If You Leave Him Like That, He'll Freeze to Death (2)
If You Leave Him Like That, He'll Freeze to Death (2)
"This one?"
"...Yes."
An entirely black scroll. Its appearance matched my memory. The moment she received it, Olivia spread the scroll open on the floor.
[Message Scroll]
- Activated by absorbing its owner's blood. A message spell is embedded within.
- Remaining Time: 6 days
"What are you doing? Dispel it already."
At the words, which were less a request than a notification, Calliope shut her eyes tight. But she knew better than anyone that she had no other option.
As a Night Crow, she had hunted a considerable number of witches. So she understood more keenly than anyone just what kind of monster Olivia was.
A monster like this could not be handled by the Night Crows alone. It would be better to simply let her stay buried in the North and leave her be.
"Are you going to keep me waiting until I hear someone freezing to death?"
"I'll... I'll do it."
Calliope made a shallow cut across her palm with her dagger. A bead of blood welling at her fingertip fell onto the scroll.
The scroll soaked in blood glowed crimson and produced a small magic circle.
Anyone watching might mistake it for a demon summoning ritual, but in truth, it had nothing whatsoever to do with demons.
'Or maybe there was a little connection?'
Scrolls of that type were all circulated through the Black Market. And their manufacturers were, to a man, Black Mages. Specifically, the "relatively safe" Black Mages who had not contracted with demons.
The Emperor of the Empire was a capable man. Rather than excluding dangerous elements like Black Mages, he chose to corral them into one place and manage them.
Though honestly, the types who did nothing but scribble on scrolls in the Black Market were closer to scholars researching chaos than actual mages.
Why would someone of Knight Commander rank use something so unsavory?
First, when it came to using mediums like scrolls, no magic was as efficient as black magic. If you asked White Mages to create something similar, even several thousand scrolls wouldn't suffice.
They were cheap and efficient, so there was no reason not to use them.
'Though of course, this was only possible because they were the Night Crows.'
An order like the Central Knight Order, which operated in the open, using scrolls manufactured by Black Mages?
They would immediately be branded as Black Mage apologists and permanently expelled on the spot.
Wooong.
With the scroll dispelled, Calliope rose from her seat. She lifted the scroll and handed it to Olivia.
"Here it is..."
"Let me see it."
Olivia stared intently at the scroll for a moment. Once she confirmed the spell had been dispelled, she burned the scroll on the spot. As Calliope watched the scroll instantly reduced to ash and vanish, her eyes flew wide open.
"The locations of the Night Crows who received the message would have been on there as well, wouldn't they?"
"..."
Yes, that was why she was shocked.
Naturally, she had expected Olivia to use it as blackmail. But Olivia had simply burned the scroll as if it meant nothing.
'What in the world is she thinking...'
As Calliope stood there stunned, Olivia glanced at her and spoke in a tone far more serious than before.
"Personally, I hate getting entangled with humans, unlike other witches. That's the same reason I holed myself up in the North for the last several hundred years. If I had abducted humans and offered them as sacrifices like other witches, it would undoubtedly have reached your Emperor's ears."
Calliope could not refute Olivia's words.
Barren as the North might have been, if she had abducted people, rumors would have spread somehow. A few years, even a few decades, might have been dismissed as coincidence—but beyond a century, the story changed.
By that point, it was no coincidence. She truly had not abducted anyone.
"For now, I intend to let you all leave here alive."
"...What do you mean by that."
"Hear me out. I said 'for now.'"
"...There's a condition?"
Olivia nodded.
"You Night Crows have hunted witches like us for generations on the Emperor's orders. Correct?"
"Are you telling us to stop the witch hunts? That's beyond my authority..."
Olivia shook her head.
"I'm not telling you to stop. Frankly, I'd rather encourage you. I don't like other witches. I find it incredibly pathetic, those worthless bastards offering up sacrifices just to get a little power."
"..."
"Just kill all those fuckers. I'll even give you their addresses, where they live."
"Then why not simply do it yourself from the start..."
"Come on, no matter what, it's a bit much for me to personally kill colleagues in the same line of work."
Calliope looked at Olivia with eyes brimming with doubt. But Olivia's gaze did not waver in the slightest.
There was no reason for it to. She had nothing to be ashamed of.
"Didn't you also abduct mages."
"I did."
"Then what exactly is different?"
"I didn't take them to offer as sacrifices. I've been living alone for so long I got bored, so I brought them to train as disciples. If you don't believe me, you can check for yourself in a little while."
Calliope, who had been listening quietly, slowly opened her mouth.
"How am I supposed to believe that?"
