"I Can't Swim, Is This Really Okay?"
“I can't swim—is this really okay?”
“Uh, uh!”
Maness, biting down on a flower petal, couldn't give a proper reply, so he gestured for her to come in with his hands. He wasn't in the water yet, but holding the leaf in his teeth was necessary to maintain body heat.
“I'll hold you, so get in.”
Unlike him, Conien—who had trained under the waterfall for days on end—encouraged Iris with precise pronunciation.
“Suuup, fuuuh...”
Iris took a deep breath as if steeling herself, stuffed the petal into her mouth, and plunged into the lake.
Splash—
After confirming Conien lending his shoulder to their flailing friend, Maness dove straight underwater. Having swum in pools as a hobby for over a decade before entering this world, he had no trouble moving at all.
It was over there.
A wall not too far away. Maness sprayed mana again to confirm the destination, nodded to his classmates, and kicked downward.
Being able to breathe underwater felt utterly bizarre. The unfamiliarity was almost hindering his swimming. Recalling memories of using a scuba tank a couple of times proved a big help.
He soon arrived near the target and groped the wall, finding a strangely flat section. Looking closer, he saw a pattern similar to the magic circle he'd glimpsed heading to the Library of Memories.
If I inject mana here...
As Maness recalled the process in his head and executed it, his thoughts cut short. The moment he infused mana, his body was forcibly pulled downward, as if yanked by some force.
Conien, with Iris clinging to his back, reached out, but Maness gestured for them to follow.
This is convenient.
The activated teleportation magic would guide them straight to the lake bottom without effort. All the way to those depths, no exertion required. It was an experience that made the societal treatment of mages all too understandable.
After entrusting himself to the magic for a while, Maness spotted a building far below.
It should have been pitch black, impossible to see ahead, but whoever designed this had even prepared glowworms that emitted their own light.
The shards of light rising from the bottom were just as beautiful as the fields he'd seen from above.
Thud—
Maness touched down on the floor, freed from the magic's pull, and led the way forward. The architecture was identical to a temple dedicated to a god. Fortunately, the massive double doors stood wide open, spilling out a red glow from within.
“Ack!”
The moment they entered the temple, Maness cried out in pain as the water path cut off, dropping him to the floor. The entrance acted like a knife's edge, blocking the water completely.
Confirming this, Conien swam to the floor nearby and entered the temple.
“Haaah, I'm soaked!”
Finally free from Conien's help, Iris wrung out her wet hair.
“Maintaining a water cross-section like this—remarkable.”
“They can even embed entire spaces, so this is nothing.”
Of course, it was an impressive feat, but compared to anything related to the Library of Memories, it was trivial.
“Isn't space magic something only dragons can use?”
Iris asked, shaking her head irritably after wringing out some water.
“Yeah.”
“Have you actually seen it? You talk like you have.”
“...No way.”
She was still as sharp as ever.
Huff, huff...
As they bantered to shake off the tension, rough yet gentle breaths approached the trio.
A low-grade spirit detached from the distant red glow. The fire spirit, cloaked in a warm aura of flame, greeted the outsiders in the form of a small puppy.
“Is that a fire spirit? So cute!”
Iris shrieked and rushed over upon spotting it. Though wreathed in fire, it wasn't hot; she scooped it up and rubbed her face against it.
“You've all been here the whole time?”
Following the first spirit came one or two more, then dozens swarming toward them.
“Trapped in a place like this—poor things.”
“They're not trapped.”
Conien cut off Iris's sentiment.
“They chose to stay here.”
As he said, the fire spirits showed no signs of suffering. They wore cheerful expressions, as if bantering among themselves moments ago. No different from puppies living happily in a cozy space.
“But there's nothing special here, right?”
“Something draws them. Probably the same thing I sensed.”
Maness nodded in agreement with his friend's opinion and headed deeper. The fire spirits followed, forming an army of puppies. The only downside was how damn cute they all were.
“They don't seem wary, though? Even with the beastkin's egg around.”
“Hm.”
An intriguing point. The wind, earth, and even water spirits had fled in terror. Some fire spirits clung to Maness without a hint of recognition.
“Probably a lack of communication.”
“Communication?”
“Spirits share info among themselves. These ones couldn't have come from outside. Fire spirits, after all.”
A fire spirit swimming across the lake to reach here? Impossible.
“They were born here.”
“Then their knowledge is limited to this place. Unlike outside spirits.”
“So the other spirits feared the beastkin's egg not out of instinct, but information?”
Not instinctual fear. That alone was a major discovery. There'd been no reason for spirits to fear beastkin anyway.
“It's blocked here?”
Iris's voice echoed as she raced ahead where the path ended. Approaching, the fire spirits' flames gathered, illuminating the wall brightly.
It looked impossibly thick, unyielding to human strength.
“No visible seams or anything.”
Maness picked up a fire spirit and scanned for mechanisms, using its light. Nothing special except a massive circle layered in the center.
“This is it, right?”
Confirming Conien's nod, Maness positioned himself before the wall. Time to try every possibility.
“Open.”
Naturally, the wall didn't budge.
“You think it'll open like that?”
“There was a door that opened that way.”
“...Security here's pretty lax.”
He couldn't bring himself to mention it guarded the Magic Tower's treasure vault.
Woof—
A cute bark drew their attention. A fire spirit in the corner gestured for them to come over.
Approaching, the trio couldn't help but deflate.
“This is pretty lax too.”
A hole barely wide enough for an adult man to squeeze through.
Exchanging glances, they decided without hesitation to go through.
“Gently!”
Iris first, since she could pass alone. Then Conien. Maness, the bulkiest, barely made it with pulling from the other side.
Once through, the fire spirits poured in after them.
“Let's see...”
The interior, lit bright by the spirits, exuded a menacing vibe. A vast open space. Walls crammed with spells, magic circles, and massive iron chains gleaming in the firelight leading deeper.
“What the hell requires this much...”
“Everyone, back!”
Conien's shout pierced the air mid-exploration. It was the first time they'd heard him lose composure, so the other two hurriedly retreated and stared ahead.
“Wh-what?! What's there?!”
“That thing...”
Maness perceived the entity beyond the terrified Iris.
Clank—
A truly enormous body. Wings to match.
Clank-clank—
Red eyes igniting like torches.
The being emerging from the darkness matched what Maness imagined a demon would look like.
Whoosh—
Fierce flames erupted, fierce enough to incinerate everything around. But they halted at the installed mana barriers, not reaching the students.
Even so, they shrank back. The mere sight made their bodies heat up. A raw demonstration of fire's true power.
“Kyaa!”
Maness supported Iris as she collapsed, clutching a low-grade fire spirit. The space was laced with protective magic, so it was safe—but if danger struck, he'd need to react fast.
Hm?
In the tense, unpredictable moment, Maness witnessed something unexpected.
Huff—huff—
The fire spirit in Iris's arms was wagging its tail joyfully, despite the chaos. It should have been instinctively terrified. Understanding why it seemed to greet a familiar friend was baffling.
A grating, metal-scraping voice followed, as if to resolve his doubt.
Thud—
The demon-like form strained forward against its chains, lowering its head to inspect the fire spirits.
Gone was the earlier menace; now it acted like a kindly grandfather, shooing the spirits away. The chains limited its movement, but the spirits obeyed unquestioningly.
Even the one in Iris's arms slipped out through the hole. Clearing its throat, the demon bellowed again.
The ear-shattering roar forced them to clap hands over their ears. Peeking through, they saw flames spewing from its entire body.
“Sh-shouldn't we run?!”
Despite Iris's frantic plea, Conien advanced. Maness tried to block him—safety measures or not, it was risky—but resolve burned on his face.
“You're a spirit too.”
The being called a spirit tilted its head at the bold human.
Soon, sharp laughter filled the space.
Flamma. The high spirit who incinerated allies and enemies alike in the war against the demonkin. There were rumors of its sealing, but Maness never imagined it under Snowrobe.
Why here? It wasn't incomprehensible. Crossing the barrier into spirit territory, navigating the ridge to this hidden spot—not easy. Only Conien, heir to northern nomads, could sense Flamma's aura. For most, impossible.
Even reaching the lake, recalling mana detection was absurd; finding dolphin flowers from port cities and heading to the temple bordered on nonsense. Reaching here required stacked coincidences.
Snowrobe's headmaster was a dragon at magic's pinnacle—the safest spot. Still, this was too much.
No matter how he rationalized, facing a sealed high spirit was hard to swallow.
Flamma menaced each in turn, gaze locking on Maness.
The students realized it instantly. The furnace-like blaze faltered in confusion.
Flamma staggered back. Chains scraped noisily against the floor.
As if voicing his shock.