What Changes, What Remains (10)

The most distinctive feature of the town of Odine, viewed from outside, was probably its rows of tall spires.

Mages, who combined skill and status among magicians and stood in positions of leadership, lived in spires to flaunt their authority.

Thus, those spires were symbols of Odine's knowledge and power, as well as expressions of its arrogance.

But anyway, setting that aside, I had spent around five years living in Odine in the past, so I was familiar with those spires, and seeing them again after so long stirred a sense of nostalgia.

Relying on memories of the past, I walked through Odine, making for the site of Kaushman's old home and forge-equipped workshop.

Although several decades had brought some changes to Odine's streets, they were not enough to make me lose my way.

Yet when I reached the place I remembered, Kaushman's workshop was no longer there.

For a while, I stood there in a daze.

Of course, I knew well enough that Kaushman was no longer there.

But I had never imagined that even his workshop would be gone.

I had been sure that one of Kaushman's apprentices had taken over, and I had come intending to speak with that apprentice...

I was at a loss, but standing in the middle of the road would only obstruct passersby.

I steeled myself and set off to find an inn, at least to secure somewhere to stay for now.

Ah, ah, I see.

I must have unconsciously assumed that I could stay at Kaushman's workshop and had come here without even arranging lodging.

Even though I knew in my head that Kaushman was gone, I had foolishly imagined that my place would still be there, just as before.

"Well, this is a problem..."

I muttered.

To be sure, Nonna's inn had changed somewhat in appearance, but it still stood in the same place.

That had put me at ease, but this was... quite heavy.

I had thought of one way to trace Kaushman's path.

If I asked the town hall here in Odine to investigate, they could find out what he had done since then and where his apprentices were now.

After all, I was technically recognized in this town as a magician, in my capacity as one of Kaushman's apprentices.

But what could I possibly talk about with apprentices who were no longer there, when even the workshop Kaushman had inherited from his dwarf master, Rajudor, and surely cherished was gone?

Hmm, no. Even so, I would like to know in detail what he accomplished before he died, if possible.

From the letters we exchanged a few times, I knew the general outline, and I had a vague understanding of what he had been striving toward.

But I still did not know whether Kaushman had reached the goal he had set for himself.

He had been my teacher in magic, a blacksmith's apprentice, and my bad friend.

I wanted to preserve at least some record of the life Kaushman had lived in my memories.

The next morning, after spending the night at an inn...

I visited Odine's town hall.

After giving my name, having my identity checked, and explaining my business, the answer I received from the town-hall official was:

"Information concerning Mage Kaushman Fiedel is classified as a military secret, so we cannot answer your questions. I apologize, but I must ask you to leave immediately."

That was the reply.

Ah, I see.

So that's how it was.

That explained why Kaushman's workshop had not remained in that place.

And I also understood the meaning behind the official's words—not only that he could not answer my question, but that I should leave at once.

When the official told me to leave, he hadn't meant that I should leave the town hall.

He had been warning me, without saying so outright, that I should leave Odine as quickly as possible.

The reason was, of course, the military.

When the official said the words "military secret," he placed a slight emphasis on them.

Indeed, simply telling me that it was a military secret was probably already at the very limit of what a town-hall employee could do—or an act that could earn the official punishment.

Even back then, apparently, Kaushman's research had been highly valued by the military.

Magical devices had drawbacks: they were not very versatile and tended to be bulky. However, when it came to using magic, they were more stable than having a magician wield it directly.

Moreover, as long as someone possessed magical power they could manipulate and knew how to operate the device, it could be used without the advanced knowledge of a magician, offering the possibility of lowering the barrier to magic.

Looking back, perhaps magical devices had been looked down on precisely because lowering that barrier might ultimately lower the value of magicians as well.

But to a military seeking stable, greater fighting power, Kaushman's research must have seemed extremely appealing.

They would conceal it and monopolize it, to the point of fearing that information might leak to other countries or beyond the small nations.

What would happen if the first apprentice who had once researched magical devices alongside Kaushman showed up in a place like that?

They might take me into custody as someone who could advance his research, or they might try to eliminate me out of fear that information about magical devices would leak to another country.

Either way, I could hardly expect a good outcome.

At the very least, that must have been what the official thought when he implicitly urged me to leave the town at once.

The reason was probably that the official did not want a magician who had come to visit a mage who was his master to be arrested or killed for that.

Come to think of it, the town-hall staff had been kind when I first visited Odine, too.

Though it went against my wishes, it made sense that the military would act that way.

If this were peacetime, perhaps it would be different, but the small nations were currently threatened by the great power that had arisen next door, Zieden, and the war with Darotte was still ongoing.

They naturally wanted to monopolize technology that could strengthen their military, and it was only natural for them to be wary of leaks to other countries.

I suppose I had no choice but to leave the city.

The fact that the military was keeping it classified told me that Kaushman must have achieved considerable results before his death.

For now, I had to be satisfied with that.

If possible, I wanted to retrieve at least that flame magic sword from the military, but until I knew where it was, there was nothing I could do.

Originally, if I had been able to meet one of Kaushman's apprentices, I had planned to give them the disposable magical devices I had acquired in the East—the talismans inscribed with spell formulas—and get carried away discussing them. But against the military, I had no inclination to do so at all.

If anything, I really wanted to take that flame magic sword back, even if it meant becoming enemies with the military.

But if I crushed the military in Odine, the effects would spread across all the small nations.

As a result, Janpemon might even be placed in a difficult position.

I could not afford to act recklessly, at least not now.

After retrieving my luggage from the inn, I left Odine without further delay.

Expecting pursuers to come after me soon, I headed west.

Normally, anyone leaving Odine for another destination would head south and take a ship from Lake Tzia.

Thus, most pursuers would head south first.

If they managed to board a ship, they would have a hard time catching me.

But if they were pursuing me knowing that I was an elf, some of them might be sent west as well and catch up with me.

Ah, if that happened, I would deal with them without holding back.

Even if a small group were wiped out somewhere no one knew about, it would only vent my frustration and have no impact on the broader situation.

So, yes, it seemed I had become a little emotional after all.