Forest northwest of Elendos.
　The great river that leads to the northern part of the Kingdom of Lumotia, a neighboring country, is so wide that it can contain a small city, and has been revered as a sacred river since ancient times.
　Although it is rarely practiced now, there was a time when it was common practice to carry the body in a boat resembling a coffin and bury it in the river, and it was said that if the body reached the bottom of the river, the way to heaven would be opened.
　Naturally, there were many boats that ran out of energy and rotted away on the riverbank.

　As the sun began to set and the shadows grew darker, I stood beside the wreckage of these decaying boats and thought about Harvey Ditland.
　A kid who looked a lot like me.
　It was a sure sign that Ars Dittrand was still alive.
　The mystery only deepened, but I should be able to solve some of it by rescuing Phiel Alstroemeria. I turned my magic sensing spell to the sky and activated it.
　With my power, I can cover most of the forest with a little less accuracy.

---- no huge magical power and ......

　I wasn't expecting it from the start, but I couldn't find any magic that looked like Pheuel.
　If you're on the run, it's common sense to hide such obvious magical power, so I decided to look for a different kind of magical power.

　Since the magic of animals and demons is fundamentally different from that of humans, and even that of wizards controlled by training, it is easy to eliminate.
　The problem is the magic of humans scattered throughout the forest.
　This needs to be narrowed down with certain conditions.

　In the first stage, we eliminated individuals and groups that had a certain amount of magical power and were not moving.
　This is because Fiehr would hide his magic better, and it would be unnatural for the SS not to move.
　It is highly probable that these are just adventurers.

　The second step is to eliminate any magic that moves erratically.
　This is also because it is unreasonable to assume that it is Phiel or the SS.

　When I narrowed it down, I found a few things that were moving that I was interested in.
　There were about seven groups of about five people moving in a regular pattern.
　The groups were some distance apart, and normally there should be a difference in the direction they were moving, but they were unnaturally moving toward one point.

　What the seven groups were aiming for was the bank of the river, where there was no response.
　In the void, where there was no response to my magic, the group was moving slowly, cautiously, as if they were afraid of something, as if they were hunting down their prey.

　From now on, I could surely reach that empty spot faster than they could.
　But there were other, weaker spells that reacted slightly to my magic, and there were several of them alone. They were slowly making their way to the border, and it was possible that one of them was Phiel.

"Not enough time to check them all out? ......

　If the sun goes down completely, it will be difficult for us to move, and the demons will become more active. Therefore, I decided to bet on this group of the most suspicious movements.
　When I thought about what might be at the point where there was no magical response, I was filled with unpleasant thoughts, but I sealed them away for now and headed for that point with all my might.



　I ran along the riverside, unnoticed by the group of people moving through the forest, and arrived at my destination a step early.
　It was a graveyard for those who had not made it to heaven.
　Half of the countless coffins on the sand had rotted away, scattering a large number of human bones.

Half of the coffins on the sand were rotting, and a large number of human bones were strewn about. "......, are we supposed to be in a place like this?

　There was no time to relax, so I suppressed my impatience and started to open the lids of the coffins that were still intact.
　But I soon realized that it was a futile act.
　Because I found one coffin that was obviously new and not appropriate for this place.

　It seemed to have just washed ashore, and was so spotless and unadorned that it was doubtful that there was a body inside.

　Usually, boat burials are decorated with mementos of the deceased and colorful flowers, but this one had none of that.

　---- It was so scary that I hesitated to open the lid. I couldn't help but think.

　I didn't think anything of a decaying coffin, but this one was more inorganic and cold, and reminded me strongly of death.
　Somewhere in the back of my mind, I thought that Fiel would not be easily killed, but I must have been naive. I feel as if the reality of the situation has hit me.
　When my mind is weak, all I can think of are bad things, and I can't get rid of the thought that Phiel is stored in this room as if she were asleep.

　As if to dispel such thoughts, I put all my strength into my trembling hands and opened the lid of the coffin at once. And there, lying curled up in a ball, was the Pheuel I remembered from that time.

"Fiehl......

　The only thing that was clean was her face, her clothes were burnt, more than half of her body was badly burned, and some parts were beginning to necrotic.
　The dying Pheuel showed no signs of suppressing her magic power, and it was clear that she was completely depleted. I immediately understood how the SS knew where Pheuel was, when I saw what Pheuel was clutching so carefully in front of her chest.

　It was a self-defense knife that I had given to Pheuel when he was accepted into the Magic Division. The knife was one half of a pair of magic tools that could be used to locate her when she was away.
　I had the main body of the grimoire with me so that Pheuel, who was unfamiliar with the human world, would not get lost. .......

Why didn't you leave it there? ......

　You'll be able to't find any more words to say.
　I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's a good idea.

A ...... rus ...... sama ......

　The name spilled out of the unconscious Pheuel's mouth, and at the same time, tears welled up from his closed eyelids and ran down his cheeks, soaking the coffin.
　Now I was convinced. I knew that Fiehl had not betrayed me.

　---- A moment later, a black, distorted emotion enveloped my entire body.
　I want to kill him. I'm not sure what to think, just the desire to kill.
　I don't care who Ars Dittrand is in the palace, I just want to kill him.

　Ars Ditland is unforgivable for pushing Fiel to this point.
　As of this moment, I could see that Ars Ditland had become a clear enemy.

　I decided to cast a first-class recovery spell on Fiel before it was too late.
　If I cast a first-class recovery spell on her when her magic power was depleted, there was a possibility that she would immediately wake up from the shock, but I had to decide that now was not the time to take the time. But now was not the time.
　Not only because of Fiel's condition, but also because the SS was already close by.
　I activated the spell, hoping that she wouldn't wake up now.