15

"The situation is unfortunately becoming rather concerning now…" Reinhard admitted upon entering the main living room of the manor with a downtrodden expression.

Immediately upon hearing the news the few occupants of the room quickly reacted. Whilst Felt clicked her tongue in frustration, Flam and Grassis only fell into a gloomier mood as Grim and Carol tried to console them.

Only a few more days had passed since the rumours had begun to circulate and yet they had already managed to drastically worsen each passing day to an almost unbelievable degree. Yet despite their desires, there was little that came to mind on how to tackle the rampaging rumors that were quickly picking up more and more believers from the lack of action they could provide.

"Sir Reinhard, is there any indication that there might be any form of trouble brewing for him, aside from the poor reception that he is receiving?" Carol asked, briefly looking up with a hopeful look in her eyes.

"That is what little good news remains. The knights are still seemingly inactive about the growing rumours so we still have time to work something out." Reinhard answered with determination.

"Yeah, but what can be done?! Because of that stupid bastard, there's basically no options to take! He's just gone and ruined Big Bro's life just because he failed to help his wife, just how despicable can that guy get? He's got to be the worst among the knights!" Felt shouted out in frustration. "How did everything get this bad anyway?!"

"Because of the contribution of multiple factors, Lady Felt. Some playing more of a role than others." Karol answered the blond.

"Yeah, I know, I know!" She shouted back, plopping into the seat behind her with a scowl on her face. "Say, where is big bro now?"

"He's currently in the back gardens of the estate, or he might have left again for the forest," Flam answered.

"No one's making him leave anymore right?" Felt asked.

"No, Lady Felt. Before we could have hoped that by letting the public see him for themselves it might alter their perception of him from the mere rumors, now it's likely to be dangerous for him to leave alone." Karol said. "It is hard to believe that things have developed this much in such a short period of time…"

Another silence descended upon the room as everyone had gone back to their thoughts until knocking was heard at the door, resulting in much of the attention in the room going to Felt, much to her annoyance.

"What is it?!" Felt shouted out, resulting in the door opening slightly to reveal Grimm carefully opening the door as he stood tall, quickly scanning over the mood of the room before giving his news.

"Lady Felt, Sir Reinhard… there is a visitor who wishes to meet with you, as well as Sir Leo." He carefully spoke, hoping that his words wouldn't be enough to worsen the heated aura of the room.

"Who would it happen to be?" Reinhard asked, quickly becoming startled by the servant's response…

"Leo? Leo?" Flam and Grassis gently called out as they came out into the back gardens, looking for the otherworldly boy.

"Flam? Grassis?" Leo called back with a tired voice, alerting them to his presence sat down on top of one of the chairs underneath a stone gazebo whilst Cecily sat beside him.

It was only when the twins began to approach did they realized the wooden swords that were resting on the table, seemingly carelessly thrown down whilst the lawn was disturbed with the multiple cuts into the ground.

"Are you ok?" Grassis asked concern. "It's not that bad, but I don't think you have messed the garden like this before…"

"I'm… fine" Leo sighed in response, being obvious that he wasn't. "I thought that training would take my mind off things, but I think I was pouring my frustrations into it."

'Well, I know I was… I wouldn't have put so much power in that one strike otherwise.' He thought to himself as he stole a glance at a particular mound of dirt from where he had used magic to allow himself to swing down with enough force that it caused the ground to burst upwards, shattering the sword into pieces as a result.

"Is there something you needed?" He asked, now looking at the girls with a calm expression.

"Um, you have a visitor. He wanted to meet with you in particular, he was very concerned for you." Flam answered. "Are you willing to meet anyone?"

"Who is it?" Cecily interjected.

"He calls himself Wilhelm, we believe that he has some connection to Sir Reinhard from how he reacted at the mention of his name initially."

"That's because he's Reinhard's grandfather, you two used to know him better than I do," Leo answered, now sitting upright in surprise. "Did he come hoping to reconnect with Reinhard?"

