Chapter 4 |
Side Story 2 Chapter 4: The Report
The Kingdom of Allegard.
It is located in the center of the Schlange Continent and is a mid-sized nation. The kingdom has survived several crises of near extinction to reach its current state. And so I was invited to the castle of the Allegard Kingdom as an honored guest.
"Silver-dono, do you enjoy banquets?"
"I enjoy watching them, but I'll pass for now since I'd like to see the library."
"Come on, it's free food and drinks. You should join in…"
"Then you can go in my place as Silver. I don't mind."
"I can't do something that terrifying..."
Allen shuddered at my words.
"If that's the case then I'll show you to the library immediately."
Wilfred understood my intent and promptly led me to the library.
I possess extraordinary strength as an individual so the longer I stay, the more likely people will try to use me. Since I’m just someone who came from outside; I have no intention of getting involved in the politics of this continent. It's fine to deal with just bandits, but it’s not wise to do anything beyond that. An outsider shouldn't be shaping the history of this continent, especially so since I plan to leave soon. I can't take responsibility for any changes that might occur during my stay.
"This is the castle's library. You could say most of the kingdom's books are stored here."
With that, Wilfred opened the library door.
Inside, shelves were lined with books and the farther back they went, the older they seemed.
"Are we really going to search all of this by ourselves…? This is a huge task."
"There are two of us, not one. You’ll be helping too."
"Me too!?"
When I told Allen, who seemed to think he had nothing to do with this, I pointed to the right side of the library.
"You start from the right. I’ll take the left side."
"I could lend you some people if you need help."
"No need. I’d rather not talk to people unrelated to this."
"Understood. Good luck, then."
Wilfred left with a wry smile.
Allen, left behind, looked despairing at the sheer volume, but this was no problem.
"Start with the oldest-looking books. Find the ones that you can’t read."
"What do you mean by that…?"
"Books that are from the Ancient Magic Civilization era aren’t easy to read."
"You say that as if you can read them."
"I can. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be searching."
"Is there anything that you can't do?"
"I'm not good at tidying up."
"... That’s quite the significant weakness you’ve got there."
Allen sighed in exasperation and began searching through the books.
__________
After several hours of searching, it was difficult to find anything due to the sheer number of books. Amidst this, Allen called out to me in a sleepy voice.
"Is this one different?"
It was clear from his tone that he wanted to be done with this, so I took the book that he handed over to me and opened it. It was unmistakably about the Ancient Magic Civilization.
"You’re surprisingly useful. This is it."
"Well, thanks… Can I go to sleep now?"
"Where did you find this?"
"Over there."
Allen led me to a dust-covered area where all the books were ancient and damaged. Judging by how they were carelessly piled up, they had likely been left there because no one could read them.
"Well done. You can sleep now."
"Good night then…"
While rubbing his eyes, Allen left the library. Since he hadn’t had much sleep after the bandit hunt yesterday, he was probably reaching his limit.
I should thank him properly.
What would be good?
While thinking about this, I continued reading the book.
"A report from the vanguard of the Ancient Magic Civilization…"
It seemed that the Ancient Magic Civilization hadn't come to conquer this continent as they were experimenting with teleportation devices. That appeared to be their objective. Most likely, it was the device that teleported me here. There were devices prepared for both their departure and return and the location of the return device was known to me. Whether it was still operational was uncertain, but I should head there regardless.
However…
"Immediate cessation of local research and immediate withdrawal?"
Towards the end of the report, there were some troubling words. The details were unclear due to the faded text, but something irregular seemed to have happened, prompting the vanguard to withdraw. The first objective had been to test the device and the second to establish a foothold on this continent, but it appeared the vanguard had decided that it would be best to abandon the continent instead.
Something must have gone wrong.
If it was the vanguard of the Ancient Magic Civilization, they would have been powerful mages. It was hard to imagine what could have caused them to retreat…
The last part of the report contained the overall evaluation from the person who compiled it.
"If this continent is to be brought under control, dispatching our royalty will be essential."
There was something on this continent that required the presence of the royal family of the Ancient Magic Civilization and that was the reason the vanguard withdrew. This could turn into a complicated situation.
"I should hurry back."
If I stay, I'll definitely get caught up in something troublesome.
(It’s better to leave quickly)
And with that decision, I closed the book.
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