◈ Episode 591 Reinforcements (1)
Ceorn, the Empire’s best magic academy.
In a place where only wizards and servants could enter, people wearing pure white clothes that were not normally seen began to enter.
A contingent from the Holy Kingdom of Bretus.
Priests went around providing psychological counseling to students and giving them comfort.
Even though that was all it took, Seorn’s already depressed mood got much better.
Aidan, who was walking around the campus, stopped when he heard a sound coming from one direction.
I looked to see what was going on, and saw several students praying outside.
Praying in Seorn.
It was something unimaginable considering what school was like on a regular basis, but that wasn’t the case now.
Since the sleeping sickness incident, the number of students praying like this has increased significantly.
Something like that was not something that happened yesterday or today.
‘Maybe it will continue to increase in the future.’
As Aidan was thinking that, someone tapped him on the shoulder.
“What are you doing here?”
“Ah, Leo.”
“What on earth are you looking at so blankly? hmm? “What are they, aristocrats?”
Leo narrowed his eyes as he looked at the noble students praying.
What appeared at the corner of his mouth was a mockery towards the other person.
“You always pretend to be so noble and proud, but you end up clinging to God?”
“Leo hates the Lumensism?”
“of course. I didn’t like it in the first place. “Nothing will change just because you pray to God.”
There was deep regret in Leo’s voice.
It was a feeling that only someone who tried it once and failed could have.
What happened to Leo in the past and how deeply he was in agony.
Aidan, who knew that fact, could not easily comfort him.
Leo must have prayed earnestly too.
But no matter how many times I prayed, nothing changed.
In the end, it was not God who saved Leo, but the teacher who taught him.
“But it’s surprising. “I thought you weren’t that interested in that kind of thing, Aidan.”
Aidan scratched his cheek with his index finger at Leo’s point.
“haha. is it?”
“Because you are an upright guy. It’s still like that. All the other kids are anxious, but you don’t show any signs of it. “At this point, I think the tendons are thick.”
“Not to that extent. I just looked at it because it was interesting. “I also understand the position of those who pray.”
“You understand?”
“I don’t have any ill feelings toward the Lumensis Church. “I was scolded by Teacher Ludger because of that.”
“Did something like that happen?”
Aidan scratched his head in embarrassment as he explained what happened at that time.
“I just went to the teacher’s office separately and asked a question. “At that time, a topic related to theology happened to come up.”
“Seeing as you said you were scolded, I guess Mr. Ludger is in the same position as me.”
“huh. Teacher, you don’t like religion itself. “In fact, it seemed like he hated it.”
“Well, that’s right.”
Leo couldn’t help but nod as he thought of Ludger.
I couldn’t imagine that the man, standing alone and strong, was desperately leaning on something else.
“The teacher said so. In the end, leaning on something is nothing more than turning your eyes away from reality. “That doesn’t change anything.”
Even though Leo didn’t hear Ludger’s words directly, he felt like he could hear that voice clearly in his head.
A real Ludger would definitely say that.
Leo also strongly agreed with that part.
“I think that’s right, but I find it hard to agree with the opinion that religion is not necessary. So I questioned the teacher.”
“what? “You argued there?”
Leo opened his mouth wide.
Even though Aidan’s tendons were as tough as cow tendons, he never thought he would say that to Ludger so confidently.
“I didn’t mean it like you thought. However, I insisted that there are still good things about religion.”
“Mr. Ludger, did you just ignore it?”
“First of all, he asked me why I said that.”
I thought he was going to throw the book first, but it turns out that’s not the case.
Leo thought so, and then it occurred to him that it would be Ludger-like to ask the reason.
“So what did you answer?”
“So, you said that religion can also be helpful.”
“It helps?”
“huh. “My mother is a member of the Lumensic Church.”
That was also the first time I heard this story.
“It happened when I was very young. “You know I have younger siblings, right?”
“know. “I heard you are the eldest.”
“huh. When I was young, her mother was about to give birth. It was a cold winter, and a white snowstorm was raging outside. “That’s when her mother started going into labor.”
Aidan was from the countryside, not even the city.
There was no way proper medical treatment could be provided there, and the weather was especially bad.
“I somehow managed to give birth with the help of my neighbors, but it was a dangerous environment for both the mother and the child.”
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“That kind of thing… … .”
“But there was nothing I could do because I didn’t know anything at the time. Her neighbor also said that it was up to her mother’s will, because her mother had not been able to eat or sleep properly for several days, so she was physically and mentally unwell.”
Aidan still hasn’t forgotten that day.
Even when I was an immature child who knew nothing, the atmosphere was serious enough to know that my mother was in critical condition.
Could a rural woman, exhausted both physically and mentally, really endure this harsh environment?
“At that time, my mother prayed.”
“Pray?”
“huh. He prayed earnestly to God. “It’s okay for me to die, so please at least let my child be born safely.”
The mother’s prayers continued throughout the night.
It is said that even the moment she gave birth, she prayed.
Did that prayer reach the sky?
“My younger brother was born healthy, and my mother also gave birth safely. “The snowstorm that had been raging like that stopped the next day, and the outside was filled with bright sun.”
No one knows whether God gave him grace because he prayed, or whether it was originally planned to happen this way.
But Aidan could tell.
Even if grace has not truly come, the earnest heart of the person making the prayer is not a lie.
“My mother was able to endure those difficult times because of her prayers and faith.”
“… … .”
“So, when I see people praying like that, I don’t think much of it. Teacher Ludger is right, but it doesn’t mean that acting like that is meaningless. Because you get a chance to find courage and stand up again.”
So Aidan didn’t think religion was necessarily bad.
It’s not good to indulge in it too much, but that doesn’t mean a world without religion would be terrible in its own way.
“Then what did Mr. Ludger say?”
