Chapter 111: Seven Wonders of the Academy (part one)
Just as Chloe left, Palug returned home.
So we decided to have the usual meeting.
『That woman named Chloe, she was already in a ready-to-strike position when I noticed it, without any hostility or murderous intent.』
“Eeh~ how did you notice it even though there was no murderous intent?”
『Umu. It looked like there was tension in her muscles, somehow.』
“It’s amazing that you noticed such details, Tir.”
First of all, a commentary on the previous meeting with Chloe from Tirnanog.
That seems to be the reason why he made a noise at that time.
『Erica, you have to be more sensitive to your own danger……』
“Even if you say so, I didn’t actually get attacked, right? Wasn’t it thanks to you?”
『Umu, when you say it like that, I have nothing to say.』
It didn’t feel like Chloe was thinking of killing me.
But, as Tirnanog said, I feel like there is more to her than meets the eye.
Just in case, I’m going to keep in mind the possibility that Chloe is a dangerous person.
“Then? What are you going to do about the morgue of the headless prince?”
“I pulled back earlier, but I’m going to investigate it first. It might be something related to me.”
『You’re going to move first, huh. Umu, I also think that would be better.』
“I agree. This place is the location, so it is not that strange that there is something here.”
『However, be careful not to be found out by that woman.』
As the two phantom beasts agreed, we decided to investigate it properly.
In particular, I want to find information on Claude, who is the seventh capture target.
That capture target, is he actually dead already?
Or, is he actually living somewhere in this world?
I would like to confirm it if the clues about it are in the morgue of the headless prince.
However, it wouldn’t be a good idea to tell Chloe that we’re looking into the morgue of the headless prince.
That being said, there were four other t.i.tles written in the red-leather book.
The mysterious keywords of 「Ghost of the Fallen Boy」, 「Infinite Corridor」, 「Man-Eating Mirror」, and 「Staircase to the Underworld」.
There is also the possibility that these keywords are related to the wonders, so let’s investigate them first.
“Well then, next is my report. Recently, there has been kidnapping cases around the neighbourhood.”
Palug arranged eight pieces of parchment on the table.
The daughter of a farmer who was about to get married, 16 years old.
The daughter of a merchant who just graduated from the academy, 20 years old.
The daughter of an aristocrat, who was scheduled to enter the monastery, 13 years old.
The remaining five also contain girls’ names and personal information.
All eight pieces of parchment contain information on those eight girls.
“Young girls of all ages, from the daughter of a wealthy farmer, a talented woman just out of the academy, to a young lady with special circ.u.mstances, well, there are all sorts of young girls.”
“Say, Palug……these girls, are they going to be sacrificed as offerings for that altar?”
I feel chills running down my spine.
Palug is trying to suppress her emotions, but I can see that she is very angry from the bottom of her heart.
“Yes, this time it is not something simple like what has happened so far; it seems like a precursor to a full-fledged altar attack.”
“This is a ma.s.sive abduction, since that time in Knot Reed.”
The altar corruption that targeted the northern part of Ichthyes continent.
This time, it seems that it would be more concentrated here in the middle of the continent.
“Do you think these girls are still alive?”
“The possibility is high. Since the vampires were taking a risk by kidnapping these girls at the same time, I think their aim is the execution of a complete ritual. This should be correct.”
“On the other hand, it means that these girls would be dead if they can’t be found before then.”
This is a serious situation, but it’s good if they haven’t been killed yet.
If we can find and help them before they are used as offerings, they should be able to return to everyday life.
“Can you find the girls who are kidnapped?”
“I haven’t pinpointed the exact location yet, but there are some points that lead to dense ley lines. I will try to search from those areas first.”
Palug is likely to be busy due to this kidnapping case.
However, because those young girls’ lives are on the line here, I can’t hold back.
『Then, next is my report, huh. After the duel trial, the mage named Haearn came to apologize.』
“Haearn apologized to Beatrice?”
『Umu. The lady who is the owner of the talisman was also with him. I can’t say anything definite, but my impression is that they are not the true culprit.』
I nodded in agreement to Tirnanog’s opinion.
At any rate, it is good that we were able to clear Beatrice’s false charge.
If Haearn or Charlotte befriend Beatrice, the true culprit will not be able to make a move openly for a while.
The problem is when Beatrice is alone.
“I would like to ask Tir to keep guarding her.”
『It would be easier if we could pinpoint the true culprit.』
“Let’s take action after Harold’s investigation report comes up, Tir.”
I can’t afford to make groundless charges against someone because of some careless mistake.
I must be careful so as to avoid making a false accusation.
As we reached a stopping point in our meeting, I heard a knock.
I had asked the servant in the dorm for a light supper for the phantom beasts who came back.
We decided to do our own investigation separately and ended the meeting.
