Chapter 20

A spark scattered with a *snap*.

It was hot and flickered.

Without thinking, Sophie pressed her forehead with both hands and, a moment later, realized it was pain.

"Ow…?!"

"Don’t you dare lick me, you brat."

In front of her, Weiss held his palm up to Sophie’s face with his thumb bent.

In other words, she had just been given a *dekopin* (forehead tap). It hurt a lot. This was Sophie’s first experience with it.

"I won’t use children to play politics. That’s just low."

"Besides, who would do something like that just because their fiancéé helped them out?" Weiss spat, his face frightening and rough. Moreover, he was indirectly calling the king of this country low. It was an outrageous insult. And it hurt.

However, Sophie’s lips trembled. She couldn’t stop her mouth from forming a smile. Well, it turns out this king is a good person after all.

"Thank you."

"Shut up and be quiet."

No, but he’s a man with a foul mouth.

"Um,"

"Weiss-sama?"

The voice that interrupted Sophie’s was like a snake slithering on the ground.

It was heavy and constricting, like something squeezing her neck.

She turned around with a start to see Livio with a dark smile. It was terrifying. Really terrifying.

Beautiful, yet terrifying. Terrifying, yet beautiful. Sophie’s overexcited brain raised a white flag and was in chaos as she was pulled by the arm.

She found herself nestled against Livio’s chest.

"What are you doing to my Sophie? I’ll slice you up and grind you into tombstones."

"Are you okay, saying all sorts of crazy things?"

Sophie nodded repeatedly at Weiss’s calm interjection.

Mine! Mine! Sophie!! Again! Mine, Sophie!!! It’s not a hallucination, it’s amazing! Sophie saw pink, cute petals dancing. Ah, this is a hallucination.

"If you touch me, I said it won’t be free."

"Fingers, fingers."

"I didn’t hear that. How about I gut you once?"

One time and you’ll die.

This isn’t the time to be overexcited, Sophie thought as she hastily looked up at Livio’s darkly handsome face.

"Livio! Weiss-sama was just praising me! Please don’t be angry!"

"I didn’t praise you."

You’re just a clumsy, unforthcoming person. No, that’s not what I need right now. Sophie tried to calm the situation, but Weiss’s composure was impressive. Sophie didn’t have the luxury to laugh. Hmph, I’m just a kid.

"Is that so?"

"Hmm."

At that moment, Renetta walked up, clicking her heels, and tugged on Weiss’s clothes.

When Renetta covered her mouth, Weiss bent down and leaned in.

It must be something bad. Weiss frowned, and Livio became quiet, so Sophie was both anxious and relieved.

"Renetta, can you create a defensive barrier around the town?"

"I’ve already done it. I used my magic as the base and a spell that gradually uses the magic in the air, so it will continue to work even if I sleep or die."

"Don’t talk about dying."

*Snap*, Renetta received a *dekopin* from Weiss and was shaking, pressing her forehead. Remembering the pain, Sophie touched her own forehead, and a weak voice called out, "Sophie-sama."

Looking up, she saw a beautiful face with lowered eyebrows, looking sad.

"What did you say?"

"Um, well..."

Weiss extended his finger, not his hand, because Sophie had misspoken, it seemed. Livio apparently noticed.

And he was worried that it wasn’t something negative like what happened to Renetta.

His heart is truly beautiful, so Sophie was at a loss.

She received a *dekopin* because she underestimated Weiss. But saying that in front of him would be, well, awkward.

"Um," she mumbled, and Weiss raised his face, saying, "Hey."

"I asked if you were going to sell us to this country or something, and he was just being noisy. Let’s talk inside."

"Huh?" Sophie stretched her neck, and Livio’s restraint loosened.

The giant roasted bird that was there a moment ago had vanished without a trace!

It was as if it had never existed.

Moreover, the buildings seemed a bit cleaner, and the rubble was gone.

What happened while I was distracted?

It couldn’t be that a big eater devoured it so quickly. After all, there were men on the ground crying, "K, Kickfitcher’s meat...! It was so delicious...!"

The muscular men were crying, "Meat...! Meat!!" It was, to put it bluntly, bizarre. Was it that delicious?

Sophie looked at Livio.

"What about the monsters?"

"That’s the thing,"

"!"

When Sophie asked, Livio paused and bent down like Weiss.

*Guh*, the beautiful face came close.

Long, long eyelashes! Blueberry-colored eyes that were like candy, or jewels. Jewels, or the night sky. The night sky, or a miracle. Supreme. A masterpiece of God. And, really, his face is beautiful. When his mouth was brought close to her ear, the sensuality of his neck covering her vision was overwhelming!

Sophie’s thoughts stopped.

"Actually,"

"!!!!!!!"

Don’t whisper in my ear... I didn’t say that! I can’t say it! His voice is good, and his breath grazes my skin, and my overexcited brain is almost gone. Wait, I don’t plan to make your grave.

"...So, I suggested to Lady Renetta, who was about to fly out of town, that she should talk to Weiss-sama first, but I think it’s better if we join. Is that okay? I’m worried about what will happen after we leave town..."

