The moment a magic circle rose above the spear and the spell was about to be cast, I stopped the energy flowing into it.
[Wait.]
As the energy supply stopped along with my words, the magic stopped as well.
I came to understand what it meant for an artifact to be bound.
Not only could no one else use a bound artifact, but even Soph inside the artifact could not refuse my words.
[Why are you stopping me!]
Soph burst out angrily.
I raised the spear upright and answered.
[Even if we fight, let’s find out what’s going on first.]
The ice golem had attacked us and forced us into battle, but this golem was just like the one I had seen in the terraforming ruins.
If we could avoid fighting, it was better not to fight.
Besides, Soph was far too angry.
I understood that he was furious because a ghostlike being who looked exactly like his lover had appeared, but he was being overly emotional.
Right now, Soph was not the rational mage he had been in the past.
At my words, Soph let out a long breath.
Then he spoke quietly.
[……I made a mistake. I apologize.]
It seemed his excitement had subsided.
[It’s all right. Shall we look into it now?]
Until then, the ghost had been watching us while floating in the air.
It was as if she had been waiting for me to finish speaking with Soph.
The ice golems that had been walking toward us had also stopped behind her.
The woman opened her mouth.
-This facility is currently sealed. We are not accepting outsiders, so illegal intruders are requested to leave.
She issued a warning in the language of mages, one no Earthling could understand.
It was a voice I had heard before.
It was a beautiful voice, but I could not tell where it was coming from. It felt as though the wall itself was speaking.
The mage, now calmer, clicked his tongue softly.
[Even the voice is similar. What in the world is going on? She should never have taken part in making something like this.]
Perhaps because he had lost his memories, there was no certainty in Soph’s voice.
Thanks to the translation artifact, I alone could understand what she was saying.
I had to answer.
“We are not illegal intruders. We are emergency refugees.”
I spoke in Korean, but thanks to the translation artifact, that ghost should be able to understand as well.
If she was the same kind of being as the golems behind her, my words would be meaningless, but she did not seem that way.
-Emergency refugees. I understand the meaning. However, this facility cannot accommodate emergency refugees either. Please leave at once.
Her tone was mechanical and rigid.
It was a firm statement that she would accept no other answer, but it sounded strange to me.
It was because of the woman’s expression.
The corners of her lips were slightly raised.
It was the expression of a prankster hiding a smile.
It was an expression I had never seen on Soph’s lover.
[Only the outward appearance is similar. It seems her personality is different. That thing is playing a prank. A spirit’s prank.]
A spirit? Did he mean the kind of spirit that appeared in fantasy novels?
[What is a spirit? Is it different from a ghost?]
It had been translated as “spirit,” but I could not know whether it was the same as the spirits I knew.
[A magical life-form created by humans. Some say they are life-forms summoned from a place called the spirit realm, but mages consider them magical life-forms we created.]
I thought I understood why it had been translated as “spirit.”
If you removed the mage’s arrogance, it was similar to the spirits I had seen in novels.
[Strictly speaking, even I, inside this staff, can be said to have been created through research into those spirits.]
I let the mage’s self-deprecation go in one ear and out the other, then chose my words.
What she had just said seemed like a prank even to me, but the ice golems standing behind that woman called a spirit were no joke.
If I gave the wrong answer, we might have to fight a whole unit of ice golems.
As I pondered, Soph’s voice came to me.
[Ask her if she knows the Guardian of the Star, Shamara. That is her name.]
Only now did I learn the name of Soph’s lover.
I asked the spirit.
“Do you know Shamara?”
Upon hearing my words, the spirit’s eyes widened.
She looked at me, then saw the spear I was holding and flapped her hands.
-Huh, huh? Wait, is that Lord Shamek’s staff? What happened? So much time has passed.
Seeing the flustered spirit, I could tell for certain that she was a different being from Soph’s lover.
Soph, too, merely clicked his tongue at the sight of her now.
-I need to hear what happened…… But I can’t exactly disobey orders, either.
The spirit, groaning as she floated in midair, suddenly lifted her head.
-Ah! I just need to let in one related person. Since he’s related, that shouldn’t count as disobeying orders. That’ll do.
Having worried over it by herself and reached a conclusion, the spirit put both hands on her hips and said to me,
-Come with me alone. I’ll allow the others to remain here for a while until our conversation is over.
Then she pointed to the metal door above her head.
-But the others must not cross this door. From here on, outsiders really are forbidden from entering.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The ice golems standing behind her passed by her and lined up in front of the open door.
Seeing that, the squad members tightened their grips on their weapons.
I waved my hand and had the squad lower their weapons.
“The conversation went well. She says I should come alone. I’ll be back.”
“Will you be all right?”
At my words, Magreta asked with a worried face.
Instead of answering, I looked at Hanna.
“Yes. The color is a little strange, but it didn’t feel bad.”
At Hanna’s words, the squad members relaxed.
I also regained my composure.
I passed between the ice golems standing in a row and followed after the ghost—no, the spirit.
As Soph had said, beyond the door was a staircase leading underground.
It was a cold staircase covered in ice.
Seeing me follow, the spirit passed through the stairs and descended below.
I carefully followed after her.
The staircase was longer than I had expected.
