Spirit King (3)
As the head of Collingwood closes his eyes as if he’s coming.
Elena turned the thick book half a turn and opened it to us.
Where the thin finger was pointed, the income and expenses of the past year and the title were described in detail.
It is common sense for a family with a history and tradition to do so.
If there is no history and tradition, we write even harder to catch up with them.
However, the long line of diagrams was interrupted.
Without any special description, there was a column with only Collingwood’s seal stamped on it.
I wondered if it was an amount that was not worth writing down, but… The amount written next to it had a completely different number of digits.
At least 2 zeros compared to other items. At most, 3 more 0’s are attached.
“What, what is this? It’s going to be a year’s worth of operating expenses for any small or medium-sized estate…”
“Is Collingwood a lot of money?”
“Because this is literally a place to make money by digging…”
Gaze at my minions to silence them, then go to the page from last year.
Around the same time, a similar amount of money was spent without a name.
Elena, who turned her head heavily, said solemnly.
“That’s enough to get reagents for SS rank summons.”
“Three years ago, four years ago… Since when did this happen…”
How come there is no special investment and development in a topic that makes a lot of money.
Spending so much money every year wouldn’t have been possible.
The Duchess of Collingwood countered, seemingly unfair.
“That’s an expense that has been going on for five generations. Besides, it’s not uncommon to get a summoning reagent.”
“Five or five generations ago?”
“At least 100 years… before Collingwood even took possession of the spiritstone mine.”
Elena turns the page at Medusha’s words and checks it.
Of course, at that time, the income was not as high as it is now.
As Kaju said, procuring reagents for summoning is an annual event of the summoning nobles.
But even so, the amount was too large and too old.
Most of all, it is reluctant that the title is not properly described.
“If it was really used to purchase a summoning reagent, why is it not recorded?”
“…it’s part of a secret project our family has been working on for a long time.”
The Marquis, who barely swallowed the words that it was too much to delve into more than this.
I’m definitely a bit sorry.
Moreover, it is hard to believe that Collingwood had planned an act of rebellion at least five generations ago.
However, it would be ridiculous to not investigate until the very end, even though we have dug up to this point.
Eshas would not be satisfied with this.
When Elena silently asked for an explanation, the Marquis sighed and asked us in reverse.
“If you’re going to listen, please swear an oath of secrecy.”
“If it’s an oath…”
“It’s a pledge to be fair in the inspection. If the facts I tell you are leaked, I promise you that I will take responsibility under the name of the family.”
I think it’s a bit too much for us who came under Eshas’ orders…
In fact, the position of the Marquis is not to be understood.
Elena, unable to do this or that at the other’s words, is confused.
Even the name of the family was mentioned, so it was beyond the scope that she could judge on her own.
My heart trembles a little when I call the name of El Cloud.
The promise made under the name of the family is that heavy.
To put it bluntly, a family is everything to a nobleman.
But in order to convince the Marquis, there is nothing he can do.
I took the first step in place of Elfriede, who was hesitating while checking his eyes.
“As the current head of state, I swear under the name of El Cloud. As long as the facts I will learn from now do not affect the stability of El Cloud and the kingdom, I promise to keep the secret no matter what.”
“As the heir of Beltern…”
A marquise who was visibly satisfied even though he deliberately put conditions on it.
I’m worried that I’ve been watching Laurie since before.
If the Collingwood family secret is related to the spirits, right?
Reading my gaze, she nodded slightly.
“Actually, I wanted to ask Count Elcloud for help someday.”
“Anything related to spirits…”
“Of course. In the first place, it was to fulfill our family’s wish to occupy the spirit stone mine. So shall we move?”
The Marquis, with a slightly refreshed expression on her face, left the office and headed upstairs.
At the end of the corridor guarded by the soldiers, there is a spiral stone staircase leading to the spire.
As I climbed the steep but old place and opened the thick door, a space that seemed to be used for research on summoning appeared.
