This may be the first time I've been alone with Neya.
　I also picked up the book, wondering where the driving force behind her willingness to help me with such a troublesome task in the pursuit of strength was.

　I knew that the civil war in the Kingdom of Lumotia was more than ten years ago according to Seretia, but as a result of detailed research, I found out that it started sixteen years ago with a small rebellion of some nobles. It was two years later that Gaster came to be known as the Thousand Horsemen. It wasn't until two years later that he became known as Gaster the Immortal.

　One year after I died as Ars, a rebellion broke out in the once peaceful kingdom of Lumotia, and four years after that, Guster was called the Immortal.

　If we think of what Ars did now, he would have completed the alchemy doll at least within five years of coming back to life.
　It would have been impossible for Ars alone to have done this, and this confirms that Ars did not do this alone.

　So, did someone bring Ars back to life and then let him help?
　If so, how did Ars come back to life remains a mystery.
　We can't just take the answer that he was brought back to life by a failed reincarnation spell.
　Also, there is no connection between the personality change and the attempt on Phiel's life.
　Even the pagans must have some purpose in spreading the alchemy doll this far.

"Master Walth, there is something here that interests me.

...... Oh, did you find something?

"It says here that twenty years ago, there were cases of people with the same condition as the alchemy dolls, who became cripples under certain conditions.

"...... Twenty years ago?　Are you sure about that? I said, trying not to get upset.

I'm sure. I'm sure of it. The only thing is that the person with the symptoms suddenly disappeared one day. After that, there's no mention of anything that could be considered an alchemy doll.

　Twenty years ago, when I was still alive, I felt a shock as if I had been hit in the head with a blunt object. This is a reversal of everything I've been thinking.

　Because, without Ars' help, I would have created an alchemy doll using a magic very similar to the memory separation of reincarnation magic. It's almost as if someone with my level of magic and magical power existed.

　But I can tell you this.
　There was no better magician than me back then.
　Even now, no such name is heard of, and the rare genius wizard goes by Ars Dittrand.

I also have to meet the elf who created ...... alchemical magic.

　It's hard to imagine an elf doing this, but there must be at least a hint. The only problem is that elves are basically misanthropic.

Elves. I've heard that elves are difficult, while feeels are normal.

　It is true that Elves are difficult.
　I've had a lot of trouble with them as Ars.
　But it's only the first time they give you trouble, and once you get them to admit it, there's no one you can trust more.

The forest of the divine tree, where the elves are, is across the sea, so our first priority is to get to the area Muraji told us about. I'm curious about the part about the church's power being weakened.

　As a result of this research, we have learned some new things and have been able to eliminate some of the options, but we have also learned some new mysteries.
　---- So far, what we know is that .......

　The alchemy doll and paganism occurred at a time older than the seventeen years before I died as Ars.

　There is a high probability that the alchemy doll uses magic similar to reincarnation magic, without Ars' help.

　Also, and this is very important, we have no idea why Ars is still alive, except for the failure of the reincarnation spell, unless he is impersonating himself.

　Finally, as for the relationship between paganism and Ars, the connection itself is unknown due to the discrepancy in the timing of the alchemy doll.

　What I can think of is that before I died, there were people who could use alchemical magic at the level of reincarnation magic. And either Ars was brought back to life by a failed reincarnation spell, or he was brought back to life by that alchemist or someone else.
　I can't think of any reason to bring him back to life, or even any advantage.

　I know that this is an absurd guess even for me.
　It's just a result of forcibly piecing together the information I've obtained, and because of that, there are many parts that are inexplicable, and I feel as if I've overlooked something.

But it's strange, isn't it?" Neya said suddenly, as if she could read my thoughts.

"What is?

"It's about the request Master Walth is receiving. If Walth-sama was active in the Kingdom of Carlitz, then I assume that the Kingdom of Carlitz was involved in the request.

