I grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up.
"Gah…."
"No, what you're about to experience will be reality, not an illusion. You asked what it means that you can't go back to Mecklenburg?"
I removed the artifact that was hooked over my other ear. The stealth trait it had was deactivated as it left my skin.
Strauch's already pale face became even more ashen.
I smiled as I held the artifact up to his eyes.
"What do you think it means?"
The blood drained from Strauch's face.
"…No way…."
"You're right in what you're imagining."
I grabbed his collar and slammed his head against the railing.
Bang―!
"Ugh!"
Strauch's illusion still worked perfectly, and countless people were looking at us with tense and wary eyes.
I murmured as I pressed my cold hand to Strauch's neck.
"I wonder how everyone would react if they knew that the young congressman from Mecklenburg was a Pleroma."
"N-no… Don't…."
"Everyone will be eager to spend their time on you. Now, your story will come up at every dining table. Letters asking about your well-being will surely include tales of the Pleroma politician, and schools, the Imperial family, and even the federal government will use your case to warn juniors for decades."
Strauch shook his head rapidly and backed away. He seemed to have no strength left to speak.
It was natural since I had mustered all the power I could in a single moment to prevent him from using any magic.
Feeling his life force waning, I spoke.
"Think back. What accomplishments were you so proud of? Graduating with top honors from the Imperial Academy of Magic? Getting a job with the federal government right after graduation, being selected as a congressman of Schwerin in less than ten years.... You received a lot of support for a short political career."
I tilted my head as I looked into his unfocused eyes.
"Impressive. It was a shining life everyone dreamed of, wasn't it?"
"...."
I wonder if he regrets stepping into the Pleroma after hearing all this. Of course, regretting it now wouldn't make much difference.
Strauch's breathing became irregular and gradually slowed down.
It was time to wrap things up. I removed my glove and pressed my hand to his forehead.
—Enter through the narrow gate.
I used to stop here before.
But this time, I can't stop.
I continued the incantation, strengthening my grip. Without doing so, my hands trembled too much to focus on the magic.
—For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
As I spoke, I felt something else break. A droplet of blood fell onto his pale face.
'…I can't stop here.'
Just a little more.
I didn't know what the Pleroma system was like. It was uncertain what method I could use to extract his memories.
—But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
So, I can only be reassured by damaging the original.
When the incantation was finished, Strauch's trembling eyes stopped moving. His hands and legs hung limply.
He wasn't dead.
When a strong shock of magic hits the brain, it can cause a temporary reaction like this. It meant that his level was lower than mine and that my memory-altering spell had succeeded.
Even though he was proven to be a Pleroma, it was better for the Imperial family to be the ones to handle him in the end, rather than me ending his life immediately. It's best not to leave any room for potential negative perceptions or unnecessary trouble.
'More than that….'
The cost of using enough magic to cast three or four spells at once was catching up with me.
I had been desperately ignoring it, but the thought that it was finally over made it impossible to endure any longer.
Thud―
My vision was narrowing at a steady pace, like lights going out one by one. A chill swept up from somewhere inside my stomach.
Boom―
For some reason, the same roar from before was heard again.
It was definitely longer, but my ears quickly shut out the sound, unable to accept it. A hazy state, as if submerged underwater, continued.
I raised my hand to touch my ear. A sticky liquid was on my fingers.
'....'
What was this? Surely it had a name I couldn't forget.
It felt like a circuit had been disconnected. My face contorted on its own.
Now my eyes were closing on their own. Waiting like this would bring help soon, so it might not be a bad idea to rest a bit.
'No, it's not.'
I need to find out what caused the roar I didn't make. There's no time to spare for planning my next move….
Boom―
Something crashed down, and the wind stirred. A figure appeared amidst the dust in the distance.
"…Can you hear me? You're all bloody. Are you okay?"
It was a familiar voice.
I clenched my hand and opened my mouth.
I felt a faint sensation as if the fog in my mind was clearing. Only then could I recall what was on my hand.
"I saw your magic. You nearly killed him, didn't you?"
I squinted to focus on my blurred vision. A person dressed in black robes over priestly garb laughed aloud and swung his staff.
"Indeed, your potential… My judgment wasn't wrong. But let's not kill him. We need to see how he dies."
—Stretch out your hand, Lord, to heal and perform signs and wonders in the name of your holy servant Jesus.
A pure white divine power unfolded before my eyes.
My mind cleared. I realized I had gained a bit more composure.
