Homecoming (6)
As we pressed deeper along the path, we ran into golems and gargoyles.
The gargoyles were more of a nuisance than expected, but the golems moved with agonizing sluggishness. Their motions bore no resemblance to the golem that had chased me two years ago.
Probably a lack of mana, I figured.
"Ice Emission."
I gave one of the lumbering golems a shove and cast the ice spell. It slammed into the wall and froze solid, fusing with the stone as if the two had always been one.
Honestly, it would have been easier just to smash the rock that made up a golem's body than to bother with this roundabout method.
"Yuli. Stop playing around."
My sister walked up to the golem I'd sealed and casually destroyed its core.
"What a waste…"
I didn't know much about golem magic, but the fact that a golem built three hundred years ago was still operational was remarkable. That was why I'd deliberately left it intact.
To a swordswoman like Emma, though, it was just another irritating monster.
Well, it wasn't as if I'd planned to research golems anyway.
"Julian, freezing them like that will only make the return trip a hassle. Please destroy them properly."
Sister Mary's point was fair enough.
"You're right."
We would have to come back this way regardless.
Two years ago, the situation had been so desperate I hadn't known how far I'd traveled. This time I could roughly measure it. After about an hour and a half of walking, a vast plaza opened before us.
Factoring in the time spent fighting, the actual travel time was closer to an hour.
"Is this the destination?"
"Yes."
Back then, I'd been relying on dim light and had no leisure to examine my surroundings. Now was different.
I amplified the light spell illuminating the area until the entire plaza blazed bright.
I could finally take a proper look at the space I hadn't been able to study two years ago—and I realized just how extraordinary it was.
First, the walls. Strange characters and diagrams that looked like magic circles were carved into them at every turn.
The ceiling was the same, and at the center of the plaza lay traces of where a crystal orb had once rested.
The events of two years ago came flooding back with sudden, vivid clarity. In a fit of rage, I'd shattered that orb.
It had probably been the core of this magic circle…
Fragments of the broken crystal were still scattered about.
"Why exactly did you want to find this place?"
Fair question… though I couldn't explain everything.
"I nearly died here once, that's all."
I continued surveying the area, analyzing the marks on the walls. I threw every scrap of magical knowledge I possessed at them, but almost nothing was recognizable.
The system itself was different, I supposed. It diverged significantly from the magic used in the present age.
Beyond being merely complex and abstruse, something unidentifiable was mixed into it. Well—it had originally been a spell for rejuvenation, hadn't it? An error had flipped my gender instead, so of course it would be impenetrable.
"I have some knowledge of magic myself, but I can't make out a single character carved here."
"Well, it is an old ruin."
At least three hundred years old.
"Shall I copy everything down?"
"No. Just a look will do."
Transcribing it for later study wasn't a bad idea in principle. But given the nature of this magic, I couldn't allow it. The mage who had originally researched this spell had been wanted for it. The magic itself was the problem.
Rejuvenation. There were good uses for it, certainly—but far more ways it could be abused. Nothing good would come of the world learning about it.
As expected, no real hints to be found…
I went to the altar at the center of the plaza and examined the surroundings. The magic circuits here, at least, I recognized somewhat. Channels for mana to flow…
It looked like a magic circle designed to sustain the spell with the crystal orb as its focal point.
After inspecting the altar, I looked up at the ceiling. Holding my head tilted back for so long left my neck faintly aching.
"The traces are almost completely gone."
Weathered away by time? I couldn't say for certain, but the magic circle on the ceiling was riddled with damaged sections.
"In the end, I found nothing…"
I let out a long sigh. I'd wandered around examining everything for quite a while, and the harvest was zero. I wasn't particularly heartbroken—I'd expected as much from the start.
Still, it was a little disappointing. Even knowing what to expect, some part of me had been hoping for a hint.
As a final check, I cracked open the door on the far side of the plaza.
The small chamber I had entered two years ago. Unlike then, I had the leisure to inspect every corner carefully—and still found nothing.
I really shouldn't have burned that diary…
I didn't want to regret it, but the thought left a bitter taste.
"Have you finished looking?"
Sister Mary asked. Something must have shown on my face.
"Yes. Unfortunately, nothing remains."
I'd known from the beginning there would be nothing… but the human heart was a treacherous thing.
On the surface I'd told myself there wouldn't be anything. Deep down, I'd been hoping. Hoping something would turn up—something that might let me become a man again.
Recognizing that true wish stirred a faint, very slight self-loathing.
And realizing that only made me gloomier still.
It took about an hour to retrace our path, climb the wall, and emerge outside.
"Ugh, my eyes…"
Even with magical light, spending so long in the dark left my eyes stinging when we stepped into the brightness.
