Chapter 84
Chapter 84
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: A Matter of Logic
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“I’ll head in first. Allen, you have the first watch, right? See you tomorrow.”
“I’ll be turning in as well. I’ve roughly deduced the location of the teleportation trap, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
Evan offered a relaxed smile that didn’t quite match his arrogant expression, then disappeared into his tent.
‘Surprised that I wasn’t acting like myself, huh.’
Allen let out a wry smile, both dumbfounded and getting a sense of the image Vestla had of him.
Allen understood.
He knew what she meant.
In the end, no matter what excuse he made, he could never truly belong with them.
He would do anything for his younger brother, and that had become a priority that overshadowed everything else.
He had come here to find a way to locate Julius; what would become of him if he got sidetracked?
He wasn’t supposed to enjoy himself, nor was he supposed to get attached.
“Allen.”
“……”
“Allen?”
“…Ah, sorry. I was lost in thought and didn’t hear you. What did you say?”
William shook his head as if to say it was nothing, then asked Allen with a cautious expression.
“Um… is something troubling you? You look deeply worried…”
Allen shook his head as if it were nothing.
“I was just thinking about whether we could use the teleportation trap, and if so, whether it would be possible to return.”
At Allen’s answer, William looked at him blankly, as if surprised he was thinking about that.
“…Isn’t that something you can think about tomorrow?”
“I’m the team leader. I need to think ahead.”
When Allen replied with a small smile, William burst into laughter as if he couldn’t be helped.
“That’s just like you, Allen… I mean, Team Leader.”
“Still, I’m the only one on watch. Shouldn’t you be heading in now?”
“I-I have some things to think about, too.”
“If you say so.”
A natural silence fell between them. The campfire blazed brilliantly, as if begging for attention, continuously burning away the last moments of its life.
*Crack-le—*
“Did you know?”
William’s eyes remained fixed on the fire.
“At first, I thought all nobles were monsters. That they had blue blood, were ruthless even to their own families, and would eat filth if it meant gaining an advantage.”
That was why he had been so self-deprecating at first, and why he’d felt so conflicted by their actions along the way.
“You’re not entirely wrong.”
There were indeed many nobles like that.
Nobles who acted like merchants, like a pack of wolves.
One such person came to Allen’s mind.
Someone who had abandoned his own son for the sake of his family and power.
“But I can’t say you were right, either. No, you weren’t.”
William shook his head.
It didn’t take long for that prejudice to shatter.
Just a few weeks ago, when he first came to the academy, everything had been terrifying. William was an orphan who had nearly been relegated to the lowest rungs of society.
If a nearby mage hadn’t recognized his talent, he might not even be alive.
“Evan is arrogant on the outside, but he’s soft-hearted on the inside. He’s always trying to act perfect so he doesn’t cause trouble for others.”
It was just that he took it too far, making him seem haughty.
At first, William had trembled just speaking to him, but now, he felt no pressure from his arrogant demeanor.
“Eriel has a lot of pride, but she loves to play pranks. Did you know? She intentionally says misleading things to see how Evan and I will react.”
A noble lady, the daughter of a duke. How he had cowered, afraid he’d be slapped just for making eye contact by mistake.
He only came to know what kind of person she was because she had used his attitude to continuously tease and approach him.
“And you, Allen… you were fair. Despite being the second-ranked student, you never discriminated against anyone. I received so much help from you at the beginning because of that. Everyone is… a good person. So good that I hesitate to be around them.”
The stuttering commoner who couldn’t get along with others was no longer here.
At his earnest words, Allen lowered his head, avoiding his gaze.
“…Why are you telling me this?”
“I just… I just wanted to say it. And I wanted to thank you.”
William smiled faintly.
“It feels a bit strange to only talk about others, so I’ll say something about myself… I’m looking for my younger sister. Did I mention I was an orphan?”
“…No, you didn’t.”
“I’m looking for my sister, who was sold into slavery long ago. That’s why I came to the academy without a second thought. Of course, I was a little lost at first, but…”
He smiled, seeming to recall his life at the academy, then answered with eyes full of conviction.
“Now, I feel like I can find her. Even though I can only remember her name and that she has the same curly black hair as me.”
His expression was filled with hope and determination.
Seeing this, Allen spoke, somewhat impulsively.
At the same time, a part of him thought that it wouldn’t have much of an impact even if this story spread.
“I… am also looking for someone.”
A secret known only to Linbelle, Inellia, Vestla, and Catherine. A secret he hadn’t even told Rachel yet slipped from his lips.
“May I ask who it is?”
Allen fell silent at William’s question. Perhaps thinking he had overstepped, William smiled awkwardly and rose from his seat.
“You’ll find them one day, I’m sure of it.”
“I’m sure of it…”
Allen mulled over his words and smiled faintly. In that smile, the usual worry was absent.
“You think so?”
“Yes!”
Allen found it amusing that William could speak with such certainty without knowing his circumstances, but… it truly didn’t feel bad at all.
“I-I’ve talked for too long! I-I’ll be going now!”
