episode_0069

Lucia tilted her head towards the boy with a serious expression.

Witches, penalties, oaths, hexes.

Although none of the four of them knew a word, Lucia found it difficult to follow the flow of the story. Even with the penalty points aside, aren’t the remaining three words mostly used in everyday life?

Siron said the woman wearing the armor was a witch. I understood up to that point. Because the story of making an oath on one’s heart is not something to be said carelessly in front of strangers.

but,

The penalty points were a bit of a strange story.

“Did I do something wrong? Penalty points?”

Lucia asked Siron a question in a low voice.

“Do you remember what I said last time? If you want to meet an angel, live a good life.”

“…I think so.”

Lucia nodded slightly.

Shiron, who was watching that scene, gently pressed his finger to his lips. From now on, you need to be a little careful about what you say out loud.

Lucia was reluctant to use the Holy Sword and did not want to become a warrior. That fact made it difficult for Siron to actively assert the existence of Latera.

Siron raised his head, touching his slightly heated forehead.

“The angel said that if you do bad things and accumulate penalty points, you will not be able to meet him.”

“…You mean I got a penalty point for talking to that witch?”

Lucia spoke a little grumblingly.

If you say it’s bad, it’s like hitting a child. Isn’t this an act like stealing someone else’s things?

“Of course, you didn’t do anything directly wrong. But no matter how you look at the act of talking to a witch, it cannot be seen as a good thing.”

There were people in the world who were suspicious and cast hostile gazes even if they had not done anything wrong.

And now that the game has become a reality and many restrictions have been lifted, we cannot help but consider the effect of NPC interactions spreading in waves like in reality.

“That is correct.”

Yohan, who was quietly listening to the conversation between the two, nodded.

“If the woman you two encountered is a real witch, and that fact spreads to the public, you will one day encounter the Holy Mace Knights in a bad situation.”

The Holy Mace Knights are a military group of the Holy Emperor that travels around the entire continent to destroy evil things.

“Were they here?”

“Yes. Those who wear white heavy armor and wear maces instead of swords can be easily recognized from afar.”

“…Am I in big trouble?”

Lucia remembered the man who was at the observatory a little while ago.

The man wearing white heavy armor was clearly looking at Lucia with an explicit gaze.

“Don’t worry too much. Fortunately, the place they are staying is far from the hut where we settled down.”

When Lucia’s expression was not good, John deliberately smiled brightly as if to reassure her.

“And wasn’t the knights and I following along in preparation for times like this? If there is a dispute, I will personally step in and chase them out.”

“…Thank you.”

Lucia slightly bowed her head towards John.

The determined, scarred face felt a little scary due to the light shining from below.

*

Lucia had met countless witches in her past life.

I met him as an ally and as an enemy, but

Kylie felt that the witches had too little in common to lump them together.

It was difficult to group them into one thing and define them.

Demons meant intelligent beings with demonic energy.

However, some witches possessed demonic energy and some did not.

In the end, there was only one way to tell them apart.

witchcraft

Seira said that magic is holding and shaking the laws of the world in exchange for mana. On the other hand, it is said that things called evil arts do not use mana.

It was not a magic with an evil aura, nor was it a curse or a spell.

Even if you curse or kill someone, if you only used mana, it was clearly classified as magic.

If a person’s life has to be burned to produce a single ray of light, it is a hex.

Hex is a method of achieving one’s wishes by offering someone’s life or body as a sacrifice.

For this reason,

Since a long time ago, the world has hated and feared those who practice witchcraft.

It was the same 500 years ago.

Even if those practicing witchcraft were our allies, there was no way to turn our gaze of disgust and contempt towards them.

Isn’t it obvious?

If you witness a witch practicing witchcraft even once, you will begin to think that you too can become a victim of witchcraft at any time.

“…”

It was no different for Kylie.

“…”

‘But she told me that it’s dangerous to be with children.’

“…”

‘Then who was the one who put Siron to sleep? He said he was trying to protect us from that person…’

“Lucia.”

‘Is that even a lie?’

“Lucia.”

‘I’m reluctant.’

“Hey!”

“…Huh? Huh?”

Lucia woke up from her thoughts and raised her head in surprise.

