The goddess Ruche never fails. For two hundred and fifty years, she has summoned heroes to protect Asterant with flawless precision—until the day the ritual shatters, dragging through an utterly ordinary high school boy named Ryou instead of a chosen champion. No sword. No sacred blessing. No grand destiny. Just a deck of playing cards, a scarf, and an Authority that turns out to be... sleight of hand.
Stripped of eighty percent of her divine power as punishment and banished to the mortal realm
The Fallen Goddess and the Magician - The Magician's Resolve—Mina's Cards and Sang's Regret
The predawn alley still held the night's chill.
Ryou stayed on his knees, staring at the blackened debris scattered across the ground. The playing cards Gareth had burned last night. The only possession he'd brought from his original world. The wreckage didn't even resemble cards anymore.
He pinched a fragment between his fingertips.
It crumbled with a dry rasp, ash sifting away.
"...This much, and I can't do anything."
His voice cracked and faded.
His whole body ached. His ribs creaked. His fingers were swollen, his face bruised. The reality of last night—of being beaten senseless by Gareth in this alley—had soaked into his flesh alongside the pain.
(Frustrating.)
That feeling alone stabbed deeper than any of the pain.
"Making a face like that first thing in the morning. Bad luck, you know."
Silver hair swayed in the dim light.
Ruche stood at the alley's entrance. Arms crossed, brow furrowed—her usual displeased expression. Those golden eyes were fixed on Ryou's hands.
"...Were you watching?"
"I wasn't watching. I came looking for you. You weren't at the inn."
"Right. Sorry for worrying you."
"Hah? Who was worried? I only came looking because if you disappear, I can't get back to the divine realm. Don't get the wrong idea."
Ruche gave a little snort.
But her feet carried her to Ryou's side all the same.
"...Is that the stuff that got burned?"
"Yeah. All of it's ruined."
Ryou gently set the charred remains on the ground.
"I don't have my magic props anymore."
"So what if you don't have your props? Were you planning to beat Gareth with magic tricks?"
"I don't think I can win. But magic tricks are all I've got."
"Don't be stupid. If the tricks are gone, that's not the end. Just run away."
Ruche's voice was cold.
But her eyes never left Ryou.
"...You're really going to fight anyway, aren't you?"
Ryou didn't answer.
The pain in his fingers was still too sharp to form one.
――――――――――――――――――――
Morning at Riverside Market was quieter than usual.
The smell of fresh-baked bread drifted from the storefront of "Mina's Wheatfield." That, at least, was the same as always.
When Ryou stepped out of the alley, Mina—standing at the shop entrance—looked his way.
A petite girl with brown curly hair in a braid. Her bright brown eyes widened the moment she saw his face.
"Ehh!? Ryou, what happened to your face!?"
Mina came running over.
"It's nothing. I just fell."
"Just fell? You're covered in bruises! That's a lie, right!?"
Mina's hand reached toward Ryou's arm, then stopped.
"...Um, I... I couldn't help you yesterday, Ryou."
Mina's voice suddenly went small.
"I knew Gareth was doing those things. But I was scared, and I couldn't do anything. I was worried about the shop, about my family..."
"Mina, it's not your fault."
"But...!"
Mina clutched her apron tight.
"I love your magic tricks, Ryou. That smile of yours, the way you make everyone happy. So I've been thinking all along that I wanted to do something."
Mina brought her hand out from behind her back.
"Here. Please take these."
What she held out to Ryou was a brand-new deck of playing cards.
A bare bundle, no packaging. The backs were printed with a pattern of wheat stalks.
"These are the cards we use at the shop, plus a stack of paper for shuffling. And these—I bought these with my allowance. ...You use them for your tricks, right?"
Ryou held his breath.
"...How did you know these could be used for magic tricks?"
"You told me before, didn't you? That for a magician, the props are everything. That without cards, nothing can begin."
Mina smiled, just a little.
But her eyes were glistening.
"I couldn't protect you back then. When Gareth came, I looked away with everyone else. ...I'm sorry."
Mina's voice trembled.
"Don't apologize. You didn't do anything wrong."
"But your cards got burned, right? So I want you to use these. It's the only thing I can do."
Ryou took the deck she offered.
It was heavy in his hand.
(There are still things I need to protect.)
That weight eased the pain in his fingers, just a little.
"...Thank you, Mina. This makes me really happy."
Ryou tucked the new deck into his breast pocket.
"Yeah! Ryou, show me your tricks again sometime, okay? I'll be right in the front row!"
Mina's smile, lit by the morning sun, was radiant.
――――――――――――――――――――
When he returned to the alley, Ruche was waiting, leaning against the wall.
"Oh, welcome back. A nice little reunion with the baker's girl, I see."
"Were you watching?"
"I wasn't watching. I just heard. That girl has a loud voice."
Ruche pointed at Ryou's breast pocket.
"Are those new cards?"
"Yeah. Mina gave them to me."
"Hmm. That girl really thinks the world of you."
"Thinks the world of me—that sounds bad."
"It's the truth, isn't it? Her eyes were sparkling watching your tricks."
"I'm glad when people enjoy my tricks. It's my one and only talent."
"Your one and only talent, huh."
Ruche looked at Ryou as if she wanted to say something.
But before she could open her mouth, another set of footsteps echoed from deeper in the alley.
――――――――――――――――――――
"Ryou."
It was a low voice.
Sang emerged from the alley's shadow.
The master of the information broker's den, "Sang's Nest." He wore a grimy coat, hood pulled low. His face was pale.
"Sang..."
"We need to talk."
Sang walked up to Ryou, then suddenly dropped to his knees on the ground.
"I'm sorry."
"Huh?"
"I'm the one who leaked your information to Gareth."
The air in the alley froze.
"That your ability was nothing but magic tricks. That your combat strength was zero. I told him everything."
Sang's voice was shaking.
"Gareth threatened my family. Said if I didn't obey, he'd do unspeakable things to my wife and child. ...I was scared. So I sold you out."
Ryou said nothing.
"An apology isn't enough. I know that. I know how badly he hurt you. ...I'm truly sorry."
Sang pressed his forehead to the ground.
It was a dogeza.
"...Please raise your head."
Ryou spoke quietly.
"I understand how you felt, Sang. You had no choice if you were protecting your family. ...If I were in your position, I might have done the same."
"You..."
"I don't blame you. So please, raise your head."
Sang slowly lifted his face.
Tears were welling in his eyes.
"...You really are kind to a foolish degree."
"Foolish suits me fine. If it means someone gets saved."
Sang wiped his tears and stood.
"I don't know if this counts as atonement, but I'll give you information."
Sang's voice turned serious.
"Gareth's ability—the Mighty-Armed King. Every time he uses it, the backlash hits his own body too."
"Backlash?"
"Yeah. That bracelet's power is immense, but it comes at a cost. The more he uses it, the more his body breaks down from the inside. The heavier the blow, the greater the recoil."
Ryou remembered how Gareth had looked last night.
At that moment, Gareth had indeed, for an instant, worn a pained expression.
"And one more thing."
Sang lowered his voice.
"Gareth is planning to abduct Mina to lure you out."
Ryou's heart lurched.
"What did you say?"
"He knows Mina is attached to you. He figures if he takes her hostage, you'll come without running."
"When?"
"Today, around the mock battle. If you don't show up at the plaza, he won't answer for what happens to Mina."
Ryou's fist clenched tight.
"...Thank you for telling me, Sang."
"I don't deserve your thanks."
Sang smiled self-deprecatingly.
"But maybe now I've repaid a little of what I owe."
With that, Sang vanished into the depths of the alley.
――――――――――――――――――――
"...That was quite the goody-two-shoes response."
Ruche, still leaning against the wall, looked at Ryou.
"That man sold you out. Normally, wouldn't you be angrier?"
"I'm not angry. ...Well, I was a little hurt. But Sang admitted his weakness and tried to make up for it. That's enough."
