Chapter 25: Square 20: The Hideous Spirit
Elizabeth apparently kept her breakfasts light, which naturally meant my own meal followed suit. Not that I had any room to complain about being fed at all. Even on the lighter side, it was still an absolutely gorgeous spread. I ate gratefully and started getting ready to head out. Not that I had much to prepare, all I really had was my bag. So really, all that was left was cleaning up the room I’d used. I wiped down all the dust on the furniture and got the floor spotless. Just as I was feeling pretty satisfied with the result, there was a sudden knock on the door.
"Excuse me."
Tender’s voice. I said "come in," and he entered with a light bow.
"Everything’s ready for your send off. Are you all set on your end?"
"Send off, seriously? I don’t really rank high enough for a send off, do I?"
"Not at all. You’re a guest Lady Elizabeth personally invited. We’ll be seeing you off properly."
Funny, considering how much I got mocked around this mansion. Still, it had been a pretty good memory, all things considered. I did one last check to make sure I hadn’t left anything behind and stepped out of the room. Standing there alongside Tender was Selva, the old butler.
"Shall we head out, then."
Selva and Tender walked ahead of me, side by side. Seeing the two of them together, Selva’s rugged dignity stood out even more, to the point I almost forgot Tender actually outranked him.
By the time we reached the entrance, Elizabeth was already there waiting.
"There you are."
"Yeah, thanks for everything."
"Don’t mention it. You gave me plenty to laugh about."
"Yeah yeah, glad I could help."
I walked out through the already open door.
"Do come again, if you’d like."
"Maybe, if I feel like it."
I answered with a light wave, not bothering to turn around.
Walking along while looking at the large fountain in front of the entrance, a young man came sprinting toward me at incredible speed. But since my attention had been on the fountain, my reaction came way too late.
"Whoa!"
"Waaah!"
I couldn’t dodge in time, and we collided head on. I’d been hoping for a clean, dignified exit, and here I was ruining it completely at the very last moment. I glared at the young man with an irritated expression.
"Ah... ahh!! I’m so sorry, sorry!!"
"Huh? Ah, no, it’s fine."
Getting apologized to so meekly and suddenly threw off any chance I had to actually get mad. The young man bowing frantically at me had most of his face hidden under a green hood pulled tight over his head. His outfit overall leaned green and plain, and my first impression of him was that he seemed like a timid sort of guy. Guess this world had its share of nervous people too.
"S-so sorry, really, really sorry! Anyway, I’ll be heading off!"
Heading off where, exactly? The young man was running straight toward Elizabeth’s mansion. ...Wait, was he running toward Elizabeth specifically? For some reason, Elizabeth was chuckling to herself. Then, suddenly, the young man shouted.
"Elizabeth, sweetheart!! I love you!!!"
An incredibly bold public confession, playing out right in front of me. Didn’t expect to witness some kind of romance drama out here. I found myself staring intently, cheeks flushing slightly.
"No thanks."
An instant, flat out rejection. Not even a second’s hesitation. And Elizabeth’s expression was practically beaming. Absolutely merciless.
"Wh, what was wrong with it this time?"
"The way you crashed into me just now was uncool."
Even I felt bad for the guy just listening to that. But something about the phrase "this time" caught my attention.
"That’s Rick, the childhood friend I mentioned yesterday."
"Whoa! When did you even..."
Before I noticed, Tender was standing right next to me. I really wish he’d stop showing up like that, it’s bad for the heart.
"Hey, has that confession thing happened before?"
"Not just before, it’s been happening every single day since we were three."
Incredible. And the impressive part wasn’t just that guy’s persistence, but honestly, how completely unmoved Elizabeth remained every time.
"Now then, things are about to get a bit dangerous, so it’d be best to head back into the mansion for now."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Rick keeps watch over this area. He usually confesses to her over a communication crystal, so him actually showing up in person like this means there’s a high chance something’s wrong."
Confessing over the phone every single day... At that point it sounds more like stalking, honestly. Either way, I followed Tender’s advice and retreated back inside the mansion. Peeking out from behind the door, nothing had happened yet.
"Excuse me for a moment."
