After Sending Yenil Away
Having sent Yenil on her way, Yujun let out a sigh of relief.
"Somehow, I bought us some time."
The excuse he had offered was absurd, but Yenil had accepted it, and thanks to that he could keep two of the spells in reserve.
"So what were the other two?"
"I didn't create new magic so much as modify what was already there, so they're nothing especially unusual. I only worked a peculiar combination into elemental magic. She probably wouldn't sense anything off, but the odds she'd be disappointed are high."
"Aren't they stronger, though?"
"The casting is harder, so the power did go up."
"…Ah."
"Still, they aren't classified as Ancient Magic yet, so they shouldn't draw any suspicion."
"That's a relief. But, Yujun…"
"Yeah?"
Manuela's expression suddenly turned serious.
"You want Yenil as a companion just because you need an ancient mage's power, right?"
"Right. Why?"
"I just… wondered if it was because that ancient mage is pretty."
"Yenil?"
"Yeah."
"Objectively speaking, she is pretty."
"…"
"What's wrong?"
"…I thought you just needed a strong companion."
"That is the reason. I told you."
"R-really?"
Manuela smiled, bright with relief.
"Ah!"
Yujun realized why she was acting this way.
"You're jealous."
"Wh-what…?"
"It's fine. I'm not going to abandon you."
"What are you even saying all of a sudden."
Flustered, Manuela spoke faster. He had clearly struck a nerve.
"You're worried your place might shrink—as a mage, as a buffer, or just as a companion. When it comes to magic, Yenil's the undisputed top."
"Ah."
In an instant Manuela recovered her composure. Her eyes seemed to frost over.
"Hm? Was I wrong?"
"Think whatever you want."
Yujun switched his equipment back to what it had been and returned to the coronation, resolved not to spare another thought for magic. Inventing spells had demanded a great deal of his mind, and the mental fatigue was heavy. He wanted to rest, even for a little while. Rest and good food were the only things that could properly ease it, and here, where the coronation was underway, a lavish feast had been spread.
How strange. Foods rarer than anything he had seen in his life tasted familiar the moment he tried them. Wherever people live, it's all the same. The heavenly race's palate isn't so different from a human's, either.
Then again, the food of the Demon Realm had been good too, and he counted that a genuine mercy. If the meals inside the Tower of Infinity had not suited his taste, his happiness would have crashed.
He was sampling the dishes with Manuela when he spotted a welcome face: Atradeon.
"Atradeon! Where has Sertiphs gone?"
"So you've come. Sertiphs, you say? A little while ago he was speaking with some woman. I don't see him now."
"The man of the hour has vanished from his own coronation, and no one's looking for him?"
"What trouble could there be?"
"If he keeps not showing up, shouldn't someone go find him?"
"Then you may look."
"I'd rather not."
"Recall how he was enjoying this gathering. He'll be back before long."
"Truthfully, it isn't really my concern… I'm leaving soon anyway."
"You mean to depart once the coronation is over?"
"Yes."
"A shame, that. If a powerhouse such as yourself remained in Heaven, nothing could be more reassuring."
"Heaven doesn't exactly have some tremendous enemy or faction left. What need is there to be reassured?"
"It is not perfectly safe yet. Among the captured heavenly folk of the Moderate Faction, there will be no small number who mean to stir trouble again."
"I heard the heavenly race is stubborn."
"Indeed. Once they set their minds on a thing, they do not bend easily. It may look like consistency, but the trouble is that it almost never works in their favor."
Yujun was smiling and downing a fizzy drink when it happened.
"D-disaster! Something terrible has happened!"
A heavenly soldier came running up, shouting breathlessly. He made straight for Atradeon, so he clearly had business with the sage.
"What is the matter?"
"Lord Sertiphs has passed away."
"…What? He did not merely disappear?"
"No, sir. We have just found his body."
"You are not playing some jest, I trust?"
"How could I be? Absolutely not!"
"Lead the way."
Atradeon's face had gone hard. So had Yujun's. Sertiphs was dead? And of all times, during the coronation?
The soldier led them to a marble building four stories tall. He climbed to the second floor and flung a door open. Sertiphs lay on the cold floor without the slightest stir. There was no breath. Just as the soldier had said, Sertiphs was dead.
"…"
Whether from shock or grief, Atradeon could not speak for a long while. Yujun, who had been smelling a thick reek of blood even before they entered the building, tilted his head.
We were this close. Why didn't I notice?
If Sertiphs had died while Yujun was buried in his magical research, he supposed it was possible he simply hadn't known.
"Who killed him?"
"…We do not know yet."
"Someone may have assassinated him to keep him from becoming the leader."
"We ought to confirm the cause of death first. I shall do it. Do not leave—wait a moment."
Somehow, it seemed he was about to get dragged into Heaven's affairs again. He did not complain. Sertiphs, who had paid him his due every time, now lay there as a corpse, and Yujun had no intention of simply walking past this.
"A sword had been driven into the left of his chest, where the heart sits."
"Is that all?"
"For now, that is the only wound visible from the outside."
"No internal injuries?"
"I sent mana through him to check, but there were no notable internal wounds."
"Sounds like an incredible expert, doesn't it? No matter how off his guard Sertiphs was, planting a sword in his heart in a single stroke…"
"You could do it."
"Don't tell me you suspect me."
At that, Atradeon shook his head.
"I mean only that it is not wholly impossible."
"I suppose. Any sense of who it was?"
"They would need martial power of at least archangel caliber. Gerbain, who commanded the Moderate Faction in this war, was a step below Sertiphs."
"Are archangels that strong? The one I saw during the Golden Goblin event didn't seem all that impressive."
"You mean the false Golden Goblin? That one was merely imitating an archangel's appearance, nothing more. And even among wandering players of the heavenly race who hold no rank, there are those of archangel caliber or greater."
"Discussing the strength of whoever killed Sertiphs is pointless right now. Atradeon—isn't the culprit among the players who came to the coronation?"
"The likelihood is high. I should issue a lockdown at once."
"Would that even matter? If they've already slipped out, we'd only be wasting our effort."
"And if they are still here? We must account for every possibility. A lockdown is best given as quickly as possible."
"Wait. What about the heavenly soldier who reported that Sertiphs was dead? What if he was the one who killed him?"
Yujun spread his senses.
"I'll bring him in first."
"I shall order the soldiers to seal the grounds."
The soldier who had brought word of Sertiphs's death was standing guard at the building's entrance. Having jumped to a needless conclusion, Yujun returned to Atradeon looking awkward.
"It seems he was not the culprit."
"I brought him anyway."
"You. What is your name?"
Atradeon addressed the heavenly soldier.
"Hendorson, sir."
"How did you come to discover Sertiphs?"
"I was standing guard outside the door when I heard a thud."
"You sensed no one else?"
"No, sir."
"Not even a glimpse from behind?"
"I'm certain someone was on the third floor, but I never saw them."
"A statement the culprit could easily make."
"I-I didn't do anything! I swear it's true!"
"He isn't lying."
"How do you know?"
"Just a feeling."
"Well. I, too, believe the culprit is someone else."
Yujun, who had been sweeping the surroundings with his senses, opened his eyes wide.
"It's already sealed. That was fast."
"They have several pairs of wings, after all. Perfectly natural."
"Doesn't that mean the culprit could flee into the sky as well?"
"Why else would it be called a lockdown? A barrier has been raised with this place as its center."
"There was a barrier? Why use it only now?"
"Its effect is so potent that the mana it consumes is enormous, so it is ordinarily left inactive. Even with mana stones to spare, we cannot sustain the continuous drain."
"To that extent?"
"I can guarantee you that even a Grand Archangel could not easily escape this barrier."
"Then we'd better hope the culprit is still inside."
"The odds of catching them will rise. The trouble is that the barrier cannot be held for very long."
"And that a considerable number of the heavenly race came to the coronation."
"Indeed. So we must hurry."
"Let's search together. I'll ask my companions for help as well."
"If you find anything, or the culprit, come to that plaza from earlier. A message would be welcome, too."
"Yes."
To preserve the scene, Yujun laid a barrier that was not wide in range but was powerful, then stepped outside.
Well, I'm no detective. Inferring the culprit from traces alone would be difficult. I'll leave that to the expert—Atradeon.
Of course, he did not actually expect Atradeon to find the culprit. This was plainly no accident sprung from impulse, but a crime arranged in advance. Unless the killer was exceptionally stupid, they would not be caught so easily. The worst case was that they had already flown far from here.
But there was no mana flow of the kind that appears when someone warps or uses spatial movement.
Which meant they had not been able to cross a long distance in a single leap. Even with wings, flying alone might have caught someone's eye. So the worst of it, he judged, had been avoided.
Yujun closed his eyes and pushed his senses out to their limit. Ordinarily, the wider one spread one's awareness, the easier it was to miss the small things—but Yujun was no ordinary player. He could feel the presence of every player attending the coronation, down to the smallest twitch of a finger. Even he was startled.
Was it this much?
At what point had his senses developed like this? The change was astonishing.
Could it be because I kept using Super Concentration while I was making magic? Senses and Super Concentration are related to some degree, but I never thought the difference would be this great…
He was not certain, yet he could think of no other reason.
Right. I was supposed to visit the Moonlight-Drinking Pond as well. Still, I should settle this first.
Who could have known? The very man who had given him a map that might lead to an incredible item would die so emptily. Yujun resolved to find the culprit no matter what—not so much because he cherished Sertiphs and meant to avenge him, but because he wanted to know who had killed him, and with what intent.
"Paranet."
He called Paranet first. With no decisive clue before him, this was a moment that called for the fellow's intuition.