Chapter 6

Chapter 6

SOON AFTER, I managed to meet back up with Sedam’s group and Mora, and close the chapter on the daemon threat.

The thunderous sound and shock waves from the blast had reached all the way to where the group had taken cover. Both Sedam and Fijika were positioned to witness the impact, so everyone readily accepted my account of events—namely, that I’d defeated the daemon army with a meteor shower.

“Well, I don’t think anyone here can argue now that you’re not a powerful sorcerer—or wizard, as you say, Mister Margilus…or should I call you ‘Lord’?”

After everyone had settled down around a fire, and Mora had served me a cup of sil tea, Sedam formally addressed me. The tone of his voice was calm and quiet, but I could tell his expression was stiff. Looking around, I saw that Ted and Djirk looked frightened, Torrad and Fijika were anxious, and Clara was clearly on edge, viewing me with caution. Mora, on the other hand, looked as if she was worried for me.

“No, you don’t have to do that. I’m not from a noble family. I’m not anyone important—just your average citizen. I’d prefer it if you didn’t treat me as special, just…normal.”

Back home, being addressed formally by door-to-door salesmen was enough to make me feel uncomfortable. I wasn’t about to let anyone address me like some great and powerful lord. But in some corner of my mind I knew that after doing what I’d just done…there was no way I was going to pass as an average citizen.

“But Lord Margilus! How can I not show proper respect to you, the man who wiped out all those daemons?!”

“Lord Margilus, you’re a hero!”

Not unexpectedly, Djirk and Ted were the first to protest and put me up on the pedestal I was trying to step down from. In their case, they were probably acting more out of fear than respect, but considering the circumstances, I couldn’t fault them for it.

“To be clear, I am of course thankful for your actions,” continued Sedam. “If we had let an army of daemons of that size attack a village, it would have been a massacre—but that is why I am concerned. If you, who can single-handedly wipe out a force of daemons on that large a scale, chose for some reason to call meteors down upon our heads, we would have a very serious problem on our hands. I hope you understand.”

Well…yeah. I took a deep breath and tried to reassure everyone.

“As I told you before, I am Geo Margilus, a magic user from Getaeus. I still do not know much about Sedia or its ways. But I swear to you I have no intention of using my magic for evil purposes, and I will never use it to bring harm to you or this land.”

“Hmm…”

“O-of course!”

“We believe you, Lord Margilus!”

Fijika, Ted, and Djirk appeared to relax somewhat.

“You…swear? In whose name? Is there a god whose faith you adhere to?” Torrad cut back with a very warrior-priest-like response. Hmm… I wondered. How should I answer this?

“I do not know whether the gods we follow differ, but… I swear in the name of the Watcher.”

“Interesting…” Sedam responded. Apparently, my answer caught his attention.

Of the god-like candidates I listed in my head, the Watcher seemed to be the most appropriate choice. After all, the Watcher had sent me to Sedia, and it may have been its intention to have me fight the daemons all along.

Torrad crossed his arms. I might be in trouble if his god has something against heretics, I thought, but I couldn’t take back what I’d said.

“That is not one I’ve heard of before…but surely your god must be a force for good, as it counts among its believers one who would use his powers to defeat daemons,” Torrad said, with a smile.

“Mister Geo is an incredible person, but he’s actually very kind…and, umm… He’s very kind!” Mora said, springing again to my defense.

Too bad I have to depend so much on a girl I only met yesterday to vouch for me… I thought, half-jokingly. But circumstances aside, she really has a knack for jumping in at the right time.

“Well… It wouldn’t be right not to give a hero who just saved an entire village the benefit of the doubt,” said Sedam, wearing something between a smirk and a smile.

While I appreciated the sentiment, I really wished he would drop the whole “hero” bit. I wasn’t ready to fit that mold.

“It could be that this Watcher of yours meant for you to come here. I’ll be counting on you,” said Sedam, patting me on the shoulder.

Between the two of us, I’d sooner put my trust in you, not me.

***

After our break, we continued down the path and out onto the main thoroughfare, heading east toward Yulei Village. Sedam and Fijika continued to stay on the lookout for daemons, but no more appeared.

