16. Before the end – 02
One day, Cain asked Bianca this question.
“Bianca, how much do you know about a woman named Arya?”
Incidentally, the look on Bianca’s face when she heard such a question was truly spectacle.
“…Are you asking me right now? What kind of woman is Arya?”
Hearing such a question from Cain, Bianca blinked her own eyes as if she couldn’t understand the point of the question, and then looked at Cain as if she was absurd.
“Why are you asking me that question? In the first place, isn’t Aria your exclusive maid? I think you know best about those things, as you stick with Aria all day. Surely you didn’t ask that question because you thought I would know something you didn’t know?”
At Bianca’s ridiculous excitement, Cain looked at her even more absurdly than she did.
“Of course, I didn’t ask questions about Arya’s human side. First of all, Bianca, you don’t have any kind of relationship with Arya. I don’t think I’ve ever had a proper conversation.”
In response to Cain’s answer, Bianca muttered something with a voice that somehow crawled.
“…At the level of conversation, I’ve had it before. Many times.”
“when?”
To Cain’s question, Bianca cleared her throat a few times, as if she was a bit embarrassed to answer her hastily, then sighed as if she couldn’t help it and answered him.
“When….”
“What? I can’t hear you well. Can you speak a little louder?”
“…When I kidnapped you and Aria and the princess came together to retrieve you.”
“…..”
Well, looking back at the memories in my head, it seemed obvious that Arya and Bianca had so many conversations at that time. Except for the trivial fact that they were growling as if they were crazy because they couldn’t eat each other.
“…I just explained it, but I didn’t ask the question because I wanted to know about your personal relationship with Arya. I just wanted to know what level Arya is as a mage.”
“Aria as a wizard?”
At those words, Bianca’s eyes widened.
“Yeah, to be honest, I’m very ignorant when it comes to magic. I have no idea what level of skill Aria is and what she can do. No matter how much I think about it, I don’t think there’s anyone but you who can explain it to me.”
“Then why are you bothering to ask me? You can ask Aria directly-”
And at that moment, Bianca smiled bitterly as if she realized something. Cain, I could understand all too well what this stupid man was concerned about and why he was reluctant to ask Arya directly.
“…Anyway, you really are a man with a lot of mischievous thoughts. I’m worried that your head might explode if you live with such trivial considerations.”
Although she was grumbling so much, Bianca didn’t feel too bad about Cain’s use of her, who was so caring and considerate of others. It would have been better if his meticulous consideration had been directed towards him, but unfortunately, that was not an area he could do anything about. I just can’t help but take comfort in the fact that such consideration will be directed to myself someday.
“Ugh. Aria as a magician. To be honest, I’m not at all sure what territory she’s currently stepping into.”
“why?”
“Do you remember when Arya and I had a big fight a year ago?”
At Bianca’s words, Cain nodded his head. How could I not remember? If you can’t remember the images of the two women frantically blowing magic at each other with an attitude as if they’re about to destroy the world at any moment, you’ll have to wonder if there’s something wrong with your head first.
“At that time, I drove that girl Arya to the point of killing her, but it was literally a one-point victory. To be more precise, it was just that I was able to win because the total amount of magic power of that woman was less than mine before deciding who was superior and who was inferior.”
Strictly speaking, it is only a miserable story that he did not win in a battle of demons, but only won by defeating Aria with the total amount of magic power. That’s why he hesitated to give Cain an answer.
“Can you believe it? So, a woman who had only been learning magic for a year was on par with me. There was a definite gap between me and that woman that couldn’t be dismissed as luck or difference in physical condition. In the end, Aria, that girl had enough strength to make me have no choice but to hit her with the total amount of magic power.”
There was something self-deprecating in Bianca’s tone that she could not hide.
“And a year has passed since then. Now I can’t easily imagine how strong that woman Aria must have become. To be honest, every time that girl Aria stands still next to you and pretends to be pitiful and weak, it feels like chicken meat is rising all over her body.”
However, upon hearing Bianca’s words, Cain had no choice but to ask himself a question.
“Wait a minute, there’s one thing I don’t understand.”
“What?”
“As far as I know, I heard that it takes at least a year of training for mages to raise their level to the next level. I’m well aware that Arya has a genius for magic, but wouldn’t it be a little premature to say that in just one year she’d become much stronger than you?”
To Cain’s point that could only be called valid, Bianca refuted with a smile.
“therefore? If I were to follow what you said, how should I explain the ‘Witch of Winter’ who covered the entire continent with winter as soon as she appeared in this world? Surely you don’t mean to say that the ‘Witch of Winter’ appeared after 10 years of training out of sight, Cain?”
