Kays Translations

Chapter 26: The Disturbance in That Place.

Around the same time Ren left Elendil.

In a valley several hours away from the Imperial Capital by magic ship.

Vane and his group had made their way to this land where numerous magic creatures appeared.

There was a specific reason for this timing—it had to be when the Demon king’s cult had appeared.

This year, Squall Meldaeg, who had enrolled in the Imperial Military Academy, was a descendant of the Seven Heroes. After defeating the Demon king and returning to Leomel, Shirsir Meldaeg, Squall’s ancestor, had established three hidden sanctuaries in Leomel.

They were no larger than ordinary houses.

Using various barriers, they were concealed so that they couldn’t be seen or detected under normal circumstances.

Within them rested the sacred power left behind by Shirsir Meldaeg.

And if, someday, the Demon king was to return and try to wield his power in Leomel, Shirsir had laid down a massive magic circle so that his descendant could use a portion of his power. The magic circle was said to work when ceremonies were performed at the three sanctuaries.

However, activating it required vast amounts of magic and exceptional talent. Perhaps because the Meldaeg bloodline had become diluted over time, no member of the Meldaeg family had succeeded in activating the magic circle for many generations. Even in times when the Demon king’s cult wasn’t present, members of the Meldaeg family would always attempt to activate it, just in case, but the results were always the same.

However, Squall Meldaeg was different.

He had performed the ceremony at the sanctuary and successfully activated the magic circle. He had achieved this shortly after enrolling, and it was speculated that it might be due to the influence of the appearance of a descendant of the Hero.

—They were standing near a massive waterfall in the valley.

With scattered large rocks as stepping stones, they crossed the river and stood near the waterfall’s basin.

The reason for the small group of seven was to keep this hidden place concealed. Deus, the magic ship, was also being discreet to avoid detection by enemies.

Squall took a deep breath, placed his hand on his chest, and offered a prayer.

“In the name of the Meldaeg family…”

The waterfall split to the left and right, revealing a rocky surface further in.

They advanced along the rocks at their feet, and when Squall touched the pale blue rocky surface and blinked a few times, the rocky surface immediately turned transparent, as if it had never been there, revealing a path leading further in.

“Well done,” 

Squall said, smiling, his body swaying.

Vane hurriedly supported him from the side. 

“Squall!?”

“I-I’m…sorry. Just opening the door is quite taxing… But I’ll give my all for the ceremony.”

“Are you really okay?”

“Please trust me. As a member of the Meldaeg family, I’ll definitely see this through to the end.”

This conversation took place before they left the Imperial Capital.

They visited several sanctuaries and were told by the current Earl Meldaeg that by activating the magic circles left behind by Shirsir Meldegg, they would have a significant impact on combating the Demon king’s cult.

The protected area would be centered around the place where the Water and Wind Spirits slept, Windea, and would include nearby settlements. Windea was chosen as the center because it was a place where essential natural resources, water, and wind were born, not only for Leomel but also for the entire continent.

The magic circles formed a triangle around Windea. If activated, they were said to nullify the power of the Demon king’s army within that range.

Shirsir had intended to leave behind other protective measures as well, but after laying down this massive magic circle, he had exhausted his strength and devoted himself to spreading the teachings of the chief god, Elfen.

The magic circle had been created over a long period of time by Shirsir Meldaeg himself, large enough to cover a vast area. Similar to the protective power that Millim Altia had created for the Imperial Capital and Elendil, it was an item that couldn’t be mass-produced.

“I’m sorry,” 

“Don’t worry about it. We’re here for times like these,” 

Vane supported Squall, and they continued down the hidden path.

This was the adventure leading to the climax of the second chapter in the legend of the Seven Heroes.

They hadn’t activated the magic circle in advance because it would be a waste to do so before the enemies appeared. All paths to the sanctuaries had to be kept hidden. Sending only Squall alone was out of the question. That’s why it was ideal for Vane and the children of the heroic family to accompany him—they were the right number to both conceal the secret and protect Squall.

There were no monsters inside. After walking through the cave-like path for about ten minutes, they saw the sanctuary that lay underground.

The vast space resembled a cave with a large pool, and a pale blue light emanated from the entire space.

By the time they found the sanctuary, Squall had regained his strength and was walking on his own.

The seven stopped in front of the sanctuary. As they stood there, torches were lit along the walls.

Squall, the first to move forward, stepped into the main hall of the sanctuary and said.

“This is the sanctuary I came to check in the spring.”