The high road ran east to west over an open plain and was paved with stone. Its quality hinted that civilization had already reached a high level in Sedia. I was told we would camp on the road that night and be in Yulei by morning.

I looked back to the south down the path we’d come from, up at the mountain and its forests, and then I turned to Sedam.

“As I mentioned earlier, I really don’t know anything about this place. Could you tell me more about Sedia? I don’t mind if you keep it simple.”

I wanted to have at least a basic understanding of Sedia before I encountered more people when we got to the village, and I also just wanted to know what I was in for, given that I’d be here a while. I was particularly interested in knowledge related to daemons and magic, but it was best to start with the basics.

“That’s a very open-ended question. What exactly do know what to know, Lord Margilus?”

Lord seems to have stuck, I thought. At least Sedam is more direct with me, compared to the others like Djirk and Ted…

“Well, I suppose… I’d appreciate it if you would talk about Sedia’s countries and their history.”

“History, you say?” Sedam said with a smile. “It would take more than a day or two to cover that. If you’d like, once we’ve set camp, I can go over some of the greatest chapters in detail…”

“Really, I’d appreciate if you’d go over just the outline. Let’s keep it simple.”

“Well… I suppose that’s fine as well.”

To Sedam’s credit, as excited as he was to talk about it, his explanations were very easy to understand. He must be a scholar of some sort, I thought.

First, I learned the name of the region we were currently in: Ryuse. At the center of this region, itself near the center of the Sedia continent, was Lake Ryuse. Around this large lake lay a collection of city-states joined together in a confederation known as the Ryuse Alliance, and through this confederation they wielded a great deal of political power.

Yulei Village, farther east along the road, belonged to one of the member states of the Ryuse Alliance, the Order of the Calbanera Knights.

In the opposite direction, the road led to Relis, on the shores of Lake Ryuse. Relis was a fortified city that both Mora and the adventurers called home, and it was the second most prosperous member state of the Ryuse Alliance.

East of Yulei was a dangerous wasteland, but on the far side lay a prosperous foreign country, leading many reckless merchants and adventurers to cross it.

Although distant, another foreign country lay to the north of Lake Ryuse’s northern shores: the Kingdom of Shrendal, the continent’s largest country. To the south stood yet another large foreign country, but it was in the midst of a civil war.

“That’s very interesting.”

I thought back to the many times I’d started a new tabletop campaign, when the game master would explain what kind of world the campaign was set in. This world was similar to campaign settings I’d played based on medieval Europe. Not that “medieval” is a very narrow definition, I thought.

“Now… Could you tell me more about daemons? What are they?”

“That’s…not an easy question to answer.” Sedam wasn’t as excited to talk about them as he was other subjects, but he did give me a good run-down.

First, Sedam explained that “daemon” was a general term for a category of creatures that included the imps, fiends, and gigant we’d seen so far, and more besides. Those creatures formed groups with each other and shared two main characteristics: an explosive reproductive rate and a destructive impulse directed toward all other intelligent life. Most countries and regions in Sedia considered daemons an existential threat to humankind, and it was tacitly understood that their extermination took priority over any and all disputes between nations.

Strangely, no place of origin or habitat had been identified for daemons. The scenario was always the same: First, daemons would suddenly appear. Then, they would make a nest and quickly multiply. Once a nest was made, it would continue to issue forth new daemons until it was destroyed. Therefore, if a nest was ever discovered, destroying it was of utmost priority. Depending on the country, the responsibility of destroying a nest fell to either nobility or knights.

“After all, there was a time in the past when daemons almost wiped out all of humanity,” Sedam said quietly.

When an especially large number of daemons gathered together, it was referred to as a legion, and whenever a giant nest capable of breeding multiple legions was created, it was referred as a brood event.

Fortunately, the overall number of daemons in Sedia was lower than it had been in the past. The last time an outbreak of daemons large enough to form a legion had occurred was ten years prior. Since then, Sedam said, his party and other groups of adventurers only encountered a few daemons at a time—that is, until the events of today.

“And what about what happened today?” I asked. “Is that number of daemons large enough to be called a legion?”

