The next day.
Upon waking, Sola followed the savory breakfast scent out of the tent.
“You are awake?”
Dominic, who was preparing breakfast, welcomed him.
“Sir Knight, did you sleep well?”
“Sir Roan, come and eat. It is seasoned very well.”
Not only the merchants, but the subjugation force’s mercenaries, adventurers, and knights also welcomed Sola.
They had hardly exchanged a proper conversation, but yesterday’s events seemed to have been the catalyst.
“Where is Air Conditioner?”
After receiving a bowl of stew, Sola looked for the apprentice witch he had caught yesterday. He thought she had slept in the tent beside his, but she was gone when he woke.
“Do you mean Lady Witch Carrier Whisen Air Conditioner? I thought she was with you, Sir…….”
At his question, Merchant Dominic looked around with a flustered expression.
“……Did she run away?”
Sola immediately guessed what had happened.
“It cannot be helped.”
He briefly furrowed his brow, then reacted as though he did not care.
He could have restrained her or placed shackles on her, but he had not.
He had allowed her to remain of her own free will.
And according to that free will, she had left. He had lost a human air conditioner, but he did not feel much regret.
‘Now that she has learned that life is not easy, she will restrain herself. With that level of skill, she should have no trouble making a living.’
It was only a slight shame.
“Sir Roan, if you wish, we can put out a warrant for her.”
The mid-ranking knight, who had been watching Sola carefully, asked cautiously. He was the knight from Oski commanding the subjugation force. If Sola agreed, they could search the area.
“It is all right. We are not leisurely enough to worry about her.”
“But that young and clumsy witch will quickly be caught by someone else.”
It seemed that the commander of the subjugation force was worried for another reason.
“Surely, if she has any ability to learn, she will not do it again.”
At the commander’s concern, Sola gave a short laugh and put a spoonful of stew, cooled to a pleasant temperature, into his mouth.
“I do not know who her master is, but I cannot understand why that person would leave her so unattended.”
“Perhaps she does not have one.”
“She does not? Surely not?”
A few more concerned words were exchanged, but the conversation did not continue for long.
Several days later.
Sola and the Oski subjugation force arrived at the assembly point where they were to join the Church.
Other subjugation forces that had departed from other cities and territories had already set up camp there.
Church flags were visible as well, so it seemed that most of the subjugation forces had gathered.
And then…….
“Sir…… Over there!”
“……Air Conditioner.”
“Yes.”
In the middle of the camps belonging to the forces that had arrived first, an apprentice witch was tied atop a pile of logs.
“Kill the evil witch who is in league with the necromancer!”
“Burn her! Burn her at the stake! Purify her with fire!”
The young witch whom Sola had named Air Conditioner was on the verge of being burned at the stake.
***
The condition of Air Conditioner, the witch tied to the pyre, was intact.
She did not appear to have been beaten or subjected to anything vile.
The superstition that one would be cursed by touching a fallen witch had, in effect, helped the young apprentice witch.
“May I ask what happened?”
Sola asked a wandering knight standing near the pyre.
“That witch? She is a witch in league with the necromancer Isabel!”
“Your basis?”
Sola continued questioning him.
As he did, he did not forget to discreetly hand him a silver coin.
The proper amount by market rates would have been a copper coin, but Sola had only silver and gold coins, so it could not be helped.
“Why, this is far too much……! Ahem! Well, that witch suddenly landed before us on her broom and immediately demanded that we disband the subjugation force. She insisted that she would deal with the necromancer herself.”
The wandering knight who had received the silver coin smoothly continued his story.
‘She did not learn anything at all.’
Sola looked at the young witch tied to the pyre with exasperation.
“She was suspicious, but since she was a witch, we asked her name and school. Yet she did not answer. So we pretended to engage in conversation and offered her a meal first.”
“The witch accepted the meal?”
“She must have been hungry for days. She ate it very deliciously without realizing there was a sleeping potion in the food.”
“…….”
Sola could not tell whether she was stupid or innocent.
“Anyway, after the witch fell asleep, we tied her up and asked her name and school once more. But she refused to answer until the end.”
‘She could have at least said the name I gave her. Is there some restriction preventing her from lying?’
At the wandering knight’s words, Sola tilted his head.
‘More than anything, is it really a secret worth risking her life to conceal? Was my guess wrong?’
He began to think that things might differ from what he had assumed.
“That alone is not enough to confirm she is in league with the necromancer…….”
On the other hand, Sola could not understand why the subjugation force would try to burn her at the stake based on this reasoning.
