Chapter 197 - Chapter 196: The Old Guys Gather
Month of Water, 2nd Week, Day of the Moon.
Exactly one week since being confined.
I thought they would interrogate me, but in reality, nothing happened.
They just confined me in this room for a week.
Even so, I knew through the daily deliveries of De《・》Li《・》Ba《・》Li《・》r that preparations for a heresy trial were progressing behind the scenes.
Mika, while bored during his confinement, used his magic to create various substances to kill time.
"Hmm... I don't get it."
He muttered while gnawing on a Calcium Bar《Bar》.
Although he said "gnawing," in reality, it was just hard, so he was merely sucking on it.
"Gwee... I think I'm starting to feel sick..."
Mika threw the Calcium Bar《Bar》 he was holding out the window and spat out saliva repeatedly.
It was super fizzy, and maybe gas was generated by reacting with his saliva.
His tongue felt tingly for some reason.
"...Was that really calcium? It was completely different from my image."
When he normally created a silver metal, he was a bit surprised.
He thought he could make something whiter...
He tried sucking on it to supplement his calcium deficiency, but was it just bad?
Mika used [Heal] just in case.
But even using [Heal], the nausea did not subside.
Helplessly, he lay down on the bed.
For the past week, there was truly nothing to do.
He thought about doing some muscle training, but reconsidered that in an environment where he couldn't consume enough nutrition, he would only destroy his muscles, so he behaved quietly.
He got tired of magic control training, so he tried creating elements one by one while recalling the periodic table.
As expected, he didn't create hydrogen or helium, which are gases at room temperature, and started creating from lithium.
He created a small substance of about one cubic centimeter and measured the amount of magic power required for that.
Well, how much magic power decreased was a matter of sensation, so "measured" might not be an accurate way of saying it.
What he found out from that.
The number of protons had no relation to the amount of magic power required to create a substance.
As a very simple comparison, substances with smaller atomic numbers could be created with less magic power, and substances with larger atomic numbers required more magic power.
This tendency was certainly there.
When he created gold, silver, and copper, he thought, "Maybe the ease of creation changes based on the number of protons and electrons?" and made that prediction.
In the case of Gold:Silver:Copper, as a sensation, he could create roughly a mass ratio of 1:2:3 with the same amount of magic power.
So, he tried to see if similar results would be obtained with other substances, but his prediction was wonderfully wrong.
There were some substances that deviated greatly from this tendency.
Iron and aluminum could be created with far less magic power than expected.
Conversely, sodium, silicon, and titanium required far more magic power.
By the way, all the substances he created were thrown out the window.
If a chemical reaction occurred in this room and it spontaneously ignited, it would be terrible.
Whatever happens outside, he doesn't care.
And so, regarding the calcium he created, was it a bad idea to make it into a rod shape to "supplement calcium deficiency" and put it directly in his mouth?
Is the calcium he usually ingested not pure calcium, but a compound?
...........Well, he wouldn't die from it.
"Haa... I wonder what will happen."
Mika muttered while lying down.
Even if he escaped now, the Church would stubbornly chase him.
Pressure should be coming from the Magic Academy and the Court Magic Institute, but there has been no change so far.
It seems the Church is not intimidated by that pressure either.
"We don't know such a person."
"There is no such person."
They are apparently rejecting him like that.
At this point, Mika has already steeled himself.
If they declare him guilty in this farce and try to kill him, it is natural to resist with all his might.
What happens after that is none of his business.
Mika was thinking of killing everyone right there where the guilty verdict was issued.
Even if the Pope was there.
First, he would turn the Church grounds in the capital city into a scorched earth and show off overwhelming power.
Then, he would escape the kingdom with Kistil, Nerisfeene, and his family.
He could go to another continent, or if he wanted, he could even help the Gronoir Empire.
Destroying a whole country for revenge, how thrilling that would be.
(....................Just kidding.)
As expected, he couldn't do that much.
There are people lending their strength to save Mika now.
If the Gronoir Empire invades the Kingdom of Ektrem, those people would suffer terribly.
Knowing that, there is no way he would lend a hand to the Empire.
Ideally, he wants to settle the Church matters here.
He wants to finish it properly here.
For that reason, now is the time to endure.
Cleiria seems to plan to do something by borrowing the power of Marquis Leventein, so he thinks he will wait until the last minute.
Nerisfeene is also said to be accompanying the Archbishop of Sarbengeal to get his assistance.
"Everyone............, I'm counting on you."
Mika looked up at the ceiling and muttered.
■■■■■■
Month of Water, 2nd Week, Day of the Fire.
