Chapter 217 - Chapter 216: The Great Royal Capital Search
Mika and Rimliche were running toward the academy, amidst the sudden dazzling light that had plunged the royal capital into chaos.
The sky was so bright that people could not keep their eyes open, and they were praying to the Miracle of the Light God.
Here and there along the roadside.
(I don't know... I know nothing... I saw nothing...)
Mika told himself.
Glancing at people shedding tears and praying toward the sky, Mika was escaping reality.
First, the light occurred beside Mika, and a black cocoon [Artorum] appeared.
Then, Charl, who had heard that there were many such black cocoons in the royal capital, demonstrated sharp insight.
"...That light just now illuminated the entire royal capital... ...Perhaps...."
Maybe it had also exposed the other black cocoons [Artorum] within the royal capital.
(Probably, it's a hit.)
While passing through the gate of the Second Wall, Mika thought.
That light's true identity was Fee.
It likely rose quite high into the sky and illuminated the entire royal capital with light that visualized curses.
Until Charl said something,
"What the hell is that idiot doing!"
I thought, but upon hearing it, I was convinced "that's the only possibility."
It used immense mana, like when generating rare metals, filling the royal capital with that light.
I don't know how long the visualization effect will last, but I must find them as quickly as possible.
"I'll issue an emergency summons and try to find them somehow."
Ozendorwa ordered the transport of the corpse of the young man with reddish-brown hair to the Fifth Knights Order station, and he himself took command of the search for the "black cocoon [Artorum]".
There were ten thousand knights in the Fifth Knights Order.
But they could not assign all of them.
Above all, they had to allocate people to calm and normalize the chaotic royal capital.
Originally, they wanted to issue an emergency summons and allocate people to that.
"...Leave it to me... ...There is a good method...."
When Mika was thinking of other methods because the Fifth Knights Order alone would lack manpower for the search, Charl proposed.
"...Return to the academy once... ...Mika-kun, come too...."
She said it with such a serious expression.
There was a force that brooked no refusal.
The academy was in chaos just like the outside.
On the way to the girls' dormitory, many girls knelt and prayed toward the sky.
Charl looked around at the children praying and headed toward about three girls.
"Ah! Honorary Advisor!"
One of the girls noticed Charl and called out to her.
"Did you see it too, Honorary Advisor! The Miracle of the Gods! A divine light, as if wrapping the whole world...!"
"How wonderful! To be able to experience such a miracle!"
"We were just outside! We were so lucky to be bathed in the Miracle of the Light God! I'm moved...!"
Girls trembling with emotion and excited talked to Charl.
Charl started to say "Don't call me by that title outside...", but stopped.
And she conveyed just one sentence.
"...Emergency summons [Emergency] to the fujoshi [Members]...."
Hearing that whisper, the girls' expressions changed completely.
"W-we understand!"
The three girls immediately stood up, and one of them ran toward the girls' dormitory.
Watching that exchange, Mika's eyes went wide.
What is this leadership!?
(She didn't ask why or anything, and immediately took action! In this emergency!)
Isn't it incredibly cool!
Besides, what are "Members"?
What kind of members?
"...Also call the Fan Club...."
"Eh!? The Fan Club [Those guys] too!?"
"T-that's, a bit...."
Charl glared at the confused girls.
"...Mika-kun is in trouble...."
She took one step closer toward the girls.
"...Then, there is nothing more important than solving this...."
"But...."
They must have some conflict.
The girls' expressions were pained.
By the way, what is the Fan Club?
"...If you cannot accept this... ...I will despise you...."
Pressed by Charl, the girls looked at each other with heavy expressions.
And they hesitantly nodded to each other.
"We understand."
"...Also call the O.G...."
"Yes!"
Two girls ran off.
Charl watched the girls leave and let out a sigh of relief.
"...With this, two or three hundred people will move... ...What should we do...?"
"Two or three hundred!? "
What kind of popularity is that.
(She can move hundreds of people just by speaking to them. How much leadership does she have?)
O.G., the academy's O.G...?
Aren't those people currently on military duty?
Will those people really move?
(Well, well... There are various doubts, but.)
This is not the time to prioritize that.
Mika roughly laid out the policy.
Mika, Rimliche, and Cecilia would wait at the South Gate of the First Wall.
Charl would explain the appearance of the black cocoon to those who would move.
If found, report to Rimliche or Cecilia at the South Gate of the First Wall.
