Ch.388White Afterglow

To put it simply,

The reason we were able to decode the Fairy Glyphs without following the proper procedure was “who knows?”

If these had been ordinary Fairy Glyphs, they might have responded based on individual talent or knowledge,

But those engraved after the second floor of the tower were designed not to respond unless one had first encountered those on the first floor.

Unless someone had received the blessing of the Fairy folk, it should have been impossible to decode them without following the procedure… according to the Great Sage’s explanation.

“There’s no way any of us could be such a person.”

“Hmm… they’re a legendary race whose very existence is uncertain, let alone anyone having met them.”

“Perhaps one of our ancestors?”

“Then it wouldn’t have responded to me, a colonist. None of my ancestors were natives.”

“It’s a mystery.”

In the end, we couldn’t uncover the secret of decoding the Fairy Glyphs, but that wasn’t particularly troubling.

It’s not like we’d be cursed for not following the procedure,

It was just a curious incident of somehow being able to read a foreign language book we’d never studied.

What matters more is what happens next.

“With the swamp gone, people will soon flock here, and this tower will be revealed to the world… is that okay?”

“That’s what I was hoping for. If the knowledge wasn’t meant to be passed on, why go through the trouble of preserving magical records using something as cumbersome as Fairy Glyphs?”

“I suppose that’s true.”

“Won’t people faint from shock if they can talk to the Great Sage’s projection?”

“Ah, that won’t be possible. Once you leave this place, I don’t intend to maintain this avatar any longer.”

“Eh…”

Jessica was taken aback by this unexpected response.

Meanwhile, the Great Sage’s projection continued as if this were perfectly natural.

“Maintaining an avatar requires vast amounts of magical power. That’s why both the meteor summoning array and this place were built on ley lines. Until now, the avatar was necessary for the tower’s maintenance, but if it’s revealed to the world and others manage it, there’s no need to waste the ley line’s magical power, is there?”

“…I suppose that makes sense. I’m not particularly keen on showing others the half-bodied form of my husband, so I’ll leave the rest to the younger generation and rest peacefully.”

With those words, Anastasia prepared to depart.

“Are you leaving right away?”

“Of course. These children have defeated the Demon Lord and eliminated the poison; it would be a shame if we dawdled and someone else took credit for their achievements.”

“Hehe… indeed. Then I shall take my leave first. I hope the things left in this tower will be of some help to your future.”

“They’ll be tremendously helpful. Definitely.”

After hearing Jessica’s response, the Great Sage’s projection disappeared with a satisfied smile,

And we took in the Fairy Glyphs engraved on the edge of the first floor before beginning our ascent of the tower again.

I had hoped we might gain new knowledge or magic that we hadn’t acquired on the way down… but unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

“Even climbing properly didn’t yield anything additional.”

“Seems what we got on the way down was everything.”

“That’s a shame. It would have been nice if you could have gained something too.”

Though Anastasia said this, she never expected someone like me—from another world and ignorant of magic—to receive any scraps of knowledge.

More than anything, I just wanted to return to some city as quickly as possible and get a good rest.

With that thought, I emerged onto the roof through the hole in the top floor, when—

“Huh?”

Something that hadn’t been there when we descended was flying around the rooftop.

It was a faintly glowing ball of light about the size of a volleyball.

What was most disconcerting was that I wasn’t the first person to reach the rooftop.

“Will, what’s wrong?”

“Doesn’t that… bother you, Seth?”

“…?”

Seth looked in the direction I was pointing but merely tilted his head as if seeing nothing.

“What’s happening?”

“Did you find something?”

“A monster? Or an arcane word?”

It wasn’t just Seth.

Jessica, Mina, the sisters Phyllis and Iris, even Anastasia—none of them could see the sphere of light circling around us.

“…Can only I see it?”

“See what?”

“There’s a ball of light about this big flying around over there.”

Checking again, it seemed I was the only one who could see it.

If it were related to Arcane Words, Phyllis or Iris should be able to see it too…

“…No choice then.”