At a time when the night had not yet fully broken, a group of horsemen was galloping along the road.
Everyone on horseback was uniformly ragged.
No one would think this was a group led by Marquis Leventein.
It had been exactly two days since leaving Sarbengeal.
By switching fast horses one after another, Marquis Leventein had arrived near the capital city.
Near, but still tens of kilometers away.
They needed to exchange horses at relay points three or four more times and take a short rest.
Even the knights, who had trained hard, must be feeling their limits after galloping all night.
The knights accompanying him were not equipped with armor.
To make the weight as light as possible, they were only given swords.
Marquis Leventein glanced back.
At the end of his gaze was the Archbishop, who was ragged but somehow keeping up.
Rubalwarus admired that he had managed to get this far.
He was given a horse and allowed to accompany them because he had some experience riding.
If he couldn't keep up along the way, that would be unavoidable.
If that happened, they would just leave him behind.
He thought that when he brought him along, but it seems he had unexpected grit.
A few hours to the capital city.
They didn't know when the heresy trial would begin, but they would just break into the Church and rescue Mika Noisheim.
The rest of the matters could be dealt with carefully later.
Rubalwarus strained his eyes and looked forward; there were soldiers a few hundred meters ahead.
The soldiers were waving torches high and signaling them.
The relay point where the advance guard had prepared for reception must be there.
"It's the relay point! Let's take a short break!"
When Rubalwarus spoke, the accompanying knights nodded.
They filled their stomachs lightly and recovered a little stamina with Potion《Potion》.
"...This is quite entertaining."
Despite the great fatigue accumulated within himself, Rubalwarus felt his blood boiling.
■■■■■■
"Really... what is going on?"
Ozendorwa muttered while glaring at the road ahead at the East Gate of the Second Wall.
The morning's most crowded time had passed, but it was still a time of heavy foot traffic.
The advance guard from the relay point installed on the road said that Marquis Leventein's group was heading this way.
Even if they were few in number, for a Marquis to suddenly come to the capital city with knights was a dangerous act that could be interpreted in any way if one tried to read malice into it.
Especially if he was a nobleman with power.
Ozendorwa had a reason to worry.
There was a precedent.
It was a story from hundreds of years ago, but there was no chance of winning if a domain army was thrown head-on against a royal house with a large army.
So, there were nobles who planned to assassinate the king by charging with only a small number of elite soldiers.
Those people actually broke through the Second Wall and the First Wall, and even crossed the city walls to invade the Royal Castle.
They ran faster than the soldiers notifying of the disturbance and approached the king.
Fortunately, the Royal Guards protecting the Royal Castle were the elite among elites.
The deadly blade did not reach the king, but the noble house that plotted it was crushed.
A severe punishment was handed down where the entire family and retinue were executed.
Even those who had married into other families were said to have been under lifelong surveillance.
Ozendorwa exhaled softly.
Recently, the entire capital city had been tense.
An uneasy atmosphere was drifting in the Kingdom Army and the Ministry of Military Affairs《Upper》, and the frontline《Lower》 seemed to sense something in the town's atmosphere.
Middle management staff who received no information were being forced to deal with things without understanding why.
He grasped that the Information Broker Guild was actively moving in the shadows, and it seems the Church was involved in that.
A person close to an information broker belonging to the Information Broker Guild picked up a little information.
However, it seems a gag order was placed even on the information brokers《Lunch》, so they couldn't talk much.
"...Mika-kun, huh."
And, one more thing.
Mika Noisheim, who usually passed through the gate of the Second Wall, seemed to have disappeared recently.
According to Basal-kun, the academy was also closed.
Several knights《Book》 witnessed Mika with a group that seemed to be Church-related on the Tuesday of last week.
It seems they left it alone because Mika wasn't arguing or anything.
But, his trail disappeared after that, leaving behind an uneasy atmosphere and uneasy movements.
"...If Marquis Leventein has moved, it can also be said that that line has become thicker?"
After all, the Marquis even took Mika to the King's commemorative party.
It is easy to imagine that their relationship was not normal.
It was not a level of treating him as a guest.
He had taken him to an official venue.
It would be strange not to feel a special meaning in that.
"Commander. I see them."
A group of horsemen could be seen far down the road.
"In the worst case, combat is possible. Do not be careless."
"Yes!"
Even though he thought it was unlikely, he gave orders to the knights.
Thus, he guided the Marquis's group to the front of the city wall gate and ordered the carriages behind them to wait far away.
If it turned into a battle, it would be pitiful to get caught up in it.
Ozendorwa deployed his subordinates and easily set up an encirclement.
However, he did not draw his swords yet.
