60 – Her identity
[It’s a strange thing, a strange thing.]
“… ….”
At Lucifer’s muttering, Friedrich slightly frowned at her.
He glanced at Lucifer as if to say something, and Lucifer opened her mouth again.
[Although he is said to have been gifted with unseen talent, White is still young. Did you need to do that? Friedrich.]
“…… I was wondering what you were going to say.”
Friedrich let out a shallow breath and narrowed his brows.
“That’s not the only reason, Lucifer.”
[If that’s not all, are you saying there are other reasons?]
“…… Okay.”
Responding a bit belatedly, Friedrich turned his head in the direction White had left.
What flashed through his mind was the image of a girl following White.
“…… To control ‘her she her’, White is indispensable.”
[Hmm?]
Seeing Friedrich spit out as if he was quite nervous for some reason, Lucifer’s eyes dimmed once.
[Are you referring to the girl who was standing behind White a moment ago? I heard about it.]
As if having some doubts, Lucifer lowered her voice.
[Circle 9, it seemed clear that she was a girl who needed to be vigilant.]
“…… Yes, that’s why-“
[However, isn’t that all.]
“… ….”
Stopping Friedrich from trying to get her words out, Lucifer continued her words in a melancholy tone.
[It’s not a realm where the 9th Circle is scattered all over the place, but there are not one or two great mages who have disappeared on this continent. You should know that best, Friedrich.]
“… ….”
[Furthermore, they don’t want to be hostile to us, and it’s hard to think that a magician who has reached the level of the 9th circle is the helper of the 12 demon lords. Well, unless that girl is really a member of the 12 demon lords…….]
Isn’t there anything that could be a problem?
With that added, Lucifer finished her words.
“… ….”
Friedrich fell silent once.
As if thinking of something, he carefully closed his eyelids.
The scene that immediately comes to mind was a thing of the not-too-distant past.
“…… That brilliant blue mana, I still can’t forget.”
[Hmm?]
Seeing Friedrich slowly open his eyes and open his mouth, Lucifer gave a voice mixed with doubt.
And while staring straight at Lucifer, Friedrich continued his words.
“It’s a sight you didn’t see, but I remember it clearly.”
[What are you talking about…… ?]
Lucifer questioned as he scratched his skull, at which Friedrich smiled lightly.
It’s somehow bittersweet, and at the same time, it’s like there’s a feeling of anticipation.
…… With such a smile on his face, Friedrich opened his mouth again.
“This is just her intuition, but it occurred to me that White was the only one who could control her.”
[…] ….]
Lucifer bit her mouth tight, looking still unsure of what she was talking about.
But he didn’t care, and Friedrich just kept spitting out his own words.
“She doesn’t know what thoughts she has, what beliefs she holds in her heart.”
Just.
In addition, Friedrich narrowed his eyes.
“…… For that girl, it seems like she knows what White is like.”
[…] ….]
Silence again.
However, she soon seemed to be thinking about something, and then Lucifer opened her mouth not too late.
[…] … A child from the 7th circle who is favored by the wizard of the 9th circle. Does she intend to use her emotions and White’s presence to control the Great Mage-class wizard?]
“…… What an idea like you, Lucifer.”
Friedrich frowned and let out a voice mixed with disgust.
And he waved his hand once as if he hadn’t meant it.
Her “Control of her, or as I would say, control, but in the first place, it is impossible to use her perfectly like a puppet.”
A slight tension began to settle in Friedrich’s eyes.
Yes, it was.
Control, Control, or Use.
These words are good, but how can reality proceed only with theory?
If you mess around against the great mage of the 9th circle, you won’t be able to easily overcome him, no matter how similar he is.
‘…… Let alone her, if her opponent is a woman who has reached a level far higher than me.’
Friedrich broke into a cold sweat as she slightly clenched her fist at her nervousness.
[…] … Friedrich?]
And Lucifer’s eyes, looking at Friedrich, soon began to be colored with surprise.
Wouldn’t that be worth it?
For all those years, Friedrich was making an expression that Lucifer had never seen before.
…… If I had to express it, it was because Friedrich was making an expression of awe.
Lucifer opened her mouth and jaw wide, her eyes wide open.
[…] … Is that enough? Are you saying that you are a girl who has reached the level of being so nervous?]
“… ….”
Friedrich didn’t answer Lucifer’s question, but that expression soon explained everything.
[…] … Huh.]
