Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Finding the Hidden Lady - 3
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Element Deletion Magic.
It was one of Neril's trump cards, alongside Decomposition Magic.
A grand spell that completely erased one of the four major elements—earth, fire, water, or air—within a designated range.
It was said to have been developed in his later years by Iori Otics originally to suppress fires or block floods, but as expected of the Witch of Atrocities, Neril loved using it offensively.
Neril pretended to be oblivious.
"That's an old spell that's been out of practical use since Iori Otics's time."
"But I feel like you could pull it off."
"Ugh. How the hell do you even know that?"
"Anyway, that spell should work, right? Just delete all the 'fire' in this territory. It's a dark night with no moon, perfect timing. Remove the artificial lights, and we can plunge the whole territory into total darkness."
"Hey. You want me to cast Element Deletion over an entire territory this size? Do you think I'm Otics or something?"
More than that, even.
I grinned.
"Who'd compare some hack like Otics to you?"
"......! E-even if you say that, what can't be done can't be done."
"What if we use this?"
With a flick, I tossed something to her.
The Withering Jewel.
An infinite amplifier that had been steadily accumulating the territory's residents' vitality over twenty years.
Seeing Neril's blank expression, I said.
"You explained it yourself. The vitality stored here is a collective potential that can be converted into anything. Obviously, that includes mana, right?"
"Y-yeah. Definitely with this."
Neril nodded dazedly.
She cradled the jewel in both hands like it was something incredibly precious, then pressed it to her chest.
Jenia spoke up, looking somewhat displeased.
"What should I do?"
Neril replied.
"Eat some meat. It's what you're best at."
"I asked Maide."
"I'm answering for him."
Neril was wrong. Jenia had a job, of course.
"You have to actually find Ariena."
"Pardon?"
"Neril's role ends with eliminating the shadows. Once the shadows are gone, Ariena will reappear. You find her position and let me know. Then I'll pull her out."
My tone implied that of course Jenia could handle it.
Neril scoffed, but Jenia's expression turned serious.
"Maide. Do you... know something?"
"Know what?"
"......No, never mind. Got it. I'll find Ariena's position."
Neril looked puzzled.
"It's a new moon tonight, and the sky's cloudy—no starlight either. Plus, I'm about to blanket this territory in perfect darkness with Element Deletion."
"......"
"It'll be pitch black where you can't even see your own arms. You plan to find her in that?"
"Yes. I have trump cards too, you know."
"Tch."
"Why are you clicking your tongue? Why?"
See? Those two have really gotten close.
It was a good sight as their leader.
Trail chimed in.
[They look close? Really?]
I ignored him and said.
"Ariena rescue op is set. Let's execute tonight."
"Yeah."
"Yes."
"Then during the day, let's do some light prep work."
The two tilted their heads.
I continued in a casual tone.
"We have to rescue Settlia first."
Rescuing Settlia was ridiculously easy.
She was imprisoned in the basement of the assassin guild's headquarters... a building disguised with a sign reading "Herb Shop."
Standing guard next to Settlia was the guild master of this assassin guild.
The conversation with the guild master wasn't worth a fingernail's worth of importance, so I'll skip it.
"Heh heh. You somehow found this place. Your grave, that is! Guhek?"
Pow! Crash.
"I said I'm skipping it, right?"
"W-when did you say th—"
"I'm skipping it, got it?"
"Ah, y-yes. As you wish."
While I was berating the guild master, Neril and Jenia came down to the basement.
They brushed the dust off their hands lightly.
"We roughly took care of the ones outside. Is that woman Settlia?"
"Looks like it. She's pretty weakened. Jenia, mind helping?"
Jenia nodded and stepped forward.
"O benevolent god of the heavens. We beseech your gracious hand here."
Warm light seeped into Settlia.
Jenia had even revived the Martial King when he was on death's door. A bit of debilitation was nothing for her.
Soon, Settlia opened her eyes.
Her eyes bulged wide in shock.
I removed her gag and said.
"Please calm down. We're on the same side as Lady Ariena."
"Pardon?"
"You're her nanny, right? Come with us."
"Th-that child... no, is the young miss safe?"
......?
A strange feeling hit me for a moment.
'Did she almost say "that child" just now?'
[That's what it sounded like to me too.]
'Hmm.'
I looked above Settlia's head.
A rare woman with a straight and kind heart, having sinned against only three people in her life.
And Ariena's name wasn't among those three.
'But no name in the Blood Letters doesn't mean no secrets. Show me the secret between Settlia and Ariena.'
[Okay.]
Soon, Trail used the Eye of Omniscience.
Thanks to time stopping while viewing the screen, I could leisurely watch the secret between Settlia and Ariena.
A moment later.
I spoke to Settlia.
"We haven't located the young miss yet."
"Ah. I see."
"Don't worry. We'll definitely find your daughter and bring her back safely."
Settlia nodded absentmindedly.
Then her face paled as she looked up at me.
Neril and Jenia were staring at me with keen interest too.
"D-daughter? I'm just her nanny."
"That's the story, sure."
"......"
"The count doesn't even remember your name, it seems. What a rotten husband."
