We walked down the stairs that led to the basement of the Great Library.

"It's dark and damp, isn't it? It's covered in dust.
But there are signs of a man in here.

　At first glance it appears to be a place where no one goes in and out, but I can detect the slightest residue of magical power.

''As I thought.......it seems there's something behind here.

　After using the light's magic to light up the surroundings, we proceeded cautiously down the stairs.

'Looks like the stairs end here.

　Then.........eventually a place similar to the ground level of the Great Library appeared.
　There were so many bookshelves, it was like a maze.

'Kurt, are you aware of this?'

　As we proceeded, Averill asked, growing wary.

'Yeah,'

　When I probed it with my detection magic I found that a magic circle was drawn behind this.
　However, it has a number of concealments on it, and the full picture is not clear from here.

'For now, let's check out that magic circle........Kurt?　What are you doing?
"I'm just reading my book.

　I'm not averse to reading.
　I would take a book from the bookshelf and flip through the pages.
　When I finished one book, I quickly moved on to the next... and so on.

'Was there any literature that caught your attention?'
Hmm. There's not much here. But ... apparently the Great Library here in the basement is a little better than the one above ground.
Which.

　Avril also picked up some books and rolled up the pages.

　The books on the ground were mainly about inefficient magic techniques.
　The best example of this was 'Chanting Magic'.
　But........most of the books I picked up here were about unchecked magic.
　The content was not necessarily wrong either.

''Even so, it looks like you're just flipping through it... are you really reading it?''
Of course.

　That said, I'm still a bit short on time to read everything, as expected.

　It was better than the ones on earth, but nothing new to me.
　So I focused on reading books written about this world........especially the history of the empire.

　There is basically only bland content written there.
　However, there was one description that caught my attention.

'A thousand years ago ... the Empire was destroyed?'

　As I was reading, Avril crossed her face from the side and said so.

'Looks like it does,'
What do you mean?　I've never heard of such a thing...?

　Avril looked confused.

　Yes, the Empire was destroyed once, a thousand years ago.
　Avril seems surprised, but I've known that for a thousand years.

　That's fine......but I noticed a 'certain statement' that caught my eye.

''A thousand years ago, the Demon King, who plunged the world into an unprecedented state of fear, also destroyed the empire.''

　What are you saying?
　If this Demon King means 'Heretic = Me', then I didn't destroy the Empire.
　It was the demon god that destroyed it.

But even after they were destroyed, the Fosindo family, who were wealthy, took the lead in rebuilding the empire to this day.

　The Fosind family again.
　Did the Fosind family exist even a thousand years ago?
　But no matter how much I look back, I can't recall the name of the Fosind family, a noble family from a thousand years ago.

　........No, no.


"I met this guy once...?


Kurt!　Something's wrong with the magic circle in the back!　They're trying to activate it!

　What I did with me got me lost in my thoughts, but Avril's words pulled me back.

'Looks like it,'
We're on our way!
Yeah.

　We kicked the ground and ran to where the magic circle was.
　It doesn't matter how maze-like this place is, it doesn't matter.
　It's a good idea to have a detailed map in your mind if you use detection magic.

　It's not even five minutes after you started running that you arrived at this place.

This is...!

　Avril is speechless when she sees the magic circle that radiates light.
　The entire area around it is carved in a dense circle of magic.

''It looks like a detonator.

　I calmly analyze it.

'Or, it's a pretty big deal!　Even I don't know how much havoc will be wrought once this is activated!

　And Avril's voice echoed in the basement.

　The end of the magic conductor is........hmm. So that's where I thought it was.

"What do you mean by that?　I have to do something about this quickly...!
Wait a minute.

　I turned my back to you.

Hey, come on out. I know you're in there.

　I called it in.

　And then he gave up.

Kukku, you're good. You've seen it all?

　Out of the darkness, a man emerges swiftly.
　He was dressed in an eccentric clown-like outfit.

"You drew this magic circle, didn't you?
Correct.

　A grin lifted the corners of the man's mouth.

'Who are you?'
I have no name to give you. Qu-(l)-t. Averill.

　I guess they know who I am.
　I don't know who this guy is, but let's call him a clown.

You seem quite calm, don't you?
''This kind of magic circle isn't much of a stretch, you know. I was hoping for a little but I'm disappointed.
'No big deal?　Oh dear, it looks like you have a knothole in your eye.

　And the clown man shrugs.

　It makes me uncomfortable, but let me observe how stupid this guy is going to be spouting off now?

'Can't you see the artistry of this magic circle!　Thirty years for me!　It's a magic circle that has been painstakingly prepared for 30 years!　I thought you were my kind, but apparently I was mistaken!

　Well, by the standards of this era, it's pretty impressive.
　It's a needlessly complicated circuitry, and to the viewer it might be a marvel.

This seems to be a detonator, isn't it?　We've made it so that if it's triggered, the entire building will be blown up.
'That's right!　You'll lose someone you love!　It's all going to blow up!　The bloom of blood is in full bloom!
I don't think you're going to get away with this, though.
'That's okay!　It's all for that One. If this artistic magic circle can be activated and be of service to that One, there is no greater joy than this!

　That gentleman?

'Hmmm, do you forgive me?　He told me to stop. Get down on all fours like a dog in front of me and cry out!
Then you should try to activate it.
...What?

　I continue to push away at the clown who is enjoying himself.

I told him that he could try it out. I said you'd like to try it.

　If that's the case, then interrupting me in the middle of the road would be a distraction.

　Hearing my words, the clown man's face twists up in anger.

''.........!　That word is an insult to art!　I won't allow it!　You can snort miserably and beg for forgiveness!
'Don't mess with me. Or are you not sure?
That word ... it's too late to regret it when you're dead.

　The clown man holds his hand out in front of him.

'My name is Esaias!　Activate and destroy this filthy schoolhouse - destroy it!

　I don't think chanting is necessary, is that how you're trying to lift the mood?
　


'What's the matter, nothing's happening?


　The light seemed to dazzle to a certain point, but then it suddenly lost its luster.
　Seeing this, Esaias's face was filled with confusion for the first time.

''What do you mean!　Why won't it start?　Once this thing starts up (once), it's going to blow up the school building like this...
If it doesn't start, the reason is obvious. By the time I got here no, it's because I've been rendered ineffective in the daytime in the first place.
What in the world have you done?

　Yes.
　At noon, when I was wandering around the school building before the joint class started, I thought there were a lot of disturbing magic circles.
　I thought there were a lot of disturbing magic circles, so I disabled all of them as I strolled through the school building.
　It's a mechanism that if you activate this detonator's magic circle, the magic circles written all over the school building will explode.
　So no matter how much this guy tried to activate this magic circle, it was useless because the end of the magic conductor was crushed in the first place.

''Aaaaah!　My magicians ... ten years' worth of art!
I know you're messing around, but I'll tell you this.

　To a horrified and screaming Messiah, I told him.

'Your thirty years have been meaningless, haven't they?