--Inside the castle.

　Soak a cloth in a tub of water and squeeze it.
　The water dripping down was clean and cold, drawn from the underground canals under the castle.
　After wringing out the cloth to the point where no water droplets fell, he gently pressed it against the girl's forehead.

"Fumu......

　At the words that sounded like a squeal, the corners of her mouth lifted slightly and she gently stroked her cheek.
　Her body temperature is extremely hot. The girl lying on the bed will not look at you beyond her worried eyes.
　She is still asleep, trying to cool her burning face with her own power.

　--It was only this morning that I was told that Corona had collapsed.

　When I rushed to her room, I found that there was already someone there. "Following her instructions, Futa did everything he could.

　The two tassels of gold he usually tied were gently swept away.
　It's been a while since I've seen Corona in her nightgown, but I couldn't help but be deeply moved by it.

...... So, we'll just have to wait and see.
"Sorry, Lilah.
No.

　I'm sure you'll be able to understand what I mean. I'm sure you'll be able to figure out what's going on.

　Futa thinks that Lila, with her silver hair in a chignon similar to Lilac's, is Lilac's double, but she is just herself.

　For some reason, she had come to pretend to be a chambermaid without Futa's knowledge, and she let out a small sigh, not expecting to be useful in such a situation.

She let out a small sigh, not expecting this to help.

　Huta nodded at the question.

"Yes, he's going to come back later.
"I see. I'll leave you alone for a while.
"What?

　I'll be back later." "What?" Futa shouted at the unexpected words.
　When Futa heard that Corona had collapsed, she was in a state of confusion. He didn't know what to do with her during the nightmare of high fever, so he just waddled along as Lila told him to - he was anxious that she would be gone.

　She must have noticed how he was feeling.
　He gave a small smile and shook his head.

I've got to clean up and do laundry. ...... And you're going to wash all of Corona's stuff?
What? ...... Oh, ...... I'm sorry.
I'm going to go now.

　I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do this, but I'm sure I'll be able to do it.
　I'm sure you'll be glad to know that I'm not the only one who can't wait to get back to work.

"Thank you, Lilah. I'm glad you're here.
...... I'm glad you said that.

　Finally, she smiles softly and leaves.

　The door slams shut.
　The only sound in the quiet room is the girl's labored breathing. Futa lowers his eyebrows and gently touches her cheek.

　A high fever that could not possibly change in such a short time.

　He bit his lip in frustration.

...... I can't do anything about these things.

　Even if you are a champion in the arena, a swordsman no one can beat.
　It's not as if you can slay the disease.

　I abandoned everything I had piled up and rushed to this place. I knew that no matter what I did now, I would be distracted and would not be able to perform well.

　But it was also true that I was using that as an excuse to distract myself from what I needed to do.
　If Korona hadn't collapsed, Futa would have had a lot of work to do for Spectakura, Prim, and most of all, for the world Lilac was aiming for.

　There's nothing Futa can do here and now.

　I know. But he couldn't leave either.

I'm really glad I ended up at .......

　Gently, Futa murmured as he touched Corona.

　--One day. It's been ten years, maybe more.

　Futa had a family.
　He had parents, a sister. They lived in poverty, but they were still a decent family.
　Their home was not unlike a slum. Not as poor as Beatrix's, but still poor--they couldn't even afford a healer.

　It started out as a small cold.
　It started with a single cough, and then my sister got sick.
　The trouble was, my parents got sick as well.
　It wasn't until a while later that we heard it was an epidemic.

　There was nothing Futa could do about it.
　Following the instructions of his mother, who was not a strong person, he tried to make some medicinal water, but it did not have much effect.
　On the contrary, my sister, who was not strong, was getting weaker and weaker.

　While she was helpless, she found out that there were good medicinal herbs in the nearby mountains.
　Futa went to get it without a care in the world.
　It was a steep path, but he was confident in his skills and strength.
　He struggled and struggled, confronting demonic beasts and escaping--a lot of things had happened, but he got the herb.

　By the time I came back for it...

　--I regretted that I hadn't been there for him.

"......

　So, really.


