Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 

DAY ONE of our journey…

We moved along a gravel path, surrounded by rocky mountains. The clear blue sky shined above.

“This is pretty rough.” It was rare for Ted to grumble, but he carried the weight of our camping gear.

“Pheeew…” The three new recruits (also burdened with luggage) looked sweaty and exhausted.

Currently, the only road from Axeholm to Filsand was the winding trade route on the northern side of the Iron Fan mountain range. This trade route bordered the Twilight Wastelands to the north and the mountains to the south. It was littered with steep inclines that made walking a chore.

“Aye, but we’re lucky we don’t have to worry about sudden battles with the rust beasts. Thank Laird Margilus for that,” piped up the dwarf walking next to me. He didn’t look winded at all. It was Feivel of the merchant house Rimron.

“That’s true…”

Behind him was a wagon loaded with items from Axeholm bound for the duke of Filsand, and dwarves from House Valvaron serving as escorts.

“Aye, but just beneath here…the undead wander about. Betimes there are even daemons. Though we’ll surely be fine as long as Margilus is here.”

“Daemons and undead, huh?” According to Feivel, the undead from the Twilight Wastelands sometimes wandered down from the north. It was slightly less clear where the daemons originated from. We’d eliminated most of the rust beasts, but there were still many dangers.

Either way, I needed to change some of the spells I kept charged, in case a large number of undead suddenly appeared. Since it would be a long journey, I also decided to charge more mobility spells, too.

“It’s rare, but daemons do appear in the Filsand territories,” Elisabel offered from her perch atop the dwarves’ wagon. “I also personally encountered an undead soldier on my trip down to Axeholm.”

She had changed into a knee-length dress adorned with frills and lace, one which was (naturally) brand new. Her blonde hair was pulled back from her red eyes into pigtails. She had a small nose and lips. Every feature on her face was a strength in its own right, but also harmonious with all the other features. I had come across many beautiful men and women in this world, but none compared to her perfect, doll-like beauty.

However, even though she had a gentle, alluring smile on her face, her hands gripped the contents of the wagon tightly to keep from falling off. It was a completely different attitude from Clara, who was walking calmly alongside her.

Ted and the others are having a rough time. I should help them. I saw Ted and the new recruits panting and decided to assist them with a spell. There were already two humans riding on the dwarf wagon, so I couldn’t ask them to take more.

“As a consequence of this spell, an invisible servant will appear and bear his weight. Sprite Porter!” I chanted a spell that I remembered using when I’d first arrived in this world. Within the world of my mind, my imagined self released the chaotic energy that dwelled within the books of the spellbook archive, a mentally constructed repository of arcane spells. That chaotic energy—my magical power—overflowed into the real world, manifesting into a porter with an invisible body.

“Agh…!”

“Whoa!”

The luggage that the new recruits were carrying was lifted into the air, surprising not only them, but Elisabel, too.

“L-Lord Margilus. We’re doing just fine!”

“Y-yeah, n-no need to worry about us.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” I assured them. “It’s only a Rank 1 spell anyway.” Ted and the new recruits were feeling guilty, so I tried to explain that it was no big deal. I just needed to charge any spells I used today the next morning, so it was no trouble at all.

For some reason, Elisabel and Clara stared at Ted and the others, who meekly bowed toward me, each with their own complicated expression.

 

***

 

That afternoon…

“Let’s camp here, then.” In Sedam’s absence, Ted gave the instructions for moving and setting up camp.

“Mmm.” At his direction, the three recruits pitched the tents, built a fire, and started to prepare a meal.

Ild helped them, while Reyha patrolled the perimeter. Feivel and the other dwarves prepared their own camp some distance away. As usual, Lade silently set up his own simple tent.

“Thank you for doing this,” I said. As always, I could do nothing but sit and watch these chores unfold. I tried to maintain a serious expression, fit for the lord of a castle, but try as I might, something about the whole process still made me uncomfortable.

“Don’t mention it! These are the duties of castle soldiers!”

“Oh, will you get that makeup box for me?” Clara also set herself apart from chores, but she was used to having people work for her.

A recruit hopped right to it. “Yes, gladly!” I felt confident that it wasn’t only the differences in gender and appearance that made Ted and the new recruits so happy to care for her. It was status. She was an aristocrat; they were commoners.

