Chapter 18 – Distraction

Object Recall.

A spell that restores an object to its past appearance that it remembers.

If it was from too long ago, it would consume a lot of mana to implement.

But restoring it to the memory of a few days ago was not that difficult.

Luna restored the messy scene of the incident to its former state, fully reproducing the process from the moment the culprit barged in to the scattering of surrounding objects.

“Looking at things like this, magic is truly fascinating. Convenient, too.”

At Akard’s words, Luna blushed.

“It’s, it’s not that big of a deal! Any mage of my level can easily do that much.”

To Akard, magic was entirely combative.

Therefore, he was very unfamiliar with useful or diverse spells that fell outside of combat like this.

Since he was a knight of the Holy Order, it was unavoidable.

On the other hand, Rashid, who was at the same spot, put his hand on his chest and felt the vibrating notebook.

‘Stay quiet. You shouldn’t move.’

Akard looked at the place where the culprit had first barged in within the reconstructed scene.

It was the window.

The culprit had barged in through the window, and soon after, the table and bed shook.

Afterwards, the door opened, and it became a mess.

“Even without the main characters, a rough picture can be drawn. Of what happened here.”

Rashid cut in at Akard’s words.

“It seems this is all we can find out.”

“We won’t be able to specify the culprit with this.”

“Indeed. But we got a few things. That the bastard is a devout believer, and that he might be a knight.”

“Surely you don’t think that is us?”

Rashid slowly shook his head.

“It wouldn’t be a vampire knight. To handle magic armor skillfully, their magical knowledge would usually have to be more than what is contained in this book. But if they stopped at exactly this level.”

Rashid brought up the content of the book he had received back from Luna earlier.

“Then Rosenkreuz can never be the culprit.”

“Hearing that brings relief, but on the other hand, it makes me feel uncomfortable.”

Rashid smiled lightly.

“As someone said, I am speaking of reality.”

“Hmph.”

Akard did not make excuses either.

“Right. Just as you said. Our knighthood’s magical foundation exceeds that book. We are on the freer side regarding seals, and considering efficiency and power, we cannot remain at that book’s level. However, that does not mean we are not devout believers. We are a knighthood that is always loyal to the Holy Order.”

“Let’s finish the work here with this. I don’t think there’s any reason to return.”

Akard expressed his gratitude to Luna.

“You must be busy with your own work, so thank you very much for helping us like this. I would like to offer a small token of appreciation.”

“A token of appreciation?”

I already received more than enough with your smile.

The desire to grin lasted only a moment.

Luna waved her hands.

“N-No! I am just so happy to have been of help.”

“Although we are quite authoritative. We always repay our debts and grudges. Debts as they are. Grudges twofold.”

Akard pulled a bloodstone from the pouch in his chest and handed it to her.

“Consider it a small return.”

“A mana stone? Isn’t this too generous of a return? I just came along and said a few words.”

Rashid cut in.

“You can just help us again next time.”

For her, to whom magic was a daily routine, the work here might be a light matter.

But it was not so for the two men.

Even for the sake of the next time, the return seemed very appropriate.

With that, all investigation ended.

Akard spoke to Rashid, who came out of the house.

“What do we do now? There were no clues to chase after the next step. Do we just wait?”

Rashid was not impatient.

Because the culprit would keep moving.

“Let’s wait first. If they didn’t kill her and only kidnapped her, there must be a purpose. Then they will contact us or threaten us. Whatever it is, we can just move accordingly.”

“Are you saying we should just wait?”

To him, who was displeased,

Rashid continued to speak while thinking of a few figures that came to mind.

“You can think of the work here as a prelude. There is no need to exhaust ourselves from the beginning. Ah, and wait a moment. There is one last thing I want to ask that child.”

Rashid went over to Luna, who was glancing at them nearby.

“There is one thing I want to ask.”

“Yes? What you want to ask?”

Akard followed behind Rashid, and Luna kept minding him.

Rashid, paying no attention to this, asked.

