Chapter 149
Chapter 149
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 149
Chapter Title: The Starting Point of the Wave
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Terrazia's interrogation had been a success.
Not only had she extracted stories about Ragnarok from Mayer, but also details on the God's Knights protecting them and the Rothschild family's lineage.
And on top of that, even the existence of the apostle 'Orddin', which my previous life's self could never have known.
This became the foundation of information for dealing with them going forward.
"So, you're saying my mother ultimately shared the same blood as them?"
Mayer nodded with a fearful expression.
"Yes."
"Then the reason that guy Orddin took my mother was to prevent God's blood from leaving Ragnarok. She's receiving punishment for secretly leaving and living outside Ragnarok. That's what you're saying, right?"
"That's right... How many times do I have to say it? That's all I know. And I only took her to Ragnarok, not the Tower, on Lord Orddin's orders."
I took the torch from the guard and held it close to his face.
"Are you sure? I thought she went to the Tower."
"I took her to Ragnarok."
"What I'm asking is about now, the present."
"If you're asking her current location, I don't know. But I haven't seen her in the Rothschild Castle since that day. She's either imprisoned somewhere I don't know or sent to a place impossible to find."
"Sent to a place impossible to find?"
"Yes, you wouldn't know, but Roys came to Ragnarok. He threatened to cut down the World Tree and collapse not just the Rothschilds but all of Ragnarok unless they handed her over."
This was news to me.
If this had happened, Sister Valentine would have known, but how could no one have told me a word of it? Bess was also moving on Father's orders back then.
I pondered his answer for a moment.
'Could there be some story behind Mother's disappearance that I don't know?'
And some hidden puzzle piece that they had to keep from me, something I hadn't uncovered yet.
'No.'
Sister Valentine and Bess, as I knew them, were not the types to do that.
In both my past and present lives, they were upright people who would bite their tongues and die rather than lie.
'Then.'
How likely was it that he was lying to me?
This seemed more probable, but he had no reason to deceive me about this.
If he were deliberately lying, it would make more sense to exaggerate about the Rothschild family we'd face or pretend ignorance.
"So what answer did Orddin give my father?"
"I don't know. But after he visited Ragnarok, I heard he holed up in the Tower. They say he doesn't come out unless it's truly important."
Then, whatever Orddin said, it seemed Mother's whereabouts—Verdandi's—were indeed the Tower. Father's soul had told me as much directly.
'Wait a minute.'
Then why hadn't Father's memories shown me that he met Orddin?
Not just that, but why hadn't they revealed it at all? It raised questions.
"Mayer, to be honest, parts of your answers are believable, and parts are hard to swallow."
"I suppose so. Since you didn't hear or see it yourself, your imagination must be running wild."
"That's why I plan to drag this interrogation out."
"...Huh?"
Terrazia cracked the whip.
Crack!
"W-Wait a second. I've answered everything you asked, so how can you say you don't believe me now? I did everything you told me to!"
I untied the cloth covering his eyes and whispered in response.
"So what? Did you think I'd let you go if you answered diligently?"
"......"
"You're dying here. How cooperative you are only affects the method and timing of your death. You'd best abandon any thoughts of leaving alive."
With that, I pressed the torch to his thigh.
Sizzle.
"Arrrgh!"
"The word 'forgiveness' doesn't exist in the Strange Family. So accept your death and think about how to go peacefully. I'll pause the interrogation until the next meal."
Mayer looked back and forth between Terrazia and me with a terror-stricken face. His eyes were already unfocused and glassy, staring into space as if his mind had snapped.
"If... if you spare me! If you spare me, I'll tell you the secret of the power the Rothschilds are hiding."
"Secret of power?"
"Y-Yes, the divine power I haven't mentioned yet... The power Orddin created for the Rothschilds! I'll tell you!"
What was this now?
"Didn't you ask how I got so strong this time?"
"Yes."
"I'll tell you the truth behind that power. Something amazing Lord Apostle Orddin created using the Tower's knowledge to devour this continent."
Asabragg de Rothschild returned from the Tower to the Rothschild Castle within Ragnarok.
His growth and return delivered a massive shock to his blood kin.
"So you're saying you trained there for a hundred years with Timeless's help?"
