Sword, Magic and Academic Society-Chapter 302Vol. 1 - - Holy Land Lunazert (6)

When the Captain Aerial rushed out of the Temple Chief's room as if possessed, more so due to torrents of one bad news after another, Tomora burst out in laughter, as if he had been holding in it for a while.

"'—How have you not caught the thief who murdered Bishop Mulan!' Pfft! Hahahaha!. ...How could they have caught the culprit outside, when we're right in front of him."

Temple Chief Pirka hastily darted his gaze around, and then glared at Tomora.

"......Can you please not utter anything not meant for ears to listen? You never know which thief might be listening through walls. You have been with me since last evening, remember? ...What happened to Mulan was God's will. He had spent his time sniffing around, proclaiming to expose the wrongdoings happening inside the Holy Land. And then, he saw something he shouldn't have. It was mere heavenly punishment for it."

"Hyahaha! The god's will, you say? I have to say, that's really infeasible words. But that aside, the paladins seemed kind of washed off from what I hear, eh? A mere child was leading them by their nose, allowing him to raze the place. ......I had warned you. There's something wrong with his mind."

Just as Tomora was attempting to rile Pirka, Red, his neighbour, jabbed him lightly in the ribs with an elbow.

"Cut it out. ......I really feel sorry for the paladins. They're facing an opponent they've no clue of or whatsoever. Rumours are that he's already one of the best users of detection magic even among that scary Yuglia's Knight Order. They say that at the Rising Dragon Cup, he also toyed around with jewels of each participating nation, someone who are touted as the pillar of their future, while roaring in laughter. How can you chase someone like that blindly, unless you know whom you're against? It's no surprise he eludes the grasp of paladins."

Pirka slammed his fist down on the table in irritation.

“What choice do we have?! How would we explain why we knew the intruder's identity?! There are fools like that damned earnest Aerial among us! If the full truth were to come to light—even by accident—it wouldn’t just be the Holy Ground that suffers. The Neo-Starlight Church itself would be torn apart by criticism beyond imagining! Just why did Carnal-sam choose to walk that bridge, I can't put my head around......"

With that, Pirka buried his face in his hands, his agitation plain.

“……Have I done something to displease you, Pirka?”

A sudden voice from the depth of the room teared through the silence. An expression of startledness covered everyone's expression as they stared toward the door leading to the inner room.

All three men stiffened and turned pale as they stared toward the door leading to the inner chamber.

The owner of the voice, Cornal, wearing a pale face like any other time, entered the room through the door.

"C-Cornal-sama... w, why would you come from hidden—"

"Do you have a complaint against me, eh, Pirka?"

Cornal steadily approached Pirka and inquired, his face devoid of any emotions. Pirka swallowed his saliva nervously, and shook his head in panic.

"Complaints... surely you jest, Cornal-sam. I was just... I merely wished to say that it would be unbearable if harm were to befall Cornal-sama over the ambitions of someone as insignificant as Archbishop Dolittle. That is all.”

Cornal nodded slowly, then gently stroked Pirka’s face, as though wiping blood from his own hand.

“So you mean to say that this senile old man has been sweet-talked by the likes of Doolittle into courting unnecessary danger… is that it?”

Pirka shivered at the chilling tone. He had immediately turned to explain himself when Red inserted himself.

"...Cornal-sama sees a much vaster world than the likes of us. One where he fulfills the duty of those chosen by the gods to preserve order itself. From Cornal-sama’s perspective, Archbishop Dolittle and even the Saintess are nothing more than incidental details—mere twigs and leaves.”

Cornal turned a cold, merciless gaze toward Red on the sofa, as though only now noticing his presence.

"......Oh? I didn't know some pitiful shadows, abandoned by their owner, knew how to read my heart, eh?"

Red felt sweat drenching his back, but he somehow will'd himself and stood up. He couldn't afford to kick away the straw that was the only ticket to their survival, even if it meant walking a path of ice-thin rope.

"...Yes, I was discarded. But in exchange for the work I accomplished, my former master was able to take his seat at that Round Table once more. That much is fact.”

As Red said this, Cornal tilted his head slightly.

“…And what are you trying to say?”

With the question thrown bluntly at him, Red replied back with a voice full of conviction.

“I want a chance. I’ve faced him time and again—and each time I was forced to drink bitter defeat. That’s precisely why I understand how he thinks… and where his weaknesses lie. I will make him, Allen Rovenne, kneel before you. Should I succeed, you will be much bigger than just any financier behind the scenes; you will be a leader who guides history onto its rightful path.

…Neither the Yuglia Kingdom nor the Starlight Theocracy will matter anymore. Surely, this should be a stature befitting of your esteemed self, someone once seen as the heir to the House of Hydrangea, right?"

For the first time, Cornal’s eyebrow twitched—just slightly—betraying a flicker of emotion.

“…Be specific. What do you propose?”

There was still a chance. Red was assured.

“…He doesn't fear even if his enemy stands in his way. He always managed to break through. And the harsher the adversity, the more efficient he becomes. He was indeed the living example of Dosperior's bloodline. But that strength is also recklessness. A refusal to rely on anyone but himself. Even now, he’s infiltrated this Holy Ground alone and is running rampant. That unbelievable drive is both the source of his power, and his fatal flaw. You can’t capture him by confronting him head-on. Instead, let him willingly reach you to trap him.”

Cornal continued to stare at Red with eyes utterly devoid of emotion, no longer showing a shadow of emotion. After a moment, he turned away.

