Chapter 6

Chapter 6

BACK WHEN I’D LEISURELY WALKED along the Lawful Way with Clara to visit Relis for the first time, I’d never dreamed I’d return with wagons and companions.

“Lord Margilus, are you certain this is the right place?” Ild checked.

“Why do you ask?”

“I-It’s a dead end…”

Right on schedule, we reached Castle Getaeus in three days. Despite standing before it, apparently Ild and the children couldn’t see the castle. Well, no surprise there. After struggling up the narrow mountain path, they were rewarded with an empty plot of land leading to a sheer cliff.

“Yes, this is the spot. I lifted it up to prevent anyone from breaking in,” I answered.

“You what?!”

Ignoring the bewildered Ild, I began to cast my spell. “Open, Gate of Magic…”

Directing my consciousness toward the inner depths of my mind, an imaginary image of myself appeared in the inner world. My imagined self beheld the black-lacquered gate that appeared before me.

“…I’ll need to get to the bottom of this one of these days.”

My imagined self ran fingers along the surface of one of the gateposts, made from black stone. The sensation of cold, hard stone against my fingers was a testament to how firmly the image was rooted in my mind. Yet having seen a similar one inside the daemon nest I’d destroyed, the sight of this one filled me with mixed feelings. Is the gate that summons daemons from beyond Sedia the same as my Gate of Magic?

The Gate of Magic silently slid open. Beyond it waited the spiral stairwell that connected my mind to the chaotic realm.

“…Oops. This is no time to get lost in thought.”

Regardless of how quickly I moved in the inner world, it would always take ten seconds for a spell to activate. But that didn’t mean I should stick around longer than necessary. I began the descend the spiral stairs.

Eventually, my imagined self came to the sixth landing. A door stood there with a plate above it reading “Scholar’s Spellbook Archive.” If it wasn’t obvious from the number of levels, this was where the Rank 6 spells were stored.

The setup inside these spellbook archives was essentially the same regardless of rank. Nine elevated bookrests stood amid countless massive bookcases. Each book on a bookrest represented a single fully charged spell.

I touched one such book entitled Structural Renovation. As if it were alive with a mind of its own, the book began to flip through its own pages, releasing the chaotic energy known as “magical power.”

“As a consequence of this spell, I will control the land within a 360-meter radius of me and alter its shape at will. Structural Renovation.” My inner self and physical self chanted simultaneously. In the archive, the Structural Renovation spellbook began to shine brightly as it transformed into two ten-sided dice. The transformation complete, the dice fell into the palm of my hand.

“It’d be lame if I fumbled in front of everyone… Here goes nothing!”

The two dice tumbled dynamically across the bookrest. Dice rolls such as this were commonly used for activation checks in tabletop role-playing games. There was only a one-percent chance the spell wouldn’t activate. The two dice were used to obtain a number from 1 to 100. In the event I rolled a 100, the spell wouldn’t activate. (Furthermore, spells like Fireball that required a dice roll to determine damage didn’t require activation checks.)

Ild, Mora, and the children were staring intently at me in the real world. Even though I’d made sure I had two charges for Structural Renovation today, I wanted to avoid the embarrassment of a fumble if at all possible.

Fortunately, the two dice stopped on safe numbers. “Nice! Structural Renovation!”

Having successfully cleared the activation check, the magical power that converged into two dice grew indistinct once more as it flooded upward, overflowing into normal space.

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!

“Wh-what is this?!”

“Eek!”

Due to the effect of the spell, the earth beneath our feet rumbled like thunder. Vibrations from the tremors felt like drums beating against my stomach. Taken by surprise, fear washed across the faces of Ild, the servitors, and the children. Yet in a matter of seconds, those expressions were replaced with looks of astonishment.

“M-my word,” Ild gasped.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa… Th-the c-cliff is falling…”

“I don’t believe it…”

The steep cliff rumbled mightily as it came down right before our eyes. It didn’t even take ten seconds for the cliff, which had once towered like a skyscraper, to drop to ground level with us. On top of the flattened cliff stood the former bandit fortress that now served as our Castle Getaeus.

“Th-there really was a castle up there?!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!”

Poor Ild looked as if his knees were about to give out. The children were naturally no better off.

“Not long ago, we were just like them,” Mora observed.

“It’s scary what you can get used to,” Sedam agreed.

Sedam, Mora, and the others “used to” me apathetically watched over the dumbfounded children and servants, whose mouths gaped so wide it looked like they might dislocate their jaws.

***

I’d left Castle Getaeus unattended for a good while, but there was no sign of bandits having broken in. On the other hand…

“Ahh, look, this part collapsed during the move,” moaned Zek.

“Well, no wonder,” said Clara. “Castles aren’t made to be jostled around.”

I couldn’t blame the carpenter, Zek, for giving up on the castle walls as a lost cause. There were several spots that had collapsed, forming large, gaping holes in the stone. Just as Clara had so reproachfully said, the vibrations of moving it up and down like a toy had probably made the walls crumble.

…Well, this is a lesson in its own right. From now on, I’ll be sure to move it slowly.

With sunset soon upon us, I decided we should just do the bare minimum to patch up the openings in the castle wall. Unpacking could wait until the next day.

“I appreciate all of your hard work today, everyone. I realize we will only be busier tomorrow as we crack down on straightening up the castle, but I’d like you to take this night to enjoy yourselves to the fullest.”

“Yay!”

Having completed our first task as a group, we were about to spend our first night together at Castle Getaeus. It was only natural they’d want to kick off the night with a feast. Of course, I made sure to cast several spells as insurance against the unlikely event that something should happen.

Once we got a massive bonfire roaring in the courtyard, everyone pulled up benches and gathered around. Ild served a generous dinner with wine and dessert. Before long, the silent castle was bustling with excitement.

“All right, folks! I’d like to share my hidden talent with you!” True to Djirk’s words, the middle-aged warrior (actually, he was around the same age as me) shared an unexpected talent. He began to skillfully pluck a guitar-like instrument, filling the air with a jovial melody.

“I’m going to dance!” Argha proclaimed in her languid voice.

“Then I’ll sing,” Racil added politely.

“I’m playing too,” Gilma said bluntly, flute already in hand.

“Guess that’s two of us dancing!” Sasara exclaimed energetically. Without skipping a beat, the Four Dark Elf Sisters began to sing, dance, and play the flute in synch with Djirk.

“You shouldn’t hold back, either. Go on and eat all you want!” Mora encouraged.

“B-but…”

“Are you sure it’s okay for us to eat such expensive food…?”

“Mister Geo isn’t a stingy grump! You need to eat like a horse to grow like a weed and study like a beast!” Adopting the role of big sister, Mora admonished the boys and girls who were resisting the temptation of what was, by their standards, a lavish feast. As I watched the sweet sight unfold, I grew incredibly relaxed.

It wasn’t as though I’d spent years in this castle, but I was already growing quite attached to it. Or perhaps I was just getting a bit sentimental due to the sense of accomplishment from making it all this way with my companions…

I have to say, though, it was amazing how quickly Ild got drunk. He was already drowning his sorrows.

“Jeez, why doesh that happen to ’im th’ second he takesh a shippa wine?”

“…And you’re one to judge? I’ll have you know, you’re quite drunk yourself,” Clara remarked.

“Well, one night won’t hurt. You need to break up hard work with some downtime,” Sedam said.

With head-on views of the dark elves’ performance and the bonfire, Sedam, Clara, and I had monopolized the best seats. It should go without saying, but Reyha was standing guard behind me.

“Well shaid! I knew you’d undershand, Shedam!” I exclaimed. Having countered the heartless wench’s remark with the burning passion of our manly camaraderie, I slapped the rogue heartily on the back.

“…That having been said, things are going to start getting busy around here tomorrow. For starters, we need to fix up the inside of the castle… Oh, and one more thing,” Sedam said, scowling in annoyance as I kept giving him fond, hearty slaps to the back. Alas, friendship between men was a fickle beast.

“…What is it?”

“You should recruit soldiers. No matter what you do, you’ll want to have some,” Sedam advised.

“That’s a good suggestion. To be honest, I’m surprised you’re trying to form your own organization here without any,” agreed Clara.

“Hrn…” Thanks to their much-appreciated words of wisdom, I completely sobered up.

Despite the buzzkill, when I finally found my bed there in Castle Getaeus, it was the most welcoming thing in the world. It felt like I’d enjoyed sleeping in it for ages. The situation was so different from the last time I’d stayed there—back when I got carried away with the idea of a secret hideaway—it made my head swim.

“This is the starting point. It all begins from here…”