Dorothy asked while cleaning her gun barrel with a dry cloth. Asabragg trimmed his shaggy beard with scissors and replied.
"How many times do I have to say it? Yes, Sister."
"Honestly, it's hard to believe you made that choice. No matter how much God's blood we carry, wasting a hundred years like that could lead to death."
Asabragg frowned, displeased by her reaction.
"We're all heading to a higher place eventually anyway. A few years here don't matter."
"They do to me. There's something I must do before joining our ancestors."
"What is it?"
"Something you don't know. Anyway, Lord Orddin will be greatly disappointed you made that choice."
"Whatever. Father doesn't care about our affairs anyway, right?"
Dorothy tapped Asabragg's head with her gun barrel and replied.
"I told you not to call him Father. Call him Lord Orddin here."
"Sigh, come on, it's just us. Why bother? I don't get it."
"Don't ask for reasons. We just follow orders."
"...Bossing us around in this damn castle. So much to do."
Asabragg shrugged.
Then he sat on a slave's back, gazed out the window, and continued.
"By the way, I heard Glazer fell last night."
"Yes."
"So what happens to our plan? Wasn't the strategy to attack Strange Castle while they fought?"
Dorothy gave him an incredulous look at the absurd question and continued.
"No, we had to change plans because you were away at the Tower."
"You should've taken someone else if I wasn't there."
"We tried. But... with Strange's main force still in the south and no contact from Mayer, we couldn't move!"
"No contact from Mayer?"
"Yes, he seems captured by Strange. His location's unknown."
"Strange captured Mayer...? Since when?"
"Probably during the recent Glazer battle. Last contact was the eastern ruins."
With their ally Glazer Family collapsed and Mayer, their info gatherer, vanished, the Rothschilds couldn't act recklessly without assessing the situation.
'One mistake now, and the Rothschilds—with so many enemies—end here.'
It would be a blow they couldn't recover from.
'Damn it...'
The Rothschilds' blades aimed not just at Strange, but the emperor's throne, master of the continent. Believing themselves God's children, they sought to prove it by becoming the continent's pinnacle.
'Of course.'
To claim the throne, they needed commensurate power.
"Damn, that bastard Berddin is trouble to the end."
Asabragg clenched his fist.
"Can't be helped. He carries our divine blood, even if diluted."
"...Verdandi, that wench just had to plant the seed of evil in Strange—"
"Enough. Since things turned out this way, let's pull him to our side."
"Strange?"
"No, Berddin."
"He's got everything already. Why join us? He's probably dying to kill us."
A faint smile played on Dorothy's lips.
"I have a way."
"What is it?"
"...Hey, you said you can contact Strange, right?"
As she finished, one of the Five Generals, Albus, emerged behind Asabragg.
Clack, clack, clack.
"Yes, Lady Dorothy. I heard everything. Entrust it to me if needed. I can ally with him or kill him as you wish."
Rox told me the whereabouts of Matteo Rich and Joanna Arc. While I faced Glazer, his main mission was actually to lead the Five Evils to safety and gather them.
"Freddy and Bonnie arrived just in time to join. We barely escaped your mentioned generals."
"Good. Matteo Rich is strong, but if they came at full force, winning wouldn't be easy."
"True—that's why they're called generals. Anyway, after turning their eyes with my puppets, I brought everyone to the Tower. Don't worry too much."
Berddin smiled warmly, gazing at the distant Tower beyond the window.
"What did the guy in the Tower say?"
"He whined about why we keep asking him for favors."
"But he didn't refuse?"
"No, asking about you shows just showing my face will settle it."
"Got it. I'll go myself once this is sorted."
Rox started to say something but shook his head and slumped into a chair.
After much deliberation, he pulled a fist-sized stone from his pocket and asked Berddin.
"By the way, how long do I keep this from the place you mentioned? It's heavy to carry."
"Three days. Endure three days."
"Three days?"
"Yes."
Berddin lowered his gaze to Rox's stone. He picked it up lightly, held it to the sun.
"Soon, a 'real wave' no one expects will come. Then this one will."
He crushed it with force, cracking it.
Crunch.
"Become the starting point of the wave and awaken the god in the north."
"The god of the north?"
"...Yes, the god of the north."