Chapter 340: Future Prospects
“I am an old man who could die at any moment. I’ve conveyed everything to Orlando, but—”
“I have almost no magic power. Even with help, it will be difficult to complete the first circle,” the Old Man explained, while Orlando continued to invite Soleil inside.
Kiel stood behind them. I wonder if he has something to say?
“I hope to nurture someone who can manage this ‘Spirit’s Branch’ while teaching magic circles to talented children. If Nii-sama agrees, Orlando could be the next in line, and in three generations, someone from this island could take the position.”
This is bad; the Old Man is talking about the future. If I say I only thought of Soleil as a friend, he might get really angry.
“I thought you were going to recommend Asmomii’s niece.”
That girl seems to be quite close to the branch-loving Asmomii.
“That behavior of Arina’s is merely imitating Asmomii. She doesn’t truly want to become a priest or genuinely desire the branch. There seems to be some reason behind her imitation, though…”
“Is that so?”
“Most likely.”
The Old Man is observant. I thought I was already a complete Asmomii 2.0.
“I’ll leave the training of the next generation to you. Can I also join the magic circle class?”
“Of course. Nii-sama, are you the one who teaches?”
The Old Man smiled at me.
Soleil’s expression stiffened slightly. Does he think the Old Man doesn’t know I can draw magic circles?
“No, I’ve never seen anyone draw one. I just want to take a look.”
“Ah, so you can do it after all. Is this Spirit Lamp here made by you, Nii-sama?”
The Old Man’s smile deepened.
“Yeah. My ability to draw is a bit skewed, though.”
I’m focused on researching and creating what I need, so there’s no particular system to it.
I continued the conversation without any intention of hiding anything. After all, they’ve already seen the Spirit Lamps of the Spirit’s Branch, and thanks to our contract, there’s limited information I can share about myself.
Well, even if I talked about it, all the trouble would fall on Soleil anyway.
“If you don’t mind, I can also teach Auro and Kiel—there are other things besides light that can be useful, like magic circles for communication with the guards.”
“Please do!”
Auro accepted with a smile.
Kiel looked away. Is he just not interested in studying because he’s a musclehead? I think he could handle detailed work just fine.
“By the way, did Soleil have something to discuss?”
“Yes, I wanted to ask something. Is it okay to show the Spirit Lamps here to tourists? Right now, we only open during quiet (morning) hours, but if they notice, they’ll definitely tell us to sell them!”
Is the quietness due to Haniwa or the morning?
“Ah, just say they were sold by the Earth Folk.”
“What are the Earth Folk!?”
It’s a well-known story that the Earth Folk hoard treasures underground. When I actually met them, they were just a group of craftsmen.
Spirit Silver and gold are indeed expensive, but to the Earth Folk, they are merely materials for crafting. They treat various tools with great care.
They can’t draw magic circles themselves, but the rifts in the Northern Lands are filled with ancient tools that utilize spirits. Especially the Spirit Lamps made of glass seem to have been carefully handled, leaving many magic circles intact. It’s truly a treasure trove.
The Earth Folk seem to prefer fire over light and don’t use Spirit Lamps. They enjoy handiwork, finding small satisfaction in lighting candles. The items they keep seem to be for studying the designs of their predecessors.
The lack of reaction to my Chilling Plates or Spirit Lamps is probably because they are used to seeing them. I like the Earth Folk’s straightforwardness, even though they have so many useful items, they choose not to use them.
“Also, I’ve received complaints that strange noises are leaking from your tower today!?”
“Approaching that tower is forbidden. Instead of checking for themselves, they report to us. What is that deep voice?”
Kiel, who seems to have gone to check with Soleil, accused me.
Well, I haven’t soundproofed it. The stone walls of the tower are thick, but the ventilation holes are wide open! In two days, Grido and his group from the Shakugin Valley will join us, so it’s only going to get noisier!
“Ah, I’m having the craftsmen I brought coordinate the inside of the tower. It might be noisy for about ten days, so bear with it.”
“Wasn’t that tower already complete? It was dreamlike beauty…”
Soleil said, looking puzzled.
He seems to be complimenting it, but I just built it based on the memories of castles I saw in videos back in Japan.
“Is there really such an amazing tower?”
I answered the curious Orlando.
“This ‘Spirit’s House’ is also wonderful, but…”
“I’ll show it off once it’s finished.”
The Old Man looked a bit puzzled too.
“I’m both looking forward to it and scared… I hope my blood pressure is okay…”
Soleil murmured, placing a hand on his forehead.
Is he high blood pressure? For someone so young!