SLAM!
“Duke, Miss Camilla has arrived.”
Without so much as a knock, Count Alton opened the door and strode straight into Duke Kais Escra’s office.
“Sit.”
The Duke, too, simply offered her a seat without any extra talk.
“What is it?”
Sensing that the air in the office felt strangely heavy overall, Camilla asked at once why he had summoned her.
“Do you know of Guardian’s Tower?”
“Guardian’s Tower? The place the Magic Tower manages?”
She’d never been, but it was famous enough that she’d heard of it.
Hadn’t people called it a holy land for mages? They said the amount of Mana that existed there rivaled the amount of Mana spread across the entire Empire.
“Why are you bringing that up all of a sudden?”
“A moment ago, I heard it collapsed.”
“...What?”
Camilla’s eyes widened slightly. Why all of a sudden? She’d heard the Magic Tower kept it under extremely strict control because they treasured it so much.
“They say there was an explosion.”
“An explosion?”
“The cause hasn’t been found yet.”
“Seriously.”
So her older brother was going to be insanely busy again for a while.
But didn’t they say that tower absolutely can’t collapse?
She didn’t know the details, but she thought she’d heard that if it fell, the quality and quantity of Mana would change and the Magic Tower’s operations would be disrupted....
“It must be chaos.”
That aside, this news traveled unbelievably fast. There’d just been an explosion, and it had already reached all the way here?
They said there were spies planted across countries in excess, and it seemed they weren’t exaggerating.
“It’s chaos. Especially for House Sorpel.”
“My family? Why?”
Because of Ravi? Had he asked the Duke of Sorpel for help with something?
Still puzzled, Camilla tilted her head at the way Duke Kais Escra just stared at her instead of answering.
“What is it?”
“I heard Ravi Sorpel was inside that collapsed tower.”
“...What?”
“They say he went in with other mages.”
“Ravi....”
Without realizing it, Camilla clenched her fist tight.
“Is he... badly hurt?”
“.......”
“How badly, did they say?”
“I don’t know. They haven’t found him yet.”
“What...!”
“The tower collapsed completely, so they’re still searching.”
For a moment, Camilla couldn’t speak. As if time had stopped, she didn’t move at all—then a long sigh spilled from her lips.
“So?”
She roughly swept her hair back.
“What exactly is the situation?”
“What I said is all. We’re still looking into anything beyond that.”
“I see.”
Camilla stood up.
“Thank you for telling me.”
“What will you do.”
“I have to go.”
“I’ll look for the fastest way.”
“Thank you. But—”
Camilla gave a small shake of her head.
“From here on out, I’ll handle it myself.”
“.......”
Watching Camilla bow politely and leave, Duke Kais Escra pinched his brows together slightly.
Why is she so calm?
Her composed attitude made him even more uneasy.
“First, find a magic circle that can take us straight to the border region.”
“Yes.”
“And request cooperation from the Imperial Family.”
“Understood.”
After giving Count Alton those simple orders, Duke Kais Escra stared at the empty space Camilla had disappeared from with complicated eyes.
“...She’ll handle it herself?”
At the way her words sounded like she was drawing a firm line, a short sigh escaped him.
*****
KNOCK KNOCK.
“Come in.”
While Camilla was meeting Duke Kais Escra, Jainer had been resting in his room. At the knock, he lifted his head.
The one who opened the door and entered was Camilla.
“What is it?”
It was the first time she’d come to him first, so a smile rose at the corner of his mouth on reflex.
“I’m asking for help.”
“Help?”
At those words, Jainer stood up immediately and walked over to her.
“I need to go home right now, and I figured you might have a way. Can you?”
For a moment, Jainer just # Nоvеlight # stared at her in silence. Then he moved, opened a desk drawer, and took something out. A Mana Stone.
He stepped close again, wrapped an arm around Camilla’s shoulders, and shattered the Mana Stone at the same time.
WHOOOOSH!
In an instant, both of them vanished from that spot.
And a moment later, the place they reappeared in was an underground space lit only by dim, blurry light.
“Where are we?”
“This is where there’s a magic circle connected to the Fable Empire.”
The place Jainer had brought Camilla was a Khan branch base located in the capital of the Gracia Empire.
“Do we go to House Sorpel’s residence?”
It seemed there wasn’t only one magic circle connected to the Fable Empire—he asked for the destination he should set.
Camilla looked at him with a slightly surprised face. She’d expected him to pry and question her, but he was granting her request without saying anything in particular.
“Guardian’s Tower.”
“That way. Luckily, there’s a branch base near it.”
Jainer walked without hesitation through the vast underground space. Looking closer, Camilla saw dozens of doors lining the underground facility.
Jainer opened one of them. The moment it swung open, a magic circle came into view on the floor, a faint light flowing from it.
