“Damn it ……!”

In order to shake off Reiss, who was surprisingly strong in holding me back, I used transfer magic to jump to Geiri and Retzel’s side. But in the instant that Reiss’ words, “Let him die,” upset me, it was all over.

“Retzel ……!”

“……!”

“Doctor!? What do you think you’re doing!”

In a fit of rage, I punched Retzel, and Irumi grabbed my arm to stop me. But Retzel didn’t wipe the blood from his cut mouth and looked at me with a smile.

“Stop it, Irumi. Geiri didn’t give me a good look, but I was satisfied with the look on his face. Kuku …… It’s regretful you couldn’t save him, right?”

“You!”

I was struck by the words, and when I shook off Irumi’s restraint and hit him again, Retzel stood with a grin, seemingly unintentional.

“Hah …… hah …… Damn it ……!”

I notice Helena, Makina, and Helena’s mother standing behind me as I catch my breath.

“Lars, calm down, okay?”

“He was a horrible man, but he’s such a pitiful person ……”

“You’re right. Geiri must have been desperate, desperate for anything and everything. Maybe if he had a significant other, things would have been different …… If I hadn’t run away, or if another woman had been able to do that ……”

Helena and her mother muttered such things at the sight of the dead Geiri. Helena looks pale as she hugs herself at the horrific sight. Then Fath-san patted Helena on the back and opened her mouth.

“Mother, there is nothing you can do about it now. If he wanted to do something about it, he should have used words instead of violence. But Geiri couldn’t do that. That’s why it happened the way it did. That’s it.”

“He said that he was going to destroy the country, but somehow I think he was looking for someone who would kill him by destroying the country on purpose. The coup d’etat that Afmand succeeded in is actually …… no, that’s too late itself.”

Dibit-san looked at me bitterly and said.

On purpose, huh …… I think it’s wrong to threaten a country just to die, even if it’s on purpose or you’re driven in a corner. 

“Retzel-dono, the “Wise Man’s Soul” that you took out of Geiri is Sandiola’s Treasure. Can you give it to me?”

“Yes, of course, but I don’t think you’ll be able to handle it? This is made of human sacrifice. This is far more horrifying than the one Lars-kun have that sacrificed the Treants.”

“Are you saying that even a wish can come true? I mean, sure, it’s terrifying to see someone like Geiri that became an immortal, but …… And Lars-dono has one too? “

King Afmand looked at the “Wise Man’s Soul” in Retzel’s hand with a grim face. I opened my mouth, thinking that he said an unnecessary thing.

“What does it have to do with this matter? Anyway, the talk is over, and Geiri’s dead. I think we should help clean up the mess but, King Afmand, what would you like to do?”

“Mm …… You’re right. What are you going to do about the woman?”

“I’ll think about that. I’m curious about the way she’s talking, so I think I’ll have to wake her up and interrogate her.”

When I said that, King Afmand put his hand on his chin and thought about it, then looked at Abol-san and started walking. He opened the way and went straight to the door of the prison. He stops there and turns his head towards us and speaks.

“…… For now, we’re going to calm down the castle first. I’ll leave the treasure with you for now. It’s hard to put my hand on something when I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t mind giving it to Lars-dono, but I’ll have to look into the matter of emancipation.”

“Yes, I think that’s a good decision.”

“Don’t decide about it yourselves. You–“

I was about to say, “You can keep it,” but stopped myself, because I felt like I was being made to do a physical good riddance. If Retzel has it, you never know what he might use it for. I thought it would be better for me to keep it.

“So, what do we do about Aiatsubus? Her black haze is not to be underestimated and she doesn’t look human? If you’re both from the same Gospel’s Descent, don’t you know something about it?”

“Well, I’d say it’s about 50/50. As the name suggests, there are ten of these Chief Priests, and they are the direct subordinates of the Founder, but I don’t know how they came to be in that position. Before you know it, you’ve already been assigned to it, you know? The old lady’s statement that she is “not a human being” is partly correct and partly wrong.”

“What do you mean ……?”

Retzel responded to Makina’s murmur by heading to Aiatsubus, and I moved with him.

“If you do anything, I’ll blow you away.”

