By Zephyria 
Three days passed like that.
The mercenaries were sent away early to do their own work. However, just in case, they were instructed not to go within half a day’s journey of Dunmel Canyon, and a mercenary who wished to return to the Widdrow Duchy was chosen to deliver this news to the Duke.
They were people who knew the value of their own lives well enough not to need explicit instructions, so they would surely relay the news to each other. It was merely fortunate that no dangerous individual had been among the mercenaries.
While waiting for the Aventa Bump to detonate, Hugh Benson activated the artifact five or six times an hour, sometimes even more than ten. Click, click, the sounds echoed in his ears like the chirping of cicadas on a summer day.
They were in the middle of lunch. Hugh Benson, fiddling with the artifact again, suddenly stood up. All eyes turned to him.
“Did it detonate?”
“Yeah. It’s risen by 2.3mp since yesterday. Let’s go.”
Everyone quickly drank what they had and tidied up.
When they had left with the mercenaries, it had taken a full day’s walk to cover the distance, but they ran with all their might again, as it would be easier to find the target before sunset if possible.
This time, to avoid separating from each other, Marianne would blink to a new location, and everyone else would throw themselves forward to follow her.
Fortunately, they arrived before the sun began to set. The spot where the mana had completely scattered was clearly visible.
It was a deeper, wider pit than the area where the pendant had been. Back then, the sand swept by the wind had thinly covered the bottom, and they hadn’t even realized it was scraped, but the current terrain was rocky, and round marks, as if scraped by a rake, remained intact.
So this was the trace of black magic detonating. It looked like what a beast with hundreds of sharp teeth might leave if it scraped the ground. The rough surface was torn sharply, looking incredibly fierce.
In the very center of that violent trace,
a dagger lay as if someone had deliberately displayed it to show off.
Marianne nodded. This meant no contaminated mana remained. All eyes naturally turned to Rubel. Ruben slowly approached and examined the dagger. However, he tilted his head, indicating it wasn’t something he recognized.
As Ruben carefully picked up the dagger and examined it from various angles, we gathered around him in a circle and looked together.
“Do you recognize it at all?”
“No… It’s too ordinary a dagger, so I don’t know. Whose is it?”
“Then, could it be that it’s not from an Imperial Knight this time?” Marianne asked quickly.
Ruben shook his head.
“I can’t be sure. There aren’t just one or two Imperial Knights… Many who aren’t close to me have also gone on expeditions. Besides, daggers are usually hidden in the chest, so I don’t often get to see others’ weapons.”
Is that so?
Suddenly, I wondered if the dagger I had given him was still in Rubel’s possession. My gaze involuntarily fell to the child’s broad chest, and seeing him blink in confusion, I quickly looked back at the dagger.
Elvin extended his hand to Rubel. Rubel readily handed over the dagger, and after examining it for a while, he said,
“It belongs to Hetos.”
“…What?”
“…Ah. This is Hetos’s work? Then… it might truly belong to an Imperial Knight.”
Unlike me, who was merely puzzled, Rubel understood immediately.
It came back to me then. Among the swords Rubel had gifted me, there was one made by an artisan named Hetos. He had said it was quite expensive, so it seemed plausible that it was a dagger carried by nobles. Or perhaps by a mercenary of exceptional skill.
This time, instead of entrusting the token to Rubel, I kept it myself. After all, as Marianne had said, it seemed best for me, who possessed the energy closest to Divine Power, to carry it.
Looking around further, we found nothing else of note.
Marianne stated that while she could read the traces of black magic, too much contaminated mana had gathered here for her to recall memories from before the Aventa Bump detonated. After all, Marianne’s specialty was combat magic. There were limits to what basic tracking magic could achieve.
For now, we moved to a safe spot before night deepened further and built a campfire.
After that, our next course of action became a concern.
Hugh Benson, with his lips pressed tightly shut and a serious expression, drew several symbols on the ground. These were some of the locations that individuals participating in the Yuil Mountains expedition, as heard from his acquaintances in other companies, were targeting.
Was he considering asking them for help? However, upon examining them, none of these locations were reachable within a day or two. Furthermore, as the terrain grew higher, the number of monsters would increase. With our party of only six, we couldn’t break through hordes of mutated monsters.
Nor was there a need to return to the Widdrow Duchy. The mercenaries would deliver the news, and if even one wizard who knew about black magic remained, they would realize that Sir Denver’s rocket, which we had taken earlier, had been used as a medium for black magic.
Then, would they knowingly let the black magician move west while they spent their time hunting medium-sized monsters around Dunmel Canyon?
However, it would take the mercenaries over ten days to reach the Widdrow Duchy, and another fifteen days for the news to reach the knights in the Yuil Mountains. If they then set out to hunt the black magician again…
Marianne sat hugging her knees, idly scratching the grass at her feet and tossing it into the campfire, thump, thump. As the unburnt grass rose in a wisp of smoke and died down into embers, everyone remained silent.
