Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Approaching Marian Baum
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Would those bastards, who believe it's fine to sacrifice even one celebrity, pass up the chance to use Nikolaus's life?
'I plan to get my hands on them... but I have no intention of being used as their propaganda tool.'
If the situation followed the novel exactly, the ones behind this were only an extreme minority within the Catacombs.
I couldn't let that minority do the emperor any favors.
Just then, Elias tilted his head with a smirk.
"Nikolaus only~?"
"Yeah. Let's make one more identity."
"Haa... Of course."
Leo let out a deep sigh.
"Naturally, we'll start after the treatment's done."
"Of course. You can't leave before you're fully healed anyway, so why bring that up?"
Leo spoke with a faint smile.
I was at a loss for words, managing only a chuckle, when Leo shrugged.
"Still, your plan's worth hearing out. It aligns with our goals, after all. Tell us."
Good.
That's how you should respond.
Without Leo, gathering intel would be tough. And it didn't seem like he'd lift the warp restrictions anyway.
I clasped my hands together and looked at them both.
"First, before we talk, there's something you need to read. Leo, warp us back to our dorm now, but disable the alarms for a bit."
"Why bother disabling them? I'll grab it. Just tell me what it is."
Leo said with a smiling face.
His firm refusal to even consider it was clear.
Well, if he's fetching it, that's convenient for me.
"There's a letter from His Majesty on my bed. Read it."
Leo vanished on the spot and returned moments later with the letter.
As he read it, his expression gradually hardened.
"They found a commoner mage?"
"......"
Elias turned his head, face still stiff.
He knew about my conversation with the emperor, so he'd grasped the situation immediately.
As Leo looked confused, Elias spoke up.
"Uncle's trying to use the Catacombs to boost his approval ratings."
"What?"
"If he frames the Catacombs as Pleroma and wipes them out, most commoners will think the emperor's protecting them from Pleroma and be thrilled. The nobles will be happy too, since the 'commoner mages' are gone. It's a great way to win over every class."
"......"
So that's why they're hunting down commoner mages like rats.
Leo couldn't tear his eyes from the letter, his face saying as much.
Elias said coldly.
"He's probably dead. Not even a grave to his name."
A long silence followed.
Finally, Leo spoke quietly.
"Alright. Showing us this means your plan ties into the letter. Tell us what to do."
"Marian Baum. Can you find this person for me?"
He was a Catacombs mage who cooperated with Elias all the way to the novel's latter half.
For decades, he'd risked arrest by the police to rescue commoner mages, earning him high regard in the Catacombs. Because of that, he did post-rescue verification rather than pre-screening on the people he brought in.
'Of course, more practically... Marian Baum's the only Catacombs mage whose location I know right now.'
Since he was the one who brought Elias into the Catacombs in the novel, going through him would keep things stable.
"Nationality?"
"Not certain, but probably Bavarian. His area of activity is definitely Bavaria."
"Hmm... Alright. Who is this guy?"
"A Catacombs mage."
Leo and Elias's faces stiffened instantly.
"You know someone in the Catacombs?"
"...Damn. This guy's next on the chopping block, huh."
Leo shot Elias a glance.
"...Bavaria doesn't kill commoner mages. The inspections are just for show."
"That's true, but."
More or less.
Outside Bavaria and a few other states, most of the empire strictly followed the government's zero-tolerance execution policy.
"It's not confirmed he's Catacombs. We need to verify the info I got first."
In the novel, Elias met him naturally while wandering as a beggar, but I couldn't reveal my source, so layering in this buffer was safer.
"Got it. So, what's next?"
"Approach him, obviously."
Elias, now composed, laughed brightly at my answer.
"Speaking of which, we were talking about Robert Müller when the Catacombs came up. Luca, you think this incident was the Catacombs' doing?"
"Yeah. I see it as a double twist."
Leo watched me silently, so I continued.
"You're saying this: All the evidence points to Robert Müller, the obsessive fan, but that's all Pleroma's design. Makes sense. No one else has reason to target me."
"Right."
"But what if there's another group that benefits from attacking me?"
Elias chuckled, amused.
"The Catacombs gain from attacking you? You haven't been swayed by Uncle's views already~?"
"No way. You said earlier, Leo: If Pleroma just kills us outright, it only stirs widespread outrage."
"Yeah."
"That's what they're after. With the issue blowing up, if Nikolaus gets sacrificed now, anti-Pleroma sentiment will peak."
I handed Leo the letter from Müller I'd read earlier.
"In short, it'll easily unite the public in anti-Pleroma fervor."
"......"
"I don't know the follow-up plan, and there's no clue for that now. But it means we can't rule out the Catacombs either."
Elias clapped his hands.
"Whoa, this is getting complicated~ The Catacombs are Pleroma's enemies too, so why would they pull this? Doesn't make sense logically."
Elias wiped the smile off his face and rubbed his chin.
"But it's not impossible. Before they're Pleroma's foes, those people are commoners. The Catacombs suffer far more persecution than non-mage commoners just for being born with mana."
"From us."
"Exactly. And Nikolaus Ernst, the crown prince's exclusive aide, is one of the most successful nobles out there. Allies, but not equals... Ah, this is the fun part."
Elias muttered, lifting one corner of his mouth just like the day we first met.
Elias always found amusement in the oddest points.
Leo said to me seriously.
