This is the last chapter for this mini-arc . There are still four epilogue chapters to tie up loose ends . Can you believe that this arc is about to end? Enjoy!

TL: clover

ED: eristol (will be edited by xtostos)

< previous="" chapter =""  toc =""  next="" chapter="">>

“Yes, first of all . ”

Undaunted by Klaus’ intimidation, I started to explain in a bright tone .

“When I visited the museum to investigate the 「Staircase to the Underworld」, I met this Chloe-san here and she accompanied me—”

I talked about the course of events from investigating one of the Seven Wonders until the underground transition .

The demon-like facial expression still remained on Klaus’ face .

“—and then we were transferred to the bas.e.m.e.nt all of a sudden . The transfer destination was a layer about three floors below from here . While travelling in order to escape from the ruins, we found out that the curator was actually that……”

“‘That’?”

Klaus’ voice was lower than usual .

I tried to brush off the matter about vampire by using the term ‘that’, but I guess that was useless .

“Then we were about to be added to the twelve delicate maidens sacrificed to the evil altar! The situation was already so hopeless and frightening……right, Chloe-san?”

“Huh!? ……y-yeah, that’s right, it’s as Ericsan said . ”

When I addressed Chloe, she nodded repeatedly while stuttering a little bit .

Next, I explained that I was lucky enough to notice the weak point, thanks to the vampire’s talkativeness .

Of course, I left out that we had been battling with all our might for a long time .

I will explain that later .

“That’s why, due to being overwhelmed with fear, I accidentally threw my bag into the vampire’s mouth . Right, Chloe-san?”

After a brief pause, Chloe nodded her head in agreement .

I glanced at Klaus .

The look in his eyes which was similar to that of a Demon King’s was so scary that I looked away involuntarily .

“I understand the gist of it . ”

Klaus’ tone of voice dropped one note deeper .

I understand that he’s worried, but his ferocity this time is staggering after all .

“Then that’s why that is happening……it seems that urgent action is necessary……”

“Well, I know that is no excuse, but……huh, ‘that’?”

I looked towards where Klaus pointed at .

The s.p.a.ce where the vampire was has become even more distorted .

Eh? What is that~~~!

“I estimate we have another 2 minutes at most . ”

“That, what does that mean?”

“Explosive collapse of s.p.a.ce will occur from the center of that distortion . If we leave it be, it will consume a radius of about 2 km . ”

Speaking of which, there was supposed to be a spatial collapse, that’s what I thought, but—

2 km radius?

Isn’t the scale of the collapse too large?

“Eh! Is that okay!?”

“It’s not okay, that’s why I made preparations while listening to your excuse!”

Klaus shoved his hand into his robe, took out his staff that had been compressed and scattered a bunch of spellcards .

Those spellcards developed a spherical Barrier around the collapsing s.p.a.ce .

Finally, Klaus slammed his staff on the floor with a sharp sound and the spellcards emitted a silvery light tinged with blue .

On the next moment, a bright golden light spread from the center of the collapsing s.p.a.ce .

Everything enveloped by the light disappeared soundlessly .

There was no damage on this side, but Klaus, who was maintaining the barrier, looked like he was in pain .

H-huh?

The light does not seem to be receding easily .

Is this collapse going to last?

The stream of light which lasted for about thirty minutes finally receded .

Klaus finally felt relieved, he wiped the sweat that had appeared on his forehead with the hem of his robe .

“I thought that we were going to die for a moment there, but somehow I managed it……”

“Klaus-sama, if you don’t mind, please have this . ”

When I picked up about three magical power replenishment potions lying on the ground and handed them over to him, Klaus drank them with out-of-focus hollow eyes .

It seems that the previous severe eyes were due to tension .

I feel guilty for treating him as a Demon King .

“Erica, I still have a lot of things I want to ask you about, but first, let’s go back to the surface . ”

When Auguste took out a scroll and cast a spell, a golden magic circle spread on the floor .

I’m pretty sure I have seen this magic circle in a textbook .

“Auguste-sama, you can now use summoning magic!”

“I just got the permission to try out the practical skills . ”

At the same time as the pure light overflowed, two horse-sized dragons—a red dragon and a white dragon—appeared .

They are the White Dragon Blumbell and the Red Dragon Briar .

Blumbell, who I met for the first time in a long time, brought her face to my chest with sparkling eyes .

Briar cried with a faint voice similar to a hatchling while glancing at my direction .

These children’s characters don’t seem to change even though they have grown up .

“Good grief, Blumbell seems to be in a good mood, huh . It can’t be helped, you should ride her, Erica . ”

“Y-yes……but, what about my luggage?”

