Evelyn’s Ring Chapter 4
It had already been a week since the incident where Evelyn arrived at the harbor for Pite.
The land was in turmoil at the news of this unprecedented incident. In a state of emergency, the magic department had assigned every person to the missing persons case. These scholars, who were usually on their desks, put aside their tasks and went out on the field. Because of this Evelyn had to go through some difficulties to meet her mentor.
Tsk tsk, kids these days have no fear. And with no thought and no concept of logic on top of that. Can they not just make it look like they are searching for those missing and just call it a day? If we just accept this loss this one time, it would do good in increasing caution to the people.
After hearing the full explanation of the case, Evelyn clicked her tongue and furrowed her brows but at the thought of the white-haired head of the magic lab, who lived their life covered in books breaking a sweat using searching magic, she couldn’t help but feel a little bad.
-We cannot find them like this, captain. They were sucked into the gate, so we have no way of knowing how far they flew away. It would take longer than a year searching all over Berline like this. They would have already died of starvation by the time we find them. And it would be over if they found a monster in the passageway.
-Do you have a method in mind?
-Well, we can’t overturn the land with a shovel, so why don’t we first restrict the search area within the passage.
-How? We cannot detect passageways that are used by monsters before the gate is opened.
-Precisely. We wait in an area where monsters focus their hauntings, then as soon as the gate opens, we fire searching magic into it. The passages are usually like spiderwebs, so we have to hope that the troublemakers are somewhere where the passage leads to. If the other side is already open and the kids were thrown out in an area where S rank monsters roam, then it’s all over.
If that was the case, then we wouldn’t even be able to find a shard of bone. If we cannot find the bodies in the end, will it be a permanent missing persons case? Captain Vilope furrowed his brows a little as he calmly muttered about the endless terrible possibilities that could happen.
-We can’t do the search radius like we are doing now either. We have to limit it to a few magic spells. If they were fledgling mages, then they would have tried to at least do something, so we have to search for traces of spells they would have used. Maybe like light, basic attack spells, and cloud creation? All a mid-level mage could do to absorb moisture with nothing around would be just that. In any case, it would be closer to finding them logically than to just aimlessly look for them.
-I guess. It would be more effective than just looking around, but…
-Yes, it is wishing for a fluke. It’s not like all the passageways are connected and maintaining searching magic for at least a couple of days is not something that anybody can just do. Even then, if we manage to find traces of the children, it would not be easy to head inside and rescue them. But if I was the one responsible for them…
Evelyn, who was pondering hard for a way to rescue the kids, made a bitter face and closed her mouth. Her smart and quick brain just finished another calculation. Among the workers of the magic department, the number of advanced mages that could maintain a long-form spell was just seventy, while the number of checkpoints for areas where there is a concentration of monsters is over eighty. Even through basic calculations, the numbers wouldn’t work.
Then the chance for Evelyn, who was not even an official worker yet, to be deployed in the plan was high. Oh my, I rode a boat for ten days and just landed…
Captain Vilope guessed the reason for Evelyn closing her mouth and gave her an apologetic awkward smile yet he did not tell her that she was exempt. This has become a situation where they needed to borrow help from a cat.
-Captain. For the children who make trouble risking their lives, I think that we have to reply in kind to their bravery. I am saying that we should honor their will so that they can face death with pride.
-Evelyn.
-Haa… But until we find those children, the captain and the other workers’ struggle won’t end, so that is why I am begrudgingly lending a helping hand. And because I am not yet officially part of the magic department, please calculate my hourly labor cost. I really can’t do this for free.
Evelyn, who was holding out, only got up when the minister of magic came with a contract and signed it. For Evelyn, who, even among 8th circle mages, had a lot of mana, using searching magic was not that difficult but because she had to go to school during the day, no matter how far she went, she had to return to the city before the sun rose and that was taxing on her body. It was inevitable that she would be annoyed.
“Those bastard children anyways…”
Evelyn, who was opening her mouth without any hesitation, gave a look of disgust but then softened her tone after making eye contact with Count Leihil who was calmly chastising her. I get it, dad. Educated and elegant.
“Those kids probably have never gotten a talking to because they are so young… If I break so much as a fingernail, I will sue their parents for damages. I am not yet a full employee and the value of an 8th circle mage is high. Even if they don’t receive punishment, if their parents bear the financial brunt, they probably won’t act out so much. Father, please provide help on that front.”
“I shall be prepared.”
“There is a precedent, so winning wouldn’t be hard right? The magic department even promised to go as hard as they can against the parents. That should be damaging enough even for an average noble.”
“Even with no precedent, a win shouldn’t be hard.”
I was desperate for an answer from Count Leihil, but he was very trustworthy. He was not someone that would talk about something he could not do. Evelyn, who was laughing loudly, heard the bell and quickly got up. How the time flies!
