Vermillion

The city of Satina at noon is full of people's liveliness.

An escort warrior of a caravan who stomachs and finds stalls, a woman with children shopping at the market, and a small runner. One of the street performers may be rubbing with the city's officials, wondering if there was an apprentice in the shop offering excellence.

A lively and peaceful mess.

But Kay and Irene walk through it in heavy footsteps.

After moaning Lily, playing with her and talking to the montans for a little while, Kays resigned from the montans' house.

Too early to go back to the inn.

I just had lunch, nothing else to do.

It was a natural stream for the two of them to step into a strange tavern facing the boulevard, as they were invited to flutter.

Though the tavern did not intoxicate from daytime onwards - I can't say enough - it was a calm atmosphere store. Arrange a seat in the back of the store that was just empty.

"Give me a ale. For two."

Grape wine tastes better than raw ale, but that's how it feels. Eileen, who somewhat lowered her back to her chair, tells her daughter at work how she even said she ordered hundreds of millions. Pin with your thumb, and play the big copper coin and give it to him.

Neither does Kay. Eileen's desire to wash away the bitter feelings in her chest with a more immediate bitterness was well understood.

…………

I'm glad we took a seat, but we both stayed silent. Kay looks at the guests of the tavern blurry and Eileen plays by herself as she rebels against her interaction with Lily.

"Go ahead."

Tong, tong and before the two, a jock was placed where Yale was poured by surprise. Without having to make a toast, silently include it in your mouth.

It was bitter and tasteless.

... but it wasn't bad.

And, at that time, a small cheer rises in the corner of the store.

A man with a feather hat and a harp in his hand was giving a toast to everyone. Apparently, a bard has arrived. They advertised it beforehand outside the store, and Doyadhya and new customers come in for the song.

It's the first face I've ever seen, but it's probably the most popular singer there.

And with a cheerful voice that doesn't betray his appearance, he sings out in good spirits. Do you happen to be a righteous witch, or are you talking about a big bear hunt? I listened obliquely, for example, but apparently it's a new story.

The story of the daughter of a lord, of a distant, exotic city. Beautiful, she is blindfolded and proposed by an evil wizard. And she refused it, but her daughter slowly turned her body into a beast, and she was cursed.

But the hand of salvation was also extended to such a daughter. A good wizard offered to help. The only way to break the curse is to say no to Daiyuan. Thus the good wizard challenged the wicked wizard to take a ride.

It was an awesome fight. The power of the mighty mystery scatters sparks, and the fierce reward of the secret of witchcraft unfolds. The wicked wizard boasted tremendous magic, but the sassy good wizard was one good one. He was the owner of a rare talent for using two spirits to manipulate another system of magic.

And the wicked wizard was destroyed. But the hour is already late. The curse was deeply rooted in my daughter's body and was never broken.

The daughters, who have given birth to the ears of the beasts, are feared by the inhabitants of the city and are chased straight home. And the good wizard was with him, and the journey of the two men began.

Can the two of them find a place of peace? I don't know, only the Spirit knows where it's going - and the story closes.

"Anime……"

Applauding the pussy, Eileen groaned bosomly as she praised the singer's skill itself.

"The battle of the Orthodox was a lie."

"Oh. You know, the ears of the beast grow. Eighteenth of the Japanese, right?

"I don't know. I don't have that kind of hobby."

Kay shrugged her shoulders small enough to give Irene a teasing glance.

But I don't know. Imagine, for example, if Irene had cat ears?

…………

I thought you could... Kay just got a little cheerful. Eileen didn't miss the moment she stretched under her nose, though she immediately regained her bitter expression with an ale. He put the jock down and had some nagging grin.

"… it's interesting, nevertheless, that the concept of dual mage has emerged"

"Hmm?... ma, right. Looks like he had an idea in" Over Here. "

It was an obvious change of subject, but Eileen only quickened her eyebrows at this point and came to the conversation.

Essentially, magicians and covenant spirits are considered a set as one. Sieve for Kay, like Kerstin for Irene.

However, there are those whose rare fortunes overlap and who are able to make covenants with multiple spirits. The good fortune of meeting the Spirit and the good fortune of meeting the contractual conditions demanded by the Spirit on the spot. Both very high hurdles. In one of the most 'possible' examples, Dual Mage refers to a magician who contracts with two spirits.

"I was rarely in the game."

"Yeah. If you're in this one, I'd like to see you again."

You're a pretty lucky person, Eileen said, and then laughed like she remembered.

"Oh, no, there was such a thing as' Fairy Mother (Fairies Mum) '"

"Yeah, I was. I miss it."

To Eileen's words, Kay smiled and narrowed her eyes.

"Fairy Mother" is one of [DEMONDAL] 's specialty players. An obsessive magician who likes fairies too much and has successfully roamed the fairy's habitat with his covenant balls and sugar sweets and finally made a covenant with as many as five fairies. An avatar of a woman of the right width was happily taking the fairy around, attracting a laugh, and such a nickname was given.

Incidentally, the advantages of contracting multiple simultaneous with the same type of Spirit are thin. Because all spirits try to react to one technique and activate it, the effect is doubled, but the consumption is doubled, and the magic is quickly exhausted.

