This is the last chapter for this mini-arc . There are still four epilogue chapters to tie up loose ends . Can you believe that this arc is about to end? Enjoy!
TL: clover
ED: eristol (will be edited by xtostos)
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“Yes, first of all . ”
Undaunted by Klaus’ intimidation, I started to explain in a bright tone .
“When I visited the museum to investigate the 「Staircase to the Underworld」, I met this Chloe-san here and she accompanied me—”
I talked about the course of events from investigating one of the Seven Wonders until the underground transition .
The demon-like facial expression still remained on Klaus’ face .
“—and then we were transferred to the bas.e.m.e.nt all of a sudden . The transfer destination was a layer about three floors below from here . While travelling in order to escape from the ruins, we found out that the curator was actually that……”
“‘That’?”
Klaus’ voice was lower than usual .
I tried to brush off the matter about vampire by using the term ‘that’, but I guess that was useless .
“Then we were about to be added to the twelve delicate maidens sacrificed to the evil altar! The situation was already so hopeless and frightening……right, Chloe-san?”
“Huh!? ……y-yeah, that’s right, it’s as Ericsan said . ”
When I addressed Chloe, she nodded repeatedly while stuttering a little bit .
Next, I explained that I was lucky enough to notice the weak point, thanks to the vampire’s talkativeness .
Of course, I left out that we had been battling with all our might for a long time .
I will explain that later .
“That’s why, due to being overwhelmed with fear, I accidentally threw my bag into the vampire’s mouth . Right, Chloe-san?”
After a brief pause, Chloe nodded her head in agreement .
I glanced at Klaus .
The look in his eyes which was similar to that of a Demon King’s was so scary that I looked away involuntarily .
“I understand the gist of it . ”
Klaus’ tone of voice dropped one note deeper .
I understand that he’s worried, but his ferocity this time is staggering after all .
“Then that’s why that is happening……it seems that urgent action is necessary……”
“Well, I know that is no excuse, but……huh, ‘that’?”
I looked towards where Klaus pointed at .
The s.p.a.ce where the vampire was has become even more distorted .
Eh? What is that~~~!
“I estimate we have another 2 minutes at most . ”
“That, what does that mean?”
“Explosive collapse of s.p.a.ce will occur from the center of that distortion . If we leave it be, it will consume a radius of about 2 km . ”
Speaking of which, there was supposed to be a spatial collapse, that’s what I thought, but—
2 km radius?
Isn’t the scale of the collapse too large?
“Eh! Is that okay!?”
“It’s not okay, that’s why I made preparations while listening to your excuse!”
Klaus shoved his hand into his robe, took out his staff that had been compressed and scattered a bunch of spellcards .
Those spellcards developed a spherical Barrier around the collapsing s.p.a.ce .
Finally, Klaus slammed his staff on the floor with a sharp sound and the spellcards emitted a silvery light tinged with blue .
On the next moment, a bright golden light spread from the center of the collapsing s.p.a.ce .
Everything enveloped by the light disappeared soundlessly .
There was no damage on this side, but Klaus, who was maintaining the barrier, looked like he was in pain .
H-huh?
The light does not seem to be receding easily .
Is this collapse going to last?
The stream of light which lasted for about thirty minutes finally receded .
Klaus finally felt relieved, he wiped the sweat that had appeared on his forehead with the hem of his robe .
“I thought that we were going to die for a moment there, but somehow I managed it……”
“Klaus-sama, if you don’t mind, please have this . ”
When I picked up about three magical power replenishment potions lying on the ground and handed them over to him, Klaus drank them with out-of-focus hollow eyes .
It seems that the previous severe eyes were due to tension .
I feel guilty for treating him as a Demon King .
“Erica, I still have a lot of things I want to ask you about, but first, let’s go back to the surface . ”
When Auguste took out a scroll and cast a spell, a golden magic circle spread on the floor .
I’m pretty sure I have seen this magic circle in a textbook .
“Auguste-sama, you can now use summoning magic!”
“I just got the permission to try out the practical skills . ”
At the same time as the pure light overflowed, two horse-sized dragons—a red dragon and a white dragon—appeared .
They are the White Dragon Blumbell and the Red Dragon Briar .
Blumbell, who I met for the first time in a long time, brought her face to my chest with sparkling eyes .
Briar cried with a faint voice similar to a hatchling while glancing at my direction .
These children’s characters don’t seem to change even though they have grown up .
“Good grief, Blumbell seems to be in a good mood, huh . It can’t be helped, you should ride her, Erica . ”
“Y-yes……but, what about my luggage?”
