Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: The Name of the End: Johan (2)
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Clack, clack-.
Inside a certain carriage heading toward the Marquisate of Alperatz.
A carriage pulled by two horses cut through the forest, and seated within was a blond elf wearing a hood.
The Sword Ghost, Lafaria.
The leader of the Eight Sword Society and one of the Seven Calamities shaking the continent.
The great swordmaster was currently hugging a demonic sword glowing with blue light, lost in her own quiet contemplation.
"We'll be entering the Marquisate of Alperatz soon."
"......"
Right in front of Lafaria, who clutched the demonic sword, the leisurely voice of the coachman driving the carriage echoed.
The coachman Lafaria had hired to travel the long distance.
The man seated on the coachman's bench led the journey to the marquisate with a relaxed smile.
Rumble, rumble-.
Lafaria, peering at the man from beneath her hood, bowed her head deeply without any reply.
'I heard they pinpointed a location where the fruit is suspected to be.'
In the mind of the bowed Lafaria flashed the contents of a conversation she'd had not long ago.
A conversation she'd had with one of her long-time kin through the tombstone she'd set up.
She recalled information on the 'secret society' that had stolen the fruit from the heart of the World Tree.
—Lafaria, it seems someone from the Magic Tool Research Society is involved in this incident.
The exile of the Great Forest, Acheron, had spoken to Lafaria about them.
The Extremist Magic Tool Research Society-.
A group tied to all sorts of secretive forbidden knowledge across the continent.
It seemed he'd judged that a member of this dangerous secret society was deeply involved in the incident.
'The head of the Magic Tool Research Society is the Pilgrim Bartov... the loathsome mage who invaded the Great Forest long ago.'
And the leader of that Extremist Magic Tool Research Society was none other than Bartov, one of the Seven Calamities, the mage known as the Pilgrim.
Complex emotions surfaced on Lafaria's face as she recalled old memories.
Was the Pilgrim Bartov involved in this incident?
She couldn't be certain right now.
But it seemed clear there was a possibility.
Swish-.
Lafaria's hand stroked the demonic sword she held close to her chest.
'I can't rule out the chance of fighting the Pilgrim.'
Lafaria's gaze turned to the blue demonic sword.
A rare demonic sword once used by Isaac Leoblant, leader of the Leoblant Brotherhood.
It was an item left to Lafaria herself at the end of the bloody battle in the Great Forest.
The effect of the demonic sword Isaac had left behind was powerful.
Even Lafaria, who had reached the pinnacle as a swordswoman, could vividly feel its power.
'Could I defeat the Pilgrim-?'
Lafaria bit her lip as she caressed the demonic sword.
The Pilgrim Bartov.
And the Blasphemer Sirius.
The outcome of a fight between them didn't clearly form in Lafaria's mind.
Rumble, rumble-.
As deep contemplation continued inside the shaking carriage.
Before long, a calm voice flowed from the lips of the coachman driving the carriage.
"This is the Marquisate of Alperatz from here on, miss."
"......"
Lafaria's eyes, snapped from her reverie, scanned the surroundings.
A landscape where golden wheat fields enveloped the carriage.
The cool autumn scenery welcomed the wanderer's journey.
* * * * * *
The Phantasm Library Celestia saw visitors of all kinds every day.
And among them, there were inevitably some particularly noisy ones.
Those that made sharper sounds than human voices.
The black crow and the pure white sparrow flying around on the second floor of the library right now were the culprits.
- Caw, caw—!
- Chirp chirp chirp—!
- Caw! Caaaaw—!
As their cries repeatedly echoed overhead.
On the first floor of the library, members of the Secret Society had gathered for a regular meeting after a long time.
Chirp chirp chirp-.
Perhaps finding the birds' cries resounding in their ears distracting.
As the meeting progressed, Austin was the first to voice a question about them.
"What are those guys doing right now?"
Swish-.
Austin pointed toward the library railing with his finger.
In response, Priella, seated at the table, replied with an impassive face.
"They're building a nest."
"A nest...?"
What came from Priella's mouth was an absurd story.
Nest-building.
Hearing about the crow spirit's ambitious project, Austin's gaze shifted back toward the spirit.
I followed Austin, observing the birds as well.
- Caaaaw—!
Flutter, flutter-.
Beneath the crow spirit flapping its wings vigorously.
There, a pile of relatively light books was stacked up.