"He wishes to talk about something serious as a messenger from the Karsten Camp, it seems to be something related to your situation."

"I'm coming," Leo answered the instant Grassis was done with her sentence, already standing up ready to be led to wherever the meeting was. 'Please say they have something worked out about this situation… oh, please…'

"Yes, they're in the lounge room," Flam said, the two twins ready to hurry along in response to Leo's eagerness resulting in the group rushing into the manor, not even sparing a thought to sort out the training swords or the garden as they left behind Leo's mess.

"Wilhelm?" Leo called out as they opened the doors into the room, immediately breaking the tension in the room as both Astrea's seemed glad for his arrival, compared to Felt who huffed in response, seeming frustrated at whatever had occurred in the meantime.

"Leo, I can only hope that you are doing well despite the circumstances." The old butler replied with a small smile as Leo continued to walk into the room, the twins closing the door behind him.

"Things could be… better," Leo answered with adverted eyes, a bitter tone slipping into his voice. "But, are you here because of what we agreed upon before?"

"I wish that were the case, unfortunately, I bring bad news on behalf of Milady," Wilhelm said with a troubled expression.

"There's even worse things about to happen to big bro now?!" Felt snapped in frustration. "Doesn't anyone think this is enough, it's not even like he's done anything after the rumors started to prove them right!"

"Wilhelm… just, what is it this time?" Leo interjected with a tired sigh, filling the old man with pity.

"I despise to be the bearer of this news, however… it wasn't that long ago when Felix was asked by Lady Crusche to tell if he knew there were any ongoings that the knights may be weary of, and we learned that the knights may be preparing action to bring you in…"

"WHAT?!" The whole room erupted at the news in shock.

"But grandfather, I haven't heard any of this!" Reinhard said.

"That's because you're a part of the same camp and everyone knows about your numerous divine blessings. I bet to get around that they deliberately excluded you from anything to do with it." Felt pointed out. "Bloody bastards! What are they going to do then?!"

"If Julius's words are to be trusted, they may try to unfairly arrest him or even have him executed as an enemy to the nation, or even the world," Reinhard answered much to the dread of everyone in the room whilst Wilhelm grimly nodded in agreement.

"W-what?! I mean… bastards! How much time does big bro have?! Can't everyone just attend whatever trial he should have and say otherwise!?" Felt desperately cried out.

"That would be risking them being willing to hold a trial in the first place rather than instantly accuse him of being a warlock, Lady Felt," Wilhelm answered. "I'm afraid I have little idea of how much time he has left until the knights act, they appear to be very careful about who they are informing of these actions."

"Then… then we have to leave! They can't have him like that!" Cecily cried out.

"Not that I want to experience death again, but honestly it sounds like the whole city is at more risk than I am…" Leo said gripping the attention of the whole room as he quietly sat down in a chair of his own, his arms and legs crossed as he avoided looking anyone in the eyes as if trying to close off and hide himself as much as possible.

"What do you mean… experience death again, big bro?" Felt asked, her voice barely managing to escape her lips.

"I didn't mention it before but… after fighting the white whale and trying to make it home we were attacked by two archbishops of the witches' cult. One of them killed me and I died for a bit…"

"Are you alright? Are you truly fine after experiencing something like that?" Reinhard hurriedly asked.

"Yeah, I'm over it… somehow. But the city certainly won't if it happens again."

"Leo, are you inferring there is something more to your authority than you let on at the discussion?" Wilhelm carefully asked.

"It's not like I was hiding it from you, I just thought you would have worked it out," Leo replied, finally looking at all their faces. "When I die, my authority goes out of control. It will kill everything in the vicinity of me, it's why every bit of plant life there died."

"So you mean… if they chose to execute you…"

"I don't know exactly how big it is but at the very least, a lot of people would die to my authority. And I wouldn't be able to stop it." Leo quietly answered. "If you wanted to be underhanded about winning, you could just leave the city and let it happen. Then all the wise men could die, and the other three candidates might die leaving only Felt and Emilia to rule the place."

