Chapter 231: Chapter 229 – The Spirits’ Decreasing Number

The Spirits’ Decreasing Number

「There are fewer Spirits?」Katy, who had listened to what Hikaru had to say, had her fist on her chin, pondering over the matter.「Hmm... Powerful Mages can apparently sense the density of Spirits around, but no one has quantified it before.」

「You can measure the amount of Spirits around us?」

「Well you can confirm their existence. You just have to use Spirit magic. But density is a different matter. I know nothing about that. Let’s say you fill a tank with water. You then take a cup to scoop some. But then the next instant, water will move towards that spot and you won’t even know where you got the water from.」

「So there’s that many Spirits?」

「Based on my understanding, at least. Who told you that there’s less Spirits now?」

I haven’t told her about Drake yet, Hikaru thought. This might be a good time to do so.

「Uh, you know about drakons, right? Like drakons, not dragons.」Hikaru asked.

「Of course. Didn’t we confirm that in the ruins in Zubura? Holy mana and drakons are closely related.」

Oota Masaki, a Japanese man who got transported to this world, left behind a notebook which mentioned that drakons produced holy mana. Katy had browsed the contents of the notes.

「I wish I could observe holy mana myself. If only there was a drakon around, it could produce some for me.」

「There’s one right here.」

Hikaru grabbed the creature around his neck and held it out.

「What?」

「It’s a drakon.」

「Hmm?」

「I said, this here is a drakon.」

『Hello. I’m Drake, a young white drakon.』

「Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!」

Katy glanced at Hikaru and then at Drake and then at Hikaru. This repeated for about twenty times before she stopped.

「A drakon?! Like a real drakon?!」

『Yup, that’s me. The fake ones are the creatures you call dragons. Please keep that in mind.』

「It talks!」

Hikaru told the confused Katy how he met the Drake. As her mind was still in chaos, Hikaru prepared some tea which Katy downed in one gulp, calming herself down.

「I shee...」

It was clear though that she hadn’t calmed down as she just burned the inside of her mouth. She took some potion that were prepared in case of accidents during experiments, healing the burn, and then spoke.

「So you’re saying that drakon... Drake...? He’s the one who sensed that there were less Spirits around.」

「Yes. Do you have any idea how that could happen? I kinda have a bad feeling about this.」

「Hmm, let’s see... Wait, why are you still here in the academy? Didn’t you say you were headed to Jarazack?」

「Well, thing’s happened, and I returned with Professor Mikhail, League, Claude, Ivan, and some others. There’s a high chance that Ludancia will attack in two days, so we’re planning to hole up in the academy.」

「I think you could’ve shared something that important earlier.」

「Well, the Spirits’ decline and drakons are kinda important too.」

「Yes, they are! Drakons are the most important thing right now!」

「Told you.」

Sighing, Katy stood up.「I’ll go see Professor Mikhail. I could probably prepare some magic items for the upcoming battle. 」she said.

As they walked towards the classroom Mikhail was in, Katy offered a few theories about the Spirits’ current situation.

「First, like what Drake said, there might be a creature out there absorbing the Spirits. Never heard of it before, but monsters evolve in ways that humans can’t imagine.」

「So there’s a monster sucking too many Spirits that the overall density in Forestia decreased. I don’t want to imagine what kind of creature that is.」

「Second, it could be the work of Spirit magic... or no, sorcery. One powerful enough to use up a lot of Spirits.」

「Why sorcery and not magic?」

「Well, you need a practitioner for magic. Even the best Mage in Forestia can’t cast spells that’ll use up that many Spirits.」

「What if a hundred Mages gathered together?」

「That might affect their overall number, but they would have to keep using Spirit magic nonstop. Plus Spirit magic’s effects manifest immediately and cause some supernatural phenomenon. But I haven’t heard of any abnormal weather or cataclysms.」

「Hmm... In that case, what kind of sorcery could use so much Spirits?」

Katy stopped in the middle of the hallway, her expression grim.