“…...Action speaks louder. You may use the tower if required. I will see no one interfere you there."

He said this without looking back, and then disappeared into the inner room.

◆◆◆

"Damnit, that idiot... he really has gone around and kicked the hornest's nest......"

Seized in a cross of bewilderment and impatience, Lynad glared at the landscape of Holy Land with complicated expression.

“That bastard… he really went and kicked the hornet’s nest…”

The fire was breaking out everywhere. The bellows that followed, mingled among the screams. The whole place was abuzz like a beehive, truly.

Unsurprisingly, the entrances were now guarded firmly. The number of paladins patrolling around were more than ever, their faces riddled with unprecedented nervousness.

"......What are you doing?"

Coco inquired as he grabbed Lynd's back, the later getting to his feet with a grim resolve.

"...It's complete chaos. It's clearly a vain hope to wait for priests to leave their quarters and sneak in then. I am going to force my way in, over the earthen wall."

"T-this is an insanity. You will be spotted soon, and arrested unquestionably. We have already reached out contacts through Rosario's police, so just wait for the reinforcement, please."

Lynd kept Coco's concern in the backseat.

"You can't be expecting me to sit here, hand-in-hand, when there's a whole ruckus going on! And even for knights, no, it's because they're foremost the members of the Knight Order that they wouldn't barge in without proof! Who knows what they might do the 'proof', Rina, in the meantime we wait for the legal help, eh? We're already here, and I am not going to delay it further. I am going to jump before anything untoward happens!"

"Yeah, I get it, but... that's suicide. The last thing Allen or Rina would want to see is you taking that risk."

Coco's expression distorted in anguish as he attempted to change his mind, but Lynd let out a small laugh and shook his head again.

"You're not wrong. I might end up kicking the bucket, but. Lynd of Apple may be many things, but he's not a douchebag to cherish his life over his kids. ...You leave here and hide yourself somewhere far, Coco. If the knights do come for aid, then it will be your duty to inform them of the entire situation."

Before Coco could stop him, Lynd roughly shook off the hand gripping his back and broke into a run—vaulting over the earthen wall. Unsurprisingly, bellows erupted from beyond the earthen walls.

"Hey, who the hell is he?! We've got an intruder! Call for backup!"

"Get aside, you bastards! I will kill you all! Rina, where are you? I have come to rescue!"

Listening to the ruckus, Coco bit his lips and quietly slipped way.

"......I will...... I am going to do what I can."

◆

Walking straight through a hidden passage I’d discovered inside the Temple of Prayer, I spat out blood-tinged saliva.

I had thought my resolve was enough when I began my search. However, I had yet to find even a single trace of them, instead all I found was the vestige of their rotten corruption. A lot of them, in fact.

The wind magic was like the magical detector to find out any hidden passage or concealed rooms due to airflow. Unnatural mechanisms for opening and closing doors stood out as well.

Even a simple barricade could be blown aside from outside, and even if I couldn’t unlock a door, I could usually tell what was inside or whether someone was there at all.

Yet even after combing the place exhaustively with wind magic, the two of them were nowhere to be found.

That left only the central tower. But its main doors were heavily locked, and there were no other entrances to be seen.

I distinctly remembered the paladin guarding the entrance mentioning that Dolittle—who was supposedly holed up in that tower—would attend the morning prayers.

That was how I ended up discovering yet another hidden passage, by thoroughly searching this place they called Temple of Prayer.

As I walked, I applied salve to my wounds, then wrapped a handkerchief around my right thigh as a makeshift bandage where I’d taken a spear thrust.

I had only gone about halfway down the passage when the hidden door behind me—the one I had opened earlier—slammed shut with an audible clang.

I had walked down the half of passage when I heard the noise of the hidden door behind me, the one I came through here, slammed shut.

“Hmph… figures. A trap after all.”

I cracked my neck.

I was battered and worn down, but perhaps because of the mana-dense environment, my forte—being able to compress mana and replenish my capacity instantly—was working at an absurdly higher efficiency than usual. Physically, I felt I could run for a marathon at full speed without breaking sweat.

I felt no fear, perhaps due to adrenaline coursing through my body after having the brush with paladins in a place where capture meant certain death. Well, or it could be the peculiar air of the Holy Land itself.

Regardless, my resolve was set. As long as they're ahead, I would rescue them no matter what, trap or not.

I steadily walked down the passage leading to the central tower.

And soon—I learned their location from the wind. With each step up the inner staircase, my pace increased.

It was the grand hall on the 3rd floor where I found Jeu. She was bound to chains, and entire body marred in blood. And along with her was a pig wearing a nauseating smirk.

"Jeu......"

As I called her, she moved like a kid waking up from his nap, and raised an innocuous smile.

"I knew...... you would come. I knew."

"...Yeah. I kept you waiting, Jeu."

And just as I had walked into the middle of the room, someone's shrill laughter echoed from behind me.

"Hya-hya-hya! Hyahahaha! You're beyond saving! There's truly no salvation for your dumb penchant for heroism. ...I truly cannot understand you!”

I slowly turned to see a certain bug, Tomora, shaking his head as he laughed like a madman.

“…Drop your weapons, Mad Hound.”

Red appeared next, pressing a shortsword against Rina’s throat and delivering the most unimaginative threat imaginable.

“…Both of you. Just wait a second.”

I did exactly as Red demanded, discarding my bow and dagger.

“I’ll save you soon.”

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