“You… How dare you crawl in here?”

A wave of bewilderment spread across Dorothea’s pale face.

The Witch of the South Glinda was the Empire’s Crown Mage.

If the Wicked Witch of the North Mombi was a figure who had a profound influence on the Magic State of two hundred years ago, Glinda was a figure who held enormous status in the Empire for the past few decades.

She was the one who had greatly raised the Empire’s magical power by making mages and wizards the same concept within the Empire, so her influence was undoubtedly significant.

While perhaps not as much as the Lennart Ducal family growling at the border, she, too, was one of the Magic State’s top targets for vigilance.

For the top protégé of such a figure to suddenly visit the heart of the already sensitive Magic State, and alone at that, was an outrageous act that made one question her sanity.

But Algind was as calm and composed as ever.

She was so expressionless every time one saw her that it made one wonder if her facial muscles had really gone bad.

“If you put it that way, I believe Gale Elilaz, the mentee of the Witch of the North, also entered and left the Empire alone, so why can’t I do the same?”

“Do you think the situation then and now is the same? No, more importantly, how did you get in? Did the tower people let you in?”

“No, I thought it might drag on a bit, so I just snuck in secretly. I suppose it would be quite troublesome if you reported me.”

“Haa… I’m not sure if it’s the infiltrator who’s competent or the ones who missed it who are incompetent.”

“It’s the former. To find me, even the tower head would have to stand guard personally. So, are you going to report me? Or will you hear what I have to say?”

Seeing Algind urging with a brazen face, Dorothea fell into thought for a moment.

She wanted to quickly call people and drive her out, but it was also true that she was curious about what the other party had to say.

She glanced sideways at the Tin Knight beside her.

“What do you think?”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ says she seems quite weakened, so it doesn’t seem like she came to fight!]

“What?”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ evaluates that while she’s pretending to be fine on the outside, her internal state is not good at all!]

Dorothea turned a dubious gaze towards Algind.

The expressionless girl with snow-white hair returned the gaze proudly, as if asking what the problem was.

Dorothea fell into thought for a moment.

“…Alright, come in for now. On the premise that you follow our instructions, I’ll at least listen to what you have to say.”

***

A little later.

After summoning Adelaide and Sophia, Dorothea said to Algind, who was standing in the center of a magic circle drawn with blood, “Alright, if you have something to say, say it from there. If you try to escape before the conversation is over, we’ll immediately enter combat, so keep that in mind.”

“…This is a fresh approach in its own way.”

Algind stretched her arms forward and tapped the air with her fingertips.

Where there should have been nothing, a blood-red glass wall-like thing had appeared, imprisoning Algind.

Gone was the fierce appearance Adelaide had shown when smashing Lotbart’s head in—now she had returned to her usual bewildered state and was dripping with cold sweat.

“M-Miss Witch, is this… okay? No matter how you look at it, it seems like it could cause diplomatic problems.”

“After seeing how the Witch of the North was dealt with, it would be stupid to let your guard down. And as for diplomatic reasons or whatever, I don’t know. If I had cared about such things in the first place, I wouldn’t have picked a fight with the tower.”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ tells Adel to be understanding as Dorothea seems to be in a bit of a state of resignation after somewhat ruining her reputation!]

“Is that something you should be saying? Huh? Is that something you should be saying!?”

Dorothea poked the Tin Knight’s side with the end of her staff.

Of course, the Tin Knight didn’t even pretend to be hurt.

Algind, who had been staring at this scene, shrugged her shoulders.

“Well, that’s fine. It doesn’t greatly hinder our conversation in this state, anyway.”

“I like your compliant attitude. So, what is it you wanted to say? You were saying something about the Witch of the North and our future.”

“Since you all seem to dislike beating around the bush, I’ll explain simply. There is a way to restore the Witch of the North.”

At Algind’s words, spoken as if it were nothing special, Dorothea’s eyes narrowed.

“Go on.”

“Oh? Aren’t you going to ask how I knew about the Witch of the North’s condition?”

“With things having gotten this big, there’s no way other factions would have closed their eyes and ears. If there were many observers, some of them must have accurately grasped the situation. Especially someone as big as the Witch of the South.”

Dorothea crossed her arms and asked, “So, what is this method you speak of, and why did you come to tell us about it? Let me tell you in advance, if you’re trying to attempt the previous deal again using the Witch of the North’s survival as leverage, wake up from that dream now.”

For Dorothea, matters concerning the Witch of the North were nothing more than, “I’ll help if I can, but if not, it can’t be helped.”

Algind was aiming for the things the party had obtained from the ruins, more precisely, Sophia, and a demand to hand over Sophia in exchange for helping the Witch of the North was absolutely unacceptable.

“—Even if it’s just a part of her blood, is it the same?”

Calmly, Algind continued, “I have the technique to restore the Witch of the North. However, to actually use that technique, special blood is needed.”

Algind’s eyes turned towards Sophia.

She, who was near the window, was smiling an inscrutable smile without showing any signs of discomfort despite being bathed in sunlight.

“The blood of a legendary magic beast, a vampire with strong vitality, contagiousness, and the ability to strengthen itself by feeding on others. No, if there’s blood of ‘something’ that has gone a step further than that, it should be possible to restore the Witch of the North Orin. Conversely, without it, it’s impossible.”

Silence fell, and the air in the room became heavy.