“Is this canel tea?” Naturally, as the daughter of a duke, Elisabel sat with Clara and me, relaxing.

“Sometimes we get tired of sil tea,” Clara answered, before leaning in to whisper to me. Reyha had prepared our cups before setting out on patrol. “Margilus? I’d like to share my opinion about what happened this afternoon.”

“Hmm?”

What this beautiful blonde wanted to bring up with me, wearing such a serious expression on her face, was the way I’d used Sprite Porter to carry our soldiers’ luggage. Apparently, as their lord, sharing any of my subordinates’ work was a bad move, one that disturbed the hierarchy and natural order of things.

Hmmm, so that’s the reason she was upset? I guess that’s what you get in a class-based society. This was fundamentally different from the ethics of a modern perspective, where even though there were disparities in authority depending on role and position, all humans were of equal value.

“But it was only a Rank 1 spell, so I thought…”

“No matter what level the spell is, you stole their jobs. Perhaps if Ted and his team were only mercenaries, it would be acceptable. But the point is that they’re happy working for you.”

“R-really?” I quietly watched them working hard to set up the tent and prepare the food. They worked quickly, joking around with each other. They certainly didn’t look like they were unhappy. But Clara wouldn’t have spoken without cause.

“Pay attention. Aristocrats must attend to aristocratic duties, warriors must be warriors, and commoners likewise have their own role. Your job is to do the work that only a wizard and a castle lord can do.”

“Hmm…” Although Clara was a noble, she didn’t feel any bias or malice toward people of lower stations. I’d always respected that. Her opinion was clearly considered the correct way to go about things in Sedia. As a resident of this world, I needed to respect its norms as well.

“Yeah…you’re right. I’ll try to keep that in mind, but it’s just…” It wasn’t that I thought Japan’s ethics and perspective were inherently superior, or that I had an inflated opinion of myself, but there were still certain things I found it hard to get over. For example, when the boys who’d been candidates to become sorcerer-soldiers were forced out partway through the program.

“It’s like this,” I continued. “One of the duties of a wizard is to cast aside the common sense and reason of the mortal world when necessary. Or…at least, that’s what I think…”

“Where is your confidence?” Clara looked me straight in the eyes, disgusted. Without waiting for me to answer, she crossed her arms across her voluptuous breasts and dropped her head. “But you’re not wrong. That’s why you’re the ‘Great Wizard,’ after all. If by chance the time comes when you have to stand against the laws of this land…then I will support your decision, even if it means going against the hierarchy.”

“Er, umm… I’m very grateful.” Clara sometimes caught me off guard like this. She was always clever. Be careful, Clara, or I might get the wrong idea…

Anyway, I’d grown used to the audacious way she spoke to me. In fact, I appreciated it.

“You are the complete opposite of my father,” Elisabel murmured, looking down into the cup in her hand. She had been listening in on my conversation with Clara, and now had a dumbfounded look on her face.

“I’m sure I’m different, but the opposite?”

“Yes.” Elisabel lifted her face and looked right at me with her red eyes. “My father occupies the seat of highest authority in Filsand. He also probably has the greatest physical strength of any individual. And the only time when he unreservedly uses that power is when he’s fulfilling his own selfish desires. In fact, he believes that is the way things should be.”

“I see. We really are about as different as it gets.” I used my power for others; the duke used his power only for himself. If I were twenty or thirty years younger, I’m sure I would have thought it was my duty to defeat him.

For some reason, I was becoming more and more interested in this duke of Filsand. I was a man who resisted the temptation to use my powers for myself. But if I gave in…what would that feel like?

 

***

 

A few days had passed since Geo’s team departed Axeholm.

In the lands beyond, there loomed a black fortress built along a row of cliffs. It was a secure, fortified castle. This was the residence of Duke Darmund Ferday Filsand, ruler of the duchy of Filsand.

While standing in wait, Adad of the Filsand knights broke from the ranks.

Directly before Adad, a single man sat upon a glorious chair with a frighteningly tall back. He looked to be in his early forties. A simple crown sat upon his head, and his magnificent beard hung down toward the bottom of his chest. He was tanned and muscular underneath his chainmail armor. Over that steel, he’d donned a gown adorned with gold and silver. Across his lap lay a longsword, as if to show that he was always prepared to do battle. The chainmail, sword, rings, and charms he wore were all imbued with the strongest magic available in Velde. The duke’s record in battle attested to his worthiness of all these riches.

