Editor 42

For a man and woman sitting face-to-face in a cozy café, their conversation was extremely dry.

Of course, the looks they gave each other were as affectionate as those between lovers.

It was a happy alliance: one a possessor of information, the other someone who could convert information into money.

Cleio, too, took a sip of the liquor left in his glass. The sharp sting of anise seemed to clear his sinuses completely.

The strong green liquor they’d found at a shabby bar-cum-café in the Oreils district tasted and smelled just like absinthe.

Having sobered up from the liquor, Cleio gazed contentedly at his own land across the street, fenced off and awaiting demolition.

No matter how many times he looked, it made him happy and satisfied.

‘Land is best. If a war breaks out, it’ll be worth at least ten times what I paid… And I’ll be able to collect rent in the meantime, so it’s the cream of the crop.’

It was as hard to make money without information, capital, and connections here as it had been in his previous world.

The difference now was his own status and circumstances.

‘Since I’ll have to keep trailing the protagonist and cleaning up after him, isn’t this reward at least justified?’

After confirming the initial deposit had been paid, he stopped at the bank and immediately paid Dione the full commission.

Feeling elated, the two had the carriage turned around to check on the property.

He had visited the Oreils district a few times before, but it was the first time today that even the dirty alleys and rutted mounds of earth seemed dear to him.

‘Thanks to this, I don’t need to rely on Gideon Aser’s money.’

Even now, his allowance piled up in his account, untouched; he had his own reasons for saving it.

Just as Cleio was getting dizzy thinking about how to increase his real estate holdings, an unfamiliar, unpleasant smell invaded his nose.

‘What’s that? It’s the stench of decomposing grass and earth… Why does it smell of rotting grass in the middle of the city?’

Dione seemed to sense something was wrong too—her expression hardened. Her deductive skills were better than Cleio’s.

“Ray, I learned at school there’s only one thing that smells like this, but I didn’t think it was possible…”

For once, her tone lacked confidence as she trailed off.

Only then did Cleio figure out what she was suspecting. 「Memory」 flickered and retrieved the relevant passage.

—The blood of a beast gives off a thick stench of rotting grass. The smell spreads far and wide.

‘No way!’

“…Is it the scent of a beast’s blood?”

“That’s right, Ray. Theoretically, it should be, but you’d have to have seen a beast to be sure. The last time beasts appeared was nearly a thousand years ago.”

“To remember what you learned in school so well, Lady Dione, you’re impressive.”

“I heard so much about the legends and history of the Gate of Mnemosyne growing up, how could I forget?”

In old times, there had been Gates of Mnemosyne in the Principality of Brunnen, the Kingdom of the Carolingians, and the Meredius continent.

Some claimed that even on ruined Centrum, before the rivers dried up, gates had existed—because all gates were built where a river wrapped around a city center.

But over the long years, all the gates to other worlds had closed.

The Gate of Mnemosyne at the Tempus riverside was the last remaining gateway to another world.

The Royal Capital Guard and Capital Guard School had originally been established to guard and observe the Gate of Mnemosyne.

‘And in the last draft of , the gate in Lundane opens again after a thousand years… in Arthur’s era…’

Cleio hastily activated [Perception].

His hearing and sense of smell became explosively sensitive.

He caught the footsteps of a giant four-legged beast rampaging six blocks away, two types of simultaneous roars, and the scent of beast blood as it splattered.

‘It really is the twin-headed wolf, Varg? That’s the beast Arthur is supposed to defeat at nineteen—this is two years too early! Ugh.’

Varg was the first beast in a thousand years to come through the Gate of Mnemosyne.

Cleio was startled by the giant monster, but studying the sounds, he also sensed sword-wielders chasing after it—traces of Aether.

For anyone using sword aura in the center of the capital, they’d have to be knights.

‘Thank goodness…! If the knights are coming, they’ll take care of it.’

Looking around, the street outside was sparsely peopled, with only a handful of patrons inside the café.

They still seemed oblivious to the incident.

‘No telling which way the beast will move. It might be more dangerous to go outside.’

Trying to steady his nerves, Cleio finished his drink in one go—the liquor burned down his throat so sharply, he could feel the shape of his esophagus.

“Lady Dione, just in case, do you have any memorized combat-use magic formulas?”

“I’m a magic stone crafting specialist. I forgot [Ignite], and I never memorized anything like [Lightning Strike].”

“Too bad.”

“It’s hard enough to remember spells for my specialty. How could I possibly memorize unused battle magic? Wait, why do you ask about combat—something’s wrong, isn’t it?”

“One beast is coming, and four knights pursuing it.”

Dione’s expression stiffened.

“A beast! I don’t see or hear anything—did you ‘predict’ this too?”

“It’s similar. It’s just turned out a bit different from my expectation.”

“If there was such a prediction, why did we come here today at all?”

“I really didn’t know it would be today. Still, the Capital Guard Order is right behind it, so the esteemed knights will…”

Cleio didn’t even finish speaking.

KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWANG!!!

The beast leapt over the back of the one-story café and landed on the street, just on the other side of the café’s window.