In time, what came out of Lucifer’s mouth was a short voice that could be described as a sigh.
“Can you guess, Lucifer?”
With straight eyes shining toward Lucifer, Friedrich calmly began to speak her words.
“What is the true identity of that girl who has reached a level far beyond me?”
What appeared on his face immediately was a considerable amount of tension and a little excitement.
As if expecting something, or as if he had hope in his eyes.
Friedrich’s voice was gradually becoming more passionate.
“It’s just my guess, but she won’t be far behind the enemy Demon Lord. At most, it would be a difference between one and a half.”
[…] ….]
Lucifer’s eyes shook vaguely once.
Although only the skull remained, there was nothing to be said for a clear expression, but Friedrich could sense that Lucifer was quite shocked.
Isn’t he like that too?
In fact, Shasar, the enemy demon king who is said to be the strongest on the current continent.
As far as being strong enough to compare with that red overlord, even decades ago and now, there were literally fewer than three people.
[…] … That much? Is that girl?]
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“At least I judged that.”
As he replied in a much calmer voice, Friedrich’s calm eyes shone.
[…] ….]
After Friedrich shut his mouth tightly, Lucifer naturally had no choice but to remain silent.
The only difference from the silence so far is that Lucifer’s brain is running at a considerable speed in real time.
Because I knew.
Because he knew very well that his close friend, Friedrich Edwald, was not someone who would just throw out these words casually.
[…] … Her.]
The first voice that Lucifer uttered was a sigh that could be described as dejected.
A disturbing look began to appear over his skull.
[…] … If that’s what you’re saying, it’s not like it’s nonsense.]
“… ….”
Lucifer said that in an unusual voice, and Friedrich’s expression slowly hardened as well.
Soon after, the expressions of the two great mages changed to look alike.
[…] ….]
“… ….”
Friedrich and Lucifer.
What passed through the minds of the two beings was the names and appearances of countless strong people who have appeared from the distant past until now.
The great mages of the 9th circle, which must have dominated an era, quickly passed through their heads.
[…] … No way.]
“… ….”
Soon, Friedrich and Lucifer were able to come up with one of the most probable hypotheses.
──There were various nicknames for ‘that existence’.
The strongest magician who surpassed even the enemy demon king.
In addition to that, an entity known to be virtually dead at this point.
It has already been hundreds or thousands of years since the last activity.
…… A wizard who was called the strongest demon king before the enemy demon king, Shasar.
“──The Demon Lord of Black.”
[…] … !]
Finally, Friedrich spoke the existence’s tinnitus in a trembling voice.
Naturally, a thick silence fell between the two archmages.
“… ….”
[…] ….]
Silence, or stillness.
How much time must have passed for the quiet air to flow.
Actually, it may not have been that long, but to the people involved, that time felt like eons of time.
[…] … Couldn’t it be that?]
“… ….”
Soon, Lucifer broke the silence by opening his mouth with a laugh.
[Now, it is a demon king whose gender is not even known as male or female. The unprecedented and strongest wizard, in the form of a young girl, serves as White’s teacher? Ha ha ha!]
As if trying to force himself to deny that thought, Lucifer let out a big laugh.
[…] … I would rather have believed that White was actually the demon king who occupied the throne of the 12 demon kings, but that seems to be a leapfrog delusion. Friedrich.]
“…… Is it. No, it definitely will.”
Friedrich did not deny such words of Lucifer.
Friedrich let go of his tension, sighing as if he was rather depressed.
What floated over his face immediately was a bit of shame.
“I find it absurd to even think about it. According to the records that have been handed down, the magician who can destroy our empire with his own body is the black demon king.”
…… No way, she, Ashera, couldn’t be that black demon lord.
I added that.
‘…… Could it be that?’
Friedrich let out an empty laugh with a look of absurdity.
It wasn’t long before I erased the black demon king’s name neatly from my head.
“Rather than that, do you think White will accept my offer?”
[Well, that’s something I don’t even know……. I don’t think it would be so easy to refuse. Isn’t it an offer with no reason to refuse in the first place?]
“Isn’t that true?”
[Two members of the 9th circle, plus one member of the 8th circle, and even a knight of the level of an archmage. Those who say they will push you, you won’t refuse it. It just needs some time to think about it.]
“Well, I thought so too.”
…… Eventually, the two great mages began to have a normal conversation, completely forgetting their speculation about the black demon king.