-684- Inheritance of the ancient magic

In the outskirts of the city streets of Machinart Liverpool, at the end of a road, there's a village.

In this village, there's a building that appears to be a prosperous farmstead.

The building consists of two connected double-story stone houses, which look quite elegant.

Next to it, there's a tall structure that seems like a storage warehouse, and beside it, there's a wooden livestock shed, surrounding the area to create a considerable estate.

At the entrance of the estate, there's a sign.

The sign reads these words.

'Orphanage.'

Led by Loki, Rozen arrived here.

"Is this the orphanage where you reside?" Rozen asked from behind a tree.

Loki didn't say anything about this. Instead, he gazed ahead with an unusually sharp look, as if he was looking at not his home but a cold prison. Not to mention emotions, he almost appeared to be filled with hatred.

That's only natural, right?

If Rozen's guess is correct, the orphanage is where Bronson collects subjects for his human experimentation.

As Bronson's adopted son, Loki surely underwent the Machinartization of his heart here, just like Frey.

In other words, like Frey, Loki's heart was modified, allowing him to possess exceptional abilities among many magus.

However, Loki's abilities are even more exceptional. Even with his heart's limitations not fully unlocked, he has the strength equivalent to the 'Thirteen' and is even acclaimed as someone who can rival Magnus himself.

Given that, it's not at all surprising that Loki would look at his so-called home with such eyes.

"And then?" Loki didn't even look at Rozen and asked directly, "Are you planning to go in?"

"What do you think?" Rozen, likewise, didn't look at Loki, and replied, "Are you planning to continue leading the way?"

"Since it's my decision to make, there's no reason to give up halfway," Loki responded with a somewhat sarcastic tone. His expression remained extremely cold as he continued, "But the question is, how do you plan to get inside?"

Upon closer inspection, next to the estate, there were two men inside what should have been a small house for tenant farmers. They were both guarding and chatting. Even while chatting, these two men would occasionally glance in the direction of the road, and each held a hunting rifle in their hands, showing an extremely vigilant posture.

(If this were just an ordinary orphanage, why would there be such a strict guard?) Rozen was increasingly convinced in his heart that there must be some secret here. So, going inside was something that had to be done.

"I can get in, but I'm not sure about you," Loki taunted slightly.

To this, Rozen naturally needed to prove his abilities with actions. Immediately, Rozen formed a hand seal and chanted a spell.

"————————"

Accompanied by the mantra representing a protector deity for invisibility and dispelling, a faint magical force was released from Rozen, making him, including Loki, appear as if their figures were mirages, first swaying for a moment and then disappearing into thin air.

"What is this?" Loki was initially surprised but then finally looked at Rozen.

"You performed magic so quickly without relying on magical devices and magic stones?" Loki's gaze at Rozen changed somewhat.

In the current era, people have long abandoned many intricate and lengthy magic rituals in favor of developing Machinart technology, which allows for rapid, agile, and effective use of magic.

Only those ancient magics like "Onmyoudou," which can directly summon Shikigami for combat, and "Spirit Arts," which manipulate spirits for combat, are still preserved in the world.

To use magic quickly without the assistance of automata, magus must use magical devices or magic stones. Magical devices come equipped with magical circuits for casting spells, while magic stones serve as natural batteries storing magic power.

However, both magical devices and magic stones lack life and sentience, so magus must personally control magical energy and circuits for their spells to take effect.

Today, Rozen performed magic without using any magical devices or magic stones, relying solely on an incantation. This fact left Loki surprised.

At this moment, Loki recalled a rumor circulating in the academy.

(Rumors say that this guy once rode a giant eagle to declare war on Magnus.)

This matter continued to circulate in the academy. Many speculated that it might have been Rozen's another automaton.

However, after that incident, the giant eagle vanished without a trace. Even the academy authorities claimed that Rozen hadn't registered such an automaton, proving that it wasn't Rozen's automaton.

Unless Rozen deliberately hid it. But this would violate the regulations of the Walpurgis Royal Academy of Machinart.

"Students' automatons must be registered, or it will be considered an illegal intrusion into the academy, subject to investigation."

This is a rule of the Walpurgis Royal Academy of Machinart.

Considering all this, people no longer believed that Rozen had a second automaton.

In that case, where did the previous giant eagle come from?

And now, with Rozen's current performance...

(Could this person have inherited some ancient magic?)

Thinking that Rozen came from the Far East and knowing the princess of the Izanagi lineage, Loki became more convinced of this.

"Is this what they call Onmyoudou?" Loki asked calmly.

It seems Loki thought that Rozen, like Hinowa, Subaru, and Rokuren, was a practitioner of Onmyoudou.

Rozen responded nonchalantly, "Yes, this is indeed Onmyoudou."

(But whether this world's Onmyoudou is the right one...), Rozen concealed this thought in his heart.

Little did he know that this would be enough to make Loki reconsider his view of Rozen.

(He can suppress Cherubim with just his automaton, and if this person also knows that ancient magic...)

Loki's gaze at Rozen became more serious.

In this situation:

"Don't use magic, or the invisibility will be dispelled," Rozen cautioned Loki, and then calmly said, "Alright, let's go in."

Upon hearing this, Loki did not respond but silently followed Rozen, entering the orphanage.