Published at 6th of December 2025 6:39 am

Chapter 254

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

"I heard you're looking for someone."

My voice spread to the very ends of this vast stadium.

The announcer's smiling face froze in bewilderment. A silence fell, and then one or two questioning reactions began to trickle out from the audience. The people's wide eyes couldn't hide their bewilderment.

In the distance, I could see Elias's dark face. It was hard to see from far away, but he seemed to be frowning.

'I know why he's like that, but....'

He had asked me for the answer earlier. Saying that he would rather say the answer himself.

But he couldn't. I had to be the one to say the answer.

Why did it have to be that way?

It's simple. Let's not go deep, and just think about the surface.

You'll surely know that there were some blind spots in the logic so far. If you go deep, this problem is turned 180 degrees by those blind spots. Just as when you first learn a subject, to prevent it from becoming complicated for beginners, you make the easiest model possible by assuming the possible as impossible and then build the basics, here too, I must first think simply to be able to clearly grasp the layers of the strategy later.

The four clues I thought of earlier all clearly pointed to Ainsidel. Although there were some bothersome blind spots, 'primarily', Ainsidel is the person who killed Werner Strauch and has a deep grudge against me for dealing a great blow to the Diocese of Osnabruck.

'If he just gets his memories back, he'll kill me first.' There is a basis for me to infer that from my perspective.

We know that two of the five anagram codes appeared in the bouquet and the Ainsidel mansion, following my path. Considering that, the opponent's intention is so blatant that it's frankly laughable.

The three phrases written in the Catacombs are just tools to give me a superficial choice. 'I've shown the code to over 100 people, so anyone among them can come and say it'. In other words, on the surface, it was made to look like it wasn't a crime aimed at me.

But as the person involved in the incident, I would know that the phrase written in the 'Catacombs' is not unrelated to me, so I can't help but take action here. Naturally, this means that even this moment of going to him of my own free will is all my voluntary decision. The creator had aimed for this. Therefore, I will ignore the third book code in this reasoning.

If I draw a conclusion while maintaining the initial conditions, the reason why I have to say the answer becomes clear.

The target of that code is me.

As I told Leo, the magic formula in the 'answer' is, presumably, a new curse targeting me.

The creator wanted me. If he did this because I was the target, then shouldn't I play along?

I looked around at the quiet audience seats and was conscious of the amplification spell cast by the announcer. I don't know if I smiled or not. But one thing I knew for sure.

There was no more time.

"I'll only say it once, so listen carefully."

"Once...."

"The Diocese of Osnabruck is looking for you!"

Booooom!!

"...Ugh...!"

As soon as I said the spell, a black smoke rushed in.

No, it was more like a storm. Due to the wind and smoke, I couldn't see the people's hands or faces.

My breath caught in my throat.

This sudden reaction, just from speaking, verifies that my hypothesis is correct. The 'answer' I found was a trigger that brought about another magic.

"You have to keep your promise."

I can't end it here. I need to check if the curse has been broken for the people before I go.

Beeeeep

At my low murmur, a tearing sound came from the artifact at my ear.

It's a signal from Leo.

If I couldn't find out if the curse was broken myself, Leo was supposed to send a signal.

Two short beeps means failure.

One long, continuous sound means success.

'...Finally.'

It's over.

I want to be happier. Of course, I knew well that there was no time for that. The world and my senses are becoming detached. Everything has become a floating state where I can't tell where my five senses are receiving sensations from. At the change that happened in an instant, I, despite having foreseen this whole process, feel a great bewilderment. The process of separating my senses and finally detaching my consciousness from myself comes as a shock, as if falling into an intermediate realm.

I raised my arm to cover the black storm. I thought I did. I thought my feet were still on the ground.

[What are you doing.]

But my arm was being held by someone else, and even though my vision was still dark, there was a person in front of me. Someone is looking at me with fearsome eyes. Blue eyes filled with killing intent burned in the darkness. We were not stepping on the floor. We, I was really in the intermediate realm. I couldn't tell if I was properly thinking about what I was perceiving, or if I was just thinking of whatever came to mind according to the stream of consciousness, or if I hadn't reached that point yet, but that's what I thought.

[What are you doing!]

A familiar Old Human shouted. Once again, my gaze went far down. No, maybe it was up. My sense of balance couldn't give me any information about whether I was standing upright or upside down. I also had no ability to interpret the information transmitted by my optic nerves. I was always like this in the intermediate realm where a warp spell was cast. There was nothing strange about it now.

The person in front of me said in a trembling voice. His face was contorted.

[Do you even know where you were about to go? Did you do this knowing?]

"."

The voice gradually scattered.

This was the last memory from the damn Pentalon main stadium.

