Wasn’t This a Night Game

Why! Can’t I, Amael, be Happy!

After Iomene finished his business, I left the Imperial Palace and went straight to Erpa’s.

What with the investigation and being chased by reporters after the Evil God fragment incident, this was the first time I’d been able to visit.

“The witch Erpa and…”

“I will escort you!!”

Ever since I blew up the Evil God fragment in front of everyone at the palace, the way everyone treated me was completely different.

I arrived at Erpa’s lab door like a bullet.

“Erpa? It’s me, Amael.”

I knocked tentatively twice. There was a brief clatter from inside, and then the door cracked open.

“Oh, uh, welcome.”

Erpa greeted me, her hair a little dishevelled, as if she’d been rushing to clean up the room. I gave her a warm smile.

“I’m so sorry for coming so late. Things have been… hectic.”

If not for the Emperor’s limousine, gifted to me, even arriving here today would’ve been impossible.

The throng was such, not a step forward could’ve been taken.

At my words, Erpa gestures, door swung fully open, inviting me in.

I stepped into her lab.

Come to think, first time I’ve ever been inside Erpa’s lab.

“Oh, what brings you…?”

“Feels late to ask, but… are you alright? Not hurt anywhere?”

Erpa nods at my words.

I see her four hands, lost, flitting here and there.

Seems quite embarrassed.

“That’s a relief. That you weren’t injured. Heard curses can cause serious harm. You must stay healthy.”

“O-of course! I won’t allow myself to get hurt. I’m fine. Rather, it’s the Saint who was truly amazing. Returning from the very source of the curse, unscathed…”

“Haha. It wasn’t anything grand.”

“Y-yes…”

The conversation faltered.

Erpa was twirling a lock of hair, and a gloom had settled on me, making it hard to speak.

Beautiful.

Some might say a little grotesque, what with the four arms, but I’m more than willing.

If I had my way, I’d make it a done deal right now.

But for her sake, not mine, I have to rein in my feelings.

I want Erfa to be happy.

I don’t want her to be beside a man like me, doomed to ruin, and collapse along with him.

I stamped down my own feelings as much as I could.

The slush fund is secured now.

What’s left is figuring out how to deal with the Miracle of Tracking and finding a more efficient way to use Time Stop.

The reason I came to the magic tower was to learn about how to use Time Stop more efficiently.

“Actually, Erfa, I came here with a request.”

“Yes! Anything!”

Her eyes are brimming with expectation.

I’m sorry.

I’m not in a position to accept her feelings.

“I want to meet with an expert on time magic. Perhaps there’s a magician like that at the Mars Magic Tower branch?”

Erfa’s face clouds over slightly at my words.

“Grand Magister Örgen is an expert in time magic. He ascended to the position of Grand Magister after writing a thesis in that field. The Grand Magister wouldn’t refuse a meeting if the Saint desires it.”

“Thank you, Erfa. Then I’ll be off to see the Grand Magister.”

“Um!! Saint-nim!”

Erfa grabs my hand.

“By any chance…was something going on with that Princess Iomene…?”

So she was keeping it bottled up.

I shook my head.

Iome does like me, that’s true. But considering Her Highness’s current mental age, it’s probably less romantic affection and more…just a position as someone she can trust.

Even if Her Highness *did* have feelings for me, I’ve no desire to advance into anything romantic with her.

Erpha alone is painful enough like this.

I’ve absolutely no intention of adding another woman I’m *something* with.

“It was nothing much. Just a role to care for Her Highness, who is mentally unstable, at her side. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Erpha looks at me with a face of relief.

“I see. I… I’m sorry. For asking strange things.”

Erpha, blushing, cracks a bright smile.

To leave a woman like *that* behind, so soon…

“Erpha. Whether I am here or not, always live for yourself. You must be healthy and happy for yourself.”

“Of course!”

I nodded.

Erpha came closer, cupped my face, and gave me a light kiss.

It only makes things sadder.

“See you later! Saint!”

I returned her smile, suppressing the sorrow as much as possible at those words.

*

“Saint. This is the first time since I saw you at the Inquisition. Ha ha!”

The Archmage, Orgen, looked no different than he did the last time at the Pantheon’s Inquisition.

A stout physique, and a long, white beard.

A character straight out of a magician’s playbook.

I didn’t even need to seek him out.

The moment I stepped out of Erpa’s lab, the Tower Master was already waiting for me.

“I never expected the Saintess to want to see *me*! Perhaps you require magical counsel regarding the Princess’s healing?”

“No. I wished to meet you to inquire about time magic.”

At my words, the Tower Master burst into laughter.

“Hahaha!! Time magic, you say!! It *is* my specialty. No, I simply never imagined the Saintess would ask me about *time magic*.”

The Saintess and time magic.

Certainly, a topic that seems unrelated.

But I *am* the Saintess, aren’t I?

“I have need of it.”

Roughly, that single phrase is enough to smooth over anything and everything.

As expected, the Tower Master smiled and nodded.

“Then, I must inform you! What aspect of time magic do you wish to know?”

Finally!

I cautiously posed my question.

“When using time magic, is the expenditure of mental strength truly so immense?”

“You are remarkably well-informed, are you not? That is correct. While the magic expenditure itself is ordinary, the consumption of mental strength is enormous in that field of magic. Because of this, techniques that halt time within a limited space are often used. More often for experimental purposes than practical application.”

“I see. How do mages cope with that enormous mental strength consumed when casting? Is there perhaps a special training method or technique?”

