episode_0205

“…You came again today.”

“Yeah. I guess so. Lately, the cycle of Shadow Puppets appearing is a bit strange.”

In the middle of the night.

I visited the back alley of the royal capital at the same time as always and looked for Leviya first.

She was standing in the same place as always.

She glanced at me, then turned her gaze back to her book.

I was a little relieved by Leviya’s reaction, which was no different from usual, and sat next to her.

“….”

“….”

We stay still without saying a word.

That alone was enough for now.

But the moment I thought that, the story the head maid told me flashed through my head.

‘Considering the context before and after, I have this thought. The prince said that the magician Leviya is a magician with excellent skills, right?’

Rustle

The sound of a page turning tickles my ear.

‘Then, on the contrary, could that magician have caused the phenomenon of Shadow Puppets?’

Rustle

Looking at Leviya, she was still reading a book next to me.

The sight of her was like a beautiful magician from a fairy tale, making me feel like I had become a character in a fairy tale.

‘She can see it because she is the one who caused it, and didn’t she approach the prince with that…? That’s what I think.’

Rustle

“…Do you have something you want to say?”

“No. Nothing.”

“Is that so?….”

Leviya, sensing my gaze, tilted her head and looked at me.

When I waved my hand and shook my head, Leviya stared at me for a moment before turning her gaze back to the book.

‘No…. It’s probably just a silly thought.’

If Leviya is the culprit of this incident, if Leviya did this targeting me, then the premise is wrong.

Causing the phenomenon of Shadow Puppets in the back alley of the royal capital to summon me? How would she know if I would go there or not and cause this phenomenon? Logically speaking, does it make sense to cause a murder in the back alley to lure out the prince of the royal palace?

“That’s ridiculous.”

Yeah, that’s ridiculous.

The causal relationship itself is a flawed story.

If she wanted to lure me out, she wouldn’t cause a commotion in the back alley, but would directly influence the royal palace.

Besides….

‘Even if I think of it in a good way, even if Leviya knows my personality…. If that were the case, she would have appeared on the day I encountered the Shadow Puppets.’

If she had thoroughly investigated me, understood my personality, and predicted that I wouldn’t be able to resist my curiosity and would run out of the royal capital if something happened in the back alley, she would have appeared right on the first day, not a few days later.

In many ways, it doesn’t add up.

‘So….’

After getting up lightly from my seat, I looked at Leviya.

“Leviya, I’m sorry, but can you help me with the patrol? I took care of it yesterday, but just in case.”

“Is that so?…. Okay.”

At my request, Leviya closes the book she was reading and looks at me.

It means that she will follow me if I go to the place I want to go first.

“Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

* * *

“Haa….”

Ah, sleepy….

Is it too much to patrol the back alleys every night?….

I yawned loudly and stretched.

It’s fortunate that today is a holiday with no classes, so I can relax.

“Then, since there’s no one to bother me today, I’ll just take a leisurely nap….”

Knock knock knock

“…I can’t sleep.”

I got out of bed at the knock that came at a really exquisite timing.

“I’m awake. Come in.”

“Excuse me.”

What comes in as soon as my permission is given is the head maid.

“I’ve come to change the bedding.”

“…You could change it later.”

“No.”

The head maid says firmly.

Anyway, she’s lax about other things, but she’s always strict about things like this.

When I get up completely, a few maids follow the head maid and approach me.

They were holding a few clothes in their hands.

I choose my favorite clothes among them, and she hands me the clothes, and the rest of the maids leave.

The head maid also quickly changed my bedding and stepped back.

A room left alone in an instant.

“…What should I do.”

I was so sleepy that I was just going to take a good nap today, but thanks to the head maid, it seems like that’s not going to happen.

“Ah…. It’s a day when I really don’t want to do anything….”

In times like this…. Should I secretly go down to the royal capital?

Think slowly and deeply, act quickly.

My motto is that if I think deeply and come to a conclusion, I must act quickly.

I quickly left the royal palace and headed to the royal capital.

“…Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve come down to the royal capital at this hour.”

Maybe, just maybe, I can meet Leviya?

