Ch.285Chapter 285 – Chase the Witch (1)

“It’s been a while again.”

Eve quietly spoke as she observed the scene unfolding before her.

After devising various means for trading with the princess until late at night, she had briefly lain down on the bed to rest her eyes.

And now.

A scene began to appear before her.

Smoke was rising from everywhere, and the sky was red.

‘That red sky is the same as what I saw in Ferarius.’

It was surely a sky that appeared due to the influence of the Soul-Absorbing Formation.

‘…Such a wicked plot again.’

Looking at the red sky, Eve raised her guard against the demon race.

According to Sia’s previous explanation, the Soul-Absorbing Formation was a barrier that converted souls into magical power.

She didn’t know where in the future she was, but she was certain it was a place where human casualties could occur.

‘I need to prepare.’

Having already stopped the Soul-Absorbing Formation in Ferarius, she could do it again this time.

It would be enough if she wasn’t too late to prepare.

Eve thought that if necessary, she would have to use those two demons as well.

And gradually, information from the future began to flow into her.

Eve felt the knowledge of the future slowly becoming her own.

And along with that.

Before her eyes, she saw something she shouldn’t have seen.

A familiar white armor was in front of her.

“…Kay?”

The figure of Kay wearing the dragon armor.

‘No.’

Christina had warned her.

Kay could only wear the dragon armor twice at most.

Even that would shorten his lifespan.

Christina had already declared that his remaining lifespan could be counted in months, and now it would be even shorter.

Recalling that fact, Eve felt as if her heart was collapsing.

‘No.’

She didn’t even pay attention to the information entering her mind.

As if responding to her mental turmoil, the information began to jumble, but Eve didn’t care.

She was only focused on the armored Kay before her eyes.

‘Absolutely not.’

Although she couldn’t properly read the future related to Kay.

It was something she had learned when she first met him.

So perhaps this future might not come to pass.

However, this scene she was witnessing now was too ominous for her.

“Absolutely not.”

No matter what, this situation had to be avoided.

Amidst her confused and complicated feelings, she tried to quickly find a way to overcome the situation by examining the waves of information she had missed.

She rapidly searched through the jumbled knowledge.

And the next moment, her eyes opened.

“…I must have fallen asleep.”

Eve’s body was drenched in sweat.

However, before anything else, she quickly got up.

‘So it started with her?’

From the fragments of jumbled information, she had barely found the initial cause.

Though she didn’t know how to proceed or how things would unfold, the beginning was that incident.

First, she needed to understand how that incident would unfold…

‘No, let’s put that aside for now.’

Her mind was already in such disarray that she didn’t think she could recall it in time.

She couldn’t rely on knowledge that she might not remember when needed.

Right now, she had to struggle somehow to prevent Kay from becoming entangled in that future…

-Knock knock knock

“…Kay?”

At the urgent knocking, Eve quickly opened the door.

There stood the man she loved, wearing a helmet and fully armed.

“You’re awake, Eve.”

“I just woke up. Is something wrong?”

“Yes.”

Kay’s tone was a bit sullen, as if something unpleasant had happened.

And he continued speaking.

“I’m sorry, but get ready quickly. We need to leave urgently.”

“…What happened?”

In truth, Eve already knew what had happened.

But not wanting to acknowledge it, she pretended not to know and asked.

Please let it be different from what I saw.

And Kay’s lips parted.

“Beatrice has run away. We’re going after her.”

“Um…”

“By the way, you look pale. Are you okay?”

Kay said this as he approached Eve.

Eve found herself smiling unconsciously as she replied.

“I’m fine. I just had a bit of a nightmare.”

A lie she made up so Kay wouldn’t worry about her.

But Kay seemed to genuinely believe it, nodding his head as he said:

“If you’re not feeling well, rest here. We’ll move quickly with just those who can.”

Sensing the concern in his words, Eve thought she had made a mistake.

But Kay had already turned his back to her after finishing his sentence.

Soon he would gather the group and immediately go after Beatrice.

“…No, Kay.”

Eve quietly spoke, looking at the door through which he had already left.

“…If you chase Beatrice, Kay will…”

Recalling the white dragon armor she had seen earlier, Eve quietly trembled.

+

Right after Beatrice acted on her own.

After quickly waking the group, we rapidly headed to the church in question.

“Beatrice, where is that damn woman!!!!”

I shouted as I ran into the Emilis Order church where we had spoken with Princess Gabriella just the day before, kicking open the door.

In my urgency, I simply kicked the door, which broke apart, allowing us to enter.

Inside, a priest who seemed to be having his morning tea was staring at me with wide eyes, teacup in hand.

His name was George, if I remembered correctly.

“…Good morning.”

Priest George, who had been looking at me as if I were some madman who had kicked in the door and entered, greeted me in a bewildered voice.

Of course, I had no time to properly return his greeting.

“Where’s Beatrice?”

“She’s not here, but…”

Was I too late?

As I clicked my tongue, Eve ran in from behind.

“Kay, Miss Beatrice…”

“She’s not here.”

At my answer, Eve leaned against the wall, slightly out of breath and sweating.

“I see…”

She sighed with a strange sense of relief.

Then, as if she had no more energy to speak, she began to slowly sit down on the floor, leaning against the wall.

Next, the two demons entered leisurely, and Sera walked in with a struggling expression, leaning against the wall and starting to pant.

Chris had already collapsed, so Sia was carrying her on his shoulder as they entered.

After watching my companions rest from their physical exertion, I turned back to the priest.

“Then do you know where Beatrice went, Father?”

“…By now, she’s probably moving to their headquarters to join the resistance forces.”

I nodded slightly at the priest’s words.

This was too diligent for Beatrice, who had a lazy streak.

I quickly considered our next move.

‘If we chase blindly, we won’t catch her.’