As soon as Mika received a report, he would be guided to that location to perform the dispelling.
After the dispelling was finished, return to the South Gate.
If multiple discovery reports accumulated, be guided to the location, and tell the reporters to wait at that spot.
Since everyone knows Mika, when Mika arrives at that location, they should call out.
With this, even without returning to the South Gate every time, they can go directly from the discovery location to the discovery location.
"How about this?"
"...Understood...."
With the rough policy decided, they would take action for now.
Mika and the others started running toward the South Gate of the First Wall.
Gathering information at the South Gate of the First Wall was because that was the center of the royal capital.
The actual center was the Royal Castle, but since they could not enter District 1, they chose the South Gate as a location near the center.
Rimliche parted ways midway to inform Ozendorwa of the Fifth Knights Order.
They decided to meet at the South Gate after contacting the station.
"It's become quite a mess."
While running toward the South Gate, Cecilia said such a thing.
"Indeed... It's a story of something happening since New Year's."
"New Year's?"
While talking like that, they arrived at the South Gate.
As always, the royal capital was in great chaos.
Or rather...
"It's become quite a mess...."
"...Yes."
Mika and Cecilia looked at the Great Cathedral several hundred meters ahead with bored expressions.
The South Main Street extended straight from the South Gate.
There, in the Holy Land of the Church of Light, stood the Great Cathedral of the royal capital.
"If something like that happens, of course, they will swarm."
If anything, tens of thousands of people gathered at the Great Cathedral and were praying.
The road was filled with people, people, people.
"Was gathering information at the South Gate [Here] a failure?"
If people continued to swell like this, they might reach the South Gate itself.
"As expected, I didn't notice that far."
"Well, we made the policy on a whim."
Honestly, I don't even want to think about the economic loss in the royal capital for today.
Thousands of billions of Rats, maybe even one order of magnitude higher.
While thinking such things, Rimliche arrived.
Rimliche also had a dazed expression, looking at the people swarming into the Great Cathedral.
Rimliche had informed Ozendorwa of the Fifth Knights Order, but brought a message that it might be difficult for the knights to move a bit.
The chaos in the royal capital was larger than imagined, and they had to prioritize dealing with that.
Well, since that most chaotic place was right in front of us, I had no complaints.
Rather, I wanted to say "Please work hard on that."
And above all, I felt like I wanted to apologize profusely, "My Fee [Idiot] caused trouble...."
Thus, waiting at the South Gate for thirty minutes.
The first discovery report came.
"It's this way!"
Mika was being led by a girl who seemed to be a junior student toward the plaza in District 3.
Among the academy students, they were searching mainly with those who could use [Physical Enhancement].
It seems they allocated search manpower to all districts.
Those with abundant mana and high output for [Physical Enhancement] were sent to distant districts.
Those with less mana or not yet used to handling it were sent to nearby districts, like that.
(They thought carefully, Charl.)
Although she tries not to stand out much in class, Charl is also excellent in grades.
She has the popularity to mobilize hundreds of people with a single voice, and she might be more amazing than Mika thought.
She has a somewhat mysterious side, though...
Arriving at the plaza in District 3, they were guided to the pedestal in the center.
(If that young man with reddish-brown hair [That guy] set it up, choosing a place anyone can enter is natural.)
Should we spread information about such a tendency?
(It's still too early. Besides, giving such information is also dangerous.)
Plazas like this will be searched even without being told.
If so, giving information might hinder the search instead.
If it was set up in a place deviating from such tendencies, the search eyes would be less likely to go there.
Mika once again cleared his head of various thoughts and began to dispel the "black cocoon [Artorum]".
It was semi-automatic, so it was faster than manual, but since the curse was strong, it still took time.
(Still, it hurts that "Auto-Dispel" cannot be used.)
Well, complaining won't start anything.
Anyway, for now, it should be better to remove as many "black cocoons [Artorum]" as possible as quickly as possible.
While Mika was dispelling, the girl who guided him watched closely from the side.
Was she watching the dispelling, or was she watching Mika...?
(...Somehow, it's a bit difficult.)
What is it?
Is it my imagination that I feel a somewhat sticky quality in her gaze?
(...It seems there will be a loud noise, so it's better to cover your ears.)
The girl who guided Mika covered her ears, yet still watched Mika intently.
Mika proceeded with the dispelling while trying not to worry about the girl.
"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!"
A roar like an earthquake echoed, and the girl who had covered her ears froze with a surprised face.
