Chapter 22: Doors That Refuse to Open Are Meant to Be Opened.

Deep within the coastal cave rested the great shield once wielded by one of the Seven Heroes—an ancestor of Kaito Leonaal.

Several theories attempted to explain how it had come to lie there. The shield was said to have remained in the hero’s possession after he returned from the battle against the Demon King, yet it had never been passed down to the next generation. No one knew whether thieves had stolen it or whether some other event had carried it into the deepest part of the cave.

House Leonaal preserved a different tradition: once the shield had fulfilled its purpose, the Seven Hero himself had laid it to rest. Perhaps the rise of the Demon King cult was now calling it back into the world.

Vayne and the others left the city without noticing Ren. They mounted horses prepared in advance and hurried toward the cave along the coastline.

“The weather is lovely, so we should enjoy the journey. Leave the route to me,” Fiona said.

Ren, Licia, and Fiona continued at a leisurely pace while taking in the scenery. Although Old Town and the coastline beyond it were relatively close, they were unlikely to encounter Vayne’s group. The others would probably remain inside the cave for some time once their exploration began.

The three proceeded along the road while exchanging casual conversation. Eventually, the road’s end came into view and the submerged district drew near.

As they walked, Ren reached into his coat and unfolded the Old Town map Ragna had given him the previous day.

Licia and Fiona leaned in from either side almost simultaneously.

“Are the red marks the buildings with doors that won’t open?” Licia asked.

“This is impressive. It truly looks like a map made by someone from the Bureau of Mysteries,” Fiona said.

Ren nodded.

“Lord Ulysses said we could look around as we pleased, but now that I think about it, most of Old Town is underwater. Can we do anything besides view it from nearby?”

“That isn’t necessarily the case. In some places, you can descend all the way to the bottom without relying on diving equipment.”

Ragna had mentioned something similar.

“Do you mean we have to swim?”

“No. Many ancient magic tools are still functioning below the surface, and some areas retain breathable air. The Bureau of Mysteries has also installed additional devices to expand those spaces, so walking there’s quite easy.”

Numerous membranes of air existed throughout submerged Old Town. They had originally formed part of the defensive systems protecting its buildings. Within several structures and along portions of the old streets, people could still walk exactly as they would on dry land without wearing any special equipment.

They reached what had once been the main entrance to the district—the road from which travelers would have entered the city before it sank.

Ren looked down through the water at the old streets and buildings. The view differed completely from the one Licia had seen from the roadside.

Standing beside Ren and Licia, Fiona pointed.

“Look over there.”

Once they studied the town floor carefully, they saw what she meant.

Fish swam through the water around vast, air-filled spaces shaped like transparent domes. Similar corridors connected one dome to another, creating dry paths through the submerged district.

At the center of each dome lay a magic tool that had continued operating for centuries. The details were difficult to make out from above, but each appeared to contain a metal casing roughly the size of a streetlamp’s lantern and a magic stone within it.

“Once we reach one of those spaces, you’ll be able to look at Old Town from the bottom of the water,” Fiona explained.

“Is there also a way to get down there without becoming soaked?” Ren asked.

“Yes! Allow me to show you.”

A newly built pier stood nearby with several boats tied to it.

The three boarded one, and Ren began rowing according to Fiona’s directions.

Licia looked over the side at the town directly beneath them.

“It looks completely different from the last time.”

On the previous day, she had only viewed it from near the road rather than from directly above.

Below the boat, fish seemed to swim through a watery sky above the old streets, creating a mysterious world.

The submerged district felt almost like another realm. Many buildings had been completely or partially destroyed during the Demon King’s assault, and their broken shapes still displayed the wounds left by the battle.

While rowing, Ren remembered his conversation with Ulysses.

“I also have to perform the security work while we’re here.”

“Father explained it to me this morning,” Fiona said. “You’re supposed to check the monsters in the surrounding area and confirm that none have entered the submerged sections, correct?”

“He also said I should eliminate them if necessary.”

