[V12C7] Taking the Fall

The Deepest Forbidden Section of the Ascard Library was a moderately-sized circular room. It contained only a reading desk in the center, surrounded by six glass cases holding the Six Tomes of Taboo.

Cyril stood in front of one such case, eloquently reciting his impressions.

“…In conclusion, we can say that the Lorelei’s song gives a glimpse into the development of music from the Old Era, making it highly valuable as a cultural heritage. Above all, her ability to immerse us in the story from the opening verse is a testament to her spectacular talent in singing. It was truly a wonderful piece, combining historical value with advanced vocal techniques… Thus concludes my report.”

The blue book within the glass case remained silent throughout Cyril’s speech. Even now, it showed no apparent reaction.

Only as Cyril began to worry that his report was unsatisfactory did the book finally let out a faint voice.

——”…Not bad.”

Apparently, the Lorelei had given him a passing grade.

Cyril breathed a sigh of relief. He folded the piece of paper containing his impressions and was about to put it in his pocket.

——”Hold on.”

“What is it?”

——”That impression is something you offered to me. Thus, you must offer not only those words, but also the letters written there.”

This left Cyril perplexed. The Lorelei was asking for the paper containing his impressions, but where was he supposed to submit it? Putting it inside the glass case was clearly out of the question.

——”Look at the carvings on the side of the reading desk. There is a drawer.”

“Really?”

The reading desk fixed in the center of the room was small, barely enough to hold a single tome.

Cyril pulled on the decorative carvings at the side, and the drawer opened with surprising ease.

——”Place it inside.”

“But I can’t simply leave my belongings in the Forbidden Archives…”

——”You have submitted that document to me, yes? In that case, it is already mine. How I handle it is entirely up to me.”

“…Hmm.”

Cyril was not entirely convinced, but the Lorelei kept urging him to hurry. Reluctantly, he placed the folded piece of paper inside the drawer.

——”Good… I’ll perform another song for you today, so you must submit another impression.”

“I don’t believe I asked for another song though?”

——”That matters little. Your job is to compliment my songs. You had better visit me again.”

Cyril eventually relented after the Lorelei’s stubborn insistence, saying, “at least make it a song without any mental interference.”

Cyril departed the Deepest Forbidden Section, and the Lorelei began her song once he placed one foot on the stairs, as if to send him off.

The song was in a foreign language that he had never heard before, but it seemed to fill him with energy, letting him climb the steps with greater speed than usual.

——”If your path is shadowed, my song will split the clouds.”

——”If your path crumbles apart, my song will make the bridge.”

——”If your path sinks into water, my song will become your ship.”

——”May glory await at the end of that path. Glory upon you…”

Cyril was unaware, but this song was made in devotion to a certain emperor from ages past.

＊　＊　＊

Cyril left the Deepest Forbidden Section, exited through the First Forbidden Section, then headed to the library’s reference room.

There, he met with Raul as well as the two weasels, Thule and Pikeh. They seemed engrossed in the many maps and books spread across the table.

Since pens and ink were not allowed in the Forbidden Archives, this reference room was most convenient for compiling their research results.

“Sorry, just got back,” Cyril said.

“Welcome back! Did the Lorelei like it?” Raul replied, looking up from the map.

“Yeah, she asked me to write another impression.”

“…Wow.”

Raul put on a somewhat awkward smile as he gestured at the map he was marking.

“I’m pretty much done with my part. Just need to clean it up.”

Cyril approached the desk and began reviewing the data compiled by Raul.

This included the information they gathered from the Forbidden Archives, as well as dragon disaster records from the general bookshelves and the results of domestic mana concentration surveys.

All of this data backed Cyril’s hypothesis.

Cyril picked up one of the documents spread on the desk.

“…As I thought,” Cyril began, “Carla Maxwell’s thesis on mana-mapping is quite convincing. Honestly, I find it hard to believe that no one else is paying attention to it.”

“The Mage Association has been giving the Starspear Witch the cold shoulder ever since she retired from the Seven Sages,” Raul explained. “Especially when it comes to her research on mana-mapping. The academic community seems completely uninterested.”

