ăThere are fewer Spirits?ăKaty, who had listened to what Hikaru had to say, had her fist on her chin, pondering over the matter.ăHmm⌠Powerful Mages can apparently sense the density of Spirits around, but no one has quantified it before.ă
ăYou can measure the amount of Spirits around us?ă
ăWell you can confirm their existence. You just have to use Spirit magic. But density is a different matter. I know nothing about that. Letâs say you fill a tank with water. You then take a cup to scoop some. But then the next instant, water will move towards that spot and you wonât even know where you got the water from.ă
ăSo thereâs that many Spirits?ă
ăBased on my understanding, at least. Who told you that thereâs less Spirits now?ă
I havenât told her about Drake yet, Hikaru thought. This might be a good time to do so.
ăUh, you know about drakons, right? Like drakons, not dragons.ăHikaru asked.
ăOf course. Didnât we confirm that in the ruins in Zubura? Holy mana and drakons are closely related.ă
Oota Masaki, a Japanese man who got transported to this world, left behind a notebook which mentioned that drakons produced holy mana. Katy had browsed the contents of the notes.
ăI wish I could observe holy mana myself. If only there was a drakon around, it could produce some for me.ă
ăThereâs one right here.ă
Hikaru grabbed the creature around his neck and held it out.
ăWhat?ă
ăItâs a drakon.ă
ăHmm?ă
ăI said, this here is a drakon.ă
ăHello. Iâm Drake, a young white drakon.ă
ăWhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!ă
Katy glanced at Hikaru and then at Drake and then at Hikaru. This repeated for about twenty times before she stopped.
ăA drakon?! Like a real drakon?!ă
ăYup, thatâs me. The fake ones are the creatures you call dragons. Please keep that in mind.ă
ăIt talks!ă
Hikaru told the confused Katy how he met the Drake. As her mind was still in chaos, Hikaru prepared some tea which Katy downed in one gulp, calming herself down.
ăI sheeâŚă
It was clear though that she hadnât calmed down as she just burned the inside of her mouth. She took some potion that were prepared in case of accidents during experiments, healing the burn, and then spoke.
ăSo youâre saying that drakon⌠DrakeâŚ? Heâs the one who sensed that there were less Spirits around.ă
ăYes. Do you have any idea how that could happen? I kinda have a bad feeling about this.ă
ăHmm, letâs see⌠Wait, why are you still here in the academy? Didnât you say you were headed to Jarazack?ă
ăWell, thingâs happened, and I returned with Professor Mikhail, League, Claude, Ivan, and some others. Thereâs a high chance that Ludancia will attack in two days, so weâre planning to hole up in the academy.ă
ăI think you couldâve shared something that important earlier.ă
ăWell, the Spiritsâ decline and drakons are kinda important too.ă
ăYes, they are! Drakons are the most important thing right now!ă
ăTold you.ă
Sighing, Katy stood up.ăIâll go see Professor Mikhail. I could probably prepare some magic items for the upcoming battle. ăshe said.
As they walked towards the classroom Mikhail was in, Katy offered a few theories about the Spiritsâ current situation.
ăFirst, like what Drake said, there might be a creature out there absorbing the Spirits. Never heard of it before, but monsters evolve in ways that humans canât imagine.ă
ăSo thereâs a monster sucking too many Spirits that the overall density in Forestia decreased. I donât want to imagine what kind of creature that is.ă
ăSecond, it could be the work of Spirit magic⌠or no, sorcery. One powerful enough to use up a lot of Spirits.ă
ăWhy sorcery and not magic?ă
ăWell, you need a practitioner for magic. Even the best Mage in Forestia canât cast spells thatâll use up that many Spirits.ă
ăWhat if a hundred Mages gathered together?ă
ăThat might affect their overall number, but they would have to keep using Spirit magic nonstop. Plus Spirit magicâs effects manifest immediately and cause some supernatural phenomenon. But I havenât heard of any abnormal weather or cataclysms.ă
ăHmm⌠In that case, what kind of sorcery could use so much Spirits?ă
Katy stopped in the middle of the hallway, her expression grim.
