episode_0048

Senior Erica first took the spy somewhere and I slowly looked around the place where the spy had disappeared to check if there were any fallen objects or anything like that. But this time, I couldn’t see anything that looked like a decision, so I scratched my head and left the alley, lost in thought for a moment. It suddenly appeared in front of me and didn’t run away. Of course, it would be impossible to run away since the opponent is Senior Erika… … I felt something strange.

It was as if I had been caught on purpose, a feeling that crawled up my entire body, tickling the back of my neck in an unpleasant way and interrupting my thoughts. There is something. What if there’s something you’ve missed? What if the spy isn’t the real person? The first thought was, I didn’t know if it was possible. Since the man’s appearance was always different, there was a possibility that the body of the knight he incarnated this time was not the original body. But he used magic, so it might have been the body, but there was no answer.

You are missing something. I couldn’t figure out why that feeling kept making me dizzy, so I was just lost in thought in front of the alley when I heard someone’s footsteps. I turned my head slightly and saw Jeremy and Isabelle walking towards me. When I naturally bowed my head to my senior, he looked at me and smiled, and Jeremy climbed on my shoulder as if he was used to it.

“You look like you have a lot on your mind. I heard the story from Erica and she said she caught a spy.”

“Isn’t this strange?”

She thought about my question for a moment and then smiled.

“Of course it’s strange, maybe you have similar thoughts as Astan? I think he was caught on purpose.”

“I think so. It seems strange from the moment that the person who had been hiding until then suddenly appeared in front of me, talked to me without running away, and competed with me in magic. Of course, since the senior separated the space, there was no way to escape, so I might have given up… … ”

“The time that the space was separated was not long. If he had run away when he faced Astan, it would have been enough time for him to run away. If he had really tried to kill Astan, he would not have even talked to him when he faced Astan. Because it’s stronger. There is probably no one among the first years who can beat him except the Flame Princess.”

“Then… … Doesn’t that mean my guess is correct? I guess they were caught on purpose.”

“Then let’s ask Astan, is there any reason why we shouldn’t catch him just because he showed up to get caught on purpose? We already know it’s a trap, Erica isn’t a human being who doesn’t know that, and it’s a trap that’s clearly visible, but is there any other choice we can make?”

“… … That’s not it.”

The answer leaked from the corner of my mouth. It was a clearly visible trap. We also created a trap that was clearly visible, so it was a battle where whoever touched it first would win… … I couldn’t figure out why. The person who was running away like that suddenly? And there was only one thing I was most curious about. Why were you caught? If I had run away, I could have run away. It would be easy to defeat me, so if you had targeted the moment I entered the alley, I would have definitely died.

“There may be something you want, but we don’t know it, and if so… … Even though it is a clearly visible trap, it is still worth touching. From now on it might be a real fight, who will win – the time he finds out what he wants or the time we find out what he wants first… … I don’t know.”

“I think protection for Sharen needs to be strengthened.”

“Can I ask you a question about that too?”

She looked at me and smiled. The eyes, hidden behind a bright smile, seemed to be looking at me with magical eyes. Even without checking her eyes directly, I knew that the gaze looking at me was definitely her eyes.

“Is Sharon really what they want?”

“… … Yes?”

“Let me ask you a question, where was Sharon in the situation you faced today?”

“I was moving to Ignolia alone, and Jeremy was next to me… … ”

“Isn’t it strange?”

I swallowed my saliva at her words. If it was strange, it was true that it was strange. Sharon was alone, and if it was really Sharon that the spy wanted, he would have definitely targeted Sharon heading to Ignolia. Even though Jeremy was next to Sharon, the spy didn’t know Jeremy’s identity.

I felt like my whole body was shaking as the saliva was slowly swallowed. So what you’re aiming for is… … What on earth?

“So far, Astan has met that spy three times, once behind the bar, twice at the Academy, and three times in total until today. Isn’t it strange? If I had really been able to target Sharon, today would have been my chance. I targeted you.”

