[V11C37] Touching the Scars, Learning Your Sins

When Monica heard about Isaac’s face being stolen, she realized a certain possibility.

Once they retrieved Gluttonous Zoe, it wouldn’t be sealed away immediately. They would cover it in a temporary seal, then send it to the Royal Institute of Magic for analysis.

The ancient artifact had stolen things from the daughter of a duke, one of the Seven Sages, and a professor of Minerva… All individuals of high status.

The researchers there would spare no effort in investigating whether or not their precious things could be recovered.

——But what if, in the process, the precious thing that had been stolen from Isaac came to light?

Gluttonous Zoe had stolen the body manipulation magic for maintaining Prince Felix’s appearance. If such a thing was found within Gluttonous Zoe, then Isaac would be exposed as an impostor of Felix Arc Ridill.

Once the truth came out, not even the king would be able to defend him.

Thus, Monica thought about what she needed to do to protect Isaac.

Either she must be the first to retrieve Gluttonous Zoe, become its contractor, and order Gluttonous Zoe to release what it stole, or…

(…I destroy Gluttonous Zoe.)

Magical tools with the nature of accumulating or storing things typically release their contents when destroyed. Monica believed that there was a high chance of this applying to the precious things stolen by Gluttonous Zoe.

Thus, Monica developed the light-aspected spell ‘Star Arrow’——a downsized version of the Starspear employed by the Starspear Witch, Carla Maxwell.

Carla Maxwell was a genius who could maintain seven magics at once. This allowed her to simultaneously deploy and combine seven different spells: the formation, fixation, maintenance, amplification, and three attribute conversion spells necessary for the Starspear.

Monica believed that by eliminating the maintenance and amplification spells, reducing the count from seven to five, she could create a downsized version, which she dubbed the Star Arrow.

Even so, this would require five spells at the same time. It was impossible for Monica to cast it by herself.

Only by preparing magical tools in advance to assist her casting, could Monica make the Star Arrow a reality.

Climbing onto the rain-soaked roof, Monica placed three gems at her feet and raised her staff.

The gems at her feet were set to react to a specific type of mana, triggering the three attribute conversion spells. This mechanism was the same as the magical dedication she had performed in Rainfield.

Back then, she had inscribed magical circles throughout the city, set to trigger upon sensing the mana of the Spirit King.

This time, the three gems at her feet were set to trigger on the activation of the Star Arrow. As the final touch, she would trigger the fixation spell inscribed onto her staff’s gem.

(Large-scale composite spell, Star Arrow… Activated. Deploying attribute conversion spells, attribute conversion complete. Deploying fixation spell.)

If she could finish Theodore off with the lightning arrows, then that was good enough.

However, Gluttonous Zoe reacted to Monica’s spells with inhuman speed. The artifact could easily block her chantless magic.

There was no longer any other option. Monica had to pierce the shadows with a high-powered offensive spell and destroy Gluttonous Zoe outright.

Even without an incantation, the Star Arrow took time to deploy and construct. Suppressing her impatience, Monica performed the vast calculations necessary to complete the spell.

When rebuilding the Starspear into Star Arrow, Monica had omitted the maintenance formula, making it so that it could not be maintained for an extended period of time. Once the spell was complete, she needed to launch it immediately.

In addition, the mana consumption was immense. She would get no second chance if it failed.

“…Fly true, Star Arrow.”

Slicing through the dim blue sky like a shooting star, the white arrow closed in on Gluttonous Zoe.

Sensing the mana from the spell immediately, Gluttonous Zoe formed a quadruple wall of black shadows, attempting to block the arrow.

However, the radiant white arrow pierced those thick shadows with the ease of cutting through paper.

(It’s working…!)

Theodore widened his eyes, staring at the Star Arrow in astonishment. He was not even given the time to scream.

Meanwhile, Gluttonous Zoe’s lid opened to its limit.

——”YUM.”

Even from the rooftop, Monica heard that childish voice.

The sparkling white arrow was sucked into the wide-open box and vanished completely.

“…Eh?”

Monica let out a gasp of surprise. Simultaneously, a curtain of shadows flowed out of Gluttonous Zoe and blocked Theodore from view.

