170. River crossing (1)
“What is this…”
The mountain behind Imperial University.
Sergei, who returned late, stopped talking with his mouth wide open.
A chunk of black meat the size of a mountain was split in half and scattered across the mountainside.
That’s Untier.
In ancient times, it was a monster that even demons could not defeat and only sealed away.
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“It would surprise me just to wake up now…”
Unbelievable things were happening over and over again.
Isn’t the Imperial University’s barrier destroyed?
Wouldn’t the seal of Untier, which was believed to never be unwrapped, be broken?
Wouldn’t that untier die right away…?
Sergei closed his eyes and remembered the huge sword of light he had witnessed last night.
At first, I thought what kind of trick Mine was playing in the system.
In the first place, I didn’t think that humans could emit pillars of light that could be seen even across borders.
But that was the weapon Schluss spewed out when he killed Untear…
‘Things got complicated.’
Since the civil war, Schluss has been being promoted as a hero through the press.
But with this incident, he might go beyond becoming a hero and become a god.
That pillar of light was enough to make it look like a feat of a god to a stranger.
If it were normal now, the emperor would have dealt with Schluss without hesitation.
However, the problem was that an unknown force was currently lurking inside the empire.
If this release of Untier was also the work of the same guys, then Schluss had already stopped their terror twice.
From the emperor’s point of view, in such a critical situation, a powerful weapon like the Schluss could not be thrown away without countermeasures.
Because if you make a mistake, you might be hit hard by the Schluss in the process.
“Welcome, Professor Sergei.”
“Ah, Head Professor. Thank you for your hard work.”
At that time, Professor Ludwig staggered over and extended his hand.
Sergey’s expression grew serious as he shook his thin hand and waved it.
Professor Ludwig’s face was beyond words.
‘I should have exercised.’
If you train your body, it shouldn’t be so broken that it’s a little tired.
He was Sergei, who thought that sooner or later he would have to teach him some exercises.
“My condolences.”
“What do you mean?”
“One of the graduate students under the guidance of the head professor died…”
“Ah. That’s all right. He doesn’t deserve to be commemorated. He was a fool who fell for the tricks of evil because he had no ability and was only greedy.”
“·······.”
Looking at Professor Ludwig speaking casually, Sergei nodded his head.
Come to think of it, Sergei’s assistant also didn’t know where he was.
I hear that one of them escaped and hasn’t been caught yet…
Sergei couldn’t shake off the constant feeling of foreboding.
“Hey. It’s filthy big by the way. Look at that thick leather.”
“Yeah… That was a big deal.”
Ludwig, hands behind his back, gnashed his teeth as he answered.
I couldn’t bring myself to say that Schluss had done such a great job.
It was a sound that wouldn’t come out even if my mouth was crooked.
Schlus Heinkel wasn’t usually a headache because of him.
“You’re not even talking about covering it up this time.”
“It’s not something you can cover up.”
“That’s right…”
All Jedomins saw it.
No, it was something that the people of the entire empire, perhaps even the people of the entire continent, might have seen.
No matter how much you spread your palms, you cannot cover the sky.
No matter what you do, in the end the voices praising Schluse will grow louder.
With him, the number of blades aimed at him would also increase.
“Ah! And I’ve commissioned and produced fun things from places I’ve been on business trips to.”
“You mean something interesting…?”
Professor Sergei snapped his fingers and rummaged through the inside of his coat.
A cube-shaped box was held in his palm.
Looking at it, Ludwig was able to infer its identity right away.
“It’s an artifact.”
“Yes. I made it specially by asking a reliable Mine.”
“Could I ask about that function?”
Ludwig, who was looking at the intricate spells inside, had to give up because he felt his head spinning.
It was not a device that could be analyzed in a day or two.
In the first place, it was more difficult to interpret because it was very different from the way humans write formulas.
“An artifact that detects the power of demons.”
“·······.”
Ludwig’s mouth fell shut.
The intention behind making this was obvious.
It must be that they suspect that there may be demons standing behind the mysterious assailants that have recently appeared.
There were definitely suspicious circumstances.
In the case of those who broke the barriers of the Imperial University and invaded, Ludwig would destroy them by using magic to attack them.
No matter how many people interpret it, it was difficult unless you were an ordinary magician.
However, as a result of checking their corpses after death, most of them were found to be orphans or commoners in the slums.
It was said that the possibility of receiving proper magic education was slim.
The same was the case with the case of Untier Liberation.
Usek was fully aware of Ludwig’s capabilities because Ludwig himself taught him.
There was no way that weak fellow could fight evenly in close combat against Schluss Heinkel, who lost both of his arms but was still in good health.
The more I thought about it, the more I doubted the cause of the rapid growth.
