Chapter 244 - Chapter 243: Violent Pleasure
[Ozendorwa Solnitax's Perspective]
The third month of Water, the first week, Wind Day.
Fifth Knights Order, Duty Office.
BAKII!
A sound of a wall being broken echoed in the Knight Commander's room.
Ozendorwa, the master of this room, carelessly brushed off wood splinters stuck to his right hand.
There were already three holes in the wall.
Recently, a hole was being made in the wall every day, so repairs couldn't keep up.
"...What is going on."
Mika Noisheim, and two young girls living with him.
And a single squad that had been guarding the area around Mika's home had gone missing, and a week had passed.
A single squad.
Twelve knights.
That many knights had vanished without leaving a single trace.
The clue was Mika.
Knights who were normally guarding the town noticed that the knights who should have been around Mika's home were gone, and headed for Mika's house.
At that time, they witnessed an unusual atmosphere around Mika.
However, that Mika had flown into the sky immediately after, so his whereabouts remained completely ungraspable.
Two young girls and twelve knights.
A total of fourteen people had vanished.
"............Could it be that they are similar? Is that thinking too much?"
Normally, even if someone goes missing, some traces remain to some extent.
Vanishing without leaving any traces at all is almost impossible.
But, regarding this impossible disappearance case, Ozendorwa had one thing in mind.
Four years ago.
Five mages from the Court Magic Institute vanished in Modesse Forest.
There were no bloodstains, nor even traces of a battle; the mages simply vanished.
And now, fourteen people this time.
If they were harmed, there should be traces of a struggle, surely.
But, there were absolutely no such traces.
Abducting and imprisoning such a large number of people within the Royal Capital would surely be seen by someone.
Above all, a considerable number of people must have been involved.
Yet, not a single witness and not even a trace left behind... it was a situation that was hard to believe.
Ozendorwa sat down roughly on the chair with a thud, looking at the pile of documents accumulated on the desk before him.
Recently, Ozendorwa himself had been traveling around, running all over the Royal Capital.
Thanks to that, the paperwork had piled up immensely.
Well, it was because I had been squeezing suspicious people to death and conducting raids, resulting in the discovery of countless unrelated crimes.
I had been scolded by the higher-ups above not to let the documents pile up any further, so I had no choice but to clear them out.
Even though now is not the time to be doing such things.
Ozendorwa let out a sigh.
"............Please be safe, Mika-kun."
He was not a child who could be handled by simple violence.
Ozendorwa and Yaroibarov.
Even if the two of them attacked him seriously, he would likely have the power to repel them.
According to information from acquaintances in the Ministry of Military Affairs, it seemed that on the battlefield, he had annihilated a large army all by himself.
However, he was worried about the two girls going missing.
If they were used as hostages...
Against a normal opponent, he would still try to repel them.
But, what if they were not a normal opponent?
What if they understood that Mika possessed power beyond human limits, and lured him out on top of that?
Knock, knock.
While Ozendorwa was lost in thought, the door was knocked on.
"Enter."
When Ozendorwa permitted entry, the knight on duty came in.
The knight came to the front of the desk and saluted.
"We have received a message from the Kingdom Army Headquarters."
Saying that, he handed over a sealed letter.
Ozendorwa frowned suspiciously.
Just a moment ago, he had been at that headquarters, getting scolded...
Was there something he had forgotten to say?
Ozendorwa took the letter and glanced at it right there on the spot.
Then, he immediately crumpled it with a rustle, rustle, rustle, and slammed it onto the floor with a thud.
The knight standing in front of the desk widened his eyes for a moment, but then quickly smiled bitterly.
He went around the desk, picked up the crumpled letter, and spoke to Ozendorwa.
"............Shall I incinerate it?"
"Bring the Headquarters and burn it too!"
After confirming the disposal method of the letter, he was ordered to attack the Kingdom Army Headquarters.
The knight shrugged his shoulders at the dejected Ozendorwa.
"Another stupid order?"
But Ozendorwa did not answer that, and silently pointed to the door.
The knight said nothing, saluted, and left the room.
Ozendorwa crossed his legs and arms, leaning his back firmly against the backrest.
He was investigating a major incident where a single squad of knights had vanished, yet the Kingdom Army Headquarters above was saying whatever they wanted.
Of course, the Kingdom Army Headquarters over there probably had their own reasons for not being able to focus on this, but still.
In the previous battle, they had lost fifty thousand soldiers.
It was merely a skirmish in the long war, but the loss was nearly half of the deployed forces.
