[V12C21] Spine-Straightening Words

Monica was seated on her bed, reading Lana’s letter over and over again.

No matter how many times she read it, she could not recall a thing, and the events described did not seem familiar at all.

It sounded like a happy tale from a distant land. Monica simply could not connect it with her own reality.

That said, it did sound wonderful to her. How happy would she be if those memories could be hers?

Apparently, the big scary man with the eyepatch had headed into danger to reclaim those memories for her.

In addition, everyone here was worried about her.

“…Delinquent friend. Ike.”

Monica muttered the words again and picked up the pendant he gave her. Of course, that did not trigger any memories.

Her failure to remember made her feel apologetic and depressed.

Lana, Karina, and the eyepatched man had been so kind to her.

(Maybe looking around the house will help me remember something…?)

Monica tightened her grip on the paper rose and took a deep breath. She put Lana’s letter and the pendant into her pocket, then stood up from the bed.

She actually wanted to bring her father’s book as well, but it was too large, so she hid it under the blanket.

Her right hand held the charm for courage. Her pockets contained the fragmented memories she wanted to reclaim, as well as the gift from the friend she wanted to help.

Monica took another deep breath and, starting with the bookshelf in her room, reached out her hand.

＊　＊　＊

“Lady Melissa is intentionally excluding us from the operation… and he is in on it!”

Cyril was not loud enough to be considered shouting, but it did alert Lana and Karina. The two peeked out of the kitchen wearing aprons, as they had been preparing dinner.

Lana quickly noticed that Cyril was agitated and looked to Glenn for an explanation.

“Um, Vice President… What do you mean by excluding us…?” Glenn asked with apprehension.

“Exactly as I say. They never intended to allow our participation in the first place. Even if we go back to the Mage Association, I’m sure they’ll find some excuse to turn us away.”

In the past, Cyril’s condition of mana hyperabsorption would chill the surroundings when he was emotional.

This was no longer the case since his excess mana got transferred to Thule, yet Glenn was still rubbing his arms and muttering to himself.

“I-It’s not cold, but I’m getting the chills for some reason…!”

Meanwhile, Cyril was so furious that he completely missed Glenn’s remark.

The man Cyril respected so much had told him to “protect her”.

(…Now, I understand what he really meant by that.)

It was an excuse. Since Cyril and Glenn were excluded from the operation, protecting Monica was a perfect reason to keep them out of harm’s way.

This was essentially an order, since he knew full well that Cyril could not refuse.

“They told us that the operation would start tomorrow at noon,” Cyril continued. “But that’s probably a lie. Perhaps it’s tomorrow morning, or the day after… No, tomorrow morning is most likely.”

“What if they do it tonight?” Glenn asked. “You know, because night is the best time for secret operations, right?”

Cyril immediately shook his head and explained.

“It is difficult to perceive Gluttonous Zoe’s shadows in the darkness of night, which makes it much more dangerous. I doubt they would deliberately choose a time that is so favorable to the enemy.”

“I-I see…”

Anger may narrow the scope of a person’s thinking, but at the same time, it heightens their concentration towards a single subject.

With his anger-fueled focus, Cyril recalled their exchange in the meeting room and traced Melissa’s line of thinking.

Since she possessed the same knowledge of Gluttonous Zoe’s powers, it would likely go like this…

“Gluttonous Zoe is continuously absorbing mana from the victims with shadows, so we don’t know when it will have enough to summon the Spirit King of Darkness. Thus, they should begin the operation as soon as possible. They cannot wait forever for reinforcements from the capital, so tomorrow at dawn is the most likely time.”

Melissa mentioned that she did not expect much in terms of reinforcements, but they should get some.

Perhaps it would be one of the Sages or a detachment from the Magic Corps. Either way, additional manpower would increase the scope of their operation.

“Thule, Pikeh, keep an eye on the Mage Association building, just in case. Let me know if you see any signs of starting the operation.”

In response, the two weasels raised their right hands to their faces. This was probably their best imitation of a salute, but it looked more like they were patting themselves on the head. Where in the world had they learned this?

After watching the two weasels leap out of the window, Glenn asked, “S-So what’s the plan…?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

Cyril puffed out his chest and placed a hand on it. Then, he continued with a sharp glint in his blue eyes.

