In a city full of boorish-looking stone buildings in the middle of a basin surrounded by mountains, just a little distance from the city center, lay a circular tower which gave off a feeling of the history of the region.
Even though it was late at night, one of the rooms within was overflowing with light. Several women wearing white robes were busily working away within. Among them was one that could be called just a girl, and she stepped forth in front of the experimental sample they had prepared.
What looked like a white pelt was nailed down by its four corners on a level plank. The girl placed her hand atop its surface, not paying any mind to its texture. A pale red light poured out from her hand, and a pattern showed up atop the white pelt. It looked somewhat like a mix of a net and a vortex, and the girl stared intently at it.
One portion of the mana’s flow is interrupted. It’s either damage done to the sample, or simple deterioration... But considering this monster’s ecology... There is, for example, the possibility that it can’t operate independently...
“Your Highness. My apologies for interrupting your research.”
The researcher’s thoughts were brought to an end by one of her subordinates who just entered the room. The girl then lowered the hood of her robes, liberating her light-violet hair into the air with a flutter.
“How unfortunate. I was just starting to get a picture of it. So? What brings you here?”
Her disappointed expression swiftly changed to that of a dignitary doing her duty.
“It’s concerning the recent visit to the Kingdom by—”
The girl snatched the report out of her subordinate’s hand.
“...What? So that idiot Dagobahd got rejected by the princess? He’s all bark and no bite, I see.”
Even as she said that, the girl’s clever gaze scanned over the detailed report. And then, as if suddenly losing interest in it, she tossed the report on her desk.
“...Putting together the reports from Dagobahd, Vilar, and that man from the Kingdom, it seems there’s no need to make any major changes to the plan’s general framework.”
“Indeed. Prince Dagobahd returned in all haste, and was asking about the state of affairs of the Despair Mountains.”
“Oh, yes. It’s about time for Theta to start looking for prey...”
The girl pulled out another piece of paper. It was a report from the observatory located at the very top of the tower. A massive ley line that humanity could never set foot within ran next to this country. There were two thick circles drawn on the map in her hand. These indicated the movement paths of two lumps of mana. The fact that they could see them so clearly from such a distance meant that the specimens in question possessed a tremendous amount of mana.
“It’s just as we expected. We should have Dagobahd... Wait.”
“Your Highness?”
“It’s not just Theta... Beta’s patrol path is also changing.”
The specimen that posed a larger threat was beginning to wander towards the river.
“There shouldn’t be any ley lines capable of supporting its activities over there... No, wait a minute... They’ve also shown signs of instability in their ley lines, which means... Inform Dagobahd of these results. It may be interesting to have him spend a little more time in the Kingdom.”
“As you wish, Your Highness.”
The girl looked out the eastern window as her subordinate left. She could see a mountain range far off in the distance. A purple mist rising out of the mountain range like a heat haze was reflected in her golden eyes.
“I wonder if I could make more progress with my research if I went over there...?”