If that was really the power of demons, it would have been clearly explained.
“The corpses of those who broke into the Imperial University. The blood hasn’t dried up yet, has it?”
“Yes. All the blood has been removed and stored so that it does not harden or rot for identification.”
Ludwig let out a drool and led Sergei into the storage room.
No matter how much I thought about it, the power of demons couldn’t be the cause.
If that’s true, doesn’t that mean we’re dealing with humans and demons at the same time?
A demon trying to destroy the empire by using human limbs.
It was obvious that the entire country would be devastated if we fought against such a thing.
“The power of demons. It’s a very small amount, but… Yes. It’s detected.”
“·······.”
Ludwig chewed his lips as the blue light flashed from the artifact.
“Next, we will examine the bodies of graduate students.”
The bodies of the graduate students were not yet blood preserved.
The two of them moved to the morgue and stood in front of Yusek’s corpse with a hole in his chest.
As soon as the blood was drawn and spilled on the artifact, it also emitted blue light.
Magic powers were detected in both groups.
It turned out that the monsters who invaded Imperial University and the graduate students who freed Untear were behind the same thing.
“That artifact… Can you really trust it?”
“I can only trust you.”
“·······.”
Ludwig nodded in agreement at Sergei’s firm answer.
This artifact is to find the demon who ultimately broke the peace treaty, who gave power to humans.
If it was an innocent mine, of course I would have made it work without errors.
The fact that an artifact caused an error meant that the culprit was the mine that made it.
In either case, it was certain that there were demons who would attack the empire by using humans as their subordinates.
“Report to His Majesty-“
“I will organize and report.”
Declaring so himself, Ludwig turned around.
His head was already hurting from choosing the words.
How to deliver the news that the empire has entered a state of war with an unknown force, including demons.
***
“Come on, Mr. Heinkel. Open your mouth. Aang.”
“Ah…”
Damn it.
I don’t know if the rice goes into the mouth or the nose.
I had to endure Emilia’s embarrassment while eating the soup she spooned out.
Of course, if this was inside the mansion, there wouldn’t be anything embarrassing.
The problem was that we were doing this in the middle of the student cafeteria.
“Emilia.”
“Why is that, Heinkel?”
“Did you really have to eat at the restaurant?”
“I couldn’t help it. Since there were no ingredients left to cook in the mansion… It’s my fault for not going to the grocery store earlier.”
“·······.”
A mistake, right?
You’re not doing this on purpose, are you?
If Emilia was going to kill me by embarrassing me, it was almost a success.
However, there was something else that was really unexpected.
“······ So at this time, the circuits of the right and left arms cancel each other out. Then, only the body circuit remains to be calculated.”
“Heinkel, should I write this down too?”
“Yes…”
Emilia followed her into the classroom, and she didn’t expect this to happen.
Of course, bringing an attendant into the classroom was never a problem.
But even the lazy nobleman would not bring an attendant to take notes.
Because that’s considered by no means aristocratic.
Of course, in my case, I have an excuse that both arms were smashed…
“Ah. Eraser. Eraser…”
“·······.”
Still, I couldn’t help being embarrassed.
I could feel the eyes constantly gathering in this direction, and my face was burning.
I’m going crazy.
“Teacher, if you stay still just because you’re injured, it won’t get better. It’ll get better if you write a little. With that in mind, shall we sparr today?”
“What the hell are you talking about, Trie… A muscle is torn, and it’s only natural that it won’t get better if you use this.”
“Huh? Even when my calf muscles burst, I jogged lightly every day and got better? I have to use it little by little.”
“·······.”
I was at a loss for words.
I had to back off before I dared to ask how long that ‘light jog’ was.
Trie’s body itself was born strong, so it’s okay to let it go.
‘But who is he?’
I was trying to focus on class again, but there was a guy who kept my eyes on him.
That guy wearing thick clothes and a hat.
It was a guy I hadn’t seen in the usual combat magic lectures.
In the beginning, the number of people in the classroom was overflowing.
If someone were to break into this classroom, there was a high probability that it would be him.
“Trie. Stay vigilant.”
“Huh?”
“Einz. Whatever you do, don’t shoot magic. This classroom is too small to handle your firepower.”
“Uh huh…? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
With his gaze focused on the back of his head, he quietly gave instructions to his sides.
From noble mtl dot com.
He’s ready to pop out at any moment.
‘Inquiry.’
Then he used his abilities to reveal his true identity.
[Erika von der Lichtenburg]
[Gender: Female]
[She is the eldest daughter of the Lichtenburg family. She is a first-year student at the Imperial University of Freyja, and […]
“Erika?”
What is he doing here?
Do you cross the river?
I, who had been nervous until recently, became like an idiot.