Translator(s): Dodz Editor(s): Yomigaeru, ? Proofreader(s): Penguin TLC(s): Yomigaeru
Chapter 16: Bat extermination and the mansion"s secret.
The【Magician"s Mansion】was built on a mountainside. It"s about a two-hour walking distance from Metekal. It"s a two-story building made from stone with ivy entwined along its walls.
There are 2 windows with holes in them. I wonder if those are where the bats come in and out. Did the front door rot a long time ago? It now has wooden planks nailed to it.
「So, there are ten or so large bats residing in the mansion?」(Nagi)
Just in case, I look up information on the monsters.
『Large bat. An omnivorous monster that roosts in caves and continental forests. Its appearance is the same as the bat from my world. It"s about the size of a small dog. Essentially nocturnal, it"s active at night and hides in dark places at daytime. As for whether or not it can emit ultrasonic waves- I couldn"t tell from the data in this world. Nevertheless, it doesn"t look like its eyes have degenerated, as it attacks livestock animals and humans who have food with them. Supposedly even a low-level adventurer can defeat it if they prepare projectile weapons beforehand.』
Accordingly,
「Then Cecyl, let"s go with the plan. Rita, I want you on-standby under that smashed window.」(Nagi)
「Understood. Please be careful, Nagi and Cecyl-chan.」(Rita)
Rita"s blonde hair sways as she turns and heads toward the side of the mansion as planned.
Cecyl and I will be approaching from the front.
I check the rough sketch of the mansion which I had gotten from the guild…
The design is typical for a rich person"s mansion. When you open the front door, there"s a s.p.a.cious entryway with a large staircase that leads to the second floor. You can access all the rooms at the shortest distance, if you enter the mansion from the front. But since it has been abandoned for a long time, all the doors that separate the rooms have rotted. Alright, let"s get this over with.
「Are you ready, Cecyl?」(Nagi)
「…」(Cecyl)
Cecyl nervously nods to my question. Looks like she"s done with her preparations.
「…One, two, go!!」(Nagi)
I raise my fist.
「『Building Strike LV1』!」(Nagi)
*dogon*
A large hole forms in the wooden planks boarding up the entrance. Simultaneously, I hear screeches.
「Cecyl! Fire away!」(Nagi)
『Here and now, may the element of the sun heed my call! Light!!』(Cecyl)
A light orb as big as a human fist flies into the mansion through the hole that was made by【Building Strike】. And then…
The magician"s mansion swallows up the 【Ancient Magic: Light】, and is lit up by a radiant flash from within.
From the dust-covered windows. Through the cracks in the outer wall. Light floods out from everywhere. The beasts inside the abandoned building started to shriek. There"s the sound of wings flapping, and it sounds as if they"re b.u.mping into something in their panic.
Then a black shadow comes flying out of the smashed windowー
「Rita! One of them went your way! I"m counting on you! 」(Nagi)
「Yes, my master! Leave it to me!」(Rita)
Unlike me, Rita doesn"t have any resistance to Cecyl"s magic. So she closes her eyes, perceives the enemy"s position with her specialty 【Presence Sense】ability, zig-zags up some trees, and knocks down the large bat that attempted to escape with a karate chop.
*zakun*
The large bat"s body splits right in half. It was the power of Rita"s 【Divine Power Control】UR skill. She can concentrate the divine power inside her body into a particular part, boosting its strength.
Looks like just now, she concentrated the energy on her hand, as it gained the average sharpness of a fine sword.
「Nagi! Any more of them!?」(Rita)
「It"s alright! Only one came out.」(Nagi)
The light disappears. The cries inside the building settle down at the same time. There are still more than 10 bats remaining.
After a full 15 seconds, we decide to rush into the building.
In the end, all the bats were lying face up on the floor.
…It"s because they"re nocturnal, huh.
Was the impact of the 【Ancient Magic】too powerful for them? Several of them have their limbs and wings twitching. Another few must have been unable to withstand the light; they"re already completely dead.
Cecyl"s 【Ancient Magic: Light】created a huge light orb. So I guess even the ones who were hiding behind cover were also affected by it. Somehow, I"m starting to feel like I"ve done something wrong.
But well, it"s a job and all.
「Ei」(Nagi)
*sakun*
I stab them in the heart area with my short sword. I have switched off【Sword Gifting】. But, it doesn"t matter since they die instantly. All that"s left is the job of annihilating the large bats that can"t even move.
The bat subjugation ends in about 20 minutes so now it"s searching time. The three of us visit the rooms one by one as a group in case anything happens. Left to ruin, the mansion is covered with dust, and there are things like the bats" leftover food and dung lying around.
There isn"t a single piece of old-model furniture, and the washbasin mirrors, kitchen tableware and plates have all been taken away. There are built-in bookshelves but of course, there are no books left. It doesn"t seem like we"ll find any magic tools or skill crystals no matter where we search.
「Cecyl, Rita, did you find anything?」(Nagi)
「…I didn"t find anything. Rather, I want to take a bath…」(Rita)
Rita complains while shaking the dust off her hair. I wonder if the stale air is affecting Rita"s sensitive nose. Let"s go to the public bath with everyone once we return to Metekal.
