IITYVA 14

Chapter 14

I immediately summoned Undine, the intermediate water spirit.

The beautiful, serpent-shaped Undine caused rain to pour over the area where the fire had broken out, just as I willed.

Shwaaa—

As intense rainfall poured down over a concentrated spot, a mist rose from the raindrops, quickly filling the air.

A fresh scent of water began to spread.

“It’s raining…! B-But only over there!”

“The fire’s going out! The rain’s putting it out!”

“Look at the sky! There’s a giant bird above us!”

Once the fire had been completely extinguished, I sent Undine back to the spirit realm.

After catching my breath, I noticed a large group of people gathered near the village, close to where it bordered the forest.

A bit away from the villagers, a woman was tied up with rope and surrounded by knights.

‘So she’s the arsonist!’

My eyes narrowed. I quickly asked Hisha to take me down to the village.

With a strong gust of wind, Hisha landed on the ground.

Pushing past the crowd of startled villagers, I made my way straight toward the arsonist.

She looked to be a woman in her early 30s, pale-faced and trembling violently.

She looked more shocked by her own actions than anyone else.

“H-Hngh… I-I don’t know… I don’t know anything… I swear I don’t know…”

She kept repeating the same thing over and over, trembling nonstop.

It was as if she had suffered some kind of trauma.

As I narrowed my eyes and observed her, a voice called out to me.

“Are you Spirit Master Ainra?”

I turned toward the voice.

A man who looked to be the commanding officer among the knights stepped toward me with three other knights in tow.

I nodded.

“Yes, I came under the Emperor’s orders.”

“I am Kris de Jered, commander of the knights under Count Sachsen. On behalf of the Count, I wish to thank you, Spirit Master. Had it not been for you, the entire forest would have burned down.”

Sir Jered bowed at a ninety-degree angle.

His extremely polite gesture caught me off guard, and I waved my hands frantically.

“O-Oh no, not at all! I only did what was right as a citizen of the Empire. Um, is that person the arsonist?”

I tried to shift the topic as naturally as I could and gestured toward the woman tied with rope.

Glancing briefly at her, Sir Jered nodded.

“Yes. Villagers witnessed her fleeing from the smoky forest.”

“No! I—I didn’t do it…! I don’t know, I said I don’t know!”

The woman screamed and shook her head violently, almost in a seizure-like state.

A villager shouted in rage.

“You don’t know? I saw you with my own eyes running out of that smoky forest!”

Once that person yelled, the rest of the crowd began to shout as well.

“We all saw you coming out of the woods—stop pretending!”

“How dare you set fire to the Verbena Forest! Unforgivable!”

“Selena! Because of you, most of the villagers will have no firewood this winter and will freeze in the cold! How are you going to make up for that?!”

Some villagers even began picking up stones and hurling them at the woman named Selena.

One of the flying stones struck her forehead.

Blood trickled down her darkened brow. I couldn’t just watch anymore.

I quickly formed a thin layer of air around Selena to shield her.

Aas was with me too—I couldn’t let him witness someone being struck by a stone.

“Hngh, no… I didn’t do it… I didn’t want this…”

Even with blood streaming from her forehead, Selena kept repeating the same thing.

Her words continued to bother me.

I gripped Aas’s hand tightly and called out to Sir Jered.

“Um, Sir Jered. There’s something I’m curious about.”

“Yes, Spirit Master. Please, go ahead.”

“When the first report came in, what was the scale of the fire?”

“I heard the fire was already quite advanced by then. The forest was so engulfed in flames that it was impossible to enter. When we arrived, it was truly inaccessible.”

Sir Jered calmly explained, then looked at me curiously.

“But may I ask why you bring that up all of a sudden?”

“It’s just… something felt off.”

“Off, how?”

“Well… when I put out the fire from above, about one-third of the forest had already burned. It’s a pretty big forest, so that’s quite a bit, isn’t it?”

Sir Jered nodded.

I paused to gather my thoughts, then continued.

“You said the fire was already well underway when the report came in. But it wasn’t windy or dry, so for a single person to have caused a fire of that scale… it just feels odd.”

If oil had been used, the smell would’ve lingered. But I hadn’t smelled any oil.

And the fire had been extinguished easily with water.

‘That means the fire was either caused by a special power like a curse, or she spent a very long time setting it bit by bit.’

But no matter how I looked at Selena—panicked and trembling—she didn’t seem like a sorceress.

If she really had such powers, she would’ve fled the scene long ago.

And even if she’d spent hours setting the fire, it didn’t match up with her current panicked, shocked state.

Perhaps thinking the same, Sir Jered nodded.

“Now that you mention it, something does seem suspicious. When the imperial investigators arrive in a few days, I’ll make sure to share your concerns with them.”

The unease I’d felt began to ease.

I smiled and thanked him.

“Thank you, Sir Jered.”

“No, it’s we who should thank you for pointing that out.”

He returned my smile and bowed slightly—his gaze then shifted to Aas.

“Ah, I see you have a young companion. Is he your younger brother?”

At that moment, I felt an intense grip from the hand I was holding.

Aas’s lips twitched as if to say something sharp.

“Yes, he’s my brother! His name is Aas.”

I laughed loudly on purpose and squeezed his hand tighter.

‘Please, Aas, just let this go!’

It was the cleanest explanation I could give!

Maybe he heard my desperate telepathy.

Aas glanced sideways at me, sighed in resignation, and muttered—

“…Yes, I’m her brother.”

But even as he said it, I heard the gritting of his teeth.

While I was panicking inside and practically crying, Sir Jered—unaware of my inner turmoil—smiled kindly and said:

“Your brother is absolutely adorable.”

“H-Haha, thank you.”

“By the way, have you had breakfast? The fire broke out quite early this morning, after all.”

“Oh, right! Breakfast! I need to feed Aas!”

I turned to him in a panic.

Kids in their growing years need to eat on time!

Our eyes met, and Aas smiled sweetly.

“I’m okay eating after everything’s over, Ainra. I’m good at waiting.”

“You don’t have to be good at that, Aas…”

I sighed heavily in frustration and muttered.

Sir Jered, who had been listening to us, offered a suggestion.

“I know a restaurant nearby that’s famous for its food. Would you like to join me?”

“Oh, really?”

I beamed at him.

Since I usually ate at home, I wasn’t familiar with good restaurants outside the capital.

And if I went home now, I’d just have to spend time cooking anyway.

Sir Jered’s kind offer felt very welcome.

Just as I opened my mouth to say yes, Aas bluntly cut in:

“No, that’s not necessary.”

“A-Aas?”

Startled by his firm rejection, my eyes widened.

Aas smiled brightly and said:

“I know a good place to eat. Sir Knight must be busy, so let’s just the two of us go.”

“No, I’m not that bus—”

Sir Jered began to protest but suddenly flinched.

His face had gone a bit pale, so I asked in concern:

“Sir Jered, are you alright? Are you feeling unwell?”

“…No, I’m fine. And Aas, don’t worry—I’m not busy.”

Sir Jered quickly composed himself and smiled.

Aas smiled back and replied:

“No, I’m sure you’re busy.”