The wolf's head fell. The wolf couldn't close its gaping mouth. Its eyes remained wide open, unable to shut. Diolan looked down at the wolf's corpse with a cold gaze.
Even after killing the wolf, Diolan felt no particular emotion. It wasn't that he hadn't considered extracting information from the beast about Mother Goose's whereabouts.
It would have been useless anyway. The wolf was cunning and wicked, but its loyalty to its mother was genuine. No matter what interrogation methods were used, it would never have opened its mouth. Perhaps it had even taken measures in preparation for such a situation.
It was better to end the creature cleanly.
When the wolf died, everything that had been swallowed by the wolf turned to dust and scattered. Things that should have already died had remained due to the wolf's power. Now that the cause was dead, their disappearance was only natural.
"You are."
Rotkäppchen approached. She seemed a bit surprised by Diolan's appearance, hesitating and stepping back. She, who possessed a hunting rifle that could surely kill any beast, became like a frog before a snake the moment she faced Diolan.
Diolan released the power he had unleashed. The black cat characteristics that had been positioned throughout his body disappeared. Only then could Rotkäppchen properly face Diolan.
"Thank you for your consideration. And thank you for helping."
"Yes. I'm grateful for that part too. Though I couldn't do it with my own hands, you avenged my grudge."
Rotkäppchen had wanted to kill the wolf with her own hands. But she didn't feel disappointed or lost for not being able to do so.
The wolf had paid for the sins it committed. That alone was enough.
"Wait. Is it okay to kill it like this?"
Cinderella approached and asked. She was relieved that the fight ended without major casualties, yet couldn't hide a strange uneasiness.
"Well, it's encouraging that there were no casualties facing such a force. But isn't this creature one of Mother Goose's closest familiars? Wouldn't we need to interrogate it about how it came to Tirna and what its intentions were?"
Cinderella's gaze turned toward Diolan. There was slight dissatisfaction since he had killed the decisive wolf that could have provided solid evidence. It was Rotkäppchen who stopped Cinderella.
"That's enough. You saw it too, Cinderella. If we had left it to subdue the wolf there, who knows what tricks the creature might have pulled. The power possessed by Mother Goose's familiars is far more than we know. And even if we captured the wolf alive after suffering major damage, it wouldn't have opened its mouth. We still haven't gotten much information from Foolish Hans who's been detained by the city government, have we? It's better to kill it cleanly."
At Rotkäppchen's logical words, Cinderella pouted her lips. In fact, she had been thinking similarly. Still, she had wanted to help avenge her fellow witch, but the target was taken by someone unrelated. It would be natural to be angry, yet she was defending that side instead.
Cinderella crossed her arms and turned her head with a "hmph." Rotkäppchen smiled awkwardly at Cinderella. How could she not know that Cinderella had stepped forward on her behalf?
Still, weighing the situation, it was right to praise Diolan. She planned to apologize to Cinderella separately later and express her gratitude.
"At least we can take this creature as spoils of war, right?"
Cinderella tapped the wolf's head that had fallen on the ground with her toes, saying this was non-negotiable. Diolan nodded. It was the corpse of a dead creature anyway. There was nothing to worry about.
As permission was granted, Cinderella and Rotkäppchen exchanged glances. Rotkäppchen drew a knife from her waist. It was a sharp dagger for skinning the flesh and hide of beasts.
Rotkäppchen skinned the wolf. Her hand movements were smooth and the process was swift. This wasn't her first or second time doing this.
'Contrary to her delicate appearance, her hands are quite rough.'
That was Diolan's assessment, having watched the process in real-time. The wolf hide was separated in an instant.
"Is it okay to leave the body?"
Cinderella asked. The wolf had been carrying all sorts of things in its stomach. That meant the body containing the stomach was more important than the hide, wasn't it?
"It would be useless. Regurgitating what was swallowed is the wolf's own ability, not a constitution or anything. At the point of death, this is just an ordinary wolf's body."
"I see. That's unfortunate. I was hoping we might find some clue in the creature's stomach."
Cinderella muttered with lingering disappointment. A witch's familiar had infiltrated Tirna City, which boasted ironclad security. A fatal hole had been pierced in their security. This was a serious matter. There was no telling when Mother Goose might attack again.
"That's probably because of this."
Diolan said this and held out a small fragment. It was a broken mirror fragment that could fit in one hand.
"A mirror fragment?"
Cinderella looked at Diolan with eyes asking what this was. On the other hand, Rotkäppchen's face hardened further.
"If I'm not seeing this wrong, this is that thing, right?"
Rotkäppchen asked Diolan for confirmation. She seemed already convinced that Diolan knew what this was.
"That's right. This mirror fragment belongs to a witch. Not Mother Goose, but another witch."
"Haa. So it's true that another witch joined hands."
As Rotkäppchen sighed, Cinderella, who couldn't follow the conversation, asked.
"What is it?"
"This mirror. It belongs to the Queen of the Seven Dwarves."
"Wait. Seven dwarves, you don't mean Snow White's?"
Rotkäppchen shook her head.
"No. Snow White is a princess, not a queen. There's only one witch called the Queen."
By that point, Cinderella had heard of it too, so her expression became serious.
"...Evil Queen."
"That's right. Evil Queen Grimhilde. The worst witch who poisoned Snow White, her fellow comrade and witch, and forcibly stole the Seven Dwarves she possessed. This mirror fragment is the Magic Mirror, the witchcraft she possesses."
