“Scenes like this are depicted all over the place. There are men and women, some dressed in fine clothes, others in rags. It doesn’t appear to be limited to a specific class—people with these abilities seemed to have been born irregularly.”
Individuals born sporadically who calmed monstrous creatures—Banteon knew exactly what kind of people these were.
“They sound like… Guides.”
“Oh, now that you mention it, that’s quite similar. But Espers aren’t monsters, are they? Hahaha.”
The investigator, unaware of the origins of Espers, laughed at what he thought was a humorous theory. But Banteon, who knew the truth, remained stone-faced.
“What’s this?”
Among the people believed to be Guides, only one had a strange symbol marked next to them. It resembled an eye, etched beside the person, roughly the size of a fist.
“Just this one is marked with a weird symbol.”
“It appears to designate the leader of these unusual humans. On-site, we’ve been referring to him as the ‘priest.’”
For some reason, the ancient symbol next to the priest looked vaguely familiar. Banteon narrowed his eyes, staring intently at the etched figure on the rubbing, trying to recall where he’d seen it before.
“Why an eye symbol, of all things?”
“Wouldn’t it be related to the priest’s characteristics? Perhaps he subdued monsters using his eyes, or maybe he saw something special—something that allowed him to dominate them.”
Someone who sees something special. A Guide. The term struck a familiar chord, and a glimmer lit in Banteon’s eyes. Oblivious to this shift, the investigator continued his explanation.
“Ah, the priest actually appears multiple times in the deciphered murals. When he’s born, there’s no symbol—but once he wears fine clothes, the symbol appears. It seems they raise him as a leader post-birth.”
“Raised after birth… Have they deciphered how?”
“It looks like they had him carry a circular object from a young age, but what exactly it is remains unclear.”
A circular object. A familiar symbol. Banteon lowered his head, lost in thought. Why did that symbol feel so familiar? He felt like he was on the verge of remembering something, but it wouldn’t quite come.
“Ah, the mural used to have color, although it’s faded now. Upon analyzing the components, we found that special pigment was used only around the priest’s eyes, which led us to that theory.”
“Color, you say?”
“Seems like it was painted in deep primary hues. We’ve been making inferences based on the murals that still retain some pigment, though the exact color hasn’t been determined.”
“Red… It was probably red.”
“Pardon?”
Banteon stood up abruptly. He quickly approached Delroz, who had been watching quietly from behind.
“We have to go back.”
“Done already?”
“We need to return right now.”
Banteon grabbed Delroz’s arm and tugged. Delroz, puzzled by this rare urgency, tilted his head as he was pulled along.
“Even if we hurry, it’ll still take three days to get back to the capital. Calm down.”
“You’re right…”
Even by car, it would take three days. If they cut sleep and pushed through, maybe two. But if the hypothesis flashing through Banteon’s mind was correct, even two days would feel unbearably long. He wasn’t confident he could endure this restlessness for that long.
“W-What’s going on? Is there a problem with the mural?”
The investigator, who had hurried to follow them, asked Banteon in confusion. From his perspective, Banteon had just arrived and was now suddenly declaring he would leave, so it was no wonder he was flustered.
“No. Just remembered something personal. You don’t have to worry.”
Despite the furious pounding of his heart, Banteon answered with a calm, diplomatic smile.
“Would it be possible for you to contact me as soon as the mural is further deciphered? I’d appreciate it if you could expedite the process.”
Speaking in a composed tone, Banteon handed over a small pouch with a faint smile.
“I’m not asking you to break the rules. I’d just like to receive the data a little sooner—within reason, of course.”
“T-That should be possible. The Esrante family is one of the joint investors, after all…”
As the investigator nodded in understanding, Banteon turned away in satisfaction. Without him needing to give instructions, the car that had been prepped for departure rolled up in front of them.
As the two of them climbed in and the vehicle began to move, Banteon crossed his arms tightly and bit his lip in anxious silence. Though he knew his behavior was unrefined, he couldn’t help rubbing his fingers together nervously.
No one else knew. Only Banteon did. He needed to confirm quickly why that ancient symbol, overlooked by everyone else, felt so familiar to him.
“What the hell is going on?”
“Later. I don’t want to talk about it here.”
No matter how soundproof the car was, there was still a chance the driver might overhear. Banteon let out a quiet sigh, and Delroz furrowed his brows even more.
Unaware of the storm brewing between them, the car trudged slowly along the desert road. Having only traveled on well-maintained roads until now, the vehicle couldn’t pick up speed on the sandy terrain.
The road they had come down while chatting leisurely now felt as long as a thousand li. Banteon stared fixedly out at the endless desert, not even blinking.
