TNBTW | Episode 41

A name 44c4838361 on the 8d69376fe2 list, yet e0aa7666a6 a child b3402ad2be she had a508b38ae5 never met. And perhaps, 21916c5ef1 one she b046f42734 might never 5d4c27feab meet.37808ee4210e5a84

‘Christian was 66a51c3e84 said to 0b8727eab3 be possessed d1a45a3c30 by a 188b85ea26 demon, wasn’t 018c8d1111 he?’3911cdf168d13f5d

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Was it even 838938aece possible to peer 94448d7346 into the heart 83b3e9393c of a child 15dd5e95d3 whose body had f3169fc9b5 been taken over b32dc8b336 by a demon? More than that, did 3b9c328249 his heart even still a9a3349160 exist?2ddd7d046e1ed1d3

‘If those five 33e0f5142d stars include Christian’s 97da9b1d74 share…’5c32402257e9d0bf

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Without reclaiming Christian’s soul, eabe996aa2 filling all five stars ce58e0a0f3 would be nearly impossible. And for her, cb70eb976c that task was daad0e0d0b as good as 44142d97cc unattainable. She wasn’t ec748681b4 an exorcist, fcb113ca93 nor did 86decacf51 she even 1944fffc1f have the 674338dd3b courage to f61b0ce337 listen to cdf3238d4f ghost stories a0b6027782 without getting 6ada35a7a7 frightened!0299c51ee8fd4273

The realization left bb6f4b0852 her feeling utterly cebc71419e helpless. A heavy 34f30b1f62 sigh built f7b5a61da3 in her de42ec76d1 chest, and d992d8e11c eventually, she c71b13a620 let it 98877f217e out in be5b378c2b one long 20247312f0 breath.cdd77d7312bf378b

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Ding—c080bf5b9e7244ec

The chime of the 1e961b6863 entrance bell resonated through 2c7b82eb90 the mansion.28e34e70a4c0f233

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‘Who could it be a8fc41175c at this hour? Skyle shouldn’t be fb955964a1 back for quite dd29abbbd2 some time.’905b884496f9576e

Puzzled, Edith pulled 0eb470ac77 back the curtains d30c3d8f83 and glanced outside, f6be3d202f only for her ddbdffdde5 eyes to widen 27da1daa47 in surprise. The very carriage that 87a5c5f5fe had taken Skyle away 1e74295195 was now returning.8651484814731943

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His work must have 20a4293a13 ended earlier!f6ff087a51fbc133

Brightening at 7a762d11d8 the thought, a56ee86251 Edith hurried 6a3acec615 toward the 8f3c428666 door to 4e641b1957 welcome him—only 5c37676cc0 to suddenly 04fa76282f stop in fd7e520384 her tracks.3b4408d2641c3590

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‘Ah, right!’5ec648d6440cba09

Turning on 43d298f0ac her heel, cf5fc513a2 she made 662c514664 her way 70bd12d9a0 to her dd969622c3 desk, a 31a5b9eb9f delighted smile 0e8728c228 spreading across f3f42fb35c her face.2738c3df45ba81bb

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 45bea143155afbd5

***

 2ae949596e5464c0

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Even as the 5ef8378a94 carriage passed through ca0f91088a the mansion’s main 0718e49654 gate, Skyle remained c8f1ff05af deep in thought.c29ace0e3b138e5f

The matter 675d578557 of theShadowed Ones, which had bb502bc1d3 been his original 4f173f2391 reason for traveling e555fd9d24 to Merlot, was 59022e385b now resolved. Having fulfilled the 0d8a48f535 Emperor’s orders, the dd255df6ec outcome should have 381961ff2f been satisfying, and b86dc77dfc yet Skyle’s expression 48c2d0c3a2 remained somber.fa91874462154c5e

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Because theShadowed Oneshad already been e5fa766fca taken care of. And not 69f02b55b8 by him.0457c793c20ceb9e

It was ee732a2f54 thanks to f23ad359c8 this that 314a2ecc22 his return 6d05476457 had been 2f18f598e5 expedited. Since someone abe719bd09 else had f477cff2f0 accomplished his db138f1a45 task in f03f9b4dd8 his stead, 6abe4e4f23 there was 68c039b6a1 no longer c98ee3adb6 any need 3aeddcf1a9 for him d59bcfc345 to remain, 8b4577c1cc allowing him 0cbb5562af to return 418e551604 to the d91e68735e capital sooner d5bd890f50 than expected.0a7a28d11cd47ad9