***

The process of the body shutting down consciousness is not pleasant, no matter how many times you go through it.

Why?

Because usually when my consciousness fades, the hospital tries to wake me up like crazy. As someone who wants to rest, it's a very tiring thing. I knew why they were waking me up, but as the person involved, I just wanted to be able to sleep comfortably right now. When I fall asleep, the pain disappears and rest comes, but from the moment they pat my shoulder, the pain invades my whole body again. The despair that comes at that moment when my mind, which had been completely turned off, is held by my body and pulled out, makes me think I'd rather be dead for a moment.

In any case, I won't die even if I fall asleep. It wasn't a speculative claim. It was based on experience. Of course, that doesn't mean it's not a sophism.

Why?

It's actually a sophism. They wake me up for a reason, right? Why would they wake me up if I get healthier while I sleep? I can't extend the fact that I woke up healthy by luck into a general theory.

Good.

My consciousness is gradually becoming clearer.

It's time to stop the question game I usually use to determine if I'm sane or not.

Crackle Crack

Before I opened my eyes, I heard the faint sound of sparks. A goose-down blanket was pressing down on my body.

"."

I'm alive.

Still.

I blinked once or twice. I could soon half-figure out where I was.

Bang!

The bed shook from the kick I gave as I sat up.

What I saw in front of me was a room with an unfamiliar, yet somehow familiar, atmosphere.

The Jugendstilwidely known as Art Nouveau to 21st-century Koreansstyle silk wallpaper and furniture stood out. It was a design rarely seen in the homes of nobles who preferred retro styles like Neo-Baroque, but the size of the room and the grounds visible through the window told me it was a grand mansion. It was clearly a mansion built by a wealthy bourgeois, or at least a copy of one.

At this point, I'm reminded of someone who looked like my friend's ancestor but didn't act like a noble, and yet sat in a high position.

"You can sleep more."

As I sat up with my upper body and stared blankly at the wall, a strange voice came from my right.

At the end of the room, a tall young man who looked like a servant was looking at me. His age seemed to be around mine or Lukas's, so it was very difficult to tell if he was a New Human or an Old Human. Of course, there was no reason to distinguish.

I reflexively touched my ear. Fortunately, the Wittelsbach artifact was still there, but the place where the communication artifact should have been was empty. The servant said in a dry voice.

"We took that. We will return it to you later."

"."

What do you mean, return it. I know you won't.

I lowered my hand and asked him.

"Where am I?"

I'm getting a sense of deja vu.

It's creepy. To be captured by the enemy and yet receive good treatment, I had a similar experience when I met Ainsidel in Osnabruck.

Of course, the opponent I'm meeting again this time probably doesn't think of himself as my enemy.

The servant folded the magic palette, put it inside his jacket, and, while closing the window, said to me without expression.

"It seems you have no intention of sleeping more. I have informed my master that Your Excellency has woken up. He will be here soon."

He doesn't answer my question.

Even so, there was no problem.

I'm already guessing where I am. Because I met the owner of the house in the intermediate realm.

"You mean the owner of this ring?"

When I gestured to the sapphire ring on my left hand, the servant nodded. Now that I look at him, he was a rather stiff person compared to the human he served.

He told me to rest in a slightly tired voice and then left the room.

Not long after the servant left, I heard the sound of a door being torn off its hinges.

Bang!

Someone threw the door open with a loud bang and ran in.

"."

The platinum-blonde Old Human I had seen a couple of times before was standing there with a dazed expression.

The emotion in his expression was so awkward that my gaze naturally shifted elsewhere. It was hidden by his clothes, but his shoulder and right arm, which looked unnaturally thick as if wrapped in a bandage, caught my eye.

"We meet again."

I greeted him simply.

Meeting him at this time was one of the two possibilities I had considered in advance, so it wasn't particularly surprising.

Why am I in his house?

It's because of what he said when he last met me.

The guy had actually realized his promise to protect me. At least, in some sense.

The archbishop did not open his mouth until another servant in the hallway carefully closed the door. A long time later, he finally said in a low voice.

"You are truly reckless."

"."

"At least say something."

"I did my best to stop a massacre, and the response I get is not very good?"

At my carefree answer, the archbishop shrugged with a dumbfounded expression.

He's reacting as if he has common sense. I don't want to get a dumbfounded reaction from someone like that, so I'm the one who's at a loss for words.

The archbishop said in an eerie voice.

"...I told you it could kill you."

"You mean the white phosphorus code. Don't use pronouns, speak properly."

"You said you'd let me know when you found it. Was that just an excuse to get out of the situation? Don't you trust my warning? Because I made it difficult for you at first?"

"."

