“We can’t tell yet. Not unless we take detailed measurements,” said Ix, forcing himself to remain calm. “Y-yeah, of course…” Shuno nodded a few times. “Right, so what do we do? Go back to the monastery and…grab our tools?” “Yeah, let’s do that,” said Ix. “But c’mon, that’s the only thing it could be.” Ix and Shuno continued this vague back-and-forth for a while. Both of them were struggling to take it all in. They had entered the passage with a glimmer of hope, of course, but they weren’t prepared for a discovery of this magnitude. They thought they were just going for a little stroll. Ultimately, they concluded they should head back to the monastery for the time being, so they rushed toward the door. But Ix came to a halt in front of it. “What’s wrong? Do you want to check it out a bit more before we go?” asked Shuno from behind him. “No…” His eyes drifted skyward as he spoke. “You’re the one who opened the door, right, Shuno?” “Yeah, it was me.” “Did you push it open?” “Yeah, you have to push it, since there’s not a doorknob…,” said Shuno, trailing off. There was a silence as Shuno waited for Ix to contradict what they said. “W-w-wait, Ix, you can’t be telling me…” Ix let out a slight sigh and flatly said, “Yeah. There’s no doorknob on this side, either.” 2 Every attempt to open the door failed. That being said, there weren’t all that many methods to try out in the first place. The entrance was completely flush with the wall. There was nowhere to grab onto it with your fingers. Even when they tried slipping their hands through the holes in the door, their knuckles wouldn’t fit. They could get their fingertips to wrap around to the other side, but that didn’t let them apply enough force to open the door. Ix wondered if Shuno could do something with magic, but when he asked them, all they said was, “With how heavy it is… Uh, I-I’m not sure…,” so Ix dropped it there. If Shuno ran out of mana, then they wouldn’t even be able to light the candle. They struggled with the door for about an hour, but it gave no indication of budging. They could find no avenue of escape, almost as though the room had been designed to trap them. At first, Ix had managed to keep cool, but as it dawned on him that there was no way out, a disgusting sweat began to run down his forehead. While he did manage to keep his panic from showing, that was primarily because Shuno was doing enough for the both of them. “C-c-c-calm down, Ix. It’s all over if we lose control. We have to, have to keep calm. We got in here, so there’s got to be some way out. And besides, I bet someone will pass through the corridor while we’re in here,” said Shuno while nodding furiously. “Down this tunnel?” “Sh-shut up. Do you want to help or not?” “Of course I want to help.” “Then stop being so pessimistic. Just wait—I’ll come up with a way to get us out of here…” Ix looked around. It was even more silent down here than it was aboveground. He realized he was still wearing the outfit he’d gone to sleep in. He didn’t even have a coat on. And even though he’d just shot down Shuno’s hope of someone coming to their rescue, they really had no other options but to wait for that to happen, since there was no way for them to open the door themselves. The monks would notice their disappearance from the monastery come morning. They’d left the cover to the storage room open, so there was a chance someone would discover the passage. Either that, or there was that other possibility that had struck Ix when he and Shuno first entered—that someone had used the passage recently. It was their only other hope, but there was no guarantee that person would be willing to lend a hand. Regardless, they needed to accept they would be there for quite a while. With that in mind… Ix looked at Shuno, who had their back to him and their head in their hands, and said, “Why don’t you sleep for now?” “Wh-what?” They turned toward Ix. “What are you even saying? How could I ever relax enough to sleep in a situation like this?!” “The thing we most want to avoid right now is wearing ourselves out,” stated Ix, lowering his voice. “As we noticed earlier, there are strange objects in the passage and signs of someone having used it. Obviously, formulating a way to open the door would be best, but right now, all we can do is wait for someone. Our best option is to take turns sleeping while we pass the time.” “I guess so… But if that’s the case, you should rest first.” “No, you first.” Ix shook his head. “You’re the only one who can use magic. I don’t know what we can use it for, but we need to have you at full strength just in case.” “Uh… Okay. Not that I’ll be able to sleep in a situation like this…” Shuno wobbled unsteadily over to the bed in the chamber and lay down. Ix sat on the floor, leaned against the door, and pulled his knees up to his chest. He blew out the flame on the now-quite-small candlestick, and the room plunged into darkness. No matter if he opened his eyes or closed them, all he could see was a world of black. It struck him that the world above was white, and the world below was black. “Hey, Ix,” came Shuno’s voice from the darkness. “I