Chapter 640 - Fourth Story: The Fifth Secret Tome
It was three days later when King Seldic arrived at the fortress along with the Archbishop of the Engrio Royal Capital.
During that time, the female demon came to the fortress every day, so with permission from the Unit Captain and Price-sama, she joined our girls' group—Sianya, Carla, Annabella, and me—to hunt snakes in the wetlands, bathe in the waterfall, and stay over at the female demon's house.
Seeing the five of us who had become completely close, King Seldic said:
“Next time the Demon Lord is resurrected, it might be better to have the five of you handle the peace negotiations.”
“Impossible, impossible. The Demon Lord-sama won't allow it.”
Seeing her wave her right hand in refusal made everyone laugh in spite of themselves, but I really wish it could be that way. Maybe King Seldic would actually try to do it.
There were seven people in charge of investigating the secret tome, including King Seldic and the Archbishop. King Seldic, as with the investigation of the hot spring town, was only there for the beginning and the end. Since we had placed a [Simple Teleportation Magic Circle] in front of the wall, we could go there in an instant from the waterfall.
The problem was the monster extermination. Last time and the time before that, a Cerberus appeared at the end. Last time, the beastmen did their best. If possible, I'd like to have everyone do their best this time, centered around Price-sama.
“Bishop Jeanne, you make a living out of monster extermination, don't you?”
Oh no...
“Y-Yes. I do things like rat extermination.”
I should emphasize the rats here. It's not a lie.
“I've heard you were also a great force in capturing that demon. Can I count on you here as well?”
“Ah, yes. But let's all do it together.”
“I heard that in the cave of the hot spring town, you went to the next altar alone? Is there a need for everyone to go?”
Oh dear. It's exactly the same as that one time.
“It's a joke. Don't look so resentful. I'm going too.”
He's laughing.
Damn it! Before I knew it, even King Seldic had started teasing me! Henry-sama and Eleanor-sama must have told him all sorts of things, true or not.
Hey, Harris-sama. You're laughing too much.
In the end, all seven of us went. The Archbishop made a [Vow of Silence], and King Seldic swore to the God he followed not to tell anyone else.
From there, it wasn't that difficult. After all, there were six holy attack mages. It would be one thing if hundreds or thousands were coming at us, but we knew there were at most twenty. King Seldic was at the front, I, using [Magic: Sense Living] and [Magic: Light], was second, and the rest were almost side-by-side. Sianya worked quite hard, saying she wanted to learn new magic. The way of fighting was simple: decoy tactics. King Seldic, with various support magic doubled on him, drew his sword and strode toward the monsters to draw their attention, and I, following right behind him, flashed the [Magic: Firefly] I had sent out to catch them off guard, and we defeated them with holy magic centered around Sianya. At the end, three Cerberus appeared, but the process was the same.
“If I double-cast [Magic: Resist], I can even withstand a Wyvern's flames, right?”
King Seldic asked in front of the three beasts that were slowly approaching while growling.
“Um, the Headmistress... Bishop Catherine said so.”
“I see. Then it should be fine.”
Eh? Fine?
“Here I go.”
He's just walking forward!
He didn't care at all about the growling Cerberus.
I had no choice but to follow him.
The Cerberus were all looking at King Seldic. Well, of course they were. The others hadn't moved from in front of the door.
One of them opened its mouth!
It's going to spit a fireball!
I instantly increased the output of the eight [Magic: Firefly] I had floating above King Seldic's head.
“Gyawn!”
The Cerberus all turned their faces away at once.
One fireball that was released in the momentum was cut down by King Seldic with his silver sword!
The fireball, split in two, lost its momentum and fell to the left and right. I can't believe he can do such a thing!
A moment later, the priests in the rear released [Magic: Holy] with Overflow and reflection plates all at once.
“It was easier than I thought. With four super-high-class and two high-class mages, a few C-rank monsters are easy to defeat.”
King Seldic, who had slit the throats of all the defeated Cerberus with the sword in his hand, said. He's definitely a warrior, making sure to deliver the finishing blow.
“To slice through a Cerberus's fireball. That was splendid.”
Price-sama was praising him.
“Fufufu, Henry taught me.”
“Is that so?”
I couldn't help but ask.
“It's an old story. If you want to know the details, you should ask Henry or Eleanor.”
“I see.”
The three of them have all sorts of history together, don't they?
“The proceeds from the defeated monsters will be split between Bishop Harrison and Bishop Jeanne, right?”
King Seldic abruptly changed the subject.
Basically, that's how it works. However, there's also a method where it's divided by the number of people, and for priests belonging to a church, it's paid to the church they belong to through the individual in the form of a donation.
“I see. Then let's do that. Take my share, turn it all into wine, and give it to that demon. It's a reward for her cooperation.”
That might be good. Even so, King Seldic really is a fair person. Is the reason he's popular among the Engrio people, despite having fought so many wars and in a sense killed many people, because of this side of him?
