In a Female-Dominant World with a 5:1 Gender Ratio, I Saved a Girl as a Kid, and She Said She Wanted to Be My Bride—Who Would’ve Thought She Was a Princess… - 33

Chapter 33: The Guardian of the Ruins and the Sage Without a Staff

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

(Alto’s POV)

As I went deeper into the forest, the number of attacking “puppets” steadily increased. It was not just wolves. Bears, giant serpents, and grotesque birds I had never seen before. All of them were connected to those “threads of light” pouring down from the heavens and were being driven as biological components.

“…There’s no end to this.”

Swish!

With the jet-black magic power wrapped around my right hand, I cleaved straight through the head of a charging bear—threads and all. My magic power was like a specific antidote that nullified the coercive force governing this forest. But each time I used this darkness, my mind was worn down, and a mud-like exhaustion accumulated inside me.

Not yet… I can’t collapse yet.

The tattered journal in my pocket seemed to be growing warm in time with my heartbeat. The time Lilianna had left was short. Stopping here would be the same as letting her die. How many more hours had I wandered through the forest? Suddenly, the density of the trees thinned. That unpleasant “gaze of surveillance” and the grating, insect-like noise faded away all at once.

“…Inside a barrier?”

I stopped and caught my breath at the sight before me. It was an open space within the forest. But it was not a mere clearing. The ground was covered in moss, yet beneath it lay clearly artificial stone paving. And at the center sat a strange, dome-shaped structure.

It was not stone. It was made of a dull, silvery material like seamless metal. Vines and moss covered it, and time had weathered it, yet its alien presence stood completely apart from the surrounding nature.

“…What is this?”

Ancient ruins? No, its design was nothing like any historical structure I knew. It was as if a bunker from the far future had fallen into the wrong era.

“—Turn back, boy.”

A dry voice rang out suddenly. I startled and swept my gaze around. At the entrance of the dome-shaped building stood an old man. He wore a tattered robe, but underneath it was strange clothing—like a lab coat, or perhaps workwear. His graying hair was wild, and deep wrinkles carved his face. But his eyes alone gleamed sharply, like honed blades. And above all else, what he held in his hand…

It was not a staff. It was a rectangular, thin metal plate.

“This is a graveyard. Not a place for the living.”

The old man declared coldly, looking down at me. I steadied my breathing and stepped forward.

“…I’ve been looking for you. You’re Gideon Grave, aren’t you?”

The old man’s eyebrow twitched.

“…I abandoned that name. Now I’m nothing but a gravekeeper.”

“I came from the royal capital. I read your journal.”

I took the battered journal from my pocket and showed it to him. The moment he saw it, shock flashed across his eyes.

“…Impossible. That should have been disposed of…”

“I want to save Princess Lilianna!”

I shouted. Manners and decorum no longer mattered. I hurled my feelings at him.

“She’s being consumed by Magical Erosion. History is about to repeat itself. …You must know something. A way to save her!”

Silence fell. The old man stared at me for a long moment, then finally let out a deep, heavy sigh.

“…Save her, you say. Naive, brat.”

He smoothly raised the metal plate and pointed it at me.

“That is not an illness. It’s a far deeper, more hopeless ‘system error.’ Not something a human can fix.”

“Even so—!”

“I said go back!”

The old man swung the metal plate. In that instant—

DOOOON!!

An enormous invisible pressure slammed into me. A gravitational wave. A force so intense it drove my body into the ground from above.

“G—ugh…!?”

I clenched my teeth and dropped to one knee, enduring it. But my mind was overwhelmed not by the pain of gravity, but by confusion at an “impossible truth.”

W-what is this…!? Magic?

No, something was wrong even before that. The old man in front of me was clearly male. In this world, men were supposed to have almost no magic power. Unless there were special circumstances like mine, it was impossible for a man to use combat-level magic.

And yet, what was this absurd output? No incantation. No staff. Just pointing that “plate”— Was he really wielding magic on the level of a royal court mage… No, even beyond that?

“…What the hell are you? You’re a man, aren’t you…!?”

“Hoh. You can still speak under this pressure?”

Gideon maintained a blank expression as he made a gesture like operating the metal plate. The pressure intensified.

“Do not be bound by common sense. Magic is not a ‘miracle.’ It is merely a ‘technical command.’”

Technical…? A logic I didn’t understand. But at this rate, I would be crushed.

“I’m not going back! Not until I hear your story!”

I wrapped “void” around my right hand and struck the invisible wall of gravity bearing down on me.

Bam!

The air split with a cracking sound, and the gravitational wave dispersed.

“Wha—!?”

The old man’s eyes flew open. He looked stunned that my “darkness” had forcibly nullified his formula.

“That power… No way. You’re an ‘Administrator’…?”

“…What?”

An unfamiliar word. But the old man’s complexion had clearly changed. From hostility, to caution and then to curiosity. He lowered the metal plate and stepped closer, scrutinizing me.

“A vessel without magic power. Yet possessing the power to devour the world system… I see. So that’s how it is.”

Muttering to himself, he stopped in front of me.

“…Your name?”

“Alto. Alto von Kirschwasser.”

“Alto, huh. …Very well.”

Gideon jerked his thumb toward the alien structure behind him.

“Come in. Standing around talking isn’t ideal. …Not before the ‘guests’ you brought with you got too noisy.”

The rustling of the forest had grown louder. It seemed the “puppets” pursuing me were gathering around the barrier. I glanced back once, then nodded. An old man who wielded overwhelming power despite being male. And the strange words that called magic “technology.” The truth I did not know lay ahead…

Guided by the heretical sage, I stepped into the ancient ruin shelter.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー