Chapter 15

Chapter 15

I entered the audience chamber.

The Westeros Duke was not welcoming while sitting in a high place, but standing beside the subjects talking and waiting for me.

“Hmm, then proceed up to there like that.”

“Understood.”

He seemed a person full of enthusiasm.

“Please come in.”

“Hello, Duke.”

He smiled brightly and extended his hand.

“I heard they don’t move well for trivial matters, thank you for coming so readily like this.”

The one who shook hands firmly guided not returning to the chair but to the reception room at the back of the audience chamber.

“Please sit.”

And sitting on the opposite sofa, he opened his mouth.

“Did you see the territory a bit while coming?”

“Yes, it was a wonderful scenery.”

“Yes, the result of the family racking their brains for a long time. Our family has been contemplating ways to make many people come and go to the ducal territory from quite long ago. Paying attention to public order, paying attention to cleanliness, paying attention to appearance. After such things, proper things to see were needed. Ah, will you have a cup of tea?”

“Thank you.”

“So we started operating things like theaters, exhibition halls, amusement parks, zoos, other things I have little to worry about, but uniquely the exhibition hall matter is frequently giving me a headache.”

“I see.”

“Among the family’s relics, we have to select ones worth exhibiting, but in the process too many items I didn’t know came out. There are quite a few whose records were lost so we don’t know when and from where they came in.”

I understand because I’ve organized too.

There were really many unrecorded items.

“Appraising one by one and setting value and restoring some damaged ones... How did the work started for economic development become so consumptive.”

He’s a person who has quite a long preamble.

But it’s not only bad.

Rather, a person with few words and hard to gauge what they’re thinking had more difficult aspects as a customer.

Moreover, there is no falsehood in the words the Duke has said so far.

It means he didn’t call with some other intention.

“Still, mostly we were doing well with the help of the mages and experts of our ducal territory. The exhibition hall is to the point that even experts of the capital praise it, so I feel quite proud.”

“Congratulations.”

“However, about half a year ago, one discovered item doesn’t open no matter what? They say a coffin somehow repels all mana.”

An item with mana resistance.

Not common.

If sealing magic, mages would have known better, and mana flowed well into most materials of this world.

“This coffin must have a reason it entered the treasure vault, but just leaving it neglected again is awkward, burying it anywhere is ambiguous, and leaving an unknown coffin out like that is also not good, so I was contemplating.”

“Indeed, it must have bothered you.”

“However, one mage of the family said this.”

Gradually the main point?

“Even calling experts, they couldn’t find out what material it was, but from the texture and appearance it’s clearly wood, so if calling a magic practitioner and eroding it with magic power, wouldn’t it open?”

A matter the ducal family could request of a magic practitioner. However, a matter that even sending purple would likely resolve.

The request I received this time was ‘erode the unopenable coffin with magic power.’

“If it’s wood, it will be openable.”

Rather than opening, closer to destroying.

“Then, may I see the coffin once?”

The Duke nodded and called a person.

“Guide him.”

The mage politely bowed his head.

“I’m chief mage Screed.”

A middle-aged person with deep eyes.

Seeing the appearance when young was amazing.

When I came later he had become white-haired, and at that time the impression was brighter and softer than now.

Seems something good happens.

Since he was cooperative in the search at the time and a person with no bad memories, I was somehow glad.

“Please take care of me.”

“We’ll arrive soon. This way.”

Following him, I headed to the underground stairs of the ducal castle.

The stairs seemed to continue to a very deep place, but fortunately I walked out to the corridor connected right beside.

In every room, numerous scholars and mages were examining relics with magnifying glasses or recording something, so it looked like a space confirming and researching the relics inside the ducal castle as the Westeros Duke said.

“Here.”

Crossing between them, I opened the innermost door.

Inside it, an old-looking hat and shield, and as talked about, one coffin was placed.

“Smaller than expected. It’s a size a child can enter.”

As soon as I saw the coffin, I understood.

That twisted-seeming bizarre wood grain is in my memory.

And it was not of this world.

I quietly approached the coffin and stroked it.

Knocked it, and tried infusing mana once.

It’s repelling the alien force.

I pulled up the Magic Root and tried infusing red mana.

It repelled more violently and the part the mana touched sizzled.

The skin of demons hit by the holy knights’ swords changed exactly like this.

Their bodies that originally recover quickly, after being hit by holy knights or priests, didn’t heal for a long while.

So this is, as expected, a demon’s coffin.

Examining the coffin like that, a presence was felt from the side.

The mage who guided me was making a puzzled expression.

The exploration they already did sufficiently, and I also heard sufficiently from the Duke that mana doesn’t work.

