The Witch Who Split the River
Liselotte had been wrapping herself in dark mana as if she were dancing, performing strange gestures on the spot. After reciting the final words of her spell, she came to a graceful stop.
“Omॐ.”
⟨ FINAL INCANTATION ⟩
The dark mana that flowed from her body swirled through the air before being sucked into the single sheet of paper she held.
Letting out a long breath, Liselotte handed the paper to Kyle. “Here you are, dear. Everything you asked for is contained in this.”
“With just this……”
“That’s right. It should give you a rough idea of where that apostle—or whatever he is—might be.”
Liselotte rolled her shoulders in circles as if they were sore all over and complained about how tired she felt. The moment Kyle saw it, he darted over and started massaging her shoulders, doing his best to lift her mood.
“You’re incredible, Great Witch.”
“Oh please, it’s nothing. Anyone could do this at my age.”
“You look like you’re in your twenties, though.”
“Do I look that young?”
“I was going to say you look like a teenager but decided to round up a little.”
“What? Ahahaha—!”
Watching Liselotte burst into bright laughter, Kyle saw his opening. He casually slipped in a few more requests about the problem that had sprung up in the area.
“By the way, Witch. There’s one more thing I’d like to ask… Ah, never mind. It probably won’t work.”
“What is it? Tell me.”
“Now that I think about it, it seems like something even the Great Witch would struggle with… I don’t want to bother you over nothing……”
“Come on! What could I possibly not be able to do? Just say it!”
“Well then……”
Only then did Kyle explain the situation that had developed in the region—the waterway that had formed between the two territories. The river that used to flow toward one fief had completely reversed direction, and the resulting conflict had sparked a war between the two lands.
“In a perfect world, it would be nice if the river could flow down both paths… but that’s impossible, right?”
“What? That’s easy. Lead the way.”
“Huh? No, how exactly……”
Like an extra in a movie or drama, Kyle went on and on about how it was utterly impossible, how it would be difficult even for the Great Witch, deliberately stoking her competitive spirit. The result was exactly as he’d hoped. Liselotte followed his guidance all the way to the upper reaches of the river.
She walked alongside the massive waterfall that plummeted from a height so dizzying it was impossible to judge, then suddenly stopped as if she had found the perfect spot.
“Good. This will do nicely.”
“Just what are you planning to……”
“Just watch.”
With those words, Liselotte stabbed her staff into the ground. A moment later, the waterfall that had been flowing obediently along the riverbed split cleanly in two. The divided falls began pouring down both the original path and the newly created one at the same time.
“Will this do?”
“How did you even……”
“Hehe. I told you, didn’t I? There’s nothing I can’t do.”
Liselotte smiled with deep satisfaction at Kyle’s stunned face. He kept the expression going, making sure she stayed pleased. They followed the river downstream, checking twice and three times that everything was flowing without issue before Kyle finally parted ways with her.
“It would be nice if we could meet again someday.”
“Yes. Take care, Great Witch.”
Only after she had disappeared into the distance did Kyle drop the act. He stared at the monumental feat she had accomplished and let out a stunned laugh.
“Wow… she just tapped a staff on the ground and split a river… Aura Masters really are a trash-tier class.”
It was impossible for an Aura Master to accomplish something like that. Sure, they could probably manage it if they tried, but it would mean days of backbreaking labor digging out the river path with an Aura Blade. A master had no time to waste on the kind of manual labor reserved for common workers, which made it effectively impossible.
“Sigh. I really should’ve learned magic.”
Cracking that half-joking remark, Kyle headed down the mountain and immediately sent a communication to the princess. He gave his report in a single line.
“Problem solved.”
All by himself.
The carriage rattled along, sending faint vibrations through the bodies of its two passengers with every bump. The impact was enough to make even an ordinary person with a weak constitution feel queasy, but for the injured Myungwol it was irritatingly painful. The priest had healed all his wounds, but lost blood couldn’t be restored so easily. Inside the swaying carriage, Myungwol frowned and began sipping on a honey-sweetened potion.
Kyle watched him and let out a snort of laughter. “Wow—you got to suck on honey the whole way there without lifting a finger, and you’re still at it on the way back.”
“……Shut up.”
“Wow—you couldn’t do a thing against those Evil God Cult bastards, but you’re snapping at the guy who saved you.”
Kyle kept running his mouth until he saw Myungwol’s hand move toward his sword hilt. Only then did he clamp his lips shut and turn to look out the window. The imperial capital was beginning to appear in the distance.
