Chapter 151 – The Great Spirit of Mother and the Right Hand of the Demon King
This was the center of a vast lake.
With the surface of the water reflecting the dim moonlight, it serves as a natural magic circle, establishing a barrier to drive away the demons.
It was Holy Light Lake. Within the center of this crystal clear lake was the fortress capital of the humans, the royal city of Gairadite.
It is slightly differing from the city in the magical era. Its solid walls, which covered the city, were in ruins, and there were numerous holes in them.
Even the houses beyond the gates are shabby, and their outer walls and roofs have been damaged. There appeared to be many traces of temporary repairs made with white stones made by<Construction and Creation Ivis>.
“Wow, it’s Gairadite!”
“… It’s unlike the… usual…”
Eleonore and Zeshia stare across the gate, slightly bemused by the spectacle.
“Hmm. It seems that we have arrived in one piece.”
The in my hand crumbled and withered away.
Misha stared at it.
“What? Once we go back in time, it will be trivial to return to our original timeline.”
“Thank goodness.”
Lay walks up to me.
“From the appearance of the city, it does seem like it must have been 2,000 years ago, but about what time?”
“I guess shortly after they constructed the wall and my reincarnation.”
Misha and Sasha direct their magic eyes in the direction of Dilhade.
“… I mean, the wall you erected is extraordinary…”
Sasha muttered.
“This is the aftermath of the magic surging this far.”
Misha blinks her eyes in amazement.
“With something like that, I can’t even imagine heading to the border.”
“It would require much more than that to maintain those of this era apart. Nevertheless, some of the demons of 2,000 years ago were able to cross the wall.”
One who possesses strong magic power, as Melheis did, can cross over the .
“Why did we end up in Gairadite?”
Glancing toward the border, Sasha swept her blond twin-tail hair and turned around.
“After I erected the wall at Delsgade, the Great Spirit Reno is supposed to return to Aharthern. And Shin will be accompanying her under my command.”
“Oh, I see. That reminds me, you mentioned that Aharthern in this time period is in Holy Light Lake.”
As if convinced, Sasha says.
“When building the wall, Reno exhausted her magic power. In that condition, she won’t be able to cross the , so it will probably be some time before her return. This should be right around that time now.”
Are they already back? Or perhaps they are in the process of returning.
“Let’s go to Aharthern and confirm it.”
“Even your magic eye doesn’t know where they are, Anos?”
“In this era, there are various demon tribes and humans watching different places with their magic eyes. There are many magic to obstruct this. Of course, it does not mean that it is impossible to attempt to sight, but there is a risk that my magical power will be detected.”
Then Sasha gives a huffing look of realization.
“The Demon King of Tyranny is presumably dead and reincarnated, so…?”
“If someone discovers they I am alive, this past will be utterly distinct from what it originally was.”
“Uh, this time, no matter what we might do in the past, it won’t change the present history we were in, right?”
Sasha asks as if to confirm.
“Yes. The deity race that reigns over time has an established rule that fixes the past as the past. Once the magic of this expires and we return to the present, the temporal order will be activated and the altered past will be restored to its original state. If it is a minor change, it may remain as it was. Therefore, whatever we may have done 2,000 years ago right now, it will have no effect on the present.”
However, if the possibility arises, for example, that the Demon King of Tyranny is still alive in this past, it will be a drastically altered past from the one that originally existed. In that case, we may never be able to ascertain what happened to Reno, Shin, and Misa.
“Even so, this is not a coincidence, and it is likely to be the scheme of the divine race. Unless things turned out poorly, they would act in such a way that Avos Dilhevia, the Great Spirit, would be born.”
“All we have to do is avoid a major change in the past?”
I nodded at Misha’s question.
“That would make Anos the greatest issue of all, wouldn’t it?”
Lay asks.
“I am in the body of a mazoku, and Eleonore has not yet been born. Of course, Misha, Sasha, and Zeshia are not well known in this time. Unless you do something spectacular, you can’t influence the past.”
“Oh, indeed. If it’s your magic, Anos, people who recognize you will recognize you.”
Eleonore raises her index finger.
Lay carried on.
“Besides, you don’t look much different than you did 2,000 years ago. I suppose the fact that you look exactly like the Demon King of Tyranny is also a problem, isn’t it?”