It was a ridiculous casualty rate, but it seemed that since the end of the Fifty-Year War, such results had occurred frequently.
Moreover, what was even more ridiculous was that the kingdom that suffered such losses was the victor of that battle.
What was happening on the battlefield?
Frustratingly, Ozendorwa did not have the qualification to know that.
Until Mika turned the tide of the war, the Kingdom Army and the Domain Armies had been retreating.
Most of the casualties were sustained before Mika intervened in the battlefield.
He was amazed that Mika managed to turn it around from there, but he couldn't understand why the Kingdom Army was pushed back so one-sidedly.
If they suffered such losses repeatedly, the kingdom's knights and soldiers would run out in no time.
Perhaps knowing this, although they won, there was no talk yet of counter-invasion from the Kingdom of Ektrem.
Some nobles and high-ranking officers of the Kingdom Army were raising their voices saying "Gronoir must be defeated!", but the majority were taking a cautious stance.
Of course, he couldn't fully understand the arguments of those calling for a counter-invasion either.
Even if the Kingdom this side had no intention, Gronoir that side was full of intent to attack.
The argument that "unless we crush them, there will be no true peace for the kingdom" was by no means wrong.
This had been a topic of discussion many times before, but until now, Gronoir had not moved.
But this time, Gronoir actually sent out their army and inflicted massive damage on the kingdom.
The argument that "is it okay to just sit here?" had a certain degree of persuasiveness.
Ozendorwa uncrossed his arms and tapped the desk with his fingertips.
"............Reduction plan, huh."
Ozendorwa muttered along with a sigh.
The contact from the Kingdom Army Headquarters was a reminder to formulate a plan to reduce the personnel in charge of maintaining public order in the Royal Capital.
He had received the order before the war started, but he had left it untouched because it was too ridiculous.
Being asked to cut by thirty percent is an unreasonable demand, but he had to create a plan to cut by up to fifty percent.
It was a ridiculous order to maintain the current public order with half the current personnel.
If that were possible, they would have been doing it from the start.
Of course, the person issuing the order probably didn't think it was possible either.
Likely, anticipating the worsening war situation, this was part of a plan to cut away everything that could be cut, squeezing out the fighting forces to send to the battlefield.
They would probably say they need knights from the Fifth Knights Order as needed.
"Hmph... I'll just have Shesbarno do it."
He raised the corner of his mouth and muttered.
It was an impossible plan from the start.
Whoever made it, no matter how pathetic the plan was, it wouldn't matter.
Whether it was a meticulously thought-out impossible plan or an impossible plan scribbled down on a whim, both were garbage, and that didn't change.
Ozendorwa stood up and headed for the door.
He then poked his head into the waiting room and spoke to a knight nearby.
"Tell Shesbarno to show his face when he comes."
He told the knight only that, who saluted, and returned to the desk again.
It was probably about Shesbarno; he would likely pass it all to the Vice-Captain Hoguajil, but he should warn him.
For now, he would let him make some documents just to maintain appearances, or use them as teaching material on how to make plans.
Ozendorwa himself was not particularly fond of paperwork nor good at it, but he did it to some extent.
Shesbarno's hatred of paperwork was at an abnormal level.
Ozendorwa reached for a document nearby and prepared the ink.
He had decided to give up and clear out the paperwork, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it.
"This is an eerie silence..."
It was about Gronoir.
After a small skirmish in just one battle, their subsequent movements had ceased.
He had heard that the front lines, which were on guard against the second and third waves, were quite relieved to have gained time to prepare their formations.
The repair of the protective walls was also finished, and both the Kingdom Army and the Domain Armies had managed to reorganize, so they were sighing in relief.
Why? He wondered.
He didn't know the reason, but for some reason, Gronoir had not invaded since then.
If you heard about the situation at the end of the Fifty-Year War, it would be within the realm of expectation that massive casualties would occur.
It would be surprising if the one hundred thousand soldiers they sent out were almost completely annihilated, but even that wasn't impossible.
With the protective walls that they had managed to break through repaired, one would have to ask, "What was the point of invading?"
"............There is no way this ends like this."
Absolutely, something was going to happen.
Something would occur.
Feeling the unease in his chest, Ozendorwa began to tackle the paperwork.
■■■■■■
The third month of Water, the second week, Moon Day.
Five days had passed since Mika returned to Rish Village accompanied by Kistil and the others.
When Mika was brought to the village, he was unconscious.
However, since the backflow of blood covering his entire body was still dry, he could not be put to rest on the bed immediately.
So, Kistil and Nerisfeene decided to take Mika to the bath together to wash him.
