Eliza, Old Moran, Petel and I all sat around a table and sipped at the tea that Petel had poured for us.

We were sharing any information we had: past incidents, the current situation, what we must do going forward. We made all of this clear.

"Well, in other words, it means that everything is on the shoulders of young Kururi here."

"I think that it's our only choice now. According to the story that Harp told, only someone who carries the blood of Helan can accomplish it nari."

"Oh, so it is Kururi after all. I, I'm deeply impressed."

I kind of thought… It would be more like, let's all work together! But it seems like the burden is all on me? I feel a little lonely over here!

"Well, I guess that's it for us. Petel and Lady Eliza, why don't we play a board game?"

"That is good nari! I shall not lose nari!"

"I suppose I have no choice then. I will show you the true powers of a young lady."

…so, the burden is really all on me!?

"Now, leaving that joke aside. About your training, Kururi. I think it should take about one month at the earliest with my support."

"I will also cooperate nari! I will not have you underestimate my many years of research nari! We will finish the training in three weeks nari!"

"Fufufu, are you not forgetting about me? Here and now, I will teach the secret of just how my family has produced so many examples of excellence for generations. Let me see, two weeks. I will help Kururi complete his training in two weeks."

….Ev-, everyone!!

"Two weeks!? Oh, that is most wonderful. If it is two weeks, then we will still have time until this land dies completely… In that case, maybe we should just play a board game in the meantime."

"I definitely, definitely will not lose nari!"

"I suppose I will have to prove to you that I am on a different level."

…Nevermind then, I'll go and train on my own.

'Magical Tome - Volume 5'

I left the room and sat in the shade of a tree, so that I could take a look at the book once again. It had a much stronger sense of weight to it now that I knew what history it was full of. Not just a physical weight, but there was the weight of so many emotions from so many people within it.

I had already read the introduction.

It made it quite obvious why this 5th volume alone had been strictly protected all this time.

As was the original intent, the 1st volume all the way up to the 4th was about the process of developing the ability of the magician who carried the same qualities as the whirlpool. However, this process that Helan had created didn't just stop there, it was also full of magic with more universal uses.

That would explain why the books had been read for so many years, even by those who did not share the properties of the whirlpool. And so these four books had circulated throughout the lands, making them quite easy to find when Old Moran and the others were younger.

The problem was the fifth book. What it contained was something only needed by someone who fit the requirement of having completed the process and who had the qualities of the whirlpool. And all of this was done in order to beat the curse.

History was long, and only a limited few would ever have any need of this book. And when the memories of the curse began to fade, the books very existence was left behind in the shadows of history.

If it were not for people like Harp, Petel and Old Moran, it may never have seen the light of day ever again. But now, this book had such a strong presence emitting from its pages, as it fate had guided it all along.

O person who has completed the fourth volume, surely the whirlpool must already have become active again.

Such a sentence appeared as I was reading. Recently, this was something that I had experienced many, many times. The eating away of magic stones filled with abundant magic, even absorbing the magic of others. And then, the awakening. It seemed that all of this had actually started a long time.

And so I continued to read through the book.

Partway into it, my concentration was suddenly interrupted. I had realized that my surroundings had become unusually quiet. I could not hear a single sound from Petel's house.

…Perhaps, they were just allowing me some time, so I could slowly read through this book in peace. They could have just been saying they would play a board game as an excuse, but were actually giving me some time…

Good, I have won after all nari!

…I couldn't hear anything. Surely, they wanted to give me some time alone… I wanted to believe.

Thanks to this free time, I was able to get a pretty good grasp of the book's contents.

There were a lot of small details, but largely, there were four steps to completing the magic.

As the whirlpool is open, it absorbs the magic of others. It absorbs an immense and pure magical energy. It spews all of it out. It absorbs magical energy that has the properties of death.

Well, that was about it.

With regards to item 1 and 2, I've already experienced them. The awakening that happened later was also just as the book described. Wounds and diseases will heal and you will be able to use a ma.s.sive amount of magic. That was exactly what I experienced.

The only thing left was 3 and 4.

Spew all of it out. Apparently, ever since I started to learn the contents of the magical tomes, the whirlpool has been gradually opening. The third step would be to spew out all the magic that had been acc.u.mulated up until that point. …It sent s.h.i.+vers down my spine just thinking about it. Just how much magic had it stored up within that time? I felt that there was nothing more terrifying than this.

Speaking of terror, the last item on the list fit under that description. The absorption of magic with the properties of death.

Did that mean you had to die? I had once learned during a lesson at school, that there were people inside of criminal syndicates who could use magic with the properties of death in order to ensnare others. However, there were very harsh laws that forbade this, and there were no publically known magical spells that used this power. It would be quite the feat to find someone who could use it.

I had to stop the three board game players, as focused as they were, and explain to them what I had found. This included everything that happened until now, and where I stood in the present.

I told them about how all the magic would spew out and about the absorption of magic with the qualities of death.

I was very grateful when Eliza showed concern over this.

"I cannot believe that I was seriously trying to play a board game…when you were researching something so important…"

You were playing seriously!?

"Instead of asking to be included with the game, you decided to use the time to research about the curse. My, my, you've grown so much, young Kururi."

Of course, I have.

"Playing board games is very worthwhile nari, but this boy who looks like Harp has also spent his time on something worthwhile nari."

Are they the same? We are really going to treat them as the same thing!?

"However, it is a very interesting thing."

"That it is nari. Really, it is not so bad to live so long nari. I would never have thought my long years of research would one day become useful in such a way nari."

The two old men were oddly enjoying themselves and full of confidence.

While I had not been able to understand how to take the first steps for items 3 and 4, it seemed that these two already knew how to leap.