* * *

Removing the magic circles was certainly a tricky task, but for magicians of Cadel’s and Lydon’s caliber, it was a simple mana drain. They split up into zones and removed the magic circles one after the other, with all the monsters that appeared being shared by Van and Yozen.

The Scarlet Scales Knight Order did the work without any additional help from the Blue Blood Knight Order. Admon, who had initially rolled up his sleeves, arguing that they couldn’t be relied upon to do all the work, winced as he realized that Cadel’s assertion wasn’t arrogance.

“Darling, I think I’m a little dizzy.”

The dispelling of the magic circles was nearing completion. Lydon approached Cadel with a pitiful look on his face, the back of his hand on his forehead. He leaned over to Cadel, staggering as if he might collapse at any moment, and blinked brightly.

“I think I’ve used too much mana. What should I do?”

“Really? What would be good?”

“Maybe you should kiss me to recharge…….”

Before Lydon could finish his sentence, Cadel grabbed the hulking man leaning over him and kissed him quickly. After a few solid lip seals, Cadel turned his head without hesitation and began the process of removing the magic circles again. The unexpected kiss froze Lydon for a moment, and then he jerked his head back in frustration.

“That’s too mean, darling!”

“What?”

“It’s insincere! I don’t feel the slightest bit affectionate! I’m the only fairy in the world who receives such insincere kisses!”

“Why do our fairy make such a fuss when I do what you ask?”

“If you’re going to be so insincere, at least use your tongue!”

It was a feast of nonsense. Shaking his head, Cadel neatly ignored Lydon’s whining. He knew that Lydon’s tantrums would only get worse if he ignored them, but he didn’t care, because he knew what was coming.

“I could hear your last words from a mile away. I’ve come to kill you before it gets too long, fairy.”

“What is it, Van? Why are you interrupting my conversation with darling?”

“I thought I told you it would be better for your reputation if you dropped that ‘darling’ title as soon as possible.”

“I thought I told you it didn’t matter what I called my human, Van. Have you gotten any dumber since then?”

Van pulled Cadel to the other side to prevent Lydon from flirting with him any further. He realized that if he kept them together like that, he’d be the one to break the magic circles, but he didn’t really care. The job was done, and he’d rather use his mana than Lydon’s. He could draw on Kunra’s power without a problem.

Cadel resumed his work in silence.

“You’re good at giving your lips to others.”

“Ack! Oh my god!”

Yozen, now at Cadel’s side, flashed him a grin that was strangely predatory. He nuzzled the nape of Cadel’s exposed neck, then leaned down so they were at eye level.

“When I ask you to do it, you keep putting it off saying you don’t have time. Why do you give it to Lydon so easily?”

There was a chill in the air between the words. Cadel craned his neck against his captor’s grasp and answered timidly.

“Because you don’t end with a kiss. You try to bite and suck all day long.”

“……That’s true.”

“Yeah, that’s why―”

“But that’s no excuse for a pleasant rejection. It’s a little tiring to have someone to compare yourself to right next to you.”

Cadel swallowed dryly, studying Yozen’s expression. He was sullen, but not in the way that Lydon was sullen. Add to that Yozen’s already frosty demeanor a sense that he was about to do something dangerous if Cadel touched him in the wrong way, and Cadel felt an urgency to appease him.

“I, I also want to stay with you as long as I can, and of course, I have those…… desires, too.”

“But?”

“But when I do things like that with you, I lose my self-control, and I end up putting off things that are urgent, so I’m holding myself back.”

It was more embarrassing than he could have imagined to admit his desire so openly. As Cadel blushed and stammered, Yozen’s sharp edge eased a little. Soon he removed his hand from the nape of Cadel’s neck, which he had been rubbing menacingly, and ran it through Cadel’s soft hair.

“So what you’re saying is, you like kissing me?”

“……Yes. Do I really have to tell you this so you can understand? You can just know this stuff by the sound of my heart or the look on my face or whatever.”

“I want to hear it from you, and I like that.”

His voice tickled Cadel’s ear, softer now. Cadel let out what sounded like a sigh and rubbed the corners of his eyes.

“You want to turn me into a lecherous pervert.”

A low chuckle made his heart flutter unnecessarily. Yozen, satisfied with Cadel’s response, left to take care of the nearby monsters. Cadel had to work hard to squeeze the mana out of his exhausted body.

* * *

After a total of four hours of work, they succeeded in disarming the magic circles that were threatening the Mainue Kingdom. Although it was only temporary, it was the first peaceful night for the Blue Blood Knight Order in nearly three days.

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart. The Blue Blood Knight Order and the Mainue Kingdom will never forget your help today.”

“I have only done the duty of an ally and disciple.”

“How humble of you. From Mamil Kipa comes a disciple like you……. Oh, I don’t mean to disparage your master. We’ve known each other for so long, I’m afraid, that I’ve come to speak too casually.”

“It’s all right, Sir Admon.”

Admon still looked exhausted, but a shallow sense of relief squeezed the last of his energy out of him. He heaped praise on Cadel and his knights for a while, then pointed to the barracks a short distance away.

“Mamil is resting over there, safe at least until tomorrow morning, so let off some steam. I’ll even bring you a drink if you like.”

“Alcohol is fine, then, good night.”

With a quick bow to Admon, Cadel headed straight for Mamil’s barracks. He dismissed the subordinates who followed him. It would be fun to introduce everyone to Mamil, but there was no need to bring unwelcome noise to a man who needed to rest.