Diego and the others offered to help, but Kistil and Nerisfeene firmly refused.
They insisted that they would take care of Mika themselves.
Mika slept for a full day, but when he woke up, he tried to escape again.
The impulse for destruction rooted in Mika was terrifying, and it continued to torment his heart.
Kistil and Nerisfeene clung to Mika desperately.
"If you can't hold back no matter what, you can kill us!"
They pleaded desperately like that.
So, "Let me stay with you."
For the three of them, Mika, Kistil, and Nerisfeene, this week had been truly like hell.
Still, the three of them clung to Mika's fragile self, barely holding on, and somehow managed to keep his heart tied together.
■■■■■■
The third month of Water, the second week, Water Day.
"Ugh... guh...."
Mika was hugging his knees on the bed, enduring it silently.
Feeling the warmth of Nerisfeene hugging him, he struggled to suppress the impulse to smear over his heart.
Even so, since yesterday, the impulse had weakened considerably.
The impulses that came intermittently were certainly painful, but he felt that they were weaker than before.
Mika took a deep breath, "Haa...", and slowly raised his face.
Then, he smiled at Nerisfeene.
"Thank you, Nerisfeene. ...It's okay now."
But even when Mika said that, Nerisfeene did not stop hugging him.
"Don't push yourself. Your complexion isn't good. Let's lie down for a while."
Following her suggestion, Mika lay down.
Then, Nerisfeene lay down beside him as well.
This was a rented house in Rish Village.
A house they had rented twice before.
It seemed they had lent him the house they always rented as a place to rest Mika, who had fainted in the forest.
And, saying that Mika should rest, he couldn't be left alone.
Therefore, Mika's bed in his room was moved to the room where Kistil and Nerisfeene were using, and they used it with the two beds connected.
In other words, the three of them slept in a row like a river.
One of them was always by Mika's side to prepare for sudden seizures.
"......Shouldn't we put the beds back soon?"
"We aren't putting them back."
She stated it firmly, and Mika had nothing to say.
Although the impulses were weaker than before, it was certainly more comfortable to feel the presence of the two of them.
Therefore, Mika could not argue strongly and decided to spoil himself on the two of them.
Click.
At that moment, Kistil entered the room.
"Good. You seem calm. I made lunch, but do you think you can eat it?"
Kistil peered at Mika's face with a worried expression.
He certainly felt hungry, but Mika shook his head.
If he ate, he would feel sick and vomit.
He couldn't not eat at all, but now that the impulse had just subsided, he didn't feel like eating.
"It's better to eat even a little, Mika-kun..."
Kistil's expression darkened.
"Mika-sama just had a seizure subside a moment ago... so he might be able to eat after resting a bit."
"Oh... I see. I'm sorry..."
Seeing the sad Kistil, Mika reached out his hand.
When Kistil held that hand, Mika held it back.
"I'm sorry. I'll eat when I think I can."
"No, it's fine. Don't push yourself."
Kistil said that, then kissed Mika's forehead.
Nerisfeene did the same, kissing him, and then redrew the sheets over Mika.
"Kistil. Eat first. When you're done, we'll take turns."
"Understood. Well then, please take care of Mika-kun."
Saying that, Kistil smiled at Mika and left the room.
"Come on, Mika-sama. Let's rest a bit."
"......Yeah."
He was treated like a small child completely, but he couldn't oppose them now.
He hadn't eaten properly, so he couldn't move properly either.
Without the two of them, Mika couldn't have lived in many ways.
■■■■■■
The third month of Water, the third week, Fire Day.
"Really... don't worry me so much."
Amalia, sitting across the table, said with a sigh.
"Sorry, Mother. I worried you."
"Mika, I was worried too, you know?"
Loretta protested to Mika, who was apologizing only to Amalia.
"Yeah. Big Sister too. Sorry for worrying you."
Mika conveyed this to Loretta with a bitter smile.
"So, are you okay now? You've gotten quite thin..."
"I couldn't eat much for about three weeks. Now I can eat normally again. I hope my weight returns soon..."
Loretta gave a bitter smile at Mika's ambiguous phrasing.
The fact that Mika was in Rish Village had actually been kept secret.
Thanks to the cooperation of Diego and Ninetiana, all necessary items like food had been delivered.
It seemed they had informed the Village Head as they couldn't avoid telling him, but they had been told not to tell Amalia and Loretta so as not to worry them.
He had recovered significantly and planned to go out from now on, so they decided to lift the information ban.
Since there were almost no seizures left, they judged it was safe to meet with Amalia and the others.
