[V11C3] Offering of Gluttony

(To think that the Starseer Witch’s behind-the-scenes contact was Duke Crockford…)

Louis was surprised by Bradford’s report, but also somewhat understanding.

Mary had mentioned making arrangements, but she didn’t specify with whom. Perhaps that was out of consideration for Louis’s distaste of Duke Crockford.

(While it irritates me to be in his debt… this definitely changes the situation.)

The theft of the ancient artifact Gluttonous Zoe was confidential, known only to those involved and influential figures.

Thus, it was difficult to allocate manpower to track the suspect, Theodore Maxwell, and impossible to issue a public warrant for him.

However, with the relaxation of information restrictions, they could now request the support from the Seven Sages and the upper echelons of various divisions.

With more people knowing about this information, there was an increased risk of leaks. Nevertheless, these risks had been recognized as necessary for a swift resolution of the incident.

Louis rearranged the strategy in his mind. Now that all Seven Sages could act, there were many more options on the table. They would have to drag the depressed Ray out of the basement too.

The Silent Witch and the Dragon Slayer Mage, who were currently on a business trip to Lugaroa, also need to be called back as soon as possible.

As Louis was busy reforming his plans, Melissa raised her voice in impatience.

“I don’t really get it. Can you tell me what’s going on or not? Which is it?”

“The cause of the incident is the theft of the ancient artifact Gluttonous Zoe from the treasure vault eight years ago.”

Louis succinctly explained the situation, causing Melissa to mutter, “I knew it,” as she squinted her eyes and licked her lips.

On the other hand, Raul seemed incredibly surprised, having not anticipated the involvement of an ancient artifact.

“Someone stole an ancient artifact!? That’s a major incident!”

“Yes,” Louis replied. “It is a major incident. Powerful artifacts can become trump cards in wars, which means there was a possibility that neighboring countries might take advantage of the absence and attack. That’s why it had to be kept secret.”

Of course, not all artifacts were dangerous. The Key of Knowledge, for example, was not all that powerful.

However, the same could not be said for Gluttonous Zoe. This artifact in particular had been carefully sealed within the royal treasure vault.

Melissa tapped the sofa’s armrest with her red-painted nails, closing her eyes as she retraced her memories.

“Gluttonous Zoe is an artifact that rarely appears in the history books. I think it was described as ‘a miraculous box capable of granting wishes, but it requires a significant cost to do so’ …Do we have any other information?”

“Eight years ago during the theft incident, it seems they searched for details in the Forbidden Archives, but no substantial information was found. At the moment, all we know is the legend you mentioned and its ability to manipulate dark magic.”

Melissa paused her tapping of the armrest and looked up at Louis.

“If it’s such a dangerous artifact, then it must have been sealed before it was stolen. Who were the sealers?” Melissa asked.

“The Third Thorn Witch, the Second Abyss Shaman, and the Starseer Witch,” Louis answered.

“…So that’s why you gathered the former and current Sages at the palace: to protect us. My great-grandmother Sabrina, the Third Thorn Witch, has already passed away. The remaining two are in critical condition after the incident today. It’s reasonable to assume that the seal has been completely broken.”

Melissa Roseberg had behavior issues and was the shortest-serving Sage in history, but her ability to quickly grasp the situation was welcome in this emergency.

Meanwhile, Raul was left tilting his head after the rapid exchange between Louis and Melissa. He mumbled while crossing his arms.

“Um, so, in other words, there’s a really dangerous artifact capable of using dark magic running loose, and we need to retrieve it, right?”

“…Pretty much,” Melissa replied. “You should be fine as long as you can understand that much. So, do we know who stole the artifact?”

Upon hearing Melissa’s question, Louis lowered his eyes slightly.

What came to his mind was the crumpled reddish-brown hair of a timid-looking man.

“The suspect’s name is Theodore Maxwell, the older brother of the Starspear Witch, Carla Maxwell.”

“…Theodore?”

Melissa placed a finger on her chin as she mumbled the name a few times, lost in thought.

Perhaps there was someone with the same name among her acquaintances? But before Louis could inquire, he heard Ryn’s voice echoing in his ear.

“Louis-dono, I have located Carla in the western area of the capital. She is walking unsteadily.”

Louis was about to compliment Ryn on a job well done, before he heard her next words.

“May I embrace Carla to express the joy of reunion?”

“You dumbass spirit!!”

Louis shouted for seemingly no reason, startling Bradford, Melissa, and Raul. He looked like a pitiful person talking to himself out of the blue.

Louis cleared his throat and raised a hand in defense.

“My contracted spirit has located Carla in the western district.”

After briefly explaining himself, Louis focused his consciousness. With enough concentration, he could grasp the whereabouts of his contracted spirit Ryn.

Once he had a rough estimate of the distance, Louis spread a mental map in his mind and contemplated their next move.

(The western part of downtown. There are numerous back alleys, making it the ideal location for Theodore to secretly meet up with Carla…)

While it was possible for them to secure Carla right away, it would be preferable to capture both Theodore and Carla once they met up.

“Ryn, keep tailing Carla. Once she regroups with Theodore Maxwell, apprehend them immediately.”

“But my joyous reunion…”

“You won’t get that either way. The real Carla is currently unconscious.”

“Understood.”

After giving his instructions to Ryn, Louis quickly informed the three people in the room.

“I’m heading to the scene now.”

“Alright,” Bradford followed. “I’m coming too. If we’re dealing with Starspear, the more hands the better.”

Louis nodded at Bradford’s suggestion.

Carla Maxwell was a witch capable of controlling seven magics simultaneously. And considering how she invoked the Starspear while being manipulated, it was reasonable to assume that she had access to her full powers.

The cooperation of Ryn, Louis, and Bradford should be enough to apprehend them, but it would be best to deploy additional troops to the area just in case.

“In the meanwhile, I would like to ask the Roseberg siblings to defend the palace. Is that acceptable with you two?”

In this situation, it was not feasible for all of the Sages to deploy into battle.

The palace was still in chaos, and they needed someone to monitor the sealing barrier applied to Mary and the others.

Moreover, the vines of the Thorn Witch boasted high regenerative power, giving them the advantage in a defensive battle. The residents of the palace would feel more secure knowing that the Fourth and Fifth Thorn Witches were protecting them.

Earlier, Melissa had been complaining that she would leave if not informed about the situation, but now, she seemed willing to cooperate.

Melissa reclined against the sofa, crossed her legs, then gave her response with a composed smile.

“Fine by me. Hurry up and catch the culprit already.”

“Thank you very much. Also, one more thing.”

Louis put on a smile of his own as he pointed downwards, before continuing.

“Please drag out the shaman who is dampening the atmosphere in the basement.”

“…I’ll need a lot of salt for that,” Melissa muttered with a frown.

＊　＊　＊

There was a man with reddish-brown hair walking unsteadily through the streets of the capital’s west district.

He looked troubled, his gaze wandering from side to side. These signs indicated that he had gotten himself lost.

“Ugh, this is bad… Once I entered the alleys, I lost track of which way I came from. Just like Sazandol, the roads here are too complicated. Ugh… But, I need to quickly reunite with my servant and recover the collected mana…”

The man, Theodore, was muttering complaints as he caressed the jeweled box in his pocket. He seemed to be talking to it.

“Your powers are pretty amazing, but there are so many limitations… Like how I can only turn one person into a servant, and the strict conditions for who I can do it on… By the way, about the condition for ‘being connected’ to the servant? What does that mean exactly?”

“HAVE RELATIONSHIP.”

“Uh, so… I need to talk to them enough to form some kind of relationship?”

“GIVE EMOTION, SEND EMOTION. BOTH SIDES, NECESSARY.”

“But I hardly know anyone though…!”

The jeweled box in his pocket——the ancient artifact known as Gluttonous Zoe——had extremely powerful abilities, but Theodore didn’t fully understand all of its functions.

This was because Gluttonous Zoe itself wasn’t very good at explaining, and it had been sealed until recently.

