“State my name!”
My declaration caused a moment of stunned silence among everyone present, but Mitsuki, shaking her cat ears, eventually recovered and spoke.
“I… I can’t believe it. To think that such a secret was hidden in the town where we lived normally.”
“Yeah. I doubted my sanity the first time I realized it.”
What was strange was that this fact wasn’t revealed in the game; I had only deduced it from various clues.
To go through all this trouble and not follow up on any of the foreshadowing… the Nekoneko staff were truly something else.
Perhaps they were just people who loved creating lore but had no interest in utilizing it, a peculiar bunch.
If there were so many hidden backstories lying around, it’s no wonder the wiki’s speculation pages were so lively.
And so, we’ve covered half of the story.
It still continues.
“Naturally, the center of this magic circle is aligned with the center of the city.
Therefore, the place this magical energy would gather is originally the Cathedral, located in the heart of the city.”
“I see! So, the light from that stained glass window was intensified by the magic-gathering array, wasn’t it!”
“Ah, probably.”
I chimed in with Sahzan’s exclamation.
This city was founded by the Founding King Alex, and the Cathedral was deeply connected to him.
It was likely part of the lore that Alex created this setup.
Gathering the magic from throughout the city bit by bit, creating a mystical pillar of light to fabricate a divine miracle.
I suppose they needed a clear demonstration to win people over, but the Founding King was surprisingly cunning.
At that moment, someone stood up from their chair with a “bang.”
“So, you’re saying the ones gathering magic at the Cathedral are the bad guys!
I can’t forgive them! Let’s kill them all!”
“Uh, um…”
Unsure how to react, I faltered. The person who stood up and shouted wasn’t any of our usual companions. It was a Priestess from our table, whose name I didn’t even know.
“Ah, come to think of it, I haven’t introduced myself.
My name is Myusurushushu Myurmururutz.”
The Priestess told me, but it was a name that was incredibly difficult to pronounce.
“Um, Myushurushusu-san.”
“Ah, I’m sorry. It’s not Myushurushusu, it’s Myusurushusu.”
“R-right. Um, Myurmururitz-san.”
“Ah, I’m sorry. It’s not Myurmururitz, it’s Myurmururutz.”
“…”
Who on earth came up with this name! Muttering a fresh wave of murderous intent towards the Nekoneko staff, I listened to what Myus… Myur… My-whatever-san had to say.
This My-whatever-san was a Sister who worked at a church in the city, separate from the Cathedral, and seemed to be the right-hand woman of the famous character, Father Gratia. I didn’t recall hearing her name in the game, so she was likely not a companion but a high-level NPC who wasn’t involved in events.
“Those bald old men at the Cathedral, whenever they visit us, they always make snide remarks to Father Gratia!
Like, ‘It must be nice to live such a laid-back life here,’ they say, so condescendingly!
They must be jealous because Father Gratia has such beautiful hair! We should eradicate them right now!”
Come to think of it, the famous NPC in this city’s church, Father Gratia, had long hair, didn’t he? However, it was also possible that the Nekoneko staff, with their stereotypical view of “holy men are like monks, so let’s make them bald,” had designed the Cathedral staff with shaved heads. They might not be guilty… possibly.
“Ah. Eradicating them is a bit much…”
“Really? Then, at least, let’s eradicate their hair follicles!”
“No, if more bald people appear, won’t Father be resented even more?”
Despite looking composed, her inner self was quite different. Or perhaps, if one considers her anger on behalf of someone she respects, she could be considered a good person.
“You truly like Father Gratia, don’t you.”
“It’s not that I like him, but he’s a reliable person, and besides…”
She trailed off, gazing into the distance with the eyes of a girl in love.
“He’s also the only one who can say my name correctly.”
“Just how difficult is your name?!”
Well, it’s a bit rich for me, who can’t say it correctly, to comment. However, setting aside what kind of people the Cathedral staff are, the culprits this time are not them.
“I’m sorry, but please hold off on blaming the Cathedral staff for now. While that magic circle was indeed meant to create a pillar of light at the Cathedral, didn’t the weapon shop owner mention recently that the number of Cathedral visitors had decreased?
It’s likely that function has been lost. Someone is tampering with this setup and using it for something entirely different.”
I lowered my gaze to the open city map.
“Sahzan. You said that if you alter the array, you can change where the power gathers, right?”
“Huh? Ah, yes.”
“Then…”
I stared intently at the map, pointing to two locations.
“If we sever the connection at these two points, where will the array’s magic gather?”
“If it’s there, and there…”
Sahzan’s eyes behind her mask became serious. After a moment of thought, she slid her finger across the map to a single point.
“…Probably around here.”