And now he glared down upon his servant.

“And then? You just accepted what Elisabel said and dragged your ass back here?”

“Eh heh…eh heh heh! I beg your forgiveness, my lord!” As he prostrated himself before his liege, Adad’s body trembled, and his eyes glistened. Enduring the glare of his master, he didn’t even have the wherewithal to notice the ice-cold gaze of his subordinate knights standing at attention.

There were four other important figures in attendance to hear his report. Standing to the left of the throne was a beautiful woman in her thirties. She was Alaine, the second first-wife of the duke, and daughter of a great aristocrat from Velde. She worked as a liaison between her home country and the lower-ranking nobility. She stood at the very top of the aristocratic faction. The slender young man standing—almost hidden—behind her was Agveil, the second son of the duke. While his name was enough to validate him, he was also commander of the Star Shield Knights. On the other side of Alaine was an old man with white hair. That was Juzell, prime minister of the duchy. He was the current leader of the military faction, which was made up of the vassals who had served the duke for years.

Alaine looked down at Adad in contempt. “Are you saying she went and betrothed herself to some mad sorcerer without any consultation? I wouldn’t have expected you to permit such a rash mistake.”

“Y-you abandoned an important duty…”

“Th-this is treason.”

Alaine and Agveil immediately criticized Elisabel’s engagement. Instead of the planned assassination, the target was now returning with completely unknown reinforcements. They both wore twisted expressions on their faces. A minute ago, all they’d needed was a stroke of good luck to secure Agveil’s position as duke-in-waiting. Now they were probably feeling desperate.

“Well, the princess is very kind,” intoned Juzell, dry. “It’s pathetic, really. That Geo fellow was obviously deceived.” The prime minister’s mood was as dark as everyone else’s. However, his approach was not to criticize Elisabel, but rather her “betrothed.”

The military faction, led by the prime minister, was in the process of finding Elisabel a suitor. Obviously, they planned to select a husband the duke was fond of. Whoever was chosen would then be first in the line of succession, a position now open after Balzard’s death.

“Hmm…” An ordinary ruler would have been concerned about his family and subordinates. But the duke’s eyes remained cold. In fact, a completely different matter had caught his attention. “Adad. Do you have anything else to report on Margilus’s magic? What kind of power does he wield?”

“Huh? Ah, forgive me, my lord. As I reported before, he can summon dragons, control massive statues, and move faster than a horse. Other than that…” Adad repeated parts of his earlier report, ending with a frantic appeal that there was nothing else he could have done against “a magic user of such formidable power.”

The duke looked away, seemingly disappointed. His gaze stopped on the fourth important figure in attendance. It was Nathan, the court sorcerer.

“Well, this all tracks with the information we’ve already gathered,” the duke said to him. “What do you make of this?”

Nathan was not only a sorcerer, but also the head of intelligence, reporting directly to the duke. He had already gathered information regarding this “great wizard” who’d appeared in the Ryuse region, reporting all his findings to the duke.

“I cannot deny that there is a person named Geo Margilus who can wield transcendental magic. It is possible he has ancient magical charms in his possession. Considering the sheer breadth of his powers, he could be concealing a massive piece of maleithrilin or the branch of a sacred tree.”

Nathan was a high sorcerer who’d studied in an official capacity at the Sorcerers’ Guild in the north. He was trying to understand the logic underpinning the terrible power that this wizard was rumored to harbor. The ancient divine kingdom, said to have prospered long before Shrendal, had left behind relics that contained far greater power than anything possible with modern sorcery. Furthermore, someone in possession of maleithrilin, which was sometimes known as a “battery for magic,” could exert power beyond his natural capacity.

“Pathetic,” spat Alaine. “It’s clearly some sort of deception. If he really does have ancient charms or a massive amount of maleithrilin, we just need to steal it away from him.”

“Rumor has it that dark elves live in his keep,” said Juzell. “He’s probably using them to help inflate his image. Perhaps the princess has fallen under some dubious spell of theirs.”