"You've worked hard. Any results?"
Priest Daniel, who had been waiting for us with nothing to do, greeted us warmly.
"No. Complete waste of time."
I shrugged as I answered.
Daniel smiled gently at me.
"These things happen. Don't be too disappointed."
"Ahaha…"
Had it really shown that clearly on my face?
"It's a bit late to resume travel. We should rest here for the night."
"Yes, that makes sense."
There were plenty of buildings still in decent shape. Might as well put them to use.
We arrived back at the village a day later than planned.
"So this is the village where the Saintess grew up?"
We hadn't entered yet, but the outline of the village was visible in the distance.
"Yes. Small, isn't it?"
In truth, during our travels I'd seen quite a few villages as small as ours. By that measure, Fallen Village was probably just an ordinary settlement.
We drew closer at a leisurely pace.
As the carriage slowly rolled into the village, people began taking notice. I peeked through the canopy—they didn't look hostile, but wariness hung thick in the air.
And it wasn't mere wariness that was the problem. Hard to make out, but those hand signals—they looked like a call for the self-defense force. One of them, catching on, quietly slipped deeper into the village.
I startled, shoved the canopy aside, and stuck my head out.
"It's me! Me!"
The moment I leaned out and waved, the villagers in the distance reacted strongly.
That eye-catching hair color of mine made it instantly clear who I was.
"Julian?!"
Someone even called my name. Pink hair really was reliable.
The villagers came right up to us, and Emma, seeing what I'd done, stuck her head out as well.
"Emma too! You're back?"
"Yes."
"A carriage, horses, and even a man in tow—looks like the city treated you well!"
The smiling villager made me chuckle a little myself.
"It's not like that. Well—the carriage is ours, though."
"Haha, and the horses too? The village chief is going to be delighted."
"Yes. We should go see him right away."
After a brief exchange, we headed straight for the heart of the village—the chief's residence, my adoptive parents' home.
It was only a few minutes' ride… but someone was already there to greet us first.
"Hm? I heard there were suspicious characters, but isn't this Julian and Emma?"
"Instructor?"
Oh no—had the person who ran off already brought the self-defense force?
"Yes, yes, it's us."
I climbed down from the carriage entirely, and Emma jumped out after me.
"We're back."
"R-right. But why call us out for you two?"
"Ah—we were inside the carriage and came out late. That's all."
I offered a reasonable explanation and dismissed the self-defense force.
"A knight, I see."
His observational skills were almost too sharp. Priest Daniel had already picked up on the Instructor's exceptional nature.
"Well, I shouldn't go into his circumstances too freely, but…"
I gave a brief summary. A knight once stationed near the border who fell for a local woman, retired, and settled here…
"So he is the martial arts master of both the Saintess and Emma."
"Yes."
"No wonder the two of you are so skilled."
Well, even by ordinary standards I'd been decent enough, hadn't I? And Emma needed no comment at all.
At last we arrived before the chief's residence—my adoptive parents' home.
"Haha. So you really came."
My adoptive father had come out of the house. Word must have reached him in that short span of time.
"Father."
I hurried over and took his hand.
"We're home."
"We're home."
Emma offered her greeting in her usual blunt way.
"Yes, my girls. Welcome back."
Father gently stroked my hand. Emma, at times like this, could at least give him a hug…
Was it her dry personality? She had no talent for affection.
And me… well, I'd been a man, so of course I had no talent for it either, right?
"Where's Mother?"
"Out working in the fields."
It was spring, after all—the busy season for farming.
"And these people?"
"Ah—companions. They'll be staying in the village for a while."
"Is that so? Welcome to Fallen Village."
Priest Daniel and Sister Mary stepped forward and bowed deeply. Once the greetings were done, I meant to leave Emma behind and head to my own house…
"Unnie? Your house is over that way."
Emma tilted her head as if she didn't understand.
"Don't tell me you're planning to stay at my place?"
"Yeah."
"There's no room."
I was already short on space and debating whether to find another house—and now Emma too?
"So mean…"
She ignored me completely and followed along anyway.
The house we arrived at was surprisingly well kept. Hard to believe it had been left empty for nearly a year—no, more than a year, closer to a year and a half.
"This is the Saintess's home?"
"Yes. I originally lived with my parents, but I got a new place because of my experiments."
Priest Daniel looked the house over, parked the carriage in a suitable spot, and settled the horses to rest. Sister Mary and I went inside…
"Oh, Mother… you didn't have to clean."
My adoptive mother must have been coming by regularly. There wasn't a speck of dust—well, not zero, but barely any.
I hadn't lived here all that long, yet somewhere along the way I'd come to think of this place as home. Stepping through the door, I finally felt it—I had truly come back.