Chapter 15

Chapter 15

For a moment, I wondered if something had gone wrong when he fell from the bed earlier, but for all that, the young man’s leg looked perfectly fine, without a single twisted or broken part anywhere. Nor did it look like he had suffered something like polio as a child and lost the use of his leg. He simply could not use his right leg.

Then perhaps...... was the young man unable to use his right leg because his time axis had tangled strangely and his causal relationships had overlapped? Only after my thoughts reached that point did it occur to me that I might be able to find a clue related to that strange formula in the young man’s right leg.

And perhaps that thought was not entirely wrong, because the same content had been updated in Master’s Notebook.

***

[Research Assignment] No. 703083-455

＃001. Field Investigation of the Anomalous Phenomenon Site

→ Complete!!

＃002. Collection of Related Samples and Design State Check

→ Sample collection and design code extraction work (In progress)

→ Awaiting analysis and error identification.

☆★Warning★☆ Analysis and error identification must proceed only after sample collection from the main experimental subject is complete!!

＃003. Investigation of the Cause of the Anomalous Phenomenon

→ Do not stop at identifying the cause. Prepare countermeasures for it as well!!

→ If there is a collaborator, be sure to seek cooperation!! (Handling everything alone is forbidden.)

***

The moment the words “main experimental subject” entered my eyes, I felt strangely uplifted. I had been worried that I had picked up some strange person because he had been saying nothing but incomprehensible things since earlier, but in truth, I had picked up an experimental subject. And a living, conversable experimental subject at that!

Moreover, this experimental subject was not an ordinary person but even a swordmaster-class swordsman, so no matter what experiment I performed, the probability that the experimental subject would suddenly die during the experiment would be extremely low. On top of that, I would be able to deal with the swordmaster-related research assignments I had been putting off for hundreds of years - assignments that had been added and tormented me just because I had been curious for a very brief moment.......

While I was growing excited thinking that far, the sound of something toppling over with a crash snapped me back to my senses. Only then did I realize that the young man had tried to stand using his two arms and left leg, only for his right leg to catch on a pile of books scattered across the floor, causing him to fall over.

“This is truly inconvenient beyond measure, since it will not move at all. Look here, mage. Could you help me? I would like to sit on the bed for a while until I grow somewhat used to this.”

“Huh? Uh, um.......”

I nodded blankly and lifted the young man with telekinesis magic, seating him on the edge of the bed. The young man expressed light thanks, then relaxed his whole body and let out a deep sigh. As I stared at him blankly and fidgeted, the young man soon straightened himself politely and looked directly at me.

“The fact that I am alive and well like this must mean that you saved me, correct?”

“Huh? Uh...... I-It would end up that way, I guess......?”

Rather than saving him, I had just picked him up to complete the research assignment. Swallowing the rest of those words and hesitantly watching his reaction, I saw the young man smile gently and bow his head to me.

“Thank you truly. Thanks to you, my life was spared.”

“Huh? Uh.......”

“Under ordinary circumstances, I ought to stand properly and express my thanks, but...... I hope you will forgive me. My leg is in this state, you see. Even so, I am sincerely grateful for your aid. I will not forget this grace and will surely repay it one day.”

That sounded rather grand and serious. As I dazedly mulled over the young man’s words, one sentence suddenly lodged itself in my head. “Repay this grace.” Yes, he said he would repay this grace.

“Then cooperate.”

“Cooperate......? In what do you mean?”

“In research. There are various things, but for now, I’m thinking of starting by finding out what caused your time axis to become tangled. I’m going to begin by extracting samples so I can find out how your future overlapped with your past and turned your present causal relationships into a complete mess.......”

Even though I gave him a detailed explanation that I thought was easy enough to understand, the young man looked as if he had no idea what I was talking about. Just as I began wondering if I should explain it more simply, the young man thought hard about something for a long while, then suddenly opened his eyes wide and asked me.

“Could you tell me...... what year, month, and day it is today?”

“Uh......? Um...... well, I don’t know that either.......”

That was because I had spent so long shut up alone inside the Magic Tower that my sense of dates had long since dulled completely. I could estimate about how many days had passed while I was carrying out a research assignment, but I could not answer something like what year, month, and day it was today.

I could have answered well enough back when Master forced me to check the calendar every day, saying, “Your depression worsens when your sense of time dulls”...... but that was long, long ago.

As I stammered, I saw the young man discover his sword, which had been left by the bedside, bring it over, and draw it. For a moment I was startled, wondering if he was going to cut me down just because I could not tell him the date, but I soon realized that the young man was looking at his own face reflected in the blade.

“There should certainly be a scar here...... but there is none. Still, the fact that I possess this sword means...... somewhere between twenty and twenty-two, perhaps.......”

“Huh? What is?”

Whether I was puzzled or not, the young man calculated something alone with a rather serious face and muttered only words I could not understand. Just as I was about to frown, wondering what he was doing, the young man suddenly seemed to realize something and sprang to his feet.

“I apologize for the suddenness, but I have remembered something I must urgently confirm. Therefore, I must take my leave now.”

“Huh? You’re leaving? Where are you......”

Before I could even finish speaking, the young man used his sword as a staff and quickly headed toward the stairs leading downstairs. Perhaps he had begun getting used to his right leg not moving, because unlike earlier, his movements were swift. But that was as far as he got. His steps were so hurried, and the Magic Tower had been built in ancient times, making the staircase so narrow and steep - not to mention the mana lamps were off, leaving it dark - that he misstepped and went tumbling down. Well, I quickly caught him with telekinesis magic and brought him back up to the top floor.

