Anagin Chronicles

Chapter 091. Spoils (2)

As Anagin tried to smash the safe, the Interspatial Cloak dropped a key.

The sight of it was as if.......

“It feels like it’s saying I’m too stupid.”

Sphinx hurriedly denied it.

“It’s probably not that. Maybe.”

“Can you really guarantee that?”

At Anagin’s question, Sphinx couldn’t answer right away.

It was true that immediately trying to break the safe had been rather brutish, and the Interspatial Cloak producing the key at that exact moment did seem like a jab at that brutishness.......

Sphinx resorted to a manner of speaking that politicians often used.

“Let’s just open the safe.”

Avoid the answer and change the subject.

Fortunately, her attempt worked.

Without pressing further, Anagin picked up the key from the floor and opened the safe.

The magic that had repelled anything that touched it allowed only the key to pass through.

When he inserted the key into the lock and turned it, the safe door opened with a metallic clack, and the defensive magic protecting the safe was dispelled.

Even in the form of a cat, Sphinx was visibly focused on the situation.

And understandably so—the level of the safe was absurdly high.......

Anagin, who was not a mage, simply accepted it without much thought, but the magic placed on the safe was far from ordinary.

It was presumed to have been cast in ancient times, yet the fact that it still functioned perfectly even now said enough.

Magic, too, was affected by time, gradually weakening as the years passed, yet there was no such sign with the magic on this safe.

Of course, one could argue that perhaps a god had made it.

Publicly, it was said that the Ruins were spaces created by the gods to cultivate practitioners.

However, mages, scholars, and seasoned practitioners did not outright deny that claim, yet neither did they fully believe it.

For something supposedly created by gods, there were too many questionable points.

Even so, the reason they could not openly refute it was—

“A book?”

While Sphinx was examining the safe, lost in thought, Anagin suddenly spoke loudly.

There was a trace of disappointment in his voice.

The reason was simple: inside the safe, there was nothing but a single worn-out book.

“「----’s Diary?」”

The book appeared to be someone’s diary.

The name portion had been erased, so it was impossible to tell whose it was.......

Anagin reflexively opened the book carefully and began to read.

At some point, Sphinx had come down beside him and pressed her face close, reading along.

The diary was written in ancient script, and a few characters had been erased.

Even so, most of the content could be understood.

It described in detail the purpose of this Ruin was to serve as a bronze statue workshop, what processes were involved, and how the production areas were divided.

However, for something called a diary, it contained far too little personal content.

“It says someone called a king personally visited this place and helped.”

“So?”

“Nothing, it’s just interesting. They say most kings in ancient times were tyrants. But the tone of the diary seems rather favorable.”

Favorable.......

Anagin agreed with that part but didn’t think much of it.

Perhaps they were personally close, and not every king was a tyrant.

Honestly, he didn’t see why it mattered.

However, though Sphinx did not show it outwardly, her eyes sparkled as she examined the diary closely.

She paid far more attention to the everyday sections than to the method of crafting bronze statues.

‘She says she’s a scholar, not a mage.......’

After skimming from the first page to the last, Anagin closed the diary.

To be honest, it didn’t feel like a diary. There was far more public information about this Ruin than personal matters.... It was closer to a manual than a diary.

‘More like a record explaining the bronze statue workshop.’

Still, in the small portion of personal history it did contain, the writer’s feelings toward the king were clearly expressed.

If he had been a good king, the tone was overall favorable and warm.

‘Not that I care.’

After finishing the book, Anagin handed the worn diary up to Sphinx on his shoulder.

In her cat form, Sphinx flusteredly received it with both paws.

“What?”

“For now, you keep it separately.”

“Me?”

“Why, don’t you want to?”

Clutching the book tightly, Sphinx shook her head from side to side.

She clearly desired it. He had more or less noticed when she showed so much interest earlier.......

Still, separate from her actions, Sphinx explained the book’s value to Anagin.

“But are you sure? Even if it looks like this, it’s quite valuable.”

