"This thing seems to restore magical power," Touko said in surprise, holding the A Blessed Dew Talisman in her hand. "But... it's a bit slow, and it doesn't seem to be of much use to the two of us. Let's take it back for Alice or the girls at home to use—if it still works when we return."
"There's a small house over there," Aoko said as she flew into the air and looked into the distance. "Let's check it out briefly, then head toward the town."
Without waiting for a response, Aoko flew toward the small house, while Touko muttered in slight dissatisfaction. A pair of pure white wings emerged from her back, flapping as she took off into the sky.
Of course, the way Touko's wings functioned was not like that of a bird. Instead, they propelled her through sheer magical power. These wings were more akin to engines rather than airfoils.
"I originally thought someone might be living here," Aoko said with disappointment. "Looks like I underestimated the desolation of this land."
"Then what about this painting?" Touko landed from the sky at that moment, her wings dissolving into golden light. She pointed at a painting inside the wooden house.
"Probably the work of the house's previous owner," Aoko said as she examined the oil painting. She mentally committed the scene depicted in the painting to memory—if she ever passed by that location in the future, perhaps she could find some kind of reward.
However, the chances were slim. This wasn't a game, after all. Who would go out of their way to hide treasures in the places depicted in paintings?
"Well, since we're here, let's eat first," Touko said, pulling a foldable table from her imaginary storage and setting it up inside the small house. She also took out a pair of foldable chairs. "The day-night cycle in this world is unstable… We've been here for more than half a day, right?"
"Five hours," Aoko nodded while taking out two cups and a thermos. She poured two drinks and placed a box of snacks on the table. "I think it's because of that tree, and the light veil hanging from its top."
"Didn't you say that it's different from the Erdtree?" Touko asked, taking a big bite of a delicious snack. "Or are all these giant trees special in some way?"
"Do you remember the Grace we found in the ruins?" Aoko asked after sipping her tea. "Although we didn't feel anything ourselves, Grace restores the stamina of those nearby and heals their wounds. But not everyone can see it."
"The fact that Grace exists proves that this area is influenced by the Erdtree," Aoko continued seriously. "So that black tree must be connected to the Erdtree in some way."
"Well, you're the one who knows all the details," Touko shrugged. "As long as we can secure enough benefits in this world, that's all that matters."
After finishing their tea and meal, the Aozaki sisters flew back along the same route.
As they passed by the Grace, Aoko had a sudden thought—since she had just used up one of her spell slots, could the Grace restore it?
After some testing, Aoko was disappointed to find that Grace could only restore her magical power and stamina. It did not affect her lost spell slots, which still required long rests or special techniques to recover.
But she wasn't too surprised by this result. After all, her weave could operate across worlds—if a mere fragment of Grace from this Lands Between could influence it, then it would be far too weak.
— Scene Break —
After a brief rest, Aoko and Touko set out once again.
Since they were heading to Castle Ensis, they had to avoid the Fire Wicker Man Puppets patrolling in circles near the Ellac Greatbridge. However, Aoko didn't want to miss any details or information along the way.
So, they had no choice but to cast multiple invisibility spells and aura-concealing magic on themselves. According to Touko, the Doll Master, magical puppets don't rely on vision to detect enemies. Instead, they typically use magical sensing and active detection spells. If they couldn't conceal their magical presence, the invisibility would be useless against these constructs.
Even though the Wicker Man was a product of another world, they still had to be cautious. Accidentally exposing themselves and destroying someone else's property would be troublesome.
The two carefully avoided the burning Wicker Man and reached the massive stone gate leading to Tower Town. After securing the Grace there, they followed the northeastern road, flying over Ellac Greatbridge toward Enis.
From above, they could see that the bridge was littered with wooden chevaux de frise, clearly placed by the defenders from Enis to prevent a counterattack from the Horned Men of Tower Town. However, there were no Horned Men in sight anymore.
Because they had all been impaled.
The farther they traveled across the bridge, the more numerous the spears became, each one piercing the charred corpses of the Horned Men.
At the far end of the bridge, past the chevaux de frise, were some relatively normal-looking soldiers. These soldiers wore the same uniforms as the ones they had encountered earlier near the ruins. It seemed they belonged to the faction that had attacked the Horned Men.
Considering that the largest mage faction in the Lands Between was the Raya Lucaria Academy, or rather, the Carian Royal Family, Aoko wondered whether the mages in Enis Castle were leading this anti-Horned Men army or were simply part of a coalition.
As she flew over the bridge, Aoko carefully observed the military encampment beyond it.
She didn't recognize the soldiers' strange emblems, but her sharp eyes quickly spotted a group of white-robed, hooded individuals near the tents.
Perfumers!
These war alchemists were an important combat force within the Erdtree's army. Their presence meant that this army was led by the Erdtree or one of its subordinate factions.
Having roughly pieced together the situation, Aoko increased her speed toward Enhis Castle. She had no interest in interacting with these common soldiers—better to go straight to the castle's leadership and settle things in one go.
Along the way, the Aozaki sisters witnessed the brutality of a medieval fantasy battlefield firsthand.
Even as a modern-day magus, they had never seen anything like this. After all, in the Holy Grail War, most victims were simply vaporized.
The countless skewered Horned Men corpses were likely a message—a warning to Tower Town. Perhaps it also reflected the army commander's hatred for their enemies.
This Path of Impalement, lined with spears piercing the Horned Men's bodies, stretched to the gates of Enis Castle.
Aoko was growing more and more curious about who ruled this fortress.