第２５６堀：嫌な真実かも？ (Part1)
**Chapter 256: A Disagreeable Truth?**
**Side: Yuki**
I had found an old map in the library and, to verify its accuracy, I spent my time scouring the library’s collection for any literature related to cartography. However, it’s not as if 400-year-old maps are just lying around everywhere. Instead, I kept finding maps from different eras. Well, since the geography hasn’t shifted much in 400 years, the maps themselves don’t show any significant changes.
Still, I needed to confirm just how reliable this 400-year-old map actually was.
*...If I get too impatient, I’ll just look suspicious.*
"Calm down," I muttered to myself, taking a deep breath.
Beside me, Riel had her head buried in a mountain of books, completely motionless. She isn't the type to use her head, after all; she’s a creature of instinct.
Well, seeing Riel helped me settle down a bit. It didn't look like I would get any more useful information out of this library. The problem was my own lack of knowledge regarding this New Continent, which made it impossible to form a proper judgment. Cleena, who had gone off to offer her greetings as a bride-to-be earlier, seemed like she might be somewhat reliable when it came to knowledge, but...
"I shouldn't drag her into this so suddenly."
That’s right. Talking to her about this would mean truly pulling Cleena into the dark side of Weed—or rather, making her one of my inner circle. I knew time was of the essence, but 400 years had already passed; a landmine could go off at any moment. I wanted to avoid panicking, playing my hand poorly, and ending up in a stalemate. Besides, just because I told her my secrets didn't mean she would necessarily cooperate.
First, I needed to talk to Taiki, who could actually understand what I was talking about. My way of thinking is a bit difficult for the people of this world to grasp. My wives understand if I explain things thoroughly, but right now, I needed a second opinion on the conclusion I had reached. Was my reasoning correct, or was I off the mark?
"Taiki, come back to the hidden room. There’s something I want to discuss," I called out via *Call*. I assumed his "punishment" session was already over.
*“Ah, Yuki-san. I actually prefer the contents over the pants, you know?”*
"Don't let them train you into a weirdo."
...I was internally panicking because I might have found a troublesome answer, and he was being like this. *No, I can't afford to lose my focus now.*
"I think I found a hint regarding my 'original profession.' But it’s... well, it’s quite something. I want to consult with you."
*“My apologies. I’ll be there right away.”*
*“Ah, Taiki-sama. We aren’t finished yet!!”*
*“Sorry, Airi. This sounds genuinely serious, so I’m heading back.”*
*“...Understood. I wish you would look at me with that expression more often.”*
With the call ended, I just had to clear away the useless books scattered across the table.
"Riel, the research is done for now. Let's clean up."
"Hweh!? O-oh, okay. I got it. I wasn't sleeping, I swear!"
"I know. Just help me with this a little longer. After that, I’m going to talk to Taiki."
Yeah, Riel didn't look like she was sleeping so much as her brain had overheated and forced a system shutdown. When you force someone to do something they have no tolerance for—like studying—this is what happens. Riel’s forced shutdown is rare, but anyone would freeze up for a second if they saw a swarm of giant insects. Depending on the person, they might even faint. A system crash can happen to anyone. If my consciousness were to crash, I know exactly which "creatures" would be the cause of it.
Well, that’s neither here nor there. Let’s finish cleaning up, have some tea, and wait for Taiki. I need to think about how to steer this conversation.
***
"Sorry to keep you waiting. I'm back."
"Yo. Just take a seat."
I had taken the chair Cleena was sitting in, so I gestured for Taiki to take the sofa opposite me.
"Oh, right. So, where are Cleena and Ria-san?"
"Who knows? They left in a hurry."
If I told him I’d just gained another wife, he’d probably laugh so hard we wouldn't be able to get any work done.
"Hmm. Well, whatever. So, Cleena left, and you were looking into things yourself?"
"Exactly. And Riel found something good."
"Ehehe~"
Yeah, Riel is cute.
"Man, that’s nice. A cat-girl wife... Riel-san, do you know anyone else like that?"
"Hmm, I know a few people in the adventurer's guild."
"Can you introduce me sometime?"
"I don't mind, but I'm sure they’d be put off if they knew what kind of person Taiki-sama really is."
"Damn it, my 'Hero' title is getting in the way even here!"
"Stop screwing around and look at this."
I handed him the maps I had gathered. Taiki immediately switched gears and examined them.
"The one I'm holding is roughly a 400-year-old map, the one below it is the current one, and this last one is a map we created with a decent degree of accuracy."
"...Yuki-san. How accurate is this map you made?"
"I had bird-type monsters carry digital cameras for observation, so the distances are almost certainly correct."
"...And how accurate is this 400-year-old map? Or rather, do you really think this is a map from 400 years ago?"
"I don't know for sure. But the fact that you’re asking that means you’ve noticed it too, right?"
"Of course I have. This is a massive magic circle."
That’s right. The major cities shown on these maps—primarily the capitals of the kingdoms—are six in total, and they are scattered at almost perfectly equal intervals, both then and now. In other words, they form a Hexagram. It’s the classic trope from manga and anime: a super-scale sacrificial device or a summoning apparatus. I had a hunch when I finished making my map, but seeing this 400-year-old document made the image of a massive magic circle pop into my head. And it seems Taiki reached the same conclusion.
"But it’s strange, isn't it? There are no abnormalities, and while this Academy city is in the center, there’s no sign of it being used for a sacrifice."
"Yeah."
As Taiki said, if they were going to use the Academy city at the center of the hexagram as a sacrifice, they would need the corresponding preparations. But there are no such signs. In some manga, they would start a war at the focal points to intentionally raise the curse-power to trigger the device. But here in the New Continent, there hasn't been any bloodshed at the focal points—the capitals—that would suggest such a thing. Just your standard border skirmishes.
"And if they were gathering magic power to prepare it, isn't the level of the Monster Forest too low? I mean, it’s been 400 years!"
"Exactly."
At best, you get a Wyvern. Even in a region where magic power is depleted, if they’ve been gathering it for 400 years, there should be some truly monstrous entities that would surprise even us.
"And besides, who built such a massive magic circle in the first place?"
"That would only be my predecessor, wouldn't it?"
"Right. And we’ve confirmed no information or sacrificial traps at the Academy. So, what about the focal points? I heard there was a dungeon of your predecessor under Enaria, but what about the other capitals? Zilba, was it? What about that one?"
"There was no dungeon of my predecessor under Zilba."