𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟒: 𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐠𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞!
“Let’s try using charm magic today.”
“Eh?”
It’s been a few weeks since I started training with the crown prince. I’ve already mastered the art of keeping the pot from boiling over.
I was secretly puffing up my chest, thinking I was quite a good student, when he said that. I’m working hard to deal with that charm magic, so what does he mean by let’s use it?
“You’re using charm magic. . . If you’re not aware of it, it’s hard to control. Try to use it consciously, grasp the sensation when charm magic is activated. Then, try to be careful not to use charm magic normally.”
“Y, Yes, I understand!”
Really?!
I replied to the prince who was saying something that seemed plausible with a straight face, but immediately after, I froze.
“. . .But, how do you use charm magic?”
“It’s a forbidden magic, after all. . . But.”
Even if he says to try it, I don’t know how to use it. The prince calmly nodded, as if he had anticipated my question.
“If you break the seal on the charm magic formula sealed in the State Temple, you should be able to use it.”
“Huh. . . I see?”
“So, we’re going to the State Temple.”
State Temple. It’s a place that can be called one of our country’s cultural heritage, where only the royal family and the highest-ranking priests are allowed to enter, and it’s not open to the public.
“. . .Eh.”
“I’ve already explained the situation to the king, and I’ve received permission from the chief priest. I’ve also submitted a leave of absence to the school.”
――That was quick!
I was taken aback, and before I knew it, the prince had taken me to the State Temple.
・・・
『”𝐀𝐰𝐞𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬.𝐜𝐨𝐦” – 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞, 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 “𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬” 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 “𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬”.』
・・・
“Welcome. I am Chief Priest Zilva. By the wish of our king and the crown prince, Claudia-sama, I will allow you special permission to enter.”
“T, Thank you. . .”
I was taken in the latest and most luxurious carriage, which even I, a nouveau riche lady, had never ridden in, and arrived at the State Temple in no time. The person who greeted us at the solemn gate was an elderly gentleman with white hair who introduced himself as the chief priest. His face was wrinkled, but his back was straight.
“Handling charm magic is considered taboo. . . However, you have already mastered charm magic. Therefore, if it can help you control it, it has been allowed this time. Please be careful not to misuse it.”
“Y, Yes! Of course!”
He seemed kind, but his voice and expression were stern, and I swallowed hard.
Upon hearing my reply, the chief priest nodded and said, “Good,” then turned his back and walked into the temple.
I followed him. The familiar sound of jingling followed me.
“Is the prince coming with us?”
“Of course. I’m also your supervisor.”
The prince, who smiled smugly and flipped his cloak, made a jingling sound with his anti-evil goods today as well.
It’s strange, but I feel a bit relieved when I hear this jingling sound.
The largest temple in the country is incredibly large. It seems that various forbidden magics, not just charm magic, are sealed here. I follow the chief priest who walks briskly through the interior that seems easy to get lost in.
Eventually, we arrived at a slightly open dead end. There was a door there, far larger than our height. It was a stone door that seemed impossible to open by human strength. On the door, there was a meaningful pattern and a round hollow in the center.
“Beyond this door is the area where the charm magic is sealed.”
When the chief priest inserted a deep blue gem into the round hollow carved in the door, the heavy stone door opened.
Beyond this, the charm magic is sealed. . .
“. . .There are multiple traps set up to the deepest part where the charm magic is sealed. Please, do not walk ahead of me.”
Zilva-sama said in a heavy tone. Traps. I imagined things like a terrible bear trap, or countless arrows being released from the walls, and nodded while turning pale. His Highness looked at me with a half-closed eye as if to say, “Oh dear.”
“I’ll tell you, you’re probably thinking of traps that would skewer you and make you scream, but it’s not like that.”
“Eh?!”
――How did he know?! And what does he mean, it’s not like that?!
Something more terrifying is waiting for me ahead. . .?
I swallowed my saliva, which I had just drunk, once again.
◆
“The first trap is the Room of Illusions. Once you step in, a magic mist with hallucinogenic effects will be sprayed throughout the room. The hallucinations will make the intruders turn back here.”
“. . .”
Hallucinations. . . If that’s the case, it’s not dangerous. It’s a temple, so they wouldn’t actively do anything bloody. . .
Chief priest Zilva-sama cast a barrier on us to neutralize the magic mist.
“The second trap is the Room of Sorrow. Here, tiles that amplify human psychological anxiety with dark magic are laid on the floor. Please do not step on any tiles other than the ones I stepped on. Even the slightest sad event that once happened can captivate your heart and ruin you.”
“I, I’ll be ruined.”
When Zilva-sama activated a light magic that detects dark magic, the tiles laid in the room began to glow black. And I desperately follow Zilva-sama, who chooses only the safe tiles that do not glow and proceeds with light steps, so as not to be left behind. If I step wrong even once. . . I’ll be. . . ruined, I guess. . .
“The third trap. . . is the Room of Betrayal. If there are more than two intruders, everyone other than yourself will appear as hateful beings. Well, it’s aimed at causing infighting.”
“T, That’s quite directly dangerous.”
When I looked closely, there seemed to be some reddish-black stains on the floor and walls. . .
Zilva-sama gave us protective glasses that break illusions, and we were safe.
“This is the fourth trap, the Room of Falling Tears.”
