Chapter 123

Chapter 123

“If I convene a council of wizards, it won’t just be people like me attending. There will be those who don’t consider this matter a big deal, so there’s a chance things won’t go our way. More importantly…”

Soliel shook her head with a regretful look.

“Including myself and Seidel, there are less than five wizards in this country. Even if I convene a council of wizards, I’m not sure there will be any who are willing to get involved in the affairs of the Istarica Republic.”

Casey and Lilliana, dissatisfied with Soliel’s words, sat with their arms crossed in similar postures.

“Um, then could you please try your best, Ms. Soliel? If you need a commission fee or something…”

Damian glanced at Lilliana as he spoke. Since all expenses came out of her pocket, he needed her approval. However, Soliel quickly waved her hand.

“Oh, this isn’t something that requires a commission fee. Simply put, it’s similar to reporting a crime to the police.”

Damian was somewhat relieved by Soliel’s words. Although it wasn’t his money, seeing such vast sums being spent made his heart ache.

“Then, I have another request.”

Damian pointed at Annette, who had been sitting like a statue until now.

“I’d like to request additional protective magic similar to what Lilliana received. It’s for her.”

“Similar? Will the same kind do?”

“Yes, one of each of the same spells will be enough,” Lilliana said, taking out the jewels.

Annette’s eyes wavered at the sight of them. But the others remained calm, watching as Soliel examined the jewels with a magnifying glass.

“And there’s another spell I’d like to request. This time, it’s not for a single room, but a spell to prevent anyone from entering the house. Now that Seidel’s golem has discovered we’re in Nichio, our house isn’t safe anymore.”

Soliel chuckled at Lilliana’s words.

“Ah, that’s not a problem. However, that spell is quite simple, but it’s not the kind that can be stored in a jewel.”

“Then?”

“I’ll cast the spell on your door and keys. No one will be able to enter the house without the correct key. If you try to open the door with the wrong key, you’ll end up wandering through a maze.”

Soliel held out her hand. Lilliana led the way, and each of them placed their house keys on Soliel’s palm.

“I’ll cast the spell right away. Just wait a moment.”

Damian felt a bit uneasy since Lilliana didn’t even ask about the price of the spell. It wasn’t like they were going bankrupt, but seeing her spend money like water made him feel like his commoner’s sense of money was being warped.

Meanwhile, Annette got up and started looking around Soliel’s shop with Lilliana. Annette was shocked by the prices on the items.

Damian and Casey, also having nothing to do, lingered near them. Then, Damian noticed something and asked Lilliana,

“Lilliana, I’m sorry, but would it be alright if we bought this?”

Damian was holding a small potion bottle. The price tag on it was quite hefty, so Lilliana looked at him with surprise.

“What’s this? You’re actually asking to buy something? What is it… a truth serum?!”

“Yes.”

Seeing that, Casey also nodded.

“Yes, we need something like this. Buy it, Lily.”

“But how often would we need to use a potion to get someone to confess…”

“Often.”

“Very often.”

Damian and Casey answered firmly in unison, leaving Lilliana speechless. She nodded with a hesitant look.

“Th-then if you need anything else, buy it without worrying about the price…”

Lilliana gave them free rein with a dazed expression.

While they were choosing items, Soliel returned sooner than expected. She called them over and handed back their keys.

Damian examined his key, but it looked no different than before.

Soliel handed Lilliana a small bottle.

“Once you get home, sprinkle this magic potion on the door. That will cast the spell on it. As I said, if you try to open the enchanted door with a key that isn’t one of these, it will lead to a maze instead of the house. So be careful not to lose or switch your keys.”

“What happens if you enter the maze?”

“You’ll be lost in there forever unless someone with a magic key comes to get you.”

“So to enter the maze, you just have to open the door with a different key?”

“That’s right.”

They nodded at Soliel’s explanation.

“So is there anything else you need?”

This time, Damian raised his hand and asked, “Don’t wizards use informants too?”

Before Soliel could answer, Lilliana frowned and asked, “We need another informant? We’re already dealing with two.”

“We can’t tell them about the magic, so we’re not getting any information about Seidel. We need an informant who knows about this field.”

Soliel understood the situation from Damian’s answer.

“I’ll put you in touch with someone. They don’t deal with people who aren’t wizards, so you’ll have to mention my name to start a transaction. They’ll contact you soon after I let them know.”

“Understood.”

Damian nodded politely and continued, “I think this is enough for today. If we need anything else, I’ll let you know when we come to pick up the jewels.”

“Alright, do that. Enchanting the jewels will take a day as before, but I’m not sure how long it will take to restore the golem. The magic stone is damaged, so I have to repair the circuit, and it’s not a spell I cast.”

Soliel shrugged.

“But I’ll do it as quickly as possible.”

“Thank you.”

They bowed their heads to Soliel repeatedly and left her shop. Annette muttered in a daze, “A wizard… that’s amazing…”

“I couldn’t believe it at first either.”

“Isn’t it strange to believe something like this right away?”

“Right?”

Chatting amongst themselves, they returned home. As soon as they passed through the shared front gate and reached the front door, they sprinkled the potion Soliel gave them on the door.

And with pounding hearts, they opened the door with their keys. The living room, looking exactly the same as when they left, greeted them.

“Well, it seems like the house will be safe for a while.”

Lilliana stretched and went inside. Timo, who had been resting in the living room, came running with her tail wagging as they returned. Lilliana stroked Timo and said generously,

“While we’re at home, you and Damian don’t have to worry about me and just relax.”

Thanks to Soliel, the four of them had a comfortable dinner and went to bed feeling at ease.

Indeed, that was the case until they went to bed.

***

“Aaaargh!”

In the middle of the night, when everyone was asleep, someone’s scream caused all the doors to burst open.

“What’s going on?!”

Damian, the first to rush out, checked on Lilliana, who had just emerged from the next room in her pajamas, with a submachine gun in his hand.

Timo, who had run out with Lilliana, started barking fiercely towards the front door. Lilliana calmed Timo down and said, “I’m fine. It wasn’t me who screamed.”

“Then who was it?”

Casey, who had leisurely walked out from the opposite room yawning, looked at the other two, and then Annette, also in her pajamas, came rushing up from the tenth floor.

“Is everyone alright?! Was it a burglar or a kidnapper?!”

“We’re okay, but…”

Lilliana scratched her head and looked at the others. Then, she fixed her gaze on the door of the room next to Casey’s, the only room on the 10th floor that remained firmly closed.

“…Did anyone give Mr. Asher a new key?”

“Ah.”

As Casey let out a nonchalant exclamation at Lilliana’s words, Annette’s face turned pale and stiff. Damian snapped his fingers belatedly.

“We forgot.”

“There are better things to forget!” Lilliana chided, but hadn’t everyone else forgotten about Asher too?

No matter how unnoticeable he was, it was a bit much to forget about Asher just because he wasn’t there.

The four of them reflected on their actions and rushed down to the 9th floor, opened the front door, and went outside.

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