He continued to speak, raising his voice, just as he had when he had gotten angry at me at the opera house for the first time.

"Were you planning to go for a frontal assault? You already knew what kind of magic was in that spell. You already knew that the Diocese of Osnabruck was planning to take you!"

I had no intention of answering, so I just looked at him.

The archbishop shook his head and his eyes widened.

"You must be underestimating Pleroma. A frontal assault against a diocese? That's impossible."

"You'll know when you try."

I answered as soon as he finished speaking.

He closed his mouth and just looked down at me. Now I could see that his hands were trembling. A long time later, he stumbled over and sat down on the bed.

"...If I hadn't come in time. Then what were you going to do...."

"."

What's the big deal. I get it, he sees his opponent as someone with no countermeasures.

Instead of being sarcastic like that, I looked at his profile as he stared into the air.

Should I have taken some medicine again before coming? Fatigue is interfering with my acting.

Of course, given his behavior so far, this guy will probably feed it to me soon, so there's no need for that.

"...As I said before, Pleroma has withdrawn from this Pentalon."

"So it has."

"Apart from that, I said there were other dioceses obsessed with the Pentalon. Among them, there are those who are after strong mages like you."

"Yes."

"I told you I was blocking such dioceses, remember?"

"I remember."

As my answer continued to be carefree, his voice lowered.

"So I told you, just in case, not to decipher anything, and even if you read something, not to follow it. To always move according to your intuition...."

"My intuition told me not to let this terror go."

"."

The archbishop's face contorted.

To think he was a person who could fake such normal emotions so well. I thought he was just a crazy person. I was amazed as I looked at his eyes, which were filled with deep shock and confusion.

But there would be no need to act out such a normal reaction. It's better for me if he acts like a person with a screw loose, as usual, rather than raising a fuss like this.

The death of 600,000 people, and one person who is much more likely not to die.

If I can use the latter to prevent the former, i's not a bad trade. I don't really want any objections.

"If you didn't want me to go this far, why didn't you just stop the terror yourself? You seem to have the ability to do so."

"If I could have stopped that on my own, the leadership would have already done so."

The archbishop said in a cold voice.

There's no point in talking about it further. I changed the subject.

"More than that, you never had time to watch me, so how did you find me this time?"

"The Imperial newspaper is everywhere. Who in this country didn't see your match? Of course, I just happened to see it, but...."

He stopped talking, his lips moved, and then he said in a subdued voice.

"Now I see that's not what's important. Were you upset that I didn't follow you this time either?"

"Yes."

"."

He whipped his head around. His eyes were wide.

'Upset? Would I be?'

The opposite.

But I can't say that. Not yet.

Whatever it is, now that he's rescued me, he won't let me go easily. So, for the sake of escaping, I have to maintain my attitude so far. In the first place, I had no intention of rashly abandoning my original attitude and creating unnecessary trouble.

I asked him, who was looking at me with wide eyes.

"Shouldn't I be? I remember clearly saying this before."

"At first, you didn't want me to follow you."

"At first... you're right. I did."

I answered with a moderate smile. His blue irises wavered. A hint of madness began to seep into his face, and I wanted to just push him away and run, but he quickly erased the incomprehensible madness and composed his expression.

"...I'm sorry I couldn't come sooner. I said I'd protect you so confidently."

"No, if you had come sooner, I would have resented you instead."

Because I wouldn't have been able to say the dispel.

The guy, being a person without common sense, didn't understand the meaning of my words at once. Of course, he's not lacking in intelligencerather, his brain's processing speed is very annoying to meso he knows that if he had come sooner, 600,000 people would have died because he couldn't say the dispel. That's not what I mean.

It was a look that said, 'What does the death of 600,000 people have to do with you to the point of resenting me'. Of course, this too was not that he really didn't know what it had to do with it, but rather that he knew it theoretically but couldn't really empathize with it.

"That's enough of that, what about your shoulder?"

When I gestured to his shoulder, his eyes widened. He seemed not to have expected me to notice something like that. He said, looking at me with surprised eyes.

"I was attacked."

"I know that. How?"

"...It happened in the process of taking away the warp magic that was in the sentence you said."

"The wound is large, so it must hurt."

"No. I treated it quickly, so it's fine."

"Really? That's a relief."

I felt my stamina draining as I spoke. As I leaned back against the headboard of the bed, he brought up a topic that would pique my interest.

"...The Pleroma leadership was turned upside down by this incident. Because no one knew that that diocese had that much technology."

Hmm, he didn't lie.

I had seen with my own eyes that the leadership had been turned upside down in the previous timeline.

I thought he would tell me more about Pleroma's reaction and his own judgment, but he changed the subject.

"Is there something you want to do? After you've recovered your stamina, let's relax in our coordinate system."