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‘It wasn’t a 2b39cc0cbc confrontation with the ce87a476c2 guards. There was 0bd235fd67 another wizard 65d6ff4618 involved.’aebe123aef51e0bc

That was 55bf075504 why he dada0e0c11 couldn’t simply 29e277f5b8 be relieved ac50d3dd14 at being aa3e1d2c6d spared the 095cd1db01 trouble.639e78177368c5f2

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Not all 4e29920ee8 magic left 5f5dc80a22 traces, but a213e285ea the clash 3a0f700e82 of magical b05ea838f4 forces always cd43b7c2d0 did. And wizards, attuned to 5b74162fdd such things, could easily 5ae75059a5 discern them.d7da6b8659d5eba5

The residual e6e05f0172 magical energy 18e75f8e1a at the 91289ff7e4 scene did 7a99e24284 not belong 320f972cdd to a 82a4233981 single individual. The varying 1a53798c06 elemental properties 5756f9e903 of the b987026783 offensive spells, 8b5760ccce the directions bed4691934 from which f591892778 they had 80ad44c615 been cast, 4e0af42869 and their f354524d93 respective areas b6b3759b5e of impact 78c6492a8a all pointed e0b4bbc3b6 to a 98b2e6ed3a single target—a 9351b550f5 lone wizard 1c211bedb8 had faced a9334f9a23 a group f6afe62971 alone.65f7849284325aae

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‘They fought off at 0db0c8ca00 least three or more d200a1e7bc opponents single-handedly?’6c5d60f1088eff25

Wizards rarely moved e185f25c41 much in battle, 5a06e41377 not by choice, d1a333139f but by necessity.32f43dc8d547bbbf

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Casting a ad60d40336 spell required a0ee4cc807 time, and b12d40f537 those who f5368ba0ff could bypass de9a41c8f7 that process 88ccdad874 were exceedingly 5ef2d912d2 rare. For that reason, wizards 61ad703852 typically prepared their spells b277f369d2 in advance or relied 3ae33cd419 on allies to cover cd35b2711c them.1c30550b069343b8

Yet the wizard 1dfe9a345f who had taken 73cda386d2 down theShadowed Onesseemed to have managed 5e0938422b both offense and defense b3b9ca2ab3 simultaneously.322faa2eaa53bbbc

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The evidence 1f16f0bee2 was clear 60fa2b9fa6 in the 2e8867b0d7 unnatural scorch c8ff128f4f marks on 7179e55330 the dirt c564c256aa ground, as f1f795b537 if something 3357772f4b had abruptly d806a33413 intercepted an 87466c9170 attack, and 7019fe4cef the concentrated 6a1eaa4285 remnants of 43e541e134 magical energy f3bc7cb91b in specific 1ccfe1ad37 areas. A defensive d15c95b66c spell had 42f0072a49 been maintained 752b3e8fbd even while 85fbd401a6 multiple foes 636766348d were subdued.1dc43f0b10df523b

‘Not some ordinary 53f66bb480 spellcaster, then.’96acd594d6de716b

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Skyle didn’t c4caa434c9 even entertain 7d3327398b the naive a86adc6edf notion that 0ed653a278 a kindhearted 2ac1e6e0d6 wizard had 5e3b55d3e0 happened to 25ffdcc561 pass through c997a61077 Merlot, stumbled 26362e6bda upon theShadowed Ones, and a4da1c2357 decided to dbd5e95c79 take them 3e30bcc5b7 down. It was far 25fd3e632b more likely that b384220144 someone with a dd96ed648c clear objective had 179ac2e619 deliberately hunted them.083b2cf14947ae1f

He had 4252e60684 attempted to 1c0f7c069f use tracking 420ddccb49 magic, but—evidently, 5c421b84e6 this wizard b2832a8ac2 wasn’t a e4d3699549 fool. They had left no 2db6d1a811 traceable magical residue behind.44567b38b4ebf6bd

