My Mind Sword’s Cooldown Is Too Long

Risiella Tierniel.
She looked at the shop where she had been until just now.
How much money had been spent on this meal?
Even though the Calderon family is wealthy, it’s still a significant amount for a newly graduated heir to pay alone.
He probably wouldn’t have used family funds either.
There must be a clear purpose.
However, Cain himself never reveals his inner thoughts.
That’s unclear. This has been Risiella’s impression of Cain over the past three years.
One thing for certain was that he wanted to make all the book club members, including herself, into family heads.
Though it’s uncomfortable when someone doesn’t reveal their true thoughts, it doesn’t matter as long as they’re not an enemy.
Risiella headed toward the Tierniel family’s magic automobile parked in front of the shop.
Seeing her, her butler Lufren naturally opened the door, and closed it once she boarded.
“Miss, how was your day today?”
“As usual.”
“Then again this time…?”
“Aren’t they all suffocating? They never take off their masks.”
A masquerade ball.
That was Risiella’s impression after three years of book club meetings.
Merchen Eildarin from the political family still pretended to be impulsive and unfiltered.
She acted casually even with Eri Astralnor, her hostile family’s heir.
But it was all pretense.
It was just behavior meant to give the impression that she treated all five gathered at the book club like friends.
Perhaps feeling rushed after graduating from the academy, she occasionally showed signs of impatience.
‘She wants to become Emperor.’
Merchen Eildarin. Though she hasn’t become the family head yet, there’s no one in Eildarin with enough power to push her out.
Despite this, her display of impatience must mean she’s aiming for the throne.
The fact that she shows it so openly suggests she never intended to hide it in the first place.
I’ve made my decision, now you make yours. That was the feeling she gave off.
In contrast, Eri Astralnor.
This fox-like woman was busy toying with Merchen while watching her behavior.
Since Eri had no equal in magic even during academy days, her position as family head was all but confirmed.
In this aspect, she was similar to that guy Cain.
But Eri didn’t seem interested in the position of future family head.
Good if it happens, fine if it doesn’t. Just that level of interest.
Similarly, she doesn’t particularly care about power.
She seemed content with the current state. That was the impression she gave.
Merchen was the one in a hurry.
The conversation about Ghost Knight Blackmore was the same.
The autopsy of Blackmore’s corpse and related stories were only what Risiella already knew.
Merchen was just throwing out topics to see how others would react to her.
It was also an act to assess their information networks.
However, she seemed unaware that the Tierniel family and Astralnor family were indirectly connected.
Her final emotional response was quite genuine.
This time Eri responded to Merchen’s words, but if Risiella hadn’t brought up her family first, Eri wouldn’t have said anything either.
She probably would have just frustrated Merchen with her usual exasperating behavior.
‘It’s not like I lose anything by showing some of my cards.’
She’s willing to concede on these minor matters.
There will be difficult moments ahead that can’t be handled alone, so cooperation must be considered.
Spending too much time testing each other could cause them to miss their timing.
‘That kid Luina… I still don’t know what she’s thinking.’
It’s been three years since they saw each other under Cain’s initiative.
During that time, Luina Terranos’s reactions could be counted on one hand.
‘Everyone is still being cautious.’
It can’t be helped.
It’s natural for the likely next family heads, including Risiella, and even Merchen who challenges for the next Emperor, to be restrained by the previous generation’s family heads, the Emperor, or the elder council.
Is it more accurate to say they’re watching for reactions rather than being restrained? Anyway.
Most are concerned with their own future.
This is true even for those who don’t place much significance on the family head position.
Because they never know when and how they might be attacked and driven out of their family.
If attacked by elder councils or previous generation family heads who disapprove of friendly relations with hostile families, it wouldn’t be easy to withstand.
There have been many cases where people were betrayed by those they considered friends from other five great families the moment an attack came.
After all, it’s difficult to protect even one’s own neck in this field.
How many of the five gathered now would survive?
At least, the first person to disappear was already apparent.
Cain Calderon.
He made too many conspicuous actions.
Especially at the academy.
‘I received quite a bit of help at the academy, but… it can’t be helped.’
Whatever trick he used, if he has the skill to cut down Blackmore with a single sword, there’s no need to worry.
And if he doesn’t have that level of skill? Well.
She would simply distance herself before the sparks fly.
It’s all about placing bets based on conditions.
The same goes for the rest.
One shouldn’t let their guard down until they reach a certain orbit.
‘I hope at least two survive.’
Risiella imagined the future after she became family head.
Taking complete control of the Tierniel family is too burdensome for one person.
Having about two friends of the same age might make it easier.
‘Cain would be good.’
If possible, his help would be beneficial.
Well, that’s only if Cain survives.
After leaving Montblancfre, I returned straight to the family.
“Is it dawn today?”
