Chapter 24- The current state of sacred magic

There was a white light in the garden at night.

It was the same day that Ren spoke with Klonoa about the magic sword summoning technique.

“How is it?”

It was Ren who was asked about the white light and the effects of sacred magic by Licia, who was shining that light.

They were sitting on the terrace in the garden, facing each other.

“Licia-sama’s sacred magic seems to be improving again.”

“I’m glad to hear that. It seems that all the practice was worth it.”

“I know you practice every night, but even so, it seems to be growing at a remarkable rate.”

“Really? But then again, so is Ren’s swordsmanship.”

In fact, Licia’s sacred magic had also grown rapidly. It was a far cry from the sacred magic of the time when they first met. The sacred magic she had used when she fought Jerukku was also quite good, but now it could not be compared to that time.

Licia’s skill with the sword goes without saying, but for Ren, the growth of sacred magic was also astonishing.

“But there’s something I don’t understand.”

Licia stared at Ren.

“Huh. What is it?”

“From your point of view, it’s not a lie that my sacred magic has grown so much, is it?”

“Isn’t that obvious? I’m not trying to flatter you.”

“If you say so….”

Then Licia’s lips twitched slightly. She never usually shows her natural, age-appropriate attitude in the academy, which she often displays in front of Ren.

It is the kind of attitude she often displays in front of Ren because she is able to reveal her true self without any need for pretense.

“Even if I use sacred magic on myself, I still can’t beat you.”

“Come to think of it, we haven’t had that kind of stand-up fight recently.”

“We’ve been so preoccupied with training our swordsmanship that we haven’t had a chance to do that lately.”

When used in conjunction with sacred magic and cloaking, Licia’s ability jumps even higher. It was her strength to show more power than usual in many aspects, such as sword speed and body movement.

What frustrates her is that she still hasn’t been able to beat Ren since long ago.

The first time she stood up to him using sacred magic was at the Ashton family mansion. The next time was at the Clausel mansion, and even though she had had many opportunities to do so since coming to Elendil, the results were all the same.

Licia recalled such a past.

“……. mmm.”

While she sat down in front of Ren, her lips pouting once more.

Rather than looking at Ren resentfully, her expression seems to show that she is feeling sorry for herself.

Still, it’s cute, I guess you could say it’s because it’s still Licia.

“Hey, do you want us to do it after such a long time?”

“No, I’ll be patient. The Lion King Festival is coming up soon, and it would be a disaster if we overdo it here and get injured.”

Licia smiled as usual when she said that.

I noticed that a good amount of time had passed since we came to the garden.

Ren, who had stood up first, went to Licia’s side and offered her his hand, and her cheeks relaxed a little, happy at his thoughtfulness.

“I won’t lose to you next time.”

“Me too.”

The two of them now finished their training for the night and went back inside the mansion.

To spend the time as usual studying and resting their bodies before going to sleep in each other’s rooms.

First, they take a hot bath and exhale lightly in their own room.

As the two were doing so in their rooms, a servant came to call them. It seems that Lessard wanted them to come to his office and called them in.

Licia followed Ren, who had gone to the office first.

When they were greeted in his office, Lessard shared information with them about how to deal with guests during the Lion King Festival. He also shared with them how Elendil would be different from what he normally does.

While they were confirming these details, Lessard continued.

“The rest is about flying the magic ship on a route that is not usually used.”

As Ren and Licia looked on in amazement, Lessard continued.

“You two know that many guests will be coming from home and abroad. There are countless devout Elfen believers among them. Especially those who come from abroad and take this opportunity to visit the Elfen temples and other places of worship.”

“Lessard-sama, the Great Temple of the Imperial City and other places will be crowded, right?”

“Ah. Elendil, as well as the Great Temple of the Imperial City, is a venerable place where the Lion King prayed before going to battle in the past. The old temples of Elendil will probably be crowded with Elfen believers.”

Aside from that, Licia was curious about Lessard’s words about flying the magic ship on an unusual route.

“Father, How did you know about the magic ship?”

“Oh, about that: —-.”

Lessard unfolded a map.

It was a brand new map that had been prepared for this trip, and it already showed the route that the magic ship would take with red lines. It also included detailed figures such as distance and time required.

“It is about 30 minutes from Elendil by magic ship. It is a magic ship to go near an old sanctuary located not far from the imperial capital.”

Lessard’s fingertip was placed on a point on the map as he spoke of the reason.

(—-I’m pretty sure that’s where it is.)

Roses Caitas.

It’s a place that has existed since the distant past, long ago, when we don’t even know who built it.

