Chapter 4, Part 2:
Like most major port cities, London had a Chinatown.
The Chinatown in the Soho area had more than a hundred Chinese restaurants, making it one of the largest in the world. There were unique-looking red and white lanterns hanging between the many signs full of Chinese characters. The people passing by seemed even more diverse than usual, and I felt like I might lose track of what country I was in if I wandered around for a bit.
Going northeast from Chinatown and into Charing Cross Road, the buildings that lined the streets transitioned from Chinese to Victorian-styled architecture before becoming modern again.
London was distinctive because of this kind of intersection between countries and eras.
My mentor continued walking north along Charing Cross Road until he came to a stop in front of a certain building.
It was a giant glass-fronted building.
The futuristic cylindrical shape of the structure was quite eye-catching. Thinking of how most of the other buildings in the Clock Tower had been disguised as unassuming universities or government buildings, I got to experience first-hand how the Secret Autopsy Division was both a part of the Clock Tower and separate from it.
“All of the organizations here are affiliated with the Secret Autopsy Division. Though not every one of the people here are mages, all of them should at least know about magecraft and Mystery,” my mentor said after we signed in at the reception desk.
The reason why he felt the need to explain was simple. All the people I had seen entering and exiting were all dressed like businessmen, in suits.
My mentor seemed to be used to this kind of place and acted very naturally. However, I couldn’t help but get nervous. I pulled down my hood with my stiff fingers like I did when I first came to London and stared straight down at the floor, which I think was made of marble.
“—Sorry to have kept you waiting.”
Finally, the woman at the reception desk handed my mentor a card.
“Is this a magnetic key card?”
It looked very similar to the Oyster cards that had been recently introduced on buses. After we walked into the elevator, a swipe from the key card revealed a hidden control panel beneath the regular buttons. My mentor pressed one of them, and I instantly felt a jolt of inertia.
“Aren’t we going up?”
“We’re going to B45.”
My mentor quoted a shocking number as if it was perfectly normal. Then, he crossed his arms and tapped at one of them with his index finger.
“It’s several hundred meters underground, around the same as the deepest parts of the Clock Tower. One of the four total entrances to Spirit Tomb Albion is situated here.”
“There are four in total?”
“Yes. The Secret Autopsy Division is only capable of managing who enters Spirit Tomb Albion because there are so few.” After he said that, he glanced to the side. “Are you satisfied now?”
“Yes! Thank you so much! I’ve never been to the Secret Autopsy Division before!” Yvette said, giggling happily.
Just like she announced in the hotel room, she came along without an ounce of shame. Perhaps being able to do this was one of her strengths. Maybe I only thought this way because I was so shy, but she didn’t seem to care if she bothered others at all.
“Since you said it was in exchange for the information, I can’t exactly refuse. I don’t know how the people we’re going to meet managed to get the permission of the Division though,” my mentor said, displeased.
The feeling of weightlessness continued until the metal doors finally opened, revealing a spacious, circular room. It was around the size of the lobby of one of the better hotels.
There were giant crystals hanging from the ceiling, glinting with a faint light. My intuition told me that they were not products of science. Though I said that, they didn’t seem completely made with magecraft, either. They were probably objects of Mystery, but the clear light emitting from them made me feel like they were from something even more mysterious.
—Were they excavated from Spirit Tomb Albion?
I thought of that place again.
What kind of otherworldly realm would a labyrinth capable of producing things like these be? I silently pondered these thoughts as I stood under the flickering drops of light.
“Hm, it’s rare to see chunks of pyroxene this large.”
“Have you seen something like this before, Miss Yvette?” I asked.
“Yes, but only the size of pebbles and rocks. Even ones that small are useful for all kinds of things because of the Magical Energy inside them. They’re pretty expensive too, because you can only find them in places rich in Mystery. All I can say is that you only get to see something like this in the Secret Autopsy Division.”
Yvette nodded, and then looked around again.
She was probably this excited because of what she called the intuition of a spy. Since she went as far as to ask something this unreasonable of my mentor, the Secret Autopsy Division must be an intriguing place, even for a mage.
“…Strange,” my mentor muttered after we had waited for a while.
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
“No one’s here. They just told me that the person we wanted to meet would come immediately.”
My attention was drawn to one of the doors along the walls of the circular room.
