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“The Gargoyles have flown quite a distance. It seems chasing them down would be dangerous.”

Jenis said, peering into the orb of her staff. Rose nodded beside her, sneaking glances at the crimson crystal orb.

“Does that orb really show such things? Weren’t we previously blocked from seeing the enemy’s detailed troop setup by the Demon King’s Army’s interference magic? No, this isn’t even a true reflection of reality, is it?”

Surprisingly, Jenis’s orb not only reflected the appearance of the enemies but also displayed a sort of simulation screen showing the troop formations of the enemy in symbols used by the imperial army on a map.

“The physical difficulty is different since we’re looking from outside the Demon King’s Army’s occupied territory, as opposed to peering in from the Magic Tower. And if an unsuitable person used it, it wouldn’t be able to adjust what the orb shows by itself. What you see in this orb is something I’ve processed a bit to make it easier to understand. It seems I have a knack for this…”

“It’d be troublesome if you didn’t have that knack. After all, the Great Sage’s Staff chose you for a reason.”

Walter, removing his glasses and putting them in his pocket, chimed in. Rose playfully said to Walter,

“You don’t need those glasses anymore, do you?”

“Right? I was thinking of selling them at a pawn shop to contribute to the war funds.”

Walter joked lightly while gazing into Jenis’s orb. As he scrutinized the enemy troop formations displayed in the orb, he let out a deep sigh.

“It’s certainly going to be difficult to wipe them out if they’re escaping this proficiently. Looks like they’re fully prepared for a delaying battle. It’s funny how those who can’t fight properly still know how to fight well…”

“We can’t drag this northern campaign out for a thousand years. We have to settle it by next year.”

“It won’t be easy at this pace. It seems reinforcements keep coming in from beyond the eastern mountains. Unless we’re not just a small guerrilla unit, it’ll be hard to cross the mountains and attack the enemy.”

“Though we did manage to take down the Lich Lord that way not too long ago.”

“There are a lot of middle management types that got scattered. Still, the fact that we can stay ahead in information is a huge advantage. Thanks, Jenis Harker. I’ve always thought it would be nice to carry this orb around for the sake of war.”

“By the way, there’s something I wanted to ask the Hero…”

Jenis waved her hand, searching the orb and changing the red orb’s display. Walter and Rose watched her manipulate the orb with expressions as if they were witnessing a new invention of a new generation.

If Jeongjae had seen this, it might have felt oddly familiar to her, in many ways. Especially in this continent, only Jeongjae would have felt that way.

“Ah, this! What do you think this is?”

What Jenis showed in front of the Hero was an image of an empty lot. Walter frowned and shook his head.

“I don’t know what you’re implying.”

“Put on your glasses. You might be able to see something.”

Walter obediently took the Great Sage’s advice, pulled out his glasses, and looked into the orb again. For a moment, he frowned in confusion, but soon his expression changed as if he had discovered something.

“It’s a powerful stealth magic circle. Whose work is this?”

“It seems similar to that of the Eramenia army. They might be able to remotely dispel it from here, but if they reveal our movements, who knows what will happen…”

Walter pondered Jenis’s valid point for a moment. If they could use such a powerful stealth magic circle, it was highly likely that quite a capable mage was involved.

The Great Sage’s skills are renowned, and while they could indeed dispel the stealth magic from afar, it stood to reason that a skilled mage would notice if their own magic circle was destroyed.

“Should we just wait and see? I have a feeling that a Lich unit is likely hiding out there. After all, that area beyond the mountain used to be the base where the Lich Lord was stationed… The Demon King’s Army likely sent in a replacement, right?”

“A replacement for the Lich Lord? That would’ve been quite hard to find. Is there any possibility it could be the Succubus Queen herself?”

“I looked into that, but it seems the Succubus Queen has likely retreated safely to the Demon King’s Castle by herself. Maybe the Demon King wants to keep her close… or something like that?”

“Perhaps she can’t be absent from the Demon King’s Castle due to political issues. Anyway, if it’s not the Succubus Queen, I have no idea what could maintain such a magic circle. A Dragon would be too insignificant for such a thing.”

“Yeah, it’s a bit pathetic for a Dragon.”

While Jenis and Walter were engaged in a heated discussion, nearby Rose and Bernard stared blankly into space, unable to keep up with the train of conversation. In the meantime, Walter continued adjusting his glasses, pondering how to deal with the already strange problem.

After about five minutes of contemplation, Walter adopted a resolute expression and instructed Jenis.

“Dispel it. I really don’t have a good feeling about this. We need to see what’s hidden in there.”

“Understood. Then, as you command.”

With that, Jenis closed her eyes and waved her hand above the orb’s crystal once. In that instant, a red light shot up into the sky like a flare from the Great Sage’s Staff, soaring in an arc toward the north.

Rose blinked blankly and asked,

“What was that just now?”

“It was a dispel spell. As I said, we’re planning to kill everyone.”

“How am I to tell whether that’s a dispel or a bomb mana projectile if a visible mass of mana flies up like that? I’m worried they might restart the battle.”

Bernard, who had been silently watching, grumbled. Walter sighed, still watching the red orb flying up into the sky.

“If a fight breaks out, we’ll have to immediately deploy the cavalry. After all, even the enemy likely won’t charge in just because of that. So, let’s just watch…”

A moment later, the dispel spell launched by Jenis fell to the ground, and a bright red flare burst forth far off in the north. Seeing this, Jenis was convinced that the dispel had worked properly and shifted her gaze back to the orb.

“Now, let’s see what was hidden. Abracadabra… Ta-da!”

“That strange incantation isn’t necessary… Huh?”

Walter’s expression, who was about to mock Jenis, slowly began to harden. Jenis’s expression likewise transformed into a complicated mix of confusion and dread.