Orgen, the Tower Master, shook his head.

“Time is a subject too inherently perplexing for the human mind to grasp. That’s why, rather than mental power training, many use artifacts or items to reduce mental power consumption.”

That sounds… tempting, doesn’t it?

“What kind of items are used?”

“Things like psychic amplifiers using Mana Crystals are primarily used.”

“Are they items a person can carry around?”

“Impossible. They’re experimental equipment, so features related to portability have been ruthlessly removed, making them incredibly massive.”

Damn it all.

So, they’re items I can’t use?

What am I gonna do…

Just as a sigh threatened to escape my lips.

“Of course, there are also psychic amplifiers small enough to be carried by an individual.”

Archmage Jurgen said something that piqued my interest.

“What kind of item is it?”

“A unicorn’s horn is the most potent psychic amplifier in existence. With that alone, a portable psychic amplifier can be created.”

A unicorn’s horn??

Even just hearing it, it’s clearly not something you’d find lying around on the street.

“Is there any way to acquire a horn, perhaps?”

“Unicorns are creatures of extreme hunting difficulty. Because they effortlessly exert mental manipulation using their horns, which are powerful psychic amplifiers, even well-trained mages or hunters cannot easily capture them. Therefore, the quantity released onto the market is extremely small.”

Ah…

Is there no way to get one?

“So, our Mage Tower doesn’t exactly have an abundance, but do you truly require a horn? We have a psychically amplified device, personally portable, already crafted. If you desire it, we will give it to you.”

My eyes snapped open at those words.

“Really? Would that be alright?”

“Of course. I’ve heard you’ve generously provided elixirs free of charge and increased research funds so that mages and witches can study with more ease. And what would we begrudge the one who saved the Empire? It will serve you, a saint, far better than it serves an old man like me.”

Tower Master Jurgen drew a rocket-shaped pendant from a drawer and showed it to me.

“I crafted this in my younger days for research purposes. I never actually used it, just kept it as a souvenir, so it will need some tinkering and tuning before you can use it. About a week, I’d wager. Then, I’ll hand it over to you immediately.”

The savior!! I’m the savior!!

“Thank you, Tower Master.”

“Think nothing of it. If I may be so bold, would you permit me to visit the Mage Tower Temple from time to time to study your healing activities? I find myself with a burning desire to interpret your miracles magically.”

I’m ditching this whole thing soon anyway.

I should at least let him do as he pleases until then.

He’s given me something so precious, after all.

“Of course. Come whenever it suits you.”

“Thank you.”

I left the Mage Tower with that.

Back at the Temple, I returned in His Imperial Majesty’s limousine to find Imperial Knights and court mages, white robed clerics and paladins from the White Order, all crammed inside.

And at the center of it all stood members of the Imperial family.

“You’re already here?”

Startled, I rushed forward, and Iomene sprang from the Empress’s embrace, bouncing like a coiled spring into my arms.

“Yay!!”

Yeah. Yeah.

You cat-like thing, you.

I stroked Iomene’s head, and His Imperial Majesty watched the scene with a satisfied look.

“Iomene was so eager to meet the Saint that we hurried here. I leave her in your care for the next two days. Please take good care of her.”

“Of course. I will stay by the Princess’s side as much as possible until the procedure.”

The Empress approached me and carefully took my hand.

“I am truly grateful. Saint. I can hardly express it in words…”

“It’s nothing. Your Majesty. You needn’t be so formal.”

But there was no such thing.

The Empress, the Emperor, and Princess Almene, all endlessly expressed their extreme gratitude towards me before finally departing.

And only after that, finally, I was able to be alone with Iomene.

Iomene, like a cat, clung to my side, purring.

“Like!! Like!!”

I stroked Iomene’s head as she continuously rubbed her face against my body.

“Now, together!! Sleep together?”

“No. We can’t sleep together.”

“Because you’re not married?”

I smiled at the childlike, innocent question.

I took her to the room.

The White Order’s holy knights and Imperial Guard knights who remained to guard her, of their own accord, left the room and began to stand guard outside.

Left alone in the room, just us two, I gave her the sweets, the snacks, but she wouldn’t even glance at them.

“Sleep together! Sleep together! Marriage! Marriage!!”

Her tantrum left me shaking my head, heavy with gloom.

Iomene, with the mind of a child, it was… something.

Before I knew it, the honest words spilled out.

“If you stay with me, Iomene, you’ll get hurt.”

“No hurt. All better.”

“Maybe right now. But later. Later on, you’ll get hurt. Iomene. So, when your treatment is done, don’t rely on me anymore. Live hard, with your own strength. Live beautifully. Understand?”

“No!! No!! Saint-nim good!! Good! Marriage! Marriage!!”

She rushed at me, clutching me tight, and a sorrow welled up inside.

“I’m sorry, Iomene. I’m sorry.”

Why are there so many women who say they like me, but living happily with any of them is impossible?

Why must I always leave?

I want to be happy with Erpa.

I truly wanted to just live here, normally, playing the saint.

But I can’t.

I have to leave, so those who love me won’t get hurt.

“I’m sorry, Iomene.”

Without realizing it, overcome with emotion, I started to cry.

Iomene seemed startled by my tears.

“Don’t cry. Don’t cry.”

She’s flustered, hugging me close.

That childlike innocence, it just makes the tears come harder.

Especially so, today.

A day when the Goddess felt all the more hateful, all the more resented.