Chapter 360 – The Goddess, the Family, and

“…How did you defeat the leader?” I asked Ignatius.

“We cornered them in their stronghold, and those magicians—or as you would call them, the Seven Sages—attacked with their full force. They employed methods like dividing them using barrier magic and forcibly excluding them through teleportation magic. Lazaro, during his lifetime, also participated in the battle against those demons.”

“I remember that battle as well. I teamed up with one of the magicians and fought the divided demons. But that wasn’t the main objective of the battle.”

“The top priority was defeating the leader, who possessed the power to awaken lower-ranking demons. That’s why we couldn’t completely eliminate some of the high-ranking demons. It’s possible that remnants of them are still active even now.”

…I see. Gardinis was probably one of them.

“Then the leader’s body and soul were separated. The body was placed deep within the labyrinth. The vessel containing the sealed soul was transported north. We put it into an eternal slumber through multiple layers of seals… or so it should have been.”

“The demons destroyed the northern country of Beriondora, but they probably couldn’t touch the crucial seal itself for a long time…. They likely finally managed to interfere with the seal after detecting the flaw in Silvatoria and the absence of the Sealing Shrine Maiden.”

Old Siegmund crossed his arms and groaned.

Even if the seal fell into the demons’ hands and was broken… the seals on the Orb and Miasma Orb still remained active. This is because the two types of orbs are structured to enhance each other’s seals.

“But that means Lord Ignatius wasn’t informed about the Miasma Orb or the northern seal either.”

When Old Siegmund asked him that, Ignatius groaned with a somewhat apologetic expression.

“They told me they would seal the Miasma Orb itself using a different method to prevent the demons from touching it, but they didn’t tell me what that method was.”

“They probably intended to conceal the method of breaking the seal by dispersing the information.”

“Indeed. We’ve adopted that approach as well. The reason we took these forms was to maintain the labyrinth-side seal. We’ll properly convey the procedures for the ritual. Just so you know, we’ve stored documents recording the procedures in the Fire Spirit Hall, so the sealing ritual can continue even if we disappear.”

…I see. They’re probably anticipating information loss over time and difficulties in deciphering ancient documents. We’ve actually been struggling with that.

But that means we didn’t get much new information about the Miasma Orb. Well, it can’t be helped since the Miasma Orb’s management falls under the Seven Sages’ jurisdiction.

“For me… this conversation has brought up another matter of concern,” said Claudia. Everyone’s attention turned to her.

“Initially, I thought the Seven Sages created the seal inside the labyrinth through their research on it. But listening to Ignatius’s story, that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

“…If they had knowledge about the labyrinth from the beginning, then that would make sense.”

In response to Claudia’s words, Rosemary covered her mouth with her feather fan and furrowed her brows. Ignatius also nodded in agreement.

“…I had my doubts when I was still human too. But now I can guess their true nature.”

“Yes. The Seven Sages were likely Moon Folk—or possibly descendants of Moon Folk and surface dwellers.”

“Indeed. The Boundary Labyrinth’s mechanisms and Silvatoria’s magic share many similarities.”

The magic Mother possessed was probably like that too. Obvious examples would be the spell formulas that construct the labyrinth’s monsters, the magic that reconstructs bodies, and teleportation magic and barrier magic as well. The technique for gathering magical power is also similar to the labyrinth’s mechanisms.

If the technology used in the Boundary Labyrinth, which represents the essence of the Moon Folk, and the magic possessed by the Seven Sages are of the same lineage, then it wouldn’t be strange if they could utilize the labyrinth. In fact, the Seven Sages did create a seal inside the labyrinth using the four Spirit Halls and the Moonlight Temple.

“Could it be that the Moon Folk learned of the surface’s confusion and sent them to help people?”

“That might be possible. And they remained on the surface and built a country. There are several possible reasons for that…”

At Old Siegmund’s words, Claudia appeared thoughtful.

