The Economics of Prophecy

"One, two, three, four..."

I count the number of stripes of ice stripes clay on one hand of magnifying glass. It's about five millimeters a year in broad, dark areas and narrow, bright areas. I mean, a hundred years at 50 centimeters. Ice striped clay is over eight meters long, so it's for 1600 years. No, considering it's compressed back in time, it could be nearly 2,000 years.

Besides, there's no major disturbance in the stripes. The environment must have been stable.

"There's a lot of magic in there. It's more concentrated than an annual wheel."

Mayteel stripped the sensory demon paper from the sample she tried and dug. When you spread it out and show it to me, there's a noose pattern there.

"Maybe you can measure it straight away or something?

"Well, the question is, can you capture purple wavelengths well? I need to try all this. That's exciting."

"I don't know what it feels like. But it's not..."

"I know. Because the future of mankind depends on it."

Me and Mayteel will take both ends of the sample and install it on the table adjacent to Ealis. The table has something like a crank on it. When turned, the principle of screws makes the sample go a little further.

Mayteel begins measuring. I rely on the hourglass to proceed with samples every certain amount of time.

Measurement results begin to appear on the sensory demon board. The narrow winter layers are less magical among the two layers of light and dark, and that separates them well. Sounds good. I turned the crank and flipped the hourglass.

............... No matter how much magic the sample says, the measurement takes time. I think measuring long-term samples is a distracting task.

I don't know how long the record remains in the glacier, but I want to measure it for at least two meters, 400 years.

"The wavelengths below red are ambiguous. It seems better to focus on the deep red wavelengths that only come out occasionally."

Mayteel reads the data.

"... no purple so far"

It means that Flying Dragon Mountain vents don't always produce purple magic. Since when does purple magic, measured directly at the foot of Mount Flying Dragon, occur, we have to wait for the results of the annual wheel. By the way, Crane's in charge over there.

"You're troubled by the pieces of the tube. You're gonna miss your measurements."

"Right. Still, it's hard to come out. The purple..."

I've already measured it for over 350 years. Given the decades we haven't reached the lake yet. It should have been 400 years ago. You've never been in a whole glacier for 400 years.

No, there's also the possibility that the record of history, 400 years ago, is inaccurate. The catastrophe was only over 400 years ago. I persuade myself to be anxious.

Proceed another 10 cm or so. Mathier looked up all the time.

"... I'm out. Definitely."

When I looked at the sensory demon board, suddenly a thick band was fitted. It corresponds to purple magic. When we nod each other, we keep measuring. The band corresponding to purple magic was measured from stripes for about two or three years. And disappeared like nothing happened again.

"... about 380 years ago in terms of the number of stripes"

"Considering the number of years you haven't melted out of the glacier, it's pretty much there."

"Once we measure up to 500, let's match it with the data from the annual wheel"

It also pauses about 50 centimetres after proceeding with the measurement. There is also a limit to the sensory demon board.

"At this rate, I figured it would be appropriate to match the data with deep red magic."

"Right...... Hmm."

We think about the results before, only once in 500 years, the deep red magic looks like a flying barcode compared to the purple magic that only appeared for a few years.

"I don't know what I'm gonna do until Crane gets the results."

Mathier leaned on me.

"Oh, yeah. Like experimenting with negative demon crystals. Ask His Royal Highness if he has any left..."

"Negative demonic crystals. Oh, there's something about me too."

"No, there's no certainty at all. It's really limited what I know about magic, so it's hard to expect too much."

I stabbed the nail.

"Oh, look at this data. You don't even have to say that. I heard from Noel and Fulsey, but they've been saying for a long time now that we need more information on the Devil's Vessel."

Maityle peeks into my face as she waves a sensory demon board sandwiched in her hand.

"No, the importance of long-term, detailed records doesn't change anything."

I said that in a hurry. That's when the door opened.

"Your Highness. I have finished measuring the annual wheel. As expected............... what the hell are you two doing?

Crane comes into the room early. Those eyes look at me and Mathier. Mathier smashed her tongue away from me.

"Now, there is no purple magic in the annual wheel of the trees that were used for the ruins of the city. As predicted."

Maitille looked at the first piece of data submitted by Crane and said: It was collected while we were fighting demon bugs in Flying Dragon Mountain. They had a rough time downstairs, because many trees were rotting or burning. There were not many proper samples of wood that remained decent either.

