Fíliya casually cast a spell to control the golems, then immediately turned to look at Sense.
"Hey, that should do it. Now they'll listen to your instructions too."
Fíliya's words made Sense a little curious.
"Can I try?"
Fíliya nodded, and so Sense, as if training a puppy, gave a series of commands to the golems.
"How was it?"
Seeing that Sense had finally made the golems stop, Fíliya figured she must have had enough fun, so she started a conversation.
"Mm, they're very obedient. I get the feeling these golems have a certain level of intelligence... much smarter than old man Lernen's golems."
"That's natural. They are the work of the great mage Flamme, after all. Even after a thousand years, they're not outdated, you know."
Fíliya chuckled lightly.
...Afterwards, having returned the golems to their silent state, the two went back inside.
Sense quickly cleared the dishes and did some simple cleaning. Of course, she didn't move at all during this process; she did everything with her hair while remaining seated.
Then, she motioned for Fíliya to come to her side.
"Hmm, is it time to work?"
Fíliya chuckled and moved closer to Sense.
Sense nodded and began to ask Fíliya a series of questions. Sense didn't ask again about the specifics of Fíliya's conversation with Macht, as she had already learned most of that information in the afternoon. What she wanted to know from Fíliya now was some intelligence regarding Macht's personality.
"Fíliya, do you think there's any possibility of communicating with Macht?"
"Well, that's hard to say."
Fíliya propped her chin on her remaining right hand. She didn't declare Macht a friendly being just because they had a smooth conversation.
Because long before she entered the great barrier of the Golden Land, she had seen it: the "body" that Macht had hung high in the air from the city tower.
And Fíliya actually recognized that body.
The First-Class Mage "Tao," also a member of the Magic Association, had served as the commander of the advance reconnaissance team for the Golden Land of Weise. In the Golden Land, he encountered Macht. Tao and several other Second-Class Mage team members were turned into gold by Macht before they could cast a single spell.
Although Tao wasn't technically dead, this act of hanging up a gold-transformed "member of the Magic Association" undoubtedly proved one thing.
Although Macht could perfectly perform the elegance of a refined gentleman, the real him was likely not so easy to talk to. The guy was only bowing his head because he'd been trapped for decades.
"Is that so... For safety's sake, we really do need to find a way to have the survivors of Weise communicate with Macht."
Sense said in a low voice.
This statement also piqued Fíliya's interest.
"Oh? What do you mean? Weise has survivors?"
"Of course. According to the Association's investigations, on the day Macht decided to turn all of Weise into gold, quite a few of Weise's original inhabitants actually escaped that fate.
Fíliya chuckled and moved closer to Sense.
"These people were either visiting relatives in nearby cities, or away for work... In short, some of Weise's civilians did survive."
"Oh... I see. Because of the 'Stone Ring of Domination,' Macht must obey the 'people of Weise.' So, having the survivors of Weise communicate with Macht is the safest way, right?"
Fíliya quickly figured this out. Although the two commands, 'do not harm humans' and 'die instantly upon feeling malice towards humans,' were practically useless, the command to 'forever obey the people of Weise' was very specific and would therefore certainly be effective against Macht.
But if she had to say... Fíliya couldn't help but feel that this command also had quite a few loopholes to exploit, so she said to Sense.
"Speaking of which, how exactly is 'people of Weise' defined? Do you have to be born in Weise, or just have proof of identity from Weise? If you form a relationship with someone from Weise, does that count you as one of the 'people of Weise'?"
"Hey, Sense, what if I just randomly took someone from Weise as an adoptive father or mother, would I then count as one of the 'people of Weise'? Or what if I just had the most influential Empire in the Northern Nations grant me the status of 'people of Weise'... If that's possible, wouldn't anyone be able to make Macht obey?"
Uh... Sense was a little stunned. She hadn't expected a single casual remark to make Fíliya's thoughts diverge to such an extent.
This kid really is a natural-born mage... Her imagination runs way too wild.
Sense shook her head helplessly before speaking to Fíliya.
"I'm afraid the methods you've described are unfeasible. The Magic Association has run some tests, though not exactly the kind you mentioned, and came to one conclusion: only 'people born in Weise' count as the 'people of Weise'."
"Oh, is that so. Never mind, then."
Fíliya shrugged nonchalantly.
"So, among those survivors, is there anyone who dares to meet with Macht?"
"It's not a question of daring... From the Magic Association's standpoint, we can't let ordinary citizens be put in danger. So we've been trying to find an original inhabitant of Weise who has a certain degree of magical ability... But so far, we've had no luck. Among those who survived, there are almost no mages, let alone powerful ones."
"I see... By the way, if a method to reverse the gold transformation of Weise is found, what's our Magic Association's stance on Macht? Are we to execute him immediately?"
"What? Are you thinking of sheltering a member of the Demon Race again?"
Sense looked at Fíliya, her expression unreadable.
"No, just a little curious."
"..."
Sense lowered her head, a thoughtful expression on her face. Fíliya's question was indeed a difficult one.
"I don't know either, but he would probably be handed over to the people of Weise to be dealt with."
"Ultimately, our Magic Association is a very neutral organization. We only manage the continental mages who are willing to join the Association."
"Macht only drew Lady Serie's attention because he went too far. She trapped him here with the great barrier to preserve a glimmer of hope for saving the people of Weise."
"Considering that Macht has, in fact, acted as Weise's guardian deity for the past several decades, protecting it many times from the remnants of the Demon King's army."
"If the gold transformation of Weise can be reversed, his fate can only be decided by the people of Weise. The Magic Association does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries or cities."
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