The interior of the sanctuary was simple, made of stone, with few decorations. There was only one room with a large floor where the magic circle was laid out. In the center of the magic circle was a pedestal, and on it rested a polished white gem.

Squall placed his hands on the gem and closed his eyes.

The gem began to tremble, and the magic circle on the floor began to fill with light.

Vane and the others, who could only watch, held their breath.

“I can’t fight at all unlike the six of you… That’s why—!”

A brilliant white magic power emanated from Squall’s entire body. The magic circle also shone brightly, and finally, the entire sanctuary was filled with light. Amidst the presence asserted only by the magic circles beneath the feet of the seven, Squall had large beads of sweat on his forehead.

With a crackle, like lightning racing, a sound came from the orb held between his hands.

“Gu…uh…”

Using a vast amount of magic power that none of the six had imagined, Squall struggled.

Squall couldn’t fight much himself, as he had said. However, he had been helping everyone with his healing power.

Even so, he felt a sense of guilt for being in a safe place while his comrades were fighting.

That’s probably why he now held a strong determination to complete this ritual no matter what.

And—his determination succeeded.

The blinding light gradually subsided, and the gem detached from Squall’s hands and floated in the air.

Squall wiped the sweat from his brow and said with a bright smile.

“We did it, everyone.”

The six had been worried. Although there were still two sanctuaries left, Squall was exhausted beyond expectations.

Despite only two sanctuaries remaining, Squall’s depletion was too significant. While his power was crucial for battling the emerging Demon Cult, many had started to consider that if the military or powerful individuals of Leomel were to intervene, Squall might not need to exert himself to this extent.

The reason for their concern was valid—this time, the cultists of the Demon king were led by powerful individuals. There was no need to hold back. If the location where the enemies appeared was inside the magic circle, there was no reason not to use it.

In the legend of the Seven Heroes, they had also visited the sanctuaries, but it was slightly different. Ulysses Ignat tried to resurrect Asval with it, and they had several different reasons, including that.

As they returned to Deus, which had been hidden, Squall drank a potion and looked at the others with determined eyes.

“Only two more to go. Let’s finish this quickly.”

◇　◇　◇　◇

In the evening, as battles erupted in various places,

The sky, which should have been crimson, was covered in dazzling clouds.

Those clouds descended like snowflakes, carrying glittering crystal lights.

Slowly and peacefully.

These changes transformed the battlefields in various locations.

…What in the world!?

…I-I don’t know, but it’s convenient for us! Look at them!

The magic array left by Shirsir Meldaeg had been activated.

This advantageous situation further prepared Radius and the others for battle. The crystal lights descending on the wind weakened the power of the followers of the Demon king.

The true nature of the light was a national secret and was never revealed to the knights. They believed it to be an attack from their allies and swiftly subdued the weakened followers of the Demon king. Unlike in the Legend of the Seven Heroes, there was almost no collateral damage.

Watching from the deck of Deus as it flew in the sky, Vane and the others exchanged high fives while feeling the wind.

“All right! This should help somehow!”

“I’m not so sure, Kaito. We shouldn’t let our guard down. Grandma also said that.”

“Yes, please be cautious.”

“I agree. Let’s continue to stay vigilant.”

“Understood… But good job, Squall.”

Squall, who was exhausted, leaned on Kaito’s shoulder as they stood on the deck. Kaito extended a fist toward Squall, who looked puzzled. 

“This is what you do…”

Squall observed his gesture and then attempted to bump his fist into Kaito’s. After that, Squall couldn’t help but smile at his enthusiastic expression.

“That was cool!”

“…Yeah, that’s good.”

Today, Squall wondered if he had been able to be of use. He felt a warmth in his heart that he had never felt before. Vane watched them smile and celebrate, feeling content.

Next to Vane, Sarah approached.

“Now the battle situation will tilt heavily in our favor.”

“Yes. We still need to deal with that priest.”

“Yes… Where could he be hiding? He must be lurking somewhere.”

The end of the battle would come after dealing with Orphide. Therefore, they couldn’t afford to let their guard down just yet, but the fact that Shirsir Meldaeg’s power had been activated was a reason to be happy.

As the two of them conversed, a voice came from the magic device on the deck.

It belonged to Nemu, who was still alone in the control room.

“Everyone! It’s time to come back! I’m going to change our course a bit!”

The group heard her voice and hurriedly made their way to the control room.

