What woke the sleeping boy was water drops on his head.
just one drop. As soon as he felt that cool, wet feeling, the boy suddenly jumped out of his seat and moved his bloodshot eyes, grabbed his sword and looked around. My heart rang like an alarm bell as my extremely sensitive nerves caught the sound of water seeping into the dry floor.
Contrary to the boy’s reaction, the surroundings were quiet.
In a dark yet blue space, the images of colleagues sleeping in a messy blanket rolled up like beggars, and the magic stone stove still emitting warmth. And it wasn’t until he looked at his colleague standing on the lookout from a distance without any shielding that the boy let go of his tension and let out a deep sigh of relief. When I looked up belatedly, water was dripping drop by drop from the ceiling, which had been fine until yesterday.
As the tense nerves rapidly relaxed, thoughts about the current situation and future fate began to creep into the boy’s head again. The boy looked at the glowing magic stone stove with a depressed face, remembering that it was a problem he had been trying to ignore until just before falling asleep.
With that alone, my hungry stomach rumbled due to the lack of food, and I missed the warm room and delicious meals in the dormitory, and a futile reminiscence of how I got to this point began.
The change came so suddenly. No one knew at the time why it had happened, but Envelde’s death was a fact, and there was only one realistic possibility that the boy and the children of the rebellious family could think of.
The fact that the royal family, who had already expected everything, pulled out the sword themselves.
Considering that there was no doubt that they hit Envelde, the ringleader, on the head at once, they gathered together without anyone telling them to, packed everything they could and hid themselves at the entrance to the underground waterway that they had identified in advance.
It was based on rational judgment and speculation that they did not flee the city and hid in the underground waterways.
Above all, the biggest cause was that the royal family cut Envelde’s head in an instant without searching for those who participated in the treason. They took it as a declaration of war that all preparations had already been made for the search for traitors and that they had no intention of letting them live.
In such a situation, the possibility of escaping safely out of the capital was infinitely small. Perhaps their own family is already being purged. It was hard to say that they were at fault for making a very realistic guess that they couldn’t have killed the ringleader without identifying those who were involved in the conspiracy.
Of course, it was all pointless speculation. If their thoughts were short-lived and they had fled out of the city at that time, they could have taken the family property and fled abroad. Envelde’s death was an ‘accident’ that was too sudden even for the royal family.
However, there was no way for the boy and the others to know about it, and they hid in the underground waterways, scanning the ground at every opportunity to find an opportunity to escape. They were almost stunned for a moment by the peacefulness of the capital, where everyday life continued as usual, but they already began to doubt everything in the world, and even such a sight seemed to be a royal trick to catch them.
It was already too late when I realized that it was real peace. The royal family started a ‘real’ inspection and the families were purged. Without a chance to know what the hell was going on, they were isolated underground. No, I couldn’t get out on the ground. I just have to hide myself like beggars and tramps.
Even now, it has reached a point where it is not easy.
“You woke up early.”
“…by chance.”
After returning from the shift, he went to sleep in his sleeping bag after a short conversation. I couldn’t tell if it was because I was really sleepy or if I chose to sleep to escape this incredible reality. All of them had high pride as nobles. No one took this situation lightly. But the fugitive’s life, which had already lasted several weeks, was enough to take away all their emotions and energy.
Maybe that’s why he joined hands with the demon worshipers who had fled without resistance. With that thought in mind, the boy got up and moved while chewing on the damp bread he had left to eat when he woke up.
“Going to the devil worshipers.”
Those who were on guard duty just nodded in silence. The boy remembered that they had been greatly disturbed and annoyed by the mass mana drain caused by the devil worshipers a few days before.
Nevertheless, the reason why they do not even mention the grievances that can be spit out at least once in a while is not because they think of their prestige as nobles and do not gossip, but because they know better than anyone else that nothing will change if they curse and doubt. The boy, vaguely sensing their presence, nodded and walked past them through the canal.
The thought of a life no different than just breathing in desperation flashed past me. Even the words weren’t particularly wrong, so I didn’t get emotional. It was only for a brief moment that I thought that maybe they were deeply depressed because the place where they were located was underground.
