Book 15 Chapter 9

In the Southern Empire,

the sincere heart of the priestess and the感动 of the hero

The Southern Empire was originally part of a mountainous region called the 'Twisted Mountain Range' in ancient times, but it was reclaimed as a plain by the <Comings> and Emisa Page.

The master of that mountain range was Anlidal.

One of the <Forgotten Kings>, he was a true king with the alias 'Anlidal Who Walks Through Time'.

Against this backdrop, a 'Monster Demarcation Line' existed between the Southern and Central Empire, where numerous monsters not seen in other regions lived.

Anlidal's kin superficially resembled wolves or crows, and it was only natural that monsters affected by that abyss would also degenerate into similar forms.

"Lynn, it's your turn. Last time I saw your area-of-effect magic was amazing; use that to finish off half and draw the other half over here."

Lynn, who was reading a grimoire amidst the commotion, didn't even lift her gaze, just picked her ear and said one word.

"No, I won't."

"?"

"Why should I do it? What are you doing?"

Lista's eyes went wide. Friede put her pipe in her mouth and spoke with a look that even held a certain reverence.

"Lynn, let me tell you this now: as a priestess, I've sworn never to entrust any task to anyone I haven't personally approved. If I entrust it to just anyone, it doesn't solve the problem; it actually makes it worse."

"……?"

"This kind of work is best suited for a magician, which is why I'm asking you. Not just any magician, but a magician acknowledged by me, Friede, the Priestess of the Fire Dragon. Even if such a magician exists, you're probably the only one in this vast empire."

"……!"

"However, if you dislike it that much, I won't force you. Hmph, it seems Lista and I will have no choice but to handle this ourselves…."

*Thud*, the grimoire closed, emitting the scent of old paper. Lynn pulled down the brim of her conical hat to hide her face and stepped forward.

"There was a magic I wanted to try in this situation on my [Strongest Magician Bucket List], and it just popped into my head."

Friede exhaled cigarette smoke and discreetly gave Lista a thumbs-up of victory behind Lynn's back. The meaning was this:

'How about that? Dealing with kids is quite easy, isn't it?'

But Lista's reaction was excessively, almost comically, over-the-top. As if deeply moved, she laughed brightly and bounced around.

"Friede! To think you thought so deeply about Lynn and truly acknowledged her! As party leader, I'm so, so touched! Really, it's so… what should I do? Tears are just flowing out. Sorry, Sbal. I'll blow my nose on your fur. *Groooan!*"

"Gyuuuung?!"

Friede pressed her hand, holding the pipe, against her forehead.

'What am I supposed to do if both the hero and the magician are this naive….'

Friede had expected Lista to react with, "Lynn is so easy…."

'I've known her for years, but she's still someone whose way of thinking I can't understand.'

No, perhaps this is Lista's true self.

'Is that side of her… showing more honestly than before, ever since she met Lynn?'

While Friede wore a pleased smile through the cigarette smoke, Lynn was resting her chin in her hand, thinking about magic. In other words, she hadn't heard the recent commotion.

"Don't you two step in."

Those types of flying entities, are they quite strong?

I'll show them the power of the [Strongest]….

She had caught eagle-like monsters a couple of times in the north, but this was the first time she had seen monsters in such a large group.

"They're my share."

Lynn yawned boredly, yet formed hand seals.

Lightning (雷).

Field (場).

This magic was being developed with speed battles in mind, so naturally, it had to be tried against such monsters.

"Here it goes, first shot."

*Crack…* The lightning flying along the trajectory pointed by her fingertip struck Pipi, who was protecting the reapers by flapping her wings of flame.

*Whoosh…*

To be precise, the lightning pierced through the very tip of the fiery wing. An enraged Pipi immediately returned and frantically pecked at Lynn's forehead.

"Ack! I was wrong! Save me! I'll focus!"

However, even if its power was halved by the flame halfway, the trajectory of the lightning was incredibly precise. A crow monster, about to snatch a reaper with its talons, turned into a charred roast and fell.

