Chapter : 69
Resolve for Salvation
—As expected, I can’t stop worrying.
The rain outside the window hadn’t let up since evening. Thin, dense streaks ran down the glass, merging into countless vague trails. Inside the room, a faint light flickered like a candle on the verge of extinguishing, reflected on the surfaces.
Reclining in his chair, Mion placed his elbows on the table and tapped the tabletop lightly with his fingertips, as if performing a ritual to count invisible time.
“…Still not back.”
He lifted his profile, fixing his empty gaze forward—toward Misty’s seat, the place where they were supposed to share the meal. Strands of hair falling on his forehead partly hid his expression, and a faint shadow lingered beneath his eyelids. The quiet that follows the numbness of waiting wasn’t disappointment—it was the look of someone accustomed to loneliness.
Today, he had believed Misty would return safely and had even taken the unusual step of going into the kitchen himself, diligently cooking meat and potatoes despite his clumsy skills. Yet, the temperature of the food seemed to respond to his hopes, slowly cooling.
“…It’s cold now.”
His voice dissolved into the air. When he finished speaking, he lowered his head, resting his forehead on the tabletop—the chill of the surface sharpening his awareness, making it painfully clear what he was waiting for.
The rain intensified.
The rhythm of droplets falling from the eaves merged with the streaks on the window, almost erasing the ticking of the clock. In the silence, the sound seemed to expand, carrying a faint, mocking softness.
(Mion… you really are worried about Seraphine, huh.)
Miona’s question drew a faint nod from Mion.
In a world where magic is hidden from wanderers and sacrifices are made for the sake of discipline, he had severed ties with his childhood friends. The only comfort left was Misty Seraphine.
Once the only anchor is threatened, the heart grows sensitive and anxiety mounts—this was exactly such a moment.
(If I keep waiting like this, she might not come.)
“Probably.”
(I have school early tomorrow. Let’s rest first.)
“I’m fine, Miona. I’m not tired.”
Explaining to her was partly self-soothing—a mixture of half-truth and half-bluff. The exhaustion was not of the body but of the heart.
(Master… sometimes you’re really stubborn.)
“When the time comes when you’re too stingy to spend energy on stubbornness, what will you live for, and what will you hope for?”
Mion could have countered the reproach and grumbling of a contracted spirit dozens of times, but before any debate could start, a voice pierced through the roar of the storm.
“Mion! Mion!”
He looked toward the entrance. It wasn’t the figure he had been hoping for—but from that call, he already knew who it was.
Throwing on his coat and opening the door, he saw Phoenix standing outside the front yard fence, beneath the flickering streetlamp.
He had no umbrella.
Rain ran along his red hair, sliding down his chin onto the stones, splashing fine droplets. His cloak clung to his skin, outlining shoulders thinner than usual. And what Mion couldn’t ignore was the exhaustion—an oppressive, suffocating shadow of someone with nowhere to go, heavier than anger.
It was the first time Phoenix had ever looked so miserable.
“Something happened at this hour?”
“…Sorry, boy. If I weren’t cornered, I wouldn’t have come here.”
There was bitterness in his words. The red-haired man held back sobs, clenching his fists and raising his face.
“Misty went alone into SMP’s secret base and was captured…”
“What!? How…?”
The news, like a bolt from the blue, reversed Mion’s blood flow, draining the heat from his limbs, and before he could think, he had dashed through the rain and closed in on Phoenix.
“Is Seraphine alive?”
“I can’t say for sure. But I believe she’s being held captive.”
“Then I’ll save her. I have to go save her!”
“We can’t…”
The words, already akin to surrender before trying, struck Mion’s ears but refused to register in his mind. His pupils contracted.
“Can’t…? If we mobilize all our forces, there should be no path we can’t reach.”
“It’s the opposite. My request for reinforcements was rejected by the royal family… In fact, including other squads, Karina and I were forbidden from any rescue operation. ‘Do not compromise future cleansing operations for the life of one, especially a tainted-blood Foul Blood,’ they said.”
At first, kneeling beneath the throne, he thought he had misheard the decree—but when his eyes met the court’s, he realized it wasn’t a mistake; it was their intention.
Driven by an irresistible urge for justice, he confirmed it again and again. Until everyone present, exasperated, ordered him to leave, the answer did not change.
‘Misty Seraphine rescue is forbidden. Violation will incur severe punishment.’
That was the command.
‘All squads must obey the royal instructions absolutely.’
That was the rule.
“Unbelievable…”
The low voice strained from his throat, fists clenched tightly, veins standing out on his hands.
