by Okina Baba
As she puffs up her cheeks sulkily, I suppose there is indeed something endearing about her, but that is no different from any child.
It certainly does not make her a “lovely lady.”
But I suppose I am not one to bully a child.
I cast Healing Magic on Aurel to dispel her pain.
“Ooh, thanks! Damn, nice one, Master Ronandt! They don’t call you the world’s strongest mage for nothin’!”
Aurel’s mood improves immediately. Further proof that she is indeed a child.
“Flattery will get you nowhere. And I am not the strongest magic user in the world by any means.”
“There you go, being all modest again.”
No, this is beyond the concerns of modesty.
Seeing that great being’s strength made me realize how far I still have to go.
The spider monster known as the Nightmare, whom I think of as the true master of magic, thoroughly put me in my place.
When we fought that great being with a squad of knights behind us, only Buirimus and I survived.
No, I cannot even call it a fight.
That was nothing more than a one-sided slaughter.
Even I, the so-called world’s strongest mage, had no option but to run.
My mistake was to vainly assume that no monster could possibly be a match for me, and carelessly set fire to that great being’s nest.
Had I proceeded with more caution, perhaps the outcome would have been different.
Instead, my foolishness brought about disaster.
Yet for some reason, all of the blame for the loss of the entire squad was placed squarely on Buirimus, the other leader.
He was demoted and essentially exiled to the harsh environs of the Mystic Mountains, a region home to many powerful monsters.
My laughably minor punishment was house arrest, and yet Buirimus was practically ordered to die.
It seems that no matter what blunders I commit, the Empire will not lay a hand on me.
Even if the only reason I survived was Buirimus.
At any rate, as a fellow survivor, I wish for Buirimus to keep living as well, but all I can do is have faith in his ability to protect himself.
“Guh?!”
The carriage gives one last violent bounce, and Aurel lets out a cry as she lands sharply on her bottom. We must have arrived at our destination.
“It is time to disembark.”
“M-Master Ronandt? My butt hurts too much to move.”
Aurel clutches her backside and whines, leaving me no choice but to cast another Healing Magic spell on her.
When we disembark from the carriage, we are met with a smell so rank, my nose nearly withers away.
It was certainly somewhat smelly while we were aboard the carriage, but now that we are standing in what appears to be the source of the stench, it becomes that much stronger and fouler.
“Ewww…” Aurel pinches her nose, looking quite the fool.
I pay the driver of the carriage for bringing us all this way.
We were the only passengers.
There are few who would voluntarily come here on a whim, and scarcely a stagecoach to be found, so I had to procure a carriage.
As thanks for his trouble, I pay a little more than the necessary fee, and the driver smiles happily before heading back in the direction we came from.
“Come now—let us be off.”
Aurel continues standing there, frozen in horror, so I start walking away without her.
I can sense her hurriedly catching up to follow me.
It’s hard to blame her for hesitating, though.
Despite her attitude, Aurel is in fact a born and raised aristocrat.
Though she is the daughter of a relatively poor noble family, it is no doubt unusual for a girl of a decent upbringing to spend time in a place like this.
After all, this is a town that was overrun and destroyed by an enemy army.
This is a settlement lying at the center of Keren County in Sariella.
No, I suppose I should say former.
This town fell in a recent battle against Ohts and is now under their control.
“Stop!”
A soldier shouts at us from outside the wreckage of a gate.
Ignoring the command, I continue to approach, and the soldier panics and readies his spear.
“Stop, I say!”
“You had best take a good look at who you’re speaking to before you go around giving orders, boy. Do you know who I am?”
The soldier and his comrades look at one another, unsure how to deal with my haughty attitude.
“You are soldiers of Ohts, yes? Did your superiors not inform you of my coming? I am Elder Ronandt, the court sorcerer of the Renxandt Empire. I have come in great haste to investigate this town’s connection to the Nightmare.”
The soldiers all freeze when I introduce myself.
They might not know my face, but they should certainly know my name.
Even if by some small chance they do not, they still can’t risk disrespecting anyone associated with the court of the Renxandt Empire.
Officially, the country of Ohts has an alliance with the Renxandt Empire; in reality, though, Ohts essentially serves the Empire as a vassal.
These soldiers wouldn’t dare be rude to the royal court sorcerer of the Empire that rules their country.
“Don’t just stand there. Go and call your commanding officer and give me a tour at once!”
One of the soldiers hurries into the gate building, probably to get confirmation from their superior.
I stand with my arms folded, waiting imperiously.
Meanwhile, I can feel someone’s eyes boring into me.
It’s Aurel, who is still behind me.
I don’t need to turn around to know that she’s staring at me with her mouth hanging open.
You see, despite me arrogantly sweeping in here and boldly declaring my name, Ohts has not actually been informed that I was coming here!