I moved Seth aside and took a quick-draw stance.

I didn’t know what it was, but judging by how it maintained a certain distance while circling us, its purpose seemed to be surveillance or reconnaissance.

It would be better to shoot it before opening a gate to avoid future trouble.

Just as I activated my skill—

“…Ugh!?”

The moment my right hand reached for Wishmaker holstered at my side,

A massive amount of magical power drained from my body, instantly causing dizziness.

I had a clear premonition that if I drew it now, I would either faint or be unable to move a finger.

In the end, I had no choice but to abort the skill without even grasping Wishmaker.

“Urgh…!”

“Will!?”

Jessica and Seth supported me as I staggered and nearly collapsed.

Mina, Phyllis, Iris, and Anastasia surrounded us in four directions, alert to the surroundings, but the sphere of light remained invisible to them.

They could only maintain a defensive posture, unable to take further action, and—

“Ah…”

The sphere of light rapidly gained altitude and flew away somewhere.

It seemed to have noticed it was almost attacked.

“…Damn, it got away.”

“Was it dangerous?”

“I don’t know. It literally just looked like a ball of light. But the thought of being watched by someone makes me uneasy.”

“Hmm… I don’t know what you saw, but if it’s not nearby now, it would be wise for us to withdraw while we can. We can discuss the identity of the enemy and countermeasures later.”

Everyone nodded at Anastasia’s suggestion.

Indeed, while we didn’t have major injuries, we were all in a ragged state from fatigue and magical power depletion.

It would be best not to push ourselves further and retreat to a safe place.

“Across time, beyond the horizon, to the mysterious tower hidden in the mirage.”

Anastasia hurriedly opened a gate to her tower.

Fortunately, the sphere of light didn’t return while we all passed through the gate,

And as soon as I arrived at the Sweet Club, I collapsed into sleep, pushed by extreme fatigue.

~~~ Northern Fortress Observation Post ~~~

A few days after the liberation of the Great Sage’s Magic Tower.

The Northern Fortress, a stronghold located north of Atelier, was about to greet another ordinary morning.

The guards waiting for their shift change on the ramparts were no exception.

“Wheeee~”

“Ugh~ it’s cold…”

“Think it’ll snow soon?”

“That would be great for us. We wouldn’t have to deal with those wretched fire lizards.”

The location of the Northern Fortress.

Various wildlife and monsters inhabit the boundary between the Central Swamplands and the foothills of the Korkas Mountains.

Among them, the most troublesome is undoubtedly the Fire Drake.

Unlike other flying creatures such as Swamp Mosquitoes, they possess life force and strength of a different dimension.

The burning oil blobs they spew from their mouths are not only threatening in themselves but can also cause large-scale fires.

Even these troublesome Fire Drakes don’t show themselves in midwinter, especially when snow has accumulated.

It’s not just Fire Drakes.

The reptilian and amphibian-based creatures that inhabit the swamplands become significantly less active as temperatures drop.

Mud Men don’t reveal themselves unless approached first,

Night Stalkers are cunning creatures that only target people wandering outside villages at night,

And the occasionally spotted Swamp Mosquitoes are such weaklings they don’t even count as threats,

So for the Northern Fortress guards, winter was practically a half off-season.

“Oh~ the sun’s rising. About time for the shift change, right?”

“Yeah. Let’s make one last round and then prepare to go down.”

As the sun rising from the east began to illuminate the swampland, one of the guards started scanning the surroundings with a telescope on the table.

He was looking for monsters hiding in the darkness or outlaws fleeing after spying on the Northern Fortress.

However, since the Black Heart Gang was wiped out a few months ago, not even the shadow of an outlaw had been seen in the area, so—

“…Huh?”

These two men could never have imagined that they would later become witnesses to what would be called “The Miracle of the Central Swamplands”—a large-scale purification phenomenon—and receive countless interview requests from newspapers,

Or that they would end up sitting on a fortune from a photograph they took by chance.