To coldly abandon a girl who had faithfully served the kingdom, risking everything with sincerity, was sheer cruelty. To sacrifice those who had contributed for the sake of “duty” was a vile method. Could the royal family truly accept such a victory proudly?
The decision was incomprehensible, utterly unacceptable.
“Unbelievable! I don’t care about rank! Seraphine is part of the kingdom! All her efforts count for nothing? Are the royals blind? You don’t need logic to save someone! Why reject what’s obvious? Are you saying Seraphine should die!?”
The anger surged from his chest, shredding his throat without care for heat, railing against the injustice of the Nokran Kingdom. What enraged him most—Misty, who had endured countless hardships, was betrayed in the end by those she trusted most.
The moment she was locked in the cage of the ‘tainted-blood Foul Blood,’ she was rejected from all sides—a cruel joke of fate.
“Ha… ha…”
His white breath unfurled in the cold air. Having expelled all the frustration lodged deep in his stomach, Mion bit his lips bitterly. When he lifted his gaze again, his eyes were wet.
“…It’s so unfair. Why is she the only one facing this? She has to carry it all alone…”
His voice was broken by the rain, the pain that ran with each breath felt in his heart, not his vocal cords.
“The only ones who understand me now are Miona and Seraphine. Surely… she too…”
Thinking back, whether at school, in the district, or across the world, she had no friends. None she was close to or trusted—well, maybe just one. Probably him, Mion murmured.
‘As wizards, we should unite.’
‘Wanderers cannot be our true allies.’
‘Don’t break the unwritten rule, Mion.’
The words spoken on the school rooftop, the feel of her clenched fist, the subtle expressions she let slip only in his presence—all rose faintly in his mind. Perhaps it was not only he who found solace in her; she unconsciously found it in him too.
(I see… so Mion was waiting with that kind of feeling.)
In the inner chambers of her heart, Miona bowed her head in embarrassment at her earlier sulk.
Mion, alone as a wizard bound by rules, and Misty, alone by social norms in the magical realm, both were isolated.
At this moment, Miona sensed the master’s emotions clearly and began to understand why he was so attached to Misty. It wasn’t love. It wasn’t just worry.
—It was mutual empathy.
“That’s why… I don’t want to leave Seraphine alone…”
Mion wiped the raindrops from his cheeks and refocused his gaze beyond the haze—regret, sorrow, anger, a thousand unspoken words converged into a single will, taking shape into a plan.
“Take me with you, Phoenix. This time, I’ll go rescue Seraphine.”
Whether the reception would be difficult or the success uncertain, his gaze had never been so clear and determined. With all rescue forces forbidden to deploy, the only hope for Misty at Fuukai Castle lay with him, an outsider. This was a challenge he had to accept. This was his response to her repeated help—a heartfelt gratitude.
“…I owe you, Rainy Night Mion.”
As if he had anticipated the boy’s resolve, Phoenix’s harsh brow softened, and he bowed deeply, expressing his thanks.
“Karina and I are forbidden from the rescue, but we weren’t told not to assist. We’ll help as much as we can.”
He despised irresponsibility, delegating all the fight to others. Now that he had found a flaw in the royal command, they would focus on assistance—maximizing preparation and withdrawal, and Karina commanding remotely via her .
However, a major problem remained.
“Next, we need allies to help us.”
The key was manpower. There would be moments Mion alone could not overcome—plus, the helpers needed to meet conditions: coordination with him, sufficient knowledge of Fuukai Castle, and above all, a shared resolve to save. Missing any of these would doom the rescue team.
“Mion. Is there anyone you can absolutely trust?”
“…Alone, it’s impossible?”
“Absolutely impossible! Even Misty couldn’t succeed alone; let alone you!”
After asserting that, Phoenix exhaled deeply, and after a brief silence, placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder.
“We’ve already lost Misty. We can’t let you face danger alone anymore.”
Mion nodded silently.
Cooling his head, he knew solo infiltration was reckless—misjudging the forces, at worst, landing him in the same cage.
“Anyone reliable you can reach through Phoenix?”
“There are few people in Fuukai Castle. Our connections are limited. Options are exhausted.”
“…Exactly my reality.”
Half-closing his eyes, he regretted not being socially proactive. Yet—
“Then, what about us?”
A soft, familiar voice spoke from beside him.
Mion and Phoenix simultaneously turned, looking toward the sound.
At the corner of the pouring intersection, two figures emerged from the shadows—holding umbrellas, worry etched on their faces: Arisuzuki Nagisa and Yamaki Shufū.
