Episode 45.6

As the topic got to this point, suddenly it hit Lecan.

(That's it!)

(The magic that time. Must've been Ancient Word Magic.)

He recalled the time Shira undid her magic to reveal her aged figure to Lecan. She recited a spell foreign to Lecan back then.

Of course, it's not like Lecan has a complete mastery of this world's language, there must be numerous words he doesn't know out there. And yet, the spell back then was simply alien. And yet it sounded familiar to him somehow. Thinking again, it feels somewhat similar to the activation spells of <Ring of Undying King> and <Talisman of Darkness Demon>. And Shira most likely can speak the language used in <Genesiac Grace Gear> activation spells.

To begin with, who was it that taught Jiza's grandmother, Era Morfes, Ancient Word Magic. Of course, it's Shira. None other.

Shira was the wordkeeper of Ancient Word Magic.

Looking back, the spell Shira used to conceal Yurika's monstrosity must have been Ancient Word Magic. Many other occasions also ring a bell.

What a thing.

Lecan is well aware that Shira is a magic practitioner of superlative powers, capable of casting magic beyond Lecan like <Dehydrate> and <Exchange>. And yet, he believed that his ability should be close to her in an actual combat.

But no, that was never the case. Hidden behind the visible layers of modern magic, Shira is keeping her ace up sleeve in the form of Ancient Word Magic of unknown quality under wrap.

"Tolda."

"What's up?"

"Can Guide Jiza cast offensive spells of Ancient Word Magic?"

"Yea. No doubt about it. Those who have gone into the dungeon with her testified so. We have activation spells on record too. Guide Era Morfes was a practitioner of a grand flame magic that burns everything down, which netted her the epithet <Crimson Witch>. Guide Jiza's mother and Guide Jiza herself succeeded that epithet."

"Hou. I see. And yet not one of them ever taught someone that powerful offensive magic."

"Well, how would I know that. However, I did hear that Guide Jiza apparently refused the board of directors when they appealed to her to hold a course on Ancient Word Magic, she also rejected their idea to organize and transcribe the ancient words used in the magic. Yet on the other hand, there are rumors about her attempting to teach several of her pupils offensive spells."

"Yet none managed to learn it."

"There hasn't been a peep of anyone other than Guide Jiza deploying Ancient Word Magic offensive spells. There were people reciting the activation spells after learning them from watching, but not a soul managed to cast it, so I heard."

"That board of directors thing must be quite influential huh."

"Well yeah. They might even stand above the townlord in a way. The townlord will go to those ladies to consult about things, and despite never giving them an order, he would never dismiss their demands. Those ladies are completely unconcerned about running the town though."

"Ladies? Are all of them women?"

"There's some men too, but the majority are women."

"Fumu. So Jiza has been refusing that board of directors' demands all this time."

"Well, they can't ignore all the great undertakings by three generations from House of Morfes, and all members of the board were once pupils of Guide Jiza to a varying level of tutelage. They can't get too hard on her."

"I see."

"But there's one thing the board of directors has imposed on Guide Jiza irrespective of her will."

"Hou. What's that."

<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka.com >

"Floors below 80 in Dungeon Palcimo are off-limit to Guide Jiza."

"What?"

"It'd be really bad if Guide Jiza died after all."

(I see.)

(Can't have her dying before handing down the secret art huh.)

(Jiza is quite old, keeping her safe is a just cause.)

(It's a form of protection.)

(What the person in question thinks about it is a different matter altogether though.)

"This ban is imposed on the guide herself, but all personnel of Magic Research Institute also have a duty to monitor and keep Guide Jiza from going to floor below 80."

"How'd they gonna monitor her if she join up with outsiders."

"The institute's members are prohibited from joining outsiders in exploring the dungeon."

"What? But I got into the dungeon with Jiza, some officials and some magic knights."

"Yes I've heard of that. When outsiders with complicated standings intend to go into the dungeon, they get assigned observers that will judge their ability and personality, see. It's an insurance to prevent future trouble. That turned into a formal request from the townlord and worked as an exception to the ban."

This explanation made sense to Lecan. Yet something bugged him. Exploring the identity of this something, it's about how he found the townlord's decision odd.

Lecan is a known conqueror of Dungeon Tsubolt. Wouldn't introducing an adventurer of such caliber fan the flame in Guide Jiza's ambition to conquer Dungeon Palcimo.

Or perhaps, due to Palcimo residents' tendency to make light of other dungeons, they believed that just because Lecan conquered Tsubolt, doesn't mean he could Palcimo, or at least it would take a long time.

Or maybe, the townlord's side was unaware that Guide Jiza is still as ambitious as ever in her quest to conquer Dungeon Palcimo even today.

At any rate, there's too few information to come to a conclusion. And besides, it doesn't seem like this is going to involve Lecan anyway. He decided to forget about it.