Chapter 44 : Masquerade

At his request, my body froze.

“But, Chris, didn’t you want to be the princess’s dance partner…?”

“…Of course not. In the first place, Isabel-nim’s dance partner is already decided.”

“…Who is it?”

“Of course, it’s Commander Violet. To signal the opening of the ball, she dances with the highest-ranking Spirit Master.”

“…Then, did you lie to me?”

“I didn’t mean to upset you. I was wondering how I could naturally get closer to Saya…”

What is he saying…?

Get closer… to me?

“…Give me some time.”

“Yes, I didn’t expect you to answer right away. Oh, right.”

I thought we were about to part ways, but he stopped me.

“Is there a magic supply store around here?”

“Magic supplies? There’s one in the alley… What do you need it for?”

“I’m a little interested in the combination of magic and archery.”

“I see, that’s amazing passion.”

He’s already reached the pinnacle of archery, so he’s expanding his territory to magic. A genius who also puts in effort.

“Thank you. I’ll be waiting for your answer, Saya.”

“…”

The annual ball held at the Armonia Academy is meant as a break for Spirit Masters tired of training, and also as a way to promote friendship with invited dignitaries and the next generation of national Spirit Master candidates.

Before the actual ball, I was briefed on the mission.

Led by Cled, instructors and selected Spirit Masters gathered.

“Recently, an attempted theft by a suspicious person has been confirmed within the academy. The academy believes that there is a high possibility of retaliation from the Sarkas Cult for the previous incident and has decided to increase the number of armed personnel.”

He explained the precautions to us and instructed us to immediately report any suspicious persons to the instructors.

But his words didn’t really register in my head.

‘I’m going crazy. What should I wear?’

I was racking my brain about what to wear to the ball.

If I went in my usual bandit clothes, I’d obviously attract attention for the wrong reasons.

But then, I heard a strange sound from Instructor Iris, who was standing next to me.

“Sob… Sniffle…”

“…?”

I slightly turned my head to look at her, and she was sobbing sadly, holding back tears.

“…What’s wrong…!?”

“That’s… sniffle. I spent all my salary on a dress for the ball… but the instructors can’t participate…”

“…Didn’t you receive prior notice?”

“I, I don’t have any close instructor friends…”

The more I saw her, the more pathetic she seemed.

“…Sob… Will I ever have a chance to wear it…! I even got anemia from dieting!”

She sniffled and stared at me.

“…Could Saya wear it for me?”

“Yes?”

“I bought this on sale, so I can’t return it, and it’s too wasteful to just let it rot…! Saya, you don’t have any extra fat, and it will look good on you!”

‘Should I take it, or not?’

It was sudden, but it was true that I didn’t have anything suitable to wear.

…It doesn’t cost anything, and she wants me to, so it might be better to wear it.

“…I will.”

The dress I received from Instructor Iris was much more mature than I thought.

It was a black dress that was a little loose in the chest area and exposed my shoulders.

‘Wow… I can’t get used to this…’

Anyway, I gently put the dagger inside the dress and stood at the entrance of the hall.

To avoid being caught with a weapon, I had to act naturally like the other Spirit Masters in the ballroom.

This year’s ball theme was a masquerade.

Wearing a mask that could be a wolf or a fox, I looked around.

‘Why did that bastard say that…’

I never thought I’d be asked to dance by a guy.

I’ve had a knight make something like a confession to me during the team assignment ceremony, but thanks to Luna, I got through it awkwardly.

But now it’s different.

My teammates aren’t here, and if I run into him here, I’ll have to answer.

First, I decided to avoid him as much as possible and look for suspicious people as per the mission.

‘…Could there be Sarkas Cultists mixed in here?’

Because everyone was wearing masks, it was difficult to even gauge their age.

After all the Spirit Masters who had gathered to explain the mission had dispersed, Cled told me something separately.

The Sarkas Cultists who infiltrated the school were aiming for the bottle containing the blood of the ancient species that Julius had drunk.

For what purpose did they try to retrieve it?

“You’re here, Spirit Master.”

“…Gasp.”

The voice from behind was a familiar male voice.

Although his face was covered by a mask, I could tell it was Chris from his characteristic ash-gray hair.

“Have you decided on an answer?”

“You see, that’s…”

Now I couldn’t avoid answering.

It wasn’t a problem that I didn’t like him.

The first dance partner I’d ever have is a man.

Even if I’m in a woman’s body now, I wanted to avoid that.