Carla Maxwell the Starspear Witch was a prodigy who could maintain seven spells at the same time. Her title came from the light-aspected spell Starspear, which she invented.

However, she was forced to retire from the Seven Sages after her brother stole Gluttonous Zoe.

She went on to join the Society of Mana in Geography and conduct mana concentration surveys across the nation.

“So no matter how excellent her research is, it will never see the light of day…”

Cyril sighed.

Mana-mapping was the science of conducting mana concentration surveys and recording fluctuations in mana levels. With enough information, one could predict the movements of magical creatures such as dragons and spirits.

In other words, it was theoretically possible to predict dragon activity, and as a result, defend against dragon disasters before they happened.

That said, mana-mapping was often disregarded due to being a new discipline.

The Mage Association apparently suggested that Carla focus her research on the rare light spell Starspear rather than the minor field of mana-mapping.

However, Carla insisted that research into mana-mapping was more important than developing a weapon of destruction like the Starspear. After retiring from the Seven Sages, she continued her mana concentration surveys.

(The Starspear Witch must be very wise… She envisions the future of magical creatures and humanity.)

Changes in mana concentration had a powerful correlation to the steady decline of magical creatures.

In the Starspear Witch’s thesis, she did not state whether humans should try to coexist with or eliminate magical creatures. All she wrote was her estimations for the future based on her findings.

Cyril looked up from the desk and observed the two weasels, Thule and Pikeh. If he ever got the chance to meet the Starspear Witch, he wanted to ask about her thoughts on dragons and spirits.

“Cyril, Cyril, we drew the circles where Raul told us to,” Thule said.

“Lots of them,” Pikeh followed.

The two weasels were deftly holding quills on top of the table. Apparently, Raul had instructed them to mark the map on certain locations.

Cyril glanced through the map annotations.

The Starspear Witch proposed this in her thesis on mana-mapping: “Regions with a high mana concentration are connected to each other via underground leylines, allowing mana to flow between them.”

There were several high-mana regions in Ridill. The particularly large ones were the Dragon Peaks as well as Mount Kalug, where Thule used to live. The Thorn Forest next to Raul’s home and the Rainfield Forest governed by Elliott Howard also had spots of high mana concentration.

(If I am right about Gluttonous Zoe’s powers… There will likely be large-scale mana contamination centered around the artifact.)

If this mana contamination occurs in a high-mana region, then it could spread to other regions through the underground leylines.

A sudden increase in mana concentration was likely to attract magical creatures such as spirits and dragons. In other words, this could cause a large-scale dragon migration, increasing the likelihood of dragon disasters.

In the worst case, it may even cause dragon disasters throughout the entire nation.

Cyril hypothesized that this was the truth behind the Starseer Witch’s prophesy of the “worst dragon dragon in history.”

(The past records had no mentions of dragons when Gluttonous Zoe was activated… but that was because mana was everyone in the Old Era. Dragons and spirits did not have difficulty finding habitats, so there was no need for them to migrate.)

Cyril glanced at the map while verifying his hypothesis again.

This worst-case scenario only applied if Gluttonous Zoe was activated in a high-mana region, allowing mana to flow to other high-mana regions.

“It seems the high-mana regions are concentrated in eastern Ridill.”

“True, there doesn’t seem to be many in the west. Oh, but wasn’t there a thesis about a part of the ocean with high mana concentration? The one by the Waterbite Mage, I think?”

In response to Raul’s doubts, Sophocles shone in all the colors of the rainbow at Cyril’s finger.

“Indeed, it is a thesis by William McRegan the Waterbite Mage. However, it does not specify the exact location. Unlike on land, there is too little data about mana concentration in the ocean.”

Sophocles was unable to read the books of the Forbidden Archives, but he became very useful when it came to questions about the publicly accessible ones.

Meanwhile, Cyril was going over his hypothesis for the umpteenth time.

Gluttonous Zoe’s power came with the side effect of mana contamination. Then, this mana would flow through the underground leylines to cause a chain reaction, resulting in a dragon disaster of unprecedented scale… But all of this was just a hypothesis.

There was nothing to guarantee the correctness of his hypothesis.

