“…… What are you doing?”
Darzen held his staff at the ready, though he had not yet pointed it at me. If it were Kasugal, he would already be chanting.
“Victor, manifest yourself.” “Yeah, yeah.”
Receiving the celestial sword from Mastema, I poured magical energy into it, and Victor appeared. The mage soldiers grew agitated. Victor appeared as an angel, which was probably even easier to comprehend than the demon form of Mastema.
I now had both an angel and a demon standing by my side. If it were me, I’d have run away by now. Anyone with a shred of common sense would do the same.
“I asked what you are doing!”
Not only Darzen but also the judge and several other dignitaries rose to their feet. Their reaction was slow.
If this were the Royal Guard of the Empire, they would have already charged at me the moment I gripped my sword, even without a royal order.
“What do you mean, ‘what’? I just brought a demon and an angel into the courtroom.” “A demon and an angel…? Nonsense, that’s impossible.”
Good grief, they refuse to see even what’s right in front of them.
“In my opinion, what this country lacks is a sense of crisis.” “How dare you… And where did those two come from? There shouldn’t be any way to teleport into this courtroom.” “You ask, and you expect answers? You’ve had an easy life, haven’t you?”
As I said this, Darzen’s face flushed with anger. He was barely keeping his composure.
“Lower your sword. If you do, I will overlook this. I don’t care if you’re a well-known adventurer—surely you’re not reckless enough to act out in such a situation.”
If he knew the origin of the Sky Knights, he might act a little more sensibly. His calm was due to the mage soldiers aiming their staffs at me. They were confident they could kill me at any moment and, thus, believed themselves to be in control.
“Do it.” “Okay.”
I gave Mastema a simple command. She unleashed her restrained magical energy, activating her demon abilities. Her cursed eyes, which could bring ruin just by looking, and the waves of terror that struck fear into her foes. Her sheer magical power alone crushed the will of those opposing her.
With just a glance from Mastema, the mage soldiers collapsed. Even the other dignitaries besides Darzen fell to the ground.
Mastema, it seemed, had held back enough to ensure they wouldn’t die, but the courtroom was filled with groans.
“As I said before, you lack a sense of crisis. Do you really think you’re safe from danger?” “This is absurd… What is happening?”
Darzen, to his credit, was holding out against Mastema’s pressure. But merely neutralizing the curse was sapping his magical energy.
He hadn’t even prepared countermeasures for curses. To think he claimed to be capable of defeating demons like this. Should I tell him how much preparation I made when I fought demons?
“Sena Easton. Why did you do nothing after inviting in such a suspicious person?” “People like us succeed by taming those with talent.” “Do you really think a child like this can do that?”
Sepia, unable to grasp the situation, sat down on the floor.
“If she belongs to my household, then it’s only natural.” “People need to be nurtured, not neglected.” “Enough of this nonsense! You’ve been babbling on for too long!”
Finally, Darzen pointed his staff at me and cast a spell. Mastema swatted it away with her tail.
Mastema didn’t even need to deflect it, but Sepia was nearby.
“N-no…” “Is that really the best you’ve got?”
Mastema asked.
“Do you know where you are? I am one of the people who control this country!” “And what value do you think that has to me?”
Mastema approached. Her beautiful eyes were also her demonic curse. Simply looking into them could doom you.
There were no laws that could bind a demon like Mastema. Demons only submit to strength.
“Tell me. What does it matter to me that you are an important person?” “T-that’s… Stop her! Surely you understand how serious this is!”
Darzen averted his gaze from Mastema and begged me for help. His magical energy continued to drain.
He seemed to understand that if he ran out of magic, he would suffer just from Mastema’s mere presence. I deliberately played dumb.
“Well, I don’t know. I’m just an adventurer, after all.”
“Damn it! Sepia! Stop this!”
Realizing I was no help, Darzen yelled at Sepia in desperation. She flinched in surprise and trembled.
Then, she hid behind Victor.
So now you’re pleading with the daughter you disowned? For someone who boasted about exterminating demons, you’re quite pathetic.
“What about you, Sepia? Are you not angry?”
Being used and abandoned when you need help—there’s no way she could feel nothing. Failing to fight when you should will leave a scar that lasts a lifetime.
“…I hated it. Being alone in the principal’s office, and those weird people doing strange things.” “I was doing it for you.” “Then why didn’t you ever come to see me, even once?” “You know I’ve been busy, don’t you?” “I don’t know! I don’t care about that! I know you had time to visit my sister!”
Sepia’s voice regained its strength. She has every right to be angry.
A lot of the terrible things that happened could have been prevented if there had been responsible adults around.
The air around Sepia filled with magical energy. It was quite powerful.
“I’m not your daughter anymore, right? Then, it’s fine, isn’t it?” “Stop! Sepia, don’t do it!”
The wind began to swirl. The moment Victor set up a barrier around us, a violent storm erupted between Sepia and Darzen.
“Ahhh!”
Darzen had no magic left. He curled up in fear as the wind roared around him.
A mage without magic is nothing more than a powerless human being.
But I’m different.
The violent wind tore through the building’s ceiling, reaching the sky.
Impressive. A power worthy of a top-class mage.
When the wind finally subsided, Darzen stood there, his hair and clothes disheveled, looking stunned.
Sepia, on the other hand, seemed a bit relieved.
As Sepia glared at Darzen, he instinctively took a step back.
At that moment, the broken door was kicked open, and Gassai hurriedly entered with his subordinates, looking confused by the situation.
“What’s going on here?!”
“Just a little family quarrel.”
Oh, right. They’re not family anymore.
It doesn’t seem like this trial will continue.
“Lord Darzen.”
“Wh-what is it? Is there more?”
“Are we done here?”
“Do you honestly believe you’ll just walk away after pulling a stunt like this?”
“Let me ask you this: who exactly is going to stop us?”
I glanced at Gassai.
He hadn’t drawn his staff. A smart decision.
I’m not one to cause havoc without reason.
But this time, I was just in an incredibly foul mood.
“Let’s leave it at this. Unless… you still want to continue?”
“Fine. Get out of here. Never come back to this country again.”
Darzen spoke with his head lowered, supported by Gassai.
We turned our backs to the courtroom, now missing its ceiling.
Sepia looked back at her father, who was crouched on the floor.
“Sepia, what will you do?”
“…I can’t stay here anymore.”
“Do as you please. Your path is yours to decide.”
She’s not like Noel and the others who were once slaves.
Even as a child, Sepia now had to make her own choices.
“Then, for now, I’ll go with you.”
“Very well.”
That should work.
