Through Fire and Water When Called

The instructions said to arrive as inconspicuously as possible and to bring the mage who had been with us.

So we decided to go with the same group as last time.

Finn and Orleans would stay behind at the duke's mansion.

It wouldn't be comfortable for them, but the city was in the middle of recovery work. There were no shops open where they could sit down, and it was dangerous.

With Finn there, I wasn't worried, but no need to invite trouble.

The three others and I headed to the site.

It was a ways from Alsarm's walls, so walking took some time.

"Hold up."

At Alexia's words, I stopped.

She extended her right hand, and her fingertips touched an invisible wall. Ripples spread through the air.

"There's a barrier from here on. Of course they'd have one, with the Elemental Stone stored here."

"They can't just leave it unprotected."

Even the fragment of the Earth Elemental Stone we'd received from the duke was kept safe with barriers set up by Elza and Alexia.

Thorough protection was only natural.

"If you pass through without knowing, you'll unconsciously head somewhere else. I'll temporarily deactivate it for when we pass through."

With her fingertip still on the invisible wall, Alexia closed her eyes and chanted a spell.

The ripples faded, and the invisible wall seemed to vanish.

So that's why they told me to bring a mage.

"Let's go."

We temporarily disabled the barrier and entered.

Once Elza at the rear passed through, ripples spread out and it returned to normal.

"How effective is this?"

"Unless you have some idea where you're going, you'd pass right by without noticing and find yourself drifting away from your destination before you knew it. I knew the original location, so I could tell roughly where it should be."

"Impressive."

"Why, thank you."

Alexia readily accepted my candid praise and seemed to be in a good mood.

Honestly, even with her explanation, all I understood was that it was a troublesome trick.

Best to leave specialist matters to my companions.

Supporting them was the most efficient approach.

"We should be close now."

"Should be, but…"

As Elza pointed out, we should be nearing the field we'd tilled.

The surroundings looked vaguely familiar.

Then I spotted something like an altar.

The Earth Elemental Stone sat enshrined upon it.

It seemed to glow a little more brightly than the last time I saw it.

Around it, a group wearing robes embroidered with Duke Baroba's crest were conducting some kind of investigation.

They were probably his retainer mages.

At the center, Duke Baroba stood gazing at the Earth Elemental Stone with a troubled expression.

"That was quick. They say a competent merchant has fast ears and feet."

"I try to be… I came as soon as I received the message. Did you need something from us?"

"Nothing in particular. Few people know of this place. I called you in case extra hands were needed."

"I see."

If this had been some unconnected noble, I might've wanted to grumble inwardly, but this was a valued customer.

I didn't mind a few odd jobs.

"I hear you helped with various rescue activities. You have my thanks."

"It was only what anyone would do."

"Lives of my city's people were at stake. Some were surely saved because of you."

Duke Baroba then received reports from the mages around him.

"I came to investigate, thinking this might be connected, but the Earth Elemental Stone is stable. No signs of intrusion either. I thought they might be trying to lure us here to pinpoint the location, so I waited, but that doesn't seem to be the case."

I'd thought there were an unusually large number of mages, but apparently he'd been thinking that far ahead.

Guards also stood near the duke.

Using himself as bait was unthinkable for most nobles, but it seemed very Duke Baroba.

With his daughter Lady Anatia, who could be a vulnerability, in the Royal Capital, he could act to the fullest.

"In areas where the Earth Elemental, or the Elemental Stone, exerts its influence, natural earthquakes don't occur. That's the conclusion reached by nations well-versed in magical studies. Meaning this was something artificial."

Saying this, Duke Baroba shifted his gaze from the Earth Elemental Stone to the east.

There stood that giant something, so tall it pierced the clouds, as if jammed into the ground.

"Do you have any idea what that is? It wasn't there before the earthquake."

"No. I haven't the faintest clue."

"I didn't expect you would. My subordinates and the scholars I summoned couldn't figure it out either… Though there was one who said something strange. A theologian, I believe?"

"Yes, that's correct."

One of the subordinates beside him answered.

"At first I thought it was an old man's ramblings… But with no other leads, I can't afford to dismiss it."

"What did the scholar say?"

"That it's a tower. Said to have existed in an age when gods still dwelt in this world."

"A tower…"

If that thing was a tower, that would make it a structure.

I'd heard tales of castles built overnight, but no one could construct a tower that enormous.

"Hard to believe."

"Indeed. But whether it's a tower or not, the fact that it's there is reality."

The duke seemed to think that tower was the cause of the earthquake.

The most likely possibility, the Earth Elemental Stone, wasn't the cause, and there was nothing else that could explain it.

"Fortunate or not, the military buildup served us well. Under normal circumstances, we wouldn't have been able to move."

After the previous assassination attempt, they'd demanded a formal explanation from the Church of the Sun God.

If the deadline passed without compliance, he'd lead an army to the Sun God's main temple.

But there was no sign of a response, and half the deadline had already passed.

So Alsarm had been rapidly bolstering its military, partly as a show of force.

A considerable number of troops were out handling the city's disaster relief, but they still had reserves.

"I've confirmed that the tower's location is right on the border. I think highly of your group's abilities. You'll accompany us, won't you?"

It seemed our collaboration at the auction and protecting Lady Anatia had earned us high marks.

A very attractive proposition for adventurers, but my actual profession was merchant.