“I’ll be back for school! No, I can’t come back right away… Anyways, I will be back before the sun rises again!”
“Evelyn. Are you really okay?”
When Cecilia followed Evelyn to the door out of worry, Evelyn calmly lied without even flinching. It ate at her conscience a little but for everyone’s peace, it had to be done.
“Of course. I’m fine.”
Evelyn, who got through the day through sheer force of will, suddenly got a headache before her last class and bit her lip. It was a sign that she was reaching the limits of her stamina. Ah, this isn’t good. What do I do? I came to school for this class so I can’t just skip… I should just head to the lecture room ahead of time and get some shut-eye.
Evelyn, who was walking as fast as she could, greeted Ian Maxwell, whom she knew well since they were young. She used all her might to conceal the fact that she had a headache. If Ian finds out, then the news will find its way to mother who might go into a state of blind rage. Cecilia, who goes into a blind rage when something happens to her only daughter, going after the one that made her daughter struggle is a certainty, and it becomes troublesome if she heads to the magic department to burn it to the ground.
The reason for Cecila, who could use 7th circle magic, not becoming a mage was because of her temper. To stop my mother from exploding, I have to manage through my interaction with Ian as smooth as possible.
“Kyren, say hello. This is count Leihil’s daughter, Miss Evelyn.”
She turned her head to look at the person Ian was introducing, but before she could take in their appearance, a loud sound made her look up. The sky that was fine just a moment before, opened up and bore its inner flesh and opened its mouth. She became more anxious.
Time until the gate opens and monsters come out is not even 15 seconds… Huh, how dare you brazenly rear your head where a bunch of high levels are strewn across the city? Trying to die. I shall burn you up if I so much as see a foot emerge. No, it would be dangerous for the people if they fall while on fire, so would it be better to freeze them here?
Evelyn, who was pondering for a moment, suddenly felt faint mana and opened her mouth. The searching magic I used ! It really succeeded in finding them!
“Damn it!”
That means that the children are somewhere where the passageway connects… That means that we cannot kill the monster right away. If the monster that opened the gate dies, then that gate disappears without a trace.
Evelyn quickly organized her thoughts while keeping eye contact with the gate. Keeping people safe is a must, the monster’s movements must be restricted while still alive, and we have to keep the gate open by keeping the monster alive. There is a chance that the monster will hide once they feel a mage’s energy, so everything must be done within 3 seconds.
Evelyn, who quickly checked her surroundings after she finished making the calculations, made an upset face. A barrier needed to be set up so that the people don’t get swept up in it, but Ian and his friend were too close. There was no time for them to move outside the danger radius, and she didn’t have enough energy to teleport them using spatial magic.
To make matters worse, Ian could only use 1st circle magic like conjuring a candle-like light in a dark place. There was no time to analyze it thoroughly, but she couldn’t feel mana of any quality from him.
“These damn useless bastards!”
After swearing a little, Evelyn cast a barrier with the gate at its center. Then she made another barrier that was just big enough to cover the two males, but because she was trying to conserve her energy, the barrier came out smaller than she expected. She couldn’t even consider it’s robustness. At this rate, the barrier would break if they took even one step to the side… There were many things she wanted to say, but unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time.
“Don’t even breathe too hard!”
After quickly and rudely spitting out warnings, Evelyn flew into the sky like the wind. She then managed to grab the tail of a monster that poked its head out of the gate, but quickly tried to turn back. It was an A rank monster that was big and strong enough to almost snap her wrist, but thankfully, perhaps due to an attack from a high circle mage’s attack, it was covered with damage.
[Strap! Stop! Enlarge!]
Evelyn, who quickly restrained its limbs, forcefully opened the fate that was starting to close, now that it had done its job. She glanced down below to see Ian and his friend standing relatively calm and still.
Nice, they seem to have some courage. Now that the monster’s breathing is restricted, they will be fine even if the barrier breaks. After concluding that they were safe, Evelyn jumped into the gate. Now the problem was escaping before the monster dies… Suddenly, a strong, raw energy started to press down on her from somewhere. It was hard to even take a step.
It was not her first time in a monster’s passageway, but she was unusually feeling weak today and it was hard for her to bear. Maybe I am indeed not feeling so good. Evelyn, barely managing to suppress the urge to throw up, calmed her breathing and calmly cast a spell.
[Search]
It took exactly 10 minutes to find the passed out kids. Evelyn finally let out a sigh of relief after confirming that they were alive. Of course, her gaze while looking down at them was anything but pleasant.
“As always, it’s the slightly dummer ones that create problems. What kind of omni directional shame is this, you guys. Do you even know the cost of the people that you are using?”
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