After Ren rowed for more than ten minutes, Fiona indicated a point ahead.

“Ren, this is the place.”

The boat stopped beside a building that had served as Old Town’s library before the district sank. A circular observation deck crowned its high roof. With the surrounding streets now underwater, the deck stood at exactly the right height for a boat to draw alongside it.

Moss covered portions of the weathered gray stonework.

Ren rose before the girls and stepped from the boat onto the deck. Then he offered each of them a hand.

“Thank you.”

Fiona accepted first, a faintly embarrassed expression on her face, and landed lightly beside him.

“Thanks, Ren.”

Licia followed with a shy smile.

The observation deck had been constructed as a circle, allowing visitors to see in every direction. A spiral staircase at its center led to the lower floors.

From that point all the way to the building’s lowest level, the interior was filled with air.

Ren once again walked in front as though escorting the girls. The interior was dim. Only faint sunlight entered through the occasional window after passing through the surrounding water, and a careless step could easily lead to a fall.

The building had suffered from the ancient battle as well, but compared with many structures nearby, it remained in relatively good condition.

“I’ve heard the Bureau of Mysteries installed magic tools here so people could walk through the library,” Fiona said.

“Interesting… But if they can create spaces like this, couldn’t they simply drain all of Old Town?”

“Ren, those magic tools are probably extremely expensive,” Licia replied.

“Fufu. Exactly as Lady Licia guessed. Installing enough of them to cover the entire district would cost far too much.”

The devices affected a broad area, so the expense made sense. Ren nodded.

Railings surrounded the spiral staircase, but there were no walls beyond them, creating an open view through the circular building. When they reached what had once been the broad ground floor, they found rows of neatly arranged bookshelves following the fan-shaped wall.

Not a single book remained.

Most had burned or been washed away. The few surviving volumes had already been removed and stored securely elsewhere.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

“I think it was somewhere around here…”

The report delivered to Ulysses the previous day had mentioned light appearing below the water. He had explained the location, and the three were now approaching it.

At the boundary between air and water, light from the gently rippling surface cast shifting patterns around them. The sensation of entering another world was far stronger here than it had been from above.

“Ah.”

Ren stopped while studying the map and looked in a particular direction.

Old Town contained many stone houses reminiscent of Eupheim. Among them stood a building Ragna had marked in red.

By coincidence—or perhaps not—it was also the place where the light had been observed.

“Ren, is the reported location farther along this path?” Fiona asked.

“It seems so. But the building is marked red on Ragna’s map, which means its door has never opened. We may not be able to inspect the inside.”

“Then perhaps we should only examine it from outside.”

“But Ren,” Licia said, “what will you do if the entrance opens?”

Rather than considering the answer, Ren stared at her in confusion.

“Why are you assuming it’ll open?”

“No particular reason. It was only a feeling.”

Licia laughed, revealing that she wasn’t entirely serious. She had probably only wanted to tease him.

“If it happens to be open, going inside may be possible. For now, let’s approach and see.”

Ren at least wanted to inspect the building from nearby.

The girls agreed, and he led them onward. A fish beyond the air membrane swam alongside them as though observing the visitors with curiosity.

“It’s a beautiful town,” Licia said. “Would it still be flourishing today if the Demon King’s army had never attacked?”

“Perhaps,” Fiona answered. “The district we’re walking through was once where nobles lived. If it had remained prosperous beside Eupheim, the entire region would probably be far livelier than it is now.”

They crossed the old aristocratic quarter and reached a solitary building standing among the ruined underwater houses.

It resembled a chapel, yet seemed oddly hidden for one.

A stained-glass window above the entrance depicted something like a sacred scene: a small girl walking across bright green grass.

Like the library, the building had survived better than most, though it hadn’t escaped the battle completely. Cracks crossed the stained glass.

The three stopped on the weathered stone pavement.

“Is this a chapel?” Licia wondered.

“That was my first thought too,” Fiona said. “But there should be an Elfen Church temple elsewhere in Old Town.”

