125 – Hear the engines! (2)
In the end, Aisha and Nemenia’s proposal met with strong opposition and fell through.
But judging from the fact that the quest hasn’t disappeared yet, it seems I have to do her favor on my own.
“Tyr is waiting! I’ll come after talking to Nanika!”
Having said that, Aisha took Akade and Nemenia and used her teleport. Even so, she showed meticulousness in keeping her soul, which she had removed with a soul chain, by her side.
You can see his strong determination that he will not let you go if he does something else in the blink of an eye.
I, who suddenly remained with Luktae, met his gaze and smiled awkwardly.
“But why is the professor here?”
“Ah… soo… I have something to say to the saintess about something related to Princess Smitel… “
He scrutinized me like a man who had done something wrong.
Don’t do that. Do you know how anxious I am if you, the guarantee check of bad luck, do that?
“Could you tell me what is going on?”
“Yes, yes! Sure! You are my employer! Lol!”
By the way, after talking with the emperor about Luktae’s employment, he officially became my exclusive artifact producer. At the same time, he showed a boldness in not counting the ‘two’ wishes he could ask for as having been used.
As expected, the emperor. I know how to deal with people
“Choi, recently Princess Smitel has been a little… Because you’re doing eccentricity… “
“A quirk?”
“Didn’t rumors spread about me now?”
The fact that Ruktae can make replicas of artifacts became public after the Karatroso Incident. That is why the emperor entrusted Luktae to me.
Because there won’t be any stupid nobles on this continent who would try to steal Luktae when Aisha and I are together. Besides, there is also the headmaster and Hakel. I told them both to protect Luktae’s safety.
Then he became an important person that everyone in the photo club took turns keeping an eye on, and Luktae felt awkward for a while, but what can he do? It’s necessary.
“Yes, it is. But what does that have to do with the princess?”
“Since the princess gave up the artificial dungeon and returned to her academy… I have a favor to ask of you.”
Hmm, please. It must have been a request to make some kind of artifact.
“The production of an artifact… It was about my constitution… “
“What is your constitution?”
He took off his gloves and showed his ‘bare hands’.
“Oh, did I tell you? Just by touching an artifact with this hand, I can remember the arrangement of mana and create a replica.”
“Yes.”
“I don’t know how you knew… While talking about this constitution, you asked me if you could also know the ‘person’s mana arrangement’, and I said yes.”
“Do people have mana arrays too?”
“Yes… I call it the ‘Mana Shape’ arbitrarily.”
While saying that, Rukhtae slowly extended his hand to me.
“Can I shake your hand just once… Would you like to stay?”
—–
Gulp!
I was so nervous that I could hear the sound of my dry saliva going down my parched throat so loudly.
The time has finally arrived for her to confirm what she had only suspected.
‘I already guessed, but still… ‘
Actually, I had seen the marquis’s mana form at first glance. He had only briefly seen him passing by, but he… Uh… How can I forget the bizarre shape?
The problem isn’t that important.
‘Ghost of the Academy.’
In an artificial dungeon, I once touched his hand with my ‘bare hand’. That’s enough time to check the mana shape.
That infinitely bizarre sight… I never forget
So this course is absolutely necessary.
At my words, the Marquis nodded his head as if it was nothing and held out his hand.
“I wonder what the mana form you can see is like.”
Then he lightly squeezed my hand.
‘Ah, ah… ‘
The Marquis’ mana form revealed at that moment…
It was a monster I had never seen before.
Yes… The Four Acera, who showed the shape of a giant circus monkey in an artificial dungeon, was much more than his man… It was a monster that boasted far more grotesque.
It’s such a huge shape that you can’t even see it unless you bend your head at 90 degrees. Mansion? No. It is almost the same size as the imperial castle.
‘It’ was sitting cross-legged on the floor. That… I’m not sure if I can describe it as sitting. The body made of countless steel bars extends to the chest, waist, and pelvis, forming a human shape.
But below that, there is a massive pillar, like a rotating chair, and five wheels extending from it are moving back and forth while touching the ground.
Keying! Keying!
How should I describe its head?
There is a rather thick flat metal plate where the human head should be. Then, emitting light, unknown scenes are reflected in the head and disappear repeatedly.
The only light in this dark world was blinking, but rather than a sense of sacredness and awe, I felt a sense of insincerity and magic.
It was a cold light.
