Chapter 19
Alice hadn’t spoken a single word since she began drawing the magic circle.
Drawing such a large magic circle on the dirt floor, rather than on paper or the wooden floor of her laboratory, couldn’t have been easy, yet she showed no sign of discomfort.
“I’ve always heard her call herself a genius mage… but…”
Aiden knew Alice was an outstanding mage, but he had never truly felt the extent of her talent. He had rarely seen her perform high-level magic in person.
But seeing her levitate so many people at once while staying completely focused on the magic circle, it was clear she was no ordinary person.
“Impressive.”
Aiden let his genuine admiration slip out. People always looked their best when they were completely absorbed in their field.
‘Not that I ever thought badly of Alice…’
But Aiden liked that, despite her proud and haughty appearance, Alice was attentive to those around her and carried herself with the responsibility of a true leader.
Of course, from Alice’s perspective, having summoned a demon, he probably seemed like the worst companion.
‘Maybe it’s a little different now?’
At first, she had been wary of him, but lately, she seemed to have opened up a bit. She had said she trusted him—not personally, perhaps, but she chose to trust the contract between them, which was still something positive.
Since they would continue to spend every day together for some time, it would be better if they were at ease with each other.
Aiden quietly watched her until she finished drawing the magic circle.
“Come here.”
Alice spoke to Aiden. Holding Cherry in his arms, he stood and approached her.
“Finished drawing it?”
Aiden looked down at the magic circle at his feet. The grooves were so deep that simply stepping on it wouldn’t erase it.
Alice waved her hand in the air, and the people who had been levitating gently lowered onto the magic circle.
Pointing to the center with her staff, she said,
“You only need to draw here.”
“Oh, here…”
Aiden recognized the magic circle as well; it was the part he had corrected when Alice first summoned him.
“Then I’ll draw it.”
Alice took a deep breath and drew the line slowly. Unlike before, it was straight and precise.
She infused her staff with magic, sending the energy through the circle.
“Meow!”
Cherry, glowing yellow with excitement, moved its legs as if celebrating. The light emitted from the magic circle quickly enveloped everyone.
Alice briefly closed her eyes against the white light. When the brightness faded, she opened them to find the surrounding forest replaced by the interior of the inn.
“…Miss?”
Emma’s eyes widened at the sudden appearance of Alice. She wondered how Alice had entered the inn without opening a door.
“Ugh…”
Amid the fading light, several figures began to emerge. One person sat up, rubbing their head. When Emma saw the face, she gasped, her eyes wide with surprise.
“Matthew!”
“Emma?”
Tears streamed from Emma’s eyes, and she ran into her husband’s arms.
“Why are you crying?”
Matthew, bewildered, brushed her back, not yet fully aware of what had happened.
“My… I… I…”
Emma’s words tumbled out incompletely, interspersed with sobs that filled the inn.
Meanwhile, the other people who had collapsed began to regain consciousness, looking around in confusion, unsure why they were at the inn.
Alice let out a sigh of relief upon seeing them awake.
“I was worried I might have miscalculated the coordinates, but thankfully everything worked out.”
“Coordinates?”
“Yes. When using teleportation magic, you need to set the destination coordinates. The inn was the easiest to calculate, so I set it as the destination. Looks like it worked well.”
“Seems so.”
“Meow!”
Aiden and Cherry responded affirmatively to Alice’s words. She watched warmly as Emma reunited with Matthew.
The inn quickly filled with villagers who had come searching for the missing people. They hugged their loved ones, sharing moments of relief and joy.
Once Alice confirmed that all the missing villagers had been reunited with their families, she gathered them in the inn’s dining area.
Even though Cherry had removed the magical energy, there could still be lingering effects, so Alice carefully checked everyone’s health.
She sat on a chair, examining each person. She checked if anyone was unwell or uncomfortable, whether their complexion had changed, or if there were any differences from before they went missing.
Aiden helped her, using his demonic perception to check if any magical energy remained in their bodies.
Only after he confirmed that everyone was fine did Alice feel truly relieved.
“For now, everyone seems fine. But there could still be hidden issues, so make sure to get checked by a priest later.”
Everyone nodded in understanding. Exposure to magic had been prolonged, so Alice was worried, but thankfully, all seemed well.
‘Now we just need to catch the culprit.’
Alice lifted her head and asked Matthew,
“How did you end up in the forest?”
“Ah, the forest…”
Matthew scratched his head before answering.
“As my wife probably told you, I was heading to town to buy some missing ingredients. But a guest at our inn suddenly grabbed me and asked if we could go together since our paths were the same. I had no reason to refuse, so I went along.”
“I see. And then?”
“We headed straight to town. Normally, to get from our village to town, you go straight, but to enter the forest, you need to take a side road. The carriage went straight, not turning onto a side road, so I don’t understand why we ended up in the forest…”
“So, you have no memory of what happened after passing the fork?”
“Yes, I don’t remember anything… Ah! That’s right.”
Matthew clapped his hands as he recalled a memory.
“There was an accident along the way.”
“An accident?”
“Yes. Something suddenly crashed into us, though I’m not sure what it was. After the carriage accident, I regained consciousness here.”
“So you have no memory of being missing at all.”
“Yes, losing all memories of the past few days was shocking…”
During the carriage crash, it was possible that an accomplice caused it. At that moment, a small voice cut in.
“I saw it!”
A young child interrupted Alice and Matthew’s conversation. Her mother looked flustered, but the child, unfazed, greeted Alice.
“Hello! I’m Amy.”
“Yes, Amy. Hello.”
Alice made eye contact with Amy, smiling gently to avoid frightening her. Amy had been the last missing child in the village.
“What do you mean you saw it?” Alice asked kindly.
“There was a man watching us every day. He always looked at me like this, like a ghost.”
Amy demonstrated by peeking around a wall, just as she had seen back then.
“The man always hid behind a tree like this. I was scared, so I ignored him, but yesterday, while playing with a ball outside the village, I went to pick it up… and suddenly, it was today.”
Everyone lost memory outside the village because the missing people had been affected by magic.
Alice patted Amy’s head.
“That must have been scary.”
“It was, but I’m okay now. You saved me, didn’t you?”
“Amy.”
Her mother gently scolded Amy in a friendly way. Alice smiled and went back to her thoughts.
Tapping her chin with her finger, Alice made up her mind and stood up.
“We need to return to Saint Forest and continue the investigation.”