Though old and partially damaged, anything discovered in the Ruin commanded a high price in itself.

And this diary held even greater value.

Though called a diary, it essentially recorded most of the knowledge required to create the bronze statues that guarded this place.

The reason Doll Mage Neiron had come here was likely because of this very book.

If they found a buyer who recognized its value, they could expect an enormous price.

“That’s why I’m entrusting it to you.”

At Anagin’s words, Sphinx showed a shy expression. Then she paused, thought for a moment, and let out a soft exclamation.

It was obvious that attention would focus on Anagin once word spread that he had returned from the Ruin.

People would be curious about what he had taken from it.

He wouldn’t reveal it easily, but the persistence of wild dogs chasing a piece of meat was beyond imagination.

Anagin was separating out the most valuable item and leaving it with her to avoid possible trouble.

‘He doesn’t look like it, but his mind works quickly. Or is he just sly?’

Admiring inwardly, Sphinx tucked the diary away.

When she placed it beneath the cloak, the book slipped inside as if dissolving into it.

“Want to look around more?”

“If you allow it.”

Based on the diary’s contents, Sphinx toured the Ruin once more.

Even though they had already passed through it once, viewing it again with the knowledge gained from the diary made it feel different.

“Is this the power source?”

Anagin looked at a power core that had been left abandoned, covered in dust.

A bronze structure stood upon a stone altar.

Strangely, the device had a hollow carved into it, large enough to hold a statue.

Thanks to reading the diary, they knew that the hollow had once held the shield bronze statue.

The shield bronze statue had been designed to activate when intruders arrived.

Looking at the power injection device within the hollow, Sphinx speculated.

“Maybe the light that entered your body was originally in that power device.”

“Really?”

“Aren't you interested?”

“There has to be some kind of change for me to be interested. I think I just imagined it—that the light entered my body.”

Though Sphinx had seen with her own eyes the light entering him, she found herself thinking, ‘Maybe so?’

There were no strange symptoms or signs of change, after all.

After a moment’s thought, she decided to set that matter aside.

There was nothing she could confirm right now, so she chose to focus on what she could do.

Her way of thinking was becoming similar to Anagin’s.

Pulling out paper from her Interspatial Cloak, Sphinx briefly recorded the internal structure and functions of the Ruin, noting that it had been a bronze workshop in an ancient city.

“Oh, but what about the key?”

“What key? Oh, you mean the safe?”

Anagin nodded.

“How did a mage have a key to a safe inside the Ruin?”

“It’s probably because this isn’t just any Ruin—it’s one built over an ancient city.”

“What are you talking about?”

Sphinx paused her writing about the bronze workshop.

She looked as though she was considering how to explain it.

Her hesitation did not last long.

“In the black market, keys to ancient cities circulate more than you’d think. Ancient cities are like treasure chests filled with valuables.”

Ancient cities that had fallen after incurring the gods’ wrath were used as cautionary examples today—but not for everyone.

Only the devout who wholly followed the gods’ words treated them as warnings.

For practitioners, ancient cities where Ruins had formed were treasure vaults—places where various treasures, technologies, and mysterious powers lay dormant.

“So keys to ancient cities are traded quite a bit on the black market. Most are fake, though.”

Though Sphinx added that last remark, it seemed not all of them were counterfeit.

Just looking at the key Neiron had prepared proved that.

Still, it was somewhat remarkable that he had prepared the exact key needed, but Anagin didn’t bother asking. He was a mage, after all—he must have used some unusual method.

“Finished looking around?”

Anagin asked Sphinx after she completed her notes, and she nodded in satisfaction.

If they were done, it meant it was time to return.

Anagin retraced the path they had entered from.

Walking this time, unlike when they had rushed in.

Along the way, they saw fallen bronze statues, and Anagin collected the magic weapons scattered on the ground.

As they advanced, they reached a section where bronze statues were piled like a mountain.

There, they saw practitioners collapsed on the ground, bleeding.

