CHAPTER 077
Oh my. Then what happens? I momentarily lost my train of thought.
Lewis didn't leave me alone.
"What are you thinking about while talking to me?"
"Huh? Oh, nothing!"
"Focus on me."
His words, as he watched me intently, sounded more like a warning to keep an eye on me.
·······Yeah. I must have been thinking nonsense.
"It's basic manners to focus on the person you're talking to. Of course, I should focus! Haha······."
I nodded vigorously at Lewis's words.
* * *
During the week the delegation stayed in the Empire, Raven did many things.
He had meetings with royalty, nobles, and the Empire's priests, and he listened to and comforted those who were troubled.
And, contrary to what Lewis expected, there was an encounter with the Tower Master.
The magic circle in the temple!
Raven's priests requested that he examine the magic circle.
Somehow, I ended up attending with Lewis.
It's understandable that Lewis is here since the temple requested his expertise, but why me?
"Why am I here?"
I was still confused, even though I had already arrived.
And today, Philip wasn't even here?
Philip isn't related to magic circles, but he'd fit in better than me.
Raven looked back at me.
"They said Miss Elsner was the first to discover this magic circle, didn't they? Then you should be here."
Oh, because I was the first to discover it?
They said the temple asked for Lewis to come and for me to come too, but it seems Raven had a hand in that.
Anyway, the important work of examining the magic circle started again, including Raven.
"What do you think, High Priest Raven?"
A high priest from Raven's temple asked Raven politely.
Raven, who had been examining the magic circle, spoke.
"This was originally a secret space, correct?"
"Yes. It's no longer so since the magic that concealed it was removed, and it was renovated."
The secret space, which was probably used discreetly in the past, could no longer serve that function after its existence was revealed.
Well, it's not needed anymore, right?
Wars are a thing of the past now!
After a moment of contemplation, Raven spoke.
"The fact that work was done here in secret means there were people who knew the exact location."
Then he looked at Lewis and asked.
"You think so too, don't you?"
"I believe so as well."
Lewis replied nonchalantly.
"It’s taking time to identify since it’s not a magic circle recorded on our side."
Despite reading the original work, I could only stare blankly.
This wasn’t in the original story.
Then suddenly, Raven turned to me and asked.
"What does Miss Elsner think?"
"Huh? Me?"
I don’t know anything!
Why ask me, he was really asking for my opinion!
"My thoughts won’t be of much help. I know nothing about magic······."
"Weren't you the one who brought this place to everyone's attention?"
But I lack professional knowledge········.
"An amateur's perspective can be helpful. They might point out something we missed."
"Is that so········?"
If you expect too much, you'll be really disappointed!
Anyway, since all eyes were on me, I decided to say something.
"The High Priest said there were people who knew the exact location of the secret space, right?"
"Yes."
"Since it's a magic circle drawn here, that person must have been a mage."
No problem so far, right?
I glanced around nervously, and Lewis spoke.
"Please continue."
"Oh, yes. But the fact that work was done here means it had to remain a secret········ seems like that, right?"
"Hmm·······."
"Then isn't this magic circle a trace of something illegal or something like that?"
"So, this temple was used for illegal activities?"
"Yes."
At that, the high priest of Raven’s temple was appalled.
"Using a temple for illegal activities? How sacrilegious········!"
But it’s something from hundreds of years ago, isn't it? Shouldn’t it be okay?
However, the high priest of Raven’s temple was about to be more shocked.
Raven, who was examining the magic circle closely, said something unexpected.
"But this, it doesn’t seem like it was drawn that long ago."
Surprised, Lewis looked at him.
"Can you estimate the time it was drawn?"
"I'm not a mage, so I don't know its purpose, but this I can tell."
Raven pointed to specific parts of the magic circle.
"The paint hasn't faded at all. If a long time had passed, it would have faded a bit."
"Wait a minute."
Curious!
I raised my hand.
"Speak, Miss Elsner."
Raven’s permission granted, I asked something I was curious about.
