Priscilla knew a small amount of English, previously taught to her by Al. Although her spoken ability was rather poor, she could still manage basic reading and writing. Thus, Lillian directly switched the tablet's system language to English. The vocabulary was not complicated, and it did not take her long to learn the standard operations.
A device like a tablet could usually be figured out within ten minutes; Priscilla merely took a little longer due to ingrained habits of thought. After all, as someone who had never experienced the age of touchscreens, she could hardly be expected to pick it up and use it instantly like a modern person.
True to her word, after mastering the basic operations, she brought in a somewhat sinister-looking elderly mage. The old man was highly experienced in curse-related magic, and Lillian humbly sought his instruction for an entire afternoon.
Most curses required physical contact to be imprinted. Different curses used different spell formulas; the more complex the formula, the harder it was to remove. At the same time, complex spellwork consumed vast amounts of mana and was highly prone to error. These, however, were not what concerned Lillian most. He asked directly:
"Is there a universal spell that can remove any curse? One that works no matter what kind it is?"
The moment the question was asked, the old mage teaching him became so angry his beard bristled upward. He scolded Lillian repeatedly—calling the idea "wishful thinking," "unrealistic," and "mere laziness." The answer was obvious: there was no such thing.
Different spell formulas required different methods of removal. Even if one could wield enormous quantities of mana and attempt to forcibly break a curse, the result would only be the destruction of the victim's body. A so-called "universal" solution might exist in theory—but it would essentially amount to possessing an immense body of knowledge.
This made Lillian recall Beatrice, the twin-tailed great spirit who guarded the forbidden library in Roswaal's mansion. In the original story, she could casually remove the curse on Subaru, relying precisely on her vast knowledge. Her creator had been the "Witch of Greed," a woman with an insatiable curiosity for all knowledge.
The forbidden library she created contained an immeasurable amount of information, of which curse techniques were merely the tip of the iceberg. Beatrice had remained there for several centuries; even if she had not absorbed everything, she had mastered the majority of it.
If only that library belonged to me… Lillian had entertained that thought more than once.
After an afternoon of study, Lillian learned some fundamental principles of curse magic from the eccentric old mage and arranged to continue at the same time the following day. When he left, he intended to bid farewell to Priscilla, only to find her happily playing Fruit Ninja.
Lillian glanced at the screen and noticed she had already reached a very advanced stage. Fruits appeared and fell at astonishing speed, yet there were hardly any bombs—one appeared only every few seconds. Under normal circumstances, bombs should have been popping up every second, mixed in with the fruit. Could her "extraordinary luck" even affect tablet games?
With a silent sigh of amazement, Lillian received nothing more than a simple "Mm" in response to his farewell and left the mansion. The sun was setting, the evening glow tinting everything faintly red. Compared to usual, the streets were far noisier today.
---
The royal administration was highly efficient. In the morning, all five candidates had assembled and the royal selection officially began; by the afternoon, the results were publicly announced. The candidates' names, backgrounds, portraits, and even parts of their political platforms were posted on public notice boards. Naturally, people gathered to discuss them.
"Who would've thought someone from the Karsten family wants to sever the covenant with the Divine Dragon?"
"Yeah. I used to respect Lady Crusch, but now…"
"Surely Lady Felt is the best choice. She has royal blood and the support of the 'Sword Saint.' Lord Reinhard may hold the title of Sword Saint, yet he still patrols the streets personally and handles matters himself. Someone supported by such a perfect man can't possibly be wrong."
"Lady Anastasia is great too. If she becomes king, our country would surely grow rich, right? Then our wages would probably increase as well. The only pity is that she isn't a native Lugunica citizen."
"And there's Lady Emilia—"
"Don't mention her… ahem. Anyway, I would never choose her. Since she's so determined to protect the rights of demi-humans, let the demi-humans vote for her and see if she can become king."
"Exactly. Doesn't she realize that neither the Council of Sages nor the great nobles include a single demi-human? Heh."
As these discussions drifted past Lillian, he sensed something and instinctively turned his head. A man with an utterly ordinary appearance stood behind him, evidently having heard the conversation as well.
In half a second, Lillian realized who it was—Emilia, concealed beneath a magical cloak.
"I am Emilia," she said. Her voice was as clear and melodious as a silver bell, though coming from a man's face made the effect rather jarring.
"I appear in this form due to a special magical artifact. Lillian, I wish to speak with you."
"…Not today," Lillian replied. "I have matters to attend to. If you wish to talk, tomorrow."
"Then tomorrow. The time and place?"
"The 'Carmen' tavern in the South District. Nine in the morning." After a pause, he added, "You must come alone."