☆
After school the next day.
I went to the lounge of the Dynameis.
First of all, I decided that it would be better to ask the knowledgeable seniors.
“Um, are you two familiar with the wonders or mysterious stories?”
I spoke to Klaus and Auguste who were playing chess.
The pieces were jumbled and I couldn’t judge with just a glance which side was winning.
Even though they seem to be in a very important phase of the game, both of them answered my question gladly.
“If you say wonders or mysterious stories, there are many of them.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Umm, Ghost of the Fallen Boy, Infinite Corridor, Man-Eating Mirror, Stairs to the Underworld……”
I listed the t.i.tles that were written in the memo that was put in between the pages of Claude’s diary as nonchalantly as possible.
“Aah, if it’s about the Infinite Corridor, I know about it.”
“Is that true, Klaus-sama?”
“In fact, I actually got lost in it.”
“Even Klaus-sama got lost in it, huh……”
“Sorry to blow your bubble, but it is not a strange phenomenon, but some kind of spatial magic.”
According to Klaus, the 「Infinite Corridor」 has already been investigated several times.
Although the source of the magic hasn’t been identified, it seems that its true ident.i.ty has been grasped to some extent.
The time zone during which it occurs is limited at night, and the escape method is also established.
Although it cannot be removed, it has low risk, so it is said that the Infinite Corridor is left as is.
“That’s why it was incorporated into the Seven Wonders of the Academy before long.”
“The Infinite Corridor is also one of the Seven Wonders, huh.”
If so, the other mysterious stories may also be related to the Seven Wonders.
I guess it would be better to know more about the Hanging Girl in the library.
“I don’t know other stories of the Seven Wonders, but if it’s about the hanging girl, I know about it.”
Auguste taught me the synopsis of the Hanging Girl.
A n.o.ble lady was cursed after meddling with old magic to get revenge for her childhood friend who was murdered.
And then, in her despair, she chose to kill herself.
It is said that there are various theories about what the curse was.
“From your story, it seems that it is not a bad spirit……”
“Well, before good or bad, I think it’s someone’s creation. It looks like it’s a prank of an alumnus.”
“But, why is it being left alone?”
“Among the teachers, many of them are this academy’s alumni.”
In other words, some of the teachers were also members of the instigator group, huh.
If the artificial wonder is under authorization, it wouldn’t disappear.
Just like Owen the librarian, some of them are trying to get rid of it, but because of the presence of the members of the instigator group among them, they are likely to be a bit weary.
Klaus and Auguste talked about it casually, but it is not always without danger.
And some of the real wonders could be related to the life and death of me and other students.
“If you want to ask about the Seven Wonders, it would be better to ask a teacher from the academy instead of us.”
“Oops, it looks like I got here in time?”
Klaus and Auguste’s line of sight went towards the entrance.
When I turned around, my brother Eduart Aurelia was standing there.
Great timing, Onii-sama.
When Klaus, Auguste and I stared at him at the same time, he seemed a little troubled.
“Oya, what is it? All of you are staring at me.”
“I was asking them about the Seven Wonders of the academy, but I would like to ask a teacher because a teacher would know more about it.”
“Well, Seven Wonders, huh……”
It’s unusual for my brother to talk with hesitation like this.
However, it seems that there is no strong refusal, so let’s push him a little bit more.
“Onii-sama likes this kind of thing, right?”
“Actually, I’m avoiding it because it is said that if one knows everything, disaster will come to them.”
“What happens if you know all the Seven Wonders?”
“It seems that there is a horrible curse that makes one unable to get married.”
My brother shrugged his shoulders with a troubled expression.
Or rather, I don’t think that my brother believes in such superst.i.tion.
He should be aware that most of the Seven Wonders are fakes, so there must be more to this.
“I’m not the heir, so it’s not a big problem. Please tell me what you know, Onii-sama.”
“Oi, stop it, Erica!”
“Since I’m telling you this for your own good, I’m going to stop you right there.”
Klaus and Auguste stopped me hurriedly.
Speaking of which, both of them are the eldest son.
I think it’s too bothersome, but certainly, it would be a bad omen for them.
“Oh my, I wasn’t being considerate enough, huh. Shall we change location, Onii-sama?”
“Wait! It will be meaningless if you’re the one who listens to the story!”
“Sir Eduart, can’t you say something to her?”
“Well, that’s right~ If you can’t get married, Erica, then I will take responsibility and take care of you for a lifetime.”
“Thank you, Onii-sama.”
Without minding Klaus and Auguste’s criticism, my brother and I proceeded with our talk.
My brother seems a bit happy, even though he was troubled by my insistence.
As expected, we are a pair of brocon sister and siscon brother.
“Now then……how far did you find out, Erica?”
“I heard the story of the Infinite Corridor and the Hanging Girl from the two of them.”
“Oya, what a coincidence. I also only know those two. It’s a shame that I couldn’t help you.”
Eduart-oniisama smiled apologetically while saying that.
Somehow, my instinct tells me that my brother is hiding something.
By some chance, was my brother involved with the fake wonders?
Or, is it simply just a measure so that his sister will not thrust her neck into danger?
“Well then, I will borrow Klaus-kun and His Highness for a bit.”
At any rate, it seems that my brother has an urgent task outside the academy for a while.
In the meantime, it seems that there is something he would like to request from those two people.
My brother left along with the two of them to have a briefing session.
My brother is likely going to be busy as usual.
Perhaps, I won’t be able to receive Onii-sama’s lesson until his urgent business is finished.
Well, that’s disappointing.
☆
As I was left alone, I went to the grand dining hall looking for someone who would know about the Seven Wonders.
When I entered the grand dining hall, the surrounding became noisy for a moment, and then an uncomfortable silence stretched out.
Some of them were whispering to each other while stealing glances.
Is this the consequence of yesterday’s battle? It was like this every time I moved between cla.s.srooms today.
It is a relief that the acquaintances I know from the start treat me as usual.
When I moved to the West Dorm table, Tricia and Marquia were sitting side by side.
I successfully fled to the location of my friends.
“Tricia-san, Marquia-san, is it okay for me to sit here too?”
“Of course, Erica-sama.”
“Yes, we were just talking about you, Erica-sama.”
I sat down on the other side of the two of them when they agreed.
But, about me?
Maybe it was about yesterday’s duel trial.
“You were talking about me……?”
“Yes, Erica-sama, which one do you think is better, 〈Crystal Princess of Domineering a.s.sault〉 or 〈Rose of Crystal Prison〉?”
“For me, I think 〈Rose of Crystal Prison〉 is definitely it.”
“Oh my, 〈Crystal Princess of Domineering a.s.sault〉 is better.”
My spirit was about to fly away for a moment, but I managed to endure.
It also seems that I was given yet another bunch of unsettling nicknames.
Besides the ones mentioned by the two of them, it seems that 〈Alchemist from h.e.l.l〉 is also a candidate.
Encouraging my dying facial muscles, I maintained the smile on my face.
“Jeez, you two……by the way, about Herbology tomorrow……”
Avoid topics that are likely to damage my spirit and try to bring up safe conversation topics such as tomorrow’s cla.s.ses and food in a slightly blatant manner.
After warming up the place with some common topics, I decided to ask about the Seven Wonders of our favorite academy.
“If it is about Seven Wonders, I often heard about it from a girl in the same room as mine in the dorm.”
“I have heard about it from my cousin.”
Tricia and Marquia are familiar with the details of the Seven Wonders, thanks to their mysterious connections.
I took notes of the stories of both of them for which I am grateful.
Combining the stories I heard from Klaus and Auguste with the stories I heard from Tricia and Marquia, the complete stories of the Seven Wonders emerged.
First, Ghost of the Fallen Boy. The wonder of the alchemy workshop. The ghost of a boy who died from being heart-broken. It’s scary but harmless.
Second, Infinite Corridor. The wonder of the school building. If one pa.s.ses through the corridor of the school building at 2 am, they won’t be able to get out of there forever.
Third, the Man-Eating Mirror. The wonder of the school building. A cursed mirror that eats a person’s soul is waiting for its prey somewhere in the school building.
Fourth, Stairs to the Underworld. The wonder of the Phantom Beast Museum. If one blindly steps on the 13th step of the stairs in the middle of the night, they will be connected to the underworld.
Fifth, the Hanging Girl in the Magic Library. One will get cursed if one looks at it. The curse seems to have some variations.
Sixth, the Evil Spirit of All Souls’ Day. A wonder that occurs on the day of All Souls’ Day. Every year someone dies or goes missing.
Seventh, the b.l.o.o.d.y Saint. The wonder of the church. A bloodstained Saint is wandering aimlessly. She would ask about your favorite color, but you would be killed no matter what your answer is.
The four keywords on the memo inside Claude’s diary were all the wonders of the academy.
Doesn’t that mean that Claude was also a student at Lindis Magic Academy?
However, it seems that the morgue of the headless prince is not one of the wonders.
I feel a bit disappointed.
However, it cannot be said that there is no possibility that we will arrive in the morgue of the headless prince if these Seven Wonders are investigated.
I hope it’s not a real ghost, but I’m not afraid if it’s just a prank of the past students.
However, there may be another scenario in which the death flag is raised like the Evil Spirit of All Souls’ Day.
On that point, I should be careful.
Let’s start the investigation this evening.
With that in mind, I left the grand dining hall after thanking my two friends.