Chapter 348

Chapter 348

Since Roan was here and Lucia was on the complete opposite side, there was naturally no way a black mage could be over there.

Yet Demona continued to tilt her head and spoke.

“Huh? Looking at the black robe she’s wearing and the energy she emits, it’s definitely dark mana.”

“What? You crazy heretic. How could a black mage dare be in the school… Hup!”

Hector, who had snorted and looked toward where Demona pointed, gasped.

“T-There really is one!”

“…”

Roan, just in case, turned to look at where they were watching.

Naturally, there was nothing there, and:

‘…I removed the bewilderment attribute as much as possible though…’

Roan had a rough guess as to what was going on.

Patically, despite having built up their resistance to curse magic so much normally, they had fallen even for this minimized bewilderment.

Just then, Hector opened his eyes wide and shouted.

“Th-That beautiful black mage with red eyes, red hair, a prominent nose, and distinct lips!”

‘This guy is strangely specific…’

Roan somehow suspected if there was some personal bias mixed into Hector’s description of her appearance.

In any case, Hector continued to shout.

“On top of that, doesn’t she even have the Sea-Splitter?!”

“What is that?”

“You heretic, to think you’re even this ignorant! Speaking of the Sea-Splitter, it’s something that was even inducted into the Sacred Combat League Hall of Fame in the 4300s…”

‘As expected, it’s strangely specific.’

“Forget it, I don’t even have time to talk to you!”

“Hphm, my thoughts exactly!”

Then, after growling and snorting at each other, the two spoke as if they had made a promise:

“Roan, I’ll go meet that black mage!”

“I-I shall also go confiscate the Sea-Splitter from that dangerous black mage!”

They were running off, their minds completely captivated by the bewilderment magic.

Roan let out a deep sigh.

“Those pathetic punks…”

It was a level of skill that made him ashamed to call them his friends anywhere.

Wooong—

The false divinity vibrated, dumbfounded.

[That’s not something the guy who cast the bewilderment magic should say, is it?]

‘That’s why I reduced the output to the maximum. And if I cancel it anyway, they’ll return to normal.’

[That is true.]

The false divinity decided not to care too much either.

The Sapling of Vain Illusion makes the targets wander around in circles within the area of the magic’s influence anyway.

Even if they ran off, they would snap out of it nearby, so there was no problem.

Meanwhile, Lucia watched the scene.

“Cough! Is it… confusion holy magic?”

Lucia was also beginning to grasp the general meaning of the tree Roan had created.

First of all, it seemed certain that it had a mental effect.

She had even figured out that the reason Demona and Hector had run off making strange noises was due to that.

However, because Roan had significantly reduced the output of the bewilderment, Lucia wasn’t affected to that extent.

Furthermore, setting that aside, Lucia was surprised by something else.

‘Even though it’s holy magic, my body doesn’t hurt…’

When her body was already collapsing due to dark mana, holy magic was far more fatal to her than to other black mages.

Yet for some reason, the holy magic Roan cast did not feel unpleasant or painful, but rather felt cozy and warm.

…Naturally, it was because it was the same dark mana.

In fact, because it was the dark mana of the void, it canceled out the dark mana boiling around Lucia, making her body comfortable for a brief moment.

Having no way of knowing this, Lucia believed it was because it was a holy spell linked to the origin of Hiloa in the Age of Creation, which she had thought of earlier.

But without realizing it, Lucia was also being affected ever so slightly by the Sapling of Vain Illusion.

Pivot—

Roan deliberately walked to the opposite side of the tree, repositioning himself where Lucia could exquisitely see his face.

Lucia also watched him:

Rustle──

“──Cough!”

Lucia felt Roan’s face, which she had seen enough to grow sick of over the past two days, looked different anew.

‘Is it because of the golden dust? Or was it originally…?’

The night when the light of the moon and stars did not fall.

Roan’s face illuminated solely by the light emanating from the tree that grew holily in gold.

That face, usually gloomy and dangerous, was at this very moment:

Looking like that of a prince in a fairy tale appearing in many girls’ imaginations.

Lucia had also lived keeping at least one such image unconsciously in her heart, no matter how unwell she was or how harsh the situation.

…Naturally, it was because she was unconsciously affected by the bewilderment magic.

If the false divinity had heard her thoughts, it would have commented, [She’s a fellow with a far worse blind spot of love than that girl Soldera.]

Of course, it was true that Roan’s face appeared slightly brighter due to the golden light, but

Even so, it was a stretch to completely change Roan’s overall impression.

To make a rough comparison, he looked like a murderer who liked gold.

In any case, Roan’s image had taken a giant step closer to Lucia’s heart.

In the midst of that, Roan opened his lips with a deeply melancholic gaze—naturally, he was acting.

“Oh, the humility of a tree that blooms from the deepest underground and grows toward the heavens.”

“…?”

Lucia, not knowing what he was suddenly trying to say, focused on every single syllable.

She had never listened to even a critical witness statement with this level of immersion.

“Yet, a harmonious and powerful tree, hurting no one while leaving only its own presence in that place.”

Roan enunciated clearly and emotionally, ensuring that Lucia could concentrate fully on the lines he had prepared in advance.

