Ian looked up at the massive Clifford map that reached the ceiling. Critical military strongholds and special regions that couldn’t be disclosed to outsiders remained covered with cloth.
Excluding those sections, it was a comprehensive resource that allowed one to grasp Clifford’s entire topography at a glance. The forest elevations, the beginning and end of cliffs, and river flows were all marked in detail. This was crucial information for leveraging homeland terrain advantages during wartime, and sharing it with Ian represented a risky token of trust.
The ministers cast worried glances at Ian. Having requested to see the complete map, he hadn’t said a word for several minutes.
“Lord Ian. Why did you ask to see the complete map? Your silence makes it difficult to understand your intentions.”
The ministers turned their attention to the mages huddled behind them. But they merely shrugged, suggesting they had no idea either.
Ian remained silent in concentration before taking a step back to take in all of Clifford at once. He pointed to the border with Bariel, where the magical power anomaly device had been buried.
“The magical power anomaly devices are manufactured and managed by Bariel, correct? Akorella?”
“Yes, that’s right. Though Bargos and Ruswena seem to make and manage their own, Clifford doesn’t have a single mage.”
While mages were concentrated in Bariel, they weren’t entirely absent from Bargos and Ruswena. Just in very small numbers.
Rather than working for national development and balance like in Bariel, they had chosen their own paths. Pursuing truth, approaching divine power, and finding happiness focused on the present.
Ian nodded and asked again.
“There was indeed a magical power anomalous reaction at the border between Bariel and Clifford, but what I want to know is how far that range extends.”
“Pardon?”
“How far does that reaction reach from the border? The forest we traversed? Or the vineyard? Beyond that is the palace here, but what about the entire capital?”
“Lord Ian. I’m not sure what you’re saying…”
The bewildered Clifford ministers cut in.
But Akorella recognized this was an issue that needed clear confirmation. The readings were abnormal compared to average years—explosively high, in other words. Naturally, the range wouldn’t be limited to just the border.
“Since the magical power anomaly device was only used to check Bariel’s safety, we overlooked this. With readings that high, it wouldn’t be strange if all of Clifford was affected. Hey, how many kilometers is it from the border to here?”
Zing… zing.
Akorella released her magical power and floated into the air. Still an amazing sight no matter how many times one saw it. The king and ministers watched in wonder as she pinned markers on the map.
“What are you talking about? Fill me in too!”
“Shut it, you mutt. I’m calculating distances here.”
“Yeah, but calculating what?”
As Beric wolfed down the raisins placed on the table, the king watched him intently.
Ah, were those the king’s? I’m in trouble. Just as Beric had that thought, the king smiled broadly and handed him the raisins from the other table as well.
“Think about it. Magical power anomaly readings were detected at the border. But only there. There was no issue inside Bariel. Then the exact location where the rift occurred wasn’t at the border, but rather deeper inland, at Clifford’s center.”
The border detection was merely the ripple effect from an inland source. Akorella used her palm as a reference to calculate the scale, gradually descending. Muttering to herself, she repeatedly folded and unfolded her fingers, continuing some incomprehensible calculation.
“You said it was about three times higher than average, right? Usually the detection device is subdivided into 0.322, and if we calculate the depth against the area to roughly pinpoint the location…”
“What are you saying, you magic stone freak!”
“Shut up, mutt! This big sis is thinking here!”
“Gasp, did you see that? See that look? Totally crazy.”
“Here it is!”
Clang!
“There’s an absolutely, super, incredibly high chance this is the source of the magical power anomalous reaction! If I haven’t made a mistake!”
Akorella confidently slammed her fist on a section of the map. The king and Clifford ministers flinched, tilting their heads at the spot she indicated.
“Um, that’s the capital…”
“Oh, is it? Hmm. So it is!”
What does that matter? Akorella smiled with a look that said “so what?” Capital or whatever, her confidence in the absolute accuracy of her calculations was evident.
The king rose from his seat to examine the map before turning to Ian.
“Are you mages saying there’s an issue related to magical power anomalous reactions occurring in Clifford’s capital, in this capital where the palace exists?”
“While it’s not certain—”
“It’s certain! Lord Ian! I’m Akorella!”
“It appears to be the case.”
Ian nodded toward Akorella in affirmation.
With the last mage having died decades ago, any disaster related to magical power was a critical matter directly tied to the nation’s survival. The king and ministers were struck speechless.
As silence fell, Hale, unable to watch any longer, carefully offered words of comfort.
“However, this is a theoretical claim. Since Clifford hasn’t detected any signs, there should be no issue if we conduct thorough investigations and establish countermeasures from now.”
“Without anyone who can use magic, we wouldn’t have noticed signs even if they existed.”
“Regarding physical changes, earthquakes are typical. Have there been any recently?”
“Earthquakes?”
The king and ministers’ faces turned pale, as if something occurred to them.
Ian sat in a chair and checked the time. By now, Prince Noah might have encountered the Bargos army. They needed some kind of news to establish new countermeasures related to this.
Akorella banged on the map again, as if to make sure everyone listened as she explained to the Clifford people.
“Whether earthquakes come first or magical power anomalous reactions come first, the causal relationship hasn’t been established. What’s certain is that when these two disasters unfortunately coincide, magical beasts manifest, other regions’ magical beasts that lost their habitats migrate here, and humans are bound to lose that war. That’s what history shows. Just look at the north, or rather, the northwest from Bariel’s perspective.”
A hotbed of chaos and confusion. Wasn’t Astana, where Hasha had been, located in that direction and suffering? In a situation where there was insufficient ground after losing land to magical beasts, it had become Gaia’s hell where nations were torn apart and tribes raised their own flags.