“Mr. Mamil, I’m coming in.”

Without a response, Cadel pushed his way in and found Mamil sitting in a chair with his eyes closed. Slowly, his eyelids lifted, and as soon as he saw Cadel’s face, the corner of his mouth twitched upward.

“Your arrival is always a welcome sight.”

“Master, I hope you’ve been well…….”

Cadel, who was trying to be formal, scratched his forehead with an embarrassed expression, then smiled brightly and said.

“I’ve missed you, Master.”

“……Alright.”

Since their last meeting in the Empire, they had gone their separate ways, not even exchanging letters. News of each other had been passed by rumor, and while they were not particularly affectionate as masters and disciples, this was the right distance for the two of them.

“I hear you’ve been through a lot.”

“Yes. I’ve been dragged into many battles, but I’ve never been in a fight where pointless drain on my stamina is the best thing I can do. Perhaps I should rest first, when my abilities are weakened. I’m getting old, and my responsibilities are growing.”

He sounded as if he’d rather leave the burden behind and go to rest. But Cadel knew better. Mamil would never abandon the kingdom until this war was over. Mamil might seem jaded by everything that was going on in the world, but he never failed to recognize the weight of life on his shoulders.

“Don’t worry too much, this lovely disciple has come to your aid.”

“With the power of the Scarlet Dragon on his back.”

“I’ll do my best to help.”

Mamil’s gaze fell on Cadel’s pendant. After staring at the pendant for a moment, Mamil let out a low sigh and rubbed his eyelids.

“You have to figure out a way to stop the magic circles from regenerating. If you can’t, you’ll just be squeezed until you run out of mana too.”

“Any guesses as to why?”

“There are a few.”

During this long period of time, Mamil’s focus wasn’t solely on breaking the magic circles. If a magic circle was constantly regenerating no matter how many times it was dismantled, it was time to find its source and root it out. The urgency of the situation prevented a thorough investigation, but Mamil was able to formulate a few theories.

“One is that there is a High Demon nearby. It could be watching the kingdom from out of sight, ready to regenerate as soon as the magic circle is broken, but this is unlikely. We’ve already searched the neighborhood several times, and we haven’t found any demons capable of such a thing.”

“What are the chances it’s being controlled from a distance?”

“The mana of demons who use magic is similar to human mana in its utilization. Can you set up a magic circle remotely from a distance that is impossible to see with the naked eye?”

“That would…… probably be difficult, especially if I had to maintain it for weeks on end.”

“So it’s safe to assume that this assumption is incorrect.”

The next assumption was that the magic circles themselves were part of the magic circle’s formula.

“Probability that it’s a circle that triggers one after another, starting with the dismissal of the magic circle. The most annoying assumption, but also the most realistic.”

“……If it’s a circle that triggers one after another, we’ve already experienced it once.”

Emilia’s great magic circle, which attempted to summon an entire demonic city. While not exactly the same type of magic circle, it was likely derived from the same stem. The great magic circle began to activate at the same time as the magic circle fragment glowed. If the regeneration of the magic circles was part of the trigger condition for the circle.

Cadel’s expression darkened as he pondered Mamil’s hypothesis.

“If the magic circles are activated at this rate, something more dangerous than demons might be summoned, and we must stop it somehow.”

“I agree. The problem is, even if my assumptions are true, I can’t find a way to disarm the circle before it’s activated again.”

A strange magic circle that required a cycle of dispelling and regenerating to complete the formula. Cadel had no idea how it worked just by listening to it. Even the great magic circle of the Demon Realm was utterly untouchable until it was activated.

‘Perhaps this is another one of Emilia’s creations.’

Even the magic circle of the Demon Realm that Sellev had told them about had not yet been made into something for humans. Demon’s magic circles were different from human ones from the very foundation of their power. In order to grasp the principle with human mana, it would take several times more time than a normal magic circle.

‘I’ll give him credit for one thing.’

If Mamil’s assumptions were true, the magic circles that threatened the Mainue Kingdom were one giant trap, and the kingdom was already dying a slow death in its trap.

“Tomorrow, the magic circles will regenerate again. We’ll have a little time before the monsters show up, so let’s take advantage of that time and explore the magic circles together.”

“Sure. The other magicians will be joining us soon, which will make it easier to investigate.”

“That is, if the magic circles aren’t activated before then.”

Mamil rubbed his forehead in frustration, then sighed deeply and looked at Cadel.

“As you can see, my mana is already stretched to the limit, and I’m narrowly avoiding mana depletion. Your role is important, Cadel.”

“I know, I’ll do my best.”

“……This is the land I have chosen. I want to protect it, even if it means borrowing the hands of my disciple.”

Mamil’s eyes held a look of determination as he spoke. Cadel nodded slowly, meeting his master’s determination. He didn’t know much about Mamil’s past, but he had a small idea of how he had left his home.

He had found a new home, a new way of life, to shake off the death of a loved one. Who could stand by and watch that haven crumble?

Mamil had given him the power to protect those he loved, so he wanted to return the favor by protecting what he held dear. This was not a main quest, but the least he could do to honor his master.

“I’ll be back as soon as it’s daybreak tomorrow, but until then, get some rest.”

“That would be good, we’ll save the niceties for after this tiresome fight.”

Cadel made way for the exhausted Mamil. There was much he wanted to tell him, much he needed to hear, but it was not yet the time.