Naturally, the books the crow was piling weren't the magic tomes stored in the library.
Empty books with blank pages.
It was using them to build its own nest.
The crow spirit, which had accumulated contribution points from the journey with Priella, had ordered these items.
'I wondered what it was ordering books with contribution points for, but it was to build a nest in the library.'
Even as a top-grade spirit, its habits didn't stray far from its appearance.
The crow spirit was building a nest for itself in a corner of the library.
Clink, clink-.
In one corner of that nest, small candies were piled up in heaps.
Perhaps wanting to hoard shiny objects, it was the result of stealing a few of Lua's candies every day.
- Caw, caw—!
The crow, building its nest, let out cries filled with joy.
Crayton, watching the scene indifferently, soon tapped the table with his finger.
Tap, tap-.
Only then did Austin snap out of it and shift his gaze back to Crayton in front of him.
"You still haven't fixed that habit of getting distracted, have you."
"No, it's just that......"
"Miss Lua seems to have more to say, so it might be best to hear her out."
Hearing Crayton's words, Austin scratched his head with an awkward face.
It seemed Crayton's remark had pricked Austin's conscience.
The heavy atmosphere in the meeting room lasted only a moment.
As the befuddled Austin refocused on the meeting, Lua waved her hand urgently.
"No, it's fine! It wasn't anything that important."
Ahem, ahem-.
Clearing her throat lightly, Lua continued her detailed report.
"The adoption rate of Polaris No. 1 has stabilized. The lines aren't as long as in the early days, but it seems most nobles want to have at least one at home."
"Come to think of it, Miss Lua, word about the genius mage from the Blue Tower has even reached the north."
"Ah, it's not quite at that level yet......"
Talk of Polaris No. 1.
As Lua spoke about Celestia's surveillance network, she blushed slightly at the praise directed at her.
Well, regardless of Lua's reaction, her fame was clearly rising day by day.
Even Celestia's surveillance network had picked up rumors of the genius mage several times.
'It would occasionally come up in conversations among the nobles.'
The only information I, who couldn't go outside, could gather was simple chats among nobles.
But even through that, I could sufficiently gauge Lua's rising status.
—Genius Mage, Lua Polaris.
That was the moniker now following Lua.
"Anyway! I think it's safe to assume most high nobles of the Empire will purchase Polaris No. 1."
Considering how she was when we first met, it was tremendous growth.
Rustle, rustle-.
As I turned the page of the magic tome in my hand, a somewhat worrisome remark slipped from Lua's mouth.
"To gather more information than that, we'd need to... retry the experiment that failed last time......"
Lua's gaze flicked toward me.
Perhaps recalling the memory of the magic tool exploding in the sky.
Lua spoke while gauging my reaction with eyes tinged with faint worry.
Swish-.
Seeing that, I lifted my head and spoke.
"No need to worry. I've already figured out a solution for the mobile citadel side."
"Yes!"
Nod, nod-.
Lua, wearing her witch hat, nodded vigorously in agreement.
That concluded Lua's report.
Scrape-.
No sooner had Lua Polaris finished than the Doctor pushed back his chair and stood.
"Well now, it seems it's finally my turn."
Seeing the Doctor rise with a face flushed with ecstasy, Crayton gave a hollow laugh.
"Some important announcement, I take it, Doctor."
"Yes, of course!"
In response, the Doctor spread his arms wide as if he'd been waiting.
The candle flame flickered over the monocle fitted in one eye.
"It's because—the Descent Ritual to summon the Great One to the earthly plane is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon."
"Ooh... so the Descent Ritual is finally happening."
"The preparations for the ritual are already complete, Doctor?"
The Doctor's declaration of proceeding with the Descent Ritual.
The attendees in the meeting room buzzed in response.
I, too, watched the Doctor with interest.
'This makes the third experiment already.'
I had considerable interest in the research of Doctor Begerton Antares.
I was placing my own expectations on the Secret Society's capable researcher.
"Tomorrow... right away?"
However, one member of the Secret Society showed an oddly discordant reaction.
Austin LineNote-.
The knight who piloted the magic mecha Sirius had brought it up with a complicated gaze.
"Your expression doesn't look good. Something wrong, Sir Austin?"
Crayton, watching Austin, spoke up.
Ahem-.
After pondering with a serious face at Crayton's question for a moment.
Soon, Austin opened his mouth with a somewhat uncomfortable look.
"It's just... I have a bad feeling about it."
"A bad feeling?"
"It doesn't feel like it'll fail, but it won't go smoothly either......"
It was like pouring cold water on the Doctor.
Click-.
Hearing Austin, the Doctor adjusted his monocle with an intrigued gaze.
"Going by gut feeling?"
"......Yes."
Blink, blink.
The Doctor's eyes quietly stared at Austin.
His eyes, as if calculating something, swept across the empty air dozens of times.
"Very well. Then let's do this."
Swish-.
Raising his head, the Doctor extended his hand toward Austin.
"It might be best if Sirius stands by near the marquisate."
"Yes? No, what do you mean all of a sudden......"
"What else? Insurance for any contingencies. If things go south, Sir Austin can throw yourself in."
"No, wait a minute! Doctor...!"
Heh heh heh-.
As the Doctor mimed throwing a spear.
I watched Austin, who looked utterly bewildered.
'Instinct, huh-.'
There were more things in the world that couldn't be logically explained than one might think.
Perhaps the holy knight before my eyes was one such case.
* * * * * *
The border region at the Empire's northernmost tip.
Near the domain of the barbarians who made a harsh mountain range their stronghold, the Erbar Union, stood a crude tent.
The Extremist Magic Tool Research Society's leader, the Pilgrim Bartov.
It was what the mage called one of the Seven Calamities by the continent's people had set up with his disciple to shelter from the morning dew.
Beneath that tent, Bartov sat facing a young boy.
"Julius. Today, I'll show you a simple divination."
Swish, swish-.
As Bartov's hands shuffled the thick stack of cards.
Islat Kingdom's prince, Julius, watched Bartov with an intrigued face.
"Can a mage of Master's caliber accurately foresee others' fates?"
Anticipation filled the boy's voice.
Hoping perhaps that he could glimpse his own future.
In response, Bartov smiled kindly at the boy.
"That would be ideal. But peering into a person's future isn't that easy."
"Impossible even for Master?"
"Julius. This world is vast. Under the black sky, even a mage like me is but an insignificant creature."
The cards in Bartov's hand were roughly shuffled.
Watching Bartov, Julius showed a disappointed expression.
Phee-.
A whine mixed with regret slipped from his mouth.
"That's precisely why I embark on this endless pilgrimage—to leave meaning behind."
"Then why do divination?"
"To read the great currents of the world. Under the star-strewn sky, sometimes the major flows become visible."
The 108 cards created by the Pilgrim Bartov.
As they aligned neatly in his grasp.
Bartov looked at the boy and spoke.
"Knowing the great flows usually lets one avoid disaster."
"......"
"Now, Julius. Without overthinking, draw one card."
Swish-.
Bartov extended the stack toward Julius.
Watching that, Julius's finger drew one card from the thick stack.
Whoosh-.
As Julius placed the drawn card on the ground, the castle depicted on it began to move as if alive.
"Wah-."
Admiration flowed from Julius's mouth as he looked at the card.
In response, Bartov smiled and spoke to the boy.
"Fortress card, huh? Looking at this, that mobile citadel in the skies comes to mind."
"Mobile citadel......?"
"There's a mage continuing a long ritual to reach the Great Law."
"The Great Law... What you mentioned last time when talking about the shadows, Master?"
"—The Floating Citadel of the Heavens. I once recorded it under such a name. It's wonderful to have a dream worth pursuing over long years."
Bartov's finger, gazing at the card, now moved to the top of the stack.
"Something's happening related to that special fortress. Shall we check the second card?"
"Yes, Master."
Tap-.
As Bartov's hand tapped the card, a pale ripple spread from that spot.
"Then, Julius. I'll draw the second one."
Swish-.
Bartov's hand drew the second card.
"......"
Bartov's eyes looked at the card he'd drawn.
Blink, blink-.
His deep eyes stared at the card for several seconds.
Frowning, Bartov soon tore the card apart.
Riiip-.
The torn card was engulfed in flames and vanished.
"Master......?"
The bewildered Julius's gaze turned to Bartov.
It didn't take long for Bartov's twisted face to return to normal.
"The card is tainted. Best to stop here."
"Yes?"
As a puzzled voice echoed.
Bartov merely faced Julius with a kind expression.
—The Pilgrim Bartov.
The intentions of the great mage standing before him were difficult for the boy facing him to comprehend.