Collingwood’s characteristic weak sunlight seeps through the narrow window and illuminates the dust in the air.
The marquis who unlocked several locks entered first.
As we went straight ahead, the first thing we noticed was a map that filled one wall.
Even if you look closely, the terrain is different from this area.
The size is large, but the content is detailed and clear.
“Is it a dimensional map?”
“It’s large, but it’s very informative. There’s nothing more detailed than this in our family’s library.”
As a single summoner, when I honestly admired her, the Marquis smiled and turned to me.
“You three, have you studied the art of summoning spirits enough? We are proud that our family’s research is as good as the academy.”
“What, it’s really well made.”
A work recognized even by the spirit itself, Lori.
It must be the result of a very long time and ability melted away.
The marquis pointed to the map on the wall and continued the explanation without delay.
“This map was completed about 80 years ago. And it was updated a year ago. As for the results, the topography of the Spirit Realm has hardly changed in 80 years.”
“Yes? Well, that’s about 80 years, ah…”
Persia, who had spoken rather hastily, kept her words as she recalled the scenery of the spirit world.
A waterfall on one side and a volcano on the other.
It is certainly strange that there is no change even though the different terrains are intermingled.
If there was such a topography in a normal dimension, it would have changed in less than a year.
“Then is someone controlling the environment?”
It looks like you’ve got a little bit of an eyebrow. Persia, who surprises the Marquis.
She opened her eyes wide and nodded slightly.
“We see it that way. The manager of the spirit world… Beings with divine powers control the environment and create spirits. Within the family, it is called the Spirit King for convenience.”
I know that Collingwood’s theory has been advocated several times in the academia of elemental summoning, but…
It failed to prove its existence each time.
Before Laurie and Ethel were summoned right away, I thought there were no spirits with human-level intelligence.
“Are you saying you haven’t seen it yet?”
“Yes. There are many other proofs of existence.”
“Laurie. Do you know?”
The guy who responds promptly when I ask carefully.
“Well. We don’t reproduce like you do… you know that spirits occur naturally, right?”
“There is a possibility that it may not have been discovered simply because the cycle of activity is very long. The records discovered by Her Majesty the Princess are expenses for research on the King of Spirits.”
From n̲o̲b̲l̲e̲m̲t̲l̲.̲c̲o̲m̲
Just as El Cloud was looking for the Demon King, did Collingwood also search for the Spirit King?
It is certainly not uncommon among the summoning nobles.
It is natural to pursue powerful summons from generation to generation.
The Marquis looked a little disappointed at Laurie’s answer, but her existence itself was a kind of innovation, so she still did not give up hope.
Medusha, who was looking at the achievements achieved in the process of pursuing the Spirit King, has a strange expression on her face.
“I didn’t know there would be other family members besides Ethel… Shall we try it?”
“exam?”
“I said that doing something like that king seems to control the environment. Then, if you push the spirit world to the brink of destruction, won’t it appear?”
A radical solution, as always.
I hurriedly turned around, fearing that Laurie would readily agree, but…
In fact, she shook her head with a puzzled expression.
“annoying.”
“That, that…”
“Laurie. If there was such a guy, he might be of strength to Lewis…”
“I told you it bothered me! All right, I’m leaving.”
Laurie suddenly gets angry and goes down the stairs.
In fact, the problem is even if the Spirit King exists… Laurie and Ethel must have thought that there was no other family until now.
They didn’t express it separately, but they lived quite a long time.
In the spirit world, there were few significant stimuli, so he was only young in mental age.
The ecology of the spirits is said to be very different from that of ordinary creatures, but…
It’s like they’ve been left unattended since they were born, but when they show up as parents now, it’s quite a pain in the ass.
Medusha, who understood this belatedly, had a slightly apologetic expression on her face.
I apologized to the weedy Marquis and escaped the lab.
She seems to have prepared an ambitious plan in her own way, but Laurie was so jealous that she couldn’t even talk about it properly.