"But fairies are handy. I'd like to sign a contract if I can."

Fantasy and sleeping techniques will also work in magic props making.

"Right. And consuming magic."

Less and a good cospa, and, trying to say, Kay shuts his mouth. of the wind, I feel signs. I'm sure something bad will happen if I say it out loud.

"- Well, I don't know when or where to find a fairy, or maybe I can have one. One or two of the balls."

Eileen said that with a laugh, but she may have associated herself with the word "Ame Ball." Clouded my face.

…………

As it happens, silence comes down.

And the bard who was resting started singing again. Now it was Satina's classic righteous witch song. I was tired of Joaquin listening to me many times, and I felt uncomfortable more than that, so the two of them took their seats, from neither side.

Walk without hanging out and running errands.

Through the clutter, I could only see the walls. Speaking of which, Sasquatch and Suzuka are always with me when I go out of town, and I rarely get out on foot.

"Let's go."

"Right."

What the hell, Kay invited Eileen for a walk in the suburbs. After greeting the guards and getting their faces remembered, they went out to the meadows.

Refreshing. Pleasant afternoon breeze. The bumpy, chilly season is upon us.

I was used to seeing the lush grassland greenery, but I always watched it from the ride, so I felt the height of my perspective fresh.

"…… hey. Lily's, what do you think?"

Walking. Nice sight, no one, Irene finally opened her mouth.

"Addiction, huh?"

"... I wonder if that's really an addiction"

"… and say?

What else is there? When Kay looked surprised, Eileen prefaced, "I don't even know who I am."

"Lily, you've only been through this once, haven't you? That's not an injection or anything, either, but an oral intake.... so much for one shot, I wonder if it's something that makes me addicted"

If I didn't do it more than once, I wouldn't have had a terrible dependency, would I? and.

"... I don't know. But this is not Earth. It's no surprise that we don't know a Yaku who has an unusually high dependency."

"Well, that's right."

I don't want it to be that way, but Eileen looked spicy. Kay agrees.

"Right... Trauma and so on, honey candy may have been conditioned as a 'tranquilizer'. I can also think…"

"I hope so... No, it's not good."

Ha, and Eileen sighed briefly.

"... Either way, it doesn't change what Lily's in pain."

Yes, that was the fact.

By meditating silently, Kay gives his consent.

Pippy, Pippy...... sounds adorable and the bird flies away. Butterflies were dancing and flying as they pursued the rest of the summer incense.

"What are we supposed to do?"

Eileen steps into a nearby tree and sits on a large stone.

Sitting on the stump directly opposite it, Kay searched his chest pockets, not least.

"…… there are ways to solve Lily's problems"

"What? What?

"This is it."

I picked it with my finger and showed it.

A red copper-colored ring.

"It's the ring Oz gave me. If you wish on this one, you'll probably solve it in one shot"

Oz.

A wise man who dwells in the land of the north, in the forest of demons.

Descend from the heavens, and the devil is a pillar. Existence of different dimensions with immense power. Forgetfulness and memory.

"It would be an addiction, but it would be traumatic, but if it were in Oz's hands, in an instant..."

It should heal. It would be easy to mess with your memory.

But...

"But, … that's, Kay"

Eileen is confused. No, needless to say.

"I know. Lily does suffer... but it's not" dying. "

That's the thing, I ask with my eyes.

Lily is suffering at a young age.

But because of that suffering, we will not lose our lives even tomorrow, and the status quo is that we can live satisfactorily in five bodies.

You deserve deep sympathy, but you're still alive.

By contrast, the power of this ring is too great.

Even if your body chops a thousand pulls off and you suffer fatal injuries that you can't even heal in a high potion, you should recover in one shot if you call Oz in the hope of a ring.

Yes - even as Kay, I don't want to describe it this way, but it's too 'wasted'. To use for Lily's trauma 'Every Time'.

Anyway, you only get your wish with this ring once.

…………

Because she knew it, Eileen bit her lip with a rugged face.

"……… What does Kay think?"

"... Of course, I want to cure you. But if I use the ring here now, I think one day I'll definitely regret it"

When Kay spoke for real, Eileen leaned down.

And he said, "… I think so, too," in a voice that pushed him to death. He came to a similar conclusion with Kay that no matter how much he felt sorry for Lily, he should not misjudge the importance.

Let's say you healed Lily's trauma here. And one day, let's say there was a more serious and irrevocable incident.

Kay and Irene absolutely regret it.

I shouldn't have used the ring then.

But...

While rolling the ring in his hand, Kay thinks.

Is there a way to use this ring without regret?

Whenever there are any major incidents or accidents in their lives, Kay and the others have to ask themselves. Should we use it here? and.

Just because you have a serious choice, always and forever, you keep standing in the watershed.

This ring, indeed, has tremendous potential.

But Kay understood for the first time that the unworthy force was accompanied by the weight it deserved.

In living from now on - you have to keep worrying.

When will you use this ring?

I felt Oz's laughter echo from the red copper colored ring.

"Exactly, it's the devil's ring..."

In calm, but somewhere in the air you can even feel cold.

The two of them could only remain silent forever.