Wizard of the Deep Sea Chapter 41: Declaration of War (4)

TL/ED – Miso

On the day we were set to leave.

Dersia lightly tossed her luggage, which was packed full, into the carriage and got into the back seat instead of the driver’s seat.

“Weren’t you supposed to ride a broom and fly?”

“…What in the world are you talking about?”

Dersia called for the carriage with a dumbfounded expression.

But I was even more dumbfounded.

“I just thought… it’s kind of weird for a 9-Star wizard to be riding a carriage. It kind of breaks the illusion?”

“Jern, I’m sorry I can’t protect your childhood innocence, but most high-ranking wizards travel like by attaching doors to space and opening them. There’s no need to move our bodies.”

“Isn’t a carriage also moving your body?”

“A carriage moves, yes, but you can do other things inside it. If you study during that ti, it’s not a waste at all. As you said, flying ‘like a witch’ might be faster, but that ti would be consud purely on travel, which is inefficient.”

“…”

So she realized I was taking a jab at her for being like a witch.

There was no coachman. Because there were no horses.

Yet the carriage moved smoothly and quickly. I couldn’t confirm the details yet due to my low level, but it wasn’t sothing crude like using telekinesis to push the carriage. It was a much more sophisticated magic.

As I unpacked my insignificant belongings, I asked a question that had been bothering .

“What’s the destination?”

“Hmm…”

Dersia looked at for a mont, then said sothing strange.

“Shall we try a bit of a thought experint?”

“…?”

“Assu you are the leader of Crimson Circle. You’ve worked in the shadows for decades, maybe even longer, gathering power. And yet, not a single entity within the Empire has caught on. If you focus all that gathered power on a single point, then you can cause an incident far bigger than anyone could imagine.”

“Such as?”

“I don’t know, an assassination of royalty, perhaps?”

“…”

I silently freaked out.

That was not sothing to be said, even as a joke.

“But you didn’t unleash that gathered power. Instead, you chose the exact opposite course of action.”

“What kind of things?”

“You gave power to a abyss wizard who wasn’t even a mber and made them abduct noble children, but they turned out to be a disposable pawn. You could have attacked the Magic Tower and killed the Tower Lord, but settled for stealing a to. You occupied a city, but instead of using the advantage of defense by sending reinforcents to hold it, you kept doing things with unclear objectives and imdiately ran away.”

“So things like that happened too.”

As I slowly nodded, Dersia pressed for an answer.

“These are definitely acts of terrorism, with the clear goal of making the Empire an enemy. But despite having the power to do it perfectly, they only go halfway. Why do you think that is?”

“…How about the assumption that they’re intoxicated with confidence and are enjoying themselves?”

“Explain your reasoning.”

“Aren’t all their actions basically prompting the Empire to prepare itself? They could have strangled them in a mont of carelessness, but instead they slap their cheeks, spit on them, pick fights… That’s the only way it can be interpreted. After hiding in the shadows for so long, they’ve lost their sense of scale and are full of arrogance.”

“So that’s what you think.”

I stopped Dersia, who was slowly nodding, with my next words.

“-is what I think the Empire believes. Because it’s the most convenient interpretation.”

“…”

Dersia looked at as if telling to continue, and I rubbed my chin as I traced Crimson Circle’s thought process.

“I fell into the Abyss, didn’t I? From that perspective, no matter how you look at it, Crimson Circle is a group that cannot sustain itself.”

Parse’s Abyss was small.

Maybe that’s why his subordinates were also incredibly weak.

Magic on par with that of other wizards, and subordinates who are laughably weak compared to mine.

If they were truly executives of Crimson Circle, they would never be at that level.

In that case, they’d die for sure.

“Even if, by so ans, they found a way to extend their lives like I did- what, a few decades…? I think that’s truly impossible. Even if they had their own know-how to endure, it would only be a very small number. In that sense, Crimson Circle must be a small and elite organization.”

“And what does that matter?”

“Even a scorpion with venom potent enough to kill a thousand elephants will choose to flee rather than attack when it sees a person. Not because it’s stupid, but because it knows it won’t survive if it’s crushed by a falling corpse. The difference between an individual and a group is even greater. Even if they struck first and assassinated royalty, or even completely wiped out the Capital…”

Suddenly, my thoughts wandered into dangerous territory.

“…They don’t want it to end with sothing like that. Their objective lies sowhere higher. That must be it.”

“Hmm. If the entire organization is made up of people with limited ti left to live, wouldn’t it be more likely they act according to their hatred of the world, doing as they please?”