And, actually, Sevvero had been in Rish Village until recently.
To receive the reward.
Kistil's Magic Bag was in the Royal Capital, but Mika was wearing his own Magic Bag.
So, various rewards were added on top, and he paid with the cash stored inside.
Sevvero, who had achieved requests like purchasing a carriage with large sums of money on credit.
Honestly, he wondered who else but Sevvero would have taken on and completed such a request.
Therefore, he paid double the incurred costs and rewards.
For Mika, it was equivalent to a life-saver, so he intended to pay even more, but Sevvero said double was fine.
It seemed he actually disliked claiming more than the initial agreement, but this was a very unusual request.
Above all, he was very angry that Kistil had tried to skip the reward.
Therefore, he agreed to double the payment as a penalty.
As a fellow adventurer, he understood that feeling well.
And, Mika had made a separate request to Sevvero.
He decided to have Sevvero, who said he was returning to the Royal Capital, deliver a letter.
Suddenly being missing for three weeks, he thought he had caused worry everywhere.
So, for now, he decided to convey just "I'm alive."
There were three letters.
Yaroibarov's inn, Kifrod of the Great Cathedral, and Maurice of the Magic Academy.
He would have Maurice convey it to Cleiria.
Informing these people would cover most of Mika's acquaintances.
However, where he was currently was left undisclosed.
He had also told Sevvero not to convey that.
After Amalia and the others left.
Kistil and Nerisfeene clung to Mika from both sides.
"............Um... I don't think it's necessary up to that point..."
"We don't know that."
"That is correct. Since it is a dangerous attempt, we must be extra careful."
There was some merit to the two's arguments.
Or rather, there were many parts that Mika couldn't read either, so it was true that he should abandon optimism.
"......Well then, shall we go?"
When Mika said that, the two nodded with serious faces.
Mika took a slow, deep breath two or three times, and brought his left hand in front of his face.
Then, he
"Waterball."
muttered softly.
A small mass of water formed on Mika's left hand.
"......H-how? Mika-kun?"
"Are you okay, Mika-sama?"
The two looked at Mika's face with worried expressions.
Mika silently searched for the sense of incongruity within himself.
But, there was nothing particularly different.
"......It seems to be okay."
When Mika muttered that, Kistil and Nerisfeene let out a big sigh.
"Good..."
"Really, is there nothing wrong?"
Mika grabbed the mass of water on his hand with his left hand.
Drip, drip... water droplets fell to the floor.
"Yeah. It's okay. Just as usual."
Mika had not used magic at all for these three weeks.
At first, he didn't have the energy for it, and even after calming down, he couldn't use it for fear of seizures.
Thinking of Hibujiza made his heart flutter, and a seizure seemed about to occur.
Even so, trying not to disturb his heart too much, he remembered carefully.
"Strike anger and hatred with Wocabulum."
Hibujiza had said that.
Put all the anger, all the hatred, into magic.
He had never consciously done such things before, but the magic manifested that way was somehow different.
It was as if something was accumulating in his chest, or something was changing.
That kind of feeling.
His feelings became unusually agitated, and his heart became light.
When he manipulated the magic power, a pleasant sound echoed in his ears and spread through his body like ripples.
He felt a sense of elation and omnipotence.
This was something he had noticed since the first time he felt magic power.
But, magic that squeezed out anger and hatred was not on that level.
What should he call it?
It was, if you will, "violent pleasure."
The pleasure of wielding magic power power as an impulse.
He hadn't tried drugs or anything, so he wasn't sure if this is an accurate expression, but that pleasure was like drugs.
Wielding power while angry was fun.
Hitting with power while hating was satisfying.
An irresistible, ferocious, sweet sensation.
If he immersed himself in that pleasure, that delight, that sweetness, he might go mad again in the same way.
Thinking that, Mika had not used any magic or manipulated magic power at all.
"Indeed, the key is anger and hatred... I don't know what happens with other emotions, but are these two important?"
Mika closed his eyes and took a deep breath once.
Then, he slowly opened his eyes.
"If I don't disturb my heart, I can use magic..."
Mika gripped his clenched left hand tightly.
Should I try Zen?
To the state of no-self.
However, for some reason, an image of Kifrod tapping him with a staff kyosaku popped into his mind.
So many distracting thoughts, me.
(............But, I'm glad I didn't end up in a situation where I couldn't use magic.)
If he couldn't use magic, he wouldn't even be able to defend himself properly.
At the very least, the worst case was avoided.
Just for that, Mika was truly relieved.