The story rewinds to the moment Kandalni’s box opens.
I thought something the size of a phone book could fit inside… but still.
Someone inside Noie came out and opened the mysterious box.
Probably the type of person who can’t stand seeing a puzzle unsolved.
I’ll just assume that for now.
What was inside was a single book.
A single, very finely crafted, clearly expensive-looking volume.
The moment I lifted the book, the box vanished like smoke blown away by the wind.
It’s an otherworldly item, so no surprise there.
I’m fine. I only peed a tiny bit. So it’s safe.
I placed the book on the bed once… then dashed to the bathroom and returned.
All good now. Changed my underwear too.
「Just a regular book, right?」
I poke it lightly but no reaction.
I also poked Noie’s thigh, still no sign of waking up.
Then let’s go all in.
Not on Noie… on the book.
I flip open the cover… and it doesn’t really look like an ordinary book.
More like an excessively luxurious diary.
A diary?
「So this contains Glodia’s embarrassing, nakedly honest secrets」
A sudden kick sends me rolling across the bed.
A golden-haired Noie with ice-cold turquoise eyes glares down at me, utterly frigid.
「Just a light joke. Yes ma’am!」
I wasn’t calculating for the real person to show up!
I stay in dogeza, drenched in cold sweat, for a while… but when there’s no reaction, I sneak a peek upward.
As usual, Noie is sleeping without the slightest change in expression.
Was that a threat? No, just a retort.
But that retort is way too terrifying, okay?
I sit back up properly and take the book in hand again.
Flipping from the cover… there it is.
「Spell formula diagrams? Ah. So, this is a book Glodia wrote about magic-related things?」
Every page is filled with meticulous, beautiful handwriting.
It’s far too advanced, or rather, I lack the knowledge to understand any of it.
But this is probably an incredibly valuable research document.
Why give it to me, though～.
With a sigh, I flip through the pages, passing the sections on regular magic and spell formulas.
「Summoning…」
My hand stops naturally.
Following the spell formulas she devised comes an examination of summoning techniques.
It appears to be her own analysis and decoding of the summoning formulas used in this country.
I can’t understand everything, so I only follow the parts I can grasp… and my hand stops again.
『I am a fool who will go down in history.
Why did I ever…
If confessing and climbing the execution platform to have my head chopped off would earn forgiveness, then surely a gentle god must exist in this world.
Who could possibly forgive a sin of this magnitude?
It all began because of me.
What words could I possibly offer in apology to those dragged into this?』
The final page, where the words were written, contained that passage.
The remaining sheets were stained with black smudges.
When I touched them, black powder came off on my finger. Not charcoal, probably.
「What a mess～」
I flop backward onto the bed, sprawling out in a star shape.
Glodia used a summoning formula. And she called something.
Whatever she summoned probably did terrible things… then I stop that train of thought.
If that were the case, the meaning of 「those dragged into this」 wouldn’t fit.
No, it’s obvious even without thinking hard.
Most of the people caught up in it are probably the ones now inside Noie.
I’ve lightly looked into the incident from ten years ago.
Officially it was treated as mass hysteria triggered by dragon attacks.
But Renila said, 「Something looked at us.」.
And after that, they caused the incident.
Whatever Glodia summoned looked at the children and triggered the events. Something like that.
It’s certainly not something that can be forgiven with an apology.
She ruined so many lives.
I get up, hide the book in the sideboard beside the bed.
Haa… my heart feels heavy.
Maybe tomorrow I’ll casually ask the Republic’s witch some leading questions.
But… I don’t even know how to explain it properly, so I’m troubled.
I’ll just go with the flow and see what happens.
「Okay. Time to sleep. I need healing more than anything.」
I lie down beside Noie and pull her into my arms.
「……Do you want to?」
「No.」
「……」
Noie closes her eyes again, full sleep mode.
She tends to sleep deeply and solidly, which is the correct response.
She’s probably exhausted from spell formulas and blessings and everything else.
I hug her once more, kiss her forehead, and close my eyes too.
「Good night, Noie.」
「……Yes.」
A small voice and a modest kiss brush my cheek.
-0-
And the scene returns to the conversation in the carriage.
「……In the end, unless we kill that monster, I won’t be able to sleep soundly. Come on, you like seeing women in agony, right? Stab, slice, go for it!」
「Impossible. More importantly, even if that giant woman were writhing in pain, I don’t think it would strike my fancy.」
「Her face shape was surprisingly well-proportioned, though. Ow…! Noie, it hurts… don’t squeeze my arm so hard!」
Noie’s ahoge sways slightly, showing clear irritation.
Am I not allowed to compliment other women?
「So anyway, summoning a weapon capable of killing it and going that route… no good?」
「No good. Even if you could summon it, you might not know how to use it. Would you want me to watch Argusta-sama clumsily try to operate what is probably some powerful weapon?」
Like randomly chucking a nuclear missile and hoping for the best?
「Yeah. No way.」
「Exactly. That’s why we summon living things, most often beings in human form.」
「Got it.」
Even with all the tangents, I managed to gather the keywords I wanted.
In other words, Glodia summoned some kind of living being.
……If I say “Demon King”, she’ll lose it, won’t she? Dear cousin?
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