「To think I would hear that name here.」
In the office of the Commander of the Royal Guard.
It was late at night, and the room was lit by dragon oil lamps, casting a soft, odorless flame throughout the space.
Frea leaned her back against one of the walls and shook her head with a sigh.
Halfren, sitting in a chair and leaning back to stare at the ceiling, displayed his habit of scratching his head.
Frea knew that he scratched his head to mask changes in his emotions. She had been watching him from the closest position since they were children.
Pushing aside her temporary sentimentality, Frea organized the information she had just heard in her mind.
Her superior’s husband had mistaken her name while sleeping… That alone was deserving of death, but since execution was the wife’s job, she would overlook it this time. If she had been subjected to that… She glanced sideways and saw a man who looked like he was about to whistle and flee at any moment.
「The Captain too.」
「Hm?」
Startled, Halfren turned his gaze toward the wall.
His childhood friend wore a chilling smile on her face, one she had started showing 『ten years ago』.
「She should kick him in the groin, step on his face, and discipline him until he begs for mercy.」
「…………If Noie did that, the Draguknight family would surely be destroyed that day.」
「Yes. But it would clear her mind… In the worst case, they could adopt a child to preserve the name.」
「……」
He let out a weak, deflated whistle and looked away.
It was probably his imagination that his old scars throbbed in his groin.
Back then, he had been kicked in the groin, stepped on, and disciplined. Seeing the change in her expression, it seemed she had recalled some kindness toward men, at least regarding his face.
Suppressing her irritation, Frea resumed her thoughts.
They could handle that kind of marital dispute on their own. The problem was one thing.
「Did he really call her Islerose?」
「I’m not certain. Noie only said 『Ailro』. But it would be rare for any word other than 『se』 to follow that.」
(And I can’t imagine that guy from another world knowing a woman with such a name.)
Halfren also pondered this without voicing it.
From what Argusta himself had said, his world also had 『first names and surnames』. And from what he had heard, it seemed unlikely he had lived in a place where a name like 『Ailro』 existed.
Therefore, it was logical to deduce that he had learned that name after coming here and made a mistake.
「At the very least, there is no one in this country who goes by 『Islerose』 unless you go far back into the past. After that incident, those with similar names changed them.」
「That’s true.」
Acknowledging the truth in his words, Frea exhaled once to organize her thoughts.
It was highly probable that Argusta had called his wife, Noie, 『Islerose』.
「Is there a possibility that Argusta-sama simply made a mistake?」
「I won’t deny it. After all, it was Noie who heard it… She might have misunderstood various things.」
「…At times like this, the Captain’s memory becomes hateful.」
「Indeed. But despite that, if it comes to knowledge about dragons, she is number one in this country.」
It was nothing but irony, but thanks to that, Noie’s memory capacity for other things had become quite limited.
Acknowledging that she was a living dragon encyclopedia, Frea could only sigh.
「Let’s assume Argusta-sama simply called the Captain Islerose out of pure mistake… What is the problem?」
「Her life or death.」
「…That’s true.」
An unavoidable answer returned, and Frea naturally shook her head slightly.
『Are you telling me to capture 『that』 again?』
Just imagining it made her feel depressed.
「Do you remember how many people died when we tried to capture her before?」
「I haven’t forgotten. One hundred and seventy-three.」
「Yes, exactly. And that was after mobilizing the elite of the Royal Army, the elite of the Royal Guard, and the court mages to barely suppress her.」
Not a single person who faced her magic on the front lines survived.
The desperate battle was still burned into her mind.
「…It was Mische who finally neutralized her.」
「I don’t know. I was confronting her magic at that time.」
Just recalling it lightly gave her goosebumps all over her body.
Frea shuddered and rubbed her arms with her hands.
It had been hell. After 『crushing』 the battle in the buffer zone with the Empire, they had turned back to arrest the youths committing atrocities within the kingdom.
Frea, who was only ten years old at the time, had been dragged to the scene because her magical skills were valued.
No, that wasn’t it. She had been deployed because those around her knew about 『that』.
「Islerose had three disciples. One was killed by her master, and one was killed by a scum noble.」
「And the remaining one is living carefree like this, isn’t she?」
Perhaps sensing her feelings… Frea laughed self-deprecatingly at Halfren’s words.
Yes. Islerose’s last disciple was none other than Frea herself.
All three had been entrusted to her as part of an experimental trial at the academy and became her disciples.
She still used the armed spell formulas given to her by Islerose. Thanks to that, she could control 『shadows』.
Smiling once more… Frea made up her mind.
「What if Argusta-sama is hiding Islerose?」
「According to reports from my subordinates, there is no sign of that.」
「I see. But she is the 『that』 witch, the witch of spell formations.」
「I understand.」
The witch who waged war against an army alone using that powerful and vicious magic and spell formulas.
If it were truly confirmed that she was alive… As the shadow of those standing at the top of the nation, Halfren’s course of action was decided.
「If she is alive, we have no choice but to kill her this time. Surely… That is a settled matter.」
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