◇


  A while later.

  We're walking toward Zadoria in aloha shirts Ruli made.

  "Think it's about time we start concealing our mana."

  I put [Mana Concealment] on Iris.

  Iris's mana would have straight up revealed us no matter the disguise we put on otherwise.

  With this magic… Her mana will be hidden unless it's getting specifically probed.

  "…Iris-san's mana reaction disappeared!"

  "Mathi-kun, you can do something like that!?"

  Ruli and Alma were shocked at the disappearance of Iris's mana.

  This magic is exactly like its name suggests, it conceals target's mana.

  It's difficult to put on a bearer of enormous mana like Iris… But I can somehow manage now thanks to my reinforced magic circuits I got from Gaias resurrection.

  That said, I can't fight while maintaining this, so I'm gonna need to remove the spell when we engage in a battle.

  "Yeah. It's only been recently I can cast it on Iris… Let me adjust it a bit, having utterly no mana is not natural."

  I adjust the output of [Mana Concealment].

  Then Iris's mana reaction got to around average human's level.

  Now we won't get found out the instant we enter the town.

  …The mana leaking out of her is slightly different than that of human though so she still can be found out if you observe closely.

  I check the mana reactions inside the town while thinking.

  "…Doesn't seem like there's a demon at a glance."

  "I don't see any demonic mana anywhere…"

  "Maybe that magic really did kill it off?"

  Ruli and Alma couldn't detect the demon's mana either.

  But we can't relax our guard yet.

  "Greater demons are great at hiding their mana. We're unlikely able to detect it unless we get close to it if it really intends on hiding its mana."

  "The image I have on demons don't really fit with the word hidden…"

  "Yeah. Hiding that much mana will be difficult, and they normally won't try to… But I believe it's doing exactly that right now. After all, 1,200 of its kins have just dropped dead recently."

  And… The demon is most definitely on high alert right about now.

  After all, this was right after the annihilation of other demons by way of [Eye of Heaven].

  The demon probably has no clue about [Eye of Heaven].

  That's my original magic… In other words, it had never been cast in the past several thousand years.

  From demons' point of view, it must look like… some kind of unknown attack raining down upon the earth killing their kins.

  …You're crazy if that situation doesn't put you on high alert.

  At the very least, you'd attempt to hide your mana from being detected by this unknown enemy.

  "Now that you mention it, that makes sense…"

  "It's a shame that we can't use mana detection though."

  Ruli check the surrounding mana after saying that.

  But there's no response anywhere.

  "…But it's not all bad."

  "There's good things too?"

  "Yeah. For example, the [Mana Concealment] I put on Iris… [Active Detection] will immediately expose it."

  [Mana Concealment] is a magic that erases the target's mana emission en route, avoiding [Passive Detection] in the process.

  But since [Mana Concealment] also erases mana coming from [Active Detection], the mana in that spot alone won't return to the [Active Detection] user… Creating an unnatural situation.

  There are ways to deal with this problem, but it's not applicable to Iris due to her enormous mana.

  "[Active Detection]… It's the magic that emit your own mana and then detect the rebounded mana?"

  "Yeah. [Active Detection] can be used to immediately find [Mana Concealment]… But [Active Detection] is practically like announcing your own location. If the other party is trying to avoid detection, it won't attempt to cast the spell."

  In other words… We're in a situation that discourage the usage of detection on both sides.

  "Err, it's like we're both groping around in the dark then?"

  "Close enough."

  If the greater demon wasn't hiding its mana, both sides would have likely found out each other locations, and it would turn into a frontal brawl in Zadoria.

  Compared to that, this situation where both sides can't see each other mana reactions will make the battle easier.

  In term of pure power, I can't win against demons as usual.

  The more it consists of technical matches, the higher my chance at winning.

  We pass through the town gate while thinking.

  Then… I found a familiar mana reaction inside the town.

  This mana reaction… resembles Giruas.

  "…Is that a mana reaction from Giruas?"

  Giruas is a rank S adventurer from Raginia Union.

  He lost to me in the rank up test, learned chantless magic and eventually got strong enough to kill a demon alone.

  Wonder why that Giruas is here.

  This place should be within Eis Kingdom's territory.

  "Err… This is Giruas, isn't it…"

  "It is Giruas…"

  Ruli and Iris are of the same opinion.

  There's no mistaking his mana reaction.

  Well, I suppose there's no way anyone can overlook that peculiar mana reaction.

  "…Alright, let's be careful not to get found out by him."

  "Eh, we're hiding from him?"

  "Yeah. It smells like trouble… I don't want to stand out while we're looking around this place."

  Giruas being here wouldn't be out of place if this were Raginia Union.

  But… it's in Eis Kingdom here.

  He must have some kind of reason to go out of his way and come abroad.

  Probably sensed a presence of some strong person or something like that.

  Giruas is a battle maniac.

  If we encounter him here, he's almost assuredly going to challenge me.

  I would be fine with that, normally… But fighting him in this situation will cause a commotion.

  We have no idea where the demon and its underlings are lurking in this town.

  Now is the time to grope around stealthily.

  "You're right, Giruas will definitely stand out…"

  "Yeah. So let's go survey the town while avoiding him."

  I walked in the town after saying that.

  First, we need to look for the 『Coffin of Sealing』.

  Can't fetch the sword unless we know where it's located first.

  ◇


  "…The sword is inside the town lord's mansion, no doubt about it."

  Just as the night fell.

  We came back to our inn and discussed with the girls.

  "That mansion was suspicious indeed."

  There's a town lord's mansion in the center of this town.

  Such a mansion is a common sight in any town… But what peculiar with this one was the inside.

  "No one was inside such a big mansion besides the entrance… That's just weird!"

  That's right.

  The mansion was uninhabited, save for the area around the entrance.

  Of course it can't be an abandoned house.

  Lights were on when it got dark, and there were traces of people living as well.

  And there were light foot traffic in the area near the entrance.

  The town lord's mansion also function as a sort of public office.

  It's clearly weird how only the front entrance was used.

  I can't think of any reason why in ordinary situations… But I can hazard a guess from the information Second Academy obtained.

  "They don't want to let anyone in… Perhaps there's something that must not be stolen inside."

  "You think so too…"

  "Yeah… Though it's been concealed, there were traces of demonic mana mixed in the air. That mansion is undoubtedly under the rule of demon."

  There are spells that can control human's senses among ancient magic.

  For instance, a spell that makes people who come to the lord's mansion unconsciously [unwilling to enter rooms in the back].

  Commonly known as [People Clearing] magic.

  "Does that mean, the sword is inside that mansion then…?"

  "Most likely. We can find where it is if we use 『Active Detection』… But I can make a guess even without."

  I unrolled a drawing of town lord's mansion on desk.

  By looking at the drawing, I can make an educated guess from the way the building is structured, where it's focused into protecting something.

  "This is the lord's mansion blueprint."

  "This drawing is so precise… Where did you get this?"

  "I guessed it from mana seen through [Passive Detection]… As such, there are some parts where I'm not sure as well."

  I pointed at an area around the center of the mansion.

  Mana from [Passive Detection] didn't pass through those sections well since they were too far from the path I took.

  This much distance wouldn't pose a problem were the mana reaction was as big as a monster's at least… But I need to get quite close when the mana is only a trace amount from stone walls.

  "Y-you made a drawing this detailed just from looking at the mana!?"

  "Yeah… You too can tell mana reaction of say, those walls, can't you Ruli?"

  I pointed at the inn's walls.

  These inn's walls are made of woods that contain relatively dense mana.

  It's easier to grasp than those made of stones.

  "I can, sure… But only one piece of wall, you know?"

  "If you can tell one piece, you can tell two, ten, any number of walls… You simply need to detect piece by piece and then drop them all onto a drawing."

  I put colors on some sections of the drawing.

  Sections confirmed to have foot traffic.

  "…This space is obviously suspicious, don't you think?"

  After I was done coloring, I pointed at an area enclosed by walls.

