episode_0007

Xavier, formerly a court magician of the Empire, had, like other successful magicians, been hired as an exclusive aide to an influential politician after an early retirement, living a life with a guaranteed future.

It was a life he certainly hadn’t gotten for free.

“There’s nothing to worry about, young lady.”

Skill doesn’t lie. In fact, a ‘truly skilled person’ shines even more in situations like this.

Moreover, barrier magic was one of his specialties.

So when Xavier attempted to make contact to dismantle the barrier overlaid on the auction house—

Amusingly, memories from his first class at the Imperial Magic Academy surfaced.

The sensation of understanding nothing and regressing to the intelligence level of a goldfish amidst the endless flood of formulas and symbols the professor listed.

No. Xavier was no longer the fledgling he had been back then. He shouldn’t be.

A barrier with a spell structure so complex that even a top-tier court magician felt like a goldfish.

“Wowww! It’s the Commander’s barrier, as expected!”

At that moment, a blonde girl, who hadn’t even shed her childishness, said with an innocent smile.

“You interpreted fractal expansion logic as the eigenvalue of the infinite corridor equation to build an autistic logical structure! I never even thought of that idea! As expected of the Commander!”

By the way, what on earth is that kid talking about? Wasn’t the infinite corridor equation one of the seven great unsolved problems in barrier analysis? And why is it coming out of that little kid’s mouth, of all things?

He couldn’t understand anything, just like a fish can’t understand human speech.

So when the shadow beneath his feet opened its mouth like a shark, Xavier was surprisingly calm, without a trace of agitation.

Because there was nothing strange about a fish being eaten by a human.

“Ugh, this is why I can’t stand magicians’ talk. Please, can you just speak in our language?”

Silan of Saan grumbled, scratching his red hair. Aria added calmly.

“Simply put, it means no one can leave this place without the Commander’s permission.”

“Haha, that’s easy to understand and great!”

“No, Aria Unnie! That doesn’t even explain 1% of how amazing the Commander’s barrier is! Do you understand?! The Commander’s barrier, analytically speaking…”

“So the point is, we can go wild as much as we want, right?! Huh? Commander!”

As Aria adjusted her black sword and added, another Black Serpent member loudly thumped their chest and shouted, deliberately ignoring Alice’s endlessly continuing explanation.

“…Do as you please.”

I replied appropriately, then put a cigarette in my mouth.

This was indeed the barrier I had erected.

At the same time, I hadn’t erected it with deep calculations about fractal expansion logic or whatever Alice was talking about.

I just used it.

Just like how you don’t think about every single principle and natural law when you use magic in a game.

I merely cast a spell from Heroic Ages that I remembered from my game knowledge.

.

The highest-tier magic, said to be the most powerful among barrier-type spells.

It’s a magic that, to acquire, one must reach the highest level as a magician and then go through all sorts of hellish grinding, making it virtually a deep-dive spell that you wouldn’t encounter during a normal story progression.

Moreover, as Alice said, the utility of this barrier doesn’t just stop at preventing entry and exit, or trapping.

Not that I intend to reveal its ‘true greatness’ right now.

…I just used it to block and trap.

Rain Grey’s in-game class was listed as 《Warlock》.

Basically, Heroic Ages adopts a growth system where one becomes stronger by leveling up classes and advancing to higher classes, and among them, 《Warlock》 is one of the highest-tier classes a magician can reach.

To be precise, it’s a combat-specialized magician that boasts the strongest performance in ‘attack magic’.

Therefore, while it boasts unparalleled, ultimate power in attack magic, it comes with the restriction of being unable to use any defensive or utility magic.

When playing in-game, it’s truly a class symbolic of a glass cannon.

However, the Labyrinth of the Infinite Corridor that I just used is a barrier magic.

As you can see, it’s far from an attack spell. It’s classified under utility magic, after all.

It’s a spell that shouldn’t be usable after becoming a Warlock, and it’s abnormal that it is.

‘No, why on earth can I use that?’

I didn’t know either.

It wasn’t something I only realized today. I knew it long ago. All sorts of defensive and utility spells worked perfectly fine.

Even all the ultimate spells I remembered from playing Heroic Ages were no exception.

How, exactly? It was unfathomable.

It wasn’t something to think about right now, anyway.

“Huu…”

As I put the cigarette to my lips, it spontaneously lit, and the tip burned.

In that state, I silently walked across the pandemonium.

Towards the Holy Maiden kneeling on the auction stage.

As I approached, I recalled the information I knew about her.

Holy Maiden Jeanne.

Outside the game, she was the character gracing the cover title of the new game commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Heroic Ages series.

Within the work, she was a hero praised for awakening one day after hearing ‘the Goddess’s voice’ as an ordinary country girl with no particular advantages, stopping the rampage of demonic beasts—and saving the Holy Kingdom from crisis.

