Dieta, The Snake That Swallows Gold.

Having cast off the family name Arbenia and become a commoner, she found that surprisingly little had changed in her daily life. As always, she sorted paperwork in her office and maintained amicable relations with her business partners.

Her daily life as a merchant had not changed at all.

What had changed was her daily life as Dieta.

Whenever she paused for breath amid her work, sipped her coffee, or idly looked out the window, she found herself letting out an unconscious sigh.

"Haa..."

The company's employees interpreted her sighs as little more than fatigue from having so much work. But to Pasion, the knight who guarded her at her side, they were nothing of the sort.

Dieta gazed out the window with melancholy eyes.

It was the look of someone longing for another person, of a girl fretting because she could not see her beloved. His lady had never worn such an expression before, so Pasion found this side of her both unfamiliar and refreshing.

'It seems she's fallen hard...'

Pasion groaned.

He had guarded Dieta for over thirteen years now. At first, he had done so at her mother's request, but as the years passed, he had come to think of Dieta as a younger sister.

An adorable little sister much younger than himself.

And it seemed that little sister had found someone she liked.

Pasion cherished Dieta dearly. Under normal circumstances, he would have immediately sought out the man she seemed to have fallen for, questioned him about this and that, and taken his measure. But knowing who that man was, he could not bring himself to do it.

'It must be that young man, Ivan.'

What sort of man was Ivan?

Exceptionally talented, hardworking, and highly skilled. Moreover, he was an aspiring knight of a romantic sort rarely seen in this age, one who took a knight's pride, honor, and loyalty seriously.

That alone made it impossible for Pasion, a knight himself, to judge him harshly, however hard he tried...

'And on top of that...'

He had infiltrated the villa and rescued Dieta.

He had risked his life fighting the knight commander.

And in the end, he had brought her all the way back to Cambria.

In short, he was a benefactor before whom Pasion ought to kneel and bow. Picturing everything that had happened, he could only think that, yes, it was no wonder his lady had fallen in love. Pasion let out a low murmur.

'He certainly is prime husband material.'

With such a bright future ahead of him, there could hardly be a better match.

And yet the young man in question seemed to have no interest in romance. There were few things sadder than unrequited love.

"Whew..."

Pasion broke into a cold sweat as he glanced at his lady, who was looking out the window and sighing for the thirty-seventh time that day. At last, Dieta murmured softly,

"I miss him..."

It was an exceedingly quiet murmur.

But even that could not escape a knight's superhuman hearing. Pasion was watching his lady's mood and seriously considering whether he ought to fetch Najin when...

KNOCK, KNOCK.

A knock sounded from outside the door.

Her secretary announced that she had a visitor. Just as Dieta was thinking that she had no appointments today, the door creaked open and someone entered.

Anytime. Freely. Without the slightest hesitation!

The person she had repeatedly and emphatically told could visit the company whenever he pleased—the person her staff were to send straight upstairs without any fuss—stood in the doorway.

"I came because I have a few questions."

In other words, Najin stood there.

Dieta's eyes widened. Her lips parted slightly, and she blinked, stunned as though she had taken a blow to the head.

"Dieta."

Najin called her by name.

Their agreement to speak casually had been rescinded, but he had still promised to address her by name. He had called her Dieta because he wondered whether she was refusing to answer because he had failed to do so...

"Hic!"

In this case, his use of her name landed as a critical hit. Her ears turned bright red, and she began to hiccup.

2.

Only after gulping down tea and taking several deep breaths did Dieta recover from her status ailment and speak.

"So... you said you came to ask about the city of Regenof?"

Najin had come to see Dieta to obtain information about the place where he would carry out the commission he had accepted. After hearing his brief explanation, she tapped her fingers on the table and organized her thoughts.

"Regenof used to be a city overrun by dark mages, I believe. It was decades ago, but a fairly large group of them occupied the city."

Regenof, the Den of Evil.

