Chapter 15
Let’s Be Strangers Now
Episode 15
While she used it when she had to, Elisha didn’t particularly care for lightning magic.
Gazing at the charred remains of the monster, Elisha bit her lip slightly.
‘What on earth was that?’
Summoning monsters or concealing one’s presence were magics that neither she nor Erich had managed to invent.
After the existence of the Hide became known, they had made several attempts to develop similar spells, but in the end, it had all been in vain.
Yet that man had summoned a monster and, for a brief moment, had even vanished from her sight.
Elisha’s blue eyes grew dark and pensive.
Regardless of her thoughts, Dante stood there with his mouth agape, staring blankly at the monster’s corpse.
It was a creature that even a decent mage wouldn’t be able to perceive.
Of course, once it was visible, killing it wasn’t difficult, but snaring the life of a monster that size in a single blow was not something just anyone could do.
‘No, nobody can replicate that.’
Even he, who was recognized as the second-best after Elisha, couldn’t pull that off.
The sheer power of her magic made what could be seen as a reckless attempt look natural. Her casting speed was impossible to follow with the naked eye.
Moreover…
‘Even after wielding that massive bolt of lightning, she didn’t scatter a single stray spark into the surroundings.’
Of course, some tiles from the inn’s roof had crumbled, but that was a drop in the bucket compared to the damage the monster could have caused.
Lightning-type magic was notoriously difficult to handle and prone to collateral damage.
Dante slowly turned his head to survey the area.
Aside from the inn’s roof, destroyed property… none. Injured people… absolutely none.
However, if there was one problem.
“Aaaah!”
It was the fact that he hadn’t managed to protect their mental health…
“W-W-W-What is that?!”
Soon after, Jonathan’s shout erupted from below. The others were reacting much the same way.
Elisha pulled the hood of her robe down further and spoke.
“The ability was dispelled because it died.”
“This is driving me crazy, seriously.”
Why the hell didn’t Erich invent a spell to erase people’s memories?
Watching the street turn into instant chaos, Dante let out a long sigh. Meanwhile, Elisha continued.
“The guards will be here soon.”
“…”
“It’s impossible to explain how the monster suddenly appeared anyway, so let’s just skip that. We’ll say you just happened to be passing by and took care of it. It’s not technically a lie.”
“And if they ask who the person in the robe next to me is?”
“Say I’m a passerby.”
“Do you think they’ll buy that…?”
“If you insist on it, they’ll have to.”
What could they do if he said so?
Finishing her sentence, Elisha glanced down.
She didn’t think Jonathan would speak recklessly, but it was better to make sure he kept his mouth shut.
She couldn’t risk him and Dante getting their stories crossed.
“Elisha, wait.”
Just as Elisha was about to teleport down from the roof, Dante grabbed her wrist again.
‘I almost missed her.’
The conversation had been derailed by the sudden appearance of the monster, but there was still a matter left unresolved.
“This is your achievement. Don’t be like this, let’s go back to the imperial palace together, okay?”
“I recall that conversation being over.”
“Over? It’s not over at all! Nothing is settled yet!”
How could she call it an ‘already finished story’ when they hadn’t even reached a proper conclusion?
If he hadn’t caught her, she really would have vanished into thin air!
‘No, let’s stay calm.’
Anyway, he’d caught her again, so that was what mattered.
After taking a moment to catch his breath, Dante spoke in a soft, persuasive voice.
“Holding two positions sounds easy in words. But you know it too—we both lived buried in work every single day.”
“…”
“Can I handle the work that was already overwhelming for two people all by myself?”
Of course, Elisha could have cleared it all alone and still had time to spare. But unfortunately, he was not Elisha.
Dante looked at Elisha with the most pitiful, puppy-dog expression he could muster.
When Dante Renaud made a face like that, most people would give in to his requests.
Even Erich would back down a step, saying it was too hideous to look at.
But unfortunately, Elisha was…
“I’m still not going back.”
…not most people.
Confronted with blue eyes that were beyond cold—they were practically frozen—Dante reflexively swallowed hard.
He really needed to do something about his habit of getting scared the moment he looked at Elisha.
‘Get a grip, Dante Renaud.’
If he didn’t catch Elisha here, he would eventually wither away and die from overwork.
He couldn’t end up like that monster, dying without even being able to close his eyes.
“You’d hate it too if you were told to juggle the roles of Magic Knight Commander and Chief Archmage.”
“Why would I take both when you’re here?”
“Trying to butter me up won’t work!”
Elisha simply shrugged noncommittally at Dante’s words. It was an incredibly frustrating moment for him.
“If I take on both, I might actually die…”
“I’ll attend your funeral.”
