kscans

Chapter 190 - Episode 7: Part 1, Hypothesis

A beautiful princess, as if from a fairy tale, slept in her bed. Her shimmering blue-silver hair spread across the sheets from her pillow, her chest slowly rising and falling. But her pale face and occasionally ragged breathing conveyed a sense of fragility to anyone who saw her.

In fact, when Luiza heard the sound and entered the Crystal Chamber, Alfina was reportedly lying on the floor. The cause of such a heavy burden on her was clear.

"So, the images of the prophecy have finally emerged, then..."

I suppressed my emotions and took the paper from Luiza. Alfina seemed to have written it down before losing consciousness. The writing was clear. No matter how much my emotions wavered, it appealed to my reason. The neat handwriting suggested she had probably rewritten it deliberately.

Bertold, the Royal Capital, Kurtheite... Many place names were listed. After the phrase 'many more,' there were descriptions of locations, perhaps features like 'north of the mountain' or 'east of the river.' Furthermore, fragments of the disaster Alfina must have witnessed, such as 'burning cities,' 'scratches on walls,' and 'city walls intact,' were present. The descriptions of what seemed to be humans torn apart were agonizing to read.

"Alfina-sama said it would be in spring, or early summer..."

Luiza added that at the end. Half a year from now, then. That gives us more time than before, but...

"Has the prophecy been reported to the Royal Palace?"

"The same thing Ricardo just saw has been delivered to the Chancellor," Euphilia said. It was a natural course of action. In a way, it was strange for me to witness such a national crisis at the same time as the Chancellor.

The problem was the outcome. Even with just the fragmentary images written down, what was being prophesied was nothing short of the nation's downfall. What would be prioritized in such a situation?

I looked at Alfina once more. Her breathing was slightly uneven, and sweat beaded on her forehead. I looked at Euphilia.

"She won't return to the cathedral until she recovers..." Euphilia said. I clutched the copied memo tightly.

It meant that once her condition improved, she would be forced to go to the Crystal. For a moment, the thought crossed my mind, 'If only I had destroyed the Crystal then.' I shook my head, dispelling the foolish thought. I had to make the most of the information Alfina had provided, and protect her, as well as what she sought to protect. That was all I could do.

"In any case, I'm going to the lab."

With a heavy heart, I moved toward the door, feeling as if I were being pulled back. I needed to propose and verify hypotheses for the prophecy as quickly as possible. I needed to produce results that would convince everyone Alfina wouldn't have to face the Crystal again.

"...No, don't..."

"Alfina-sama!"

I turned around. Claudia, who was by the bed, hastily grabbed a wet towel. But Alfina's eyes remained closed. Only a faint voice escaped her struggling lips. It seemed she hadn't regained consciousness.

"...Don't go... Ricardo..."

As Claudia wiped the sweat from her forehead, Alfina shook her head from side to side. Of course, I wanted to stay by her side. My heart whispered that it would be better to wait until she regained consciousness and then verify the contents of this memo. However, the contents of this memo dictated what I should prioritize. The writing was good; even when emotions raged, it steadfastly supported a cold, rational judgment.

If the disaster was what I anticipated, then gathering information from Maytyl was crucial. If I missed today, another two days would be lost.

*

"That, it seems, is the image Alfina-sama saw."

I explained to Fulsy and Noel, writing on a slate in the curator's office. If my imagination was correct, Maytyl's cooperation would be essential. But first, that imagination needed objective verification. Without it, I couldn't possibly convey the prophecy's information to Maytyl.

I had wanted to advance the agreement with the Empire before things came to this, but now was not the time for such concerns.

"Alfina-sama..."

"Indeed, the burden has grown heavier, hasn't it. And this is..." Both of them looked troubled.

"To lessen Alfina-sama's burden even a little, I want to proceed with hypothesis formulation and verification as quickly as possible. First, both of you, tell me what you think after looking at this," I said.

"It brings to mind the calamity from 400 years ago, what you and the Princess investigated, perhaps 'The Great Calamity,' wouldn't you say?" Fulsy stared at the many place names copied onto the slate, and the fragments of the disaster's scenes, and spoke. Noel nodded slightly as well. Yes, flocks of flying dragons turning cities into seas of fire. The records of the 400-year-old calamity, preserved in various regions, came to mind.

This aligned with the hypothesis I had formulated.

