FEFR 13

Chapter 13

It was only natural, perhaps, that the living room, which also served as a waiting area, was completely empty.

The room that appeared to be Kalisa’s private space was no different. Perhaps out of concern for making noise, she hadn’t even shut the door, so the empty room was clearly visible at a glance.

The same applied to the entrance hall. The scene alone made it clear that Kalisa had run away.

“The bookshelf is completely empty. She even took all the research materials with her.”

Unlike Ranje, who could only gape in disbelief at the unexpected situation, Lennart took in the details and reported them calmly.

“Why would she run away…?”

Ranje couldn’t understand the situation at all.

She thought she’d done well enough?

At the very least, she had tried to be nice. She had even made an effort to speak politely, thinking she had been a bit rude before. And yet Kalisa had bolted.

Fortunately, there was no need for a hypothetical Q&A session.

Though they weren’t official partners yet, Lennart seemed to understand her nature from the start and supplemented the explanation.

“We didn’t have a chance to talk in detail about the research or the treatment purpose, so she must’ve misunderstood something.”

“What kind of misunderstanding would make someone run away?”

“To her, you’re not exactly a reassuring figure.”

Objectively, Ranje did appear suspicious. Even if her looks lowered people’s guard, her actions never gave a harmless impression. Lennart thought that, had he not observed her for a whole day, he might have assumed she was a foreign spy planted here.

Still, taking all the documents and fleeing was a bit excessive.

Ranje took a deep breath, suppressing her irritation, and then declared with a scowl.

“I’ll go bring her back. Erna, wait here for a bit.”

She didn’t even give her a chance to protest before heading to the door.

Faced with her relentless decisiveness, Lennart had no choice but to follow. It wasn’t a situation where giving up was an option anyway.

He looked at Erna and said,

“There shouldn’t be any danger here. Unless there’s another fire like earlier, don’t go outside or open the door for anyone. I have to follow them.”

His tone was authoritative, not particularly pleasant, but Erna obeyed his instructions.

Once the two of them disappeared after Kalisa, Erna was left alone in the clinic. The excitement she had briefly felt cooled quickly.

Erna locked the closed door and returned to her original seat.

Even if she insisted on going with them, she would only be a burden. Ranje would clearly reject her. At best, she would be ignored or faced with a helpless look.

Watching Ranje, who was willing to put in effort for someone not particularly likable, and Lennart, who was sincerely helping a stranger he had just met today, made her feel gloomy.

‘Even though it’s my problem… I—’

Erna looked down at her hands resting on her knees and mulled over her thoughts.

Ranje and Lennart, now outside, were faced with a bleak reality.

In front of them was a dark, labyrinth-like alley.

Kalisa was clearly weaving her way deeper into those alleys.

“I’ll scout ahead. Wait here for a bit.”

Lennart spoke preemptively, perhaps fearing Ranje would recklessly take off. He pulled a pendulum from the inner pocket of his coat. A thin chain and weight dangled from his fingers.

“<Maera.>”

A thread of magical energy shot out into the darkness.

Though still precisely controlled, the spell consumed a large amount of mana, increasing the risk of detection from the other side.

Fortunately, Kalisa, in her panic, did not notice. Her senses dulled by her desperate escape, she revealed her position. She hadn’t gotten far—likely weighed down by the documents she carried and not being much of a runner.

Retracting the pendulum, Lennart pointed in the direction.

“We can still catch her. The streets are tangled, but…”

“Just chasing her isn’t enough. She knows this town, and we’re outsiders. That puts us at a huge disadvantage. Are you keeping an eye on her?”

The magical thread he had cast clung to Kalisa’s shadow and painted a complex map inside his mind.

Even Lennart knew that blindly following her would have a low success rate.

“Share the map. Let’s take the shortest path and cut her off. If you block the rear, the buildings on both sides will trap her.”

The magically created map wasn’t a physical object and only existed in Lennart’s consciousness.

To share it with a non-mage, he’d have to draw it on paper. But if the recipient was also a mage…

Ranje suddenly grabbed his arm and pulled him closer, startling Lennart. Though the force was light, he hadn’t expected it and tilted his head downward.

Ranje casually rose on her toes, closing the distance between them.

Their foreheads touched, and with how close they were, Lennart momentarily stopped thinking.

To transfer the map, they needed to connect their mana, which required physical contact.

But normally, holding hands would be sufficient.

Seeing the urgency in her eyes, he understood her intent.

‘This was the most efficient method, I suppose.’

The moment she received the map, Ranje let go and stepped back.

Lennart, despite knowing the timing was inappropriate, blurted out:

“…You still have a fever.”

“It’ll take some time for the medicine to work. More importantly, let’s go.”