Dorothea didn’t clumsily try to deny it by saying, “What are you talking about?” or “How did you know?” It would have been a waste of time.

Hadn’t she herself said, “With things having gotten this big, there’s no way other factions would have closed their eyes and ears”?

So, instead, Dorothea asked something else, “What you just said, who else knows about it?”

“Well, the only one who fully understands everything would be my master. There were other eyes here and there, but I chased them away, so rest assured.”

“So even if I blow your head off here, it won’t solve anything.”

“I don’t want to die either, so I need some insurance. It seems I wouldn’t stand a chance if your scary knight rushed at me no matter what.”

Dorothea’s expression became extremely grim.

It was understandable, as just when she thought they had finished one big thing, another came crashing down relentlessly.

At this rate, when would they find the remaining sacred treasures, and when would they finish Adelaide’s remaining revenge?

“…Should we just bury them too…? We’ve already buried the West and North, so the South shouldn’t be…”

“…You’re muttering something extremely ominous, is this person alright?”

Algind turned her gaze to the other companions.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ asks for understanding, saying that Dorothea’s original nature is closer to violence and destruction, so it can’t be helped!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ asks his beloved pupil for interpretation!]

“No, if I relay that, I think I’ll be beaten to death by Miss Witch.”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ is shocked by his pupil’s rebellious phase!]

Ignoring the Tin Knight, who was making exaggerated gestures as if two exclamation marks might appear next to his head with a “dun dun” sound, Adelaide turned her gaze to Sophia.

With one of the team’s two brains entering destruction mode, she was the only one who could make a rational judgment.

In other words, if even Sophia called for battle, Adelaide was prepared to join in.

And Sophia said, “Well, I don’t mind? If I can earn the favor of a big shot with just a blood donation, it’s a bargain.”

Dorothea interjected in surprise, “Is this something to decide so simply? They say it’s just giving some blood now, but what about the aftermath if your identity spreads widely?”

“That’s fine. The fact that Algind has come to us like this is proof that they have no such intention.”

“What?”

“No, rather, they must be wary of my identity spreading widely. Otherwise, there would have been no need to block the eyes of other informants or to meet us separately, avoiding the eyes of the Magic State.”

As if asking, “Isn’t that right?” Sophia’s eyes turned to Algind.

Algind’s face remained doll-like as ever, but a faint admiration could be felt in her gaze. Along with wariness.

“As you said, if you just hand over the blood, we will keep quiet about your identity. If you prefer, we can even hide my involvement and say that you treated the Witch of the North.”

“Then what do you gain? It sounds too good for our side, so I can’t trust it.”

“It’s simple. Please postpone your revenge against Lennart.”

Adelaide’s shoulders twitched.

Dorothea asked back, “Not give up on revenge, but postpone it?”

“The internal affairs of Lennart are currently quite complexly intertwined. The faction that led this incident, the faction that didn’t lead but tried to bury it, and the faction that knows nothing are all mixed up. In the case of the Magic State, because the towers were clearly divided into four, it was possible to pick out and beat just the culprits among them, but Lennart is not like that. Moreover, because Lennart itself is deeply entangled with the military, if you’re not careful, the entire Empire might become your enemy.”

Silence fell.

Even beating up a fourth of the Magic State had required tremendous effort and was only possible after receiving cooperation from the other towers.

Facing the entire Empire was not something that could be easily decided.

“Then—“

“Then, what will you do?”

Cutting off Dorothea’s words, Adelaide opened her mouth.

Dorothea showed a slightly surprised reaction but soon passed the baton of conversation as if understanding.

“Postpone, you say. That means you need time, right? If we give you time, what can you give us?”

“A stage,” Algind answered Adelaide’s question. “We’ll provide you with a stage where you can legally and officially cut out the rotten parts of Lennart.”

“Why would you do that for us?”

“Because sweeping away the radical faction within the Lion Duke’s bloodline aligns with the will of Her Majesty the Empress and my master. Their intention is to become irreplaceable existences within the Empire before the Crown Prince comes of age and holds his coronation ceremony. However, if things flow according to their will, the Empire and the Magic State will enter a state of war, and the national power of both sides will greatly decline. We have not the slightest intention of standing by and watching that happen. Does that answer your question?”

Adelaide closed her eyes.

When the second hand of the clock had made one revolution, her eyes opened again, “…I understand. I’ll wait.”

“I express my gratitude for your wise decision. What about the opinions of the others?”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that since we’ve had an exciting fight this time, it’s okay to take a short break!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ wisely points out that even if gourmet content is updated, it’s useless if there’s no time to enjoy it!]

The Tin Knight nodded his head up and down, and Algind’s gaze turned to Dorothea, who was the last remaining.

Dorothea asked back with a very displeased look, “Is there nothing else? Like compensation?”

“You’re quite greedy.”

“Shut up, if the Lennart Ducal family weakens, you benefit too, and providing a stage means we’re the ones performing on it. That part needs to be accounted for additionally.”

“I think handing over the achievement of restoring Orin is enough, but… well, if you insist, let’s do this. If you successfully complete that stage, I’ll arrange for the ‘Pouch of Lilium’ to fall into your hands.”

“Hmm, you’ll probably have it anyway, so how about an advance?”

“Let’s just call off the deal and cut your neck.”

Algind spoke with an unchanging expressionless face, but with an attitude that somehow seemed to be bristling.

And so, a secret agreement was concluded.

***

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