“Still, she is undoubtedly suspicious. The priests will soon perform a heresy interrogation. But judging by the way she refuses to speak even under threats, it is obvious whether they interrogate her or not. What a vicious witch!”
The wandering knight clicked his tongue and glared at the apprentice witch tied to the pyre.
Then he spat toward the pyre and left.
‘The Church is involved.’
Clergy and magic users had never gotten along. To them, this witch hunt was an excellent opportunity to raise the subjugation force’s morale.
“…….”
Sola watched Air Conditioner, the witch, in silence.
Then their eyes met.
“!!”
Upon finding Sola, the witch showed an expression filled with surprise and delight. But it soon turned sullen with regret, and she looked away.
‘I do not know.’
He could simply ignore her. Air Conditioner was a witch capable of using cold magic, but she had already run away from him once. Even if he saved her now, there was no guarantee she would not run away again.
“…….”
Yet he could not turn away for some reason. He strongly felt that if he did, he would regret it greatly.
A short while later, priests belonging to the Church approached the pyre.
“Prove your purity, Witch!!”
The Inquisitor approached the pyre and immediately began the heresy interrogation.
“What is your name?”
“…….”
The witch did not answer.
“If you are an apprentice witch, state your master’s name!”
“…….”
“If you are an independent witch, state the name of your school!”
“…….”
The young witch did not open her mouth.
“Ahem! The fact that you say nothing makes it certain that you are a witch closely connected to the necromancer Isabel! They say the necromancer has no disciples, so you must be Isabel’s subordinate or helper!”
When the priest raised his hand to signal, a torch appeared as though it had been waiting.
“This is justified killing! Blessing of the Snowfield, merely bear witness!”
It seemed that they had decided the verdict even before the interrogation.
“……!”
The young witch looked at the torch with terror-filled eyes, then looked toward Sola.
“What will you do?”
Kalt and Dominic asked cautiously beside him.
“…….”
She was certainly suspicious. There was a reason she refused to reveal her name and master to the end.
But contrary to that suspicion, he could not turn away from her for some reason.
“Prepare silver coins according to the number of people gathered here.”
It seemed Sola had made his decision.
“Of course. If we make that witch our ally, Sir, your problem with the heat will also be resolved to some degree. I understand.”
“If it is a burden, I will use my own money.”
“No. Considering the debt we owe you, Sir, we will bear the cost.”
Understanding what he meant, Kalt and Dominic looked at each other and nodded.
While the merchants prepared the money, Solacius approached the pyre at a quick pace.
“Stop!”
Then he stopped the Inquisitor, who was about to set the pyre ablaze.
“This witch is associated with me.”
“And you are……?”
The Inquisitor, who had been preparing the burning, hesitated at Sola’s intervention.
“I am Knight Roan Shalut.”
“I have heard your name and of your feats.”
A wandering knight with blond hair, golden eyes, and excessively light equipment. Above all, he was an exiled imperial royal.
At the appearance of Knight Roan Shalut, the priests made the sign of the cross in response.
“……?!”
The apprentice witch tied to the pyre looked at Sola with surprised eyes.
“In truth, this child is my…… personal attendant.”
“!!”
At Sola’s next words, the witch’s expression crumpled.
Still, she was quick-witted enough not to refute him.
“She is Sir Roan Shalut’s personal attendant?!”
“That is correct.”
They did not find it strange that a personal attendant could use magic. Roan Shalut’s original status was that of a royal. An imperial royal’s personal attendant would receive far better treatment than an ordinary commoner. If they possessed talent, they could learn swordsmanship or magic, even if only at a basic level.
“…….”
The Inquisitor wore an unconvinced expression at Sola’s words.
“For your information, this child’s name is…… Carrier Whisen. She learned cold and dark magic from the Air Conditioner School.”
“The Air Conditioner School?”
It was a school they had never heard of.
“It was a newly established school, but it has since disappeared with the fall of the Empire. As she was my personal attendant, she received commissioned education at an academy rather than through an apprenticeship.”
As the priests tilted their heads, Sola continued his lies without changing his expression.
“Then why did she not state her name and identity? Even prepared to die?”
“She is loyal to me. Stupidly so.”
Sola shrugged at the still-suspicious Inquisitor.
“She kept silent because she feared she might bring me harm. She also demanded the subjugation force disband because she wanted me to establish merit alone.”
“……And you expect us to believe that!”
“Of course, I acknowledge that it is suspicious. But it is the truth. Though I have fallen, I stake my status and name upon it.”