That was what the city had been called decades earlier. Recalling what she knew about it, Dieta continued.

"I think they said the dark mages had taken over the entire city? I heard they brainwashed the lord and held him hostage, then spread a perception-obscuring veil over the whole city to build some sort of altar."

"... That sounds like quite a large-scale operation."

"That's why it's recorded in the Empire's history books."

How had it ended again?

Murmuring to herself, Dieta suddenly said, "Ah," and clapped her hands.

"Then the Empire discovered them, and the imperial palace's knights and mages, led by the Royal Guard, swept through the whole city, I believe. I heard the master of the Red Mage Tower burned the entire city to the ground."

"Burned the city to the ground?"

"That's how deeply dark magic had taken root."

Dieta rose, searched the shelves, and handed Najin a book. It was a history of the Empire's modern and contemporary eras.

"Here it is. The Regenof Annihilation Campaign."

Annihilation.

The entry bore a rather chilling word. As Najin skimmed the history book, Dieta continued explaining.

"That was roughly fifty or sixty years ago, and the city was rebuilt under a newly appointed lord, I believe. I've heard it's since made quite a name for itself as a commercial city... But it seems some troublesome incident has cropped up?"

Najin nodded.

"There's a commission to eliminate a dark mage."

"Hmm, I can see why they'd be sensitive about that. They've only just managed to shake off the insulting name 'Den of Evil.' Getting involved with dark mages again would complicate matters."

Najin looked through the history book.

The Regenof Annihilation Campaign.

An incident in which the Empire's central government had intervened to eradicate a group of dark mages led by the Seven Circles dark mage Kephalon, along with everything connected to them.

—A Seven Circles dark mage...?

Merlin spoke as he glanced through the history book.

'Someone you know?'

—No, I don't know him. But Seven Circles would make him pretty formidable. By today's standards, he'd be nearly on par with a mage tower master.

Rings, otherwise known as circles.

Najin knew they were the measure of a mage's attainment, but he did not know precisely how the scale worked.

'How powerful is someone with seven circles?'

—Close to a Sword Master.

Merlin explained.

—Think of Eight Circles as equivalent to a Sword Master. It's not an exact comparison, but mages are called archmages starting at Eight Circles. Seven Circles would be close to a Sword Master.

He still could not quite grasp it.

Having never experienced what a Sword Master could do, Najin found that level of power difficult to pin down.

—If we compared you to a mage right now, you'd probably be at four or five circles.

'Would I?'

—Yes. Around there, roughly.

As he turned the pages while listening to Merlin, Najin's fingers stopped. In the middle of the history book was a name he could not simply pass over.

Commander of the operation: Gerd.

He had heard that name before. The Empire's first pillar, the Sword Master hailed as humanity's strongest.

"Ah, I heard Sir Gerd took part as well. He was a member of the Royal Guard at the time."

"You mean Sir Gerd, the Sword Master?"

"I believe so. He originally belonged to the Royal Guard."

It must have been an incredibly major incident.

That was about the extent of Najin's impression. It concerned a realm he had yet to experience, so he could only try to picture it in his mind.

"There shouldn't be anything in particular to watch out for when you go to Regenof. Perhaps just be careful if an inquisitor joins you on the commission?"

"... An inquisitor?"

Najin narrowed his eyes.

Inquisitors. Since they were associated with religion, he could not help growing wary.

"Yes, the Order of Starblood will probably send an inquisitor. Dealing with heretics like dark mages is their responsibility. They're quite fierce people, so it won't hurt to be careful."

It was not the Order of Star Radiance.

Then it did not matter. Najin let out a short breath and closed the history book.

"Thank you for telling me."

"Was it helpful?"

"Yes, very."

Dieta smiled.

"But what am I to do? It's still too early to thank me."

At her gesture, her secretary brought over a wooden chest.

Inside were Najin's armor, which he had left for repairs a little while ago, and an adventuring pack filled with assorted equipment.