"W-wait a minute."
"It's fine. Not my place to meddle. But..."
I whispered to her offhandedly.
"You're a much better match for Lady Ariena than some scumbag count."
"Match for what?"
"Being lord of this place."
Settlia fell silent.
Whether that silence was affirmation or denial, I'd find out later.
Clap.
Suddenly, Neril clapped her hands.
She whispered just loud enough for me to hear.
"You're planning to shove Ariena into the lord's seat by force, huh. So she'll be a solid backer later."
Correct.
Night deepened.
Jenia lay sprawled in the sky.
It might sound weird, but it wasn't wrong.
She was hundreds of meters up in the air.
On the back of the divine carriage Agril.
"Agril. Maide definitely knows, right? About my ability. Otherwise, he wouldn't ask me to find Ariena in this pitch black."
"Krur."
"Sigh. What the heck is that guy. Are all heroes like that?"
"Kruk?"
"My common sense is crumbling day by day lately. Especially with Neril."
She flipped over.
Turning from gazing at the sky to sprawling on Agril's back.
"No matter how I think about it, that grandma doesn't seem like a bad person. I'm going crazy, right?"
"Krurruk."
"I don't know if I'm the only one who thinks that, but lately it feels like we've gotten closer. ......Don't tell Neril I said this. It's our little secret."
That's when it happened.
Suddenly, a voice came from her bosom.
-Hey. What're you doing.
"Guhek!"
-Spitting? Motion sickness?
"N-Neril? Were you listening?"
-To what?
She didn't hear.
Jenia let out a deep sigh of genuine relief from her chest.
"Nothing. The communication orb just turned on by itself and startled me."
-I turned it on. At this distance, forcing the other orb to activate is easy for me. Timing is everything in this op—you can't space out and miss it.
Jenia grumbled inwardly.
'Hmph. Close my ass. This woman's personality is the worst.'
Anyway, she had work to do.
"I'm ready."
-Good. Here I go.
Soon, true darkness began descending on the territory.
It was already the dead of night with no moonlight, not even starlight.
The fire elements from torches, bonfires, and candles throughout the territory started getting deleted one by one.
Guards' torches went out, bonfires and indoor candles extinguished.
Perfect darkness blanketed Abys Territory in just five minutes.
Jenia swallowed hard.
'Element Deletion over this range. Even with the jewel's power, Neril is incredible.'
Of course, something she'd never say out loud, even on her deathbed.
"Got visual. Starting now."
-Okay. I'm tapping out. Kinda tired.
"Good work."
-Yeah. ......You too.
Click.
The orb deactivated.
Jenia would probably never know.
That Neril had activated the communication orb long before.
And that her face was slightly flushed.
Jenia stroked Agril's mane lightly and spoke.
"Alright, Agril. We need to find one person. Sharing vision."
Ta-at!
The next moment.
Jenia saw more than any human could.
The world as seen by the divine carriage Agril was vastly different from a human's.
And a hero chosen by Agril could share that vision with its consent.
She could zoom in on distant targets as if they were right in front of her.
No darkness could block Agril's sight.
No obstacle could evade Agril's eyes.
It was like peering into a transparent glass orb.
Man-made buildings or walls.
Natural caves or forest leaves.
Deep underground or pits.
Jenia could see through it all.
It had been a while since she last used vision sharing, so nausea surged, but she gripped her focus and began scanning the entire territory.
'About 26 years old, brown semi-curly hair. Dress is light pink. All tattered, hem torn.'
Laughter leaked out repeatedly.
If he could describe an unfamiliar Ariena's current state that specifically, Maide might've found her alone without her or Neril's help.
'Maybe Maide's giving us a chance to shine too.'
A party's fame benefits its members, after all.
But was that really all?
Jenia answered her own thought.
'He's just like that by nature. Maide... is a good person.'
Soon, she pulled out the communication orb.
And connected to Maide.
"Maide. Found her."
Offense began suspecting when all the lights illuminating his room went out.
His suspicion turned to certainty when his own flint failed to produce even a single spark.
'Element Deletion Magic! So the Witch of Atrocities is at this level?'
He'd heard about that grand spell supposedly developed by Iori Otics.
But to think a mage in this era could deploy it in actual combat.
'No. That's not the surprising part.'
Maide extinguished every fire in the territory.
Why? What the hell for?
'Does he know? About my ability? This shadow sorcery?'
Drip.
Cold sweat trickled vividly down his back.
That's when it happened.
"Hah. Hah. Wh-where is this?"
With all light gone, shadows vanished too.
And naturally, Offense's sorcery shattered.
The room, which had held only him moments ago, now echoed with new breathing.
It was Ariena.
"Who's there?"
"......"
"Where am I? Where's my nanny?"
Offense hesitated briefly.
For Kaild's sake, he should kill this woman now.
But would Kaild really get the emperor to open a grand search magic circle?
Could he even defeat the real Demon King to begin with?
No.
That bastard... was he really...
'A hero?'
There couldn't be two heroes.
If Kaild was the hero, Maide wasn't.
But if Maide was the hero...
"Having second thoughts?"
That's when.
The room's breaths became three.
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