Chapter 31

The group had gathered once again for the opening of another scroll. The air was tense. The last scroll didn’t provide them with any information, and it knocked Meline and Kade out for an entire day. A lot of time was wasted for nothing.

Unfortunately, the only way to know whether or not the scroll entered important information or not was by opening and reading it. No way around it.

“... Ready?” Kade asked. Like before, Meline stood by his side.

“Ready.”

“Lorem ipsum.”

The secrets of the scroll opened up to Kade. For everyone else, nothing happened. Meline waited patiently as Kade began reading out the contents.

“It’s about a method to extract souls.”

They already know that once the souls were planted in an item, they would be stuck there. A certain spell must be used for the extraction. The spell, called ‘Keystar’, allowed the soul to be separated from the object. It couldn’t separate the will, however.

Separating the will required a much more complex method. In a lot of cases, if an item with a will in it made trouble, they would just destroy the item. Meline’s rogue spear most likely had a soul in it. The hero’s sword and Meline’s spears, on the other hand, had wills, and they shared their will with the bearer. They couldn’t fight the command of their operators. Since Keystar only worked on souls, they wouldn’t need to worry about Meline’s spear losing its original strength.

So they need to find the spear, then cast Keystar on it. The note also detailed the second part of the ritual, the part where they send the soul into the afterlife. They must use Keystar again, immediately after the separation. The quicker, the better, as it prevented the soul from latching onto a different object.

“But… What is this Keystar?” Tila asked. None of them had ever heard that term before.

“Lorem ipsum! Maybe… Ahhh!” The effects kick in immediately after Kade disabled the spells.

“My head!”

Both Kade and Meline collapsed.

•••

Meline groaned, pulling herself up. She had prepared herself for this, but the effect of the spell was no joke. Despite experiencing it for the second time, she still couldn’t resist it. As a regular human, Kade resisting so much pain was impressive.

“... Kade’s from another world…”

Could the word lorem ipsum have had some kind of importance in his previous life? Could it be super powerful? It must be. Even someone like her couldn’t resist the effects of the spell. It must hold some kind of fearsome power. Meline could imagine the spell used to decide the results of entire battles.

Meline chuckled. Her husband might be more powerful than she thought. He always had a weakness in magic, yet he tried his best despite that. Meline glanced at Kade, who was still asleep. She tended to wake up quicker.

A knock came on the door. Meline couldn’t ask the person to come in; she didn’t want to wake Kade up. She got off the bed and tiptoed to the door, opening it.

“Yes?”

“Meline, you’re awake?” It was Tila, bringing in some warm tea.

“How do you know when I woke up?” Meline asked.

“Hmm? I didn’t know…”

Tila realized that Meline was looking at the pitcher filled with tea she brought with her, its sweet smell spreading through the room. Tila came in and set down the tea on the desk, careful not to make a noise. She poured a cup for Meline.

“Thank you. Still, serving me tea right after I woke up? How impressive.”

“Well… I already know that you’ll wake up after roughly a day, right? So I’ve been preparing it every hour. Every time it goes cold… I put it in a different pitcher and used it to make iced tea instead.”

“There is no need to make things difficult for yourself.”

“Ah, no… It’s not difficult.” Tila waved her hands. “I’m happy I could help, even if it’s just a bit.”

“Tila…” Meline was touched by the kindness she showed, but he quickly remembered something she must do.

Meline glanced at Kade, who was still sleeping on the bed. “We will be departing for Demon Lands once Kade wakes up.”

“Huh? Are you sure? You’re still recovering, right?”

“Don’t worry, it won’t be long before my mana returns.” Meline flashed her a smile. “I need to meet with one of my mages.”

•••

After Kade woke up, they enjoyed some food and drank a lot of water. It had been a while since they ate, after all. They then teleported to the capital castle in Demon Lands. Upon arriving, Meline immediately called Letosis.

“Letosis, do you know anything about Keystar?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I am aware that such a spell existed.”

“Do you know how to use it?”

“I believe I could learn it.”

Tila handed over the notes to Letosis. Letosis accepted it and began studying right in front of Meline. They couldn’t see his face, as a hood covered it, but they could tell that he was serious.

“How long will it take?” Meline asked.

“Not long, Your Majesty.”

“Good, then we’ll set off immediately after a report.”

All they needed to do was find the spear. If they could do that, then Letosis could use Keystar on it. After that, their lives would return to normal. They could continue going to university again. It had been a while since Kade and Meline last saw their friends. They must have missed them.

… Someone missed me… Huh?

Back then, no one would miss Kade if he disappeared one day. Today, things would be different. There was Linda, Tila, Kalou, and everyone else in class. Most importantly, he now has Meline. The thought made him happy.

“I’m close to finishing, Your Majesty.”

Kade had also read the notes Tila wrote down. It looked complicated, but Letosis did serve as one of the most powerful magic users in Demon Lands. If someone could learn a spell quickly, that would be him.

The door slammed open, surprising everyone inside.

“Your Majesty, we have a huge issue!” A guard shouted, sweat going down his face.

“What is it!?”

“It’s the wolfkins!”