Volume 4 - CH 1

Let's turn back the gears of time before Selene's wedding. It was the story about when Teto and I had returned to the «Empty Wilderness» after entrusting Selene to the King.

"I was able to learn «Teleportation Magic» but I still have a long way to go to use it efficiently."

Long-distance teleportation was difficult but I did get accustomed to short-distance teleportation that is within the range of my sight.

I used it to move along with the flying broom that I had been using up until now in the «Empty Wilderness» and inspected the magic tools installed in each place which took several days.

"I had built our base outside the barrier of the «Empty Wilderness» with raising Selene in mind, but now we need a base in the central region."

There was also the magic tool that was functioning as a seal for the Great Devil while also dismantling his mana to destroy him.

I didn't want to take any risk of the seal loosening so I wanted to build a base near it so that I can quickly reach it for repairs in case it malfunctions.

"We're here. Even this place now has lush green trees growing in it."

The land which used to have nothing except its barren soil in the past now had a tiny forest thriving on it after decades of cultivation.

The trees we had planted formed a forest and in the center was a tree towering over them all一一 the World Tree.

"World trees grow fast. Hmm, this place's mana quality is so dense already."

Microbes and insects were now breeding in this mana-rich place where we had planted trees while slimes and other small animals could barely survive in the outer region of the wilderness where weeds are growing despite the low mana.

I reckon mana density would grow enough for the small animals to live in ten or so years when the forests growing in various places in this wilderness connect and form a huge forest.

Once that happens, Goddess Liliel will lower the established setting for the giant barrier erected over this land so that small animals could come in. In my opinion, I think it will be fine to remove the barrier then.

"My, there's even a small spring now."

I was inspecting the trees in the woods when I found a small spring welling up beside the World Tree.

I'm sure the roots of the World Tree must have penetrated the stiff and hard soil deep underground which caused the spring to gush out due to the pressure.

Similar scenery was present in other places of the «Empty Wilderness» too and there were now even more green lands visible as the seeds of plants carried by the wind germinated.

"Right, if I form a small river with this spring here...... It might be a good place to build our home. ーー«Summon Servant»!"

But before establishing our base, I used summoning magic to call forth either one's family or an employed or contracted individual using teleportation magic.

My partner, Teto, then appeared from the dazzling shining magic circle with a light gait.

"I have come on the call of Majou-sama! And, I was sad that you left me alone!"

I accepted Teto who rushed over to hug me after she appeared from the summoning magic circle and took a pose.

"Thank you for going along with my experiment, Teto."

"Fuehehehe, thank you-nanodesu."

My teleportation to the «Empty Wilderness» from the Iska Kingdom while carrying Teto had cost me 300,000 units of mana at once.

Teleportation magic is a magic whose consumption exponentially increases based on the teleporting distance along with the number of people and the weight of what I'm bringing with me.

After thinking about other ways of long-range teleportation, I thought that a fixed teleportation magic tool like a «Transfer Gate» or calling forth Teto with «Summoning Magic» after I teleport myself would be more efficient.

"Alright, let's make our temporary home here. I'm leaving the handling of the ground to you, Teto."

"Leave it to me, nanodesu!"

A fixed area of the ground which I had decided beforehand wrigged like a living creature and the trees began to move away when Teto held her hands over the ground.

I couldn't bring myself to cut down the trees we had so painstakingly raised just to build our base so I have Teto slightly shift their position with earth magic.

Once Teto was done with that, she created a bedrock for the foundation by compressing soil and stones on which I later casted a «Fixed» spell so that it doesn't deteriorate.

"Now it's time for our temp home 一一«Creation»."

Then I created our temp home over the bedrock foundation with creation magic, took out the transfer gate from the magic bag, and installed it to connect with our home in the outer region, southwest of the «Empty Wilderness».

"Considering the next course of action, I would like to add a transfer gate over the other places with this place as sort of a central hub."

"Hub? What does this hub thing mean?"

"Well it's like a wheel design in layman's terms, I think."

