Chapter 601 – The Elders' Trust

Our return to Silvatoria’s royal capital Vinesdora came after spending a night on the snowfield with clear visibility.

There was also the intention of camping overnight to observe whether there was any enemy pursuit. While we were cautious about being followed, if they were to pursue us, it would mean they had methods beyond our expectations, so we set up watch to detect any suspicious movements and uncover whatever could be uncovered.

In the end, we discovered nothing, but since we needed to visit King Eberhart and the elders of the Sages’ Academy, it would have been inappropriate to rush back to Silvatoria and make noisy disturbances with the Sirius during late night or early morning hours.

Well, since we had preserved our combat strength and none of the members were exhausted, we could afford to monitor for pursuit while observing the situation.

During the night, we also had time to prepare reports to submit to Silvatoria’s side, getting all the formalities in order as well.

For these reasons… upon arriving in Vinesdora, King Eberhart and the elders immediately came to the square where the Sirius was docked, offering words celebrating our safe return and appreciation for our efforts. Then I found myself being mobbed even more enthusiastically by the elders than when we had first arrived.

Since we had reports to deliver, we promptly moved to the royal castle’s guest room to discuss the details of this investigation.

“—And so, the Golems we sent were forced into incapacitation, either due to a spell formula Mustra had prepared… or due to miasma characteristics. Considering the abilities of the leader Valros and his subordinate Zaradi, we judged it difficult to continue the investigation and withdrew.”

King Eberhart and the elders listened quietly to my report, but when I finished speaking, they opened their eyes and said:

“The investigation of the demons’ stronghold—we understood it was necessary, but we couldn’t help imagining the worst possible outcomes. While the results may leave you dissatisfied, considering we could have learned nothing at all, this is more than sufficient achievement. Particularly, your return without losing a single member is the most wonderful result we could ask for. This is truly something to celebrate.”

“Thank you.”

I bowed to King Eberhart. He smiled back at me, but then suddenly turned serious. The atmosphere, which had relaxed in the joy of return and reunion, tightened once more.

“A flying castle with hordes of monsters… And demons on top of that. The road ahead is fraught with difficulties.”

“And to have confirmed three high-ranking demons already. They seem to possess troublesome abilities.”

One of the elders, Emil, made a pained expression while looking at the papers.

Arranged on the table were drawings Sigritta had made for us. The black silhouette of Beriondora floating in the sky. The forms of the monsters surrounding the castle. And the portraits of Valros, Zaradi, and Mustra—. They’re Sigritta’s drawings, but since they’re normally drawn without magical effects. Still, they’re quite detailed depictions.

For the high-ranking demons specifically, their abilities are supplemented in writing on the papers based on my speculations.

“Valros is in a class of his own compared to any demons confirmed so far. And this old demon Zaradi is also… formidable in a different sense. If he can vaguely detect the existence of strategies, wouldn’t it be difficult to even prepare countermeasures?”

“They have a necessary trump card that we also hold in our hands. I thought we might be able to make the first move from our side. Beyond that, I’ve also been vaguely considering countermeasures myself. Though I don’t know if they’ll work.”

If the Miasma Orb is necessary for them, then even if they know about it, they’ll have to play into our hands. Or perhaps the strategy they’re planning involving the Miasma Orb surpasses even that.

But precisely because of that, they should have no choice but to move.

“Hmm. I’m glad you’re on our side. That’s truly reassuring.”

In response to my answer, King Eberhart nodded with apparent admiration.

“As for Mustra… I can’t really tell. We don’t even know if it’s a spell formula or miasma characteristic.”

It could also be viewed as a type of Barrier Magic. It’s truly regrettable that we couldn’t obtain the black building material.

“That’s right. If I had to say one thing, for example, even if we were to attempt a direct assault on the castle itself, if Mustra is inside, the danger level would likely skyrocket.”

“That is certainly true.”

King Eberhart placed a hand on his chin and pondered. I added further supplementary information about their likely future movements.

“They appear to want to preserve their combat strength ahead of the decisive battle at Termwills. I believe the possibility of them launching aggressive attacks against Silvatoria, which possesses the Magic Knight Corps and advanced magical technology, is low… but given that our opponent possesses a floating castle, please remain sufficiently cautious.”

“Understood. We’ll also remain vigilant and prepare without letting our guard down. Just having preliminary knowledge to mentally prepare the officers and soldiers would make a world of difference.”

King Eberhart nodded, then added as if appending his words:

“One more thing. The heads of the seven families apparently have something to discuss with Theodore.”

“Yes. What might that be?”

I nodded and turned back toward the elders.

“Indeed. Actually, you see. I hesitated to mention this before the investigation report since I thought it unwise to mix uncertain elements in, but recently we excavated this grimoire from the forbidden archives.”

With that, the elders gently placed an ancient document that was clearly from an older era on the desk and offered it to me.

It even came with notes for deciphering written in the elders’ own handwriting. Carefully turning the pages to avoid damaging the book, I examined the contents.

“This is—”

“It’s from quite an ancient time. It appears to be related to research concerning magical power circulation. Since practitioners existed back then, we thought it might serve as some reference for Theodore-kun.”

“For those of us who cannot perform magical power circulation, the sensory aspects are rather difficult to comprehend. But we’re hoping that you, of all people, might understand some parts.”

“I see…”

Research on magical power circulation and discussions of its applications.

Certainly, there’s ample possibility that it contains descriptions of techniques and applications I’m unaware of, or hints that could lead to new applications.

From the elders’ perspective, it’s a book containing elements they don’t fully understand. Their reason for not mentioning it before our delicate operation is understandable.

When cornered, suddenly trying unfamiliar things that backfire—that’s no laughing matter since it could easily happen. That would be gambling rather than strategy. That’s probably why they opted for the ring magic tool instead, which demonstrates stable effects and aligns with our strategy.

But now we still have time. Time to practice and experiment based on what we learn from reading further.

“We have only one wish. That you take it back to Verdgar and proceed with deciphering it.”

This too… would normally be treated as a secret text that should never leave the Sages’ Academy.

Given how the Academy has been eagerly seeking practitioners who can handle magical power circulation, the significance of this book is substantial. The meaning of entrusting it to me as well.

Therefore, I bowed quietly and answered:

“Thank you. I will take responsibility for safeguarding it. If there are any unknown discoveries regarding magical power circulation, I will submit those as reports to the Academy as well.”

“Hahaha. We’re happy to hear you say that, and as for us, we’d like to welcome it with open arms. But since you’re a busy man, you can put such miscellaneous tasks aside for later. Please prioritize what’s convenient for you first.”

Emil laughed cheerfully.

I had thought we were just stopping by to deliver reports.

While the contents of the ancient document are unknown at this point… I’ve gained some good goals. This will broaden my personal training and research as well.

After finishing our reports at the royal castle, we returned to the Sirius. Since we planned to depart immediately after reporting, the members of the Demon-Slaying Knight Order had remained on board waiting.

When King Eberhart and the elders appeared directly in the square to see us off, the Demon-Slaying Knight Order responded with salutes.

“Welcome back.”

“Welcome home, Theodore.”

Everyone who had been waiting on the ship smiled.

“I’ve delivered the reports. I even managed to borrow an ancient document about magical power circulation from the Academy.”

“That’s… something to be grateful for.”

Hearing this, Grace smiled happily as if it were her own affair.

Hmm. That’s right. It’s partly because of the elders’ trust and affection.

And so… we bid farewell to King Eberhart and the elders who had come to see us off, then left Vinesdora while waving from the deck.