073 – Birthday Party (4)
The priest named as a suspect in Rakan’s investigation notepad was Mattia.
There was no surname, because all the priests and paladins of Luxism threw away their surnames in the sense of severing ties with the past and becoming a servant of Lux.
‘ Matthew. Mattia. Mattia.’
Rakan looked through his head and remembered Priest Mattia’s face.
I don’t remember well.
Was it just like wearing a necklace in the shape of the Holy Grail, a symbol of Luxism, and wearing a white robe?
‘Who will remember all the faces of the priest who only prayed?’
But at this point, Mattia’s face didn’t matter.
If Priest Mattia is the culprit, it is possible that the man disguised as Biscotti is either Priest Mattia or the person who helped disguise him.
Once, Rakan hurried to the short station waiting room.
‘none.’
I looked all over the waiting room, but Bisco was nowhere to be seen.
I’ve been to all the places where I could be looking for a bathroom, but I can’t find it.
Sweat dripped down Rakan’s back.
Maybe it’s because I’ve spent too much time arguing with the guards?
Or was it that leaving Bisco behind was a problem in itself?
Rakan decided to ask Tommy, who was on the same band, about Bisco’s whereabouts.
“Tommy. Do you know where Biscotti is?”
“I don’t know either? If you were the stage director, wouldn’t you know?”
“ah! thank you!”
Because of his complicated brain, he was forgetting the person who most likely knew Bisco’s whereabouts.
In order for the double to leave, he had to report to the stage director.
Of course, it’s highly unlikely that he’d reported it, but the best chance that the stage manager would have known about it.
Rakan was busy looking for a stage director to lead behind the scenes.
“Stage director. Have you not seen Bisco?”
The stage director said without even looking at Rakan because he was busy.
“Bisco? Why are you asking me that?”
“It will soon be time for our passing citizens to enter. I want to prepare in advance.”
The stage manager glanced at the script for a moment and frowned.
He seemed annoyed and seemed to be thinking of something.
“shit. You’re in trouble when you’re busy like this. Let’s stay still. Did Priest Mattia go looking for it? No, I think it was right after the rehearsal was over…”
“Did Priest Mattia call Bisco?!”
“It’s a surprise! Why are you screaming!”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
Rakan said urgently.
“Why did Priest Mattia call Bisco?”
“Why are you asking about that again?”
“uh. He may have gone looking for Priest Mattia again.”
“Well… it could be. Bisco I thought he was too nervous, so I told him to bring him here to help him relax. I don’t know if I’ve been looking for it again.”
“Where is Priest Mattia?”
“It’s over there in waiting room number 6 in the corner. Anyway, find Bisco immediately. Chapter 4 will start soon.”
“Yes! All right!”
Rakan quickly headed to waiting room number 6.
* * *
Rakan took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
“Priest Mattia! It’s Rakan! Could you please open the door?!”
But there was no answer from within.
“Priest Mattia! It’s Rakan! Please open the door!”
Still no answer, Rakan turned the handle and opened the door.
Crack-!
The door to waiting room number 6 was locked.
To be precise, the handle turned, but it didn’t move as if something was blocking the door.
I checked to see if there was a hole to open it with a key, but it wasn’t locked with a key.
It means that someone has blocked this door on purpose.
Rakan immediately slammed the door with his shoulder.
“Bisco! are you inside?! Biscotti!”
Rakan even used the Auror, but the door didn’t open.
it didn’t make sense
Rakan has 1 ring.
It means a person with about twice the strength of a normal adult male.
It didn’t make physical sense for two adults to genuinely shock the thin wooden door and not budge.
Rather, Rakan’s shoulder hurt.
‘It’s like knocking on a steel door, not a wooden door.’
There is only one magic that makes wood as hard as steel.
‘It is clear that reinforcement magic is on it.’
Enhancing magic is a two-circle magic, and as the number of circles increases, it becomes stronger as the number of circles increases.
In addition, Priest Mattia is estimated to be a magician of at least 5th circle.
There was no way Rakan could break through the strengthening magic cast by the 5th circle wizard.
There are two ways to open a door with this enhancement magic on it.
The first is how to make a fire.
Even with enhanced magic, this door is basically a door made of wood.