「Nagi-sama.」(Cecyl)
Suddenly, Cecyl calls out to me as she clutches the hem of my clothes.
「…I can sense a faint magical power…」(Cecyl)
「Something… did Cecyl"s 【Magic Detection】skill sense something?」(Nagi)
「Yes. I feel tingling. But looks like it"s somewhere beyond my reach.」(Cecyl)
I see. Rita and I hold our breath so as not to to disturb Cecyl. Cecyl spreads out her arms as if to usher in something and starts to breathe slowly.
「『Magic Detection』」(Cecyl)
Once again, she invokes the skill. Gooseb.u.mps rise on Cecyl"s slender arms. It looks like she"s trying to sense the magical power fragments using skin sensations.
「As I thought, it seems that magical power is active.」(Cecyl)
Cecyl opens her eyes and looks at me as if she"s realized something.
「Where is it?」(Nagi)
「This way.」(Cecyl)
Cecyl pulls my hand. Her smooth palm is trembling slightly. The exploration of this abandoned building ended a long time ago. That"s why it became a quest target intended for beginners like us, though.
The fact that Cecyl can sense a magical power… does that mean there"s someone here? Or did something ancient just activate…?
「It"s probably… here, Nagi-sama.」(Cecyl)
The staircase at the entrance on the first floor. Cecyl comes to a stop in front of the stone wall beneath it. I can"t destroy the stone wall by using my 『Building Strike』. But, Cecyl senses a magical power from inside that wall…
「If this were a game, then it would move by pushing it.」(Nagi)
It"s unyielding. If it moved by pushing then someone would have discovered the hidden room a long time ago, though. a.s.suming you create a hidden room, what will you normally do? Make it react to an item? In this case, it"s a key that 【n.o.body has discovered yet】.
「Is there no one who can use 【Magic Detection】other than Cecyl?」(Nagi)
「No. Generally, all magicians can use it.」(Cecyl)
「…And yet, n.o.body has discovered it so far.」(Nagi)
What are the things we have that other people don"t?【Visitor】ーin other words, it reacts to my presence.
…That"s not it, right?
In the first place, I can"t sense the magical power reaction. Without Cecyl, I wouldn"t have noticed it….
Magical power… The magician who lived here never showed his face to anyone… and then, something that only applies to Cecyl….
「Cecyl. Can I ask you something?」(Nagi)
「I don"t have anything to hide from Nagi-sama.」(Cecyl)
「It"s nothing major so you don"t have to be on guard, but can human magicians speak the【Ancient Language】 that Cecyl uses?」(Nagi)
「…I think it"s impossible. Because, it"s a magic language peculiar to the demon race.」(Cecyl)
「How about a researcher of ancient languages or something?」(Nagi)
「Because even the demon race stopped using the【Ancient Language】 quite a long time ago. My 【Ancient Language Chanting】 was probably extracted from my inherited memories. I think it"s impossible for a normal human to have it.」(Cecyl)
「There"s one more thing. Can Cecyl use the ancient language in chanting magic only? Or can you converse in 【Ancient Language】as well?」(Nagi)
「…uhh.」(Cecyl)
Cecyl tilts her head slightly as if she"s looking up something inside her head.
「A conversation may be a bit too much to ask, but I can manage somehow if it"s simple sentences and words.」(Cecyl)
「Then, try to say something with the words that you know.」(Nagi)
「『I love Nagi-sama"s hands because they are big, warm and feel good.』」(Cecyl)
…I don"t understand the meaning, but I wonder why her eyes became feverish. A reaction occurs when Cecyl"s voice reverberates inside the abandoned building. Instantly, the wall under the staircase gives off a pale light.
Some sort of figure is delineated on the wall. Is this a magic square?
「…Did it react to the ancient language?」(Nagi)
「What is this thing, Nagi?」(Rita)
Rita knocks on the shining wall.
「It"s a seal in this mansion that cannot be found by a human.」(Nagi)
In a game, it"d be【A door that won"t open unless you have a certain character in your party.】
You can"t enter the location without the item or keyword that the character has. Well, normally there"ll be a hint, though there"s no hint in this case. On the contrary, it"s too much of a coincidence. Although, if the remnant consciousness of the demon race ー Ashtarte ー were here, it would probably know about this.
…Did it introduce me to Cecyl knowing that I would be able to draw out her latent abilities? No, no way. If it could predict the future to that extent, it would be a being in the domain of G.o.d.
「There was a seal in this mansion that reacts to the ancient language.」(Nagi)
Cecyl"s eyes widen upon my words. What the seal reacted to was Cecyl"s 【Ancient Magic: Light】. The seal awakened in response to the old magic of the same family.
「Cecyl, can you try saying a bunch of different things in ancient language to ascertain whether this door can be opened or not?」(Nagi)
The quest is already complete. This is a bonus. A treasure hunt for Cecyl.
「Ancient language is a magic language that"s used by the demon race. Moreover, due to the fact that it reacted, there"s a possibility that the magician who lived in this mansion was a demon race ー the same race as Cecyl.」(Nagi)