Chapter 15

The Palace of Truth

After that, Ferris continued to a.n.a.lyze magic.

It couldn’t be helped that she was having fun. Jut with her words, fire and ice were born, it was as ifs a huge change was occurring in the world.

To find out how high she can go, and how much magic she could achieve, she read a lot of books in library. She wanted to increase her ability as far as possible.

Not satisfied with the magic books lined in library’s surface area, she asked librarian to let her enter the underground storehouse.

The storehouse was full of spider webs and covered in dust. Even though her cute uniform was stained by dirt and became pitch black, her eyes were glittering and s.h.i.+ning.

A lot of old-fas.h.i.+oned magic books that could no longer be used in magic school were stored  there.

There were old discolored magic books, different from the textbooks used in cla.s.s, those books were filled with  mysterious auras.

Amongst  the magic books, there was a worn out one that  had a red stain here and there. When Ferris opened that book’s page, she t.i.tled her head.

“Magic… to reach the truth…”

What strange magic.

That was not fire magic, neither water magic, also not a mind magic. Magical effects that will occur in real world were also not written.

But there was something there.

「If you use this aria, my lady shall return to the truth」 was written.

The way it used my lady was weird. Was there no a.s.sumption that this book would be read by man?

Furthermore, except for that one page, which had that sentence, every other page of that book was blank.

A Strange magic book.

But somehow Ferris felt strongly attracted to that magic book.

She drew her finger following the sentence in that book and read aria which written there.

“I… return now”

In her sight, there was an explosion of light.

—————————————————————————-

When she realized, Ferris stood in strange place.

A majestic building similar to palace that Lotte-sensei showed during her history lesson with mind magic.

Huge pillars surrounded it and extended to sky.

The surface looked like the surface of a lake, but Ferris who stood there was not sinking.

There were no walls, every direction was surrounded by the sky.

The place where Ferris stood, there was straight road, on the left and right, there a thick pillar stood.

The destination of that road  were emerald green stairs, on top of it, there was graceful throne made from glittering jewel.

“He, here… here is where?”

Ferris walks through the road while trembling.

She should be in library’s storehouse just now, she didn’t understand what happened.

After she walked through the pillared road, she placed her foot on the step of the stairs leading to the throne.

At that moment, a huge amount of images rushed her brain.

Blood, scream, death, fight, blaze, corpse, corpse, corpse.

Terrible images and sounds, information appeared with an absurd speed, attacked her small mind.

“Hyaa!!”

Ferris retracted her foot back from the step.

“Wha, what was that just now…”

In her confusion, she heard a voice from her back.

“There is no need to afraid, My Queen.”

“Eh…”

When she turned around, there she saw something stand up from the four big pillars.

One was a monster like a black shadow.

Another one was a muscular giant.

Another one was a beautiful woman with three eyes.

And the last one was, like a lump of fire, Leviathan.

Leviathan politely bowed.

“Welcome back, My Queen. We had been waiting  for your highness to return for a long time.”

“Eh… eh? Wha, what do you mean!?”

Ferris was confused.

“It is as I have said. And we are your highness servants. Is that understandable?”

“I, I don’t know.”

“Then, please take seat on that throne. Your highness will understand what the truth is.”

“Over there…??”

On the place which the Leviathan pointed at, Ferris saw the throne there.

It was beautiful, but somehow felt scary.

She only took single step on the stair and saw very scary image. She didn’t know what would happen when she sits on that throne.

Guessing that Ferris was hesitant, the Leviathan laughed.

“There is no need no be afraid. If your highness sit in that throne, everything will be in your highness grasp. Knowledge, truth, and power. After that, surely, your highness will destroy foolish human and rule the chaotic world as the queen.”

“Destroying… humanity…?”

Ferris left the stairs.

“Yes, that’s right. If your highness true power was reclaimed, that would be an easy thing.”

The Leviathan unintentionally chuckled and continued.

“In the first place, the way human use magic with ‘aria’ is just copying your highness words, to deceive magical source and manipulate it. If it is your highness, then your highness only need to give order and magical source will obey. Destroying humanity is just like a child’s play…”

The Leviathan noisily moved his flaming body.

The other monster were looking at Ferris with eyes full of expectation.

Ferris was caught by the power that seemed ready to pounce once she refused. However, she also thought that she should not listen to what it said obediently.

“I… refuse!”

Ferris shouted.

“Eh…? Just now, what did your highness say?”

“I, I don’t understand the reason but, I don’t want to destroy humanity.”

“Oh… then, just subjugate them is fine. If your highness take seat on the throne, all kind of power will be in your highness grasp.”

“I also don’t want to subjugate them! What I want is… not such thing!”

Clenching her fist, she raised her voice to the limit.

That voice strangely pa.s.sed and reverberated through the palace.

“…I, I’m sorry, even though you have been waiting for me. But, this place is not where I should return… please return me to my former world.”

The Leviathan could only sigh with Ferris’ request.

“Of course, My Queen’s order are absolute… but is it really fine? If your highness returns to former world, your highness memory about this place will be lost. High dimension information cannot exist in the body of a ten years old girl.”

“It’s fine… I won’t remember it.”

“Even though your highness is a queen?”

“It’s fine. Since I’m not a queen, I’m just a slave.”

Ferris cheerfully laughed.

————————————————————-

“Ferris! You’re fine right!”

With Alicia’s heartbreaking voice, Ferris open her eyes with a pop.

Before her eyes, there was Alicia’s face full of tears.

When she confirmed what she saw, she was hugged tightly by Alicia.

They were on bed, inside school infirmary.

The scene beyond the windows was already pitch black.

“Eehh… Alicia-san…. What happened to me…”

“Since it was already late and you didn’t come back, I searched for you in library! And  found you collapsed in the storehouse.  You wouldn’t wake up even when I shook you, and the health teacher didn’t know what made you pa.s.s out.”

“I, I’m sorry, I made you worry.”

Ferris hesitated replying to Alicia’s tearful voice.

“Un… it’s fine. Since Ferris already woke up. Welcome back, Ferris.”

“Right, I’m back.”

Gently embraced by Alicia, Ferris also embraced her in return.

Since the memory after she read magic book in library store house was completely gone, she didn’t know what she had done.

But, somehow, feelings about how she has done the right thing filled her small body.

—————————————————————

And then in the palace of truth,

The summoned beast including Leviathan were gathered around and held their head on their hands.

“However… it was troubling. I would have never thought that the queen would refuse.”

“It can’t be helped. We must obey her will.”

“It’s not meant to end like this right?”

“Until the time comes, we must give our support from the shadows.”

“There seems to be some fools who have tried to reach her…”

The summoned beasts were swayed their bodies and disappeared from atop the pillars like phantoms.