The duchess and the prime minister took turns denouncing Geo before the duke. One thing both factions could agree on was that Geo’s existence was nothing but an obstacle. In a way, their assessment of Geo was perfectly logical. Nathan merely shrugged his shoulders at their threatening attitudes.

Next, the duke turned his gaze to his black-haired, second-born son, who among all his children resembled him most. “Agveil. What say you?”

“E-errr…” Agveil fidgeted. He glanced between his father and mother, who both loomed before him, one seated, one standing. “H-honestly, I don’t think it’s a scam or an illusion. The information is too consistent. I don’t think the dwarves would be fooled so easily, and there are multiple witnesses…”

“Don’t be daft!” Alaine angrily scolded Agveil for sharing his relatively objective opinion, while glaring at Adad.

“S-sorry, Mother.” Agveil cowered, while the duke clicked his tongue.

“Well then. Let’s arrange a test for Geo Margilus, to see if he’s the real thing. Alaine, Juzell. Choose your strongest warriors. He can fight them.”

“Huh?! I mean…understood, my lord.”

“A-as you wish.”

The duke leaned on the armrest of the throne, a thin smile on his lips.

Meteorites, dragons, and giants? And he’s betrothed to my daughter? If he really is everything he’s cracked up to be, I’d trade every last man I’ve got to have him. The duke felt an ambition and an energy he’d long forgotten begin to spread through his body. He was eyeing the giant map of the continent that hung beyond the crowd. To be precise, he was looking farther east than Filsand, directly at his homeland of Velde.

 

***

 

As we reached the end of the Iron Fan mountain range and turned past a large boulder, we suddenly had a much broader view.

Below us lay a vast plain. But this plain was markedly less green than the flatlands around Ryuse. It seemed almost barren. As I used our break to muse about this, gazing out at the landscape, a shiny piece of paper fluttered down past my head.

“Hm? Oh, it’s an Arcane Postcard.”

The piece of paper that landed in my hand was the magical postcard I’d addressed to Sedam at Castle Getaeus a few days earlier. These cards were capable of making one full round-trip journey, including both the initial message and a reply. Sedam had probably made use of that feature.

“Wait, what…?” I read the contents. “‘Two battles to eliminate bandits on the highway. Also, small groups of daemons appeared. The warriors and Calbanera Knights cooperated to defeat them. Suffered minor damages. Everything else is fine.’”

“So, the number of daemons is increasing again,” Clara murmured as she read the postcard over my shoulder.

Lade looked at me in silence, while Reyha watched him, also silent. From his perspective, I was still potentially a daemonist, currently under investigation. I thought that I’d broken down some barriers with Lade at Axeholm, but now I realized that in order to truly make peace with him, I probably needed to be cleared of all charges.

 

***

 

Four days after departing Axeholm…

It was about the time of day when we needed to start setting up camp. According to Feivel and Elisabel, there was an open place suitable for camp just beyond the rocky stretch of road.

“My lord!” A black shadow dropped down before me. As usual, Reyha had gone ahead to scout the road. There was tension in her husky voice.

“What is it?”

“There are human warriors lurking ahead, more than thirty of them. It seems that they intend to attack when we start setting up camp.”

“What the hell? Are they bandits?”

“This group looks too skilled to be highwaymen. They are wearing strange, furred armor.”

“Th-they sound like Schultz warriors! But we haven’t reached their jurisdiction yet,” Elisabel cried out, clutching her silver staff. She had a pale look on her face.

The Schultz clan… They were the barbarians of Filsand, and currently had hostile relations with the duke of Filsand. Elisabel’s mother had been a Schultz princess.

 

***

 

Two and a half hours passed. Geo and his crew should have been arriving at the open space any minute now.

The left and right sides of the space had been eroded away over the ages. It was lined with long, thin, pillar-like stones, the product of long years of erosion. It was a natural wonder, a place that could rightly be described as a stone forest. The stones were all of various heights.

It was the perfect terrain for an ambush.

Hiding behind those stone pillars, keeping their breathing quiet, the Schultz warriors waited. Reyha had described them as wearing “furred armor,” but in reality, their gear was decorated with both fur and animal bones. Some were even wearing the fully intact skulls of wolves and bears.