With a hiss, the door opened, and an overweight worker rushed in. He tripped on his own feet and fell over backwards.
“—!”
A strange odor wafted in. Then, a loud noise sounded, like something was crashing into something else.
The sound repeated five times. During this time, the door was bashed out of shape, and a two-meter tall beast emerged from the doorway.
However, such a creature could not exist. A lion’s head stared at me, but the heads of a bat and a chicken also sprouted out from the sides of its body. Its two claws were like scythes, or the forelegs of a mantis. Just as I stared in wonder at this amalgam of a creature(chimera), one of its heads turned to us.
“Sir!”
I rushed forward immediately, releasing Add from the hook. It immediately turned into a scythe.
“Ihihihi! What a grand welcome!”
Just as I did that, the three-headed beast came charging toward me.
I figured that I would be knocked flying by it, so I dodged to the side.
—However, even though I didn’t bear the direct blow, my strengthened arms were still numb from the impact.
What was this—?
Until now, I had fought many mages and their creations. However, this time, it felt different.
Spirit Tomb Albion. This name appeared once again in my mind. It gave me a sense of bewilderment, like I was Alice stepping into Wonderland. I tried to swallow the fear that surged inside me and gritted my teeth.
“Gray-chan!” Yvette shouted.
I looked back to find her running toward me as she lifted her eyepatch.
Without hesitating, she plunged her fingers into the exposed eye socket, and inserted a shining ruby into her left eye. (
TN: That’s… not how she did it in the anime and I’m kind of glad for that tbh)
“Come on, get burnt into smithereens!”
A Mystic Eye of Flame. An artificial Mystic Eye made by Yvette herself, capable of setting fire to anything.
On the Rail Zeppelin, I heard that every one of the gems that could be swapped into Yvette’s eye socket was comparable to a high-ranking Noble Color. The three-headed beast was immediately enveloped in flame, and it cried out in pain.
“Stay back, Sir!”
After warning him not to get close, I began to run. I made as much noise as possible while I ran in order to attract the attention of the beast that didn’t lose its will to fight even though it was enveloped by fire. I stopped in the corner of the room.
I guess you could say that we were not from the same world.
Though we were all extraordinary beings, this beast was completely different.
I jumped to the side, using the wall to leap toward the beast and slashing down with my scythe.
However, the beast did not turn around. Instead, from its flame-covered body, a [tiger’s head] emerged.
“—!”
My scythe was caught by the tiger’s jaws.
With a creak, a piercing sound rang out.
“Add!”
“Owowowowow!”
I struggled to extricate the wailing Add. Though the scythe was only the exterior of a Mystic Code meant to seal the Noble Phantasm, and not Rhongomyniad itself, it was surprising that the teeth of the beast managed to harm it.
The beast jerked its head to the side.
Add and I were thrown into the air together. Just as I thought I was going to hit the wall—
Something soft caught me.
“…Are you alright, Gray?” A pained voice said.
My mentor had caught me. Though he had probably strengthened his body, my mentor’s magecraft capabilities weren’t enough to completely dispel the impact.
“I-I’m sorry!”
“…Don’t worry about me. Can you make that thing shut up?”
“I’ll try!”
I raised add.
First stage restraints, rescinded.
Add’s exterior shifted into the shape of a lance in a swirling vortex of light. It wasn’t Rhongomyniad, just a hooked polearm that looked something like it. Since I wasn’t sure what my opponent was like, I needed to keep myself at a distance from it.
I ran over and stabbed at it. However, the beast anticipated my attack and dodged in the nick of time. So it was intelligent. Or perhaps, it had a fighting instinct that was equal to intelligence.
Two of my three attacks were dodged by it, while the third was blocked by its mantis claws.
Then, as the lance was about to strike it, the beast leapt away.
—It wanted to get away?
With a woosh, the chicken head on the right side of the beast exhaled a little before taking a deep breath.
Because of what it contained, the decorative plants not far away drooped visibly.
—The breath of a chimera?
After realizing that it was preparing to take another breath, I froze.
I knew how powerful that was. Only a short breath was enough to make the plants look like that. A concentrated breath would surely be enough to dissolve my bones.
However, my mentor was right behind me.
