The Sorcerers’ Association Runs Amok

The place I arrived at through Gate Magic, where Garmon-san’s tower had once stood, had naturally fallen into ruin.

It couldn’t be helped, considering how many decades had passed since then.

I didn’t know the exact amount of time, but Annie had a granddaughter now, after all.

Even in ruins, though, this was unmistakably a place filled with my memories, and traces of the past remained here and there.

…But now wasn’t the time to indulge in nostalgia.

Even though I’d treated their injuries, both Annie and her granddaughter Lenis still looked physically exhausted.

First, I needed to prepare somewhere for them to rest.

After all, I knew this place well.

And its owner was… no longer here, so there was no need to hold back.

I looked toward the forest and began clapping my hands together.

Each time I clapped, a tree was pulled from the ground and floated into the air, its roots and branches were removed, its moisture was extracted, and after I sliced it neatly apart, I was left with perfectly usable lumber.

I couldn’t exactly produce nails, so I shaped the wood to interlock like traditional joinery and assembled it, completing a wooden hut in only a few minutes.

That said, it was only a shell; it had no windows and was little more than something capable of keeping out some wind and rain.

I had blankets in storage, so… well, once I’d heard their circumstances, it would at least be enough to let them rest.

I turned back toward the dumbfounded Lenis and Annie, who for some reason was staring at me with an exasperated expression.

“Please, come in. There’s nothing much here, but make yourselves comfortable.”

I invited them into the newly built hut.

“Lept-kun, you’ve grown tremendously. You’re incomparable to how you were before.”

Annie looked around the hut and sighed with admiration, though she still somehow seemed slightly exasperated.

Back when Annie had known me, I’d only just become a Lesser Devil, so compared to then, I supposed it was only natural that I’d grown.

“Well, a lot happened. I don’t mind telling you about it, but if possible, I’d like to hear about the current situation first—and what exactly you want me to do, Annie.”

I took out some blankets, spread them over the wooden floor, and encouraged the two of them to sit as I asked.

Right. Nothing could begin until I understood the situation.

Once that was done, I could let the two of them rest for a while.

There would always be plenty of time later for me to talk about myself.

“Right… I’m not sure where to begin, but… after Garmon-san’s tower disappeared, a war broke out between the nations and the Sorcerers’ Association.”

Annie continued her explanation, occasionally stumbling over her words or grimacing at what she remembered.

The fighting had continued for a long time, but apparently the Sorcerers’ Association had remained at an advantage throughout.

The nations undoubtedly possessed overwhelmingly greater total manpower, but the Sorcerers’ Association had stockpiled countless forms of sorcery created by powerful practitioners without making them public, giving them an overwhelming advantage in magical warfare.

The reason the war had dragged on was that even when the Sorcerers’ Association won battles, it lacked the manpower necessary to actually bring the war to an end.

Wars began because of differences in opinion and ended when both sides’ interests finally aligned.

The victor said, Obey us, and the defeated side, unable to accept any further losses, agreed to submit.

Even if you kept winning battles, if you lacked the people needed to occupy enemy territory or negotiate with the opposition, then naturally the fighting would drag on endlessly.

Most sorcerers belonging to the Association wanted time to research sorcery far more than they wanted to govern others or hold negotiations.

That problem, however, was eventually solved by the sorcerers of the nations that had surrendered, who were freed from state control.

More accurately, it was solved far too effectively.

Those liberated sorcerers did not forget that they themselves had once been ruled.

And since the duties entrusted to them involved occupying and governing enemy territory, they must have rejoiced at the reversal in their positions.

Then, after the Sorcerers’ Association forced every nation that had fought against it into submission, the problem finally surfaced.

Victory was the finest honey, and also a poison that corrupted the heart.

After winning, the sorcerers began declaring that sorcerers were inherently superior beings and should rule over all humanity.

Some more sensible sorcerers, especially longtime members who had belonged to the Association from the beginning, raised objections, but the majority opinion was too strong and swept them aside.

“From there, it became hell. Only the western half of the continent had originally been at war with the Sorcerers’ Association, but afterward, they started wars with the countries in the eastern half too. The fighting had only just finally ended…”

Annie’s voice was filled with sorrow, though I could more or less understand how things had ended up that way.

If a war continued long enough, people inevitably emerged whose livelihoods depended on it, and the positions and influence gained through fighting would inevitably weaken once peace returned.

