Chapter 42 – Silent Barrier

Before Aria departed,

Ryden wished to share a light conversation with the junior he hadn’t met in a long time.

“You probably didn’t decide to become a sister, so why are you in the order?”

Unlike Ryden, who approached warmly, her response was somewhat cold.

“I plan to become an inquisitor.”

“An inquisitor?”

“I also did not expect you to become a Crimson Guard, Senior.”

Crimson Guard.

Like the Rosenkreuz of the order,

it was the name of the guard guarding the imperial family.

Their characteristic feature was that all of them were vampire knights, just like the Rosenkreuz.

So, it was indeed very unusual for Ryden, a human, to be a Crimson Guard.

“It just happened that way. I also don’t know why I became a Crimson Guard…”

“Senior, someone is waiting.”

“Ah, right. It was nice meeting you. Go on. Let’s meet again next time.”

She turned away coldly and boarded the vehicle that would escort them to the main gate with Rashid.

During the short journey toward the main gate,

Rashid asked about what happened earlier.

“Didn’t you know each other? Ryden is an imperial hero. If you are a fellow knight, I thought you would naturally admire him?”

Since she was from a knightly background, Ryden might be an object of envy.

However, she did not show any signs of thinking so.

“It has been unchanged since my cadet days. The role model in my life has always been Sir Varasha.”

She mentioned Varasha, another hero of the empire, her expression relaxed for a moment.

It was an expression of truly envying someone while picturing them in her heart.

However, this did not last long.

She maintained a cold expression just as before.

“It’s not him.”

Seeing her snort softly, it was certain.

She did not seem to respect Ryden.

“Really?”

Varasha Swallow.

She admired her?

Rashid brought up the topic.

“Do you happen to know?”

When she looked at him, Rashid continued.

“That the person who originally held the position of Chief Inquisitor was Sir Varasha.”

“Is that so? I did hear the news.”

“It seems she stayed briefly before transferring to the Personnel Inspection Bureau. I have also met her only once.”

“I didn’t explicitly reveal it, but Sir Varasha was one of the major motivations for me to apply to become an inquisitor.”

“That woman transferred to the Personnel Inspection Bureau. Do you also plan to transfer?”

She spoke flatly.

“No. Just because I admire her doesn’t mean I intend to walk the exact same path. I am not a stalker.”

The vehicle stopped.

They had arrived in front of the main gate.

Before Rashid, who had returned to the bike he arrived on, started the engine,

she spoke to him.

“Inquisitor. What do you plan to do now?”

Although she did not turn to look, she seemed to be asking about the owner of the grand mansion that served as her background.

“What do you mean, what? A leopard cannot change its spots. The count won’t stop. He will keep causing trouble in the city, and we just need to wait for that moment to ambush him.”

Rashid’s words continued.

“At that time, the security won’t be as tight as it is here. The imperial hero we met earlier won’t be there either. Could there be a better opportunity than that?”

“You are always so sure. As if such a thing is bound to happen.”

Instead of an answer, Rashid gave a new order.

“Do you happen to know about the Silent Barrier?”

“Silent Barrier? That is magic. I have heard that such a thing exists. Since daily noise or noise between floors is always a pain.”

“I would like you to learn it. Can you learn it?”

“Acquiring it requires time, but yes, it is possible. It is not difficult either.”

“How long will it take if you learn it?”

“If I can get my hands on the Flawless Formula, just a few minutes will be enough. Unless it is a formula that requires many tricks and techniques, thus needing a lot of practice.”

Usually, players had no difficulty in acquiring magic.

Since it was acquired automatically with just a single click, there was no way it would be difficult.

So, Rashid, who had no way of knowing the hardships experienced by the mages of this world, had asked such a question.

“What if it requires many tricks and techniques?”

“Then practice will be necessary. In that case, it will take some time until it is completely mastered. And that time will vary for each individual.”

“Were you an ordinary talent?”

“If you are asking about my magical talent, no. I was always the top student at the academy. If I were an ordinary talent, I wouldn’t have been able to be the top student. That is a place where all the exceptionally gifted talents gather.”

“Just in case, prepare tools or scrolls with the Silent Barrier function in advance. They will be useful if something happens.”

A slightly sharp look flashed across her face.

“Do you not trust me?”

“Because I do not know you. I am telling you to prepare them just in case.”

“I clearly stated that I was the top student. Remarks that disregard me are highly unpleasant.”

Her expression grew sharp, but Rashid was also not one to back down.

“Hey. Whether you were the top student or whatever, I only want certainty. It is an order as your superior, so do not talk back.”

At the word ‘order’,

she accepted it cleanly.

“Yes, I will prepare both. By the way, is there a reason?”

He felt an explanation was necessary.

“The same goes for what happened in the count’s autonomous territory, but they all have one thing in common. That is, the sound of a violin was heard. And those crime scenes usually had no eyewitnesses.”

She recalled the violinist who was with the count earlier.

“That companion we saw earlier. Surely you are not saying she is the count’s accomplice?”

“You might not know, but since meeting that woman, the count has completely slipped off the suspect list. The incidents themselves became like perfect crimes. And from that time on, stories that violin music was heard began to emerge. Of course, those were people who happened to hear it by chance. If they had heard it properly, they would have probably been sucked in as if possessed by a demon.”

She could understand why he ordered the Silent Barrier.

“The Silent Barrier you mentioned. It seems it will be necessary.”

“Absolutely.”

His face was still set with certainty.

“If you have no intention of getting counter-attacked by the count, prepare double and triple layers of defense.”

* * *

The day after Rashid left,

Luna, running an errand for the Magic Tower professor, visited the count’s mansion along with a large truck driver.

