_But why swing a knife yourself when you have such a helpful spirit?_ She could have used Wind Blade or something similar. Not that I meant she should attack *us*, of course.
"You... you're abandoning me?"
Perhaps she meant the spirit had abandoned her? Although, I would have fled too if my summoner turned out to be a human trafficker.
"Yes. You don't meet my requirements."
_The books say spirits are pure and demanding creatures. Seems they were right._
"So stop."
The headmistress, realizing she had been abandoned by her spirit and that all escape routes were severed, collapsed into tears. The children Daisy had been protecting emerged from their hiding spot and carefully pulled Troy away from her.
"Kanna, take care of him and the children," I said quietly.
Mary—I believe that was her name—let Kanna take her hand and lead her to a corner. _Better if I don't approach the children. They'll only get frightened again. Let Kanna handle them._
Jelly was tending to his friend. So that left me to deal with the headmistress. But what if she attacked me?
Then Daisy approached. _Right—Daisy's with me!_ If there were two of us, the chances of getting stabbed in the back were at least halved.
But Daisy said something completely different:
"Why... why didn't you save Troy?"
_What is she talking about?_ Little Mary had jumped out and distracted everyone! Daisy had fallen for it too—we all had.
Of course I was frustrated, but I knew Daisy wasn't thinking clearly right now. Still, that didn't make her accusation sting any less.
"That wasn't in our agreement."
_Personal and business must be kept separate._ I decided to play it cool and point out that protecting Troy had never been part of our deal. Otherwise, Daisy would demand a discount for my failure to save him.
"What?" I tilted my head. "You want to save him?"
"Yes." Her voice cracked. "I want to."
"I have holy water. Just one bottle."
I'd brought it along just in case—Kanna and I had been planning to visit the temple, and anything could happen there. One bottle. The problem was, there were *two* wounded.
I would have loved to split the holy water between them, but apparently that wasn't possible. One bottle per person. I didn't understand the magical rules behind it, but supposedly it didn't work any other way.
So I could either save Troy or Jelly's friend.
_What a choice._ It was too difficult a decision.
I couldn't make it.
"Daisy, choose. Who should we give the holy water to—Troy, or... him?"
I directed the question to her. Daisy stared at me as if I'd asked the stupidest question imaginable.
"Just kidding." I pulled my words back, swallowing the bitter taste in my throat. _Fine. I'm the villain here. I'll decide myself._
Daisy would choose Troy anyway, wouldn't she? Of two evils, one must choose the lesser. The beastman, with his natural regeneration, would pull through eventually—but Troy was on the brink of death.
I pulled the treasured vial from my bodice and pressed it into Troy's hand. The bleeding stopped instantly. In a few hours, the wound would heal completely, leaving not even a scar.
_Now that's what I call holy water._ No wonder it cost a fortune.
And poor Melek... I would cure him later. *Definitely.*
"I can't heal you right now," I told him quietly. "Do you mind?"
I decided to warn him, just in case. He should be grateful I'd saved him at all.
"...No. Everything's fine," Jelly's friend replied in a soft, obedient voice.
My conscience twisted.
"Then... may I go with you?"
"You have nowhere to go?"
He nodded.
_Nowhere to go?_ A touching image immediately formed in my mind: he'd lost his home and family to human traffickers... It would be better not to ask him about it. The answer would only be heartbreaking.
"I don't mind."
Jelly's friend looked pleased.
_But if I show up in town with a wounded, blindfolded man, rumors will start swirling about me again. And asking him to remove the bandage... that seems cruel. I didn't heal his wound, and now I'm going to strip away his sight too? I'll die of shame._
"Melek, are you hurt...?" Mary approached him and asked the most uncomfortable question possible.
My conscience screamed at me.
_Okay—we can't drag this out any longer. We need to leave quickly and get him treated._
I found a piece of rope on the floor and bound the headmistress's wrists.
"It's dark here—be careful!"
Supporting the two wounded men, we made our way out of the basement, careful not to brush against the children. The headmistress offered to guide us, but I didn't trust her and refused. Jelly had to use his sense of smell once more to find the exit.
We quickly located the stairs leading up.
"How did it... break...?" The headmistress stared at the destroyed secret passage in bewilderment.
I had only pushed the door. Perhaps the wood had simply rotted with age?
"We made it out..."
"Ooooh... I was so scared..."
The children burst into tears of relief upon reaching the surface. They'd been trapped for so long... Even Daisy couldn't hold back.
