How About a Refill? ~The Elegant Tea Party of the Grand Witches~ - Chapter 48

Search-and-Destroy Operation

Further investigation revealed that the headquarters of the True Salvation Religion was in the secondary house of one of Duke Saint Angelo’s followers, on the outskirts of the Capital.

Concerned about the Duke of Saint Angelo, who has been pulling strings from the background, escaping once again, Emilio decided to infiltrate the headquarters with a small number of elite guards instead of utilising the knights from the order of chivalry.

It consisted of several imperial guards directly under Emilio, Leonardo, Dino who wanted revenge on the people who instigated his boss, Emilio as the leader of the operation, and the Grand Witches who joined in to provide magical assistance.

“It’s been a while since I went out to battle like this. My heart feels like it’s going to jump out of my chest!”

Beatrice’s dawn coloured eyes were shining in excitement, her flame hair tied behind in a single ponytail.

“Well you’re always in the palace so your body must have grown weak. It’s fine to come to the valley once in a while to help fight demonic beasts.”

“The forest is also good.”

“Ahh, you’re right. It can be good exercise.”

“Don’t say it like it’s just a light exercise for you! The Knights will cry if they hear you!”

Emilio smiled strainedly at the witches who were talking about demonic beasts as if it was a light exercise for them. 

Since the kingdom bordered the demonic realm, the knights all had to undergo harsh training in case they ever confronted a demonic beast. These knights must absolutely not hear this.

The guards under Emilio also forced a strained smile at the witches’ words.

“Everyone, please be careful!”

Miriam, who had come to see them off, called out to them. Soon, the party was ready to leave.

“Look after Robin, okay?”

“Yes, leave it to me.”

Valeria had left Robin in Miriam’s care. Miriam clutched the little boy’s hand as she nodded vigorously. 

“Lady Beatrice’s mansion doesn’t have any maids or footmen so it will be difficult to stay here. I have prepared a room for you in the Ruby Palace. I will have someone show you to it.”

“Thank you, Prince Emilio. You must return safely, okay?”

“Yeah. Once I’m back let’s go back to the shop again.”

“Yes. Definitely…”

“Come on! We should be leaving no, Prince Emilio!”

Leonardo forcefully wedged himself between the two and, tearing Emilio from her, dragged him away.

“Are those two really on good terms?” 

“I wonder. What about you and Prince Ivan, Lord Zlatanov?”

Dino had come over after watching the usual banter between Leonardo and Emilio. 

“Hmm, well, it’s not that different with us. We used to be playmates after all.”

“…um”

“Yeah?”

“The other day, at Prodotti da Forno, it looked like you were going to ask me something. It’s fine if you don’t remember what it was. I was just wondering what it may be.”

“Ah, before the explosion?”

“Yes.”

Dino scratched his cheek with a smile wondering if he should say it. It wasn’t anything important.

“I just wanted to say you resemble him a lot.”

“Eh?”

“Leo, I mean. Your ears, or the shape of your eyebrows, or your manner, it’s all similar. I guess you guys are siblings after all.”

“I resemble my brother?”

“Yeah, you do.”

Dino smiled gently at the wide-eyed Miriam.

Looking at that, both Emilio and Leonardo came rushing back with great spirit and grabbed both of his arms in theirs.

“Hey, Dino. Is there something you need with my Miriam?”

“This is my little sister. Do you want to be on the front lines this much? I see, I see…”

“Wai_! You guys, what are you doing! Hey! Let me go!”

The two dragged Dino away with them like that. Miriam watched them leave before a maid came to guide her to her room.

　◇

“Ok, so the headquarters are in the outskirts of the capital. Since we haven’t been there before, it’s impossible to teleport directly to the manor with magic. That’s why we will use teleportation magic to go to this place here, which is close to the manor, and then go onwards on horseback.”

Beatrice stated while pointing out the place on the map. 

“How many people are in the manor?”

“Judging by the memory of the people we captured the other day, there must be about 20 to 30 people. On top of that, there should be 4 or 5 people who have magical powers. The silver hair guy is also included in that.”

Emilio thought back to the attack at the mention of the silver hair guy. Why hadn’t he attacked them along with the others?

Even though he was very close to the scene, close enough to be spotted by Dino from the window. 

Eleonora came and stopped him while he was busy pondering about that.

“Emil, can I talk to you for a bit?”

“Yes, what is it, Lady Eleonora?”

She beckoned him to her, and they were joined by Beatrice and Valeria as well.

“It’s about Gil. It is said that he holds about the same amount of power as us.”

“Yeah, we think that might be true. He was even able to land a blow on Ellie.”

“Ah, what do you mean?”

Emilio couldn’t hide his bewilderment despite Beatrice and Valeria’s nods of confirmation.

“Maybe it was an overstatement to say that his power is equal to ours. While it is true the amount of magical energy he has is greater than the average person, He has inherited a considerable amount of the Holy Dragon’s blood. He must have inherited it from his ancestor, but, at any rate, his appearance speaks for itself. He can probably use the same powers as us to make the barrier or use restraining magic.”

“Yeah, that’s why Ellie couldn’t capture him.”

Emilio furrowed his eyebrows and looked dubious. 

“The restraining magic I used during the attack uses the power of the Holy Dragon, only us witches can use it. It’s the strongest binding technique that can restrain anyone. But there is an exception. It doesn’t work on us, that is people who possess the blood of the Holy Dragon. That’s why it didn’t work on Gil; because he has a strong inheritance of the Holy Dragon’s blood.”

“Also, I noticed this when I confronted him during the attack, but he doesn’t seem to be that interested in the True Salvation Religion’s activities. During the attack, he was looking at the group with eyes of contempt.”

“I see. I will consult His Majesty about this.”

Eleonora nodded. Just then, Emilio’s guards called to inform the horses had been prepared. 

Once everyone was settled on their horses, the witches all took out their silver wands and conjured up a large magic circle spreading over everyone’s heads. They were all transported to the destined place in one go.

They rode for half an hour after that and arrived at the manor. As they had planned, they all entered forcefully in one go.

However, the inside of the house was already empty.