* * *
At last, the sack containing Wot arrived at its final destination, the sanctuary.
“Hoam. Wot is sleepy.”
“Quiet…”
“Haa. Wot is tired. When are we getting there?”
Wot’s endless complaints were enough to make anyone go deaf.
“Can’t we just put a silencing spell on that sack?”
“…Better not, just in case.”
But Wot just wouldn’t stop talking inside the sack. Not only did Wot brag about her exploits, but she also kept muttering all sorts of bizarre things in a strange voice. From the darkness of the sack came a stream of words that sounded like some kind of mysterious incantation.
“HHeLiBeBCNOFNeNaMgAlSiPSClArKCa…”
They flinched. “…W-What is that sound?”
“HHELiBeC…”
“Is she reciting some kind of bizarre dark magic spell? My ears feel like they’re bleeding.”
Just then, Wot spoke up in a mocking tone. “Dark magic? Please! Wot’s a perfectly wholesome person! That was just a lullaby Wot made by stringing together the first letters of the periodic table. Wot’s feeling down from being kidnapped, so Wot is singing a lullaby to calm nerves, you know?”
After checking themselves over, it seemed Wot hadn’t actually cast any spells, just as they’d said. Still, for the entire carriage ride, they couldn’t help but wonder. Had they kidnapped Wot, or had Wot somehow kidnapped them?
“We’re finally here.”
For some reason, it felt like the journey to the sanctuary had taken an eternity. The dark circles under their eyes are now pitch-black. The first thing they did was toss Wot into the sanctuary’s prison. After that, they planned to use a magic artifact to search her body for any dangerous items that might be on her.
As soon as the whole sack was thrown into the freezing cell, Wot squirmed and shouted. “Ah, seriously! Wot is so scared and going crazy!”
…Judging by her tone, she didn’t sound scared at all. She twisted around wildly, then let out a loud, exaggerated yawn.
“Ah, Wot is sleepy. There’s no heated floor here, and it’s freezing. No cold medicine either.”
The man who was about to untie the sack she was in clicked his tongue and muttered under his breath. “What kind of person talks this flippantly…?”
The moment the opening was loosened, Wot poked her head out, stuck out her tongue, and spoke in an annoyingly teasing voice. “What? What’s wrong with how Wot talks? Are you attacking Wot’s speech now? Wow, you’re really crossing the line! Wot is honestly hurt, you know? Seriously unbelievable.”
“No.”
“What? You’re talking back to Wot? Now Wot is offended. Wot feelings are hurt.”
The Reshaniel family members who had kidnapped Wot looked at each other, completely dumbfounded. They were sure they’d brought the famed healer ‘Wot’ here to ‘persuade’ her. So why had someone this outrageously flippant shown up, determined to get on everyone’s nerves?
“Are you really Wot, the renowned healer? You’d better watch your mouth, unless you want to make us your enemies.”
Just then, an old woman who’d been eavesdropping on their petty conversation from the next room finally spoke up.
“W-Wot? Did you come to rescue me?”
“Huh? Grandma! I got kidnapped too!”
“Aaah, goodness…”
While the old woman despaired and Wot remained as cheerful as ever, the Reshaniel family members, listening to their exchange, waved their hands dismissively in annoyance.
“Alright, let’s check you over, Wot.”
Before anyone realized it, a magic artifact had appeared in their hands. It looked like a device meant to detect any suspicious items.
“We’re just making sure you don’t have anything shady on you. We did a quick check before tossing you in the sack, but…”
“Wow, did you really scan me? Unbelievable.”
Ignoring her, they scanned Wot’s body. Just as Wot let out a sigh, clearly uncomfortable, it happened.
“Hm, nothing suspicious so fa—”
Beep. Beep-beep. Bee-bee-beep! Just as they were about to put the magic artifact away, it suddenly started beeping, as if it had detected something.
“Is this thing broken? It’s beeping at nothing.”
They tilted their heads and shook the artifact again. This time, it went quiet, as if the earlier beeping had been a hallucination. And then… Giselle, no, Wot bit her lips tightly and glared at the empty space.
That damn Coocoo messed up again…! Wot could almost hear Coocoo’s indignant little ‘Coocoo’ noises by her ear.
Actually, that artifact isn’t malfunctioning at all. It’s working perfectly. Floating in midair, completely invisible, was Coocoo, wearing the disguise necklace around its neck. Since Coocoo had turned invisible and was holding the necklace, nothing showed up when they checked Wot’s body.
