Chapter 35
Chapter 35
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter Title: Reclusive Mage Leo - (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The royal capital was always quiet.
In that serene capital, the only place buzzing with activity was the office of First Princess Ciris Leisander.
"Your Highness, may I come in?"
"Come on in."
Guard Knight Beatrice entered the office.
First Princess Ciris was already seated in her chair, waiting for Beatrice.
"There was an incident at Erebos Royal Academy last night."
"Yes. The twin towers of the magic faculty, right?"
Beatrice nodded.
Ciris was a regressor. Naturally, she had experienced this crisis multiple times before, so she handled it with seasoned expertise.
"Give me a brief report."
"Yes."
Beatrice unfolded the report and recited the full account of the incident.
"A massive monster suddenly appeared and devoured the Ivory Tower..."
"It's called a Predator."
"Ah... Yes. The Predator that appeared at the twin towers last night was repelled around midnight by students from the magic faculty, led primarily by Sophia Veronica Aquilova from the knight faculty and Elise Aurora de Lua from the divinity faculty."
After hearing Beatrice's report, Ciris gestured with her chin to continue.
"During the subsequent investigation, we also confirmed the body of an individual testified to as the 'white woman' who appears to have summoned the monster... no, the Predator."
"Did anything come out of that woman's body?"
"We heard a stake emerged. The Erebos research facility is investigating it."
"...White Mask."
White Mask.
One of the top three most headache-inducing executives in the Shadow organization.
Over the past seven regressions, Ciris had tracked White Mask extensively and knew well that she never revealed her ugly true form.
"Did you find any other woman?"
"...Another woman, Your Highness?"
"A small woman with black hair, wearing a smiling mask, manipulating chimeras with threads."
"...I'm sorry. There were no testimonies of anyone like that. Moreover, we found no magical evidence whatsoever that the swarm of chimeras infesting the lower village was under anyone's control."
"..."
For the first time, Ciris furrowed her brow at those words.
"Is that true?"
"Yes. No doubt about it. It's a report directly from the royal investigators, so no errors."
"Hmm... So Jo Hyun didn't show up."
Jo Hyun.
Her ability was manipulation of all inanimate objects. She was the trickiest executive in the Shadow.
Especially since she traveled with White Mask, who manipulated minds, using humans like finely crafted puppets. In regressions where she wasn't repelled in time, the kingdom ended up with more human-like puppets than actual humans.
And yet, Jo Hyun had not appeared at Erebos.
'...Another variable.'
Well.
Since Isolde, the top student of the magic faculty, hadn't intervened, the Shadow might have judged there was no need to deploy Jo Hyun.
Ciris decided to think of it that way.
"Continue the report."
"That's the end of the notable points. In summary, the total casualties from Erebos Royal Academy in this incident are seven."
"..."
For the first time, Ciris's composed expression cracked.
She spun her chair around and looked at Beatrice.
"Seven deaths?"
"Yes. One Ivory Tower supervising professor, three assistants, two students, and finally one passerby from the lower village. No other fatalities. There were nearly three digits in injuries, but the cathedral intervened promptly, preventing more deaths."
"..."
"Though the material damage is significant, compared to the scope, the casualties are low, so we can consider it fortunate..."
Beatrice trailed off.
"...Your Highness?"
Ciris's face was blank. She stared into empty space as if lost in a daze, not even glancing at Beatrice.
It was the first time Beatrice had seen her lord so flustered, so she asked cautiously.
"Your Highness, shall I continue the report?"
"...No."
After a moment of silence, Ciris replied in a trembling voice.
"That's enough, Tris. Go handle your duties."
"Yes."
Beatrice left the office upon the dismissal. Alone now, Ciris gazed out the window at the capital's scenery.
"Seven."
The otherworldly Predator incident.
In all her previous regressions, the death toll from this event had never been fewer than single digits.
In fact, at some point, she had stopped even trying to reduce casualties. Minimizing variables mattered more than lives, so Ciris focused solely on finding the optimal route.
Once she found it, she simply followed that route exactly.
"...Was I wrong?"
But now.
Jo Hyun hadn't appeared, White Mask and the Predator had been smoothly repelled, and casualties were just seven.
There couldn't be a more perfect outcome.
For Ciris, who had longed for a flawless clear without variables over the past seven regressions, this was a fresh shock...
"...That priest might be a gift from the gods to me."
First Princess Ciris murmured with a glimmer of hope.
The Predator incident was smoothly resolved, and two days later.
I was enjoying my peaceful daily routine in the chapel.
Of course, "peaceful" was just talk—the academy's atmosphere was anything but.
The Ivory Tower, pride of the magic faculty, had completely collapsed, and the lower village was reduced to rubble.
There were casualties too.
Especially the Ivory Tower supervising professor, who reportedly came out half-melted after being swallowed by the Predator...
'He dies in the original story anyway.'
In fact, most of the Ivory Tower students survived except for him, so it was a better outcome than the original.
