Ah, if it’s the Age of Divinity… Rowy, who hadn’t understood because the term holy war was unfamiliar, finally nodded. Imperial citizens don’t usually call that war a holy war. In an era when divine miracles still existed in the world, the war that took place between demons and humans. By another name…
‘The Empire’s Founding War.’
The demon invasion of the human world goes back five thousand years of history. One day, demons suddenly crawled up through the ground and began destroying the world indiscriminately.
In an age when divine will still remained in the world, humans who worshipped their respective gods gathered one by one to oppose the demons and created one massive nation. That was precisely the beginning of the current Empire.
The Irad Duchy also received its ducal title at that time for the merit of killing tens of thousands of demons by borrowing divine power. Surprisingly, the first Duke of Irad was also a Holy Knight.
‘Though it doesn’t suit him at all.’
If it’s a Holy Knight, something a bit more… Rowy glanced at Van. Van was carefully examining the summoning circle, with quite a serious face. Rowy approached Van for no reason and stuck to him with a *smack*.
“Holy war… I thought that was something like mythology.”
“How could that be? The demons from that era still remain.”
When demons were driven to the edge of the continent and the gods gradually left humans, humans too began to forget about demons and gods and live their lives. Five thousand years passed like that. …However, the one who inherited divine will and continued the struggle against demons was right before his eyes.
“This is a summoning circle that calls high-ranking demons. These days, it’s difficult to summon demons of this rank. All the high-grade demons currently remaining are remnants from the holy war era.”
“I see… But why was only that guy here alone earlier?”
“It might have hidden here while being chased. Since the archdemon Mammon who shared power is gone, the remaining demons are also gradually weakening.”
The long war is ending. Van, who had continued the already forgotten war from five thousand years ago, smiled broadly.
“Now, let’s go back up. The weather should be better now. May you take the magical artifact?”
“Hm? Ah, yeah. There’s no reason to come here anymore.”
Rowy pulled out the magical artifact he’d embedded in the wall and *click*, wrapped it around his arm.
“Let’s go up. I want to drink something sweet when we get there.”
“Yes, I’ll make it for you. What about the magical artifacts? You should gather them.”
“Hm? I did gather them though?”
Rowy raised his arm to show the filled bracelet. It was the magical artifact that was paired with the bracelet that had been suppressing the low-ranking demon. Now Rowy had three magical artifacts returned to him.
The ring that maintained the underground passage, the bracelet that imprisoned the demon, and now another bracelet that maintained this place with the massive summoning circle. Now that he’d found the magical artifacts again, if he just processed a mana stone to replace the necklace on the second floor, all the magical artifacts would now be…
“Um? I mean that ring embedded in the wall.”
“Ring?”
“Yes, isn’t it your magical artifact, Master?”
“Ah.”
Looking at where Van was pointing, there really was Rowy’s ring embedded in the wall. Rowy, who looked at the mana stone emitting blue light, paused briefly.
“Ah, this was here too.”
But why didn’t I remember? Rowy tilted his head in puzzlement.
‘Well, it doesn’t matter. There’s no demon now anyway.’
Rowy pulled out even that ring and put it on his hand. Mana flowed into his whole body in an instant. Finding the mana filling his body unfamiliar after so long, Rowy, who savored that energy for a moment, *whoosh*, turned to look at Van. His face was full of mischievous laughter.
“Van, have you flown in the sky?”
“Pardon?”
“Me. I have lots of mana now.”
“Pardon? Huh!”
With those words as the end, Rowy playfully raised his hand. And *float*, their bodies began to rise.
“Huh, this. Right now!”
His feet left the ground and his body instantly soared into the sky. At that unfamiliarity, Van eventually screamed, “Aaah!”
“Why? Are you scared? Should I hold your hand?”
“Yes! Yes! Please!”
Hehe, this is fun. While laughing at Van’s desperate cry, Rowy quickly extended his hand to Van. Van, not satisfied with just holding Rowy’s hand like that, pulled Rowy into a full-body embrace. Rowy, who had been giggling, eventually got choked by Van’s arms hugging him to death.
“Kek, I can’t breathe.”
“I’m, I’m scared!”
“Don’t worry. I won’t drop you. Enjoy it.”
“How can I enjoy this!”