"Lucas, if you think it's a double twist, maybe we've overestimated the enemy."
"Yeah. We can't rule out it just being Pleroma."
I couldn't flatly say there were zero Pleroma in the Catacombs, after all.
"...But you still think Catacombs is likely? Honestly, I still lean Pleroma, but if you need to go to the Catacombs..."
Leo stared at the bed for a long moment before continuing.
"Let's do it. I'll help."
"Whoa, total faith. Good attitude."
Elias snickered. Then he turned to me.
"I agree with you first off, Luca. But I want to hear what you'll do infiltrating the Catacombs."
"Cut out the rotten parts. Before you or other anti-Pleroma celebs become their sacrifices."
"Right, obvious. Then what?"
Elias tapped the back of his hand like piano keys, still smiling.
He seemed worried about my answer.
One slip, and it could end up helping the emperor.
I smiled softly and replied.
"We take the Catacombs, Eli."
* * *
Three days after I brought it up—Christmas Day, when my treatment finally ended—Leo brought the intel.
According to it, Marian Baum was the head and director of a mid-tier troupe in Munich.
'Come to think of it, the novel mentioned it in passing.'
Good. Not some hermit, so we had plenty of time to make contact.
That Christmas evening, I unwrapped my hand bandages and headed to the theater to find Marian Baum.
'No guarantee I'll find him right away, though.'
Take it slow.
"...Man, it's empty."
I turned at the mutter from beside me.
Narke sitting next to me glanced at Elias too.
Even after arriving at the theater, Elias kept touching his neck.
I nodded toward his scarf, still on indoors.
"You wrapped that scarf tight already."
"Can't help the awkwardness from the fresh cut~ But it looks good, right?! Ah, I'm too handsome."
"Glad you think so."
I replied with a laugh.
Elias had grown his hair to just above his shoulders lately, but this time he'd cut it short like Leo's.
He could've resisted a haircut, but knowing divine power could regrow it anytime, he handed over his locks readily.
I'd brought him just in case, but to avoid recognition, I cast a perception-distortion spell too. It gave him a nondescript vibe that blended in.
Elias whispered to me.
"You're just Felix Baizel, aren't you?"
Close enough.
Red hair again this time.
Blond would've been too much like my brother, so between natural colors, brown or red were it.
But no issue.
Felix Baizel only had one human connection.
"No glasses this time. Eyes are darker too."
"Yeah, true! Much better."
The play started soon.
It was Faust—four times longer than the one I'd been in before.
Narke messaged me via divine power.
—"Hmm, your guy's not here. No curtain call bow either."
—"Yeah? I'll check backstage after."
About three hours later, the house lights came up.
I signaled my friends and slipped out immediately.
This was just the beginning.
I went out the back door and scanned the open lot.
Far off, in front of the building opposite the performance hall, someone paced while smoking.
Narke messaged again.
—"Ah, start with that guy."
—"What kind?"
—"Speculation, but he's positioned to connect you to Marian at least."
Perfect.
To sense my mana despite being a commoner, I'd need time inside the troupe first. So I had to express interest in working as a handyman or servant.
A troupe this size was likely saturated, making even that sound absurd.
So, one way only.
'Say something even more ridiculous first.'
I approached the man Narke indicated and greeted him.
"Hello."
He stared blankly, then tilted his head suspiciously.
"Excuse me, who might you be?"
"Dietrich Granach. Your performance just now was deeply moving."
"Ah, thank you. But?"
"I want to stand on this stage as an actor right away."
"Hmm, this place... Huh?!"
From behind, I heard Elias whispering to Narke.
"This okay?"
"Haha..."
Hearing that from Elias felt fresh.
It was a perfectly normal reaction. You needed years as an understudy anywhere to become an actor.
Saying I wanted handyman work wouldn't fly either—modern troupes didn't hire separately for chores.
They used aspiring actors as apprentices for that. A bit silly, but not unheard of here.
'So hitting hard from the start won't raise flags.'
Asking for chores outright was more likely to get rejected. With free labor from actor hopefuls overflowing, why hire a handyman?
As expected, he eyed me like I'd seen every weirdo imaginable.
Then, utterly baffled, he said.
"Um... from where, if I may ask?"
"From Prussia."
"No, which troupe are you with?"
"Pardon?"
"You're not an actor?"
"...No."
I nearly misspoke.
His expression changed in an instant.
* * *
I figured I'd be treated like a lunatic and chased off, but thankfully, that didn't happen.
He took me inside and fired off questions.
"Age?"
"Twenty-three."
"What do you do?"
"I work for the Deggenberg barony."
I'd asked His Majesty beforehand if there was a house that could vouch for me here. This was the answer.
"By the way, what should I call you?"
"Call me Jonas."
"Jonas, how many actors are in this troupe?"
"Well, not exactly... I don't handle the actors. Including apprentices, about fifty."
"More than expected."
"The scene's growing. With star actors rising, everyone's eager."
Good for the troupe.
They could string them along with "someday" and work them for free.
"Then I'll start as an apprentice."
"Indeed."
"What do apprentices usually do?"
"Act, naturally?"
"......"
Right. Officially, sure.
But in reality?
"Apprentices don't hit the stage right away. Even acting lessons take years of waiting, from what I hear. I mean exactly what you'd do before that..."
"Oh, no worries there at all. Perfect timing!"
I turned to where he was looking.