Reinforcement magic protects against external shocks, but does not protect the door from fire.
Of course, I don’t know if it’s fire-resistant magic, but it’s the most intuitive and easiest way to break through a door.
Of course, you shouldn’t use this method.
If Rakan set this door on fire, there would be riots from all sides, and Mattia disguised as Bisco could escape or commit terrorism through the chaos.
The second method is to dispel.
But this is also impossible.
Currently, it was impossible to dispel the enhancement magic cast by the 5th circle wizard with Rakan’s ability.
‘Purchase with points?’
Rakan dismissed the thought.
It costs 10,000 points just to learn the entire 2nd circle common magic right now.
But how did you learn the 5th circle dispel magic?
There was no point loan tag that Rakan currently had.
“Damn, how about this…”
“Lakan.”
Rakan shrugged at the voice he heard from right behind him.
“What are you doing here?”
Rakan carefully turned his head.
Bisco was looking at Rakan with cold eyes.
[New Quest]
Free yourself from Mattia’s doubts!
Reward: 1,000 points.
* * *
Trisha, Charlotte, Irene and Linia headed straight for Tigris.
There was a golden knight in the block-type grandstand with Tigris and Rain Rover, but when he saw the faces of Trisha and the four people, he immediately opened the door.
It was because Tigris had spoken to the two knights in advance.
The block-type seats were quite cramped, so the three of us decided to wait outside and only Trisha to enter.
“Tigris-sama.”
As soon as Tigris saw Trisha’s hard expression and the paper in her hand, he had an intuition that something serious was about to happen.
The Rain Rover, who was right next to him, noticed immediately, and his expression became serious.
“What is this now? Maybe I said I went to the bathroom…”
“It was something I was not sure about. For now, Trisha will explain the details.”
Rain Rover had a lot to say, but decided to listen to Trisha’s story.
Trisha immediately opened the picture that Rakan had handed over, showed it to the two of them, and opened her mouth.
“Once we went to Rakan as Tigris said, Rakan informed us that the minor actor named ‘Bisco’ had been replaced. To be precise, it seems to be accurate that someone is playing Biscotti.”
“Can you think of it as using polymorph magic or disguise magic?”
“yes. That’s right. We have not yet figured out who was disguised as Biscotti, but it did point to two unusual things.”
Trisha first pointed to the magic circle on her left palm.
“It is said that such a magic circle was drawn on the left palm of this suspect. I couldn’t see it completely because of the bad angle, but they said it was supposed to be about 5 circle magic.”
Tigris handed the note to Rain Rover.
“Do you know what magic is?”
Rain Rover immediately confirmed the magic circle.
“I think it’s a 5th circle explosion type magic. Like Explosion Magic. But something is a little strange. Rapid evaporation of water vapor instead of reducing explosive power? Other than that, I think there is something else. It’s hard to check because not all of the magic circles are out there. It would be quicker to go to the headmaster Bastian.”
“Do you think you can understand the reason for drawing this magic circle on the palm of your hand?”
“If you draw the magic circle in advance, the expression of the magic is almost half faster. And if you have some understanding of this technique, even a mage who could only use 4th circle magic can use 5th circle magic.”
“In a nutshell, does this mean that the difficulty of using magic will be drastically reduced?”
“Yes. I think that would be the most accurate.”
It is unknown who disguised himself as Biscotti, but it was clear that he was a terrorist from the explosion magic drawn on his left palm.
The terrorist’s purpose was to detonate something, and it was highly likely to kill people.
Because there were countless high-ranking nobles here.
The question is why they want to commit terrorism at Rain Rover’s birthday party, but it is highly likely that they are trying to impose their social and political ideology on others out of fear, like all terrorists.
‘It’s number two to figure out why he’s committing terrorism. Let’s just focus on stopping this terror for now.’
Tigris checked the note with the tattoo on it.
“What is this tattoo?”
“It is said to be a tattoo on Biscoe’s body. Rakan says it’s a little different from the barbarian tattoos on the bodies of other minors.”
“Hmm······.”
There’s no way the guy, perfectly disguised as Biscoe, would have intentionally painted a different tattoo.
If so, it means that this tattoo has a special meaning.
“uh······? Wait a moment······.”
