[Lifespan Remaining: 25 days, 18 hours, 23 minutes.]
From beside the fountain, Amelia’s eyes widened as she froze in place. Color drained from her face, even if her expression hadn’t really changed.
She had been counting on having more time. Now that she finally had a lead on Faust, Amelia finally had hope that Noct would be able to uncover more evidence.
Now, they only had three days, and she was practically empty-handed. For Amelia, the Duke’s decree might as well have been an execution date.
Faust’s reaction was stranger.
His smile showed his inevitable victory, and anyone else would’ve assumed he was completely satisfied. But Noct knew better.
The bastard intended to dismantle Amelia’s faction completely. Given another few weeks, it would’ve all gone according to his plan. And more importantly, Faust wasn’t an idiot.
The very fact that Aurora de Rosenthal had shown up in Altaire and was on Amelia’s side only signaled one thing:
Noct was going to meddle. He was the third party.
Faust didn’t really need to know if Noct himself was physically here, but judging from the way he was pulling back quickly, there was only one conclusion.
’He’s nervous about me.’
Still, with the schedule being pushed up more than Noct would’ve liked, he would have to push his own schedule up as well. He departed from the crowd quickly, catching even Noelle off guard as she followed right behind him.
"Young Master, where are you going?"
"To pay the Witch of Black Ice a visit."
***
[Lifespan Remaining: 25 days, 15 hours, 58 minutes.]
The Witch’s Spire, fittingly nicknamed by Noct, was located outside the city.
Noct and Noelle traveled upstream for what seemed like a few hours, through forested hills and rocky cliffs to get to where the waterfall lay and the Witch’s Spire rested.
They made their way on foot, as having a carriage go out during these chaotic times would be too suspicious. And surprisingly, Noct didn’t need as many breaks as he thought.
It was another training exercise for him, allowing Noct’s physical stats to finally reach the level of an ordinary citizen.
[STR: 7 → 10]
[SPD: 8 → 11]
[STAM: 10 → 12]
But throughout the way, he had noticed that his magical stats had gone up quite a bit as well.
[MAG: 17 → 22]
[SPRT: 15 → 20]
’Huh, was it Chain Lightning?’
Forcing a spell that was one star higher than his own class advancement strained his mana circulation. But like the process of building muscles, training and pain was the quickest way to force it to expand.
Beyond the final line of trees, a narrow tower made out of dark stone rose from the opposite bank. Ice covered a portion of the walls, completely frozen despite the afternoon sun.
The waterfall beside it had divided unnaturally around the tower, its rushing water curving away from the structure before rejoining the river below.
Noct stopped at the edge of the clearing, with Noelle emerging from beside him just a second later. They both stared at the menacing structure before the young maid frowned.
"Young Master, are you sure this is a good idea? You know how bad her reputation is in the city..."
Well, Noct definitely knew her reputation. He didn’t even need to clearly remember the game’s details to know what the citizens had called her.
A "hermit of calamity" or a "slumbering beast". All types of names were given to this one person alone, but every rumor could be boiled down to one clear message:
Bother her and you die, simple as that.
"Well, no risk, no reward...right?"
Though in the back of his head, Noct knew that he was biting off a lot more than he could chew. Even if Noelle was a strong fighter in her own right, just a snap of Lenia’s fingers and they would both cease to exist.
"...Let’s just knock then."
Before they continued, Noct made Noelle drop all of her concealed weapons onto the ground. She wasn’t quite happy with the decision but decided to follow through regardless.
They both approached cautiously with their hands in the air, somehow managing to reach the wooden front door. Noct slowly reached toward the door, and—
Knock...knock...
"..."
Noct glanced toward his maid, but she simply shrugged. "Perhaps she isn’t home?"
But she was quickly proven wrong, as a heavy crash suddenly echoed from inside the tower. It was then followed by hurried footsteps and several objects being knocked onto the floor.
"FAUST DE ARCADIA!"
The furious voice made Noct’s hand freeze above the door’s handle.