"It's a gift. I've filled the pack with adventuring supplies from our company, too, so please put them to good use."

Dieta stood, spread out the repaired armor with a flourish, and approached Najin.

"Hold still. Raise your arms."

Then she busied herself dressing him in it.

After checking the fit one last time and adjusting the straps, she smiled faintly.

"It suits you."

Handing him the pack of adventuring supplies, she waved him off.

"Have a safe trip, then. And tell me about it when you get back."

3.

"Oh, so you're the adventurer called Ivan."

A carriage bound for Regenof awaited him.

Standing before it was a knight who had come to meet Najin, dispatched on the orders of Regenof's lord. He offered Najin his hand.

"I've heard much of your reputation. My name is Ilef."

"A pleasure to meet you, Sir Ilef."

After shaking hands, the two boarded the carriage.

As they rode toward the city, Najin heard more about the commission from Ilef.

"Recently, suspicious activity has been detected in the city's slums and underground waterways. Traces of dark magic have been found as well. We believe it may be connected to the dark mage Pauve, who fled from the inquisitors."

"Do you have any more information about the target?"

"Of course."

Ilef continued his explanation.

"Pauve is a mage who has attained at least Four Circles, though the school is unknown. But given the record of killing five inquisitors, the actual level may be higher."

"And as for anything noteworthy..."

Murmuring those words, Ilef went on.

"Pauve possesses a Masterpiece, Flameshadow."

The dark mage Pauve possessed a Masterpiece.

Upon hearing this, Najin immediately asked inwardly,

'Do you know anything about it?'

—It's a Masterpiece I don't know either. Not all of them had been unearthed in our day.

A Masterpiece even Merlin did not know.

Najin waited for the knight to explain further, hoping there might be more information, but Ilef merely shook his head.

"We don't know what it does. Only the name 'Flameshadow' was discovered in the excavated ruins. However, according to the testimony of an inquisitor who survived a battle with Pauve..."

He put it briefly.

"Don't trust what you see."

* * *

CLICK.

The click of a heel echoed deep within the underground waterways.

CLICK, CLICK.

Accompanying the echoing footsteps were someone's screams. Someone was screaming their throat raw, but the sound did not carry far. Multiple layers of soundproofing magic had been laid down.

Only one person heard those screams.

The owner of the clicking heels hummed, as though the screams circling her ears were wonderfully sweet.

Pauve, the owner of those heels, dragged a human whose arms and legs had been severed deeper into the waterways. Her humming steps were positively jaunty. Indeed, she was in a good mood.

"Our great predecessor laid such excellent groundwork. Don't you agree?"

The dark mages following her nodded.

With three dark mages and two living sacrifices in tow, she descended through the underground waterways. Though the damned Empire had ruined her great predecessor's plans decades ago...

His efforts had not been entirely wasted.

The facilities the great Seven Circles dark mage Kephalon had built beneath this city had escaped the Empire's notice and survived. Even the flames raised by the master of the Red Mage Tower had failed to burn the workshop in the city's deepest depths.

The hidden workshop of a legendary dark mage who had plotted to overthrow the state. Was that not a mouthwatering prospect?

Deep within the underground waterways, Pauve waved her fingers. Rising black mana seeped into the wall...

CLICK.

With the sound of something being pressed, a passage leading farther underground opened.

CLICK.

Just as she was about to step into the passage, she sensed someone at the far end of the waterway. It was a soldier on patrol. His eyes widened, and just as he moved to signal a knight, Pauve grinned.

She gave the lantern at her waist a light tap with the back of her hand. As it swayed, a shadow of flame spread over the underground waterway. Defying the common knowledge that fire cast no shadow, the flame's shadow swallowed the soldier's vision.

Then came a splash.

The soldier abruptly threw himself into the waterway.

He drowned with his head submerged in the water. His death produced neither a scream nor any noise.

SHHH...

Only the sound of flowing water echoed.