~The parliament building located in the very center of Tirna~
Inside the spacious hall, most seats were filled except for a few empty ones.
Those seated were the district governors, councilors, and representatives of each faction. They were all people with significant positions and reputations.
Even such people sat quietly in their seats. Even people who took it for granted to be treated and praised by others were not the main characters here.
The true main characters were elsewhere.
"They're coming."
Someone's small murmur. However, it was enough to echo through the parliament hall filled with silence. Rather, the person who spoke was surprised that their voice was this loud.
-Clunk.
The door opened.
There are a total of five entrances to the parliament hall. Those five doors opened almost simultaneously, without anyone going first.
And following the opened doors, each person appeared, revealing their own presence.
"Mm."
One of the councilors let out a groan. This atmosphere that tightened the hall's mood even more upon their entrance had the magic to make even politicians who had been through thick and thin nervous.
But there was no need to be ashamed or angry about this. The people who had just appeared had sufficient qualifications for this.
No. Perhaps it felt even more so because some among them weren't even human.
"Oh my. The atmosphere is heavy. I don't understand why you folks who usually love to chatter are so gloomy today in particular."
The one who opened with a smooth yet impudent voice was the mayor, Deliphiros. He walked toward the center of the hall in a splendid white suit, making clicking sounds with his shoes.
"That's how serious this matter is. Everyone knows it well."
The one who responded to those words was the golden woman. From her hair to the color of her eyes, and even the dress she wore. She was a beautiful woman of mysterious age, as if everything was made by molding gold.
Contrary to her appearance that could be called the epitome of splendor, her footsteps made no sound. It was like seeing a ghost.
On the contrary, the one making heavy footsteps was Aspirex, who kept his mouth tightly shut like a rock.
Drrrr. Thud.
Five seats are prepared in the center. The five who arrived there sit down.
Pure white mayor, Deliphiros. Golden witch, Rumpelstiltskin. Rock dragon who gained intelligence, Aspirex. Advocate of diversity, Mowen Helianus. Spokesperson for the weak, Allen Huton.
The five mayors symbolizing Tirna had gathered in one place.
"It's been a while, everyone. I don't even know how long it's been since we faced each other like this. Isn't that right, Mayor Aspirex?"
"It's regrettable that it's at the parliament building."
Aspirex answered humbly as Deliphiros chuckled and continued.
"Well, that's true. The reason we don't see each other's faces is because we each have things to do in our own positions. But we ended up gathering in one place anyway. I think everyone knows the reason."
From the incident in District 17, to the baptism of fire, and the attack of the sea dragon, it's inevitable that various things happen in Tirna's history.
Tirna, a developing city, had incidents and accidents almost every day. But there are levels to incidents. The incidents that occurred in succession recently were large enough that even the city government couldn't easily overlook them.
It was inevitable in a way that the five mayors gathered for a meeting like this.
When the five mayors gather, the one who usually leads the conversation is Deliphiros.
"Especially recently, due to the sea dragon, the damage to Tirna's humans has been severe."
He talks the most, but also because he has the strongest voice among the five mayors.
"The huge typhoon brought by the sea dragon. Though we avoided a direct hit, just the aftermath turned Tirna's outer districts into scorched earth. The anti-air artillery deployed to stop the sea dragon was annihilated. The combat automatons also suffered severe damage." "Stop with the trivial stories everyone knows. Move on to the main point."
Rumpelstiltskin said.
"You still like being direct. Fine. The sea dragon withdrew safely. As you know, the reason was to retrieve its stolen egg. And that egg was surprisingly hidden in Tirna."
Several councilors who hadn't heard about this incident separately swallowed their breath.
"Yes, that's right. This sea dragon incident was artificially caused by someone who stole the egg. And the one who stole the egg was none other than Mother Goose's familiar, the Big Bad Wolf."
The great witch Mother Goose was involved again after the last terrorist incident using the candy castle.
Naturally, several people's gazes turned toward Rumpelstiltskin. It was a look asking if she, being a fellow witch, knew about it.
"Right. And that familiar was dealt with by the sisters I dispatched."
Rumpelstiltskin drew a clear line. This sea dragon incident was Mother Goose's doing, but not the witches' doing.
"Oh my. The information I heard is completely different. It wasn't dealt with by witches. To be precise, it was dealt with by Tirna's fixer."
Rumpelstiltskin’s golden eyes turned toward Deliphiros.
"That fixer is also a witch's familiar."
Though he intended to somehow associate this incident with witches and diminish the perception of the Tea Party and Walpurgis, Rumpelstiltskin wasn't easy.
"More than that, I heard. The office that fixer belongs to, it's that place, right?"
The one who interjected was Mowen Helianus, an elf representing the demi-humans while simultaneously being a mage of great skill.
She usually maintained neutrality and didn't interfere much, but this time was different.
"And there was another story going around. When the sea dragon was defeated, there was one mage and one dark mage each mixed in at the scene."
This was the part Mowen was interested in. The aftermath brought by the sea dragon was powerful. And the sea dragon's body itself was the same.
Interest grew in the mage and dark mage who weren't afraid of that mythical being, but rather established a proper fight against it.
"That's correct. But the one who played the decisive role was, after all, that man."
That man. Everyone in this place knew who Deliphiros was talking about.
He was the only human whose name hadn't been left out even once in the series of major incidents that occurred recently.
Fixer Osian.
No, now everyone called him this with acknowledgment.
Knight, Sir Osian.