Chapter 71

Sophia Ark.

She was born into the Ark family, a so-called noble family.

The Ark family has been producing excellent magicians for generations, and no one in the country is not familiar with them.

The king has entrusted them with the position of uniting the magicians and mages who belong to the court, and they are the top magic family in the country.

The story of how they defended their country from the Quadrastampede, an unprecedented disaster that struck the kingdom a long time ago, is well known.

The Quadrastampede was a time when four different kinds of powerful demons began a massive march toward the royal capital at the same time.

The Ogre and Cyclops, which are among the strongest humanoid demons, invaded from the ground, while the flying dragon Wyvern and a flock of Griffons attacked from the sky.

All of these demons were designated as A-B-rank, and it is still a mystery as to why they all invaded the royal capital at the same time.

The ones who are said to have saved the kingdom from such a critical situation are the Calibur’s and the Ark’s, the two families that currently hold the greatest power in the capital.

The three major noble families that currently hold the greatest power in the capital are『Calibur』,『Ark』, and『Chaos』families.

The Calibur family excels in the martial arts and has outstanding command abilities.

The Ark, who handled high-level magic, supported the warriors fighting in the vanguard and supported the front lines.

The Chaos family was a leader in the study of demon biology and was skilled in the use of black magic, which was said to have the highest attack power of all offensive magic.

At the time, these families did not have much power, but as heroes who saved their country, they were entrusted with important roles by the king.

The Caliburs became the representatives of the royal guard.

The Arks family was given the role of managing and guiding the sorcerers in the court.

The House of Chaos was in a position to control all the research departments in the kingdom.

Sofia was born as the youngest daughter of one of the most prominent families in the country.

From the time she was born, Sofia’s eyes and hair were colored differently on each side, and when people around her saw her appearance, they felt weirded out and distanced themselves from her.

Fortunately, her parents and her siblings doted on her and took good care of her.

She was also able to use a certain amount of magic even before she received her『class』from the goddess, which made her family very happy. However, this made the rest of the family even more fearful of Sofia’s existence, and they drifted further apart.

Contrary to the reaction of the people around her, Sofia has been generously loved by her family.

However, for a young child, the fact that those around her shunned her must have been mentally overwhelming. Sofia’s naturally shy personality also contributed to her seclusion in the house.

During the time she was at home, she spent most of her time studying and absorbing knowledge of magic, probably due to her family history.

This is the foundation of the Sofia of today.

At the age of 15, Sofia, who was still afraid of going out of her house, was given a『class』by the goddess, and became a『Sage』.

Sage is one of the most envied jobs in the field of magic.

At any rate, she could learn as much magic as she wanted to, and bring it to a higher level.

Of course, the Ark family has had a few people with the class of Sage in the past, but even so, it is a job so rare that there have been no more than five in the history of the Ark family.

The family had always expected Sofia to be an excellent magician, and she was indeed a genius at magic.

Sofia was given her class, and she was elated to be able to handle magic, and her natural desire for knowledge grew even more.

At some point, she became interested in the forbidden books in the『Lord’s Library』, the largest and most prestigious library in the kingdom, and dreamed of becoming the head librarian with the authority to read them.

Sofia was the most talented sorceress in the Ark family, but even so, she was the youngest daughter and there was little prospect of her becoming the head of the family.

If that was the case, she had the option of getting married to another nobleman or leaving home and becoming independent.

But for Sofia, who has always refused to connect with others, or been refused, almost to the point of being anthropophobic, marriage by marriage is out of the question.

So, her options are inevitably limited. She could leave home and become an independent librarian.

However, this is a difficult path even for Sofia, who has rejected the outside world, and she must first break free from her life of seclusion before she can even talk about it.

Her family was also concerned about her reluctance to leave the house.

It would not be good for Sofia to live in the house all the time.

However, considering the wounds she had sustained in her heart, they were hesitant to take her out of the house.

At that time, two people appear at Sophia’s side.

Ares, the hero, and Martina, the holy knight.

This was the encounter that changed Sofia’s fate.

◆◇◆◇◆

「Kiriha… Kiriha!」

「Hehehe~……hm~mm? Who is that~? I was just feeling really good right now~… eh?」

A voice that seemed to belong to a woman called out to Kiriha, who was smiling ecstatically despite the insult spewed at her by a beautiful young woman with green hair.

The voice sounded familiar, and Kiriha turned around with a disheveled face.

There, standing side by side, was a slender beauty with sunset-red hair, and a petite woman with black and white hair that stretched almost to the ground.

「I’m sorry to interrupt your euphoria, but it’s time for you to come back to reality, Kiriha.」

「Uhyaaa?! C-Captain Leia! E-Even Sofia-sama?」

「Hello, Kiriha-chan.」

「Y-Yes! Thank you for your hard work, Sofia-sama!」

Kiriha stood upright with her back straight and her legs together.

She put her right hand on her chest and posed in a salute.

She looked like a knight in shining armor, as if the eccentricities of the past had been a lie.

However, she could not deny the feeling that she had made up for it.

「Th-Thank you for your help, Kiriha-chan. I went to the scene of the fight earlier, and I heard that Kiriha-chan was headed this way.」

「D-Did you come all the way here to chase me? I-I am sorry about that.」

「No, no, don’t worry about it. So, why are you here, Kiriha-chan?」

「Did any of the rowdies from the earlier incident escape?」

When Sofia and Leia asked her about it, Kiriha’s expression did not change.