Siron, holding a ladle and a wooden bowl in his hands, was looking at her. Siron’s face, glaring at Lucia, was grave.

“What are you doing? Get the bowl quickly.”

“Thank you.”

Lucia hurriedly took the wooden bowl.

Although it was still early for dinner, Siron took it upon himself to place the pot on the wood fire.

Lucia stared at the white stew in the wooden bowl.

Perhaps because the location was different, the contents were different from the stew I ate in the annex.

Carrots and potatoes, okra and onions.

Perhaps because the only ingredients included were vegetables, Lucia had no appetite today.

“If you are not feeling well, eat and sleep quickly. Starting tomorrow is participation registration day, so you have to get up early.”

Siron said as he approached Lucia’s side.

He began tearing the beef jerky into small pieces with the dagger in his hand.

“Okay?”

“Poetics.”

“…..Why.”

Siron answered without stopping spooning.

“The woman I saw earlier, Ailee. If she’s a witch, she’s trying to harm us. But she spoke as if she was worried about us who were still children. What is it?”

“Were you always paying attention to that?”

Siron put his hand back to the ladle.

“If the penalty points I mentioned bother you, don’t think of her as a witch, just think of her as an odd woman. It’s easier then.”

“It wasn’t just that woman.”

Lucia said without taking her eyes off the stew.

“I don’t know because you were asleep… There was a man with a mustache, and a man in white armor was also watching us. That person must have been a member of the Holy Mace Knights that Knight John was talking about.”

Here now.

John was not in the tent where Lucia and Siron were staying alone.

He said he felt uncomfortable being an outsider in a space where his family was together, so he left behind a heavily armed bodyguard and went off somewhere.

“The words are long. What on earth do you want to say?”

“…I think it would be better to stay here and not participate in the festival. No, let’s stop subjugation or whatever and go home like this.”

Lucia’s intuition warned her that this place was now dangerous.

It’s strange that the poetic theory from before has always been somewhat nonchalant. Witches, everything, Holy Mace Knights, I hope you get them all out of your head.

“You’re secretly scared.”

“…”

“Are witches scary? Or are the Holy Mace Knights scary? Stop talking weird and eat some stew.”

The theory is also strange.

At the observatory, Siron apparently found it strange that he suddenly fell asleep. I realized it myself, but now Shiron seemed so calm.

There was almost no change in facial expression, and the tone of speech was calm, without any tone.

This was my first time hearing this kind of theory.

His usual expressions were laughing or getting angry… In any case, he was a child with abundant emotional expression.

Even when Lucia thought about it, her current attitude was a bit frustrating, and Siron, who was still a child, wondered how outrageous it would be.

However, the boy Lucia was facing, Siron, neither smiled nor got angry. In a situation where Shiron would be laughed at for being timid, it was more appropriate for him to look a little more unlucky.

“…”

Somehow this situation felt familiar.

I have encountered this situation several times.

In her previous life, Kylie often saw her peers’ emotions dry up.

‘what…’

Lucia stared into Siron’s eyes.

Siron’s eyes were not shining now.

The lights should illuminate the surrounding scenery in the eyes, but right now, Siron’s eyes were a little blurry.

“Hex…”

“Huh?”

Siron stared at Lucia quietly.

The eyes, which still had no change in expression, felt a little creepy.

Wood-duk-

“Fuck.”

The spoon in Lucia’s hand screamed.

Lucia has now arrived at a certain fact.

“Who are you? Who are you, looking like Siron now?”

“…What are you talking about?”

“Don’t be a fool.”

Lucia put away the wooden bowl that had not yet had a drink in it.

“Yeah, I thought it was strange. The stew Siron made always had meat in it and was never white… but it was too late for me to notice.”

I was too embarrassed to say it out loud,

Even though the two of us were alone in an enclosed space, we couldn’t sense Siron’s scent.

The red-haired girl stood up from her seat, very angry.

and,

Lucia took long strides toward something other than Siron.

The blood all over my body was boiling and my mana was fluctuating.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been this angry.

Grumbling-

White sparks flew out from Lucia’s hand.

High-purity strength burst out from his tightly clenched fist.

“ I and I chew.#◦

Lucia plunged her fist into her enemy’s face.