“Hmm~ it’s a huge amount . We can’t leave them here . ”

Auguste looked at my luggage which was piling up like a small mountain and let out a voice that sounded like he was amazed .

“Klaus, do you still have magical power left?”

“……yeah, I can do……simple weight reduction and compression magic . It would be better……to wrap them inside the blanket over there . ”

When Auguste asked, Klaus replied with a hollow expression .

Despite having some concerns whether it was alright for him to do so in his current condition, Klaus cast some magic over my luggage shakily .

Then my luggage was shrunk to about 1/8 .

“I can……maintain this condition for about……three hours . Be careful not to drop it……”

After packing my luggage, I mounted the White Dragon Blumbell along with Tir and Chloe .

On top of the Red Dragon Briar were Auguste and Klaus who was exhausted and lethargic .

Then, while being carried by the dragons, we flew up through the ruins .

As we approached the upper layer to some extent, it was possible to ascend instantly using the large crevice-like s.p.a.ce from before .

We will reach the surface much faster than I thought .

Guided by Auguste, we broke through the crevice of the ruins .

On about five of the uppermost layers of the ruins, there were an armory, a tool storage, a food storage and a simple lodging for some reason .

Perhaps if something happens at the ruins, the monastic knights would stay here .

Crossing the Barrier, Auguste’s dragons went through the exit to the surface .

On the other side of the exit was the church located inside the academy grounds .

I’m surprised that this place has become the official entrance to the ruins .

“Once we leave the church, disband and return to your respective dormitories . I will go to the stable with Briar and Blumbell . ”

When we were about to leave the church, I saw two lights approaching the entrance .

That faint glow was a magical flame that was lit on a staff .

Having a bad feeling, I exchanged glances with Klaus and Auguste .

The two of them shook their head silently .

“The students over there . What are you doing in such a place?”

“I see, there are more of you, huh……” (Brad)

It was Princ.i.p.al Twr and Brad who approached us while raising the magical flames .

It appears that we have been found out by people who are even scarier than Klaus .

Chloe, Klaus, Auguste and I were taken to the Princ.i.p.al’s Office .

I have already ordered Tirnanog to carry my luggage to my room .

Next to the princ.i.p.al who was sitting on the chair, Brad was standing with his eyebrows furrowed .

In front of the scary duo, I stepped forward .

I talked about the incident .

The contents were the same as the one I told Klaus and Auguste .

I proceeded with the story with me being the main perpetrator, Chloe who was accidentally involved, and the two Dynameis’ members who were searching for us .

“Erica Aurelia, do you understand the meaning of your testimony?”

“Now, now, Clochydd . You should calm down . ”

While recounting the story, the pattern where I was being reprimanded by Brad and the princ.i.p.al pacifying him was repeated many times .

As expected, when the battle against the vampire came out, Brad became silent and the princ.i.p.al had a serious expression .

After my explanation, Klaus explained the state of the s.p.a.ce inside the ruins and how he dealt with it .

Finally, he added that Auguste summoned two dragons to take us back .

“I see……we also saw the spatial distortions . What you were saying is probably true . ”

After thinking about it for a while, the princ.i.p.al whispered something to Brad’s ear .

Hearing the words he said, Brad widened his eyes .

“Princ.i.p.al, that’s……”

“I’m sorry . Please . ”

The princ.i.p.al was calm, but he looked at Brad with eyes that contained unwavering determination .

When Brad nodded while frowning, the princ.i.p.al turned towards me once more and opened his mouth .

“That bloodsucker, who was called the b.l.o.o.d.y Saint, was my enemy . Fifty years ago, my friend was killed . ”

Even though he holds the position of the princ.i.p.al, it seems that he is going to turn a blind eye to this, huh .

While muttering such things, the princ.i.p.al created a blue flame that floated on top of his palm .

His voice contained regret and self-pity .

“Yes……she was the only survivor of that bloodsucker, and then she disappeared afterwards . By doing so, it instilled suspicions inside the heart of people . ”

I recalled Chloe’s story .

There should have been a story about a lone survivor who battled against the vampire and disappeared after two months .

It is possible that the survivor was taken in by the vampire with her memories altered .

“Erica Aurelia, I am grateful to you . But if this matter goes public, it will cause a great inconvenience to you . I will make an arrangement so that such a thing will absolutely not occur . ”

“Y-yes……”

Although I thought that I would be reprimanded or possibly suspended from school, it ended up becoming an unexpected situation .

The princ.i.p.al squeezed his palm and extinguished the flame .

“First of all, it is necessary to hide the fact that a vampire was involved in order to avoid the trial . Do you know about the Inquisitors1?”

