宅男天堂

My destination was already decided.

"...You show up out of the blue and spout nonsense."

Elodie\'s older brother, Revett, said with a face even stiffer than usual.

"What rubbish. If you\'re going to talk nonsense, get out of my sight."

And so, I was kicked out of the Rishae mansion without even setting foot inside.

Damn it. Whether Elodie is here or not, it seems Revett\'s animosity towards Frondier remains unchanged.

I sighed.

Elodie has vanished.

Osprey left this world on his own, but Elodie probably didn\'t.

I have no idea where Elodie is now, or if she even exists somewhere.

\'This is the first time I\'ve been so clueless.\'

I don\'t understand the principles or structure of this magic.

Whether I should even touch it, and what I should do if I do.

Will Elodie return with Osprey when this magic is undone? Should I just wait?

An ominous feeling gnaws at my heart, preventing me from dismissing it so easily.

Osprey had asked not to let Elodie know about him, and the current situation seems to be nothing but the result of that.

\'But if I do something clumsy, they might both be in danger.\'

I don\'t even know what to do in the first place.

Leaving the Rishae mansion, I walked aimlessly until I came to a sudden halt.

A voice from the distant past reached my ears.

─You are quite lonely, aren\'t you?

─Always fighting alone, human sloth Frondier.

"...Ha."

I laughed as I remembered Philly\'s words.

Right, I forgot again. I thought I had gained a little more power than in the past and discarded my tadpole days.

It was a lesson I shouldn\'t forget, no matter what position I hold or what path I walk in the future.

\'I know nothing about this magic. I need to find someone who does.\'

Osprey, the most knowledgeable about magic, is gone. Jane also barely understands this magic.

Her current abilities are just borrowing some of Osprey\'s power.

A magician I can ask for help, someone other than Osprey or Jane.

"...I didn\'t expect to contact you again so soon."

I pulled out my phone from my pocket.

* * *

"I never thought you\'d contact me."

I contacted Ludwig von Urfa. He\'s the most accomplished magician I know, even though he doesn\'t look like it.

Ludwig had left his northern territory and was staying in a mansion near the Imperial Palace.

His son, Hector, was probably in charge of the family now. They act like they\'re not, but they\'re father and son after all.

"So? What\'s the matter? You wouldn\'t have called me without a reason."

Ludwig\'s tone was gruff, but his expression and voice were gentle. Perhaps thanks to our past battles together, he seemed to have some goodwill towards me.

"...Before that."

But that\'s that.

There was something I needed to address first.

"Why are these two here...?"

I looked at the two who were sitting next to Ludwig as if it were natural.

Lily and Monty.

These two, who now seemed to come as a set, were here even though I hadn\'t called for them.

Lily looked offended.

"Frondier! You said to contact you if I needed help!"

"You don\'t need to contact Lily, but why didn\'t you even talk to me, Frondier?"

And the two bickered.

It was as if they thought it was natural for me to contact them if I was in trouble. Even though it hadn\'t even been a day since we last saw each other.

"We couldn\'t help but talk about you while coordinating schedules. Don\'t mind them."

Ludwig said. Ignore the two Zodiacs.

"...Alright. Then,"

Of course, I could do that.

"Do you have any idea about the name \'Osprey\'?"

I asked just to be sure. If he had any memory of it, the explanation would be much easier.

"What\'s that? A person\'s name?"

Of course, that wasn\'t going to happen. Looking at Lily and Monty, they didn\'t seem to know either.

"...No, it was just a side note. Let\'s get to the point."

I spoke with a slightly nervous voice. Of course, I was actually nervous, but I also wanted these three to focus more.

It was fortunate that Lily and Monty were here. I could hear the story from a new perspective, not just Ludwig\'s.

"Do you know anything about magic that makes people disappear?"

"Disappear? You mean like going missing?"

"No. Magic that makes them disappear from everyone\'s memory, as if they never existed in the first place."

"...?"

Ludwig\'s brow furrowed.

It wasn\'t that he didn\'t understand my words, but rather that he looked suspicious of what I was thinking.

The source of this suspicion was obvious. Lily said with a bright smile.

"Frondier, are you planning the perfect crime?"

"...No."

Right. That\'s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear about this magic.

I had no choice but to add a little more explanation. I briefly explained the situation I was facing.

Of course, I omitted Elodie and Osprey\'s names and excluded any specific elements. Just the feeling that someone had disappeared and only I had their memory.

"...Hmm, so that\'s the story."

Ludwig stroked his chin after hearing the whole story. I couldn\'t tell from his expression whether he had any idea about this magic or not.

"It\'s definitely in the realm of grand magic."

"What do you think? If this magic is currently active, can I interfere with it?"

I spoke to Ludwig with some hope. Even if Ludwig couldn\'t use the same magic, I thought that if he could understand the principle, he might be able to figure out a way.

"I don\'t think so."

But my hopes were dashed.

He didn\'t say he didn\'t know, but rather that it wouldn\'t work.

"If what you\'re saying is true, then the guy who did something like grand magic is now separated from this world, right? Whether he crossed over to another world or fell into some gap. He\'s bought himself some time until he returns."

"...That\'s what the letter said."

"Then that means there\'s no source of the magic, and the person who cast it is gone. So it\'s impossible. Even if there\'s another magic to undo it, where would you use it? Are you going to scour the entire continent and chant the undoing spell?"

That\'s absurd.

Despair clouded my vision.

Come to think of it, Osprey doesn\'t want this magic to be undone in the first place. I heard he\'s being chased by something, whether it\'s a god or something else, so I\'m not really worried about Osprey but Elodie.

I bowed my head and fell into thought again. So, is waiting for the magic to wear off the answer?

Will Elodie return to normal along with Osprey? No, considering that Osprey is being chased by someone, there\'s no guarantee that it will be safe even if this magic is undone...

"But that magician is also strange."

Monty spoke while I was lost in thought.

"Strange? What do you mean?"

Lily asked back.

"If he\'s going to run away, he should just run away."

"What, didn\'t you hear? He can\'t run away within this world because he\'ll get caught, so he escaped outside the world altogether."

"That\'s what I mean. If he can escape, he should just escape. I don\'t know how to escape outside the world, but..."

I stopped thinking and looked up at Monty.

I felt something strange in his words.

"...What do you mean by just escaping?"

"Well, I don\'t know much about magic, but... If I were being chased by someone, I would spread rumors around town. That is, if it\'s an enemy stronger than me. Running away means that, right?"

"...That\'s right."

"So, that\'s what I mean."

Monty shrugged.

"Why did he bother using magic to erase his existence?"

"..."

"..."

I stared at Monty blankly at his words.

The reason Osprey erased himself from everyone\'s memory? I don\'t know. I might be able to hear the answer when he returns.

But now, Monty\'s words brought up a new possibility.

Ludwig, who had the same thought as me, narrowed his eyes.

"...Going outside the world and erasing his existence are two separate things?"

"Huh? Haven\'t we been talking like that all this time?"

Monty asked back as if it were obvious.

That\'s right. Until now, because of Osprey\'s \'disappearance,\' I thought his departure from the world and his erasure from memory were a set.

But what if Osprey actually used those two in different ways?

"...Then, Frondier. The second girl you mentioned who disappeared."

Monty said, having finished his speculation.

"There\'s a possibility that she\'s still in this world."

"...!"

"Left behind, she vanished from everyone\'s memory. She might be wandering around in a state similar to a ghost, unseen and unheard, and treated as non-existent."

Thud!

As soon as I heard those words, I stood up from my seat.

Elodie is still in this world. When that possibility was presented, my heart pounded with urgency.

"Thank you. You\'ve given me a clue. I apologize for the rudeness, but I think I need to go right away."

"Alright. Go find her."

Ludwig waved his hand dismissively.

"...Can you find her? That girl."

Lily looked at me with a somewhat sullen expression.

"...Maybe, perhaps."

I answered with words I wasn\'t even sure of myself. Lily narrowed her eyes and asked in a suggestive tone.

"What, how are you going to find a ghost? Are you going to find her with the power of love?"

I said as I walked towards the mansion door.

"Something like that."