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Traces of the tragedy spread out before their eyes.

The place where Tatsumi and the others now stand is where Myril and her companions unfortunately encountered the possessed Great Snow Lizard.

Blood splattered across the white snow. Countless gnawed-on snow lizard carcasses lay scattered here and there.

And among those gnawed-on carcasses were some that were clearly not snow lizards.

“……Korlan……Tadd……Gans……”

Their bodies were so severely damaged that she almost instinctively looked away. Perhaps because they had been left in the snow, they hadn’t decomposed much, but seeing them so clearly devoured, Tatsumi desperately fought back the emotions welling up inside her.

Had that giant snow lizard returned to this spot after Myril left and devoured them? Or had another beast done it?

“…The pack of snow lizards we hunted down… I’m sure they were fleeing from the leader possessed by the specter.”
“Yes, I think so. There were reports of small groups of snow lizards being spotted all over the outskirts of the capital, so it was probably a fairly large group to begin with that scattered to escape their leader who had turned into a fiend.”

Eru reinforced Juddock’s speculation.

Upon further investigation, it turned out that whispers of snow lizard swarms being spotted in the vicinity of the capital were indeed circulating in various places.

Eru, who ran the pavilion frequented by mabeast hunters, was naturally well-versed in such rumors. Her speculation was almost certainly correct.

Listening to the two voices behind him, Tatsumi shifted his gaze to Myril.

Right now, she was kneeling in the snow, shedding tears without even trying to hide them.

Tatsumi could fully understand how Myril was feeling at that moment. After all, he, too, had experienced the loss of his entire family all at once.

Just as he was about to be overwhelmed once again by the grief of losing his family, Calcedonia moved close to him and gently took his hand.

When Tatsumi looked at Calcedonia, she looked back at him. Then, she gave him a gentle smile, as if to encourage him. It seemed Calcedonia could see right through Tatsumi’s feelings.

“Darling. Let us offer a prayer to the gods for those who have fallen here.”
“Ah… yes, you’re right.”

As a priest, Tatsumi had also learned various ways to offer prayers. He stood side by side with Calcedonia, and together they wove words of prayer to the gods.

Occasionally, Myril’s quiet sobs mingled with Tatsumi and Calcedonia’s words of prayer.

.

Waiting until Myril had calmed down, Tatsumi and the others sprang into action.

First, they buried the bodies of Myril’s companions. It would be too heartless to leave them exposed to the elements like this.

Before the burial, Myril gathered any personal belongings from her companions’ bodies.

“Tadon-kun, please,”

As Eru said this, touching her earring, a mole-like creature poked its head out of the snow at her feet.

“Eru-san. What’s that?”
“This little one is Tadon-kun, the earth spirit I’ve made a contract with. When I was in Japan, I only had contracts with two spirits—Picho-kun and Tzir-kun—but since coming here, I’ve made contracts with more, and now I have contracts with five spirits.”

Eru said this with a slight swell of pride. According to what Tatsumi had heard, the spirits Eru had contracts with were five in total: Water, Illusion, Earth, Ice, and Light.

The Earth Spirit granted Eru’s wish and, in exchange for her mana, created a hole to bury the bodies.

After that, Tatsumi and Juddock worked together to bury the bodies of Myril’s companions—wrapped in spare cloaks—in the hole.

Tatsumi had considered using teleportation to move the bodies into the hole, but he felt that would somehow be disrespectful to the dead, so he used his own hands to return them to the earth.

On top of the mounded earth, Calcedonia sprinkled sake while murmuring a prayer. This served both as an offering and a purification ritual.

In this world, unlike in Japan and other places, it is customary to offer sake and food to the deceased rather than flowers.

Finally, everyone offered a prayer together once more for the repose of their souls. After everything was over, Myril bowed deeply to Tatsumi and the others.

“Tatsumi, Juddock, Calcie, Eru… Thank you, everyone.”
“Oh, we were just doing our duty. More importantly, are you okay, Myril?”
“Yeah… Honestly, I don’t think I’ll be able to get over it right away, but if I mope around forever, I won’t be able to face my friends. More importantly, right now…”
“Yeah Let’s find that fiend… the Great Snow Lizard, and make sure to defeat it.”

At Tatsumi’s words, Myril nodded firmly.

.

Eru focuses her mind and listens for the voices of the spirits.

The ability to hear the voices of the spirits is the absolute minimum requirement for using spirit magic. As she concentrates her awareness on her sense of hearing, she begins to hear voices she hadn’t heard before.