Although maintained and repaired by mysterious magic and periodically visited by humans, the underground waterway was literally just an underground waterway. It is not a pleasant environment for those who hastily fled to stay for a long time, and the blocked ceiling made them constantly aware of their isolation.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen the sky.”
Was the last outing a week ago? I thought that maybe that was the last chance I could see the sky. Unlike themselves, who had only been hiding so far, the devil worshipers did not give up their fight. It was so obvious what they were hoping for and what they would do, even breaking down the passage of the underground waterway from which they came to prevent pursuit.
Deeply depressed by the approaching death, the boy steadily moved on.
At least I hope I can die gracefully.
◈
“Zeke. I think they’re building a gate.”
I was talking to Siegfried with Cheryl’s plan when Eselua suddenly came in and said in an urgent voice. Thanks to that, Siegfried and I looked at each other and shared a moment of doubt, but that wasn’t because Eselua’s story was out of the blue, but because we couldn’t understand what the demon worshipers who were supposed to be the subject of the story were thinking.
“I wonder if it’s demon worshipers, devil worshipers open the gate? I don’t understand why they broke down my exit and entered the capital? I don’t understand at all, does my younger brother understand?”
“Well, as long as it’s not just opening a gate that connects to the place where the devils live…” No matter
how hard I tried, all I could think of was pure absurdity. It wasn’t good.
“I guess that’s right.”
“…yes?”
“The mana loss that happened a few days ago happened not only in the academy, but throughout the capital.
For a moment, both Siegfried and I became serious. And I could vaguely see that the reason Siegfried became serious wasn’t simply because demons came over.
“Is a gate that leads to another dimension… made that easy?”
Because it’s the same Earth. Siegfried’s face showed a strange emotion. However, Eselua merely shook her head, perhaps accepting Siegfried’s change as a mere question.
“It’s not a normal magic gate, I’m guessing it’s a contract with a high-ranking demon to borrow its abilities.”
Eselua explained that among the various abilities possessed by the devils, there were those who could do such nonsense.
However, it takes a long time because it is no different from improvising without proper preparation, and it requires a large amount of mana because it is used through the human body rather than manifesting a demon to demonstrate its ability. Hearing that the possibility of the incident was very high, Siegfried furrowed his brow and jumped out of his seat.
“Let’s move now.”
“Zeke, we are the people of the Empire. The Holy Cross has already moved…” ”
I am a warrior. A warrior should not protect the empire, but humanity.”
Honestly, it was kind of cool, but I also thought that if that’s the case, I’ll work hard at the academy, so instead of clapping, I interjected into the conversation by chewing on the cookies I was eating while we were talking.
“You’re in a good mood, but we’ll be moving tomorrow, so just sit back.”
“Brother? Are you too calm?”
“Isn’t it calm because it deserves to be calm?”
“Demons might be pouring out?”
Aside from the fact that I was confident in killing all of them even if they poured out in a pile, there was a reasonable reason for my composure.
“There’s no way. The sacrifices needed to incarnate demons are just not that much.”
Altar-loving Ingladio could not even properly manifest itself even after absorbing the blood of over a hundred people. Basically, as blood magic has side effects, it can exert much more power than mana, so it can be seen that one hundred people’s blood was used up as a material for blood magic in composing his body.
And yet, it was like that. If demons could pour out with just a little bit of mana, the world would have become a playground for those bastards.
“Above all, with such a convenient ability, why would those bastards require a lot of sacrifices to appear in the world? There must be limitations that cannot be ignored. Things like having to supply and procure sacrifices to maintain my existence once I’m in the same form. If it’s the former, I’ll buy it on its own, and if it’s the latter, I’ll notice it, for the best moment to offer more sacrifices faster. .”
After all, we have at least a day’s respite. So bring me some cookies, hero.
Siegfried shrugged his shoulders and looked at me with a puzzled expression as I leisurely ate a cookie. He tried to say something more, but gave up and sat down. After thinking about it for a long time, Siegfried spoke to me with a determined expression.
“Brother. As expected at our party…”
“Ah, that’s because they don’t.”
Because it’s like a bad guy. I don’t know how to give up.