“There is something called the Arcane Flower.”

Rashid explained about a certain mana bomb that might be another threat.

After listening to the explanation, Luna wore a surprised expression.

“Ah, that! I remember my professor consulting on that. I don’t know which organization it was, but they consulted my professor regarding the manufacture of a mana bomb. It must be that one.”

It was a relief.

She was Professor Kane’s top student.

Since Professor Kane himself acted as the brain for the villains, her information would be quite useful.

“Is that so? Then do you know what kind of bomb it is?”

“T-That… I don’t know in detail. The professor helped directly, so I only looked at minor things. Still, I remember the core principle. Mana rampage is the core principle, and once the reaction starts, no one can stop it. You just have to run away.”

Luna asked.

“But what are you curious about? I don’t know much either.”

“I have no interest in the principle. What I am curious about is just a way to detect it in advance or stop it before it explodes. That is the most important.”

“About that…”

Although it was a somewhat old matter,

because it was shocking content, Luna tried to recall the work of that time.

“Wait a moment. Did I have a note left behind?”

She tapped the air and soon began to search for something.

“This is a notepad that only I know about. Wait a moment.”

Having rummaged through it for a long time like that,

she was able to find a few messages she had written down before going to bed that day.

“Ah, now I remember. These are things I scribbled down before falling asleep that day.”

Rashid waited calmly, and having organized it in her mind, she continued.

“It can’t be stopped, but instead, it can be noticed. Even if the reaction starts, it takes some time to explode. Since it’s a mana rampage, there will probably be unusual signs from the start. Anyone who can feel mana should be able to feel it. The problem is that people don’t know what it is. They just stand blankly and get hit.”

Akard cut in.

“There are unusual signs before the explosion?”

“Yes, that’s the opportunity. It won’t explode right from the start, so if you run away then, you will sufficiently be able to escape. Since it’s a bomb that extremely concentrated its power in a localized area, if you keep enough distance, you will probably be safe.”

“Meaning it cannot be stopped?”

“Stopping it… is practically impossible. If the rampage has already started, there is no way other than suppressing it with a strong force from the outside. But no foolish mage would do that. It would be like wrapping shields around oneself and hugging an exploding bomb.”

“I see.”

Rashid asked one last question.

“How long does it take from the start of the reaction to the explosion? The minimum time.”

“At least ten minutes? It was the early stage of development, and if it was improved further, the time might have decreased. But in the first place, since it is a bomb that grows stronger the longer it reacts, they won’t make it explode immediately. It gets stronger the more it is aged.”

“At least ten minutes…”

Rashid, who roughly knew about the Arcane Flower, also agreed.

Asking her was merely for confirmation.

‘It didn’t explode immediately. It was at least dozens of minutes, or at least ten minutes later.’

* * *

A dark night.

A person dressed in red sacred robes was attending to his work in the heart of the Papal Court.

Knock, knock.

The sound of knocking was heard, and he raised his head to look toward the door.

Who would it be at this late hour of the night?

Upon checking, it was a familiar voice.

“Come in.”

As a familiar person entered, he lowered his gaze.

“What brings you here at this hour?”

“I came because there is work.”

“Work? What work?”

“It is work related to the Saintess candidate.”

“Didn’t you agree to handle that on your own?”

He put down his pen and showed a displeased face.

In front of him stood someone enveloped in the darkness of the room.

“My job is not to help you directly. My job is to drive the vampires into a corner in the storm you caused.”

He was the Director of Foreign Affairs of the Papal Court and the most famous anti-vampire figure within the Holy Order.

“If I step forward directly, problems will arise. Knowing that well, did you come here to ask for help? I am the most core figure of the anti-vampire faction. For someone like me to step forward. How is that different from advertising that I am the culprit?”

He rose from his seat and stood in front of the window.

Then, looking at the quiet outside scenery of the Papal Court, he continued.

