Chapter 86: Magic Tower (4)

‘This looks like traces of a contract with a demon.’

‘Yes. We suspect someone within the Magic Tower made a contract with an Imp for their own performance metrics. That’s our current theory.’

Lumia and the mages were gathered in the forest area surrounding the Magic Tower in a semicircle, discussing the situation. Lumia frowned as she confirmed the bloodstains spread out before her eyes and the faint demonic energy she sensed.

The scene, preserved by preservation magic, was as vivid as if the incident had happened just yesterday.

The bloodstains were scattered chaotically, like a hastily erased drawing, and Lumia could tell they were the marks of a failed attempt to draw a magic circle.

‘They were trying to draw a demonic magic circle.’

‘Is it dangerous?’

Lumia nodded.

‘It depends on what they wanted. Demonic magic circles are usually drawn to summon something from the demon realm, but since the circle is smudged, there’s no way to know what they were trying to summon. Judging by the scale, we can only roughly guess it was some kind of object.’

‘An object? Like a magic tool?’

Another mage asked Lumia. Lumia nodded and said,

‘That’s right. In this case, it’s likely a magic tool. They wouldn’t have contracted an Imp just to buy groceries from the market. If these are indeed traces of an attempt to bring in a magic tool, we can assume the culprit intended to inflate their experimental results or research achievements using the magic tool, thereby gaining fame.’

The mage with the beard shook his head slowly and said,

‘There are quite a lot of experiments and research happening internally. And just as many people wanting results. That alone isn’t enough to narrow down the suspects.’

Lumia said,

‘Has anyone directly witnessed an imp?’

‘No. Even when trying to find people acting suspiciously.’

The mage looked around, then pointed to a man rubbing his back against the Magic Tower wall. He then turned back and pointed to a woman whispering into a tree, and a man wandering the forest wearing a robe like a cloak, making a ‘bwoo-oong’ sound with his mouth.

‘Mages are such eccentrics; there are many people engaging in bizarre behavior like this even in this forest. Even if someone went out at night and did something suspicious, it’s considered routine, so nobody pays attention.’

Lumia stared blankly at the mages in the forest for a moment, speechless. She wanted to ask them various questions, but she wasn’t here to pry into the mages’ personal lives. Suppressing the urge to ask the questions swirling in her head, she lowered her voice and asked,

‘Conversely, that means this is an easy place to get caught. Why would the culprit choose this location?’

‘I don’t know. Perhaps they were confident they wouldn’t be caught?’

Lumia thought it would be best to hear directly from the witness.

‘I’d like to hear more details about the situation when it was discovered. Can I meet the witness?’

‘He’s over there. Are you sure you’ll be alright? He might not be the easiest to communicate with.’

‘It’s fine. We have plenty of eccentrics at the temple too.’

The man the mage pointed to was wandering around with his cloak spread wide like a flying squirrel, making a ‘bwoo-oong’ sound with his mouth. Lumia doubted whether she could trust this person’s testimony, but she didn’t voice her thoughts.

‘Elton!’

‘Yes!’

The man wore round goggles, and his hair was curled round, as if scorched. The man, answering the mage’s call in a dazed voice, spread his cloak again and ran towards Lumia and the mage.

‘Bwoo-oong!’

Of course, he didn’t forget to make the ‘bwoo-oong’ sound with his mouth. The mage said,

‘Allow me to introduce him. This is Elton.’

‘Pshooo! Swish!’

Even as the mage introduced him, Elton continued making movement sounds with his mouth, then stopped fluttering his cloak and sat down in place. Lumia extended her hand for a handshake and said,

‘I am Priestess Lumia. It’s a pleasure to meet you.’

Elton grabbed Lumia’s hand tightly, shook it vigorously, and shouted,

‘Ah, yes! Nice to meet you! My name is Elton! I’m 21 years old! My hometown is Mirn Village in the west, and my mom and dad are farmers! I’m studying to create flying magic! I really want to fly someday by studying hard!’

