Chapter 155

155 – The Witch’s Domain

As we made our way through the forest, Seras seems to have noticed something .

Leaning her upper body forward, Seras began observing the trunk of a tree .

[This is...... a Magic Crest . ]

On the lower trunk of the tree .

There’s a symbolic crest carved on it .

Because it’s engraved in such a low place, it’s quite difficult to see with all the weeds growing from the ground .

I suppose it was made to be difficult to find on purpose .

Seras looked closely at the crest, as if she’s searching for the meaning of this crest .

[Is that some kind of trap that triggers when a condition has been met?]

[This crest is certainly one of those, but it probably won’t be triggered because some of the formula is damaged . It looks pretty worn out . ]

A really old one huh .

[Actually, we may be just told to excuse ourselves since that Witch has already died long ago . ]

I pass Seras a flask of water as I said that .

She...

[Ah, thank you . I’ll gratefully accept it . ]

—said with gratitude .

Untying the string on the flask’s opening, she began drinking water .

Gulp

After she swallowed the water down her throat, Seras continued .

[Most of the elves aren’t good at magic . Because just as you know, our bodies aren’t suitable for refining magic energy . However, the Witch of Taboos may be an elf who is good at refining magic energy . ]

Elf .

High Elf .

Dark Elf .

Generally, Elves weren’t good at refining magic energy .

They’re a race that isn’t suitable for magic .

Instead, they specialize in the Spirit Contract Technique to make use of the power of the spirits .

Apparently, that doesn’t change no matter which tribe you are in .

However...

[There are some exceptions huh . ]

[Yes, they’re very rare though . ]

[I see . Well......]

First of all, we need to know whether she’s still alive or not .

For instance, we may actually be having our first meeting with a dried-up mummy......

That’s not impossible .

We wouldn’t know about that until we see them face-to-face .

I glanced towards Seras .

[Seras-dono?]

[......You don’t look like you’re fatigued anymore . ]

[??? Y- Yes...... Thanks to Touka-dono’s ......]

It’s only just a bit .

It’s only just a bit but...

I could see guilt on Seras’ face .

I didn’t overlook those fluctuations on her expressions .

The reason for that guilt is quite obvious .

That thing she did to me last night .

......I see, so she remembered it huh .

However, it seems that she didn’t notice that I’m aware of it .

Then—- it should be enough for our situation to stay as is .

There’s no need to dare mention it now .

It also seems like she’s reflecting on it in her own way......

Moreover, I think that...

If it’s Seras, she would eventually come clean with it .

She has that kind of personality .

As for me, I would just go about my business as usual and act as “her lord” .

I would just wait until that right moment arrives .

Until the time comes when Seras thought about this .

▽

[I somehow feel like the trees here were different . ]

I wonder if it’s related to how close these trees were to the Corrupted Tree .

Seras stops walking and gently strokes the branch of a tree .

[It seems that trees around here have a lot of vitality . ]

Apparently, she could tell the condition of these trees .

As expected of someone from a forest tribe .

......It suits her image though .

Even so...

[I can’t feel the presence of any monster at all . ]

[......A barrier?]

Seras mutters to herself .

[It may be the power of a barrier . ]

[A barrier huh . ]

As I thought, there would be such things like that .

[Barrier is an advanced technique . There are two types of barriers, magic-based and spirit-based...... However, I can’t infer what kind of barrier this one is . ]

We advance further .

[What in the world is that?]

It was Eve who noticed “those things” first .

Several stone pillars came into our sight .

Those pillars look like they’re deeply pierced on the ground .

Each one of them is subtly different in size from another .

There are about 10 of them scattered about .

I could see crests engraved on the stones .

Those crests were emitting a faint light .

[Those crests seem to be working . From hereafter, we should be vigilant—–]

Eve’s ears twitched .

[Seras...... These crests look like they’re activated already . ]

Eve puts her hand on the hilt of her sword .

However, by the time she did that—-

I already had my arms held out towards the front .

[]

———Crackle, crackle———-

The light on the crests became weaker .

The stone pillars look like they’re about to change into something .

Transmutation? (T/N: Henkei 変形)

Transformation? (T/N: Henshin 変身)

Anyway, it must have been some kind of a countermeasure against intruders .

However, it didn’t finish transforming .

It has now stopped turning into something that appears to be humanoid .

In theory, the one who moves first wins .

[Well...... It feels like it was a golem that would intercept any intruders . ]

That disguised stone statue we encountered back in the Mills Ruins .

If my skill works on that one, it may also work on this one too .

That’s what I thought .

[It appears that it worked . ]

[Touka . ]

Eve pointed at our luggage with her gaze .

She’s indicating the hammer tied up on my backpack .

That hammer we used to smash the Ashinto’s corpses back then .

It seems that she’s asking if we should break it or not .

I...

[No . ]

–rejected her .

[It can’t be helped if it forces itself to move while it’s paralyzed and ends up getting destroyed . However, I don’t want the Witch to think that we’re belligerent people that destroys everything in sight . As much as we can, we’ll go in a direction where we don’t destroy such things . ]

The paralyzed stone pillar didn’t try to force itself to move .

It instinctively(?) sensed that it would be dangerous for it to move .

It still values its life even though it’s a golem?

Or perhaps—- it’s the Witch’s order?

Without knowing the strength of the stone pillar golem, we made our way through the forest .

We arrived in an open area .

The lake shores—- we arrived in such a place .

We didn’t feel any dazzling nor anything frightening around the area .

Rather than that, it would be better to say that the area’s filled with vitality .

A lush forest .

I feel like the air in this place is clearer than the other places .