It is true that the client is the Church, and that the Kingdom of Carlitz was specified because of suspicious activity in the Kingdom. However, there were goblin zombies, but there was no mention of alchemy dolls. More importantly, looking at the movements of Dallas, there's no reason for paganism to spread other than to surround it with state-sponsored evil.

　Neya nodded slowly and turned the book she was looking at back towards me.

This twenty-year-old alchemy doll is the story of the Kingdom of Lumotia. The Thousand Horsemen of Gaster is also from Lumotia. And the Kingdom of Raine, now the Kingdom of Cassandra. There may have been other alchemy dolls in other countries, but why was the request made to the Kingdom of Carlitz?　Currently, paganism seems to be active in countries other than the Kingdom of Carlitz. The goblin zombie was not an alchemy doll, and I think its nature is different.

　I nodded exaggeratedly, and at the same time, sweat poured down my back.
　The thought that I'd finally noticed that was going through my head.
　As a high-ranking adventurer, he might have a habit of thinking about the tendencies of each request. However, Neyer's words gave me a new clue.

　Why did the Church send adventurers to the Kingdom of Carlitz instead of other countries?
　I had thought that the disappearance of the adventurer and the attack by the woman from the Rain Kingdom were two different things, but now I suspected that they might have been related.
　There may be a collaborator inside the church.
　Something is about to go a little wrong.


"So I've realized. So I've come to realize that there are two kinds of paganism.


"What about ............?

Isn't that right? Some of the alchemy dolls just look like they blend in with human society, and some of them look intelligent, but only on the surface. But the goblin zombie has none of that, and I think its purpose is different. It's all about destruction and killing, and it's not about perfecting magic.

...... You're right. There's a difference in perfection.

　I can't help but feel that my magic is getting a bad rap.


　It is an unbearable humiliation to be compared to a mere failure, but I can't refute it, and it makes me cringe.

That's why the church couldn't see through the paganism of creating alchemy dolls. In the event that you've got a lot of money, you'll be able to use it for a lot of things.

---- That's one way to think about it. But it's too early to say that the paganism of the alchemy doll is different.

Is that right? ......

　I'm not sure if I'm confident or not, but Neya shows no signs of shaking her head at my words, and I turn my head fast.
　I'm not sure what to do, but I'm going to do it.

For example, goblin zombies attack people, and alchemy dolls kill them. If we reveal the identity of the alchemy doll, people's view of the doll may become more positive. To the untrained eye, it would not appear to be the work of the same pagan religion because the magic is different. At that time, the number of alchemy dolls must have increased considerably. If this happens, the power of the church alone will not be able to control the scale of the problem, and the support of the people will go to the paganism to some extent.

I almost said, "No," when I saw Neyer answer with a very serious face, "...... is possible," but I turned my face to her as usual.

　After that, I went through the remaining books, but there was no information to be found.

It was time to go home. I'm sorry I didn't make time for your help. I'm sorry I didn't make time to help you, but I'll make time to train with you later.

"Really, thank you.

　Neya smiled softly, a little different from her usual smile.
　Just when I was impressed that she could smile in a feminine way, the building shook once and I heard the sound of something exploding.

It seems to be quite far.

Let's hurry back to Celestia.

　When we opened the great doors of the Royal Archives, there was a faint smell of burning and a large plume of black smoke rising from the foot of the mountain, opposite the harbor.

The direction is towards Celestia and her friends. ...... It's a bit far, but we need to check it out.

　If there are any suspicious people, you can eliminate them first.
　If something has already happened to Celestia and her friends, Pheuel will have stopped it.

　It's a good idea to take a look at a few of the things that you can do to make sure that you're getting the most out of your trip.
　It's not that there's anything burning, it's just that the black smoke is temporary, caused by magic, and by the time you get there, it's all gone.

...... What the hell happened here?

　The trees in the vicinity of the explosion had been torn down, and in the center of the area the ground had been gouged out, leaving a hole big enough to hold a large house. It was filled with a burning smell that stung my nose, but nothing else.