I am currently under house arrest, after all!
My presence is a secret not just from Ohts but even from the Empire itself.
Thus, even their superior officer won’t be expecting me, never mind the soldiers themselves.
However, a confident demeanor can get you a long way.
As I continue to wait, the soldier reappears with two people in tow.
Seeing one of them makes me flinch mentally.
“How kind of you to visit us today, Master Ronandt.”
Behind the man’s gentle smile and words, I can practically hear him demanding, What are you doing here?
“Indeed. You seem to be in good health, Tiva.”
I smile in turn and give the man a handshake, but inside I am beginning to panic. I was not expecting this man to be here.
Tiva is one of the knights of the Empire who holds court rank.
A serious man in the prime of his life, he is highly trusted by the current sword-king.
Most likely, he is here as the supreme commander of the coalition force arrayed against Sariella, a severe miscalculation on my part.
It was certainly a possibility that the commander would be someone I know, but for it to be the most troublesome person possible is truly terrible luck.
“I must apologize. It seems there was a miscommunication; Ohts failed to inform us that you would be coming, Master Ronandt. Forgive my haste, but could you draw up the papers permitting Master Ronandt to stay?”
In addition to being excessively diligent, he is highly adaptable to unexpected situations like this, making him all the more dangerous.
With a few smooth words, he’s sent away the Ohts official who came with him to make papers for me.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I shall give Master Ronandt his tour. Let us go, Master Ronandt.”
Guided by Tiva, I step into the town.
“Well then, Master Ronandt, why have you come here?”
As we walk, Tiva glares coldly at me, the gentle smile vanishing as if
it had never been there.
“Hmph. I have come to seek information about the Nightmare, which reportedly appeared here.”
“Ah yes. A creature on which you wish to exact revenge, correct, Master Ronandt? Oh dear—I suppose that is meant to be a secret.”
Officially, Buirimus and his men are the only forces who did battle with that master of magic in the Great Elroe Labyrinth.
According to the Empire, I was never there.
It’s best that no one finds out that the strongest mage in the Empire was defeated, after all.
“However, while the official stance may be that you are unconnected to that incident, you are nonetheless under house arrest at the moment. I would prefer that you refrain from this sort of independent activity.”
Tiva’s manner of being seemingly accepting of others while browbeating them with technically correct arguments has never sat well with me. This is why I do not get along with him.
I wish Aurel would stop looking at him with eyes full of admiration as he scolds me.
“As such, I would appreciate it if you would entrust this town’s supervision to myself. I shall contact the Empire, so please wait quietly until someone comes to fetch you.”
“I shall do no such thing!”
Tiva heaves a sigh, making no effort to hide his irritation with my response.
“Master Ronandt, the Nightmare was killed by a massive magic attack on that battlefield. It did not leave a single trace or a corpse, which means there is no point in searching for it.”
“Don’t be foolish. Such a thing could never have killed a being as great as that. Anyone who witnessed that battle would undoubtedly reach the same conclusion.”
Tiva falls silent.
At the battle between Ohts and Sariella, that wondrous creature appeared and unleashed its fury.
As the commander of the Empire Army in this area, Tiva would surely have been present.
If he saw the power of that great being with his own eyes, then he must realize as well as I that no mere human power could ever come close to harming it.
No, that being is undoubtedly still alive somewhere.
But I know not where it went. That is exactly the reason why I have come to this town in search of clues.
“Master Ronandt, even if the Nightmare was still alive, what do you hope to accomplish by looking for it?”
“It is obvious, is it not? I wish to become its apprentice!”
Yes, that is my goal.
I once believed I was the strongest in all matters of the occult.
But before the power of that master of magic, my skills were nothing more than child’s play.
If I wish to pursue such power, the fastest way would be to learn directly from that master.
Tiva freezes for a few moments after hearing my response.
“Are you a complete fool?” he asks at last. “Ah, excuse me. I must beg your pardon. I shouldn’t have phrased that as a question: You are a complete fool.”
How rude!
“You would ask a monster to make you its apprentice? And a monster that nearly killed you, no less. I have wondered this for some time—are you quite right in the head?”
How very rude indeed!
That’s when a soldier comes running up.
He reports something to Tiva, who turns back toward us.
“I do apologize. Something urgent has come up. If you stop by the Empire station later, we will gladly prepare a room for you. At any rate, Master Ronandt, please do not leave this town. As long as you stay within its borders, you are welcome to investigate the Nightmare or whatever you wish. Now if you’ll excuse me.”
With that, Tiva promptly sprints away with the soldier.
Since their occupation of this town is recent, no doubt there are at least a few problems to work out.
Still, it is startling to think that the Ohts soldiers broke the unspoken agreements of war and turned their weapons on the innocent inhabitants of this town.