Eve looked around .

Oozing with interest, she exclaimed with admiration .

[I can’t feel the presence of any monster at all . ]

That means...

[We’ve completely entered the Witch’s domain huh . ]

▽

The edge of the lake looks nearly elliptical .

Extending out her neck, Seras peeked into the lake .

[The bottom of the lake is shining......]

I stand next to her .

[Is that light coming from magic energy?]

[That could be possible . ]

Clear waters .

I could clearly see the rocks beneath the lake .

There’s no fish at all .

[The magic energies shining like that in the waters...]

[That’s probably because of the high amount of magic energies, isn’t it? With this intensity even in that deep waters, the amount of magic energy in there must be quite considerable . ]

While still leaning forward, Seras obliquely turned her head behind her .

Her glance was turned towards—- the Corrupted Tree .

[This abundance of magic energy and that withering giant tree...... It’s like these two places have two opposite impressions . ]

[......The witch is probably using that enormous amount of magic energy on a daily basis . ]

Seras gulps .

Then, she nodded her head .

Standing side by side, we gazed towards one direction .

A slightly elliptical shaped cabin erected on the edge of the lake .

I call out to Eve and the others standing behind me .

[Let’s go . ]

▽

The door to the cabin erected on the lake shores .

It wasn’t locked .

I opened up the door .

Cautiously, I peeked inside .

......It’s surprisingly normal inside .

It really had the appearance of what a “cabin erected on the lake shores” would look like .

[Let’s look around inside . ]

Eve took the initiative to ask .

[Seras, keep a lookout here outside together with Liz . ]

[Understood . Please be careful, Eve . ]

[Umu...... Touka, could you stay on standby near the door? If something were to happen, I’ll be relying on you . ]

[Got it . ]

Holding out my hand, I have an unsheathed dagger on my other hand .

[If anything goes wrong, I’ll immediately make my move . ]

Eve started scouring around the cabin .

There was a ladder leaning against the wall of a room .

Eve checked out the stability of the ladder .

With that, she went up to the second floor .

However, she came back before long .

[It’s just an attic without anything unusual in it . ]

Eve started searching around the first floor of the house again .

It has two rooms, except for the attic .

I cast my gaze on the areas I could see from where I stand .

I could see some old furniture and furnishings .

The fireplace shows no sign of having been used for a long time .

There’s also dust collecting in various places......

There’s no lingering signs of anyone living here .

The hut probably hasn’t been used for at least a month .

[Touka, can you be quiet for a while . ]

[Okay . ]

Eve strained her ears and began pounding on the walls and floor of the room with her palms .

She stops moving .

Her gaze is on the center of the room .

There was a rug laid out there .

With her heel, Eve pokes the carpet a few times .

[There’s something down there . ]

Eve then peeled off the carpet .

Thereupon, there appeared a handle in a depression wide enough for a hand to fit in .

Looking closely, there’s a rectangular seam in the floor .

......That means there’s something hidden under the floor .

Walking into the house, I stand next to Eve .

Pigimaru stretched out his protrusion .

[Pinii?]

We peeped into the handle together .

Eve asked me with a glance .

I nodded my head in response .

Looking back at the floor—– Eve pulled the handle .

With a pull, the floor sprung up .

And then, a staircase leading to the darkness below appeared .

[Fumu... This is quite the typical way of hiding something . ]

[The Witch probably isn’t that particular about hiding this......]

This looks more like a doorway rather than a hidden room .

At this point, it seems like there wouldn’t be any traps .

Calling out Seras and Liz, I inject magic energy into my magical leather bag .

The leather bag faintly shines .

[From hereafter, I’ll be taking the lead on going down here . ]

▽

It had become a spiral staircase along the way .

When we finally got down, I found myself in a space with a sense of freedom .

A rocky ceiling .

A rocky wall .

A rocky floor .

The unevenness on the walls has been scraped and smoothed out .

There were several candlesticks on the wall that appears to be powered with magic energy .

[Is that a golem too......?]

A magical creature made from earth .

It’s slowly moving about with its back turned towards us .

I wonder if it’s doing wall maintenance?

I didn’t use my skill on it .

In the first place, its attention isn’t even directed towards us .

It’s just silently working on something by the wall .

[Touka-dono . ]

Seras called out my name .

She’s looking ahead us .

Looking at it, we found an enormous door .

On that door, there’s a crystal ball inlaid on it .

We then stood in front of that door .

[In theory, we should be able to open it by injecting my magic energy into that crystall ball but...]

Incidentally, even when we walked here, the golem was still silently working .

It didn’t even look back at us .

It would be good if it keeps ignoring us but—–

[Pigimaru, let me know if that thing strangely moves . ]

[Pigiii . ]

[Now then . ]

I place my palm on the crystal ball .

Refining my magic energy—– I began pouring it in .

My magic energy began to ripple in the crystal ball .

It’s as if my magic energy is a liquid jumping in it .

The volume of that liquid is slowly rising .

Perhaps, there’s a mechanism in this door that opens it when it’s full .

[This door... The amount of magic energy it’s eating up is extraordinary......]

The amount it needed to fill up is stupidly high .

The doors in the Disposal Ruins can’t even be compared with this .

However......

[If we’re talking about my MP, I’m quite confident with the amount that I have . ]

I continued supplying my magic energy .

The crystal ball began to be filled up in flickering faint light .

And then...

[With this, it’s completely filled . ]

The crystal ball that was translucently black is now completely filled with a faint light .

——–Klink——–

Just like the sound of an opening lock, I heard a short click from the door .

And thus, the door opened .