I drew a picture of a wheel and an axle on the ground to make it easier for Teto to understand and she finally got it after that.

"So that's the hub thing! Teto becomes one step more intelligent again!"

"Fufu, good for you. And I have a blueprint I had asked the architect in the royal capital to make for the house that we're going to build, so let's slowl一..."

I was about to say “so let's slowly save mana and build it” when I sensed a strange movement in the range of my mana perception.

"Majou-sama? What happened?"

"Something is absorbing the mana of the «Empty Wilderness»?"

This place, the «Empty Wilderness», used to have the lowest mana density...... More precisely, it used to be a mana-less region.

We planted a lot of vegetation over the span of ten years and I also released my mana to raise the mana density but it was still far from enough.

There was a chance for our reclamation to be prolonged if there was something that was absorbing the mana of the «Empty Wilderness».

"Teto, we're going to look at the situation."

"Alright-nanodesu!"

I took out the magic carpet from the magic bag and started searching for the place that was absorbing the mana from the sky with Teto.

I concentrated my mana in my eyes to check out the mana flow and spotted a gap in the crevice of a completely normal piece of land in which the mana was being absorbed.

I slowly lowered the magic carpet on the ground and had Teto, whose forte lay in earth magic, investigate the situation below the ground.

"Majou-sama. A building is buried beneath the ground."

"Ah, the relics of the ancient magic civilization. They do have some leftovers."

The aftermath of their runaway mana experiment had given birth to this «Empty Wilderness» but the buildings of that time had been left behind underground.

I had found the control type magic tool before when I was searching the central region of the «Empty Wilderness» from which I created a magic tool with similar functions using «Creation Magic» and incorporated it into the barrier management system.

I had considered the possibility of the legacy of ancient magic civilization being buried in this «Empty Wilderness» but I never found the right time to search for it.

I mean, no way, I never expected there might be a functioning legacy that remained even after a couple or so millennia had passed.

"Alright, let's first isolate this area with a barrier so that it doesn't affect anything then excavate whatever it is."

"I got it, nanodesu!"

I, alongside Teto, began to dig out the soil after setting up a barrier and cutting off the mana absorption.

"Seems like it can't absorb the mana of living beings or mana from spells."

Whatever was absorbing the mana, it seemed like its range was limited to absorbing the surplus mana in the air released by the flora and fauna and it wasn't able to take in mana directly from living beings or interfere with the mana we used to cast our spells.

"I wonder if it's a self-operating facility that has started after absorbing mana from the surroundings."

If my guess is right, then I could understand why it started functioning when mana had risen to a certain level within the «Empty Wilderness».

"There's something, Majou-sama."

"This is...... A concrete building?"

Apparently, we had dug up a part of a building that had Protection and Fixed spells casted on it.

A building the size of a gymnasium showed itself when Teto and I dug the surrounding soil carefully so as not to damage anything.

"What is it, Majou-sama?"

"I don't know. But well, let's enter inside first to check it out."

I found the place where the door was and tried to open it however the door was tightly shut. It seemed like most of its functions were dead due to being buried in the ground for 2000 years.

"No other way, huh? 一一«Laser»!"

I created a light sword by gathering light at the tip of my wand and burnt the door off its hinges.

"Oh, Majou-sama. Is it alright to use such a high-handed method? Relics are important right-nanodesu?"

"I guess it's fine to use a bit of a crude method. In the worst-case scenario, we will have to destroy whatever is there if it's related to the rampage of the mana experiment so it’s fine either way."

A thorough purge of the documents related to the mana experiment, which was the cause of the birth of the «Empty Wilderness», was necessary to avoid that tragedy from happening again.

The inside of the building was pitch black when we entered.

"So dark. 一ー«Light». Woah..."

There were traces of people living inside the building that had been buried underground for 2000 years.

It seemed like it was an underground shelter.

Weathered clothes and mummified corpses were lying all over the floor.

And there may have been some strife among colleagues as there were also corpses left behind with their skull parts caved in.