While advancing through the forest, Seras noticed something.
She leaned her upper body forward deeply and examined a tree trunk.
"This is… a magic crest."
At a low position on the trunk.
A symbol-like mark was carved into it.
Because it was low, it was hard to see due to the weeds growing from the ground.
It seemed deliberately made difficult to spot.
Seras stared at the mark, trying to discern its meaning.
"Is it some kind of trap that activates when conditions are met?"
"This crest is indeed that kind of thing, but part of the formula is damaged, so it probably won't activate. It looks quite old."
Old, huh.
"I'd really prefer it if the Witch isn't already dead and dried up."
I handed Seras the water flask.
She said,
"Ah, thank you. I'll have some."
She untied the cord on the spout and brought it to her lips.
Gulp.
After swallowing, Seras continued.
"Most elves are poor at magic. As you know, our bodies are not suited for refining magical energy. However, the forbidden Witch might be an elf who is skilled at it."
Elf.
High elf.
Dark elf.
Overall, the elf race is poor at refining magical energy.
They are a race unsuited for magic.
Instead, they excel at spirit contract techniques that allow them to wield the power of spirits.
This seems to be the case for all elf subspecies.
However,
"So there are exceptions."
"Yes, very rarely."
"I see. Well…"
First, we needed to confirm whether she was even alive.
For example, if our first meeting was with a dried-up mummy…
It wasn't impossible.
We wouldn't know until we actually met her.
I glanced at Seras.
"Touka-dono?"
"…You don't look particularly tired."
"? Ah, yes… thanks to your [Sleep], Touka-dono…"
For just a moment.
For just the briefest moment, guilt flashed across Seras's expression.
I didn't miss that flicker.
The reason for her guilt was obvious.
It was what she had done to me last night.
…So she did remember.
But she didn't seem to realize that I had noticed.
In that case—this was fine as it was.
There was no need to bring it up here.
She seemed to be reflecting on it in her own way…
Besides, I thought.
Seras would eventually confess on her own.
She was that kind of person.
For my part, I just needed to continue acting as her "master" as usual.
I only had to wait for the right moment inside Seras.
▽
"The feel of the trees is different here."
Perhaps it had something to do with the contaminated trees being nearby.
Seras stopped and gently stroked a tree branch.
"The life force of the trees around here seems particularly strong."
She could apparently sense the condition of the trees.
As expected from someone of the forest tribes.
…At least, that was the impression.
Even so,
"There's not a single trace of monsters."
"…A barrier?"
Seras muttered as if speaking to herself.
"It might be the power of a barrier."
"A barrier, huh."
So there really was something like that.
"Barriers are advanced techniques. There are two types: magic-derived and spirit-derived… At this point, I can't determine which one this is."
We continued deeper.
"What is that?"
Eve was the first to notice "it."
What appeared were multiple stone pillars.
They were deeply embedded in the ground.
Each one was slightly different in size.
There were around ten of them scattered about.
Symbols were carved into the surface of the stones.
The symbols were emitting a faint, pale glow.
"That crest appears to be active. From here on, we should be on guard—"
Eve's ears twitched.
"Seras… that crest of yours seems to have already activated."
Eve placed her hand on the hilt of her sword.
But by the time she did—
I had already thrust both arms forward.
"[Paralyze]."
—Crack, snap—
The light of the crest grew weaker.
The stone pillars had been trying to take shape.
Transformation?
Metamorphosis?
In any case, it was probably some kind of intruder countermeasures.
But the transformation never completed.
They were now frozen in a half-formed humanoid state.
A textbook preemptive strike.
"Well… it's probably some kind of golem for intercepting intruders."
The transforming stone statues we had encountered in the Mills Ruins.
If it worked on those, it might work here too.
That was what I had thought.
"It seems to have worked."
"Touka."
Eve indicated the luggage with her eyes.
She was pointing at the hammer tied to the backpack.
The one we had used to smash Ashinto's corpse.
She was asking whether we should destroy them with it.
I said,
"No."
I rejected the idea.
"If they try to move while paralyzed and break themselves, that can't be helped. But I don't want to thoughtlessly destroy them and make the Witch think we're hostile. As much as possible, let's avoid destroying things like this."
The paralyzed stone pillars did not try to move forcibly.
They seemed to instinctively sense that moving would be dangerous.
Did even golems value their lives?
Or perhaps—it was the Witch's command.
Without knowing the strength of the stone golems, we continued through the forest.
We emerged into an open area.
It had the appearance of a lakeside.
There was no gloomy, ominous atmosphere.
If anything, it felt full of vitality.
The trees had a fresh, vibrant feel.
The air also seemed clearer than elsewhere.
Eve looked around.
