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“Um… ah, here it is, Master!”
“Mm, let me see.”

After taking a short break for dinner, we locked ourselves in the archive room, digging through stacks of old documents.

What we were looking for was the newest map we could find—and any information related to “Fomalhaut.”

“This one’s about fifteen years old. Probably the most recent map that still has the name Fomalhaut on it.”
“So that means… the name stopped appearing after this?”
“Most likely. Seems it’s a memory people wanted to erase—that’s what happens with cursed lands.”

A cursed land—Fomalhaut. Looking at it on the map, the meaning of that name became painfully clear. It was far too close to the sea—closer even than Aldebaran.

“The cause would be the ‘ghost ship.’ It’s been quite active, hasn’t it?”
“Even though it’s so far from Aldebaran… the sea really is hopeless, isn’t it?”

The ghost ship—the very reason Aldebaran enclosed itself within those towering walls, an irrational calamity.

It claimed the entire sea as its territory, swallowing all who approached and turning them into its own flesh and blood—a mass of pure curse.

Once, we had driven it back with the aid of the Saint, but that had only been a temporary retreat. Now that we had no sorcerer with us, facing it was impossible.

“The question is how far the contamination has spread—and where exactly the ruins we’re after are located. Get too close to the sea, and we’re finished.”
“Ughh, if only Ms. Roche were here right now… If we had a phone, we could at least contact her.”
“Wouldn’t do any good. Aldebaran isn’t about to share its countermeasures against the ghost ship. The fact that she’s even allowed outside its borders is a miracle in itself.”

I understood how Momo felt—she wanted help from a sorcerer—but unless it was someone on par with the Saint, purifying the ghost ship was impossible.

Bringing along the wrong kind of help would only get them killed. And knowing Momo, she’d never abandon anyone she brought along.

Besides, without a way to resist the curse, even Momo herself might end up being more of a hindrance than help—but telling her that wouldn’t make her listen.

“Hey there, hope you don’t mind me barging in… What’s this, then? Young girls holed up in a dark room, buried in books?”
“Ah, Mr. Arnitta. Were you looking something up too?”
“Nah, I was lookin’ for you lot. Daigorou’s tuning’s all done—gave him a proper coating, too, so he’ll hold up against rust and grime.”
“That’s a big help. I know a bit myself, but keeping him maintained on the road has been a real headache.”
“You really ain’t a childlike child, are ya… And from the looks of it, you’re about ready to leave this town.”
“Oh, did the king tell you that?”
“Fool, I can tell just by the feel of things. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure Mintark gets the message nice and smooth.”
“Appreciate it. It’d be a pain to get held up again.”

The teaching job had been a short-term contract from the start, but I wondered if they’d even managed to find a replacement during all this chaos.

…No, best not to think about it. If they came crying and tried to follow us all the way to Fomalhaut, that would be trouble. Better to slip away quietly—like a midnight escape.

“Let me ask one more time—are you sure we can take Daigorou with us? Having a golem along will be a huge help, but he’s no cheap machine. If you’re going to change your mind, do it now.”
“This manly man Arnitta doesn’t take back his word. I owe you folks, after all.”
“I don’t recall ever lending you anything.”
“Maybe not, but you still gave me something—vengeance for my workshop.”

Arnitta dropped down cross-legged on the floor, bowing his head so hard it nearly struck the ground.

Momo panicked and tried to stop him, but that stubborn, stone-hard head of his refused to rise.

“W-w-wait, please stop, Mr. Arnitta!”
“That’s right—it’s not like we drove Theo away to avenge your own people. And besides, calling it revenge feels unfinished—she’s still alive.”
“But you’ll pursue her, won’t you?”
“……”

I didn’t deny it. Almost certainly, calamities would stand in our path as we went on.
When that happened, a fight with them would be unavoidable, and as a result Mr. Arnitta’s grievance might be avenged…

“Master, if he’s thanking you, just accept it. Don’t make such a grim face.”
“Are you okay with that? If I take vengeance for those who died in the workshop, that means I would have to kill Theo, you know?”
“…I don’t want that. So I’ll try to persuade her myself.”
“How naive. She ordered demi-dragons to kill people. On top of that, we almost got killed.”
“Of course I can’t forgive that, but I don’t want you to kill Theo and others. If this world has laws, I think it’s better to see justice done through the right channels.”
“…Is that so?”

I had thought it many times before—she said nothing but naive, lenient, and half-baked things.

A world where such ridiculous fools could survive must be dullly, bewilderingly peaceful.

…I envied it.

“Alright. I’ll accept your thanks for now. But don’t expect much in the way of retribution against Theo—there’s a good chance I’ll just lose and die off.”
“Hah. If you can’t beat her, then no one in this world can.”
“You’re overestimating me. There are plenty of people stronger than I am.”

For example, the king who ruled this country—he had natural talent.

His control over magic was still rough, but if he kept training and matured, he’d surpass me in no time.
What I had in this body was merely skill honed over an immense span of time and a fairly generous reservoir of magic power; I had no innate talent for producing magecraft, no matter how I put it.

“I’ve been thinking for a while now—your master’s a right old pessimist, ain’t she?”
“But I love my master just the way she is, so it’s fine!”
“What nonsense are you spouting? I’m going to hole up in this room for a while. Why don’t you go and say your goodbyes to the others?”
“Aww, Master, come with us! Stell and the others will be sad!”
“That’s right—at least say something before you go.”
“No way! I can’t even read my book with you lot around. Get out, quickly!”

I shooed Momo and Arnitta out as they grumbled, and dropped my eyes back onto the maps I’d pulled out. The destination was a cursed place; I couldn’t even imagine how horrific the scene might be, but for the sake of our investigation we wanted to get as close as possible. Choosing the route was important—we had to account for changes in the terrain since the map was drawn more than ten years ago and plan our path accordingly.

“……Hmph.”

For some reason I couldn’t concentrate. Should I still go after Momo…? No, that wouldn’t do.

Jobs like this suited Momo better; I mustn’t get in the way. It was a matter of putting the right people in the right places—if I did what I needed to do, that would be enough.