BSS 124

Chapter 124

“It’s Mielta. A major city in Koran! She’s definitely there rig

ht now!”

The young mage desperately tried to make up for his mistake, squeezing his memory for fragments of the conversations he’d overheard.

The first to initiate the communication had been a mage who looked worn down by life. He had said it was the Mielta branch. He claimed he would connect them to a guest soon—and then the one who appeared was Ginny Crowell.

“Who recognized Crowell?!”

“I did, Headmaster.”

Another mage who had been pushed into a corner by the commotion cautiously raised his hand.

His posture was stiff, as if afraid the blame might fall on him.

“Are you absolutely sure it was Ginny Crowell?”

“Absolutely! One of my classmates is practically a Ginny Crowell stalker, so I know that face by heart. That way of speaking, those eyes—how could I forget them?”

“…Hemp!”

“Yes, Headmaster!”

The assistant whose name was called hurried over. Only then did he look as reliable as usual.

“We can’t just sit around. Send someone to Mielta immediately. Hurry and request an audience with His Majesty the King! You—contact Miss Crowell’s family estate. And you, stay here in case another communication comes through.”

“Yes, sir!”

“And also… see? What did I say! I told you she wasn’t the type to die so meaninglessly!”

The headmaster looked as though he were caught in a whirlwind of chaotic emotions. He let out a small scream, laughed, panicked, then grew serious—repeating the cycle over and over.

“Meaningless is a bit… I mean, a dragon…”

“To the royal palace at once! Move!”

That day, Drake Academy was noisier than ever before, and the disturbance soon reached the royal palace.

Ginny Crowell—who had been believed dead—had returned.

“Yaaawn… why are my ears so itchy?”

As I dug at my ear with my pinky, I thought I should really trim my nails.

I strolled lazily across the plaza, glancing at how long they’d grown.

When Rai shows up, I’ll grind them down on the sole of his foot. That part of his body is one of the few soft spots—perfect hardness for filing nails.

Metal spirits were strangely useful in the oddest ways.

“Hey, blond miss!”

“Huh? Me?”

“How about some delicious lamb skewers? Buy now and it’s two for twenty copper! Usually it’s twelve copper for one!”

“Hm.”

The plaza was packed with stalls, many selling snacks. Hawking was everywhere.

Listening to the vendor, I realized I was a little hungry. Probably because I’d skipped breakfast—my feet stopped in front of the stall on their own.

“I’m feeling generous! The weather’s nice—ten copper for one!”

“I was thinking of buying two.”

The vendor didn’t panic, smoothly handing me the skewers.

“Alright, I’ll knock off two copper—eighteen copper!”

Did I even have that kind of change? Ah—thankfully, I’d just gotten coins changed at the Mage Tower, so I had silver.

I’d sent a few telegrams and tried video calls twice—none of them even connected—and it still cost me nearly four gold.

Considering one skewer was ten copper, that was outrageously expensive.

I handed over one silver, took a bite of the meat, and wondered where Bright had gone.

For me to personally initiate a video call, only for him to be on vacation—how insolent.

If he thought I was dead, he should’ve been crying quietly in his room. How dare he go off laughing on holiday? I nearly died crawling out of the jungle!

Annoying. So annoying.

“The one guy who’s most useful is never around when I need him.”

Grumbling, I finished the skewer in no time.

I’d planned to summon Bright here, have him take Aini with him, deliver this famed sword to the headmaster—there was so much to make him do. But he’d gone on vacation, and now I couldn’t reach him at all.

Who would’ve thought I wouldn’t manage to talk to anyone?

I’d naïvely assumed that as long as I used communication magic, I could see faces and talk easily.

The most important thing today had been telling the headmaster about Aini—and even that hadn’t happened.

Having a carefully laid plan fall apart was anything but pleasant.

“The headmaster’s busy—that’s one thing—but where in the world did Bright go? Don’t tell me he went dragon-hunting to look for me.”

As I stewed in irritation, I glanced to the side and spotted more food.

That stir-fried salamander tail looks good. If I buy some fresh bread and stuff it together, it’ll be perfect.

Drawn as if enchanted, I walked that way. It had been a while since I’d been in a city, and there was so much to enjoy.

Just as I was getting frustrated that I couldn’t contact anyone, Ash’s group woke up. Rai sent me an unnecessarily powerful wave of longing, saying he’d dump Aini on them and come find me. We decided to meet nearby.

Because even a directionally hopeless person like me could find the plaza.

Plazas were usually at the center of towns.

“What’s that?”

As I wandered around munching on snacks, something noisy caught my eye.

People were gathered in a circle—it looked like an acrobat troupe or street theater.

It reminded me of when I’d gone to Elan’s festival and watched something similar.

