Chapter 233 - Black Footprint (8)

Liria handed over the black letter.

My heart rate gradually increased as I received it.

"Liria, did this come through the fireplace of this mansion?"

"Yes."

If so, Amaryllis's letter was not coming to me, but to this mansion.

"Then I'll leave a separate Stitch, so if such a letter comes again, could you send it to me right away?"

"I'll definitely do that!"

Liria bowed her head and left the room.

I put Priscilla back in its scabbard and picked up the letter. It was the first time I was checking the contents immediately after a letter had arrived. I wonder what it said. Most of Amaryllis's letters were filled with trivial personal matters. Messages that seemed to hint at my future were few. I hope this one was also filled with just trivial matters.

I carefully opened the envelope and unfolded the letter.

"..."

There were words written there that were hard to comprehend, breaking my hopes.

[I heard you're going to Claridium. I don't understand. That place is already a ruined city. The once-brilliant civilization has vanished like a dream, and now it's a place full of wild dogs, rats, and decaying corpses. Is there any joy to be found there?]

What on earth does this mean? Claridium has fallen? It's not like a war suddenly broke out one day, and one of the most prosperous cities in this continent has already fallen? How? Why?

If I were to tell this to someone, surely ten out of ten people would laugh at me.

This was nonsense. If it had fallen, or even if there were signs of its downfall, many people would have known, and Eternia would have been the first to inform the Art Club members.

The real big problem was that I couldn't just dismiss this as crazy talk. Hadn't Amaryllis known about all the major events that threatened my life so far?

***

Haley, who was making paint by mixing finely ground pigments and oils, stopped what she was doing and asked back, "What? You're asking if something happened to Claridium?"

"Yes, I was wondering if there's any new information recently."

She tied her long hair back and said, "No, there isn't?"

"Is there anything that could potentially be a threat there? Like some dangerous research being conducted or something like that?"

"Hmm..."

Haley looks at me with half-closed eyes.

"...Senior?"

"You... why are you suddenly asking about that? Are you worried something might happen to Claridium? No, are you hoping something will happen?"

"What?"

"Ah, I get it. First-year, you don't want to go to Claridium, right? Right? You did this before the special club competition too. Asking if we really have to go there."

"...?"

"Hey! Zenia, come here!"

Zenia, who was tending to flowers in the distance, came running with a watering can, not even taking off her apron.

"What, what? I'm busy, what is it?"

"The first-year says he doesn't want to go to Claridium!"

Then Zenia put her hands on her hips and glared at me with a fierce face.

"Are you kidding?"

Just then, as Lilith entered the greenhouse for class, Zenia shouted loudly, "Hey! Close all the doors! We need to scold him."

Lilith, startled, closed the door and froze in front of it due to the serious atmosphere.

"I'm not saying I won't go, Senior."

Zenia spoke to me as if lecturing, "Do you know how much we've bragged about you to the graduate senior waiting in Claridium? That senior is buying pretty clothes and fixing her hair, waiting eagerly at the port, saying the jewel of the Art Club is coming. You know? And you dare to say such a thing?"

"..."

"Haley, you know, huh? She's scraping together her hard-earned money to buy dried fruits, jerky, bread, and cheese for you all, even going hungry because she has no money. How can you say such a thing!"

Looking back at Haley, she suddenly made a sorrowful expression like an ill-fated heroine.

"Since the first-year says he won't go... I'll have to throw it all away..."

Then she dipped her hand in the watering can, wet it, and drew tears on her face, pouting her lips.

Everyone here knew that she was the daughter of one of the most prestigious families in the Empire, and meals were all provided by the academy. The seniors were expressing their disappointment in a half-threatening, half-joking manner. But I never said I wouldn't go...

"I won't miss out while the seniors are going. I just want to check how safe it is."

"Is that so? Are you sure?"

Amaryllis's letter didn't say it would be dangerous to go there. She just questioned why we would go to an already ruined land.

As they say, even a rich man could last three years after going bankrupt. For a prosperous metropolis to collapse as Amaryllis described, it would take at least a decade or more. Maybe Amaryllis was looking too far ahead. Even if we went and came back, Claridium probably wouldn't have changed much.

Zenia asked Haley, "Hey, is there anything dangerous in Claridium?"

Haley answered, "Okay, since the first-year seems worried, I'll explain kindly. First of all, it's one of the safest cities in the world from magic creatures. It's fair to say they're at the forefront when it comes to research on magic creatures. You probably know this from hearing it often."

Haley pulled her chair close, sitting with her thigh touching mine. Then she put paper on the easel and started drawing something with a brush.

What she drew was a large letter “C”.

"Now, let's say this is a topographical map. And this attached here is Claridium."

Then she drew something like a pimple in the middle of the curved inner part of the drawing. That pimple was Claridium.

"Now, Claridium is a small peninsula surrounded by the Empire, the Kingdom of Malia, and the sea. Plus, another peninsula wraps around Claridium like a barrier."

"..."

"To begin with, magic creatures have been completely eradicated in that area, and even if flying species come across the sea, they have to pass through other countries. Something happening because of magic creatures? That's absolutely impossible."

"How are relations with the Empire?"

"Claridium gets along so well with the Empire that a third of its population is from the Empire. Trade and research exchanges are very active. And, although I can't mention the family name due to circumstances, ahem! If I accompany you, the Empire can never be a threat. I can guarantee that."

"Is there anything else?"

"Let's see. Something that might scare our first-year... Ah!"

Haley slapped her thigh as if something occurred to her.