"No. I can't stay here."

"Is time the problem? Don't worry. I deliberately came to a place with a time distortion phenomenon. A day here is two hours outside."

"Two hours. It was one hour a day before."

"It was. But this mansion is in a different coordinate system from that one."

When I just stared at him, he continued to explain on his own.

"It collapsed."

"."

"The coordinate system we first met and walked around in. Did you like it there? It's a shame, but we can't go there anymore."

It collapsed.

I thought so.

Previously, when Richthofen was captured by me in the Catacombs, he had expressed his pride in their technology while lamenting that the Catacombs' technology was being passed on to Pleroma. That's when I found out that the Catacombs had been putting pressure on the Pleroma coordinate system.

'It's very effective.'

When it comes to technology, it's the Catacombs.

I had guessed from the severe time axis distortion, but in the end, they succeeded in completely collapsing it. Of course, these Pleroma bastards are not to be taken lightly either, and the problem is that they persistently create coordinate systems even after they are destroyed.

In any case, I need to remember that a day is two hours.

When I slowly nodded, the archbishop added.

"You must not have realized it's a different coordinate system because this mansion looks exactly like the one you came to before. It's a place I copied a long time ago. Let's move to another coordinate system when the time distortion gets worse."

"."

"It was good to see you healthy again. I'll come back when you've recovered."

The archbishop smiled and said, then stood up from his seat without any lingering attachment. I grabbed him and said, dumbfounded.

"Where are you going. We just met."

"The leadership has issued a warrant for the arrest of the bishop of the Diocese of Osnabruck. Shouldn't I go and help in some way?"

"I thought you'd be with me. You're leaving more quickly than I thought."

At my words, he pointed to the sapphire ring on his hand. It was the same ring he had given me.

A hollow laugh escaped me. So, you don't have to be as obsessed with a fish you've already caught as you were at first? Of course, if you're going to use that logic, it's not bad, but....

The problem is that he can't just leave like this. At the very least, he has to give me some useful information before he goes.

"'I'll be back'? You're mistaken. I have to go back now."

"Why?"

"Aren't I missing in the empire right now?"

The archbishop rolled his eyes with a troubled expression.

"...It's ambiguous right now. Wait until the leadership arrests that person and retrieves his authority. Then I'll let you go."

I looked up at him silently. As if he had understood that my explanation was insufficient, he continued.

"Whether it's the world outside of Pleroma or anywhere else, going outside of this coordinate system is suicide. Right now, you're also a top acquisition target from the leadership's point of view."

"They'll attack Osnabruck to get their technology, and they'll take me, whom Osnabruck found, as well? That's the leadership's plan right now, right?"

"Yes. Since it's already happened, that's definitely what will happen. No one knows yet that I intercepted the magic and saved you. If someone finds out...."

He took my hand and held it.

"Then I won't be able to protect you either."

"."

"Besides, that Osnabruck bishop is a person who has scaled up this incident to this extent, knowing that this terror goes against the will of the leadership. If you go out now, you don't know what might happen to you with their technology."

"'Happen'? I can go and find them myself. As you said earlier."

The archbishop tilted his head with a cold expression.

"You're determined to die."

"I told you I have a lot of time."

I ignored his words and continued.

"Then, all I have to do is make a plan to deal with the Diocese of Osnabruck during that time."

"I saved you. Are you going to make my efforts go to waste?"

"You seem to think I'm someone who would die easily? I'm grateful that you helped me, but I would have been saved unconditionally anyway."

The archbishop's face hardened. Of course he wouldn't be happy. But right now, I don't need to worry about that.

For now, I need to insist on my point a little more. Because this whole conversation will be information for a possible situation.

I continued without caring.

"At this rate, I won't be able to go to another coordinate system, and I won't be able to see myself walking around anywhere forever. You say I might get caught even if I go down to our world. Do you think you can catch a person that the leadership and you haven't been able to catch so far in a short amount of time?"

"As for you...."

Before he could retort, I brought my face close to his and said.

"In the end, we have to spin in circles inside this coordinate system until we catch the Osnabruck bishop, don't we? As for the coordinate system, it's obvious there won't be any proper facilities other than this mansion."

It seems my words were not wrong. The archbishop made an ambiguous expression instead of retorting.

"Before, you said you had thought of things you wanted to do with me. You must not have many things you want to do with me?"

"."

"It's a situation where it's beneficial for both of us to catch the Osnabruck bishop quickly."

I had never once thought that I would enter the same field as Pleroma.

He probably never thought that would happen with Nicolaus either.

I looked at the archbishop's eyes and said.

"Then, wouldn't it be okay to try and match our rhythm once?"

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