“Hmm~ it’s a huge amount . We can’t leave them here . ”
Auguste looked at my luggage which was piling up like a small mountain and let out a voice that sounded like he was amazed .
“Klaus, do you still have magical power left?”
“……yeah, I can do……simple weight reduction and compression magic . It would be better……to wrap them inside the blanket over there . ”
When Auguste asked, Klaus replied with a hollow expression .
Despite having some concerns whether it was alright for him to do so in his current condition, Klaus cast some magic over my luggage shakily .
Then my luggage was shrunk to about 1/8 .
“I can……maintain this condition for about……three hours . Be careful not to drop it……”
After packing my luggage, I mounted the White Dragon Blumbell along with Tir and Chloe .
On top of the Red Dragon Briar were Auguste and Klaus who was exhausted and lethargic .
Then, while being carried by the dragons, we flew up through the ruins .
As we approached the upper layer to some extent, it was possible to ascend instantly using the large crevice-like s.p.a.ce from before .
We will reach the surface much faster than I thought .
Guided by Auguste, we broke through the crevice of the ruins .
On about five of the uppermost layers of the ruins, there were an armory, a tool storage, a food storage and a simple lodging for some reason .
Perhaps if something happens at the ruins, the monastic knights would stay here .
Crossing the Barrier, Auguste’s dragons went through the exit to the surface .
On the other side of the exit was the church located inside the academy grounds .
I’m surprised that this place has become the official entrance to the ruins .
“Once we leave the church, disband and return to your respective dormitories . I will go to the stable with Briar and Blumbell . ”
When we were about to leave the church, I saw two lights approaching the entrance .
That faint glow was a magical flame that was lit on a staff .
Having a bad feeling, I exchanged glances with Klaus and Auguste .
The two of them shook their head silently .
“The students over there . What are you doing in such a place?”
“I see, there are more of you, huh……” (Brad)
It was Princ.i.p.al Twr and Brad who approached us while raising the magical flames .
It appears that we have been found out by people who are even scarier than Klaus .
Chloe, Klaus, Auguste and I were taken to the Princ.i.p.al’s Office .
I have already ordered Tirnanog to carry my luggage to my room .
Next to the princ.i.p.al who was sitting on the chair, Brad was standing with his eyebrows furrowed .
In front of the scary duo, I stepped forward .
I talked about the incident .
The contents were the same as the one I told Klaus and Auguste .
I proceeded with the story with me being the main perpetrator, Chloe who was accidentally involved, and the two Dynameis’ members who were searching for us .
“Erica Aurelia, do you understand the meaning of your testimony?”
“Now, now, Clochydd . You should calm down . ”
While recounting the story, the pattern where I was being reprimanded by Brad and the princ.i.p.al pacifying him was repeated many times .
As expected, when the battle against the vampire came out, Brad became silent and the princ.i.p.al had a serious expression .
After my explanation, Klaus explained the state of the s.p.a.ce inside the ruins and how he dealt with it .
Finally, he added that Auguste summoned two dragons to take us back .
“I see……we also saw the spatial distortions . What you were saying is probably true . ”
After thinking about it for a while, the princ.i.p.al whispered something to Brad’s ear .
Hearing the words he said, Brad widened his eyes .
“Princ.i.p.al, that’s……”
“I’m sorry . Please . ”
The princ.i.p.al was calm, but he looked at Brad with eyes that contained unwavering determination .
When Brad nodded while frowning, the princ.i.p.al turned towards me once more and opened his mouth .
“That bloodsucker, who was called the b.l.o.o.d.y Saint, was my enemy . Fifty years ago, my friend was killed . ”
Even though he holds the position of the princ.i.p.al, it seems that he is going to turn a blind eye to this, huh .
While muttering such things, the princ.i.p.al created a blue flame that floated on top of his palm .
His voice contained regret and self-pity .
“Yes……she was the only survivor of that bloodsucker, and then she disappeared afterwards . By doing so, it instilled suspicions inside the heart of people . ”
I recalled Chloe’s story .
There should have been a story about a lone survivor who battled against the vampire and disappeared after two months .
It is possible that the survivor was taken in by the vampire with her memories altered .
“Erica Aurelia, I am grateful to you . But if this matter goes public, it will cause a great inconvenience to you . I will make an arrangement so that such a thing will absolutely not occur . ”
“Y-yes……”
Although I thought that I would be reprimanded or possibly suspended from school, it ended up becoming an unexpected situation .
The princ.i.p.al squeezed his palm and extinguished the flame .
“First of all, it is necessary to hide the fact that a vampire was involved in order to avoid the trial . Do you know about the Inquisitors1?”