“Thank you for waiting. I would like to thank everyone gathered here.”

While I was worrying over my answer, the academy commander’s speech began at a good time.

The people who were chatting also turned their heads to look at Violet.

“I am Violet, the commander of the Spirit Masters and the headmaster of the Spirit Academy. I would like to greet you all on the occasion of this ball.”

I’ve had conversations with him in person, but his white hair that comes down to his shoulders and his mysterious appearance made it difficult to guess his age.

Looking around, Chris also seemed to be focused on the suddenly started speech.

‘Okay, let’s sneak out in this gap.’

I’m sorry for Chris, but I’d rather he dance with a proper woman, not a half-baked woman like me.

It’s too much for a boy who’s just turned 17 to have a dance partner whose insides are actually an old man.

As I was sneaking through the crowd, I spotted a person who looked suspicious no matter how you looked at it.

A woman who was moving quickly while looking around suspiciously.

Feeling a premonition, I secretly followed her.

The place she arrived at was a small buffet in the corner of the ballroom.

A suspicious hand popped out and was doing something.

‘Is she putting in poison…!’

With a bad feeling, I tackled her and knocked her down.

“Kyaak!”

“Who are you, what were you trying to do!?”

I subdued the fallen woman, put a dagger to her neck, and took off her mask.

“…Sniffle…”

“…Instructor… Iris?”

Behind the mask was the face of Instructor Iris, who had lent me the dress.

“Why are you here…?”

She, who should have been guarding outside, was crying with a piece of cake in her mouth.

“…I was hungry.”

“…”

I slapped my forehead and helped her up.

“…I’ll pretend I didn’t see it.”

“Thank you. The dress looks good on you, Saya… sniffle.”

If I had to pick the most pathetic character in this novel, it would be Iris.

When the unexpected happening ended trivially, I felt the tension in my body relax.

‘…Yeah, they wouldn’t sneak in and do anything strange on a day like this. Even the Sarkas Cult guys.’

That complacent thought didn’t last long.

A sharp sound cut through the ballroom, and people’s screams erupted.

“Attack!”

Someone had fired an arrow at Commander Violet, who was giving a speech.

Just before it hit, he twisted his body to avoid a vital point, but it seemed to be stuck in his shoulder.

Violet was taken inside under guard, and the instructors announced the suspension of the ball.

‘How…?’

I ran to Instructor Cled, who was controlling the panicked Spirit Masters.

A fire was suddenly burning in the nearby forest, and the Spirit Masters were moving busily.

“Did you see who did it, Cled?”

“…No.”

It didn’t make sense to shoot an arrow without being detected in such a crowded space.

“The arrow came from outside.”

“…Outside? But, the instructors were patrolling outside.”

Except for one, but let’s skip that.

“…We couldn’t even determine the direction it came from. The guy seems to be an enormous expert in archery.”

From a distance that was hard to gauge, he accurately aimed for Commander Violet’s head through the window of the outer wall of the building.

It sounds like an absurd story, but he actually did it.

“What’s the fire in the forest?”

“…We think it’s probably the source of the arrow. I don’t know why it caught fire, but I’ve sent instructors to search the area. Send the guests back safely so that the confusion doesn’t increase.”

“Yes, Instructor.”

Usually, a criminal wouldn’t want to be detected, so why did he start a fire?

‘Did he create confusion to hide his real location?’

First, I cooperated with other Spirit Masters and sent the outside personnel back one by one.

“Are you okay, Saya?”

“Chris. You’re still here?”

I thought he would have taken the princess and evacuated long ago, but for some reason, he was still in the hall.

“The princess is being protected by the academy. If she goes outside prematurely at a time like this, I don’t know what will happen. Saya, be careful too.”

I stopped him as he was about to leave.

“…Wait, Chris.”

To be rational, Chris was a prime suspect.

At the very least, I can be sure that there is no one in here who is better at handling a bow than him.

However, Chris’s alibi was too clear.

He was in the ballroom the whole time, and the arrow came from outside. The instructors wouldn’t have missed him if he had gone outside in the short time I missed.

Above all, his position is the princess’s escort.

He has no clear motive to attempt to assassinate the commander.

“…What is it?”

“They say the arrow came from the forest far away. Whoever it is, isn’t it amazing skill?”

“…You suspect me.”

He raised both hands and gave me an awkward smile.

“If you want, you can search me until you’re satisfied. I don’t want to have a pointless conflict with Saya.”