「A forbidden spell. A few types of sorceries are banned from being used. There are reasons for this—like an incomplete formula might cause a big explosion, or using it will greatly reduce the Spirits around us, preventing Mages from using spells for a time.」

「Has there been a case like this before?」

「You’re asking if there’s any signs of forbidden magic being used here? I don’t think so. Not to my knowledge, at least.」

「I see...」

「Anyway, can you ask Drake if he could produce some holy mana?!」

「That’s up to him.」

「O-Oh... Well, Drake?! With your help, I can make significant progress in my studies! Please! I’m begging you!」

「O-Okay...」Drake replied.「This woman is smothering me.」

Although a bit weirded out, the drakon reluctantly agreed to help Katy in her research. But first, they had to deal with Ludancia.

Forbidden sorcery... Monster evolution...

Something was bothering Hikaru.

That’s it.

The subspecies of Earth Dragon in Un el Portan. The Giant Rock Viper in Zubura’s Catford. They were celebrating in the guild after they took care of the monsters in Catford when Selyse talked to him.

Giant Rock Vipers are basically snakes, right? Don’t you think it’s strange how they attacked in groups?

Selyse didn’t have any points in Instinct, which meant her observation was based purely on logic. It was simply hard to believe that snakes would attack in groups considering their natural behavior.

Then there’s the abnormal outbreak at Un el Portan. Have you thought that perhaps something strange is going on?

Dragons and drakons came to mind. Besides the Giant Rock Viper, there were other unique specimens as well: the Giant Rock Lizard, a bipedal monster, and a Double-necked Viper which escaped into the forest.

Can’t snakes eventually evolve into dragons? Hikaru thought. It was possible that releasing the drakon in the underground dungeon triggered the awakening of the Earth Dragon. Or perhaps that wasn’t the case. Maybe somewhere, dragons were starting to make a move.

「I’m back and I brought Professor Katy with me.」Hikaru said as he entered the classroom.「She said she’ll help by providing magic... items.」

Mikhail looked delighted to see Katy, but otherwise, the atmosphere in the room was serious.

「What’s wrong?」

「League’s gone.」Lavia answered.

「Gone?」

「He’s gone along with his attendants. We couldn’t find their luggage and carriage, so I think they left the academy.」

「He obviously left to protect himself.」Claude said with a bitter expression.

「So he betrayed us?」

「Absolutely not. League is officially a representative of Rumania who acts on the interest of his own nation. If anything, we should be glad he accompanied us all the way here.」

「But still! This is a critical moment. Reinforcements from Jarazack will arrive tomorrow, so it’s not like we’re at a complete disadvantage. Then at the smallest sign of danger, he’s just gonna bail? He can’t blame us if we think he turned his back—」

「Ivan. Don’t say any more. This was all my fault in the first place.」Claude said.「If I didn’t make Luka worry, we would be still be in Jarazack. We would’ve been safe there. It’s my fault that we ended up in Scholarzard.」

Heavy silence descended in the room.

I see. League doesn’t have any logical reason to stay in the academy. He could explain coming with Claude since Alexei ordered him to do so. But what would he say to his father if he stayed and get involved in a battle against Ludancia?

While everyone else wore serious looks, Hikaru smiled a little.

This is League we’re talking about here. You didn’t just return to Rumania without any plan, right?

Inside the carriage, League sneezed. One of his attendants who was seated across him—the secretary—raised his eyebrows.

「My lord. Did you catch a cold from traveling in this weather? What on earth was Jarazack’s representative even thinking? Why would he tell you to go to Scholarzard?」

「He might’ve thought you could help as escorts on the trip. Lord Alexei seemed worried about Sir Claude and Sir Ivan.」

「It was a real nuisance.」

「Please don’t say that. Without him, the mass wedding will fail. My father is thinking of turning this into a huge business.」

「Yes, I suppose.」

League intended to show that he just wanted to make the business a success. Every one of his attendants, after all, worked for his father. He couldn’t show that he was supporting the student alliance.

So he left Scholarzard immediately. He didn’t share any detailed information about Ludancia to his attendants.

Claude has gotten quite strong. Professor Mikhail is there as well. But above all, Hikaru is present. I don’t think you’ll lose, but please do be careful.

The carriage trudged towards the neighboring town.