Wooong—

[Why don’t you try joining a theater troupe later?]

‘Because I don’t want to get arrested as a black mage who infiltrated while disguised as a popular actor.’

[A popular actor, of all things, in the middle of that…]

“Just like a tree that grows again even from earth scorched by fire, may my Darc family, and even the Empire, grow harmoniously like this.”

Roan concluded his grand speech centered on tolerance and solidarity.

And the crowning touch of his performance.

Drip—!

Although he felt a truly instinctive aversion, a single drop of tear squeezed out by dragging up memories of Earth!

With this, though he hadn’t even uttered the letter ‘B’ of black magic, the clever Lucia would be able to understand:

Exactly what kind of world Roan wished for.

‘If I had possessed a priest character, I could have gone around catching black mages with peace of mind…’

Of course, there were reasons for it.

But as a result, Roan’s official spectator-less speech produced a profound effect.

Trickle—

Tears flowed endlessly from Lucia’s eyes hidden behind the mask.

Roan Darc.

She was finally able to catch a glimpse of that mysterious figure’s inner self.

Furthermore, Lucia also had a vague idea of why Roan had refused to tell her how to cure her body.

‘It must mean… it is currently impossible due to the circumstances.’

Because she had suffered her whole life from her cursed body, she had briefly been swept up by emotions.

How could the last descendant of the Darc family, destroyed by black mages, readily tell her?

Instead, Roan had shown the maximum goodwill he could display by taking her to Hiti without saying a word.

Telling her to start with light things first.

And one day, when the time was right.

Perhaps he intended to share the cure as a foundation at the point when he could discuss the integration of the Empire and the black mages.

Shudder—

‘How, how could his thoughts be this deep!’

Lucia admired Roan’s unfathomable depth, and was thankful that her trailing over the past two days had not been in vain.

It was certain that this moment, at the very least, would be a scene remembered forever in Lucia’s life.

She resolved at this moment.

‘Roan Darc, I shall follow the path you walk!’

Lucia was not so thick-skinned as to just pluck the fruits without making any contribution.

From now on, she would become Roan’s shadow in both mind and body, helping his steps.

Roan might like it if he only heard up to here, but

‘The wicked black mages who hinder the integration… I shall clear them all out with my own hands. Yes… starting with the black mages hiding all over the Empire like rats…’

…It was unknown what he would think if he heard such thoughts.

Because Roan himself was a ‘black mage hiding all over the Empire like a rat.’

Lucia, who had interpreted the path to integration according to her own values!

Just then, someone caught Lucia’s senses.

— It seems some amazing holy magic was cast around here.

— Tell me about it. Who would cast holy magic halfway up the mountain in the dead of night?

— Probably one of the professors!

— No, wouldn’t it be more reasonable to assume it was assistants who came on the professors’ orders?

— …Perhaps.

It was a squad of paladins approaching from nearby, having faintly sensed Roan’s presence.

Rustle—

The stealth magic of Lucia, who had strengthened her resolve and will, hid her presence even more faintly.

And in the midst of that, Lucia began to move secretly.

Although she didn’t realize it, her skill had risen by one level in that short time.

‘Phew, now I can really be relieved.’

Roan was carefully observing Lucia’s state.

The wavelengths and energy emanating from her, and even the emotional state that could be inferred from them.

Any lingering doubt he had harbored until now had completely vanished.

Since human prejudice was a terrifying thing, planting a deliberate image with the help of bewilderment magic seemed to be a good choice.

From now on, she wouldn’t think anything of it, even if it wasn’t void magic.

‘After all, it would be strange to look at magic cast in the Holy Academy using false divinity and suspect him of being a black mage.’

In any case, as of right now, Lucia seemed to have given up tailing him.

Because he had cast magic flamboyantly, he seemed to have attracted the attention of a few paladins, so Roan was planning to wrap things up and leave.

…He was planning to do so, but:

Swoosh— swoosh—

“…?”

Lucia’s movements, which were even more stealthy than usual, were highly suspicious.

She suddenly headed toward the paladins coming this way, and then proceeded to subdue them!

Roan became extremely awkward upon discovering that fact.

‘…Don’t tell me that girl suddenly decided to rebel against the Empire?’

He hadn’t wanted her to become an ally to that extent…

Of course, it wasn’t what Roan was worried about.

Swish—

— Uh? Aren’t you Professor Beleck’s daughter?

— Ah, did you say you were Lady Lucia?

“I’m sorry, but you cannot interfere.”

— Yes?

Gently—

Lucia, worried that Roan might face disadvantages by sneaking out of the dormitory at night, had preemptively begun putting the paladins to sleep.

No matter how high and mighty Acherandir’s paladins were, they were bound to fall helplessly before Lucia’s black magic.

Roan, who deduced that fact not long after, was shocked.

‘Crazy girl!’

No matter how fearless she was, did it make sense for a black mage to put paladins to sleep like that?

‘Maybe she thinks that even if she gets caught later, she can just excuse herself by saying she did it to protect me.’

If so, people would naturally guess, ‘To protect Darc? Don’t tell me he’s a fellow black mage?’

‘Anyway, whether priests or black mages, not a single one is helpful to me!’

Roan wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible.