I ultimately couldn't make a decision.
Just as I was deep in thought, Shen Xue, who had rushed out the door earlier, suddenly rushed back in a hurry, finally stopping less than half a meter away from us, leaning on her knees and breathing heavily.
Sweat rolled down her skin, wetting the cold ground, and quickly condensed into tiny ice crystal pillars, which shattered into pieces of ice in the wind blowing through the gaps.
What could have happened to make her so distraught?
I suggested that she go inside and find a place to rest for a while, and then tell us the reason for her sudden departure after she had caught her breath. But Shenxue just waved her hand, wiped the sweat dripping from her chin with the back of her hand, looked around, and dragged us to a quiet corner of an alley that looked like no one would pass by or pay attention to her. Only then did she relax a little.
"I've been to the Central Square."
Miyuki said, "Just as that person said, I found a notice on the notice board in the square announcing that Advent will be held on Sunday."
"I heard it's a day when miracles of healing are performed? Although I have my doubts about the actual meaning of such an act, it doesn't sound like it would cause any serious harm." Feeling a bit cold, I put my hands in my pockets. "Is there some hidden story behind this?"
"...From a purely propaganda perspective, it is indeed the same as what you heard."
Shen Xue shook her head and suddenly fell silent.
Suddenly I felt a wave of dizziness, and at the same time I heard the rabbit's sudden exclamation.
Shaking my head, I suppressed the senses around my body, letting them adhere to my skin. I looked up again at Shen Xue, who had suddenly closed her eyes and fallen silent. I saw transparent white ripples, like waves in water, spreading outward from the female swordsman. Most of them penetrated the walls and solid rocks, while only a few passed over Alice and me, creating a light blue bounce as if they had collided with rocks.
“This is a technique that involves actively releasing one’s aura to detect whether anyone is hiding or eavesdropping in the surrounding environment,” Alice whispered in my ear. “It’s similar to the perception you usually use; it’s a method that only people like us who have mastered aura can use.”
"Then why don't you let me do it?"
I'm not bragging, but I'm quite confident in my ability to use my senses to explore my surroundings. While I can't guarantee that I'll get the exact score for every single spot, I can at least get a general idea.
However, despite saying that, I didn't make any further moves. Instead, I patiently stood aside and waited for Miyuki to finish her investigation.
The waiting time was not long.
Restraining her outward aura, Shen Xue reopened her eyes. A fleeting, icy blue halo appeared in her eyes before settling back into silence.
She shook her head again and explained, "Although I would very much like to use your power, it's best not to do so in the Frozen Snow City."
"What's the reason?"
“There are very few people in the city who can truly be called mages.” Shen Xue calmly continued, meeting my questioning gaze. “Therefore, if Shang Ruo were to have a similar strong reaction in the city, it would very likely alarm those so-called wild mages you mentioned, as well as the people in the church.”
I still stared at her, puzzled.
"Could it be that some church has a device that can monitor the status of unregistered mages?"
Alice interjected, "Although it's rare, it's not entirely unheard of. In the pre-kingdom era, similar artifacts were used to manage mages within the kingdom's borders, in order to check their status and whether they might commit crimes, etc."
She tapped her chin, thinking for a moment: "If I remember correctly, there is most likely a similar artifact in the north, but I've forgotten which family it was given to."
Is the usage to directly monitor the distribution of magic flow in the city?
"Artificial creations are?"
"It's what you call a magical artifact now, a magical artifact."
The rascal, holding his head, whistled indifferently: "However, compared to the lightweight, simple, and low-energy magical artifacts currently on the market, those artificial creations are usually characterized by being too huge, difficult to move, extremely energy-consuming, and easily destroyed."
"If we hadn't been unable to find a suitable replacement back then, it probably would have been phased out long ago."
Miyuki pondered for a few seconds: "...A huge object, if I'm not mistaken, there should only be that one, right?"
Seeing us looking at her, she tapped her fingers lightly twice while holding the sword sheath: "In front of the central square, there is a huge pure white stone statue that has been specially erected. It is a huge statue that can be clearly seen from the outer city. And on the lotus pedestal stone base in front of the statue, there is a huge ice blue crystal ball."
"The church claims that it is the image of the god of winter, and the crystal ball is a sacred object given by God. Therefore, it is guarded and protected all year round to prevent anyone from approaching or touching it, or from destroying or stealing it."
"If anything could be what you call an artificial creation, I think the existence of that crystal ball is the most suspicious."
"Hmm~ I don't know. I was on duty a lot back then, so I didn't see them much. Maybe they were modified or hidden away?"
I spread my hands: "Man-made magical devices are given the name of divine relics and used in cities with wild mages as tools to monitor them. I don't know which is more ironic."
"Also, isn't it said that those wild mages are respected figures in the Frozen Snow City, able to do whatever they want without much repercussions, even randomly selecting experimental subjects? Do these guys really want the church to monitor their existence and behavior with something like that?"
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