Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/2912051601476634937
The morning sun was shining through the forest.
Having set out from La Mer, the two made their way deep into the forest without hesitation.
Only the quiet chirping of birds echoed around them.
“We’re almost there.”
Alt said, keeping his gaze fixed ahead.
Lilia nodded slightly.
They barely spoke to each other along the way.
Lilia held a notebook in one hand and was writing something down as she walked.
“Can you really write while walking?”
“I’m used to it.”
“You look like you’re about to fall, though.”
“I won’t fall.”
“You fell once before, didn’t you?”
“That was because there was a step.”
“You’re good at making excuses.”
“Shut up.”
Even as she replied, the corners of Lilia’s mouth turned up slightly.
Soon.
The trees gave way.
Ahead of them.
A massive stone ruin came into view.
“…So this is the place.”
Lilia murmured quietly.
“Yeah.”
Alt gazed at the ruin.
Five years ago.
The place that had drastically changed his life.
Nothing had changed at all since that day.
Lilia slowly walked toward the ruins.
She placed her hand on the stone wall and traced the ancient characters carved into it with her finger.
“Can you read it?”
“Just part of it.”
“What does it say?”
Lilia narrowed her eyes.
“…Seal.”
“Seal?”
“Yes. But the rest is missing, so I can’t read it.”
Alt nodded quietly.
“Let’s go.”
The two stepped into the dungeon.
◇
The interior was deathly quiet.
The only sounds were their footsteps.
After walking for a while, a monster appeared.
But then.
“《Flame Lance》”
A single flaming spear pierced the monster.
It happened in an instant.
“You haven’t changed a bit.”
“It’s a waste of time.”
Lilia continued walking impassively.
Even as they walked.
The ancient script on the walls.
The patterns on the floor.
The magic lingering in the air.
She observed every detail carefully, making sure not to miss a single thing, and recorded them in her notebook.
“You seem to be enjoying yourself.”
Alt chuckled.
Lilia’s hand paused.
“…It’s not fun.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
Even as she said that,
her violet eyes, fixed on her subject of study, shone just a little brighter than usual.
◇
After walking for a while,
a massive stone door came into view.
Alt stopped in his tracks.
“……It’s beyond this.”
He slowly placed his hand on the door.
It swung open with a heavy creak.
Beyond it lay
a vast space.
A massive magic circle carved into the center.
Ancient script covering the entire wall.
The scene was exactly the same as it had been five years ago.
“……So this is it.”
Lilia quietly gasped.
She slowly approached the magic circle and crouched down.
She opened her notebook.
She copied down the ancient script.
She examined the flow of magical power.
She cast analytical magic over and over again.
Only time passed.
Alt watched silently.
Eventually.
Lilia exhaled quietly.
“……It’s no use.”
“Can’t you figure it out?”
“No.”
She stares at the magic circle with a look of frustration.
“It’s different from modern spatial magic.”
“It’s not teleportation magic either.”
“Nor is it time magic.”
“The spell formula itself is unknown.”
“I can’t analyze it with my current knowledge.”
Alt gives a wry smile.
“Even you can’t figure it out, Lilia?”
“It’s frustrating, but… I can’t do it with my current knowledge.”
A brief silence.
Eventually, Lilia stands up.
“But—”
“I’ve figured out one thing.”
Alt looks up.
“This isn’t a natural phenomenon.”
“It’s a magic circle someone created intentionally.”
“That’s extremely likely.”
Alt stares at the magic circle.
“I see…”
Lilia grips her wand more firmly.
“Alt.”
“What is it?”
“Leave me alone for a little while.”
Alt tilts his head.
“Are you still going to investigate?”
“Yes.”
“Just a little longer.”
Alt thinks for a moment, then nods.
“All right.”
“I’ll wait outside.”
“Thank you.”
Alt’s footsteps fade into the distance.
Eventually.
Lilia was the only one left in the deepest part of the dungeon.
◇
Silence.
Lilia stares at the magic circle.
She approaches slowly.
She stops right in front of it.
“For five years…”
Her voice was so soft no one could hear it.
“I couldn’t sleep.”
“I didn’t know where Alt had disappeared to.”
“I didn’t know if he was alive.”
“I didn’t know anything.”
One step.
She stepped on the magic circle.
“It’s your fault.”
“All of it.”
“It’s all your fault.”
Another step.
She stepped on it again.
“I researched every day,”
“I studied ancient scripts,”
“I even read forbidden books,”
“And still, I didn’t understand a single thing.”
Her voice began to tremble slightly.
She stepped on it again.
“I—”
“I just—”
“I just wanted him to come back.”
A single tear rolled down her cheek.
Lilia wiped away the tear.
She took a deep breath.
“As a researcher,”
“I really wanted to preserve them.”
She quietly raised her staff.
“But,”
“to me,”
“Alt is more important.”
There was no hesitation.
“《Explosion》”
A deafening roar echoed to the deepest depths.
The magic circle shatters.
The cobblestones crack.
The ancient inscriptions on the walls crumble to the ground.
Smoke fills the air.
Eventually, the smoke clears.
There,
all that remained was the magic circle, shattered beyond recognition.
“…That’s the end of it.”
Lilia murmurs softly.
She wipes her eyes.
She returns to her usual expression.
Then she quietly turns on her heel.
◇
Outside the dungeon.
Alt was waiting, looking up at the sky.
“Is it over?”
“Yes.”
“I heard a loud noise, though.”
Lilia looks away slightly.
“…It just collapsed a little.”
Alt gives a wry smile.
“Did you figure anything out?”
“It was an unknown magic circle.”
“That’s all?”
“Yeah.”
Alt didn’t ask any further.
Lilia didn’t say anything either.
The two began walking side by side.
The walk back was quieter than the walk there.
◇
That night.
Back at the inn, Lilia
was sitting alone on the bed.
She could see the stars through the window.
The sound of the ocean drifted in from afar.
“…It’s over, isn’t it?”
She murmured softly.
That magic circle was gone.
It could never take Alt away from her again.
That much was certain.
But.
The feeling deep within her heart…
It hadn’t faded.
“Alt.”
She called out his name in the empty room.
“I.”
“For five years…”
“I’ve been thinking about you the whole time.”
There’s no reply.
Of course not.
“Where did you go?”
“Why did you disappear?”
“Are you still alive?”
“Thinking only about those things…”
“I spent every day researching.”
“It’s silly, isn’t it?”
She laughs softly.
“But—”
“I just couldn’t stop.”
She looked out the window.
The stars were twinkling.
“Just the fact that you came back was enough.”
That was all.
No other words came to her.
Even if they had.
She probably wouldn’t have been able to say them.
Lilia quietly closed her eyes.
Only the sound of the waves.
Quietly filled the night.
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