"Huh, ah, yes!"

Sophie nodded, not understanding a single thing.

"In other words, that monster was a mutation."

They thanked the innkeeper who had been holding their luggage and moved to the guest room.

The "brother and sister guests who said no" the innkeeper mentioned were these two.

That makes sense. After all, this is the only inn.

But brother and sister. Brother and sister, huh. Well, there is a bit of an age difference, isn’t there? Weiss has a commanding presence, and Renetta is small overall. They are so different that it can’t be helped.

So, the group with a reason moved to the room assigned to Livio and Sophie, placing their luggage.

Weiss and Renetta brought chairs from the next room. There weren’t enough for the two-person room.

Incidentally, a mountain of food was piled on a slightly larger table. The innkeeper, who had taken care of the four who had just arrived, had prepared it. "Because you’re the town’s heroes!" The innkeeper’s smile was very warm. If there was a "Top 100 Best Inns" list, I would definitely recommend it.

"That Kickfitcher, its internal organs were barely functioning. Moreover, I felt a bad kind of magic, different from mine, so I tried a purification spell at full power, and it disappeared without a trace."

*Sho-boon*, Renetta’s shoulders drooped.

She seemed disappointed at losing the potential materials. To Sophie, she still looked expressionless, but somehow, she seemed to lack energy. Well, it’s hard to imagine this quiet girl being full of energy.

Sophie, while vaguely looking at the meat dishes, asked with her black eyes.

"Um, isn’t purification magic an advanced spell that removes impurities and dirt? So, does that mean the bird monster was so impure that it disappeared?"

Sophie finally understood the conversation and organized it, and Renetta nodded.

"The 'impurity' that purification magic acts on can vary depending on the spell, but basically, it differs based on the caster’s image. Magic is not a simple matter where the same method always produces the same effect. Ultimately, how you imagine it and how you frame the phenomenon is crucial. In fact, even for spells with similar effects, there are thousands of different spell formulas and activation conditions that I know of. The methods vary by country and ethnicity. Fundamentally, how you perceive magic, your interpretation or understanding, is different. Therefore, it’s natural that the phenomena that can be caused by imagination differ."

"Renetta, it’s an interesting story, but let’s talk about it after we finish eating."

Sophie found it interesting too, but the conversation was veering off course. It was veering so far off that it was like a journey to a foreign land. They were about to board a ship and cross the sea.

Renetta, who had stopped, seemed to be aware and moved her lips slightly.

"Food..."

"Eat it. Don’t leave any."

"Okay," Renetta nodded and took a bite of the salad. She chewed and looked up at Weiss.

"If you’re going to make a smug face, finish eating first."

"Uh."

Smug face. Sophie couldn’t see any expression, but apparently, Renetta was making a smug face. How does she know?

It’s something, this difference in expression. It makes me feel a bit excited. My own love is fun, but other people’s love is even more fun. Sophie, a great discovery.

"So,"

"Yes. The purification magic I used was to remove poison and destruction. When I imagined it as a spell to return to the original state before those things, both Kickfitchers disappeared."

Prompted by Weiss, Renetta spoke, looking down and poking the side dish with her fork. How many people in this world eat potatoes with such melancholy? Well, maybe the muscular men who were sobbing earlier are now crying while eating.

If so, the only ones who are happy about the Kickfitcher attack are those whose buildings were cleaned by Renetta’s purification magic. Lucky House.

Livio, sitting across from the melancholy Renetta, folded his arms and said, "That size is abnormal. The largest one I’ve seen was about the size of a house."

That’s big enough.

Sophie recalled the Kickfitcher she faced with Livio.

The Kickfitcher that was screaming was as tall as a two-story house and had a considerable width. Indeed, it was much larger than a single house, so it was abnormal to call it that.

"Besides, the Kickfitchers that appear around here are supposed to be small. It’s just strange."

"I see."

Weiss, who had taken a sip of his drink, called out to Renetta, who was eating vegetables like a small animal.

"Can you trace that bad magic?"

"...It’s a detection spell. I haven’t done it before, but I know how. It sounds interesting, so I want to try."

"Then it’s settled."

Weiss put his glass on the table and ran his hand through his hair.

"Weiss and I will check around the town tomorrow. We don’t intend to stay here forever, but it’s troublesome to keep running into those things. Even if we can’t figure out the cause of the mutation, we at least want to know if they’re nearby."

Livio nodded.

These three could probably handle it if they met again, but Sophie, who was powerless, had nothing to say. Sophie tried to imagine the three of them surrounding a giant monster, but the landscape had changed, so she gave up.

"Since we’re only carrying the bare minimum, can we gather equipment while we check the town? I’m sorry, but I can’t contribute much..."

"Don’t worry. I can’t use magic, so I’ll just make sure Renetta doesn’t go overboard."

"Go overboard"

"Sure, you will."

"I’m good at controlling my magic."

"That’s not what I mean."

"??"

The out-of-spec witch tilted her expressionless young face.

Weiss held his head.