Huge Holy 80

80 - Not enough power!!!

RAW

What the hell... does this mean there are other collaborators with Randy?
I guessed everything from this morning's newspaper about why Zekkiro was furious, but it was also puzzling.
The usage of the magic essence of geothermal heat and seepage water.

It's not something that can be done easily. Even with the use of magic circles, even making periodic rains fall in the desert area is... although, it would be possible with the [Slingerland] he stole the other day, which was said to invite cataclysms.
Geothermal heat... To put it simply, is something that can cause crustal movements such as magma, is that something that can be used without anyone noticing?

“...If it’s the darkness element.”

Does that mean it’s that Garda bastard?
No, Garda is an assassin and has a low amount of magical power. If so――
The darkness element has magic related to gravitational effect, so if he uses that, it can mitigate it.
Not only that, but if he makes use of magic stones, Randy who has [Nanatrois Wand] will be able to...

“Are you kidding me? Even with this, the bastards in government have no response?”

This time, it's good that the crime was committed by a criminal for fun like Randy... No, although the desert ecosystem is being messed up, in the eyes of society, desertification has stopped!  Amazing!! They’d praise him like that, but this case has proved that it is possible.
Exploiting geothermal heat that is.
It would be the height of stupidity not to take any countermeasures.
…Then what is the actual countermeasure? It's magic circles. The only way to counter a magic circle is with a magic circle.
Both the geothermal heat and seepage water originate from I Confederacy. They can’t afford to invite further exploitation.

...So, who am I going to talk to?

I have no political power
There is no vital power such as the royal family and the government that can take drastic measures in this nation.
I don't know if it's just a drop in the ocean, but I wrote some magic circles formulas. Something similar to the magic circle used by Randy and its counter magic circle.

Even if I showed this to... Ekaterina, there might not be any progress. She doesn't have a long teaching career, and it's doubtful whether she is involved in any government organization.
It's better than doing nothing though.

One way or another.
This time, it was good because Randy was a criminal for fun.
But that doesn't mean that he won't sell the magic circle he used this time to other countries.

When I headed to the headmaster's office, a guest was already there, loitering around in front of the door.
It’s Zekkiro.
The anger from yesterday was nowhere to be seen, he looks weak and atrophied.
In his hand was... a bundle of documents he must have written.

Could it be, was he thinking the same thing as me?
I harmlessly call out to Zekkiro and introduce myself.

“Excuse me. Are you Zekkiro-sensei?”

“Ue!?”

“Aah, I'm Josiah and I've been assigned to the adventure department from this term.”

“Umm, ah... hello.”

“Do you wish to speak to Principal Ekaterina? Then, please go ahead.”

“No, wai-, umm, that, p, pl, please think of me as a particulate matter...”

Spoke Zekkiro in a servile and rapid tone of voice which gradually lowered.

...

Normally, it would be common sense to give priority to this guy, but looking at his movement, he looked so introverted that I wondered why he became a teacher..
It is too much of a mystery if he can make a living as a teacher with this.
Does he get fired up only during class, or is it because the field of magic circles is old and useless, or maybe a teacher's attitude doesn’t get a scolding?

I try asking one thing to test that.

“As expected, Zekkiro-sensei cannot tolerate the Phantom Thief R, right? I also feel that we need to immediately take countermeasures against the magic circle that he misused. Since we’re here anyway, I’d like you to take a look at this magic circle.”

When I brought up the topic a little, Zekkiro nervously asked back “Eh, you understand?”
Well, in this day and age, it's rarer to have knowledge of magic circles.
Zekkiro looked at the magic circle I showed him in wonder, and after staring at it for a while, he made a face of utter astonishment.

“Eh. Wow, it's brutal... No, it's my first time seeing it, but the composition is very easy to understand. Who is this from? By any chance, did you invent it yourself?”

“That’s right. I’m mostly self-taught in technique formulas. For now, this is a detection system… so to speak, an offensive type of sealing circle that reacts when the defense magic circle is broken. Also, this is a sealing magic circle that makes use of kijin’s magic circle.”

“Y, you’ve pulled from quite a minor place. It’s different with me, but frankly, there aren't any people who can use a magic circle breaker these days, right? Why use specialized defensive magic circles? And this activates by using magic power supplemented by geothermal heat.”

Said Zekkiro. And when he showed me one part of his magic circle, I was surprised.

“Is this an application of the dwarf ironmaking magic circle?”

“Uooh! As expected of you, you already know!! The best way to circulate the fire magic essence is, as expected, the dwarven style! Using the fire magic essence generated by the geothermal heat, we can spread the defense evenly over the entire area――Ah I, I'm sorry. I ended up blabbering all over...”

“Rather, it was an idea that I didn't have. As expected of the dormitory supervisor of the magic circle department... Are you going to give this to Principal Ekaterina?”

“A, ah, yeah. What should I do, I wonder. She's an elf after all, should I really push a dwarf-style magic circle to her?”

“...No. I'm not in a position to appeal to the government in this matter, so there's nothing for it. So I wanted to consult with the principal, even if it was a waste of time...”

“Ekaterina-dono, her father is a businessman, and it seems that he has connections with politicians in the I Confederacy. I think you might have a chance there.”

Is that true?
It's something I wished for too. Even if it's just once, I should try talking to her... no, that woman.
She was the one who stopped me from what I was doing before――trying to take away the gardener's job. Is she going to... listen to me?
I shouldn’t expect too much...

“You two. I can hear your voice from here, you know.”

As soon as I thought I had hit the nail on the head, Ekaterina, of all people, came out of the room after listening to my and Zekkiro’s conversation.
Zekkiro, who had been so talkative, turned pale and hid behind me.
I said, “I'm sorry. I'll be more careful from now on”, as a preliminary statement, and then made a sincere request to her.

“Principal Ekaterina. If you have heard our conversation, then this will be quick. To prevent the Phantom Thief R... no, to prevent misuse of energy of I Confederacy, both Zekkiro-sensei and I have devised several countermeasures using magic circles. Could you look over some of them?”

Zekkiro behind me is shrinking, saying, “Awawawawawa. I have nothing to do with him,” but I don't care and face her.
Ekaterina, who came out of the office, cast her eyes down for a moment, and said, “If so.”

“Shall we discuss it in the salon? We can also ask Basili for his opinion as a reference.”

Of all people, it had to be Basili... was what I thought, but he is an elf, maybe he understands magic circles too?
Zekkiro looked depressed, saying, “Geh, salon...”, and was about to turn on his heel, so I promptly grabbed him.
Zekkiro shouted at me for that.

“Josiah-dono! Please, spare me from just the salon! It's not about the etiquette, it's the atmosphere, there’s something about it I just can't stand!”

“If you're that energetic, there shouldn't be a problem. Zekkiro-sensei. It's not every day you get to have a talk about magic circles with elves.”

“Owaa~...”

Zekkiro leaked out a scream that could not be described as anything living.

――――

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