Of course, thinking about the distortions this change would cause made the future seem utterly daunting already.
'...What can you do. Have to deal with it somehow.'
Act 3 was about to begin now, and from Act 3 onward, it wouldn't be just one or two buildings—the entire academy would be engulfed in massive disasters.
Preparing for that was ultimately up to me.
"Priest, so you're saying you're receiving the commendation along with that wild dog this time?"
While lost in thought, the girl on the other side of the confessional partition chattered away excitedly.
"I'm even thinking of skipping the commendation ceremony itself. The academy staff would be in total chaos."
"...Um."
"Oh, right. Priest, did I tell you that Helena can't handle spicy or hot food at all? She's got a cat's tongue."
"Miss..."
"Last night at dinner, I only put wasabi in Helena's stew. She was dry-heaving in the bathroom until evening. I felt bad but also amused. The poor head chef got scolded by the head maid instead."
"Sister, could you listen to me first?"
"Yes, Priest."
I cautiously addressed the burnout girl beyond the partition.
No, Saintess Candidate Elise Aurora de Lua.
"...Do you really need to come here?"
Two days after the incident resolution.
In this chaotic time when everyone was busy with cleanup, Elise had leisurely visited the chapel.
We already knew each other's faces and names, yet she was dragging out all sorts of topics under the pretext of confession.
I couldn't just brush her off.
After all, Elise was the protagonist of the original story.
It was maddening for the one who had to entertain her.
"But Priest, I've sinned."
"Sinned?"
"Yes. I made Helena cry her eyes out and pinned the blame on the head chef. That's definitely a sin, right?"
"Well, yes."
"So I came for confession. To earnestly beg the Lord to forgive my sins."
She didn't seem earnest at all, but it wasn't wrong.
In fact, it was spot on.
The problem was that Elise was hijacking this sacred rite for her own whims.
"Even so..."
"Besides, that wild dog from the knight faculty has come multiple times. Why can't I?"
"..."
"Shall I continue my story then?"
"...Go ahead."
"Yes, Priest!"
In the end, I had no choice but to reluctantly play listener for Elise.
'Ah, I want to die.'
How did it come to this?
My meddling had boomeranged back massively.
Especially since Act 3 centered on Elise and the divinity faculty, it was even more of a headache.
'Should I just run away?'
As I entertained such useless thoughts, Elise suddenly clapped her hands as if remembering something.
"Oh yeah, Priest, have you heard the news?"
"What news?"
"They're reorganizing the magic faculty. The Ivory Tower collapsed, and its supervising professor died, so they can't divide into two classrooms anymore."
This followed the original flow.
The Ivory Tower was completely gone, but the Ashen Tower remained intact. Thus, the magic faculty decided to teach purebloods and mixed-bloods together equally in one classroom.
Purebloods and Ashen were still on bad terms, but with Isolde reportedly recovering from her sickbed soon, she could mediate well.
"...Anyway."
Elise abruptly changed the subject mid-conversation.
"Priest. Are you really okay with that?"
Elise asked carefully.
"What do you mean?"
"That day, many people survived thanks to you. If word got to the academy leadership or the cathedral, you could receive awards or honors."
"..."
That day, I told Elise how to repel the Predator and retreated to the chapel.
I'm an existence outside the story anyway. Getting noticed during cleanup would spell trouble in many ways.
It was purely pragmatic, but to Elise, my actions seemed like the humility of a true cleric.
"If you want, I can pass word of your merits to the cathedral. With luck, you could become a direct cathedral priest."
Elise seemed genuinely intent on recommending me.
But in Act 3, the first building to get wrecked is the cathedral.
I have no hobby of walking into the execution ground on my own feet.
"...I'm fine, Sister. A good deed unrecognized by others is the truest good deed."
"Oh... As expected, Priest, you think deeply."
Elise nodded repeatedly, seemingly truly impressed.
Fortunately, she seemed convinced.
"But there's something you've overlooked, Priest."
Yet Elise spoke in a meaningful tone.
"People tend to believe what they see with their own eyes."
"...Pardon?"
"You'll find out soon enough."
Elise said something cryptic, then stood up.
"Well, I'll be going then. It's time for morning mass, right?"
"...Yes."
"See you next time."
Don't come.
Please.
An hour after Elise left.
Morning mass.
I realized what she had meant.
"...Why are there so many?"
Normally, on a weekday mass, there were at most five or six worshippers.
But today, over twenty were staring at me with sparkling eyes.
Not only that—some were pointing at me and whispering.
"That's the guy?"
"Yeah. He saved dozens of students from the Ivory Tower. Even swept away all the chimeras in place of the dead professor."
"He wields magic well too, they say? My friend saw him unleashing fireballs."
"...Whoa. A high-rank fire mage?"
"No wonder his skin's so dark."
Overhearing, I tilted my head.
Me saving students at the Ivory Tower, unleashing fireballs, massacring chimeras, and rampaging heroically?
'...What nonsense is that?'
Something was happening beyond my knowledge.