“!!”
His words, mixed with High Imperial and Elven intonations, were strangely trustworthy despite being suspicious in every respect.
The clergy, who hated the Empire and imperial royals no less than the people of Luhan, reacted similarly.
“Sir Roan is correct. Ha ha ha, it seems we have caused trouble for such esteemed people. As an apology, please accept this small token…….”
Kalt, Dominic, and the other merchants stepped forward. In a sense, this was decisive.
Thud.
A pouch containing five silver coins was placed in the hands of each Inquisitor and priest.
The other members of the subjugation force watching nearby were also handed one silver coin at minimum, or two or three depending on their rank.
“Ahem! Looking closely, she does not appear to be a bad witch, Priest.”
“Having heard Sir Roan’s words, I believe I understand.”
“Above all, he has staked his status and honor. I do not think it is right to refuse to believe him outright.”
Public opinion turned in an instant. The mercenaries, wandering knights, and adventurers in the subjugation force all spoke in unison, insisting on the witch’s innocence.
“Though this is the outer region of a margravate, you should consider the Blessing of the Snowfield. This is not justified killing.”
Sola whispered softly to the Inquisitor. Those words drove in the final nail.
“Ahem! If anything happens…… Sir Roan Shalut, you will be held responsible.”
“Of course. I will take responsibility.”
In the end, the priests before the pyre pocketed their silver coins and withdrew.
***
Once the brief commotion ended, the apprentice witch freed from the pyre stayed glued to Sola’s side. It seemed that this incident had made her keenly realize that the world was not easy.
“Hey, Air Conditioner.”
Sola called the young witch.
“I am not Air Conditioner! That name feels unpleasant somehow!”
Now that some room had returned to her mind and body, she protested.
Still, she kept her voice as low as possible.
“Then what is your real name?”
“…….”
As expected, the young witch did not answer this time either.
Grab!
Sola grabbed both of the witch’s shoulders with his hands.
It was to prevent her from running away or using magic.
“I will not let this pass vaguely this time. It would be best for you to speak.”
“!!”
“My companions and I vouched for you. If something happens, we will have to make great sacrifices.”
‘I need to know for certain.’
He had no intention of taking it slowly as before. He had a feeling that this child’s identity differed greatly from his assumptions.
“We saved your life, even though we knew you were suspicious.”
Sola continued his threat.
“So it would be best for you to tell me the truth.”
“……!”
Her shoulders flinched.
Then, she stole a glance at Sola’s face and deliberated for a moment.
“My ear…….”
She brought her mouth close to Sola’s ear.
“Rina. My name is Rina.”
At last, she revealed her name. Even so, she did not reveal her school or surname to the end.
“……?!”
But the moment Sola heard the name, he was startled and sprang to his feet.
He had heard only the name Rina, yet goosebumps rose over his body, and he understood her entire identity.
“……!”
Unconsciously standing, Sola stared blankly down at the apprentice witch, who sat and looked up at him absentmindedly.
“Your name is Rina? You?”
“Why……? Is my name strange? No matter what, it is better than Air Conditioner!”
Rina pouted at Sola.
Sola glared at Rina with trembling golden eyes.
“Even if you glare at me like that, I do not like that name. I prefer the name Rina, which my master gave me!”
At his gaze, Rina shrank back and trembled. She was scared, but she was quite bold in saying what she wanted to say.
“And…… can I tell you my surname and school later? When no one else is around?”
Rina asked cautiously, seemingly guessing why Sola was glaring at her.
“Is your surname…… Reverse?”
But there was no need for that. Sola already knew Rina’s identity.
“Eek!!”
At Sola’s question, Rina’s bold attitude instantly shrank.
“H-How do you know?! Only my master and a few witches close to her knew that I existed……!”
Anxious, Rina repeatedly looked around.
Hic, hic.
Perhaps she was too shocked, because she began hiccupping as well.
“Please do not call me by the surname Reverse. Please.”
She then pleaded with Sola with desperate eyes.
Sola let Rina’s pleading request go in one ear and stared at the young witch before him.
“I am sorry about what happened to my master. But it was absolutely not my master’s doing! Her body was taken over by the Shadow Core. I will restore my master to how she was!”
Rina grabbed at his trouser leg and begged again and again.
‘Rina Reverse. The hidden disciple of Isabel Reverse, the necromancer currently rampaging…….’
Sola studied Rina with serious eyes.
‘And the Grand Witch of Death who will one day become one of the Four Heavenly Kings.’
His thoughts became complicated.