He did not want Subaru to start another argument with him, or to reach some understanding after Emilia's explanations—either way, it would be troublesome.
"Very well. I hope you will keep your promise."
With that, she turned and left. Watching her retreating figure, Lillian wondered how she had found him so quickly. Had she been waiting near Priscilla's mansion the entire time? And hearing the words of those passersby must not have felt pleasant.
That was only natural. Once the public notice was posted, Emilia's support had dropped to rock bottom. Perhaps demi-humans would support her, but as the bystanders had said, "There are no demi-humans among the Council of Sages or the great nobles." In other words—using modern terms—demi-humans possessed no political influence, no voting power.
Under such circumstances, no matter how many demi-humans supported her, it would be difficult to truly change anything—unless another demi-human war were provoked, which seemed impossible in the near future.
Who told you to choose such a difficult path?
Lillian pushed the thought aside and quickened his pace. Ten minutes later, he returned to the house he had rented. Someone was already waiting inside.
"Say… could you not sit on my writing desk?"
A woman dressed entirely in black, her figure alluringly voluptuous, sat atop the desk where he usually wrote and read. Leaning against the wall, her slender legs rested on a wooden chair. In her hand she toyed with a strangely shaped curved blade, its surface intermittently reflecting the crimson glow of the sunset shining through the window.
Elsa—the Bowel Hunter.
"There's only one chair here," Elsa said, straightening up. The curves of her upper body became even more pronounced. She licked her lips. "Otherwise, how about I sit on the chair and you sit on my lap? Big sister can even let you rest your head on me."
"I'll pass. I'm afraid if I sit once, I'll lose my intestines." Lillian simply remained standing, moving to lean against the bookshelf with his arms crossed.
"How could big sister possibly do something like that?" Elsa shot him an annoyed glance. "The moment I received your letter, I came here immediately."
Indeed, the letter Lillian had written earlier was addressed to her. She had previously sent him a letter that included an address, and he had mailed his reply there.
"But I never expected you to actually fight with that child, Meili—and even caused her mission to fail…"
"Meili, huh." Lillian recalled the blue-haired girl who controlled magical beasts. "That kid is quite ruthless. When she grows up, she'll surely become a major asset in your organization."
"If she heard such mockery, she'd be furious enough to kill you," Elsa said. "I went through quite some trouble to make her give up chasing you."
"You say that as if I'm afraid of being hunted." Lillian replied seriously, "If she wants to come, she's welcome to try—so long as she's not afraid of dying."
"My, my, such a cold statement. Big sister quite likes that." Elsa smiled, but Lillian had no interest in continuing such pointless banter and spoke directly.
"Let's talk about business. If you read the letter, you should understand what it's about."
"Ah… I truly didn't expect you to want to hire me." Elsa was genuinely surprised. The letter's contents had been simple: I have a task I wish to hire you for. The reward will be generous.
"What's so surprising? Isn't this your line of work?"
"That's true." Elsa nodded, looking at him teasingly. "Honestly, if you had asked big sister nicely, I might have given you a discount on the payment. But with your current attitude, the reward will have to be doubled."
"…"
Seeing Lillian's speechless expression, Elsa laughed happily a couple of times and stopped teasing him. "Alright, tell me—what's the task?"
"I want you to help me investigate the whereabouts of a group of Witch Cult members."
The moment the words "Witch Cult" were spoken, the curve of Elsa's lips flattened. Her smile vanished, replaced by a serious light in her eyes.
She lightly jumped down from the desk, walked over to Lillian, and looked straight at him. After a moment, she repeated, "The Witch Cult."
"The Witch Cult," Lillian affirmed.
"What do you intend to do by investigating them?"
"They're useful to me."
"You should understand how dangerous those people are."
"I do."
"…I refuse this commission," Elsa said after a brief silence. "Even if you're in a hurry to throw your life away, I won't recklessly involve myself with those lunatics."
"Very well."
His unexpected response surprised her; she clearly had not anticipated Lillian giving up so easily.
"There's no need to look at me like that," Lillian said. "I know it's dangerous. But I have a small lead—I just don't have the time to pursue it myself."
"You mean that even if I refuse the commission, you'll investigate them anyway?"
"Yes. I told you—they're useful."
Elsa stared at him for a while, then suddenly laughed softly. "Heh… triple the payment." She raised three fingers. "Triple the reward, and I'll accept. And I won't guarantee success."
"Are you sure? Didn't you just say it was very dangerous?"
The faint glow of the sunset streamed through the window, reflecting in Elsa's violet eyes in a hazy arc. She replied casually, "It can't be helped. I've been short on money lately. That's all."