CH 13

A little while later, after the curse had disappeared, I left Lady Sion's private room with the Duke and his butler, who had both regained their cool, and headed for the reception room.

As one would expect from a duke's mansion, the reception room was lined with a number of first-class furnishings. Paintings, vases, sofas, and even tables were all of super high quality.

As a commoner, I wondered for a moment if I could sit on such an expensive sofa. I felt uncomfortable in a room filled with expensive things.

So I sat down right across from the duke and sipped from the teacup that the maid had brought me.

Yes, it was delicious. The brewing process seems to be perfect.

As I was admiring the taste of the tea, the Duke bowed deeply.

"First of all, I would like to thank you for saving Sion. Thank you so, so much."

"I think it's too early to be grateful. In addition, I was originally asked to find out the cause of the problem, and it was only natural that I treated him there. But first of all..."

"Ah. I have to find the person who put the curse mark on Sion."

If we don't solve it, this kind of thing could happen again in the future. If we don't thoroughly destroy the seeds that cause this, we won't be able to sleep peacefully.

But my purpose is not to find the culprit.

"Duke. The first thing that needs to be done is to complete the grimoire contract for Lady Sion."

I think it's better to have someone else look for the culprit first, and let the Duke and Sion focus on that. If you can make a contract with a grimoire and handle magic, you will be able to solve situations like this one on your own.

In addition, Sion's grimoire is the Wisdom Book of Cherubim. If it's such a high ranking grimoire, it won't be lagging behind the curses any time soon.

I'm sure it has some unique abilities.

"I'm guessing that the reason the curse was placed on Sion is because of the grimoire that she is trying to sign. After all, the grimoire of the Wisdom Book of Cherubim is extremely valuable. There are not a few people who are targeting it."

"But you haven't told anyone about the grimoire, have you? The only person who knows about it is the Zephus here...."

"Sir, I've only just learned about it myself."

"Hmm. And the bruise.... appeared on her four months ago.

".... Come to think of it."

From four months ago, the people around the Duke, who had kept the spellbook secret until recently, suddenly disappeared. Of course, it cannot be completely erased, so it's just a matter of lowering the priority.

"Duke, I want you to check out all the houses and people she has been in contact with at dinners and parties in the past four months or so. The only person who could have contacted her would have been that same nobleman."

"Zephyrs."

"Yes, sir.

"Hmm. However, if they have access to Sion, wouldn't that include the people from the magic school? If that's the case, it would cast suspicion on the students as well..."

"You don't have to check the students at the school."

"Why not?"

What, you don't know?

No, it may not have been made public. It's possible that the head of the school is doing it on his own without telling the duke, and if that's the case, it's also possible that even the royal family and nobles don't know about it. I'll ask him next time.

"The school's uniforms are covered with a blocking spell that inhibits the use of magic that violates the law, such as curse magic. The headmaster says it's to prevent students from going astray at a young age."

"I didn't know it had such an effect... That headmaster seems to be very child-minded. No, it's a wonderful thing, though."

"He's a little overprotective at times, though."

"That's true. Well..."

The Duke got up from the sofa and looked somewhat worried.

I guessed that he was worried about Lady Sion. He's quite caring about his children too, isn't he? Well, I can understand why he would be sensitive, since she just had a life-threatening incident.

"I'm heading to see Sion, what about you? Do you want to stay the night?"

"That's very kind of you, but I still have a few things to do, so I'll just go home."

"I see. I'd like you to be there when we sign the contract with the grimoire, so I'll have the staff pick you up at the library."

"I understand, but please make sure that you are in perfect physical condition before you sign the contract. She will be using a lot of magic power when she signs the contract, so if she does it when she isn't in good physical condition, it may affect her health."

"I know, I know. I'm going to keep her on absolute bed rest for a few days."

"I'm counting on it."

Now that I've finished what I had to do in this house, I'm going home.

I'm tired from all the intense work, and I want to take a bath because I'm soaked in sweat. After the bath, I think it's okay to have a glass of chilled wine... today. I've worked hard.

Thinking about what I would like to do when I got home, I left the mansion with the maid who was waiting in the hallway to see me off.

As I walked through the darkened streets, I looked up and saw a full moon peeking out from the clouds and beginning to illuminate the city with its moonlight.

The houses with white walls glowed even whiter, and the shadows on the ground were as long as I was tall.

As I was the only one outside, the only sound was the sound of water flowing in the canal, and the occasional crying of a black cat reverberated between the buildings.

The occasional cry of a black cat reverberated between the buildings, and the sound of my footsteps on the cobblestone pavement sounded unusually loud.

I was walking straight home when I stopped, interrupting the regular sound of my shoes to look back.

"there's a single magical response...?"

There was one magical reaction to the electromagnetic net I've been casting around for a while now.

I'm not sure what their purpose is. But I'm assuming its about Lady Sion's Case.

And, if it becomes ......

"An Enemy?"

I sent a burst of purple lightning through my body as a threat and looked in the direction of the magical reaction. I'm sure the other side can see that I'm on the warpath.

Now, what do you think?

Will they attack me bravely, or will they sense the danger and run away?

Either way, it doesn't matter because I'll only reap the benefits. I've been able to record its magical response, and it's still useless.

We continued our standoff for five minutes. It was five minutes before the standoff continued.

The magical power reaction left me and eventually disappeared outside the electromagnetic net.

Since I've already recorded the magic power, I'll be able to immediately determine if the person I just saw is approaching me in the future. Well, there will come a day when I can identify him, so I'll just have to wait until that time.

I resumed my walk and walked beside the waterway glittering in the moonlight.

= - =

"That was a close one."

Those who had been watching Serel as he entered his combat stance withdrew, feeling his unusual spirit. It was the first time they'd ever seen anything like it.

The dense magic power emanating from his body and the lightning that gushed out.

It's very hard to believe that this is a person with the rank of grimoire that I had heard about in the previous information. I'm sure you'll be able to understand exactly what I mean.

But this man doesn't know that Serel is capable of competing on equal terms with a mage who has the Book of Wisdom.

"But this is something we need to keep in mind. As long as that man is here, that plan could fall apart."

The small murmur fades into the night, unheard by anyone else.

The man didn't say a word after that, but just grimly lifted the corners of his mouth and disappeared into the dark alleyway.

Just in the opposite direction of the boarding house where Serel was headed.