Chapter 114

Apparently, the strong wind from the previous day had made the waves high, and the ice platform of the abandoned mine had been flooded.

Gerario and Balan had gone out to the offshore mine to repair it, so I called Kururu, Iiria, Kengo, and also Cole, since I thought it would not be good to leave him out.

When the night had grown late and the delegation from Roran had gone to sleep, everyone gathered at the magic circle research institute.

The reason everyone looked puzzled once they had assembled was probably because they had suddenly received a report saying that the mysterious characters written on magic circles seemed to have been deciphered.

On top of that, what emerged after being deciphered was also shocking.

Iiria, who finally seemed to have caught up with the facts before her eyes, turned toward me awkwardly, like a broken robot.

“Yorinobu, this…”

Although she somehow squeezed out those words, nothing followed.

Kururu, who was holding Iiria as if supporting her, had also forgotten to blink and seemed not even to be breathing.

“It was more than I expected.”

Falone and the others had apparently identified the statistical characteristics of the cipher, applied the same process to the characters that appeared in books they could obtain, and brute-forced which language from which era the character strings carved into magic stones matched.

Thus, the cipher ended up being solved.

However, if I were to speak for the feelings of those who witnessed the result, perhaps I should say that it had been solved, unfortunately.

“Falone-san, could you explain?”

Even Kengo was groaning, so I said that on everyone’s behalf.

“Mm. First, what was carved into the magic stones was an encrypted form of the writing used during the Fogg Empire era, which is said to have existed several hundred years ago.”

The Fogg Empire collapsed for some reason, and after an age of rival warlords, there was a power vacuum for nearly two hundred years. That was the view of this world’s history that I had also been taught.

“However, the fact that we were able to decipher this seems to have been somewhat inevitable rather than simply a matter of good luck.”

“Inevitable?”

“Many texts from this era remain. Especially those from the late imperial period. There are strangely many writings from this period, and even among my astrology collection, there were several copies from that time. That is why this was the first language we tested. Otherwise, we would not have deciphered it this quickly.”

Twisting his beard, Falone proudly puffed out his chest.

“However, deciphering the cipher was merely the prelude to further problems.”

Falone grinned broadly, but he was the only one smiling.

Zezel and Alan were huddled anxiously in the corner of the room, while Luano was holding a jar of alcohol.

What Falone was proudly indicating was a comparison chart pasted on the wall, showing the ciphertext and the deciphered plaintext.

The reason Iiria, Kururu, Cole, and even Kengo had all caught their breath was because of the translation written especially large there.

“This is the deciphered version of the mysterious character string carved into the largest large-scale magic circle we can obtain, the one displayed above the church altar.”

For many long years, it had intimidated church believers, and everyone had seen it before, yet no one had understood its meaning.

The character string that had been forgotten over the long course of history was by no means words praising God.

—Those who can read this text. Do not use that wisdom to challenge the mystery of magic circles.

What was there was clearly a warning.

“Hm-hm-hm. Does that not sound like words aimed directly at us?”

The heretical astrologer who had continued challenging taboos actually seemed happy.

“However, although this text itself is ominous, despite that, the texts left here and there are traces of magic circle analysis.”

Falone searched through the bundles of paper scattered across the table and found the one he wanted.

“For example, the character strings carved into ordinary magic circles in general circulation were nothing but explanations such as, ‘This part amplifies the overall power of the magic,’ or ‘This magic circle stabilizes the output.’ That knowledge is probably still widely known among craftsmen even now. It seems to have been used as a memorandum.”

If it was something like comments in programming, then it made sense that magic would activate even without it.

“However, once the magic circles become medium-sized or larger, the writing suddenly becomes more human.”

“Human?”

“Mm. Things like, ‘Is this sequence not meaningless?’ ‘This has no meaning on its own.’ ‘It does not add up.’ ‘Why?’ ‘Why?’ ‘Why?’”

The final “why” had been written on the part of the basic magic circle that Falone and the others had held their heads over, wondering if it was meaningless. The short character string that appeared over and over again had apparently been a word of anguish.

“When it comes to large magic circles like those left in the foundation stones of churches, the flavor changes even further. They become like letters without recipients, similar to the warning from earlier. Otherwise, they are monologues by those who were researching magic.”

At Falone’s glance, Zezel pasted new papers on the wall.

“I have lined up the interesting ones among those we decoded one after another.”

—Secrets unknown to us are hidden within magic circles.

—Records of magic used by the great spirits remain in the royal treasury.

—Why does not a single one of them function?

“Function…?”

That questioning murmur came from Iiria.

“Indeed, my lord. We were surprised too. After all, it appears that the Fogg Empire had not deciphered the mystery of large-scale magic circles.”

Looking extremely disappointed, Falone stared at the words written on the paper.

Beyond that, it was written as follows.

