The Returnee Wants Peace

“Why is the Marquis here…”

Rosha stopped abruptly in front of the glass room and stared blankly at the Marquis.

He was said to have disappeared from the underground prison in the capital. Putting aside his appearance, no magical power could be felt anymore from the Marquis who had been close to the 6th stage.

‘…No wonder the Iron Mask used magic similar to Marquis Lycaon’s.’

Suddenly, the feelings that had been simmering inside her since earlier flared up hotly.

Though she felt nauseous, her mind was clear beyond clarity, becoming razor-sharp. It was anger.

Regardless of her antagonistic relationship with Marquis Lycaon, it was a human emotion felt when witnessing something unethical like human experimentation.

At that moment, Froy spoke.

“Marquis, can you hear me?”

“…”

“You look terrible. Lying on the floor like that, it’s not like you.”

“…Have you come to mock my state worse than death?”

Though he had seemed unconscious, a sharp reply came immediately.

It seemed his magical power might be gone, but his mind was still intact. Even that seemed on the verge of breaking, judging by his unstable voice.

In contrast, Froy’s voice became a bit clearer.

“I can roughly guess what’s happening here. There must be a culprit who reduced you to this state. I can take revenge on your behalf, so why don’t you tell us if you know anything?”

“…Forget it. It’s already over, so be quiet.”

“What’s over? You? Or House Lycaon?”

“Ha… Both, both! Since you brought it up, I’ll tell you one thing. You’re still safe, but that’s only a matter of time. When that fellow comes, you’ll end up crawling on the floor like me. Yes, it wouldn’t be bad to just perish here together.”

The Marquis, lying face down on the floor, laughed with his shoulders shaking.

As he said, they didn’t have much time now.

‘Koko used a magical wave to lure the magician who was here outside, but we don’t know when they’ll return.’

They couldn’t waste any more time here. They needed to find other clues somehow.

Rosha crouched in front of the glass window, trying to match the Marquis’s eye level as much as possible, and opened her mouth.

“Marquis. Heres Lycaon, your second son, has become able to use magic. He seems to be doing quite well in the estate, and if nothing happens, he will likely inherit the title of Marquis Lycaon. House Lycaon isn’t over yet.”

“…W-what did you say?”

The Marquis raised his head. Even in his misery, his eyes widened in surprise.

“How is that possible? He was definitely a boy who couldn’t use even a bit of magic… Did he use some kind of trick?”

“Is that important right now?”

She avoided answering as she couldn’t say that she had partially improved Heres’s innate constitution in the rift.

But the Marquis didn’t seem to care about the reason anyway.

“That’s… true. Whether you used some trick, or Heres suddenly awakened to magic by sheer luck… What’s important is that I failed to recognize his potential.”

His eyes closed slowly as if recalling memories.

When they opened again, unlike before, they were clear as if a fog had lifted, and his sharp gaze had subtly softened.

“…I don’t know much.”

Perhaps there had been a change in his mindset.

The Marquis began speaking without hesitation.

“The magician who resides here was brought by His Majesty the Emperor one day. Nothing is known about his identity, but he looked to be around fifty years old. All the experiments being done here now are just supplementary. In fact, his goal is to experiment with extracting ‘innate abilities’.”

“…What are they trying to use the extracted abilities for? It’s not for the Emperor himself, is it?”

The Emperor already has an ability. Though its activation conditions seem quite tricky, once activated, it’s the ability of time, almost equal to omniscient power.

But the Marquis stared at her blankly and said:

“As you know, ability users appear more frequently among nobles. It’s evidence that abilities are passed down through bloodlines. I don’t know if you’re aware, but your family also has an inherited ability that has been passed down for generations.”

“…What?”

“What was it again. I think I heard it was called [The Guiding Lantern]. It’s probably correct.”

“…”

“The Emperor said that ability would take us to a place called ‘paradise’. Unfortunately or fortunately, it seems no one in the Aper family has such an ability.”