That was why ending a war was often harder than starting one.

If both sides exhausted themselves and simply ran out of strength, that was one thing, but if an organization as politically inept as the Sorcerers’ Association simply won outright, then of course the conflict wouldn’t end cleanly.

Especially if the newly liberated sorcerers had become intoxicated by their new status.

“Then sorcerers who opposed the fighting began being attacked by those who wanted the wars to continue… and my granddaughter and I became targets too.”

In other words, Annie and Lenis had both opposed the war.

Given Annie’s skill and accomplishments, she must certainly have held considerable standing within the Sorcerers’ Association, so targeting even someone like her meant matters had become extremely serious.

Hmm… what should I do?

“I understand the situation, and it’s pretty awful. But with that in mind, what do you want me to do? We could flee to one of the eastern countries that hasn’t fallen yet, clear out some remote place and live in hiding… or I could go around knocking down every sorcerer who wants to keep fighting.”

When Annie paused, I asked the question.

What mattered was what she wanted.

To me, the future of this world mattered less than Annie and the granddaughter she clearly cherished, Lenis.

This world certainly held many memories for me, but it couldn’t compare with a friend who was also my summoner.

“…Could you give me some time? To be honest, I thought I wasn’t going to survive, so I summoned you because I wanted to entrust my granddaughter to you. I never imagined I’d live, so I hadn’t even thought about what I wanted to do afterward.”

At Annie’s words, I nodded.

For the two of them, the current situation must have been completely unexpected.

In that case, they could discuss it together.

Just being able to save Annie after seeing her again had already made me happy enough for one day.

“Then the two of you should talk it over. After that, get some proper rest. I’ll be outside taking care of a few things, so I’ll come back tomorrow.”

With that, I turned away.

But the one who stopped me was—

“Wait. Hey, I want to ask you something.”

To my surprise, it was Annie’s granddaughter, Lenis.

What could she want?

Lenis had seemed wary of me because I was a devil, so I was slightly surprised.

“First… thank you for saving us. I’m sorry I couldn’t say it earlier. And then, um… are you really that Lept?”

I nodded in response to Lenis’s thanks, then tilted my head at what she said next.

That Lept? What did she mean by that?

Even after furrowing my brow and thinking about it, nothing came to mind. Had I done something bad in this world…?

“I’m asking if you’re the Lept who jointly published numerous forms of sorcery with Archwizard Garmon—the Lept of Gravity Sorcery!”

For some reason, Lenis’s face flushed slightly as she spoke with unusual intensity.

That explanation had been far too incomplete before.

But once she brought up something so nostalgic, understanding dawned on me, and I couldn’t help smiling.

Come to think of it, Garmon-san had apparently been known as an Archwizard.

“Only in name. I just came up with the ideas; Garmon-san was the one who actually turned them into working sorcery. Gravity Sorcery… that’s nostalgic.”

It truly was nostalgic.

Gravity Sorcery—or Gravity Magic when I used it directly—was still one of my specialties.

Spread thinly across a wide area, it worked well as a slowing debuff, while concentrating it on one target made it excellent for restraining them, so it was extremely versatile.

“So it really is you! Gravity Sorcery was used on a massive scale at the Battle of Andaramon, and people even say the Sorcerers’ Association would have lost without it. And Sterilization Sorcery supposedly opened up an entirely new frontier in haute cuisine, and then—!”

I was taken aback when Lenis suddenly launched into an avalanche of words.

What was with this girl? Was she some kind of sorcery nerd?

When I glanced toward Annie, she was wearing a wry smile too.

“Lenis, calm down. You’re troubling Lept-kun. Save the sorcery discussion for another day, all right? Don’t worry, he’s Garmon-san’s apprentice, so I’m sure he’ll tell you all sorts of things.”

Annie sounded as though she were gently scolding Lenis, yet somehow she was raising expectations for our future conversation at the same time.

Still, once Garmon-san’s name had been invoked, I couldn’t exactly back down as someone who had inherited his knowledge.

But for today, it would have to wait.

“Right, we’ll talk about that another day. For now, the two of you should discuss things calmly, but make sure you actually rest too. Good night.”

With that, I stepped outside.

The seven moons were still shining in the night sky, and I couldn’t help narrowing my eyes as I looked up at them.