…Certainly, if you could become the strongest simply by training for a long time, old Carol would have become the strongest wizard in the world. The level of magic and the period of training are never proportional. Because magic was a discipline in the realm of thorough talent.
“…..”
When Cain was unable to say anything at Bianca’s reasonable point, she looked at Cain’s face with an expression that was incomparably more solemn than ever before.
“There is only one thing I can say. That your handmaid, Aria, was not just a slender girl with white hair who had lost her memories, but was a ‘winter witch’ who once covered the world with winter. And that she was an absolute force, able to take on all four of us with just one finger.”
“…So, always keep that in mind. The fact that she is not a human like us, but a clear monster in human form.”
****
And now, one of the women was also thinking of the same thoughts that Bianca had thought of one day.
“To be honest, I think your opinion is a very good one. Not only killing Arya, the Winter Witch, and avenging Tia’s enemies, but also sacrificing her to see Tia again. Any way you look at it, it’s a really perfect plan for me. But, but, but…”
She asked the question as if it were truly absurd, not trying to hide a voice full of ridicule.
“I can’t help but ask a realistic question here.”
She stared blankly at Kyrie standing in front of her eyes, and had no intention of hiding the contempt she was showing.
“How on earth can you subdue and kill the Witch of Winter?”
Now, she was recalling the power of the ‘winter witch’ who brought a terrible winter all over the world with only her power alone.
“If I remember right, the two of us would only get dogged deaths if we jumped on her, right?”
To Ariel’s sharp words, Kyrie only responded in a normal tone.
“Anyway, it’s an opponent we’ve already beaten once. If so, wouldn’t the second be easier? Moreover, the ‘Witch of Winter’ at that time and the current aria do not have equal power, so I think it is easier than in the past in terms of difficulty.”
Kyrie’s words could be said to be true.
…But at the same time, she was missing something crucial. Or, he wasn’t artificially explaining things to Ariel.
“Yes, as you said. In the past, we had the experience of defeating the ‘Witch of Winter’ once. However, wasn’t that an achievement only possible because Iris was in charge of the vanguard and Bianca offset her magic?”
How could Ariel not know that it was the best result achieved after all the absolutes that mankind could mobilize at the time attacked her?
“As far as I remember, your arm was shattered with one gesture from the Witch of Winter. If I hadn’t been there, you would have died of excessive blood loss.”
“therefore? Are you saying that you want to show condescension for repaying kindness in the past right now?”
In response to Kirie’s plaintive reply, the cynicism on Ariel’s lips only deepened.
“no. Let’s face the situation a little realistically, that’s what I mean. Poor princess, it’s not enough that me, you, and Bianca worked together. If it wasn’t for Cain’s help, we would never have been able to defeat the ‘Witch of Winter’. It can be affirmed that there is such an absolute gap between the Winter Witch and us.”
Certainly, it was clear that her words were the truth itself, facing reality as it was.
“Of course, there will be a significant difference between ‘The Winter Witch’ eight years later and the current aria. The current Arya is quite immature, not very good at fighting, and above all, it is certain that she does not have the power to bring winter to the entire continent.”
“But, but…”
Ariel takes a step forward towards Kyrie and asks her a question.
“No matter how weak she is now, and even if she has fallen incomparably worse than she was in her prime, I don’t expect that she won’t be able to deal with the two of us at all, right?”
For no matter how old and decrepit a cat may be, no matter how old and decrepit he may be, he may not have the strength left to slay two rats.
In Ariel’s opinion, there was such a disparity between the “Winter Witch” and them.
“Two rats are getting together and debating eagerly about how to hunt cats…”
A voice full of laughter covered the space where they were standing.
“Isn’t it no use in the presence of a cat, whether mice are two or ten?”
At Ariel’s reasonable objection, Kirie sighed and laughed and opened her own mouth.
“What, me again. I thought you were scared and asked such a question.”
“…yes?”
Kyrie’s reaction couldn’t help but be quite different from what Ariel expected. Now, why is that woman showing such a relaxed reaction?
“I know very well. What a powerful and terrible monster Arya, the Witch of Winter, is. I know better than anyone else in the world that she is an absolute transcendent, on a different level from us. However-“
Kyrie took out something small from her chest and held it up to show it to Ariel.
“…ring?”
From the outside, it’s just an ordinary, nondescript ring. Looking at the ring Kirie took out and showed her, Ariel couldn’t hide her embarrassed voice. That ring must be a ring that I remember seeing once. Where the hell did I see that ring-
“Ariel Thiers, you just said. No matter how many rats gather, they can’t hunt cats. Yes, that’s definitely what you’re saying. But it is.”
Kirie gently touched the ring in her hand and muttered in a pleasant voice.
“Even insignificant mice, wouldn’t they have a good chance if they had the tools to stand up to cats?”