Chapter 8

"Klaus! Are you alright? You're alright, right!?"

I couldn't help but run to Klaus.

Finally able to see Klaus's face, which I had only seen from behind until now, I felt a deep sense of relief.

He must have felt reassured to see a familiar face as well.

Gradually, the tension in Klaus's expression eased.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What about you, coming all the way here alone... What's with that outfit?"

Ugh, you had to point that out.

I was thinking about practicality first, and I was in a hurry.

My outfit coordination was pretty casual.

"I thought you might be in the ruins, so I borrowed Edelbert's clothes. I couldn't come here in a dress."

"Oh, I see... You look better in this."

"Ah, thank you for the compliment. I'm honored."

Tch, fancy dresses are really not my thing!

I thought they would suit me just fine with Erica's features.

Maybe my feminine soul isn't strong enough.

But, it's a good thing that functional clothing suits me.

I'll try to feel good about it.

"I'm relieved to find you so quickly. This is the most dangerous place in the Aurelia territory, you know?"

"Right when I was feeling that. I didn't expect to waste so much magic power in such a short exploration."

Klaus looked utterly exhausted.

It's a dark and scary place, so I almost felt discouraged too –

But did we really encounter such a difficult spot that required so much magic?

"Klaus, what do you mean by that?"

"Erica, did you not notice anything coming all the way here?"

"Not at all."

"...You're slow."

"Westerners are different from Easterners, so it can't be helped."

Being slow in a good way is a virtue of the people of Aurelia.

Maybe it's just that my efforts and talents weren't enough to notice.

"There's a magic effect in these ruins that absorbs magic power. Even casting low-level spells has been a huge strain."

"Is there some kind of trap set up somewhere? Maybe using the magic eye for spiritual vision would reveal something?"

"I've already identified what seems to be the origin of the spell. But the dispelling magic didn't work. What kind of trap is this?"

"It must be due to some metal or gemstone that physically blocks magic."

I've heard of such metals in the north.

Not limited to northern metals, a combination of minerals I don't know might also produce the same effect.

"Moreover, it seems that wide-area magic is being blocked. Spells with a radius of more than five meters are failing."

"Come to think of it, I heard from my brother that there are traps that are already activated but whose effects are unknown."

"I see."

It might not be a big deal for us, but it seems to be quite a problem for them.

The 'Ruins of the Arrivals' is a collection of lost technologies from the western Aurelia.

Perhaps these lost technologies were not really 'lost' but rather 'discarded' because of some issues.

For example, the magic power suppression traps that are not friendly to the indigenous people.

"Because of that... take a look at this."

Klaus unfolded a piece of parchment.

It showed a large rectangular frame with the names of the twelve wind gods surrounding it.

This is the most commonly used template for maps in this world.

However, except for a few lines in the eastern magic language, the rest was almost blank, with no map drawn.

"I was trying to create an automatic map by placing spell runes on the path. But thanks to the troublesome trap, the spell doesn't react at all."

"Oh, those runes were for that."

"If I had known that the automatic map creation was disabled earlier, I wouldn't have gone so deep."

Klaus shrugged.

Once the conversation paused, I had to bring up something that had been bothering me.

"Klaus, where is An?"

"What? Why are you bringing up An now?"

Klaus's body jerked in surprise.

Hmm, this guy is a bit like a small animal, isn't he?

"I was using past vision to track you. Then I saw An as well..."

"I didn't bring my sister here."

"She seemed to be tracking you."

"But I definitely cast a sleep spell on her... Could she have used magic resistance enhancement, anticipating that I would escape?"

He had his own way of making sure his sister wouldn't come to a dangerous place.

I thought he was being cold to An, but he's actually a good brother.

But this time, his sister was one step ahead.

Klaus and An are both young and excellent mages.

So, through her own insight and effort, she managed to counter her brother's magic.

This is because Klaus's secrecy is backfiring.

The more he is forbidden, the more he is hidden, the more it becomes a point of interest.

They are curious siblings.

"I didn't see your sister on the way here. It seems she took a different path."

I was so focused on tracking Klaus that I neglected to check on An.

Not using the expensive past vision staff more frequently was a mistake.

I should have used it more carefully.

"Let's head back, Klaus. We can search for your sister on the way back."

"...Yeah. It seems I was unprepared for exploring these ruins."

Klaus glanced at my outfit.

His gaze moved to the alchemist's leather gloves, the leather bag overflowing with staffs, and the particularly sturdy boots.

"If you weren't as cautious, you might have gotten lost in the ruins and couldn't find your way back."

I felt a bit relieved that he took my advice seriously.

If he had said, "I won't turn back no matter what!" I would have been at a loss.

"Since that's decided, let's start searching for An."

"Yeah."

"If we can't find her after a bit of searching, let's return to the 'Palace of Spring' for now."

"Yeah, this labyrinth is too much for a child alone."

"Speaking of labyrinths, please dispel the illusion of the 'Palace of Spring'."

I need to remind him so he doesn't forget.

By now, several maids might have been trapped.

"Mu, you noticed, huh?"

"If I hadn't, I wouldn't have come all the way here in this outfit."

"I thought you were quite enthusiastic, but you're not really, are you?"

"No, that's not true!"

I don't want to be misunderstood.

I didn't come to join Klaus's exploration. I came to stop it.

I don't care if I get scolded by Father or Duke Halfan.

"While retracing our steps, let's use past vision at each branch. We should be able to find where An diverged."

"Past vision staff. Can I use it too? I've been using the magic eye for spiritual vision since we met, so it will take time to recover my magic power."

"Yeah. It might be more efficient for both of us to use it rather than just me."

Eastern magic not only drains mental energy but also physical strength.

No matter how much of a genius Klaus is, he's still a ten-year-old boy.

Using the magic eye for spiritual vision in the 'Ruins of the Arrivals,' which consumes a lot of magic power, is impressive.

This makes me worry about the remaining magic in the past vision staff.

I've already used it about sixty times to find Klaus.

There are about forty uses left.

The past vision staff is made with tonewoods as the core.

The top of the staff is adorned with a yellow electric stone, and the handle is decorated with gold weaving patterns.

The unique feature is the core material.

A ten-meter-long silk fabric with gold and silver threads sewn into it.

It is compressed to a few millimeters using spatial magic, lightened, and used as the core.

The short staff requires the core material to be replaced when recharging the magic.

What I'm trying to say is,

This magic is incredibly expensive.

(I'm sorry, Edelbert...!!)

I apologized in my heart and opened the box of the second past vision staff.

How many staffs will I end up using in one night?

I'm starting to feel a bit scared just thinking about it.