Seeing the seriousness in their expressions, Rose peered into the orb, but she tilted her head with an expression that clearly conveyed she didn’t understand anything.

“That’s an enormous wagon. What is it?”

Rose asked. Jenis, wearing a puzzled look on her face, seemed unsure how to respond. Walter studied Jenis’s complexion for a moment, then raised his head and answered.

“Honestly, I’m not sure either, but if my speculation is correct, then this is… um…”

As Rose mentioned, what was hidden in the stealth magic circle was a gigantic wagon. It’s not weird for a wagon to be on a battlefield. In fact, it’s almost expected.

However, it’s strange for that wagon to be hidden under a meticulously crafted stealth magic circle. In a normal situation, there would be no reason to hide a wagon meant for transporting military supplies using magic.

And if that hidden wagon was filled not with weapons or provisions, but rather with flickering, strange glass tubes, that’s even weirder…

“Moriarty Machine. That’s definitely the name I’ve heard before.”

Walter said. Jenis, with a confused expression, moved her eyes back and forth and asked Walter,

“Hero, I feel like I’ve seen this somewhere before…”

“Don’t go on about it. Harker’s trick. This is a sensitive issue. If the Demon King’s Army has completed such a machine with its own technology…”

In the image displayed by Jenis, numerous Orcs were bustling around the machine as if responding to the sudden dispel magic that had fallen, with Walter seemingly estimating the wagon’s size by lifting his hand to compare it with the Orcs and the wagon’s size ratio.

“It’s a massive wagon. 15 meters by 20 meters… Hmm, extraordinarily large. It isn’t the finished product. It’s certainly still in early stages of development.”

“Hey, Hero. I need an explanation. What the hell is this?”

Jenis said in a slightly trembling voice. The very reason Jenis left Jeongjae to come to the Magic Tower was to study and analyze a device that was very similar to this. That day, although she failed to uncover the machinery hidden beneath Harriet Castle, she had gleaned one important fact after studying it for quite some time.

The output of the demonic abilities illuminating the underground of Harriet Castle was tied to the light of the bulbs that were inside those tubes. A very secret magic device that had not been publicly revealed even in the Empire or the Magic Tower. However, learning that the Demon King’s Army was operating a device similar to this, and Walter appearing to know what it was even when Rose had no idea made it something that certainly couldn’t be overlooked as a Great Sage.

“Right… That makes sense. Jenis Harker, I’ll get straight to the point. That’s likely a mimicry of something you’ve seen before. And that thing’s nature is a storage device for pure mana—a kind of battery and output device. Wait, calm down.”

At the moment Walter uttered the words ‘storage device,’ Jenis looked as if her eyes were about to pop out in shock and gaped. Rose and Bernard’s expressions also mirrored a sense of surprise, though not quite as intense as Jenis’s.

The first to voice a dissent was Rose.

“Hold on, Walter, I may be ignorant when it comes to mana science, but I know that’s impossible. If a technology were to store pure mana, then why on earth would we operate our artillery using mana? That’d be the pinnacle of firepower, changing the direction of the war entirely.”

“That’s true. I have heard about it, and they said such a technology was impossible.”

Bernard jumped in to support Rose’s point. Walter shook his head, removing his glasses.

“It seems it was a limit for this world. A mathematical genius from another world ultimately completed the formula for storing mana. I’m sorry. I’m not an expert in mana science, so I may not be too knowledgeable about the scholarly aspects. But as I’ve said, according to what I’ve heard, the storage device’s name is Moriarty Machine.”

“Moriarty…”

“It’s an unknown weapon that the previous Demon King completed and that the current Demon King is attempting to restore. Until now, aside from me, there has been no one in this world aware of its existence.”

“Who is that? A professor?”

Jenis asked, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. Walter shook his head with a grim expression.

“That’s your father, Jenis. There are complicated circumstances. I will explain what I can later, but I fear there may not be time for details right now.”

“So it was my father. I thought there would be a lot he was hiding. He’s completely suspicious. If any of my parents are vampires, then it would definitely be from my father’s side.”

“Let’s refrain from making such dangerously subtle remarks, and for now, just listen to what I have to say.”

Walter raised his trembling hand toward Rose, Bernard, and Jenis. Rose nodded, indicating that she was ready to listen.

“Go ahead, Walter.”

“That thing is dangerous. The weapon itself is dangerous, but merely the existence of it being revealed could create significant turmoil for the Empire. I don’t plan to hide it forever, but the fact that a battery capable of storing mana exists and that the enemy is operating it must be kept under wraps for the time being.”

“I understand.”

Jenis nodded and replied. As part of the mages, she could easily estimate the extent of disruption and turmoil such a weapon’s existence would bring to the entire Magic Tower.

“Jenis, I believe the stealth magic circle is the maximum safely generated by that massive machine. Seeing that the Orcs still haven’t been able to reactivate it tells us all we need to know.”

“It seems they just don’t have the size advantage.”

Thinking back to a similar machine that output a significantly larger amount of magic power even though it was only a fraction of the size found in the underground of Harriet Castle, Jenis spoke. It seemed Walter had a moment of realization as he nodded in agreement with the Great Sage’s words.

“In other words, that machine itself won’t pose a significant threat for now. However, we must absolutely destroy it right now before the enemy moves that wagon or responds defensively. We can’t hide the duty from the military, so it must be done very secretly and swiftly.”

“I understand, Hero.”

Jenis said firmly, gripping her staff tightly.

“I will deal with a swift airstrike. Please have the rescue team on standby just in case.”

With that, Jenis assumed a ready stance to take off and spread her dual wings wide. Despite the sudden mission, she looked remarkably composed.

 

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