If I dodged, the breath would definitely reach him. What should I do? Should I have Add turn into a shield? Would the shield be able to block all of it? Would Yvette have a Mystic Eye that could solve this problem?
As I pondered this dilemma, I cycled Magical Energy through Add.
At that moment, the ground around the beast suddenly rose to become walls, blocking its jaws.
Naturally, the breath was interrupted, and the walls immediately transformed into a sturdy metal cage, enveloping the beast. After recovering from the surprise, the beast angrily slashed at the cage with its many claws and teeth, but the cage deflected each strike. However, it did drastically change the shape of the cage, creating a piercing noise.
The person who had cast this spell kept the seal in place as he stared at the beast. It was the member of the Secret Autopsy Division who had fallen down a moment ago.
“Damn it! I’m too old to keep this up for much longer, Asheara!”
“Hold on a second, Calugh!”
The reply came from the door that the beast had entered through.
“—Flow backward.”
That was probably a one count long spell. As that happened, the beast quivered.
Green liquid erupted from its body like a balloon bursting. Even so, it still banged at its cage until it fell to the ground, defeated.
After that, the person who cast the spell carefully approached the cage.
“…It isn’t dead. Wonderful,” she muttered.
It was a dark-skinned woman. She looked to us with piercing eyes of the same color. From her efficient, crisp movements, it was clear that she lived her life this way as well.
“Gray, Yvette? Are you two hurt?”
After confirming that we were safe, my mentor turned to the woman who had just walked in.
“Did you use flow magecraft just then?”
“Yes. I fought Chimeras like these often back when I was still in the Labyrinth. I’ve worked with him for many years now.” After she said that, she bowed her head politely. “I am Asheara Mystras, from the Materials Branch. That was an oversight on our part. Apologies for frightening you, Lord El-Melloi II.”
After that, the other staff member dusted off his clothes and bowed his head too.
“I’m sorry for not introducing myself earlier. I am Calugh Ithred, from the Management Branch. Nice to meet you.”
They really were a peculiar pair.
Both of them were around thirty years old. They wore the same uniform.
However, I felt that these two people didn’t seem like they belonged in the Clock Tower. I didn’t know why, but they felt more like regular workers or scientists than mages.
Asheara Mystras.
I silently repeated her name to myself as I looked at her calm face.
Calugh Ithred.
The male staff member used a handkerchief to wipe at his sweat as he peered at us.
However, neither of them looked scared at all in the face of my mentor, who was still a Lord. Of course, maybe it was because my mentor’s title wasn’t really authentic and because the Department of Modern Magecraft wasn’t important enough. Either way, for members of the Clock Tower, they reacted rather calmly.
Perhaps this was the nature of the Secret Autopsy Division.
“…They’re the students of Heartless who I made a prior appointment with.”
Hearing what my mentor whispered to meet, I swallowed.
Then, my mentor looked toward the beast in the cage.
“Are you trying to capture Phantasmal Species?”
“Yes. We’re conducting a controlled observation of the ecology of the creatures of Spirit Tomb Albion. They’re quite different from the Phantasmal Species you see on the surface, aren’t they?”
She smiled as if she had completely forgotten about how the creature had just attacked us. I suppose you could say that this was very typical of a mage. Her only thought about the fight was probably that it was a source of useful data.
My mentor didn’t look like he wanted to pursue the matter further. Usually, he would have, but my mentor’s tendencies were affected by the state of the world of magecraft, at least when he was also talking to a mage. Perhaps for a similar reason, Yvette decided to hand the conversation to my mentor, so she didn’t say anything.
For that reason. I swallowed my complaint.
I looked down and used my hood to conceal my expression. Then, the person who claimed to be Asheara from the Materials Branch shifted the subject to us.
“And these two are…?”
“…I-I’m Gray, my mentor’s disciple.”
“Yvette L. Lehrman! I’m here as an assistant, at my teacher’s permission.”
I heard Yvette respond from beside me. It was very typical of her to have taken the position of assistant.
Asheara nodded, and reached out to one of the doors that were still intact.
“This way, please.”
*
After taking us to the reception room, they brought us some black tea that was identical to the tea on the surface.
It was a very simple room.
There were only two long couches and a glass coffee table. Though I was still confused as to where the air came from, it was probably the result of some kind of magecraft.
