Chapter 170 - To The Topaz Guild

“It’s installation-type magic. It’s automatically maintained until it goes off after the installation. If I have plenty of time, I can install more than that,” Azriel said.

“Maintained? Isn’t m-magic not maintained when your concentration is broken?” startled, Lexina asked.

As Lexina said, conjuring worked that way. However, the magic that Azriel learned was different. Azriel loosely made up a story. “It’s okay with me. You can test me if you want.”

Lexina covered her mouth to calm her astonishment. Exclamations such as “oh my” and “goodness” slipped out in a low voice. She said in a broken voice, “I was going to ask you to join the team that identifies potential targets. We need a lot of wizards, too.”

“Isn’t it simple to identify unnamable mana? You can identify it by contact,” Azriel said.

Any wizard who could sense mana could distinguish. They only needed to learn the characteristics of unnamable mana ahead of time.

“It’s simple, but it wears out our members easily. There’s a limit to their mana capacity,” Lexina said.

“Oh…”

It was a story unrelated to Azriel as she barely felt the limit of her mana capacity even if she did not draw external mana to use it. Lexina sighed and continued, “In any case, the more urgent matter is the stakeout. Furthermore, the installation of alarm magic on all of the target people in Modjankle would be extremely helpful.”

Taking out a sheet of paper and a pen, she quickly jotted down something and stamped a seal. “I will temporarily hire you as a wizard of the Topaz Guild, Miss Esthera. This is a letter of introduction. If you go to the guild, they’ll give you an employment contract right away.”

“Thank you, Lady,” Azriel said.

“No, it looks like we are the ones who must thank you. Do you have anything that you need?” Lexina asked.

“There are materials necessary to install alarm magic. I need crystal, glass, marble processed into flat pieces, dyes, and so on,” Azriel said.

“You can request it from the guild. They’ll acquire all the necessities soon. Anything else?”

Cautiously, Azriel asked, “May I ask how you guessed that a member of the empire’s direct royal family is behind this?”

“Hm…” Lexina thought for a second. “When the people we’ve been watching disappear, we can check where they went missing almost immediately. There’s something we learned by gathering information.”

“What is it?” Azriel asked.

“It’s the common trace of mana that was left in the site,” Lexina explained.

Azriel was startled. Since mana was individual, a trace of mana was no different than the fingerprint of a wizard. “Then, you must be almost sure of who the culprit is. That’s hard proof.”

“It’s a little tricky because all of them are tied to external mana, not the internal mana of a specific person,” Lexina refuted with a darkened face. “You would know what that means, Miss Esthera.”

‘Traces of magic… However, it’s the mana from nature, not someone’s internal mana… Something that could leave such a trace is…’

“…They must’ve used an ancient relic,” Azriel observed. ‘Someone who used the relic with ancient magic in it, or Rhema Reshith.’ Azriel grasped her hands under the table. A chill ran down her spine.

Lexina quietly continued, “The ones who have relics the most are the Talasin royals.”

“Isn’t it difficult to suspect them just because they hold a lot of relics? Is there any trackable trace left with a specific relic?” Azriel asked.

“You know it well. That’s right,” Lexina said.

“Do you know what that relic is?” Azriel asked.

“We don’t know what it is, but we know who uses it.” Lexina had a serious look on her face. “By any chance, have you heard the rumor that has been going around San Triae for several years?”

There was no way that Azriel knew a rumor going around the capital of Talasin.

When Azriel shook her head, Lexina lowered her voice. “There is a rumor that an evil spirit roams San Triae.”

“An evil… spirit?” Azriel asked.

“Yes. Among the high-ranking nobles of Talasin, there are a lot who have died or become disabled by accidents or illness,” Lexina explained.

“Are you saying that it’s an evil spirit’s doing?” Azriel asked.

“Yes. People are saying that it’s the deep-seated grudge of the victims of the wars that Talasin has started so far.” Lexina twisted and raised the corner of her mouth.