The king staggered as he leaned against the table. Clifford could potentially suffer the same fate as that region. No, it would be worse.
At least the north has abundant shamans including gypsies, but Clifford is purely a human nation. Though the royal family are beastkin, they don’t have any special abilities. Moreover, if Clifford falls into chaos due to magical beasts, public sentiment toward beastkin will worsen even further. Beyond the nation, the royal family’s very existence would be endangered.
Ian observed the Clifford king with a calm gaze. He too would transform into a fox during the curse period like Noah—it was pitiful in many ways.
Though it bordered Bariel, it was still a foreign country, so Ian decided to take a step back and observe the situation.
What I’m most curious about is whether Damon knows this too.
It was almost certain that he was preparing Idgal to confront mages. They could only form hypotheses once reports came in about Bargos’ tactics and reactions. Just as Ian was rolling up his sleeve—
Tak tak tak!
Clang! Bam!
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty!”
“What is it?”
“News from the advance party that left with Prince Noah!”
Commotion erupted outside. The king quickly ordered them to enter and first checked the messenger’s condition. Though covered in sweat and dust, there wasn’t a drop of blood. The king seemed to gauge his son’s condition from the messenger’s state.
“What happened? The Bargos army?”
“The Bargos forces destroyed the border wall and invaded. Their numbers total 5,000, and they’re currently approaching the path to Baki village.”
“A blessing in disguise. Isn’t Baki’s path narrow and treacherous? They must cross a bridge too. We can stop them there!”
As the ministers added optimistically, the soldier shook his head.
“There’s a problem. Bargos has mobilized magical beasts. A magical beast called White Roc blew up the wall, and I heard it contaminated the land beyond purification. The prince decided to disperse Bargos’ forces at Baki and deal with any White Roc remaining where Bargos passed, including the border. We urgently need reinforcement troops…”
Ian crossed his arms. Bargos mobilized magical beasts? This most likely meant Damon knew about Clifford’s magical power anomalous reaction.
The already high anomaly readings, and now they were continuously stimulating the energy by deploying magical beasts. This was undoubtedly a tactic chosen with ambitions to completely devour the country.
“White Roc is a low-grade magical beast. We can handle cleanup once the situation with Bargos is resolved. The problem will be White Roc that explode in the process. Regarding the contaminants released when they explode…”
Was there a purification method? When Ian looked at Akorella, she just smiled innocently.
“Heh, I specialize in magic stones.”
“…There should be documentation in Bariel. For now, since that’s Prince Noah’s response, it would be wise for Your Majesty to make a prudent decision.”
Clifford had a larger population than Bargos and Ruswena. Especially given their culture of farming and enjoying entertainment, they had plenty of young people.
This was a characteristic of the forces they could field, and relatively disadvantageous compared to other nations that had transcendent powers like shamans, magical beasts, and mages.
“Right. Five thousand. Though Noah would have dispersed them, we need to respond accordingly. Deploy the three standby legions.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
The plan was to quickly suppress it before the fire grew.
Three legions meant roughly 6,000 troops. Though they didn’t know how Prince Noah was faring, they could stop the enemy’s advance in one go. If they could minimize reliance on the mages’ help, they could reduce diplomatic burden as well.
“Was Bargos’ commander identified?”
The soldier shook his head at Ian’s question.
“No. When we checked the situation from the forest, we only saw the rear of the Bargos army.”
“When the first report came from the border, they said Envoy Timothy was leading the front, but as an envoy he’s not the commander. There should be a separate commander who received orders from Damon. It would be good to confirm that first.”
When Ian addressed the king, he repeatedly nodded with an expression that said “Did you hear that?” The ministers moved busily as the palace was turned upside down once again to prepare for deployment.
The mages remained alone in the strategy room. One suddenly looked at the clock and muttered.
“By the way, why isn’t he back yet?”
“Maybe his magic wore off on the way?”
“No way. He has his pride as a mage.”
“How can he be slower than the messenger? Is he crawling through the sky or what?”
They were talking about the mage sent for reconnaissance who hadn’t returned. For someone who could slice through the air, simple reconnaissance should have been done with time to spare.
“Lord Ian!”
Tak tak tak!
“Oh, there he comes.”
“Guess he can’t resist when people talk about him. Hey! Why are you so late? We thought you might have fallen.”
The mage entered looking confused as he glanced around the empty corridor. He too was drenched in sweat just like the messenger.
The mages welcomed him with relief and firmly closed the wide-open door. There might be information that shouldn’t be shared.
“Good work. The messenger just arrived, and Clifford’s king has moved to respond. Prince Noah is trying to disperse the Bargos army.”
“Ah, yes. And the magical beast—”
“We heard about the magical beast too, man! White Roc! Blew up the wall and stuff, right?”
The mage raised his fist as if telling them to shut up and reported to Ian.
“Currently, Bargos has passed Baki village and entered the outer city. Their advance is quite relentless. It feels like they’re charging straight for the capital. And there’s another magical beast they brought besides White Roc, but it was my first time seeing it, so…”
“What did it look like? Explain.”
“Ah, well…”
His tone suggested he was troubled, unable to properly describe it. He eventually picked up a pen and drew what he had seen.
“Strange. Why does it look like it was drawn with feet when you used your hands?”
“Anyone have a guess?”
“Hmm…”
After the mages huddled together and stared at it for a while, they finally suggested to Ian.
“Wouldn’t it be better for you to see it yourself, Lord Ian?”