The Deus had always been managed by the heroic family, so it was still in excellent condition, even the control room was not outdated. Nemu stood there, manipulating the magic instruments used to operate the Deus.

“Nemu, what happened?” 

Vane asked.

“You see, we were able to activate that magic circle, right? So, we have to report it quickly.”

The military’s magic airships were anchored in the nearby airspace. The plan was to go there and report while floating in the air.

After receiving responses from everyone, Nemu changed their course. They turned the helm to head for the airspace they had inquired about before departing from the Imperial Capital. After a few dozen minutes of flying, they arrived at an airspace where several of Leomel Empire’s magic airships were flying. 

The sight surprised the seven of them.

In the legends of the Seven Heroes, there were only a few airships, but now there were more than a dozen flying in the sky.

As they approached one of them, a magic device’s ramp was connected.

“We received orders not to inquire about what happened with that magic.”

It was the voice of the waiting knights.

The power from that magic circle was a national secret. Even in their report, they couldn’t disclose all the details. Instead, they conveyed that it was an attack from their allies to the military.

“I guess all we have to report is that we completed our mission.”

“Haha…We will report that to the capital as well. And as for us…”

After discussing several shared matters for about ten minutes, everything that needed to be said was covered. Although there were still ongoing battles in a few places, they would be over soon. The situation was heavily in favor of the forces of Leomel. 

As the seven of them left the deck and returned to the control room, Nemu spoke up.

“But you know, it seems they haven’t found the one who’s leading the followers of the Demon king.”

She seemed to want something sweet and was licking a piece of candy stuck to a stick. She sat down on a chair in front of the panels with numerous switches and gauges used to operate the Deus, crossed her arms, and placed her hands on the backrest in an unusual posture.

“But, I don’t think it will end like this.”

“I think we’re all thinking the same thing. Right, Liz?”

“Of course. They suddenly attacked us, and after failing, it’s unlikely they’ll just give up.”

As they spoke with uncertain feelings before returning to the capital, a bell rang two, three times. It came from the panel with numerous switches and various gauges used to operate the Deus.

Nemu twisted her upper body while sitting.

She checked the numbers displayed on a nearby gauge.

“Huh?”

The candy she was holding fell from her mouth. She stood up in a hurry, checked all the numbers repeatedly, but even then, she couldn’t shake off the feeling of unease. So she went back to her bag that was left in the control room, took out a magic instrument and returned.

“What’s going on?”

“Sorry Kaito-kun, please be quiet.”

Nemu, with an unusually serious expression on her face, folded her arms.

She checked some numbers over and over again, but still couldn’t shake the feeling of discomfort, so this time I moved the magic tool I had just brought to check something.

It was a magic instrument that looked like a piece of glass, about the size of a regular notebook. It also had numerous scales lined up.

“It’s different… Right?… This won’t display these numbers. But the reaction is normal, and the fluctuation of magic power in the air is undeniable…”

Again and again,

“Calculations should be done here, not here… Yes, the correct numbers are displayed, but… with this, strange numbers are still displayed.”

Many times…

“It doesn’t seem like an error…”

With a startled expression, Nemu looked out the window. 

At the direction she was gazing outside the window, Charlotte realized something.

“Why are you looking towards Windea?”

This area wasn’t too far from Windea either. Even though the magic circle activated by Squall’s magic had long since disappeared, in terms of location, they were still inside that territory.

Vane, who had been silent until now, noticed Nemu’s concerned expression and recalled what Ren had said.

“I’ve been thinking, but I wonder if Windea might be a target too.”

He said it quietly.

“The story about the Demon Cult gathering Holy Relics… Maybe it’s related?”

Nemu vigorously approached a table where a map of Leomel was spread out.

Windea, the place where water and wind slumbered. The location where the legend of the Water Goddess’s ring sleeping was passed down. They had visited that place just this spring.

Following Nemu, all six of them gathered around the table, examining the map.

“Nemu, can you tell us what unusual things you observed?”

Lizred asked while looking at the map.

“The appearance of magic power in the air was strange. I thought it might be an error, but it was moving strangely.”

“What kind of movement was it?”

“It felt like it was gradually moving through the air as if being pushed from another location.”

“I see. So, you’re saying it felt like someone was forcefully displacing it from another place?”

As Charlotte listened to the conversation, she exhaled.

“That guy Orphide, or whatever his name is, wouldn’t it be strange if he was looking for the Water Goddess’s ring?”

“It’s worth investigating. Going there wouldn’t be a waste of time, right?”