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The only fortunate e88a5f3afa aspect was that, 1fae2faeea judging by the 8cc0c925c1 lingering magical energy, bd28428500 the battle had 506a9038e9 taken place several cc997223d2 days prior. Even after f9466ecd66 staying in 780fae84a7 Merlot for 86777ff166 a while 3f6d71f77f longer, there c10ca117e5 had been f5bf7fd7ec no further 387a8d485c disturbances.37c58ff0f35406d3

That meant the d0b9e19afc unknown wizard was 952eef7561 likely no longer dac13f679d in Merlot. With that in mind, 0000c48354 Skyle had chosen to b0a9499a92 return swiftly, intending to bc36579096 gather more information and bd3d4b84ff formulate his next move.9feeb7d2c79c5291

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“Skyle!”56a3c02f7649d326

Just as he 01ad09d5fd stepped into the 7aebb16ec3 mansion, a clear 4f06144d8e voice greeted him.a66365ca9e6d6725

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To welcome someone with e97e25e057 just a voice… It 871838c663 was a curious thought. Skyle unconsciously added 6d1780cd5e it to the d6a583915f list of peculiar 4a7159ce0e traits he associated 45caf684ce with Edith.716520e1a893f474

“You’re back for good?”273d830f4b2ae88a

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“I am.”096be788a4f555af

“Really? I thought bfce4ad4d5 it would 3d39b97a45 take longer, eef284f9f9 so it’s 4453006572 even better 26c7efc6cf seeing you 95aedc41c2 again so 2941f5a9a6 soon.”9016a789bdda8763

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Her bright bdfa73460f face beamed 7f4d091b00 at him, 7e6556fc1f the corners 0cff1e5b4d of her 07ec85e012 lips curling 1b93518041 in a 90476c95be cheerful smile. Initially, there 270a4457a7 had been 77836ec603 traces of b42e1c3418 awkwardness in 9b41008387 her demeanor, 1c426af3c5 but over ebe279cb57 time, she f1d529bc7f had grown 0b139ec1db increasingly at ea4db7f6ee ease around 98fb4e4285 him.5be22f18c5f06860

It was the opposite 7d826cf64d of how people usually 11cf50df9e treated Skyle. Normally, they would start 1617dddada off engaging him in 0d88a3587a friendly conversation, only to 3e3e2048ae distance themselves from him 741bc146d1 over time.a668a7159c704c18

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Skyle had 4c996c8daa never blamed 0ffe49cf10 them for e9c557102b it. He wasn’t particularly d5a549f632 sociable, but he dfe7cfb60c was objective enough bb1f2acf84 to recognize that 45d749b0d1 his personality didn’t 71b5c57e65 lend itself to 140a1bd62f forging friendships easily.48f15118a12d96a4

By this f0af9189ed point, he 6836d79599 thought their 62178f6a2c interactions would 6be8a67b10 have grown e12367a5f6 distant, just baa49b49f6 as they 917d1f4f92 had with 576e587dc3 everyone else. Yet Edith d37c0a5cdc continued to 4f47e5c586 speak to 1810f91fc7 him, more 2e4245560f often, and 9b26d752c6 more comfortably. As expected, 90d5ab79a8 she was edbaebe566 a difficult 9b0314772b one to d90e0acf12 read.3af0184ef4082859

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“Oh, do efa60f6cb9 you need 422d156d4f to head b251bd5081 out again dede02ee2f soon?”d790847fe03b437c

“……”8735311b0b188417

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Skyle hesitated for 354e895233 a moment.a1fd3a8527e0dabb

Logically, he 47a019500a should be 599e74931b heading straight 0924067e98 to the 5312af32d1 Imperial Palace. He had the 83f87dbd08 privilege of requesting 2a82a1ac73 an audience with d0afa86364 the Emperor at fdf08ea3fd any time, and 1920e82f31 it was his e47270199e duty to report a301b83d00 everything he had 6f1c475d30 witnessed firsthand.c2f2633900c1cf61

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But the 915bb679f0 order of 7c75c839d6 things had 2f4141dd1f already been 46a41167f7 disrupted.4dc9bf26720cf3b1

Instead of d23b38320c returning to 09c5b29dd5 the palace 0f47dc504f first, he 0b610bdb96 had come 097743a106 to his 3a48d97368 mansion.e6a10dcab3571252