"For the last time, I’m not going to your stupid banquet! I don’t care how many officials you send or how expensive their gifts are. No means no!"
"If you’ve come here personally again, then you can turn around—"
The door opened.
"...And get lost!"
A woman stood in the doorway, glaring at them through barely opened eyes. Her messy dark blue hair was barely combed and she was still in an all-black set of pyjamas.
Several buttons had been fastened hastily, suggesting that she had literally just gotten out of bed despite the sun already sinking below the horizon a few minutes ago.
And well...she did not look as much of a "witch" as Noct initially thought. After all, her baby face and short stature made her look more like a middle-school brat who has 8th-grade syndrome.
"You’re...not Faust?"
"No."
"Amelia’s people then?"
"Not exactly."
Lenia groaned loudly and began to close the door. "Ughh...then I don’t care. Tell whichever Arcadia sent you that my answer is still no."
Noct barely reacted fast enough, lunging forward to catch the edge of the door before it could slam shut in his face. The wood was so cold that pain shot up through his fingers, giving him frostbite.
"Khh—! I’m...Noct...de Arcadia. Please...let me have a talk...with you."
Upon hearing the name, the witch finally stopped dead in her tracks. She let go, making her way to a nearby table to grab a calendar.
Having been holding the door with all his strength, noct stumbled across the threshold and nearly landed face-first to the floor if Noelle hadn’t caught him by the shoulder.
The witch’s eyes darted around the dates, then she suddenly screamed loudly as her finger landed on a date marked in red a few days earlier.
"Ahh! You’re alive?!"
The reaction was quite rude, but still, Noct hadn’t expected Lenia to know something like that when she was always locked inside her spire.
"Yes," he said between breaths. "I’ve come here to seek your help."
The young master and his maid entered, closing the door behind them. A loose strand of hair brushed against his cheek. Noct pushed it aside, although the door behind them had already closed.
After her initial shock, the witch quickly regained her composure. "Still an Arcadia, have you come for a piece of the pie as well? If so, this is the first and last time I’ll say it to you specifically."
"I’m not interested in your quarrel. Figure it out by yourselves."
"That’s strange, isn’t it?"
"What is?"
"If you truly had no interest in the mines, this dispute would’ve ended a long time ago."
The witch stared at him for several seconds before releasing an unimpressed sigh. "And how did you arrive at that brilliant conclusion?"
"Both Faust and Amelia have repeatedly come here seeking your support. That means they both believe your endorsement would be enough to decide the conflict."
"So?"
"So you could have chosen either one."
Noct stepped farther into the tower, nursing the fingers that had nearly frozen against the door. "A Magus like you could live practically anywhere in Rexford. Yet you chose Altaire, built your tower beside the river, and remained here for years."
"The scenery is nice," Lenia replied bluntly. "That’s all."
"If you truly wanted nothing to do with the mines, you could have left Altaire years ago," Noct deduced. "Instead, you stayed while refusing to let either faction gain your support."
"Interesting theory," Lenia scoffed.
"But I’m wrong?"
"I didn’t say that."
"The stalemate benefits you. Don’t you have a stake there as well?"
It was a theory that Noct had as an enthusiast of Ending Fantasy. Lenia’s motives as well as her decision to seal the crystal mines permanently in the game did not make sense to him. And right after she did, she decided to leave Altaire and become a teacher at Rexford Academy.
There’s no way that was a coincidence.
But even then, it was a stretch, and he knew it. But if he could get her to correct even one part of his accusation...
She remained silent for a while before waving her hand dismissively toward the entrance. "I’ve heard enough. Take your little theory and—"
Before she could finish her sentence, something caught her eye. Noct thought she was staring at him, but after a moment, he realized she was staring past his shoulder.
’Is something wrong?’
Lenia then froze completely, eyes snapping toward Noct’s own as she slowly approached him. Then, she lowered her hand and pointed at him accusingly.
"What—"
Crossing the room in a single step, faster than the eye could see, the witch grabbed him by the shoulder with both hands and stared straight into his eyes.
"...How did you manage to gain the attention of a fairy?!"