Chapter 123
Translator: uly
Chapter: 123
Chapter Title: Microwave (12)
Bwooooooo———
On the seventh day, as the training camp drew to a close.
Liv opened her eyes to the sloppy blare of the tram's horn echoing from beyond the ceiling.
Proof that time in Uzet was running out.
She began the final day by waking Louis, who hadn't taken his hand off her lower belly even in sleep.
"Boss, time to get up."
"Mm... Baroness?"
"Yes, it's the Baroness."
Soon he'd be a count, so she figured it was about time to switch to calling him by name.
But that wouldn't happen just yet.
While he washed up, Liv wove an imperial permit by hand for entry into the First-Class Secret Archive.
A geometric magic circle shimmered with blue light, parchment taking shape as if on a loom.
Ink seeped into the white paper, stamped below with the imperial seal.
Finally, she rolled it up, tied it with a silk ribbon, and finished preparing to head out.
"Let's go."
"Yeah. How much time do we have?"
"About two hours, probably. It won't even take an hour for the library guards to verify the permit's authenticity with the palace and get a response."
"...That's too tight."
He paused to dry his damp hair, lost in thought.
Louis's rare serious moments were so handsome that Liv found herself falling silent too.
She caught herself rubbing her belly in time with his tapping fingers and quickly pulled her hand away when he looked up.
"The First-Class Archive is deeper inside than the Second-Class one we were in, right?"
"Huh!? Yes, that's right. Of course, security is so tight that the two areas are completely isolated."
"Then I'll stand guard outside. They might spot the forgery faster than expected."
"But then you..."
"You know I'm fine. And... there's something I need to look for too."
"Ah."
Come to think of it, Louis had been diligently searching the library's magic books too.
If she remembered right... a microwave?
It was a word she'd never heard before, but since he knew ancient tongues she didn't, there was nothing strange about it.
"Got it. Then... I'll be off."
In the end, Liv decided to enter the archive alone.
Bwooooooo———
"Found it."
After days of scouring the archive with the pass from the Empire's Saintess, Caroline had located the document the Church had ordered her to find.
A map marking the location of Sacrear's dragon's nest.
Among the four great secret realms, Sacrear had especially stringent security.
The Ruby Shrine and Uzet Grand Library were under imperial control, while no one could reach the Sandalphonia Observatory even if they knew its location.
Sacrear, on the other hand—rumored to be overflowing with gold and treasures—could become a target the moment its position was known.
It was marked in tiny script on a dusty book tucked away at the end of an obscure shelf, not even listed in the catalog.
"I found... it, but..."
Should she really report this to the Church?
That was the dilemma.
Normally—or rather, just a few months ago—she wouldn't have hesitated for a second.
Blood for blood, vengeance in blood.
Caroline Magdalene, inquisitor of the Blood Inquisition's Heresy Squad, would do anything for the Church.
To her, faith was command, absolute and unwavering.
'But am I even still part of the squad now?'
Her reflection in the window glass was a body she loathed.
After becoming the Saintess, the Church had all but abandoned her.
Her transformed flesh and the unyielding convictions that had sustained her amid the crisis were crumbling like a skiff tossed by waves.
Ironically, she—who had spent her life mocking herself while begging on the streets—now had someone very close by to lean on.
"What should I do?"
Her soft voice echoed in the quiet library.
"Should I hand this over? Or not?"
A question to the goddess who had chosen her.
"Is this the choice you spoke of?"
But no revelation came.
No tapping on the window, no books falling from shelves—just silence.
Caroline gritted her teeth.
She knew divine oracles never interfered with human free will, but it irked her that the goddess nagged her to cling to Louis yet stayed silent at truly crucial moments.
"If you keep this up, I'll really do whatever I want! I don't care if the world ends or not!"
She clicked her tongue, pressed two fingers to her temple through her red hair, and parted them.
The squad's assassins excelled at torture for extracting information, so this was her countermeasure.
Now, no one could learn Sacrear's location unless Caroline willed it herself.
She hid the old tome back in its spot and returned to the lounge in the center of the archive.
As she sat on the sofa gazing at the thunderous sky, a familiar pair entered with guards in tow.
Louis and Liv Lavre de Greenwood.
And even the ice oriole that had attacked her from their first meeting.
'Hasn't it gotten a bit bigger?'
It had been palm-sized before, but now it was as big as her arms could barely wrap around.
Liv proceeded deeper amid the guards' sharp gazes, while Louis grabbed a few books and sat beside her as usual.
Bwooooooo———
Caroline's eyes met his briefly, but she turned to the sky at the horn's sound, avoiding a greeting.
She knew of the Reincarnation Duke Lehel Darad's close ties to the canteen owner.
With the info now in her head sure to lead to her ruin.
"......"
"......"
Louis, too, eyed the guards at the First-Class Secret Archive entrance warily, showing no reaction beyond reading.