At any rate, we broke through safely. We opened the door of the room where the Cerberus had been and entered the room with the secret tome.
“What is the meaning of this? There are various things placed here.”
As Price-sama said, it wasn't just bookshelves and a table. Several wooden boxes were placed there. There had been nothing like this in the other places.
When we went to the back room, there was an altar. This was the same as the other locations.
“Are these wooden boxes such suspicious things?”
King Seldic tapped a wooden box with a 'kon-kon' sound, as if knocking. It didn't seem particularly unusual.
“They were likely brought in by someone. They weren't in the other secret tome rooms. Only here.”
Price-sama answered King Seldic.
Hmm. Did someone who came to investigate the secret tome leave them behind?
“Let's leave them as they are and ask the Dwarf. He might know something.”
Originally, we planned to return to the Dwarf after confirming the secret tome and the altar. Since he's the gatekeeper, he should know something.
“Ah. That. It was about a thousand years ago, I guess. A priest, or rather, a Priestess. To be precise, a Priestess leading some priests. The priests were in front doing the talking, but the one at the center was the Priestess in the back. You can't fool my eyes. Those wooden boxes were brought by them.”
As expected of a gatekeeper, the Dwarf remembered clearly.
A thousand years ago, it was a time when a lot happened. Speaking of a Priestess, she might be the one who entrusted the Black Stones to the Dragonewts.
Wait? That means...
“Price-sama, a Priestess from a thousand years ago means...”
“Yes, there is a possibility they are some materials or mementos that the Ruined Town moved.”
Sianya looked at me. She seemed to have remembered. The same thing was done to the Western Church, and legends regarding the [Magic: Testament] remain. Even though it's only a temporary loan, as the possessor of the five Black Stones, I must eventually enter the basement of the Ruined Town and activate the [Magic: Testament]. If so, what's here isn't just the secret tome. It might touch upon the core part of the Demon Lord's subjugation.
Harris-sama, who realized this from the conversation between me and Price-sama, swallowed hard.
“King Seldic, I intend to investigate those wooden boxes without removing them from this room.”
“Let my country participate as well, and give me a report. It should be the same as the one given to Medioland.”
“Of course. Following the recent Great Unity Conference, it has already been confirmed that measures against the Demon Lord will be taken by the entire White Island. Information will be shared, though it will be limited to the Archbishops of the Royal Capital Great Churches of each country and their close associates, as well as the royalty of each country and a few collaborators.”
“Then that is fine. My country will have only myself and the Archbishop there participate.”
The Archbishop of the Engrio Royal Capital bowed. That must mean he agreed.
“I understand. Then, today we will only investigate the outline of the secret tome. Shall we leave the contents of those wooden boxes and the details of the secret tome for a later date?”
“You won't take the contents of the wooden boxes out of here even after the investigation, right?”
“Yes. If necessary, I will swear to the Goddess in your presence.”
“Fine. I trust you. As long as my country's Archbishop is present, I don't mind.”
“Thank you for your trust.”
This has become a big deal. Maybe the measures against the Demon Lord will advance all at once.
The investigation of the secret tome began amidst the tension that had suddenly heightened because of the mysterious wooden boxes. Since it was only an outline this time, there probably wouldn't be that much. The one in charge of reading it aloud was, of course, me, activating [Magic: Thought Communication]. Those participating in the transcription were the Archbishop of the Engrio Royal Capital, Price-sama, Harris-sama, Harrison-san, and Sianya—five people in total. King Seldic would only listen as a witness.
“As expected, it's a combination of magic and magic circles.”
“Do there seem to be many types?”
“Yes. Let's see, it's divided into three: magic that utilizes the power of this world, magic that benefits the living, and other magic. Furthermore, besides those, there are the two poles of light and dark...”
My eyes were drawn to the final wording. It was an expression that wasn't in the investigation of the mountain.
“What's wrong?”
Harris-sama spoke up.
“It says [Mixed Magic].”
“[Mixed Magic]...”
“Yes. It says it's a composite magic of magic and magic circles to neutralize the conflict between those two poles and lodge the power of both within the caster.”
“Neutralize the conflict between the two poles... [Magic: Testament]?”
I heard that the activation of [Magic: Testament] requires the activation of both light and dark magic.
“I don't know that much. It doesn't seem to be written in the outline.”
“I see.”
Harris-sama looked disappointed, but I understand how he feels. Originally, this investigation started because Harris-sama proposed it, thinking there might be power to seal the Demon Lord. But we might find out as we proceed with the investigation.
“Wasn't the effect of [Magic: Testament] to temporarily lodge the power of the Goddess within the caster?”
Sianya chimed in. In the stories passed down in the Western Church, that's how it goes. It's also said that at that time, the caster's—possibly mine—spirit becomes a spirit. Honestly, I don't want to think about it, but it's also said that I might cease to be human at that time.