"Why are you hiding too?"
"It’s fine, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it."
"Just as Tender said. Might as well watch the show myself, while we’re at it."
Before I knew it, even Elizabeth and Selva were hiding behind the door with us. The combat power among the spectators kept climbing higher and higher.
"Hey, Elizabeth, aren’t you the main firepower here? Why are you hiding too!?"
"Just be quiet. Look, here they come."
Saying that, Elizabeth pointed up at the sky.
"The sky... wait, what!?"
What caught my eye was a group of winged humans flying through the air. At a glance, there were about ten of them.
"Are those demi humans or something?"
"No, they’re not. Body altering magic tools, they’re controlling monsters. Third rate magic, honestly, all of it."
"Those must be more of the Fulm brothers’ associates."
"Huh? So the information already leaked out, then?"
While the four of us chattered away, the intruders began descending. A hulking guy here, a two meter tall giant there. A man armored head to toe, and a muscular type carrying a sword bigger than himself on his back. A wildly mismatched bunch of intruders, and looking at them, Rick didn’t stand the slightest chance visually.
"You’re seriously not going to help him!?"
"Quiet. Just watch, you’ll understand."
"I mean, sure, but..."
Of course, there wasn’t a single thing I could actually contribute even if I went out there. All I could do was watch with an anxious expression.
"Hey, kid! Hand over Luganis’s daughter!"
"Uh... Elizabeth isn’t here right now."
"Don’t lie to us!!!"
"We’ll kill you!!!"
"You want to die!?"
Rick’s shoulders were trembling. From behind, he looked like a frightened little animal. But in the next moment, something other than threats reached Rick.
"Rick! Go ahead and take those guys down!"
Elizabeth suddenly raised her voice, cheering Rick on. And right then, Rick’s expression changed.
"Elizabeth... thanks."
Rick smoothly pulled off his hat. What was underneath left me stunned. Rick’s hair, unmistakably, was blond, and clearly not dyed. His ears, which had been hidden under the hat, jingled with skull shaped earrings. But the intruders paid no attention to Rick’s transformation and set their sights on us instead.
"Hey! It’s that woman! Let’s grab her!!"
"Grab who, exactly?"
Rick’s voice had dropped noticeably lower. Not a trace of that timid, small animal presence from before remained. If anything, he now carried an overwhelming presence, almost dragon like.
"Elizabeth... watch closely, alright."
"Of course I will."
Wind stirred around Rick. The intruders stopped talking and readied their weapons.
[A wish upon color] [Love within sound] [Healing through scent] [Honoring desire] [Laugh at pain that forgives all] [Grant death to the innocent, wicked god]
A purple magic circle appeared beneath Rick’s feet.
[Angel of Agony, "Necrolyze"]
What emerged from the magic circle bore little resemblance to any living thing. A body stitched together from mismatched parts, bloodied black wings torn ragged. A charred right arm, a left arm pierced through with countless spikes. Eyeballs dangling from where ears should be, countless writhing tentacles spilling from its mouth. That upper body horror emerged from within an iron maiden torture device.
"...Ugh, that’s disgusting."
"It’s rude to look so terrified. That is one of the sacred spirit races."
"A spirit... that thing?"
I had actually read about this exact thing in a book just yesterday. But the spirits I’d imagined were things like little orbs of light floating around, or tiny winged creatures fluttering here and there! And instead, this is what showed up, straight out of some zombie survival horror game!
"What’s he planning to do, summoning something like that!?"
"It’s spirit summoning, what else would he do besides use it as a subordinate?"
Elizabeth answered as if this were the most obvious thing in the world. That thing looked, to me, like something no human being should ever get involved with.
"...Wait, so what, you’re not telling me he’s stronger than you just because he can control a monster like that?"
"Not ’a monster like that,’ calling them his contracted spirits would be more accurate. Rick is a high tier mage who’s formed contracts with nearly ten different spirits."
Elizabeth fluttered her fan, chest puffed out proudly as she answered.
"He’s level 6, a rank above me."
Standing there was Rick Tortnisky, captain of the Kingdom’s First Knight Order, the second strongest man in this entire country.
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