Laurie, sitting not far away, finds me and begs me to buy snacks in the village below the castle.
We wanted to pretend that nothing happened, so we happily hang out together, and it wasn’t long before it was night.
While we were playing outside, Elena, after completing the investigation, called me with a communication card.
The result of the inspection is, of course, no accusation.
At least in terms of the flow of money, it is innocent.
Of course, external forces such as Einclad may have applied the reagent, and Collingwood may have only cooperated…
As I thought last time, Collingwood lacks ability.
‘Honestly, Collingwood only has money and mines…’
With a little bit of apologetic thoughts, he greeted the headmaster and then moved to the dormitory for field training.
Medusha and Laurie reconciled quietly.
“Oh my God, Collingwood wouldn’t be the culprit either… Elena. If there is no suspicion, make one.”
“Well, that’s a bit…”
“Master. I’m really glad that Medusha unnie is on our side.”
“Piyoot!”
Letty strongly sympathizes with Persia’s words.
I tried to nod my head, but I stopped receiving the person’s gaze.
The main inspection of this trip was completed on the first day, but the field training was a whopping two weeks.
Thanks to this, we had a free time from the next day.
I could have toured the Elemental Stone Mine like other students, but I had a memory of being buried last time, so I stopped.
Even Elena doesn’t seem to want to go in twice.
“Other training must be hard on my body. I also hate mining towns.”
“Just relax and go. Louise, let’s go into the room.”
“Yes…”
“Master, are you okay?”
At Persia’s concern, he quickly shook his head in denial.
As much as the sleeping time has increased, the mock battle with the Demon Lord has also been lengthened.
Now, the win rate has risen to more than half and half, but the simulation battles against other ancient dragons such as the Magic Eye Dragon and the Red Dragon have also begun.
The Demon King seemed to have a lot of experience in combat, and he made difficult yet realistic opponents every time.
These days, it’s annoying that the aftertaste is added from time to time.
Still, like it or not, the clock doesn’t stop.
The passage of time is the same even in dreams.
“Actually, you can increase the feeling time, but… it will put a lot of pressure on you. It’s not too slow, so let’s not overdo it.”
‘thanks.’
“Thank you.”
Arriving at the train station, chatting inwardly.
Medusha, tired of the stone dust, tries to occupy the special room, but the line leading to the platform hardly shrinks.
Staff were blocking boarding in front of the bustling students who wanted to go back soon.
“What? Is there something wrong with it?”
“Suspended! Today’s routes are all suspended! Everyone, please go back to your accommodation!”
“Huh?”
Students who follow instructions while showing bewildered expressions.
If you look closely, the student council and lead professors are also participating in the control.
Of course, Medusha had no intention of going away quietly.
The guy who drilled the road with Elfriede asks as if he’s going to eat the conductor.
“What happened all of a sudden!”
“Ah, Medusa-sama. Elfriede-sama… I don’t know the details either. A unilateral notice came from the family…”
“Hmm.”
Elfriede, who took out the communication card without delay, exchanged a few words in the corner of the rapidly empty platform.
After a while, she came back with a hard expression and made a heavy announcement.
“Currently, Maanryong reappears in the southern provinces. This time it’s relatively out of town, so they’re fighting a delayed battle.”
“Aren’t you incarnation again this time anyway? What are you going to do if you just need to get rid of it quickly…”
“No.”
I said as I watched some of the professors who had finished controlling them board the train.
Eolin, who has just narrowed the distance, receives my words.
“I’m going to delay the battle and take time, and I’m going to reverse summon it right before I use Dimensional Summoning. I’m forcing the Magic Eye Dragon to fight in a row.”
“Ah, is it already finished?”
“The dean’s standards are high, but it’s a technique that’s already been completed? Come on, you too, get on the train quickly. And take good care of me.”
Eolin, who relaxed with a smile and relaxed, jumped into my arms.
We set off to the battlefield in a heavy atmosphere.