Sofia’s Field Research ◆

Translated by AmaLynne
Edited by AmaLynne

 

The crystal in my hand came from the golem.

 

At first glance, it appears to be nothing more than a piece of ore, but anyone with knowledge of magic will immediately realize that it is a crystallized form of highly pure mana.

 

I’ve never heard of such a crystalline body being extracted from a golem in the past.

 

Rather, this is the first time I’ve heard of mana materializing in this way.

 

Generally speaking, mana is invisible. It can indeed be made visible when it becomes highly pure.

 

However, even so, it should never be able to be touched like this.

 

If the mana is dense, it has some mass, but even so, it is like caressing a fog, you can’t pick it up or hold it like this.

 

“Th-This could be a great discovery…!”

 

The crystal I have now is not a very powerful piece of mana.

 

However, the mana must be taken the form of material in this way.

 

Perhaps, if this crystalline form is used well, magical civilization may be able to develop further in the future.

 

Magic is the art of releasing the mana inside the body and interfering with the laws of the world through the image of the user. Chanting and magic circles exist to assist in visualizing the image, and if you are skilled, you can perform magic without chanting.

 

However, people without magical qualities are unable to release mana from their bodies in the first place.

 

In other words, no matter how hard they try, they cannot use magic.

 

However, there is a tool or technology called『Magia Technos』that uses the mana that exists in the earth and air as energy, and it is widely used in the world.

 

Commonly known as『Magitek』. Alternatively, it is called a magic tool.

 

For example, a pot to boil water or a light source to illuminate a room are common examples.

 

It is a technology that allows those who cannot handle magic to create pseudo-magical phenomena by using tools that utilize mana.

 

Thanks to the creation of this magitek, people’s lives have become better, and it has contributed to bridging the gap between those who can use magic and those who cannot, even if only slightly.

 

However, this magitek also has a weakness.

 

There are lands in this world where the mana density in the air and earth is low, and in such lands, magitek cannot be used.

 

In other words, those who can handle magic from the beginning can benefit from magic regardless of the land, while those who can’t even benefit from magic or magitek depending on the land, become genuine magical social weaklings.

 

However, if this crystallized mana could be used as a new source of energy for magitek, it would be possible to use magitek anytime and anywhere, and save those who cannot benefit from magic in magical society.

 

In that light, this would be a tremendous discovery.

 

Of course, it will take a lot of time to research this crystal in detail and improve the magitek from scratch through repeated experiments…

 

However, if it becomes possible to use this crystal to create magitek, magical civilization will make further progress!

 

I immediately called out to the adventurers who were dismantling the golem and collecting it, and instructed them to collect the unknown blue crystal.

 

“E-Every~one! I-If you find a blue stone that looks like this, please bring it to me~”

 

Fortunately, the adventurers were not reluctant and gave me all the crystals.

 

From their point of view, since they didn’t know what this was, they doubted whether it was worth using.

 

They had no hesitation in giving it to me.

 

“I-In total………a-amazing! There are more than 30!”

 

I shouted out, unusually loud at the fact that I had obtained a much larger amount of crystals than I had imagined.

 

This drew the attention of the people working around me, and I blushed.

 

I got a little excited. I’m so embarrassed…

 

As I was groaning, someone called out to me.

 

“This is Leia, Sofia-sama. May I have a moment of your time?”

 

“Eh? Ah, yes. Leia-chan, thank you for your hard work.”

 

Leia-san is a female knight with blue eyes and reddish hair.

 

She is an elite member of the knight order who has been entrusted by Martina-san to investigate this place in person.

 

She has a slightly unapproachable vibe, but she’s not a bad girl.

 

She also pays respect to me, a mage who is in a contrasting position to the knights.

 

She’s a very good girl.

 

“S-So, how was the town?”

 

“Yes. I was able to hear from Matilda, the mayor of the town, and it seems that the upper echelons of the town have stopped talking about phantoms. It seems that they have put information restrictions in place to prevent unnecessary confusion. Thanks to this, I don’t see any residents making a fuss.”

 

“I-I see…”

 

I had asked Leia to investigate in detail the state of the town following the appearance of the phantom beast.