“If he is in danger, then I have no choice but to rush to his aid!”

Glenn and Lana practically had “Yeah, saw that coming” written on their faces.

Meanwhile, Karina did not know who Cyril was referring to, so she asked for clarification.

“Um… So you’ll be secretly following the operation because they won’t let you join officially?”

“Precisely,” Cyril answered. “Any objections, Glenn Dudley?”

“Of course not!”

Glenn immediately shook his head.

At first, Glenn had been a bit taken aback by Cyril’s intensity, but he became enthusiastic after hearing Cyril’s reasoning.

“Beating up Theodore is my job!” Glenn said. “I can’t leave it to anyone else, not even you or the President!”

“In that case, we depart just before dawn. Until then, let us prepare to the best of our abilities.”

That said, all they could really do was rest up to recover their stamina and mana. Aside from that, there was still one big issue.

“Our current problem is that we don’t have a way to remove Monica’s shadow…” Cyril said, crossing his arms.

“Oh right, about that.” Glenn glanced at the upper floor, then continued in a nonchalant tone. “Can’t Monica just remove it by herself?”

“What are you talking about? You know Monica has lost her memories…”

“But she can still use magic, right?”

“…Huh?”

The perplexed Cyril furrowed his brow and glanced at Lana, who looked just as confused as him.

“…Monica seems to have lost her memories from the past several years,” Cyril explained. “We don’t know the exact duration, but… isn’t it reasonable to assume that she has lost a significant portion of her magical knowledge?”

At this point, Glenn would normally say “I see!” and give up, but it seems he still had something to say about the matter.

Glenn began rubbing his forehead with a finger and searching for the right words, an unusual gesture for him.

“Um, well, how do I say this…?” Glenn mumbled. “I once saw someone experiencing memory loss due to mental interference magic.”

“…What?”

“That person was a doctor, and the incident made her forget all of her acquaintances. But she still remembered how to treat people and her knowledge of medicine.”

Spells for erasing memories were classified as quasi-prohibited techniques. Thus, Cyril had never seen such them in action, or even considered studying them.

Cyril closed his eyes for a moment and contemplated the meaning of Glenn’s words.

“Are you saying that magic for manipulating memories will affect ‘memories’ and ‘knowledge’ differently to some extent?” Cyril asked.

“Oh yeah! That’s exactly what I was trying to say!”

This actually made a lot of sense. While memory manipulation was generally prohibited, one of the legal uses was sealing the memories of criminals. Given this, it was reasonable to assume that memory erasure could be applied selectively.

That said, it was surprising that Glenn knew about this given his distaste for studying.

“That’s amazing, Glenn!” Lana exclaimed with a sparkle in her eyes. “I never expected you to know about such a special case!”

“Indeed. I suppose you are a full-fledged mage now…” Cyril added, admiring the growth of his junior with a profound sense of emotion.

On the other hand, Glenn seemed oddly anxious, avoiding eye contact even though he was being praised.

“W-Well, I… I just happened to read about it in a book… Yeah. Anyways, we don’t know if Monica can actually use magic yet, so we should probably ask her…”

Suddenly, a loud clang came from upstairs. This was the sound of something large and metallic hitting the ground.

Monica should be the only person upstairs. Cyril quickly walked up the stairs, restraining the urge to shout “What happened?!” again. Glenn, Lana, and Karina followed suit.

The second floor contained Monica’s room, a study, three guest rooms, and finally, a storage room. The door to the storage room was half open, and there was a noise coming from inside.

Cyril did not want to repeat the mistake he made earlier, so he quietly said, “We’re coming in,” and stepped into the storage room.

The room was lit only by the red of the setting sun. Gem-shaped magical tools, books, and documents were strewn across the floor.

In addition, Monica’s staff was also lying on the ground. This was probably the source of the noise.

Monica was sitting in front of her staff, staring blankly at the gem adorning it.

“Monica.”

Cyril gently voiced her name, causing Monica to gasp and turn towards him.

Her pale face contorted with fear and panic. Her teeth kept chattering as she spoke.