“If the two poles are light and dark, isn't it strange for that to be the Goddess's power?”
That might be so. But it might not be. Because maybe the Goddess also gave birth to the Demon Race, headed by the Demon Lord. Of course, I can't say such a thing out loud. It's just something I've been vaguely thinking during my interactions with Henry-sama and the others. However, I hope that's the case. If so, coexistence and co-prosperity with the Demon Race would be possible. If the Demon Race were the polar opposite existence of the Goddess, we would have to be hostile no matter what. In other words, coexistence and co-prosperity would be impossible.
“Such discussions should be held after all investigations are finished. Including the contents of the wooden boxes.”
King Seldic said as if to admonish Sianya.
“That's true. My apologies.”
Sianya obediently bowed her head. It was exactly as King Seldic said.
“Bishop Price. This investigation should be conducted in order from the beginning without skipping anything, and a final report should be made only after everything, including the contents of the wooden boxes, is finished. Otherwise, some people might have their judgment swayed by strange speculation. It should be handled carefully.”
King Seldic added further. He's saying not to suddenly investigate [Mixed Magic] and jump to a conclusion.
“Thank you for your advice. I am of the same mind. I will add that to today's report.”
King Seldic nodded in satisfaction at Price-sama's response.
In the end, what we learned from the investigation of the outline was like the words of the outline of the secret tome at the mountain had been slightly swapped. The words for magic had changed to the wording of composite magic of magic and magic circles. And the difference between them was explained.
What was different was, in short, the power and the duration of activation. When comparing magic and magic circles, magic released directly by a caster has its power swayed by the caster's physical and mental state no matter what. Magic circles don't have that. However, you can't narrow the output or fire it at full power. It's always the same. The only difference is when there's a difference in magic control to the extent that the rank of the caster who imbues the magic changes. Even then, it remains the power of the magic at the time it was imbued. And magic circles have endurance, unlike humans. The continuous activation time is incomparably longer. A caster can last at most about two hours, but a magic circle for long-term continuous activation can last about two weeks depending on the magic imbued. A composite of magic and magic circles becomes more powerful and has a much longer duration compared to simple magic or magic circles.
“Well, that's within the range of what we already know.”
It was as Harris-sama said. Since things like barriers exist, those who know already know. What was clearly identified in the first investigation was, in a sense, commonplace. It was just clearly identified.
“What happens from now on?”
“We will conduct an investigation once a month as before. Judging from the volume, it will take four or five times. Then there are the wooden boxes, but I don't know how much time they will take.”
“Well, I suppose so.”
Price-sama answered King Seldic's question, and the first investigation ended.
After bidding farewell to the Dwarf, we moved with the magic circle. When we went outside, the female demon was waiting for us.
“Is it over?”
“Yes. The first time.”
“The first time? There's a second time, then.”
“Yes. We'll come a few more times. About once a month. Ah, we might not come during the winter.”
“I see, then I'll see you again next month.”
I'm happy she smiled.
“Since the first investigation is over, why don't we have a consolation party?”
Price-sama proposed to King Seldic.
“That's good. You should do that kind of thing.”
The female demon also became enthusiastic.
“Fine. I'll treat you. You come too.”
King Seldic said to the female demon with a laugh.
“Eh? Is it okay? Yay!”
The female demon pulled me and Sianya close.
While we were lively for a while, Price-sama, Harrison-san, and Harris-sama were having a standing conversation in front of the rock that had blocked the entrance. I went to call them since it was about time to head back.
“Ah, Jeanne.”
“Yes.”
“Jeanne, please let me hear your opinion.”
My opinion?
“What is it?”
“This rock.”
The rock...
“This rock might have been moved by the Priestess who brought those wooden boxes, originally being here, to block the entrance to the cave.”
“The Priestess from a thousand years ago?”
“Yes. A Priestess with powerful magic control. In other words, it might not have been possible to move it for another thousand years originally.”
If so, would it have been better not to move it?
“Can't we think of it this way? Originally, it could only be moved by a Priestess or a priest who was strengthened by the surge of mana. However, this rock was moved by the power of the Demon Race.”
If you call it a strange fate, that's what it is.
“A thousand years ago, humans fought each other, and those who followed the same religion fought each other, and tragedy occurred. The results of that conflict still cast a deep shadow even today. Anticipating that, the Priestess sealed this place with a great rock. But someone who can coexist and co-prosper even with the Demon Race appeared, and that seal was broken.”
Harris-sama and Harrison-san looked at me.
“Doesn't the teaching of coexistence and co-prosperity, which is the teaching of the Goddess, after all, also include the Demon Race?”
Right now, the White Island is split in two over that matter.
“It seemed to us that this rock symbolizes that.”
The three of them smiled.
“Yes! I think so too!”
Surely, that's it. It must be.