“Then perhaps it was dedicated to another god… though it seems far too small for a temple.”

Many gods were worshiped throughout the world, but their temples were generally enormous—often grander than the mansions of ordinary nobles.

A small garden surrounded the building. None of the plants originally cultivated there remained, yet the grass was strangely green.

The iron gate didn’t appear connected to any magic tool, so Ren opened it without difficulty.

They followed a path of stone tiles through the lawn and stopped before a dark-brown door that showed remarkably little corrosion.

“This appears to have been an orphanage,” Fiona said after examining the surroundings.

She had noticed old playground equipment in one corner of the garden and read a nearby sign.

All three looked at the name written there.

“Geno Orphanage…”

Ragna’s map didn’t identify the building, but prior investigations by the Bureau of Mysteries had established its former purpose. The information had simply not been included on the personal map he gave Ren.

“Lady Fiona, may I touch the door?” Licia asked.

“Yes. That should be fine.”

Now that she understood what the building was, Licia reached for it.

The entrance was roughly twice the size of a door on an ordinary commoner’s home, yet the orphanage still looked small and almost charming compared with a temple or formal church.

Licia touched the metal knocker beside the handle.

Knock, knock.

Naturally, no one answered.

She had known that would be the case, but suddenly turning the handle without knocking had felt discourteous. Etiquette was hardly necessary before an abandoned building, yet she couldn’t help herself.

“…It won’t open.”

As expected, the handle didn’t move. A magic tool locked the door so completely that it wouldn’t yield even slightly.

“Why do you look disappointed?” Ren asked.

“I hoped it might open just a little. But a door that has remained sealed all this time wouldn’t suddenly open for me, would it?”

“Of course it wouldn’t.”

Licia pouted faintly, though she wasn’t genuinely upset. She soon smiled, released the handle, and looked toward the roof.

The orphanage wasn’t as tall as the library. Although the air membrane surrounded the entire building, the space enclosed within it wasn’t especially large.

Licia’s gaze moved to the stained glass.

“I wonder what it depicts,” Ren said. “Do either of you recognize the scene?”

“I don’t,” Licia answered.

“Neither do I. I’m sorry,” Fiona said.

“But Ren, wouldn’t the Bureau of Mysteries already have examined it?”

That didn’t lessen their curiosity. The girls stepped away from the sealed door to find a better angle from which to view the window.

“A door that refuses to open…” Ren murmured.

He studied the knocker beside the handle. The ocher-colored metal held a stone that shone like sapphire. It was almost certainly the magic tool controlling the lock.

The device still functioned as part of the building’s defensive system, preventing anyone from entering. The surrounding air membrane was likely only a secondary effect of a barrier created for that purpose.

“There was an orphanage in a place like this,” Licia said.

“They’re uncommon in the present day,” Fiona replied. “Was there one in Clausel?”

“No. Clausel had almost no one who could truly be called destitute, and Father personally arranged help for children who lost their families in accidents.”

Their voices entered Ren’s ears only as distant sound while he examined the knocker.

He hadn’t truly expected the door to open. Light appearing from an active magic tool was apparently not unusual. With nothing else to do, he lifted his right hand and casually copied Licia’s action.

“Knocking won’t accomplish any—”

Knock, knock.

The heavy door responded in a way none of them expected.

“Eh?”

A foolish sound escaped Ren when the stone set into the knocker began flashing.

Blue light pulsed again and again. Licia and Fiona noticed it and hurried back.

“Ren! What did you do?”

“Ren! Did you know how to open it?”

“I-I don’t know! I only used the knocker!”

He could offer no other explanation because that was all he had done.

As the three looked rapidly between one another and the door, a metallic click sounded from within it.

The door then swung inward on its own, wood grinding dully against wood.

For several seconds, all three stared speechlessly into the space beyond.

The entrance that had supposedly never opened now stood wide.

For reasons none of them understood, it had reacted when Ren touched it.

Because the door opened inward while his hand remained on the knocker, Ren stumbled two steps into the building.

