Chapter 207
Chapter 207
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 207
Chapter Title: The High Priest
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Satisfied with the silence, Loan organized the information he had before asking his questions.
The [Mask of Truth] typically had limits on the number of questions and the time available, depending on the subject's mana and the difficulty of the answers. This meant not a single word could be wasted.
First and foremost, Loan's purpose for coming here was to find out why Le Tell wanted the 'hills.' He suspected it was related to the dark mana stones used to build Pelsina's Tower.
As it turned out, circumstantial evidence confirmed that Bella's words had been mostly true.
Thanks to that, he was also able to identify the 'company' that had supplied the dark mana stones.
However, finding a way to prove it at the four-party conference would not be easy.
Even if he were to collect the dark mana stones, he couldn't immediately prove their connection to Pelsina's Tower, and explaining the problems with the stones themselves would surely be a significant challenge.
'There would also be the side effect of sharing unnecessary information.'
It would be difficult unless the members of the four-party conference visited this place to see it for themselves, or if the dwarves testified directly.
Loan glanced at the dwarves, who, after collapsing, had gotten right back up, picked up their pickaxes, and returned to their spots.
He then gathered his thoughts again.
'If the Albre family doesn't concede ownership of the hills, I can buy some time.'
The important thing wasn't sanctioning Le Tell.
The questions couldn't stop at simply reconfirming 'Amy's memories.'
He had to get one step closer to their next plan, or the identity of the true mastermind.
A name he had yet to confide in anyone.
King Simon.
The key lay there.
“What did King Simon order Virna to do?”
He asked a question that would confirm the relationship between the two.
Since the words 'Virna' and 'priest' had already come from the demon's mouth, a rational answer could confirm the collusive relationship between the demon, Le Tell, and King Simon all at once.
However.
The moment Loan's question was asked, the lion's head, worn by Aul, began to tremble violently back and forth.
He realized his mistake.
Aul had stored up so much mana that its sagging flesh had looked much longer and thicker than usual, so he had thought it would be fine.
'Damn... Did I ask too strong a question right from the start?'
As the creature's head shook, Aul's body rapidly shrank.
Fortunately, however, it wasn't under a spell of silence.
Once Aul's sagging flesh stopped shriveling, the creature's mouth finally, slowly, opened.
“...Tower... magic circle... mana drain... annihilation....”
“...”
While it could be said that his suspicions were now confirmed, actually hearing the answer was incredibly shocking.
Keeping an eye on Aul's length, Loan continued with his next question.
“Is Virna part of the Grafton royal family?”
“...Child... of the farm....”
Loan tilted his head at the lion's answer.
Looking at the sagging Aul, he still had room for more questions.
He needed to press on.
“Le Tell's farm? Are you talking about its manager?”
“Survivor....”
It meant she had survived the human tree. That her mana hadn't been drained.
'Just like me.'
Were such people called by the special name 'child of the farm'?
Suddenly, he recalled Blake's offer. The one he'd made while pulling the sword from Pauline's chest, asking if Loan would follow him.
Loan had refused without a second thought, but he couldn't apply his own circumstances to Virna's.
In any case, it seemed certain that after surviving the farm, Virna had formed some kind of relationship with King Simon. Whether direct or indirect.
And it went without saying that she was connected to Le Tell.
'So that's why I got a human-tree-like feeling from Pelsina's Tower.'
Considering Virna's objectives of mana drain and annihilation, his suspicions became even more certain.
Pelsina's Towers were no different from creating a human tree across the entire city.
And King Simon, who had ordered this, must have been well aware of Le Tell's farm and the human trees.
He once again felt the terror of 'information.'
He felt at a loss, unsure how, where to start, or with whom to unravel what he had just learned.
“Hmm....”
Aul's sagging flesh was still fine. The previous question about Virna must have been a relatively easy one.
Loan wanted to confirm the one thing he was most curious about.
Of course, this too would be a taxing question, but even if he only confirmed this one thing, it would be a significant achievement.
So he asked.
“Is King Simon a demon? Or is he possessed by one?”
Instantly, the lion's head began to shake violently once more.
And Aul's flesh shrank in the blink of an eye.
It must have consumed a considerable number of magical beasts on the way here, so its belly should have been full of mana clumps. Was it still too much to handle?
Loan had never seen Aul consume so much mana before; even he was taken aback.
Having completely reverted to its original form, Aul began to pant heavily atop the lion's head, its body puffing up and deflating.
If Aul had held on just a little longer, the lion might have died first.
Though he didn't know if that would have led to the death of the horse's body as well.
Using Convection to pull Aul onto his palm, Loan stroked its head apologetically.
“Aul....”
Seeing it shake its head with its now gaunt cheeks, it seemed Aul had used up some of its own core mana trying to extract the answer before breaking free from the [Mask of Truth].
Loan gave Aul an apologetic look and, in his haste, immediately lopped off the lion's head.
The mass rolled across the floor.
At the same time, the demon's body, impaled on the stalagmite, thrashed violently. Loan used [Property Transformation] on the creature's wound to stop the bleeding and then spoke to Aul.
“Aul, hurry and eat that.”
