Chapter 209: University Magic Tower (1) (1/2)
[Thank you for the kind words!]
On the way out of the vineyard, Julie helped the Imperial Knights and Agents scattered here and there up. The other knights, including Isaac and Lawaine, assisted her.
“…Julie.”
Then Isaac called out to her. Julie looked back at her old boss and nodded.
“Yes.”
“How… have you been?”
The question wasn’t like Isaac, who was always stiff and unmoving. Julie couldn’t hide her surprise.
“There are no cracks in the life of a knight. Why are you asking such a thing?”
“…”
Isaac smiled bitterly. Now he was drenched in remorse. No, not only that, but all the knights here were the same. In this vineyard, they saw their past and met their memories thanks to Rohakan’s world line.
“…I should have protected you back then.”
When they were in the Imperial Knights, Isaac was her direct supervisor. However, since Isaac was an aristocrat in need of political support, he could not block Deculein’s interference. He was obsessed with Julie, and Isaac couldn’t push him away.
In the end, he made Julie leave the Imperial Knights by herself. At that time, he had no choice but to convince himself by saying that he couldn’t do anything else, but the memories in the vineyard tormented him.
“No.”
But Julie shook her head. She kept a proper distance and watched Deculein’s back as he walked ahead of them.
“Now, the Professor isn’t obsessed with me anymore.”
“…I heard the news of the breakup.”
Julie continued without a word. Then, suddenly, she turned her gaze to see the darkness between the trees to her right.
—She was unnecessary.
In the Winter Castle, Freyden. A child who couldn’t sleep at night had wandered out into the hallway with a blanket and heard a voice in front of her father’s door.
—To me…
He was soaked in water and spoke as if lifting a weight off his chest. The child held the blanket wrapped around her a little tighter.
—…There is no one more important than you.
Snap-!
The clear sound of snapping fingers startled Julie. Deculein was watching her.
“Don’t get caught up in your emotions.”
At those words, Julie came back to her senses. The illusion was gone, and the feeling gnawing at her heart vanished.
“Focus on the present.”
His mental power that had reached its peak spread outward. His words, his voice, and just his very existence. Not limited to himself, it affected the world around him. The knights felt this divine phenomenon. The dark and damp road of the vineyard suddenly grew clear the moment he spoke.
“There’s nothing as ugly and pathetic as wandering in one’s memory.”
Deculein marched ahead after that. The knights followed him slowly. However, in Julie’s ears, old words repeated.
—Take it, Julie.
Before starting the Underground Passage escort mission, her father had given her a bracelet.
—Keep it like a talisman.
It was the happiest moment in her life, feeling both infinitely short and long. It was the first gift her father gave her. It had disappeared now, but a faint smile appeared on Julie’s lips. Her father had acted out of consideration for her, at least at that moment…
* * *
I arrived at the islands, but I didn’t pick the noisy road. I sent the knight to the front door first and returned to the Yukline mansion while all attention was on them.
“We did a good job.”
It was Primienne. But that bothered me.
“What did you do?”
“I was blocking the entrance from the outside.”
“…”
She was too bald-faced in her lies. I held the wooden box and looked at my watch.
“I heard that the Imperial Palace is calling the professor.”
“I know.”
“Shouldn’t you go right away?”
“I have something to find.”
I went straight up to my office. I could now see memories that weren’t originally in my head clearly, among traces of the original Deculein. Among them, inside the magic safe in the office-
“…”
A broken and corroded bracelet lay among all the jewels and debris. When I looked into it with Vision, I could see that its location tracking function remained faint.
“…Freyden.”
The Underground Passage case where Julie was seriously injured. At that time, the one who attacked Deculein was the lord of Freyden and her father.
“Iggyris von Kreil Freyden.”
Whether he tried to kill Deculein with Julie, or if Julie was caught up in it by accident, or she had nothing to do with it…
…But. What I didn’t have the slightest idea about was why Deculein had kept it in his safe?
Knock, knock-
I put the bracelet in my coat pocket and opened the door with Psychokinesis.
“Master. This is a confidential letter from the Round Table that arrived the other day.”
It was my secretary, Ren. He walked over and handed me a magic-sealed letter, all while Primienne watched him silently.
“Then I’ll be going.”
When Ren left, Primienne’s interest shifted to the letter.
“Is it confidential? I can go outside and wait.”
“…”
I read it without responding.
—[Book of the Round Table]—
…Now that the long migration is over, the Round Table hopes to help the continent’s stability. One fact was secretly delivered to the elders of the Round Table or those who have the potential to become elders.
It’s very surprising news, but it’s not ready yet, and it could be troublesome if the information leaks, so please keep this quiet for a while. Going back to the main point, Betan of Beorad has learned and trained Blood Magic to the extent of the eighth series and finally invented magic that can distinguish a Demon Blood with a single drop of blood!
We’re working with the Empire and the Kingdom to separate the demonic bloodlines, punishing the filthy clans who have hidden their identity and deceived us.
─────
Betan’s invention of blood magic was one of the major events leading to the focal point of the world’s main quest.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen the secret seal of the Round Table.”
As Primienne muttered without much thought, I pretended that it wasn’t a big deal and leaked the letter’s secrets.
“Betan invented blood magic.”
At that moment, Primienne trembled slightly.
“…Betan? I guess this can be considered quite a secret.”
She muttered calmly, but her body was showing a different reaction through Vision. Of course, her face remained the same, but her blood vessels were tightening, and her mana was moving erratically.
“A drop of blood is enough to distinguish the Demon Blood… it will be convenient.”