With that, he hastily stood up.
His pace quickened.
Allen could see that the tips of William’s ears were flushed red, a sign he was barely holding back his embarrassment.
But he paused for a moment, then turned only his head back.
“I was thinking… that a life like this wouldn’t be so bad. So, Allen, please don’t try to carry everything on your own.”
He said this with a bright smile, unlike before.
“We’re teammates, aren’t we? Of course… we might not seem very reliable. But still, who knows if we might come up with a good idea.”
“……”
Then, without waiting for a reply, he quickly walked away again.
“I’ll see you in the morning.”
As he departed, Allen couldn’t say a single word.
‘Did I let my guard down too much? Or maybe…’
「…Are you okay?」
The light of the campfire didn’t reach his bowed face. Allen didn’t answer Vestla’s question.
Not a single word.
***
[Zaqnir, one of the Eight Strongest, will enter the ruins to prevent any further accidents.]
The announcement, made a few hours after the incident, was met with a tremendous response, just as the professors had expected.
-Zaqnir is here!?
-When? How? No, more importantly, is it true he’s entering the ruins?
-Our team is going in. Tomorrow, and we’re definitely going to meet him.
Even students who had been hesitant to enter the ruins out of fear immediately changed their minds. That was how immense the influence of the Eight Strongest was on the students.
One of the eight officially recognized strongest individuals.
They didn’t know why he was here, but it didn’t matter.
His presence alone was reassuring.
However, their enthusiasm got the better of them, leading to a rather unfortunate incident where some students rushed recklessly into the ruins only to be eliminated.
The professors couldn’t hide their bitterness at the news, but what could they do?
They just resolved to add another mental training session next semester when they returned.
“Alexius, is this the right place?”
“Yes, this should be it.”
Expecting a crowd of other students in the morning, Allen’s team had entered the ruins a little early.
They descended the familiar spiral staircase countless times, passed through the gray corridors, and moved deeper inside. But today, their objective wasn’t to descend as quickly as possible.
“What if this one is wrong, too?”
“Hmm… Honestly, at this point, I’m starting to wonder if the other students were lying…”
Allen smiled wryly and reassured them.
“How many people do you think would accurately remember the situation when they were eliminated?”
They had spent the previous day gathering information, mainly from eliminated students, about the location of the spatial teleportation trap.
Indeed, William, Evan, Eriel, Milled, and Alexius had all gathered various pieces of information, but…
*Rumble—*
As Alexius triggered the trap, the floor opened and then snapped shut in an instant.
“…Another dead end.”
It was already the fifth one.
Unfortunately, despite their diligent search from early morning until noon, they had found nothing.
The trap before them was just a simple trap, not a teleportation one.
“Don’t worry, guys! It’s okay if we don’t find it today. I’ll ask the others for more details. So…”
“No.”
Allen cut her off firmly.
Milled had every right to be offended, but instead, she looked at Allen with curiosity, as if wondering about his reasoning.
“Why?”
“After our actions yesterday, there will be people who have figured out our objective.”
“But even if they figure it out, we’ll have already found it by then, so shouldn't it be fine?”
Allen shook his head.
“It won’t be easy to get information anymore. The reason we could gather it so easily yesterday was, coincidentally, largely thanks to the accident.”
If not for that, they would have been seen as future competitors, and no one would have willingly shared information.
It was only because entry to the ruins was forbidden and anxiety was high due to the accident that they were able to get information so easily.
“Since they know we’re asking about a spatial teleportation trap, everyone will have figured out that our team is aiming for the fastest clear time.”
It would be meaningless unless they discovered the trap first.
People only pay attention to first place, to the first to achieve something. It doesn’t matter to others how much effort second place put in or what process they went through.
“They might even use that information as leverage to demand something else. For example, ancient artifacts or money.”
“Th-that’s certainly a possibility.”
William nodded in agreement with Allen’s words.
The memory of his embarrassing words from the previous day hadn’t faded, as the back of his neck turned red when their eyes met.
“Even so, if we keep checking every location like this, it will take a huge amount of time… What’s the plan?”
“Based on what Allen said… there are probably people outside trying to sell information about the teleportation trap right now.”
Evan looked troubled as the task he thought would be easily resolved had hit a roadblock.
The party moved on to three more locations.
The next trap unleashed blades of wind, and the one after that emitted a powerful gravitational pull.
The third and final trap billowed with flames that warped the air.
Seeing the waning motivation of his party, Allen stepped forward.
‘Looks like I’ll have to help out here.’
He had originally planned not to interfere so the team members could find it themselves, but he changed his mind.
He didn’t know what kind of monsters might emerge from these ruins. It might be a better choice to finish the objective quickly and get them out.
“Alexius, could I see the map?”
“Huh? Of course, you can have it, but…”
Though Alexius looked puzzled, he obediently handed the map over.
After a week of exploring the ruins, the map was covered in white lines. Allen began to exclude all the possibilities from the information his teammates had gathered that he deemed unlikely.
“From here to here, we will completely exclude this section.”
“Huh? A-Allen? Why all of a sudden…?”
At Eriel’s surprised question, Allen explained simply so all the team members could understand.
“When a space is displaced, it ripples and disconnects as a precursor. Based on the descriptions of the places I just excluded, there was no possibility of spatial teleportation.”
“Allen, what if there’s even a slight chance…”
“Even if there is a teleportation trap there, it won’t be too late to check after we’ve gone to the more certain locations first.”
As Allen continued with a strange intensity, they fell silent.
“The four locations to the northwest and the two to the southeast are the same. The strange dizziness felt during the spatial shift wasn’t motion sickness from the teleportation, but an unconscious reaction resisting an illusion.”
Allen’s finger moved across the map. The gazes of his teammates followed it.
“The one to the east-west and the two to the south were described as the space rippling before moving, which at a glance seems like spatial teleportation, but it's actually a trap that compresses space itself.”
“…And the reason for that?”
“Because they said the ripple’s wave pushed towards them like a wall. The wave from a spatial teleportation forms an elongated oval that stretches vertically.”
“I see…”
“Any more questions?”
At Allen’s seamless reply, Evan, who had asked the question, shook his head, wondering if he had made a mistake.
“No, none…”
“Then I’ll continue my explanation.”
After that, Allen continued to exclude a dozen more locations, each for a different reason.
“This place was described as an altar. Teleporting with an altar suggests a ritual for a being from another dimension rather than movement within the ruins…”
“A square magic circle and mirrors adorning the four walls of the room. That sounds less like spatial teleportation and more like a spell to seal something in the world behind the mirrors…”
“Three cubic boxes and a sword in the center… a very rare and difficult spell. Approaching it would teleport you into the cubic boxes, a high-level…”
They could do nothing but nod blankly. They couldn’t find any flaw in his words.
Even without difficult explanations about whose theory it was or which paper had verified it, Allen’s explanation was easy to understand and logical, even for non-mages.
“…So Allen really is a mage after all.”
Evan agreed as he watched Allen explain with a passionate tone.
“He only uses magic when necessary and doesn’t waste it, so I just thought he was different, being the second-ranked student.”
“W-well, they do say a mage who isn’t obsessed with magic isn’t a true mage.”
William muttered a famous proverb, thinking to himself that Allen seemed human after all.
“I believe everyone understands by now… Does anyone have any more questions?”
After countless locations were excluded for various reasons, only two places remained.
“None…”
“Ahem, what are we waiting for? We shouldn’t be late.”
“I knew you were skilled in spatial magic, junior Allen, but I never thought it was to this extent…”
Ignoring their stares, Allen whispered in a low voice.
“Then, let’s move out.”
The time to end the large-scale ruin exploration, the dungeon practical, was approaching.
***
After several days of significant progress, Julius’s team descended back into the ruins.
“Let’s take a short break. I’ll go scout the path ahead.”
“Go ahead.”
With Julius’s permission, Erini announced she would scout for a moment and disappeared around a corner.
The team members each began to take a short rest.
While everyone else sat down, one boy of average height remained standing, looking around to satisfy his vigorous curiosity.
“Hmm… observing the structure and style of these ruins, I’d say this wasn’t a castle or a religious building.”
A thin, husky voice.
Mateus stated his conclusion with an air of nonchalance, as if this was nothing.
“…Not a castle?”
At Abelin’s puzzled voice, Mateus nodded.
“From my observations, yes, it’s not a castle.”
“Why? It has four spires and the structure seems about right, doesn’t it?”
“As you know, the ruins are a legacy of the fallen ancient empire.”
The legacy of the ancient empire that was said to have ruled the entire continent, a civilization that had blossomed brilliantly.
*Tap, tap—*
“For that reason, the ancient empire achieved tremendous development in various fields.”
From magic, spirits, machinery, and martial arts to technology that could sustain the continent’s food supply.
“Along with various artifacts, such lost technologies also lie dormant in the ruins.”
“Who doesn’t know that? Stop stating the obvious and get to the point.”
At Abelin’s scoff, Mateus nodded.
“That’s right. That’s why the ruins are divided into various types. But this place… I can’t determine the purpose of its construction.”
“What?”
“Buildings have various purposes. Residence, study, training… even storage. The same goes for ruins.”
Magic is primarily found in someone’s research lab or the main tower of a now-defunct school of magic, and the ruins that elves desperately search for are branches of the World Botanical Garden, which supposedly studied plants.
“But this place is none of those?”
“Well… yes. I think…”
At Julius’s question, Mateus furrowed his young brow in thought. Just as he was about to answer, someone else interjected.
“Pardon me for interrupting, but in that case, what purpose do you think this place served?”
It was Bielly Casanaph, with her distinctive deep sea-blue hair, unlike Julius’s. She was the princess of a small maritime kingdom at the southern tip of the continent.
She was also a second-year senior who had joined their team at the same time.
“That is… In my opinion, perhaps a prison? No, more like a place to seal something away… something like that.”
“…A prison?”