They were returning after successfully completing the mission the princess had given them. Of course, it wasn’t truly over. He still had to write a report and inform the higher-ups about the appearance of the Evil God Cult.
What a pain.
If he could, he would have hired a secretary and made them ghostwrite everything. But he couldn’t. This was an order given directly by the princess herself. Anyone entrusted with delivering messages to royalty would have to be a fairly high-ranking noble, and hiring a noble required an astronomical sum. Kyle’s financial sense wasn’t so bad that he would waste that kind of money on a mere messenger. Why spend a fortune when he could just deliver the words himself for free?
With a loud creak—!
We’re here.
While he was lost in thought, the carriage arrived in front of the imperial palace. Kyle stepped down lightly and headed for the princess’s quarters under the guidance and escort of the guards. The soldier who had led them to her door promptly vanished. Instead of knocking himself, Kyle gave Myungwol a meaningful look.
Myungwol let out a small sigh, knocked twice, and spoke. “My lady.”
—Myungwol? Come in.
At the sound of his voice, Princess Ludmila invited them inside. The door opened and Kyle poked his head in first. The princess tilted her head in confusion.
“You were with him as well?”
“Yes, well. We returned together, Your Highness.”
“That’s convenient. I was planning to call for both of you anyway……”
Ludmila asked her maid to bring refreshments. The moment the maid left the room, she hurried over to Myungwol and stared at the bandages wrapped around his body with a worried expression.
“Myungwol! How did this happen again……”
“I let my guard down.”
As he spoke, Myungwol glanced at Kyle. The princess immediately followed his gaze and began glaring at him. Receiving stares from both of them, Kyle finally realized their relationship was anything but ordinary.
Are those two dating?
Come to think of it, it was hard to believe a master would serve under a princess for the sake of a single sword. Hadn’t Kyle himself obtained an identical magic sword after just one request? He had complained that it was expensive, sure, but he had never refused the job or tried to avoid paying. It meant he had judged the price worth it. In other words, calling it expensive was just the usual grumbling— a master’s true value really was around that much.
And Myungwol would know that better than anyone.
Myungwol himself had to understand that his worth wasn’t limited to a single blade, yet he had never stepped down from his position as the princess’s guard knight. If the reason wasn’t material, then what? If the princess and Myungwol were lovers, and he was willingly sacrificing himself for her?
Everything in the world could be measured by material standards, but the heart was the one exception. Actions anyone would call foolish could be completely rationalized in the name of love.
Are they really together?
Now that he thought about it, the princess’s face looked strangely familiar. After a moment of thought, Kyle realized she bore a striking resemblance to the apostle named Agni he had seen recently.
When Kyle stared at the pair with the eyes of someone reading a cheap gossip rag, the princess—who immediately understood what the look meant—cleared her throat several times.
“Ahem. So. Kyle Meyer. Please give your report. I want to know exactly what happened… and how Myungwol ended up so badly injured.”
“It’s going to be a bit long.”
“That’s fine. All urgent matters have been taken care of.”
At her words, Kyle explained everything that had happened between the two territories. How they had gone to stop the war, how the conflict had broken out anyway, how they had chased after the culprit behind it. How Myungwol had been subdued by that culprit, and how Kyle had pursued the mastermind only to lose him in the end.
After listening to the full story, the princess turned her glare on Myungwol.
“Is what he said true?”
“……I have no excuse.”
“Myungwol, I believed you were an invincible swordsman who would never lose to anyone……”
“I let my guard— no, saying it like that is embarrassing. I was defeated because my ability was lacking.”
Hearing him admit his own shortcomings so frankly, the princess let out a heavy sigh. Not making excuses was one of his virtues, but she wished he would at least act a little arrogant at times like this. Something like “I’ll win next time” or “It was an unavoidable surprise attack.”
While the princess was shaking her head, Kyle seized the opening and dropped the crucial piece of information.
“So—about the identity of that culprit. It was the Evil God Cult, Your Highness.”
“Yes, that’s right. The culprit was… the Evil God Cult?”
“Yes. The Evil God Cult.”
A smile slowly spread across the princess’s face, which had been clouded with disappointment. The common enemy of the entire continent. A great foe that could force not only the empire but every other kingdom and even the Holy Kingdom to offer support. With this incident, she could easily reframe the narrative from a failure of territorial management to a successful discovery of traces of the Evil God Cult.
Kyle added one more piece of good news.
“And I happen to have a talisman that can locate where those Evil God Cult bastards are.”
“I’ll buy it. How much?”
Facing the princess who looked up at him with expectant eyes, Kyle flashed a devilish smile.
“Make an offer.”