Thus, Theodore had been experimenting via mostly trial and error, and it took quite some time before he could gain control over Carla.

Gluttonous Zoe was a wonderful box capable of granting Theodore’s wish. However, it required a great deal of mana to do so.

“Well, at least I was lucky enough to turn Carla into my servant. If we keep gathering mana at this pace, then…”

“HUNGRY! HUNGRY!”

“You want to eat right now!?”

“OFFERING! OFFERING!”

“Uh, offering? …Oh, so just consuming mana isn’t enough? I see, maybe it’s because your seal is completely gone…”

The more powerful an ancient artifact, the greater the compensation it requires.

Gluttonous Zoe was no exception to this rule, but its concept of compensation seemed to be a bit more complicated.

“GIVE PRECIOUS! GIVE PRECIOUS!”

“Precious? But you’re the only thing precious to me right now!”

“GIVE PRECIOUS! GIVE PRECIOUS!”

Gluttonous Zoe began tugging at Theodore’s clothes from within his pocket.

Theodore tried to press down on his clothes and stop the artifact, but Gluttonous Zoe continued shouting with excitement.

“THERE, THERE IT IS! GIVE PRECIOUS, GIVE PRECIOUS!”

“…That girl?”

Theodore turned his head to see a young lady, seemingly well-bred, who looked to be sneaking around.

＊　＊　＊

Elianne Hyatt, the daughter of Duke Reinberg, had recently graduated from Serendia Academy.

After her graduation ceremony, Elianne remained in the capital instead of returning to her family’s territory.

This was because the social season was just around the corner, so it was more convenient for her to stay. Besides, Elianne had been invited to the upcoming garden party at the palace.

(Yes, so it’s not strange for me to avoid going home. Not strange at all.)

She reassured herself of this, averting her eyes from the reality that a plethora of marriage proposals would be waiting for her once she returned home.

For most debutantes who graduated from Serendia Academy, the path forward was marriage.

There were not many like Bridget Greyham, who became a diplomatic secretary, or Lana Colette, who started her own business.

Like the common noble lady, Elianne was expected to marry a suitable bachelor once she returned home.

She was a distant relative of the royal family, so there were plenty of suitors who wished to marry her.

Thus, once she returned home, she would be subjected to several meetings with prospective spouses, followed by an engagement, then finally marriage.

(…Come on Elianne, this is your last chance.)

She had decided to nominate Glenn Dudley as her escort to the garden party.

(He’s a commoner, but also a disciple to one of the Seven Sages… If Glenn-sama insists on escorting me, then it can be arranged…)

Elianne paused there and drooped her head.

This worried her two male guards, who were following a slight distance. They went up to Elianne and asked her if there was anything wrong.

“It’s just, I wonder if Glenn-sama… will actually want to escort me.”

“Of course he would, milady.”

“No man in his right mind could possibly refuse a lady as lovely as yourself.”

Despite her guards showering her with praise, Elianne did not feel comforted in the slightest.

In preparation for this day, Elianne had made sure to take extra good care of her skin. She put on makeup and treated her wheat-colored hair with a fragrant oil. Her hairstyle even included ribbons and a cute hair accessory.

She had checked herself in the mirror, finding a young lady who looked slightly more mature than when she first met Glenn.

However, the word best describing her was ‘cute’ rather than ‘beautiful’. A far cry from the cool women that Glenn seemed to favor.

“It seems like there’s a commotion in the palace, so maybe it’s best if we postpone it for today. I can always try again tomorrow…”

Overcome with anxiety, Elianne decided to back down. But the moment she decided to turn on her heel, she heard the thud of something falling behind her.

Elianne turned around to see her two guards collapsed to the ground. Their eyes were shut tight, seemingly unconscious, and dark splotches covered their skin.

“…Huh?”

Unable to comprehend what she was seeing, Elianne simply stood frozen. Meanwhile, a man approached her from the depths of an alleyway.

He had disheveled reddish-brown hair and looked average in every way.

The man raised a black box in his hands and asked Elianne a question in a casual tone.

“Hey, what’s most precious to you?”

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