“If they were that kind of people, they wouldn’t hold back. They wouldn’t hide, either. When you might not even wake up tomorrow, there’s no way you’d be making plans for the distant future.”

Dersia showed no expression.

Well, I wasn’t expecting any hints. Instead, I took the hypotheses I’d pieced together in my head and turned them into words.

“In that sense, I think the current Crimson Circle’s top priority is matching their class.”

“And by ‘class’, what exactly do you an?”

“We’ve misunderstood. It’s not that they made clumsy missteps because they were stupid, they wanted to be recognized as enemies of the Empire. More precisely, they want to make their na known. That is Crimson Circle’s goal.”

“To whom?”

“To everyone who considers the Empire an enemy. This wasn’t aid at the Empire, but rather at its enemies and potential allies. A declaration of war that says, ‘We’ll fight, so lend us your strength’… They might have already made contact. After all, Crimson Circle’s na has already spread through the underworld.”

“Do you have any evidence?”

“The aftermath is way too clean for the scale of what they did. They take over a city, then abandon it. Attack the Magic Tower, steal sothing, then leave. Kidnap children, then largely ignore it. The goal must be to spread bold feats while avoiding any loss of their own forces as they gather comrades. It ties back to what I said earlier about being a small elite group.”

“Assuming I thought the sa, where do you think I’m heading in order to find Crimson Circle?”

“I’m not sure. If it were , I’d try to find a group in the underworld that Crimson Circle would’ve surely contacted for help… or perhaps subjugated.”

“Haa…”

As I shrugged and gave that conclusion, Dersia, who had been questioning as if interrogating , let out a deep sigh.

It seed I had been off the mark from beginning to end.

“You say you don’t know, but you got everything right.”

“…Sorry?”

“There are so slightly exaggerated and omitted parts, but yes. I’m currently visiting groups that Crimson Circle is likely to have contacted to expand their numbers. Jern, using the exact sa thought process as you.”

So I had it backwards.

Honestly, it was practically just a lucky guess I forced together.

Dersia continued, unsure whether to laugh or be embarrassed.

“I originally intended to give you a lecture in this carriage on reasoning and decision-making. But that was a foolish thought. At least in terms of ideas, you might be better than …”

“Ah, then can I rest?”

When I asked that with a brightened face for the first ti in a while, Dersia shook her head.

“We can’t afford to waste ti. Let’s practice Form:.”

“…”

I should’ve kept quiet.

*

The carriage traveled across the plains for about two days.

On the first night, we had to camp, so I opened the luggage Dersia had brought.

Books, books, books, and more books.

I asked Dersia, who was reading one of those books.

“Um, where’s the pot to boil water?”

“I didn’t bring one.”

“Then what about a sleeping bag or blanket?”

“Why would I bring sothing like that?”

Her expression was filled with genuine confusion, making wonder if I had misunderstood sothing.

Dersia stepped outside the carriage and pulled out a key made of black tal from within her robes.

…Ah.

“You can use that for the carriage too?”

“If it has a door and can be sealed, yes.”

When Dersia opened the carriage door, there was, naturally, a library inside. Not the library in the Capital, but one several tis larger.

I stepped inside and was amazed by the endless rows of bookshelves.

“It’s really massive. Mine’s barely the size of a single room. Why haven’t you shown this to until now?”

“Because my Workshop is completely useless.”

“…? Why? It’s so big and full of books.”

Dersia gave the Workshop a look of irritation before answering.

“I’ve read everything in here. It’s all just shiny garbage now.”

“Aha.”

“A foolish impulse of my youth. What’s important isn’t owning books, but reading and understanding them… Anyway, it’s probably more comfortable here than in the carriage, so feel free to use it.”

“Ah, okay.”

I looked around Dersia’s Workshop, which was larger than a training ground.

I pulled out and skimd a few books, but not a single one was of a type I could understand.

Well, that wasn’t what I had co looking for anyway. After wandering around for about ten minutes, I finally ca back toward the entrance and asked Dersia, who was still reading.

“Where’s the bed in here?”

“…? Can’t you just use a book as a pillow and sleep?”

“What about food or sothing to eat-”

“Skipping two days of als won’t kill you.”

“And the reason you think this place is more comfortable than the carriage?”

“It’s bigger.”

I t Dersia’s gaze, which seed to question what was so strange about that.

And I was appalled.

Dersia was completely serious.

“…Understood. Have a pleasant night.”

It was the right call to pack so jerky, just in case.

Even so, by the ti we arrived at the city that was our destination, my condition was a ss.

I lay limp in the carriage, waiting for the line at the checkpoint to shorten, while the completely fine Dersia smiled and offered praise.

“Congratulations. You’ve taken another step forward.”