“Be my guest. I’ve been in Gospel’s Descent for a while now, and I’ve been thinking about giving up on it, so it was nice of you to capture One of the Ten Chief Priests.”

“What does this have to do with the fact that you’re not dead from a dragonic blaze and the black haze that comes out of her body?”

“……”

Without answering my question, Retzel calls out to Sephiro and Reiss.

“‘Treant-kun, can you let her go, please? Reiss, take a sample.”

“Okay.”

“!”

Sephiro extends a branch to me and asks, “What do we do?” I nodded and untied the twisted branch, and a little black haze leaked out. Then Reiss took out what looked like a bottle, stuck her hand in the haze, and with a quick wave of her arm, filled the bottle with the haze and closed the lid.

“Guh ……”

“Reiss!”

“I’m okay.”

The miasma that clung to Reiss’ arm instantly invaded, and Reiss’ face contorted. However, Retzel quickly dispersed it with a scalpel. She’s good at what she does, like she can do what she’s supposed to do ……

“That’s good for a sample. Now, let’s wait for Aiatsubus to wake up. It would be easy to just get rid of her, but that’s no fun, since killing her will transmit her death to the Founder. Let’s “Negotiate” on how to deal with her.”

“…… Is the Founder that bad?”

“Yes, you can think of him as the ruler of a country. You can say that he is the real ruler of the Berias Kingdom. It’s good that he’s obsessed with trivial things, but if he really tries to attack with the Ten Chief Priests and believers, it’ll be a big blow.”

“Trivial things? So you think that he’s going easy?”

“Well, we’ll talk about that later. For now, let’s talk about the “Wise Man’s Soul” until Aiatsubus wakes up.”

I don’t like the idea of being quiet about important things. But, I don’t think he’s going to talk if I force him to. As I stare at him, Retzel throws the “Wise Man’s Soul” to Fath-san. 

“What? You want me to keep it?”

“No, I thought that you’re the one who can create a situation where the effect is most obvious. Can you hold it like you’re covering it with your hands?”

“……? I don’t really understand but, like this?”

“Yes, please close your eyes. And can you think about yourself of your younger days?”

“Mmm ……?”

“M-Master, maybe you shouldn’t ……”

“I think so, too. Fath-san, you don’t have to listen to Retzel, if you want to try, I’ll do it.”

“Don’t worry, if he tries something, it won’t hurt me as much as it will hurt you. So what’s next?”

Fath-san said, stopping us and calling out to Retzel, who continued to nod.

“When you picture the past, put some magic into it. Just like releasing magic.”

“Hmph …… U-Uwaaahhhhh!?”

“Master!? Kyaah!?”

At the moment, Fath-san shouted in astonishment, and the “Wise Man’s Soul” began to glow. Makina rushed over to her, but was blocked by the light that had spread to envelop Fath-san. 

“Hey, Retzel! What the hell did you do!”

“Please calm down, Lars-kun. Look, we have the results.”

“What ……?”

The light that had enveloped Fath-san soon disappeared, and she gradually came into view. At the same time as I stroked my chest to see if she was okay because there was a figure as it was, we were at a loss for words. 

“It was so bright. So, what happened?”

“M-Master ……?”

“What’s the matter, Makina, for your eyes to widen that much? Never mind that, Retzel, nothing’s happening.”

“N-No, you’re Fath-san, right?”

“What’s wrong, Lars? Is there something on my face?”

“I don’t think there’s anything, but …… Grandma Fath, you look …… younger.”

“What!?”

Helena was right, there stood a woman a little taller than Makina, with shoulder-length silver hair instead of gray …… Isn’t the effect of the “Wise Man’s Soul”immortality?

“Wait, you! This will go back to normal, right?”

“I don’t think so–“

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!? Doctor!?”

“S-Strength is power ……”

In the meantime, Fath-san, in a rare moment of panic, punched Retzel in the face and sent him flying, while Basleigh-sensei, who had somehow been revived, was sweating coldly and saying something that made no sense.

I have a lot of plans ……

Thank you for reading!

[Afterword Theater]

“I heard your book isn’t selling well ……”

Yeah ……

“Where’s my wine and cheese?”

There’s no way I have it ……!!