Soldiers with spears were also deployed, but they were positioned even further out than the knights.
So as not to provoke them too much.
It was strictly within the range of being on alert as part of normal security.
If they touched their swords or pointed spears, the other party might instinctively reach for their swords.
"Your Excellency Marquis. What is this?"
But, Marquis Leventein did not answer Ozendorwa's question.
Or rather, it felt like he couldn't answer.
Marquis Leventein was so exhausted.
Looking at it, all the knights accompanying him were in the same state.
Ozendorwa smiled bitterly in his heart and signaled the healer he had brought to cast [Heal] on Marquis Leventein and the others.
He was not usually stationed at the gate, but people sometimes got injured in town security.
For such times, he hired former mages or former Church healers and had them wait at the checkpoint.
Today, since there was information about Marquis Leventein's uneasy actions, he had temporarily summoned a few people just in case.
"I will have [Heal] cast. Is that alright?"
When Ozendorwa asked that, Marquis Leventein nodded weakly.
It was staggering to see how battered he was, but there must be a reason behind doing that.
Thinking that, he tightened his resolve.
At that moment, he noticed one strange person among the knights accompanying Marquis Leventein.
Everyone was not wearing armor, but one person's appearance stood out.
Or rather, that person was not a knight.
He was wearing a bishop's robe.
"Are you going to the Church?"
"............Yes. There is no time. Let us pass."
Now, Marquis Leventein answered Ozendorwa's question.
The Marquis also seemed to understand that forcing his way through would be bad, so he said to grant permission.
"............Mika Noisheim, is it?"
When Ozendorwa asked that, the Marquis raised one eyebrow slightly.
"You are...?"
"I am Ozendorwa Solnitax, Commander of the Fifth Knights Order. Your Excellency."
"The Fifth Knights Order?"
At that, the Marquis straightened his back and took a deep breath.
Until then, his posture had collapsed from fatigue, but as soon as he straightened up, his vigor returned instantly.
"How much do you know?"
Ozendorwa shook his head at the Marquis's words.
"I have almost no information; I am just guessing arbitrarily based on fragmented information."
"I see..."
Then the Marquis frowned and hesitated.
But, he explained it briefly.
That Mika had been captured by the Church and was in a crisis where he could be executed as a heretic at this very moment.
Hearing that, Ozendorwa was shocked and speechless.
But, a man who would panic in a crisis could not serve as the Commander of a Knights Order.
It was precisely at times like these that the true value of the man named Ozendorwa shone.
Ozendorwa looked at the Captain standing beside him and immediately gave an order.
"The arrangement for today was wrong."
"Huh?"
But, that order might not be precise or clear.
"Swap with the guard at the South-East Gate. Hurry."
"Yes?"
The Captain, who had no idea what it meant at all, stood frozen on the spot.
Ozendorwa took a deep breath and shouted an enormous order.
So that the order reached everyone, despite the noise in front of the gate of the Second Wall.
"All hands! Swap with the South-East Gate!!!"
At Ozendorwa's loud voice, the Captain instinctively covered his ears.
Everyone was surprised and froze, looking at Ozendorwa.
But, the ones most surprised were not them.
It was the horses the Marquis and the others had ridden.
Neighhhhh!
Neighhhhhhhh!!!
Originally, horses are timid creatures.
Although military horses are trained to some extent, there is still a limit.
The horses the knights were riding were startled, frightened, and began to thrash.
"Whoa! Whoa whoa whoa!"
As expected of the knights brought by the Marquis, they managed to calm the suddenly thrashing horses.
The man in the bishop's robe at the very rear also struggled but somehow succeeded in calming his horse.
Ozendorwa, who showed no sign of caring about such things, had a cool face.
"I gave the order."
"Y-yes..."
Even though he was told that, the Captain had no idea what it meant at all.
Ozendorwa guided the Marquis, passed through the gate, and mounted a messenger horse himself.
"My health is poor today. I'm leaving early. I am transferring full authority to the Vice-Commander for the rest."
Saying that, Ozendorwa took the lead himself and guided the Marquis to the Church.
Behind him, the knights of the Fifth Knights Order, who had no idea what was happening at all, were left behind.
■■■■■■
"...He is quite considerate of his subordinates, isn't he?"
Rubalwarus called out to Ozendorwa, who was leading the way.
Sudden order to swap.
Even if a reckless fellow slipped in during the swap, the responsibility would lie with the one who gave the reckless order.
It did not matter whether they would actually execute the swap from now on.
The order was issued.
This fact itself was important.
Ozendorwa read from Rubalwarus's appearance and the current situation that what was about to happen would include troublesome problems.