Those are the voices of the spirits.

Eru speaks to them in the language of the spirits—known as “Spirit Speech”—and gathers information about her target, the giant snow lizard.

To put it bluntly, what the spirits say is completely disjointed. Countless ice spirits, wind spirits, and tree spirits all speak to Eru at will, each saying whatever comes to mind.

Some of their remarks have absolutely nothing to do with what Eru asked.

Patiently listening to them all, Eru sifts through the information to extract only what she needs.

Eventually, having finished communicating with the spirits, Eru turned toward Tatsumi and the others.

“The spirits say there’s a large white lizard in the northwest from here. There’s no guarantee that this ‘large white lizard’ is the Great Snow Lizard we’re looking for, but I think it’s worth checking out.”
“Hmm, spirit magic sure is handy. Say, mistress. Do you think I could learn spirit magic, too?”

Juddock, his eyes sparkling with curiosity, asked Eru. But Eru, when asked, wore a slightly troubled expression.

“Spirit magic is quite different from incantation magic, you see. Incantation magic can be used as long as you have a certain level of mana, but spirit magic can’t be used unless you can communicate with spirits. Communing with spirits relies heavily on intuition, so it’s hard to explain in words.”

Demi-humans, who are influenced by the power of spirits, have a higher aptitude for spirit magic than humans. However, those who cannot sense the presence of spirits simply won’t be able to do so, no matter how hard they try.

“Besides, your mana isn’t very high, Juddock… so in that sense, I think you should give up on using magic…”

When Calcedonia said this, seeming a bit hesitant, Juddock slumped his shoulders in disappointment.

“Did you really want to use spirit magic that much?”
“It’s not so much spirit magic—I just wanted to use magic itself. I mean, I’m the only one here who can’t use magic, you know? Doesn’t that just feel kind of frustrating?”

Juddock said this while squirming uncomfortably for some reason. Hearing him say that, Tatsumi realized the truth anew.

Tatsumi and Calcedonia could use magic. To be precise, Tatsumi’s case was a little different, but from an outsider’s perspective, it was practically the same as using magic.

Eru can use spirit magic, as she just practiced, and according to what she said, Myril seems to be able to use magic as well.

It’s true that, among the group currently present, Juddock is the only one who can’t use magic.

By the way, a team with this many mages gathered together would be considered quite unusual by the general public.

“Huh? So you’re a mage too, Tatsumi?”
“Well, yeah. Although, according to Giuseppe-san, I’m a ‘mana user’ instead of a mage, apparently.”
“Mr. Giuseppe? Who’s that?¹”
“Oh, by Giuseppe-san, I mean Giuseppe Chrysoprase-san, the Supreme Pontiff of the Temple of Savaiv. You’ve at least heard his last name before, right?”
“……………………Huh?”

Myril couldn’t help but look completely dumbfounded. She, too, had at least heard the name of the Supreme Pontiff of the Temple of Savaiv.

But the name of such a major figure—one she’d never even imagined—came so casually from Tatsumi’s mouth that she hadn’t realized what it meant.

“H-how do you know the name of someone so important…? Eh? What? A-are you actually the son of some noble family, Tatsumi…?”

Come to think of it, Myril suddenly remembered that Tatsumi had mentioned a last name when he introduced himself.

“No, I’m not a noble. But Giuseppe-san is basically my mentor, and more than anything, he’s Calcie’s grandfather, after all.”

Myril, still looking dumbfounded, turned her gaze to Calcedonia without breaking her expression.

“…………Calcie… Calcedo…nia…? Don’t tell me, Calcie is the… Holy Maiden….??”

It is well known that the “Holy Maiden” of the Temple of Savaiv is the granddaughter of the Supreme Pontiff of the Temple of Savaiv

However, when introducing herself, Calcedonia had given the name “Yamagata” instead of “Chrysoprase,” and since Myril never imagined such a renowned figure would be standing right in front of her, she hadn’t realized that Calcedonia was the famous “Holy Maiden.”

This shocking revelation hit Myril like a tidal wave, leaving her in a state of utter confusion.

“Come to think of it, you can use magic too, right, Myril? What kind of magic do you use?”

When Tatsumi asked this, Myril—who was already in a daze—suddenly froze in her tracks for some reason.

“………………D-do I have to… say it…?”

Myril let out a forced, nervous laugh. Tatsumi and Calcedonia instinctively exchanged glances.

“Myril. From now on, we’ll have to work together to fight a fiend. Understanding each other’s abilities is the first step toward that, you know?”
“I-I know that, but………… b-by the way, what kind of magic do you use, Tatsumi? What’s your lineage?”

