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Chapter 44.2

Eugene concluded, ‘The fact that they haven’t means….’

That it either couldn’t be done.

It didn’t need to be done.

Or they had already done it.

Eugene openly stared at Mer. As far as Eugene’s understanding went, Mer’s very existence as Witch Craft’s artificial intelligence was absurd. It was just as Lovellian had said. When the Head Wizard had first read the first volume of Witch Craft, he had said that all the magic that he learned up to that point in his life now seemed like child’s play.

‘Certainly, this is far beyond the realm of ordinary magic,’ Eugene nodded in understanding.

Was this why Melkith had warned him to wear a diaper because he might wet himself? As Eugene recalled Melkith’s mischievous smile, he shook his head.

‘The original text of Witch Craft is still under the sole care of Akron. Any wizard permitted to enter Akron is allowed to read Witch Craft,’ Eugene considered.

Since the secrets of Mer’s consciousness and existence were clearly recorded within Witch Craft, there was no need to dismantle her.

Eventually, Eugene asked, “…Do you know why Lady Sienna went into seclusion, or where she went?”

“Of course, I don’t know,” Mer huffed. “Lady Sienna’s disappearance was both surprising and secretive. Neither her disciples nor the servants at her mansion nor myself knew anything about Lady Sienna’s retreat into seclusion.”

“Really?”

“Sir Eugene, how many times do you think I’ve been asked a question like that over the past two hundred years?”

Mer’s expression had shifted. She no longer puffed out her chest, her shoulders had slumped, and the pride-filled smile on her face disappeared. Her cold, dull eyes seemed to lack even a single ray of light and were framed by scrunched-up brows and a twisted half-smile.

That smile was so similar to Sienna’s that it gave Eugene goosebumps.

“I’ve heard that question so many times that I’ve lost count. I was already stored in Akron long before Lady Sienna decided to go into seclusion. But the king of Aroth, the Tower Masters of that time, the Head of the Wizard’s Guild, and countless other wizards still captured me and asked me for Lady Sienna’s whereabouts,” Mer complained bitterly.

Had something like that really happened?

Mer continued, “I told them that I didn’t know anything. However, just like you did now, they didn’t believe me. So I told them to just do what they pleased. Then men who didn’t even know what they were doing and were lacking in skills started trying to access Witch Craft and messing with my memories. They seem to have lost their ability to learn from their mistakes since they keep finding me in order to repeat the same attempts every few decades.”

So they’d already done it. Since Sienna went into seclusion, Aroth’s wizards had already scoured Witch Craft and Mer’s mind several times.

“However, I really don’t know anything about Lady Sienna’s disappearance,” Mer repeated. “The last time I saw Lady Sienna, she showed no signs of wanting to go into seclusion.”

“Looks like I’ve asked you a pointless question,” Eugene apologized.

“As long as you’re aware of that.”

Eugene stepped away from Witch Craft. Although he wanted to take a closer look at Sienna’s magic that had been stored within it, the truth was that he currently did not have the confidence to understand it even if he did see it.

“…They say only the first volume is displayed at Akron, is that correct?” Eugene asked.

“Yep,” Mer confirmed.

He followed with another question, “Are the other two volumes stored here as well?”

“Nope,” Mer shook her head. “I’m—no, I mean that is definitely the original text of Witch Craft, but only the first volume is stored inside there. Lady Sienna took the other two volumes with her when she left.”

“What?” Eugene exclaimed in surprise.

“Ummm…,” Mer seemed hesitant to admit it. “Lady Sienna ‘extracted’ the second and third volumes from the original text, and when only the first volume was left, she donated the original text to Akron. Thanks to that, I’ve really suffered a lot. They all… not only do they want to find Lady Sienna’s whereabouts, but they also want to find the location of the two other volumes,” as she said this, Mer drew closer to Eugene. “Sir Eugene seems to have a lot of interest in Lady Sienna.”

Eugene defended himself, “Isn’t that true of everyone who comes here?”

“That may be the case, but Sir Eugene isn’t exactly an ordinary wizard, right? Although I have never been able to leave Akron or had any reason to, for these past hundreds of years, even I have heard about the Lionheart clan.” Mer lifted her head to look up at Eugene and continued, “The clan left by the Great Vermouth. This is my first time actually seeing one of his descendants, so it feels a little amazing.”

“There’s no need to go so far as to feel amazed.”

“No, I really am. From what I can recall, before Lady Sienna donated me to Aroth, she never once interacted with the Lionheart clan. She never even met with Vermouth again.”

Eugene was also aware of these facts. In the three-hundred-year-old history kept by the Lionheart clan, there was strangely very little contact made with Sienna and Anise.