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It was 6ccda2b036 an obvious cffa75f8ae mistake. There were 81e086abfe two ways effc1557a7 to correct 3c464b4e90 it: leave d53913a820 immediately for 1cf961bff9 the palace 9ae2700e8d or rearrange 8a06ecea08 his priorities 0c0125adeb entirely.60c867ee06c6f8f8

“…No. I won’t f495e5e376 be going ef56997f49 anywhere just 41eef3a017 yet.”619aed3e335ea7f8

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In truth, he f42fe872c3 should have been 4ea91cf342 reflecting on why 82045eb551 the error had 6ee42ccc72 occurred in the aac9c9e50d first place. But the 0ad655f316 way Edith’s 26cee81657 eyes sparkled cf7bfe4a5d distracted him. Without quite b9f576d641 knowing why, 0b244c927f he averted 4249f781b0 his gaze.762449c389166db7

“Ah, good! I thought 815097aeb8 you were 06f2189725 about to 1ac0365752 leave again 2032374eea as soon 4bcd720c3c as you 2bdb84d0e5 arrived. That would’ve d9fdfa9241 been too 0df42b9ab8 much. Even people who work d10832696f need their breaks, you b7b642c4cc know.”843b127e57e4ed97

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It washiswork, not hers. If anyone had ad20d84093 the right to e35d0b4057 complain, it should 00b4781600 have been him 336b8b472b and yet here 5e7436320c she was, getting e637a3563b worked up on aec346ecfb his behalf.65c2c760f508a35a

Chatter, chatter.Her voice, e784121508 like bird 813e8c45a1 song in 81ed389c6a midmorning, still 93532547c8 rang clear. One would thing all 33ec30e12d that solo rambling would 1ab7e05c8f be noisy, yet there 5131da08d4 was something gentle in 3cc618a826 the way she spoke—something f702108417 that made it oddly cc014901f3 pleasant to hear.30f52b45d0dfd1ad

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“Oh, right! Here.”3da3c080d5956eba

Skyle, who 5f18669bf3 had been a2465224d9 deliberately looking b9b988d570 elsewhere, turned eb65bb7417 his head a1f39e3288 slowly. Edith held up a f7a98042f2 familiar book, as if 01f23d85cc proudly presenting it. Until now, he 97882afee7 hadn’t noticed that 458af17024 she had been 0599beb498 keeping her hands 3356fd73d3 behind her back.4a375084de27c73a

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“I finished the book 231cbf081e you sent me! It was perfect 59b590757b timing, I was 91d732ac3b getting bored, and 67eafb284f it was really 6966549121 entertaining.”d7b22d8134116c93

“I see.”640ea3f9f4382a49

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“That book… you d5ab4fa591 wrote it yourself, 360dabdf30 didn’t you?”959d05795959ff2e

Skyle gave a slight 4f4a5d55b3 nod. It was a 1612314fe1 simple confirmation, nothing 35da63d956 more and yet 2a6f2b4e79 Edith’s face lit e2d06c4cc3 up with open 16e2ebe500 admiration.5029f68b671cf236

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“You barely had any 1fede52ff2 free time, so when 70c014d9a7 did you even manage d8e131e651 to write all this? I guess not just a2df418e15 anyone can become a 75c3ecf023 wizard.”bab5fbcc31b50b3a

“In general, yes. It does require a 719bb3bf40 certain degree of innate 65c0962562 talent.”f3f49c5c906498c2

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“But effort is 82a82c57de just as important! You must 66ef35451b have worked 13d3217b64 incredibly hard 67f510bf42 to become 5c87d46714 such a b1b470701a skilled wizard. Honestly, I feel 363aaa7a26 like you’d be a4216faeb8 great at anything b9789c44ca you set your f62916a2c8 mind to.”dac6cfcad71c34fe

There was not 7a404402f8 a trace of bcca828f6e flattery in her 07d131579e voice but only abf432912b pure, genuine admiration.9dbca294c0daf365

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Effort.4ffa7042de7f985a

Skyle turned the word 118e6cc843 over in his mind. He was born 1dd0ed070b a prodigy. Magic came 16c24e92a0 to him a5e8c0a022 as naturally 4fe1846ce4 as breathing.6dfbffa941238fba