"Couldn't it be that the patterns were treated with magic to prevent fading?"
"That's not the case."
The answer came from Lewis.
"There’s no trace of preservation magic here."
So, if a long time had passed, the colors should have naturally faded, as Raven said.
"Then it really could have been drawn recently."
Hearing this, the high priest of Raven’s temple finally spoke.
"If Miss Elsner's guess is correct, it means something wicked occurred in the temple."
Reluctantly accepting it, Raven spoke to him.
"We can call in an expert to verify. There must be someone who can determine the era this drawing belongs to, right?"
They had only been trying to figure out the purpose of this magic circle, not when it was drawn.
The temple promptly called in an expert.
The archaeologist who arrived hurriedly observed the magic circle in the temple and then spoke.
"High Priest Raven is correct. This magic circle appears to be relatively recent, drawn less than 100 years ago."
"How can that be!"
Relatively recent? Really?
The high priest of Raven's temple was at a loss for words.
Neither Raven nor this archaeologist knew the purpose of the magic circle.
It was up to Lewis to uncover that.
"Has nothing happened in the temple in the last 100 years?"
"Of course. It's been peaceful, yet such a thing was drawn."
"We need to find out what happened here."
Lewis muttered nonchalantly and then looked at Raven.
"Your insight was helpful. As expected of the High Priest of Marvel."
"I'm glad it helped."
Though his tone wasn't particularly respectful, Raven smiled pleasantly.
That day’s investigation ended shortly.
Before leaving the temple, I decided to say goodbye to Raven.
With the departure date of the delegation approaching, it seemed unlikely we’d see him again.
"I'll join you."
When I said I wanted to say goodbye to Raven, Lewis joined me. He had claimed to have no interest in the High Priest of Marvel.
When we mentioned we had something to say, Raven took us to his room.
"Just wanted to say goodbye since we might not get another chance."
"To me? How thoughtful."
Raven laughed cheerfully.
I followed suit and bid him farewell.
"I hope we meet again."
"I’m not sure if we will."
Marquis, you can't just brush off my farewell like that!
I looked at Lewis, who had an expression like 'What did I do?'
Raven laughed at our interaction.
"I heard you two were close, and you really do seem to be."
"We’re more than just close."
Lewis said confidently.
Raven’s smile turned peculiar.
"I see. More than just close, huh?"
What is he thinking alone?
I was laughing along, but I couldn't understand at all.
If even his adjutant couldn't understand, how could I?
While I was bewildered, Raven spoke to me.
"Since you’re saying goodbye, I should too."
The suspicious smile he had been directing at me and Lewis had vanished.
"Thank you for helping me that day. Even if you didn’t do anything directly, you were the only one trying to help me."
That was true. Everyone else had just watched.
"I didn't think you were a bad person."
It was simply out of respect for the elderly!
If it were Charlotte in my place, wouldn’t she have tried to help too?
Raven gave me a blessing.
"Kind-hearted people should be rewarded. Fortune will follow you."
I hope that's true.
Since Raven, who had even blessed me directly, said it, I felt it wasn't just empty words.
That meeting with Raven was indeed our last.
After fulfilling his busy schedule as the High Priest of Marvel, he left the Empire.
When he left, Charlotte was deeply disappointed.
"I wanted to give the High Priest a handmade embroidery!"
She had never seemed so eager to gift Philip with embroidery?
Seeing that, I realized one thing.
Charlotte still didn’t care about Philip.
* * *
Thanks to Raven, my curiosity about the magic circle grew.
The temple had no further updates, though.
Lewis and I discussed the magic circle separately.
"If it was drawn within the last 100 years, it’s really recent?"
"Indeed. We didn’t expect the timing."
"Could it be a summoning thing?"
I had read about summoning in another book, not the original story.
"Like summoning a demon or something, secretly working on it there."
"There’s no special record of it. Maybe it was a failure."
So it quietly passed, Lewis speculated.
I thought it was an ancient remnant, but it seemed more ominous than that.
What kind of magic circle is it?
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