Leaving the crying children to their catharsis, I looked around. Where had that little one who'd been lounging on the magic circle gone?
"Pudding?"
With children crying and cats meowing, I couldn't pinpoint where Pudding was. You couldn't yell at children to make them stop sobbing... This situation put me in an awkward position. I'd told him to wait here! Where had he wandered off to?
At least he wasn't an ordinary cat—he was a beastman who understood human speech.
"Meow!" came from behind the door.
_Pudding!_
Delighted, I flung the door open—and stopped short.
Had he grown that fast? We were the same height now... wait, that wasn't the point. Pudding was sitting in someone's arms.
I looked up and saw a familiar face.
"Sir Gabriel?"
"Good evening, Lady Rohanson."
_What? What are you doing with my cat?_
Behind Gabriel, another familiar figure appeared.
"Hena?"
_What is going on here?_
Gabriel, looking rather like a lover caught red-handed, began nervously explaining everything in order.
Basically—
"Someone informed me that you might need assistance."
In short, it was fairly simple. Gabriel had come looking for me for some reason.
"I apologize for arriving so late and without prior notice."
But I hadn't been home. Instead, he'd encountered Hena. She explained that Kanna had left, saying she'd "be back soon"—but hours had passed, and worry had set in.
_Kanna... you're so naive. How could you possibly know when we'd return?_
Their goals aligned, and thus a search party for Evangeline (and Kanna) was formed.
They'd learned my address from the butler, arrived here in the temple carriage, and grown concerned when they found not a single soul in the shelter.
If it weren't for Mr. Pudding, they would have left already.
That explained why he'd been sitting in Gabriel's arms. Pudding, nestled against him, looked utterly exhausted.
_My poor little one... he can't speak yet... he must have tried so hard to explain everything without words that he wore himself out completely. Well done!_
When I lifted Pudding away, Gabriel's gaze sharpened.
"So, Lady Rohanson—would you be so kind as to explain what exactly is going on here?"
_Well... it's a long story..._
Where did I even begin? With the fact that I'd gone to visit Daisy? But that would seem suspicious—checking up on someone who had suddenly quit. I couldn't exactly admit I'd wanted to know what she was saying about me.
"I think you'd better ask Miss Daisy about that. I came here at her request."
Kanna came to my rescue once again. Her words were so logical and convincing that I was genuinely amazed.
_What a wonderful heroine we have!_
Daisy, standing behind Kanna, bowed her head.
_Hmm... it seems they've become friends. Or is that just my imagination?_
"Pleased to see you again," Daisy said.
"Likewise."
"Then perhaps you could explain everything to us?"
Daisy glanced at me, then began her account.
She explained that the headmistress had been selling children since her own childhood at the orphanage, and this time she had locked them in the basement to pay off a debt Troy had incurred using the building as collateral.
As evidence, she presented the documents discovered in the headmistress's office—records of every child sale.
Daisy didn't mention the spirit. She'd probably decided to keep my secret out of solidarity.
_But what's the point if the magic circle is still on the floor?_
"Then this drawing..."
"It appears she copied it from a painting in the temple. You could verify her temple pass." _If they don't find records of her visiting, they simply haven't looked hard enough. Excellent answer!_
"What will happen to Headmistress Merai?"
"She will remain in our custody until the trial. Especially given her connection to this drawing."
If Gabriel was handling it, I could rest assured.
"Yuriel, please arrange transportation for Merai Miller."
_Oh—I wanted to ask the headmistress something._
I asked Yuriel if I could speak with her before they took her away. He kindly agreed.
I expected her to beg for release, but the headmistress appeared calm and detached—almost peaceful. She seemed resigned to her fate.
"What will happen to me?"
"You will be punished."
My heart beat faster. I needed to learn how she had summoned the spirit—if it truly *was* a spirit...
"Do you know what you summoned?"
The headmistress glanced at Yuriel, then answered evasively:
"...A creature that doesn't obey me. A real headache."
_So it really was a wind spirit. They're so... freedom-loving._
"And how did you summon it?"
"I remember perfectly."
Having said this, she fell silent.
_Why won't she elaborate? And why is she the only one who remembers the ritual?_
I felt like I'd asked a classmate if he had an eraser, and he'd simply replied, "Yes."
_But I obviously want to borrow it! That's an unspoken rule of society! Maybe things work differently in this world?_
I wanted to grab her by the collar and force her to talk, but there were too many witnesses. Paladins. Children. One wrong move, and all my efforts to repair my reputation would crumble to dust.
_I'll have to wait..._