Afterwards, this party ended with a final word from Princess Liane. We had been paying quite a bit of attention, but it looks like it's going to go off without a hitch. That said, we can't let up until the end.

　As I was making sure that everyone was leaving the hall, I saw someone approaching me. The person with lustrous white gold hair and golden eyes was Princess Liane.


''Yuria-san, it's been a while,''
Princess Liane. It's been a long time. How have you been?
''Yes. I was in the royal castle all the time for the attack that time, so I was fine. But a lot of people died...
Yes.
'I understand. Royalty is precious, and if it's lost, you won't be able to maintain your wards or anything else. Sooner or later I will have to turn to maintaining the wards. But when I know that my life will be the priority, and others will die because of it, I can't help but feel a sense of helplessness.
....


　Indeed, the lives of the royal family should be protected as a top priority. He or she is also the hope of humanity, as well as the special class anti-magicians. It is because of the royalty that these seven ward cities are maintained because of the royalty. If I was faced with such a choice, I would give priority to the lives of the royalty. That's because that is a rational, reasoned decision. I'm not saying that all life is precious. But even so, there are parts of humanity that cannot be divided by emotions.

　I'm sure that Princess Liane is worried about this.



''I'm sorry. It was a little unnecessary. Julia, I'll see you again. Now if you'll excuse me.......


　With that, she leaves. But then I realized. I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this as well. I'm sure you'll be able to find a lot of things to do with your time and money.


　It's a paper in her hand. I wonder if it's written on something. Just as I was thinking that, Shelly approached me.


'Yulia, you seemed to be having fun talking about it.
"...Shelly. I'm not really enjoying it. I was just responding to you because you spoke to me.
'Hmm. But you didn't grow a nose at the princess this time.
...forget what happened before.


　The last time I met her for the first time, her beauty was so good that I had to stop thinking about it. But now I'm used to it.....I have so many things to think about that I can't even do that. So this time I was able to treat her normally. I don't have the luxury of time right now to act with ulterior motives.


I'm not going to be able to say that it's a good idea. I'm not going to be able to do anything about it. Let's go home.
You know what? Just go ahead. I have to run a few errands.
"?　Okay, but....


　Sherry walks out of the hall. And I look through the paper I had tucked into my pocket earlier. I knew from that action that it was something I didn't want others to see.


'Come to the park on the outskirts afterwards. I'd like to talk to you about something.''


　As soon as I saw those words, I walked out of the hall.



　◇



"...what?　You're early, Miss Julia.
We can't keep the princess waiting. What about the guards?
I'm having Bell follow me. Here, over there.

　When I look closely, I see Belle standing there, as if to disappear into the darkness. When her eyes met mine, she bowed her head with a smile.

　Then, as we sat down side by side on the bench, she opened her mouth.


'I need to talk to you about a traitor.
Do you have a clue?　But why me?
'This matter has definitely reached the upper echelons of the military. We felt it was too risky to report it to the top, so we're only talking to people we trust.
Do you think you can trust me?
''Yes. Currently, the only trusted special class antimagicians are Belle, Yulia-san, and Eira.
Can we just three...?
'The rest of us don't have enough information to trust. All of the remaining ten should be questioned.
Well.........


　I don't want to believe it. I don't want to believe that there's a traitor among the special-grade anti-magicians. But it's not out of the realm of possibility. In fact, even if there is one, it might not be surprising. Still, I'm shocked. The fact that you can't believe in a special class antimagician, the hope of humanity.......


''Yuria-san. Perhaps, the traitor will act again. I have managed to find out, but the other party is also quite skilled. There is no evidence left at all. Even though we did such a large scale thing.
''...I see. As I recall, Princess Liane is able to perceive magic elements with her Singularity Ability 《Extras》, right?
'Yes. So I'm looking for all sorts of traces I can't say I've found any at all. But this is counterintuitive. It's gone too cleanly. That's how I see it.
'It's gone clean........I see.......'


　It's gone cleanly?　It still doesn't seem to be acting loose enough to leave any traces.


''Yulia-san. You will be traveling to another city the day after tomorrow.
Are you traveling for business?
'Yes. In a manner of speaking, it's nominally true that other cities should know about it as well. Besides, it's not particularly uncommon for special level anti-magicians to travel a lot, so it's not particularly unusual. From the Sixth Boundary City, it's enough to go around the First Boundary City in a few weeks. After that, they'll be working in the Seventh Boundary City again.
How did you get this information?
'I had Bell check it out. Bell isn't very good at speaking, but he's incredibly good at it. It's all about strength, but she's good enough to make it in the agency.
'That would surprise me but what's going on with my business trip?'
"The traitor may be after you. You're special. You've been in the twilight for two years and you are the only human being to have survived. Furthermore, you stopped that attack. To the other party, you would be a great eyesore. Besides, there's a good amount of information about the other special class anti-magicians, but in your case, there will still be a lot of mysteries.
I suppose from now on it would be best not to divulge any information about yourself.
'Yes. It's fine to divulge in moderation, but it's best to keep your absolute abilities and trump cards under wraps.


　I have several abilities that I haven't used yet. The ones I acquired in that twilight are certainly still there.......should I hide them well?


''During this trip, Yulia-san will probably meet all of the remaining special class anti-magicians and the upper echelons of the army. However, Tsutomu 《Dreaming》, don't forget about it. There are traitors out there. And it is possible that they are after you. This trip, the reason is plausible. Because Julia-san doesn't know any other warded cities. It's a natural behavior for a new special class anti-magician. However, this might be a ploy of the opponent. It's possible that they could target you while you're moving in the twilight.
"...Okay, I understand. I'll keep that in mind.
That's all I have to tell you. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me.


　Princess Riane says that and waves her hand at Belle-san. Then the wards that were around her are lifted. A soundproof and man-proofed ward. I had noticed it was there when I entered, but I was frankly impressed that Belle-san was able to do such a thing.


''O........finished.......or is it Rihanne-sama?''
'Yes, sir. I've told you everything I have to tell you.


　As the two of them are talking, Belle-san turns to me and speaks to me.


The actuality of this is a bit of a bad thing, but.... I'll be with my... my... companion... to... accompany me... and... to... I did. On my recommendation.......nah, I managed to screw it up.......so....
"?　Is someone coming with you on your business trip?
And the special class anti-magician can't be moved, so as of now I'm the one you have to trust, and I'm the one you have to trust. I chose someone who I thought was strong.... and strong...
Is Shelly growing up there?
Yeah, I'm a little surprised. I'm a bit surprised........me too. You may be... the... 14th... special wizard... to become... the... 14th... special wizard... For now I've taught you ... what I'm going to teach you ... and I'm sure you'll be able to help me ... I think.........
Yes, sir. Thank you for your help.


　I bowed my head and thanked the girls.