actually…was planning on opening a shop in this town. My master introduced me to an old shop. So once this job is over and my craftsman qualification is figured out, you should come, too.” “Yeah, I’ll come visit if I get the chance.” “That’s not what I mean. I’m inviting you to work with me. You shouldn’t let talent like yours go to waste working as an apprentice.” “Together?” Ix raised his head and blinked. “…But just being employed at your shop wouldn’t guarantee I could become a craftsman.” “That’s true, but…” Shuno muttered to themselves for a moment, then let out a cry of consternation. “Fine. I’ll just be straight with you. I want to collaborate with you. Don’t you feel the same?” “……” “…Right. Well, just give it some thought, will you?” Ix heard Shuno roll over, and he quietly replied, “Okay.” Perhaps as a consequence of being wound up for so long, the sound of snoring soon came from the bed. Now that he thought about it, Ix realized they’d left the monastery in the dead of night. Sleepiness hit him all at once, as though he’d only just remembered to feel it. What time was it anyway? He felt like they’d spent an incredibly long time here, but assuming they were below Estosha, their walk here couldn’t have taken very long. Adding that to the time they spent panicking would mean it was still the middle of the night. Ix let out a heavy sigh. The two of them had decided together to go into the cellar and explore the passage. But it was clearly his own fault they’d gotten trapped here. He should have remained outside when Shuno went in. Or he really should have figured out how the door worked the moment he noticed there wasn’t a knob. But instead, he’d entered it thoughtlessly… Moron was hardly a strong enough word to describe him. And while it would be perfectly natural to shout insults at Ix for what he’d done, Shuno never did any of that. In fact, Shuno went so far as to say they would find a way out. Somehow, they seemed to think this whole thing was their fault. Ix thought about what would happen if they couldn’t get out. It didn’t matter what happened to him, but Shuno was absolutely going to be a craftsperson someday. How could he ever apologize to them? “What are you doing?” Ix suddenly thought he could hear someone’s voice. He jumped in surprise and swung around to face the door. “Just now…,” he said hoarsely. “Ix?” answered a young girl’s voice. “I know that voice… Riess?” “Correct,” replied her cheerful voice, unsuited to the situation. Ix could see the flickering light of her lamp through the hole in the door. “I can’t believe we’d meet in a place like this. I’m a little disappointed, since it doesn’t seem like you were coming to see me. But still, I’m happy. I haven’t seen you in so long.” Ix didn’t say anything for a while, only wondering what the heck she was talking about. “…Do you know the story about the ghost?” he finally asked after a moment’s confusion. For some reason, he suddenly suspected that Riess herself was the specter. He was obviously aware that this was a ridiculous idea to entertain, but upon further consideration, he couldn’t help feeling like it all made sense. The commotion about the ghost in the monastery had happened the day Riess visited. Hadn’t she eaten lunch that day? And there were a few other strange things. She’d known who Ix was from the moment he set foot in town. She seemed oddly friendly toward him and showed off a breadth of knowledge you wouldn’t expect from a child. It was also weird how she would appear out of nowhere only to disappear the same way. Now she’d even manifested in this secret underground passage. And Shuno didn’t seem to know anything about her. “Of course I do,” answered Riess. “…Riess, what are you doing here at a time like this?” “Taking a walk.” “Huh?” “It’s cold and dangerous outside. Down here, there’s no snow on the ground, and no one will find me and scold me,” she said with a bitter chuckle. “Ah, but you found me. Can you keep it a secret? In return, I’ll tell you about the ghost.” Ix was taken aback, unable to press her on the topic more. “…Okay,” he said. “It’s a famous story in this city. It’s a tale that everyone’s heard at least once but no one tells.” “No one tells?” “Yes,” murmured Riess. Then, as if reading aloud from a book, she said, “Long, long ago, there was a couple who desperately wanted a child but were never blessed with one, no matter what they did. With no other options, they named a doll carved from wood and doted on it like it was their own. But then one day, they encountered a dragon. The dragon was curious about the couple who treated this doll like their offspring. And the couple asked a favor of the dragon. ‘For a child, you ask? No, not that.’ They asked the dragon to give life to the doll. As requested, the dragon brought it to life. It moved. But the couple had made a mistake.” Ix listened silently to Riess’s fluid storytelling. “It was only a single mistake. They’d asked for life; they hadn’t asked for a soul. Without a soul, the doll had nowhere to go once its body rotted away. Now, it wanders the town, as it will for all eternity. That’s why people hear things sometimes—it’s the ghost crying out in lament…” Riess’s voice dropped there. “But this story is also a secret that doesn’t leave this place. You can’t accidentally tell it to the people at the monastery who belong to the Church. Because only God can grant life.” Once she finished speaking, the howling of the wind down the passage seemed to grow louder. Ix couldn’t help thinking about how strange the tale was, because he had a connection to dragons. He hadn’t even been chasing after them, yet he still found himself running into their footprints, even here… Before he could say anything, Riess’s voice came from the other side of the door again. “But how’d you find this place? The entrance on the monastery side is pretty well hidden.” “Is this place…the heart of defense that you mentioned before?” asked Ix, getting swept up by what she’d said. “It looks like you could use it to escape the city if it came down to it…” “The important thing is that it makes you think there’s something here,” said Riess, as though she was lecturing a small child. “Secrets always get out. To prevent that, you have to poison the secret. It doesn’t matter if this passageway gives you the impression they made an escape route or makes you speculate they built a defense system; both draw you in. That’s why they put in a trap here.” “A trap? I didn’t see anything like that.” “Of course you’d think that. You wouldn’t know much about that.” “How do you know about this place, Riess? You’re talking like you’re well-informed.” “Because I’ve gone to the monastery so many times as an assistant,” she answered bluntly. “There’s nothing there, so it’s boring. Sometimes, I play hide-and-seek by myself there. Though I didn’t get in here from the monastery today.” “There’s another entrance, right? Where is it?” “You’re always so full of questions,” said Riess with a giggle. “…Why haven’t you been to the monastery in a while?” “Don’t ask rude questions.” Now she sounded like she was pouting. “Even kids have things to do. I can’t go there every day. How’s it going over there anyway?” “Do you mean with me? Or Coaku?” “Coaku, of course. I am his assistant.” “It’s mean to say this, but I honestly have no idea why he even bothers coming,” said Ix frankly. “He just sits in front of the fireplace sleeping the whole time. He’s never given us advice or corrected us. Did the monastery know he’s like this and invite him anyway?” “Really? That’s weird.” “What is?” “Well, I listen to Coaku every day, and he always tells me about how you and Shuno work. He says you’ll both make really good craftspeople.” “…He’s just saying what he’s expected to.” “I don’t think so.” “Anyway, Riess, stop chatting,” said Ix, having remembered the situation he was in after a moment of silence. “Right now, we’re—” “I know, you don’t have to say it. You’re shut in there, right?” said Riess, taking the words right out of his mouth. “Y-yeah. Can you open the door from that side?” “Sorry, I’m not strong enough. I’ll go get help, though. Can you sit tight until then?” “We can probably manage that long.” “Okay. See you in a bit, then.” The light flickered on the other side of the door, and he heard the sound of soft footsteps. But after a few beats, they suddenly ceased. “By the way, do you have an answer to my invitation? Did you think about it?” asked Riess. “Huh?” Ix could only blurt out a confused noise in response to the abrupt question. “Ah, you forgot… Don’t say anything. I’ll be waiting at the Chapel on the night of Heaven’s Worship.” “No, it’s just this isn’t—” The footsteps moved away before Ix could finish his statement. Upon further reflection, he realized he hadn’t heard her coming in the first place. That aside, it seemed like he and Shuno would make it out after all. That thought caused the tension to suddenly drain from Ix’s body. He sat on the ground, laid his face between his knees, and let out a heavy sigh. After that, he drifted off. Then he heard the clear sound of footsteps and snapped back to consciousness. Two or three people were approaching. The moment Ix got up to look at the door, a blinding light shone into his face. “Ah, it’s true… Are you all right? I’m opening the door now,” said a man with a concerned expression. His long hair was tied back behind him. He had two people with him, one on either side. They looked like attendants of some sort. They were carrying lamps. “There should be another person with you, yes? A woman?” “Yeah, they’re sleeping in the back,” said Ix with a nod. “Did Riess tell you?” “Hmm? What was that?” asked the man with a tilt of his head. “No, one of my attendants heard voices coming from the tunnel. I couldn’t believe it, but I came to check just in case…” That was how Ix and Shuno were rescued, but the man didn’t chastise them at all. He was actually surprised by the two of them. And once he learned they were both wandmaking apprentices, he smiled. “No, I don’t think there really is a need to keep this a secret. It is actually quite well known by anyone related to the Church with a significant enough position of authority,” said the man. They walked down the passage in the same direction