"The main competition of the exchange tournament is held there."

"..."

"There will be quite a few magic creatures bred for the main competition of the exchange tournament. Although it's a number that can be handled at the student level, if we had to pick something, that might be the most dangerous. If there's anything our first-year is afraid of, the seniors will take care of it."

Haley patted my back. She was desperate to send me to Claridium somehow.

"..."

"So you're going, okay?"

Zenia and Haley looked at me with sparkling eyes, making me uncomfortable.

If it were a northern city, the word "ruin" might have sounded more plausible. I was confused because Claridium was known to be as safe as the capital of the Empire. No matter how I thought about it, I couldn't imagine what kind of disaster could lead to the ruin of a prosperous metropolis.

The city wouldn't fall because of magic creatures bred for the exchange tournament. After all, Eternia and other big cities also bred magic creatures.

War? Even that was ultimately a fight to change the flag on the castle, not to completely destroy the city.

The only clue, if any, was that artists have migrated to Rigved in large numbers.

Is there a need to go around in circles? There's probably no better way than to go and check for myself.

I said to the seniors, "Yes, of course I should go."

***

Callios was still waiting for me in the Forbidden Forest.

I told him that I had satisfied Trisha and then succeeded in communicating with Priscilla, but he showed no particular reaction.

Instead, he sat on a rock, sharpening a piece of wood to make a harpoon by hand, and asked an unexpected question, "Have you ever heard of Taitirian?"

"It's the first time I've heard of it."

"Hmm."

"My knowledge isn't extensive. I don't slack off in class, but..."

"That's possible. It's hard to know unless you dig through old books. Humans aren't interested in dwarves anymore."

"Is it where dwarves live?"

"That's right. They cause all sorts of disasters, but they're a tenacious race that still maintains its lineage."

"It's also the first time I've heard that dwarves cause disasters."

"There's even a saying that when disaster strikes, blame the dwarves and mages first. Haven't you heard it?"

"It's the first time I've heard it."

Callios stroked his white beard with a complicated expression.

"Times have changed too much."

"..."

"If you trace the cause of a disaster, dwarves are usually at the starting point."

"I didn't know they were such an infamous race."

I only knew about dwarves that they were good at digging tunnels and had particularly good craftsmanship.

"I suppose so. Since contact has been completely cut off, most humans probably don't even realize that the disasters that hit them were caused by dwarves."

"..."

"Dwarves have a stronger desire to conquer the underground than any other race, so they keep digging endlessly, and sometimes they find amazing things. Ancient magic swords, jewels from other dimensions, demonic artifacts, the heart of the earth that causes earthquakes. If you go to a dwarf kingdom, you'll be amazed at the extraordinary treasures that defy common sense. You might wonder if they're living in the same world as us."

"Since they've cut off contact with humans, they'll keep it all to themselves, right?"

"There's no need to be jealous. Dwarves can't handle them properly. They're just obsessed with the superiority of owning something unique and desperately scrape them together."

"..."

"And it's not like dwarves have cut off contact with all humans. Among humans, they still maintain close contact with the ascetics of the Taitirian Plateau."

"Did they make beer that perfectly suits dwarves' taste?"

"That could be a way to earn respect, but no."

"Then what's special about them?"

"There's almost nothing beneficial to the world among dwarves' excavated items. Most of them are things that were deeply buried for a reason. Some are full of pure malice towards living beings, corrupting souls and polluting the earth. There have been times when an entire kingdom had to undertake a great migration because they couldn't find a way to control something even after hundreds or thousands of dwarves were sacrificed."

"..."

"After experiencing disasters, dwarves bring things they can't handle to the surface and entrust them to the ascetics of Taitirian."

"Is that allowed?"

Callios nodded.

"The ascetics aren't dominated by magic swords. Even if it's a jewel possessed by a demon, it becomes just a stone in front of those ascetics, and even if it's a sword with a dragon's heart, it's just iron in front of them."

"Why is that?"

"They train only one thing. What do you think it is?"

"...Sealing techniques?"

"No, it's the soul. Through that meditation you're doing."

"...?"

"They just polish their souls, inheriting the method left by the primordial ascetic. They don't specialize in handling weapons, don't use magic, and are made up of orphans and vagrants, so it's unrelated to bloodline."

"Does that really work?"

"The ascetics are those with empty minds, so they can't be dominated. It's like when a thief comes in, there's nothing to steal, so they just turn around and leave. Do you understand how great a power it is to control your own soul?"

"..."

"Worldly humans accept everything that comes in, but ascetics choose what to accept and what to let go. They can accept positive energy and let go of negative energy. They can be intoxicated by the beauty of a flower they see every day as if experiencing it for the first time, and they can be as firm as steel even in front of a magic sword full of malice towards humans."

"..."

"This is why you needed to learn the Taitirian ascetic method before other things."

"...!"

"I don't know what triggered it, but you've learned how to unload things from your heart."

"I don't know how I managed to do it either, and I'm still far from proficient."

"Taking that first step is what's important. Now, would you summon your magic sword?"

I quietly closed my eyes. And I called for the magic sword as I always had.

A dazzling light emanated from my hand. I opened my eyes and checked the sword in my hand.

Something was different. The sensation my body felt was clearly different from before.

The magical pressure that used to weigh down on my body felt lighter, and the rapid draining of energy that used to occur upon summoning had become more gradual.

And the sword's radiance had become clearer than before.

Callios, who had been watching this quietly, nodded with a satisfied expression.