“I only know the name . I don’t know the details . ”
When I shook my head, the princ.i.p.al explained briefly .
For people who have had contact with a powerful vampire like the one this time, it seems there will be a trial held by the Inquisitors .
The purpose is to determine if they are a real survivor or a vampire disguised as the survivor .
However, it is said that they would be confined and tortured in the name of a trial .
Even if it hasn’t been determined yet, they would often consider them guilty; the trial seems rather strict .
“Instead of accidentally stumbling into the ruins, you were investigating the museum as requested by the academy, and as a result, you found an impure magic circle . Let’s report that you have not encountered the bloodsucker……is that fine?”
“Y-yes……”
That is good news for me .
“An exoneration, huh……”
“Indeed, a diversionary tactic……”
Klaus and Auguste, who were behind me, murmured absentmindedly .
No, well, I am surprised .
Because the vampire which I defeated turned out to be a big fish by chance, it has become a situation where I couldn’t ask anything .
“After that, yes . I’ll compensate it for you . If you don’t have it, it would be inconvenient . ”
As the princ.i.p.al said that, he took out a seemingly small leather bag .
It had the coat of arms of the Twr family on it .
“Eeh! No way, this is—”
“This was mine . ”
It is the highest cla.s.s product that incorporates not only s.p.a.ce-expansion magic but also lightweight magic, and even time-delay magic .
I wanted it, but it’s extremely expensive and it takes a long time to be made, so it’s a gem I could not get .
“No, this is ridiculous! Rather, I can’t receive such an expensive item!”
“This is a sign of my grat.i.tude . Please accept this . ”
Even though I had a big loss this time, my balance has become significantly positive .
Although I think that I have really messed up this time, this was completely unexpected .
“Now then, it’s almost morning, please return to your respective rooms soon . However, tonight’s matters are very confidential . ”
With that, the talk with the princ.i.p.al was over .
When we left the Princ.i.p.al’s Office, Brad glanced at me while letting out a deep sigh .
Brad is supposed to escort Chloe and I to the Central Dormitory and West Dormitory respectively .
“Both of you should return to your dormitories as soon as possible . ”
Brad gave instructions to Klaus and Auguste .
“Erica, it seems that I have to give you more guidance regarding your behavior……will that be okay?”
“Something similar to this may happen again . It may be better for you to take care of yourself~”
While saying goodbye, the two of them disappeared in the darkness of the corridor .
So I went back following Brad from behind along with Chloe .
I wanted to talk more with Chloe about what happened tonight, but that seems to be difficult in this situation .
Leaving the school building, under the chilly night sky, the three of us headed towards the Central Dormitory first .
“Aren’t you angry? I, I ignored your warning . ”
Chloe asked towards Brad’s back .
“Those who have the blood of the North are not good at pulling back……it is a trait which is extremely bothersome . ”
Without looking back, Brad answered so .
I continued to listen to their conversation .
“But, be careful . You are in a complicated position . ”
“Yes . ”
“No matter how much you believe in your own power, no one can fight against situations where the sky is falling or the earth is torn . ”
“……yes . ”
Brad warned her in a matter-of-fact manner .
It was a calm and gentle tone, and his atmosphere was quite different from the him who I had known so far .
“Aurelia, you too . It’s not other people’s problem . Weren’t you supposed to be the main offender?”
“Ah……y-yes……”
Being addressed suddenly, I replied while feeling startled .
Well, certainly, it is not other people’s problem .
After escorting Chloe to the Central Dormitory, we headed towards the West Dormitory .
I walked around a little while looking at Brad’s back .
When we reached the entrance of the dormitory, Brad looked back .
His gloomy face was illuminated by the pale light of his staff .
“You, descendants of the Visitor’s Clan, tend to be indifferent to everything else in the face of your pursuit . Take care not to take a misstep . ”
While furrowing his eyebrows as if feeling bitter, Brad said such a thing and left .
1 The Inquisition was the “fight against heretics” by several inst.i.tutions within the justice system of the Roman Catholic Church . It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy . Inquisition practices were used also on offences against canon law other than heresy . The Inquisitor is the organization who conduct the act, and in this novel, it’s not a ‘fight against heretics’ but a ‘fight against vampires’ .
The people of the North have a ‘guilty until proven innocent’ mindset, as seen from Chloe’s behavior a few chapters ago when she suspected Erica and Lièvre .
And Klaus again proven to be an amazing mage; being able to stop the collapse of s.p.a.ce and still able to maintain compression & lightweight magic for Erica for three hours .
And Brad seems to be talking about the Northern people and the Visitor’s Clan out of his own experience .