Chapter 142: Wandering Ghosts (part two)
Finally, it is a holiday.
I’m still anxious about the participating members, but today is the day of the field investigation that we have been waiting for.
The venue is the lake and marshes area in the northern part of the magic academy.
Tirnanog will act as our luggage-carrier and escort.
『But, the lineup this time is very unusual.』
“Actorius-sensei, Clochydd-sensei, and Chloe......certainly, it is unusual.”
Although, it is also a very reliable lineup.
It’s lonely that my brother isn’t here, but I’m also worried about his health.
To start it off, I met up with Chloe at a small fountain next to the school dormitory.
“I’ll be in your care today, Chloe.”
“Yeah, me too! Uwah~~ so excited!”
There are not that many people who are physically stronger than her, so I’m honestly grateful to be travelling outdoors together with her.
Even though she’s a young girl, she’s still someone from the former royal family of the north.
After that, together with Chloe, we headed towards the meeting place with the teachers.
After passing the school building and the large stable and passing through the forest that spreads to the north, we reached the stone wall surrounding the school.
The ancient-looking, copper rust-colored gate installed on it is the North Gate.
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One must be verified first before going in and out the gate.
Naturally, under normal circumstances, students are not allowed to leave from this gate.
In front of the gate, there were our two glasses-wearing guardians.
Brad Clochydd and Elric Actorius-sensei.
I exchanged looks with Chloe and greeted them.
“Sorry for making you wait, sensei. Please take care of us today.”
“Please!”
Actorius-sensei smiled gently.
“Yes, likewise. Aurelia-san, Cloacina-san.”
On the other hand, Brad who was beside him gave us a glancing look and responded with a sigh.
“Hey, Brad, come on, smile.”
“I would like to firmly refuse.”
Even though Actorius-sensei made a follow-up, it still ended up like this.
Chloe let out a laugh as she looked on as Actorius-sensei covered up for Brad’s cold reception hastily.
Now then, I wonder how the field investigation with these members will go.
The mist golem isn’t that dangerous, but I can’t imagine what it’s going to do.
“First of all, let’s activate the golem.”
I took out a small salamander I borrowed from Harold from my pocket.
It’s better than a candle, and it’s an excellent heat source that provides high firepower.
I offered a mouthful of dried meat to the salamander so that it remains in place.
Then I threw the salamander into the hole on the side of the jar.
Immediately, mist started to generate around me.
The mist golem has been successfully activated.
Thick mist swirled around the jar that contains the core of the golem, and the jar floated.
This is the state when the artificial spirit has been successfully activated.
“Now then, this is the material for today’s field investigation.”
I gave the document with summarized details such as today’s route to the other three people.
“The purpose is to analyze the ancient golem technology that has now become scattered and ultimately lost. You might wonder why I didn’t just dismantle it and confirm it, that’s because—”
The academy’s North Gate opened right as I was explaining things.
The one who appeared was a man wearing a drenched dark brown robe, Jack Citrouille.
“Oh, excuse me......it seems I’ve shown you something unsightly.”
Citrouille smiled with a taut expression.
Hii, why are we meeting again here!?
Setting that aside, what happened to him?
“Citrouille-san!? You’re soaked, are you alright?”
“I went to the swamp because I wanted to gather ingredients for some medicines, but I was dragged in by a näcken1 that showed me the face of an old benefactor.”
Näcken is a water monstro and is a magical beast that can wear glamour and fascinate people.
Dragging in people with the form of an old benefactor, what a terrifying magical beast.
“More importantly, what are you guys doing here?”
“It’s a field investigation for some golem. It doesn’t concern you.”
While saying so, Brad came in between Citrouille and me.
“I see, so it’s a field investigation, huh.”
“Are you going to poke your nose somewhere it doesn’t belong, outsider?”
“No, no, of course I will stay out of it. But, the said golem—”
Citrouille looked around with a curious expression.
And then he stared at Tirnanog.
“This one seems to be an ordinary luggage-carrier. Umm, where is the golem you were talking about?”
“It’s a mist golem. You see how the mist around the core inside this jar is thick, right?”
I pointed to the jar that was floating nearby.
Citrouille looked into it with great interest.
“Heeh, so this is a puppet2 made of mist, huh. This looks pretty interesting.”
When Citrouille reached out his hand to touch the jar, Brad cleared his throat.
After retracting his hand from the jar, Citrouille showed an insincere smile.
“Well then, this is where we part. I will pray for your safety.”
Then Citrouille left towards the direction of the school building.
That Brad, he doesn’t have to be that cruel.
Although, I guess from the perspective of someone on the school’s side, Citrouille is a suspicious outsider, so it can’t be helped.
Pulling myself together, I resumed the explanation.
“So, if you have any questions or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to tell me.”
“For the time being......please note that this is the area of the näcken.”
The magical beast näcken that had dragged Citrouille, huh.
Actorius-sensei added an explanation.
“The true nature of näcken is a kind of moss that breeds in lakes and marshes area. They drag people into the swamp to turn them into their nourishment by misleading them with illusion magic and telepathy.”