A few seconds later, the jet-black curtain vanished and Theodore was nowhere to be seen.

Where had he gone? Monica scanned the residential area, until she heard a voice from behind her.

“It really is you, Moni-Moni. That robe… could it be you’re one of the Seven Sages too?”

All the blood in her body felt like it had dropped to her feet. Trembling, Monica slowly turned around.

Theodore was right there, standing on the same rooftop as her, only four or five paces behind her.

(How…?)

There had been no report of Theodore using flight magic. Did Gluttonous Zoe have some secret power to assist his movements?

In the midst of her confusion, Monica attempted to cast a chantless attack spell.

However, the recoil from using the Star Arrow was affecting her control over mana. Her meticulously constructed spell dissipated without any effect.

——”HUNGRY! HUNGRY!”

“Yeah, that’s right. We have a big job ahead of us, so you need to have a proper meal.”

Gluttonous Zoe clamored with a high-pitched voice, and Theodore gently stroked it.

——”GIVE PRECIOUS! GIVE PRECIOUS!”

Monica gulped in despair. This was hopeless. She no longer had any means of victory.

However, what lay behind her retreat was the edge of the roof. There was no escape either.

Theodore voiced the question in a casual tone.

“Hey, Moni-Moni… What’s most precious to you?”

At that moment, Monica thought of the locked desk drawer in her room.

──The letters from Lana, the embroidered handkerchief, the peridot necklace, the white rose ornament.

When Monica infiltrated Serendia Academy, she received many treasures from various people, enough to fill an entire drawer.

Monica loved those memories more than any mathematical formulas or magical spells.

──The͕͝ lê̜t̠̄t͔̂ers̭͒ fro̮̔m̜͠ ⬛, ̯͌tḥ͒ḙ̆ embr͓̍o̘̍ide̤̓red ̢̀h⬛︎c̺͂hi̘͌ef, ̻̓t̩̄he͙̍ ⬛︎r̙͛id̠̓ot ṉ͞ecklac̮̐e,̦̕ ̖̂the ͕̐wh̹̊it͒͟e ⬛︎⬛︎ ͕͋ǫ͘rn͖̈́ame̖̅nt.

Monica’s field of vision was dyed black. One by one, the memories that sparkled like treasures were gradually overwritten in darkness.

In the midst of that encroaching darkness, Monica wildly flailed her limbs and let out silent screams.

(No, stop, please!!)

Monica desperately reached out her hands to those blackened treasures.

Monica’s treasures. Her precious, precious…

——⬛⬛︎⬛︎⬛︎⬛︎f̢͇̭̬̓͑̇͠r̢̩̘̙̋̿̿͘ọ͓̖͎̀̊̏̋m⬛︎⬛︎, ⬛︎⬛︎⬛︎⬛c̣̘͓̩̙̋̏́̒́ḣ͎͖͍̇͞ì͍̥͈̹̂̓͋ḛ̢͔̻͗̔͂͘⬛︎, ⬛︎⬛︎⬛︎⬛n̖͙͆̓͘͜e⬛︎⬛︎⬛︎, ⬛︎⬛︎⬛︎⬛︎⬛︎⬛︎⬛︎.

What did she receive? Who gave it to her? What did she think at that moment?

I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know…

＊　＊　＊

Isaac, who was walking through the commercial district, spotted a familiar figure ahead and paused.

Standing there was a red-haired woman in a flashy dress——the Fourth Thorn Witch, Melissa Roseberg. The middle-aged man beside her, judging from his uniform, seemed to be someone from the upper echelons of the Mage Association.

The rain had stopped, so people were starting to fill the streets.

Isaac approached Melissa, using passersby as a cover, and eavesdropped on their conversation.

“A cheap dresser won’t motivate me. I want a nice one with a good mirror and cute decorations. Come on, take me to the store already, Branch Director.”

“But, um, Melissa-sama… What about your job…?”

“I’m definitely not working today. Things are going to get tough starting tomorrow, so why shouldn’t I take the day off?”

It seemed that Melissa was asking the middle-aged man, apparently the Branch Director of the Mage Association, to buy her a dresser.

