When Noir woke again the next day, everything was as calm and ordinary as ever, as though the magic he had cast yesterday had never existed at all.
Even after repeated attempts over a long period of time, he still could not figure out what his newly awakened magic was actually meant to do.
Since neither he nor Hestia could uncover its mystery, then the obvious solution was to seek out an expert.
And when it came to the study of magic, who could possibly surpass a sage who had researched it for eight hundred years? After all, that same sage had even delved into the secrets of immortality and resurrection magic.
"So, you came to me because you want to understand the magic you awakened," Fels said.
"That's right. In exchange, I can give you some additional information."
"Oh? So you remembered something else?" Fels understood immediately. Noir had not revealed everything last time. He had only shared part of what he knew, leaving the rest to be traded later whenever he needed her help again.
But Fels did not mind. She had already treated the previous information as an unexpected windfall. There was no need to force anything.
She had already arranged for the Ikelos Familia to be watched, but too little time had passed, and so far nothing unusual had surfaced.
This time, Noir did not beat around the bush. He directly revealed everything he knew about the man-made labyrinth.
Unfortunately, too much time had passed, and many of the finer details had already grown blurry in his memory.
Even so, when he mentioned things like the man-made labyrinth, Daedalus, the hardest metal, and the key, Fels's expression turned serious.
"How did you come by this information? An ordinary slave would never have had access to secrets like these."
"As for the source of the information, all I can say is that it was a miracle of the lower world."
After all, who could possibly imagine that this world was nothing more than a novel written by someone else, and that he himself had crossed the boundary between dimensions and arrived here?
Maybe every one of their lives was no more than part of some other person's fanfiction.
"You may be right. Perhaps only a miracle could yield such detailed information." Fels did not press any further. "Come with me."
She asked no more questions. Everyone had secrets of their own.
Instead, she led Noir into a spacious underground room.
The scattered tools and books lying everywhere, all covered in dust and disorder, made it clear that the place had been around for many years.
"Cast your magic for me."
Following Fels's instructions, Noir recited the incantation once more and began to activate his spell.
This time, however, before the magic could fully take shape, Fels suddenly stopped him.
"That's enough. You can stop now."
"Well?" Noir asked as he stepped forward.
"What you're using is clearly a summoning-type spell. And there are elements within the magic circle related to space-time, something that seems to be used for locating a target. That suggests you're trying to cast an extremely rare long-distance summoning spell. Of course, magic is never truly rigid. If used creatively, it could probably be turned toward some very interesting experiments."
After carefully analyzing it, Fels listened as Noir described in detail how the spell felt during casting and how it had failed.
"How are you trying to locate the summoned target?"
"Huh?"
"Normally, summoning magic requires a contract first. The contract serves as the anchor for the summoned being, after which a teleportation-like process completes the summoning. I once spent some time researching summoning magic myself, hoping to unravel the secrets of teleportation magic, but unfortunately, spells of that sort are exceedingly rare. In the end, I never managed to uncover the secret of teleportation."
The moment the subject turned to magic, Fels could not help rambling on.
She really was a researcher through and through.
Some things were the same no matter what world you were in.
"Then how am I supposed to lock onto a target?"
"You're attempting a one-way summon, so you can try using the summoned being's name, or some defining deed or characteristic connected to it, as a point of focus. As for what exactly you can summon, you'll have to test that yourself." After a moment's thought, Fels added, "You might want to start with something simple, like a small stone near you. That should not consume too much magic."
After fully taking in Fels's advice, Noir did not rush to test it right away. Instead, he headed for the Dungeon.
As a novice, he knew perfectly well that magic was not something he could master in a short time. But he had already decided that every single day, he would continue accumulating combat experience.
Only when the sun was setting did Noir finally leave Babel Tower.
Before returning, he first stopped by the Pure White Sanatorium to repay the treatment fees he owed Airmid. After being lectured thoroughly by her, he left at last.