“It may have been aimed at Sharon. He could have disguised himself as a knight and taken me with him, and then targeted Sharon.”

“Jeremy was next to me, but I didn’t see anything.”

With those words, she pointed her cane at me.

“I think the spy’s goal is you, right now. I don’t know why, but aren’t you curious? Why are they targeting you? Are they really targeting you?”

“Senior… … I guess you sensed something.”

“The correct answer is that it is not an attempt to eliminate witnesses or anything like that, so there is one possibility.”

“What is that?”

Then she spit out a spell from the corner of her mouth. The moment I heard the spell in my ears, I felt like my heart was being grabbed by something.

I couldn’t breathe out of my mouth. I felt like blood was not flowing from my tightly clutched heart, my whole body was slowly becoming stiff, and my eyes were turning red. I managed to move my eyes and look at my senior, and he was smiling at me.

“Astan is not from this world. So, I’m thinking of doing an experiment. If it’s really Astan they’re after… … Someone will show up.”

She moved her wand, and then the sensation of her heart being clenched once again filled her entire body. My breath escaped from my mouth. I felt like if I lost my mind even a little, the hand of the Goddess of Death would be directed at me.

I clenched my fist and looked at my senior, who was looking down at me. The eyes towards me were indifferent compared to before. Those cold eyes, as if they could kill me with a single gesture, slowly made my body tremble.

Even the snowy mountain where I encountered the wolf was not this cold. Senior Erica’s coldness wasn’t this cold either.

At the moment when I was trying to hold on to my shaking mind as I felt the slow energy of death rising from my legs and covering my body, she smiled.

“Hmm, that’s correct.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the feeling that had been clutching my heart disappeared. As soon as the sensation disappeared, I felt breath leaking out of the corner of my mouth and blood flowing throughout my body. As my mind was slowly becoming colder, I carefully looked at my senior and saw that he was looking somewhere.

And I followed my senior’s gaze and looked back, and when I looked there, the man was standing there.

what?

As I felt strange and embarrassed by the reality that was happening before my eyes, the senior smiled at the man and opened his mouth.

“I should say it’s my first time seeing you, right? A spy of the Demon King’s army. Please understand that I call you this because I don’t know your name.”

“… … Meeting the reincarnation of Denatus was unplanned.”

“I never thought that my name would be known even among demons, but you already said that, it was an order? I wonder who is above you. Could he be the devil… … Or maybe not… … ”

And at that moment, the surroundings turned black. It was my senior’s magic. I couldn’t figure out what this magic was, but if it was the magic my senior showed me before… … It was a separation of space.

“What on earth did Erica take?”

“That is also me.”

“And the person facing me is also you. hmm… … I understood. The magic of the demons is more interesting than I thought. It looks like their souls have been separated… … Separate the soul and create multiple selves… … ”

Then she smiled and swung her wand, and when she swung the wand, a senior with the same appearance appeared next to her. I just looked at my senior while holding my breath, wondering what was going on in this situation.

“This is roughly what magic is. It is impossible to destroy this magic until the main body is captured… … Even if the soul transmission medium is destroyed, there will be no damage to the main body… … It’s difficult.”

“The reincarnation of Denatus is more monstrous than I thought.”

“It is not easy for a human to receive the name of God.”

Then she came over to me and helped me up, and I got up and looked at the spy. It was a familiar sight, no different from the one I had encountered at the back of the bar.

“It’s the self-immolation that senior Erica caught. Even the one who died in prison.”

“Humans believe what is in front of them.”

The man said those words and took the staff in his hand, and when Erika saw that, he moved the staff slightly, and a blue flame bloomed in the man’s hand, burning the man’s hand and the staff.

“Astan.”

“Yes, senior.”

“Find Erica and tell her that torture is impossible and that she should be killed. It’s dangerous the moment you take them to the academy.”

I nodded at those words and started running quickly to find Erica.