CH 91

Luna hastily packed her belongings and set off for the heart of the empire with Professor Mcguire.

The heart of the Empire.

The Royal Capital.

Luna had never been there before.

Frankly, there was no reason for a child from a minor noble family like Luna to visit the capital.

She might have visited once or twice if she had relatives in the capital, but there was no one in Luna's family living there.

The idea of going to the capital for the first time made Luna's heart flutter, but she focused first on her purpose of going there.

She had to save Rudy.

Anxiety welled up at the thought of possibly having to fight against Ian Astria, the current greatest talent in the Empire, if things went awry.

However, while she was anxious, she was not afraid.

The fact that Professor Mcguire was by her side gave her a strong sense of security.

Lost in her thoughts, Luna's eyes drifted towards the bag that Professor Mcguire was holding.

This wasn't a typical leather bag; it was a metal one with locks.

Unable to curb her curiosity, Luna voiced her question.

"Professor, what's in that bag?"

"Oh, it's a bag containing magic tools and a few scrolls."

At this, Luna tilted her head.

Wouldn't a standard leather bag be more practical?

A metal bag would be heavy and limiting in mobility.

Still, considering its contents, the sturdiness of a metal bag made sense.

She let the thought pass.

"Oh, right."

Luna clapped her hands and rummaged through her bag.

"Professor, could you take a look at this magic circle for me?"

"Magic circle?"

At Luna's words, Mcguire showed interest.

Luna took a piece of paper out of her bag.

The magic circle she had completed today was drawn on that paper.

It was a magic circle related to mental purification and mana stabilization.

Mcguire looked closely at the magic circle.

And a satisfied smile crossed his face.

Typically, looking at a complicated magic circle might evoke feelings of inadequacy or even despair.

However, that wasn't the case with Luna's magic circle.

Luna's magic circle was one that could make any wizard who researched magic circles feel good.

The runes drawn on the magic circle gave a round and gentle aura, reminiscent of Luna herself.

Additionally, despite the circle's seemingly simple design, the underlying formulas were precise and thorough, making it pleasant to analyze.

However, it wasn't without its issues.

There were still many things Luna lacked.

"You need to rework this part and this control formula. If you rearrange the circuits that could become obstacles inward while maintaining the overall structure, it will be a better magic circle."

Mcguire pointed out the details of the magic circle with his finger and said.

"Oh...."

Luna looked in awe at Mcguire’s detailed feedback.

Mcguire smiled at her, saying,

"But you've improved a lot. The overall structure of the magic circle is much better than before. As always, the internal formulas are written best."

"Hehe.... thank you."

Luna scratched her head shyly.

"Well, it seems like it only needs a little modification. I could fix it here, but then your skills won't improve. Try doing it yourself."

"Yes! I got it!"

Luna replied in a cheerful voice.

"Oh, but shouldn't we start writing a letter to Rie soon."

"Oh! Right."

Inside the carriage, Luna and Mcguire came up with a plan.

Rie's help was essential for that plan.

Without Rie, the plan itself could collapse, so they needed to ask for help quickly.

Luna took out the letter paper she had brought and began to write.

---

---

In Rie's room,

"Hmm...."

Rie was grappling with a magic circle.

The magic circle she was working on was for sealing elementals, specifically designed to suppress rampaging ones.

However, there was a problem.

There were various methods to suppress an elemental.

One could reverse summon it, or revert it to its original sane state.

Of all these methods, the first she opted for was the reverse summoning technique.

Considering Luna's likely approach to crafting the magic circle, reverting the elemental to its original state would have been the best.

But doing so was extremely challenging, especially for beings that were not human.

For both Rie and Luna, this was a field that was still difficult to grasp.

"This is frustrating...."

Rie groaned, still holding the magic circle.

No matter how she looked at it, she wasn’t satisfied.

Neither the magic circle itself nor the elemental control formula within met her expectations.

As Rie was mumbling to herself, there was a knock on her door.

"Ah, come in."

At Rie's words, the maid opened the door and entered.

"Your Highness, some letters have arrived."

Rie glanced at the maid at her words.

The maid held numerous letters.

It was almost the end of the year, so many were sending letters with well-wishes for the upcoming one.

Others were invitations to balls held at the beginning of the new year.

Without paying much attention to the letters, Rie’s gaze returned to the magic circle.

"Just tell me who sent them, roughly."

"Yes, understood."

The maid naturally began to read out the names of the families on the letters.