“…I just kept at it and sohow it worked.”

I could now make use of mana.

With heavy dark circles under my eyes, I applied Form: on my entire body.

Then, I felt a slight release in my muscles.

Form: rupture. At this level, it was still weak, and only felt like a light massage done by pressing and twisting with the thumb.

It’s not a recovery spell. That kind of magic touches the domain of ti, accelerating the body’s natural healing, and you’d need to be at least a 5-Star to even consider attempting it.

Still, I had successfully manifested Form:. I let out a long sigh and lted into the chair.

“I feel a bit alive again. Using a spell created for torture as a recovery thod feels a bit wrong, though.”

“Magic is a tool. How you use it is up to the wizard.”

This ti, I reversed the process.

I directed the pain created in my mind, my inner world, into my arm.

Only this ti, it wasn’t a mild, massage-like sensation.

“…Ugh.”

The pain was enough to make frown.

But I was used to it. Compared to Dersia beating, slicing, and tearing into like I was her parents’ killer, this was nothing.

It really is useful.

“Why are you looking at like that?”

“Just fascinated. Elental magic was too easy, so it didn’t leave much of an impression, and 제: just felt like getting beaten up, so I didn’t even know if it was magic. Abyss magic felt like growing a third arm. But this one… hmm, how should I put it.”

I clenched and opened my hand as I muttered.

“…It feels like I’ve finally learned real magic.”

“Because it is real magic.”

While we were having that conversation, it beca our turn.

“Halt. State the purpose of your visit…”

“Elder of the Black Magic Tower. I’m here for research. Here, these are my identification docunts.”

“…Confird! Please proceed right in!”

Unlike the previous carriages, the guards, snapping into military posture, didn’t even check our belongings.

I asked in surprise.

“You’re an Elder?”

“I’ve been in the Magic Tower for fifty years. That kind of position is only natural.”

Dersia replied as if wondering why I would even ask sothing like that.

“The biggest reason I made you, Jern, my apprentice was to secure a Workshop, but we shouldn’t overlook these small conveniences either. Even if you’re just an apprentice, it’s a matter of degree, you can get similar results.”

“Ah, I see…”

“Is sothing bothering you?”

“No, I was just calculating your age backward from the phrase ‘fifty years in the Tower’.”

“…It would be best if you stopped.”

The tone of her voice carried a slight grinding of her teeth, so I did as she said.

Dersia parked the carriage at an inn and, without even unpacking, began moving imdiately.

“Let’s take care of just one thing before we rest. It won’t take long.”

“Alright.”

As we walked along the main road, I observed the surroundings.

Maybe because it was a weekday afternoon, but for the size of the city, there were surprisingly few people coming and going.

The people who were out and about were either shady-looking or drunks. The streets weren’t very clean either…

Overall, the place didn’t give off a good impression. I was keeping on guard in case of pickpockets, but those who spotted Dersia’s pointed ears flinched and quickly moved out of the way.

“Sh-she’s an Elf?”

“She’s disgustingly beautiful… but looks like she’s got a disgustingly nasty personality too…”

The second sentence I picked up via Current sense.

I hadn’t realized before, but it seed that Elves weren’t a particularly well-liked race here.

Of course, Dersia didn’t care even a tiny bit about such things and walked straight into a filthy, foul-slling alleyway.

After weaving through the narrow paths, she stopped at a dead end and put on a hat to cover her ears.

“We’ve arrived. It should be sowhere around here.”

I asked in puzzlent.

“Are you supposed to et soone?”

“No. What I’m looking for usually resides in dirty, narrow alleys like this. That’s why we’re here.”

“…Are we here to look for rats or bugs?”

“Close enough.”

What the hell is she talking about?

As I scratched my head, sothing was caught in my Current sense.

Three n. I couldn’t tell exactly, but they didn’t look like the respectable type. Judging by the fact that they were following the sa path we ca from, it was clear we’d been tailed.

If I picked up on them with Current sense, then there’s no way Dersia didn’t already notice. But there’s no way she ca here just to et such scum either.

She’ll handle it on her own, I figured vaguely.

That’s when she gave the order.

“Take them down in one go before they can scream or shout.”

“…”

Who, how, why.

I swallowed all those questions. There was sothing more important.

I lowered my head and muttered in mild protest.

“No, when you’re here, Master, do I really have to do it?”

Dersia answered with a slight smirk.

“You’ve learned a new spell. Don’t you think it’s ti you try using it in a real situation?”

Above those dark circles of hers was a strong, unmistakable killing intent.

…Probably.

It seed Dersia intended to start probing from the very bottom.