C275: Devalk Imperial Castle (2)
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'Something's wrong.'
Hans was troubled by what the mouse had told him. Usually, mice do whatever Hans asks them to do.
Of course, rats can only do so much, so Hans's main request was to tell him where he'd been and what he'd seen. That was enough for him.
Especially after his transformation into the Beast of Gévaudan, Hans felt he had more control over beasts.
He could now command not just rats, but dogs, cats, and even crows.
What this meant was that the rats would do whatever he told them to do, and they would do it faithfully.
Hans knew it, so he sent a mouse to check the underground waterway. But something completely unexpected happened.
'It said it couldn't go to the underground waterways.'
It's not because the road is blocked or there's nowhere else to go. Literally, the rats are afraid to go down any further.
'You feel fear beyond my control? I could make them jump into a fire if I commanded them hard enough.'
But the mice would never tell a lie. As long as they followed Hans's orders, they would tell the truth.
Of course, the information they gave him wasn't always clean, so Hans had to double-check the information himself. Even with that in mind, the message that he couldn't go in because he was too scared was the same no matter how he interpreted it.
'Something's up.'
Hans had a hunch that there was something beneath the capital's underground aqueducts.
'And brother's master knows about it?'
Hans remembered Grander's advice to look into the sewers. She wouldn't have given this advice if she didn't know something.
Hans was tempted to ask her how she knew what exactly was in there, but he forced himself to not do it.
It wasn't as if he hadn't noticed.
'Since she told me, she didn't seem to have any intention of getting involved.'
If so, no matter how many times he asks, he won't get the answer he wants.
Now that this happened, he had no choice but to move himself.
'I really don't want to do this.'
Hans stood up and grabbed his coat. He didn't like the idea of being on his own, but he wasn't so desperate that he would run away.
'Besides, I'm not going alone.'
In addition to Hans, there is another U.N. Owen member here.
Pantos, code name "Herman Melville" and Alex from "Victor Hugo" did not come, instead an unexpected person accompanied him, no an elf.
"Hey, are you ready?"
When Hans called, the stiff closed door squeaked open. Out of it walked a dusky elf with unruly orange hair, Belaruna Petana, U.N Owen codename Francis Scott Fitzgerald.
Rudger had given her that name because the drugged elf bore a striking resemblance to an alcoholic writer.
"Did you pack everything you need?"
"Whoa, whoa. I did take care of everything……."
"Then let's go."
She came to the capital to help Hans in case of an unexpected situation.
Hans put a beret over Belaruna's head and left the house.
* * *
In the Magic Exhibition Hall of the Crystal Palace Loina Pavlini smiled and led the way.
"This is called the Hall of Magic, a place where magic is displayed, and I'm sure you'll find materials on magic you've never heard of here."
"There's a lot of strange magic here?"
"Yes. The Crystal Palace is the imperial family's responsibility."
For that reason, the imperial family brought all kinds of magic and knowledge from the continent and displayed them in the Crystal Palace.
The same was true of the [unique] series of magic that ordinary people would not encounter.
"Of course, they don't reveal all of the fundamental secrets of those magic's, they're definitely guarding those parts."
"Ah, I see."
"More than that, is student Rene really a possessor of non-attribute magic?"
Loina asked, her eyes shining. At that stare, Rene smiled bitterly and nodded.
"I've always had trouble with elemental magic."
"That must have caused you a lot of discomfort in your classes."
"Yeah, because even though I could somehow keep up with the theory, I felt like I was limited."
"I know that feeling!"
Loina took Rene's hand and nodded vigorously.
She was a sixth-rank wizard, but she had never felt as great as other sixth-rank wizards.
"But isn't Mentor Loina a Lexer class wizard?"
"No, I'm only at the bottom."
"I think you're amazing even if you're at the bottom……."
"That's because I'm a theorist, but if you think about it, I'm only half-way to the sixth-rank."
Loina was too weak even if she was weak in practice. That was due to her innate low self-esteem.
With such a personality, it was inevitable that Loina would see Rene's determination to do well in Theon, even with the handicap of non-attribute magic, as remarkable. Though she couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed.
'But I think she's a good person.'
Not only did she answer her questions, but she also offered to show her around the Crystal Palace.
It wasn't what she had hoped for, but Loina laughed and said she was doing it because she wanted to.
"More than that, Rene, you have non-attribute magic, so how are you doing in Theon?"
"Yeah. It was hard at first, but there are a lot of good people there."
"But it must have been hard to follow the professors' classes."
"Since there is a professor who takes good care of me……."
"Oh, really? Who is it?"
"Mr. Rudger."
"What?"
When Rudger's name came out, Loina was startled.
"What's wrong?"
"Uh, well. This Rudger is Rudger Chelici, right?"
"Yes."
"And he was nice to you? From the looks of it, I thought he'd be ruthlessly discarding students who weren't good enough."
Rene let out a small laugh at Loina's comment. She couldn't blame anyone who didn't know Rudger for thinking that.
"I'm sure everyone thinks that, but Mr. Rudger really cares about his students. He doesn't show it outwardly, of course, but if someone is struggling, he'll help them, even if he pretends to be reluctant."
"I see."
