“Do I really have to dig through all this?”
“Of course.”
I nodded at Renny’s remark as she looked up at the mountain of books piled higher than my height.
Amid countless books on the continent’s geography, history, cities, imperial geography, and even the Dungeon Encyclopedia, surely, there had to be at least one clue.
With such hope in our hearts, we sat down and began to unfold the books.
Half a day’s time passed.
“I’m starting to feel nauseated just from looking at the letters…”
“Is it really possible to find a location with just one sentence?”
“Could it be a metaphor for the place where life and death intersect, or maybe it’s just a joke?”
“Since it’s where life and death intersect, it perhaps means a state of quasi-death? Johann, come here and lend me your head. I’ll give you a good whack on the back of it.”
Why the desire to kill me? Don’t roll up your sleeves. I said, don’t!
“Renny. You shouldn’t do that.”
“But isn’t it worth giving it a try?”
Do I have that much piled up against me? I’ve been treating you well. I’ve been covering almost all your tab. Most of the expensive liquor bottles in your room were bought with my money.
Having genuinely felt a threat to my life, I carefully backed away from Renny.
“I’ve almost gone through all the books, and not even a whiff of a clue…”
So, does this mean we can’t find it with just the books in Yeomyeong-gwan? I looked at the mess of books scattered across the table and the worn-out kids. They looked so fatigued that continued searching here would just waste our health.
“For now, let’s call it a day. Tomorrow… we should go to the secret library instead of Yeomyeong-gwan.”
It would be even better if Kiki were here. I recalled Kiki, the familiar of the former headmaster.
I wondered if she was napping in a corner of the library or wandering around like a cat, but asking Kiki wasn’t a bad option. At least, it seemed that way to me.
“Are you going to ask Kiki?”
“That’s right.”
“Good idea. Kiki knows a lot. She even helped me train for first-class magic recently.”
Huh? She had contact with her?
Without delay, I asked Elisa about Kiki’s whereabouts, and Elisa immediately responded to my inquiry.
“She’s probably in the library. Whenever I go, she’s almost always napping on a table.”
“I see. Thanks, Elisa.”
“Hehe…”
I placed my hand on Elisa’s head as she leaned it toward me, as if asking to be petted. Her soft hair tickled my palm.
After enjoying a brief moment of joy, I addressed the kids staring at me.
“Let’s take a break today and check out the secret library tomorrow.”
Naturally, the already utterly exhausted kids didn’t object.
——————–
“It’s been a while, meow.”
“It feels like over half a year.”
“I’m so bored, meow. Bring me food, meow.”
Now asking for food outright. I placed a box filled with premium fish that I had prepared in front of Kiki.
“What’s this, meow?”
“I brought some high-class fish. Is this enough?”
“That’s enough, meow. I heard you’ve been making a lot of money lately, and you’re quite generous, meow.”
Kiki unwrapped the packaging with a satisfied expression and began to gobble up the fish inside.
“Kiki, do you know of a place that fits the phrase where life and death intersect?”
Kiki answered only after finishing off one fish completely.
“That’s a strange saying, meow. Are you looking for something?”
“I received an invitation from Quartz. It didn’t specify a location and just said to come to where life and death intersect.”
“Quartz sent an invitation?”
Kiki asked me back while stretching.
“Do you know about Quartz? I think I can talk about it now without getting filtered.”
“Filtered? What does that mean, Uncle?”
“Information about Quartz seems to be incomprehensible whether it’s written or spoken.”
“How interesting…”
“They’re hiding it tightly. Did they block access completely for those not involved?”
Renny remarked that it seemed overly secretive. While I didn’t know the reasons, perhaps they were trying to prevent outsiders from finding out the location.
Thinking deeply, I speculated that they might be a closed-off clan presumed to be of mixed blood between outsiders and humans.
While I’d actually need to meet them to find out, it might be better not to take the kids along. There was no guarantee they would be favorable to me since they’re unknowns. If hostages were taken, it could lead to a severe headache.
“Don’t the descendants of Quartz know their way back to their clan? Why don’t they?”
“Because they’ve lost their memories.”
I held onto the excuse I had repeated again and again. It’s not technically wrong, so I felt no guilt.
“I don’t know the way to Quartz, but once I heard from someone of the Quartz clan in the past, that depending on the head of the clan’s intentions, the method to enter varies, but there exists a definite way for blood relatives.”
“What’s that method?”
“I don’t know, meow.”
What? This cat?
“They wouldn’t tell an outsider like me, meow? But when the invitation comes, I was told to follow the method written on it. Since the Quartz clan dislikes complexity, it was said that one should think simply.”
“Simply?”
“It’s already specified that it’s where life and death intersect, meow?”
Is that really specified? Kiki tapped the table with her paw, seemingly exasperated, and provided the answer.
“Half-dead, meow.”
…I reflexively turned my eyes to Renny. Hearing that the answer she has stumbled upon was correct, Renny scratched her cheek nervously.