DakDakDakDakDakDakDakDakDakDakDakDak
And it has hundreds and thousands of arms. A cold, inorganic body made of steel. It seems that the shapes made of wire crafts are overlapped and overlapped and added on top of them.
I wonder if it would look like this if the skin was removed and the muscle fibers were pulled out.
Its hands were busy moving at the same time. He is constantly tapping things like square blocks on the floor with his fingertips. When the iron fingertips tapped the block, the block gently descended and rose up repeatedly.
And some hands were making clicking noises as they held the round objects in their hands, moving the round objects as if they were scrubbing the floor.
It’s even more bizarre because I don’t know what the meaning of that act is.
This is it.
This was the mana form of the ‘Ghost of the Academy’ I saw in the artificial dungeon.
I squeezed his trembling hands and tried to hide them. However, he did not let go of the Marquis’ hand.
At last, the family I secretly held within me…… I’m convinced!
He tried to hide his trembling body and continued his words.
“Su, Princess Smithel… We are looking for the ghost of the academy.”
“Isn’t that what you have been doing since you entered school?”
“Yes… But Joe, it’s a little different. Princess Smitel is very sensitive to her mana. Me, me and… To the same degree.”
At my words, he nodded as if he could.
It was already an open fact that Princess Smitel was suffering from a rare disease called mana sensitivity, and that the disease was cured by a monster called the ghost of the academy.
“The princess is really… With amazing speed, I can… You can discern people’s mana. That’s why now he goes around holding the hands of all the students in the academy at random.”
“What is the meaning of that eccentricity?”
“When I met the ghost of the academy one day, I said it was to hold his hand and remember the shape. He said he wanted to find out the identity of the ghost… “
It was only then that the Marquis let out a short exclamation as if he understood the meaning of my words.
But there is something I haven’t said yet. There is something I must warn him about.
However, his mouth seldom came off. My whole body trembled, wondering what to do when that monster acted on a whim just a little bit and pressed me with my fingertips as if I was crushing an ant to death.
‘Do not tremble. Don’t tremble Marquis, that monster is on my side. It won’t harm me.’
Effortlessly ignoring the monster, he calmed himself down and spoke slowly of what he had to say.
“The Marquis…… Marquis… “
I gulped and finally spoke the conviction.
“Hu, Marquis… Are you the ghost of the academy?”
That moment.
A piercing noise that could only be heard during dozens of storms hit my ears and paralyzed my reason. I rolled my eyeballs wondering where the hell was this much noise coming from.
And I found out that the noise was created when a metal ring shaped like a pinwheel in the center of a huge palm rotates at high speed and creates a gust of wind.
In addition, all the circular wings attached to the many hands are causing a storm.
Even if you go inside, most beings will be torn to pieces, leaving only the flesh.
Kirik… Kirik… Kirik…
The Marquis’ huge mana figure, which had been facing his head straight up until now, lowered his head toward me with the sound of gears meshing.
A cold light emanating from the smooth metal plate enveloped me.
And I saw it.
The scene where my figure, sweating profusely, is projected on its head.
The monster stopped what he was doing and stretched his hands behind his back.
Kirik… Kirik… Boom!
Kirik… Kirik… Boom!
Then, the hand hidden behind the monster’s back grabs something and holds it out in front of me.
One huge ball made up of tens of thousands of vines.
A monster whose body is constantly breaking down and regenerating, like a lump of low-viscosity swamp.
A mysterious off-white woman with five pairs of wings.
And…
I saw… One of the grotesque giant monkeys of the circus laughing cheerfully.
The monster held the monkey that was the size of a mansion in one hand… Put it in front of me
‘That man too… It must have been one of the Marquis’ limbs!’
Even so, as if there was still something left to take out, a few more hands went behind his back.
I realized.
If you use your mouth incorrectly now, you will surely die.
Thinking of that, I turned my gaze to the Marquis, and he asked me with a single smile.
“Why do you think so?”
I felt that charming smile was the death penalty given by the god of death for the last time.
I poured out all sorts of excuses at him.
“This, in an artificial dungeon! You’ve teamed up with the ghosts of the academy in an artificial dungeon! So I got to see his mana form! And I can see the same mana form from the Marquis. Yes definitely see it! No two mana forms are the same! So I found out!!”
Gibberish. Goofy.
I don’t even know what I said.
I just spat out whatever came out of my mouth.
Then the Marquis pondered something for a while.
“Hmm… I see.”
He said a few words and let go of my hand.
Buy… lived…