“Actually, this position is also very uncomfortable. In any case, aren’t you the culprit who kidnapped and even murdered the candidate? I won’t make an issue of it as long as this matter is resolved well. But if the fact that you are the culprit by any chance…”

A cold dagger was drawn across his neck.

“W-What is the meaning of this?”

Startled, he tried to resist, but the dagger already touching the tip of his chin forbade it.

“Your Excellency. Defiled holy blood must only be purified with blood. Your Excellency’s blood cannot be an exception to this.”

“You bastard!”

“I will not send Your Excellency away alone. The Holy Order will be stained with blood for the time being.”

* * *

Knock, knock, knock!

Knock, knock, knock!

The sound of knocking was loud from the crack of dawn.

“Monk! Monk!”

It was a sweet sleep.

Rashid, who regained consciousness, asked.

“What is going on?”

“An urgent contact came from the knighthood. I think you should receive it quickly.”

What could it be?

Rashid recalled the plausible events.

‘Could it be… that?’

There were a few things that came to mind.

‘At this hour… it seems an uproar has broken out.’

After a moment,

Rashid received the contact from the knighthood.

To be precise, it was a contact from the Vice Commander.

Rashid, who ended up hearing his voice from early morning through a magic communication device, felt a bit of irritation, but asked regardless.

“What is going on from early morning?”

“His Excellency the Director of Foreign Affairs was assassinated last night. Come over to the Basilica as soon as you finish preparing. The matter has twisted in a very complicated way.”

It was already expected.

“Is that so?”

“Is that the right reaction when His Excellency the Director of Foreign Affairs was assassinated?”

“But it doesn’t seem right to make a fuss in surprise either, does it?”

“Anyway. Let’s meet at the knighthood. I’ve already come to work, so you just need to come.”

He wondered what was going on from early morning,

and it turned out to be a phone call urging him to come out quickly because he had arrived at work.

“I’ll go within an hour.”

* * *

Inspection and search on everything entering and exiting the Basilica of the Holy Blood State was strengthened.

It felt three times stronger compared to the security level of the previous day.

Riding a magitech bike.

Rashid, who was waiting for his turn mixed in the long line of vehicles, thought.

‘It’s a meaningless act. Because the culprit is already inside the Basilica.’

In the first place, it was a murder case that occurred inside the Papal Court.

The culprit would be a believer who had free access to the Basilica.

Perhaps it was a believer of a fairly high rank.

‘This will weaken the escort for the Saintess candidate. They probably aimed for that. That way, it will be easier to target the next candidate.’

Before long, at the knighthood he arrived at,

Rashid was able to face Vice Commander Akard, who was waiting for him.

“You’re late.”

“I came as quickly as possible.”

“I would like to lend you a wyvern. You would have arrived faster if I did.”

“I’ll decline.”

“Follow me.”

Akard led him to his office.

“I don’t know if you know. His Excellency the Director of Foreign Affairs was someone who publicly rejected us vampires. That Excellency was assassinated last night. Thus, our Commander has also become busy.”

“Were you suspected?”

“Perhaps. But I don’t believe it, nor do I think it would be so. I also don’t think our Commander would make such a reckless move.”

“How is the work going?”

“Our forces and the clerics who were escorting the two candidates have all split up to escort high-ranking officials. Actually, the Papal Court itself is sealed, and most of the escort forces concentrated on the Saintess candidate have withdrawn.”

Akard asked.

It was a quite serious tone.

“What do you think? Is this matter also related to the candidate incident?”

“It must be.”

“You say so?”

“Yes, didn’t you just say so? That the escort forces holding the two candidates have all scattered because His Excellency the Director of Foreign Affairs was assassinated.”

Rashid continued in a confident tone.

“It is all intended by the culprit. It is a scheme to easily target the remaining two candidates.”

Rashid pictured the culprit in his mind, whom he would meet before long.

“Rather, it worked out well. If it goes like this, the culprit will approach the candidate more flagrantly. If we are lucky, we will meet the culprit soon.”