Fatenai knew Hermes was telling the truth. No one had ever figured out exactly how many people in the Grand History could be summoned. Even if she summoned without stopping, the odds of calling Hermes again were incredibly low.
Ever since she had come to this world, she had occasionally summoned people. Sometimes it was because she was bored; more often, she did it to remind herself where she had come from, and to hold on to some hope for the place called "home." There was a lot of selfishness in it, and she had never felt a particularly deep connection to any of the people she summoned.
But Hermes was different.
She had grown used to having the boy who'd accompanied her as she escaped the world of nobles by her side—and, without realizing it, had even come to trust him. Even if he really had done something to the boars in Eisole Forest...
She could summon him, and she could send him back, but she had never done either.
"Though I might've done something a little bad? But since I'm going to disappear too, Miss Fatenai, don't hold it against me, okay?" Hermes seemed to know this, and spoke with such confidence.
"I still want to know the truth." Fatenai looked at him and asked firmly.
"Huh? All right... You really are persistent, Miss." Hermes was dumbfounded. He'd thought saying that would let him avoid getting into this with her, so he scratched his head. "You're not a noble anymore."
"I know," Fatenai said.
"So you can't drink black tea every day, wear dresses, leave your books lying around for the servants to clean up, or casually pick out gemstones to play with," Hermes said, tilting his head. "I hope you understand that you're not a noble anymore... Though I thought you were better suited to being one."
Fatenai was surprised. "Why?"
Looking a little embarrassed, Hermes quietly said a few words to her. Fatenai was even more astonished and didn't know what to say. Was this really why Hermes had gone out of his way to drive the boars berserk? But that was...
Hermes smiled. "You need someone to rely on, but I'm a summoning, and I can't stay with you forever... Still, you're better like this. Now you can do what you want."
Fatenai said nothing. She watched Hermes grow more transparent. It seemed as though he would vanish into thin air at any moment.
"I did drive the boars berserk, but I wasn't the only cause. The Mana here is very strange. There may be some 'things' hiding in the dark, but I couldn't find them. Miss, be careful," Hermes said, suddenly serious.
Fatenai nodded. She had never doubted Hermes, and that only made him more embarrassed. He fell silent.
The two of them stood together in the fresh air, scented with grass.
"That's all, Miss Fatenai," Hermes said, unable to hold back a smile. "I'm glad I met you."
After saying this, he vanished into thin air, leaving not the slightest trace behind.
Perhaps one reason he had driven the boars berserk and deliberately angered her was to make their parting a little less painful. It was hard to imagine that someone who looked like a child could have such a grown-up heart. But in the end, he had still come to her to say goodbye.
He really was just a child, after all.
That was what Fatenai thought. She smiled, but a tear slid from the corner of her eye. "I'm glad too. Thank you."
Just then, she didn't want to do anything. She only wanted to stand quietly.
But when she lowered her head, she spotted a glint on the ground, right where Hermes had been standing.
Curious, she bent down and brushed aside the grass. There lay a blue-violet gemstone—the one the Arrenieu Family had given her.
Fatenai suddenly remembered that she had lost it not long ago. But her last days with the Wisdom Family had been so busy that she'd forgotten all about it.
But now... Fatenai gently picked up the gemstone, and found herself missing that color...
==================================
Thud!
Thud, thud, thud!
Fatenai was still reminiscing about the past when the ground began to tremble. She couldn't help but stare in surprise. Was it an earthquake?
But what happened next told her otherwise.
Something exploded in the forest not far away, and a ball of fire flared up. Even though the cabin was some distance away, she could feel the heat.
What had happened?
Fatenai suddenly remembered what Hermes and Wickel had said, as well as the magicians she'd seen not long ago. What were those magicians doing in the forest? Were they behind this?
And... where was Wickel?
Fatenai wasn't worried about her own safety. Instead, she was worried about Wickel. As if to prove the old saying about not tempting fate, a dog began barking beside her. Then she saw an injured hunting dog, several burn marks marring its glossy coat.
Seeing how badly the hunting dog was hurt, Fatenai realized Wickel had clashed with someone.
"What are you trying to do?" Fatenai tried to run toward the forest, but the hunting dog bit her calf and dragged her in the opposite direction. She frowned, then quickly realized what was going on.
The dog wouldn't leave Wickel on its own. Wickel must have sent it back to make her escape. If so, Wickel was in trouble.
"All right, I know you're trying to help me, or maybe you're just following your master's orders," Fatenai said as the dog kept pulling her the other way. But that wasn't what she intended to do. She tried to persuade it. "But I won't abandon my friend..."
The dog continued dragging her to the side. Fatenai was helpless, and nearly let herself be dragged along. Fortunately, the dog wasn't very strong.
"Don't get worked up," she said when she saw the dog couldn't move her. "I have a way. Trust me."
The hunting dog was remarkably intelligent. Hearing Fatenai, it stopped and stared up at her, blinking as if it wanted to make sure she meant it.
"Trust me." Fatenai took a deep breath and held out her hand. Familiar patterns appeared on its back, and a beautiful magic circle soon formed beneath its feet. This was the first time she had summoned someone in such a rush, and she hoped that this time she would summon someone useful.
The situation was even more urgent than Fatenai had imagined. She had only just finished the ritual when a small fireball struck beside her. She dodged to the side, sure that it hadn't hit her, but her leg still burned with pain—so badly that she nearly couldn't stand.
Once the smoke cleared, she saw who her opponent was: a woman in a black cloak. Her hood had fallen off during the fight, revealing a beautiful face filled with surprise.
"A little girl?" Her tone suggested she couldn't believe she had to fight a little girl—or, more than that, that she didn't take Fatenai seriously.
Fatenai recognized her voice. She had been one of the magicians in the forest. She quietly activated the Eye of Connection and saw Mana flowing once more, this time at high speed. It rapidly gathered around the woman, who was already about to prepare another attack.
Perhaps she could think of it as some kind of energy bar. For a magician of this woman's caliber, replenishing her Mana seemed effortless.
"So... who summoned me?" An elderly voice sounded beside her.
Fatenai felt even more desperate.
An old man in a thick coat stood steadily beside Fatenai, leaning on a cane. His beard had turned completely white, and he made a strange contrast with her, lying on the ground.
"Charles Robert Darwin..." Fatenai didn't need to ask who he was. She had seen that face countless times in textbooks, but this was the first time she'd met the man himself. She just didn't know whether to be delighted or...
The famous British biologist who wrote On the Origin of Species, and the founder of the theory of evolution.
At last, she had summoned someone she recognized, which was a relief. But Darwin's arrival couldn't change what was happening before her. One glance made it clear that he wasn't a fighter, and even just looking at his elderly appearance, Fatenai couldn't bear to make him fight.
"What are you looking at, little girl? Are you scared out of your wits?" Only Fatenai could see Darwin. While she stared at him in shock and despair, the woman was watching her too. She thought the little girl had been frightened. "Wickel's been hiding for over ten years. This time he sent his little dog to help other people escape. I thought it was 'that person'..."
"Do you have some kind of grudge against him?" Fatenai asked the female magician cautiously.
"Oh, a grudge? Of course not. I'm a pacifist," the female magician denied.
Fatenai couldn't understand. Since when had this word existed in this world?
"All right. I want to know if I'm going to be killed," Fatenai said.
"Of course. A fireball should do it. Anyway, I won't make you suffer too much. We can't leave anyone who knows Wickel's whereabouts alive," the female magician said matter-of-factly.
And she was a pacifist?
Fatenai stared at her in shock. Seeing her expression, the female magician seemed to take pity on her. "This is the best way to die. Should I hit you harder? Then you won't even leave behind an ugly corpse. But I might lose control of my Mana, or my aim might be a little off..."
"All right." Fatenai was stunned at first, but finally sighed as if she had accepted her fate.
The female magician was surprised too. She hadn't expected her words to really "persuade" the little girl. But she wasn't one to waste her "good fortune." The fireball in her hand had already begun to change, though Fatenai couldn't spare a moment to observe how the Mana turned into flames.
"Mr. Darwin, can you fight?" Fatenai felt the air growing hotter and asked in a low voice.
"Of course not, Master," Darwin answered precisely. "My ability is..."
"All right, don't tell me. There's no time." Fatenai cut him off and raised her hand. Patterns surfaced. "Run!"
Before you continue