#31
So many magical beasts that don’t normally inhabit the capital pouring down meant that a large summoning spell had been performed at the school. They must have drawn a summoning circle to summon magical beasts. I couldn’t believe someone had done such an absurd thing in a place with security as tight as the palace.
“It will be resolved soon. Don’t worry and just wait.”
Yutis said this while observing the situation outside. I couldn’t go around gathering information right now. I decided to watch the situation first and then go around to find out more once things settled down. I might not have the ability to defeat the suddenly appearing magical beasts, but I could analyze the situation and combine the information I knew with newly acquired information.
There was no time to blame myself for being able to do only that much. The priority was to accurately understand this situation, which had diverged from the original story.
* * *
The monsters that suddenly appeared were mostly dealt with thanks to the help of the Duke and the soldiers. Fortunately, neither Yutis, Rikin, nor even Iria, who had been in the most chaotic area, suffered any injuries. However, it was a different story for the ordinary students who had been standing at the very back.
There were no fatalities, but many were seriously injured to the extent that they wouldn’t be able to move for months. The magical beasts had emerged from beneath their feet. Upon investigation, the school guards discovered a large summoning circle in the underground space beneath the open area.
Though it was unknown when, who, or how it was created, they could determine how it was activated. The method involved magical power gathering in the summoning circle when the amplification spell exceeded 20 minutes, causing the magical beasts to emerge.
They were still investigating exactly who was targeted and why this was done.
The biggest victims were actually the commoners who had been standing at the back, but it was the nobles who expressed the most dissatisfaction. Many families claimed they couldn’t send their children to a school that endangered students and didn’t conduct proper inspections.
The school only said they would strengthen their defenses, without saying anything more. Normally, new students would enter the dormitories right after the entrance ceremony. However, the nobles took their children back home, saying they couldn’t leave them in the dormitories until the situation was clearly understood.
As a result, the start of formal classes had to be postponed by several weeks.
Yutis also told me to return to the mansion, but I decided to enter the dormitory as planned, saying that all my luggage was already there. I planned to use the few weeks to find out who had summoned the magical beasts.
The most fearsome person in this world was the Duke, but it didn’t seem likely that he had summoned the magical beasts. For one thing, it wasn’t his style. He used his immense power to sweep away the world. If he had intended to summon that many magical beasts, he would have stood in front and slaughtered everyone.
The Duke also seemed surprised by the sudden appearance of the magical beasts. He even came to see me personally before leaving the school. Though he quickly turned away after confirming I was alright, it meant this was something he hadn’t anticipated.
After things had calmed down somewhat, I entered my dormitory room. The one-person dormitory room was as large as my room in the Duke’s mansion. To give one such room per person seemed excessive, even for nobles.
I heard that the dining hall would open on time for students who had already entered the dormitory. I planned to organize my luggage in the room and then go to eat.
Yutis, who had entered the dormitory with me, had a room right next to mine. He probably would have preferred to stay away from me at school. I kept feeling guilty that he was having a hard time because of me. Just today, hadn’t he almost been in danger because of me?
I felt a keen sense of caution that I really shouldn’t be like this. First, I needed to accurately assess the situation and then develop the strength to take care of myself when such unfortunate events occurred. This wasn’t the world I originally lived in. I reminded myself of this fact that I had unconsciously forgotten, disciplining my mind that was becoming lax.
That’s when I heard a gentle knocking sound from outside the door.
“Yes. Who is it?”
“It’s me.”
The moment I heard the voice of the person outside, I was startled and flung the door open. Outside, I saw Kara’s face, whom I had parted with this morning.
“Kara!”
“I’m glad to see you’re well.”
Even though we hadn’t been apart for long, I was so happy to see Kara at the dormitory. She was standing with something long wrapped in cloth.
“What brings you here? Are you allowed to enter the dormitory?”
“I’m an employee of the Duke’s household. I can exercise that much power.”
Wielding power at will wasn’t something to boast about. Yet Kara spoke to me with such a brazen face.
“I heard from Yutis that you weren’t injured, but you’re not hiding any pain, are you?”
