"Okay, I'm here. Now I can get started…I'll find that office first."
A young man walked through the city streets, his bright yellow jacket slung over his shoulder.
"Hm…not too much further."
"Hey, what are you doing?"
"What am I doing? I'm just looking for a certain place."
"Which one?"
Two men that looked like guards new stood in front of him. They were big, they were burly, and they didn't look very happy, either.
"Uh…this one." He pulled out a piece of paper and showed it to the two men.
"…What do you want there?"
"Just to see a friend, that's all."
"You work here?"
"Well, no…"
"So how do you have friends in a government building if you don't work there? Who are you going to see?"
"Can't tell you, sorry."
"You'd better tell us, man. Otherwise you're not getting through."
"Listen, I've got to get over there. There's no time to explain, this stuff is classified, okay?"
"Unless you tell us, we can't let you through."
The young man sighed. "Damn it…I should just summon some Golems and shove you guys out of the wa-"
Before he knew it, he was pinned to the ground, his hands held behind his back.
"What the hell? Let me go!"
"What was that about Golems?"
"Leave me alone, it was a joke!"
"You an alchemist, boy?"
"Yeah, so what? Is that a crime, or something? You've got a grudge against Alchemy, or what?"
"You little-!"
"Stand down, both of you."
He felt the pressure on his back ease up a bit. A female commanding officer? He had to admit, despite the situation, his interest was piqued just a little.
"Mage Consul, ma'am. This guy here-"
"Uses Alchemy, I know. Let him go, he's not responsible for this."
"Ma'am?"
Shoot, that voice…why do I feel like I've heard it before?
"If it were this man, he'd summon a Chimera instead. Or at the very least, he would level up his rune accordingly."
"Hold up…ugh. There was an attack earlier? Involving Golems?"
"That's right. It was a small nuisance, and nobody was hurt, thank goodness."
I know this woman from somewhere. Come on, think…
"Madam Consul."
"Yes, Mister Ballentyne?"
She knows my name? How the hell-?
He turned himself over to get a look at the young woman's face, and froze up at the sight he saw.
"Holy crap…I can't believe it."
Standing in front of him at that moment was a gorgeous young woman, but more importantly…
"You…you're Lillet Blan."
She smiled, noting the expression of surprise plastered onto his face.
"That I am. It's been a long time, Bartido."
"So, you've been getting my letters?"
"I have."
"And…?"
"And what?"
"Well, what do you say? It wouldn't hurt to try being a couple, right?"
"Bartido…your letters were quite flattering and all, but…I'm not ready for that sort of thing at the moment, you see."
"You know, it's really unhealthy for you to hold back your feelings like this, Lillet."
She sighed. This guy was still as insufferable as the last time she talked to him…but she didn't know whether that was a good or bad thing in this case.
"I mean, come on. I'm the total package here, if I don't say so myself. Looks, brains, personality, a nice smile, and an eye for artistic beauty…to name just a few things."
"Really? Anything else?"
"Uh…well, I could go into more detail, but…unless we got to know each other better…"
He laughed nervously. "It would be a bit indecent, you know?"
Lillet pondered his words for a moment, and then went red in the face as she got the hint.
"Tch…honestly. I'm sure you've gotten rave reviews, right?" she said with a tinge of irritation.
"Would you be mad if I said 'yes'?"
"I don't know if I'd be mad or slightly disgusted. Possibly both. But let's put that…subject…aside for now, Bartido. I'm assuming you're still in the spy business?"
"Close, but I do other things these days as well. I'm what they call a Special Agent. And that involves sometimes…you know…"
"Oh…I see. I guess I judged you too quickly, then."
"No, don't worry. I still chase pretty girls around on my off days. Of course…you're in a league of your own, you know."
"Thank you for the compliment."
"No worries. That aside, I've got actual business with you, Miss Consul."
"There's a café down the street from here; that should be a good place to talk."
"Okay…you'd better brace yourself, though. Some of this info I've got is pretty heavy."
"Found him!"
"Where?"
"Right over there."
Two of Lillet's Fairies had searched the outskirts of the city, and found the suspected Golem user. However…
"What's going on?"
"Whoa…the Golem…"
The giant metal creature had changed into an Astral form. The young man sitting on top of it looked around frantically for the source of the attack, only to find Skullmages surrounding him.
"This can't be-"
One simultaneous attack dispatched the Golem, and the young man fell to the earth unceremoniously. In the next instant, he felt a boot on his chest, and a sword pressed against his throat.
"I wonder where you were off to…?"
"You…red hair…"
"Oh? You recognize me. Well, I guess that shouldn't come as a surprise, should it?"
"Please…don't kill me."
"Don't you worry. I only kill those who resist me…well, I may have done away with some people whenever I got really mad. But that's beside the point. Just tell me what I need to know, and you'll be just fine!"
"Okay…"
"Good boy. Now, where were you headed so quickly?"
