episode_0206

That night.

As usual, after meeting Levia, I told her about what I had found out.

But Levia, as if she already knew, nodded nonchalantly and said,

“Now you know?….”

“…You knew?!”

How could Levia know the fact that I, who was born and lived in the royal capital for 20 years, didn’t know? As I looked at Levia, unable to hide my bewilderment, Levia, who was wearing her usual blank expression, continued her story in a calm voice.

“The entire royal capital is…, a kind of seal.”

“A, a seal?…. What on earth is it sealing?”

“I don’t know?….”

Levia shook her head at my question.

Instead, she looked at me and said,

“Isn’t that what Leon knows?

“Me?….”

“Yes. Well…, this city is obviously owned by the royal family. Isn’t the secret of this royal capital passed down to the royal family?….”

“Ah….”

I was shocked once again by Levia’s very natural point.

If you are going to create a sealing magic circle of this scale, it would be most reasonable to create it ‘for that purpose’ from the beginning.

And this city is a planned city created by the founder of our royal family.

In other words….

The one who knows what the ‘sealing magic circle’ engraved in this royal capital is, is naturally the person who created this place.

My ancestor….

“…Wwhat on earth was my ancestor trying to seal?”

“Well?… I don’t really know.”

“…Then I have another question I want to ask. Is this…, Shadow Puppet phenomenon that is happening now related to the sealing magic circle of the royal capital?”

“I can’t say for sure…, but I can’t say it’s not, can I?”

Levia nodded lightly and added an explanation.

“Magic created using geographical features can be created by anyone who knows the structure, and consumes less magic power. It’s also easy to maintain. However, it is strongly affected by time, so if there is no continuous repair, the effect will weaken, or in extreme cases, the effect will disappear. Perhaps…, as many buildings have been built over the years, the magic circle seems to have been distorted because repairs have not been made to the parts that needed repair.”

“Then….”

If the seal is weakening now….

If Shadow Puppets are appearing because of it….

If that happens….

“Are you saying that something more than what is happening now will happen?”

“Yes. That’s right. Maybe…. It will gradually get worse. The only way to solve it is to repair the seal of the royal capital.”

“No…. Why only now about that important thing!!….”

“Well…, you didn’t ask.”

Levia tilted her head as if she didn’t understand what I was saying.

“I thought you already knew.”

“…You thought I already knew.”

“I thought that you had already noticed…, that to build such a large-scale sealing magic, it is right to think that this city was created for that purpose from the beginning. If so…. Of course, I thought that the royal family, who are the owners of this place, already knew.”

“….”

What Levia said….

It’s not that I don’t understand, but I still felt a strange sense of betrayal and trembled lightly.

But this is this, and that is that.

“I’m…, going back today.”

“Okay.”

I turned around quickly.

And then ran away from the spot.

* * *

“….”

Rustle rustle rustle

“Y, Your Highness. You are skipping meals and only focusing on books now…. Please take a rest.”

“It’s okay. Just bring me something to drink.”

“…Understood.”

I flipped through the book quickly.

I had learned how to speed-read to some extent.

Therefore, I have all the page contents in my head.

But….

‘No….’

Rustle rustle rustle

‘This isn’t it either.’

The content I want is not there.

The content I need to find is not there.

The content I need to know was not there.

“There is no story about the seal in any book…. In any history book.”

Yeah.

I didn’t think I could find it easily.

But…, I feel so empty that my head hurts because there are so few clues.

‘The fact that it doesn’t come out even if I search like this means…, that I can’t find it in a place that is visible to the eye.’

Then where should I investigate….

Perhaps the content I want to know is the back of history, not recorded on the front of history.

If there is someone who knows it….

“…Father.”

Yes, there is only father.

Having finished thinking that way, I closed the book I was reading.

At the same time, I drank all the tea brought by the attendant at once and hurriedly moved my steps.

The steps that followed were impatient. I was also afraid.

