12.12 cycle nine, Ca’thir, of calendar Moonrachia

  Long story short, when I came back to fill a drink for both of us, Maya was already sitting beside Alias with that same subtle smile on her face

  And now, I sit across from both of them, and eat the sandwich

  I need to ask her

  I have a lot of questions

  But I couldn’t bring myself to ask at the moment

  Not when Alias is around us

  “I know you have a lot of questions right now.”

  “And I do also have many things to tell you.”

  She turned her face and looked into my eyes with that subtle smile of hers

  “…I don’t think it’s good news.” And then she gave a wry smile

  Alias was glancing at Maya and me a few times before tilting her head in confusion

  *****

  12.20 cycle nine, Ca’thir, of calendar Moonrachia

  After finishing our breakfast, we’re heading toward Maya's office

  The office was quite… simple? Minimalist? Anyway, something like that

  Maya's office was neither small nor that big, like a normal office size you could find anywhere in an average office corporation

  As I sat across from Maya, I realize that her table is clean of paperwork, and there’s one envelope with the Arnentia kingdom icon…

  “Is that…” While looking into the envelope

  “It’s what you think it is, you may read it.”

  I know what the content inside is

  I know what will happen

  Yet I still feel anxious

  Taking a shaky breath, I slowly reached for the envelope and picked the letter inside it

  It’s already in front of my face, I just needed to read it and get it over with

  With a deep breath, I glance around the room first, either to prepare myself or just to stall time for a moment

  Alias was sitting beside us while drawing something on a paper

  Maya was looking at me now with her usual expression, but I could feel seriousness in the corner of her eyes

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  To: Maya of the House Orlier

  Acting Principal, Arnentiasis Academy

  Official Representative of the Orlier Household

  From: The Royal Judiciary Office of Arnentia

  Subject: Summons to the Crown's Court—The Case of Kaleth

  Madam Maya,

  By order of His Majesty, King Alden As Arnentia, and under the jurisdiction of the Royal Judiciary, you are hereby notified that the individual known as Kaleth (formerly a citizen of the Capital, graduate of Arnentiasis Academy, and recently under the provisional guardianship of the Orlier household) is formally summoned to stand before the Crown's Court…

  …The purpose of this proceeding is not to determine guilt, the evidence of mana resonance is irrefutable and has been verified by multiple Halo-level specialists. The Court's sole function is to hear a statement of contrition from the accused, should he choose to give one, before His Majesty the King pronounces the mandatory sentence for crimes of this magnitude.

  Court proceedings are scheduled for Cycle Eighteen, Ca'thir. One hour past midday.

  Were they taking a sample of my blood that day…?

  Also, what the f**k? This isn’t even a court anymore, they just want me to fucking die…

  “Is this… serious?”

  “Sadly, it is.” As Maya shook her head slowly

  “It was the new one, it just got sent here in the morning, after…” Maya then glances at Alias for a moment

  “The rumor, or the content about, ahem, the person behind the summoning, reached the other continents.”

  “You mean… it's happening all over the continent…?” Maya then nodded once

  “The rumor reached the other continent faster because of the merchant connection, and some of the higher-ranking officials of each continent managed to catch the rumor.”

  “As far as I know, the elf continent suffered the most serious damage among all other continents. Even the merfolk on the sea were affected by the summon, but they got the least damage, given they could easily control water.”

  “That’s all I know, it’s well-known information at the moment, but I'm sure the other race sent something to the Arnentia kingdom.”

  …The only thing I could do was stare blankly at the letter

  And just how many people died from my mistake…?

  Ten thousand?

  A hundred thousand?

  Million…?

  “I see.” Slowly, I place the letter back inside the envelope and put it on the table

  With that information, now everything is perfectly placed like a complete puzzle

  They really want me to die

  Worse, they might have tortured me until God knows how long it will be

  Everything now feels useless, no matter if I could explain the reason behind it, etc

  “It seems my fate is now set in stone…” When I leaned back into the chair, I could feel my shoulder become much lighter

  Deep down, I might have already known the outcome a long time ago

  Then, Maya said, “I can’t say it can't be changed, but I wouldn’t expect much.” While glancing toward the scenery outside the windows

  “I got a call from Master Noah today in the morning, saying that he will come back soon. I don’t know how soon it is, though.”

  “But… I heard that Master Noah has some way to resolve all of this… Again, you can’t expect much of it, since I’m certain it will be an insanely difficult feat.” Then Maya let out a heavy sigh while massaging her forehead

  Right, no matter how high Noah's position is in this kingdom, there's no way he's capable of ‘cleaning’ my name out that easily

  I mean, if it happens all over the continent, even deep in the sea, won’t it be counted as a world crime? It's even worse than that the Austrian painter with the mustache and father of the atomic bomb…

  Slowly, I take a deep breath and let it out

  I doubt Noah would say something like that without any reason. Let’s be prepared for the worst and the best scenarios for now

  Running away is insanely hard right now. If something happens globally like that, there's a high chance that a lot of people are guarding every single city and village right now

  I’m still sigil-level, no matter how hard I try, I won't get very far

  Hiding is also impossible, I can’t let the Orlier family become a scapegoat for my selfishness

  There’s also Alias… I can’t seem to think of running away. I’m not that lowly of a human being, especially with Eisya's last message

  I also do not do that great with illusion magic…

  No matter where I could think of, there’s always a wall blocking my way out

  There’s only one way left

  Which is using that magic once more and then running far away while they’re busy defending themselves

  I’m confident enough to manifest that magic again

  But I don’t know what will happen. Is it going to work normally? Will it become much more intense and summon something much more dangerous? Perhaps it might fail, who knows?

  Right… let’s use that as the last resort

  “Kaleth, look.” Then Alias tapped her drawing on the table

  In the drawing, there’s a human? A person? Its anatomy is incorrect, but there was a name below each figure

  In order from the left, there’s someone with soft yellow hair and green eyes, Eisya, and a small child holding her hand, Alias

  Besides Alias, there are two people with black hair, a male and a female. Is it me? and Maya

  There’s someone I don’t know with grey hair in a ponytail? With the name Kiara

  And lastly, someone standing alone at the right side alone, with soft brown hair…

  It’s Noah…

  “It’s a good drawing.” And then patting her head… Did this turn into a habit now…?

  “Who is this?” As I point toward the drawing of a person with the name Kiara

  “It’s sister Kiara.” She mimicked me by tilting her head, as if the answer were obvious

  Shortly, a soft chuckle could be heard. Maya was trying her hardest to hold back her laugh while hiding her mouth with her palm. She was looking at me as if it were the funniest joke she had ever heard

  As if offended by that, Alias said once more, “It’s sister Kiara!” and then, pointing toward Maya, “And that’s Sister Maya!”

  “Uh-huh, understandable, Alias, thank you for telling me.” Then Alias was looking at me for a moment with suspicious eyes before she started another new drawing while letting out a small huff sound

  So… it’s a maid then? How come I never see her even once?

  Maya, trying to regain her composure, let out a few coughs. “Ahem.”

  Then, while looking at the finished drawing, her eyes glimmer with soft light, as if she were recalling the memory with someone in it. “Kiara is Eisya’s personal maid, it’s a long story. Maybe another time.”

  Strangely, I could feel that her voice was much softer than how she often speaks

  And somehow, with that short interaction with them, I can't seem to bring myself to use that magic just to run away, slowly erasing my reason to use that magic

  I can't let all of them down, for the people who place their trust in me

  ---END---