“Do you think you know what it is?”
“ah······. Well······.”
Trisha furrowed her eyebrows as if in trouble.
It was as if he had noticed something, but his mouth twitched as if it was difficult to explain.
“I think I know what this is. By the way······.”
“You don’t have to be sure, so you can just talk.”
“Not that kind of story…”
Trisha put her thoughts together for a moment before opening her mouth.
“If the tattoos I know are correct… No, I think they are. This is the ‘disguise magic’ used by the beasts.”
“Disguise magic?”
“yes. Originally, it was a spell used to camouflage the body to mimic its surroundings for hunting in the jungle. But recently, I know that it is a magic that the beast people use to blend into human society by hiding their tails and ears.”
Rain Rover and Tigris made eye contact for a moment.
The two already knew that Trisha knew about this spell because she was a member of the beast liberation group ‘Liber’.
However, Trisha did not tell Tigris that it was River Soso.
When asked about how she knew this information, Trisha could not help but panic.
Rather, he had to be grateful that he gave the information at the risk that his identity could be exposed.
Tigris thought for a moment and opened his mouth.
“Then can non-beast humans be able to use this? How long does it take to master this single spell?”
“I don’t know because I’m not a shaman either. But this tattoo pattern is the correct one for using disguise magic.”
Trisha pointed to the tiger tattoo on her left chest.
“You don’t have to look at all the other tattoos, just look at this one. If you see this tiger tattoo on it, it means you have used disguise magic.”
“What is the price of magic?”
“It’s the pain you go through when you get a tattoo. Other than that, it goes through a rather complicated process, but I’m not a shaman, so I don’t know that. However, one thing is certain: cloning and transforming like this is very difficult and the cost of magic is high.”
The cost of magic is high.
That means the real Biscotti is most likely already dead.
Because there is no higher price for magic than human sacrifice.
All three, including Tigris, seemed to know about it, but did not bother to mention it.
Because I couldn’t go wrong with the big things because of my emotions.
It was more important to figure out which group could be responsible for this terrorism.
At this point, there was actually only one person who knew the magic of the beast people and would commit a terrorist attack on Princess Rain Rover’s birthday party.
‘They’re the Gillion Kingdom bastards.’
The Marquis Baros only kidnaps the beasts and sells them to the kingdom of Gillion, but does not steal the magic of the beasts.
Gillion is the only kingdom to torture the beasts and make them vomit out their various skills and secrets.
But this time it was strange.
Currently, the kingdom of Gillion should not attract the imperial aggro like this.
From the Gillion Kingdom’s point of view, it was better for the Empire to be interested in the Black Land.
That way, even if they invade the Suin Autonomous Region, the Empire will not be interested in cleaning up the interior.
However, if the Gillion Kingdom commits a terrorist attack in this situation, the aggro will be attracted to the Gillion Kingdom, which may cause problems in what they want to do.
In particular, since Marquis Baros is in the state of the emperor, he could have tried to kill Marquis Baros first, even if the stabilization of the Black Soil region was delayed.
Then I didn’t know that something bad would happen to them.
‘I don’t know what the hell the Gillion Kingdom and the Lux Church are aiming for.’
Tigris decided to put off identifying their intentions for now and focus on preventing this terrorist attack.
“To sum up, he disguised himself using a beast man’s disguise magic, and it’s as clear as he intends to commit terrorism with explosive magic.”
“yes. you’re right.”
Tigris said, handing over the note with the magic circle to Trisha.
“Tricia, take this magic circle and go to the principal of Bastian and ask him to analyze this magic circle closely. And if there is a problem, I ask you to reduce the range of the dispel magic or explosion.”
“Yes. All right.”
“And so that I can have a close conversation with Rakan, I will also get you a communication crystal and give it to Rakan. Then go to Sir Bergang to explain the situation and ask him to strengthen his vigilance. Time is running out, so use Charlotte, Irene, and Linia. Do you understand?”
“yes. All right.”
“If you understand, please reconsider.”
Trisha opened her mouth after cleaning her hair once.