The terrain is like a large part of a mountain that has been gouged out, and there are huge statues of deities lining it. In ancient times, the place was crowded daily with numerous Elfen worshippers.

The only other thing Ren knows is that the entrance and exit are now sealed due to an attack by the Demon King.

(I remember it was inaccessible even in the Legend of the Seven Heroes.)

There was an icon on the map that looked like it.

However, players could not go there, and could only hear about Roses Caitas at the Great Temple of the Imperial City and other places. Since the icon was meaningfully prepared on the map, players only talked about it which might appear in Legend of the Seven Heroes III.

When Ren was shown the location by Lessard, he became very interested in it.

It made him wonder what kind of place it was.

“Do you two know about this place?”

“Yes. Of course.”

“I know it, too.”

“Well, then, let me spare you the explanation of what kind of place it is.”

There were several reasons that brought us to this point.

“Most of Roses Caitas is now sealed, with the exception of the base of the mountain, which is sealed from the top. If you try to climb the mountain, you will be blocked by the seal, and if you try to look deeper into the mountain, you will not be able to see it because it is too foggy. But it is possible to get close to it.”

Since there were many who wanted to go there, a magic ship was prepared for them.

Since there is no place to board a magic ship near Roses Caitas, it seems that a simple place will be set up in an open area.

One more thing.

“There is a road leading from Elendil, but it is quite old. Many of the cobblestones are broken. So, when we rebuild the road, there is a proposal to set up a transit point between Elendil and Roses Caitas.”

“When you say ‘transit point,’ do you mean something like a town?”

“No, it’s not that big.”

It seems that it will be a transit point that will serve as a filling station for knights as well as for safety management of the road. Of course, it will also have an inn and other facilities, so it is also a good way to make some money.

In his mind’s eye, Ren was imagining the village he saw when he returned to his hometown as a little more developed.

“Because of these stories, apart from the pilgrims, a considerable number of civil servants and nobles visit the village every day. During the Great Festival of the Lion King, nobles and merchants who are not usually in the imperial capital also come, so it’s very convenient for us.”

This was rather the stronger reason for the temporary magic boat.

“Is the area around Roses Caitas safe?”

Ren asked.

If we were going by land, we would have to go through a lot of roads, and we could imagine that some monsters might appear.

But Lessard assured him that there would be no problem.

“The forests around us are also free of monsters. The seal surrounding Roses Caitas is also incredibly powerful and has not changed in hundreds of years.”

Roses Caitas was filled with holy power, he said, so it was even more so.

Hearing this, Ren marveled that it was indeed a seal.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

“When the demon king’s army approached the imperial capital at that time, Leomel and the Elfen church joined forces to repel them. Since then, I was told, the battleground of Roses Caitas has been sealed.”

Sarah said the next day during a break in the morning classes.

She continued her story to Licia, who was walking down the corridor with her.

“I heard that the same seal cannot be applied now because of the Elfen Mysteries mixed in. I have been near Roses Caitus before, and I thought it was such an amazing seal that you could see it from the outside.”

The reason for using such a great seal was to fade away the power that the Demon King had given to his subordinates.

Even with the power of the Elfen religion, it was not possible to completely purify it, so a long-term method was chosen.

If the Seven Heroes had been there at the time, it might have been a different story. ……

“So, Licia, what’s up with all this sudden talk about Roses Caitas? Did the Great Temple call on you?”

“No, not really. It’s just that it came up in conversation with my father yesterday.”

“Ah Viscount Clausel sure is busy, isn’t he? Because of the special increase in the number of magic ship flights, right?”

“Yes, he is. I’ve never been to Roses Caitas, but I was wondering if you’ve seen it.”

“It’s been a long time. Why don’t we go there, Licia?”

“I can’t. I’m already on a tight schedule and I don’t need to go at this busy time of the year.”

“I understand. I already know you have a lot of work to do with the committee and the work of the Clausel family.”

The Clausel family, unlike in the past, is not often strongly challenged by the higher nobility.  In other words, they could do their work without worrying too much about their titles.

They were walking down the corridor when they noticed Ren walking alone on the other side of the corridor. Licia was staring at him, and Sarah was watching next to her.

Then Licia turned to Ren and said.

“That —-.”

Unlike Licia’s usual way of speaking, it seemed to be inarticulate.

That figure was also impressive in Sarah’s eyes.

“Has Sarah been the only name they’ve been calling you for a long time?”

“Name? What do you mean —-?”

Licia’s eyes were staring at Ren, and she immediately guessed it.

“Oh, I see…..”

When Licia, of all people, asked her about it, Sarah thought back to the past to see how she had been.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter