Gift.
The girl referred to the Spirit Trap as a gift, but no one had any clue what that could possibly mean.
Maybe she took Ezekiel’s pensive state as a bad omen; the girl scrunched her face and began to draw up some mana.
“…So you approached me with bad intentions, huh? If you thought I’d be scared, you were mistaken. I’ll fight you!”
She looked very young, but her prowess was considerable. If she had attended the Academy, she might have been a genius.
However, her opponent was Ezekiel.
Ezekiel shrugged and let out a chill, scattering all of the girl’s mana like vapor.
“…Huh?”
All that accumulated energy dissipated in an instant. Maybe she felt the difference in their levels, as the girl’s face immediately turned pale. She was scared.
Ezekiel calmly spoke up.
“Just to explain one last time, I didn’t come to cause trouble. I just came to repair the Spirit Trap.”
“Repair…?”
The girl tilted her head, as if she had heard something completely unexpected.
…
…
…
…
…
A strange atmosphere lingered between Ezekiel’s group and the girl. The cause was the girl’s unresolved wariness.
Agnes began to explain clearly.
“Right after I figured out that each piece of the Spirit Trap corresponds to a specific part of the village’s ground, Ophelia suggested I meet with my mother.”
“At least you came to the right place. No other mage knows that area as well as my mom and I.”
It was good news but frankly hard to understand. One side was too young, and the other was out of her mind. Had they really completed their research successfully?
The elder of the Blue Tower, Seina, cautiously opened her mouth.
“You know that the Spirit Trap consists of thousands of barrier pieces that fit together to form a gigantic form, right? In other words, it means you have to figure out over a thousand points…”
“Exactly.”
“…You’ve figured out all of that?”
“Not completely, but almost.”
Seina looked at the girl suspiciously, but even so, she maintained her manners. Just because her opponent was a child didn’t mean she would underestimate her.
It showed a glimpse of her character.
“There are soldiers stationed near the Spirit Trap. That means it’s not accessible to just anyone.”
“Yes.”
“The fact that they were on high alert suggests they weren’t friendly with the soldiers… But were you able to get in? How did you study the Spirit Trap?”
Seina’s inquiry was quite sharp.
To study the Spirit Trap, one would need to regularly inspect the barriers, but judging by the girl’s initial demeanor, it seemed she didn’t have good relations with the surroundings.
Just how did she manage to approach the Spirit Trap?
“I couldn’t even get close to the Spirit Trap! I’ve never seen it.”
“…”
A strange atmosphere settled among Ezekiel’s group.
Agnes and Seina silently exchanged glances. Could it be that this girl was out of her mind, too?
“You’re saying you finished your research without getting close to the barriers?”
“I told you, right? Why are you suddenly coming here and acting unpleasant… No, challenging every little thing I say feels suspicious. You definitely came here with another purpose!”
The girl, who had slightly lowered her guard, started acting like a cornered wild dog again. Ezekiel sighed and shook his head.
“My only goal is to repair the Spirit Trap. Upon examining the barriers closely, I realized the spell itself was moderately solvable, but finding all the corresponding ground points was a race against time.”
“Hmm…”
The girl crossed her arms, looking like she was deep in thought.
Then, as if something suddenly struck her…
“Uh?”
She tilted her head slightly.
“What you just said… Does that mean you can unravel the magical spells contained in the Spirit Trap pieces?”
“I told you, I can unravel them.”
“…You mean you can unravel them? Is that even possible?”
The girl blinked as if she couldn’t believe it.
Then, in a hurry, she pulled something out from her bosom and handed it to Ezekiel. It was a rather crumpled note, and upon unfolding it, magical spells were written on it.
Seina peered over.
“This spell doesn’t look like something an ordinary mage can unravel. The difficulty is off the charts.”
“That’s right. A while ago, my mom covertly took notes on a spell written on one of the Spirit Trap pieces.”
Indeed, the difficulty was beyond imagination.
The exam questions at the Academy were designed for students to solve, but this felt entirely the opposite. Wasn’t this a spell meant to compel the opponent to give up?
“Old man, can you unravel this, too?”
Instead of answering, Ezekiel glanced at the spell. It was something that could be called a tough problem, yet he didn’t find it difficult in the least.
He returned the note to the girl. She seemed to take it as Ezekiel giving up.
“Were you unable to solve it? So what you said earlier was a lie?”
“I’ve done the calculations. I’m deciding where to infuse my energy.”
“Huh? Wait a moment.”
The girl moved slightly and pointed to a certain spot on the ground. Ezekiel instantly infused his energy through the soles of his feet. There was a definite response.