For an ordinary person, I would be fairly confident in catching up if I just knew the direction.

But Beatrice was no ordinary person.

‘She’s a mage. She can create distance at will.’

From simple teleportation to whatever other cards Beatrice might have that she hadn’t shown us yet, that was the key issue.

Unless one was a mage, it was impossible to predict what cards Beatrice might have, difficult to counter the cards she had revealed, and by now, quite some time had passed—making it more likely we couldn’t catch her just by running.

In that case, it would be better to know the destination and head there.

‘Someone who would know the resistance’s hideout…’

I slowly turned to look at the priest.

With neither Princess Gabriella nor Domestica present right now, he was the only link to the resistance.

“…Excuse me, may I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

The priest quietly asked.

Meeting his gentle eyes, I quietly asked:

“The resistance’s base. Could you tell us where it is?”

The priest’s eyes widened slightly.

Then, he quietly shook his head.

“I’m sorry, but I cannot tell you that.”

“Forgive my rudeness, but please, I beg you to tell us.”

The priest looked at me for a moment.

Seeing my urgency, he slowly nodded, then quietly shook his head again and said:

“…As much as I’d like to help you…”

“I just want to find my companion. Please help us.”

“That’s not the issue, Sir Knight.”

The priest said with a gloomy face.

“Unfortunately, I too do not know the location of the resistance’s base.”

“…What?”

I asked in slight surprise at this sudden revelation.

And Priest George quietly put his hands together and slowly said:

“I have my own thoughts about this country, so I provide my church as a hideout for the resistance… but I am a collaborator, not a member.”

“Aren’t you a member by providing a hideout?”

I quietly asked, unwilling to accept this.

And the priest nodded and said:

“Normally yes, but the issue is the clerical robe I’m wearing.”

The priest spoke bitterly.

“While the higher-ups in the resistance seem to trust that I won’t betray them, many don’t trust me, so I’m in a somewhat peripheral position as a collaborator.”

He quietly added that this gave him a way out if someone accused him of being with the resistance.

“Of course, I have not the slightest intention of betraying the resistance, so it’s a rather pointless advantage… but I cannot properly help you even if I want to, Sir Knight.”

“…Damn it.”

I felt my strength drain away at the realization that what I thought was a connection to the resistance was actually a nearly severed rope that couldn’t be climbed.

At this rate, we couldn’t track her.

“…Mr. Kay.”

“Sera, do you have any way to track her?”

When I asked Sera, who had approached me out of concern, she quietly shook her head.

It seemed she had no method at the moment either.

Next, I looked at Chris, and she also shook her head.

Then I looked at Eve.

“Eve.”

Eve silently shook her head.

I had asked in desperation, hoping that perhaps she might know something with her ability, but judging by her expression and behavior, she clearly didn’t know.

While I felt somewhat relieved, her face showed significant guilt, which was a bit concerning, but she truly didn’t know.

And I had to accept reality.

‘There’s no way to track her.’

We had no way to pursue Beatrice.

Quietly, Eve and Sera approached me and placed their hands on my shoulders, while Chris and Sia looked at me with worried eyes.

In that situation, suddenly a voice was heard.

“When you feel blocked, sometimes you need to step back and look again at what you have in hand.”

“Pardon?”

I asked, looking at Priest George who had suddenly spoken.

He turned his head from Chris, whom he had apparently been watching, and looked at me.

“The more crowded you are, the more you should take a step back. Step back and look carefully at yourself and everything that has happened so far. Often, the key is closer than you think.”

“…Whose words are those?”

In response to Chris’s question, the priest quietly smiled.

“They are the words of the previous Holy Maiden of the Emilis Order, Lady Platina.”

“…The previous Holy Maiden?”

Someone I had heard about from Kara before.

As I was surprised by the sudden mention of the name, the priest quietly said:

“From what I understand, this Beatrice was a mage. You don’t know how she might escape, and you don’t know her destination.”

After saying this, the priest quietly continued:

“Let’s think again carefully. The other person is a mage, and since you are not a mage, you have no way to track her. Is that right?”

“…Well, yes.”

After saying that much, I realized something.

The opponent is a mage.

Not being a mage, I can’t know her cards.

Not knowing her cards, I can’t track her.

“Then a mage should track her.”

I looked at Sera, but quietly dismissed the idea.

Sera’s primary occupation was an alchemist.

Though she had learned some magic from Beatrice, she was an alchemist.

‘Other people, mages.’

Asam or the tower masters Lucian and Violet, and Lumen who would be in Albheim.

I couldn’t summon any of them.

With all of them being abroad, I couldn’t call them here immediately.

To begin with, Beatrice was the only one I could contact.

‘Then, a mage who doesn’t need to be contacted and is nearby.’

Such a being wouldn’t just fall from the sky.

It was unlikely to coincidentally meet someone who had entered this foreign country by chance.

‘…Meet by coincidence?’

There was one.

A being I had coincidentally met in this foreign country.

“I was too hasty.”

If I had just calmed down and broadened my perspective, it would have been fine.

Because of that, I missed a simple solution and wasted time in the wrong place, forgetting the key that was nearby.

I quietly turned my head to look at Vanilla, who was standing behind Sia with her arms crossed.

“Hey.”

“My, my, you were hasty, but to have such a narrow view.”

The former demon corps commander, Vanilla, said with a smirk.

I quietly spoke to her:

“Help me.”

“Are you sure? Asking me for help?”

Vanilla quietly asked.

I answered her:

“I don’t care what infamy I incur. Finding that person is more important right now.”

“Is that so.”

Was she satisfied with my answer?

Vanilla smiled fiercely.

“I’ll help you, White Dragon.”

With those words of permission.

In Vanilla’s right hand appeared a staff as tall as she was.