"T-The Silver Star…"
"The Silver Star? Whatever for?"
"For the Philosopher's Stone…and the grimoire…"
"Don't fool around. The Stone has been destroyed for years, and exactly what grimoire? There are many of them. Spit it out, already!"
"You'll…you'll never find out-!"
The mystery person flicked their wrist sharply, and there was a spattering of blood as the young man's head was separated from his body. A dagger fell from his lifeless hands.
"Probably a poisoned one…just like Calvaros' followers. You idiot, I didn't want to kill you, but trying to stab me like that…unforgivable."
A dragon was summoned, and the person soon took off.
"That guy…he's dead…"
"Yeah…I couldn't see who that other person was, though. Something about red hair…"
"And Calvaros."
"That's the old Archmage."
"We need to go back to Lillet."
"Yeah, this is important stuff!"
"You have my full attention, Bartido Ballentyne," Lillet Blan said, sipping a cup of tea.
"Right. Like I said, this is some heavy stuff…" Bartido took a sip of his coffee before continuing. "Can you keep it between us?"
"Why? I'm just an ambassador. You should be doing this kind of stuff with the Intelligence Department if it's like that."
"The government's too slow, and if I went straight to the palace, they'd lock me up for months on end, or worse, jump the gun and start a series of witch hunts again. And the Magical Society…I won't even go there right now. To be honest, I had a bunch of scripted crap to say to the Mage Consul about this, but since it's you, Lillet…"
"What are you saying? You trust me more than the government? More than the Royal Palace?"
He looked into her eyes with deep sincerity. "You're damn right, Lillet Blan. Other than the teachers at the Academy – even that devil – as well as Hiram and Opalneria up at the Palace, you're the only one I can turn to in this kind of situation. Not only that, but you've got the firepower to deal with this, far more than anyone I can think of."
"Bartido…you're asking me to…you're asking me to deceive my country…"
"I'm not asking anything of you that I haven't done myself."
"That's…! You mean…I'm the first to know?"
"That's right. Most of this was independent fact-finding, and I haven't submitted any reports…well, any real ones. Just some fabrications to keep the suits off my back, you know? But all of that is small potatoes right now. The other reason I can't go to the government…is because they're wrapped up in this, too."
Lillet took off her hat and placed it on the table. "The investigation."
"Yeah. It coincides with all of this stuff going down. All over this country, and even back in my own, we've been rounding up and spotting remnants of the Archmage's followers. The thing about that is…they were either beaten up, knocked out, tortured, or even dead half the time we found them. Someone has a vendetta against Calvaros' followers, and what's worse is that they were all up to something really bad. What else we found was bothersome, too. All of these stones with traces of magical power inside of them."
Lillet felt her blood run cold. "Stones…with magic power…Bartido, you don't think…?"
"Wait, there's more. Apparently, there have been reports of high-level runes being used in places…trying to summon something really strong… and all of them were for the purposes of Sorcery. I determined on my own that these were also the works of Calvaros' followers, and that all of these runes were designed after a particular one…"
"The Lemegeton…"
"How'd you know?"
"It just has to be…they're trying to copy something from the Lemegeton to summon…him."
"Him?"
The name escaped bitterly from her lips. "Grimlet."
"That guy? I didn't even think…"
"Substitutes are no match for the original thing…and I know exactly where they'll try to get it."
"Lillet?"
"We don't have much time…we have to get to the Silver Star right away. The Magic Academy is in danger."
"Whoa, wait! Help me out, here! How is the Silver Star connected to any of this?"
"The government doing an inquest into the Philosopher's Stone and the stones you found. The movement of Calvaros' followers, the attempts to summon Grimlet…I haven't connected everything, but I can already see that they want to bring back Grimlet, as well as the Philosopher's Stone…I just don't know why yet."
"I can understand them going after Gammel, but what else is there? Lujei's disappeared from the face of the earth, and Calvaros is gone, too."
"The Lemegeton. The one in possession of it right now…is a certain devil."
"You don't mean…no way!"
"Miss Lillet!"
They both looked up to see two Fairies hovering above them.
"You're back."
"We found the guy who did it."
"Where is he?"
"Lying in a field…decapitated."
"He was killed?"
"Executed, just like the other cases," Bartido commented. "But we don't have any leads…"
"There was something about the person having red hair…"
"Doesn't help much…"
"And something about Calvaros…"
Lillet jumped up. "The second person…had red hair?"
"Yeah. They said something about the Silver Star, the Philosopher's Stone, and a grimoire."
That confirms it…they're going after the teachers at the Academy. And that person going after Calvaros' forces…I know who it is.
"Bartido…we've got work ahead of us. I just need to stop at home first."
"I'll tag along, then."
"Okay."
"Oh? I hear you're going over to the Silver Star…sounds interesting."
Lillet froze up.
That voice…I really don't believe this.
She turned to look at the speaker.
"It's been a long time…Lillet Blan, was it?"
"It has been…Grand Witch."
