—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Hey, aren’t those the battle nuns the Inquisitor left behind? What’s going on with them?”
What we saw were the battle nuns Selene had left at the mansion to guard Aurora.
There were still twelve of them, and their clothes and appearance hadn’t changed much.
However, their condition was quite strange.
The battle nuns, who should have been blending into the shadows, guarding the vicinity of the mansion, were now listlessly wandering around the garden with their arms dangling limply.
It was clear at a glance that something was wrong.
Seeing twelve women wandering around with vacant eyes sent chills down my spine.
“We’ll have to investigate this ourselves. Everyone, draw your weapons.”
Iris said as she drew the longsword from her hip.
The other Knight Commanders, who had been about to take off their helmets, put them back on and drew their respective weapons.
I stood still, lost in thought.
Something felt familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it.
I had definitely seen this kind of situation before, but I couldn’t remember where.
While I was struggling to recall the source of my déjà vu, Iris, gripping her sword tightly, approached the nearest battle nun.
Lize followed right behind her, and Claudia was last.
Erica remained by my side, probably to protect me.
Iris grabbed the nun’s wrist and pulled her.
The battle nun obediently followed.
She stumbled momentarily, losing her balance, then went back to listlessly dangling her arms, her eyes vacant.
Iris waved her hand in front of the nun’s face, felt her arms, and tapped her forehead with her finger.
Of course, there was no reaction.
After a moment of silence, Iris reached a conclusion.
“It’s magic.”
“Magic? This?”
“I don’t know who cast the spell or what kind of magic it is, but it’s definitely a mind-affecting spell.”
“I’ve never heard of a mind-affecting spell that makes people wander around like this. Has a new one been developed?”
“I don’t know about that. But, I can faintly sense mana. The Holy Kingdom’s battle nuns wouldn’t use mana, would they?”
“Hmm… You’re right. There’s a faint trace of mana.”
Mana.
Mind-affecting magic.
Dangling arms.
The act of walking around blankly.
As soon as I combined those keywords, a specific status ailment came to mind.
I wasn’t entirely sure, but it was close enough.
I could easily test my theory.
“Wait a moment, Iris.”
“What is it, Delta? Do you know something?”
“I’m not sure, but I know something similar. I want to try something.”
I walked over to the battle nun Iris was holding.
Erica followed close behind.
As I rummaged through the nun’s belongings and pulled out a Divine Catalyst, Lize asked with a puzzled voice,
“Why are you taking that?”
“I told you, I want to try something. This is it.”
I placed the Divine Catalyst in the battle nun’s hand.
Thud.
The Divine Catalyst fell limply from her grasp.
I opened her hand, placed the Catalyst back in her palm, and wrapped her fingers around it.
It was no use.
I stared at the Divine Catalyst rolling on the ground, lost in thought.
While I was thinking, Iris tried several more times, but the result was the same.
“Iris, try holding her hand for a moment. Like you’re shaking hands. Don’t squeeze too hard, just lightly.”
“Alright.”
Iris obediently followed my instructions.
Her gauntlet-clad hand clasped the leather-gloved hand in a handshake.
Squeeze.
Her grip tightened instantly.
A strange creaking sound came from the armor.
Iris tried to loosen her grip with a panicked expression, but her hand only squeezed tighter.
Iris had to use both hands to pry her gauntlet from the nun’s relentless grasp.
As soon as the gauntlet was free, I placed the Divine Catalyst on top of it.
Thud.
The Catalyst fell to the ground.
After a few more experiments, the Knight Commanders seemed to realize that something was strange.
The nun was able to hold onto everything else, but she would drop anything that could be classified as a weapon, like swords, Divine Catalysts, or shields.
That was enough confirmation.
I released the battle nun.
Freed from my grasp, she resumed her listless wandering around the mansion’s garden.
I stared at her retreating figure.
It wasn’t exactly the same, but it was similar enough to what I remembered.
“You’re right, Iris. It’s magic. They’ve been inflicted with Confusion.”
“…Confusion?”
Confusion was one of the status ailments in BD4 and it could only be inflicted by a specific type of magic.
Just like Charm, another status ailment that could only be inflicted by Holy attacks, Confusion could only be inflicted by magic.
The effect of Confusion was simple.
Disarm.
Upon being inflicted, the target would drop any weapon they were holding and be unable to pick it up again for the duration of the effect.
Additionally, their movement animation would change to a slow, listless walk with their arms dangling.
The “weapon” category included magic staffs, Divine Catalysts, and shields.
Fortunately, they could still use consumables.
In the vanilla game, it was just a status ailment that disarmed the target, so it was mainly effective against priests and mages.
However, in the mod, it received a significant buff that also disrupted spellcasting.
Players could use it as well, but it was mostly effective against regular enemies, as elite enemies were generally immune to Confusion.
“A mage was here. And a pretty powerful one at that.”
Of course, not every mage could inflict Confusion just because they could use magic.
It was completely different from Charm, which could be inflicted by any Holy spell.
In the vanilla game, only elite mages could inflict Confusion.
Even in the mod, regular mages were still unable to use it.