“I know you won’t come because you’ll be hiding!”
“You’re smarter than I thought.”
Elisha murmured with a soulless tone. At the same time, Dante ran his free hand through his hair.
What on earth was happening? At first, he thought he just had to take Elisha back.
But then the communication stone broke, and out of nowhere, a monster appeared.
“I don’t have time for this.”
Elisha frowned, twisting her captured wrist.
Dante instinctively tightened his grip.
“Are you really not going back?”
“I was told I’m someone who shouldn’t be in the imperial palace.”
“Since when did you ever listen to Erich…!”
“I think I listened quite well.”
More importantly, let go.
A small spark of lightning magic crackled from Elisha toward Dante’s hand.
Dante bit his lip hard but did not release her wrist.
If he lost her here, it was over.
If he let Elisha go now, the only thing waiting for him was a path of thorns.
‘Think. Think, Dante Renaud.’
You’re young, talented, and handsome, Dante Renaud—please, use your brain!
“If you don’t let go now, I’m going to knock you out and leave.”
Unaware of his desperation, Elisha issued a threat with a bored expression.
Dante shook his head even more violently.
Something… there had to be something to convince her…
“Ah.”
In that moment, the form of the monster filled Dante’s vision.
That’s right. There was that.
“If you truly want to leave, I won’t stop you.”
“…”
“However—”
Dante slowly began to speak with a solemn face.
Elisha continued to stare at him in silence, one eyebrow slightly arched.
Her gaze suggested she would eliminate him on the spot if he started talking nonsense.
‘It’s scarier because she actually has the power to do it.’
Dante took a deep breath and continued.
She definitely won’t be able to just ignore this, Elisha.
“What if something like today happens again after you leave?”
His violet eyes, the color of pansies, flickered toward the monster behind Elisha.
Elisha’s face immediately crumpled into a scowl.
‘Good reaction.’
Dante let out a sigh of relief inwardly.
He had her halfway there.
“Think about it, Elisha. Why did such an artificial situation happen right in front of the two of us, of all people?”
“…”
“The opponent used magic we can’t use. Summoning a monster.”
Of course, this was all just speculation, but at least Elisha seemed to believe it.
Dante continued in a cool, analytical voice, quite different from before.
As he did, the furrow in Elisha’s brow deepened.
“If the person who summoned this monster is an enemy of Cardion…”
“…”
“The imperial palace could be next.”
This wasn’t just a story to scare Elisha.
While he had brought it up with that intention, it wasn’t a threat entirely fabricated from lies.
A monster had appeared exactly where the Chief Archmage and the Magic Knight Commander were. That in itself was incredibly unnatural.
“There was no damage today because you were here, but after you leave?”
“…”
“I’ll say it again, Elisha. Even if you combined all the mages in the imperial palace, including me, we couldn’t beat you. That is the current military strength of Cardion.”
It was a miserable truth, but a truth nonetheless.
For starters, Elisha and himself were the only mages who could even see a Hide.
‘I definitely couldn’t do what she just did.’
Furthermore, hadn’t he just been utterly defeated by Elisha in their brief clash earlier?
Even while losing that expensive communication stone.
‘Dante Renaud is right.’
Meanwhile, Elisha slowly closed and opened her eyes, mulling over Dante’s words.
It was a stroke of luck among misfortunes that Dante Renaud could see the Hide, but that didn’t mean he could easily handle every monster.
‘And that person.’
Dante Renaud hadn’t seemed to see him, which made it even more of a problem.
Someone skilled enough to vanish from her sight, even if only for a moment. What if that person really was an enemy of Cardion?
What if, while she was gone, the events of the Shelan Plains were repeated?
And what if the victim… was Erich…
“…Elisha?”
Dante murmured uncertainly, tilting his head.
Why did she suddenly seem to be trembling?
There was no way Elisha would be scared. And she certainly wasn’t the type to suddenly fall ill.
“…Renaud, is the reason you’re trying to take me back to the palace…”
Elisha raised her bowed head and stared at Dante.
In the dark shadows cast by her robe, only her blue eyes shone clearly, reflecting Dante.
Dante momentarily caught his breath.
“…simply because your workload will become too heavy if I disappear?”
“Th-That’s… right.”
It was a sorry thing to say regarding Erich, but he didn’t particularly care about anything other than his own comfortable life.
‘No, actually, I don’t even need to feel sorry.’
Not after the things Erich had said to Elisha.
Dante slowly nodded at Elisha’s question.
Elisha frowned as if contemplating for a moment, and then…
“…Fine.”
She spoke as if she had made up her mind.
“Then let’s make a deal.”