「Yes, actually, one of the people who caused the fight ran away, and I chased after him, but I lost sight of him… I’m sorry.」

She said falsely with an indifferent expression.

The contents are not all false, but most of them are false, such as the fact that there was more than one person she tracked in the first place, and that she caught up with them but missed them.

―――Uuuu~~ I’m sorry, Sofia-sama, Captain Leia!

However, Kiriha was in agony at the fact that she had spoken falsehoods to the two people she respected so much, and she felt the urge to get down on her knees right there. Still, she decided to let the green-haired girls off the hook.

They were the victims in this mess, and she couldn’t chase after them now, not after she’d told them they could leave.

Kiriha broke out in a cold sweat inside, but kept her mouth shut about the three girls.

「I see… I can’t believe you’re sprinkled on the target..」

「I-I’m sorry.」

「No, we’ve only been in this town for a month. I guess the other guy who lived here had the advantage of the land. Don’t be so discouraged. As for the ones who escaped, we can ask the men we captured this time for more information.」

「Y-Yes…」

This is not good…

If she doesn’t shut those men’s mouths beforehand, Kiriha’s explanation will be contradicted.

She also needs to make sure that the guards who rushed to the scene are aware of the situation.

When she got back to her office, Kiriha began to think about what she was going to do…

「Then, I guess it’s time for us to head back to our quarters, Sofia-sama. It’s getting late, and we’ll have to wait until later to investigate the town.」

「Ah, yes, that’s right. Also, I’m sorry to keep repeating this, but if there is any progress in the search for that person, please let me know.」

「Yes, I understand.」

「Oh, Sofia-sama, you were looking for someone?」

As Leia and Sofia were about to return to their quarters, Kiriha asked them a question.

They had come to this town to investigate the appearance of phantom beasts in the first place. In addition, Martina, the leader of the knights, had instructed her to look into the situation in the town.

Sofia had come with them because she thought her knowledge of the situation would be useful in investigating the sudden appearance of all the phantoms.

Leia was investigating the current situation in the town to report back to Martina, but it seemed that Sofia had asked her to do something as well.

From the previous conversation, it seems that she is looking for someone.

「What would you like, Sofia-sama? How about having Kiriha help with the search? There is a limit to how much I can do on my own, and I think it would be a good idea to add some help.」

「Ah, R-Right… Kiriha-chan is Leia-chan’s subordinate and seems to have a firm mouth. I might as well ask for it.」

「All right. Kiriha.」

「Y-Yes!」

Leia called out Kiriha’s name and took out a sheet of sketch paper from her pocket and handed it to her.

She then explained to Kiriha that she was looking for the person in the description. She told her that she had no clue who the person was, and instructed her to look for traces of the man along with the investigation of the phantoms.

But,

「―――Hey, this person whose description you’re looking for, I saw him here a while ago?」

「「―――?!」」

Kiriha said this as if it was nothing, but Sofia came at her with great force.

「W-When was the last time you saw this person?! No, you’re sure it’s him, right?!」

「Y-Yes, just a moment ago. I saw this man in the street.」

Kiriha was taken aback by Sofia’s attitude, which was different from her usual timid demeanor.

Her two different colored eyes, which were usually hidden by her bangs, peeked out from the gap and seemed to convey a strong spirit.

「Wh-Which way! Which way did this person go?!」

「Uh, uh…」

「Answer me! Kiriha Shiranui!」

「Y-Yes, ma’am!」

Kiriha, who had been struggling to speak, was forcibly forced to speak by Sofia’s fierce expression.

Leia and the surrounding townspeople were stunned by the sheer force of her words.

Leia, in particular, could not hide her surprise that the quiet Sofia had shown so much emotion.

However, Kiriha had lost sight of them while her mind was temporarily wandering, so she did not know where the man in question had gone.

「I-I’m sorry, Sofia-sama, I-I took my eyes off him for a moment and he’s gone, so I can’t tell you which way he went…」

「―――?! B-But, it hasn’t been long since you lost sight of him, has it?」

「Y-Yes, it should.」

Kiliha felt that it must have been less than an hour ago.

If that was the case, there was a good chance that they were still in the area.

「If so… Leia-chan, Kiriha-chan! Please summon the town guards to completely seal off the entrances and exits to Cid! And strictly order them to never let anyone out of the town! Also, the remaining guards will search for the man with the description at once!」

「Y-You mean now? I’m sure it will take some time to seal the gates. And if you do that without the permission of the mayor, Matilda, there will be problems…」

「In the meantime, I’ll temporarily set up a massive ward around the entire town! It will only last for about an hour, so please hurry up and seal it off! And I will also explain to Matilda-san directly later! So hurry up!」

「I-I understand. Then, I will hurry back to my quarters and gather the guards. Kiriha, you are to track down the man you saw.」

「U-Understood!」

Both Leia and Kiriha looked puzzled at the rapid succession of instructions from Sofia, but it must have been something serious for her to be so distraught.

Leia changed her mind and ran to carry out Sofia’s instructions.

Kiriha also ran as fast as she could through the town in pursuit of the man.

「I found you… I found you, Ares-san. I knew you were alive… You’re alive… now, now! I’m coming to see you…!」

Sofia ran to the center of town, and as soon as she arrived, she deployed a massive ward that covered the entire town.

The people of the town were uneasy at the sight of the guards running down the main street, muttering about what was going on.

The entrances and exits to the town were sealed off as if not even a single rat could get through, giving off a tense atmosphere.

However, despite a thorough search of the town by the guards, Ares could not be found.