Nocturne of the Sleepless Black Magician

The trading merchant asked about the pilgrimage route Safi spoke of repeatedly.

"I feel like I've heard of it, but it might be completely different."

He spoke of how there was a different trade route long ago from the present one, where traffic was busy. Though there were many remote places like steep mountains and deep forests, there were small post towns scattered about, and merchants and soldiers alike followed the same path.

Safi sat in the comfortable space at the front of the cargo wagon, eating fruit while listening to the story. She had shown him her scroll map once, but the merchant seemed unable to make sense of it. It was an abstract map with few proper nouns like city names written on it.

"That old trade route—about how many years ago was that?"

"Many generations ago. Two hundred years, three hundred years, that far back."

It was the kind of profit talk typical of merchants. In remote mountains and riverside areas, there were mining sites rich with rare gems and precious ores that sold for high prices. Many unusual small animals also lived there, which became featured products in markets... He said it was talk from prosperous, peaceful times.

"Don't any traces of those post towns remain?"

"Like I said, they all disappeared. Probably dug too much. The treasure stones ran out, and that was the end of it."

On the other hand, the merchant complained that he couldn't quite understand the meaning of pilgrimage. When told this, Safi was also troubled. She herself didn't fully grasp it either.

It wasn't related to any specific sect. There weren't large temple-like buildings at key pilgrimage sites with important people living there. They were probably uninhabited now.

The pilgrimage route had been forgotten, and the buildings and monuments that served as landmarks must have been abandoned. What was clearly known was that magicians like herself had gathered together and walked the same path, competing as if racing each other. Pilgrimage was deeply related to magic.

"Doesn't sound like there are profit to be found."

The merchant spoke in a tone as if giving up. It was also certain that the pilgrimage route was unrelated to profit stories.

Trade routes basically connected large cities, and when towns perished, roads were also closed. The reverse didn't happen—they changed constantly each era with the prosperity and decline of cities. The merchant lamented that several major highways had been lost in the recent great war.

"Isn't the road we're traveling now that trade route?"

"Barely, I guess. If the destination town meets its end, this highway will be finished too."

If trade routes were lines connecting points, when one point disappeared, the line would vanish simultaneously. The town they were heading to was the merchant's birthplace. He spoke sadly of how it was in a precarious situation, with its fate nearly exhausted.

The wagon was loaded with supplies. He wasn't a convenient carrier. He was trying to deliver necessary tools and materials, betting on his hometown's reconstruction.

"So, what's your birthplace like, young lady?"

It was when the conversation turned to Safi's hometown. The horse neighed and the sunlight was blocked, suddenly becoming dark. Pitch-black clouds were approaching, crawling along the ground. Where had they emerged from...

"Not clouds. That's insects. A swarm of winged insects."

Something strange reflected in Safi's eyes. The swarming winged insects formed a mass, and just when it seemed to stretch and contract vertically and horizontally, it swirled like a tornado creating a large shadow. Someone was beneath it.

"This is bad—that one's a monster."

Feeling powerful hostility and bloodlust, Safi took a defensive stance. What appeared as the tornado formed was also a non-human being. Gray skin, muscular, with a face ugly like rough rock. When it raised its powerful arms, the tornado's shape changed. It seemed to be controlling the swarm of winged insects.

"YOU, LEAVE, HORSE, GO"

It shouted loudly. There was a very dangerous, violent smell. If they refused to leave, it seemed like it would immediately attack.

"What should we do?"

Safi asked the merchant in a small voice. Its target was the cargo, and if they quietly handed it over, they might avoid trouble. But what was loaded were reconstruction materials, with little food. If it learned there was no food, it would surely get angry and rampage.

"It would be good if we only had our horse killed, but it probably won't go that way."

The merchant was trembling. Though the gray monster looked like a human, it didn't seem like someone you could reason with. While controlling the black winged insect tornado, it crept closer to the covered wagon.

There was the option of floating the horse and all into the air to observe, but the mass of winged insects would surely follow.

Safi activated wind magic. The power was weak, but sufficient to blow away small insects. The tornado instantly lost its shape, and most of the winged insects were driven away. Still, the gray grotesque being didn't flinch and kept approaching.

"I never heard that monsters appeared on this highway. I've never encountered them even once until now..." The merchant said in fear as he looked at the gray grotesque being.

It seemed to be an exceptional occurrence. There were no weapons in the cargo, nor anything that could substitute. The merchant had been completely unguarded and had apparently traveled here leisurely.

"You said monster—that guy's a bad one, right?" Safi asked.

"No matter how you look at it, there's no way he's a kind person."

Some of the blown-away winged insects returned, creating a small tornado. Recovery was quick. Recognizing this, Safi immediately released flame magic. This was also weak in power, but the winged insects burned spectacularly. The unpleasant smell of burning spread around.

With his familiars burned away, the monster’s anger ignited. He pulled out something like a club from his back and approached at slightly increased speed. It was troublesome and unavoidable. Safi extended her right hand horizontally and took aim.

"Sweet dreams to you."

It was a signature line she had recently thought up. The black sphere that appeared at the tip of her hand gradually grew larger and enveloped the gray monster. At that moment, Safi witnessed the surrounding winged insects being sucked into the sphere.

The sphere vibrated and soon shrunk and disappeared. The gray monster wrapped in darkness had also vanished. The crisis had passed.

"Amazing, young lady, this is astounding."

Not a bad reaction. Those who witnessed this technique generally praised it that way. After that, Safi would provide some explanation about magic and be admired twice more, but the merchant showed no further words and displayed anxious behavior. He said he was scared and about to leak between pants. He threw down the reins and rushed into the roadside bushes.

She had secretly practiced detailed post-activation explanations, but the timing was somehow bad. Glancing sideways, she saw the merchant crouching in the nearby shade of a tree. It was the big kind.

"Ah, I feel refreshed. For a moment there, I wondered what would happen."

It was an ambiguous opening line. Whether he meant being about to be attacked or being about to release was hard to judge. It wasn't the atmosphere for lengthy explanations about magic either. Timing things stylishly was difficult.

"You can use wind and fire. What about water?"

When Safi nodded, the merchant suddenly extended both hands. He apparently wanted to rinse with water. Though it seemed like a waste of magic, being clean wasn't bad. After washing his hands, the merchant gave her fruit. That order was also quite proper.

"That blackish magic—what is that?"

"It seems to be a type of technique that manipulates earth, but I don't really understand it myself."

The Elder Master at the fortress city had explained it as earth-attribute magic, but Safi had only learned it by watching clan members use it, and didn't know details. Descriptions in old related books were also vague, with many unknown parts remaining.

❁❁❁ From the Author 🪄 ❁❁❁

This isn't the time to be talking about "sweet dreams" or being stylish.

Even after skillfully eliminating a talking monster, Safi has no real sense of having killed someone. Swallowing with a black sphere and making it disappear... she had never deeply considered what lay beyond that. This area becomes the rough theme of Episode 2.

Next time begins with the scene of arriving in town by covered wagon.

(End of Chapter)