Chapter 240
“I’m breaking in right now.”
Loraine bent her knees, darkness flaring up, as if she were about to charge in at any moment.
The attendants, startled, tried to stop her.
“Th-that would be bad!”
“Please wait a moment, milady. There’s no benefit to barging in right now.”
Among them, one particularly calm attendant stepped forward and spoke.
Loraine tilted her head slightly, as if telling him to continue.
“Our goal is to find evidence of Serne Eindark’s crimes. Even if we rush in now and interrogate her, she’ll just erase the feather embedded in Simon’s body and insist she did nothing wrong.”
“...So you’re saying we should just stand by and watch while Simon is being controlled like that?”
Simon, now under mental domination, had become nothing more than Serne’s puppet. Regardless of his own will, he moved according to her commands, having his emotions drained.
It was a sight too painful to watch as a friend.
But the attendant spoke coldly.
“It’s a necessary sacrifice, milady.”
At the word sacrifice, a crimson gleam flickered in Loraine’s pupils.
Some attendants let out small gasps and stepped back, but the one speaking with her didn’t flinch.
“You have to see the forest, not just the tree. If we fail to expose her evil and break the vicious cycle now, she’ll continue to target Simon. He might suffer throughout his entire time here at Keyzen. Do you truly want Simon to be unhappy?”
“...”
In the end, Loraine withdrew her darkness. The attendant let out a long sigh of relief in his heart.
“Just a little longer.”
In the grave atmosphere, she clenched her teeth.
“I’ll watch.”
* * *
Simon and Serne walked the streets of Langerstine, playing their roles as a couple.
Simon, well-versed in formal escorting as dictated by etiquette, had never been on such a free-spirited street date.
Besides, Serne was still an overwhelming presence for him, draining a good deal of his mental stamina.
‘...I’m exhausted. I really wish the tailers would leave already.’
Simon discreetly glanced around, but the Ivory Tower tailers were still following them from a distance.
“Simon, Simon! Let’s go do that!”
It was clear Serne was enjoying this. Shopping had long been forgotten, it had turned into an aimless exploration of Langerstine’s alleys.
“We should probably get back to buying clothes now...”
“Hurry up!”
Simon was dragged away by her.
‘Why is she so excited, anyway?’
She took Simon to one of those typical stall games where you throw a ball to knock down dolls and win prizes. Surprisingly, business seemed good, with many couples gathered around.
“Welcome!”
The stall owner came out beaming.
“Would the two of you like to play a round?”
“Oh! I’m terrible at these, so I’ll just watch~”
Serne feigned modesty and placed the ball in Simon’s hand.
A look of confusion crossed Simon’s face.
‘She’s the one who wanted to play.’
“Oh! Sir, are you by any chance... a necromancer?”
Simon was surprised at how quickly he was recognized. Rather than denying it, he nodded honestly.
“For necromancer customers, we have this lane!”
Flap!
Suddenly, the curtain behind the regular dolls lifted, revealing another set of dolls nearly twice the distance away. They were also much smaller.
‘So that’s how it is.’
Simon let out a wry smile.
“Black magic is prohibited, but would you like to give it a shot?”
“I’ll try.”
He wasn’t one to shy away from a challenge.
Simon looked back at Serne.
“What do you want?”
“That white bear over there!”
Rustle.
Simon immediately set his stance, feet shoulder-width apart, raising his knee.
He moved the ball, held in both hands, from behind his head down to his chest, then stepped forward with one leg and threw it with force.
Boom!
Raw power honed through fief duties and magical combat.
It sounded more like a cannonball than a ball. Ordinary onlookers turned to stare in shock.
Whoosh!
The ball barely grazed the edge of the doll and missed. Simon clicked his tongue in frustration.
“So close~ You got this!”
Serne waved her arms in cheer.
He hadn’t thought much of it at first, but now that he’d started, a strange sense of competitiveness rose within him. Someone was cheering him on, and there was a crowd watching too.
He felt like giving it his all.
Simon, now serious, grabbed another ball and threw it the same way.
Boom!
This time, the ball hit the doll’s ear and bounced off.
“Aaah! So close!”
The owner hyped up the moment. A strange smile formed on Simon’s lips.
‘I’ve got the feel for it now.’
He’d figured it out. Though the excitement had faded a bit, he still did his best and threw the final ball.
This time, it struck the doll’s side properly, but the doll still didn’t fall. The owner burst into hearty laughter.
“Ha ha! That last one was really close! Want to try another round?”
“No, that’s enough. That was fun.”
Simon turned away without hesitation. Serne, disappointed, pulled out a coin.
“Then I’ll try next!”
With Serne’s athletic ability, there was no way she’d hit anything. Simon tried to stop her, but she’d already handed over the money.
“Simon, go get us some ice cream!”
“...? We just had some earlier.”
“I want more! Oh! The ice cream guy is walking away!”
As she kept pestering, Simon had no choice but to go get ice cream.
“Hi-yah!”
Left alone, Serne jumped up and down, flailing her arms and legs in a completely ridiculous throwing motion. The ball didn’t go straight—it bounced off the ground and rolled away.
Laughter erupted from the crowd.
“Cute girl.”
“Keep trying~!”