“Alright, let’s tidy it up and submit the report!” Raul said, starting to organize the documents.

“No wait. Give me a bit more time for verification…”

Cyril hastily interjected, before cutting himself off.

Thule and Pikeh looked up at Cyril with curiosity.

“Cyril, what’s wrong?”

“You got a lot of data. You thought a lot. Is it still not enough?”

As Cyril struggled to come up with an excuse, Sophocles questioned him in a mocking tone.

“What’s the matter? Getting scared? Hmm?”

Cyril tried to argue back, but the words sank down into his chest, refusing to come out. He clenched his fists and lowered his face.

“…You’re exactly right. I… I lack confidence in myself.”

If Cyril’s hypothesis gets approved, then it would result in the largest operation in Ridill’s history, requiring a staggering amount of funds and manpower.

…But what if he was wrong to begin with?

All of those funds and manpower go to waste. He would bring shame to the troops they mobilized, the Library Society, and his own stepfather.

Cyril found this terribly frightening.

(How pathetic can I be?)

Cyril bit his lip, avoiding eye contact with Raul because he felt embarrassed to be seen like this.

Seeing as how Cyril remained silent, Raul spoke up in his usual tone.

“Back when I was a kid, I asked the Starseer Witch… Mary-san if she was scared to make a prophecy. Because, you know, everyone is going to hate her if the prophecy is wrong, right?”

Mary Harvey was a member of the Seven Sages and the nation’s greatest prophet. All of her prophecies were extremely accurate; Cyril never heard of any instance where one was proven false.

Even so, her words could decide the fate of the nation. It must take courage to take responsibility for something so important.

Ominous prophecies weren’t at all well-received, and she would lose all the trust she had built if she made the slightest mistake.

When young Raul asked her what she would do if her prophecies failed, she reportedly laughed and said…

――Oh my, me being wrong about an unfortunate prophecy? But there’s nothing better than those not coming true~! If that happens, I’d gladly accept the stain on my name and enjoy the peace that follows.

She was completely aware of the consequences for failure, yet she continued delivering her prophecies in hopes of guiding Ridill toward a better future.

How much resolve was needed for that? Cyril couldn’t even imagine.

“So what I’m trying to say… If your hypothesis turns out to be wrong, I’ll get down in the mud with you. It’ll be easier if we take the fall together, right?”

Cyril wanted to scold Raul for the terrible analogy, but the words weren’t coming out. As the warmth filled his chest, Thule and Pikeh followed in their usual tones.

“Cyril and Raul are getting muddy? Then I’ll get muddy too. Don’t be scared, Cyril.”

“Human culture is weird. If you get covered in mud, I’ll help you wash it off.”

For some reason, Cyril felt the urge to shout and urge to laugh at the same time.

“…I’ll be counting on you guys,” Cyril replied, awkwardly curling his lips into a smile.

In response, Raul flashed a toothy smile, Thule gently wagged his tail, and Pikeh puffed out her chest.

Cyril took a slow breath and picked up his quill again.

(Get a hold of yourself, Cyril Ashley.)

He remembered back to the words of his biological father from childhood.

――Hold your back straight and do not allow yourself to be frightened. You are my son.

――Yes, Father.

That man had been so infuriating and Cyril couldn’t forgive him even now. Even so, his words always had a place in the deepest part of Cyril’s heart.

――You must hold yourself with pride at all times.

(Unlike you, I won’t run away. I will fulfill my duty and uphold my pride… So, please watch over me, Father.)


Sophocles felt an inexplicable sensation: a tightening in his non-existent chest.

Nostalgia, heartache, and a hint of envy surged from within.

——You fancy yourself the Keeper of Knowledge? Hah! It was your strategy that led our nation to defeat. The blood of thousands is on your hands. Mere death shall be too lukewarm a punishment. You will atone with your very soul!

That man had no friend willing to take the fall with him.

(…Hmm, which tale was that passage from again?)

Unable to recall the answer to that question, Sophocles looked up at his contract holder.

Cyril was still inept, far too immature to be called a true scholar. Even so, Sophocles wanted to see his efforts and sincerity rewarded.

However, the Keeper of Knowledge kept this to himself.

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