huh?”
“Erinn’s right. If this had been set up without the Tower’s permission, it would have been dismantled and removed long ago.”
Letisia’s words were correct. The only reason a magic circle this near the Tower still remained was that Elk must have reached some sort of agreement with them before installing it.
That Agresia of all people had cooperated with Elk was hard to swallow, but…
…As long as we got here safely, that’s enough.
Erinn decided not to dwell on the details. She wasn’t showing it, but she had no room left in her head for that kind of speculation right now.
The simple fact that a few more steps would reunite her with Albrecht filled her mind completely. And it was the same for Letisia and Freya standing beside her.
Watching the three of them swell with anticipation, Ser-Aria spoke as if gently raining on their parade.
“We might already be too late.”
It wasn’t that she lacked tact. The others could read her intention clearly enough.
She was telling them not to get their hopes so high that disappointment would crush them if they failed to meet him. Letisia answered at once.
“It’s fine.”
She continued,
“If he isn’t here, that just means he returned safely.”
“…Well, I suppose so?”
Ser-Aria nodded and pulled a liquor bottle from her waist. Just as she was about to tip it back, Freya suddenly spoke.
“…No. He has to be here.”
“…Freya?”
Not only Ser-Aria but even Erinn looked startled. Freya’s face colored faintly as she explained.
“Lately Albrecht hasn’t been glancing at me at all, and I’ve been so disappointed. I need to see him so he can look at my body again…”
“……”
“……”
It was hardly something the Saintess of the Life God ought to say. For a moment the three of them were left speechless—yet they were hardly strangers to her exhibitionism.
Yeah…
…I thought she’d been quiet for a while.
Erinn and Ser-Aria both wore expressions of resigned understanding. Letisia, however, reacted a little differently.
“…Freya, if you walk through the streets, other people will stare just as much.”
“Ah, that’s true, but…”
Freya answered with a look that suggested even she didn’t fully understand herself.
“It feels different when Albrecht looks at me. Somehow less… satisfying.”
“…Is that so?”
Hearing Freya’s reply, Ser-Aria found herself reflecting that the inner world of an exhibitionist was a profound place indeed. The comfortable delusion that she herself was perfectly normal came as a free bonus.
But Letisia—and Erinn, who had noticed nothing odd only moments earlier—soon grasped what truly lay beneath Freya’s words.
“That’s…”
“Hmm? What’s wrong?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
Letisia said it was nothing, yet inside she felt thoroughly unsettled. The wariness she had once reserved for Erinn was now stirring toward Freya as well.
Erinn felt something similar. Unlike Letisia, she still hadn’t clearly defined her own feelings, so she didn’t fully understand why her chest tightened—yet she knew it was because she had glimpsed Freya’s true emotions regarding Albrecht.
“Let’s go. We don’t know when Albrecht might leave.”
In that strange atmosphere, Ser-Aria’s uncomplicated suggestion carried them toward the Red Magic Tower.
“I was wondering who had used the Sword Saint’s magic circle. So it was you.”
The moment Erinn’s party reached the Tower, however, they were turned away at the gate.
“Sorry, but our Magic Tower isn’t receiving guests today.”
And the refusal came from none other than the Red Magic Tower Lord herself—Agresia. Erinn stared at the woman barring their way as if she couldn’t believe her ears.
“…I know there’s a guest inside. We have business with him.”
The faintly menacing edge in her voice made Agresia flinch inwardly, yet she kept her composure and answered with deliberate calm.
“Sorry, but that guest has already left.”
“Already gone?”
“Yes.”
At Agresia’s curt reply, Erinn’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. Agresia’s expression soured.
“Do I look like the sort of person who would lie about something like this? There’s no point in telling a lie that would be exposed almost immediately.”
Erinn glanced back. Disappointment flooded Letisia’s and Freya’s faces; even Ser-Aria was smacking her lips in regret.
Yet Letisia refused to give up so easily. She at least wanted to know where he had gone.
“Do you happen to know where he went?”
“Hard to say. We only gave him the commission. We offered appropriate compensation and sent him on his way.”
“Saying you ‘sent him on his way’ means you know where he went. Where is he?”
Erinn took a firm step forward. Agresia instinctively retreated a pace.
“Th-this is the Red Magic Tower! Hero or not, if you intend to be rude to me, I will not forgive it!”
Memories of their previous encounter made her tongue stumble slightly, but she still managed to get every word out. Erinn let out a long sigh.
“Why would I be rude to you?”
“Th-then why are you coming closer?”
“…I was going to ask a favor.”
“…What?”
As she spoke, Erinn reached out, seized both of Agresia’s hands, and held them tightly.
“Please. Tell me where he is. I absolutely must meet him.”
It was Erinn—of all people—begging Agresia. The very woman who had once threatened her life was now uttering the word “please.” Even Agresia was left thoroughly flustered.
“….”
Watching them, a thought suddenly struck her. Was she really thinking of him more than these women were? After all, Agresia herself had not been free of ulterior motives when she summoned Albrecht to the Tower.
“I’ll ask as well…”
It wasn’t only Erinn.
“If you simply tell us where he went, I will never forget this kindness.”
Letisia and Freya joined the plea. Caught off guard by their earnestness, Agresia asked a question she knew was improper.
“…Why do you want to meet him so badly? Looking at this, it seems he left the party. Wasn’t it already over between you?”
“…Because there’s something I have to ask him.”
Erinn did not take offense. She simply conveyed, with quiet intensity, why they needed to see Albrecht.
“I absolutely must ask.”
“….”
Agresia looked from Erinn to the others, then spoke as if she found the whole situation faintly absurd.
“If you already know he came to the Red Magic Tower, shouldn’t you also know where he came from?”
“No. We don’t.”
Erinn turned. Behind her stood Ser-Aria, the one who had brought the information.
“Puhaha! I don’t know either, Erinn.”
The Forest Shadows had of course tracked him, but when High Elf King Ger-Senia passed the report along, she had only mentioned the final destination. Ser-Aria herself had never learned the rest.
It wasn’t that the High Elf King had deliberately concealed anything. Ger-Senia had simply answered her daughter’s request as asked. Ser-Aria had inquired where he went—not for a full accounting of every step of his journey.
“…Haa.”
Agresia exhaled a long, weary sigh. There was nothing else for it. Refuse them now and there was no telling what this Hero still gripping her arms might do. And besides…
…They’re far too sincere.
Unlike herself, these women were completely earnest. She simply could not bring herself to ignore that.
“…Parvata.”
“…!”
Agresia spoke.
“He’s living in Parvata.”
“…In the Shah Zar Kingdom?”
“Not the kingdom’s capital—there’s a city called Parvata.”
Erinn, Letisia, and Freya all stared at Agresia in astonishment, then bowed their heads deeply.
“Thank you for telling us. I’ll repay this debt without fail.”
“Thank you… truly.”
“The Church of Myeongsin will not forget this kindness.”
Only then did Erinn release Agresia’s hands. The faces of the party members who now knew where Albrecht had gone brightened at once.
Even Ser-Aria, who had remained comparatively calm, looked a little relieved after hearing the answer.
“Parvata, huh. Closer than I expected.”
Agresia watched them for a moment, then—whether from mischief or something sharper—added one more remark.
“…But will you be all right?”
“Huh?”
“What do you mean?”
To the puzzled party, Agresia spoke bluntly.
“That man seemed to be on rather good terms with the thief who left with him.”
A single sentence that might well sow disaster.