Viscount Turca's villa had absolutely no flashiness, no luxury, no air of refinement to speak of.
I'd half expected it to have at least some aristocratic charm, but there was none of that either.
It was a black, grimy, box-shaped building with ivy tangled all over it.
A dark, tofu-block structure.
"This place has really stood the test of time," I said.
I wasn't about to call it dilapidated outright.
The witch gazed up at it and spoke.
"Well, well. They used cooled lava — volcanic rock."
"Huh? Volcanic rock? What for?"
"Oh my, volcanic rock is hard, so maybe they wanted to make a really sturdy building."
"Huh..."
Even so, what was up with the perfectly square tofu-block architecture?
"But my, a volcanic rock building. It's practically a fortress."
"A fortress... I suppose."
"Wof. Witch."
The captain of the guard called out to us.
He's actually Gauro's superior, and I've seen him around a few times and exchanged greetings.
"Hmm, hmm. Looks like it's time."
"Yes. We'll handle the remnants — leave the executives to you."
"Understood. Leave that to us."
"Ha — pardon me."
He saluted and returned to the guard unit.
"Well, well. He's polite befitting a guard captain, isn't he."
"He's… normally a pretty regular guy when it comes to greetings."
"Mm, mm. He's loyal to his duty, then."
"I know he's a serious person."
The guard unit charged toward the villa.
A considerable number of them were armed in full armor, looking very dependable.
"Well then, shall we be going too, Kon and company?"
"Y-yes."
The area around the Turka Villa was in chaos.
Guards were chasing down the remnants of Pareedo, capturing or cutting them down.
The ones who resisted seemed to do so out of sheer desperation.
The remnants were putting up fierce resistance, and fights were breaking out here and there.
We entered the Turka Villa. An entrance hall without a speck of ornamentation.
In its center stood a man in a green robe, staff in hand, waiting for us.
"Ahahahaha. So you've come after all. The witch's apprentice. And the witch."
"You're the executive in charge here?"
"I'd prefer you call me Bishop. Ahahaha. Bishop Gisa."
Gisa... Sagi, huh.
"Hey, hey, Bishop Gisa. I think it's about time you gave up, you know."
"Oh? To have my name called by that witch — what an honor. Ahahahahahaha."
Bishop Gisa had a thoroughly composed air about him. What gives? Something feels off.
The strange laughter included — and right then, I activated Danger Discernment on what was almost pure instinct.
Bishop Gisa showed red... no, black — death!?
"Witch, this guy's dangerous!"
"Ahahahahahaha. Hahahahahaha — impressive, but it's too late now. Die. Relic, Self-Destruct!!!!"
In an instant, light consumed my vision and everything went white.
Right after that, everything turned pitch black.
When I came to, I was in a room that exuded an air of luxury...
This place... does it look somewhat familiar?
"Well, well. That was cutting it real close, you know."
"Witch... where... where is this?"
"Heh heh, heh heh. It's her manor, you know."
Behind the witch stood Relic Widow Swardu — the Shadow Widow.
Ah, oh, right. No wonder it looked familiar.
"Widow Swardu... ma'am."
"Well, well, it was actually quite, quite dangerous. If young Wof hadn't noticed and Widow Swardu hadn't reacted on the spot, you definitely would have been caught up in it, you know."
I bowed my head to Widow Swardu.
"Oh, thank you so much."
Widow Swardu gave a slight bow.
"I never, ever expected that. A Relic with Self-Destruct, of all things."
"A Relic with Self-Destruct... so those actually exist, huh..."
"Indeed, indeed. Things like that are exactly what makes Relics what they are."
The witch looked somewhat irritated.
I asked the question that had been on my mind.
"Did Bishop Gisa have the Self-Destruct Relic from the very beginning?"
"My my. So young Wof noticed that too. The Self-Destruct Relic... as far as I know, I've only ever seen one on a Relic Plate."
Well, if someone had that from the start, their life would be completely bleak.
There'd be no way to imagine bright, happy days.
"So he obtained it... on his own...?"
I couldn't wrap my head around it.
"It does seem that way, yes. The Self-Destruct Relic I know of was a tragic one. A young girl captured by a bandit gang used it on the bandit boss. The leader had apparently obtained a Relic Plate as a whim and used it on the girl, and it turned out to be Self-Destruct."
The witch wore a sorrowful expression.
What must that girl have felt when she detonated herself?
In my past life, there had been suicide bombings.
Ugh. Poor Yomid-sama, being worshipped by someone like that.
"...So what happened with the situation outside?"
"My my. Let's just hope the villa didn't get blown away."
"Well, that's a problem."
There'd be nowhere left to use the silver key.
But given the explosion, that was entirely possible. We cautiously crept out from the shadows.
"My my, looks like the damage is surprisingly minimal."
"...It seems so."
The entrance hall was scorched and had partially crumbled, but that was about it.
"Volcanic rock for you. Impressive as always."
"So this is what 'sturdy' really meant."
I thought withstanding an explosion was taking "sturdy" a bit far, but at least nothing had collapsed. Small mercies.
Then I noticed what looked like bloodstains.
A chill ran down my spine. What would have happened if Widow Suhard hadn't been there?
The self-destruction was one thing, but that transformation too...
"Alright, alright. There was an accident, but shall we get on with the exploration now?"
"Y-yes."
We toured the villa and looked around.
It seemed no one was in the villa apart from Bishop Gisa.
Also, there really weren't that many rooms.
The altar-like structures dotted here and there were enough to make me grimace.
"Hey, hey! Young Wof — it's this door, isn't it?"
The witch called out. It looked like she'd found something.
When I saw the room at the very back of the third floor, I was surprised.
That door alone was glittering silver. Could it be actual silver?
No, it was probably just silver leaf.
I see. So this is the silver key.
If this turned out not to be the silver key after all... if it was the wrong one, I'd just Banish it.
"Well then, I'll give it a try."
I fished the silver key from my pouch and slipped it into the keyhole... It fit.
I gave it a twist, and heard a click. I gripped the doorknob and turned.
The door swung open.
The room was... ordinary.
A desk. A closet. A scroll rack. No bookshelf. Two small-item cabinets. That was it.
There were also paintings, vases, and altars, but nothing particularly stood out.
"Hmm, hmm. Doesn't look like there's anything in here."
"Though it is a bit lavish — could this have been the Viscount's original room?"
That glittering silver door, though... I had my doubts about that.
Between that and the volcanic-rock building, Viscount Turka really had no taste.
"Oh? Now that you mention it, it does look like an office."
"It was probably the cult leader's room."
Well, in times like this, that's what the Circle of Fortune is for.
Green light appeared on various furnishings. Yellow light on the scrolls in the scroll rack.
"Ah, on the desk... the drawer's glowing blue."
Second drawer down. Locked. Something like this, I could just destroy with Banish.
Inside the drawer was... a gorgeous little box, adorned in red with gold trim.
This — no, wait — the *contents* inside it were what glowed blue.
The box had no lock. I opened it easily.
Inside was... wait, what even is this.
"What the—?! Witch. Look at this!"
"Oh my. Oh. Oh my. Now *this* is... something else entirely."
Even the Witch was surprised.
Not just a little, either — eyes wide open, fox ears perked straight up, all three tails swishing.
Inside that absurdly luxurious red box was a black plate.
It was probably a Relic Plate. If it had been just one, I wouldn't have been all that surprised.
But they were bundled together.
Dozens of Relic Plates.
Why are there so many of these...?!