Witch or Saint? – Part 02
“It appears the saint has taken quite a liking to you, Mercenary.”
I jumped when I heard a voice coming from directly in front of me. My eyes widened as I saw Zero’s figure among the branches hidden in the darkness of the night. She had pulled back her cowl, exposing her face completely, the light of the moon highlighting her beautiful features. I quickly looked away.
If I stared at that face for even ten seconds, I could lose my mind. Zero’s looks were like a deadly weapon in and of itself.
“How long have you been there?” I asked.
“I saw the saint slipping out of bed so I followed her. When I did, I saw you two flirting.”
“How was that even flirting?”
If anything, Zero and the priest were the ones flirting with each other. Not that I cared, of course.
“The saint told you to call her Lia. Theo said that in Cleon, telling someone your nickname is asking them to be your friend.”
“Frieeend?” My voice cracked.
“She asked, and you granted her request. Since “Mercenary” is not your real name, it could thus be taken as a nickname. You have become friends with the saint. That means I am no longer your only friend.”
“Oh, give me a break. Me and a saint, friends? Yeah, right. It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.”
“She seems to think otherwise…” Her voice was uncharacteristically spiritless.
“So what are you trying to say?” I asked.
“You….” Zero suddenly changed her mind and shut her mouth. “The saint apparently learned Magic from someone.” The topic quickly changed to work that I couldn’t immediately follow.
Zero crossed the branch towards me. “I asked the saint where she learned to perform miracles,” she began. “But she said ‘Why did she think I learned it from someone?’ implying that someone taught her Magic, and how to make it seem that it was something other than that.”
The branch creaked as she sat down next to me. The brown leaves barely clinging to the twigs drifted to the ground.
“I could not tell what Magic she was using. I am certain it was from the Chapter of Protection, but she did not recite an incantation and offered no sacrifice. There was no gesture, even. Aptitude alone, no matter how much she has, can not explain her abilities.”
“Maybe it’s a real miracle from God.”
“I have considered that possibility. And I wondered how miracles occured in the first place.”
“Is it something that can be explained?” I laughed.
It was amusing how Zero, a witch, was talking about miracles.
“Perhaps,” she replied. “This is merely a hypothesis I formulated after talking to the priest. Thirteenth would probably say to only talk about clear facts, however.”
“Please, o’ great Murky Darkness Witch. By all means, bestow upon my ears your opinion on this matter.”
“I think,” Zero lowered her voice a little, “miracles and Magic are fundamentally the same thing.”
“Okay… We wouldn’t want the priest to hear about that one.”
“Magic is the art of causing supernatural phenomena by using the power of words and offering sacrifices to demons. If you are proficient enough, you need only recite the incantation in your mind. There are many spells that require special sacrifices, but there are also many that can be cast simply by expending mana. And we witches believe that the goddess the Church worships is a kind of demon.”
Demons and incantations. God and prayers. The terms themselves differed, but the pattern was indeed identical.
“I think miracles are events that occur by coincidentally asking God to cause supernatural phenomena. Therefore there is a possibility that the miracles the saint performs are not from the Grimoire of Zero. Or there was a possibility.”
But that possibility turned to certainty the moment Lia asked about Zero’s statement. Someone taught her Magic.
It was ten years ago that Thirteenth brought the Grimoire of Zero, a book about Magic, to the kingdom of Wenias. The average time to learn Magic was five years. By counting backwards, we could surmise that someone brought the art of Magic to Cleon five years ago and taught it to Lia.
“But that’s barely within the time period. Let’s say it takes at least five years to learn Magic even with the aptitude. That means they immediately taught it to others. Is such a feat even possible?”
“The likelihood is low, but it is possible. If they were originally a renowned witch, they would be able to learn Magic quickly, and if they focused on teaching only one kind of Magic, their student would master it in a short time. In other words, there is someone else in this country who is proficient in Magic.”
Someone who taught Lia.
If they were still in Cleon, we must find them. They might have the copy of the grimoire. If not, then they might be able to provide some kind of information.
Something was bothering me, however.
“It’s not like Lia or whoever taught her is causing problems, right?”
“Problems?”
“Lia just uses Magic to heal people, which means that whoever taught her isn’t a bad person either, right? Maybe we can just leave them alone. You wanted Magic to help people anyway.”
If Magic was being misused—by attacking people or plotting to overthrow a government—finding the mastermind would be necessary, but seeing the kind Lia simply wishing to help others made me want to just leave her alone.
There were downsides, however. Bandits called her a witch, and doctors were decreasing in number. But I didn’t think she was to blame. Just like how I thought Zero was not guilty of the incidents caused by Magic.
Zero gave a somewhat troubled smile. “Indeed there has not been any problem yet. Perhaps. But situations always change. Things might be fine now, but you never know what tomorrow will bring.”
“As if Magic to heal wounds can start a war. It’s like, how can a salve hurt people?” Now that would be overreacting. “Besides, if you really think it’s dangerous, why don’t you just negate Lia’s Magic?”
“That will make her teacher wary.”
“You mean we won’t be able to get hold of information about the copy of the grimoire? I thought its existence was not exactly confirmed anyway. Wouldn’t it be better to wait for Albus’s letter and take it easy for a while? Like do some sightseeing. I think that would be wiser than working with that priest, at least.”
“We cannot do that. The saint is using Magic that I created.”
“So what?” I asked.
Zero pulled on my tail. “I must find out how the saint intends to use Magic. I wish to know what her teacher had in mind when they taught her. Magic is indeed useful, but if used incorrectly, it can be dangerous to all. Even the spells from the Chapter of Protection are not completely harmless. One must understand that before they wield Magic, for it is too powerful an art.”
“Okay…” I crossed my arms and looked up at the moon. Thinking and figuring things out wasn’t exactly my specialty. “Well, if that’s what you wish, then I’ll just simply follow. That’s my job, after all. Dawn will break soon. You should get some sleep.”
I lay down on the branch. Then Zero climbed on top of me.
“Hey, go sleep by the fire.”
“No. The fire is out, and it is warmer this way.”
“It’ll be too heavy.”
“It will be too cold.” Zero laughed as she mimicked my tone.
I thought about dropping her to the ground, but she quickly wrapped herself up in my cloak to protect herself. I had no other choice but to stay in my current position as I waited for dawn to break.
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