“Go to the principal of Bastian and ask him to analyze the magic circle, and if this magic is about to manifest, ask for the dispel magic. Then, you will receive a direct communication crystal orb and hand it to Rakan so that you can speak closely with Rakan. Then go to Sir Bergang and ask him to strengthen his vigilance posture. Time is running out, so I don’t move alone, I use three people including Charlotte.”
“good night.”
Tigris said looking at the Rain Rover.
“Do you have any further instructions?”
Rain Rover thought for a moment before opening his mouth.
“I think we should summon the Inquisitors too.”
“That’s what I call because I have the gift.”
“Then I don’t think there is anything else I can do right now.”
Tigris looked at Trisha and said.
“To perform missions and report quickly and accurately. Do you understand?”
Trisha nodded her head.
“yes. All right.”
* * *
Biscotti, no, Mattia looked closely at Rakan’s expression.
Rakan’s face was pale as if he had seen a ghost.
It looked like he was very nervous because he was sweating.
‘Did you notice?’
The Kingdom of Gillion and the Church of Lux had designated Rakan as a target of interest.
He was a student at the Imperial University with whom he had a close relationship with Tigris, and he was instrumental in finding Viscount Kayle.
So, when he said that he had joined the Fiora Theater as a minor, it was said that the Empire or Tigris had noticed the ‘Guidance of Light’ operation.
However, with Mattia’s strong insistence, this ‘Guide of the Light’ operation was passed, and the operation’s success came to an end.
‘But why do you just give up like this?’
From the moment Mattia infiltrated the Palace of Spring, the operation was nothing short of a success.
Now, when the ‘bombs’ planted by Mattia came close to those heretics, all they had to do was detonate them.
‘In an hour and a half, everything will be over…’
While Mattia was contemplating whether to choose to run away as it is, Rakan tapped Mattia on the shoulder.
“If you come to Bisco, you have to tell me. You were surprised.”
Mattia was very wary of Rakan’s sudden action, but Rakan spoke calmly.
“Where the hell have you been?”
“·················ogue.”
“what. why are you like this? Are you sick?”
Mattia looked at Rakan’s expression.
Rakan seemed genuinely worried about Mattia.
“Why did you find me?”
“Why? It’s our turn soon, so I’m here to find you.”
“Then why did you find me in the waiting room of Priest Mattia?”
Rakan tilted his head.
“Is your question a bit strange? Does that matter now?”
Mattia was rather upset when Rakan asked the opposite question.
He had noticed that interrogating Rakan was more suspicious.
But Mattia had to know why Rakan had found her here.
“I was just wondering how they knew I was here.”
“Ehhh… You said you were nervous, so you went to Priest Mattia as soon as the rehearsal was over. So I came here to be here again. And now, not only me but everyone is looking for you. Look over there.”
– Rakan! Bisco! Where are you?
– shit! Just try to find these motherf*ckers!
Minors and staff were running around looking for Rakan and Bisco.
Now, the real chapter 4 was just before the start.
“Come on. If you do this, you may get kicked out of the stage manager without getting paid properly.”
Rakan quickly turned to the stage manager.
“I found Bisco here!”
“Damn you bastards! Come on, you can’t jump right now!”
“sorry!”
Mattia ran next to Rakan and looked at him with suspicion.
However, Rakan’s expression was nervous because he was afraid he would be really scolded.
‘······· I don’t know if I reacted too sensitively.’
It is impossible for even Rakan to notice this disguise magic.
The tone of voice and things like that might sound a little odd, but it was almost impossible to recognize that Mattia was about to commit a terrorist attack.
‘And even if you know now, there is nothing they can do.’
The bomb had already been arranged so that it could explode as soon as Mattia gave an order.
Even if a problem occurred, the bomb could be activated immediately.
“Think about the subject this bastard came to late!”
puck!
The stage manager slapped Mattia in the head with a bundle of screenplays.
A spark flashed in Mattia’s eyes for a moment, but she endured it.
“······sorry.”
“Why do you have to open your eyes again?”
puck!
Mattia rolled her eyes.
“If you don’t do it right, I will kill you. I see clearly. okay?!”
“······Yes.”
Mattia clenched her fists.
Rakan sighed in relief as he looked at Mattia’s anger.
‘I never dreamed I’d be using low-level acting here.’
[Quest Success!]
Free yourself from Mattia’s doubts!
Get 1,000 points!