Episode 14

I immediately summoned Undine, a mid-level water spirit.

The beautiful, snake-like Undine moved according to my will, summoning rain over the area where the fire was concentrated.

Shwoooosh—

As torrential rain poured down in one spot, mist from the downpour filled the air, creating a dense fog. The fresh scent of water spread throughout the surroundings.

“Rain…! It’s raining, but only over there!”

“The fire’s being put out! The rain’s extinguishing the flames!”

“Look at the sky! There’s a huge bird above us!”

Once the fire was completely extinguished, I sent Undine back to the spirit realm.

After a sigh of relief, I noticed a large group of people had gathered near the village at the forest’s edge.

Among them, standing apart, was a person tied up with rope, surrounded by knights.

‘That must be the arsonist!’

My eyes narrowed, and I quickly asked Hisha to take us down to the village.

With a gust of wind, Hisha landed gracefully.

Ignoring the wide-eyed villagers staring at me, I walked straight toward the arsonist.

The culprit was a woman in her early thirties, pale and trembling.

It seemed like she was even more shocked by her actions than anyone else.

“I… I don’t know… I don’t know anything… I really don’t….”

The woman kept repeating that she didn’t know, her voice shaking uncontrollably, as if in a daze.

As I narrowed my eyes at her, I heard someone calling my name.

“Are you Spiritist Ainra?”

I turned toward the voice.

It was a knight who seemed to be in charge of the group, walking toward me with three other knights in tow.

I nodded.

“Yes, I’ve come under orders from His Majesty the Emperor.”

“I am Sir Chris de Jered, commander of the knights under Count Jaxen. On behalf of the count, I offer our deepest thanks. Without your intervention, the entire forest would have burned down.”

Sir Jered bowed deeply at a 90-degree angle.

Startled by his overly formal gesture, I waved my hands frantically.

“N-No! It’s nothing! I just did what any citizen of the empire should. Um, is that woman the arsonist?”

I glanced toward the tied-up woman, hoping to change the subject smoothly.

Sir Jered looked at the woman and nodded.

“Yes. She was seen by the villagers fleeing from the burning forest.”

“No! It wasn’t me…! I didn’t do it…! I don’t know, I really don’t…!”

The woman shouted desperately, shaking her head as if in panic.

One of the villagers, anger written all over his face, shouted back.

“How can you not know? I saw you with my own eyes running out of the smoking forest!”

As soon as one person spoke up, the gathered crowd started shouting one after another.

“Do you think you can get away with this? Multiple people saw you coming out of the forest!”

“How dare you set fire to the Verbena Forest! Unforgivable!”

“Selena! Because of you, the villagers will freeze this winter without firewood! How are you going to make up for that?!”

Some of the villagers even started picking up stones and throwing them at the woman, whom they called Selena.

One of the stones hit her squarely on the forehead, and blood began trickling down her face.

Unable to stand by any longer, I created a thin layer of air around Selena to block the stones.

I didn’t want As, who was with me, to witness someone getting hurt.

“Hrk, no… I didn’t do it… I didn’t want this….”

Even as she bled from her forehead, Selena kept repeating the same words.

Those words kept bothering me.

Gripping As’s hand tightly, I called out to Sir Jered.

“Sir Jered, may I ask you something?”

“Yes, Spiritist. What is it?”

“When the first report of the fire came in, how extensive was the fire?”

“I heard the fire was already quite large by the time it was reported. The situation was so severe that it was impossible to enter the forest. When we arrived, it was as reported—we couldn’t even get close.”

Sir Jered answered calmly, though his expression turned curious as he asked.

“Why do you ask?”

“I just… find it a bit strange.”

“Strange?”

“Yes, well… when I arrived and put out the fire, about a third of the forest had already burned. That’s a huge area considering the size of the forest.”

Sir Jered nodded in agreement.

I hesitated briefly before continuing.

“When the fire was first reported, you said it was already quite large. But it wasn’t a windy or particularly dry day, and it seems odd that a fire started by one person could grow so large so quickly.”

If oil had been used, we would have smelled it, but there had been no such scent. The fire had also been put out easily with water.

‘If that’s the case, then the fire could have been caused either by special powers like magic or sorcery, or that person spent a long time deliberately setting the fire.’

However, the woman in question, Selena, didn’t look like a sorcerer at all. If she were, she would have fled the scene long before, escaping without a trace.

Even considering that she might have spent hours starting the fire, her panicked and shocked state didn’t seem to align with such a calculated act.

It appeared Sir Jered had similar thoughts, as he nodded in agreement.

“Now that you mention it, Spiritist, it does seem strange. I’ll make sure to pass on your concerns to the investigators from the imperial court when they arrive in a few days.”

The unease I’d been feeling lightened, and I smiled, nodding at Sir Jered.

“Thank you, Sir Jered.”

“It’s we who should be thanking you for pointing out this oddity.”

As we exchanged smiles, Sir Jered’s gaze fell on As.

“Ah, I didn’t notice before, but is this young one your sibling?”

At that moment, I felt a powerful grip tighten around my hand—As was clearly not happy. His lips started to move, likely to protest.

“Yes, that’s right! He’s my little brother! His name is As.”

I hurriedly cut him off, laughing awkwardly while squeezing As’s hand even tighter.

‘As, please just go along with it this time!’

Thankfully, my silent plea seemed to reach him.

As shot me a resigned glance, letting out a sigh of defeat.

“…Yes, I’m her brother.”

His voice was accompanied by a barely concealed sound of gritted teeth.

As I internally panicked, Sir Jered, completely oblivious to the tension between us, smiled warmly.

“Your brother is truly adorable.”

“Ha, haha, thank you.”

“By the way, have you had breakfast yet? The fire started quite early, didn’t it?”

“Oh, that’s right! Breakfast! I need to make sure As gets something to eat!”

Startled, I quickly turned to look at As.

Children, especially at his age, needed regular meals to grow properly!

As caught my gaze and smiled gently.

“It’s fine, Ainra. I can wait until everything is settled. I’m good at waiting.”

“You don’t need to be good at that, As…”

I sighed deeply, feeling a mix of emotions as I muttered.

Sir Jered, who had been listening to our conversation, offered a suggestion.

“I know a place nearby that’s known for its great food. If you’d like, I could take you there?”

“Oh, really?”

I looked at Sir Jered with a bright smile.

I usually prepared meals at home, so aside from places in the capital, I wasn’t familiar with any good restaurants. And if I returned home now, it would take time to prepare food anyway.

Sir Jered’s offer seemed perfectly timed, and I was about to say yes when As abruptly cut in.

“No, we don’t need that.”

“Huh, As?”

Surprised by his firm rejection, I blinked at him.

As smiled sweetly and spoke.

“I know a good place to eat. You must be busy, Sir Jered, so Ainra and I will just eat by ourselves.”

“But I’m not busy—”

Sir Jered started to protest but suddenly flinched, his body trembling slightly.

He even looked a bit pale, which concerned me.

“Sir Jered, are you alright? Are you feeling unwell?” I asked with a worried tone.

“N-No, I’m fine. And As, you don’t need to worry—I’m not too busy to join you.”

Sir Jered quickly regained his composure, smiling faintly. But As, still smiling, responded firmly.

“No, I’m sure you’re busy.”