Chapter 43

After seeing off the knights, I immediately began to investigate the iced earth Zero Field.

At this rate, I’m going to end up on ice too…

The mana floating inside the Zero Field will freeze your body if you inhale it.

So,

“Enclosure…『 Ignis Cube 』.”

I created a box-shaped ward around myself.

Flames flickered outside the wards, and the ground around where I was standing turned black as it burned.

The original purpose of the warding was to enclose the opponent inside and burn them to death.

Normally, there are flames inside the wards.

However, if you manipulate the mana to extinguish the flames inside, you can turn it into a defensive magic where only the outside burns.

However, it requires a certain amount of skill, so I don’t recommend it even to experienced magicians.

If you’re not careful, you’ll put yourself in danger.

But even so, it can be used as an all-purpose shield that can physically burn the person who is hitting you and protect yourself from attack and defense, so I find it useful in its own way.

Well, let’s put that aside for a moment. I can work in the Zero Field with this.

The mana that freezes the body is nullified by the fire mana when it touches each other, so there is no need to worry about getting iced.

“Umm, uh, the golem’s activity has stopped… This means that it will not be a problem to erase the Zero Field.”

The golem is a demon that is designated as a B-rank danger by the adventurer’s guild.

They can repel the attacks of ordinary adventurers and knights, so if you are not good enough, even dealing with one of them is dangerous.

And as expected, even I would find it difficult to deal with this number of golems.

To be honest, I’m glad that they were all wiped out.

But still,

“But who on earth would create such a large-scale magic… and where would such a large number of golems come from…?”

That’s right. That’s the problem.

This magic is called horde magic, and it’s a big one.

It’s not something that can be activated easily. If it were possible to activate it, it would be impossible for an individual to do so unless they were a Sage like me or a Grand Mage. Or, if this magic can be invoked by one person, it would only be a hero.

Even that… the hero is no longer in this world.

I haven’t heard any rumors or reports of a new hero appearing, and I don’t think it was at least a hero who invoked this magic.

So, a grand mage? No, I don’t think so.

As far as I know, there is only one person, aside from the hero and myself, who can activate Zero Field.

I’ve heard that she stays in her lab in Royal Capital and doesn’t come out much.

If that’s the case…

“Th-The Adventurer’s Guild, or…?”

Probably the most likely scenario is that several adventurers from Cid, who had predicted this golem invasion, set it off.

Well, that’s fine then.

I’m going to have to give you a stern warning about leaving your magic here, but that’s about it.

It’s a long way from the town, and from the looks of it, there were no other creatures affected besides the golem.

In other words, there were no human casualties.

But, still…

“Y-You’re so careless to leave such dangerous magic unattended. Sermon confirmed.”

And one more question.

Where did these golems come from in the first place?

Did Titans really make them appear, as I told the knights?

If that’s the case, then…

“M-Maybe it was a good decision to force me to go along with the investigation after all.”

I was informed by my former companions Martina and Touka that three phantom beasts might have gathered in this area, and asked to accompany the knights on their way to investigate.

I am a Sage.

I’m proud to say that I have a good amount of knowledge, probably because I’ve been following my thirst for knowledge all my life.

Well, it’s the result of my dark-hearted past, where I spent all day and night facing books.

Even so, I think I can be of some use in an investigation like this one.

However, there are only a few descriptions of phantoms, and very little information on them.

Therefore, I believe that this investigation will be a difficult one.

It is doubtful that we will get any results from the survey, especially if it is done by people without any knowledge.

That’s why I decided to take a break from my job as head librarian to visit this place and participate in the survey.

But…

“『 Father 』looked very disgusted…”

Yes, my father was opposed to my participation in this survey.

But even so, I managed to get his permission by explaining the difficulty of the investigation and the usefulness of my knowledge.

However, I wanted to hold my head in my hands when he tried to attach Martina, the Knight Commander, as an escort.

Of course, I politely declined.

The current Martina is busy with the work of the knight order.

I don’t think I can make her spend all her time on my behalf.

“Huh~ …Father, you’re too overprotective.”

In the beginning, there was a lot of dispute when I decided to participate in the defeat of Demiurge.

In the end, the people around me agreed to let me go on my journey.

It was a very reluctant decision.

“Huh~ …well, let’s just focus on the investigation for now.”

I let out a sigh again and resume my investigation.

Then I walked to the magic circle, which was probably the center of the ward, and observed it.

And then,

“Eh…?”

I opened my eyes unexpectedly and stared at the magic circle.

And I can feel the mana overflowing from it.

“L-Lies… wh, what’s, this…?”

Mana has its own nature, and each individual’s mana is different.

Sage like me and those who work in magic are especially sensitive to the nature of mana.

If you can sense the mana―――you can know who it belongs to―――if it belongs to someone you know.

Yes. Mana is unique to each individual.

And the mana I sensed from the magic circle was something I remembered very well…

“A-Ares-san…?”

As soon as I muttered the name, a drop fell from my eye toward my chin.

There was no mistaking this mana’s presence.

This is the same mana that traveled with me, Martina, Touka, and the others two years ago…

“What?! Wh-Why?! Why is Ares-san’s mana here?!”

I almost fell into a panic.

However, I sensed the warding wavering and hurriedly calmed my mind.

Even so, the fact that the mana of a supposedly dead person existed right in front of me only increased my agitation.

“Maybe… perhaps Ares-san is alive, and……～～～～～～!”

At that moment, I grabbed my chest and fell to my knees on the spot.

Immediately, the warding of the Ignis Cube began to break down.

But I severed the magic circle in front of me from the ground, soil and all, and stopped the magic of the Zero Field.

With the interference between the magic circles cut off, the ice-covered earth remained intact, and the outflow of freezing mana in the air stopped.

Originally, I could have stopped the magic just by destroying the form of the letters engraved on the magic circle by wiping them off with my hand.

I couldn’t tamper with this magic circle and destroy its shape.

“Ah… Ares-san…”

I can still sense his mana, though it is faint, from the magic circle.

“H-He’s alive… Ares-san is alive…!”

With a sense of certainty, I stare at the magic circle detached from the ground.

My heart was beating so fast that I could feel it myself.

Tears are flowing down my face, and my face is a mess.

“I-I have to find… Ares-san!”

I carefully put the magic circle into the space storage, the Ignis Cube disappears, and my vision becomes clear.

I forgot my original purpose for coming here, and walked around the plains looking for the residue of mana I had just sensed.

Everywhere, anywhere…

But the sun was setting, and it was time to meet up with the knights.

I returned to the carriage with a feeling of reluctance in my heart, but with the hope that I might be able to find some information about Ares in the town.

Two male knights, Jane and Theo, were already waiting for me.

I quickly get into the carriage and head for the town of Cid with them.

I hoped that there would be some traces of him there, where he might still be alive.