With their mana linked, Ranje broke down the information implanted in her mind.

Her vision split immediately.

She could now see Kalisa’s updated position and the alleyways around them at the same time.

Unshaken by this dual view, Ranje quickly oriented herself. Handling such data with ease was just part of being a mage. She was used to it.

She pushed off the ground and wall with her strengthened legs.

With just two leaps, she landed on a rooftop, revealing a wide view of the area.

Lennart, surprised again by what she meant by “shortest path,” quickly acknowledged that it was a smart move.

He, too, climbed up onto the rooftops.

The tightly clustered buildings formed a web of alleys but also provided solid footing for the two. The gaps between them were small enough to leap across.

Kalisa was running in circles to throw off pursuit, but she wasn’t completely aimless. She was heading in a clear direction.

Taking the terrain into account, they quickly guessed her destination.

“The harbor.”

“She might be trying to catch a boat.”

Ranje and Lennart aimed straight for it.

Compared to the street, the rooftops were like a flat plain with no obstacles. They rapidly closed the distance.

Just before Kalisa exited the alley, they reached the spot ahead of her.

Though no words were exchanged, their roles were clear. Lennart dropped behind her, making no attempt to hide his presence despite the light landing.

Kalisa immediately sensed him.

Before she could even fully react with surprise, Ranje revealed herself.

She was standing on the roof to Kalisa’s left, looking down at her.

Though it was a fall high enough to be fatal, Ranje showed no fear as she jumped to the building on the right.

Kalisa set her bag down and raised both hands.

‘Is it over?’

Her path behind was blocked, and if she moved forward, Ranje would catch her.

A light voice came from above her.

“Surrender?”

“Yes. It’s not like I can escape now, can I?”

Despite her resigned tone, no one showed her sympathy. Lennart remained silent, and Ranje sat casually on the roof’s edge.

“Why did you run away?”

With a lazy expression that could’ve been either relaxed or exhausted, Ranje asked.

“You surprised me, leaving in the middle of our conversation.”

“Are you seriously calling that a conversation?”

Kalisa snapped back, abandoning any pretense of politeness.

“Don’t talk like you’re something special, just another errand girl sent by Oshiph.”

“Oshiph?”

Who?

Ranje and Lennart exchanged puzzled glances. That was a name they’d never heard before.

Kalisa mistook their reaction for an act, and her voice grew sharper.

“There’s no reason for a mage to appear in a place like this unless they were sent by Oshiph.”

“It’s not like it’s off-limits… We really came because we need your help.”

“The only people interested in my research are scum like Oshiph.”

Filled with rage, Kalisa fumed while the two looked at each other in confusion, unable to comprehend her anger.

Leaving them to their silence, Kalisa recalled a painful past.

It all began with the succession dispute of Simone.

One of the Seven Electors, the Count Simone of the western territories, had two children.

His talented daughter and his favored son had been fighting over the title for nearly a decade.

Naturally, the west fell into chaos, crime thrived in the power vacuum, and dozens of vassals fell. Kalisa’s unfortunate father was one of them.

Even after her family collapsed, Kalisa couldn’t leave their ancestral lands.

As bitter as it was, Farel was her hometown, and she had people she had a duty to care for as a doctor.

It was humiliating, but the smuggling ring that now ruled Farel had been rather kind to her.

Having a skilled doctor in town was in their best interest, too.

The organization’s leader, an old man named Damil, claimed to know her grandmother and often offered her favors.

So Kalisa stayed in the place she knew best.

Her dreary life only began to change last fall.

A foreigner, carrying a letter of introduction from her university colleagues, visited her clinic.

The man from Inel introduced himself as Oshiph.

He claimed to run a merchant guild in Inel and expressed great interest in her mana research.

—“The Inel government is actively investing in developing mage soldiers. Your research has immense military potential. Will you not join our guild?”

It was an offer of asylum.

Though she firmly declined, Oshiph kept sending messengers and even sent a long letter just days ago.

Sick of it all, Kalisa had naturally assumed Ranje and Lennart’s arrival was connected to that.

A mage capable of weather manipulation… If she’s from the Empire, there’s no way she’d be here otherwise.

Kalisa glared at Ranje, her suspicion sky-high.

She’d chosen her over Lennart because he had stayed silent behind her.

“I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

In moments like these, it was natural to focus on the one babbling nonsense.

Ranje shrugged and added,

“If you didn’t like it, you could’ve just said no. Why go so far as to flee and get angry?”

If her goal was to provoke the other person, it was working. Her relaxed demeanor made it clear she believed she had Kalisa cornered.

Lennart could no longer stand by and watch.

“Wait a minute.”