Furthermore, from the perspective of playing the game, this was already ancient history, and the setting was that the Holy Kingdom was actually growing wary of her increasingly prominent standing.

And understandably so, as a plain country girl with no advantages, neither royalty nor nobility, was being treated as a saintly hero who saved the nation.

Those were the pieces of information I had gathered through in-game and out-of-game knowledge.

Lastly, in this current world.

“Speak.”

“I-I’ll tell you everything! Everything I know!”

“The mastermind who orchestrated Holy Maiden Jeanne’s abduction was…!”

“—Y-Your Majesty, Star King Charles VII!”

It was the fact that the leader of the Holy Kingdom, fearing her position would grow even larger, directly ordered her to be killed like a hunting dog after the rabbit is caught [a proverb about discarding a useful tool after it serves its purpose].

Thus, with their interests aligned, the underground auction house of the Bretona Empire must have acquired her.

They suddenly appeared, impersonated the Black Serpent, revamped the underground auction house, and as a result, even possessed the capability to coordinate with the Holy Kingdom’s upper echelons and abduct the Holy Maiden.

There was no doubt that their cunning and skill were quite considerable.

That’s why I understood it even less.

In fact, precisely because they were strong individuals with such capabilities, they, more than anyone, would know the weight of impersonating the Serpent’s name.

At the end of my thoughts—I raised my head and looked at her.

It wasn’t the sun-like gleaming blonde hair or the pure, snow-white flowing silver hair that typically comes to mind when imagining a Holy Maiden character.

Instead, it was the brown hair of a rather plain-looking country girl, more unassuming than I expected.

“Do you remember those who abducted you?”

The best way to satisfy curiosity is to ask directly. So I asked.

“Who… are you, exactly?”

Only then did the Holy Maiden finally raise her head and look this way.

“A serpent.”

“The Black Serpent—!”

Along with her reply, an unconcealed hostility entered Holy Maiden Jeanne’s eyes. In front of that hostility, I added, with a very kind explanation.

“And someone who usurped our name abducted you and held an auction here.”

“So it wasn’t your doing?”

The Holy Maiden asked, not lowering her guard. I glanced around and nodded.

“As you can see.”

Seeing the landscape that had become a pandemonium, it certainly looked convincing.

After speaking, I lightly snapped my fingers. At once, the magical restraint devices binding the Holy Maiden lost their light and disintegrated.

“!”

Only then did the Holy Maiden slowly rise to her feet. She could move her body. However, thanks to the slave’s brand deeply etched into her body, it seemed difficult to expect anything more.

This was not something I, no matter who I was, could immediately undo.

The place didn’t seem suitable for a conversation right now.

“We’ll talk later.”

“W-What? Wait, I’m still—!”

Before the Holy Maiden could continue speaking in her confusion, I gestured.

.

Though one of the lowest-tier spells, it was a magic that could put even dragons to sleep depending on the caster’s level.

With my gesture, a sleep demon rushed forward and enveloped the Holy Maiden. Without even proper resistance, her strength drained away, and she slowly lost consciousness on the spot.

I had a lot to say to her. But not right now.

There were still a mountain of things to deal with here.

“Aria, leave the barrier and move her to a safe place outside.”

“However, Commander—”

“It’s an order.”

“…Yes.”

I spoke. Aria also closed her mouth and silently nodded.

Before long, Aria disappeared with the Holy Maiden.

Leaving her behind, I looked at the auctioneer, who was frozen in place and couldn’t move.

Incidentally, ‘frozen’ was meant literally.

“A terrified gasp!”

Trapped in a cube of ice except for his head, he desperately opened his mouth.

“P-Please forgive me! It was truly a misunderstanding! I was j-just a mere auctioneer—”

Just as I was about to listen to the auctioneer’s continuing words in that state.

*Bang!*

A gunshot echoed. Incidentally, guns exist in this world too.

‘Magic Gunman.’

What the bullet pierced was not me. It was the auctioneer’s head. Furthermore, none of my subordinates here use guns.

Instead, several shadowy figures emerged from behind the stage curtain. Each of them had their identities hidden by deeply pulled-down robes. The gun user was one of them.

“—Commander.”

Just as my subordinates were about to join me with their appearance.

“You, step back.”

I said.

*Rumble, thud!*

The surrounding area distorted, becoming a place where only I and the unidentified shadows remained.

It wasn’t their doing. It was one of the of this barrier that Alice had mentioned earlier.

The ability to freely manipulate terrain and areas within the barrier.

“You know there’s no escape, right?”

“…”

Here, I didn’t need to mind my subordinates’ gazes. I didn’t particularly need to care how I fought. Now, I felt like I could truly live. I felt like I could fly with this sense of liberation. I even felt like I could quit smoking.

“And that it would turn out like this from the beginning.”

The shadows continued to maintain their silence.

I said, unconcerned.

“Knowing that, what led you to impersonate the Serpent’s name?”