 

From the moment I entered the town, the residents were quiet and didn’t seem to be in any particular state of panic. I wondered if the information hadn’t been passed on to the residents? It turned out to be true.

 

“And what about the『the person in question』going? Didn’t you get any information?”

 

“No, I’m sorry. Nothing in particular.”

 

“I-I see…”

 

I couldn’t help but let out a disappointed voice.

 

The person in question is Ares-san.

 

The traces of him that I found in this place… I had sensed the wavelength of mana that Ares-san possessed, and had been tracking his existence at the same time as investigating the phantoms.

 

It was too early to be sure that he was still alive, but I couldn’t help but investigate.

 

To tell the truth, I would have preferred to give priority to this investigation rather than the phantoms, but that would have been too much of a mix of work and private life.

 

Even so, I forced Leia to look for traces of Ares along with the investigation of the phantom beast.

 

“Sofia-sama. Who is this person that you’re looking for? If you’re looking for this person and a phantom beast at the same time, does this person have anything to do with the phantom beast?”

 

“Ah, ehh… that… um~mm, that person isn’t directly involved with the beast, but…”

 

“? ? Then why are you searching?”

 

“Umm, it’s… um…”

 

I pondered for a moment how I could explain it.

 

Ares, the hero, is the worst person in the world, and his reputation is the lowest…

 

He is still notorious in the world and is recognized as the worst hero in history.

 

In addition, there are rumors that he ran away from the battle before the final battle and then disappeared, further spreading his bad reputation.

 

Recently, a book about the hero’s folly has been published, in which the author writes endlessly about what happened and what didn’t happen, and slanders Ares as he pleases.

 

Thanks to this, it has created even more bad feelings in people’s hearts, and Ares the Brave has come to be called the rightful owner of fools, an inferior human being, walking pollution, and an existence that is itself a sin to have been born.

 

It’s difficult to say that you are looking for a man who has such a harsh reputation in the public eye.

 

In fact, I even gave Leia a description of Ares and asked her to look for him without giving her any information such as his name.

 

But what is the reason for searching for Ares-san in the context of the current situation where a phantom beast has appeared? If you ask me, I can force myself to come up with a reason.

 

It is,

 

“If you can find it, it will be a great asset in the fight against the phantom beasts…”

 

I was aware that I was deceptively explaining to Leia-chan, so my voice was low at the end.

 

But what I said was really what I was thinking in my heart.

 

Regardless of his public reputation, Ares-san is an undeniable hero who saved this world… He is the strongest person in this world.

 

The fact that he defeated the demon god Demiurge single-handedly is also evident.

 

Among the people, it is said that  I, Martina-san, and Touka-san defeated the demon gods, but that’s a complete lie… a nonsense.

 

The one who really confronted and defeated the demon god was Ares, and we didn’t do anything about it.

 

I feel a strong sense of guilt about that, but let’s put that aside for now.

 

In other words, if we can confirm that Ares-san is alive, he will be able to help us with his power even if we have to fight against phantoms in the future.

 

“……Understood, I see what you mean. If Sofia-sama says so, then the person you are looking for must be quite skilled. It is better to have more than one person to deal with phantoms. We will continue our search.”

 

“Th-Thank you very much.”

 

Ever since I came here, I have definitely felt the presence of phantoms.

 

In particular, this place we are investigating now has traces of some kind of giant creature that seems to have gone on a rampage.

 

In addition, a large-scale installation magic, Zero Field, has been activated.

 

“Then, please continue your search. Give top priority to the investigation of the beast, and if possible, to search for the person in question in the background.”

 

“Yes. Then I will return to the town.”

 

“Thank you very much.”

 

After bowing reverently, Leia-chan turned on her heel with quick movements and walked back to Cid.

 

I watched her back and moved my gaze once again to the survey area.

 

My eyes were filled with the adventurers surveying the area, the knights, and…

 

“Th-This is obviously not from a human…”

  

 

It showed footprints that were the same shape as a human… but in no way the size of a human.

 

“Titan.. perhaps this is where Ares-san met this phantom…”

 

I’m not sure if it’s true or not, but I’ve decided that it’s very possible.

 

“Ares-san…”

 

I held my chest and whispered his name quietly.