“Stand in the center.”
“Wait.”
“Why?”
“Guardian’s Tower collapsed, so there might be problems operating magic circles.”
At that, Jainer let out a small snort of laughter.
“Our magic circles are completely sealed off from the outside.”
Because when a transport magic circle activates, the Mana can’t be allowed to leak outward.
Naturally, they were also designed so that they wouldn’t be affected by external Mana, either.
“So don’t worry.”
Guiding Camilla onto the magic circle, Jainer opened a small vial he was holding and let a single drop of liquid fall onto the floor.
The circle’s faint light sharpened, and in an instant it wrapped around both of them quickly.
“This is....”
When she opened her eyes again, it was another underground space. Seeing Camilla still a little dazed, Jainer smiled slightly.
“Welcome. To the Fable Empire’s Khan branch base.”
“...We’re here?”
“Yeah. Normally, outsiders can’t come in this far. You’re the first.”
Jainer took Camilla’s hand and led her out of the underground space.
“Huh?”
SPRING.
“Khan, sir!”
The moment they emerged, several people waiting outside sprang up and bowed their heads in urgency.
“Get me a carriage.”
“Understood.”
At his order, one person hurried outside, and Jainer followed behind with Camilla.
By the time they stepped out of the building, a carriage was already waiting in front.
“Guardian’s Tower.”
“Understood.”
The instant the two of them got in, the carriage pulled away quickly.
“Hm.”
Before leaving the branch base, Jainer skimmed the documents a subordinate handed him.
“So that’s why.”
The report contained detailed information about Guardian’s Tower collapsing today.
“Ravi Sorpel... he’s inside the collapsed tower?”
“There’s no other news yet?”
At Camilla’s question, Jainer nodded.
“We can’t go any farther from here.”
As they neared Guardian’s Tower, the carriage came to a stop. They still needed to go farther, but it looked like there was a cordon starting at a certain distance.
Camilla got out of the carriage at once.
“......!”
Then she bit down hard on her lip without thinking. The scene in front of her was too horrific.
The tower had completely caved in, crushed down into itself.
Inside... inside there was Ravi?
With heavy steps, Camilla moved closer to the site.
“You can’t go any closer!”
Soldiers surrounding the area blocked her path. It was an obvious measure—there could be another collapse.
“How about going to the residence for now?”
Jainer asked after taking in the situation. It didn’t look like she’d gain anything by staying here right now.
“For now, all we can do is wait.”
“No.”
But Camilla shook her head immediately. She hadn’t rushed all the way here just to sit at home and wait for news.
“Camilla?”
A voice called her then. Camilla lifted her head and let out a breath of relief.
“Brother.”
It was Ludville. As he approached, the soldiers blocking Camilla quickly stepped aside. Camilla went straight to him.
“Where is Ravi?”
“Not yet.”
“They still haven’t found the others either?”
“There’s been a problem with the mages.”
“What....”
“They say their spellcasting isn’t working properly.”
For a moment, the mages had panicked. The flow of Mana they used had suddenly changed, leaving them confused.
Because of that, they weren’t getting proper magical support, and they were struggling to find survivors.
“If we just knew where they were....”
At Ludville’s words, Camilla nodded. This was exactly why she’d come in such a hurry.
Zeno.
Camilla turned her head and looked at Zeno hovering close at her side. Reading her gaze, he nodded.
“Ravi....”
[Got it.]
Humans might not be able to enter, but a ghost could go into that collapsed space with no restrictions.
If they could just identify roughly where Ravi and the other survivors were, rescue would become far easier.
WUUUUNG—
“......!”
Just as Zeno was about to go into the ruins. With an unknown vibration in the air, light burst forth.
As everyone flinched, figures emerged from within that light.
“See? I told you I was right! If you change the transport magic formula like this, it works!”
“Yeah.”
“You’re amazing too, Senior! You read the Mana flow right away and applied the formula!”
A chattering voice and a somewhat weary-sounding voice alternated.
“W-we’re alive.”
“Wow... I seriously thought I was going to die.”
Behind them, other voices followed.
Nine in total.
People could tell who they were. The missing mages.
“Anyway, report to the Magic Tower right away—”
As Ravi brushed dust off his head, his hand stopped short.
Countless people were staring at them blankly.
Then Ravi spotted one person, and his eyes widened.
“Camilla?”
“.......”
“How did you get here... no, when did you even—hey!”
Ravi couldn’t finish his sentence.
Because Camilla had dropped to the ground with a FLOP.
“Ugh....”
Camilla, who had forced herself to act calm all the way here, finally broke the moment she saw Ravi. Her tears burst free.
“I thought you were really dead!”
“...Sorry.”
And after that, Camilla cried, sobbing like a child, for a long while.