“I-I-I’m s-so sorry… for the mess… I… I…”

It was then that Cyril noticed Monica holding something in her right hand: the paper white rose he had given her earlier.

“Was there something you wanted to do?” Cyril asked, kneeling down in front of Monica to align their eye levels.


Monica attempted to take a deep breath, but she ended up choking on it.

(I have to say it. I have to say it properly.)

She pulled the white rose closer to her chest, then took a proper breath.

However, her teeth continued to chatter, and there were tears welling up in her eyes.

She knew how embarrassing she looked right now. Even worse, she was about to lower herself further with a pathetic plea.

Monica did not like opening her mouth because she always made mistakes, causing people to hate her. But then, she remembered the words of the man in front of her.

——I will never come to hate you.

Monica closed her eyes and thought about the pendant in her pocket.

About the man who was headed into danger to help Monica retrieve her memories. Walker-san. Ike. The friend who she did not remember.

Lana had explained how Walker-san made the delicious soup and fluffy bread, but Monica had yet to say a simple “thank you” to him.

Monica reopened her eyes and gathered the scattered documents from the floor.

“I-I know… this….”

She had collected these documents from her room, her study, and Isaac’s room.

Together, they described the magical formula of the composite spell designed to counter Gluttonous Zoe: the light-aspected spell, Star Arrow.

This would allow them to confront Gluttonous Zoe.

The words of the silver-haired man had settled in her chest, but Monica wanted all the other fragmented memories as well.

“I-I want to help him… a-and get back my memories… Everything important to me… I want to reclaim all of it…!”

That was as far as she could go. Monica closed her eyes and lowered her head, too scared to see Cyril’s reaction.

However, Cyril said nothing, so Monica opened her eyes with apprehension.

Cyril was wearing a complicated expression. His brow was furrowed in anger, yet his face displayed a smile that seemed to be holding back tears.

“Well said,” Cyril replied, standing up and looking down on Monica.

The final rays of the setting sun caused his silver hair to sparkle in the light. Monica found herself captivated by that sight.

“If that is your wish, then I promise to support you with all my strength!” Cyril declared, puffing out his chest.

He now wore the confident and reliable face of a senior. The strange face from earlier was nowhere to be seen.

“Now then, let us begin the strategy meeting, Treasurer Norton!”

──A silence filled the small storage room.

Behind Cyril, Glenn and Lana stared at each other in silence. Meanwhile, Karina innocently tilted her head and asked, “Treasurer Norton?”

Cyril blushed red up to his ears. He shifted his gaze a few times before covering his face with a hand and lowering his head. All of his confidence had vanished in an instant.

“…M-My mistake,” Cyril muttered.

Unable to control themselves, Glenn and Lana burst into joyous laughter.

“Haha! This kinda feels nostalgic, doesn’t it?”

“Come on, Glenn. Don’t laugh… Hehe.”

“But you’re laughing too, Lana!”

Monica observed the embarrassed Cyril with her mouth half open.

She did not understand what “Treasurer Norton” meant, but apparently, it referred to her somehow.

(What is this feeling…?)

For some reason, being addressed by that title made Monica feel like she needed to straighten her spine. This was a strange new sensation.

Comprehension of the Shadow Removal Spell Ranking

  • Monica: “I made this.”

  • Louis: “That girl, inventing yet another preposterous spell… Give me a day, I’ll get it down perfectly.”

  • Melissa: “I managed to memorize the formula in a day, but this kind of spell is hard to put into practice. I’d rather not bother, so I’ll just leave the rest to the professors.”

  • Bradford: “I’ll need three days to understand it, but once I do, I’ll cast it better than anyone else!”

  • Silas: “Sorry… I’ll need to research this one for half a year or so…”

  • Ray: “I contributed to the development of the attribute conversion part of the spell, but I have no clue about the rest of the magecraft… I know you’re all thinking that a non-mage like me shouldn’t be in the Seven Sages… Dammit, dammit, dammit…!

  • Raul: “Nope! No clue!”


The top four can be ranked like this based on their specialties:

Understanding of Magical Formulas: Monica > Louis ≥ Melissa > Bradford

Skill in Mana Manipulation: Bradford ≥ Louis > Monica > Melissa

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