Her heart sank.

How long had it been? Her family had been targeted by those aiming for [The Guiding Lantern].

The persistent marriage proposals from House Lycaon, her grandfather falling into a coma, and perhaps even her parents’ accident.

All those events suddenly made sense.

“Ugh…”

Her head suddenly became dizzy.

Froy, who had somehow sat down next to Rosha with one knee on the ground, wrapped his arm around her shoulders and asked the Marquis:

“Is that the content of the secret experiment conducted by the imperial family more than a decade ago? The experiment my father was involved in.”

“The former Duke Echerzen? Well… experiments are usually overseen by Count Nigel, so you should ask him. Ah, when you meet the count, make sure to teach him a lesson. He’s one of the ones who reduced me to this state.”

“…”

“When his ability combined with his cunning… I was helpless.”

The Count’s ability, huh.

Rosha lifted her head slightly.

Come to think of it, she knew from Count Nigel himself that he had an innate ability.

-Haha, I can’t reveal all my secrets just yet. Let me simply state that it holds no combat utility.

That’s all he said, so she didn’t know exactly what ability he had.

However, just as she was about to ask about the Count’s ability…

“They’re coming.”

Koko, who had been staring intently at something, said.

Pop, the yellow crest on its head stood straight up, tickling Rosha’s cheek.

Swish-

At the same time, she felt the aura of the ‘domain’ encompassing the laboratory intensify.

Though nothing had visibly changed, it felt as if a sticky, thick fog was enveloping them.

Instinctively sensing danger, Froy grasped Rosha’s hand and tried to use his ability.

But the other party was much faster.

“What? Why are imperial knights here?”

A man’s husky voice came from right behind them.

Judging by the immense magical power felt, he was a 7th stage magician. Moreover, along with magical power, an indescribably strange aura emanated from him.

Enduring the cold gaze piercing his back, Froy drew an X on her palm.

It meant that spatial movement would be difficult due to the domain.

“…”

In fact, she had hesitated a bit when entering the domain of a magician who had reached the 7th stage. One misstep could cost them their lives.

However, the great magician Professor Koko had said this:

-If you were still at the measly 5th stage like before, I would have stopped you with all my might.

-But now that you’ve reached the ranks of the 6th stage where magic application and modification are possible, with the ‘lantern’, you might be able to hold your own a bit.

That was true. There was an insurmountable gap between the 6th and 7th stages, but with the power of innate abilities, they could compete to some extent.

However, no matter what anyone said, it was better not to fight a 7th stage magician if possible.

Especially in the current situation where he thought they were imperial knights.

“I thought I said there would be no procedures today. Didn’t your captain tell you? And what manners are these, entering when the owner is away… Tsk. If you understand, get out.”

Procedures, he said. Recalling the imperial knights they met earlier tonight, she could guess what he meant.

‘Probably something to let them handle the power of magical beasts.’

Anyway, if he was willing to let them go so easily, that was better.

They quietly headed towards the entrance. Meanwhile, Rosha turned her head slightly to look at him.

The hooded magician.

She thought she had seen him somewhere, and immediately remembered.

It was the hood she had seen behind the Emperor when receiving the medal from him before.

At that moment, he seemed to notice something too and opened his mouth.

“Wait. Have we met before?”

“No, we haven’t.”

“Is that so?”

He soon waved his hand as if uninterested.

However, the moment Rosha turned her back, a very sharp magical power shot out from the tip of his fingers.

It was Froy’s hand that blocked it as it flew towards her.

Crack!

The space in front of his hand distorted, deflecting the attack. Seeing this, the magician laughed incredulously.

“Ha, would you look at that?”

Then he began to draw out his power in earnest.

Dense magical power surrounded them on all sides as the bright interior receded. Instead, it was enveloped in cold darkness as if a new space was being overlaid.

The ability to create one’s own world with magical power and manifest it in reality.

It was the domain of a 7th stage magician.