Only then did I notice something strange about the other person's appearance.
A deep pink fascia tied at the waist of the priest's robe under the robe caught my eye. As far as I knew, only a few clergy could use such a color.
The staff, too, was outside the bounds of my knowledge. It was the kind given to clergy of the Papal State, and it was in his hand. Even his hair color was closer to the standard set by the Papal State for divine power users than his usual dark brown.
His appearance raised many questions, but I didn't have the mental capacity to ask them.
I leaned against the railing and murmured.
"You're here now…."
"Well, sorry about that. Strauch messed up the coordinate system twice."
Narce lifted his mask slightly to reveal his face. He sat down in front of me, checked my condition, and smiled wryly.
"You're in serious shape. It's not poison, so it can't be purified… There are many problems. I'll have to squeeze some compensation out of Wittelsbach when we get back."
"Will you?"
"Haha, how modest. I'll bring you a newspaper when you wake up after treatment."
I frowned at the incomprehensible words, and Narce burst into laughter.
"The entire empire is coming together to extract something for you. There's no way your place wouldn't do the same. Now, answer my question. So…."
Narce turned my head and pointed below.
"Do you know where we are now?"
"The capital plaza… the top floor of the clock tower."
"Good. Then you know that those people are your illusion, right?"
"I do."
"You're aware that we're 100 meters above ground, right?"
"I didn't know that."
I answered, holding my pounding head.
"Roughly. Anyway, I should mention that in our coordinate system, the people below are just as gathered."
"What…!"
"Don't get worked up like that. I didn't have time to bring a mask. What should I do? Should I at least make your hair longer? No, let's cover it with a robe for now."
"You could just warp us, right? Ah, damn it… coordinate system…."
"Yeah, there's no way to move the coordinate system. It's my first time doing this too. Do you remember where I came from earlier?"
I silently shook my head.
"I fell from the sky from your perspective. I had to cause a shock to create a crack. There were a couple of replicated parts, but luckily the first one I picked was the world you were in."
"…What are you trying to say…."
I grabbed my head.
The things he was saying were impossible for me to understand.
If it were any other time, I could comprehend the context, but I wasn't in the state of mind to do so.
At that moment, my vision tilted. Narce picked me up and adjusted his stance.
"We'll do it the same way we came. We have to jump, Lucas."
"What?!"
"Haha, there's no other way. I'm sorry. But this is the best option, so I'm not too sorry."
Narce leaped up onto the railing in one go. The wind blew even harder as soon as we stood there.
Whoosh―
"I'll cast a perceptual disturbance spell. Don't worry about your face being seen."
"No, what are you saying right now…!"
"You can trust my skills. If we delay any longer, your brother and everything else will die right now. Okay, three, two… one."
Narce lightly lifted his foot.
The wind noise stopped, and my eardrums felt like they were stuffed. Soon after, the sound of a wind stronger than anything I had ever heard filled my ears.
Whoooooosh―!
"Ahhhhhhh!"
"Wow, this is the first time I've seen you react so violently."
Narce laughed as he cast magic from his staff toward the ground.
I doubt there's anyone who wouldn't scream when falling from a height of 100 meters without any protection. I swore profusely in my mind.
When I closed my eyes and clenched my teeth, Narce eventually turned my head inward.
"Oh! Look over there!"
"They're coming!"
Around the time I heard the voices of people, my memory cut out.
***
I didn't know how much time had passed.
My vision was blurry. I frowned, trying to focus and look around.
"Are you feeling better?"
I turned my head toward where the voice was coming from.
Someone was holding my hand and channeling magic into me.
After some treatment, I had regained enough strength to move my body somewhat.
But more importantly... The person treating me was the most renowned expert in magical medicine in the Wittelsbach family.
"...."
In other words, he was the King of Bavaria.
Why was he here?
I was so shocked that I tried to get up, but his firm gesture made me lie back down.
"…It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty."
"Are you Sir Nicolaus? Or Lucas Askanian?"
"...."
There was a sharp edge hidden in his gently smiling question.
Right… From the moment he was by my side, my identity was already exposed.
As I hesitated to respond, he smiled just like Leo would. Although their faces weren't very similar, anyone could tell from their demeanor that they were family.
"If you're referring to the latter, I've seen you since you were young, haven't I? You don't seem to remember, but I still have a vivid memory of it."
"Is that so."
"Are you feeling better?"
"Yes, thanks to you, I've recovered a lot. Thank you."
He nodded silently as if he understood.