"This is a letter sent by the eldest son of the Zeki family."

"Next."

"A letter sent by the head of the Ribal family..."

"Next."

"…Family’s--"

"Next."

Like this, Rie kept on calling out 'next' without listening properly.

"A letter sent by the eldest daughter of the Railer family..."

"Next."

"And then..."

"Hold on."

Rie set down the magic circle she was looking at and turned to the maid.

"Who sent it?"

The maid, looking a little confused, checked the letter again.

"It's from the Railer family."

"Let me see that."

Rie said, rising from her seat.

The maid handed over the letter, though she was puzzled.

She had never heard of the Railer family before.

Several question marks popped up in her head.

Rie, noticing her perplexed expression, extended her hand.

"Huh?"

The maid tilted her head at Rie's sudden gesture.

"A knife, give me a knife. I need it to open the letter."

"Ah, ah."

The maid was surprised.

She hadn't brought a letter opener since Rie had never shown interest in reading the letters before.

"I-I'm sorry!!! I'll bring it right away!!!"

The maid bowed several times and ran out of the room.

"Hmm...."

Rie's expression soured as she watched the maid's frantic exit.

To be honest, there was nobody who would fault her for punishing that maid, but she didn't particularly want to.

She soon shook her head.

"Sylph, please neatly open this letter."

She thought it would be better to just bring out an elemental and have it open the letter.

Sylph delicately brought out a blade of wind and sliced the letter.

Rie carefully pulled out the letter contained in the torn envelope.

And she began to read it slowly.

---

---

A moment later,

"Your Highness! I apologize!!!"

"No, it's fine."

Then Rie casually collected the magic circle she had been agonizing over.

"I have somewhere to go for a bit."

"Wha-, where to?"

The maid was greatly surprised.

"I'm just going to step outside for a moment."

"Are you visiting one of the noble families? Should I arrange a carriage and some knights...?"

"No, I'll be going discreetly. Don't make a scene."

"Oh, understood. Then I'll call some of the other maids..."

Assuming Rie was leaving, the maid naturally thought to call others to help Rie get ready.

"No, I said not to make a fuss."

However, Rie rejected this as well.

"I'm...I'm sorry."

Looking at the maid, Rie let out a sigh and walked towards the closet.

"Just help me out a bit. I won't be dressing up much since I'll only be out briefly."

"Yes! Understood."

---

---

At that moment.

"What on earth is this?"

Bandaging my hand, I banged against the iron bars.

A few days ago, I had pounded on these bars with my fists and had ended up rolling on the floor in pain.

After a few hours of moaning in pain, a person in a hood came with food.

However, seeing my fist swollen red, they treated me and said,

"You should avoid such pointless acts. There's no escape from here."

This comment provoked me even more.

Who are they to tell me about whether I can get out or not?

Thus, I started studying the confines of this cell.

And I reached a conclusion.

"Mana cannot form properly here."

Within this space, mana dissipates constantly.

Whether trying to use any magic, or attempting to physically strengthen myself.

There was no way to handle mana within these bars.

In desperation, I even tried to summon Priscilla.

"Huff... It's been a while since I've been in the real world... what the?"

She materialized but then vanished instantly.

Even though Priscilla is controlled by my mental strength, she uses the mana within me to manifest.

Thus, she materialized and then instantly disappeared.

I muttered to the Priscilla within me.

"Priscilla, what do you think we should do?"

[You, who always told me not to speak, are now asking for my opinion?]

Priscilla retorted as if annoyed.

"I regret that as well, but it's just how it is."

To converse with Priscilla, I had to speak out loud.

Her voice, however, was unheard by those around.

As a result, when I talked with Priscilla, it looked like I was a madman talking to myself.

And since most of the time I was alone was spent studying, I told Priscilla I wouldn't be able to respond to her most of the time.

Initially, she would speak to me often, but after being continuously ignored, she stopped addressing me altogether.

"I have my own circumstances too."

And now, I am completely alone.

Feeling lonely by myself, I began to chat with Priscilla more.

[Haa... If I knew it was going to be like this, I would've contracted with Serina instead. This is truly the most regrettable decision of my elemental life.]

But every time I tried to talk, Priscilla would grumble at me.

She seemed upset, perhaps because I hadn't paid her enough attention in the past.

It was understandable.

"I... I'm sorry. I promise I'll call upon you more often."

[That's if we can get out of here.]

"Haa... Yes, if we get out...."

I stared hard at the iron bars.