“Um...... are you all right?”

“Hmm, I have shown you an unsightly display. My heart was in haste because I was thinking of going outside at once.”

After wrinkling the bridge of his nose in embarrassment for a moment, the young man tried to descend the stairs again. I caught him once more and seated him at the bedside, then quietly shrugged and added,

“There’s no use going downstairs. The entrance isn’t that way.”

“There is no entrance......? Then how did you bring me here?”

“Uh...... through that window?”

“The window......?”

Perhaps my answer was that striking, because the young man opened his eyes wide and turned to look at the only entrance to this tower. And after checking the scenery outside the window, he was startled again and even gaped.

“J-Just what is this......? What sort of place is this? How did I end up in such a strange place.......”

“I-It’s not a strange place...... It’s the Tristein Magic Tower.”

“The Tristein Magic Tower......?”

At my hesitant answer, the young man frowned and tilted his head.

“I have never heard of such a Magic Tower.”

“Huh......?”

What was this? He did not know the Tristein Magic Tower? The place that had been called the “holy land of mages” since ancient times?

It was impossible. If this were some ordinary Magic Tower known only to those in the know, that would be one thing, but this was a place even non-mages should have heard of at least once in their lives. On top of that, this person was not an ordinary person but a swordmaster. At that level, he should have been acquainted with at least one or two high-ranking mages, so there was no way he would not know of the Tristein Magic Tower.

“Certainly...... among those I know, there were quite a few high-ranking mages. However, I have never heard any story about a Magic Tower called the ‘holy land of mages.’ Even those who liked showing off their knowledge never mentioned such a place.”

“Th-That can’t be.......”

My head seemed to ring. He knew not one or two, but several high-ranking mages, and among them, there had even been people who enjoyed showing off the knowledge they knew, yet he had never once heard of this place? How could that be? For high-ranking mages, even if they did not know this place’s name, it should be normal to constantly speak of the “holy land of mages.”

Yes, that should definitely be the case. Because...... to mages, this place truly was meaningful. The place where the primordial three mages, who realized that all creation was composed of the manifestation of concepts, created the method of constructing the designs that made that possible - in other words, magic - was none other than here.

Then why had no one ever mentioned this place? Such a thing would be impossible unless this place had been forgotten to the point that even high-ranking mages no longer mentioned it.......

Around the time I thought that far, one possibility suddenly crossed my mind. Yes, perhaps...... it really had been forgotten. After all, the years since I had completely turned my back on the world and secluded myself were now approaching a thousand.

Master had once said something like this, too.

-Human relationships, by nature, are bound to break if they grow sparse. To maintain them, steady exchange is essential. It may be bothersome, but as long as humans are creatures of forgetfulness, there is no avoiding it. Once exchange is severed, one is forgotten as generations pass. You ask whether leaving records such as books would not suffice? Well, for those to remain until later generations, would there not need to be someone who preserves them? And the fact that such a someone exists would mean the human relationships of the one who wrote the records are being maintained.

......But Master. Even so, is it not impossible for this place’s existence to be completely forgotten? I turned my back on the world, but you did not. So even if there is no one who remembers me, surely there must have been someone who remembered you.......

Yes, surely even Master could not have been forgotten. With a feeling I could not tell was hope or unease, I hesitantly asked the young man.

“Th-Then, by any chance...... have you ever heard of a mage...... named Adalhedis?”

“Adalhedis?”

“Th-The official title is...... Magnus Magister Grandis Maga Adalhedis.......”

“Hmm.......”

Perhaps he had read the seriousness in my expression, because the young man became serious and sank into thought. After rummaging through his memory while even frowning, the young man let out a short exclamation as if he had remembered something.

“Come to think of it, I believe I saw an ancient book with that name in it when I was young.”

“R-Really?! Where did you see it?”

“Well, where was it....... The...... probably the library’s secret archive.......”

While muttering that far, the young man suddenly flinched and closed his mouth, then hurriedly burst into a forced laugh.

“Ah...... well, I cannot remember where I saw it. I only glimpsed it when I was very young, you see.”

“Huh? Didn’t you just say you saw it in the library’s secret archive?”

“Uh...... ah...... well.......”

What was this? He had already said it all, so why was he suddenly pretending otherwise? As I frowned, the young man drew his brows together as if troubled and added excuses diligently, his face slightly red.

“N-No...... well, I was briefly mistaken. A library? How could someone like me dare go to such a place? I am merely an extremely ordinary commoner...... with no status whatsoever.”

“Well...... if you were a commoner, you wouldn’t have much occasion to go to a place like a library.”

Because that was a place one could not even approach without a high status like a noble. Among them, a library with a secret archive attached was a special place where entry was not permitted unless one had an exceptionally high status. As I remembered it, nine hundred years ago, the only such place had been the royal library. I wondered how it was these days.

In any case...... fortunately, it seemed even Master’s name had not been forgotten. Though I had ended up learning uselessly that this person’s identity was extremely suspicious.

If he had entered a library with a secret archive attached and even looked through ancient books, that meant his status was not ordinary. And no matter how I thought about it, there was nothing natural about the owner of such an incomparably precious status collapsing alone in deep mountains dressed like a wandering commoner.

Just who was this person? A runaway child of a high-ranking noble? A royal traveling incognito?