Only then did Lumia realize this man wasn’t just a simple eccentric. As Lumia’s gaze turned back to the mage, he responded with a nod.

‘Yes. Elton, we heard you were the first one to discover the scene of the demon contract here. We’d appreciate it if you could explain it in detail.’

Elton looked up at the air and shouted again,

‘Demon contract! No good! If you make a contract with a demon, the priest uncles and knight uncles will show up and take you away!’

The mage patted Elton’s shoulder and said,

‘Elton, the priestess isn’t here to take you away. You just need to tell her what you saw and heard. Come on, Elton. Tell us what you saw here.’

Elton fidgeted with his fingers, trembled nervously, then nodded and said,

‘I, I came here to practice flying! Then I heard a strange noise somewhere, and when I, I ran over! It was like this! And I don’t know anything else!’

‘Did you see a demon, or anyone acting suspiciously?’

Hearing Priestess Lumia’s question, Elton lifted his head and said again,

‘Demon contract! No good! If you make a contract with a demon, the priest uncles and knight uncles will show up and take you away!’

Lumia nodded and looked back at the mage. The mage patted Elton’s back, then let him go back to playing in the forest. It seemed there wasn’t much to gain from the witness’s testimony. Lumia scratched her head and said,

‘This is a headache. The witness testimony is useless, only traces of a demon contract remain, the demon itself is gone, and nothing else happened from when you found the traces until I arrived.’

It was literally a case with only traces left behind. There were no signs that anyone had benefited from the demon contract, nor were any items imbued with demonic energy found. Lumia was considering the possibility that the demon had fled.

The mage said in a firm tone,

‘But we must eliminate this potential threat. It’s evidence that someone is dealing with a demon, isn’t it? If rumors spread that the Magic Tower’s research achievements were borrowed from demonic power, the tower’s credibility would be finished. Priestess-nim. I want to root out this hidden demon worshipper before they can act.’

Lumia said,

‘It’s also possible the demon fled immediately after the initial contract failed.’

‘That’s just speculation, isn’t it? Priestess-nim. I want confirmation that the demon is not here. Priestess-nim. Please.’

Proving a negative was incredibly difficult. Lumia said,

‘By any chance, does this Magic Tower have any magic tools?’

‘Yes. There are about three permitted magic tools.’

‘Then, searching for someone who contacted a demon is impossible. It’s likely been a significant amount of time since they made contact. Those handling the magic tools might even carry stronger demonic energy. If the people handling the magic tools directly contracted with a demon, there’s no way to detect it with a simple inspection.’

The mage’s face contorted at Lumia’s negative statements, and he asked,

‘Then is there no way?’

Lumia shook her head.

‘Originally, cases like this with no victim and only traces left behind are truly difficult to find a demon…….’

She thought of Evan’s face now and smiled.

‘Still, there is a way. I would appreciate it if you could give me a few days.’

The mage looked at Lumia with an impressed expression, and Lumia nodded before turning away.

It was evening, the time for family to gather. We sat at the small table set up in the room, tearing off pieces of bread to eat. Sylvia sat beside me, glancing nervously at Lumia, while Lumia, with a stoic expression, recounted the details of the day’s incident.

Just hearing about it was a ridiculous situation.

No victim.

No sign of the person who contracted with the demon.

No accidents caused by the demon contract, and the demon hadn’t initiated any actions.

‘But if an incident involving a demon occurs at the Radia Magic Tower after we leave, it will all be my responsibility.’

Therefore, it was a highly burdensome and annoying type of case where Lumia couldn’t simply conclude the demon had fled.

I asked,

‘And on top of that, you’re saying that because the Radia Magic Tower has magic tools, a simple inspection using holy power wouldn’t be enough to find the culprit?’

‘Yes, that’s correct. That’s why, Evan-nim. May I dare ask you for a favor, Evan-nim?’

I grinned while tearing off a piece of bread. Wasn’t this exactly the kind of thing I came here for, following her? I said, stroking Sylvia’s butt,

‘Anything you need.’

Lumia’s eyes lit up as she explained the plan.