Then he went to the Loki Familia.
At that moment, Tiona was happily eating lunch in the Familia dining hall when she suddenly heard someone calling for her.
"Huh? Someone's looking for me at this hour?"
She swallowed the food in her mouth.
"You'll know if you go see."
As the older sister of that idiot Tiona, Tione knew full well that, outside the Loki Familia, very few people ever came looking for them.
She was curious too. Who would come looking for her not-so-bright little sister at a time like this?
"Um, I think it might be that person who attacked us in the Dungeon the other day."
Lefiya spoke softly from the side, but sadly, the Amazon sisters had already rushed off before anyone paid attention to what she said.
"It's fine." Ais gently patted Lefiya's head in comfort.
"I sincerely apologize for attacking you the other day in the Dungeon."
Noir bowed toward the dark-skinned Amazon girl.
As far as Noir remembered, that was how apologies were done in this world.
"Ah, so you're the one who wrecked my Urga."
The corner of Noir's eye twitched slightly. As expected of Amazons. Compared to being attacked themselves, they seemed far more concerned about their damaged weapon.
"I deeply apologize. This is the remainder of the compensation."
Noir handed over a large bag of valis. Tiona happily took it.
"Haha, now I won't have to keep diving into the Dungeon every day just to make money."
Her Great Twinblade, Urga, had been made with many precious materials, which made repair costs extremely high.
Tiona had originally assumed that someone from a small Familia like his would never be able to repay the debt any time soon, which was why she had been going into the Dungeon so frequently to earn the money herself. She had never expected him to gather the full amount in only a few days.
"But I am curious. Why did you attack us? We'd never met before, had we?"
Tione, standing to the side, suddenly asked.
Behind her, both Ais and Lefiya were also visibly curious. It was hard for them to imagine that anyone in Orario would dare attack the Loki Familia.
"I mistook you for someone else."
"Oh, you mistook us, did you? I remember you shouting 'Amazon' at the time." Tione folded her arms and narrowed her eyes at Noir. "Do you have some grudge against Amazons?"
"Hey, hey, Tione, asking something that personal so directly isn't really appropriate."
"We were attacked. What's wrong with asking why?"
"That's fair. You do have the right to know the truth." Noir did not seem particularly bothered by her somewhat intimidating attitude as he answered calmly. "It's nothing all that dramatic. I come from Telskyura, so sometimes I instinctively want to wipe out every Amazon I see. But don't worry. I don't hold any prejudice against the Amazon race itself."
The moment they heard that familiar place name, both Tiona and Tione fell silent.
After Noir left the Loki Familia, Lefiya could no longer contain her curiosity and finally asked, "Um... what exactly was that about?"
Even though his killing intent had been obvious, the Amazon sisters had not seemed all that concerned about it.
"Ah, well, it's just... you know..." Tiona struggled to explain, but with her limited ability to put it into words, she finally just spread her hands helplessly. "Basically, I'm used to it."
"What do you mean, used to it?"
After Tiona's attempt at explanation, Lefiya only looked even more confused.
"Idiot Tiona, if you explain it like that, of course no one will understand." Tione cut in. "Most Amazons come from Telskyura, a country located far to the southeast of Orario on a distant peninsula. It's a typical Familia-state. Only Amazons are considered citizens there, and men are strictly forbidden from entering. Even if men do enter, they're either treated as slaves or used as breeding tools."
"Ah... so when he said he was from Telskyura..."
Faced with Lefiya's stunned reaction, Tiona folded both hands behind her head.
"Yeah, that's basically it."
When she was little, Tiona had been glared at with that same murderous look plenty of times, so she really had grown used to it.
At that moment, the pure-hearted elf felt her worldview crack.
What the Amazon sisters did not say was that, for a man, the only way to leave Telskyura was as a corpse thrown out.
And this was also the first time they had ever seen a man from Telskyura outside of Telskyura itself.
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