202. Holy Empire
202. Holy Empire
Blink, blink.
Stella, who had been blinking with a dumbfounded expression, quickly withdrew the Mana she had spread out.
"...I-it was definitely right there? Blink? No, that's not it...? The traces are completely different from Blink..."
"...Hii?"
[Was it a ghost?]
"N-no way. It wasn't a ghost. We saw that merchant doing business with our own two eyes earlier. A Puppeteer? Was it a Puppeteer's magic? Well, they didn't go over the wall. That much is certain. And magic...? No, I'm not sure, but someone's Mana is faintly lingering."
Stella, who had been tilting her head repeatedly, moved toward the spot where the merchant had vanished.
No, she tried to move.
"Don't go."
I stopped Stella in her tracks.
"Huh? Why?"
"Wait a moment. Pina, are there any spirits around?"
[A whole lot of them are gathered near Eliarnes!]
"...I see. Then tell the spirits to walk slowly over there."
[Understood!]
Pina nodded readily and tapped at the empty air.
Then, tilting her head this way and that, she stroked the empty air with her fingers.
At the same time, a current of wind tickled us.
Pina, savoring that wind, smiled softly, her eyes sparkling.
[They're going in lined up like this—0-0-0-0-0-0! They're holding hands as they go in, so in an emergency they can pull each other out!]
"Good. Well done. For now, don't move. Tell the spirits to be careful too."
[I'll keep that in mind!]
"...Why? Does it seem like there's something over there? A trap?"
"A smell."
"...A smell? Sniff sniff—I don't smell anything."
"Just wait."
I twitched my nose and stared straight ahead.
A dead end. Junk piled up in front of it.
The smell of Nuclexirol wafting from among that junk. No, a stench beyond a mere smell.
A dead end where no wind should pass could not possibly give off a stench this strong.
Even if someone waved Nuclexirol right under my nose, it couldn't produce a smell like this.
But it did.
A stench that should only come from a Nuclexirol farm.
"Hii...?"
[Now that Eliarnes says there seems to be a smell, I think I can smell it too. The smell that comes from all over the Holy Kingdom feels especially strong around this area!]
"Sniff sniff... I don't smell anything... Maybe it's my rhinitis."
Leaving Stella behind as she practically ate her own nose trying to sniff, I heightened my tension.
"Pina, tell them not to stop at the dead end and to keep walking forward."
"Hii!"
A moment later.
Startled, Pina crouched down on the spot.
Then she reached out with both hands and lifted her cupped palms as if scooping something up.
"What, what? Is there really something there?"
Pina carefully lowered her palms and immediately tapped away at her tablet—tatatatat.
[The spirit that was walking forward vanished for a moment and then suddenly reappeared! And it came running hard to me and said that although it looks like a dead end, it seems to be a path with spatial distortion magic cast on it!]
"Whoa... Spatial distortion? I can't sense it at all... So there's something inside? Is it the warehouse we've been looking for?"
[It couldn't go deep inside because it felt a frightening energy, but it said that as soon as it entered, it saw a huge amount of light-brown leaves! And it said those leaves also gave off a terrifying energy!]
Pina tilted her head as if asking whether we'd read it all, and as soon as we nodded, she took the tablet back and began drawing.
Leaves shaped like a palm, split into nine parts, with holes pocked across the surface and edges jagged like sharp sawteeth.
[It said the leaves were this big!]
Pina stretched her short arms and legs out as far as they would go.
I couldn't tell exactly how big "this big" was, but I knew very well what those leaves were.
Nuclexirol. And if they were light-brown, then they'd been dried at room temperature, blocked from sunlight, ready to be rolled into cigarettes.
I thought it was a Monster breeding pen, but it doubles as a Nuclexirol warehouse too?
"Pina, before the spirits went in, they didn't feel any frightening energy?"
[No, that's right.]
"And once they went in, it felt stronger than now?"
Nod nod—
"Stella, up to what Circle of magic can you sense? Assuming the opponent is deliberately hiding it."
"...If I concentrate, 7th Circle?"
"Do you sense anything now?"
Shake shake—Stella shook her head weakly and said dejectedly.
"No matter how much I concentrate, I can't sense anything, not even a trace... Even the Mana that lingered when that person vanished earlier has disappeared. It shouldn't be able to vanish this quickly..."
"Pina, what about the spirits? They still don't feel anything?"
[They didn't know when they went in, but now that they know there's something inside, they say they can finally feel a terrifying energy!]
Spirits are more sensitive to Demonic Energy than any other being.
But the spirits answering through Pina did not call it "Demonic Energy." They only called it a terrifying energy.
No matter how young a spirit is, it should know that Demonic Energy is Demonic Energy, yet it made no mention of Demonic Energy.
And Stella said she couldn't sense any traces of magic here. But she clearly felt the traces where the merchant we were chasing had vanished.
She even said the Mana in the air had disappeared quickly.
It's familiar.
So familiar that I already know it.
A high-Circle Barrier that blocks Demonic Energy from leaking outside and absorbs Mana from the air to endlessly maintain spatial distortion.
It's similar to the Barriers I saw often in the laboratories—and "breeding pens"—of the Black Wizards who were active four hundred years ago, hiding in Ge Vihenum.
Then what is the Realm of the master who created this breeding pen?
Stella said she could read magic up to the 7th Circle. But she couldn't read the Barrier here.
Of course, it could be that she couldn't read it because it's Black Magic, but for now it's best to assume it's a Black Wizard of at least the 8th Circle.
There's no harm in being careful.
"Let's go back."
"Hii...?"
"...Huh? J-just leave? We don't need to check?"
"Yeah. We don't need to. It's enough."
I grabbed Stella's and Pina's hands tightly and turned away.
"Uh... uh, so we're leaving the rest to Miss Sara?"
"...Let's talk to her first."
Honestly, even Sara would be in danger.
Of course, if she could use transformation magic and put on a flawless performance, it wouldn't matter, but she couldn't perfectly impersonate someone she'd only seen once.
But for Leona to go in directly... it's tricky.
The moment she launched an assault, they'd likely contact other branches and wipe out all the evidence.
If that happened, the important ones would cut their tails and run.
Should I go in pretending to know nothing?
If I went in and became a hostage or test subject, I'd probably get to meet the person in charge of this warehouse at least once.
And if I killed them the moment I met them, they wouldn't be able to contact other branches.
But... what if they bound me tightly with a Mana-blocking Artifact? I'd be fucked. With this body, I could never break free.
And I couldn't send Pina and Stella in either.
"...Tch."
We slipped out of the alley and walked among the crowd.
A cheerful atmosphere. A sweltering midsummer night.
And the smell of Nuclexirol still wafting through the air.
A misshapen moon hung in the sky, and countless stars twinkled.
There were as many people on the streets as there were stars.
Day by day, there would be more and more.
And when that moon became full, the Birth Festival would open and countless people would flood in.
Without room to step, absolutely swarming.
Yes. There would be more people.
And because of that, Gluttony would have more to eat.
"...Ha."
The stench of Nuclexirol lingering at the tip of my nose.
The Remnant of Gluttony dwelling within Nuclexirol.
The priests' Barrier that awakens that remnant.
And the Resurrection of Gluttony.
The Authority of Gluttony is simple.
The more it eats, the stronger it becomes.
Even if it's just an Apostle of Gluttony, if it gorges itself endlessly, it will definitely grow stronger.
Is there a limit? I don't know because I've never let one eat like that, but it couldn't become as strong as Gulaka.
Gulaka was a Demon who existed for hundreds of years.
To become anything like that thing, even eating every human on the continent at once wouldn't be enough.
But.
Even if it's a Demon bearing the Remnant of Gluttony—no, even if it's not a Demon but a Half-Human Half-Demon.
If there exists any being with blood bearing the Remnant of Gluttony, and if that being devours all the many Apostles of Gluttony and their Retainers.
And if the Authority of Gluttony is shoved into that being to complete it.
Then no matter what, couldn't that be called the Resurrection of Gluttony?
Was the Apostle's Awakening in Anketin not meant to kill someone, but an experiment?
Was it an experiment to determine the level of an Apostle, how much effort it took to awaken one, and things like that?
That's highly likely.
The remaining time, even thinking generously, is ten days.
I have to stop it beforehand.
And in the process, I must not cause a commotion.
I have to catch and kill them all at once, without them knowing, without letting them escape.
"...Eliarnes? A-are you okay...?"
Stella's hand, which I had been holding one-sidedly, now squeezed mine back—tight. Pina's trembling hand also gently clasped mine.
"Your face is pale..."
I let out a breath.
I had been holding my breath without realizing it.
Was I tense? Me?
Why?
Because there are many things I must protect, many things I want to protect.
This is different from my Past Life.
I must not repeat the mistakes of my Past Life.
I steadied my breathing and composed myself.
"I'm just tired. Let's go back quickly and rest."
First, let's go back and consult with Sara.
I can think of a solution after that.
"Want to pick up some late-night food? Aren't you hungry after all that tension? I'm a little peckish."
"Uh, huh? Late-night food...? I'm... a little hungry too..."
"Hii!"
"Okay. Then let's get something for Sara too and pack up a bunch of stuff."
No need to make the kids anxious too.
Laughing my usual giggle, I matched my pace to Pina's and Stella's steps.
On a midsummer night, the streets of the Holy Capital on the eve of the festival were chillingly peaceful.