The commercial city "Magnolia" is one of the emerging cities in the Kingdom of Fiore in recent years, and it is also the second destination that Zera and the others plan to arrive.
As early as when they were in "Harugion", several people had heard many anecdotes about it, especially its "Cartier Cathedral" and hot spring street, which are very fascinating attractions.
Moreover, it is said that the annual Harvest Festival will be held there soon. For this reason, Zera and the others specially calculated the time to finish their practice, just to catch up with this festival.
It was only when the five people walked into the city with great expectations that they realized that everything here was completely different from what they had heard.
...
"Um...are you sure we went to the right city?"
Scanning the deserted streets around him, Yuri checked with his companions with a troubled expression.
Because wherever you look, there are incomplete buildings, withered billboards, and dilapidated stalls everywhere.
Could it be that they wandered through the wrong forest and ran to some ruins? This kind of place doesn't look like a prosperous town preparing for a festival.
(…Is this…a trace of magic power? And it’s still relatively new. It should have been caused recently…)
Pushing the wheelchair to the edge of a ruined building, Zella carefully looked at the incomplete parts.
There was nothing wrong with the route they chose. Even if they took a long detour, the forest only connected the two cities, so it was impossible to go to the wrong place.
"...It should be right, didn't we see the town guide sign when we walked out of the forest?"
The same confusion also lingered in the minds of Precht and the others, and this scene made them all uncertain.
"Everyone!! Look over there!!"
"——?!"
As he walked dully down the street and passed a corner, Mabius, who had sharp eyes, was the first to notice the biggest anomaly after arriving in this city.
Looking in the direction she pointed, an ominous premonition and biting coldness hit my face.
Zella's words sounded behind her, bringing out everyone's thoughts at the moment.
"...It seems like something terrible happened in this city..."
What was supposed to be an iconic place in the center of the city, but now what appeared was a church dyed pitch black, and something like the horns of a giant creature stuck at the top.
"I think there is no point in thinking about it like this. If you want to know what happened, the fastest way is to ask the residents of this city."
"Of course, you can also go directly to the place where Mavis found it, but I don't recommend it."
Glancing at her companions in front of her, the girl in the wheelchair had already considered it and seemed not to be affected at all.
Under such circumstances, it was impossible for them to continue wandering around in the street, so they had to temporarily find a hidden corner to discuss countermeasures.
"But you also saw it, right? There is no one in this city at all!"
With one hand on his hip, Yuri still thought that Zella was too simplistic.
"...No, I think there should still be people living here."
Through the earth and trees, Warlord seemed to have learned something.
"Ah, since entering the city, I have also discovered that there are many strange atmospheres and sights hidden in those buildings."
Immediately afterwards, Precht, whose perception was improved, also expressed his opinion.
"Yeah! I just calculated it. Based on the degree of damage and the location of the buildings that fell, many of them should have been caused yesterday or today."
Nodding his little head, Mabius was undoubtedly more convinced of this.
It seems that except for one person, everyone has reached the same conclusion.
"Forehead……"
Seeing his companions performing themselves one after another, Yuri's movements became stiff and the corners of his eyes kept twitching.
Then the four people looked at him in unison and his face flushed.
In the end, was he the only one who was 'kept in the dark'...
"Yuri, your practice is not yet at home."
Sighing maliciously, Zella shook her head in disappointment.
"That's so long-winded! Since you know, you should tell me earlier! Let's go!"
After expressing his dissatisfaction sternly and restrainedly, Yuri felt embarrassed and walked quickly towards the intersection without even thinking about it.
What was even more unexpected was that while he was still immersed in shame, he happened to bump into a passerby who was passing by.
"Uh-huh!"
Yuri touched his butt in pain. Before he could complain, the other party preceded him and shouted angrily.
"Who is so blind that you should hit me?!"
Pushing away his companion who was helping him up, the big man wearing a strange hood stared at Yuri with a cannibalistic look.
"ah?"
Veins popped up on his forehead, and someone stared back not to be outdone. Who made him feel bad now?
"...This outfit, huh, is he a passerby?"
The big man who made a mocking snort and noticed Yuri's attire had already guessed his identity.
"Hey you bastard Golden Retriever, you can hand over all your things now and kneel down and kowtow three times to ask me to spare you, haha!"
"..."
In coordination with the hooded man, his two companions also smiled strangely and surrounded him from the left and right, blocking Yuri's escape route.
But judging from the angry and smiling face of someone, he probably wasn't ready to 'retreat' at all.
By the time Zera and the others heard the sound of fighting and caught up, it was a completely different scene.
…
"...I don't know why, but I always feel like I can imagine why this place is like this."
Looking at the unknown people lying on the ground twitching, Zera curled her lips helplessly.
"Ah ha ha……"
The smile was a little forced, and Mavis didn't know what to say.
"Yuri! Can't you change this foolhardy thing?!"
Pointing at the blond young man's chest, Warlord really couldn't stand this guy whose body moved before his brain.
"Why am I the one who's bad?! These bastards don't look like good people at first glance, do they?!"
"That's true! But can you look at the situation a little bit?!"
"Ah?! Then what do you think we should do?"
The two people, with their heads held high, started arguing in the street, completely forgetting what they had discussed earlier.
I also forgot that this is not a place suitable for them to 'connect with each other'.
"Yes, yes!"
"over there!!"
"What? Someone is making trouble on our territory?!"
Not long after, chaotic shouts came from the corner of the street, causing the two people who were arguing to reflexively turn their heads.
"..."
"Wait, I want to say, why are we running?"
Feeling that someone was pushing her wheelchair 'speeding' the next moment, Zella finally couldn't help but complain.
Aren't the five of them all magicians now? What's the theory of escaping before the fight starts?
"What nonsense are you talking about! There are only five of us, but there are dozens of people coming from the other side!"
Before his thinking could change, the blond young man gave a "lesson" with righteous words.
Warlord and Precht next to him seemed to take it for granted, and only Mavis had a snicker on his face.
(well……)
Just when Zera wanted to teach them a lesson again, someone suddenly waved to them at the corner they passed. Different from the group of hooded people, judging from the other party's clothes, they looked very much like this
That's it for the residents of the town.
After nodding to each other, they followed in without even thinking about it. At this time, the three of them had a tacit understanding.
It's just that this sharp turn was painful for Zella. She would rather use her own magic power to push it. She almost threw everyone out just now.
Is it too late to ‘part ways’ now?
Looking at the three people as if they had escaped from their pursuers, this was Zera's only thought at the moment, with her stomach churning. (To be continued)