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There were especially famous adventurers among those who were part of the “Star Chasers.”

The adventurers filtered by the finicky leader were all platinum-grade adventurers, but as is common in any organization, a “hierarchy of strength” began to form.

Every time new members joined or left, their unique tradition unfolded.

“Well, it’s packaged as a tradition, but it’s just an initiation ceremony. The old-timers mess with and beat up the newbies, you know?”

“That completely breaks the immersion. The image is ruined too.”

Skylar cleared his throat again and continued his story.

Honestly… I think it’s my role to tell stories and sing about the past. I felt a little jealous. It felt like my role and story were being stolen.

Could it be that this thought also stems from the bard profession? Or is it because of my utterly changed personality?

‘…But the changed me is still me.’

Yeah. I just have to accept it.

I focused my ears back on his story.

Even now, wizards are highly valuable assets, but they were even more precious 200 years ago.

The reason is simple.

The Mage Tower sent wizards to the battlefield.

At that time, the Mage Tower was a subordinate organization of the Empire…

I interrupted Skylar’s story.

“Skylar, I’m not curious.”

“But, it’s interesting—”

“It’s not. Just get to the point.”

Skylar flipped through several pages of his notebook with a look like a drenched cat.

Seeing that expression, I praised myself for interrupting Skylar. Of course, it was me. A bard is the one who makes the cool-headed judgments.

The Star Chasers concluded that their party was lacking wizards and recruited two new wizards.

“This was me and Osidens.”

“And Nisha and Propertyius?”

“The two of them were already in the party as priests and vanguards. In terms of experience, they’ve probably been around much longer than me.”

“Ah.”

“Anyway, my sister and I were pretty famous wizards at that time. We had nicknames and developed our own unique magic.”

“…What’s your unique magic?”

“It’s taboo among wizards to ask about someone else’s unique magic.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s my original magic that I developed uniquely, designed in a structure that others can never use. Revealing my unique magic is only possible with someone I can trust completely.”

“Does that mean you can’t trust me?”

“No.”

“Then why won’t you tell me?”

“Because it simply didn’t mean ‘someone I can trust.’”

“…Huh? Then what does it mean?”

“An intimate partner.”

I immediately blushed.

This was because I realized the meaning behind what I had just said to Skylar.

For wizards, asking someone to share their unique magic is… quite similar to asking them to be your partner. After hearing Skylar’s additional explanation, I remained with a flushed face and ears, my head bowed low.

In the end, I was only able to calm myself down after almost finishing the water in the leather flask at my waist.

I had mixed a little bit of alcohol in the water… would that be okay?

‘My feelings are weird lately.’

I took a deep breath and turned my head.

As I forcibly twisted my sluggish brain, I felt a heat rising on my forehead as if it were overheating.

With the alcohol flowing in, it felt like my thoughts were finally loosening up.

Before long, I discovered something strange.

‘The Witch of the West, Osidens… Skylar’s sister uses her unique magic, moving corpses, as if she’s advertising it.’

I immediately locked eyes with Skylar.

“I can understand what you’re trying to say right away.”

“Want to take a guess?”

“Of course, you were probably going to point out that Osidens is randomly spreading her unique magic everywhere as if she’s advertising it.”

“……”

“Was I wrong?”

I promptly shut my mouth.

I hadn’t expected to guess it so accurately.

To be honest, I felt a bit hurt to my pride. Am I that predictable? Is my expression all laid out for people to see?

How frustrating.

“You got it. Exactly.”

“The reason why Osidens indiscriminately uses her unique magic, ‘moving corpses,’ is quite simple. You can figure it out with just a little thought.”

“…Just tell me. I don’t like riddles.”

“Because Osidens’ unique magic isn’t moving corpses.”

“What?”

“My sister’s unique magic isn’t moving corpses; it’s ‘forgetting.’ It’s the power to make people forget they ever existed for a brief moment.”

“What kind of magic is that?”

“It can make the world forget about a living being or something that was once alive. For example, if you activate forgetting on a corpse, what happens?”

“The corpse disappears?”

“No. It makes the world forget that the corpse is dead. That way, moving corpses come into being.”

“But Osidens’ corpses were following her commands.”

“It’s a principle of controlling moving corpses that have neither brain nor muscle, just bones left. Once you know it, it’s simpler than you’d think. Anyway… if I control my body with the strength of my left hand, I believed I could also manage the flow of my mana.”

“How do you know so much about Osidens’ unique magic? It’s not just mere observation, is it?”

Suddenly, Skylar clammed up at my question, rolling his eyes to the side, clearly showing he was avoiding my question.

Just a little, just a tiny bit, I felt anger.

I could sense a vague emotion gnawing at me from within my chest.

Yeah. I was probably angry at Skylar for hiding such important things and acting as if nothing was wrong until now.

I defined my unclear feelings and emotions as anger.

Magic swirled in my pink eyes, and I reached out my hand toward Skylar’s face.

He turned his body and tried to dodge my hand, but he was a tad late. My hand touched his cheek before he could escape.

I held his face with both hands and forced him to turn towards me so I could look into his eyes.

He tried his best to avoid my gaze, but ultimately, he couldn’t escape our eye contact.

His eyes reflected in my pupils.

Countless ‘attempt’ dice were rolling.

In the surge of impulses, I… finally used my charm properly.

–

[ Charm – Over 20 ]

[ 13 + 5 ]

[ Failure! ]

–

–

[ Charm – Over 20 ]

[ 8 + 5 ]

[ Failure! ]

–

–

[ Charm – Over 20 ]

[ 10 + 5 ]

[ Failure! ]

–

.

.

.

–

[ Charm – Over 20 ]

[ 15 + 5 ]

[ Success! ]

–

“Skylar.”

“Y-yes…?”

“I’d appreciate it if you answer my words honestly.”

Estimating the duration of the provocation I had used before, I figured that the charm wouldn’t last long on Skylar.

“At most, 1 to 2 minutes.”

Time was of the essence. While Skylar was hopelessly captivated, I needed to extract as much honest information as possible.

I quickly organized my list of questions in my mind and filtered out the most important one again. It took exactly about 20 seconds to reach this point.

“Why did your relationship with your sister, Osidens, go sour?”

“She killed her comrades to obtain the body she desired. I couldn’t protect anyone.”

“How many body owners do you know of?”

“Including you, a total of five.”

“What’s your true intention in using me to achieve your goal?”

“I don’t think of using you. I definitely tried to use you in the past, but now… I don’t want to part with you.”

Wh-what, what, what are you saying…?!

My face burned.

I felt embarrassed.

It was like I had received a confession of love.

I lost my composure, stood there with my mouth agape, and ended up fully exhausting the remaining charm time.

Skylar’s gaze regained its clarity, and he began to glare at me.

“Selina.”

“Uh, um, yeah.”

“Selina.”

“Yeah.”

“I thought you would understand better why I’m calling you now.”

“…I do.”

I had used my eye power without permission and, to make matters worse, I had forced enchantment, and even uncovered secrets I didn’t want to reveal.

No matter how curious I was, there’s a line to cross.

I had undeniably crossed a line here.

Forcing someone to reveal their secrets without their consent… was the worst. If I were to flip the situation, I wouldn’t forgive the other person.

Feeling a bit melancholic, I looked at Skylar with my eyes filled with moisture.

It was a secret that could only be performed by someone biologically female: ‘cry when at a disadvantage.’

It was a bit embarrassing, but I had no other choice.

“Why are you suddenly crying? No, I’m not that angry. I was going to talk about it anyway.”

“Really?”

Noticing my expression brighten, Skylar frowned again.

It was a truly hateful expression.

My mood dropped again.