“He didn’t say anything, he just told me to go.”
“okay? That’s surprising. “I thought Mr. Ludger would say something else.”
“On the contrary, it seemed like they were agreeing with what I said. But he didn’t say anything. I don’t know why, but it seemed like Teacher Ludger had a deep-rooted hatred for the Lumensis Church.”
“Is it hate? “Did something happen in the past with the Lumensis Church?”
“huh. Maybe so. But I can’t even ask that now. “Because you suddenly went missing.”
It was then that a third party’s voice intervened towards Aidan and Leo.
“Can I hear that story too?”
Where the two people turned their gaze, a white-robed woman with a pure white tiara on her eyes was standing there smiling brightly.
* * *
“Over there!”
War Mages using flying magic aimed their magic at Ludger.
Sharp arrows, spears, and bullets containing each attribute flew towards Ludger’s vital points.
Attacking while using flight magic at the same time.
Beyond simply performing tricks while running, the acrobatics they could perform while flying clearly showed how much of a veteran they were.
Ludger wrapped a shadow cloak around his body like a phantom thief.
The magic was distorted by the cloak and bounced off in another direction.
Meanwhile, the War Mages attempted to surround Ludger by landing on the roof of the building, the surrounding alleys, or the railings.
The iron weapon wielded by the test subject was aimed at Ludger, who was in a hurry to leave the spot.
Slam!
A blue flash passed over Ludger’s head.
I didn’t think it was an ordinary iron sword, but I couldn’t believe it was a weapon called a magic killer.
Although he thought he had made the right decision, Ludger noticed a strangeness in the current situation.
‘Nikolai’s test subjects and the war mages of the New Magic Tower do not fight with each other.’
Rather, the wizards of the New Magic Tower were cleverly avoiding the test subjects and only targeting Ludger.
One thing you can learn from there.
‘Is this because we are already holding hands?’
For some reason, the reaction was quick right after the surprise attack, so it seems Nikolai gave me a tip.
Since the New Magic Tower is a large organization, it was natural that factions would be divided within it depending on their tendencies.
Among them, there are some who protect their pride as wizards, but there are also those who join hands with the underworld and look after their own interests.
Just as Pomfoot was, so are these people.
It was clear that they also belonged to the same faction as Pomfoot.
“Don’t move! You are surrounded! Submit to arrest obediently!”
“The New Magic Tower was raided, but instead of a summary disposition, you were advised to surrender. “I’m going to cry at this merciful treatment.”
Ludger snorted at the War Mage’s warning.
It must be sincere in recommending that you surrender without killing them right away.
The only reason is not to treat them as prisoners of war, but to capture them alive and offer them to someone.
“What on earth did you do with Nikolai? “Did you take any money?”
Well, for his own benefit, he didn’t just ignore the fight between the warlock and Nikolai’s forces, he even forced himself to maintain balance behind the scenes, so he must have no other reason than money.
This is why it is impossible to say that a warlock is necessarily bad.
Those people who used their lives as currency to weigh and trade were also robbers, no different from black magicians.
“Aren’t you even embarrassed?”
“under. “The besieged subject is alive.”
A war mage with a long mustache smiled bitterly at Ludger.
“What did you do? “It doesn’t matter as long as we get paid.”
“Mercenaries would be better off.”
“Do you think you have forgotten your current situation? Your life is now in our hands. “Is it okay for my neck to be so stiff when it’s not enough to apologize that I was wrong?”
The War Mages giggled at those words.
“Or are you expecting help from your colleagues? What a foolish expectation. “Did you think we didn’t know about the warlock who moved with you?”
As if that wasn’t enough, they also found out about Cravat’s existence and sent pursuers there as well.
“I don’t know how long I can endure against war mages who only learn ancient curses and masters of the school.”
“… … .”
“It seems like you were planning to draw attention to yourself and take your time, but you ended up using it in a harsh place. “How do you feel now?”
“Heh.”
Ludger couldn’t help but burst into laughter at the War Mage’s words.
The War Mage’s face, which had been steeped in a sense of superiority, was filled with displeasure.
“… … Smile? “Do you not understand what is happening now?”
“That’s actually something I’d like to ask. Could it be that they only sent a war mage to catch him? “If that’s the case, I’m disappointed.”
The War Mage’s expression distorted at the sincere words, but then regained her composure.
“That’s stupid. Do you think we’ll handle things that smoothly? “Of course, to make sure we did everything, we sent the right people here too.”
“He’s a proper person… … .”
“Warlocks who use curses are annoying to us too. Poison and curse. The guys who deal with these two are so disgusting to no end. So he sent enough troops to subdue them at once without giving them any time to do so. I also prepared artifacts for the prototype automaton. “Is this not enough?”
Ludger sneered at the overconfident War Mage.
“okay. It’s not enough. It’s not enough. “Isn’t that a troop designed to deal with warlocks?”
“what?”
“Just as you have a corner of belief, we also have a corner of belief.”
Ludger smiled through his shadow mask.
“Yes, we should have arrived by now. A local helper.”
* * *
Cravat stood still, looking at the war mages surrounding the alley.
Staying calm in a situation where I had to fight to reduce the number of enemies right away was the same as surrendering to the enemy and asking them to kill me.
Cravat didn’t know that either.
The reason I didn’t move even though I knew it was because of a man who suddenly appeared.
“Since when did our God, the Magic Tower, join hands with these unknown people?”
A clanking voice coming from inside the iron mask.
The wizards of the New Magic Tower who surrounded Cravat were completely frozen.
“Why you?”
A 6th rank wizard from the New Magic Tower.
Iron Mask Loteron.
His eyes flashed beneath his pitch-black mask.
“I won’t be able to get over this easily. “I think everyone is fully prepared.”
