Chapter 14: Layns questions (1/2)
”Is it real life? Or is it just a fantasy?” After hearing Irea's explanation, Layn unintentionally muttered those words under his nose. With no intent behind those words, even his translation spell didn't pick it up, leaving the girl clueless as to what the archmage just said.
”Excuse me?” Baffled by the strange words coming out of Layn's Irea couldn't help but probe him a bit.
”Ah, it's nothing. Don't mind me.” Noticing the girl's curiosity, the archmage quickly pushed the topic out of the agenda before focusing his sight back at the astonishing barrier.
'Is it some kind of natural phenomena or… Is this barrier really created by some god-like being?' No matter how long the archmage thought about this problem, he was unable to find conclusive evidence for either of the possible solutions. In the modern world that he hailed from, there would be no way for such an impressive magical feat to come unnoticed and unresearched.
Sadly, the locals were content with just taking it for the works of God, leaving such incredible phenomena to its own devices.
”If you are still thinking about this barrier… Well, I can only say one thing. Don't waste too much time trying to figure it out. Everyone thinks they would be capable of uncovering its secrets when they first see how it works… But even though this place has several thousand years of history behind it, a single person has yet to succeed.” Noticing what could be the reason behind Layn's thoughtful state, Irea rushed to talk him out of thinking about the barrier too much.
”Don't worry, I'm not as arrogant to think I'm someone special enough to understand it. But it doesn't change the fact…” Raising his head towards the barrier once again, Layn couldn't help but shake his head over how futile his attempts to explain his situation would be if he ever tried to be completely serious. ”... that it's making me curious.”
Releasing a deep sigh, Layn finally moved his head in the opposite direction, just in time to notice the huge mass of people gathered between the walls, starting to move. Just like the magic carriage traffic back in his time, by the time the fluctuation of the queue reached their position, the groups at the front have long stopped walking.
”Thinking about the curious things, how come we are not constantly moving forward?” This was one of the things that Layn believed he was able to understand. While the weight of such information wasn't great, it was still one of the ways for the archmage to understand a tiny bit of the rules that governed this ancient society.
”Ah, you mean the queue? That's pretty simple.” Irea smiled before pointing her hand towards the inner set of the walls. ”Rather than checking people one by one or group by group and forcing everyone to constantly stand and move, the guards are inviting about a hundred people at a time.”
Lowering her hand, the girl smiled once again, as if answering Layn's inquiries gave her a lot of joy. ”This way, instead of moving an inch at a time, people can just take it easy and move only once in a while.”
'Makes sense. Given how there weren't any places with queues as long in my times, it's only logical they figured out a way to make it easier for everyone.' Rationalising the method used by the ancients, Layn obediently stood up and moved several meters forward, before the queue stopped once again.
”But it's not really something you were curious about, isn't it?” As if reading Layn's mind, Irea smiled once again, before allowing a gentle giggle to escape through her mouth. ”You don't need to worry too much about it. If I can answer your questions, I will. If I won't be able to or if the question will be something I won't be happy to answer, I will inform you about it.”
From how Layn was constantly sending an anxious look towards the barrier, it was clear that this topic was far from over for him. But in reality, it wasn't as if the archmage was worried about asking about the barrier. He just didn't believe that an ancient person like Irea or her colleagues could provide him with a scientific answer.