#87
Why should I endure this? I asked myself. No answer came.
I slowly rose from my seat.
“Wait, Ana.”
The prayer sounds, grown to their fullest, pounded my ears. Magical energy escaping from my fingertips became small lightning bolts that tickled my hand. I could feel the magical energy crackling and growing more abundant.
“Ana! An…”
How did the Duke dispatch the magical beasts at the entrance ceremony? He merely drew his finger through the air, and countless magical beasts exploded sporadically in mid-air—I pictured that scene in my mind. Kara had told me that magical energy is like a muscle that can be controlled by my will. Just as exercising develops muscles in specific areas, magical energy can also be better manipulated according to one’s intentions through training.
I simply extended my hand toward him. As if reaching out to say “let’s go home,” I stretched one arm toward him.
「Andelion, don’t.」
The moment his voice strongly pierced my mind, red lightning that started from my hand instantly stretched out and engulfed him.
“What is this!”
“Run away!”
At the moment a huge boom was heard and the surroundings became noisy, a massive barrier fell over me, Persis, and Rikin. Rikin quickly rose, grabbed my outstretched arm and pulled it down, then grasped both my shoulders and shook my body.
“Andelion Crusay! Snap out of it!!”
After the lightning I had unleashed, something else must have fallen, as the previously still seats broke apart and priests began to tumble. The dust that suddenly filled the prayer room concealed us who were trapped inside the barrier.
Only then did I come to my senses and properly face Rikin, who was glaring at me fiercely.
“What, what is this…”
“Ana, are you okay?”
Persis asked me as he pulled me away from Rikin’s arms that had confined me. I couldn’t understand what was happening. It was a situation that perfectly matched the saying of being possessed by a ghost. The moment I saw his face, I couldn’t control the emotions that suddenly boiled up. My mind was filled only with the thought that I needed to rescue him from these priests, and I ended up doing something absurd.
“Why did I…”
“Are you going to stand there in a daze?”
Just then, a voice other than ours was heard inside the barrier. Startled, I turned my head to see Yaksi, who had revealed her face, looking at us with a severe expression.
“Such fine young masters. What were you thinking, coming all the way here? No, this isn’t the time for such talk. Follow me slowly.”
I hadn’t expected to see her here. Are we now truly caught? I shouldn’t have done such a thing in the first place. I don’t know why I did it. I can certainly distinguish between what should and shouldn’t be done, but did someone cast a spell on me? Could it be that when Yaksi kidnapped me, she did something to my body…
“Are you going to keep dawdling? Do you want to get caught together here? Do you want to put the Prince in danger too?!”
I came to my senses at Yaksi’s words. Persis grabbed my arm and followed Yaksi, who was leading the way. Even Rikin, who would have been wary of Yaksi’s sudden appearance at any other time, moved without a word.
“Wait, Persis. That person is…”
“Don’t worry. She’s someone we can trust.”
My head went blank again at Persis’s words. I couldn’t understand what this meant. To say that Yaksi, who had kidnapped me, was someone we could trust? No matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn’t accept this situation.
In the end, half out of my mind, I followed Yaksi out of the ruined prayer room. I thought of him bound in white cloths, but I didn’t have the strength to extract him from that chaos. We had planned to just spy quietly and return, but because of me, everything had become a complete mess.
* * *
The place we arrived at with Yaksi was a secluded room inside the temple. As soon as we entered, Yaksi closed the door with a bang and hurriedly cast a spell around the door, moving her fingers. After moving her fingers several times as if drawing a formation in the air, a bright light flashed from the doorknob and then disappeared. Yaksi’s magic also didn’t seem to be the type that required incantations.
After confirming that the door was securely locked, Yaksi turned sharply and began to unleash harsh words at us.
“You’re crazy. Absolutely crazy. Clearly gone mad. Whose idea was this? Surely not yours, Your Highness? What kind of hellish situation is this? You, yes you, Young Master. I told you to stay there. I even threatened you like that, and you still came out? Why did I go to all that trouble? And you, Young Master of the Count family. You’re their senior, right? You’re older than these two? If you’re older, you should have talked some sense into these kids. What were you thinking, bringing them all here…!!”
“Wait, just a moment.”
I lowered the priest robe that had been covering my face and took a step toward Yaksi.
“What exactly is going on here? Why are you…”
Yaksi slowly crossed her arms and tilted her head slightly to the side.
“Yes, yes. Since it’s come to this, I’ll tell you everything, but you go first. What on earth were you thinking…”
[WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, COMING ALL THE WAY HERE!!]
At that moment, I doubted my ears when a voice suddenly resonated loudly throughout the room. It was a voice too familiar to me, but I had never heard that voice in this way before. I slowly pulled out the sword from inside my robe. Inside the sword’s blade, which had been dyed black as if dead, a small light was blinking rapidly like a flickering beacon.
[Who is it? Who came up with this crazy idea? Could it be Zahar? It’s Zahar. It must be Zahar. It can only be Zahar! He’s truly insane! Has he gone so far as to send his own son into danger because he couldn’t help himself?]
I wasn’t the only one dumbfounded. Everyone around me was staring at the sword with their mouths open. We hadn’t expected an even bigger shock than Yaksi suddenly leading us away. The sword, not caring that all attention was on it, once again scolded me in a loud voice.
[You go back now. It’s done now, so hurry up and leave.]
“Wait a minute. Is that sword talking right now?”
Rikin, who had been observing the situation, pointed at the sword in my hand and asked. Yaksi let out a hopeless laugh and shook her head.
“This is getting more and more complicated.”
Yaksi’s face crumpled mercilessly as the situation wasn’t going as she wished. It was certainly an absurd situation. A talking sword—even in a world familiar with magic, it would be surprising. Rikin seemed unable to properly accept the sword, as he stood still without saying anything.
In contrast, Persis stared intently at the sword as if finding it interesting. He didn’t show the bewildered look that Rikin or Yaksi had.
“Ana, is the voice you’re hearing now…”
[There’s no time to talk! Go back right now!]
“It’s already too late.”
Yaksi took a step closer and spoke to the sword.
“Since you’ve entered here, the body in the prayer room would have become an empty shell again.”
That meant he had entered this sword again. Indeed, the connection I felt between the sword and him had grown stronger. Instead, ironically, I could no longer sense the location of the body he had been in just a moment ago.
[Who exactly are you? After even kidnapping Andelion, why are you suddenly acting like this?]
The sword was right. After kidnapping me to the palace and causing this mess, it didn’t make sense that she was now helping us. Doesn’t it seem like she’s helping us escape from the main culprit of this incident?
“What are you thinking, Teacher Yaksi?”
Persis, who hadn’t been surprised when the sword made a sound, opened his eyes wide at my words.
“Ana, how do you know this person is Yaksi? No, before that, kidnapping? You kidnapped Ana? What are you talking about?”
Persis looked back and forth between me and Yaksi as he asked. This naturally led Yaksi and me to face each other. As I sent a highly wary look, Yaksi snorted and answered Persis’s question.
“Yes, I kidnapped him. That was the only way, what could I do?”
“What exactly were you thinking?”
At my question, Yaksi heaved a deep sigh. She sometimes had that expression when students asked stupid questions or gave wrong answers. Did my question seem that foolish to her? I furrowed my brows and waited for her to speak.
“What was I thinking? I was trying to keep you, who are connected to that sword, locked up and let things pass without incident. If you could just hold out for a few days. But you couldn’t stand it and came out, causing this mess?”
[After going so far as to kidnap, it would be stranger to stay put there! How can I trust you and stay still!]
“That was the only method I could think of at the moment. Even if I explained everything, you wouldn’t have believed me. If I said I’m temporarily locking you up to save you, so stay put! Would this Young Master readily believe my words? If I said just wait a little while, I’ll find a way to help the demon soul that has returned to its body escape again! As if you’d say ‘Oh, alright!’ It’s better to threaten and tie you down! I thought you’d at least stay put out of fear!”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