  That area isn't connected to any other room… It's completely isolated by walls.Chapter 314 Strongest Sage, Discovers Suspicious Place

  "Err… This is Giruas, isn't it…"

  "It is Giruas…"

  Ruli and Iris are of the same opinion.

  There's no mistaking his mana reaction.

  Well, I suppose there's no way anyone can overlook that peculiar mana reaction.

  "…Alright, let's be careful not to get found out by him."

  "Eh, we're hiding from him?"

  "Yeah. It smells like trouble… I don't want to stand out while we're looking around this place."

  Giruas being here wouldn't be out of place if this were Raginia Union.

  But… it's in Eis Kingdom here.

  He must have some kind of reason to go out of his way and come abroad.

  Probably sensed a presence of some strong person or something like that.

  Giruas is a battle maniac.

  If we encounter him here, he's almost assuredly going to challenge me.

  I would be fine with that, normally… But fighting him in this situation will cause a commotion.

  We have no idea where the demon and its underlings are lurking in this town.

  Now is the time to grope around stealthily.

  "You're right, Giruas will definitely stand out…"

  "Yeah. So let's go survey the town while avoiding him."

  I walked in the town after saying that.

  First, we need to look for the 『Coffin of Sealing』.

  Can't fetch the sword unless we know where it's located first.

  ◇


  "…The sword is inside the town lord's mansion, no doubt about it."

  Just as the night fell.

  We came back to our inn and discussed with the girls.

  "That mansion was suspicious indeed."

  There's a town lord's mansion in the center of this town.

  Such a mansion is a common sight in any town… But what peculiar with this one was the inside.

  "No one was inside such a big mansion besides the entrance… That's just weird!"

  That's right.

  The mansion was uninhabited, save for the area around the entrance.

  Of course it can't be an abandoned house.

  Lights were on when it got dark, and there were traces of people living as well.

  And there were light foot traffic in the area near the entrance.

  The town lord's mansion also function as a sort of public office.

  It's clearly weird how only the front entrance was used.

  I can't think of any reason why in ordinary situations… But I can hazard a guess from the information Second Academy obtained.

  "They don't want to let anyone in… Perhaps there's something that must not be stolen inside."

  "You think so too…"

  "Yeah… Though it's been concealed, there were traces of demonic mana mixed in the air. That mansion is undoubtedly under the rule of demon."

  There are spells that can control human's senses among ancient magic.

  For instance, a spell that makes people who come to the lord's mansion unconsciously [unwilling to enter rooms in the back].

  Commonly known as [People Clearing] magic.

  "Does that mean, the sword is inside that mansion then…?"

  "Most likely. We can find where it is if we use 『Active Detection』… But I can make a guess even without."

  I unrolled a drawing of town lord's mansion on desk.

  By looking at the drawing, I can make an educated guess from the way the building is structured, where it's focused into protecting something.

  "This is the lord's mansion blueprint."

  "This drawing is so precise… Where did you get this?"

  "I guessed it from mana seen through [Passive Detection]… As such, there are some parts where I'm not sure as well."

  I pointed at an area around the center of the mansion.

  Mana from [Passive Detection] didn't pass through those sections well since they were too far from the path I took.

  This much distance wouldn't pose a problem were the mana reaction was as big as a monster's at least… But I need to get quite close when the mana is only a trace amount from stone walls.

  "Y-you made a drawing this detailed just from looking at the mana!?"

  "Yeah… You too can tell mana reaction of say, those walls, can't you Ruli?"

  I pointed at the inn's walls.

  These inn's walls are made of woods that contain relatively dense mana.

  It's easier to grasp than those made of stones.

  "I can, sure… But only one piece of wall, you know?"

  "If you can tell one piece, you can tell two, ten, any number of walls… You simply need to detect piece by piece and then drop them all onto a drawing."

  I put colors on some sections of the drawing.

  Sections confirmed to have foot traffic.

  "…This space is obviously suspicious, don't you think?"

  After I was done coloring, I pointed at an area enclosed by walls.

  That area isn't connected to any other room… It's completely isolated by walls.