A gray wolf the size of three or four horses, with two heads, let out a howl.

GRRRRRRRR—

Blood poured from its back and hind legs, and its eyes shone with madness and rage. ‘The Promise’ flashed and 「Understanding」 kicked in.

[Varg

?Class: Beast

?Level: 5]

Both Cleio and Dione froze. When truly shocked, a person can’t make a sound.

With just a thin pane of glass between them, the beast caught sight of the people in the café, its gaze wild.

Clink, clang—crash—!

With a quaking vibration, the café’s window shattered a beat later. Cleio hastily put up a defensive spell.

There was no time to think of an incantation; he crammed four slots with the simplest activation phrase.

Such was the terror of the beast!

“[Barrier][Barrier][Barrier][Barrier]!!!”

A broad circle of light expanded, enveloping the café’s proprietor, customers, Dione, and Cleio.

KWA-KWA-KWANG—KWA-KWANG—

The massive wolf bared its huge, sharp teeth and rammed Cleio’s barrier spell again and again.

Gold Aether sparks flew with every impact.

The beast could not put a paw inside the circle.

Dione, completely stunned, had somehow ended up right next to Cleio. Yet rather than hiding behind, she stepped in front as if to protect the boy.

“Thank you. So what now? If it were a human, I could try something, but I can’t fight a beast.”

“It’s same as before. The Capital Guard Order is right behind it. Let’s wait.”

Cleio was tense too, but Dione was visibly shaking, so he unconsciously pretended calm.

‘Okay, get a grip. With [Perception], I can see its movements. I’ve got enough Aether. The knights heard the noise and are coming. I just need to hold out.’

The last time the beast struck the shield and bounced off, its huge body slammed into the iron fence around Cleio’s land across from the café.

The rebound was so strong that the fence tore immediately, and the beast rolled onto Cleio’s lot, all torn up from demolition.

Purple-tinged blood foamed at one of the two heads’ jaws; its shuddering body looked about to vomit more blood.

‘Looks like its life is almost over. Thank… Wait, no!’

It was fine for the beast to die.

But it must not die on Cleio’s land!

「Memory」 wound backward at immense speed.

In the previous draft, a beast that had broken free of the gate was hunted down by Arthur at a demolition site outside the city.

Unfathomably foul-smelling purple blood sprayed across the land. It was hellish.

Under the pretense that no one could know what effect the beast’s blood or remains would cause, the Royal Capital Guard sealed off the area and sent in research magicians to investigate.

‘It’s not like it actually harmed people! The research magicians just went berserk at the prospect of beast blood and glued themselves to the place!’

The magicians, fascinated by the first beast in a thousand years, ran experiments after experiments; it took 18 months for the investigation to finish.

Naturally, demolition and construction were halted the whole time.

If the beast died there, that’s exactly what would soon happen to Cleio.

Losing 18 months of hotel construction to a government blockade would be catastrophic!

‘Shit, no!!! Don’t die on my land!!!’

He had no wand or anything, but now was no time to care. Before his head could think, his body moved first.

Grabbing Dione’s parasol as a stand-in for a wand, Cleio crashed through the shattered window and ran into the street.

Crack—crunch!!

“[Leap, with the feet of a herald!]”

Cleio filled two slots, levitated his body with [Leap][Hover]. It was one of the combinations he’d practiced during the break.

The wolf, lying on its side, was roused by the burst of Cleio’s Aether and sprang to its feet.

Torn all over, it still shook itself savagely.

RATTLE—GRRRRR—

KWA-AA-AA-AAAK—!

For an instant, Varg’s flashing eyes met Cleio’s.

‘That’s it!’

Cleio immediately expanded his circle spell to its full fourth-level range and began leaping in wide intervals, luring the beast after him.

‘That’s right, come on!’

The wolf, as if nothing was wrong, let out an unearthly howl and tore after Cleio.

KWA-KWA-KWAAANG!!!

He leaped over desolate alleys emptied of residents, heading for the city’s outskirts.

‘Just have to get it out of here!’

The monster’s howls and footsteps grew ever closer.

[Perception] made the wolf’s presence feel chillingly real.

He was too scared to even look back.

Reactivating spells several times, Cleio put every ounce of strength into luring the wolf. A stitch in his chest almost stopped his breath.

With the hand not holding the parasol, he frantically rummaged through his jacket pocket.

His hands shook so much from nerves that it took forever to get out his spatial pouch.

That was when—

TA-AA-AA-AT!

The beast shot past, now blocking the path where Cleio, still mid-hover, would land.

WOOO-OOOO-OOOOH!!!

The wolf bared its blood-stained teeth in a savage snarl, turning its head.

“UWAAAH!”

Cleio also let out a scream. Thankfully, [Perception] let him track the wolf’s every move.

‘What use is seeing it if I can’t dodge!?’

To avoid the wolf charging from the front, he cut off the [Hover] spell.

CRASH—THUD!

He crashed into a pile of bricks on the demolition site. It was unsightly, but now was no time for pride.

Cleio wrestled with his pocket.

‘Damn it, why won’t this pouch open!!!’