Loaded on the large truck they arrived in were several mechanical devices of unknown identity.

“Is this the place? Wow, perhaps because it is the count’s mansion, it is truly grand.”

“Wow…”

Just like the truck driver, Luna was also busy letting out exclamations at the scale of the mansion.

“It is really big. It looks just like the professor’s mansion. Our professor also stays in a mansion like this.”

“The professor must also be extremely rich. To stay in a mansion comparable to His Excellency the Count. Well, I suppose that is natural since he is a professor of the Magic Tower.”

Passing through the wide open main gate, they crossed the long garden and laid down the large mechanical devices they had brought in front of the mansion where they had finally arrived.

The private soldiers stationed at the mansion were mobilized for this, and she, who had come merely on a delivery errand, simply looked around her surroundings until the unloading was completed.

“Professor Kane sent you.”

A woman approached Luna with a warm smile.

It was Seraphine.

She wore a neat indoor dress with unadorned accessories.

“Ah, Lady Seraphine. Hello.”

Having met her a few times, Luna bowed her head.

“Did the professor send all of this?”

“Yes, the professor sent them. He said His Excellency the Count ordered them.”

She seemed to smile for a moment looking at the mysterious mechanical devices unloaded from the truck, but immediately wiped away the smile.

A dark and heavy thought descended like a storm cloud in the depths of her eyes, and the corners of her lips were pulled coldly.

Was it because her expression was scary?

As Luna averted her gaze elsewhere, another person approached them.

It was the count.

“Have they arrived? It seems the professor sent them.”

The count looked at the various mechanical devices that the private soldiers were busy moving.

One of these would be installed in the Basilica Choral Dome, and the rest were scheduled to be installed throughout the capital.

“What is your name?”

“I am Luna. I am working as Professor Kane’s assistant.”

“Is that so? Please make sure to convey my gratitude to the professor.”

“Yes, Count.”

Luna bowed her head with as much courtesy as possible.

“Why don’t you have a cup of tea before you leave? You must be very busy as a student, but still, you took the trouble to deliver these.”

“Ah, no. I am fine. Since the professor is going on a business trip to the sky island in a few days, I also have a lot of things to prepare. And it is exam period soon.”

She smiled slightly.

“Is that so? Then it can’t be helped.”

Luna left with the truck driver, and the count and Seraphine watched the mysterious mechanical devices that the private soldiers were busy organizing.

“It is the Sacred Sound Resonator and Resonance Device. With the professor’s skill, there won’t be any problem with the ordered items.”

Stroking his chin, the count continued.

“But it is strange. That chair professor, rumored to be so fastidious, readily granted my request.”

“It is because I asked him, Count.”

“Ah, you had a friendly relationship with the professor, didn’t you? I heard you were close since before meeting me…”

The count did not particularly suspect their relationship.

Since that was the kind of jealousy only lesser men would have.

“With this, your performance will be complete. Though I, too, won’t be able to escape responsibility…”

The count was a romanticist in his own way.

“Even so, since it is your request, I have no choice but to grant it even if I dislike it.”

“Just as I have supported your artistic activities both materially and spiritually until now, you are merely returning the favor to me, Count.”

In what manner her performance would be expressed,

the count did not know.

Even if things went wrong, he had a plan of his own.

“The imperial family is incompetent and does not even think of resolving this crisis. Useless talk like the council is flowing out from here and there, yet they are merely walking on eggshells around the Guild Federation.”

The count’s eyes grew cold.

“Yes, perhaps this is a punishment I am handing down on behalf of the nobility.”

The music she would play at the Choral Dome…

would be the rat poison administered to the numerous rats that were rampant throughout the capital, running amok without knowing their place.

“I am already looking forward to your performance.”

To the count’s kind smile,

she also responded with a smile.

“I will live up to Your Excellency’s expectations.”

* * *

She visited Rashid’s office, where he was spreading out the entire map of the capital, Arcadia, and marking somewhere with a pen.

“The Silent Barrier you mentioned. I have mastered it.”

Rashid raised his head and looked at her.

It was two days after he had ordered the Silent Barrier.

“Didn’t you say a few minutes was enough for the Flawless Formula? It seems two days have passed.”

“Yes, I was unable to obtain the Flawless Formula, so the time was somewhat delayed. But instead, I mastered it with the Perfect Formula.”

“Perfect Formula?”

Perfect Formula.

In terms of magic grades, it was S-rank.

Flawless Formulas were usually A-rank.

“If it is the Perfect Formula… it must have been hard to obtain?”

“I made an appropriate expenditure for it. It is not a common magic, and few mages study it, so I did struggle. But since it is flawlessly perfect, matching my personality, I have no regrets.”

“How much did it cost?”

“It cost five thousand denarii. It was an auction, and for a Perfect Formula, it was won at a relatively cheap price. As I mentioned, it is a non-mainstream and unpopular magic.”

One denarius was roughly a worker’s daily wage.

While not exactly identical,

in terms of the currency feeling before Rashid came here, it was equivalent to burning five hundred million won just to learn a single magic.

‘Five hundred million won…’

Rashid had various complex thoughts, but soon dismissed them and responded lightly.

“Well done.”

“And I have prepared the scrolls and tools you mentioned in advance. Most of them are at the Flawless or Semi-Flawless levels, so they won’t mean much, but since it is an ‘order’, I naturally executed it.”

“Yes, they won’t mean much. Since you have learned the Perfect Formula.”

She glanced at the area he had marked and asked,

“Does the part you marked have a separate meaning?”

A meaning?

Of course it did.

Since those were the locations where resonance devices, which would react to the Sacred Sound Resonator installed in the Choral Dome, would be set up.