　I'm grateful for this environment where I don't have to go to get herbs.
　I'm thankful for the royal castle where the healer is.

　Gently, I felt something in my palm.

"......".

　A small expression relaxed.
　I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'll take it.
　The hand that was gently squeezed was probably unconscious. But it doesn't matter.

"Yeah. I'm here.

　When I murmured this, I felt as if her pained face had eased a little.

"Who's there?
"Come in.

　That's when I heard a voice.
　Futa answered, and a woman came in.
　She was clean and simply dressed.
　Her black hair was straight and long. The mole around her mouth accentuated her femininity. Such a person.

"You are .......
"Oh. "I'm Suiren, the healer. You must be Futa. Corona's told me all about you.
Oh, yeah. No, that's not important. Just take a look.
Yeah. That's why I'm here.

　She nodded, and Huta gave up his seat.
　He gently moved to the edge of the bed, not letting go of Corona's hand.
　The girl, who called herself Suiren, gently checked Corona's breathing and then shifted the blanket.

"Keep an eye on her.
"Yeah, yeah.

　Knowing what she was going to do, Futa shifted her eyes to the ceiling.
　The sound of clothes brushing. The flattening of his hands against his skin.

　A few moments later, he heard the sound of cloth being rubbed again, as if to adjust clothing, and Suiren gave him permission.

　When I looked back, I saw Korona with her blanket removed and Suiren gently touching her neck.

So, what do you think?
"......

　The water lily crosses its arms.
　I'm not sure if you've seen this before, but I'm sure you have.

...... I don't understand.
"What? What do you mean, you don't understand?
Calm down. ...... I just really don't know. It's different than the last time I saw it.
Last time I saw ...... you, you saw me once, didn't you?
I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.

　Even the healers at the castle don't know.
　I'm not sure if that's a good thing," said Futa, his brows furrowing.

What should I do then?
"All I can tell you is to call me as soon as the situation worsens. I just tried to cast a spell. But here we are. Are you not accepting this or what?
How can a healer's magic not be accepted?
...... Don't talk so loud. You're disturbing the patient.
...... I'm sorry.
Just so you know. There are a lot of reasons why you might not be accepted. ...... The most common is a magical disorder.
"Disorder ......?

　You can find a lot of people who have been in the business for a long time, but you can't be the only one.
　Then he continued.

I'm not sure what you mean. It is possible that her body is somehow incapable of accepting the magic of others. Or maybe something is eating away at her body. I don't know, because I don't have anything definite to go on.
............ How do I know?
"That's why we have to wait and see. I don't know if I should say this, but you might be able to tell by the way it gets worse.
That's absurd. You mean there's a chance I'll suffer more and you'll never know?
I can't say it's impossible. I'm sorry, but even healers aren't omnipotent.

　Anyway," she continued, pulling out a burlap sack from her pocket.

"Here, give it to me at night. I doubt if it will work now, but it's better than nothing. It's better than nothing.


...... Okay.
"Okay, then.

　With that, the water lily stands up and turns on her heel.

Hey.
What?
...... I get that you're not omnipotent. I'm sorry about that, I thought you could do whatever you wanted with your magic.
Yeah.
But...

　I'm not sure what to do.

You're going to do your best, right?
...... That's what healers do, isn't it?"

　It's a great way to make sure you get the most out of your time with your family.

It's ...... difficult.

　Futa turns his attention to the hand in his hands.
　Her hands were soft, but also a bit damaged from the water work. He wondered for a moment.
　It would be three years soon. If she had been working as a maid under Lilac, her hands would be a little more tolerant, a little more used to that kind of work.

　And then I remembered.
　She is a master of the arcane arts and can handle most things with her magic.
　But for some reason, she hadn't been using it lately.

　--magic failure.

　I remembered what Suiren had said.

　If there's something about her as a witch that prevents her from even healing herself.
　I have to find out.

　Futa stood up and gently removed Corona's hand.

I'm sorry. I'll be right back.

　He stopped the attendant in the corridor, asked him to keep an eye on Corona, and ran off.
　The place to go is the royal castle magic headquarters.