The barbarian force numbered thirty-six strong. Their leader was a petite warrior named Diane. She bore the official title of warmaster—supreme commander of the Schultz fighting forces.

“They will arrive here shortly, Lady Diane.”

“That’s ‘commander’ to you.”

“Y-yes. Sorry, Commander.” The middle-aged lieutenant, who sported wolf skull spaulders, slumped his shoulders in relief. “When we didn’t see her with the Filsand knights that passed by earlier, I was sure we’d be stuck camping out here forever. Darmund’s daughter…E-Eli—”

“It’s Elisabel, all right. The daughter of the traitor, Shayla. She’s ours now.” Diane muttered her words darkly, a deep hatred in her voice as she lifted her chin. The movement revealed her short, silver hair and deep red eyes. She was only fifteen or sixteen years old.

And her face was almost completely identical to that of Elisabel Roney Filsandia.

 

***

 

“Get ready. Especially your arrows. Shoot before you engage in melee.”

“Understood.”

In her role as the warmaster, Diane issued her commands in a gruff, masculine style. But the orders weren’t delivered in normal speech. The clan had its own special system of gestures and signals that sounded like insect calls, which she used to communicate the entire message.

The warriors were armed with short bows, spears, hand axes, and daggers. Perhaps since they typically expected to fight in confined spaces, such as forests or mountains, all their weapons were compact and simple. Diane’s sword stood apart as a piece of art, adorned with precious jewels. If there had been a sorcerer here, he would have perceived the powerful magic it harbored.

“Do you see them yet?” The voice coming from behind Diane belonged to a bald man. There was a strange tattoo on his face, and instead of body armor, he wore cloth and carried a wooden staff.

“Shut up and hide, adjutant.’” Diane sounded irritated, but there was fear in her voice as well. The term “adjutant” was used for the direct subordinate to the magemaster, the highest ranking practitioner of magic and divination in the Schultz clan. These conjurers wielded a magic power different from that of the sorcerers. They could stop an enemy´s heart just by staring at them, or possess their body with an evil spirit. They also exerted power over a wide variety of fields, including medical treatment and predicting the weather.

This single expert in divination was more valuable than the thirty best warriors led by Warmaster Diane, making this the strongest brigade in the Schultz clan.

“I apologize,” said the adjutant. “Do not hesitate to call upon me whenever I might be of use.” He looked up at her from where he crouched, an eerie smile upon his face. “I am always at your service.”

“I know.”

The presence of a conjurer in the Schultz clan made it nearly invincible. While the Schultz were called barbarians, in actuality they possessed a high level of knowledge inherited from the ancient, divine kingdom of the gods. Nevertheless, since the power of divination was superior to the knowledge they had in all other fields, the magemaster, leader of the conjurers, had more authority than even the patriarch of the clan.

“Chief…I have a bad feeling about this guy. What’s going on with the Holy Precincts, anyway…?” The lieutenant frowned as he whispered.

Diane was silent, but in her mind, she agreed with him completely.

“The women and children live in the Holy Precincts, and us warriors protect them from the fortress. I understand that much, but why can’t we go near the Holy Precincts? I haven’t seen my wife for two years now.”

“I know, calm down,” Diane consoled her lieutenant, who’d chosen now of all times to air his grievances.

The Schultz had built the Holy Precincts on the southern Hidal Plateau as a hidden refuge to protect their people from the Filsand military. The conjurers, including the magemaster, lived there with the women, children, and the elderly. In order to protect that realm, the warriors, led by Diane, were stationed in a separate fortress. Yet for the past two years, all contact with the Holy Precincts had been restricted. Diane hadn’t seen the patriarch and his wife—her own parents—in all that time.

“Right now, we need to concentrate on the task at hand. Once we capture Elisabel, I’m sure we’ll get our chance.”

“Understood.”

The warriors were divided into three groups scattered throughout the square. The warmaster’s strategy was for the adjutant to curse the enemy’s main force as soon as they arrived and started building camp. Once the enemy was confused by the curse, the rest of the troops would bombard them with arrows.

Previously, Diane had been successful in attacking the Filsand military with such tactics, even capturing Prince Balzard.

The warriors were standing by, arrows nocked, ready to start the attack. According to their scout’s report, Elisabel and the rest of the group would be arriving any minute now.