“I only know the name . I don’t know the details . ”

When I shook my head, the princ.i.p.al explained briefly .

For people who have had contact with a powerful vampire like the one this time, it seems there will be a trial held by the Inquisitors .

The purpose is to determine if they are a real survivor or a vampire disguised as the survivor .

However, it is said that they would be confined and tortured in the name of a trial .

Even if it hasn’t been determined yet, they would often consider them guilty; the trial seems rather strict .

“Instead of accidentally stumbling into the ruins, you were investigating the museum as requested by the academy, and as a result, you found an impure magic circle . Let’s report that you have not encountered the bloodsucker……is that fine?”

“Y-yes……”

That is good news for me .

“An exoneration, huh……”

“Indeed, a diversionary tactic……”

Klaus and Auguste, who were behind me, murmured absentmindedly .

No, well, I am surprised .

Because the vampire which I defeated turned out to be a big fish by chance, it has become a situation where I couldn’t ask anything .

“After that, yes . I’ll compensate it for you . If you don’t have it, it would be inconvenient . ”

As the princ.i.p.al said that, he took out a seemingly small leather bag .

It had the coat of arms of the Twr family on it .

“Eeh! No way, this is—”

“This was mine . ”

It is the highest cla.s.s product that incorporates not only s.p.a.ce-expansion magic but also lightweight magic, and even time-delay magic .

I wanted it, but it’s extremely expensive and it takes a long time to be made, so it’s a gem I could not get .

“No, this is ridiculous! Rather, I can’t receive such an expensive item!”

“This is a sign of my grat.i.tude . Please accept this . ”

Even though I had a big loss this time, my balance has become significantly positive .

Although I think that I have really messed up this time, this was completely unexpected .

“Now then, it’s almost morning, please return to your respective rooms soon . However, tonight’s matters are very confidential . ”

With that, the talk with the princ.i.p.al was over .

When we left the Princ.i.p.al’s Office, Brad glanced at me while letting out a deep sigh .

Brad is supposed to escort Chloe and I to the Central Dormitory and West Dormitory respectively .

“Both of you should return to your dormitories as soon as possible . ”

Brad gave instructions to Klaus and Auguste .

“Erica, it seems that I have to give you more guidance regarding your behavior……will that be okay?”

“Something similar to this may happen again . It may be better for you to take care of yourself~”

While saying goodbye, the two of them disappeared in the darkness of the corridor .

So I went back following Brad from behind along with Chloe .

I wanted to talk more with Chloe about what happened tonight, but that seems to be difficult in this situation .

Leaving the school building, under the chilly night sky, the three of us headed towards the Central Dormitory first .

“Aren’t you angry? I, I ignored your warning . ”

Chloe asked towards Brad’s back .

“Those who have the blood of the North are not good at pulling back……it is a trait which is extremely bothersome . ”

Without looking back, Brad answered so .

I continued to listen to their conversation .

“But, be careful . You are in a complicated position . ”

“Yes . ”

“No matter how much you believe in your own power, no one can fight against situations where the sky is falling or the earth is torn . ”

“……yes . ”

Brad warned her in a matter-of-fact manner .

It was a calm and gentle tone, and his atmosphere was quite different from the him who I had known so far .

“Aurelia, you too . It’s not other people’s problem . Weren’t you supposed to be the main offender?”

“Ah……y-yes……”

Being addressed suddenly, I replied while feeling startled .

Well, certainly, it is not other people’s problem .

After escorting Chloe to the Central Dormitory, we headed towards the West Dormitory .

I walked around a little while looking at Brad’s back .

When we reached the entrance of the dormitory, Brad looked back .

His gloomy face was illuminated by the pale light of his staff .

“You, descendants of the Visitor’s Clan, tend to be indifferent to everything else in the face of your pursuit . Take care not to take a misstep . ”

While furrowing his eyebrows as if feeling bitter, Brad said such a thing and left .

1 The Inquisition was the “fight against heretics” by several inst.i.tutions within the justice system of the Roman Catholic Church . It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy . Inquisition practices were used also on offences against canon law other than heresy . The Inquisitor is the organization who conduct the act, and in this novel, it’s not a ‘fight against heretics’ but a ‘fight against vampires’ .

The people of the North have a ‘guilty until proven innocent’ mindset, as seen from Chloe’s behavior a few chapters ago when she suspected Erica and Lièvre .

And Klaus again proven to be an amazing mage; being able to stop the collapse of s.p.a.ce and still able to maintain compression & lightweight magic for Erica for three hours .

And Brad seems to be talking about the Northern people and the Visitor’s Clan out of his own experience .