If that was still the case here, and the battle nuns under the Inquisitor, who were considered elite enemies in the game and thus immune to Confusion, were currently afflicted with it, then the mage who had been here must have been quite powerful.
I never imagined that it would literally work like in the game, only preventing them from holding weapons.
“Iris. Aside from no-name mages, is there anyone from the Mage Tower who might have come here?”
“…Not that I can recall. Claudia, Lize, Erica. What about you?”
They all thought for a moment, then answered that they didn’t know anyone who fit the description.
“No one knows who came here, so let’s set that aside for now. Then, the reason they came here is…”
I trailed off, looking at the mansion.
The Knight Commanders also turned their heads at the same time.
It seemed they understood what I was trying to say.
The four of us headed towards the mansion without a word.
I followed, unsure of what to expect.
The entrance to the mansion looked ordinary, as always.
But, perhaps because we were concerned about a possible threat inside, I noticed that elemental energy was swirling around the Knight Commanders’ weapons.
Just as Iris was about to grab the doorknob and yank it open—
“Welcome back, Knight Commanders.”
The door opened from the inside.
The maid who had served Aurora since she was young greeted us from the doorway with her usual impassive expression.
“Is there a problem?”
The Knight Commanders froze in place, surprised by the unexpected situation.
The maid tilted her head, puzzled.
Her emotionless eyes turned to me, as if asking if I knew what was going on.
I pointed at the weapons in the Knight Commanders’ hands and then at the battle nuns listlessly wandering around the garden.
The maid understood immediately and nodded.
“I see. It’s understandable that you’re alarmed to see those who are supposed to protect the Lady in such a state, but rest assured that the Lady is safe.”
“We’re relieved to hear that the Lady is safe. But, what about those nuns—”
“It would be better for you to see for yourselves than for me to explain here. Please follow me.”
The maid turned around.
The Knight Commanders exchanged glances, then sheepishly sheathed their weapons and followed her up the stairs.
The maid stopped in front of the drawing-room on the second floor.
Clap.
She clapped her hands lightly, and other maids rushed out.
“Before you enter, we will remove your armor.”
The Knight Commanders obediently handed over their armor.
It seemed they had practiced this quite a bit, as the maids’ movements were very smooth and practiced.
Their helmets were removed, revealing their faces.
Now I could see their expressions clearly.
Half confusion, half bewilderment.
I would have felt the same way if I were them.
They had returned from the Holy Kingdom to find the battle nuns guarding Aurora in a strange state, making them fear the worst.
But the reality was completely different.
Their armor was soon removed, revealing their white tank tops and dolphin shorts.
I stood there calmly, even as I watched their asses jiggle.
I had come way too far, in many ways, to be aroused by something like that.
“Lady Aurora, the Knight Commanders have returned.”
“Tell them to come in. It’s open.”
“Yes.”
The maid opened the door.
As we entered the drawing-room, the first thing I saw was Aurora sitting on the main seat, one leg crossed over the other, wearing her usual dress.
She looked exactly the same as before we left.
Except for the unfamiliar person sitting next to her.
‘…What’s this?’
I suddenly felt a sense of dissonance.
Someone was clearly sitting there, but it felt like they weren’t there.
I could tell they were sitting there, but that was it.
I couldn’t recall their face, physique, gender, or clothing.
Nothing came to mind.
Just to be sure, I turned my head.
As soon as my gaze left the person sitting on the sofa, their image vanished from my mind.
The Knight Commanders must have felt the same way, as their faces were full of confusion.
Aurora, setting down her teacup, asked nonchalantly,
“You’re later than expected. I thought you were just meeting with the Popes. Did something go wrong?”
“No, Lady Aurora. The mission was successfully completed. But, who is this person sitting next to you…?”
“You can’t tell who it is even though they’re right in front of you? It seems they haven’t lifted the spell yet. I was so confused when it happened to me. Don’t worry, they’re not dangerous.”
“That’s right. They’re not dangerous.”
A woman with long, straight white hair turned to look at us.
I was finally able to perceive the color of her hair, which meant the spell was starting to wear off.
And as soon as I could see her face clearly, the Knight Commanders’ expressions turned to shock.
I was the only one who remained confused, as I didn’t recognize her.
“It’s been a while, everyone. How have you been?”
“Minerva…?”
‘Minerva?’
I racked my brain.
It was a name the Knight Commanders had mentioned in passing before.
They had said that the locations that were called the Arcana Archives and the Arcana Mage Tower in the game were now called the Minerva Archives and the Minerva Mage Tower.
That meant this person was definitely the NPC who was called the Arcana Mage Tower Master in the game.
As expected, she had been changed into a woman.
“How did you get here…?”
“I’ve become personally interested in something. I came here to see you all, but I heard you had gone to the Holy Kingdom. So I decided to wait for a while.”
Her eyes, still devoid of any discernible color, turned towards me.
Just in case, I took a step to the side.
Her gaze followed me.
I moved a bit further, but her eyes still tracked my every move.
‘…Is it me again?’
As expected, it was me again.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
[Your Text Here]
Another white haired? And a cheeky arrogant mage master?
Our MC will be eating good again