However, the lady and her entourage never appeared.

“Is it possible…they noticed us?”

“Warmaster…Doma’s and Catera’s teams aren’t responding,” the lieutenant whispered to Diane, urgency in his voice. Diane’s team had separated from the main unit to surround the square.

“What the hell?” Diane squinted her red eyes, staring hard at the stone forest where the other teams were supposed to be hiding. Precisely because they were hiding, they wouldn’t have been visible no matter how hard she looked, but even their insect-call signals had stopped.

“Ah!” She suddenly noticed something. One of the Schultz warriors who’d been hiding behind a stone pillar was lying face-down, crumpled up on the ground. He hadn’t been hit by an arrow, and it didn’t look like he was having a seizure. It was as if he had fallen asleep standing up, out of pure exhaustion.

“Huh…? Could it be?!” Diane turned back to look at her subordinates, but she was swiftly rendered speechless. Right before her eyes, ten warriors fell down almost at the same time, as if caught in some quagmire.

“Huh?!”

“No way…” As far as she could see, only her lieutenant and the adjutant were still standing.

What she’d moments ago considered to be a hidden, undefeatable battle formation had suddenly transformed into a death trap in enemy territory. Diane drew her blade, spine tingling. Her divine sword had been passed down to her as a family heirloom from the patriarch of the Schultz clan. Its glowing, rainbow-tinted blade illuminated the three remaining warriors.

“Hey, get it together!” Her lieutenant shook the shoulders of a warrior draped over a chest-high rock. The warrior didn’t respond. He slowly slipped off the stone, flipping over onto his back before slumping to the ground. For a minute, they thought he’d taken his last breath when…

“Nnngh…”

“Is he…sleeping?!”

“Is it a spell? But all of them all at once…?”

His eyes were closed tightly, and he was sleeping so deeply that he wasn’t snoring. Even the impact of falling onto the ground hadn’t disturbed his slumber.

The lieutenant shook the shoulders of the sleeping warrior again. “Hey! You’re on duty!”

“Hmm… Ahhh…?”

“Good, he’s awake. What the hell happened?!” the lieutenant demanded.

“Huh? What?” The warrior looked around groggily, rubbing his eyes.

The lieutenant was relieved that the slumber was light enough that the warrior could still be awakened, but the groggy warrior would clearly be useless for a while.

Just then, a girl’s sharp voice echoed behind him. “Idiot! This is obviously an assault by the enemy! Get it together and search for the attackers!”

“R-right!”

“Argh…”

The girl was the warmaster. The lieutenant and adjutant snapped to attention at her orders.

The lieutenant was a skilled warrior, and the adjutant was the second-greatest conjurer in the entire Schultz clan. As long as they knew the position of the enemy, there was no way they could lose. Irritated, Diane stood with her back to a stone pillar and surveyed the perimeter.

But then…

“Agh…!” The young girl suddenly felt a powerful dizziness come over her, and she staggered off to one side. It was a fast-working and intense drowsiness, rapidly swallowing up her consciousness. The fatigue continued to grow stronger, even after she hit her body against a pillar. Just before she collapsed on the ground, the girl cried out, “Yah!” Sparks flared from her divine sword.

The moment the first spark touched her, the heat on her skin rushed up to her brain and blew away the curse of fatigue.

“D-damn it!” Diane used the shimmering, sparking sword as a kind of staff, holding herself up with its point stuck into the earth. All the abnormal tiredness swiftly vanished, leaving her clear-eyed and alert.

“Everyone…” she started. But the sight that greeted her was the lieutenant, adjutant, and reawakened soldier all passed out on the ground. Everyone but her had already been defeated.

Diane was terrified. She’d never experienced a fear like this, even when fighting the heavily armored Filsand knights. Not even the dangerous monsters who guarded the Twisted Wood frightened her to this degree. She had no idea what the true form of these enemies was, how many there were, where they were, or what they were doing to her. She didn’t even have the wherewithal to think of a simple plan, like kicking the sleeping warriors awake.

Dammit! Get it together! You are the warmaster of the Schultz clan! Losing is not an option! Diane clenched her teeth. Just then, she heard the voice of a man that didn’t have an ounce of tension in it.

“What? She resisted it?”

The voice was coming from up above.