“Falling tears. . . what is it, poison gas. . . or something. . .?”
“No. There are pitfalls everywhere. At the bottom of the holes are bamboo spears. . . The image of falling and being impaled by the spears, with blood flowing, is likened to falling tears.”
“Your Highness! It’s a straightforward trap of being skewered, gyaah! That’s what it is!”
“Shut up! There could be such traps! What, do you think you’ve taken the head of a demon?!”
“Ho ho ho. You two get along well.”
For some reason, Zilva-sama watched us bickering with a warm smile.
“The traps end in the previous room. . . This is the room of the charm magic seal. Now, please proceed.”
“. . .This is. . .”
It was a small room with a very pure atmosphere. In the center of the room was a pedestal, on which sat a small stone box.
“Inside this box are instructions on how to handle charm magic. How to chant the spell, how to circulate the magic power. . . All of charm magic is sleeping here.”
“. . .Can I really open it?!”
“Enough. You have permission from both the royal family and the temple. You are already using charm magic unconsciously. You are special.”
“Y, Yes.”
His Highness and Zilva-sama decided to wait a little distance away.
I was alone, facing the pedestal, and I reached out to the box with trepidation.
“. . .!”
I tried to open the box. But, it’s heavy.
Not just because it’s made of stone, but it’s just heavy.
“Guh, guuh. . .”
Even when I put so much strength into my fingertips that they turned white, the box wouldn’t open.
I tried my best, but the box didn’t seem to open at all. I heaved a sigh and glared at the box, at a loss.
“. . .Let me see that for a moment.”
“Y, Your Highness.”
His Highness, who had been standing a distance away, walked up with a clatter and casually picked up the box I was struggling with.
Then, after gazing at it for a while and lightly touching the lid, he narrowed his eyes.
“. . .I see. This box itself is the last mechanism to prevent grave robbers.”
“What do you mean?”
“No matter how hard you try to open this box, it will never open. It seems that the box will open if you flow magic power into the magic circuit in the way the box demands, with a determined output, speed, and order.”
“. . .Wha. . .”
“What is required is. . . the ability to analyze and control magic power. It’s unlikely that an average magician could open it. Even our school’s faculty would have a hard time. Only a top-class magician recognized by the country could probably open it.”
“That’s. . .”
No, that. . . I can’t do that, can I?
Zilva-sama also put his hand on his forehead with an “oh no” expression and closed his eyes tightly.
“You said there were no more traps. . .”
Even though you said that. . .
“It’s not a trap, it’s a mechanism.”
“Ugh. . . Zilva-sama, did you know about this seal’s mechanism. . .?”
“No. I designed the traps on this journey, but the mechanism of the box was thought up by someone else. By dividing the responsibilities, we were able to spread the risk of the traps and mechanisms being discovered by grave robbers.”
(. . .That trap, Zilva-sama thought of it. . .)
I was a little resentful of Zilva-sama, but if he didn’t know, it couldn’t be helped. I’ll dissipate my small grudge for this misunderstanding.
Thanks to Zilva-sama’s guidance, we were able to overcome the numerous traps, but it was quite――very difficult. Especially the last skewering trap was very difficult. I had to follow the route Zilva-sama took without a single mistake, and I had to be very careful on my tiptoes, but I almost fell several times by accident, and it was really――very difficult. After all, physical and primitive traps are the scariest. During the second trap, the shining tiles were a warning sign, but there was no magic to conveniently detect pitfalls, and I just had to desperately follow Zilva-sama. It was really hard.
I pointed at myself with trembling fingers and asked His Highness.
To open a box that has a charm spell sealed in it――.
“Isn’t that impossible. . .?”
“I didn’t know it was like this until I picked up this box. Well, it’s impossible.”
When His Highness shook his head, a jingling sound came from his swaying cloak.
Hearing that sound, I trembled my fist. And then, I slammed my fist on the floor and shouted.
“It’s futile!”
“Oh, you have surprisingly rich vocabulary!”
“I demand an apology!”
“I’m sorry.”
“Eh, you’re too honest and there’s no tension and I don’t know where to direct my emotions~!!!”
Charm magic. It’s no wonder the country recognizes it as taboo and seals it in the innermost part of the temple.
The numerous traps that I broke through, guided by Zilva-sama.
The mechanism of the box that an ordinary magician can’t solve.
No matter how hard a fallen magician tries, they won’t be able to get through these and unseal the charm magic. It’s a perfect defense. Surely this charm magic will never be misused! It shouldn’t be! Probably!
I lay down on the ground.
Even though I’ve come this far.
“. . .If it’s impossible, that means it was a waste, right. . .?”
“Well, it can’t be helped.”
What can’t be opened, can’t be opened. It can’t be helped.
“If you can control your magic power enough to solve the mechanism of this box, you should be able to control even unconscious charm magic.”
“. . .I see.”
His Highness laughs cynically. I also laugh back.
And I mumbled with a twisted mouth.
“. . .It means I can’t take it easy, right. . .?”
“You’ve got a goal to work hard, good for you.”
“Uuuuu, it’s futile!!”
“Next time, try saying it’s a wasted effort.”
“Wasted effort~!”
And so, I decided to work hard to somehow deal with the charm magic that I’m unconsciously scattering around, even though I don’t understand much about charm magic, and to polish my magic control skills.