Rubel broke the silence.
“…Shouldn’t we be tracking the black magician?”
“The reason we didn’t ascend the Yuil Mountains was for your safety, Your Highness.”
“But…”
“What if we find the black magician? Can we guarantee there’s only one?” Hugh Benson refused flatly. However, his expression was filled with deep distress.
Until now, he had taught them to personally verify, dismantle, and destroy all dangerous traces they encountered. He had often said that closing one’s eyes would not make an imminent danger disappear.
However, Hugh Benson’s magical knowledge was limited to the use of artifacts. He was a guide and a leader. He was reluctant to lead the party into dangers he himself did not understand.
Seeing this, Marianne, glancing at Rubel, spoke again.
“I think there’s probably only one.”
“What?”
“You know, I mentioned before that black magicians are fatalists. This kind of… malicious medium is difficult for multiple people to handle. Black magicians use contaminated mana, and contaminated mana undergoes irregular convection, so they greatly affect each other. Then, unstable magic like Aventa Bump can’t be used. It could detonate before it’s even cast…”
“…”
“Even in children’s fairy tales, black magicians always wear black robes and live alone in huts. That’s all based on historical accuracy.”
Benjamin also spoke.
“We moved along the ridges of Dunmel Canyon from the west. If a large group had moved from east to west, we would have encountered them or found traces. It’s reasonable to assume it’s a small group.”
…Only one black magician? It was very tempting.
This time, I asked.
“That magic called Aventa Bump… from which Circle can it be used?”
“There’s no Circle restriction. So… a 1st Circle wizard or an 8th Circle wizard can use it if they know the spell formula. There are a total of seven forbidden spells since black magic was legalized,”
“We don’t need all that, just the point.” Hugh Benson cut her off. Marianne immediately nodded and said,
“During the Shiaren Great Reform, novice wizards caused bombing incidents with this, so it was banned. It doesn’t use my mana, but a spell formula that draws in surrounding contaminated mana. Anyone can do it if they memorize the magic circle properly. There were even a few instances of accidental self-destruction.”
“How many Circles do you think the opponent is?”
“It would still be over 6th Circle. If they’re skilled enough to roam around Dunmel Canyon alone. But I don’t think they’re 8th Circle. There are so many forbidden and lost spells in black magic formulas that it’s difficult to become an Archmage through black magic.”
I recalled that I had defeated Edwin Kiadris when he was a 5th Circle wizard, with less skill than I possessed now.
Could I handle a 7th Circle wizard?
If I were alone, I would have pursued the enemy without considering such things. I was always a sword that cut from the front. But now, I couldn’t. I was carrying children I had to protect.
While I was deep in thought, Marianne continued in a soft voice.
“Just as there’s an insurmountable wall between the highest level of Sword Expert and Sword Master, the same applies to Circles. Honestly, I can’t defeat a 7th Circle wizard. But… there are three Sword Masters here.”
She was referring to Hugh Benson, Elvin, and myself.
Marianne tore up the grass at her feet and idly scooped up grains of sand, throwing them into the campfire.
“Are they just Sword Masters? They’re quite skilled among Sword Masters, aren’t they? Both the seniors and Mikael. It might be worth a try… or not?”
“…”
Hugh Benson’s light green eyes darkened noticeably. As I looked at him, lost in deep thought, another idea struck me. Without hesitation, I spoke.
“Even if we don’t catch and apprehend him immediately, by following his tracks, can’t we uncover the next medium before it detonates?”
“…The medium?”
“Marianne, you can read the aura of black magic, and you said the black magician is moving west in a consistent direction. I don’t know what he wants or why he’s doing this, but I think we can interfere before something happens.”
Elvin, who had been listening, nodded and spoke.
“I also believe there will be an answer at the Oasis.”
“…What?”
“Because it’s to the west.”
…Are they suggesting we go all the way to the Shatun Desert? I blinked in surprise, but Hugh Benson nudged Elvin’s shoulder to stop him and shook his head. As if his previous hesitation were a lie, his voice was firm and resolute.
“Yes, let’s do that. It is something that needs to be done to clear this area… While we’re at it, we can do a sweep of the surroundings as we move west. However, we’ll need to pay more attention to reconnaissance.”
“Yes.”
“Yes!”
Rubel, who had remained silent since receiving Hugh Benson’s reprimand, also nodded. For some reason, I felt compelled to squeeze the child’s hand tightly. I expected Rubel to look at me immediately, as he always did. But he didn’t.
Rubel’s gaze remained fixed on the campfire for a long time. Until the rest of the party had tidied up and prepared for sleep.