Ch.41The Mage Millia (7)

# Mage Millia (8)

During the time when Millia and Lug disappeared.

Esmeralda and Eirene Saintess, who belatedly began searching for the two out of concern, encountered an unexpected situation.

“What is that…?”

The sun was visible.

Of course, it wasn’t night yet, so seeing the sun wasn’t strange. However, the sun’s position was far too close.

It felt as if the sun was falling, making the magic tower noticeably hotter, to the point where they could feel the rising temperature.

A clearly abnormal situation.

Despite this anomaly occurring without any context, Esmeralda wasn’t flustered.

‘When has my life ever been normal?’

Her life had always been a series of sudden trials.

So tragic it might as well be called cursed.

Of course, such trials were the burden she had to bear as a hero.

But this time, she had a reliable ally for this trial.

“Eirene, the Tower Master must be quite powerful, right?”

“Well, I doubt even a group of us could defeat her. Unless we had Paladins from our order, it would be impossible to even face her.”

Tower Master Glisha Lentissimo.

She was one of humanity’s representative transcendents. Esmeralda’s comprehensive estimate of her power was 841.

She could easily dispatch the kinds of enemies Esmeralda usually faced.

“But would our opponent not know that?”

“If this isn’t some kind of experimental accident, but rather demons targeting us with an invasion.”

In response to Esmeralda’s opinion, Eirene answered with a cold expression.

“No matter how reckless they are, if they’re attacking so openly, it means they’re confident they can handle someone of the Tower Master’s caliber.”

Esmeralda stopped.

If Eirene’s hypothesis was correct, this was no time to be looking for Lug and Millia.

As the sun falling from the sky became increasingly visible and the heat grew from merely hot to making their skin tingle, Esmeralda finally identified the entity falling from the sky.

“Eirene.”

“Yes.”

KWAAAANG!

Though it looked like the sun, it wasn’t the actual sun.

The barrier Eirene instantly deployed was able to block the falling flames. So far, it was just an oversized flame.

It would be enough to devastate the surrounding area, but unless it concentrated on a single point, it couldn’t break through Eirene’s barrier.

Esmeralda stared intently beyond the flames that exploded and scattered against the barrier, then said:

“You go find Millia and Lug. I think I need to be here.”

“Do you know who the villain is?”

“No idea. Maybe they’re here to kill Lug again?”

Esmeralda grinned.

But she couldn’t hide the trembling at the corners of her mouth.

What her eyes had seen.

Information she couldn’t ignore, despite promising not to be overconfident.

“A Legion Commander has graced us with their presence.”

[Name: Five]

A name as unceremonious as Eleven, whom she had encountered before.

But if the number in the name represented the legion they led…

The opponent was the leader of the fifth-ranked legion in the Demon Lord’s army, which operated solely by the law of power.

[Race: Demon Spirit]

Moreover, the opponent wasn’t just a demon, but something that had transformed into a demon.

Esmeralda pushed Eirene outside the barrier and slowly raised her holy sword.

“So… Lug wasn’t lying when he said he’d seen you.”

Esmeralda saw a seductively smiling woman in the burning sun and was glad she had sent Eirene away.

For good reason.

[Title: Legion Commander, Former Hero]

She was someone who would reopen Eirene’s painful wounds.

[Trait List]

Fire Spirit Lv. 113

Unique Swordsmanship Lv. 63

.

.

.

Carbuncle Soul Lv. EX

The pseudo-holy relic that the Fire Spirit Order had allegedly created by grinding up a hero’s corpse.

From within the sun, a woman’s sultry voice flowed out as if this whole situation were nothing but a joke.

“Ah? So you’re the hero. I thought I might meet you, and it seems your wretched fate remains the same, given that you’ve encountered me.”

“Yes, it’s me. But isn’t this a place where we couldn’t possibly meet by chance? What brings you here?”

“Hmm? I came to properly see the face of the one who’s been freely using my name while I was on vacation.”

“I see.”

She had the right to be arrogant.

She possessed the capability to return safely despite attacking the Glacies Magic Tower alone.

Demon society follows the law of power.

And she, a former hero and pseudo-holy relic created by the Fire Spirit Order, was:

[Comprehensive Estimate Lv. 1012]

She was the kind of existence that explained why the Demon Lord’s army hadn’t actively moved against heroes until now.

***

Honestly, I had underestimated her.