"Kurukukukukuku…."

The others, their eyes gleaming brightly, flew towards them. Their number easily exceeded ten, darkening the sky.

"Pipi, enough playing with Lynn. Pipi, I'm going first."

Pipi soared up again, wreathed in flame, and electricity shot from Lynn's fingertip towards them… Hm?

"What? They're that fast?"

Not just fast, weren't they attacking with flight trajectories impossible for birds? They didn't hesitate to hover either.

"Lynn, I'll take care of the ones rushing you!"

Lista instantly punched the head of one that had swarmed Lynn. Its skull was not just crushed but completely caved in all the way to where the neck bone was.

"Oh my, their size is the same as a human's, but their bodies are much weaker. Is it because their base is avian?"

Lista innocently tilted her head, pulling out her hand stained with blood and bone fragments.

"Didn't that just now kill even a Demon King…?"

In that instant, Lynn questioned whether the magic she had learned until now was truly in vain on the path of the [Strongest].

It was truly an absurd power.

Is this the [Strongest] recognized by humanity? Math, magic, whatever—isn't it all just one punch from that fist? Why learn magic?

"These are Wasp Crows."

Friede, who had been doing nothing but diligently smoking her pipe, said with a flourish.

"They got that name because they're a combination of wasps and crows. They have a separate part called 'inner wings' beneath their main wings. That enables wasp-like flight."

If that's the case… Lynn thought. Hmm, it might be better to attack areas (面) rather than aiming for points (點).

Zernixian Geometry, Third Postulate.

For any two distinct points A, B, one can draw a circle with point A as the center and the line segment AB, extending from A to meet B, as the radius.

If this postulate is applied to offensive magic rather than geometry, it's possible to set points A and B with two electrical strikes and form a circle based on them. In other words, two electrical strikes can wield a power similar to area-of-effect magic.

"Pipi, herd them so they can't escape the two initial electrical strikes I'm sending."

First, set the center of the circle with the initial electrical strike. Then, with the next strike, set the end of the circle… that is, the trajectory where the radius meets the curve.

"Now it's done!"

Followed by completing the mathematical computations required by Zernix's Third Postulate.

"Get out of there!"

Then, just like this, a current forms a circular wave, injecting all existing within that space with electricity that vastly exceeds the electrocution resistance of ordinary living beings.

Was the explanation difficult?

Then simply know the result: the Wasp Crows, lured into that area by Pipi, turned into electric roasted chickens and fell all over the wheat field.

"Haha, success!"

"EASY, EASY, EASY, E‧A‧S‧Y!"

"Good teamwork, strongest Sun Parrot."

"Strongest, strongest, Pipi is strongest parrot."

Pipi landed on Lynn's shoulder, celebrating her victory by dynamically bobbing her head back and forth. Sbal watched that scene with bitter jealousy!

"Grrrruuuh…."

At that moment, Lista and Friede were conversing in front of a Wasp Crow with a caved-in skull.

"Friede, Wasp Crows originally only appeared once or twice a year, and they never attacked civilians in a swarm like this, did they?"

"No, the Red Mountains used to house the Red Dragon Legion, suppressing evil. But now, the majority of the legion has departed south, following the Fire Dragon Vel'dakidun-nim…."

"Since the Red Mountains were originally the domain of the Abyss… it might have been a natural progression for monsters to emerge due to the legion's absence."

"A vacuum in the Dragon Race means a vacuum in public order. It's natural for various problems to arise taking advantage of this situation, but for Wasp Crows to come this far is an abnormal phenomenon that cannot be overlooked. Something is definitely happening in the mountains. Let's hasten our journey to <Ikegrad>. We'll just fill our stomachs in the village while we rent a carriage."

But Lynn examined the Wasp Crow's corpse here and there, then nodded.

"This one has three eyes. This dish looks like we can fairly share one eyeball each?"

"?"

"Since Friede said we need to save money, I'll specially treat you to a Northern delicacy."