I’d been kidnapped by slave traders that day, but the festival itself had been pretty fun.

Come to think of it, that was around when I’d become close with Bright. Even though my kidnapping wasn’t his fault, he’d cried and apologized so much that I’d felt a bit sorry for him.

I strolled leisurely toward the crowd.

I had nothing pressing to do, and I was relaxed from a rare moment of peace—ready to enjoy whatever it was.

“Oh, Dragon!”

“Please calm your wrath and forgive humanity!”

Pushing through the standing spectators, I saw a modest play in progress.

Like most makeshift street performances, it looked cheap, but the audience watched with enthusiasm.

Entertainment was scarce in this world—apparently even this was fun.

I sucked on a piece of candy and slipped into the crowd with an easygoing attitude.

A few shimmering cloths hung high up were all there was, but it was clear enough that the stage was meant to be a banquet hall. At a glance, it seemed to be a story involving a dragon.

If wearing a dragon mask made of paper was enough to call yourself a dragon, then sure…

“Offer up your jewels, humans!”

Ugh. Dragons really are a plague in every era. Natural disasters, the lot of them—never dying, always coming back.

“If you refuse, I shall destroy you all!”

“Kyaa!”

“Oh my, heavens, what shall we do!”

The acting was painfully awkward. The actors dressed as king and ministers all looked gaunt, like they hadn’t eaten properly in days.

What kind of king looks that skeletal?

That crown—was it woven from leaves? And the cloak looked like a flour sack. And the dragon wasn’t even breathing fire—it was sprinkling yellow-dyed salt.

It was a terrible play, but the pièce de résistance was the princess: her natural hair looked brown, but she’d jammed on an unnaturally blond wig.

I didn’t even need to see the rest. The dragon would kidnap the princess, and the prince would go rescue her.

Thinking it must be some ancient cliché, I looked around for the title.

“The Birth of the Saintess! The Day of Sacrifice”

I easily found the old sign in a corner, worn thin from being rewritten so many times. It was a title I’d never heard before.

And it was utterly awful.

Like most plays based on myths, it reeked of childish, over-the-top plotting…

[Where are you, Master!]

Rai must have arrived. Judging by the direction of the voice, he was nearby. He soon popped out from between someone’s legs.

[Found you at last! What are you watching?]

[Looks like a popular play these days.]

[It looks really shoddy.]

You don’t say. It wasn’t interesting, but something about it felt like déjà vu, so I kept watching.

“Great Dragon! Please, take me—Ginny Crowell!”

“Pfft—”

“Spare everyone else, I beg you!”

W-what?

That’s strange. Why did my name come up there? Don’t tell me this is…

[Huh? Master! Since when were you the main character?!]

“What the hell is that?!”

Was this about me?!

When I finally realized what was happening, a real scream burst out of me. Startled out of my mind, my voice came out far louder than intended—enough to disrupt the play.

Actors and audience alike turned toward me in unison, their gazes accusatory, but I couldn’t regain my composure. I just stood there trembling.

Reeling in shock, I staggered—and the dragon grabbed the blond princess.

No, me.

“Human! Your noble spirit of sacrifice has moved me!”

“Insane.”

“Shh!”

Someone next to me actually scolded me for being loud during the play.

Whether I looked sane or not, the performance rolled straight into the next scene.

It only got worse.

“In honor of Ginny Crowell’s sacrifice! Her family shall be elevated to the rank of count, and she shall be named a hero of the Empire!”

“Long live the Saintess!”

“May all imperial citizens remember her sacrifice for generations to come!”

“Hooray!”

“Glory be!”

Don’t remember it. I’m not dead…….

Ah, I can’t watch this.

Tears were welling up—not from emotion, but from humiliation. I felt like I was going to die of embarrassment. Did I really have to prove with my own body that a human could die of shame?

“What am I even looking at… I can’t believe this……”

Back then or now, there was one thing I could never tolerate even if I died and came back—and it was this kind of cringeworthy nonsense. I’d rather have a blade at my throat.

“Oooooh!”

“Ooooh!”

The actors dressed as nobles showered me with praise as the play ended, and I was left suffering severe aftereffects from having seen something I never should have.

My stomach churned, my insides revolted—I felt like I might throw up any second.

“Ugh…….”

[S-since when was the Saintess so scarce? Of all people, they had to use you, Master…]

“Exactly! That’s what I’m saying!”

[Huh, normally you’d punch someone for this.]

The fact that they’d made a play out of that incident was bad enough—but I never imagined it had been twisted into something this grotesquely glorified.

The unfamiliar, aggressive praise sent chills all over my body.

I was suffocating with embarrassment.

When the audience applauded and someone even sniffled with tears of emotion, I sincerely wished I could turn into dust and disappear.

Why is all the embarrassment mine to bear?!