A Very Long Day

Eiji couldn't help but admire his surroundings. While the Higashito steppes were monochrome with their greenish grasses in spring and yellowish in other seasons, in the heart of the Plains of the Garden of Saints, like the fields separating Hortux from the holy city, vegetation was adorned with numerous colors as diverse as each other.

It was spring in Aurdalia, and most trees were in bloom. The pinkish dress of the cherry trees particularly caught the young man's eye, who couldn't look away until Ophelia intervened.

"I'm not detecting anything around here except for a few animals. We should continue west."

It had been two hours since they were looking for even a trace or clue to the location of Father Andrea near the city. Although Ophelia was a qualified magician, her search spell had a limited range, covering an area of about a hundred meters radius around her.

Although this magic was extremely useful, it placed a lot of pressure on the user's consciousness. The user was subjected to a large amount of information in a fraction of a second. This magic was therefore limited by the user's skills more than by their magical abilities.

Its operation was simple: the user would use water magic to detect any fluids in the surroundings. They would then overlay this water magic with a small-scale lightning magic capable of translating the data collected by the water magic into neural signals.

The advantage of this methodology, despite the difficulty of mastering such magic, was the simplification of information processing. The magician using this spell could choose very precisely which fluid to retain and search for, limiting the possibility of information overload. The search spell allowed reading of any mana flows over a certain distance, much greater than what the user could see without it.

Indeed, for centuries, the first mages had sought to uncover the very origin of magic, from its creation within the body to its very nature. Although its operation was not yet fully understood, it was common knowledge that mana behaved similarly to a fluid.

Ophelia and Eiji proceeded in a simple manner: every one hundred and fifty meters they traveled, Ophelia used her search magic to analyze the surroundings. Instead of moving blindly, they had also established a strategy. Instead of advancing in a single direction and relying on chance, they decided to walk in a spiral, starting their search around the city, then moving from north to west. Although this was not the most efficient strategy and certainly not the fastest, it allowed them not to overlook any place.

Unfortunately for them, although they suspected as much, they found no trace of Father Andrea in the town vicinity. They continued for hours, covering the entire kilometer surrounding the town.

"I'm exhausted. I'm sorry, but I can't go on," said Ophelia, slightly staggering. She had used so much magic that her legs could no longer fully support her. Eiji helped her, skillfully grabbing her arm and passing it over his shoulders. Despite her fatigue, Ophelia couldn't help but blush.

"Don't worry. The sun is almost behind the horizon anyway. I'll help you walk while you recover. Or would you rather rest a bit before returning to town?" asked Eiji with a slight smile on his face.

"No, let's go back. By the time we reach the town, I'll have recovered enough to stand on my own." Ophelia replied, declining his offer to rest.

Eiji nodded. They made their way back to the town, walking side by side. As they arrived close to the first buildings, Ophelia let go of Eiji's arm.

"I can walk alone now, thank you," she said.

He let her take a few steps on her own. Seeing she was no longer staggering, he caught up to her and walked alongside her.

"I imagine Tahrren has already returned to the inn. It's already so late. Ophelia, do you know Tahrren's room number?"

"I think it's number 23. It's close to ours." They quickly arrived at their inn.

The atmosphere was still the same as if the inhabitants of Hortux celebrated every evening. They crossed the main hall and went straight to their room. They put their things down and finally knocked on Tahrren's door.

It wasn't long before the door opened, revealing Eiji's mentor.

"Come in. We need to talk."

He went back to sit on a chair and invited the two newcomers to sit on the bed. They closed the door behind them and complied.

"Well, glad to see you're both unharmed. I was starting to worry as the night fell, and you weren't back yet. Unfortunately, seeing you without Father Andrea or even a scratch, I assume you found nothing?"

Eiji sighed so lightly that it was barely noticeable.

"Ophelia analyzed the area around the town for a kilometer. Unfortunately, we found nothing. And you, Tahrren. Did you find any information in town?"

Tahrren looked away.

"I guess you could say that."

Dubious, Eiji scratched his forehead and invited his mentor to continue.

"I questioned all the merchants in town and more. But none of them had any information about Father Andrea. They didn't even know he was on a mission near Hortux. He wasn't staying there and didn't make any appearances. But what's even more strange is that when I asked the priests at the temple in town, none of them dared to answer me. On the contrary, most of them avoided my gaze."

Surprised, Eiji thought about his mentor's words. He didn't expect such news.

"It's clear that these priests are hiding something. But what could it be?"

Ophelia interrupted Eiji's thoughts.

"There's no point in dwelling on it too much. The priests are simply on the suspect list now. But if there was something else to be gleaned from this information, I imagine Tahrren would have found it already. After all, you spent much more time with these priests than we did," she said, turning her gaze toward the elf.

He nodded. "Indeed, even though it was only a few hours, I think that if these people were preparing something, I would have found at least one clue, given their ability to hide their information. They probably know something we don't."

At these words, Ophelia stood up and laughed in a manner almost unworthy of a princess, breaking the tense atmosphere that had prevailed in the room until then.

"Alright. Let's go have dinner! After all, as Eiji said the other day, we can't have a fruitful discussion on an empty stomach."

Eiji and Tahrren burst out laughing at such an intervention.

"You're right, let's go eat. It won't serve us any good to dwell on it further," replied Eiji.

The three left the room, which Tahrren closed behind them, and went down to the ground floor. The receptionist noticed them almost instantly.

"Good evening. Would you like a quiet table again, or would you prefer to eat in the main hall tonight?"

The three greeted the receptionist before Tahrren replied.

"We'll take a table in the main hall, please."

"Very well. Follow me."

The receptionist signaled for them to follow her and led them to a table surrounded by four chairs in a corner.

"Here's a table that might suit you. I'll let you settle in and come back in a moment to take your order."

They each took a chair. Tired, especially for Eiji and Ophelia, who had covered many kilometers, they were happy to relax.

The receptionist returned less than two minutes later.

"Alright. What would you like to drink?"

At this question, all three of them raised their hands simultaneously and announced in un chorus, "A beer!" Even Ophelia, who preferred wine, decided to have a beer to quench her thirst and relieve her fatigue.

The receptionist couldn't help but let out a small discreet laugh at the scene.

"Very well. Today's meal consists of baked potatoes and lamb stew. Is that suitable for you?"

The three of them once again nodded in agreement.

"Excellent. I will bring it to you immediately."

They didn't have to wait long for their beer, which Eiji didn't hesitate to drink in one go before ordering another. By the time the meals arrived, he had repeated the process once again.

"You shouldn't drink too much, Eiji," Tahrren advised.

Eiji ignored his mentor's advice and continued to drink and eat. When he finished his meal, he almost stopped moving, lost in his thoughts. After a few seconds of stillness, he finished his beer and got up from his chair.

"I'm sorry, I'm tired. I'm going upstairs to bed."

Slightly stumbling, he climbed the stairs with the loud encouragement of some customers who had noticed his drunken state.

Ophelia and Tahrren exchanged worried looks, before Ophelia rushed towards her roommat but was stopped by Tahrren's firm hand.

"Don't go. You have to let him go through this trial alone."

She couldn't help but continue to worry about Eiji.

"What's happening to him? I've never seen him like this."

Tahrren sighed before answering her.

"I know. Eiji isn't very open with others about his feelings. But I know what he's going through, for the simple reason that I went through it too. You have to leave him alone for a while."

Eiji quickly disappeared from everyone's sight. He entered his room, struggling to insert the key into the lock. He sat on his bed, close to the wall. After a few seconds, he violently hit the wall.

"Why... Why am I so weak? So useless!"