Chapter 96

I had the four of them continue their debate, and had Iiria return to her own work.

She had the role of thinking up a speech to tell the people of the territory about the war with Roran.

The islanders were also beginning to sense that something was going on, since the lords had returned from Roran on an unfamiliar ship and were unusually busy.

Information would probably start leaking soon from the companies that had undergone inventory checks.

Before their unease began catching fire on its own, we needed to show them our resolve.

However, because Kururu, who normally kept watch over her, was not there, I somehow managed to push the grumbling Iiria into her room, then went after Gerario.

“How was it?”

When I called out to Gerario, who was alone in the corridor facing the courtyard, the battle-hardened mercenary looked at me sharply.

“After the war, are you going to leave the magic circle research to those people?”

I looked toward the place where the four of them were probably still arguing loudly, then answered.

“They were more reassuring than I expected.”

That was not only because they had managed to work out bit encoding in no time at all by their own strength.

They had not spoken about payment or anything of the sort, had immediately latched onto the problem presented to them, and even when their own theories were denied, they properly examined the other person’s ideas. Frankly, I thought they were far more wonderful personnel than I had imagined.

However, Gerario made a displeased face, groped inside his coat with his hand, then stopped with a sigh.

He might have been about to smoke a cigarette.

“What are you?”

“Mm… huh?”

I had never expected that I would be the one questioned, rather than that dubious astrologer or gambler.

As I stood there taken aback, Gerario roughly scratched his head.

“Those mismatched people with different status, ages, and everything else suddenly united. Without any talk about money, treatment, or anything.”

Gerario looked away and continued speaking.

“I’ve heard there are magic circles that manipulate people’s hearts. But you aren’t a magician. At least, not as far as I know.”

Of course, there was no meaning in continuing to hide that I was a magician after encountering a crisis like that underground prison in Roran. Gerario had probably said it while knowing that too.

“They didn’t put it into words, but I think all four of them understood their treatment and reward.”

“Huh?”

One of Gerario’s eyebrows rose.

“The reward is the complicated problem to be solved, and the existence of companions who can work on it together.”

Putting Zezel aside, at least the other three seemed to be having fun.

The reason the back of my nose stung a little was because I had remembered making games during my university days.

Every geek knew deep down how precious it was to have companions with the same interests.

“Of course, we’ll discuss money properly later. But the reason no one brought it up was probably because there was something more interesting than money. This is just a guess, but even on the battlefield, people probably unite not for the reward, but because they have a common enemy, right?”

Gerario looked at me and hunched his neck.

“It’s not that simple… but I understand what you’re trying to say.”

Then he snorted.

“And since you didn’t drive out that Zezel fellow, they must have understood the lax atmosphere around you people too. Especially the gambler and astrologer, I think. Those two clearly aren’t the kind to quietly obey authority. If you had questioned them about their backgrounds in detail and talked about pay first… they might have taken offense.”

Gerario had the sharper eye for people.

“However, I am worried they may be too excellent.”

“What?”

“With people that bright, I think they’ll eventually notice the matter of the synthetic magic stones.”

For now, I had no intention of showing them the synthetic magic stones themselves, but the possibility that they would catch on was not low.

Then we also had to consider the possibility that once they solved the mystery of the magic circles, they might vanish.

Whether they were excellent or not had been determined, but as for whether they could be trusted… honestly, I thought my own eye for people was useless.

“Like you said, those people didn’t talk about money at all. Just like foolish adventurers who join battles that don’t make them any profit.”

The wry smile Gerario gave after saying that seemed like he was nostalgically remembering the past.

He might have seen many such companions on battlefields.

However, from my perspective, Gerario himself was exactly that type.

“So, well, you can probably trust them. Rather, what you should worry about is—”

Gerario sighed.

“Whether those people will get scared and run once they find out the real goal is magic circle research.”

“Run?”

When I asked back, Gerario shrugged.

“Magic is the territory of the privileged class. I don’t know much about that Imperial Academy the astrologer fellow mentioned earlier, but magic is managed by the empire’s Ministry of Magic and the church’s Ministry of Orthodoxy and Heresy. There are enthusiasts who research it as a hobby, but that’s almost always the eccentric pastime of the extremely wealthy. Either way, only nobles are there.”

It was probably something like the territory of the authorities, too exalted for common people to approach, but something bothered me a little.

“Huh, but wouldn’t children from villages with talent for magic gather at the Ministry of Magic too?”

“The moment they pass through the gate, they’re treated as nobles. Naturally, if they leave through the gate, they go right back to where they were.”

In this world with its clear status order, magicians were special enough to be treated that way.

“Well, it’s a rather satisfying story. A wandering gambler, a bricklayer, that astrologer old man… didn’t he run away from some heresy trial or something? And Zezel. A beastman, no less. Those people are going to trample all over the nobles’ territory.”

Would they have the spirit to stand against the world of magic, which was firmly incorporated into the power structure?

This was not a matter of innocently solving mathematical problems.

However, as for whether we could solve the mystery by ourselves, the present situation was extremely doubtful.

“We’ll have to put our hopes on their guts.”

It seemed I could consider that Gerario had given them his approval for now.

In that case, what remained was arranging their salaries and securing a mansion for research.

The town was currently prosperous, and there were few vacant houses. The company had secured them as warehouses for goods, and craftsmen were fiercely buying buildings with workshop expansion in mind.

If the population density rose too much, disease would become a concern, so we had to expand the town districts too.

To do that, surveying, confirming rights to new land, and other tasks would appear one after another.

I was in the middle of listing those things in my head with some disgust.

Then Gerario said with a cough.

“So, on our side, there’s something we want to test with that magic stone before the war.”

From the moment Gerario learned about the synthetic magic stones in Roran, he had been absorbed in the stories of large-scale magic circles left in legends.

He was itching to test-fire one, but he seemed to be waiting for permission out of consideration for me.

Words of persuasion about danger and such would probably be meaningless.

“If it turns out we can use large-scale magic, the likes of Roran will be nothing.”

The cynical man who seemed to have turned his back on the world had his eyes shining brightly.

Rather than clumsily admonishing Gerario like this and making him sulk, it would be better for us to lean forward and cooperate too.

In any case, confirming large-scale magic circles was a path we could not avoid.

“I’m more anxious than hopeful, but… I did ask Katz-san at the harbor earlier. It seems there’s a place nearby in the sea that would be good for test-firing.”

Jirenu Territory was an island floating in the sea, so I had asked Katz whether there was an uninhabited small island nearby, or a reef large enough to land on. If we fired dangerous magic toward an empty sea, the damage should be small.

“Then while that priest bastard isn’t around, let’s copy the magic circle from the church’s floor stones onto clay. We’ll need it even if we have those four examine it.”

I sighed at Gerario, who already could not suppress his excitement.

There was no sense of tension at all that the world might be overturned from beneath our feet.

“Gerario-san, I think you’re even more than those four.”

“Hmm?”

Gerario, who looked blankly surprised, was strangely childlike.