By thoroughly roasting it with flame, it's possible to completely remove the abyss within, thus monsters (if their base is an animal) are also conditionally edible! You can do it too!

First, pluck the feathers vigorously.

Second, pull out all the internal organs.

Third, separate the flesh from the bones, then chop and mix it with the internal organs, and skewer it!

"Then roast it thoroughly with flame, and it's done. Oh, the most important part is missing. Eyeball seasoning."

If you gently heat only the retina, that is, carefully heat it just to the boiling point of the pupil, the eye inside the retina liquefies and oozes stickily.

"Spread this over the skewer, and it's complete."

Friede's expression, looking at the finished dish, was contorted in horror.

"Wait, no, just a moment! This is an eyeball. And a monster eyeball! I don't even want to eat the meat, what kind of crazy bastard uses eyeball seasoning! How can I eat this!"

*Slurp, smack, smack-smack…* Turning her head at the strange sound, she saw Lista, eyes unfocused as if hypnotized, eating the monster skewer with an eerie smile.

"De-delicious… delicious… I… I am… a Papal States certified Fae'Quarior… I do not… make discriminatory regional remarks…."

Lista has gone mad….

Pipi and Sbal, drooling, competed over a single skewer and eventually started a blood feud!

"No, this isn't right. This is not a path for humans to walk! It's truly the demonic path (魔道)!"

"What is that remark? Is the leader priestess of the Republic insulting the food culture of the Northern Empire as barbaric? This could escalate into a diplomatic issue between the Republic and the Empire…."

"Eat it, Friede. You said last time that you wanted to monopolize Lynn's cooking, that you were jealous. Eat it and judge for yourself."

Lista's smile was menacing. Friede's hand trembled madly as she cautiously brought the skewer to her open mouth.

Th-this…

I have to eat it…?

R-really…?

How long has it been since I felt such terror, after my anointing as a witch? My heart pounded as if it would burst. Sorry, Pipi, this might be the end for me. Alright, here goes… *Aaah*.

"…Kyaaaaaaaah!"

* * *

[The targets are approaching the location you specified.]

The Six Great Archmages, Zernix, sat in one of the few places in this world closest to the midnight moon.

This was the Tribunal of Fire.

It was a place used to burn criminals sentenced to capital punishment in the <Ikegrad> prison, a city built 2,421 meters above sea level.

"Priestess-nim, I've brought you a late-night meal, please eat."

There were two strange things about the current situation.

One was that those who had died when the prison was ravaged were alive. The other was that they respectfully addressed Zernix as Priestess-nim.

Zernix tilted the late-night snack they brought with alcohol and spoke to Kishua's illusion.

[Finally you're here. You two stay out of this. I've made too big a spectacle, so I'm definitely going to get smacked by that crazy old hag. But I'm useful, so she won't kill me, but you two aren't.]

All seven souls were beings raised to be used as puppets, meaning they were technically disciples, but not in the master-disciple relationship spoken of in the world.

It would be a bit much to lose all of them.

Kishua's illusion, interpreting Zernix's thoughts in a strange way, bowed repeatedly, pressing his forehead to the ground.

[Ohh, the Strongest Magician-nim is even thinking of our humble safety; we are deeply moved. Long live the Strongest! Long live the Strongest! Long live the Strongest!]

Zernix waved a hand as if annoyed, and Kishua's illusion faded into mist. Beyond it, a witch approached cheerfully, her hands clasped behind her back.

"Can't you sleep, Master?"

The woman, dressed in a conical hat and a witch's robe, was named Mina. She was the witch in charge of <Ikegrad Prison>.

[Yes, soothe this lonely heart of your master.]

Zernix threw open her arms and pouted her lips forward, but Mina smiled bashfully and shook her head.

"I'm an adult now, how can I throw a tantrum? Don't worry. I have a feeling that Big Sister is coming."

[I wish I could feel it too.]

"This isn't just a feeling. When it comes to Big Sister Friede, we've always been very attuned since we were little."