The girl, who had placed her ear against the ground, opened her eyes wide.
“…Huh? There’s really a response?”
“Do you believe me now?”
“…”
The girl couldn’t easily respond and merely blinked in astonishment. She seemed truly flabbergasted at the moment.
Then she bowed her head apologetically towards Ezekiel’s group.
“I’m sorry for acting rude. Everyone who came looking for my mom and me until now has either been here to bother us or con men seeking rewards.”
With a sincere expression, she apologized, and there was no reason to refuse it. Ezekiel nodded.
The girl still mumbled disbelievingly.
“This is the first time someone with such abilities has come to repair the Spirit Trap.”
“If you understand now, let’s not waste any more time. I would like you to show me what you’ve been researching.”
“Got it!”
Mirabel continued babbling nonsensically while aimlessly walking, so only the girl led Ezekiel’s group toward her home.
“By the way, my name is Mitel.”
She had a rather spirited demeanor, much like her mother. After a short walk, they soon arrived at the girl’s house.
“…”
The expressions of Ezekiel’s group hardened upon seeing the house. It was in such a poor state that it was almost a wreck.
It wasn’t that they felt unpleasant about stepping into a shabby place; rather, it was unsettling to think that a mother and daughter lived in such conditions.
“Come on in! It looks shabby outside, but it’s quite nice inside.”
“Huh?”
After a moment, Seina voiced her confusion.
She thought it was nonsense, but the girl’s words turned out to be true. Despite the wrecked exterior, the inside was very clean.
And then, every wall in the house immediately caught their eyes.
All four walls were intricately divided into puzzle-like pieces, and each piece had writing on it.
[ Big Rock by the Stream ] [ Bush at the Market ]
[ Graffiti Under the Wall ] [ Entrance of the House ]
Agnes quietly ran her hands over them.
“This is…?”
“I captured the Spirit Trap on the walls. I carefully noted which piece corresponds to which part of the ground.”
“That’s impossible. Did you really do this piece by piece…?”
“I had to do this much, right? I’ve only been doing this my whole life.”
The girl’s answer raised some questions for Ezekiel. He asked.
“Did you really do this your entire life? All day long?”
“Yes!”
The girl puffed her chest out proudly, but Ezekiel wasn’t asking for compliments. It simply left him with questions.
‘The inside of the house is filled with high-quality daily necessities.’
Mirabel must have gone insane to the point she couldn’t earn a living, and considering that, it was odd that the girl had time to focus on her research.
At that moment, it wouldn’t be strange for them to go out and beg on the streets, yet where did all these daily necessities even come from?
Ezekiel picked up one of the cans from the shelf in the house. It wasn’t some old, rusty can; it was an exquisite can containing beef.
“Mitel, where did you get all these supplies?”
“They just appear.”
The girl said something strange.
Saying something odd while looking very confident was comical, as if she was stating a fact as obvious as the sun rising in the morning.
Ezekiel’s group exchanged glances.
“All these supplies just appear? How?”
“Look over there.”
The girl pointed outside the window. Outside the house, which looked almost like ruins, there was a cart filled with supplies.
“A cart?”
“Yes. When supplies run low, it automatically fills up.”
“What the…?”
“I’m serious. It really knows when it’s time to fill up.”
Her innocent eyes made it hard to believe it was a lie. It seemed she had been experiencing such phenomena since childhood, so she considered this behavior completely normal.
Ezekiel stepped outside to take a closer look at the cart.
The cart was full of supplies—cans, cleaning items, and other essentials—yet Ezekiel’s brow furrowed.
‘This is…’
The way the food and supplies came in can form felt familiar. It resembled something Ezekiel had seen in a distant past.
—Meal?
—Too bothersome.
—Just use cans…
The 5th Princess.
The 5th Princess came to mind.
She was the one who created various scrolls suitable for him as she hated leaving the library. One of them was indeed this beef can scroll.
Without any particular cooking process, once you opened the scroll in front of meat, there it was—turning into a can of meat, ready to eat right away.
No doubt about it.
Even if others could not recognize it, Ezekiel could never fail to see it. This was undoubtedly the 5th Princess’s beef can, and the same went for the other supplies.
“Why? Are you going to eat one?”
The girl asked from behind, but Ezekiel couldn’t respond. Yet again, he had obtained shocking information.
The 5th Princess had been supporting Mitel and her mother.
What could possibly be the meaning of supporting the mother-daughter duo who had intended to collapse the barriers while now aiming to repair them?
“…”
His mind was filled with many thoughts.
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