"You really are soft."
"Soft suits me fine. If it means someone gets saved."
Ryou repeated the same words as before.
Ruche sighed.
"...So what are you going to do? Mina's being targeted. Are you going to run?"
"I'm not running."
Ryou answered immediately.
"If I run, Mina's in danger. And even if I run, Gareth will keep destroying the town. Running won't solve anything."
"Hah? Then you'll fight him head-on? You'll die."
"I won't fight head-on."
Ryou pulled the new deck Mina had given him from his breast pocket.
"I'll fight with magic tricks."
"With magic tricks? Against Gareth?"
"Yeah. Misdirection—the art of diverting the opponent's attention for just a moment. If I use that, I might be able to dodge Gareth's attacks."
"Might be able to dodge..."
"Sang's information told me Gareth's attacks have a backlash. The heavier the blow, the more his own body breaks. So if I keep dodging, he'll destroy himself."
Ruche's eyes went wide.
"...Are you serious?"
"I'm serious. This is the only way I can fight."
Ryou flicked the deck with his finger.
It made a satisfying snap.
"Magic is the art of deceiving people. You draw the audience's eyes away from your hands, to somewhere else, for just an instant. That instant saves lives. ...I'll fight in that instant."
Ruche stared at Ryou's face for a while.
"...Unbelievable. Truly unbelievable."
Ruche heaved a deep sigh.
"Do you have any chance of winning?"
"Honestly, I don't know. But if I don't do it, Mina's in danger. The town will be destroyed even more. So I have no choice but to do it."
"Don't be stupid. You might die."
"I won't die. Magicians don't die."
Ryou smiled.
But that smile looked like he was enduring pain.
Ruche sighed once more.
"...Fine. Do as you like. But I'm going to the plaza too."
"Ruche..."
"Don't get the wrong idea. If you die, I can't get back to the divine realm. That's all."
"Yeah. Thank you."
"I said don't get the wrong idea! Why does it always come to that!?"
Ruche's face went red as she smacked Ryou's shoulder.
"Ow, ow! Why are you hitting me!?"
"Because you're an idiot!"
"That's way too unreasonable!"
Their voices echoed through the alley.
Those voices, along with the morning light, flowed out toward the market.
――――――――――――――――――――
The road to the plaza.
Ryou gripped the new deck and started walking.
Long shadows stretched across the cobblestones.
Behind him, Ruche followed with a sour expression.
"...Hey, Ryou."
"What?"
"Do you really think you can win with that?"
"I don't think I can win."
Ryou answered without turning around.
"But I have to win, or I can't protect anyone. There are people whose faces lit up because of my tricks. Mina gave me cards. Sang gave me information. ...I'm not alone anymore."
"...I see."
Ruche murmured softly.
"That pointlessly optimistic side of you—I don't hate it."
"Huh?"
"If you didn't hear, fine. Idiot."
Ruche turned her face away.
Ryou smiled.
"I heard you. Thanks."
"I said you didn't hear it! Stop talking!"
"Yeah, yeah."
The two of them headed for the plaza.
――――――――――――――――――――
A crowd had gathered in the market plaza.
But the atmosphere was not one of celebration.
Everyone stared at the center of the plaza with anxious faces.
There, a crude arena of wooden beams had been set up.
Gareth stood atop it.
His brownish short hair was still bedhead-messy. His narrow eyes stared damply toward the plaza entrance. The bracelet on his right arm glowed dully.
At the end of Gareth's gaze stood Ryou.
"...So you came."
Gareth's mouth twisted.
"You actually came, you bastard. Came without running."
Ryou looked into Gareth's eyes.
"I hear you're targeting Mina."
Gareth's eyes narrowed.
"Yeah, that's right. That little baker girl. If you run, you know what I'll do to her, don't you?"
"I know. That's why I came."
Ryou stepped forward.
"Your opponent is me. Keep your hands off Mina."
"Hah! Fine. If you can beat me with your little magic tricks."
Gareth leaped down
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