Besides that, there were several wall lamps that served an unclear purpose. Considering the key card from just then, the Secret Autopsy Division didn’t seem to avoid the use of modern science.
“I have something I want to ask you,” my mentor said.
“You want to know about our teacher, right?” Asheara, who sat opposite us, said slowly.
“Unfortunately, neither of us has met Mr. Heartless for ten years,” Calugh said beside her, still wiping his sweat. It seemed like he wax the kind of person who sweated a lot.
They were two of Heartless’ students.
Thinking of this alone made my heart rate speed up.
“Ten years. So you haven’t met Dr. Heartless after he left the Clock Tower?”
“Yes. For a while after that, the Department of Modern Magecraft operated without a department head. Of course, that was before you became a Lord,” Calugh said while carefully observing my mentor.
The Department of Modern Magecraft before my mentor was there.
Though it was incredibly obvious, hearing someone talk about it still surprised me. My entire impression of the Department of Modern Magecraft was built upon my mentor and the El-Melloi Classroom. However, back then, they weren’t part of the Department of Modern Magecraft.
First, the El-Melloi Faction had been assigned to the Department of Modern Magecraft at a Grand Roll, and my mentor had been chosen by Reines to become a Lord. Those two things had combined to form the Department of Modern Magecraft I was familiar with.
What was it like before then?
“Speaking of which, you two are our upperclassmen(
TN: senpai) at the Department of Modern Magecraft.”
Yvette’s words knocked me out of my thoughts.
…Oh. That was true.
They were our upperclassmen, students of the Department of Modern Magecraft before my mentor was there.
“To be honest, though, Survivors of the labyrinth like us aren’t really suited for the Clock Tower. …Oh right, has Slur changed much?” Calugh smiled wryly.
“I don’t think it has.”
“Is the pumpkin rice casserole(
TN: Alternatively, pumpkin doria) still the most popular dish at the cafeteria?”
“I think it ranks about third. The most popular dish now is the shrimp chowder.”
“Hmph. You’re all too picky. Back in our day, everyone was fighting to order the pumpkin rice casserole because it was the cheapest.” Calugh rubbed his belly with a nostalgic look in his eyes.
“What sort of person was Dr. Heartless?” My mentor took the chance to ask.
“Well, we didn’t get to know him very well. …But, thinking back, he was very caring. He treated our group of Survivors and his other students equally.”
“I’ve heard that he was biased towards your group of five Survivors.”
“Haha, that’s a bit of an overstatement. We weren’t like everyone else, after all. He treated us equally, but maybe that’s already a bias in the eyes of other people. …Ah, as the head of a department of the Clock Tower, he was an incredibly kind man.”
Hearing Calugh’s reminiscences, I silently bit my lip.
That was another side of Heartless.
I found it somewhat difficult to believe. Though I accepted this as new information, hearing that the mage had stayed at Slur Street like my mentor and I and had even taught there made me feel uneasy.
On top of that, hearing someone say that he was a kind person made me at a loss for how to react.
After all, my mentor and I had nearly died by his hands.
“…I was completely used by him, wasn’t I?” Yvette muttered quietly.
She was referencing something that had happened on the Rail Zeppelin. In exchange for Heartless’ financing, she was used to help him disguise his identity. Though she had accepted the deal herself and therefore deserved none of my empathy, Heartless hadn’t revealed his true identity or intent to her either.
It was miles away from how the students described their teacher.
Which was the true Heartless, I wonder?
“Mr. Heartless was very passionate about education, even compared to the other departments. …At least, I think so. It’s just that I always felt that he had his sights set on something different from the other lecturers.”
Hearing what Asheara said in a low voice, Calugh turned to her.
“Dedicate your life to the most radiant thing.(
TN: ‘thing’… doesn’t fit well but it’s also vague enough to work)”
“That was always his mantra.”
An amused smile blossomed on Asheara’s face, which had been devoid of emotion up until now.
“We are creatures that are always connected to one another. Since we must advance as mages, that means we must constantly face and be aware of those who are connected to you. However, at the same time, you are still uniquely yourself. In that case, you at least have to dedicate yourself to what you think is the most radiant thing.”
…Her words immobilized me.