But why not opening the coffin and doing that, it must be.

If embracing the coffin and sufficiently raising magic power, it’s a simple matter that ends, but I must not do that.

If this coffin opens, a demon will pop out.

Later they tear space and open and walk out proudly through the gap, but in the early days they also crossed over through coffins like this, I heard.

But probably it won’t be a complete demon.

Around this time, they couldn’t open a door capable of transferring one demon whole.

A small coffin. What’s inside is part of a demon.

A part of a demon turned into demonic energy crosses over to this world, attaches to a person and transfers, and demon-humanizes a suitable one.

Since there’s no body, it intends to prepare to start work as intent.

From around this time, matters began sparsely in various places.

Of course they only remained as bizarre incident records, the world did not yet know it was a matter entangled with the Demon Realm.

The request of the Carpenter Viscount Territory I additionally received going to the External Affairs Bureau was also to prevent a disaster that would happen nearby, but originally I only realized the connection of that incident with the Demon Realm decades later.

So something newly felt.

The matter that happened later in the ducal territory was being prepared from now, decades ago.

If another magic practitioner came instead of me, they would have opened the coffin casually, and if so the demon would have flowed out and wandered looking for a suitable one.

That person would have become an existence called a black mage, would have gathered people, and moved according to instructions trying to gather items sent from the Demon Realm and open a door.

I looked at Screed and asked.

“Who is the mage who came up with the method to open this coffin?”

“Yes? I don’t know that well either.”

His words are truth.

Then I should ask someone who would know.

“Let’s return to the Duke.”

Screed seemed to have deepened his questions one layer more, but instead of asking the reason, he nodded.

“I’ll guide you.”

A moment later, the Duke I met again asked.

“Is there some problem?”

“Could you call the mage who suggested eroding the coffin with magic power to open it?”

Before long, the coffin was placed in the audience chamber, and that mage was called.

A young face, an intelligent-looking person.

“I’m Damian working in the relic analysis department.”

“I’ll ask just a few questions.”

“Yes, as much as you like.”

“By any chance, do you know what’s inside that coffin?”

“I don’t know.”

Truth.

“Anything you guess?”

“None at all.”

False.

He doesn’t know the fact that a demon is inside, but there is something he guesses.

“By any chance, have you recently received visits from those who could be called black mages?”

“Black mages?”

“Yes. Those trying to handle the power of another world... For example, the Demon Realm.”

“None.”

False.

“By any chance, did they tell you to somehow move that item to the Duke’s warehouse?”

“...No.”

This is also false.

“Did they demand to somehow open that coffin?”

The Duke’s expression became strange, and the air of the audience chamber cooled.

Whether that uncomfortable mind is directed at me repeating questions without evidence.

Or sympathizing with my suspicion and directed at the mage receiving my pursuit, I couldn’t know.

But I was just asking comfortably.

I was intending to watch how that lying mage would overcome this air and continue answering——

“...”

Looking alternately at me and the Duke, he somehow judged, and without answering suddenly pointed his staff at me.

Couldn’t endure.

When I struck the staff with the sword, sparks embedded in the audience chamber ceiling and exploded.

Stone powder falling thud thud and the splendid ceiling lamp.

When two knights drew swords and guarded in front of the Duke, the mage directed his left hand toward me.

A ring shining on the finger.

This can’t be helped.

I closed in, re-gripped Ash Black, and slashed down.

The mage’s wrist flew off and I withdrew before the ring’s light grew bigger.

Soon the flame originating from the ring exploded the floor together with that hand.

The Duke’s exclamation flowed out.

The mage gritting his teeth aimed at the window.

“Damn it, of all things calling Equira...”

When the window exploded out, he threw the staff.

And took out parchment from his sleeve, bit it with his teeth, and tore it with a rip.

The body misted and was pushed out, flowing out the open window.

The Duke ordered the knights.

“Catch him immediately.”

Unfortunately even after several days he wasn’t caught, and in the end I went to find the Duke and conveyed my thoughts.

***

I came out of the castle riding the carriage.

However, one more following carriage had increased.

Since carrying the demon’s coffin and running toward Equira, those who must open this will probably come looking on their own.

It would be good if just sent.

In the middle I’ll turn direction to the capital and go straight to the Holy See.

When advancing to the outskirts of the ducal territory and passing between golden wheat fields, the coachman hurriedly opened the front door and jumped into the carriage.

Since I said to come in if something suspicious is seen, it seemed the guys appeared.

“Doesn’t deviate from expectation.”

A thankful matter.

Stepping outside, in front there stood a mage pressing down a robe holding a staff.

And from the wheat fields on both sides, a force was rustling and approaching.

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