"It's natural to think that way. As always, we can't see the magical beasts themselves that are causing the disaster, so there's no definite proof."

Of course, humans are influenced by what they already know. And the members present here shared information. Before considering verification methods, we needed to decide whether to adopt the possibility that lay on the boundary between history and fairy tales as our hypothesis.

"So many dragons, enough to form flocks... How is that possible?" Noel posed the question with a frightened voice.

"Indeed, dragons are supposed to be remarkably superior beings among magical beasts. It is difficult to imagine that they could exist in such numbers as to cover the entire kingdom."

Even though they are magical beasts, at least half of them are living creatures. They undergo the process of being born and growing. While we won't know for certain without asking Maytyl, when we pressed the Empire about the dragons that came to Tuvil Mountain, there was information that feathered juveniles existed.

Given their massive size, it's unlikely they become adults in just one or two years. Furthermore, the biomass or magical power required to sustain them is also an issue. Even ordinary large carnivores like lions and tigers require vast territories to sustain a single individual.

However, that is only assuming the dragons of Tuvil Mountain are the standard.

"Several possibilities can be considered. One is that they are a different species from the dragons we know."

The drawings believed to depict dragons in the records of the Great Calamity varied widely. Some were depicted as large enough to surpass city walls, while others were merely larger than humans, like a Horse-Dragon. However, with no perspective or anything of the sort, their sizes were completely unreliable.

Even if they possess flight capabilities, they might be small or medium-sized. In that case, the resources for a single dragon that we know of could potentially sustain many of them.

"That is a possibility... However, there are no records of dragons to support such a claim in the Kingdom, at least," Fulsy said.

"Then, another possibility is that the cities written here are not necessarily attacked simultaneously."

A flock of dragons might be capable of destroying a single city, say, ten medium-sized dragons. That flock of ten would then attack cities one after another.

"Hmm, that makes more sense. What about past records?"

"If both the Kingdom and the Empire have records of being attacked by dragon flocks, there's no guarantee that it was only one flock, but at least humanity didn't perish 400 years ago, so..."

This is also speculation. It's dangerous if it's mixed with the desire for it to be true. But I'll trust that we can filter that out later through verification.

"I have one question, though."

"A question?"

"Indeed. Even if it were a single flock, if it's a dragon flock, there would likely only be one place where it could originate, wouldn't there?" Fulsy looked at the map hanging on the wall.

"The Blood Mountains, I presume," Noel said.

"Indeed. Look at the cities the Princess named in her prophecy. They are scattered all over the Kingdom. If we assume the dragons are attacking from the Blood Mountains, then besides the northern parts of the Kingdom and areas near the eastern and western magic veins, the Royal Capital and even places further south are named. Wouldn't it be difficult for a small magical beast to fly such a distance with only a Magic Crystal core?"

I see. Even the dragons that attacked Kurtheite, the major city closest to the Blood Mountains, were only able to be active because there was a magic vein that emerged in Tuvil Mountain.

"Is there a possibility of a species specialized in flight capabilities?" After all, they are dinosaurs. It wouldn't be strange for them to have evolved into something more bird-like.

"We cannot deny that. We have no way of knowing the precise types of dragons. However, if such creatures exist, it wouldn't be strange for there to be instances of them attacking the Kingdom from the Blood Mountains."

"But like Tuvil Mountain, magic veins could emerge in various parts of the country..." Noel said.

"Indeed, something like the magic vein at Tuvil Mountain, or the one that sustained that flock of Mucus, could occur..."

"............" "............"

We fell silent. The scarcity of information was once again keenly felt. Even the fact that they are dragons is merely speculation. Furthermore, if they inhabit the Blood Mountains, a magical realm utterly impassable to humans, there is no guarantee that estimations like the dragon population limit would even hold true.

All we knew was that, whatever the disaster, it would cause widespread, large-scale damage. If we were to misjudge our predictions, the consequences would be dire.

"Given the current situation, we will prioritize the possibility that the same disaster from 400 years ago will occur."

Both of them nodded at my words. In any case, we would anticipate a disaster on a scale that would involve both the Kingdom and the Empire, just as we first thought. That being the case, the key person would still be...

*

"Are your schemes finished?"

Back in the lab, we were greeted by Maytyl, with Leonard-senpai at her side. A highly political problem had emerged. But there were no other options. Based on the hypothesis we just discussed, much of the necessary information lay beyond the river.