Because I couldn’t grasp at all what would pop out from here….

What if a shocking fact that I cannot accept is waiting for me?

“…Father. It’s me, Leon.”

“Come in.”

Permission was granted and I opened the door.

If you open the strangely heavy door today, there is a middle-aged man looking over various reports….

I saw the figure of my father.

“What’s wrong? If you’re going to say something absurd like last time, go back. As you can see, this father is….”

“What on earth is being hidden?”

“What are you talking about?”

My father frowned and looked at me.

But my father’s gaze only met mine for a very short time.

My father quickly looked down and wrote his signature on the report.

I looked at him and continued.

“I found out that the entire royal capital has the shape of a sealing magic circle. What on earth…, is this royal capital sealing?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Go back if you’re going to say something useless. This father is very busy.”

“I’ve already checked everything. I also heard a definite answer from the…, excellent magician I know. That the entire royal capital is a single sealing magic….”

“….”

My father’s hand, which was signing the document, stops.

Then, my father’s gaze, which had been fixed on the document, slowly rose again.

“Wwhat is it. We are…. What on earth is the royal family hiding?”

My father’s hand, which was signing the document, stops.

Then, my father’s gaze, which had been fixed on the document, slowly rises again.

And when his gaze completely met mine,

“…Hoo.”

He let out a short sigh.

I don’t know what emotion it contained or what meaning it had.

But one thing is certain….

‘He knows something.’

My intuition tells me.

My father knows about the secret of the royal capital, he knows something about this situation.

“Black shadows with red eyes are appearing and attacking the people. I am calling that phenomenon Shadow Puppets…, but such things are happening.”

“….”

“But this black shadow is not visible to other people’s eyes. I am the only one who can see this and deal with it. What on earth…. Is going on? What on earth are you hiding? Father!….”

My voice rose without me realizing it.

“Quiet.”

And in a short, thick voice, my father looked at me, who had raised his voice.

“It seems you have investigated in quite a few ways. I heard that you often leave the palace at night…. Is it because of that ‘magician’?”

“….”

You knew I was leaving every night?….

Besides, you know about Levia….

“Did you think…, that I wouldn’t notice? There is no place in this royal palace that my eyes and ears cannot reach. Wherever you are and whatever you do, it all comes through my eyes and ears.”

“….”

“And…, it’s too early for you to know yet.”

It’s too early, which means…, that he knows what’s sealed anyway.

“What on earth is sealed! What is it that is causing the people to….”

“There are things in this world that you can handle, and things that you cannot handle. And it is clearly the latter. You cannot handle it. So go back quietly.”

“I will listen and decide whether I can handle it or not. Father.”

“Denied.”

My father says firmly.

As long as he comes out like that, there is nothing more I can do.

“Go back. There is nothing more to say.”

“…Understood.”

In the end, I got nothing.

Well, if I were to be specific…, all I confirmed was that the royal family had a secret that they couldn’t easily tell.

Now that things have come to this, there is only one way I can choose.

* * *

“Thank you for helping me.”

“…It’s okay. It’s nothing much.”

In the middle of the night.

As usual, I’m with Levia inside the royal palace, not dealing with Shadow Puppets in the back alley.

Of course, other people don’t know about Levia’s existence.

She says it’s magic that erases her presence or something.

I don’t know much about magic, so I just accepted it as it was….

“You really don’t know, right?”

“Yeah.”

“…Okay, I have to trust you.”

What am I supposed to do if I can’t trust the person I asked for help?

I don’t know much about magic, so Levia is the only one I can trust here.

“Levia. I’m….”

“I know.”

Just as I was about to share the details, Levia cut me off and said.

“You’re curious, right? What is sealed.”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

“Okay. I’ll help you.”

Levia showed a reliable back and drew out her magic power.

“Search.”

The gathered magic power turned into a thin membrane and swept through the entire royal palace.

“…Found it.”