The ones who had joined hands with Neiron.

As expected, they had lost their lives fighting the bronze statues.

Though they had allied with Doll Mage Neiron and targeted Anagin.......

Anagin walked silently toward the fallen practitioners.

And then.

“...Is it this?”

He picked up what appeared to be a magical tool.

First, the crossbowman’s bracelet.

* * *

Anagin collected the magical tools the practitioners had been carrying.

There were quite a few. With Sphinx’s help, he checked the function of each item, then sorted them into those he would use and those to store inside the cloak.

For example, he immediately put on the crossbowman’s invisibility bracelet, deciding to use it.

After that, Anagin left the Ruin.

It seemed all the water from the dam had finished pouring out—nothing was cascading down from above anymore.

For Anagin, who needed to climb back up, that was welcome news.

“Do you have a way up?”

Seeing that the height was far greater than expected, Sphinx asked, wondering if they would need to use wind magic.

Anagin answered by climbing the wall.

While Sphinx wore an awkward expression, Anagin had already reached the surface.

The ground had become a muddy mess from the water that had swept through, and people were wandering across it.

Judging by their attire, they were visitors aiming for the Ruin.

“Th-there...!”

They noticed Anagin as well—but he was faster to act.

Despite having just climbed out of a deep pit, Anagin moved nimbly and knocked out everyone nearby in moments.

“They look like people after the Ruin? Seems not all of them got swept away.”

Sphinx said as she examined the unconscious figures.

From the faint scent in the air, she could tell they were Ruin visitors.

Anagin agreed. Some had indeed been swept away by the flood.

Though he didn’t know the exact method, they must have escaped the flood through blessings, magic, or magical tools.

“The Ruin must’ve been deeper than they expected—they were probably just pacing around up here.... Wait.”

Sphinx removed the hood she had been wearing and closed her eyes.

Seeing her ears perk up, it seemed she was focusing her senses on her hearing.

Her cat ears twitched once or twice.

After a moment, she opened her eyes.

“Mr. Sanchonius seems to be in danger.”

Through the wind, Sphinx had just gathered information about the distant village.

She had listened to the sounds echoing from the village through the wind currents.

It seemed the practitioners who survived Anagin’s flood had gone to the village along with the village chief.

“The chief?”

“When the practitioners demanded answers about the flood, it looks like the chief sold out the village. Said there was a traitor in the village. Seems like he just blurted out whatever came to mind when he thought he’d have to take the blame alone.”

“But he’s right.”

After all, the innkeeper had helped Anagin destroy the dam.

Of course, Anagin would have destroyed it even without help.

In any case, that wasn’t the important part.

What mattered was that the chief had used the innkeeper as a scapegoat to save himself, and as a result, Sanchonius was now in danger as well.

If Sanchonius had sensed the situation and fled before the practitioners arrived, there would be no problem, but given his personality, he likely hadn’t.

Sanchonius was too earnest to abandon those who had cooperated with him and run alone.

He had probably stayed behind, unable to leave the innkeeper to suffer retaliation. Not to mention the Interspatial Bag Anagin had entrusted to him.

The problem was that Sanchonius alone was not strong enough to deal with enraged practitioners.

He bore the air of someone well-trained, but only to that extent.

“Shouldn’t we hurry and help?”

Even after grasping the situation, Anagin remained relaxed, prompting Sphinx to ask. Though she tried to hide it, there was a hint of urgency in her voice.

“Worried?”

“Of course I’m worried. Unlike you, who just loafs around while meals are being prepared, he helped out a lot.... Aren’t you worried?”

“Not really. Doesn’t seem like he’d go down easily.”

“A feeling?”

“Something like that. More importantly, how many practitioners are in the village?”

“Not certain, but around twelve.”

Sphinx had gauged the rough number through the wind and informed him.

“Hmm, Sphinx.”

“Yeah?”

“I’ll need your help.”

As he said that, Anagin pulled out Longbald from thin air.