Right after that, her attitude did a complete 180. “You should’ve said so sooner! I went to all that trouble making up a story, and nearly fried my brain.”

“Still, even though I’ve used up everything I had on hand, there’s some more stockpiled in the warehouse.”

“As long as you hold fast to a belief in your heart, ushering in a new era for the world isn’t impossible. Especially for a beautiful and powerful teacher like you, Hera—one day, your name will resound across the world! So this tiny little problem of your humble Sherry’s…”

“Unfortunately, almost everything in the warehouse is expired, so it’s no use anymore.”

“…” Sherry wanted to roll her eyes at Hera, but after thinking it over, she held back. “Could you finish what you’re saying in one go? Is the reason I’m your only student because all the others died of exasperation?”

At that, Hera didn’t get angry at all. Instead, she took out a ring containing materials and dangled it carelessly in front of Sherry.

“I was wrong, Teacher. You only took me on because you care about me. Sherry was being foolish for a moment. I shouldn’t have said that about you…”

Watching her change her tune again and again, Hera finally couldn’t hold back her laughter.

“All right, all right. I won’t tease you anymore. Here, take it. This is the last of my supplies.” As she spoke, the ring pinged as it flicked off her fingertips and into Sherry’s palm.

“Hehe, I knew you were the best, Teacher.” Sherry happily accepted the materials, smiling as she said it—but that wasn’t what she was thinking at all.

The last of her supplies? Liar. If Sherry hadn’t once stumbled across Hera’s little vault, rich enough to rival a nation’s treasury, she might actually have believed her.

Still, no matter how much Sherry grumbled inwardly, Hera was the friend she treasured most.

In truth, they weren’t teacher and student. They were best friends who could tell each other anything.

She’d been with Hera for more than a decade, ever since awakening her Witch powers. This very homebody of a Witch, with her endless stores of knowledge, was the only person Sherry could confide in.

The price of pretending to be a kind Saintess was that Liya would always be alone.

Her false persona made it impossible for Sherry to give Liya’s friends her genuine affection. They liked the flawless Saintess, not the Witch hidden behind her.

So she didn’t have many true friends. Hera was practically the only one.

Of course, even Hera didn’t know she was a Saintess of the Church. It was her deepest-buried secret, and she would never tell anyone.

Maybe it was just her imagination, but after taking the ring, Sherry couldn’t shake the feeling that Hera was looking at her strangely.

She covered her chest with both hands, pressing the faintly visible cleavage beneath her palms.

Hera wasn’t as well-endowed as she was, so she was probably jealous. Sherry had better be on her guard.

But unlike Sherry had imagined, as time passed, Hera’s expression grew more and more grave, as though there were something extremely dangerous about Sherry.

“You…”

Knock, knock, knock—

Just as Hera was about to speak, a sudden knock came from the door.

Sherry jumped and instinctively slipped between the rows of bookshelves.

As the head librarian of Saint Perrod’s Great Library, Hera often had visitors. Whenever that happened, Sherry would hide among the bookshelves behind Hera and pretend she was another visitor who’d come to see her.

“Excuse me, Head Librarian Hera. Morse sent me to find you.”

The voice came muffled through the door. Sherry found it strangely familiar, as if she’d heard it somewhere before.

“Come in.”

Click—

The doorknob turned, followed by the tapping of shoes against the floor.

“And you are?”

“Carlisle, one of the Knights of the Round Table.”

Carlisle? What was he doing here?!

Sherry’s heart lurched. She hurriedly clapped a hand over her open mouth, bent down, and crept around behind the bookshelves like a cat, making sure Carlisle wouldn’t see her even if he looked over.

“What is it?”

“Well, Pope Morse told me you’re a Witch, so I came to ask if you knew where Sherry was.”

How did he know Hera knew her?

Crouched behind the bookshelf, Sherry couldn’t believe it.

She’d never told a third person that she knew Hera. Even the Pope didn’t know. So where had Carlisle gotten that information?

Or was he just trying to bluff Hera into giving something away?

…Sneaky and underhanded! Cunning and shameless!

“Sherry? Who’s that? I don’t know her.”

“No, I think you’ve misunderstood me. I lost a ring a while ago and thought I’d never get it back. But thanks to Sherry, I managed to recover quite a few things. I just want to find her today and thank her properly.”

“Sorry, but I told you, I don’t know any Witch named Sherry.”

Hera hadn’t fallen for it! Just as you’d expect from her teacher! Sherry loved her to death!

Hidden in the corner, Sherry silently cheered Hera on. Her fate was in Hera’s hands now, and if she were discovered in such a cramped space, there’d be almost no chance of escape.

Hera helping her might give her a slim chance of survival, but Sherry didn’t want her to do that.

Unlike Sherry, Hera, the head librarian of the Great Library, wasn’t free to do as she pleased. If she earned the Knights of the Round Table’s resentment, there’d be nothing she could do about it. That petty little bastard Carlisle would definitely make trouble for Hera behind her back.

“…But, Head Librarian Hera, I never said you knew Sherry. I only heard from Morse that you’re a Witch, so I thought I’d ask you to use your abilities to divine Sherry’s location.”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I misunderstood you…”

“It’s all right, it’s all right. What you just did would only make me think you knew Sherry. After all, I never said she was a Witch, but you acted as if you already knew.”

“…Hehe. Witches can divine things, can’t they?”

“I suppose they can. Then, Head Librarian, could you divine Sherry’s location for me? I’d like to thank her in person.”

Thump, thump, thump—

Sherry felt as if her heart were about to leap out of her chest. Her legs gradually went numb from crouching, and she had to brace her right hand against the bookshelf just to hold her position.

Carlisle was awful—just awful! He might not say it out loud, but he’d clearly figured out that Hera knew Sherry. Now all he had to do was slowly wheedle Sherry’s location out of Hera!

If Hera tried to divine her location now, Sherry was done for!

“Sorry, but divination comes at a heavy cost. If all you want is to find someone, I’m afraid I can’t agree to your request.”

“…Is that so?”

When Sherry heard Hera refuse to divine her location, she was so moved she almost cried.

She’d treat Hera well from now on! She swore it!

Maybe it was the nerves, or maybe she’d been crouching too long. Her calf suddenly gave way, and she landed on her butt with a faint thud.

In an instant, even though she couldn’t see Carlisle or Hera, she clearly felt both of them turn their gazes toward the sound.

A light sheen of sweat appeared on her forehead. She didn’t even dare breathe, and could only pray that the books and shelves completely hid her.

“What was that over there?”

“Maybe… a book. Sometimes I put books away in a hurry, and one might’ve fallen. I’ll go tidy up later.”