Silent Witch

"Miss Monica Everett the Silent Witch… I want you to escort His Highness, the Second Prince Felix Ark Ridill."

Monica was perplexed at Louis' words.

"…Um, is just the same thing with what I've been doing now?"

Up until now, Monica had been carrying a mission to escort the second prince while hiding her true identity.

So it was a bit anti-climatic when Monica, who had been bracing herself for a very bad situation heard that answer, but the grave expression on Louis' face was still there and he shook his head.

"I'm not talking about a secret mission, but an official escort mission."

"…huh?"

"Soon, an emissary from the Kingdom Farforia will be visiting our kingdom. A discussion regarding a diplomatic trade will be held, and it has been decided that the Second Prince will be attending."

It was not unusual for Felix to be present at diplomatic trade with neighboring countries. Having been on the diplomatic scene since he was in his early teens, he has a track record of negotiating several important deals.

"The place of the meeting will be situated at the Duchy of Rehnberg, the southeastern part of the kingdom, an area which has been categorized as dragon damage's area."

Monica's face tightened as she started to comprehend the situation, and then she asked Louis.

"C-Could it be… my mission is to escort him there?"

"That's right. And since this is an official escort mission, you are required to be present with the Second Prince and act as Silent Witch."

To Monica's dismay, Louis delivered an even more shocking revelation.

"It was not the worst yet…"

"Is there any worse situation than this…!?"

"Of course, it is. My stupid disciple is going to accompany you on that escort mission."

Louis' disciple—in other words, the always energetic and loud person, Glenn Dudley, will accompany her.

"H-h-h-h-how things… had become like this…"

"This mission was originally intended to be given both of us, you and I. However, the old codgers in the capital who were frightened by the prophecy of dragon damage insisted that the Barrier Magician stays in the capital."

In terms of barrier magic, there is no one in this country who can match Louis.

If it is only the speed of putting up the barriers, Monica can do it faster than him as she has no chanting ability, but in terms of the strength, accuracy, and duration of the barriers, Louis is by far the best. For this reason, some people even call Louis the ‘Guardian Deity of the Kingdom'.

"‘Come to think of it, I heard Master Barrier Magician have an excellent apprentice. In that case, how about sending his apprentice on the escort mission. That should settle the matter, hahaha.' …this is what the rotten minister had suggested. This opinion was approved easily and that's how it became like this. Yeah."

Apparently, Glenn's great performance on the play in the school festival had caught the attention of the minister and the head of the Knight Order. As such, they thought a talented disciple like him should be able to serve as His Highness' bodyguard.

Of course, Louis was against it…but now the country was short of manpower to deal with the dragon damage, Louis tried to put an argument forward, instead of sending that idiot disciple, it would have been better to send the Silent Witch alone, but it was rejected.

The words that out from Louis' mouth were filled with anger, and his good-looking face was contorted viciously. The thing is, what frightened Monica was not his vicious face.

I have to officially escort His Highness as Silent Witch? Along with Glenn? While hiding my true identity!?

No matter how one looked at it, it was reckless. Regardless of how tightly she covered her face with her hood, if she opened her mouth, she would be exposed at once.

"Bu-bu-bu-but… I-I would be exposed instantly if I spoke…"

"So I am thinking of adding an attendant to accompany you, so he/she can speak for you. Is there anyone you know who knows your true identity and is tight-lipped?"

Unfortunately, Monica Everett the Silent Witch doesn't have any such acquaintances.

The only person who knew Monica and knew her true identity was Barney Jones, but he was too busy preparing for his inheriting the Count's family, so she probably couldn't make him serve as her attendant.

That would mean… I would have to ask Nero to turn into a human and act as my attendant…

But would that Nero be willing to act as an attendant? Moreover, he would be required to speak on Monica's behalf. She felt nothing but anxiety.

As Monica held her churning stomach, Louis also rubbed his temple looking like he had a headache.

"…Anyway, this matter has been decided. Quickly find a person who will become your attendant."

"Y-Yes…"

"As for my idiot disciple, I'll be sure to give him a very strict reminder not to talk to or bother you any more than necessary."

"P-Please do…"

Although Glenn tends to be friendly towards everyone, he gets too close due to his personality.

Why are you covering your eyes with a hood, Lady Silent Witch? Why are you not speaking?—she could imagine him approaching her in curiosity with these questions.

"In any case, you'll need your formal robe and a staff. Just to make sure, both your items were at your mountain lodge, right?"

Monica nodded at his inquiry.

The kingdom had granted the Seven Sages special-made robes and staffs for each person. However, since she had to hide her true identity while infiltrating the Serendia Academy, she left that equipment at her mountain lodge.

"We're running out of time, so I will take a quick flight with my flight magic to retrieve it. Is your robe in the wardrobe?"

"Y-Yes…"

Monica had very few clothes which made her wardrobe look so hollow. Since she had shoved her formal robe there, it wouldn't be too difficult for him to find it.

"What about your staff? You won't tell me it is buried in some papers or something, right?"

"N-No, I don't use the staff very often, so…"

The staff may be a symbol for a magician, but in fact, even without it, it doesn't affect the use of magic very much. Though it can be a sort of magic tool to temporarily stabilize or amplify mana, if the said magician was at the level of the Seven Sages, its usefulness will be a little to almost non-existent.

And since the staffs of magicians generally tend to be made longer as their rank increases, the staff of the Seven Sages, the highest rank of magicians, was needlessly made very long.

In fact, it was longer than Monica herself and the decoration itself took up a lot of space, so keeping it in the cabin would be a hindrance to her work. So…

"…I put my staff… at the garden…"

"Garden?"

"As clothesline…"

In response, Louis Miller was lost for words while putting the most contorted face he had ever shown.