Only the ice oriole, chirping happily—Beep! Beep!—rolled across the marble floor like it was skiing.
Tick-tock, tick-tock.
Beneath the calendar marking September 17th, the wall clock alone marked the meaningless passage of time—
Until—
Kuuuung!!
A massive tremor suddenly shook everything.
—What is it? What's happening!?
—Contact the outside!
As the guards panicked and books danced off shelves, Caroline intuited that the Empire's final week had ended.
The sky, shrouded in thick clouds, began emitting light. What seemed like lightning spread across the upper atmosphere, heralding the world's end.
Dazzling radiance poured as the heavens shattered.
The sofa cushions trembled with the same rumble she'd felt in bed clutching Skandal's bookmark.
Kwaang! Kwaaaang—!
As the bell tower of the towering Temple of Light collapsed, shattered glass flying everywhere.
Caroline, crouching to steady herself, brushed a fallen book with her fingertips.
Thick tomes clearly pulled by the Louis sitting next to her.
Her eyes twisted in dismay at their contents.
"Hey."
"......"
"Hey, Louis...!"
The intensifying quakes made standing impossible, but Caroline crawled to him and yanked the book he was fixated on.
Finally meeting his black eyes, she shook her head.
"There's no such thing, you idiot."
"What?"
"No black mage who sold their soul to demons, no church priest researching holy magic—none of them ever created the spell you're looking for...!"
She pointed at the bookshelves toppling like dominoes amid the roar, books vanishing into cracks in the floor.
"Necromancer Baragal's summoning rites, the Hymn Choir Hilarionian's divine descent, the Saintess's twelfth halo, or that smug Terra Ernisten's grand spells—none of them can revive the dead! Can't you see that stuff like this litters the Second-Class Archive!? They're all failed attempts from the start!"
Clunk, clunk.
Clunk, clunk.
The morning star gleamed in his black eyes.
Reflecting the scenery outside and the dimming interior.
At the moment the tram passed through Skandal and turned toward Pharenchia.
Until the library, the Empire, the falling ceiling dust, and even the sofa beneath her hand ceased to exist.
Caroline gazed to the end into the soul of the man the goddess had led her to.
"I don't know what tragedy you've been through... but never touch something like that."
During her time as inquisitor, the apostates she'd seen most weren't blood-mad demon spawn.
They were those who lost family and friends in the Great War, prayed endlessly to no avail, and never regained their hopes or lives.
Most such souls offered everything to demons for impossible dreams.
Perhaps the choice foretold by the Empire's Saintess was to prevent Louis from veering down that path of ruin.
The thought faintly crossed her mind.
"No idea what you're talking about."
But in a world flickering toward darkness, Louis quietly picked up the fallen book and spoke in a weary voice.
"I was looking for a way to make a microwave."
His words sounded like a denial of someone's death from the start.
Bwooooooo———
The moment the tram exited Skandal, every student in the cars snapped awake.
Seven days in Uzet time.
But only two days since departing Pharenchia.
Corridors and dining cars soon filled with yawning students hunting for food.
Some debated thrilling camp experiences or report topics.
Even they grew quieter over time, sensing the odd atmosphere.
The reason? Certain ladies—whose moods carried far more weight than other nobles—looked deeply displeased.
Even after the festival-like camp ended, they hadn't touched their meals, lost in heavier thoughts.
"Piy-piy-piii—?"
"Quiet, Piy. No piy-ing."
"Pi—"
Erzebet was plotting her future path, her relationship with Louis, and how to question the royals about his identity.
Her seriousness even made her familiar, about to playfully attack out of boredom, tilt its head.
"Liv, have fun?"
"......"
"Liv?"
"Busy. Give me a minute."
Liv, eyes closed and muttering nonstop, was concentrating on perfectly memorizing the ironclad soldier's fabrication method she'd seen last.
Various incantations and mana flows gathered and dispersed around her repeatedly.
"Chairman. Win much money?"
"Huh!? Oh, uh, w-well..."
"You said you'd come by, but we never met."
"Yeah... so disappointing... haha! I-I'm gonna wash up quick!"
Lehel, bumping into Louis in the corridor, looked flustered, distanced herself, pulled her hat low, and fled to her room.
She sniffed her robe repeatedly for any foul odors before scurrying away.
"......"
Caroline, hugging the wall past the bowed Lehel, lips pressed tight as well.
She flipped off Louis's nonchalant shrug and slammed the door. Ansen approached from behind.
"Saintess."
"......"
"Saintess Caroline?"
"What?"
She whipped around sharply. Ansen cast a soundproof spell and asked,
"Did you find Sacrear's location?"
"...Do we have to talk now?"
"The sooner the better, no? I'll send a communication crystal to the Church before we reach Pharenchia."
"......"
Her old inquisitor instincts caught Ansen's eyes flicking momentarily to Louis across the way.
Whether goddess's will, Church loyalty, or concern for Louis—choice time.
She sighed softly, crossed her arms, and spoke.