I was strangely caught off guard by their reactions, but I didn’t mention it, and the three of us, including Neun-san, exchanged some light conversation.

  After a while of idle conversation, as if she remembered about it, Dr. Vier returned to our original topic.

  [Come to think of it, Miyama-kun? In the end, what’s the reason why you came to see me?]

  [Yes, since Neun-san is here, this may not be necessary but……]

  [Unnn?]

  Since Neun-san is a member of Kuro’s family, she definitely has an invitation, and if she and Dr. Vier are close friends, it wouldn’t be surprising if she had already invited her to the Six Kings Festival.

  Well, it’s not like I’m going to lose anything by suggesting it, so I’ll just invite her.

  As Dr. Vier tilted her head as she was about to get up and prepare another pot of herbal tea, I told Dr. Vier about the main topic of my visit.

  [The Six Kings Festival occurs on the 24th day of the Light month, if you’re fine with it, would you like to go?]

  [……Eh?]

  Immediately after, the pot slipped from Dr. Vier’s hand and fell on the floor, shattering to multiple pieces.

  Eh? What’s with her reaction…… What’s with this…… storm-like emotions……


  The moment I invited her, my Sympathy Magic read the various emotions that erupted from Dr. Vier.

  Dr. Vier’s expression didn’t change. She only looked a little surprised…… However, the emotions I felt through my Sympathy Magic were as dreadful as a murky river.

  Regret, fear, anger, lamentation, anxiety, escapism…… Feeling the surge of dark emotions gushing towards my body, I was at a loss for words.

  Thereupon, Neun-san unexpectedly rose from her chair and approached Dr. Vier.

  [……Ahh, you really are hopeless, Vier. You’re still the same “klutz” like usual.]

  [A- Ahaha, unnn. I’m sorry, my hand slipped……]

  A klutz like usual? Is that really all there is to it? I mean, what happened just now, rather than because of Dr. Vier’s klutziness…… It looks more like she’s so shaken that she lost grip of the pot.

  Moreover, I’ve also felt that from Neun-san too…… I could feel her flusteredness, as if she was trying to cover something up. Her expression appears to be calm, but I felt like I had touched something I shouldn’t have.

  [……Miyama-kun.]

  [Eh? Ah, yes!]

  [……I’m sorry. I’m glad you invited me, but I have a lot of patients that even need my visit to receive medical treatment, so I don’t have the time to attend.]

  ……It’s a lie. I don’t even need my Sympathy Magic for me to know that. However, I can’t say anything.

  Dr.Vier must have known that even if she lied in her current state, she would be found out. And yet, she still dared to lie…… I guess that means that I shouldn’t go any further into this topic.

  [I see…… I’m sorry for being unreasonable.]

  [No. I was happy with just the thought, Miyama-kun. Thank you for inviting me.]

  I don’t know. Why is it that something like this is happening? I was just trying to invite Dr. Vier to the Six Kings Festival……


  And yet, why is she…… overflowing with sorrowful emotions, yet still smiling as usual? I don’t know, and I’m afraid to know.

  This is definitely because…… I felt that if I asked her about it, she would probably be very hurt.

  In the end, a subtle awkwardness remained, and unable to initiate any more conversation, I decided to return to the mansion when I found a suitable time.

  At night…… As I lay on my bed in my room, I couldn’t help but think of what happened with Dr. Vier and Neun-san today, even though I tried hard not to think about it.

  The emotions I felt from Dr. Vier at that time felt so painful. They were so sorrowful and cold that I couldn’t even imagine them from the always calm and smiling Dr. Vier.

  A part of me wants to know why, but another part of me thinks that I shouldn’t go any further.

  It’s just a guess…… but it probably has something to do with the “sin” that Dr. Vier had mentioned earlier.

  In the first place, I have always been incredulous about how Dr. Vier apparently killed as many people as there were crosses in that church.

  No, even if that was true, I interpreted it as it was because of her profession…… That those crosses were the number of lives that she was unable to save.

  But when I saw Dr. Vier today, I thought, almost intuitively…… that it wasn’t the case at all.

  But then, the confusion in my head became larger. Would the kind Dr. Vier take the life of another without a reason? No, I don’t think so…… I want to believe that’s the case.

  However, I don’t know what that “reason” could be…… No matter how much I think about it, there’s no way I can get an answer.

  Holding my fuzzy head, I thoughtlessly raised my upper body, and right at that moment, a glowing magical bird appeared in front of me.

  […… A hummingbird?]

  This is a means of communication that is very useful in this world, something like a mail made out of magic. I wonder who would send me a hummingbird at this hour? As I touched the hummingbird, glowing letters appeared in the air.

  “Sorry to call so late at night. Can you come to the church now? -Vier”


  It was a short and concise text…… but I felt that it contained something very heavy.

  As soon as I saw the words, I got up from my bed, changed my clothes…… and invoked my Teleportation Magic Tool.

  Because I was supposed to be regularly visiting Dr. Vier’s clinic for Noir-san’s treatment, I registered at the location of Dr. Vier’s clinic’s front.

  In an instant, my body was enveloped in light and I was teleported to my desired location.

  In the dimly lit church, Dr. Vier was standing in front of the altar, illuminated by the moonlight shining through the stained glass.

  She wasn’t really offering a prayer, but just standing there with her face slightly raised, as if gazing at the moon beyond the stained glass and appreciating its fantastic beauty.

  [……I’m sorry to call out to you at this hour.]

  [……No.]

  Dr. Vier’s voice echoed in that quiet space, and the expression on her face as she slowly turned around…… looks as if she was about to cry.

  Dear Mom, Dad————- Dr. Vier is a kind and cheerful woman, but she’s also somewhat absent-minded. She was such a friendly woman…… However, when I think back about it, I have always had the feeling that she had been hiding something heavy. And now, I’m sure of it. What will be told from now on———- is a secret that she has always been hidden……


  **********

  T/N: 58/237