The same went for Molon as well. Although Eugene didn’t know the reason, that fool, he had never once come to see Vermouth after Vermouth was done establishing the Lionheart clan.

In the end, after Molon had stepped down from his throne, his descendants, the royalty of the Northern Ruhr Kingdom, and the Lionheart clan had begun making contact little by little. But considering the relationship and ties between their ancestors, the connection between the royal family of Ruhr and the Lionheart clan was pretty shallow.

Eugene definitely couldn’t tell the reason for this. Although Vermouth was a bastard with abysmal social skills, Anise had followed Vermouth while claiming that he would be the hero to save the world. Molon had also been intimidated by Vermouth and had usually refrained from his foolish behavior when standing in front of the hero.

But why hadn’t they stayed connected after returning from Helmuth, without ever meeting with each other?

Eugene recalled, ‘…According to the records of the Lionheart clan, there was no further interaction after the clan was established. The next time that any of the companions met… was at Vermouth’s funeral.’

Vermouth’s funeral had become a day of national mourning for the Kiehl empire. At that time, Anise had recited a tribute as the Saintess of the Holy Empire, and Molon, as the king of the Northern Ruhr Kingdom, had taken off his garish crown and personally carried Vermouth’s coffin. As Aroth’s Green Tower Master, Sienna had… when it looked like the sky was about to pour down with rain, she had used her magic to part the sky and made warm sunlight shine down on Vermouth as they parted ways with him.

In the end, the only reunion of these companions following their return from Helmuth was for Vermouth’s funeral.

This made Eugene feel like there was a strong sense of separation between them and this filled him with complicated questions.

Eventually, Eugene asked, “…In your memories, were there any times when Lady Sienna talked about her former companions?”

“There were times she would look at Sir Molon and call him an idiot,” Mer confessed.

“And Anise?”

“She called her a snake-like woman.”

“…What about Hamel?

“Idiot, son of a bitch, fool, and motherfucker.”

“Didn’t you say earlier that Lady Sienna was ‘much nobler, and overflowing with dignity?’ And you said that she didn’t even smile much.”

“Even a noble person overflowing with dignity can do something like swearing. Also, whenever Lady Sienna talked about her former companions, she never once appeared to smile. Instead, her expressions always seemed like she was about to cry.” As Mer recalled those memories from hundreds of years ago, she turned her head and spoke, “Especially when she would talk about Hamel, it was extremely distressing for her.”

A large portrait hung in the direction that Mer had turned her head to. It was the same portrait as the one hanging in Sienna’s mansion.

The portrait where she had on a benevolent smile.

“…That portrait is a forgery,” Mer revealed.

“A forgery?” Eugene asked.

“Lady Sienna never once smiled like that.”

“She might have smiled like that sometime before creating you.”

“No, that’s definitely a forgery. Of course, that portrait was painted before I was created, but I once asked her directly during the frequent talks Lady Sienna held with me to establish my personality.”

“…What did you ask her about?”

“I asked Lady Sienna why she always seemed so sad.” Mer looked at the portrait for a few moments before looking up at Eugene. Then she mimicked the same smile as the one that Sienna had on in the portrait and said, “Although Lady Sienna wasn’t able to smile like me, she explained to me why she would leave behind a portrait like that.”

If it was meant to be passed down to future generations, it would be better to see a smiling face rather than a sad face.

“As for that portrait… the artist just randomly drew a smile. Perhaps that’s why Lady Sienna didn’t like it very much. Although the portrait is currently up for public display in her mansion, at least while I was there, the portrait was always left hanging with its face against the wall. That goes for the portrait in this hall as well.”

“…,” Eugene silently contemplated the portrait.

“I’m the one who flipped over the portrait in this hall,” Mer confessed. “Because it’s true that it’s always nice to see a smiling face.”

Eugene unconsciously reached out and patted Mer on the head. 

However, Mer immediately knocked away his hand and gravely said, “Don’t cross the line.”

Coming to his senses, Eugene apologized, “Oh… you’re right. I’m sorry.”

“Although I might have a smaller body than you, Sir Eugene, I’ve been here for over two hundred years, you know.”

“…Did Lady Sienna have anything to say about Vermouth?”

Mer pursed her lips and turned around, “She didn’t say anything about him.”

Was she mad that he had patted her head? Without looking back at Eugene, Mer walked off with short, quick steps.

“She didn’t make any compliments, curses, or even observations about him.”

Openbookworm’s Thoughts

dMomo: I felt sorry for Mer, even though she is an AI. On another not, all the hero party definitely had a falling out after Hamel died. I am guessing it is related to the deal that Vermouth made with the DKs.