Chapter 44

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TN/N: Guys, thank you so much for waiting. I am back. (づ￣ ³￣)づ

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Vivian narrowed her eyes to read the letters glistening with light, but to no avail.  Seeing that the form was so unfamiliar, she concluded that they were not Imperial text.

Contrary to the marvelous sight, a suffocating silence swept the hallway.  Vivian swallowed dry saliva, and embraced herself with a certain tension. It seemed as if the closed door could burst open at any moment. She couldn’t let go of her tension unless she knew what was inside.

And at that moment, Daniel’s wand pointed at the doorknob. A magic circle similar to the one under his feet floated above it.

A strong wind blew through the hallway, and Vivian closed her eyes tightly.  After the wind calmed a little, she opened her eyes cautiously. The magic circle was still floating above the doorknob.

It looked like two magic circles superimposed on top of each other.  Daniel, who was scrutinizing the magic circle, slowly stretched out his wand. The moment the wand touched the light, an intense electric current zapped out. 

Vivian’s back was already against the wall, but she tried to retreat further. Roger glanced at Vivian with concern.

Daniel lowered his hand and backed away from the door with no reaction. The light, letters, and magic circle that surrounded him disappeared in an instant.

Daniel tucked his wand into his robe and shook his head.

“What’s this room for?”

He pointed to the closed room. Roger, with his arms crossed, stepped forward.

“We don’t know. I tried to open it, but the magic was too strong.”

“Daniel. It’s magic that was cast a while ago, right?  It’s locked by magic?”

Vivian asked gently.  Daniel nodded.

“Yes. The magic circle you just saw is security magic.”

Daniel held his hands up in two circle shapes, and overlapped them. He was mimicking the magic circle that appeared above the doorknob.

“It’s double security magic, a high level of defensive magic.”

“Double?”

“Yes. It’s magic that literally adds security to security. It’s a magic that’s used to protect the Imperial Vault. If this level of security magic has been cast, there must be something precious inside.”

Roger and Vivian, who were illiterate in magic, couldn’t follow his explanation.  Daniel lowered his hands and elaborated.

“There are many types of magic, but the most basic are offensive and defensive.  In terms of difficulty, defensive magic is more difficult than offensive magic.  Offensive magic is fairly simple, as it’s a burst attack and you don’t have to keep casting it. Defensive magic is more difficult because it usually involves a shield that you have to hold for long periods of time.”

Daniel glanced back at the closed door.

“Among defensive magic, security magic that prevents access is the most difficult… I don’t know what’s inside, but it’s clear they’re trying to hide it. Or protect it.”

Vivian stared at the door, listening to Daniel intently. What the hell was in there, and how important was it that they put such powerful magic on the door to hide it?

‘Maybe it has something to do with the cracks.’

That closed room may have something to do with what happened in the West.  With this in mind, Vivian was determined to find what was inside at all costs.

“Can you open it?”

Roger, who had not said a word, lost in thought, suddenly turned to Daniel and asked softly. Perhaps he felt the need to open that room as well. Daniel frowned. It was as if he already knew what Roger was going to ask him.

“Magic is more difficult to dispel than to cast.  In addition, just as I said, security magic is tricky. If it is a magic that is difficult to cast, how difficult would it be to dispel?”

“Such a long explanation. I just asked if you could open it.”

“Whether I say it’s possible or impossible, the boss will still tell me to do it!”

Daniel’s expression, which had been relieved a little by finally meeting the spirit magician of his dreams, suddenly stiffened again.  He sensed the difficult road ahead of him and became much more sensitive.  Roger had a casual expression on his face as if he were asking him to do something simple.

“You’re the only one who can dispel the magic here.”

“You said you were just curious about it in the first place, didn’t you?”

“Me?”

Roger shrugged his shoulders as if that had never happened.  Daniel stared at him with a gradually reddening and furious face, then clenched his fist.

“Anyway, I can’t. It’s better to suffer from hard labor in prison than spend time dismantling it.  It’s a difficult task even for a powerful wizard.”