My mentor also froze beside me. Ah, yes. That was because this way of life was almost identical to someone else’s. It was too similar to the person who had been fascinated by the king he had met during the Holy Grail War and decided to live by a new set of rules for the rest of his life.
I recalled what Heartless had said on the Rail Zeppelin.
—“The more I looked into it, the more I was drawn in by the Holy Grail War.”
—“It was like a sunset I saw once in my childhood. At that moment, I prayed from the bottom of my heart that I hoped to chase after that view(
TN: Alternatively, landscape or scenery) forever.”
Was the radiant thing that Heartless chased after the Holy Grail War? Or, had he found something radiant in the Holy Grail War?
“What we should be after has always been the Root, right?” My mentor asked.
It was a word that I had heard countless times before.
The Root. Also called the Swirl of the Root, and sometimes represented as the difficult-to-describe “ ”. (
TN: Also the Vortex of Radix, the Akashic Records, or Heaven. …Wait. Heaven? What?)
Classes at the Clock Tower described it as the reason why mages were mages. It was a dream that must be realized, a manifestation of truth. It was the hope that someone would reach the Root in the future that caused mages to devote their entire lives to refining their magecraft and do everything in their power to increase their descendants’ Magic Circuits.
“Yes. Even if most mages, myself included, have lost sight of it because of the struggles within the Clock Tower, that fact cannot be changed,” Calugh said with a wry smile.
Even as a Survivor of the labyrinth that rose to become a member of the Secret Autopsy Division, he could not escape the power struggles of the Clock Tower.
“However, I always got the feeling that he aimed for something else.”
“…I see.” My mentor said, nodding.
Did he gain some kind of insight?
I couldn’t tell what he was thinking about. My mentor adjusted his position and leaned forward slightly before finally bringing up that topic.
“Are you aware that, among Dr. Heartless' former students, some of your fellow Survivors have gone missing?”
In an instant, the room was silent.
Then, the man lay back in his chair and spoke in a mumbling voice.
“…Of course I’m aware. Jorek Kurdice, who went missing recently, wasn’t just one of our team members. He’s my little brother.”
“Oh, my apologies—”
“No, it’s alright. I don’t blame you. We don’t have the same last name, after all. My brother was adopted by the childless Kurdice family before we left the labyrinth.”
“I see. It is quite common for talented Survivors to be adopted by families without heirs.”
“Yes. My brother was extremely talented. I was saved countless times by him back in Albion.”
“Another pair as coordinated as you and Jorek is impossible to find.”
“Really? Thank you.”
The lips that were now smiling looked somewhat lonely.
At the same time, I took down notes in my head. Calugh Ithred— member of the Management Branch of the Secret Autopsy Division. The brother of Jorek. Asheara Mystras— member of the Materials Branch of the Secret Autopsy Division. Jorek Kurdics— the brother of Calugh. [Missing]. Gesell Tolman— a freelance mage that specializes in potions. [Missing]. I took note of their names and where they were now. Of Heartless’ five students, there was one person left. According to Touko, that person was also [missing].
After that, the conversation went on for around ten minutes. Just as I thought it was coming to an end, Calugh called out my mentor’s name.
“Lord El-Melloi II, can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
Hearing my mentor agree readily, the man clasped and unclasped his hands in front of his abdomen repeatedly before he asked his question.
“You made a name for yourself after you survived that ritual in the Far East, right? The Holy Grail War, or whatever?”
The Holy Grail War!
My mentor blinked, surprised to hear that phrase come up.
“Yes…? And?”
“Oh, nothing. I just thought it was a bit similar to us Survivors. You’re probably the most successful New Ager in the Clock Tower. So how does it feel? Do you have any thoughts about your current stance? Do you think you’ve made the world more radiant by becoming a Lord?”
“……”
My mentor sank into silence briefly as he pondered it seriously.
Then,
“I just think it’s a burden,” he said, shrugging.
“…Huh. So that’s what you think.”
Though it was a short answer, Calugh seemed to have sensed something from it. He didn’t ask any further questions. He just patted his plump stomach and sighed.
“My answer might not be very helpful.”
“No, it’s enough. Thank you, Lord El-Melloi II.”
Calugh Ithred of the Materials Branch of the Secret Autopsy Division bowed his head deeply again.
-End of Part 2 of Chapter 4, Book 7-
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Originally Posted by Rafflesiac
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