Reasons? In terms of possibilities, we could also consider that they couldn’t return due to some circumstance rather than choosing not to return.

If the Moon Folk’s livelihood depended on the surface’s existence, they might have faced difficulties during the period when the surface was unstable due to the magical storm. Or perhaps the surface stabilized but they could no longer maintain their life on the moon.

We still don’t have enough information to speculate about what happened to the Moon Folk after Claudia descended to the surface, what they’re doing now, or why the Seven Sages remained on the surface… But Claudia must be concerned about the Moon Folk’s safety too.

When I looked at Claudia with such thoughts, she smiled slightly and asked, “I’m happy. Are you worried about me?”

“…Yeah. I guess so.”

It was a bit embarrassing to answer in front of everyone, but when I looked straight at Claudia and responded, her smile deepened.

“I’ll be fine. If even part of the Moon Folk’s descendants who descended to the surface are the people of Silvatoria, then I’ve essentially learned what I wanted to know, haven’t I?”

“That’s true.”

So for Claudia, it’s the opposite. Because she abandoned everything else to descend to the surface for her mission… learning about the Moon Folk’s descendants and their safety must have been beyond her expectations.

“Theodore, that includes you too, and Marlene and Marie as well. Being surrounded by all of you now makes me very happy.”

Claudia said this while stroking Marlene’s hair as she approached with a concerned expression. Marlene, having her hair stroked, exchanged smiles with Claudia.

If one of the Seven Sages’ daughters married into the Verdgar royal family too… That would mean they’re descendants of people Claudia knew.

“Of course, that includes Grace and Ashley too. Sheila, Irmhild, and Seraphina as well. And everyone in the village—they’re all precious family. I’m so blessed that there’s no need to worry.”

“That’s right.”

“Yes, Claudia-sama.”

At Claudia’s words, Grace and the others smiled. They looked at each other’s faces and nodded in agreement.

King Melvin, Old Siegmund, Ignatius, and the others were also smiling with narrowed eyes. The somewhat tense atmosphere had eased a bit. After drinking tea and taking a breather, we continued our discussion.

“…But if the Seven Sages were Moon Folk, then it makes sense that they were exceptionally powerful magicians,” said Ignatius after finishing his tea.

Yeah. And that much of their technology wasn’t passed down to their descendants.

Time passing is one factor, but as Moon Folk and surface dwellers mixed, fewer individuals with aptitude appeared with each generation. The decline in users of magical power circulation is probably the most prominent example.

“If we can overcome that demon group, we’ll have a plan to maintain the seals again. Then the question becomes what to do from here on.”

King Melvin said this while looking around at everyone.

“We can predict that the demons will launch their offensive when the Orb’s seal weakens, but we still can’t determine their exact methods. Considering that we also need time to complete our countermeasures against the demons, you could say we’re currently in a stalemate, conserving our strength while keeping watch on each other.”

The information about miasma that Zadias left behind? If we use that as a basis to prepare strategies to crush the lower-ranking demons, it would be easier to counter them even if they’re conserving their combat forces in Beriondora.

“I believe we also need scouts for Beriondora and the southern sacred land.”

“Indeed. The more information we have about the demons, the better. With the Sirius, deploying and withdrawing personnel will be easier. Let’s schedule things so we can complete both before the Orb’s seal weakens.”

First, retrieving the final Orb from the Blazing Fortress. Then investigating the southern sacred land. And sending scouts to Beriondora. Doing these steadily and reliably, one after another… That’s how the discussion in the ritual chamber concluded.

Ignatius and Lazaro headed to the Royal Castle. They said they would share today’s findings with Prince Josiah, Princess Stephania, Princess Adriana, and the others.

Thank you as always for reading my work!

I’ve received updates regarding publication, which I’ve announced in my activity report.

This time, the cover illustration has been released on the special website!

With one month until release date, we’re gradually approaching the final countdown,

I’ll continue doing my best with both the web serialization and publication work,

so please continue your support going forward.