"I don't want to win like that!" Felt snapped back.

"Good to hear," Leo replied.

"Um, Mr. Wilhelm, do you know how much time Leo has?" Flam asked, raising her small hand slightly into the air, breaking away from the current conversation.

"I have little clue, all that I can say is that there is now significant risk for Leo to remain here." The elderly butler replied.

"I've barely spent time here and I'm already being hunted down as a monster…" Leo said with a glum voice before balling his hands into shaking fists.

"Master…" Cecily worried said. "Don't worry, I'll be with you wherever you go! We'll work something out!"

"I hope so…"

"Since it has come to this, it might be best to think of places to flee to already. There may be a chance that you can try to start a new life somewhere else." Kou's voice resounded in his mind. "You may be being forced to move on, but it doesn't mean that you have lost all hope for living in comfort yet."

"I don't know this world at all, other than the names of the other countries. I'll be relying on the pair of you more than ever now…"

"And we'll do our best to support you." The two spirits replied almost in unison.

"You can't actually be saying that you're alright being on the run like that?!" Felt exclaimed after hearing the verbal aspect of the conversation.

"I'm not! But unless I want to risk it all in being taken in, what other choice do I have?" Leo shouted back, silencing the room once more until knocking was heard at that door before Grimm entered the room without even waiting for a command.

"Apologises for my entry, but there is something of vital importance, Lady Felt, Sir Reinhard."

"Huh, what is it?" Felt asked.

"The knights are here and trying to gain access to the manor, they claim that Sir Leo is under arrest under charges of the identity of a warlock."

The spoken words made everyone freeze in shock and horror, except two men who knew to instantly act. "Lady Felt, we must meet with them to try and buy time. They may claim their charges severe enough to force their way onto the property, we must hurry. Leo, please try to get away in the meantime." Reinhard said with a serious expression.

"I can guide you away from here. I previously lived here and I know the city well, I am sure I can aid you in avoiding the knights." Wilhelm quickly added on as the two Astra's briefly exchanged looks before silently nodding.

"Ah… right. Thanks for this." Leo hesitantly replied as he tried to keep up with the situation without letting the stress get to him.

"Why the hell did this have to happen?! Why can't we just say he isn't here and drive them away!" Felt snapped.

"This house technically belongs to the head of the Astrea family, which at the current time is Heinkel. Once he arrives here there won't be any keeping the knights out." Wilhelm explained much to the added irritation of Felt.

"Asshole! Once I get a hold of him I swear…" She instantly began to curse until she stopped herself with a serious look. "Hey, big bro, I'll tell him you've already gone elsewhere this morning. I swear I'll stop this stupid stuff someday, alright!"

"I'll be looking forward to it," Leo said with a weak smile, something that Felt managed to briefly smirk at before hastily making her way out of the room with Reinhard to meet with the knights.

"Leo!" The twins quickly called out as they hurried to him, quickly hugging him tightly. "We'll see you again, won't we?"

"It… might be a while, but if something can be pulled off then I'll be back. But the honest truth is… I don't know… I hope so though…" Leo said as he knelt down to give them both a proper hug.

"We hope so too…" Grassis replied as they began to tear up again. "Please stay safe," Flam added on.

"Leo, I understand how you feel but we have little time…" Wilhelm interjected with a pained look, something that Leo merely nodded in response to as his own teary eyes were on full display to the old man.

"Goodbye girls…"

"Goodbye Leo…" the girls said, the three finally letting go of one another…

"He's not here dammit!" Felt's voice could be heard from whatever distance was between them and the front doors of the Astrea household as they did their best to covertly leave the grounds.

"Then we'll be searching everything on the grounds either way. You shouldn't be trying to harbor a monstrosity like him, brat." Heinkel's voice was then heard. "Knights, you have full permission to search all of the grounds for the monster, but you lot will search the surroundings! He won't be getting away…"

"This way," Wilhelm said as they approached a vine-covered wall just outside the house in the garden, taking the time to pull the plants aside to reveal a small wooden door that they quickly entered.