"Don't believe it."
"...Pardon?"
"If you hear one more report of someone being abducted in the North, it still won't be too late to bring your knight order then."
"Hmm..."
To Calliope, who was agonizing over whether to believe this or not, Olivia spoke.
"You've got nothing to lose, right? Honestly, if people of your caliber died here, that would be a major loss for the Empire as a whole."
Unconsciously, Calliope nodded.
"You don't want to come all the way to the North just to die a dog's death either."
"Hmm..."
She was right.
Who in this world wished for death?
"And I don't want to make an enemy of the Empire by pointlessly killing you people either."
"Hmm... Hmmm!"
Watching Calliope writhe in agony, unable to reach a decision, Olivia laughed inwardly.
'What are you agonizing over? You want to live, don't you?'
Calliope had no reason to refuse.
By now, Calliope was probably putting Olivia on the same level as harmless Black Mages in her mind.
Humans were always at their weakest the moment they saw even a single path to survival.
"...What is the condition?"
She asked!
Smacking her lips, Olivia grinned.
"If anyone asks what happened to me, tell them I'm dead."
"...You mean to the White Tower Lord?"
"Yeah. Something like, 'We eliminated the witch. But her disciples were already dead by the time we got there.'"
Calliope thought for a moment, then spoke.
"Will anyone truly believe that two knights simultaneously killed a dragon and a witch?"
"Just say the witch had brainwashed the dragon. The brainwashing broke during the fight, and the three of you fought together and won."
"Ooh... With that approach, the White Tower Lord would indeed believe... Ahem! Ahem-ahem!"
As if her conscience were pricking her, Calliope let out a string of dry coughs.
A moment of silence passed.
Ahem!
"..."
"You quite done?"
"...Yes."
Her face flushed, Calliope hurriedly spoke.
"So, to summarize—the witch in the North was eliminated, the dragon whose brainwashing was broken returned home, and the abducted disciples of the White Tower were discovered dead. Is that correct?"
"Plus, when the Imperial Princess dispatches an investigation team later, you Night Crows will handle it discreetly on your end."
"..."
"How about it. Deal?"
No matter how she thought about it, there was no downside. Not only would no one die, but she would not have to be beaten like a dog anymore either.
Chivalry?
She was a Night Crow to begin with.
More important than her personal honor was her liege's victory, and for his sake, she could be as dishonorable as necessary.
'Whatever happens, I have to survive to remain by His Majesty's side.'
This was absolutely not running away.
Absolutely not!
Calliope nodded slowly.
"I see no reason to refuse."
"Good. You made the right choice."
"But, if I may..."
After a brief hesitation, Calliope spoke.
"Could you also provide the locations of those other witches you mentioned?"
"Just like that, with nothing to offer?"
"For every three witches, we'll block one investigation team."
Olivia shook her head firmly.
"No. One."
"One is far too little."
"Want to die?"
"...Upon further reflection, that seems exceedingly fair."
Olivia and Calliope shook hands.
It was a sight that would have sent White Tower Lord Lloyd into a towering rage, but unfortunately, he was not present.
*****
"Aaaaaaagh! Aramis! Aramis...!"
Thud.
From beyond the closed doors of the White Tower, Lloyd's despairing voice rang out. Seth, who had been waiting outside, approached.
"Commander. Is this really all right?"
"If they hear that the disciples have been taken by a witch, do you think they'll stay still? They'll go off to die at a witch's hands. No matter how I look at it, this is the best option."
"..."
Seth could not really argue. The concealment of the truth sat uncomfortably in his chest, but what mattered was that not a single person had died, and all were still alive.
"Do you really believe what that bitch said, Commander?"
"I have to. If she breaks her word from here, she's the only one who loses. Not even a monster like her can handle the Central Knight Order."
"She could just kill the three she abducted first and then vanish."
"You really think that's a viable option for her?"
Witches were incarnations of desire. If they possessed one thing, they wanted two; if they had two, they wanted three.
'If she had truly wanted sacrifices, she would have taken every single mage in the White Tower.'
But Olivia had taken only three. And those three had been sound asleep, snoring peacefully.
Of course, if Calliope had witnessed that brutal training firsthand, her opinion would have changed.
'No matter how I calculate it, the numbers don't add up. That goddamn bastard.'
In more ways than one.
"Enough. Let's go."
"Yes."
Calliope looked back one last time. The blizzard had already subsided. Beyond it, the bright dawn slowly raised its head.
'Tch. Once we arrive, I'll have to request a transfer to the First Prince's Palace.'
From now on, the Imperial Princess Palace was firmly off her list.