On every street, there are signs of houses that have been burned to the ground, while the stench of smoke and death hangs over what little remains. It’s all too obvious that what happened here was extremely cruel.
Averting my eyes from the awful scenes, I begin walking through the town again, seeking any clue that might point toward that great being.
Ideally, I should like to find something that might indicate its next destination.
Using techniques such as Magic Power Perception while combing through the town, I eventually discover a particularly mysterious spot.
As I approach the area in question, I notice a conspicuously large mansion.
However, it seems very bare. In contrast with its impressive appearance, traces of magic power or presence here are exceptionally sparse.
Something about that feels very out of place.
In front of this unusual mansion stands a soldier dressed in a different uniform from the Ohts soldiers I saw earlier.
“Stop right there. I have strict orders not to let anyone past this point.” The soldier holds up a hand firmly.
“Is there any way you could make an exception?”
“I am sorry.”
“Are you aware that I am the royal court sorcerer of the Empire?”
“I am sorry.”
Hrmph!
It’s as I feared. Even my social standing will not budge this soldier.
He is not from Ohts.
His white uniform with its rather elegant designs indicates that he is a soldier of the Word of God.
The Word of God is a massive religious organization based out of the Holy Kingdom of Alleius.
The influence of the Empire will not help me here.
“This appears to be the home of the former lord of the county, no? What happened inside?”
“I am not at liberty to say.”
Hrmph indeed!
Even if I can’t get inside, I had been hoping to at least gather some information, but the guard is far too curt.
This doesn’t bode well.
However, the fact that a Word of God soldier has been stationed here is a clear sign that there is something important about this place.
Though I have no idea what the significance of that might be.
“Is something the matter out there?”
Right as I start entertaining the dangerous thought of knocking out the soldier and entering the mansion, a gentle, elderly sounding voice calls out from inside.
Sure enough, a seemingly good-natured old man emerges from the building entrance.
He has a warm smile, the sort that would put most people at ease.
However, the moment I see him, I feel something indescribable.
“No, sir! I was just explaining to this gentleman that he is not allowed inside, sir.”
“I see.” The old man turns to me. “And who might you be?”
“I am called Ronandt.”
“Oh? Might you be the famous Master Ronandt? It’s an honor to meet you.”
“Not at all. If anything, I am quite surprised to find the Word of God’s pon—”
Before I can finish, the man puts a finger to his lips. “Shhh! I am but a humble old man. Albeit one with a minor connection to the Word of God. Yes?”
“Very well. If that is what you say, then so it shall be.”
I see no need to poke at the hornet’s nest.
“Well, you are free to look inside the mansion if you wish.”
“Are you sure?”
“But of course. After all, you will not find anything here.”
The old man strolls away with his soldiers in tow.
I watch them leave in silence.
It was surprising enough to run into soldiers of the Word of God, but this is even more of a shock.
Without using Appraisal, I cannot know that man’s stats for certain.
However, my instincts tell me that they would be nothing special.
If it came to a fight between that man’s group and myse
lf, I would win for certain.
But there was something about the old man that put me on edge.
Something beyond mere stats.
“Who was that old guy?”
“It’s better that you do not know.”
Nothing good can come from associating with such a mysterious figure who clearly holds sway at the highest level of authority within the Word of God religion.
What would someone so influential be doing in a place like this?
Clearly, whatever happened in this mansion was very much out of the ordinary.
I wait a long while after the old man leaves before I enter the mansion, but just as he claimed, I find nothing.
However, I do notice faint traces of a battle, as well as parts of the wall and floor that have been excavated to hide them.
That, and the unusually weak flow of magic energy in the place, makes it clear that something occurred here.
But in the end, I am unable to find out what.
“Hrmmm.”
I came all this way to a place that I cannot even teleport to from the Empire, but I have yet to find a single piece of information regarding that great being’s whereabouts.
This may be the end of the road.
The only fruit of my efforts is a chance encounter with the pontiff of the Word of God on the first day of my search.
And since Tiva has been monitoring my actions around the clock, I cannot even move freely.
There may be no point in my staying in this town any longer.
Perhaps I should go back to square one and return to the place where I first encountered that being?
If so, now would be the perfect chance, while Tiva isn’t watching!
“Aurel. I am going to visit a rather dangerous place now. You stay here and continue to gather information.”
“Huh?! You’re gonna leave me alone in this smelly old place?! Besides, Mister Tiva told you not to leave town!”
Ignoring Aurel’s complaints, I activate Teleport.
My destination is the largest labyrinth in the world: the Great Elroe Labyrinth.
There, I would soon learn that I was half-right and half-wrong.
FORTUNE, MISFORTUNE
My first impression of the person called Hiiro Wakaba was that she was “winning at life.”
My nickname in my old life was Rihoko.
It’s short for “Real Horror Girl.”