If my memory serves me right, there’s an event that’s only possible at dawn today.
Libra, the Witch of Scales.
There exists a hidden quest to create contact with her.
Archbishop Marquizares, the evil god worshipper.
He was a fanatic who served Belmagor, the evil god of blood and flesh.
Archbishop Marquizares sacrificed three villages alive for the revival of the evil god.
His targets were minority groups that attracted minimal attention from others.
Among them, witches who lived in hiding while rejecting others, and their villages, were perfect subjects for Archbishop Marquizares.
After three villages were burned to nothing, and the flesh and blood of dozens were offered as living sacrifices, Belmagor’s revival had only one stage left.
The Child of Flesh.
The name given to the special sacrifice that would become Belmagor’s body.
Having received a revelation about the Child of Flesh, Archbishop Marquizares invaded the last village.
The village, invaded by fanatics without knowing why, was completely annihilated, leaving only one survivor.
That survivor was:
“Libra, the Witch of Scales”
A vengeful assassin ghost. That’s what she was.
Having experienced so much in a short time, she trained herself to the extreme with her burning desire for revenge.
Growing with the sole determination to kill Marquizares and his fanatics, she has now become strong enough to rival the Eight Great Villains.
This was possible due to her talent being as exceptional as her anger.
After completing her preparations, Libra put into action what she had been imagining all along.
She raided hideouts of evil god worshippers who had infiltrated various parts of the Empire and took their lives.
Additionally, she boldly opened a small fortune-telling shop in a busy area visible to the Empire’s eyes.
Her intention was to gather information using her unique characteristic.
She was exploiting the fact that evil god worshippers still wanted to hide their existence.
If Archbishop Marquizares came looking for her, that would be good too.
Since no one would believe a commoner witch like her, she thought she’d show the existence of evil god worshippers with her own eyes.
There’s a time when such a woman faces danger.
Libra, who moved to eliminate evil god worshippers hidden in the Forest of Corpses, falls into a trap there.
With her legs affected by paralytic poison, she manages to escape after sacrificing quite a lot…
But that’s just an illusion.
Libra, who unknowingly enters into a contract with the evil god Belmagor in order to escape, has her mind slowly eaten away and eventually appears as a puppet of the evil god in the latter part of the game.
Libra’s natural physical abilities are already powerful, but if she starts using the evil god’s power as well, there would be quite a heavy price to pay.
Considering the difficulty of the latter part, this is a task that must be resolved now.
Additionally.
[Main Quest]

Destroy the Order of Belmagor.
Reward: Strengthening of Mind Sword (心劍)
Strengthening of Mind Sword.
This alone makes saving Libra meaningful.
The method to save her is even simpler.
It’s enough to meet Libra before she enters the Forest of Corpses and tip her off that it’s a trap.
She doesn’t readily believe my words, but since she’s someone who acts with more caution than usual.
If I head to her fortune-telling shop the next day, I can elicit a positive response from her who avoided the trap.
After that, it’s up to me.
Success comes from building as much favorability as possible and bringing her to the family.
I’ve already planned this out, so there’s no worry.
However, tipping her off must be done right before she enters the Forest of Corpses.
If conveyed too early, she won’t even have a chance to fall into the trap.
Naturally, the favor I’ve done for her would disappear, and instead, I would only trigger her wariness.
She must definitely get caught in the trap, but with heightened caution beyond her usual level, she should escape without major damage.
“Then let’s prepare.”
I took out the items I had prepared for this very moment.
[Illusion Crystal Orb]
Grade: Epic
Creates an illusion based on the user’s appearance. The illusion moves straight in the direction it’s facing, and grants a stealth effect to the user until the illusion is destroyed.
[Moonlight Medallion]
Grade: Epic
A medallion containing the mysterious power of moonlight. The wearer can absorb its power whenever they are exposed to moonlight, creating a protective barrier. On nights with a full moon, the medallion’s power is maximized, activating a special ability.
The time when Libra, the Witch of Scales, moves is dawn. Among those, tonight is a night with a full moon.
The protective barrier created by the Moonlight Medallion doubles in output on days with a full moon.
If I use the illusion and stealth from the Illusion Crystal Orb as well, I can survive even in the worst case.
These are defensive items I prepared because I couldn’t use swordsmanship no matter how hard I tried.
They are items that remain effective not only in the early game but also well into the mid-game.
This should allow me to safely take care of myself during the 30-day cooldown after using Mind Sword.
Looking outside, the sun is already setting.
Since I plan to walk to the Forest of Corpses, I should depart soon.
Taking a magic automobile would attract attention.
I headed straight to the Forest of Corpses with my items in tow.
The time calculation should be accurate.
“…”
The time calculation should be… accurate?
“Where did she go?”
Contrary to my expectations, there was no one in front of the Forest of Corpses.
…Shit.
Retry