Theo's ominous premonition had become a reality.
This was because Seria's wide-area confusion magic had engulfed the area around her.
Naturally, Theo and his aides were also caught in the magic.
Theo immediately used [Magic Nullification] on himself, but the others were not so fortunate.
"Of course, Theo must have known... that our family has an arsenal of artifact weapons... or maybe not."
"This isn't some foolish dream... it can't be..."
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry... for being the only one to survive..."
Irene, Alice, and Alphs were writhing and trembling.
Among them, Alphs was shedding tears.
"..."
Theo quickly used [Magic Nullification] on the three of them.
As their breathing steadied after gasping for air, Theo turned his gaze to the arena.
Seria in the arena was, literally, toying with her opponent.
"Oh, damn it!"
Noctar's right-hand man, Tarkan, was cursing under his breath.
Bleeding from the side of his head and bound in place, he was unable to move.
Although he had freed himself from the [Confusion] magic by inflicting harm on himself, that was as far as he got.
Immediately after, he fell victim to the [Bind] magic Seria had cast.
Theo watched the scene with a calm demeanor.
'It's over.'
Unless Tarkan had an artifact to counteract debuff magic, the situation was hopeless.
Orcs self-harming to break free from debuff magic once was a widely known tactic.
Naturally, Seria was aware of this and had cast [Bind] magic immediately after the [Confusion] was dispelled.
"Oh dear, I'm sorry everyone. This magic is still in development, so I guess I'm not very skilled at controlling it."
Moreover, she had the audacity to apologize to Theo and the three, even while Tarkan was fuming in front of her.
The trio's expressions weren't great, but they soon nodded at Seria.
Theo also nodded nonchalantly.
There were more important things to focus on in the current situation.
'To think her proficiency with [Bind] magic is already this remarkable.'
[Bind] magic is a low-circle spell, but it effectively and intuitively restricts the opponent's movements.
However, there are hardly any mages like Seria who frequently use it.
In the game, numerous mages appear, some even more talented than Seria.
The reason is, [Bind] magic is not like other spells where casting is the end; it requires constant mana control.
It's different from general attack spells, where casting is followed by immediate effect.
Yet, Seria, while paying attention to other matters, still firmly bound Tarkan.
A testament to her skill in [Bind] magic.
In every route of the game, Seria had almost never failed to cast debuff magic on an unsuspecting opponent.
From birth, she possessed a blessed magical trait like that of a [Mana Ruler], and she had a crazy obsession with debuff magic.
In the game, she didn't care much about failing wide-area attack magic, but when debuff magic occasionally missed, she would be enraged with herself.
...Anyway, considering the results of today's duel, I think it went well.
Irene showed her typically sharp close combat skills, Alice had more combat sense than expected, Alphs used the power of a set artifact but successfully used Renimid's Third Commandment, and Seria was just being Seria.
Theo spoke to Tarkan, who was furiously trying to break free from the [Bind] magic with sheer strength.
"Tarkan, that's enough. You've lost. Let's have a rematch next time."
"Damn it. Alright, I lost. mage. I admit my defeat. Next time, I will surely win."
Tarkan, having turned as red as a Red Orc from exerting too much strength, replied.
Near Polaris, called the capital of the northern part of the continent.
Just about a 30-minute walk at an adult's pace from the Polaris immigration office.
Somewhere there, Principal Lunaplora was toddling along.
A fluffy cat was walking beside her.
She looked down at the cat and said,
"Pipi! Is this the right way to Polaris?"
─Meow~
Pipi meowed, raising the end of its voice.
"Great! Do you smell Odius?"
─Meow?
"Ah, what is that."
─Meow...
Pipi meowed, lowering the end of its voice.
"Anyway, if you keep this up, I won't give you dinner tonight!"
─Meow, meow?
"He who does not work, neither shall he eat! Do something! Don't you remember Ryuk's words?!"
─Me, meow...
Pipi meowed dejectedly.
No matter that Pipi was a spirit that had lived for hundreds of years, it didn't understand such things.
Talking to her pet cat was just one of Luna's habits.
Over more than two hundred years of loneliness, she had developed this habit without realizing it.
So, as Luna was walking with her pet cat for about 40 to 50 minutes,
"Pipi, look there! That's Polaris!"
─Meow~
A large city gate appeared in front of Luna.
Two heavily armed guards stood right in front of the gate.
Luna hurried towards the guards with quick steps.
"Excuse me. This is Polaris, right?"
"Uh? Kid. Yes, it is, you're quite blunt."
"Lead me to the Dark Quarter!"
Luna said so, looking up at the guards.
The guards looked down at the naturally naive-looking child, who appeared to be about ten years old, with incredulous eyes.
The child was wearing a large robe.
"Judging by your attire, you're a mage, right? Anyway, listen, little mage lady. The Dark Quarter is a very scary place, isn't it?"
The guard shrugged his shoulders and looked at the other guard.
"That's right. How scary is that place? Even I, getting old, don't go to such scary places anymore. But where are your parents? Where did you come from?"
"From a faraway place. My parents passed away a long time ago!"
"Oh, I see. Do you have any other family with you?"
"This one is my family!"
The little child pointed with her finger to the cat at her feet.
─Meow?
The cat tilted its head, making eye contact with the guard.
"..."
The two guards quickly wore sad expressions.
It was their first time seeing a child this naive, but they seemed to understand the reason.
Being overly cheerful and fearless was probably because she had lost her family at a young age...
They felt like they were going to tear up after a long time.
After composing themselves for a moment, one of the guards spoke.
"...I see. Kid, what's your name?"
"I'm Lunaplora! You guys seem nice, so you can just call me Luna!"
"Kr, krh... Okay, Luna. I'd like to let you in, but we guards have our duties. Do you have something like an ID?"
"ID? Oh, will this do? I left mine at home, but a nice auntie gave me this!"
Luna rummaged through her pocket and took out a paper rolled up and tied with a fancy string.
"Hmm? Is this really yours, Luna?"
The paper seemed too luxurious for a lost child to have, so the guard asked.
"Yes, yes, it is!"
"I see. Let's see... huh."
One of the guards who unsealed the paper froze in place as if struck by [Petrification] magic.
"What's wrong? ...Huh."
The other guard also froze in place.
The paper contained detailed information about the person standing in front of them now, along with a note asking for understanding as she seemed to be in a mentally unstable state.
After finishing the duel with Noctar, I trained a bit more with my teammates at the training ground.
'It's already 9 o'clock.'
It was about time to leave.
I said goodbye to my teammates and headed straight to the boys' dormitory carriage station.
At that moment.
"Hello, Theo."
A woman with a greatsword that seemed larger than her own body on her back and clad in full armor appeared in front of me.
It was Claire.
"Nice to see you, Claire. It doesn't seem like a coincidence. What brings you here?"
"As I thought, it's easy to talk with you, Theo. Could you spare me a moment of your time?"
Claire spoke calmly.
Her eyes were staring at me intently.
Of course, keeping a connection with Claire wouldn't be bad.
In fact, it would be great if I could make use of it.
But it's difficult. She is almost like the hand and foot of Saintess Isabella.
The reason she came looking for me must undoubtedly be on Isabella's orders.
'I need to avoid Isabella.'
But even if I try to avoid her, the fact that Claire came looking for me means... she's already looked into me.
"What is it?"
"...The Saintess is looking for you."
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