Another obvious change of subject. But before Tatsumi could say anything, Calcedonia spoke up.

“My husband’s lineage is Heaven! The second Heaven mage in history is none other than my husband himself!!”

Caledonia puffed out her chest as if it were her own achievement. She’d casually emphasized the word “my” a bit more than usual.

“Huh…? Y-you’re kidding, right? I’ve heard that ‘Heaven’ mages only exist in fairy tales.”
“No, ‘Heaven’ mages do exist. They did in the past… and they still do now.”

Looking up at Tatsumi standing beside her with a slight blush on her cheeks, Calcedonia stated this with certainty. The three of them present could clearly sense that her gaze toward Tatsumi contained absolute trust, confidence, and so much more.

“It’s not a lie, you know. Because I saw it myself. I saw Tatsumi-pie use ‘Heaven’ magic… ‘Instant Teleportation,’ to be exact.”
“‘Instant Teleportation’…?”

It was Eru who looked startled. Apparently, she had figured out why Tatsumi had been able to gather medicinal herbs in the snow so quickly.

“So? What kind of magic does Myril-chan use? Please tell me all about it.”

When even Juddock asked her, Myril’s eyes darted around nervously.

“Um, well… my magic lineage seems to be a bit of a dud, so I’m too embarrassed to really talk about it… It’s self-taught, you see, and it is physical enhancement-based. I use magic to boost my physical abilities and defense, then engage in close-quarters combat. That’s my fighting style. But since the effects don’t last very long, I’m more of a ‘quick-and-dirty’ fighter… Is that enough to know?”

Speaking with a touch of resignation, Myril addressed Calcedonia.

That’s because she was the leader of this team for this operation. She was the one who had exorcised countless fiends as an exorcist up to this point. Tatsumi and Eru nodded in agreement when she took command of the team.

Since Tatsumi and Eru had given their approval, neither Juddock nor Myril had any reason to object.

“I know I’m being selfish… but when the time comes, I won’t hesitate to use magic. I promise you that, without a doubt…”

Myril approached Calcedonia and handed her something. It was the mementos of her fallen comrades—the lock of hair and the dagger they had cherished, which they had recovered earlier.

“If I use magic, these mementos will disappear too… Would you mind keeping them for me?”
“Huh…?”

Though Calcedonia didn’t quite understand what Myril meant, she nodded anyway and took the mementos from her companions into her care.

.

“Now, let me explain the procedure for this operation once more.”

Before setting out, they reviewed the strategy for fighting the Great Snow Lizard that had been transformed into a fiend.

“When fighting a fiend, you must never deliver the final blow to it.”

Hearing Calcedonia’s explanation of the procedure, Tatsumi and the others nodded silently.

A “Specter” is an entity that could be described as a spiritual life form without a physical body.

Therefore, defeating a fiend does not mean you have defeated the specter itself. This is because simply defeating the host body only causes the specter to possess another creature.

There do exist weapons—so-called “magical weapons” such as holy swords and holy lances—that can inflict damage on the specter while it is possessing its host, but they are by no means numerous.

Weaken the fiend, and once its movements have slowed, use “Exorcism” magic of the “Light” or “Holy” lineage to destroy the specter. That is one of the ironclad rules for defeating mabeasts.

“However, this time, it’s fine if you end up defeating the mabeast. Please do your absolute best to defeat the Great Snow Lizard.”

However, things are a little different this time. That’s because accompanying them is a being that could be called the natural enemy of Specters, aka Tatsumi.

If you defeat the Great Snow Lizard possessed by the specter, the specter will naturally separate from it. Normally, you cannot see the form of a specter that has separated from its host.

However, Tatsumi is also a Perceiver. He can detect a specter that has separated from its host.

A specter that has lost its host poses no threat, and if Tatsumi attacks it with his “Heaven” magic the moment it separates from its host, the specter will vanish before it has a chance to resist.

“It’s nice that we don’t have to hold back—makes things easier.”
“That’s right. I’ll be going all out from the very start, too.”

Juddock and Myril are brimming with fighting spirit.

“I’ll be providing support from the rear, but I’ll do my best!”

Eru, the founder of spirit magic, will surely be a great asset to Tatsumi and the others.

“All right. Let’s go!”

Caledonia.

Eru.

Juddock.

Myril.

Nodding at Tatsumi’s words, they set off in the direction where the Great Snow Lizard was likely to be found.