* * *

“Hmm, hmm, hmm.”

Boil the water and warm the teacup. Put a spoonful of tea leaves in the teapot, then prepare some treats to enjoy with the tea and a book to read.

It was hardly appropriate behavior for someone who was supposed to be a shop employee during business hours, but Rubel paid that no mind as he leisurely prepared for teatime.

The morning was already all but over, and noon was approaching. No Briton—much less a Londoner—would visit a magic hall rather than a restaurant or café at this hour.

CLATTER!

“Gah?!”

That was why Rubel was so startled when the door suddenly swung wide open. He was so shocked that he dropped the book he had set out and reflexively aimed his wand at the door.

What greeted him, however, was a distinctly unimpressed voice.

“Is this how you welcome customers here?”

“... Pardon? Y-you’re a customer?”

“What else? Do I look like a robber?”

“N-no. I apologize.”

Only after that sharp retort did Rubel realize that the visitor was an ordinary person and hastily apologize. Belatedly clearing his throat, he offered a polite greeting.

“Welcome to [Orna the Unraveler’s Magic Hall]. What mystery do you seek?”

“Before I answer, there’s something I need to check. Is this really a magic hall of the twenty-seven magical lineages?”

“Pardon?”

“If that’s just what you put on the sign, I’ll leave. Let’s save ourselves some time.”

“Ah... Hahaha. You must have visited some rather poor-quality magic halls so far.”

‘Looks like a tourist who got fleeced.’

Rubel gave a hearty chuckle. Tourists came here with fanciful notions about the twenty-seven magical lineages, and imitation magic halls targeting those tourists fleeced them. Both were everyday occurrences in this city.

“But rest assured. Our magic hall is the most authentic of the originals, truly carrying on the traditions of the twenty-seven magical lineages.”

“You’re sure?”

“Of course. Here, this Magus mark alone should tell you that we’re a legitimate magic hall, shouldn’t it?”

This place was nothing like the unlicensed magic halls that did nothing but overcharge tourists. Grinning, Rubel pointed to the business permit and certificate proudly displayed on the front wall of the shop, bearing a hexagram seal.

The average tourist would be utterly bowled over at the mere sight of that Magus seal.

“... Here too, huh.”

“...?”

“Well, never mind. It’s obviously going to be a waste of time, but let’s check anyway.”

Whether or not Rubel was puzzled by the customer’s somehow even colder gaze, the black-haired woman dressed as a man stepped forward from behind him. She took a small case from inside her clothes and set it on the display counter.

“Do you know what this is?”

“This is...”

Rubel opened the case. After inspecting its contents, he looked incredulous.

“Isn’t this just broken junk?”

Had it been crushed under a boulder? The metal was not only broken into fragments, but so badly mangled that it was difficult to make out its original shape.

As Rubel stared at it dubiously, the customer frowned and asked,

“So you don’t know what it is?”

“Even if you ask me what it is... Ah, is it a broken item? Then you should go to an item repair shop, not a magic hall.”

“If you don’t know, that’s all I need.”

“Excuse me? Sir? Sir!”

As though that concluded his business, the black-haired young man with a bluebird perched on one shoulder turned and walked straight out of the shop.

Rubel blinked as the woman dressed as a man collected the case and silently followed him. Only after a long while did he mutter blankly,

“... What was that all about?”

* * *

[“Another bust.”]

“You can say that again.”

[“Well, honestly, showing something like that at a magic hall and expecting an answer does seem like asking a bit much.”]

“Asking too much, my ass. A place like that putting up a sign claiming to belong to the twenty-seven magical lineages is far worse.”

Limon snorted.

Rubel might have thought him strange. But to Limon, Rubel was far more bizarre: a mere player wearing robes and presenting a Magus seal as proof of an authentic magic hall.

One of the ten great guilds or not, the Magus Guild had only a few decades of history. Receiving certification for the twenty-seven magical lineages from them was nonsense to begin with.

“Those lunatics in the Magus Guild... They really have torn all of London apart and rebuilt it to suit themselves.”

[“Well, they are one of the ten great guilds, with ninety percent of all magic-type players as members. It’s understandable they’d want to remodel their own home base to their tastes.”]

“The Infinity Guild didn’t pull any crazy shit like this, did they?”

[“That’s because the Infinity Guild is particularly laid-back.”]

Yu Na-gyeong shrugged her wings.

Indeed, among the ten great guilds, Infinity was famous for being easygoing, to put it kindly—or a mixed bag, to put it bluntly. Its entry requirements were relatively lax, since its guild master, Lee Cheon-gi, possessed an Absolute Skill that allowed him to acquire any skill.

The other ten great guilds, on the other hand, often had memberships skewed according to their Monarchs’ inclinations.

The Demiurgos Guild consisted mainly of production-class players, the Saint Guild admitted only holy-type players, and the Utopia Guild had only summoners and tamers. They screened applicants by their skills before admitting them.

Naturally, the same was true of Magus, which accepted only magic-type players.

When like-minded people gathered together, it was only natural that the place they lived would change to suit them. All the more so when they were backed by one of the ten great guilds, the dominant powers of this era.

