Chapter 64: The Exiled Marquise and the Second Son of the Impoverished Viscount Household 3
*
I definitely killed the Goat Majin.
It wasn’t because I confirmed I’d cut off its head or anything like that.
It was a certainty gained from seeing with my own eyes the Magicka disappear from the Goat Majin.
Having seen the high regeneration ability of that horse Majin that attacked us soon after we set out on our journey, I hadn’t let my guard down.
But I had to admit that I had made a mistake.
Unlike Monsters, the corpse of a Majin doesn’t turn into a Magic Stone or even Magic Stone Fragments upon death. Seeing it bubble and crumble away…
And seeing the sphere within that dissolving corpse…
I had to admit I had made a fatal mistake.
*
The flesh literally frothed, and with each burst bubble, a faint amount of Magicka leaked into the atmosphere, only to be sucked into the sphere half-buried in the corpse—a sphere that, if my knowledge was correct, should be about the size of a human fist.
No, that probably wasn’t a corpse.
It was still alive, and it was continuing to pour its Magicka into that sphere.
Preventing Magicka from leaking out while alive is impossible.
But if that sphere exists, the story changes.
Once activated, that sphere greedily absorbs the surrounding Magicka.
The moment its head was cut off, that Goat Majin made an instant decision—the decision to throw away its own life.
I don’t know if it was still conscious, but I underestimated its tenacity.
And I underestimated their reach, their meticulousness.
“Why would something like that be in a place like this?”
Erica, the Erika Solntsalri, was dumbfounded.
But the stupor was only allowed for an instant.
Signaled by the sound of the Ogre Knight’s Magic Stone Fragment cracking as its Magicka was drained, we sprang into action.
I suddenly recalled words taught at the academy.
I think it was a male teacher, past middle age with white hair.
He had a look on his face as if telling a joke, saying that in the Faltar Kingdom, which had maintained peace for many years, we were unlikely to ever see it.
If you ever see it on the battlefield, turn your back and flee with all your might. You won’t be called a coward or reprimanded; rather, you’ll likely be praised—provided you survive, that is.
I’d always thought he was a teacher who told unfunny jokes, but I never expected to experience the reality of his words after so many years had passed.
No, really, it’s not funny.
Just as I spun around, turning my back, I thought I saw the Goat Majin’s head, lying on the ground, smile.
*
“Wh-What! Just what is happening!?”
Shara, being carried princess-style by Erika, yelled, unable to comprehend the situation.
We were currently fleeing.
At full speed, no less.
“Because there was something terrible there,” Erika said regretfully.
“Because there was something very terrible there.”
“What do you mean, something terrible?”
Erika hesitated to answer Shara’s question, likely because her noble mindset remained.
Among nobles, there’s this idea: war is the work of nobles.
Commoners don’t need to worry about things like war, nor do they need to know its significance, the pride involved, or its foolishness.
It’s an arrogant way of thinking, I believe. From my perspective, a quick look at history shows commoners often get caught up in wars, so what are they even talking about?
But perhaps that’s just my view because I deviated from the proper path of a noble early on.
So, I answered in Erika’s place.
“A Magic Tool. There was a Magic Tool there, the worst kind.”
Running behind Erika, Shara questioned me with just her gaze, asking what kind of Magic Tool.
“It’s a Magic Tool made by some idiot—specifically, an idiot named Rainivati—to blow up cities.”
Its name is ‘Rainivati’s Fifth.’ It’s the fifth Magic Tool created by the unparalleled Magic Tool creator, Rainivati, the madman who, ironically, created the continent’s peace of the last hundred years or so.
Magic is an imitation of a Divine Technique, Skills are miracles granted by the gods, and Magic Tools are the crystallization of human ingenuity.
The madman wished to leisurely research Magic Tools in a world without war. The crystals of wisdom he scattered throughout the world to realize his own wish are proof that human ingenuity isn’t always used for good intentions.
“A Magic Tool that blows up cities! Such a thing!”
Shara swallowed the words “can’t possibly exist.” Was it because she saw my face, or Erika’s?
“They exist. And in large quantities in every country.”
I suppressed the urge to scream as I considered the implications of such a thing appearing before us.
I managed a sarcastic smile, laughing inwardly at my own excessive bravado.
“Some idiot thought, ‘If everyone has something like this, they can’t wage war, right?’ and made and scattered them.”
“Wh-Which idiot would do such a thing!?”
Shara yelled a perfectly reasonable question.