“This…is correct…”
“Wh-What do you mean half-dead?!”
“Johann, does that mean I need to be half-dead?! I don’t want to!”
“Yes. There has to be another way.”
“You’re quite popular, meow. But it’s not as weird as you’re imagining.”
What’s not weird about being in a half-dead state? I was waiting for Kiki to talk. After licking her paw a few times, she continued.
“Do you know about astral projection, meow?”
“Astral projection…?”
Why are we suddenly talking about that? Could it be that it implies to be in a half-dead state, so that the body stays alive while the soul leaves the body?
“If you roughly pull your soul out from your body, you’ll end up going to Quartz on your own, meow.”
“Are you insane?”
“I’ll teach you the astral projection ritual, so come try it out. I happen to have suitable materials, so success probability will be high, meow…”
Saying that, Kiki jumped up on the table. Destination: Elisa. Elisa, seemingly used to Kiki jumping in out of the blue, started petting Kiki buried between her breasts.
I guess they have gotten close since Kiki often comes here alone.
“It smells like fish…”
“Meow.”
“The smell is gone now.”
Is this the charm of a great wizard’s familiar?
“Then let’s set off, meow.”
“Where to?”
“Of course to Yeomyeong-gwan, right? It’s best to do it in your room while lying down, meow.”
So does that mean we’re heading to my room?
“Then let’s go right away.”
In the end, we returned to Yeomyeong-gwan not even an hour after arriving at the library.
————————-
“Lay down on the bed, meow. Wearing comfortable clothes is even better, meow. If you’re tense, the chance of failure in the ritual is high, meow.”
“It feels strange seeing Johann lying down like this with everyone gathered around.”
“Yeah, yeah! I’m getting the urge to nap beside him!”
“Me too!”
“You’re too bold, aren’t you?”
“How long will Viola keep being shy? You can be confident now.”
Why did the positions switch? I glanced at Elisa and Viola for a moment before shifting my gaze to Sif and Renny, and Shuri and Lewis.
Lewis, whose presence had noticeably faded lately, gave me a wry smile when our eyes met.
Thinking about it, I haven’t been able to watch his training much lately. I should make time to look after him.
After this, of course.
“Um, but can I just grab a few documents before we start the ritual? I’d like to get everything settled in advance since I don’t know how long this will take.”
“…Just hurry up and bring them.”
We have to finish this work.
Sif nodded and quickly left the room.
“You’re living quite a busy life, meow.”
“Humans are creatures that have to move busily to make a living, you know.”
“But Johann, you have enough money now to live without working for the rest of your life? So you don’t really have to, right?”
“…The more money, the better.”
I mumbled in response to Millia’s valid point.
If a person doesn’t work and lives, they become surplus.
“Since it’s a hassle, let’s start preparing the ritual right away, meow.”
Kiki, who had been nestled in Elisa’s arms, jumped onto the bed. Then she started babbling words that were incomprehensible yet understandable to Elisa.
“The magic circle needs to be drawn in caldegraph format with intersections… And this part should follow the unique format of the witches…”
“Yes… yes…”
Does Elisa understand all of that? Shuri looks lost, though.
After explaining for a while, Kiki yelled as if that was enough.
“Then let’s draw, meow!”
No sooner had Kiki’s words finished than Elisa bit her index finger, drew blood, and began sketching the magic circle.
A magic circle drawn in Elisa’s blood, what a bit unsettling. I can’t help but feel like this is about to turn into an alchemical ritual for a human body. Of course, Elisa wouldn’t do something like that.
I lost count of how much time had passed. After finishing the magic circle, Elisa stumbled and collapsed as if she were dizzy.
“I’ve completed everything…”
“Elisa, come here for a moment.”
At my call, Elisa, staggering, made her way toward me. When she arrived right in front of me, I took her bloodied hand and infused it with the Power of the Phoenix.
“Thank you…”
“Actually, I should be saying thank you here. Thanks to you, things went smoother.”
“Hehe…”
“Enough with the flirting; let’s start the ritual, meow.”
“Got it.”
Elisa quietly walked to the foot of the bed, knelt down, and made a triangle with her hands over her chest. It feels strange, perhaps because it’s witch magic.
“Avada Kedavra…”
“Shove the invitation into your mouth and close your eyes, meow.”
An incomprehensible string of words. Following Kiki’s instructions, I shoved the invitation into my mouth and closed my eyes. The unpleasant feeling of paper sticking inside my mouth added a strangeness to the ritual.
How much time had passed?
I felt the dulling of consciousness, like the moment before falling asleep.
And now, it’s about to begin…
————-
“What an intriguing fellow. An inappropriate soul in the body of the Quartz clan.”
“Where is this…”
“Ah, welcome to Quartz, outsider possessed by the body of Quartz.”
I looked at the man with the same appearance as Harpas, spreading his arms wide in welcome, while I pressed down on my eyelids.
What on earth is going on here?
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