“What was the Blue Dragon Clan doing while their homeland turned into this?”

“The Blue Dragon Clan has an agreement with Magus.”

“An agreement? Don’t tell me they not only let this happen, but actually helped?”

“I don’t know the precise terms of the agreement. I have only heard that they undertook several joint ventures afterward.”

“The Blue Dragon Clan, of all people, let this happen just for money?”

“Given the nature of those ventures, money probably wasn’t the reason.”

“What sort of ventures could they possibly be?”

Limon looked skeptical. However corporate the Seven Dragons Society had become, it still seemed strange that the Blue Dragon Clan had accepted an agreement even the Gold Dragon Clan would have refused.

Wei Ling’s next explanation, however, completely dispelled his doubts.

“Charitable ventures.”

“... Oh. Is that so.”

It happened in an instant. The suspicion filling Limon’s face gave way to an understanding look that said, That would make sense.

Of course, a sneer followed.

‘Those damned bastards haven’t changed.’

Understanding the broad circumstances only made Limon feel more disgusted. Sensing his mood, Yu Na-gyeong shrugged her wings and said,

[“Team Leader, don’t let it bother you so much. It might have changed a lot from the old days, but it’s nice that it feels like a City of Magic in its own way, isn’t it?”]

“... It’s nice because it feels like a City of Magic?”

Limon’s expression turned peculiar. He regarded Yu Na-gyeong with a mixture of incredulity and disdain, along with an inscrutable blend of mockery and cynicism, then suddenly asked,

“Na-gyeong. Doesn’t it seem like there are a lot fewer people on the street?”

[“Now that you mention it, yes. Is it because it’s lunchtime?”]

“No. It’s because it’s time for the City of Magic to live up to its name.”

[“What?”]

Yu Na-gyeong tilted her head. There did seem to be fewer pedestrians, but she could not understand what that had to do with being a City of Magic.

Rather than Limon, it was a sound ringing out from far across the sky that answered her question.

DONG...

Just after the strange toll of a bell, like a thousand pickaxes striking iron, rang throughout London, the streets suddenly bustled with activity.

The already sparse pedestrians quickened their steps, street vendors hurriedly packed up their wares, and establishments along the street closed their doors and drew their curtains one after another.

As Yu Na-gyeong watched in bewilderment, not a single person remained anywhere around them.

DONG...

“Hmm. At this height, we might just barely be able to see it.”

While Yu Na-gyeong stared in confusion at the suddenly deserted streets, Limon headed toward a nearby clock tower.

He had Wei Ling pay the admission fee, then took the elevator inside up to the observation deck at the top. On the way, he said,

“Watch closely. It’s about to happen.”

[“What’s about to happen? What do you...?”]

DONG...

Yu Na-gyeong never finished her question.

She saw it.

The moment the bells ringing through the air abruptly stopped with their thirteenth toll, the London panorama—hazy but clearly visible until moments ago—began disappearing beneath fog in the blink of an eye.

The fog swept silently onward.

This was not merely a sudden change in weather or the fog growing a little thicker. If anything, it resembled a sinking ship.

Like a vessel with a hole in its hull being sucked beneath the water, the vast city of London was being swallowed whole by fog.

When the transformation was complete, the city studded with dazzling magic was no longer visible beyond the observation deck.

Only the outlines of a few spires rose dimly like the remains of shipwrecks above a sea of fog so thick that nothing could be seen within it.

[“... Wh-what on earth is this?”]

“What else? The true face of the City of Magic you were so eager to see.”

Yu Na-gyeong stood frozen, her beak hanging open like a child seeing the person inside a mascot costume for the first time.

Limon spoke mockingly, like a mischievous adult revealing the truth to her.

Then, breathing in the faint scent of magic drifting from the fog—magic that came infinitely close to a curse—he continued softly.

“Also the reason London alone survived the Demon God War while the other cities of Europe burned to the ground.”

* * *

When the Demon God descended in the past, Paris, the site of its descent, suffered the most thorough destruction. But the other cities did not escape unharmed.

The Demon God wanted more blood and sacrifices, and the more prosperous a European city was, the sooner it became a target.

When the Demon God finally reached London after laying waste to Europe’s cities one after another, all of London’s citizens despaired.

But their despair was premature.

At the very moment the Demon God was about to burn London, a group suddenly stepped forward: twenty-seven witches who had carried on the traditions of magic through the vast span of time from the Silver Age to the present.

Having remained hidden behind the scenes of history, they now emerged to stop the Demon God. Pooling their strength and wisdom, they revived an ancient magic.

This was the Great Barrier of London, one of the most powerful works of magic in recorded history, considered legendary even in the Silver Age.

Thanks to that barrier, London held out unharmed until Limon returned and slew the Demon God.

That was also why the British Empire had been able to bring all of Europe under its sway. Having lost their capitals and most of their major cities, the other nations had no choice but to become economically and politically dependent on the British Empire.

In that sense, the Great Barrier of London could be called a blessing bestowed upon the British Empire.

... Or rather, it could have been, had it disappeared without leaving any side effects after the Demon God’s defeat.