"I've gotten a lot of help from him, too, especially with the advice on non-attribute magic, which I was lacking, and even on mana emission."
"Speaking of mana emission, did you take part in Rudger Chelici's experiment?!"
Loina asked in surprise.
"Yes. Somehow……."
"I'm so jealous of you, to get a gig like that at a time when you're supposed to be growing up, was it scary?"
"Actually, it was scary, because it was something that no one had ever done before, and I felt like if I didn't do it, I'd always be stuck."
"That's amazing!"
Her eyes lit up as if she had seen Rene's courage and Rudger all over again.
For Rene, it was a bit overwhelming to hear this from a sixth-rank wizard and a major player in the magic world. However, despite her empty words, Loina's actions were sincere. Her "eyes" were telling her so.
Rene could easily distinguish between those who liked her and those who were hostile.
It was her eyes that allowed her to approach Rudger, whom others feared. She could tell whether they were being sincere or false, whether they had malice or favor. It was strange.
"More than that, Ms. Reee."
"What?"
"Who is that blonde student who's been following us from behind?"
Renee turned around to see who it was and couldn't help but smile awkwardly at the sight of her striking, gorgeous blond hair.
Erendir von Exilion, the Third Princess of the Empire, Rene's senior and friend, was sneaking up on them from behind with her eyes burning with jealousy.
She may have been trying hard to hide, but her distinctive hair color made her stand out in this crowd.
"She's my senior."
"So, she's a senior? But why didn't you go separately and……?"
"Can you wait here for a moment? I'll go get her."
Rene said so and approached Erendir, who was hiding in the crowd.
"Senior, what are you doing?"
"Oh! Junior Rene? What a coincidence!"
"You came to take the same class as us?"
"Oh right. That was it."
"Are you alone?"
"……."
Erendir's expression quickly turned sullen, and Rene spoke up.
"Well, that's good, then, because I wanted to go with you, too! I've been looking for you, and this is a great coincidence!"
"……!"
Erendir's face cleared again and Rene was relieved to see it, but also realized that she looked very tired.
After all, she was a senior and a princess, so was it okay to be this simple?
What happened to the boldness and assertiveness she had shown when she first met her?
'Still, it's nice to see that she's so friendly.'
Unable to leave Erendir alone for now, Rene took her hand and led her to where Loina was waiting.
That's when she and Erendir came face to face.
"Student Rene that's…."
Loina, who recognized Erendir, began stuttering again.
People who don't know Erendir well are overwhelmed by her gorgeous appearance and unique aura. Especially for someone with low self-esteem and a timid personality, it's the opposite of a match made in heaven.
Erendir was nervous, too. Despite appearances, Loina was a sixth-rank wizard, a theoretical genius, and her mentor.
To Erendir, who had the blood of the imperial family but was weak in theory, Loina was a genius who had risen to the highest ranks only with her own inadequacies.
'If I try to force them to get along, they'll only resent me.'
Just then, Rene's gaze caught sight of a magic in the exhibition hall.
"Mentor Loina, what is that magic?"
Inside the large glass tube was a form of illusion magic. There was an introductory paragraph underneath that explained what it was, but even knowing that, Rene asked on purpose.
"Oh, you mean that?"
When Loina was asked, she thought it was time and began to explain.
Renee listened attentively, and Erendir naturally joined in the conversation.
Thanks to this, the rigid atmosphere was resolved and Erendir regained some composure.
"Then shall we go inside?"
At Renee's casual suggestion, the three of them wandered around the Crystal Palace and checked the exhibits.
It was now impossible to tell who the mentor was and who were the students, but none of the three cared.
"Hmm. Probably this way, where the unusual series of magic are displayed."
Where Loina pointed, they could see a place with different magic's stored among the crowd.
It wasn't real magic, just an illusion that mimicked that kind of magic. However, it was very realistic, and people watched in admiration.
"Magic is basically grouped into categories and specializations. Among them, magic that is not defined as modern magic is divided into the [unusual] category."
"But there are more unusual types of magic than I thought."
"On the contrary, in terms of diversity alone, the [unusual] category is much vaster than the other four categories."
Rene stopped in front of a glass display case. Inside was a picture of a sleeping person and a mage who had entered that person's dream.
"That's the < Dream Walk> spell. It's used by mages belonging to the School. It's surprisingly well known for such an unusual school."
At those words, Rene thought of Julia who was also on the field trip right now, too.
At that moment, Rene caught a glimpse of a magic. Perhaps sensing her gaze, Loina also saw the magic and exclaimed,
"Ah, that's divine magic."
"Divine magic?"
"It's a specialty, but it's also the most common, as it's used by the paladins, inquisitors, and priests of the Order of Lumensis."
"What's an Inquisitor?"
"It's an obsolete profession these days, but the Order of Lumensis still employs them."
"I see, but they use magic."
"They say it's not magic, it's divine miracles, but modern theory sees it as half magic."
Rene stared at the display of divine magic. In it, she could see a woman clad in pure white robes, her hands clasped together in prayer. A beautiful glow was rising around her, and even though she knew it was an illusion, she couldn't help but admire it. But there was something that caught her eye.
'What is it?'
The light prevented the woman from being seen properly but Rene was strangely attracted to the figure.