"Where does this go? I didn't know you had a secret tunnel!" Cecily asked with an excited yet hushed voice as they kept moving along at a brisk pace.

"Unfortunately, it doesn't escape the city, but it does take us out of the grounds. Unfortunately, Heinkel knows about this place as an Astrea, we must hurry before he can dispatch guards to either end of this place." Wilhelm replied, his concentration purely remaining on what lay ahead of them.

The moment that Wilhelm had carefully closed the door, he began to lead the way down the small tunnel once again. Despite the tunnel's relatively short length allowing it to take little time to traverse, the silence made time feel like it had ground to a halt, each moment dragging out with only the sound of their footsteps to otherwise distract him from the tension Leo felt.

After what felt like forever, they finally reached the dead end of the tunnel only for Wilhelm to look up for a few moments before reaching up and lifting a small stone slab upwards, revealing the exit above them before immediately jumping out and offering his hand.

"Thanks, for everything you're doing." Leo couldn't help but say as he accepted his hand, making sure that Cecily was clinging onto him as they were pulled up and out onto the streets.

"You shouldn't be thanking me yet, we've yet to get beyond the city walls," Wilhelm said stern look. "We won't be using a main gate. If we hurry we might be able to make it out of a smaller gate whilst the guards are swapping-"

"Is someone there?" A voice cut through the air, stunning the three as it went followed by the sound of footsteps.

"Master, you need to use Seekra! It's the invisibility spell!" Cecily immediately exclaimed in Leo's thoughts, as there was already no sign of the spirit that usually accompanied him.

"Seekra." He hastily whispered to himself, quickly fading from view to the point that he couldn't even see his hand anymore, leaving just Wilhelm in full view of whoever was heading their way.

"Ah, it's you, Sir Wilhelm." A familiar face said as he finally came to a stop with a gentle smile on his face.

"I have long left the knights, Sir Julius. There is no need for that title anymore." Wilhelm replied, his expression unbudging. "Can I ask what you are doing here?"

"The knights have been mobilized to take in a dangerous threat to the kingdom, but can I ask what you are doing here? I know that you are an Astrea but from what I know you seem to rarely make visits to the Astrea estate. I would advise you to hold off your visit if it wasn't for the fact that you are already involved."

"Can I ask what you mean by that?" Wilhelm asked with a hardened expression.

"It seems the subject of our search is right with us," Julius answered as if it was the simplest thing in the world as he turned to face Leo and Cecily as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"I fear that no one is there, you seem to be seeing things." Wilhelm tried to deflect the situation but Julius wasn't shaken in the slightest.

"I might not be able to see them, but my buds allow to me sense their gates, not to mention they easily pick up on his miasma. It seems it has gotten more intense." Julius said with a troubled look.

"You're not taking him!" Cecily declared as the two became visible again, each of the three practically glaring at the knight.

"Then would escorting him be a better word?" Julius replied. "An escort to the gatehouse."

"Huh?" Leo said, stunned at the turnabout.

"Julius!" Another voice shouted from down the street, "Have you seen the warlock down there?"

"I haven't yet, but I plan on checking the nearest gatehouse in case there is indeed truth to Lady Felt's statement. If he has already left the city then it would be a waste of time hunting for him like this, would it not?"

"Then shall I take that post for you, in the event of him passing through here as Vice Captain Heinkel suspects?" The other knights replied, now walking towards the group.

"Thank you very much, I shall carry out my investigation now then," Julius said with a radiant smile before giving a quick look to Leo and Cecily who promptly got the message, hiding themselves once more. "Please, this way," Julius added on with a hushed voice, now leading the way for Wilhelm and the invisible pair.

"You would be willing to assist Leo as well, Sir Julius," Wilhelm asked in mild disbelief.

"Please, the actions right now are of the disguised vigilante Juli, and have nothing to do with the knight Julius." The violet-haired knight said.