With a weak flutter of its wings, Aul approached the lion's head and, very slowly, opened its mouth to match the massive head.
It finally managed to swallow the head in one bite and remained still for a while.
Perhaps due to the lack of mana, digestion took longer than usual, and it still hadn't returned to its original state.
Its crown-shaped head feathers drooped limply, looking quite pitiful.
Loan had no choice but to send a blade of Convection to slice off the horse's head as well.
He wanted to get a little more information, but there would be other chances.
Aul's recovery was more important than anything else.
“Go on, eat.”
Aul opened its beak wide once more toward the giant horse head.
After another long period of digestion, it finally regained its mana and energy.
It was a huge relief.
Loan stroked Aul's head feathers, which had perked back up, and asked.
“Are you okay now?”
“Aul!”
“I'm sorry. I was in a hurry and must have asked too difficult a question.”
“Aul!”
Watching Aul rub its face against his hand as if to say it was fine, Loan resolved to be more careful.
He decided he would avoid using Aul to confirm information directly related to King Simon's secrets whenever possible.
Ssssss…
After a moment, the demon's body, which had been bound by Convection, turned into mana and vanished completely.
Loan dispelled the [Sphere of the Void] and approached the dwarves.
But then.
The dwarves, who had paid no mind when the demon thrashed about and knocked them down, nor when their comrade turned to stone and died, and had only focused silently on their mining—suddenly stopped their powerful swings.
Loan also stopped in his tracks.
He had realized that the dwarves hadn't stopped working because of him.
In that instant, a strange resistance was added to the massive Convection that Loan was coordinating throughout the tunnel.
It felt as if the flow of mana that should have been swirling around him was being obstructed by something.
It was due to a force from the direction of the tunnel he had come through, a force trying to draw in the dark mana.
To get a clearer grasp of this force's identity, Loan slowly turned around.
Simultaneously.
Giiiiing…
His four circles, which had been guiding the flow steadily, began to spin fiercely, as if refusing to tolerate this unjust intervention.
After making his intentions clear, Loan completely regained control of the Convection.
Just in case, he sent Aul inside and waited for the approaching opponent, whose footsteps echoed.
The dwarves did the same.
They all stood in the exact same posture, staring in the same direction as Loan with vacant, unfocused eyes.
Behind their polite posture, as if awaiting their master, a figure appeared.
“Hmm?”
It was an old man who possessed a considerable amount of mana.
He wore dark crimson priestly robes that revealed his identity as clearly as the Union's uniforms did.
This must be the priest the demon had spoken of.
And it was certainly he who was directly influencing the dwarves' actions.
Stopping at a distance, he spoke to Loan.
“What a surprising encounter. The absence of Sabnack suggests he has likely been annihilated... In that case, your identity must be just as I suspected.”
Loan stared silently at the man's wrinkled face.
The feeling of surprise revealed in his expression felt a little strange.
A sense of welcome.
That's what he felt.
“You know me?”
A low, dry voice escaped his lips.
At the question, the dark priest smiled faintly.
“A Union Runner with a chest full of badges. A half-elf of unprecedentedly handsome features. A mage who approached the 4th Class before the age of twenty. These are superficial things that anyone with an interest in the world's affairs would know.”
It wasn't the answer he was looking for.
Loan didn't respond, his sea-deep eyes merely gleaming.
The dark priest nodded as if he had read Loan's intent.
“Yes. But I knew of you long before that. I believe I first heard of you from Blake. It's rare for that man to speak of someone with such a bright expression, so I remembered it well. It seemed he cared for you a great deal.”
Watching the man occasionally gaze into empty space as if reminiscing, Loan's heart pounded in his chest.
He took a deep breath without realizing it and slowly opened his mouth.
“So it's you. The high priest who created the human trees.”
His voice trembled faintly, unlike his usual self.
He thought he had suppressed his emotions, but it wasn't working.
To Loan's words, a reply came in a feigned, admonishing tone.
“How informal. I heard you were a polite and gentle child.”
“Did you create the human tree in the annex of the Donton shelter?”
“Let me say it again, clearly. The years I have lived are beyond comparison to yours. How can you be so ill-mannered?”
“It wasn't just there, was it? In countless places. You must have trampled upon the lives of innocent people in the most brutal ways.”
“You, you, you... Child. It seems you have chosen the wrong path and received the wrong education. But it is not too late. Today, I will teach you some manners.”
With those words, they fell silent.
Their conversation had run on parallel tracks, but they had both accumulated more than enough reason to fight.
“Hmph....”
The dark priest let out a small huff and slowly unwrapped the hands he had kept hidden in his sleeves, letting them hang down to his sides.
It was as if this were his preparatory stance. He projected immense confidence with a very calm and ordinary appearance.
Loan frowned as he observed the dozens of threads of malice extending from the man.
Given his opponent's age and demeanor, he should have been a formidable foe, yet the threads were few in number and their thickness was pathetic.
'Is he really strong?'
If anything, the demon called Sabnack seemed more impressive than this dark priest.
Loan studied his opponent with intense doubt—
and by the time he still couldn't pinpoint the source of the man's confidence,
he had managed to completely rein in the intense rage and killing intent he felt toward him.
Thanks to that, he was once again fully prepared.