Chapter 4

※From Lucian's perspective

"…………"

The girl I saved was strange.

She began to say something like, "The welcoming party is here..." with her hands clasped together, as if she were an old woman in the street.

She was definitely younger than Lucian, yet she seemed unusually... elderly. The word "old lady" even came to mind for a moment.

But she didn't cry or scream or start thrashing around in fear, which was a relief. Still, she probably wasn't unafraid. She must have refused to cry and accept the situation.

Thinking about it, I felt more sympathy for her. And a sense of nostalgia mixed with a small regret welled up from the depths of my heart.

Looking down at her, she had fair skin that hadn't been exposed to the sun. Her flaxen hair was a common color, but her eyes, which were a reddish hue, were rare.

She was dressed in a simple, off-white garment that made her look like a prisoner from somewhere.

This was the same reason why they attacked this mansion... the same as those who were killed in the forest.

"Victims of those who performed forbidden magic here, I suppose."

Her odd statements were probably due to this. It all started with the unusual movements of monsters near the knight's territory.

The merchants brought the news. They said that monsters had appeared in places where they hadn't been before.

Monsters that moved beyond their usual range were likely to have come to attack humans. So, when the knights were sent to exterminate them, they discovered mysterious corpses. The clothing of the victims didn't seem like something a traveler would wear, and none of their belongings were found.

The only explanation was that the slaves had been abandoned to be disposed of by the monsters.

However, in the neighboring Scylla territory, there were no reports of slave traders or missing persons.

In this mysterious situation, another victim was discovered. A knight searching near the road found traces of a dead person in a different location from the previous one.

If this continued, there might be a larger problem behind it. That's how they found the abandoned mansion hidden in the forest.

After discovering that they were not only involved in human trafficking but also using forbidden magic, Lucian led a dozen knights and even used a flying lizard to attack from the air. Inside were magicians with characteristics of the neighboring country Tanastra and warriors guarding them. A battle immediately broke out, but because there were too many magicians, some managed to escape. Lucian also moved to pursue them.

"Captain!"

He was told not to act alone, but from the looks of it, they might have used magic to move away. Sure enough, when he chased them outside, they were about to use a long-distance teleportation spell, sacrificing what seemed to be a slave girl. However, when he tried to get an explanation from the girl he saved... she fainted right away.

"Captain Lucian, are you alright!?"

A young man with blonde hair ran over. Wearing the blue uniform of the knights, it was Frey from the first squad.

"I'm fine. Is the girl's clothing the same as the victims we found?"

Frey looked at the girl's clothes and nodded.

"I think so."

"Protect her and get information. There are others who are just unconscious. Get information from them."

"Understood."

Frey, following the order, woke up a magician who was lying nearby.

"Hey, wake up."

The magician, who seemed dazed from a concussion, eventually realized he was captured and started trembling. But Frey relentlessly interrogated him.

"What kind of magic were you using here? Forbidden magic, right?"

"Forbidden..."

"Tell me the details now, and I'll spare your life."

The magician, after a moment of contemplation, answered in a whisper.

"The fusion of spirits and humans... to create witches..."

"Fusion with spirits!? Did you kidnap people for experiments?"

"If we bought people, it would leave a trail... so we summoned them from distant countries, but all of them were failures... ugh..."

The magician suddenly started suffering. He spat out black smoke from his mouth, then collapsed and never moved again. Frey checked his heart and shook his head.

"It's no good."

"Did they silence him..."

"Probably. If they talked to outsiders, everyone would end up the same. The delay was due to the time it took for the magic to activate. ...Shall we continue questioning the others?"

Lucian gave his permission, and Frey woke up the remaining magicians one by one, extracting as much information as possible while they were still dazed. By the time the last magician died, they had a general understanding.

"So, you were trying to conduct experiments to fuse humans with spirits. But since kidnapping people would be noticed, you used summoning magic to bring them from other countries... but the fusions failed, and they either died or were useless, so you fed them to monsters in remote areas."

"That's what we found in the bodies. And this girl too."

Frey looked sympathetic.

"Good that she survived... this girl."

"Indeed."

Being fused with a spirit was a reckless thing to do. The immense power of the spirit could cause the body to collapse.

"She survived because the spirit's power dissipated and the fusion wasn't complete."

It was questionable whether she would survive. Lucian thought about how she had been saying strange things, and then the battle inside the building ended. Other knights arrived.

"Lord Lucian! Why did you act alone!"

A young man with long black hair tied at the nape of his neck, Eivar, arrived with a slightly annoyed expression. He had a somewhat nervous and meticulous appearance, often said to be better suited for a civil servant.

"What if something happened? You are one of the heirs to the throne of the Arlandar Kingdom."

"It's fine, Eivar. I'm not in any danger. Besides, being sent to the Sigur Knights, which is on the outskirts of Arlandar, has already removed the threat. The king must be somewhat relieved to have me away from the capital."

As Lucian spoke, Eivar's expression became even more bitter.

"Anything can happen at any time. Even the king, who made the wise decision to protect you, can't control Prince Eric..."

Eivar, who had served the Alvin Duke's family for a long time, was very keen on keeping Lucian out of danger.

"Uncle has his reasons. ...Anyway, this girl. She might have seen or heard something. Before that, as a victim of forbidden magic, she needs protection."

"Understood."

Frey picked up the unconscious girl.

"But after protecting her, we need to monitor her movements for a while."

"Huh? Why?"

In response to Eivar's question:

"She was apparently part of the spirit fusion experiments. Even if they failed, we don't know what effects might appear in the future."

"Fusion!? That's... quite..."

Hearing about the fusion, Eivar looked at the girl with pity.

"But shouldn't she be sent to the research institute? For difficult cases, it's usually handled there."

"If she's fused with a spirit, she might never be able to leave."

"...That's true. But aren't you being a bit too considerate?"

Lucian had expected this question. But he couldn't help but be considerate. He felt a resistance to treating her as just another case.

"It's because spirits are involved."

Hearing this, Eivar and the others finally seemed to understand.

Lucian felt that his involvement with spirits had been the most useful so far. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to stop her from being sent to the research institute.

Furthermore, if he were to be questioned further, Lucian couldn't provide a solid reason. He couldn't say that he felt nostalgic and sympathetic, as it would be seen as favoritism.

"We need to inform the deputy captain. Please contact him."

"Understood."

Eivar sighed.

"I understand your dissatisfaction. But how long will he sulk...? He understands that the Sigur Knights are part of the Royal Knights and that he gave up the captain's position because of the king's decision, but he says he will retire and isolate himself."

The cause of Eivar's sigh was the deputy captain.

"Since the king doesn't approve of the deputy captain stepping down, his position remains unchanged. We can only hope he improves his mood soon."

That was all Lucian could say.

Changing someone's feelings is not something that can be easily done by others.