The farther down we went, the higher the temperature rose.
We had already left the below-freezing range behind, and now it was warm enough to feel pleasant.
All the ice on the stairs had disappeared as well.
After descending several hundred meters like that, the staircase ended.
Beyond the stairs was a long corridor.
It was a corridor with only one door at the end.
As I walked down the corridor after the spirit, the air grew cold again.
The temperature dropped sharply. White breath flowed from my mouth.
Just as I began to wonder whether I should take out the leather blanket, I arrived before the closed door.
The spirit once again passed right through the closed door.
Because she had gone right in, I had to wait in front of the closed door for it to open.
Grrrrrr.
The door opened a short while later.
Perhaps because it had not been opened in a long time, it opened with a loud noise.
When the door opened, I saw the spirit looking apologetic.
-I thought it would open right away……
I shrugged and stepped inside.
Once I entered, I understood why it had suddenly become so cold.
Everything inside the door was ice.
The floor, the ceiling, the walls, even the pillar in the center were ice.
When I entered, the spirit smiled brightly and spread both arms wide.
-Welcome. This is my room.
Soph added to her words.
[It is also the control room.]
At Soph’s words, I looked around once more and saw a console on one side.
It was a control panel like the ones I had seen in other ruins.
The spirit came down to the floor and stood before me.
She placed a finger on her chin and said to me,
-Then, what should I ask first?
There were certainly many things to say and many stories to hear.
Just as I was waiting for her question, Soph spoke.
[There is no need to go through the trouble of explaining. Put the staff on the console. I will take control of the facility.]
It was the first time I had heard such aggressive words from Soph. It seemed he still did not like that spirit.
It was an extreme opinion, but not a bad one.
However, after coming all this way, I could not start another fight.
I decided to ask the other party.
I pointed to the console with the tip of the spear.
“May I place this spear on the console?”
-Are you trying to connect?
“Yes.”
-So you really are a mage. There are still mages left. I thought they had perished. It doesn’t matter. If you have authority, you’ll be able to access it, and if not, that will be the end of it.
The spirit readily gave permission.
I walked to the console and placed the staff on top of it.
The instant the spear absorbed my energy and Soph connected to the console—
Flaaaash.
The world turned white.
I had connected to a memory again.
To be honest, I had half expected it.
Soph might have expected it as well.
Seeing memories like this was certainly better than having a conversation.
The light vanished, and a different scene appeared before my eyes.
A small room.
A mage was sitting before me.
He was a young mage somewhere between a boy and a young man.
He was the mage I had seen in Soph’s memories.
The young mage who had traveled together with Soph.
The mage in front of me looked a little younger than he had in the memory I had seen.
The mage looked at me and spoke in a confident tone.
“I will go with you as well.”
He could not have been looking at me. The one he was looking at was Soph.
My mouth opened, and Soph’s voice came out.
“To be honest, I’d rather you didn’t……”
As expected, I was now looking at Soph’s memory.
Even at Soph’s words, the young mage did not back down.
“My skills are sufficient, aren’t they?”
“That’s true, but you’re too young.”
“At the last degree conferment ceremony, you said yourself that age doesn’t matter.”
“That was because those quarrelsome old men were annoying me.”
Soph raised a hand and scratched his head.
Then another voice came from beside him.
The voice I had heard just a short while ago. The voice of Soph’s lover, Shamara.
“Don’t worry. He’ll do well.”
At her words, spoken as she clapped her hands together, Soph let out a sigh.
“If the Guardian thinks so, then there’s nothing to be done.”
As always, Soph was weak to his lover.
While Soph surrendered to his lover, I examined the young mage at the edge of my vision.
While the two of them were talking, the young mage was stealing glances at Soph’s lover with a reddened face.
The mage’s fingertips were trembling, and his eyes held a mixture of admiration and excitement.
Seeing the young mage’s expression, I thought I understood why he was insisting on going with them.
After finishing his conversation with his lover, Soph turned his head and looked at the young mage.
“Then, there are no issues with the work you were doing before?”
The young mage had already restored his expression.
“No. The research facility at Quara Eretz has been shut down. I finished the closing procedures properly as well.”
“Closing procedures?”
At the young mage’s words, Soph tilted his head.
“Ah, there was a problem with seal management.”
“Did you use something like golems?”
“……Something similar. I handled it well using the magic you taught me before.”
It sounded like he was hiding something, but Soph did not take it seriously.
Soph nodded.
“Then let’s go together.”
“Yes, sir!”
The young mage answered with a bright face.
Flaaaash.
The world grew bright again.
The memory had ended.
Once more, the ice room appeared before my eyes.
[…….]
“Hmm……”
We had returned, but neither Soph nor I had anything to say.
Because all the questions we had had after seeing the memory had been answered.
Why the spirit resembled Soph’s lover, and who had made her—we had learned it all.
However, saying it out loud felt somewhat awkward.
But it seemed the spirit did not feel that way.
-Ah! So it was Lord Shamek.
Perhaps because she had connected to the console, the spirit seemed to have seen Soph’s memory as well.
She slowly smiled.
-Nice to meet you. I am……
She paused for a moment, then smiled brightly and said,
-I am Shamila, a spirit made in the image of the beloved Lady Shamara.