Chapter 174: To My Dear Benefactor (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 174: To My Dear Benefactor (2)
Her pink hair was styled in twin braids, twisted elegantly on both sides.
A student in a school uniform, her head draped in a white veil, strolled through the old academy grounds accompanied by her escort priest.
It was Bianca Anturaze, the Saintess of the Helize Church, and her guardian, Sylon.
This was the old Märchen Academy campus, a restricted area accessible only to those authorized under the Marks Treaty. It was the site of a major incident last semester, where the legendary magic beast, the Thunderbird, had been possessed by a demon.
The landscape was a graveyard of ruins. Sylon felt an eerie premonition, as if he had been abandoned in a dying world with only the Saintess by his side.
Perhaps it was because no budget had been allocated for maintenance, but crumbled buildings were scattered everywhere. Bianca ignored the decay and quickened her pace.
“Sylon, do you think there are traces of the Nameless Hero here?” Bianca asked, her eyes narrowed as if squinting. Her beautiful voice blended exquisitely with her solemn tone.
“I’m sorry, Your Holiness. I am not certain.”
“I didn’t ask because I expected you to have the answer. I’m asking for your intuition.”
“In that case… I suspect there might be something at the site where the Nameless Hero fought the Thunderbird. That building over there seems to be the place. Shall we head that way?”
Sylon pointed toward the crest of a high hill.
A castle-like structure stood in isolation, half its frame reduced to rubble. It was the beautiful red castle, Carly Hall, which had once served as the symbol of Märchen Academy.
It was the very place where Isaac had fought against Vera the Summoner, her minions, and the Thunderbird.
“Very well. Let us go.”
Bianca and Sylon headed toward Carly Hall. She was searching for any trace of the Nameless Hero to track him down. She had only one goal: she wanted to become his comrade.
Born with the light element, she was the Saintess of the Helize Church, serving the Lord Manhalla. That was why she had enrolled in Märchen Academy—to personally exterminate demons. However, after witnessing the Nameless Hero’s overwhelming power firsthand, she realized he was an unstoppable force.
If she could become his ally, she would have the opportunity to slay demons alongside him. Indeed, was killing demons not the sacred duty of a Saintess born of light? It was about faithfully fulfilling the mission granted by the Lord Manhalla.
With those intentions, Bianca searched for the Nameless Hero.
Before long, the two reached the foot of the hill.
“Your Holiness, allow me to carry you…”
“It is fine. We shall walk.”
They climbed the hill and reached Carly Hall. Sylon panted heavily from the exertion, but Bianca’s breathing remained steady, her stamina seemingly unaffected.
Up close, Carly Hall looked even more devastated. Vibrant vines crawled over the wreckage, reclaiming the stone. The pulverized exterior and the massive crater suggested that something colossal had plummeted from the sky, smashing through the building and embedding itself into the earth.
Bianca and Sylon realized that a fierce battle, far beyond their level, had taken place here.
For a moment, Bianca thought that Carly Hall, once the pride of the old campus, should have at least been rebuilt. However, she soon shook her head, understanding the academy’s plight.
Last year, due to the emergence of various demons, many investors would have pulled their funding. Under the circumstances, Märchen Academy lacked the financial means to restore Carly Hall. Only after investors returned and stability was reached would there be room to repair the old grounds.
…But that wasn't an interesting story. Bianca decided to stop dwelling on such pointless thoughts.
She looked up at the half-destroyed section of the building. On the top floor, a single altar was perched precariously on a section of the floor that remained intact.
“Did the Nameless Hero defeat the Thunderbird here…? Hmm?”
Bianca noticed something odd on the wall near the altar.
She activated her light elemental power, [Eyes of Light]. It was a unique ability possessed only by Bianca in this world. No matter how difficult a trace was to detect, as long as it existed within the realm of human perception, she could distinguish the shape of mana.
An incredibly complex spell had been woven into the wall. It was a high-level enchantment that no one else would have noticed. Although she could barely recognize the flow of mana, she couldn't discern the spell's true nature.
Bianca moved without hesitation. “Will you lift me up there?”
“Understood.”
Using wind magic, Sylon helped Bianca ascend to the top of the ruined structure. The two landed in front of the altar.
Bianca gently swept her hand across the wall, stopping abruptly when she felt a strange sensation. She tapped the surface; a few knocks returned a hollow sound.