Before coming here, I tested whether the necklace would turn invisible if Coocoo wore it while invisible, and whether it would still work even if it wasn’t touching my body. And the result? When Coocoo goes invisible, the necklace does too. As long as we’re within thirty centimeters of each other, the necklace still works. Amazing, right? That’s why Wot had put the disguise necklace around Coocoo’s neck and made sure not to stray too far apart.
Everything is going according to plan so far. Hiding a satisfied smile, Wot poked her head out of the sack and tilted it to the side.
“Well then, shall we get on with fulfilling the contract?”
They held out the contract in a threatening manner.
“You’d better sign the contract. While we’re still being civil, that is.”
It was probably a magic contract. No doubt it’s a sl*ve contract.
First, they’d pretend to persuade her. If she refused to sign, they’d try to subdue her by force. It was such a predictable scenario.
Wot widened her eyes and cocked her head. “Huh? Isn’t this basically extortion?”
“Watch your mouth—”
“I’ll think about it, but only if you let Grandma go first.”
“That’s your condition?”
“Why not? Obviously. I came here to rescue her, after all.”
“I don’t see why we should give up such a good bargaining chip… But fine. If you sign, we’ll let the old lady go.”
Just as Wot expected, they had no intention of letting Grandma go. Of course. Their brains only seem to work when they’re up to something dirty.
Wot shook her head and said with a mocking tone, “No way! Let Grandma go first!”
“As expected… I knew you’d say that.”
Then, one of them grabbed Wot’s chin and lifted it, grinning nastily. At that moment, there was a sharp click, and everything went black. A voice, twisted with pain, pierced her ears.
* * *
I was plunged into darkness, and then, before I knew it, I was staring straight ahead at a world that had suddenly turned bright. Scenes from the past began to play before my eyes like a vivid hallucination. On top of that, a constant stream of curses echoed in my ears…
—I wish you’d just die.
…It was pretty intense.
Clearly, this was all some kind of trick meant to trigger my trauma. I clenched my fist. “Are you kidding me?”
Wasn’t getting hit with this cliche one during the Hwairi incident enough?
“I’ve been through this before, so I know these illusions are completely useless.”
The vision in front of me grew sharper: I was being beaten, insulted, and suffering, all over again. But… I raised my fist. Wham! And I smashed the illusion in front of me with a punch. With a loud crash, the haunting, portrait-like images that tormented me shattered like broken glass.
“So, is that it?”
At last, instead of illusions, two of Duke Reshaniel’s soldiers appeared before my eyes. They stared at me, narrowing their brows ever so slightly, as if it had never even crossed their minds that an illusion built on fear could be broken.
“How troublesome. You really do live up to your reputation, Doctor Wot.” Their tone dripped with sarcasm, but I didn’t care.
Chin held high, I met their gaze. “That was way too easy.”
My taunt made them glance at each other.
“Until you become the duke’s aide, it seems we’ll have to try a more advanced form of ‘persuasion.’”
They stuffed me back into the sack and tied it up tight.
“W-What are you doing! Let Doctor Wot go!” Grandmother’s voice echoed, but they just clicked their tongues in annoyance.
Holding my breath, I huddled inside the bag with Coocoo, who had slipped in at the last second. After a few minutes, I was dumped unceremoniously onto the floor. Suddenly, a long, blindingly white altar came into view. It looked like something meant for a human sacrifice, a tall, imposing altar. At its center, an unearthly light shone down from who knows where.
Finally here. The very place touched by the radiance of God. The same spot where Duke Reshaniel had bound me countless times before. In the end, I’d caused a scene all the way up to the moment I was laid out on the altar of God.
“God, ascend to the altar of radiance.”
“Forgive the insolence of one so misguided in their faith.”
After offering a perfunctory prayer, they dragged me up onto the altar like a sacrifice and circled nearby, murmuring softly.
“Now, it’s time to begin a real ‘persuasion.’”
Now they’re going to start chanting that wretched ‘doctrinal magic’ again! And then, just like always, I’ll end up on my knees, drained of all energy, mumbling, “Yes, yes.” But the moment those b*stards let their guard down to recite their doctrine… That’s when I’ll make my move.
Staring straight into the blinding white light, I muttered under my breath. “Coocoo, come out.”
It happened in an instant. Coocoo, who’d been clinging precariously to my shoulder while invisible, dropped a key into my hand with a soft plop. Click. I quickly held the key up under the altar’s radiant glow. Suddenly, the key began to glimmer.
…Huh?
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