Ch.206Fake? (1)

When I first heard Pierre’s words, I momentarily wondered if he might be joking.

And for good reason—frankly speaking, the story about Gretel becoming two people existed in a realm of absolute incomprehensibility.

But Pierre’s reaction contained not even the slightest hint of mischief; it was straightforward yet urgent, and my intuition didn’t suggest he was telling any sort of lie.

So to express the current situation literally, at least according to what Pierre saw with his own two eyes, Gretel had indeed become two people….

‘Hypnosis? Hallucination? An actual drug-induced split? …Damn it, I don’t have enough information!’

In this situation where information was lacking, making it impossible to grasp the facts immediately, I naturally felt the desire to head toward the location where these two Gretels were said to be.

“Pierre! Where are they?!”

“At her workshop, my lord!”

“Right! I’ll be intruding for a moment!”

“Intruding? What do you mea—”

Immediately after learning Gretel’s current location from Pierre, I promptly lifted him up and leapt out through the window.

“—ubblegurbleburble.”

I felt quite sorry for Pierre, who was making strange noises after being suddenly grabbed by the neck and carried like luggage, but I simply didn’t have the luxury to be considerate of him right now.

Gretel and I weren’t just in any ordinary relationship, and in this urgent situation where a thousand thoughts were racing through my mind, consideration would have to come later.

“Guhgebedidukdetkeebibib—”

So, with Pierre letting out strange cries filled with terror and all manner of emotions, we advanced forward.

As I rushed frantically along what had become a very familiar path, I suddenly noticed that for some reason, quite a crowd had gathered in front of Gretel’s workshop.

The area in front of the workshop—which was normally avoided due to the two gargoyles guarding it and the strange smell of chemicals wafting from inside—was now completely filled with people who seemed to have gathered out of curiosity about what was happening.

What could be going on? How did this happen? I momentarily fell into deep contemplation, but was brought back to reality by Pierre trembling in my grasp.

Right, first things first—regardless of everything else, I needed to calm the people down and assess the situation.

After steadying my slightly wavering heart, I lightly slapped my cheeks to regain my senses. Once I felt I had mostly returned to my right mind, I put Pierre down and collected myself.

Given that I had no idea how difficult the situation waiting before me might be, I focused my scattered thoughts, hardened my expression, and strode forward with determined steps….

“Make way.”

“Who—gasp! M-My lord?!”

Even if I was showing off a bit of my presence in an intimidating manner, what I needed to do right now was probably to resolve this commotion and restore order.

‘…So it’s true.’

And the sight that greeted my eyes as I entered Gretel’s workshop, even using somewhat forceful means—was precisely two completely identical Gretels staring at each other with horrified eyes.

※ ※ ※

Meanwhile, a little earlier…

“Y-You… fake!”

“Who are you calling a fake! You impostor! You phony!”

“M-Master…?”

The first to encounter the “Gretel duplication incident” was, naturally, the little witch apprentice who lived and ate with her.

Just 11 years old this year, the little witch who had been accepted as an apprentice after showing promise was still inexperienced in many ways. How could this small child possibly handle such an unprecedented situation?

“I-I’ll go get Master’s father and sister!”

So the girl, seeking to escape this reality, opened the workshop door and ran outside. Not long after, she returned with Lucius Wolfblood and Hannah Wolfblood.

Unlike herself, who couldn’t tell the difference at all, she had hoped that Gretel’s family members might fare better…

“…This is terrible. I can’t tell them apart at all.”

“They smell the same… feel the same… aren’t they just the same person?”

But when the very family members she had trusted and relied on declared they couldn’t distinguish the original, the situation returned to square one.

Of course, the family members weren’t to blame—the presence emanating from both was perfectly identical.

Their scent, appearance, clothing, heartbeat, small habits, personality, and even memories were completely identical—a truly unprecedented situation.

“Gretel, what was the first potion you ever made?”

“”…A healing potion using kukuru herb.””

Indeed, when they were tested with various questions, both answered simultaneously, and as mentioned earlier, no matter how many times they were examined, the results were the same.

Their bodies were identical down to the smallest scars and moles. The scent they gave off and the condition of their clothing were so identically matched that there was no room for doubt.

“Gretel, excuse me for a moment.”

“…Yes.”

—Rip!

Even when, with Gretel’s cooperation, pieces of their clothing were cut off for examination, the results were completely identical. The people present simply could not distinguish between them, and this situation continued to repeat itself…

“I was told you called for me… but… good heavens, what is this…?”

This was proven by the fact that even when the help of others was sought afterward, the results remained just as inconclusive.

Naturally, in such an accident—specifically, in an inexplicable incident where the culprit was most likely to be a cultist—priests from the pantheon, the frontline responders against cultists, appeared when summoned.

At first, they didn’t seem to have any particular thoughts on the matter, but upon seeing this sight, they turned pale and stepped forward to cast several divine magic spells.

If this was some kind of magic activated by the evil arts of cultists, then such divine magic could strip away that evil power.

But… as mentioned earlier, the results were utterly shocking.

“…Huh?”

“No… that can’t be…?!”

No matter how many exorcism and purification spells they cast, there was no effect. Even when they conducted further tests to see if there might have been some invisible effect, nothing changed.

So while they were confused by this phenomenon that transcended all their accumulated common sense, the two continued to stare at each other with strange eyes, truly like the same person having become two.

“I heard you called for me… but what in the world is going on here?”

Around that time, the next to arrive was Lord Malachi Falten, former head of the Metal School.

One might wonder what use a Metal School mage could be in distinguishing between the real and fake among two identical humans, but nevertheless, he could play a tremendous role in this situation.

Specifically, by using the Dispel spell—a type of “universal magic” that any mage can basically use—to dispel this transformation or fake that was almost certainly magical in nature with a 99% probability.

The hope was that casting the Dispel spell, which cancels magic based solely on the caster’s capability, might cause some change.

Lord Malachi, who was literally the highest-level mage in the village in terms of pure skill and capability, quickly grasped the situation and cooperated by casting the Dispel spell, but…

“…This can’t be. …No, how?”

Even such a Dispel spell proved ineffective in this unprecedented situation. While Lord Malachi Falten, with his considerable knowledge, was dumbfounded by something he had never seen before in his life…

“Everyone… what is this…”

Charlotte Mainster, a Soul School mage, likewise came to discern the truth through soul magic, but as with the pattern so far, she could not resolve this unprecedented situation.

‘…They’re identical?’

Since there was no difference between their souls even when viewed through soul magic, there was no way that Charlotte Mainster, who had only recently reached the average level of the lower rank, could do anything.

And as this complicated situation continued to unfold—

“Sigh, what is this now…”

Finally, the lord Alzar, who held the only possibility of ending this entire affair, majestically arrived on the scene.