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–––Ciel’s viewpoint

We were led to another room, where Sorciere told us to relax and feel at home. But I felt unsure of what to make out of that, there was not even a single chair there. Her bed was covered in all sorts of clothes, while the entire room was littered with miscellaneous items I didn’t even know the name of. After we all introduced ourselves, we decided to fold up her clothes and make some space to sit on her bed.

“I don’t have any tea or things to entertain guests with, so don’t expect too much. Though I can give you as much water as you want.”
“I never expected something like that from you, so don’t worry. But more importantly, what’s this city?”

Hearing Lapis’ question, Sorciere smiled before laughing innocently. She looked like a small child that successfully pulled a prank on someone.

“This is a city I built. A place that doesn’t question someone’s origin, made for those who lost their place in the world.”
“Those who…lost their place..?”

Lapis seemed to stiffen up, something about that had shocked her a lot. But was there really anything that merited such a reaction in what she said?

“Yeah, like for example if someone never did anything wrong but they were chased out of their city, or children that were born without being wished for, or those prosecuted for political reasons – basically anyone who lost their home for a reason that wasn’t a crime. Now there’s obviously a multitude of people like that, so if I blindly accepted anyone I would never see the end of them, so I personally hand pick everyone.”

I had a hunch as to what the requirement to be accepted was. There was only one thing I saw in common amongst everyone I crossed paths with in the city, a bright smile. If she accepted more confrontational and hot-headed people, fights and disturbances would definitely break out. They were a small hidden city, even covered by a barrier, so they had to maintain a friendly community lifestyle where fights were not allowed. That barrier was probably to stop more aggressive people from entering there.

“I don’t discriminate by race, age, or gender. And once someone is inside, they can never leave to avoid rumors from spreading.”
“Those who enter can’t leave, then…”
“You are an exception, of course. But I’ll take the liberty of placing a seal on you so you don’t reveal the secret of this city to others.”

I was slightly taken aback by her words. She was the kind of person who tore off a werewolf’s ears and tail as punishment. Thinking about what awaited us if we broke our promise made us all turn pale, except for Lapis. Sorciere merely laughed seeing our reaction.

“…What are you trying to accomplish with this city?”

Sorciere did not answer Lapis’ question immediately, instead letting her laughter tone down while opening the window and looking outside, as if thinking about someone not present in the room.

“…You know how I used to be in a party with the hero, right?”

I don’t think there was anyone oblivious to that fact here. Three hundred years ago she traveled with the hero and defeated the Demon King. Even without all her great exploits after that, that alone made her well known all over the world, and not a single person had never heard of her name.

“The hero…he was too strong. To an overwhelming degree. His strength and magic power superseded that of a common person by a large margin. He alone possessed so much power that people began seeing him in a bad light.”

“…The hero didn’t have a calm and nice life after that?”

“For a while, he had a peaceful life, but then the king and nobles, the people of the country…no, everyone in the entire world refused to accept him because he was too strong.”

“That’s…”

Karin sympathized with him a great deal. According to the legends, the hero defeated the Demon King and was received by everyone like a celebrity, living happily ever after. But not only was he not received well, he was actually rejected by everyone…

“The rest of his comrades and I weren’t nearly as strong, so we all found a place for ourselves. The country still had a need for us. But his insurmountable power made people uneasy. Even though he had no malice or ill intent, weaker people thought that just having him around was a liability. That’s why they pushed him away. What happened later might sound a bit funny, but somehow they thought that the man who stood up against the Demon King and won could be taken down by the hands of mere assassins or poison, without even considering what could happen if he got truly mad and attacked them back.”

Sorciere laughed dryly after that, but no one else laughed. I could not imagine that instead of rewarding the hero who saved the world, they would try to kill him instead. It happened so long ago and it was not someone I knew, but it still got to my head, what were those people even thinking?!

“I was his friend, and if I noticed what was happening sooner maybe I could’ve helped somehow. But like the rest of his comrades, I had a new job that kept me busy. We all had official ranks and were posted all over the place. By the time I found out, he had already retreated to a remote place in the woods.”

I could tell Sorciere’s hand was holding the window sill with a lot of force. It was hard for me to comprehend what she was feeling, or even try to imagine, but I knew she deeply regretted everything that happened. How would I feel if a friend I defied death together with got rejected by the entire world while I was busy with something else? How would I feel if that happened to Karin? I would probably hate everyone around me, and never stop blaming myself for being powerless.

“That’s why I decided to build a city he could settle in if he ever decided to come back. That’s why this city exists now. I made it for people like him, who don’t have anywhere else to go. A city where no one can find him, and no one can approach him.”

Her speech finished, Sorciere turned around and laughed shyly. From what I read, back then Sorciere was appointed the imperial magician, a large responsibility that made her in charge of steering the entire country. Her contributions to the country were very valuable, and that country prospered for many years. But then one day she suddenly vanished, just like the hero who no one ever heard from again. Some theories said she died in a failed magic experiment, or that she possessed too much magic power which transported her to another realm, there were countless other fake stories as well, but I never imagined she had thrown away her fame and position to build a city for her friend… I wonder what the hero would think if he heard that?

“…Sniff.”

I heard something and turned to the side, and to my surprise, Lapis was crying. I had never seen her cry before, she was overflowing with confidence and never wavered against any adversities. But now she was silently letting her tears flow.

“L-Lapis?”

“What happened, are you okay?”

“Mhm…I’m fine, thanks for worrying.”