“Sylon. It is empty inside.”
“Pardon…? Your Holiness?!”
Bianca channeled a fraction of her divine power, and her body began to sink into the wall. Small ripples spread across the surface, centered around her. As Bianca vanished through the stone, a startled Sylon hurriedly followed her.
“…!”
As if the wall were nothing but a mirage, Sylon’s body passed through easily.
“Where… are we…?”
The musty scent of age hit them instantly. Before Sylon lay a cramped, decaying secret library. Glowing lamps hung on the walls, casting a soft light that allowed them to make out their surroundings.
Sylon looked around, eyes wide with surprise. Swirling clusters of dust glowed gold under the light of the lamps. As he carefully touched a book on a shelf, he could feel the gritty texture of the dust.
“…”
“Your Holiness…? Huh?”
Bianca reached out and touched the books on the shelf. Her hand, wreathed in divine power, passed straight through the volumes. Her power revealed that the books were merely magical remnants—illusions. Sylon gasped in shock.
Without divine power to see through the trick, one’s senses would be deceived into feeling and reading the books, which would likely contain irrelevant information pulled directly from the reader’s own mind.
Bianca frowned. Was this illusion magic? No, it was different. This magic far surpassed common sense. It was so exceptional that it made her wonder if a human could have even cast it.
Bianca walked deeper into the library and looked down at a book resting on an old desk that looked ready to collapse.
This one is real.
“This book… it is influenced by a power not of this world. Time is distorted within it.”
Bianca’s eyes widened slightly, revealing her white, sightless irises. She was blind; her physical eyes had long since lost their function. It was her Divine Power that granted her this mystical vision.
“Not of this world…?”
When Sylon asked in confusion, Bianca extended her hand toward the ancient book without answering. She cast a 2-star light spell, [Purification], and holy light flowed from her palm. The dust on the book vanished instantly.
“Even space-time has no meaning before this book. It was not written in our era, at the very least. It comes from a place far, far away.”
Through her mystical sight, Bianca caught a faint glimpse of a woman’s final moments—a woman who had dedicated the remainder of her life to penning this very book. Bianca did not know the woman’s identity, nor where she had gone.
Bianca picked up the book and examined its contents. The pages were stained with dried blood. Letters were inscribed in a swirling pattern alongside incomprehensible diagrams.
“Sylon.”
“Yes.”
“Can you read these characters?”
Bianca held the book by its edges and showed it to him.
“I’m sorry, I don’t recognize them… Could it be an ancient language?”
Neither Bianca nor Sylon could read the script.
“…We must recover this book.”
“Is that wise?”
“This book is anything but ordinary. The Helize Church… No, it would be better if I kept it myself. There must be a divine reason why Lord Manhalla led me here.”
With a composed expression, Bianca placed her index finger to her lips.
“Therefore, I would like today’s events to remain a secret.”
“…I will do as you command.”
Sylon bowed his head. Having vowed to serve only the Saintess, he would obey her absolutely.
And so, the book written in Hangul passed into the possession of Saintess Bianca Anturaze.
*
To my dear Benefactor.
I hope you have found this book.
I ask for your understanding that circumstances prevent me from assisting you as much as I would like.
Before my mind unravels, I hope you uncover the truth of this world.
After reading this book, seek out the Tower Master of the Hegel Magic Tower immediately.
She will surely become your ally.
— Sincerely.
*
“Senior Isaac, what are you looking at?”
As Isaac quietly watched the rain clouds through the window, White asked, nibbling on a mana pudding bar.
“Nothing much. I just noticed the rain stopped.”
“Ah, it must have been a passing shower.”
It was a trivial conversation.
The clouds were gradually clearing. I decided to say goodbye to White and Merlin and leave the hospital room.
“I’ll be going. Make sure to review what you learned today. I’ll test you as soon as you’re discharged tomorrow.”
“All of it…?”
“You can’t do it?”
“Oh, no! I can do it!”
As White forced a laugh and shouted confidently, I smirked and stepped out. Just as I pulled the door shut, I caught a glimpse of White’s eyes welling with tears, likely overwhelmed by the mountain of assignments I’d left her.
Ignoring her plight, I quickened my pace.
Upon leaving the academy hospital, a cluster of stars in the sky caught my eye. It was time to prepare for Chapter 8 of ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱.