Before I knew it, the day had arrived for us to leave for the 'Wizard's Territory.' Due to my arm discomfort, I decided to ride a horse with Kyle, and the Blake Knights would see us off to a certain point. The knights from the North, fully prepared, all looked determined. It was a scene in stark contrast to Knox, who had a fresh, almost cheerful face, as if he were off on a picnic.
In the meantime, I had spent my time half-buried in a pile of books. I had avoided the wraith who was trying to call me somehow, and the books Kyle brought me, the documents, had fortunately not been in vain.
'Lukit, you said...'
A hundred years ago, the master of death that caused a stir in Meinhardt was 'Lukit.' He was the greatest wizard of his time, in fact, a man who made his name more widely known through his cruel hand rather than noble erudition. Lukit had sought to take revenge on those who had bogged down his life, studying a forbidden law. His goal was to tear the soul of everyone in the world to pieces, to make it non-existent, even preventing them from dreaming of the next life.
However, a problem arose that no one knew why. The one who died in the aftermath of explosive magic wasn't the people Lukit hated, but Lukit himself. That's how Lukit disappeared from the world. His soul was torn to shreds, and he left his body. People called him an 'exploding soul.' After a hundred years, the fear gradually faded, leaving only subtle sympathy and pathetic gazes.
[Current abnormal interference rate 5%]
And from what I'd found out so far, Lukit was Knox's colleague, and now he remained in the 'Wizard's Territory' in a torn soul state. As if to prove that I was right, the interference rate increased significantly. As I looked at the system window, I let out a sigh of relief. If we continued like this, we might soon reach 100%. What if that happened... I could also find ways to make my work safer.
The thought that continued to bite its tail was cut off only when I felt Kyle's gaze. I looked up at him with puzzled eyes and tilted my head slightly.
What the heck? Why are you looking like that...
"... Don't think nonsense, Your Highness!" I cried out in a muffled voice at the memories of the past that suddenly passed by.
Kyle looked at me for a long time, still with worried eyes, then loosened his arms from my waist and whispered, "It's too much..."
"Mmm-ts-suck," I muttered to myself with my teeth clenched and pressed my elbow against his stomach. When I looked up behind him, I saw the sky spreading out. The weather was sunny. It was the way into the tiger's den.
[(˘･_･˘)]
A dissatisfied and unwilling emoji came to mind. As we moved further north, away from the castle, I thought of it more often.
"I fully understand your heart."
I muttered to myself and pushed the spear. Yes, I won't give up either.
'By the way, how far have we come?'
I turned my head to look behind me, and the castle was no longer visible. When you turn off 'load,' the system tells you that you can return to the territory if you want, and although I had checked it several times... it was hard to shake off the strangely uneasy feeling. Above all, this horse, which I had been riding for several hours now, was especially problematic. I couldn't get on the bus like in a previous life; I felt exhausted just sitting on it. In addition, the uneven ground, untouched by humans, was frozen up to the elbows. When I added my arm that I couldn't use, it truly felt like death. I knew that wasn't the situation, but I just wanted to faint right now and wake up when we arrived.
I tried to calm my nausea and glared at Knox, who was leading the way. I couldn't help my eyes, so I quickly surrendered and leaned against Kyle's chest.
Though.
"Shu, it's better not to overdo it."
He said in a serious voice. Seeing him tapping his pocket slightly, I guessed it was a suggestion about returning to being a hamster. I sighed heavily and nodded.
'Let's not be stubborn.'
Kyle pulled the reins, slowed the horse, and held out a hand. He needed to trick me. This time, I had bought 'Lazinut Madeleine' in advance at the nut store. Thanks to continuously exploring areas that the Knights had never explored, the miracle level had gone up little by little, so I could afford to buy a few more.
My body, enveloped in bright light, landed safely in his palm. Thanks to the previous demonstration of miniaturization magic, the Blake Knights were fortunately able to remain silent. Even though I thought it was strange, no one asked about it.
The problem was that Knox, who was ahead of us, was slowing down and coming to our side. I slipped into Kyle's pocket and shrunk my body. I didn't even want to make eye contact. Go away.
"You use your magical power again."
He smiled with his eyes narrowed and whispered in a soft voice. Reflexively, Kyle reached for his sword grip, then immediately clenched his fists and muttered, "Give directions straight."
"It's a one-way road anyway, do you really need my guidance, Your Highness?"
"Your attitude of welcoming guests is a mess."
"What is a customer? He's a hostage."
It seemed that invisible sparks were flying between them. I just poked my head out of my pocket at an angle and looked at the two people, who seemed especially huge, and sighed heavily.
Anyway, I have to fight for my life to die later, so let's fight in advance now and use it somewhere. Put it down, let it go.
I felt like the fatigue I had suppressed was coming back up. I wanted to see them fight like that. It was better to be in the 'loading' state. I called the system and asked it to turn off 'loading.' No, I tried to release it.
['Fire □ ∝' will be lifted¿¿.]
The blue window in front of me distorted, and the letters began to twist and deform. Then, the consonants and vowels were torn apart, and an eerie sentence appeared.
[What is this¿¿¿⇔]
I felt goosebumps all over my body.
No way... Did Knox intervene in the system? No matter how much of a wizard he is, is he capable of that kind of thing?
I flinched in shock, and Kyle noticed something strange and immediately drew his sword. As if it were a sign of some kind of war, the Knights of Blake drew their swords in unison and surrounded Knox.
"What did you do?" Kyle's cold voice rang out.
Knox added with a casual shrug, "I didn't do anything. Rather... I think it's His Highness the Grand Duke's little lover who's calling something suspicious."
"Shu doesn't call anything suspicious."
"You have great faith."
"No, it's just ordinary faith."
After a short silence, a stable system appeared in the air and erupted.
[┗|｀O′|┛!!]
Suddenly, someone intervened, which made the system angry. Even if it was like me, a program, if anyone interfered, it would clench its fists.
[Inappropriate influence detected! The amount of intervention allowed due to interference has increased!]
Is it because of my mood that I feel like I'm getting angry?
I didn't know what it meant to 'increase the amount of intervention,' but it was probably like during political disputes. It seemed that they were trying to give me a special discount.
'If you have something moderately good, please let me know in advance. If it's okay now, 'bring it up' as soon as possible. Release it.'
I left the system that seemed busy doing repair work and tapped my finger on Kyle's thigh. It meant that it was okay now. I came back as a hamster, and although I was a little surprised, the only thing that got me busy was the system. I took out my 'enhanced insight eye' to see the situation outside in more detail.
Through the sunglasses, I could see the scenery outside my pocket vaguely. Kyle slowly withdrew his sword, recognizing my signal. The same was true for the knights, but their long intestines were tight as if they were about to explode.
"If you're worried about your lover, let's take it out now and check it out." A piercing gaze fell into Kyle's pocket.
Is it because of my mood? I felt a chill as if we had made eye contact.No way, Knox doesn't have clairvoyance, does he? Of course, looking at this situation, I don't see much to say. But... I don't think so.
Kyle took a step back, as if to protect me. "That's fine."
"Really? I couldn't hear it."
"I don't need to tell you."
Knox kept looking at him curiously, but as if it didn't matter, he shrugged his head. A cold wind blew in the silence. Knox ran his hands through the air as if to gauge the flow and grabbed a few strands of wind, then said in a light voice, "From here on, only Your Highness should follow me."
Before I knew it, we had reached the end of the field beyond the plains and forests. Passing through this snowy mountain, then the frozen sea would appear. A lawless land beyond the border that no one had ever seen before. The home of the suspicious unrest that I had only seen as a map. The territory of the sorcerer, which existed in the northern extremes.
"It's a place that is difficult to enter without an invitation."
They had decided to accompany Knox only to where he allowed, but the drivers still showed signs of discomfort. They looked at Kyle with anxious eyes, as if they had to do so. Kyle also looked reluctant, but a promise was a promise. He thought for a moment, then nodded his head slowly.
"Good. The Knights are to return to their domains."
"... Your Highness."
"If I can afford it, I'll send you a letter."
Knox, who had been waiting for them to say goodbye, interrupted in a low voice, "Be sure to go back the way you came. If you don't want to lose your life."
I called out to the system, ignoring the subtle malice behind the words. Busy, but wait. Let's just check James and Kyle.
[James Russell, about ?5 days away from the estimated time of death.] [Kyle Jane Meinhardt, about 35 days before the expected time of death.]
"You must be safe, Your Highness."
"Yes. Don't worry about it uselessly. Just prepare well for the things I ordered."
"I obey the orders of His Highness the Grand Duke."
After greeting him warmly, Kyle looked at James in the distance and sighed lightly.
"Branches."
"Of course."
As Kyle turned his horse's head, a row of system windows popped up in front of me.
[About 35 days left before the expected time of death.]
[Your choice will slightly increase the miracle value.]
[If you make an irreversible choice, there will be a massive change in the miracle number!]
[Current miracle figure 81.2%]