Chapter 275

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.”

“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.