“For the time being, you can use your magic to disguise the root of the problem.”
As he says this, Lay places two fingers on my neck and deploys a magic circle.
There are hardly anyone who can distinguish the concealment magic of the hero Kanon, who excels in source magic.
“After that, all I need to do is conceal myself with<Illusion Mimicry Rainel>.”
“As long as you stay still, I don’t think there will be any difficulty, but if your magic is cast nearby, it would be exposed to me of this era. You better watch out. As I recall, they should be back by now.”
Is this the time when Jerga is attempting to establish the Hero Academy and Kanon is opposing it?
If the hero Kanon believes that the Demon King Anos is still alive, the past will be vastly different.
“Hmm. I will be careful. And I have a word of advice. After the magical effect of the wears off, the past will return to normal. This means that the past we visited 2,000 years ago will never have occurred. However, our memories will never be erased. The same applies to everything else. If we were wounded 2,000 years ago, we will still be wounded when we return to our original time. We may even die. Be alert.”
We of the present era cannot change the past.
But someone in the past can intervene and influence us.
This is human territory.
If they find out we are demons, they will attack us without question.
“I get it. At any rate, we just have to be cautious not to alter the past as much as possible and hang in there so that we don’t die.”
Eleonore replied energetically.
“Tonight is a hazy moon.”
Misha fixes her gaze on the moon overhead.
“Do they produce light blue candies?”
The present rumor of Aharthern, as I mentioned earlier, is that at midnight when the hazy moon emerges, a mist drifts by the shores of Holy Light Lake. The rumor is that if you release a light blue candy into the mist, a mischievous fairy will materialize and guide you into the forest.
It is not likely that this has changed after my reincarnation.
“Unfortunately, Titi is particular about her preferences. I tried it 2,000 years ago, but she wouldn’t even bother looking at the magic candies I created.”
“Light blue candy means Holy Light candy, right? I believe they’ve been around since this time?”
When Eleonore twisted her head, Zeshia flashed a slight smile.
“It’s one of my favorite… foods.”
“That’s right. There should be a stall. Let’s go buy some.”
The magic of makes everyone but Eleonore and Zeshia invisible.
Lay cast a concealment magic on Misha, Sasha, and himself so that their magic power would appear to be that of humans.
Since Lina is a spirit, there should pose no problem.
We pass through the walled gate and enter Gairadite.
“Kano–ah!
Eleonore almost said “Kanon,” but then hastily rephrased it.
“Lay-kun, do you remember which stall sells them?”
“It ought to be straight down this traffic.”
There are people passing by in the area.
Although the town, which had sustained numerous raids by the demon race, was in ruins, the people displayed liveliness and smiles.
Despite it being nighttime, many stores are still open, and rows of stalls are lined up in the streets.
“… It looks like they’re back after all…”
Lay mutters.
“Hmm. So this is a celebration of the triumphant return of the heroes who vanquished the Demon King.”
The humans are wearing cheerful expressions, which is another sign of their nods.
In this day and age, I have only seen expressions of sorrow, terror, and loathing, but they seem to be enjoying themselves.
“What’s so enjoyable about watching the faces of people who are delighted to find out you’ve been defeated?”
Sasha asked.
When I look over at her, Misha explains.
“You were smiling.”
“Was I?”
“Yeah.”
Hmm.
Did I look like I was enjoying myself that much?
“It was all worth it, I guess.”
“Is that so? Hmm. I kind of dislike it though…”
And Sasha cast a sharp look at the humans, who were smiling gleefully.
It seems that Sasha is not pleased that they are rejoicing that the Demon King has been conquered.
“Oh. I found a stall of Holy Light candies over there.”
“Is there enough for… Zeshia to eat?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll buy it for you.”
Eleonore is about to head for the food stall when she pauses.
“Come to think of it, we haven’t got any money, do we?”
When Eleonore looks back, I send a few gold coins flying with my magic.
“I grabbed some from the treasury. They are the currency of this time period.”
“Wow. I’m going to be luxurious!”
Eleonore linked hands with Zeshia and proceeded to the stall.
“Good evening. Uncle, I’d like to buy some of your Holy Light candies.”
“Hey there. How many do you want?”