"There isn't a single trace of monsters."
In other words,
"We've completely entered the Witch's domain."
▽
At the edge of the nearly oval lake.
Seras stretched her neck and peered into the water.
"The bottom of the lake… is glowing…"
I stood beside her.
"Is that light from magical energy?"
"Most likely."
The water was crystal clear.
The rocky bottom was clearly visible.
There were no fish.
"So magical energy can glow like that underwater…"
"That's probably because the concentration is very high. For this depth, that amount of light means there's an enormous quantity."
Still leaning forward, Seras turned her head slightly backward.
Her gaze was directed at—the contaminated trees.
"Such abundant magical energy and those completely withered giant trees… The impressions are complete opposites."
"…The Witch might be using that vast amount of magical energy on a daily basis."
Seras swallowed.
Then she nodded.
Seras and I stood side by side, staring at a single point.
A slightly irregular small cabin built at the lakeside.
I called out to Eve and the others behind us.
"Let's go."
▽
The door of the cabin by the lakeside.
It was not locked.
I opened the door.
While staying on guard, I peered inside.
…It was surprisingly ordinary.
It had the exact atmosphere one would expect from "a cabin by the lakeside."
"I'll search inside."
Eve volunteered to take the lead.
"Seras, you and Liz keep watch outside."
"Understood. Please be careful, Eve."
"Understood… Touka, can you wait near the door? If anything happens, I'm counting on you."
"Got it."
I thrust my arm forward and drew my short sword with the other hand.
"If anything happens, I'll move immediately."
Eve began searching the room.
There was a ladder against the wall.
Eve placed her hands and feet on it.
She climbed up to the second floor.
But she came back down right away.
"It's just an ordinary attic."
Eve resumed searching the first floor.
Excluding the attic, there were two rooms.
I swept my gaze over the visible area.
The few pieces of furniture and furnishings looked aged.
The fireplace showed no signs of recent use.
Dust had accumulated in various places…
There was no lingering sense that someone had been living here.
At the very least, this cabin had not been used for a month.
"Touka, can you stay quiet for a moment?"
"Understood."
Eve pressed her ear against the walls and floor, tapping them with her gauntlet.
She stopped moving.
She was focused on the center of the room.
There was a rug spread there.
Eve prodded the rug several times with her heel.
"There's something underneath."
Eve pulled the rug aside.
A depression large enough for a hand and a handle appeared.
Looking closely, there was a square seam in the floor.
…So there was something hidden under the floor.
I stepped inside the cabin and stood beside Eve.
Pigi-maru's protrusion extended,
"Pini?"
and peered at the handle together with us.
Eve looked at me with her eyes, asking for confirmation.
I nodded.
Eve turned her gaze back and—pulled the handle.
The floor flipped up.
And stairs leading down into darkness appeared.
"Hmm, a typical hiding method."
"The Witch probably didn't put much effort into hiding this… It feels more like a simple entrance than a hidden room."
At this point, there didn't seem to be any traps.
I called Seras and the others over and infused magical energy into the magic leather bag.
The bag began to glow faintly.
"From here on, I'll go down first."
▽
Partway down, the stairs became a spiral staircase.
When we reached the bottom, a spacious area opened up before us.
A rock ceiling.
Rock walls.
A rock floor.
The uneven surfaces of the walls had been smoothed out.
Several wall-mounted candle holders, apparently derived from magical energy, were installed.
"Is that also a golem…?"
Earthen magical creatures.
They were quietly moving with their backs to us.
Were they maintaining the walls?
I didn't use any skills.
They didn't even turn their attention toward us.
They were silently working on something by the wall.
"Touka-dono."
Seras called my name.
Her gaze was directed ahead.
There was a massive door.
A crystal orb was embedded in it.
We stood in front of the door.
"Following standard procedure, it should open with magical energy…"
By the way, even as we moved, the golems paid us no mind.
They didn't even glance back.
It seemed safe to ignore them, but—
"Pigi-maru, let me know right away if those things make any strange movements."
"Pigii."
"Now then."
I placed my palm on the crystal orb.
I refined my magical energy—and poured it in.
The magical energy began to ripple inside the crystal orb.
It was as if liquid was dancing within.
The level slowly rose.
It probably opened once it was full.
"This door consumes an insane amount of magical energy…"
The required amount was ridiculously high.
It was nothing like the door in the Mills Ruins.
But,
"I'm confident in the sheer amount of my MP—magical energy."
I continued supplying magical energy.
A pale bluish-white light gradually filled the crystal orb…
And then,
"It's full."
The crystal orb, which had been semi-transparent black, was now completely filled with bluish-white light.
—Kyuin—
A short sound, likely the unlocking mechanism.
And then, the door opened.