—And yet the great spirits once wielded magic beyond human wisdom.

—And yet magic that revives the dead exists.

—And yet magic that turns back time exists.

—And yet magic that grants eternal life exists.

And.

—And yet magic that obtains knowledge from another world exists.

“It looks like a list of complaints from dream-filled magicians, does it not? However, as for me, this text caught my attention more.”

Falone indicated the lower part of the text written on the paper.

“Why did the ancient Asrada Empire, which should have wielded magic beyond human understanding, fall?”

Cole reacted to those words.

“The Asrada Empire…? Isn’t that a legendary existence?”

“I felt the same. In the present age, it is an ancient, far more ancient great nation of which only the name remains. However, looking at these texts, it seems that these large-scale magic circles were handed down from the era of the Asrada Empire. When one thinks of how many years ago that must have been, does it not make one’s heart tremble?”

As Falone raised his shoulders and chuckled, Cole was clearly overwhelmed.

While I also sympathized with the historical romance of it, something about this story felt strange.

“But if so… what does the warning on the large-scale magic circle, telling people not to pursue the mystery, mean?”

“Mm?”

“The people of the era who carved this warning into the magic stone also apparently never reached the secret of magic circles. If so, what danger were they warning against?”

We had thought that the ancient empire had destroyed itself by making magic too enormous, or by using large-scale magic circles.

But if they too could not activate large-scale magic circles, then what they had feared became unclear.

“It is simple. Look at me!”

Falone spread both arms and swept aside his patch-covered robe.

“Curiosity destroys the body. Well, perhaps it was the squandering of wealth. Most likely, they chased after something like magic that grants eternal life, causing their finances to tilt and the empire to fall into civil war. In the first place, the established theory is that so many documents from the late Fogg Empire remain because they tried to preserve the collapsing empire at least in document form. There are an absurd number of gloomy documents worrying about the empire’s tomorrow.”

A dictator running wild because of old age, becoming captivated by the great magic said to have been left behind by the great spirits, and causing the empire’s destruction as a result. It was an extremely plausible story.

“Then these things that are carved into the magic stones too?”

“Would it not be sad if one could not leave one’s research to posterity? In that regard, there is nothing more suitable than magic stones for leaving words behind. Many people copy and use them, after all.”

What was necessary to preserve information was copying.

In that regard, there was nothing better than magic circles carved into magic stones.

“They likely encrypted them because they thought the words would be scraped away if people realized they were texts unrelated to magic. Otherwise, perhaps those who researched magic were being watched by the authorities. They could not send letters to their families, nor could they speak and tell their children. So, to leave their words behind, they had no choice but to use the magic stones at hand… perhaps. In particular, a warning like the one carved into this largest magic circle seems exactly like something those in power would dislike, does it not?”

—Do not challenge the mystery of magic circles.

“Then…”

When I looked toward the voice, it was Iiria, who seemed to be gradually beginning to catch up with the conversation.

“If we gather magic circles and decipher the texts that were left behind, we’ll be able to understand what things were like back then?”

That was true in theory, but I looked at the magic stone samples placed on the table and thought.

They had probably been perfect for leaving behind words from the past, but precisely because they were like that, there was a problem with leaving truly important messages.

Falone immediately shook his head as well.

“That is probably not the case.”

“But…”

“The magic circles and ciphers carved into magic stones survive by being copied. However, that also means they are seen by too many people. Right?”

At my words, the astrologer who had spent his life chasing suspicious knowledge nodded exaggeratedly.

“Indeed. No matter how confident one is in a cipher, the person who wrote it knows how to solve it. In that case, one would not write complaints about one’s wife in a place that often catches the eye, would one?”

At that odd example, Iiria showed a stiff smile.

“However, several very important things have become clear. Even the Fogg Empire, which we call an ancient empire, had not solved the mystery of magic. Furthermore, the large-scale magic circles that remain today seem to have been handed down from the era of the legendary Asrada Empire, of which only the name now remains.”

“And on top of that, the effects of that magic are outrageous?”

At Kengo’s words, Falone nodded deeply.

“At the very least, it seems the researchers of that time believed so. Or perhaps the records said to have remained in the royal family were so trustworthy.”

At those words, the fur on Iiria’s ears and tail stood on end.

Then, with a strained expression, she pointed at the copy of the large-scale magic circle pasted on the wall.

“Then this… this large-scale magic circle is not a fabrication made by later generations, but a genuine thing handed down from ancient times?”

If these magic circles simply happened not to activate now, and were silently hiding their true power…

Then we were staring at the keyhole to an extraordinary mystery of the world, one capable of turning back time.

“Exciting, is it not, my lord?”

The only one who could smile there was Falone.

Iiria, whose only wishes in daily life were naps and peaceful time, took in a breath so deep that her tail puffed up, then sighed from the bottom of her heart with an expression of utter disgust.