Even I, stupid as I am, could tell that everyone in the hero’s party was subtly trying not to let me go.

And that there were feelings similar to affection mixed in there.

But I didn’t know it would be this bad.

“I won’t… run away.”

I knew about her cruelty, but now that it was directed at me, I couldn’t be more terrified.

“You say that, but you’ll run away when you get the chance, right?”

“How could I? Do I look like I’m lying?”

“Yes.”

How resolute…

Honestly, I thought Millia would at least consider it a bit.

Am I that untrustworthy?

Well, I did throw a tantrum recently about wanting to quit. I was pretty extreme about it, so it makes sense that there’s no trust.

“Hey, Lug. Answer me.”

Wriggle!

The black tentacles that bloomed like flowers behind her back were writhing as if representing her negative emotions.

Could I defeat the current Millia if I gave it my all?

Probably impossible.

Then what if I temporarily removed the line I had drawn? Now, when no one is watching, would certainly be the right time.

“Was the time we spent together really so worthless that you could discard it so callously?”

“…Of course not.”

“Then stay right there.”

But I had to give up at Millia’s tearful voice.

Ah, this won’t work.

Unlike Eirene, she’s not hoping for a miracle. What she needs isn’t guidance.

And even if I removed my line and succeeded in persuading her, it would still be a problem.

This isn’t just her issue. It’s mine too.

If I resolve the situation and push the memory beyond the line as if nothing happened, it will just repeat.

She just needed someone to talk to from the same perspective.

Yes, because from a transcendent’s perspective, one can never understand humans.

The path I returned for that purpose.

The things I picked up for that.

The austerities I endured to understand you all.

“Um, Lady Millia. Please calm down first. That magic is scary, so could we put it away and talk?”

“You’ll run away.”

“Even if I ran, wouldn’t I still be in the palm of your hand, Lady Millia?”

“…”

I’m weak right now.

What I consider my trump card would probably be just one of many means to Millia.

That’s how big the gap is.

After all, Millia has the most outstanding talent in the hero’s party, excluding the hero herself.

That talent of turning imagination into reality was beyond my comprehension.

“I really hate risking my life like this.”

Honestly, that magic is terrifying.

Even when I saw her experimenting on demons before, I could tell it would make for excellent torture magic.

Honestly, even though I said I wouldn’t run away, seeing those writhing tentacles makes me think the result would be the same no matter what I answered.

So, to get to the point:

“The person responsible for party transfers is the hero, so let’s go complain to her.”

I ran away with all my might.

To dump Millia, this unstable element, onto the hero.

***

CRACK!

Trees covered in snow instantly withered, burned, and broke.

Millia stood on the tentacles she created, chasing after me.

She wasn’t even speaking anymore.

She was never particularly talkative, but the atmosphere now suggested she might fight to the death, which was terrifying.

Watching the forest, which had been beautifully covered in white snow, turn into ruins along the path of the tentacles, I wondered if Millia might actually be the Demon Lord I was looking for.

Human malice is truly frightening.

Or is it malice? It feels more like a tantrum or venting…

I can feel the scales in my heart tilting slightly in the opposite direction.

“At least my time living as a porter wasn’t wasted!”

I’m good at running away. I’m so proud of myself.

Anyway, I ran like crazy.

Normally, I would have headed in the opposite direction of the magic tower to escape, but now I’m actually heading toward it.

It’s hard to believe I could outrun Millia indefinitely, and even if I could, I’d likely be tracked.

Would they put a bounty on my head?

Unlike my previous escapes, this one might include the phrase “dead or alive,” which is problematic.

To avoid that, I need to avoid escaping for now. Besides, doesn’t Millia have a point?

Were those three years really meaningless to me?

I don’t think so.

I want to believe they weren’t, but…

“Sigh, being a demon is so hard.”

After going through all this, couldn’t they consider that the pain outweighs the value?

Why does everyone only think about themselves?

It’s not my place to say as a spy, but everyone seems too selfish.

As I was frantically running away, I suddenly noticed something white wriggling at the edge of my vision.

Thinking it might be some new monster, I was about to change course, but upon closer inspection, I saw it was the Saintess, Eirene.

“Mr. Lug!”

“Sainteeeess!”

Never in my life had I been so glad to see her.

Is this what camaraderie feels like?

“KYAAAA! Don’t bring that disgusting thing over here!”

Guess not.