Isaac slipped away and contemplated what he had seen.

(…What’s going on here?)

According to Monica, Melissa and people from the Mage Association were supposed to come to Monica’s house to collect some documents.

Was that information mistaken? Perhaps Monica had misunderstood something, or Melissa had changed her plans on a whim. That would be fine.

(But what if Monica lied to me?)

At that moment, Isaac flashed back to a memory of the young prince.

The last time Isaac had seen him alive, the prince was wearing his usual smile. But hidden in his chest was the resolve to save Isaac.

Good night, Ike.

Good night, Arc.

Those were the last words they exchanged.

After that, the prince attempted to act as the decoy for Isaac’s escape. He climbed onto the roof and… never returned.

“…!”

Isaac turned on his heel and ran back towards Monica’s house.

He had lost the vision in his right eye, and as well as the face needed to live as Felix.

The prophecy of the Starseer Witch, “losing half of the world before him,” had come true, and somewhere in his mind, Isaac had convinced himself that he wouldn’t lose anything more.

Please just be a groundless anxiety. Please, please, let it just be me overthinking. Please, please, please…

Isaac prayed as he dashed across the rain-soaked ground.

The familiar path, the usual scenery, and Monica’s house were all unchanged——but on its roof, he spotted a small figure, and Isaac’s fear expanded to fill his entire chest.

“Monica!!”

Monica’s petite body tilted backwards. It reminded Isaac of how the kind prince had fallen when he reached for the starry sky.

Her small body collapsed onto the roof, slid along the slope and… fell.

Hurry, hurry! Screaming in his mind, Isaac bolted forward and reached out to catch the girl.

But this time, Isaac no longer had the short limbs of a young boy. His adult-sized arms managed to reach the person precious to him.

Isaac knelt on the muddied ground, staring at Monica.

(…I made it in time…)

Monica was wearing her Sage robes with her eyes tightly shut. She seemed unconscious, but she was still breathing. Her pulse could be clearly felt.

There was the warmth of a living human being in his arms.

Isaac calmed his pounding heart, suppressed his agitation, and carefully checked Monica for injuries.

“This is…”

He found a black mark on the back of Monica’s neck. This was the mark of someone whose precious things were taken by Gluttonous Zoe.

Just as he suspected, Monica had fought against the artifact alone.

(What was taken? What did she lose?)

The first things that came to mind were her chantless magic, her knowledge of magecraft, and her computational abilities.

Since Monica did not have any visible changes like Isaac did, whatever had been taken from her was unrelated to her physical body.

Either way, he couldn’t leave Monica lying on the ground. Her mana had been devoured by Gluttonous Zoe.

Isaac lifted Monica and carried her inside the house, laying her on the sofa for now.

Should he remove the dirty mud-splattered robe? Before that, she needed a change of clothes… but Isaac’s thoughts were interrupted by Monica’s fidgeting.

“…Ugh.”

Monica let out a small groan and opened her eyes.

“Monica, are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere?”

Isaac knelt down by the sofa, looking into Monica’s hazy brown eyes.

Her round eyes flung open to the limit, and her youthful face twisted in fear.

“…! Eek… hah, hah…”

“Monica?”

Isaac attempted to call her name, but Monica flinched in fright and rolled off the sofa.

The surprised Isaac reached out to help her up. However, Monica crawled away on all fours, fleeing from his outstretched hand.

“…1597… 2584… Ugh… 4181… 6765… Ugh… 10946…”

Monica crouched in the corner of the room, trembling and muttering numbers.

His beloved master, who would find Isaac no matter what form he took, was now staring at him in utter terror.

“…Don’t hit me… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

Monica was begging the stunned Isaac for forgiveness with tearful eyes.

Her words felt like a slap to Isaac’s cheek.

Isaac knew. He knew about the old scars on Monica’s back, the signs of abuse.

He had a vague understanding of Monica’s depressing history, and those terrified sobs now shook him to his core.

Who had taken away her father and turned her life upside down?

(It was me…)

“…63245986… Save me, Daddy.”

The sorrowful plea for help to her late father confronted Isaac with the merciless reality.

——It felt like the gods telling him, “This is your sin.”

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