“Probably so… They had a gigant, and there were far too many for it to be a splinter group,” said Sedam, frowning.

“In that case… Do you think there is a nest nearby?” I paused a moment. “Isn’t that a problem?”

“Definitely. If something isn’t done about it, another legion may appear and attack villages.”

I groaned.

I definitely wasn’t gung-ho about showing off my powers and getting into another fight, but I knew I couldn’t just let them be, especially after facing them earlier that day. When Sedam said he would be counting on me, that must have been what he meant, I thought. If the daemons’ nest is nearby, someone is going to have to do something about it—that someone being me.

Sedam knew a lot about the geography and history of Sedia, but he didn’t have many opportunities to share his knowledge with others. After I asked questions on a few different topics, he mentioned how happy he was to be having a conversation about such things with me.

We talked for several hours as we walked, and before I knew it, it was sundown. We’d come a long way, but it looked as though we wouldn’t reach Yulei until afternoon the next day.

Sedam picked out a location for our camp and quickly gave directions to the other party members. When playing a TTRPG, setting up camp takes little more than a word or two, but it turned out to be a lot of work. That said, when I tried to help out, Djirk and Ted quickly ran to stop me with a chorus of complaints. “Lord Margilus, we can’t possibly ask you to do that!” Even Sedam told me I should take it easy, as I was a guest.

Mora and Fijika set to work making a stew of meat and beans with spices, and its wonderful smell quickly made me hungry.

There was still time to wait, so I tried starting up a conversation with Clara. I wanted to understand the differences between my magic and the sorcery of Sedia.

“That is not something I can talk with you about here,” said Clara, blunt as you please, while she continued to run a comb through her wavy hair.

If it’s work-related, that’s one thing, I thought, but trying to carry on a conversation with a younger woman always tires me out…

“Well, in that case… Uh…”

As I was looking for more words to say, Clara gave me a sharp glare. “After we arrive in the village, do you mind giving me some of your time? I’d like to talk to you alone.”

“Well aren’t you popular, Lord Margilus?” Ted laughed, but I couldn’t see any way the meeting would go well.

“Depending on what you say, the Sorcerers’ Guild might be blown away.”

See?

***

Two nights ago, I slept in my bed. Last night, I slept in an evil sorcerer’s tower. Tonight, I’m in a tent in an adventurers camp…

As a guest, I did not have to participate in the night watches, so, there in my borrowed tent, I took the opportunity to go right to sleep and get as much rest as I could.

Morning.

“Sorry! Can I have five more minutes, please?!”

“Well, I mean… We don’t mind waiting,” Sedam replied.

The adventurers woke at sunrise, quickly finished breakfast, and packed up camp. By the time they were finished, I was still frantically skimming through my spellbook.

In D&B, a magic user must recharge any spent spells every morning if they want to use those spells again that day.

While my physical self was reading the spells from the spellbook in my lap, my imagined self was writing the spells in blank spellbooks in my inner world. Given how much magic I’d cast the previous day, I really wanted to recharge all my empty spell slots and get back to having my full complement of eighty-one spells. However, since I was in a hurry, I only took the time to recharge the one I needed.

“All right, I’m done! Sprite Porter!”

In a rush, as soon as I finished charging the spell, I immediately began to cast it. I didn’t know what I would do—maybe find a hole to bury myself in—if I failed the activation throw, but luckily the dice gave me no trouble.

“They’re floating…”

“They really are floating again, huh?”

The two objects I made the sprite porter carry were the same as yesterday: Mora’s bag and Jargle’s statue. The spell from yesterday had long expired, so that’s why I was in such a rush to recast it. If I’d asked, Djirk or Ted might have been able to carry them for me, but they were heavy, after all. A novel would probably abridge minor issues like this, but reality isn’t so kind.

“I still can’t detect any mana being put to work… It is safe to say your magic and our sorcery are completely different things.” Clara was grumbling to herself, but it was loud enough that I’m pretty sure she meant for me to hear.

If I said anything to her about it, I knew it would only lead to more trouble down the road, so I kept my thoughts to myself. The Watcher did say something similar, after all… Her deduction is probably right on target.