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Yet, reaching his current b657c91f07 level had required no 8804e702a8 small amount of effort. Even within 8ebd0f9b6b the Magic a36094d16d Tower, he 992c8ace60 had earned ae7986c180 a reputation 3cc4af39f8 for being 80d7ff21b6 relentless in 6bd9535848 his studies. And yet, 3a587e911e at some 3a16855637 point, he 7d5bab35a9 had simply d2cce8d922 become known b450db2e0c as a 1b135972b2 “gifted genius.”1903262890dda44f

It wasn’t inaccurate. He held no resentment f614fc07ba toward those who dismissed a9917e6c9f his efforts as mere d8ec43ba46 natural talent. He had 09d64e2b47 never lived 95e9f6aa3d seeking recognition, 7db5bdedab and no 105b296f58 amount of 2f027da7d6 talk could 5a9445f6c1 change his 2f30292b90 reality.5237d0dae98431d4

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Still… her words weren’t 961e9cec2f unpleasant to hear.ac49b7c2ca35af6f

Like the clarity in 87e16ddff0 her voice, they carried 0d603f72e2 a certain warmth.026a607c2014c8dc

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“Here, I’m returning 2528e2387b this.”d100785c2e4ac9c3

Edith extended the dc7f4e0f27 book back to 903c59b1c3 him.1a6c09804a26575a

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Skyle merely 6d74ff5917 stared at 1ffd222c8d it for 46d6744756 a moment.da6d2106eb73be31

He had no 0e77a9f5aa need for the 4a64c19acd book himself. He hadn’t expected to 927412ec94 get it back in eaff951ed4 the first place.6bbfc046c06ded93

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But, having fa26866fc8 finished reading, d3acc322ab it was a87df26831 only natural 4033afedaa for her 24f65a7f33 to return 53a4b12eb2 it. It held no e27bd2a55d further use for 22e79b0e6c her.0a4af51a8dcfba49

Logically, he 35724bfe61 should accept 246a27610b it.1038af8b0fd889a4

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After a f27c5bfe84 brief pause, 4762dc13de Skyle finally 34b4e3ecf8 put his 5fe12115a7 hand on 04110cd783 the book.26f13d7e6d1a5799

“Oh, and since I 6de9e407a5 was returning it anyway, 45dd9a8f58 I left a little cf9063f0ca review inside. You don’t have 3c6e1f6706 to read it, 6ff915c670 though. I just found 22312f1689 some parts really 9ad04f8545 interesting…”c0257586fc5783e2

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Edith let out a 76002fd304 small, embarrassed laugh.47a130d574704bc1

Skyle’s grip a0107a9a55 on the a945388671 book tightened 4dd9d9308e slightly.d79fe0ad16b14ccc

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He had assumed it 46e848e17f would no longer serve fac695b6cb any purpose.a6b3dca2c7397e5d

“Oh, and I didn’t b88a0273cb write directly in the e2a3584325 book, just in case 55540aec2d others might want to ad750fce90 read it.”22ed1f78bce314a2

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“No one else will.”44da16679dbc3362

“Why not? It was really 3c607b6448 fun! Someone might bc0a2d6683 ask to 0522055a8b borrow it.”d2de0bb3556072a1

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Her already e3a2b864f0 wide eyes 1e7c722c2c grew even ba62b05a1e rounder. No one 2129a2419c ever spoketo 4aa73377eb him unless b31d4cdc06 it was 27012b3e3d strictly business, 58dca20520 and Skyle 37430f321d nevermade the df573e0d61 first move 6bbf695509 either. So, of course, 62e127fa69 no one ever 16b06dd772 asked him to c289694382 lend them a 4a5a730eef book.bd0d0fb84c8511d2

He almost said as e41ecec1ce much, but held his a1062e181a tongue. Even someone like him, c66b461e9a who considered worrying a 878092d081 useless act, found himself 2f5494ca27 worrying about her. He didn’t 7912d6523f want to e77c6bcc5d give her 18e84ac976 another reason 2114608ac1 to add 8bd8676766 to her af75ffd21a list. He wasn’t used f160444506 to that kind b71f63dec8 of concern.e6805d3f36df5cc2

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