“That’s scary......”
“Be careful not to lose your footing even if you are caught in a nostalgic illusion of the deceased who you want to see even if just a glance.”
Sorry, but there is no departed person who I miss enough for me to be trapped in an illusion.
I just came to know my mother’s face recently so it is not such a nostalgic memory.
“By the way, do you know that this was a battlefield in the ancient times? And do you know about the mummified bodies?”
Brad said something terrifying smoothly.
After hearing about the moss monstro, the topic about the mummified bodies is a bit hard to listen to.
Even though this is the field investigation I’ve been waiting for, I feel like my spirit is going to break soon.
“N-no......”
“It is said that the mummified bodies from hundreds of years ago are still floating even to this very day, but you are brave, so you should be fine.”
He is still as unpleasant as ever.
Perhaps this person is just worried, but he has a sharp tongue.
Just thinking that we’re going to travel together for a long time seems to make my stomach ache.
While thinking so, the golem’s white hands emerged.
It seems like it’s time for us to move.
“These are the golem’s hands. Actually, this golem was one of the academy’s Seven Wonders: the ghost of the alchemy workshop building.”
“And this is what you captured?”
“Yes.”
When I nodded, Actorius-sensei and Brad looked at each other.
“After all, you are Eduard’s sister......!”
“And in just one month after entering the academy, huh.”
I decided to answer while glossing over it.
It’s better not to say that I’ve been investigating the Seven Wonders, right?
“I was co-developing a demonic eye with Harold Nibelheim and discovered the golem by chance.”
This time Brad and Actorius-sensei’s glasses shone at the same time.
“Wow! What kind of demonic eye is it? That sounds interesting!”
“We developed a demonic eye with a bird’s eye field of vision—by the way, since the developer is talented, it can also see through walls.”
“So you discovered it using that, huh. This might be even more amazing than Eduard.”
Actorius-sensei seemed to be somewhat excited as he corrected his misaligned glasses.
No, that is flattering but I can’t accept those words.
“Speaking of which, did my brother not investigate this golem? It’s a wonder of the alchemy workshop building, so he should have found out about it already.”
“Hahaha, he has been banned from the alchemy workshop building because he destroyed one corner of the building early on.”
So that means he doesn’t know about the most ‘encounterable’ wonder, huh.
I see.
“He was considered dangerous by the students and instructors who were like the residents of that workshop.”
My brother, too, seems to be someone who made a lot of mess at school.
Well, it’s obvious with just one look at him though.
“Why did my brother destroy the workshop building?”
“It’s a long story, and if you want to know more about the details, you should ask Brad......”
When Actorius-sensei glanced at him, Brad turned his face away.
I’m curious about what happened, but it seems I wouldn’t be able to ask about it.
That’s unfortunate.
At that time, Tirnanog tapped my boots.
Oops, that’s right.
I have to follow the mist golem.
“Oh, is it time for departure? Then I’m going to apply Levitation on us.”
When Actorius-sensei chanted the spell, the four of us floated lightly.
“After that, I’ll also increase our magic resistance slightly.”
Unlike the magic exercised from a wand, we don’t have to worry about the effect duration, and for that I’m grateful.
Although it would be hard for Actorius-sensei because he has to be mindful when distributing the remaining amount of his magical power.
And so, we followed after the jar that was gently floating while watching over it.
From the dark forest, we entered the wet lake and marshes area, where withering reeds as tall as a person are growing.
It feels quite hard to listen to the poem3, but I’m getting used to it.
Plus, we have to pay attention not to let the jar fall suddenly.
It would be problematic if the jar falls into the lake or marshes and goes missing.
The Eyes of Overworld is still with Harold waiting to be charged with spells, so I can’t use it.
And without it, there would be no way to locate the jar.
“It’s almost as fast as a person’s walking speed, huh~ Ah, there are also hands over there, Erica-san!”
I looked at the direction pointed out by Chloe.
The ‘white hands’ also appeared in a location far away from the jar itself.
I wonder why they appear in such random places.
“Over there too!”
Chloe, who has the highest visual acuity among the four of us, kept finding far-off ‘white hands’ one after another.
“......They spread out in a circle, centering around the jar......this is the first time I am seeing something like this.”
Actorius-sensei also observed the appearance of the ‘white hands’ closely.
“Yes, it seems to occur randomly within a radius of 60 meters so far.”
“I see, so it’s you. The cause of the strange phenomenon that has been spreading around the school recently.”
Brad gave me a harsh look.
He’s sharp.
“S-so you have noticed, Clochydd-sensei.”
“Isn’t that because your misconduct is obvious?”
I feel like he’s looking at me with an extremely provocative look somehow.
He didn’t reproach me blatantly, but this is unbearable......!
“Aahh, it seems that the golem has begun to move, let’s hurry!”
In order to escape from Brad’s line of sight, I advanced quickly into the reeds.
While also turning around the same place, the mist golem headed north.