It was about fifty years worth of data that Crane was able to measure.

"Consider that the purple magic shown near the 380th of ice striped clay is the time when the city was destroyed by a catastrophic disaster. Naturally, the wood used in the city has been harvested before that. If you consider it to be timber harvested twenty years ago, a record of 400 to 50 years and…"

"Around here.... No, you're not. More time ago then..."

"There was. It's from 413 of ice striped clay. The pattern of deep red magic matches."

Crane said. Me and Mathilde will check it out. The pattern of deep red magic does match.

"It's settled. Four hundred years ago, probably during a catastrophe, a sudden purple magic broke out"

"Right, at least 70 years before that, and 380 years after that. There was a special demonic vein activity that never happened."

It is reasonable to assume that the cause of the catastrophe 400 years ago was the occurrence of purple magic. And as far as Flying Dragon Mountains and Blood Mountains are concerned, the same thing is happening again now.

The hypothesis was tested. The result as expected, but when it comes out......

".................. horrible"

Crane snapped.

"Right. Big incident at least once every 500 years. Now I can only believe what they call a bunch of dragons..."

"No. The horrible thing is… nothing"

Crane rushed out of my sight.

... No, I couldn't get this result by myself. Mostly, I remembered the year stripes because there happened to be a water moon lake in a country born in a previous life...

"Well, when you're foreseen so far. But you also saw Crane. Behavior far from the schemer Ricardo showed in that battle against the Devil Bug"

That's what Mathier says, lowering my ability to protect myself. No, I had the math for once. Mostly. If I didn't, I'd be dead too.

"It is…"

"Come on, what's the data on the new person's annual wheel?

Mathier changes the story. The purple magic of Flying Dragon Mountain, it's a question of when that might be coming out, 400 years ago it's been happening for about three years.

"... this is it. We've had purple magic for a year now"

Mathier gave another result. It's the data on the annual wheel I crawled into at Glacier Lake. This one has a duration of about fifty years. Missing links are buried.

"Then let's sort it out"

I arrange the deep red and purple bands of yearly wheels and ice striped clay in chronological order.

Purple of the annual wheel: | | oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Deep red of the annual wheel: | | | | - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Purple of ice striped clay: eeeeeee | |

Deep red of ice striped clay: - ooh | | | | | |

Currently - 400

Purple magic: | | | | |

The data clearly show the occurrence of purple magic twice, now and 400 years ago.

"It's settled."

"Oh."

Later, if the nail marks on the ruins match the image of Alfina's prophecy, the hypothesis will be verified. I am not sure that the worst predictions will be supported, but this has provided the basis for considering measures.

Even so, the only thing that was corroborated was to say it was with 400 years ago. I stood still and compared the records of the two demonic veins.... Is that it?

…………

"What's wrong, Ricardo?"

"... No, I just have a few questions."

I pointed to the magic of those two places 400 years ago and now. In recent years, as if it were a leading indicator, the magic of the deep red is manifested several years before the magic of the purple is manifested. Four hundred years ago, on the other hand, the two are almost simultaneous. A minor difference is a difference.

Deep redness occurs a little less often, so it may just have coincided.

"Find out a little more about ice striped clay to the past"

I suggested that just in case. Either way, we have to pull as much data out of the precious samples as possible. Maityle and Crane continue to measure silently as they take turns. I turn the crank pale too and turn the hourglass upside down. The more distracting it is, the more it repeats itself.

Six hundred years ago, 700 years ago, purple magic still doesn't show up.

"Oh, you had purple 800 years ago."

"Periodic, is there something once every 400 years"

"Right, that's funny. ………………… no, wait. How long will this last?"

………………

The room was covered in heavy silence. There was sweat on my forehead as well as on Maitille and Crane, who were making measurements, just off the table. Eventually, the sample moved to the edge.

Two thousand years of history had been revealed before our eyes. Before that overwhelming fluctuation in length of magic, I swallowed a goku and a spit.

"... hypothesized that the next disaster would be the same catastrophe as it was 400 years ago. You were wrong."

And admitted it. Mathier shook her head.

"... it was a mistake to call 400 years ago a catastrophe, wasn't it?"

Before coveted data for the magic guide researchers, Mayteer did not have the usual vigour.

".................. horrible"

Crane snapped unbearably. That eye, of course, is not for me or anything else, but for the desperate results that appeared in the sensational demonic version in line.