With that thought, I headed straight to the back alley of the royal capital.

I didn’t know it well because I always came here in the dark of night, but even in the middle of the day, this place had a slightly dark atmosphere.

Thanks to that, the subtly alien atmosphere that wafts around makes it feel like I’ve come to a slightly different other world.

And….

“Hmm…. As expected, Leviya isn’t here.”

Come to think of it, I always met Leviya at night.

Then what is Leviya doing during the daytime?

“Well, I can’t help it. I didn’t think I could meet her easily.”

Since I came here, I wandered around the back alley a little more, wondering if Shadow Puppets would appear during the daytime, but I couldn’t find any special traces. Does it not appear during the daytime?

“Either way is fine.”

After coming out of the back alley.

The time was getting closer to lunch, so I felt a little hungry.

Feeling hungry, I headed straight to the streets where the royal capital’s food was.

There is no luxurious taste unique to royal palace food. It’s rough, rich, and, to put it nicely, full of personality.

But I’m quite satisfied with this.

After eating a full meal, I took a light stroll around here and there to digest.

And finally, the last place I arrived at was on top of the high walls surrounding the royal capital.

Looking at the sight of most of the royal capital coming into view at a glance makes my heart feel strangely touched.

Feeling the cool breeze blowing on the walls, I think.

“Someday I will have to succeed my father and rule this country.”

I have to bear the weight of the lives of all the people living here.

Depending on my actions, they can survive, or they can all die.

When I think that way, my shoulders feel heavy.

“Leon?”

“…?”

Just as I was thinking that, I heard a voice calling me.

A very familiar, unforgettable voice.

“Leviya?!….”

“Yeah.”

When I turned around, Leviya was there.

Blankly, she was there, facing the blowing wind.

“A-Are you usually here?”

“…No? Usually I just…. Just wander around.”

“Y-You just wander around?”

Leviya is staring blankly at me.

Leviya, who was looking at me, soon approached me with light steps.

“….”

“….”

Just like in the middle of the night, Leviya and I just quietly looked at the city’s scenery without saying a word.

I thought I would have a lot to say if I met Leviya…. But right now, I can’t think of anything in particular.

Just….

“It’s cool.”

“Yeah. It is.”

For now, quietly.

Just being with her silently was enough to satisfy me.

* * *

“Ah…. My head hurts.”

“Originally, learning is a series of pain. Endure it.”

“….”

Royal Magician Agrone.

He is the teacher in charge of my magic lessons and the most outstanding magician in the royal palace.

“Why are magic things so complicated?….”

“That’s why it’s profound. Now, look here. When it comes to this magic circle….”

Agrone weaves threads with magical power and draws a magic circle. Agrone, who carved various complex shapes and created a completely completed form of magic circle, stroked his beard and said.

“Look at this magic circle. This magic circle is the most basic ‘sealing magic circle’.”

“Sealing magic circle?”

“That’s right. The simplest form of…. If you have to say it, it’s the most primitive form of magic circle. It’s a one-dimensional sealing ceremony, but its biggest feature is that ‘the power of the seal varies depending on the size’.”

“Size?….”

At my question, he nodded and said.

“That’s right. Because it’s a primitive form of magic circle, neither the mysteries of ‘compression’ nor the mysteries of ‘amplification’ are engraved on it. As a result, the power of this magic circle varies depending on its size. The larger it is, the stronger the magic circle itself becomes….”

“Hmm….”

I looked at the magic circle created by Agrone while staggering.

“…Huh?”

And the magic circle that I saw for the first time was strangely familiar.

“Although the form is different from modern magic circles, it’s not bad to learn it as it is the magic circle that is the root of it.”

Agrone says something, but I can’t hear it.

Instead, a question came to my mind.

“Agrone.”

“? What’s wrong, Prince?”

“…That magic circle. Can you make it with things?”

“Oh, that’s a good question. Of course, it’s possible. I created a magic circle by weaving it with threads of magical power, but originally, primitive magic circles generated their effects by placing specific objects.”

…I remembered exactly where I saw it.

“Royal capital….”

The shape of the royal capital is very similar to that of the ‘sealing magic circle’.