"What the... "
"It's a kid."
Merka knocked on the door and before a second had passed, an old man wearing a beret, with a robust physique and bare upper body, opened the door.
Two white mustaches hung on his mouth, extending all the way to his cheeks. His eyes were determined and his expression solemn. Despite his short stature, the old man gave off an extremely tough impression.
Merka could faintly see that he actually had no ears, but his dense beard covered this detail.
"I wonder who it is, causing magical fluctuations by my doorstep."
Merka's brows furrowed, and a trace of surprise appeared on his face.
To possess magic and to be able to sense the magic fluctuations of others, Merka knew exactly what this meant.
"You…"
Are you a Curseborn?
His throat twitched, and Merka almost blurted out the impolite second half of the sentence.
"Hmm?"
The old man's gaze was intense. He pushed the door half-open, furrowed his brows, and slyly glanced up and down at Merka.
"You can leave, I don't like you."
He slammed the door hard, but Merka quickly reached out and placed his hand in the gap of the door.
His hand was fiercely caught, and instantly turned blue, as if it would soon become swollen.
But biting down on his teeth tightly, Merka suppressed the desire to scream loudly under his pale blue complexion. He spoke softly and politely to the old man once again.
"You must be the fireworks master of Fire Shooting Star."
"Let's have a thorough conversation, shall we?"
"...Just a moment."
Opening the door again, but only slightly, the old man glanced at Merka's palm, which he almost crushed himself, and snorted coldly.
"What does Agio's people want from me?"
The old man pointed at the Agio emblem on Merka's luxurious clothes, pondering.
"No... It's not about the family, it's about my personal matters."
Merka withdrew his hand and quickly explained.
"Personal matters?"
The old man raised an eyebrow and asked Merka.
"What kind of personal matters?"
———————————————————————————
"Hoo... Hoo..."
A golden flame giant sword was heavily thrust into the body of Dunkirk, like a skyscraper, distorting the entire shoreline of the lake.
At this moment, Dunkirk had completely passed out, making no sound.
Turing lay beside Dunkirk, panting heavily.
With the passage of time, Turing's physical strength gradually recovered, and his breath became steady.
"Although I can feel that my magic power is even stronger than before."
"But I'm still not used to using magic like this. I'm afraid I need some time to adapt."
Turing withdrew the flame giant sword and gently patted the wings of Dunkirk, which had been transformed by himself.
"By the way."
"Half-angels are really powerful..."
"Does Maria have many more people like this?"
"Why do we still follow Maria, even though things have turned out like this?" A warm breath brushed against Turing's ear, followed by a familiar voice. "What do you think?"
Maria's tall figure suddenly appeared behind him, casting a huge shadow that startled the small Turing, who was less than 1.6 meters tall. At that moment, Turing suddenly understood why he was not accustomed to using magic anymore.
Simple spells, such as detecting if someone is nearby, used to be able to last even when he was sleeping, just by reciting the incantation. Turing used to keep the detection spell active for 24 hours a day to avoid sudden attacks. But now, he had to maintain all the magic himself. There was no longer an angel silently supporting him whenever he recited the spell. "It really makes one nostalgic," Turing said.
"Over twenty years ago, there seemed to be a girl in the laboratory who bravely said similar things to me," Maria added.
"This girl... was also very lovely, very upright, and very pure."
"Unfortunately, she has already entered the embrace of God."
Maria suddenly spoke, as if an ordinary elderly person reminiscing about the past. Turing looked at Maria with uncertainty, not knowing what she meant by those words. [If entering the embrace of God refers to being a flower girl...] [Then, over twenty years ago, there was only one person who met the criteria.] [That is the spinning top that established the Koshiba family, the sister of the War God.] "Lady Lailuegong... is that right?" Turing uncertainly asked. "Oh my, I didn't expect you to know," Maria responded.
"It seems your mother still left some basic knowledge in your brain."
Maria's tone was filled with surprise and a hint of satisfaction as she smiled and sat down next to Turing. "Yes, it was Lady Lailuegong."
"She was so splendid at that time... among tens of millions of women in Acadia, she possessed magical talents and artistic skills that surpassed everyone."
Seeing Turing's perplexed expression, Maria smiled gently, as though her laughter erased the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. "Do you mind listening to an old lady talk about the past?"