“…I’ll ask again,” Licia said while looking at his profile. “What will you do now that the entrance is open?”

“I’d like to know what the correct answer is myself.”

Fiona considered the situation.

“As the lord’s daughter, I believe I should inspect the inside briefly now that the door has opened so suddenly.”

The Bureau of Mysteries led the research, but House Ignat bore most of the responsibility for managing Old Town. They couldn’t allow Fiona to investigate alone.

Ren and Licia were interested in the orphanage as well, and both wanted to understand why the building had responded to Ren. Their interests therefore aligned.

They agreed to look inside without disturbing anything.

The entrance opened into a broad hall. Its stone construction felt cold, but old carpets and the remains of furnishings gave it a lingering warmth.

For the first time in several centuries, footsteps echoed through Geno Orphanage—three sets of them.

The visitors remained close together as they examined the interior.

“That side appears to be where the children lived,” Fiona said.

She indicated an arched passage without a door. Fiona and Licia peered into the living quarters beyond it.

Ren stayed nearby while studying the hall. Several large tables remained, and broken dishes lay scattered across the floor.

Had the children been eating when the Demon King’s army attacked?

No bodies remained anywhere, which relieved him. It suggested the occupants had managed to evacuate.

At the rear of the hall, separate from the passage leading to the living quarters, stood a pale yellow-white wooden door.

“Licia, Lady Fiona.”

The girls turned at Ren’s voice.

“Let’s check that room too.”

“Of course.”

“All right.”

They followed several steps behind him while avoiding shards of tableware.

The rear door appeared securely locked. Licia tried its handle first, producing only a rattle. Fiona had the same result.

“Perhaps it’ll open if Ren touches it,” Fiona suggested with a soft laugh.

Licia nodded as though that were entirely reasonable.

Ren studied the door.

“Isn’t this one simply locked with a physical key?”

It had no knocker and no visible magic tool. A conventional keyhole was built into the handle, so inserting the proper key seemed like the obvious solution.

No key lay nearby, but after the girls tried, Ren gripped the handle himself.

Click.

The lock released and the handle turned.

For an instant, motes of glowing mana drifted from Ren’s hand and entered the keyhole.

“…”

“…”

Licia and Fiona stared at him with identical, accusing expressions.

Ren’s own thoughts hadn’t caught up. The only fact he understood was that the door had opened.

Unsure what else to do, he scratched his cheek.

“Ren, did you really not do anything?” Licia asked.

“Ren… Please tell us honestly,” Fiona added.

“Unfortunately, I truly did nothing.”

No other answer existed.

Ren entered the newly opened room first.

It resembled an office and contained an enormous window. Several bookshelves lined the walls, while a single old desk stood in the center.

The window revealed nothing outside. A magical wall within the glass blocked everything except sunlight, perhaps because this room had once been especially important. None of the three could do more than call the technology strange.

The floor, walls, and ceiling were made of the same stone as the hall. A fireplace occupied one wall, with a rocking chair and carpet arranged nearby.

A painting covered the rear wall, displaying the same scene as the stained glass outside. An altar for prayer stood before it. A small canvas resembling a framed picture had fallen face down atop the altar.

All three felt something sacred in the mural.

Licia eventually noticed a drawer in the desk and pulled it open.

Inside lay several letters and one other object: a single black, corroded coin like the items they had seen in Ragna’s laboratory.

“Licia, let me handle those,” Ren said, extending his hand in case something dangerous had been prepared.

The letters weren’t magic tools. They were ordinary sheets of paper containing folded, age-worn parchment.

When Ren opened the first one, he found not a secret document but a casual message.

“Geno, what did you mean by your last letter? You were the one who said you enjoyed hearing about my adventures. I thought I would send you a souvenir for once, so I included it with the package… Well, never mind. In other news, my journey to the Sky Continent is already over.”

The first page ended there.

A small crease marked one edge, as though the recipient had gripped the letter while thinking deeply about its contents.

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