'…Hmm.'
I had been solving identity issues through Leo as a representative because I couldn't afford to take unnecessary risks.
However, in principle, it would have been right to approach the king directly, explain my situation, and ask for a new identity. Although success couldn't have been guaranteed.
The reason I didn't, even knowing it was disrespectful, was that even Leo's family posed a significant risk to me.
'So, first, I need to verify if this person is trustworthy.'
I immediately summoned the Probability of Change window.
Dawn 777
- Time until final conclusion "Chapter X. Death": 696 days 21 hours 41 minutes 18 seconds
- Probability of Change: 17.4% (+2.0%p)
It went up by 2%p.
This meant it was not a problem even if the king knew.
I briefly wondered if the result could have been 3%p up and 1%p down, but...
There are only two paths regarding the issue of Nicolaus' identity.
Maintain the status quo or an irreparable failure.
Problems related to my identity, unlike tricks like Dasrothe's pranks that cause impression points to fluctuate within a range, lead my brother to act immediately and completely drive me to death.
If he were someone who moved against my interests, the Probability of Change would not have dropped slightly by 0.1%p or 1%p but would have plummeted straight down.
Therefore, the figure only contained the increase from dealing with Strauch.
A heavy silence lingered for a while.
Meanwhile, I could feel his pure magic flowing through my body.
"It's still surprising to think that Sir Nicolaus Ernst was the second son of Askanian."
There was no right answer no matter how I responded.
Are you surprised? Was he teasing me…
I wasn't planning on revealing it? That's essentially admitting to trying to deceive him right in front of the king.
Was going to inform you later? Frankly, I don't care at this point.
Sorry… Well, that's probably the best option. Regardless of my circumstances, I should apologize.
When I was about to open my mouth after a brief hesitation, the king shook his head.
"Let's discuss this later. You'll have to return to school the day after tomorrow, so let's have a brief conversation tomorrow."
"...."
I'd rather just do it now…
However, I couldn't say that when I owed apologies for so many things.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The king nodded slightly as if satisfied, then stood up.
"Then, I'll see you tomorrow."
I bowed to him as he left, and when the door closed, I tried to get up but realized it was still too much and lay back down.
Since I didn't know how things had proceeded, I should at least read the newspaper.
There were certainly some things I needed to address.
'What exactly happened in the end?'
Although my body was mostly healed, it seemed my brain function hadn't fully returned yet.
Let's try to remember things slowly, one by one.
I turned back time and pushed Strauch to the brink of death when he tried to turn me into a Pleroma again.
And then, I seemed to have briefly lost consciousness due to internal injuries. Fortunately, help arrived….
'I fell.'
Narce and I fell from the top of the clock tower in the capital plaza. Fortunately, I survived…
'…!'
Narce definitely said, 'There are as many people gathered in the real plaza as well.'
Did they not recognize me?
He said he used a perceptual disturbance spell, but that magic wouldn't work on a mage stronger than Narce.
'…Quickly. Status window.'
Lucas Rene Askanian
Title: Sir Nicolaus
- Health: +1.3 (+0.2) [+4.3]
- Mental Power: -1.6 (+1.0)
- Magic Power: ?
- Skill: +2.7 (+0.25) [+5.7]
- Impression: -9.9 [+6.50098951]
- Luck: +0.95 (+0.9)
- Traits: Dawn 777, Divine Power, Charisma (Lv.2), Retry (Lv.1)
-9.9.
This is the first time I've felt relieved seeing this number.
Narce was telling the truth. No one recognized me.
Let's think for a moment.
There must have been mages among the crowd, yet Narce could use a perceptual disturbance spell?
Of course, if Narce covered my face and warped us directly from the air above our world, and used a disturbance spell as an auxiliary device, it's not entirely unreasonable.
Now that I've thought this far, I remembered something strange about Narce's appearance.
That was definitely a staff of a Papal mage, and the color of the priest's robe was also not typical. As far as I know, only someone at the level of a bishop could use that color of fascia.
For such a high-ranking clergyman, the Imperial Second Academy must seem like a trivial school, yet he insisted on coming as an exchange student?
"...."
I'm sure he said he was attending a seminary. Is it possible to hold both a student status and a bishopric? Or is one of them a lie?
Once doubt arises, other memories come to mind.
Previously, he easily used 10,000 square meters of divine power in the restricted area of Bavaria.
Although the survival probability has never dropped because of Narce….
'This needs to be addressed as well.'