"Like your superiors would buy that…" Leo couldn't help but quip as he walked just behind them. "But aren't the pair of you risking a lot helping me?"

"I don't know what you mean, others believe the knightly Julius to be carrying out his duties in tracking down the warlock. So long as you don't make a sound there will be an open way for you so that none would suspect, leaving both Julius and I, Juli, unaffected. All that matters is that an innocent person and one that helped us brave the white whale isn't brought to unwarranted treatment."

"Aren't you going against Anastasia?"

"Lady Anastasia said that I may not speak on your behalf, or do something to tie myself to you. As I said before, I am merely under the guise of Julius carrying out knightly duty. Even then, I shall be willing to explain myself should she ask and that she may forgive the actions of Juli."

"right… and what about you Wilhelm?"

"Currently there is no information that I have gotten in contact with you. Whilst I wasn't expecting it, thanks to Grimm and Karol greeting me as staff and old friends I believe I haven't had any other interactions at the estate. They should no longer be able to draw ties between us so long as we are not sighted together." Wilhelm answered as they continued to briskly walk through the streets of the capital. "You are someone in need and one that I feel I owe much to, I owe it to you to try."

"Right… thanks a mill…" Leo quietly replied, the group taking a turn around a corner with the gatehouse coming into view. "I suppose this is the last I'll see of you then for a while…"

"I fear so, however, as a last piece of advice to you," Wilhelm said, catching Leo's full attention. "Do not try it if you believe that it is even potentially beyond you, but whilst we attempt to clear your name on the inside there is something you can do in the meantime that might aid in changing the world's opinion of you."

"And that's?"

"like the white whale, two more great mabeats are roaming the world. The Great Rabbit and the Black Serpent, bringing them down alongside bringing down the witch cult could help show where your loyalties lie, and might clear you of being someone who would attack the kingdom."

"Wilhelm, to ask that of anyone…" Julius quietly uttered in shock.

"It is not something that I ask of him. Only a potential opportunity. Due to your authority, you may unlike countless others possess the potential to hunt them, but you mustn't do it prematurely, not at least you feel confident in taking on the white whale by yourself and winning."

"Oh sure, I'll just pop that on the to-do list…" Leo grumbled to himself. "I think if I get that strong then I wouldn't be having this issue. The knights wouldn't be able to take me anyway…"

"You might have a point, but in that potential, it could be taken as proof of your 'monstrous' nature," Wilhelm replied before looking ahead of them. "If there is any real advice that you could carry about, it would be to attempt to start a new life in a different country. I would advise either Kararagi or Guesteko if you were to choose to take that path, yet it would be unlikely you could ever return to Lugunica if you chose to move on."

"This is now the end of our time, the gatehouse is just up ahead. I hope that your life may take a better turn in the future." Wilhelm said, unable to spare a glance to where he assumed the invisible pair was lest he give them away.

"Right, thank you two so much… hopefully one day I'll be back…"

"I hope so too, I still find myself wishing for a potential spirit knight to join the ranks with me," Julius replied before the two men suddenly straightened up, getting completely serious as the gatehouse had come within earshot.

"Sir Julius! And… Wilhelm van Astrea?" The two guards called out as they stood at attention. "May we ask what business you have here?"

"We have come to ask if there have been any suspicious individuals here." Julius asked, "As you might know the rumors of Leon Aries, there is currently a search for him."

"I see, we have not seen him pass through here." The guard replied unflinchingly, whilst at the same time Julius and Wilhelm managed to spy a door into the watchtower opening slightly seemingly by itself.

"Then what about anything suspicious? Anyone you couldn't make out. I doubt that he would pass through undisguised." Julius continued.

"Apologies Sir Julius, no such individuals have passed through here." The guards answered again, at the same time as the door closed behind them.

"I see, I thank you for your report," Julius said as the guards gave a curt bow before returning to the positions they stationed themselves at. "I apologize for bringing you out here Sword Demon, had he been here I would not have liked risking taking him on by myself." Julius then said, taking a bow towards Wilhelm who quickly caught onto Julius's thought-up act.

"Please do not worry about it, you have caused me no trouble, and these matters are not to be taken lightly. However, if he is not here then I believe I shall be taking my leave." Wilhelm replied.

"I thank you once again," Julius said as he allowed Wilhelm to take his leave first before turning to the guards. "Should you believe to see Leon passing through here, make sure to not engage him and report to the knights immediately. He is quite likely a foe beyond the abilities of many."

"Of course, Sir Julius, if you would bring the sword demon to assist you then we could never imagine doing it ourselves. We hope the suspect is brought to justice quickly!"

"As do I, I bid you a good day," Julius said before finally taking his leave, back towards the rest of the search the knights had going on, none of them any wiser…

"You can jump!" Cecily told Leo after the pair of them had reached the top of the watchtower, taking the time to make sure that no one would notice the brief amount of time they would become visible again.

"Right." Leo curtly replied as he already felt the silent enhancement from Cecily that would allow him to survive the fall whilst the girl became visible in his arms.

Wasting no time, he took advantage of it, hopping over the edge and landing on the ground outside the capital before Cecily hastily swapped back to her invisibility spell.

"Were we seen?" Leo asked his spirits as they gazed at the top of the gates and walls.

"I believe not, noise would have been made by now even as a simple trespasser where only the guards should be." Kou quickly answered him. "But I recommend that you hurry to make distance, should someone like that knight Julius come by, they may easily see through your invisibility again."

"Right…" Leo replied, trying to keep the emotion out of his voice before beginning to walk away from the capital with Cecily. They didn't hurry as they walked along the grass before stepping onto the dirt path that led into the distance, stopping for a few brief moments as he cast his gaze back before finally leaving.

"So, what do we do now?" he asked in a quiet voice, his eyes tired and hopeless after treading along the road silently for what felt like a while. "I've lost it all now…"

"We're still with you," Cecily said as she sidled up to him, leaning on him to let him know of her presence.

"Yeah… it means a lot…" he replied, patting her on the head.

"You were wondering where to go now, were you?" A voice suddenly was heard from behind, making the pair spin around in alarm to find a single girl standing behind them with a serene smile that felt devoid of emotion. Whilst Cecily looked on with caution, Leo's eyes widened in shock at the sight of the familiar, scarcely-clad woman.

"Pandora." He uttered.

"Huh? You know her master?" Cecily asked in confusion.

"Yeah, she's the one who brought me here… if you've come here about that thing you wished for help with then you've got terrible timing."

"Really?!" Cecily said, startled.

"I've heard," Pandora said. "Everyone talks of you as a warlock, you've fallen quite quickly, haven't you? Did you do something?"

"No, just rumors stirred up by bastard…" Leo grumbled with a fierce, spiteful voice.

"I am sorry to hear that. I hope you understand that I truly mean it when I say we're the same, there are many terrible people like that in the world. For people like us, it can often feel like the world itself is against us."

"You've also received scorn?" Leo asked, looking up with a look of faint shock.

"It's only natural for people like us, the cruel price of possessing an authority. It's why you shouldn't make a habit of revealing your authority, or what it can do. Scares few people will accept us in this world."

"And is this the part where you say we need to stick together?" Leo asked, keeping hope out of his voice. 'Can you give me an idea of what to do after everything?' he thought to himself.

"Unfortunately that can't be the case. At least not yet." Pandora replied, gently shaking her head whilst taking note of Leo's dejection. "I see that you're feeling at a loss."

"What else would you expect? You could at least give a few hints to how you've been living…"

"Mm, there isn't much that I can say. I make sure to limit the people that are aware of me, perhaps you should try to fade away from the public eye as well?"

"Tall order…"

"Are you trying to cut him off?" Cecily then asked with a troubled look.

"I see how you might say that, I only suggested what I've been doing to avoid the scorn that he currently faces," Pandora answered without emotion. "I've come to ask you for something, although I hadn't planned on asking for it at such a time."

"You really do have terrible timing, don't you?" Leo quipped back bitterly.

"I'm sorry." She said, not at all looking like it.

'But at this point, she might just be the type who's horrible at expressing herself…' He thought to himself, sighing internally as he locked his gaze on the girl. "You have been keeping me curious about it for a while now, so what is it at least? I doubt I can actually help right now though…"

"It's nothing hard, and even your current circumstances shouldn't get in the way much," Pandora said. "Because I was keeping an eye out for you, I became aware of someone else. You see, there is a perpetually frozen forest known as Elior Forest, and within it is a large door locked with a special seal that no one except one individual can open."

"And is that me?" Leo asked in confusion.

"No, it would truly be quite a surprising turn of events if you could. I hoped that you could convince the person to open the door for me." Pandora answered simply. "I once tried in the past but… you could say it didn't go so well."

"What's behind the door?" Cecily asked, "Why do you want it open?"

"Because of the witch of envy." Pandora instantly answered.

"The witch?!" Cecily exclaimed. "But she's sealed! Unless!"

"Please do not worry, that is not the seal that binds her. Her seal is located within the desert to the east." Pandora said, calming the spirit down. "However, it is incapable of holding her. She can escape it, and only what lies within that door can contest her might."

"And what is that thing?" Leo asked.

"I don't know." Pandora blankly replied.

"Excuse me?" an unimpressed Leo said.

"I said that I do not know," Pandora repeated, "What I do know is that it would be required to deal with the witch of envy once and for all. The real reason why I wanted your help was to assist me with dealing with the witch of envy. I needed someone who would manifest an authority like yours that would be crucial in opposing her."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait… you want me to stick my neck out and risk fighting someone who can destroy half the world by themselves?!"

"But you are immortal, your life isn't at stake is it?"

"I can still feel pain! And I'm nowhere near that level of strength, I'd still be useless!"

"You won't be alone, and perhaps your authority might be one of the few things capable of slaying her. Even then, that's why we are attempting to attain a secret weapon to wield against her." Pandora said, her expression nor voice having changed in the slightest as they had been talking. "Perhaps think more about what you can gain? You would be an undeniable hero to the world if you assisted. You could be rewarded with riches and fame of your wildest dreams, no?"

"I'm nowhere near greedy enough to attempt the impossible for something like that."

"Mm, I suppose not."

"Is that why you brought Master here? Just to fight against the witch?" Cecily asked as she clung nervously to Leo's side. "You can't make him do something that horrible!"

"No one wants to have to fight against her, yet some must else the world will be destroyed, and opening that door is a precious step towards that goal. Imagine what might happen if no efforts are made, she will just destroy the world uncontested." Pandora pointed out, making Leo scowl in response, unable to refute her words.

"Even if you survived, everyone you care about wouldn't. The world would scorn you more than ever before until it's gone. You would be left to suffer in the wilderness, alone, until the witch finds and tortures you for eternity due to your immortality. They say dying to the devil is the most agonizing, inhumane way to die, second to only an Archbishop of the witches' cult.

Hearing these words, Leo couldn't suppress a quick shiver. Whilst it somehow didn't bother him now, he could still remember the horrible agony that Regulus had caused him and the suffering that he experienced.

'And he's not even as bad as the witch…' He thought with pure dread.

"I guess that's not much of a choice…" Leo said with a tense voice.

"So do I have your cooperation in opening the door now? It's all that I'm asking for now." Pandora asked.

"Yeah, if what you say is true then it's completely in my interest, as much as I don't want to already jump back into life-threatening situations… besides, you've already saved me a few times. I owe you plenty as is…"

"Master?" "Leo?" Cecily and Kou immediately questioned the moment they heard his answer.

"You do realize that this is the same woman who gave you a witch factor, she has one herself. She may have saved you but you barely know anything about her, do you not believe this judgment to be hasty?" Kou asked.