“A guy from the Faltar Kingdom named Rainivati. Also, just so you know, he died over a hundred years ago.”
“Are there only idiots in Faltar!?”
She casually lumped us in with the idiots, I thought, but I let it slide.
I understood her words were meant to distract from her fear.
“So, are we likely to survive?”
Shara’s question was directed not at me, but at Erika.
Her voice was remarkably calm.
It wasn’t resignation, but the words of someone who had accepted the situation.
As expected of the woman who tried to fight a Golden Ogre while having a bone sticking out of her stomach, just to buy time for the Villagers to escape. Her ability to switch gears is on par with us adventurers.
Erika’s subsequent voice was also as calm as usual, perhaps thanks to Shara’s composed tone, though I hate to admit it.
“I apologize, Shara. To be honest, I don’t know. If we weren’t in this forest, I could assure you that we could escape its range.”
That was the problem. In the dense forest of the Demon Realm, we couldn’t run at full speed.
Worse still, this was the Demon Realm.
A ‘dense’ Magicka Wave passed through us, pushing at our backs.
In the Demon Realm, Rainivati’s Fifth wouldn’t lack Magicka to absorb. After all, the Demon Realm Forest itself is a phenomenon akin to a type of magic.
Rainivati’s Fifth begins emitting Magicka Waves once it absorbs a certain amount of Magicka.
It’s meant to announce that everything within the range of this Magicka Wave will die.
Apparently, it’s the madman Rainivati’s ‘goodwill,’ telling you to run away.
These Magicka Waves are released at increasingly shorter intervals, and it’s said the Magic Tool finally activates when the pulses become as rapid as a heartbeat after running.
What twisted goodwill.
I grit my teeth at the Magicka Wave being released faster than I imagined. At this rate, we probably won’t make it.
Erika’s Magicka, struck by the wave from behind, wavered unstably for just a moment, then became taut.
“Shin, please take Shara.”
Without even glancing back at me, Erika tossed Shara over.
I caught Shara, who was yelling “No way!” in mid-air, with both arms.
I couldn’t help but click my tongue, cursed with the fate of having Shara be the first person I’d ever carried princess-style.
In my arms, Shara yelled, “What was that click for!?” but I ignored her for now.
Erika’s Golden Magicka flared up like flames.
“I will make a path.”
Her back conveyed more than her words.
“Solntsaari Secret Technique. Keep it a secret, okay?”
Contrary to her joking tone, her back spoke eloquently of her refusal to give up, no matter the circumstances.
Instantly, Erika’s red hair burst into flames.
I knew I wasn’t just seeing things because I heard Shara gasp in my arms.
The next moment, an enormous amount of Magicka gathered in Erika’s hands.
I’m just being constantly surprised by Erika today.
The Golden Magicka condensed between Erika’s hands looked, to my eyes, like a crystal made of gold.
I only managed to react when Erika suddenly stopped her feet because I had the distinct certainty that stepping in front of her now would mean definite death.
Erika let out a short breath.
It was impossible for me to accurately describe what happened next in words.
Because I couldn’t comprehend what had occurred.
I can only explain the phenomenon.
From Erika’s hands, something like a Dragon Breath from an ancient Dragon, or some unknown magic comparable to it, was unleashed.
As a result, a new path suddenly appeared in the forest.
The flames scattered from Erika’s burning hair. She gave a short “Let’s go,” and started running. Muttering an indistinct reply, I followed her back.
“Are there any normal people in Faltar?”
Shara, a user of Chant Magic who could probably achieve something comparable to what Erika just did, asked with a stunned expression.
As a user of Chant Magic, Shara must have clearly understood the sheer absurdity of what Erika had done.
“Of course there are.”
The reason I deliberately brightened my tone was because I sensed a hint of awe in Shara’s voice. Seeing Shara react like that reminded me of how our Classmates at the academy used to talk about Erika. Somehow, I didn’t want Shara to view Erika in the same way they did.
“Specifically, me.”
My words were met with Shara giving me a half-lidded stare.
“Erika’s husband, normal? Are you saying that with a straight face?”
Hmm, true.
Right, someone who could become Erika’s husband couldn’t possibly be normal. Generally speaking, such a person would probably be called the luckiest man in the world. So, I candidly corrected myself.
“You’re right. Having become Erika’s husband, I really was the luckiest man in the world.”
I meant my correction sincerely, but Shara covered her face with her hands and cried out, “This couple! This is exactly what they’re like!”