Something in the shape of a person was squirming around in the swamp, but I tried my best not to put it in my mind as much as possible.
“Are you alright, Chloe Cloacina. You seem unsteady......”
“I-I’m f-fine!”
“You don’t seem very well though......”
Brad supported Chloe whose eyes were spinning.
“It’s okay, Chloe-san......Actorius-sensei, can you add more magic resistance......”
As I spoke up to that point, I realized that Actorius-sensei was crouching.
He had a serious expression and was reaching out his hand towards the swamp.
“......definitely......I will definitely help everyone......so please, please, grab this hand......!”
Grave-sounding words escaped Actorius-sensei’s mouth.
“Actorius-sensei! You can’t, no one is there!!”
I called out to Actorius-sensei with a loud voice.
Actorius-sensei, who was about to put his hand in the water, seemed to regain his sanity.
“Ah......thank you. Even though I was the one who warned you, it seems I was the first one to almost enter the water......”
His face was pale.
I’m curious about what he has seen, but I can’t ask him.
“I didn’t think it would be this effective against you guys......it can’t be helped, I’ll raise your magic resistance to the max.”
With Brad’s chant, Chloe and Actorius-sensei were given spell to increase their magic resistance.
Thanks to that, the two of them were able to proceed quickly without being distracted by the swamp.
“......Thank you, Brad. The telepathic ability of the näcken here is so strong. It is as if they have digested large quantity of food and strengthened themselves.”
“Speaking of which, it seems that there are lots of wild animal corpses here......I wonder if it’s because of that man......”
Come to think of it, Citrouille was saying something about gathering medicine ingredients.
I wonder if he was hunting too.
Well, it’s fine if he was hunting wild animals. As long as it’s not a person.
“Chloe-san, wouldn’t it be better for you to rest?”
“No, I’m fine. I was just a little surprised......”
Chloe also regained her sanity back.
She has never received mental attacks thanks to her snowsilver amulet, so she must be shocked.
After we walked for about an hour, the golem movement speed suddenly increased.
“Maybe, ahead of us is......”
Looking ahead, Actorius-sensei pointed to a huge rock that looked like a small mountain.
There was a wide crevice at its base.
“This is the infamous crystal cave. It’s a dangerous cave with areas where magic can’t be used.”
“A place where magic can’t be used?”
Chloe, who heard Actorius-sensei’s explanation, asked back.
A place where magic can’t be used, is it like the Ruins of Visitor?
“Is it something like the Ruins of Visitor?”
“No, it’s a little different......right, do you know about the Arctic Sea and the Sea of Tranquillity4?”
“Yes.”
The Arctic Sea and the Sea of Tranquillity.
They are the Devil’s Sea where even the Aurelian ships often sink.
Because of these two waters, the north and the east sea routes are very intricately blocked up.
“This place generates the same type of magic nullification as the two seas. Although Brad knows more about it than me.”
“That’s right......the snowsilver ore seems to be made from the drift ice coming from the Arctic Sea—”
Prompted by Actorius-sensei, Brad explained.
Making metal from drift ice? What does that mean?
By any chance, I wonder if the ice contains some kind of metal that nullifies magic.
“Snowsilver ores made by putting a large amount of drift ice flowing from the Arctic Sea into a furnace have similar power to the Arctic Sea. The ancient glaciers most probably contain the snowsilver ores.”
“Does that mean magic will be negated?”
“That’s correct. The same goes for the Ruins of Visitor, but that place is even more dangerous because it’s difficult to convert magical power.”
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Come to think of it, the recovery of internal magical power is very slow in the Ruins of Visitor.
“In such a place where layers of ancient ice are thawing, areas where magic is blocked seldom forms.”
“Can one use magic at all?”
“You can more or less use it, but it will be negated instantly in some places.”
I see, so it’s a very dangerous place.
“I’d like to instruct you to retreat, but you guys seem to want to advance.”
Brad said while looking at mine and Chloe’s face alternatingly.
Chloe and I looked at each other and we smiled broadly.
“Yes, of course, Chlocydd-sensei. Right, Chloe-san?”
“Yeah, I want to go, Erica-san.”
And so we decided to advance forward.
1 The näcken are shapeshifting water spirits in Germanic mythology and folklore who usually appeared in the form of other creatures. Their sex, bynames, and various transformations vary geographically. The German Nix and his Scandinavian counterparts were male. The German Nixe was a female river mermaid. (source)
2 Yes, he said ‘puppet’, not golem. I guess this is another Northern people thing.
3 The will-like poem that was inputted into the golem from ch 113.
4 The seas in this novel are named with space-related things. The Arctic Sea, as you might know, came from the Greek word αρκτος that means ‘bear’, and the North Pole aims at the stars called the Great Bear and the Little Bear. (source) The Sea of Tranquillity, on the other hand, refers to the lunar mare that sits within the Tranquillitatis basin on the Moon. (source)
And so the field investigation will continue on the next chapter! What did Elric see? What is his true identity? Also, it seems Brad loves to scare Erica xD what a morbid sense of humor.
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