Some men watching chuckled.
When Simon disappeared into the crowd on his ice cream run, Serne raised the corner of her mouth in a sly smile and brushed back her long ivory-colored hair.
From within her hair, a white feather slipped out, which she secretly held together with the ball.
Then she jumped again and threw the ball.
Everyone watching was sure she’d miss again...
Shukwaaaang!
Suddenly, the ball was engulfed in lightning, flying out like a dazzling bolt of light.
“…What…?”
People stood dumbfounded.
BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM!
When the ball struck the center of the doll, the wooden platform beneath suddenly shattered, and a massive iron pillar burst up from underneath.
It turned out the dolls weren’t just placed on display, they were bolted down with metal.
Not only did the ball break through the floor, but it kept going, smashing the wall behind to pieces and collapsing the entire storage building.
“……”
“……”
Ruuuuuumble!
Dust clouds of black dirt engulfed the surroundings.
The stall owner, standing there slack-jawed with a horrified expression and darting eyes, froze as Serne approached.
“Do you enjoy tricking necromancers for fun?”
With a bright smile, she pulled a coin pouch from subspace and casually dropped it at the owner’s feet.
“This is for repairs. Best of luck with your business~”
Her ivory hair fluttered as she walked away.
Just then, Simon arrived, holding two ice creams, and Serne greeted him with a graceful, ladylike stride as if nothing had happened.
“What the heck just happened?”
“No idea~ Must’ve broken or something!”
Once the two disappeared, the owner collapsed to the ground with a thud.
His pants were damp with a warm wetness.
They stopped by a few clothing stores too. But Serne quickly lost interest, saying nothing satisfied her, and just glanced around before walking out.
Noticing that Simon was starting to look tired, Serne made a concession and led him to a necromancer shop he liked.
Simon’s energy returned instantly, like a fish back in water.
“Buy that one.”
When Simon lingered for a long time in front of a skeleton archer set, Serne spoke.
“Ah, I’ll buy this with my own money!”
“I told you I’d cover all the shopping today.”
Before Simon could say anything, Serne went straight to the counter and paid.
Perhaps it was because she was wealthy, but she had a consistent habit of paying first and asking later.
“I’m sorry, but we only have one Vanilla brand set left.”
The clerk, checking inventory, informed them.
“What about other brands?”
It had to be Vanilla. When Simon gave the clerk that look, she handed him a clipboard and a pen.
“If you write down your address, we’ll deliver it within two days.”
“Does Roke Island work?”
“Of course!”
Since the shop was cramped and crowded, Simon and Serne stepped outside to fill out the order form.
“Ugh, horrible handwriting.”
It had been written by the clerk herself, and the wild, scribbled script was hard to read.
While checking her makeup in a hand mirror, Serne pointed to one spot.
“This looks like the name field. Below that must be the address.”
“Oh, right.”
Just as Simon nodded and reached for the quill pen—
KWA-AAAAANG!
Out of nowhere, black bombs rained from the sky and exploded.
Flames burst from buildings, and people started screaming and fleeing in terror.
“Kyaaaaaa!”
“Terrorists! We’re under attack!”
The peaceful mood of daily life shattered, and the street turned into a chaotic battlefield in an instant.
“What’s going on?!”
Simon shot to his feet.
THUD!
Before he could move, a crimson dagger stabbed into the form he was about to fill out.
“Oh-ho, I was wondering when you’d show up.”
Serne smiled, forming a feather at her fingertip.
As she flicked it, a loud clang! rang out midair, canceling out the dagger, which clattered to the floor.
“Back off now, Simon~”
Then, a streak of crimson-black light came crashing down like a comet.
Serne pulled out a handful of feathers and scattered them forward. Explosions erupted with a series of KA-BOOMs! in midair.
Simon stumbled back in alarm. From within the smoke and flames, he saw two girls clashing—feathers and daggers colliding as they stared each other down.
“Simon!”
Flames blazed in the eyes of the black-haired attacker.
“What the hell were you about to write?!”
Simon’s eyes went wide.
“L-Loraine?”
Behind her, black-robed subordinates began descending one by one.
In an instant, they were surrounded, but Serne just smiled calmly.
“I was getting tired of you sneaking peeks at us like some stray cat. I wondered when you’d finally come down.”
Now it was Serne’s turn. From above her side of the sky, black magic rained down—firebursts, lightning bolts, and more. Loraine and her subordinates quickly withdrew to dodge.
“Ah!”
They were the tailers from the Ivory Tower.
Thanks to their defense spells, they appeared unharmed despite the earlier ambush.
“I’ll handle Serne.”
Loraine told her subordinates as she glanced back.
They nodded and charged toward the tailers from the Ivory Tower. At the same time, Loraine and Serne collided, and explosions rang out in rapid succession. Feathers and daggers clashed in dazzling exchanges.
“Honestly~ you’ve been pissing me off lately, always spying on me. I think it’s time someone taught you some manners.”
Serne slipped multiple feathers between her fingers as she added,
“I’ll turn you into a dog and make you lick the soles of my boots.”
“Not before I punch a hole through your neck first!”
Suddenly, Keyzen and the Ivory Tower were clashing in the middle of the street.
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters