novelraw Chapter 49 : The Turbulent Vacation (1)
Chapter 49 : The Turbulent Vacation (1)
Chapter 49: The Turbulent Vacation (1)
I put the invisible Flewd elemental magic into the empty glass bottle I had received from Banshi.
“Let’s go, now.”
Then I walked out of the garden and tossed that glass bottle into the pile of herbs.
“What are you intending?”
“Just… let’s call it a bomb.”
A herb garden prepared for Tylant.
Herbs whose side effects brought hallucinations and ego collapse.
They had said it was quite a precious herb, so they must have painstakingly figured out how to cultivate it.
If I ruined it a little, even if it wasn’t impossible to restore forever, they wouldn’t be able to restore it right away.
And so the Open Observation neared its end.
Once the Nohill Family’s Open Observation ended, Former headed to a shabby tavern in the Underworld.
“You’ve come, Vice Headmaster.”
“Good to see you, sir.”
The owner, who had thick white mustache and curly hair, greeted him warmly.
Contrary to expectations, Former offered the tavern owner a very polite and courteous greeting.
“Heh heh, calling me ‘sir’? I’m just an old man. But I didn’t get any message you were coming—what brings you here?”
“May I use that room for a moment? Here in the Underworld, this is the only place I could think of where I can feel at ease, so I came straight here.”
“That room, you mean…….”
It was the contact point used by Etar and Impel last summer.
“It must be Sculptor business.”
Sculptor was the name of the organization personally owned by Ed Etar.
Its members consisted of Ed Etar himself, Vice Headmaster Former, Impel who had come to this tavern last year, the tavern owner, and a few unknown individuals—that was all.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Please, go inside. Would you like something to drink?”
“No. I’ll be leaving soon anyway.”
The owner then guided him.
“Thank you.”
“As always, I’ll lock it once you’re inside. When you’re finished, knock on the door.”
“Yes, I’ll do that.”
Former stepped inside, and the owner locked the door as promised.
Clack!
Hearing the sound of the lock fully set, Former immediately activated Mob and contacted Etar.
-Yes, Vice Headmaster.
“Headmaster, I’m reporting in.”
-What was the reason behind the Open Observation?
“I’m sorry, but I wasn’t able to find that out. But I did witness something very strange.”
-Strange?
Former then explained the strong magic he had felt in the Nohill Family’s grand dining hall and the strange symptoms shown by Head of House Jick.
-Are you sure? He couldn’t remember? The Head of House Jick?
Etar was so shocked that he abandoned the speech patterns he usually used, asking urgently.
“Yes, I have no idea what’s going on. I thought interrogating Disciple Artel wouldn’t yield anything.”
-Good work. If you had interrogated him, you probably would’ve ended up the same way. If what I’m guessing is correct.
“Headmaster, are you saying you know something about this?”
-Well…… I do know something. But I’m not sure if it could really be that…… It was so long ago…….
Former wondered what Etar might know, but he didn’t press. He thought Etar would tell him when the time came.
-Did the Draco Family set any conditions when they permitted the Nohill Family’s Open Observation?
“I don’t know anything about that.”
-Troublesome. The Nohill Family must hold quite an important position since they supply herbs to the Draco Family, so the fact that they allowed an Open Observation without any conditions is a bit odd…….
“In any case, you’re certain Artel has something.”
-It’s more than just ‘something.’
“How should I proceed?”
-For now, do nothing. This is the time to step back for a bit.
Etar answered firmly.
It was the same firmness he had shown when he decided on the plan to expel Artel.
“Understood.”
-It’s troubling. If what I suspect is correct, I’d like to see Artel in person.
“But we’re already progressing with the expulsion plan, aren’t we? Are you withdrawing that plan as well?”
-…….
Etar fell silent for a moment, contemplating deeply.
-No, it’s already begun. If we suddenly stop here, the Draco Family will grow suspicious.
“I agree with that.”
-And besides, if what I’m guessing is really correct, Artel won’t be expelled no matter what we do.
“What……?”
Etar spoke with such certainty that Former couldn’t help but wonder why.
-You’ll understand what I meant later. For now, I need to observe things as well, so continue with the expulsion plan. I need time to be certain.
“Understood.”
-Yes. Be careful in the Underworld as well.
“Yes, don’t worry, Headmaster.”
Once the Open Observation ended and I sent Hei to the orphanage first, I followed Banshi.
The reason I followed her was because I wanted to know the identity of the secret place in the Underworld.
“This is it, Sir Archis.”
“……I was a fool to think ‘place’ meant a building. To think you made a small cave with the earth element and covered the entrance with the Flewd element to make it invisible.”
“As expected, you noticed immediately just by looking.”
How could I not? Those two particular trees were shaped so unnaturally that they were far from anything found in nature.
No, to be honest, I had suspected something ever since we walked through the forest.
Banshi retrieved the Flewd element that had hidden the cave.
Then a truly tiny cave entrance appeared.
And the moment I stepped inside the cave, what I saw was a lone bookshelf.
“This is the place you come to every vacation?”
“Yes.”
“Aren’t you living in far too musty a place? You’re not even a refugee.”
“I am a refugee, given my situation.”
“……Are you trying to make me feel embarrassed?”
“I’m sorry.”
Then I looked at the books lined up on the shelf.
“So these are all books from the Emmet Family’s library, is what you’re saying?”
Ancient books whose titles weren’t long, mostly written as series.
Many of them were very familiar to me.
Some were books I used to read in my past life, and some were written by my master.
“‘The Beginner’s Guide’……. As expected, even if times change, this classic never does.”
Seeing that Banshi also owned this book made me feel oddly pleased.
I let my eyes skim through the other books until I stopped at one titled Summoning Book I.
“The author…… Astral?”
“Sir Archis, do you know him? I heard he was a summoner active 600 years ago.”
If it was 600 years ago, that would be before I was born, but even so, he should have been a magician whose name I had at least heard once.
But it was a name I was hearing for the first time.
“No.”
“So even Sir Archis doesn’t know the name…… Now I’m really curious who this Astral really was. Ah, maybe because he was a summoner, that’s why you don’t know him?”
“That could be. The only summoner who became famous enough to make a name for himself was Sylarid. And from what I remember, no summoner wrote a book series like this.”
I flipped through the book quickly.
The magic recorded in it was fairly high-circle summoning magic.
If it was at this level, it seemed to exceed even the 6th Circle—the supposed limit for summoners—with ease. If his name didn’t remain, it might mean that summoners of that era had a higher overall level.
But as I examined the summoning book, I found many strange sentences.
Summoning magic, unlike elemental magic, requires communion rather than attunement. Communion must come first, and attunement follows. A summoner without communion cannot exist.
Summoned beasts, summoned relics are living beings. The summoner is a higher life-form that handles such beings. Therefore, one must first learn the method of communion.
But the book did not contain the crucial explanation of that ‘method of communion.’
Perhaps because the book was written 600 years ago, the explanations were extremely concise, and even the terminology was difficult.
“Kiena read all this and understood it?”
“Yes. That’s why I told you, I truly felt ‘that’s what a genius is.’ She even grew interested.”
“…….”
Even to me, the writing was dry, the explanations were obscure, and the most important descriptions were missing. Yet Kiena understood this in two days and even summoned a relic?
There were too many things that didn’t sit right for me to dismiss her as simply a genius of comprehension.
“I told you, Kiena is an impossible child to figure out.”
For now, I decided not to concern myself too deeply with matters that weren’t urgent.
I closed the book, slid it back onto the shelf, and prepared to leave as I spoke to Banshi.
Because I had to stay at the orphanage today.
“Have a good vacation, Banshi.”
“You as well, Sir Archis.”
“Right. If you’re bored, come visit the orphanage. I’ll probably be there until this week.”
“I don’t think I’ll have the time. I’m sorry.”
“You apologize for everything. Get some rest, then.”
“Yes.”
Leaving the cave, on my way toward the city, I remembered the glass bottle I had left in the Nohill Family’s garden.
“I should set it off now, right? That way no one would imagine it was me. Hmm, let’s see……. Since the Nohill Family is a fire-element family, if I just set it on fire, they won’t be able to put it out, right?”
I spread my fingers and spoke the magic incantation, “Boom!”
Jick activated Mob to report.
The person he contacted was the gatekeeper of the Archmage Draco Tyrant.
The one who assisted Draco Tyrant at the entrance atop the main school.
-Head of House Jick, has the Open Observation ended?
“Yes, it has.”
-How was it? That student Artel. The Full Moon is watching that student closely.
Now Jick had to deliver troubling news, and he bit his parched lips.
“Phew…… I’ll explain step by step. Listen carefully.”
First, he explained that part of the purpose of the Open Observation had been to question the responsibility of the students Artel and Banshi for attacking his son.
-So what? It’s not like you were going to kill the students. It’s not something you’d be criticized for.
“I appreciate you saying that, but…….”
Then Jick added that a portion of his memory had suddenly vanished entirely.
-What? You can’t remember?
Naturally, the gatekeeper sounded baffled.
This was immediately conveyed to the Archmage Tyrant.
-It’s the Archmage. What are you talking about? You can’t remember?
Now Tyrant’s voice came through the Mob.
“Full Moon, sir…… It’s an honor. To be able to hear your voice like this……!”
Jick dropped to his knees before the Mob, showing a level of respect that bordered on servility.
-Shut up and just tell me. What? You can’t remember?
“Yes, well…….”
Boom-!
At that moment, a huge explosion rang out from the Nohill Family grounds.