Therefore, to prevent the blame from falling on his subordinates for passing through with Rubalwarus, he created the fact that the responsibility lay with the one who gave the reckless order.
"Your Excellency. You are doing quite bold things for a single commoner."
Rubalwarus frowned at Ozendorwa's surprisingly cheerful voice.
He thought that since he was a Knight Commander, he would be a stricter man, but was he actually a troublemaker?
Staring at the back of Ozendorwa running ahead, Rubalwarus made a face of disbelief.
And so, the group of horsemen consisting of Rubalwarus, Ozendorwa, and Wagnare arrived at the Great Cathedral.
Strictly speaking, a plot very close to the Great Cathedral.
There, a shadow suddenly jumped out in front of Ozendorwa's running horse.
Ozendorwa stopped the horse instinctively.
But, because he ordered such an unreasonable stop, the horse reared up on its front legs and neighed.
Neighhhhh!
"Whoa whoa whoa! Whoa!"
The following Rubalwarus and others also panicked and stopped their horses, directing killing intent at the person who suddenly jumped out.
"You were so late, I was thinking of going in alone."
But, the person who jumped out seemed not to care that he was almost run over by the horse or that he was directed killing intent by Ozendorwa and the others.
Then, several men and women appeared on the main street from the alley where the man appeared.
"Mr. Yaroibarov, that's too reckless!"
"That's right. The horse was almost injured."
"Well, if the opponent is Mr. Yaroibarov, it is indeed pitiful that the horse is the one suffering."
A group with not a shred of tension was saying whatever they wanted one after another.
When Rubalwarus was about to shout at them.
"You are Marquis Leventein, right? I've been waiting for you."
A dark-skinned, bald giant said with a fearless smile.
"The heresy trial has already started. Hurry up."
"You bastard... Who are you?"
Commoners rarely know the face of a noble.
Moreover, it was obvious to anyone that he knew the circumstances and was eager to stick his nose in.
"I am Yaroibarov. I thought you would know at least my name. Are you too arrogant?"
"No... I know. What are you here for?"
A dangerously dangerous man appeared unexpectedly, and Rubalwarus became alert.
Yaroibarov had a base in Sarbengeal, and reports had been received as a person of interest.
It was fine if he lived normally, but if push came to shove, he could become a significant firebrand.
"Of course, to save the monk. Honestly, if it was just getting him out of the Church, I could have done it alone. In fact, the monk could have escaped on his own... But, I didn't do that."
Rubalwarus was surprised by Yaroibarov's words.
He had not thought that he could have just gotten him out of the Church.
But, the reason he didn't...?
"Because they keep popping up like weeds?"
"Yes."
If you don't cut off the roots, trouble sprouts endlessly.
Like weeds.
"Leave the clearing to me. I have also investigated where the heresy trial is being held. It seems they aren't doing it at the heresy tribunal anymore. Follow me."
Saying that, Yaroibarov quickly started walking toward the Great Cathedral.
Rubalwarus and Ozendorwa exchanged glances.
Honestly, they were worried about whether they should follow.
But, if he knew the location, it seemed better to follow.
"I will clear the way ahead. Follow closely."
Yaroibarov reached into the Magic Bag attached to his waist and took out a weapon.
It was two rod-shaped weapons.
They were cooking utensils, so-called spatulas and frying pans.
They were quite large in size.
"...What kind of joke is this?"
Ozendorwa asked Yaroibarov with a look of disbelief.
But, Yaroibarov smiled fearlessly.
"If I really go wild, the Great Cathedral《Here》will become rubble. Even when I was attacked by a magical beast while cooking, I knocked them down with this. It doesn't seem to be as good as the sword《Thing》you have hanging at your waist, but it has quite a bit of strength《Thing》?"
The sword《Sword》Ozendorwa was holding now was not a standard issue, but a custom-made masterpiece.
He could tell at a glance, and said "not that good," but it was still a decent weapon.
It was far better than a standard issue sword《Sword》.
More importantly, it didn't feel strange because Yaroibarov was holding it, but normally, it was impossible to be that large.
The thickness of the handle was no different from a spear.
"Very well. You can roughly reduce them, and I will clean up the stragglers."
Yaroibarov and Ozendorwa cut a path forward.
Next came Rubalwarus and Wagnare, and the knights of the Leventein family were assigned to guard the rear and protect Wagnare.
The people who came with Yaroibaru seemed not to enter the inside.
They seemed to be taking the horses that Rubalwarus and the others rode to tie them up.
After roughly deciding the roles, the men nodded to each other.
And so, they broke into the Great Cathedral.