“I’m fine. I would have said if I was in pain.”
After once being severely scolded by Kara for hiding an illness, I had started telling her whenever I felt even slightly unwell. It was truly remarkable progress compared to when I was young.
Kara, seemingly unable to fully trust my words, examined my face several times before handing me what she was holding. As I received it, I felt a familiar weight in my hands. I could tell what it was without even lifting the cloth.
“Kara? This is…”
“The Duke asked me to deliver it to you.”
It didn’t make sense to bring this outside the Duke’s mansion. I shook my head in alarm, but Kara bowed slightly to me and then turned away coldly, as if her business was done. Just this morning we had parted so affectionately, but the afternoon Kara was truly sharp as a knife.
Unable to stop Kara as she walked away, I quickly entered my room, afraid someone might see.
“Hurry and unwrap this!”
A familiar voice was heard. After letting out a small sigh, I unwrapped the cloth to reveal the sword that had always occupied my room for the past few years.
“Are you hurt anywhere? You didn’t lie to Kara, did you? This won’t do. Take off all your clothes. I need to check.”
“What are you saying? I’m really fine.”
“I understand, so take off your clothes!”
I somehow ignored the sword’s voice, which was shouting for me to undress as soon as it arrived.
Fortunately, the Duke seemed to have some sense, as the sword’s appearance had been altered somewhat. The black blade looked like that of an ordinary sword, and the handle had more elaborate carvings like a typical Duke’s household sword. It seemed a shape-transformation spell I wasn’t familiar with had been cast.
However, I never expected that the demon sword, of all things, would be sent outside the mansion. The Duke would need this sword to achieve his goal. It was too difficult to understand the Duke’s intentions.
“How did you even get here?”
“I came because I was worried about you! No, why did those minnows appear at the school! Which bastard created the magic circle!”
At that moment, I focused on one word the sword had uttered.
“Magic circle? What’s that? Do you know something?”
“You said magical beasts suddenly poured out, right? And a bunch of Paks at that. If it were an ordinary summoning circle, that many couldn’t have appeared. Then what else could it be? It must be a magic circle.”
I sat on the bed, holding the sword. Paks, magic circle. These were words I had never heard while playing the game.
“Could you explain in detail?”
Perhaps the sword’s words could be a clue to uncovering this sudden incident.
The sword didn’t say anything in response to my question. It was surprising how the voice that had been urging me to undress quickly had disappeared in an instant. Though the sword didn’t have eyes, I felt a gaze staring at me intently.
Just as I was about to ask again, the silent sword spoke.
“No.”
“What?”
“Why should I? Who would it benefit?”
There was no need for it to show its evil sword characteristics at a time like this. Perhaps it was trying to side with those of similar nature who committed this act.
Even with the time the sword and I had built together, its true nature hadn’t disappeared. Perhaps there was a restriction that it shouldn’t tell me. I didn’t know the reason, but one thing was clear: the sword didn’t want to tell me the whole story.
If the sword wouldn’t help, I would have to find out myself. Even though formal classes had been postponed, I could still enter the library, so I decided to learn about magic circles through that. The library shouldn’t be closed yet. Let’s move first. I had planned to wait in my room until dinner time, but with this new clue, I couldn’t just sit still.
“Where are you going now?”
The sword quickly noticed I was about to go outside as soon as I placed it on the bed.
“I’m going to learn about magic circles.”
“Haah.”
A deep sigh echoed in my mind. So even a sword could sigh like that. Despite having seen various aspects of the sword, I still found it amazing and surprising each time.
“Who do you take after that you can’t stay still for a moment?”
I don’t think I have such a restless personality to warrant the sword saying that. I was about to add something but closed my mouth. It seemed like I wouldn’t even get my principal back if I spoke up unnecessarily.
“Come and sit down.”
“No, I have somewhere to go.”
“I said sit down.”
When the sword spoke sternly, my steps, which had been heading out, turned back toward the bed. Strangely, whenever the sword spoke like that, I found myself following without question. I could have refused if I wanted to, but somehow, I didn’t want to.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