“Stop the car.”
At Delroz’s command, the driver halted in the middle of the sandy track. Without a word, Delroz got out and retrieved a large blanket.
“What’s wrong? You said it was urgent.”
“Exactly. That’s why I stopped the car. You get out too—we’ll move faster this way than by vehicle.”
Delroz spread the blanket and wrapped Banteon meticulously from head to toe. He covered everything except Banteon’s eyes and nose and placed a cooling mana stone firmly in his hand. Then, without hesitation, he lifted Banteon into his arms.
“I’ll be faster on foot.”
Startled by the sudden lift off the ground, Banteon stopped resisting and leaned into Delroz, accepting his words. It was embarrassing to be seen like this, but right now, pride meant nothing. This mattered more.
“Keep your eyes shut.”
Delroz kicked off the sandy ground and bolted forward. Even through the blanket, the wind that streamed in made it obvious—they were moving far faster than any vehicle. Banteon buried his face into Delroz’s firm chest.
A mural showing someone with shining eyes standing among monsters. If Espers were tied to the origin of monsters, then there was a strong chance those people’s eyes were the same as his.
Maybe now he could finally uncover the source of that red aura no book or backdoor investigation had ever been able to explain.
Why had he been born that way, and only him? Banteon, who had agonized over that question for so long, could barely suppress the thundering beat of his heart.
Despite being held for a long time in the same position, he didn’t notice any discomfort. As the sun began to dip below the horizon, the familiar sky of home came into view.
Delroz, who had gently stroked Banteon the entire way, lifted the blanket and met his gaze. Even after sprinting at top speed for hours, he showed no sign of exhaustion.
“Thanks. You can rest now.”
“Can I ask what the rush was all about?”
Banteon stretched as his feet touched the ground. He dismissed the startled servants who had come running upon their sudden arrival in the late evening. The two of them passed through the garden and headed toward a separate annex.
“My mother was always unwell. Because of that, she kept all sorts of precious and ‘beneficial’ things around her.”
The annex they approached was where such items had been stored. When Banteon opened the door, a cloud of dust fell from the long-unmoved frame.
He hadn’t stepped foot in here since losing his mother. Because it held valuable items, even servants were forbidden from entering—the outer walls were the only things maintained.
“This place is a mess.”
“I was planning to demolish the entire building when I passed it on to the next generation.”
This wasn’t so much a room for his mother’s keepsakes as it was a place that encapsulated his father’s obsession. As Banteon reached for the rusted handle, Delroz stepped forward and pushed the door open himself.
Inside, the items looked exactly as they had the last time Banteon had seen them.
“Delroz, do you remember the symbol from the mural?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m pretty sure… I’ve seen it on something my mother used. Somewhere in here. I want to find it.”
His father had brought countless expensive and rare items into the estate for his mother. Herbal medicine and nourishing foods were just the start. From yeti hides that supposedly warmed you on contact, to crystals over ten centimeters thick.
Eventually, it wasn’t even about health anymore. He hoarded anything rare.
So it wouldn’t be strange at all for one of those items to be a relic of an ancient civilization. If Banteon remembered seeing that symbol, it had to be among his mother’s belongings.
“You don’t remember what kind of item it was?”
“A bead… or maybe something etched into glass. I’m not really sure.”
“So basically, we have to go through everything.”
It was nearly dawn. Considering they had been in the desert just that morning, it made more sense to rest and look through it all tomorrow.
But even knowing that, Banteon couldn’t bring himself to leave.
“No helping it then.”
Delroz rolled up his sleeves. Just as he readied himself to begin the search, Banteon stepped forward.
“Let me do it slowly by myself. I doubt I’ll get any sleep anyway.”
Banteon flung the windows open and approached one of the cloth-covered piles. Thankfully, the items underneath were still clean. He reached for the inventory list to begin sorting through them, only to find Delroz watching him with an exasperated expression.
Delroz pulled the cloth off one of the storage units and dragged a clean daybed to the side. Then, without a word, he grabbed Banteon and gently pushed him down onto it.
“Lie here. If you fall asleep, even better.”
“You should rest. You pushed yourself getting us here.”
“Like hell I’ll sleep after leaving you in here alone. Don’t say stupid things. You’re only in the way, so don’t even think about moving.”
Delroz used telekinesis to roll up the dusty cloths and tossed them out the window.
Banteon’s eyes widened. He had planned to check everything by hand, one item at a time. Moving things telekinetically was easy for Delroz—but Banteon hadn’t realized he’d grown skilled enough to handle such precise manipulation.