Van, floating in midair, desperately clung to Rowy. Unfortunately for Van, Rowy, who rather liked that, showed even more dazzling movements. Van couldn’t even scream anymore.
“……!”
After enjoying Van’s reactions while moving left and right for quite a while like that, Rowy finally stopped teasing him.
“Let’s go back now.”
Feeling Van exhale a sigh of relief beside him, Rowy laughed “hehe” again and raised his hand. With one gesture from Rowy, the deep basement they’d had to walk down for so long instantly grew distant. Held tightly in Van’s arms, Rowy looked down at the receding below.
‘That’s been there for five thousand years?’
The summoning circle, visible clearly even from afar, still exuded an ominous atmosphere. As if it would summon someone at any moment…
“……”
Rowy, who had been watching this for a moment, turned his head and buried his face in Van’s nape. And at that moment, the basement, from which all of Rowy’s mana had been withdrawn, began to collapse. …Five thousand years passed in an instant, and the basement sank into darkness as it was.
* * *
When they came up to the first floor, the day had cleared up splendidly as if asking when a storm had even raged. Rowy, who had regained his mana after a long time, cast magic here and there indiscriminately, and thanks to that, the castle suddenly transformed as if brand new.
“Van!”
Van, who had been staring blankly at the collapsed first-floor stairs assembling themselves, turned at Rowy’s call.
“Is the mana stone complete?”
“Here.”
Rowy opened his hand to show the large mana stone held in it. The unprocessed mana stone that had looked just like a big rock had changed into a blue-colored mana stone. Van looked at it with curious eyes.
“This one is also blue.”
“It’s probably because it’s influenced by my mana.”
“Then you’ll support the castle with this?”
“Mmm. It’s bigger than I thought, so this should be enough.”
Rowy, who said that, pulled out the necklace that had been hanging behind the stair railing. Then he stood the mana stone there with a *thunk*.
“So the magical artifact was here.”
“I made it invisible, so you wouldn’t have seen it. Put this on for me.”
Rowy handed the necklace in his hand to Van. Van received the necklace and examined it closely. A blue gem on a silver chain. Van, who now knew that blue color was Rowy’s mana color, stared at the gem as if entranced.
“Hurry, put it on.”
“Ah, yes.”
Rowy turned around in front of Van and urged him. Van carefully moved Rowy’s hair to one side and wrapped the necklace around. After the large hands fumbled for a while, soon *click*, the necklace was fastened. At that, Rowy exhaled a big sigh. Now he had finally found all the magical artifacts. Rowy trembled at the mana flowing through his whole body.
“I finally feel like I can live. Why didn’t I think of using a mana stone sooner?”
If it was just to the extent of maintaining the castle, one mana stone like that would have been enough.
‘Well, I was probably too lazy.’
Rowy analyzed himself coldly, accepted it, and nodded.
“Now then, since the weather’s gotten better, let’s go outside!”
“Pardon? Is there somewhere to go here?”
“Just, a walk.”
“Are you sure it’s just a walk? If you fly into the sky again, I’m not going.”
“Coward.”
“Even if you say that.”
The two exchanged words like that and left the castle. Rowy, who had always been sickly, surprisingly moved quite actively after finding all the magical artifacts. Even his usually blank face seemed overflowing with vitality today…
‘So it really was mana deficiency after all.’
Though he also felt like there might be too much mana instead. Van, recalling the terrible experience of flying through the air, shuddered. Still, well, if Rowy’s happy. How fortunate that he’s become healthy. Van deeply felt relieved inside and was led by Rowy’s hand.
Rowy was dragging Van along saying he knew a place where the sunset was visible, but since they were walking on an unpaved path, their speed wasn’t coming along at all. The sky visible between the dense trees was already beginning to turn orange. Rowy stamped his feet in urgency.
“What if the sun sets!”
“…Get on my back. Just tell me the direction and I’ll go there.”
In case Rowy, whose heart had grown urgent, might fly up again, Van swiftly hoisted Rowy onto his back.
“That way!”
“I understand, so be careful with your feet. The grass is tough.”
Like that, while being controlled to go this way, go that way while pushing through the bushes, the sea finally spread out before Van’s eyes. Thanks to the sun that had already half-set, it was a sea entirely orange.