Daniel was fed up.

“If you need a wizard to unlock that, formally request it from the Association! They will send a wizard who is better than me.”

Daniel, not knowing what they were going through, snapped and turned around.  Vivian ran in front of him to stop him.

“Daniel.  Right now, we are keeping the reason we came here secret because of circumstances. If we formally request a wizard from the association, we will get attention.  Daniel knows it well, but if we have 2 powerful wizards here, we will attract attention.”

Daniel’s wheezing calmed down at her explanation, which was much calmer than Roger’s.  But his anger was still there.

“And above all, we do not have time to formally ask the association for help. As we both know, it will take several months to get the approval of the association.….”

“That… That’s right.”

“So, I will ask you again.”

“But, as I just said, it’s hard work even for a powerful wizard.  I don’t know how long it will take if I try it.”

Vivian paused for a moment, and shook her head.

“That’s okay. We’re betting on what’s possible right now.”

Assuming that a wizard was absolutely necessary to open the door, choosing Daniel was the best choice.  Even if a wizard was dispatched with the association’s approval, the process would take a long time, and even if the wizard jumped into the task of unlocking it as soon as they arrived, it would be unreasonable to expect results immediately.

In other words, depending on the circumstances, leaving it to Daniel would likely produce results sooner.

“I will tell you everything I know about spirit art.  We can also help you with research.  So…”

Vivian said quietly, recalling how happy he was to find out that she was an Elementalist. Daniel’s face, which had been hardened and furious, immediately showed traces of deep concern.

Daniel’s concerns were not severe.  

‘I could run out of here right now, but if I do that, I won’t be able to get a sample of elemental art.’

Desperate by repeated research failures, he could not miss the opportunity that suddenly appeared in front of his eyes.

He took a deep breath and nodded his head.

“All right. I’ll try, okay?”

Suddenly Daniel raised his eyes and turned to Roger.  Following his gaze, Vivian also stared at Roger.

“By the way, I’m not doing this for the boss! This is purely at her request!”

At Daniel’s words, Roger burst out laughing.  Daniel ignored him and said goodbye to Vivian once again.  Contrary to the way he spoke to Roger, his tone was docile and kind. He had changed his attitude so quickly. Vivian finished her greetings and was left in bewilderment.

***

Without hesitation, Daniel immediately began to dispel the double security magic.

Perhaps it was true that it would be hard even for a powerful wizard, since he did not come out of his room all day.  It had been over a week already.  According to the maid, there were papers full of magic formulas all over the room, and Daniel was buried beneath them, writing more without rest.

Even at lunch, Daniel was absent. 

“If you bother him now, it will only irritate him, so leave him alone.  He has a strange personality, but his skills are reliable.”

Roger said softly to Vivian. She struggled to avert her eyes. He erased any slight anxiety she had about his skills.

“By the way, why does Daniel call Sir Knight boss?”

Roger put on an annoyed expression. His feelings towards Daniel were clear.

“I met him when I was a mercenary, so that title seems to have stuck.  Even if I tell them not to call me that now, he doesn’t seem to care.”

“Oh, come to think of it, you said that you met while working as a mercenary… So, was it then that he owed his life?”

The story of their meeting came to mind.  Roger nodded his head once.  His eyes deepened for a moment, as if recalling the past.

“There was a time when I saved him, who was almost seriously injured, by taking the lead without knowing who he was. Thanks to that, I got help from him a few times without pay.”

She knew that magicians who did not belong to the Association, like Spirit Magicians who were personally commissioned, moved for the sake of money.  Daniel was probably no different in that respect.  However, it seemed as though he was unable to refuse Roger’s request because of debts from the past.

Now she could understand the way he was running wildly saying, ‘I won’t do this this time’.

“Anyway, it’s better not to bother him when he’s focused like this.  After a while, he will find an answer.”

Roger seemed to have often witnessed Daniel’s work.  Seeing that he was still eating casually, it seemed he didn’t really care.  Roger knew Daniel better than herself, so Vivian had no choice but to accept it as truth.