Shuno and Ix had originally been traveling, away from the monastery. “Though I’m not so sure the monastery is too happy with the situation, which is why you really should be reprimanded, but… It does make me happy, though, to have such enthusiastic young folks find this place, even if it was by chance. I do think it’s something young wandmakers such as yourselves should see.” “By ‘it…’” said Shuno, whose face had been one of sleepy contentment until recently, “do you mean the room beneath the Chapel?” “Oh, you know about that as well? It seems you are doing quite the excellent job at the monastery,” said the man as he looked back at them. “You’re exactly right. That is none other than the ultimate wand left behind by Rednoff. The Chapel is actually there because the wand supports it.” “Really? How do you prove something like that?” “I-Ix!” cried Shuno as they covered his mouth. “That’s not something you say to the person who saved us!” “No, it’s a perfectly reasonable question,” said the man with a strong nod. His long bundle of his hair bobbed up and down. “Even the people who knew of the underground chamber lacked any certainty over whether the story of Rednoff they’d known for so long was fact or fiction. They even questioned if it really was a wand. But once, a renowned wandmaker came to town. They showed him to the special underground room and asked him to inspect the wand, on the condition that it be kept secret. And so he did. Apparently, he took a look at it and said, ‘This is the ultimate wand.’” “Huh. Who was the craftsman?” asked Shuno. “I’m sure you’ll have heard the name. It was Munzil Alreff.” “Huh…?” Ix couldn’t help gaping. His master had really said that…? “Th-that’s a seriously big name…,” said Shuno, shrinking their shoulders as they were overcome by shock for different reasons than Ix. As they walked forward, the man cheerfully added, “And then just the other day, I discovered there are craftsmen who apprenticed under Master Alreff in town. I showed the two of them that room as well, and they said it was, without a doubt, the ultimate wand.” “Wait, there were two of them?” said Ix suddenly in a loud voice. “What are their names?” “What? Oh, you probably haven’t heard of them. They’re called Rolphie and Hemsley.” “Them too…?” Ix cast his eyes down and brought a hand to his mouth. Those were the names of Munzil’s third and fourth apprentices. Ix was more shocked by what they had said than the fact they were in Estosha. Even more so that it was those two, of all people. Out of all Munzil’s apprentices, they were the least invested in wands. Would they really say something like that? Something that you’d normally expect from a stereotypical wandmaker? Ix took a whiff of fresh air. He looked up to find stairs a little ways ahead. One of the attendants went up ahead to open the door, letting in blinding light that stung his eyes. They’d made it outside. At some point, morning had come. Gold light spilled over the tops of the buildings. The wind had calmed, and Ix could see wisps of clouds in the sky. It was cold out, and a breeze more frigid than the one underground swept by. This exit wasn’t located on the grounds of a building; instead, it led directly into the street. Normal houses lined either side of the road. “Good work, you’ve made it to the exit,” said the man, turning back from where he’d stepped out. His form was obscured by shadow, backlit as it was. “I would ask that you keep this entrance a secret. The Church pretends it is just storage. You must be tired. If you’d like, please join me at the building I live in. I would very much like to speak with the both of you.” Ix was so lost in thought that the invitation didn’t even reach him. But that was to be expected. After all, to his eyes, the “ultimate wand” in that underground room appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary log. 3 The blizzard calmed, and the quiet light of winter spilled into the room. Nova hadn’t arrived yet. Since morning, Yuui had passed the time reading. Specifically, the book that Gustavus had told her about, the one with the ghost stories. Though he’d called it a book, it wasn’t actually bound, so it was really more like a diary or set of notes. “It’s something the priest at the time wrote down,” said Seyoh the night before when she’d visited his room. He happily lent it to her. The bundle had been stored on top of a shelf, so it took some time for him to find it. “It looks quite old…,” remarked Yuui as she stroked the cover sheet. “It was written just after the Chapel was completed.” Seyoh clasped his hands together and nodded. “Though you should know it’s not particularly interesting. I haven’t read the whole thing.” “Why do you have it?” “Hmm… I’m not sure there is any particular reason,” he said with an uncertain smile. “It’s not useful, but I’m hesitant to throw it away. It’s essentially the result of two acquaintances trying to push it on each other.” Yuui had fallen asleep that night but quickly picked the book up the following day, as she had nothing to do. She took a look into the book and found that the priest had written an introduction: Recently, I have heard several odd tales. They all resemble one another, so I have decided to record them here. That’s what it said. In light of his position, the priest must have frequently given the townspeople advice. Once Yuui got into the book proper, she found a stream of short, concise paragraphs, perhaps a reflection of the author’s personality. They were almost all written like an itemized report, listing the person’s name, occupation, and what they were seeking advice about. Just as Gustavus and Seyoh had told her, it wasn’t an entertaining read. The entries were barely distinct. For example: Rodak, tailor, female, early morning. Went out to get water from the well where she heard people talking. They were all male voices. Was unable to see the speakers. The voices moved away. Ulaft, glove maker, male, night. Heard footsteps during a drinking party with friends. Stepped outside but saw no one. The footsteps continued for some time. Filrin, blast wandmaker, male. Heard the voice of someone he knows who had moved to a nearby town. Evening. Azzie, carpenter’s wife, female. Heard something that sounded like crowds of people passing by the house in the middle of the night. Went outside with husband to look but found no footprints. All the statements were short like the above. They were very similar, essentially just people hearing voices or footsteps during the night until dawn. The accounts went on and on, spanning dozens of people. It was obvious that Seyoh was right, and this was written by someone from a long time ago. The age of the actual pages made it feel historical, but so did the vocabulary and grammar usage. It was fairly difficult to read and, had she been in any other situation, she would have tossed it aside herself as well. However, as she absentmindedly turned the pages, she eventually found herself entirely absorbed. This wasn’t her first time looking through records of normal people. There was one time before when she’d read such daily accounts, so it reminded her of the excitement she’d felt then. The people who produced this sort of writing were almost always in the Church or held a position of authority, and their work usually focused on their peers. Obviously, this book was also written by a priest, but the content was different. It focused entirely on the people who lived in Estosha. While there was very little information in each small account, that only made her imagination run wild, which she enjoyed. It was only because she’d been reading so intently that she realized something. Here and there in the book were oddly thick pages. Thinking this strange, Yuui closely examined the pages from the side and saw two pages stuck together. She had no idea how long they’d been like that, but a gentle tug told her they weren’t about to come apart easily. With no other option, Yuui took out her wand and cast the smallest spell she could. This sort of incantation required significantly more delicate control than casting something powerful. At the same time, there was rarely a use for a spell so fine, so the Academy didn’t even bother to teach this kind of magic control. Yuui had read about it in a book and used it several times to test the limits of her wand. The first cast was too weak. The second one, though, proved fruitful after some adjustment. The corners of the pages separated slightly. She grabbed onto that part and carefully pulled apart the pages. They must have stuck together because of the ink that was used at the time. It wasn’t suited to the paper and would cause the pages to affix to each other if they were pressed together for a while. It happened sometimes with older books. The characters on one of the pages she’d pulled apart had transferred to the other, leaving it incredibly difficult to read despite the simple, itemized writing style. Now having gotten into the swing of things, Yuui was able to immediately pull apart the next set of stuck pages she came across. The content was exactly the same as the rest of the book. She smiled ironically as she thought that only someone as bored as her would go through all the trouble to pull these pages apart and read them. But something was different about the last page in the book. That page was also stuck, so just as she’d done before, she pulled it apart with magic. To her surprise, however, she found a long paragraph instead of a list of itemized accounts. The characters on this page had also bled over, making it more difficult to read than any of the previous ones. Yuui gave up trying to interpret the words and instead copied them one by one onto another sheet of paper. She frowned as she looked at the passage she’d created. It seemed to be a postscript from the priest. This is only a small portion of the stories that have been brought to me by those seeking advice. The first thing I can say is that it is evident ghosts do not exist. The scriptures speak of no such thing. After death, the soul ascends to heaven and is handed a fate of either eternal life or eternal death. There are no exceptions. It is not possible for a soul to remain in our world.
Chapter 39
24 min read