She announced in a strained voice. Sahzan, too, seemed to grasp the implications.
“Exactly, isn’t it.”
The spot indicated by the masked Magician. It was the “Tower of Sorcery,” the Magician’s Guild’s stronghold, which boasted the greatest height in the Capital City.
During the game, there was a Magician’s Guild-related quest with a bluntly titled objective: “Crush the Opposition!” The quest involved using a Magic Golem, designed for base destruction, to crush the home of those who opposed the Guild Master’s ritual.
The performance of that Magic Golem was incredible. While it could only attack at close range, it boasted late-game boss-level physical attack and defense power, with the same physical resistance as a Butcher. Furthermore, despite its size, its mobility wasn’t bad, making it a seemingly impenetrable fortress. However, it had zero magic defense and was four times weak to all non-physical elements, making it a terrible choice.
Why deploy a golem weak to magic when fighting mages? Players couldn’t destroy buildings, so they had to protect the golem at all costs, making it an unreasonably difficult quest. But that’s a story for another time. The important thing is that the objective of this quest was not “defeat the opposition holed up in the house,” but “destroy the house where the opposition is holed up.”
At the time, I couldn’t quite understand it, but now I do. Because the house where the opposition was holed up was the very location I indicated on the map earlier. In other words, it was the most crucial spot for altering the magic array to channel the city’s magic to the Magician’s Guild.
“I’ll skip the details, but I knew the Magician’s Guild was targeting these two houses. Of course, I didn’t think their goal was to destroy the mithril on the roofs.”
“Hmm? So, are those houses already destroyed? If so, there would have been more incidents and rumors spreading through the city…”
To Maki’s objection, I nodded without denying it.
“There are. However, not as building destruction incidents, but as thefts.”
“Ah, right! Perhaps it’s the mithril theft incidents?”
At the weapon shop, besides rumors about the Cathedral, I also heard about an incident where “mithril building materials” were stolen from a house. And the only part of a house that would use mithril is the roof. While not definitive, it’s logical to assume that incident was the Magician’s Guild removing the mithril from the roof to alter the city’s magic array.
“Likely, the magic absorbed by the array is now gathering at the Magician’s Guild. They intend to use that power to perform a forbidden ritual.”
“In other words, even this city-wide MP drain is just the beginning?”
Mitsuki tilted her head, her cat ears twitching, and I nodded, my expression hardening.
“For now, only a small amount of MP is being drained. But if their ritual truly begins, it won’t stop there. They will try to drain all the HP and MP of the humans in this city. If that happens, all life in this city… will be annihilated.”
The moment I spoke, I heard someone gasp. At the same time, an image from the game flashed through my mind.
– The sight of the deserted Capital City after some Magician’s Guild event.
Back then, as a game, I couldn’t truly comprehend that an empty city was the result of everyone in the Capital City dying. Moreover, with patches rolling back guild event effects and data loads, even in the worst-case scenario, I could just restart. So, events like a city’s annihilation could be laughed about later.
But now, it’s different. I can’t easily reset effects from the menu, nor can I load data or start a new game. Yet, if that event progresses to its conclusion, the people of the Capital City, possibly even my companions, will truly all die. I must never let that scene be recreated in this world.
“We are the only ones who’ve realized their plot who can stop it. Even a little is fine. Will you lend me your strength, everyone?”
I said that and looked around at my companions’ faces. A sudden crisis for the city, a sudden request for cooperation. Despite that, not a single one of them averted their gaze.
“Thank you.”
Without needing to hear their replies, I knew their intentions from their expressions alone. All that’s left is to act.
“Time is precious. Let’s head there immediately. The destination, of course, is…”
…Five minutes later.
“Hah! Yi-sha!”
With a shout, a metal plate soared into the sky. We had left the library and were currently on its roof.
“Okay. I think that’s all of it here.”
With permission from Serie, we worked together to remove the mithril used on the library’s roof. I was a bit surprised that we could easily remove the mithril without having to break the roof, as I had feared would be necessary. But well, I was glad it ended safely.
“Alright, we’re dismissed for today. Good work, everyone.”
“…What? W-wait a minute! The Magician’s Guild! The crisis in the city!”
Ignoring Sahzan’s nonsensical, hysterical shouts, I stretched. The more precise and calculated a plan is, the weaker it is against interference. It can crumble entirely with as little as arbitrarily removing one roof.
“Hey, are you listening! I said, listen! …Don’t ignore meeee!”
With Sahzan’s usual shrill voice as background music, I gazed at the newly removed mithril plate and muttered.
“…I wonder how much this will sell for?”
– And so, the unprecedented crisis that threatened the Capital City began to recede thanks to a mere five minutes of Sunday DIY.
