Chapter 72: Dark gray dagger

Is this wooden lodging wary of fire? There is no kind of lightning here that uses flames. The location of the commander’s bedroom could be identified based on the moonlight coming in through the window at the end of the hallway and with the help of the information provided by the wood itself that composes this building.

Even in a building that has been assembled accurately with no gaps, if we search, we should be able to find a place where air can pass through―we can let the commander inhale the hypnotic air ball and he will become a prisoner without any confrontation. However, I realized that I couldn’t do that when I heard that voice.

(There is a magician in this lodging… I can’t sense inside the commander’s bedroom, detection by listening to the wood’s voices does not work.)

(…You mean we are going to fight here? Since they’re inside, should we set some traps from the outside then…)

(It is not possible to send air into the room. Look at that… There is a thin film of water in the middle of the corridor.)

(Uh…!?)

Presha looked at it keenly. With such a thin and highly transparent film of water, you will not notice it in the dark. Perhaps this set up was made while intending to make use of that.

But I’m worried about the voice from before. If it belongs to the commander, there is a possibility that the magician has betrayed.

A magician who graduated from Silvana Magic Academy infiltrated Zirconia’s side and lends power to the enemy’s army. I suspected that it was due to the scheme of the person who didn’t like Her Highness –and that would be the Second Queen.

If Noin did not completely follow the Second Queen’s scheme… If she hasn’t forgotten her role as a court magician protecting the kingdom. But, isn’t it just a wishful thinking?

(For the time being, we have to do something about this film of water… It will be bad if we touch it.)This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

(Yes, we should take proper measures to remove it.)

Thus, while thinking in front of the trap set by the water spirit’s magic, I noticed it for the first time. Considering the fog, I could be able to counter it too. Plants also breathe. And, except for some parts of the plant tissue, it is mostly composed of water ―by promoting the absorption of water in the air, the fog can be eliminated.

Whether water spirits can interfere with the water taken in by plants… It’s a gamble but I’ll know it if I let a plant absorb this film of water.

(I’ll summon Arlaune and have her roots suck the water.)

(Eh?… I-Is that okay? Will Laune be safe?)

(If the water brought by the water spirit could be taken in and neutralized by Laune, a plant spirit… It may be worth trying.)

I got the permission from Her Highness, I asked them to hide behind the reference room’s door. I then place one of Arlaune’s bulbs that I brought with me on the floor, slightly away from the film of water.

(『Oh luscious flower that blooms in the enchanted garden of Youka… appear once in this world and show your power!』)

―Arlaune’s roots do not need to suck the nutrients from the ground, my magical power alone can serve as nutrient for her to bloom. However, the process of growing her this time was different.This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

At the same time I finished the chant, thin vines and green leaves stretch out from the bulb at once, as if the film of water was regarded as nutrients, it suck the water steadily.

As expected from the film of water that was set up by a magician. As it was sucked by Arlaune’s vines, it showed signs of resistance at the beginning ―however by the time the water reached Arlaune’s root, it was sucked up and neutralized.

Though it was a different process from the usual, Arlaune’s flower opens. Then, a girl with flowers on her head materialized.

(Puha, it was a delicious water. Because it has plenty of magical power, my vines just grew.)

(You’ve done well, Laune. I know that water was set up by the enemy magician, but you sucked it well.)

(If it were the body of the water spirit, it wouldn’t end up good even if I manage to absorb it. It seems like there’s a mechanism that if you touch it, water spears will fly out, but if it’s separated from the main body, it’s just water for me. However if a lot of them flow at once, I won’t be able to absorb it as I’ll have a hard time with that.)

(Laune, you did well this time, but I’ll praise you later. There are enemies in that room, so don’t jump out because it’s dangerous.)

(Yes-nanodesu, I’ll keep quiet until Summoner-sama tells me to.)

Raquel-san (?) chided and Laune covers her mouth. Raquel-san smiles slightly and holds Laune with one hand. It seems that she will protect her.

(TLYN: Raquel was supposed to be left behind with Dite and Leslie though so I put [?])

How powerful is that water spear? ―I’ve seen the magic of a combat magician from a distance and it was not half-hearted. A trap of this scale would definitely be deadly if you were to be injured.This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

Plant spirits seem to be compatible with water spirits. In that case, with this compatibility, I can make up even a little for the big difference between the presence and absence of the combat training.

Maybe because of the water spirits’ magic, interference from outside the commander’s room is blocked so I can’t grasp what’s going on inside even if I touch the wall.

Here too, Presha-san took the task of taking the lead.

(As soon as you open the door, I will also grow my vine as fast as I can. With that, we can make sure that there are no traps.)

(Y-Yeah, I’ll leave it to you. Even if you will not do that, I’m a warrior in the end so I should be able to avoid it, I think.)

Immediately after opening the door, Arlaune’s vine grows into the interior space at a tremendous rate –as soon as we realize that no film of water has been set up, Presha-san moved forward, lowered herself and slipped inside.

“Y-You….what the hell…uh”

Presha-san questions the person inside. Her voice tells me that she does not understand the situation in front of her. We then went inside the room as well –then I saw a man who seemed to be the Commander sitting on the bed in the bedroom and a woman wearing a Zirconian military uniform was holding a dagger at his nape.

“…Noin Flores…”

A woman with light blue hair who was chosen by water spirit… However, her atmosphere is totally different from the time I had seen her at the Academy.

The Commander is already injured. Noin, who bathed in spurts of blood, wiped the blood on her cheeks with her free right hand. With the weak light of the torch in her background, she touched her glossy lips.

“…To pass through my “water mirror spear”. Even if I was told that you are a flop magician, you didn’t seem like you’re rotten to the core.”

She has a relaxed tone that resembles the murmuring of water but her words harbour clear malice and there’s a concealed sharpness that should not be left unguarded.

Why did she do something like attacking the Commander of this fort?

If that’s the case… she made that fog not to detect intruders but it was probably because she was within that fog and invaded here.

“You didn’t manage to take an exam but since you came here, I’ll assume you are qualified. Hey, you guys, do you want to trade with me? I think our interests match. Since you have the Princess with you, decision can be made here.”

Astina-denka did not answer. At such interval, Presha-san’s or Her Highness’ exceptional swordsmanship could have “reached” her but Her Highness did not even hold her sword.

“…I don’t trade, but depending on what you are here for, there is a room for conversation.”

“Fufufu… to have faith in people, it’s indeed natural for someone that pure. Truthfully, I’m not really envious of that.”

Her smile and even her words only seem to imply something in this situation. But I didn’t think that I couldn’t trust her at all. In fact, with her own hands, Noin aimed to seize our enemy, the Commander of Zirconia.

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