“…”

There was only circumstantial evidence, and there was no evidence to confirm that Chris was the culprit.

Above all, I was the one who was with him until the very end.

“…I’m sorry. I think I was a little sensitive because it’s a serious matter.”

“It’s okay. I’ve also aimed a bow at Saya, so we’re even. I think I should go to the princess now.”

I watched his back without taking my eyes off him.

‘Yeah… he has no reason to do such a thing.’

“Saya, look at this.”

From afar, I saw Cled walking with something in his hand.

“What is that, Cled?”

“It’s a piece of burnt scroll. It came from the fire scene.”

“Scroll…?”

It is a special material paper in which the caster stores magic, and it is used as a trap method in which several magics are activated or installed only by the person who engraved the spell.

The paper on which the name was engraved when signing a contract with the Osteon is this scroll.

“Presumably, after shooting the arrow, he set fire through the magic engraved on the scroll for some reason.”

“…That’s a little strange. If the purpose was to set a fire, why would he use an expensive scroll?”

“I don’t understand that either. If he just wanted to start a fire, there would have been many other ways.”

“Was there anything else? Like a bow.”

“Not a bow, but there was a burnt crossbow. It was firmly fixed on a tree.”

…It seems that I can’t let Chris go like this.

To catch up with Chris, who had gone ahead, I summoned Daengdaengi and got on.

“Hey, where are you going all of a sudden!”

I ran so fast that I couldn’t hear Cled’s voice.

I quickly blocked the way and stopped Chris.

“Wait, Chris.”

“…What’s wrong? I thought this conversation was already over.”

I held out the burnt piece of scroll to him.

“I think you might know something about this.”

“…What is that?”

“It’s a piece of scroll found at the scene. Yesterday, Chris said you were looking for a magic supply store.”

“It’s true that I said that, but I’ve never bought anything like a scroll.”

“Is that so? Then…”

I grabbed his hand and brought the piece of scroll to it.

Then, the flame mark engraved on Chris’s hand shone and reacted violently to it.

“Why does the piece of scroll react to your mark? Chris?”

“…”

He didn’t refute.

The fact that the scroll engraved with the caster’s own spell reacts to his mark was irrefutable evidence.

“…Yes. I lost, Saya. I was the one who shot the arrow.”

He readily admitted his actions.

“…But, Chris, you were inside the building the whole time at the ball. How…”

“I’ll tell you since it’s already been revealed. Before the ball, I set the position of the crossbow in the forest in advance. So that the fired arrow would accurately hit the speaker’s head.”

“…But with that alone, I don’t understand why the arrow was fired even though you weren’t there.”

“Because it was a self-made crossbow with two strings. I hung the first string tautly on the tree and hung the string with the arrow loaded crosswise.”

He made two rings with his fingers to show.

“And I attached a scroll with a spell engraved on the first string, so that when I burned the string with magic from a distance, the second string would be released and the arrow would be fired.”

“…The forest fire, was it intentional?”

“That’s right. I tried to burn all the evidence. In the end, I was caught by a single piece. It’s a shame.”

I knew it, but it’s a terrifying genius.

“…Why did you do that? What reason do you have to aim for his neck?”

“…He’s not what you know, Saya. Commander Violet… is a being who shouldn’t remain in this world.”

A being who shouldn’t remain in the world?

Violet?

“Don’t be ridiculous. Commander Violet is someone who fought against the ancient species to protect Armonia.”

“Ancient species Gula. The story of him defeating it is famous. But think about it. Why did no one witness the remains of the dead Gula? Even the smallest trace? It was that huge body that easily annihilated a village.”

Certainly, the fact that no one saw him defeat Gula was a little strange.

But I couldn’t believe Chris’s words just because of that.

“…Stop it. No matter what you say, you only attempted assassination.”

“…You’re going to arrest me, Spirit Master. I wish you wouldn’t. This was all for Saya’s sake.”

“For my sake…?”

Chris said that and pulled up the necklace around his neck.

“If you see this, will you believe me?”

“…How, do you have that…”

The necklace Chris pulled out and showed was exactly like the necklace I had been wearing since I was born.

The characteristic black cross-shaped ornament that is now an earring.

It was the very thing that was said to have been on my neck when I was abandoned.

“I finally meet you. I’ve been searching for you all this time.”

He knelt on one knee and bowed his head to me.

“Saya Barnaba, the last heir of the clan.”