ăA forbidden spell. A few types of sorceries are banned from being used. There are reasons for thisâlike an incomplete formula might cause a big explosion, or using it will greatly reduce the Spirits around us, preventing Mages from using spells for a time.ă
ăHas there been a case like this before?ă
ăYouâre asking if thereâs any signs of forbidden magic being used here? I donât think so. Not to my knowledge, at least.ă
ăI seeâŚă
ăAnyway, can you ask Drake if he could produce some holy mana?!ă
ăThatâs up to him.ă
ăO-Oh⌠Well, Drake?! With your help, I can make significant progress in my studies! Please! Iâm begging you!ă
ăO-OkayâŚăDrake replied.ăThis woman is smothering me.ă
Although a bit weirded out, the drakon reluctantly agreed to help Katy in her research. But first, they had to deal with Ludancia.
Forbidden sorcery⌠Monster evolutionâŚ
Something was bothering Hikaru.
Thatâs it.
The subspecies of Earth Dragon in Un el Portan. The Giant Rock Viper in Zuburaâs Catford. They were celebrating in the guild after they took care of the monsters in Catford when Selyse talked to him.
Giant Rock Vipers are basically snakes, right? Donât you think itâs strange how they attacked in groups?
Selyse didnât have any points in Instinct, which meant her observation was based purely on logic. It was simply hard to believe that snakes would attack in groups considering their natural behavior.
Then thereâs the abnormal outbreak at Un el Portan. Have you thought that perhaps something strange is going on?
Dragons and drakons came to mind. Besides the Giant Rock Viper, there were other unique specimens as well: the Giant Rock Lizard, a bipedal monster, and a Double-necked Viper which escaped into the forest.
Canât snakes eventually evolve into dragons? Hikaru thought. It was possible that releasing the drakon in the underground dungeon triggered the awakening of the Earth Dragon. Or perhaps that wasnât the case. Maybe somewhere, dragons were starting to make a move.
ăIâm back and I brought Professor Katy with me.ăHikaru said as he entered the classroom.ăShe said sheâll help by providing magic⌠items.ă
Mikhail looked delighted to see Katy, but otherwise, the atmosphere in the room was serious.
ăWhatâs wrong?ă
ăLeagueâs gone.ăLavia answered.
ăGone?ă
ăHeâs gone along with his attendants. We couldnât find their luggage and carriage, so I think they left the academy.ă
ăHe obviously left to protect himself.ăClaude said with a bitter expression.
ăSo he betrayed us?ă
ăAbsolutely not. League is officially a representative of Rumania who acts on the interest of his own nation. If anything, we should be glad he accompanied us all the way here.ă
ăBut still! This is a critical moment. Reinforcements from Jarazack will arrive tomorrow, so itâs not like weâre at a complete disadvantage. Then at the smallest sign of danger, heâs just gonna bail? He canât blame us if we think he turned his backâă
ăIvan. Donât say any more. This was all my fault in the first place.ăClaude said.ăIf I didnât make Luka worry, we would be still be in Jarazack. We wouldâve been safe there. Itâs my fault that we ended up in Scholarzard.ă
Heavy silence descended in the room.
I see. League doesnât have any logical reason to stay in the academy. He could explain coming with Claude since Alexei ordered him to do so. But what would he say to his father if he stayed and get involved in a battle against Ludancia?
While everyone else wore serious looks, Hikaru smiled a little.
This is League weâre talking about here. You didnât just return to Rumania without any plan, right?
Inside the carriage, League sneezed. One of his attendants who was seated across himâthe secretaryâraised his eyebrows.
ăMy lord. Did you catch a cold from traveling in this weather? What on earth was Jarazackâs representative even thinking? Why would he tell you to go to Scholarzard?ă
ăHe mightâve thought you could help as escorts on the trip. Lord Alexei seemed worried about Sir Claude and Sir Ivan.ă
ăIt was a real nuisance.ă
ăPlease donât say that. Without him, the mass wedding will fail. My father is thinking of turning this into a huge business.ă
ăYes, I suppose.ă
League intended to show that he just wanted to make the business a success. Every one of his attendants, after all, worked for his father. He couldnât show that he was supporting the student alliance.
So he left Scholarzard immediately. He didnât share any detailed information about Ludancia to his attendants.
Claude has gotten quite strong. Professor Mikhail is there as well. But above all, Hikaru is present. I donât think youâll lose, but please do be careful.
The carriage trudged towards the neighboring town.