　This is the place where Hura Walcott, who knows more about magic than anyone else, is.













　--The Royal Castle Magic Headquarters.

　Located on the second floor of the Royal Castle, it had become an area that occupied an entire section of the castle.
　It's also the place where you'll find a lot of people who've been in the business for a long time.
　If it were Lilac or King Gilbert, they would probably pass through, but even Richter, though a nobleman, would not be able to pass through without permission.
　Such a place was this section.

　Even a pimp who roamed many places would not be able to get through so easily.

"I just want to see Mr. Hura. Please let me through.
That's not going to happen.
Then tell Mr. Hura that Mr. Huta is here.
I can't do that. He's on duty.
Is there any way you can bend that?
No, I can't.
Hey, ......, you're still a better communicator with dolls than I am.
I don't think so.
That's not the right context.

　Two men in mage cloaks stood in the way to prevent Huta from passing.
　You can see a lot of mages moving from room to room or chatting in the hallways.
　Their private sanctuary must be the section ahead.
　Futa himself has never ventured into this area.

　He had no reason to go see Hura.
　He would take Futa around, but never the other way around.

　But now it was the exact opposite.

　Futa's luck was that a door opened right in front of him, and a large number of mages came out of it.
　At the head of them was a familiar figure.

"Hura-san!

　I shouted and waved to him, over the annoyed mages on guard.
　Then he turned around, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Hello, Mister Futa. What's the matter?

　Yes, he walked over to me as if it were a matter of course.
　The mages behind him, who were probably on their way to their next appointment, hurriedly followed Hura.
　There were no less than thirty of them, and they were the first mages.

I've got some questions for you.
"...... Hmm. As you can see, I'm a little busy right now.
I just need a minute.

　This is a rather absurd request.
　You can find a lot of things that you can do to make your life easier.
　For the mage's part, this is extremely annoying, including his future schedule.

　Futa himself is aware of this. I do feel sorry.
　I just want to take care of Corona in that situation as soon as possible. That's all I'm saying, that desire should take precedence over anything else.

　All eyes were on Hura.
　Then Hura looked up, looked at Huta, and said.


"Okay!
"First ！！！！！


It's light. ！！！！
"My schedule after this!

　A look of surprise, then relief, followed by a look of annoyance from Futa.
　Just. I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing.

"You've never been able to manage my schedule, with or without him, have you?
That's not for you to say as you run away!
You can't just waltz in here and disappear!

　In the midst of the buzzing.
　Huta bowed to Hura.

Thank you.
I'm the one who usually takes them out. I'm the one who usually takes them out.

　He led the way to what looked like a library.
　The desk, surrounded by many bookshelves, seemed to be his residence.

　He is the first mage of the court, and his atmosphere is very impressive.
　After a quick dusting off, Hura tapped his gloved fingertips on the desk and asked.

So, what can I do for you?
"Actually...

　I'm sure you'll understand.

You're that witch girl, aren't you?
Did you know her?
Of course I did. I was there when she was executed.
Oh, ......
It was really ugly architecture.
There you are.

　Lilac told me that the stadium we fought in that day was improvised.

So, I was wondering if you had any idea what that disease was?
...... Well, not the disease itself, no.
Is there something bothering you?
Yeah. "Reiju.
What's the matter with your recording?

　I tilted my head, and Hura rolled her eyes in surprise.

So you don't know anything about it, do you?
"What?

　You don't know anything about it, do you?" "What?" Hura nodded in agreement.

"...... uses human lifespans as payment for the art of recording.
Human life span ......?
"Yeah, that's why it was considered dangerous. "Witches. But His Highness, Lilac, was okay with her existence. She wouldn't rob people of their lives. That's what she's contracted to do. ...... Apparently, she's never taken anyone's life in the first place.

　I'll know it when I see it. I'll know it when I see it," the first author says.

　But then, even Futa can give you the answer.

"Wait a minute.

　She used to use the recording technique.
　She used to use it all the time.

　She stopped using it for a while, but that's because...

"She's been draining her own life?


　This was the first time that Futa had learned the true nature of the magic that Corona used.