“Yeah, and it’s our ship. We’ve come this far; we might as well go all the way.”

As Sarah agreed, Vane gripped the hilt of his sword at his waist.

“Let’s inform the surrounding airships and head for Windea.”

“Alright, that’s settled then! Change the course to Windea!”

“Got it! I’ll go and inform them quickly, so get ready!”

Kaito rushed out of the control room to the deck, connecting the ramps to the other airships to deliver the message to the knights on board.

Most of the magical devices loaded on Deus were created by Nemu. Their performance was comparable to Altia’s products. They were using them to verify the abnormalities they detected while heading to Windea. Within minutes, Deus had already taken off and was accelerating rapidly towards Windea, surpassing the other airships. Several airships followed closely, and they expected to arrive in just a few tens of minutes.

“What do you intend to do on Water Saint’s Day?” 

Lizred asked.

Water Saint’s Day was said to be the day when the Water Goddess was born, and it was believed that the magic power of water increased throughout the world on that night.

The Demon Cult had been collecting Holy Relics for a while. This time, their true target might be related to the Water Goddess’s ring, and there was a possibility that the man believed he could obtain it on the night of Water Saint’s Day.

Regardless of the reasons behind their pursuit of Holy Relics, it was not something that should fall into their hands.

About 30 minutes had passed since they started heading towards windea.

“I can see it!”

On that day, they had come to Windea to confirm Vane’s powers. As they looked at that fantastical place illuminated by starlight, Nemu compared various numbers visible to her on Deus’ control panel.

“Is it because it’s the Water Saint’s Day? The wind magic seems to be calm today!”

“Oh? So, does that mean we can stop up there!?”

“Yeah, because after we went to Windea last time, I worked hard on Deus, so we can handle some recklessness!”

“But, Nemu, we don’t even know if he really moved here. So, please, calm down!”

“I told you it’s fine, Sarah! I enhanced the barrier this time! With the magic power concentration today, it’s a piece of cake—”

Suddenly, Nemu fell silent, and Sarah looked at her with an anxious expression.

“…You’re not going to say it’s an emergency or something, right?”

“I-It’s not an emergency! But look at this!”

Even though they were looking at the magic device that measured the quality and concentration of magic power in the air, none of them understood what it meant when Nemu showed it to them. Some values were irregularly fluctuating, and it seemed to indicate a certain direction.

“Is it pointing upward?”

“Yes! I still think something strange is happening in the upper layers of Windea!”

She pushed the control stick forward and made Deus ascend vigorously. 

The other magic airships in the vicinity couldn’t keep up with Deus’s rapid movements. This Deus was more advanced, and its responsiveness was faster compared to other magic airships, even when changing direction.

Deus signaled its further ascent to the surrounding magic airships and sent a signal to the knights to explore other areas of Windea.

“Isn’t it obvious? We’re heading for the temple!” 

“I think so too! But we spent days traversing Windea! How are we going to get to the temple?!”

“Kaito and Liz, you both know there’s only one answer!”

Nemu forcefully pressed a bright red button on the control panel in Deus’s cockpit. Deus covered its massive body with a magic barrier and emitted a piercing, high-pitched noise that hurt everyone’s ears.

“We’re going to use brute force to break through as far as we can!”

Everyone grabbed onto something in the cockpit as Deus shook violently. The wind magic in the air was making Deus unstable.

However, Nemu didn’t expect to get this close to the temple. If it were possible, they could have done it when they came in spring. Still, something was odd. Nemu had activated the newly installed defense systems, but even so, there was unusually little wind resistance.

Looking at the numbers visible from the control panel, it was clear, and it raised questions in Nemu’s mind.

“Maybe someone is suppressing the magic around Windea using human power…”

It wasn’t impossible. For example, it was possible to weaken wind magic with powerful spells. If that were the case, could it be Orphide?

“Everyone! We’re almost stopping! Hold on to something and don’t let go!”

Even if she worried, there were no answers, and Nemu focused most of her attention on piloting Deus.

At a height quite close to the temple, Deus finally began to slow down. Near a relatively gentle rocky surface that they had used for rest when Vane and the others had come, Nemu aimed Deus and reversed the engines forcefully.

The strongest tremor yet hit everyone inside, but Deus successfully docked. In the cluttered hall where various furnishings had rolled around, all seven of them were sprawled out.

Nemu wiped the sweat from her forehead and stood up.

“Well, how was that?”

She grinned triumphantly.

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