“Will it be all right?”
“Yes. I just need to pay more attention to my mana reserves.”
The Sorcerer King put on his monocle and looked at the paper. Although there were no visible signs of activation, it ought to have taken effect. The Sorcerer King looked like he was deciphering it now. That said, the Sorcerer King had no eyes, so it simply looked like he was reading it.
After a short while, he took of the monocle.
“It was a lot of mana after all.”
Neia had seen priests wobble around shakily after using a great deal of mana, but she saw no signs of that in the Sorcerer King. However, comparing the Sorcerer King to an average magic caster was the height of rudeness. It was probably because he had enormous stores of mana.
As Neia contemplated this, the Sorcerer King approached the door further within and gently slid open the vision slit.
Neia heard many weak breathing sounds from inside, and her nose picked up the scent of blood.
She gripped her bow tightly, thinking to squeeze between the Sorcerer King and the door, but the Sorcerer King stopped her with his hand.
It meant Don’t come here.
“Mm… Ms. Baraja. The people using this room were not demihumans, but demons. The reason why I say that is because this paper contains details on the experiments the demons were performing.”
“...The demons’ experiments?”
Even without further explanation, she was sure that these experiments were not decent or proper by any means.
“Yes. They seemed to have done things like chopping arms off and then reattaching them to other creatures, or cutting open the subjects’ abdomens and exchanging the internal organs within. They started with blood relatives as a control group, and they branched out to combinations of humans and other lifeforms — not just demihumans, but animals too — and then they healed them with magic to see what changes occurred.”
“What dreadful experiments! Especially that blood relatives and body swapping stuff, how could any sane person think of such things?”
“...All right. After conducting these experiments, it’s natural that they’d want their test subjects to live. In particular, they want to keep them alive as long as possible until they find out why they die.”
Saying so, the Sorcerer King turned around, his back to the door. Then, he indicated the door behind him over his shoulder with his thumb. For some reason, Neia knew what was coming next.
“Some of those test subjects are in there. They’re still alive despite having their bellies cut open.”
She had anticipated this, but the cruel reality still dyed Neia’s mind stark white for an instant. After that, she burned with hatred for the demons who had conducted such inhumane experiments.
“Ms. Baraja! Get the priests right away! Fetch Captain Custodio too! Hurry!”
“Understood!”
There was no need to question the reason why they had to be called over. Neia ran with all her might.
In the corner of her mind, she heard a voice ask, Is it really all right to leave His Majesty here by himself? but this was an order from a powerful man who was both trustworthy and wise. There was no need to worry. He would not be wrong. The voice vanished in an instant.
The priests opened the door and entered the room. The way their shoulders trembled for an instant illustrated the hideous conditions inside the cells better than words ever could.
In front of her, the Sorcerer King showed the paper to Remedios and Gustavo.
“Have a look at this. This paper contains the names of the people in there and what happened to them. In addition, there are other papers with similar things written on them, or perhaps other things — Jaldabaoth’s plans, for instance. I’m not too sure about that. Can you understand what’s written on this paper?”
Remedios looked at the paper and wrinkled her brows, then immediately handed it to Gustavo.
Gustavo shook his head too.
“I have no idea. But you understand it, don’t you, Your Majesty?”
“Ah, yes, by using the power of this magic item. However, that item drains a tremendous amount of mana. That mana must be conserved for the sake of doing battle with Jaldabaoth. And what I want to know is, do any of you know anyone who can read these characters? Anyone who might have the chance of understanding it will do.”
“No, I have no leads at all. While I feel there might be someone like them among the southern nobles… I think the possibility of that is very low.”
“I see… then how will you deal with this? On my part, I would hope you would put more effort into trying to decipher their script.”
“Can we not borrow Your Majesty’s magic item?”
“I refuse. This is a treasure of my nation. It is just as how you would not easily loan out the holy sword at your waist. And to magic casters like myself, magic items like these are more valuable than swords.”
Remedios and Gustavo looked at each other once more.
“I understand. Then let us work hard together. Also — we have a new problem. It would seem there are Orc captives. How shall they be dealt with?”
It would seem the Orcs had not attacked the Holy Kingdom out of their own will, but they were brought over by Jaldabaoth. They had not yielded any useful information when questioned, and the Paladin Order was at a loss as to how to deal with them.
“Mm… I understand. Can you tell me where they are? Can you leave them to me?”
“Yes. Thank you for your trouble.”
Gustavo supplied a rough location. Since the city was not very big, they would probably not get lost.
After sketching a rough map in her mind, the cell door opened and an utterly exhausted-looking priest showed up.
“Ohhh! What happened!? What about the condition of the people inside?”
“We started by using healing magic on the survivors. This is the first time we’ve tried to heal the subjects of such inhumane experiments, so we’ll stay here and observe them. If they’re fine, we’ll move them outside. At least, that’s what I think.”
“I see. Then, we’ll send some paladins and militiamen over to help you move these people out.”
“Understood, Captain Custodio. Then, I’ll take my leave, Your Majesty.”
The priest opened the door again and went back into the cell.
After watching the priest leave and concluding that there was nothing left to do, the four of them each went to their respective destinations.
Naturally, the Sorcerer King and Neia parted ways with the other two and headed for the location of the Orcs.
“That said, since there are demons around, it would be good if we had someone who could see the original forms of shapeshifters,” the Sorcerer King said as he walked.
While they could not verify the presence of demons in this city, the piece of paper with demonic characters on it suggested the possibility that there might be demons about, or that there might have been demons here recently.
“Can demons transform themselves?”
“Ahh, demons like that do exist. They can shapeshift into men, women, or even animals.”
“I see… Someone with the ability to see through shapeshifting — or a similar talent. My deepest apologies. I have not heard of anyone with these abilities. Ah, no, I’ve heard legends about such things. I remember reading about them in a book. However, if you asked me if there were any of them around now…”