The pane of ice gained a bluish-white outline, and the ice shattered into pieces, revealing a simple-looking room.
There, a slightly childish-looking young man was sprawled on the bed with his head resting on a pile of neatly folded clothes…
"Hey there, kiddo. I have something for you to look at."
"!!!"
Rotsard spoke, causing the man to spring right up as if caught red-handed doing something inappropriate.
"..."
The moment Syon Gemleware laid his eyes on the portal and the youth on the other side of it, his face turned crimson red, and he hurriedly sat back down on the bed, making sure that he was blocking the clothes he was resting his head on from Rotsard's sight. He lowered his head, still blushing extremely hard, and hurriedly tucked those clothes right under the pillow that seemed to be there only for decoration and hiding stuff underneath it, in the first place, all things considered.
"Y-yes…?"
After taking a moment to compose himself, Syon finally managed to ask, although his voice was nowhere near his usual tone.
"On my way to Mira's family's territory, we've come in contact with a lesser deofol that took over the peasants from one of the towns. They have all been dealt with, though, so there's no reason to panic… I'm going to check on the local lord to let him deal with the aftermath. Just wanted you to be the first one to know. And maybe help with the disposal… maybe use the remains for research purposes or something."
"...wha…? Eh? Huh!?"
Rotsard revealed, causing the colors of the dumbfounded Syon's face to turn pale as he mumbled.
"Come closer at least."
"..."
Rotsard beckoned him, and Syon, although still confused, trotted over trustingly.
"Here."
Rotsard then reached out through the portal, offering the off-white ball he was holding on to.
"O-okay… what is it?"
"The frozen remains of around three hundred shredded gedwyld-infused peasants. Oh, with lesser deofol as the core."
*WHAM*
Syon put out his hands to receive it and asked, but when Rotsard answered, letting go of the ball, Syon hurriedly pulled back his hands as if he was burnt. Jolting away like a scared cat was a correct choice, though, as the ball broke through the floorboards and embedded itself deeply within the floor, revealing its ridiculous weight for such a compact size.
"WH-WHAT DO YOU MEAN REMAINS OF THREE HUNDRED PEOPLE!?"
Syon called out in a horrified voice, staring fearfully at the hole in which the off-white ball rested...
"People? No, no. Not only were they gedwyld-infused, but they were also PEASANTS. Claiming them as people posthumously is for too much of a reach, wouldn't you say?
"...wh-wha…?"
Rotsard snorted, shaking his head and rolling his eyes at the statement, causing Syon to let out the smallest, most confused voice he ever released.
"Peasants are barely humans as they are, gedwyld corruption surely pushed them below even that rank, so claiming their remains to be human remains is going too far. Also, I already shredded them sooo… let's just address it as research material."
Rotsard rolled his eyes, waving his hand dismissively while Syon couldn't take his eyes off the off-white ball embedded in his floor.
"It seems that when the attack began, the local lord had the town guards gather all the children and kept them safe in the town's hall doubling as his family's mansion. Everyone in the mansion is scared. There are a few wounded guards, but otherwise they're safe… that's what my nose and mana sense are telling me at least, but I'm going to confirm it anyway."
"I… I'll inform the right people, and aid will be sent over as soon as possible."
Rotsard added, turning away from Syon and facing the mansion in the town's square, having Syon sigh behind his back and hesitantly go along with his whims.
"Thanks, I knew I could count on you, kid~"
"...uungk…"
Rotsard chuckled and hummed, glancing over his shoulder back at Syon, but the vice headmaster of the Royal Academy was far too distracted by the off-white sphere menacingly embedded in his floor to respond properly.
"R-Rotsard…!"
"Hmm~?"
As it seemed the conversation was over, Rotsard was walking away from the portal, but, at the last moment, Syon called out after him, causing the youth to hum in amusement.
"Yes?"
Rotsard asked almost playfully.
"You… you were just messing with me, right? You were joking about how many gedwyld-corrupted people turned into this thing… right…?"
"..."
Syon, shaken to the core, swallowed his saliva and asked in a trembling voice while Rotsard observed him curiously.
And then…
"Hmhm~"
Rotsard chuckled lightly, and his portal dispersed into fine particles of shimmering ice.