"You think I'm just going to do as she says immediately? We need to meet with someone anyway, we can just ask a few questions ourselves when we're talking with them. If our stories match up enough then Pandora should at least be a little credible, right?" Leo silently replied to the spirit.

"Very well, so long as you are risking interfering with seals with reckless abandon… But this doesn't have my blessing, however." Kou replied, had the spirit voice ever carried emotion Leo would have been certain it would have been disgruntled and perhaps even sighed.

"I'll trust in you, Master, but please be careful…" Cecily added on.

"I'm glad to hear it." Pandora said with a faint smile. "All you need to do is find the person who can undo the seal, fortunately, I believe that you get along with her well. Does Emilia, just Emilia sound familiar?"

"You mean half-elf Emilia? The one running for the throne? She's responsible for the seal? I wouldn't have thought she'd be the protector for something like that…" Leo said, unable to hide his disbelief alongside Cecily as they mused together on the thought.

"It seems that the riskiness of the situation has declined if she is the one we will be consulting with," Kou mentioned, seemingly content with the outcome.

"She is the one, I hope that you can make her understand the situation," Pandora said before the sound of thudding was heard further down the road behind them.

"There he is!" A voice shouted out, much to Leo's scorn whilst Pandora's subtle smile remained. Turning around had them greeted by the sight of a couple of knights riding towards them on a ground dragon, now unsheathing their swords with the target in sight.

"Shit, already?! I shouldn't have kept to the road…" Leo said, wracking his mind for what to do.

"You shouldn't have." Pandora calmly replied, "But I can assist you this time. Trust me? In a worse case, your authority would be more than enough for them."

"Fine…" Leo replied uneasily as the three chose to stay still, allowing the two knights to approach who soon swiftly leapt from the ground dragons back.

"You've given up escaping?" One knight asked suspiciously.

"Leon Aries, as a warlock and threat to the kingdom, you shall be coming with us, unless…" the other knight said, already having drawn his sword as he pointed it to his neck.

"Ma'am, please leave. This monster and his spirit- "The first knight began to address Pandora yet she didn't wait as she gently and gracefully reached out to both the knight's hands before talking.

"You do not remember finding us here, because you were never here. The two of you are still yet to leave the city because of preparations." Pandora calmly stated, her voice positively enchanting which made it impossible to ignore her. And in the next moment, the two knights instantly vanished without even the slightest sound.

"They won't have any recollection of this moment," Pandora said, her voice whilst angelic, no longer so unnaturally enchanting that it kept Leo's mesmerized gaze on her.

"R-right, thanks…" Leo replied, diverting his attention from her only to realize that one of the two ground dragons remained. "Huh? What about that one? I thought you got rid of them all?"

"I did, it's just whilst making changes, I thought to leave that unchanged so that you might make a more swift arrival at Emilia's place of residence," Pandora answered as Leo carefully moved over to the dragon that allowed his approach. "Sadly, I have to leave now. I hope that you can manage to convince the half-elf to open the door, or else we will have much greater issues with what will eventually come."

"Right…" Leo said before steeling himself, hopping up onto the ground dragon before extending a hand to Cecily to help her up, propping her down in front of him. "Will it be long before we meet again?"

"I intend to check if you are successful, so it shouldn't be so."

"Then I'll guess we meet again soon enough, Pandora. Thanks for everything." Leo said with a small smile.

"It was nothing, I hope you succeed." She replied with a faint smile of her own. Yet despite the two getting along, Cecily merely blankly looked at the petite beauty almost without blinking as Leo spurred on the ground dragon to continue moving on, leaving Pandora behind.

"She shouldn't remember but things have been straying from how they should have gone lately… but perhaps things won't matter if he is the one asking?" Pandora wondered.

"After that, all he needs is to be pushed a little further and when his witch factor fully settles then I hope it won't be long…" she said as a small smile began to form on her face whilst she continued to look on in the direction that Leo had ridden.