Needless to say, Mika had manifested [Big Ear] and cut off a certain amount.
"Thank you. You saved me."
When Mika spoke like that, the girl turned red in the face and looked shy.
With this, she's just a normal girl.
What was that sticky gaze until just now?
Mika asked for the girl's grade and name, and told her he would thank her later.
He wanted to do something for everyone who participated in the search, but for those who discovered it, he would do something extra.
When Mika was about to return to the South Gate, Rimliche came to the plaza.
They almost missed each other.
"Mika-kun, we moved the gathering place to the Southeast First Wall."
Apparently, the people gathering at the Great Cathedral swelled up, and the South Gate was already filled with people.
This might reach a scale of even one hundred thousand people.
They would also place academy students at the South Gate, but decided to move the place where information is gathered to the First Wall where it intersects with the Southeast Main Street.
Placing people at the South Gate was to convey that they moved the place to gather information to the Southeast First Wall.
(This is really unmanageable.)
The chaos in the royal capital was getting worse.
With this, the knights of the Fifth Knights Order simply could not allocate people to search for the "black cocoon [Artorum]".
Mika and Rimliche headed toward the Southeast First Wall, and asked the girl to pass a message to Charl.
Tell them that the place to gather information has been moved, and please try to convey it to the people currently searching as well.
Well, I think it's impossible.
(In a world without mobile phones, information transmission is too much of a bottleneck.)
Since there is only the fragile network of the telephone game, even just transmitting information is a struggle.
Still, we have no choice but to do what we can.
"Mika!"
"Messerite!?"
When Mika and the others arrived at the First Wall, Messerite was there besides Cecilia.
"You're looking for something strange, right? Everyone in the boys' dormitory is moving now."
"No, it's helpful, but why?"
Apparently, Charl had requested cooperation from Messerite and Murt in the boys' dormitory, and Polnard as well.
And Messerite and the others had asked everyone in the dormitory for cooperation.
Not everyone, but quite a number of people were moving.
Of course, the girls' dormitory was also the case, where everyone called out to each other and was participating in this "black cocoon [Artorum]" search.
"Probably, about four or five hundred people seem to be moving."
Cecilia said with a bitter smile.
(Um... everyone has popularity and is amazing...)
He thought with a somewhat stunned feeling.
Even if Mika spoke, they wouldn't move like this.
Let's just borrow the power of the Leventein Group here.
While waiting, another discovery report came quickly.
This time it was District 8.
Considering the Royal Castle as the center, it was the district in the north-northwest.
In other words, completely the opposite side from the current location.
Mika headed toward District 8, guided by the girl who came with the report.
As expected, the "black cocoon [Artorum]" was in the plaza, and while he was dispelling it there, Messerite came as a messenger.
It was also in District 1 and District 6.
(For now, are they all in plazas?)
Thanks to that, discovery is fast.
Combined with the ones dispelled so far, five have already been discovered.
There is one left.
"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!"
While thinking such things, a loud roar echoed.
Messerite, who had not covered his ears, was so surprised his legs nearly gave out.
(Ah, I forgot to tell you.)
I told the girl who guided me on the way, but I hadn't told Messerite who came midway.
Don't worry, me.
With the dispelling in District 8 finished, they headed not to the neighboring District 1, but to District 6.
Why go to District 6 first?
It was considering the route back.
If returning to the Southeast Main Street, it is necessary to avoid the South Main Street.
Because the Great Cathedral is on the South Main Street, there are too many people to pass through.
After dispelling District 1 and District 6, when returning to the Southeast Main Street, both are the same in terms of distance.
But if they cannot pass through the South Main Street, they need to go around from the opposite direction.
In other words, they will have to pass through District 1 either way.
So, if they finish District 6 first, since they will pass through District 1 on the way back anyway, unnecessary movement will be reduced.
Well, this is optimization only if the last one is not found.
They are just eliminating the unknown parts for now and optimizing movement distance with what is currently known.
Thus, they went to the academy student boy waiting in District 6, and then headed to dispel District 1.
After finishing the fifth dispelling and returning to the Southeast Main Street, the last one had not yet been discovered.
"I'm back~..."
"Welcome back, Mika-kun."
"Welcome back. You look quite tired."
When Mika arrived at the Southeast First Wall, Rimliche and Cecilia offered their condolences.
Already today, they had run tens of kilometers.
They used [Heal], but fatigue was accumulating.
"The last one hasn't been found yet?"
"Yeah..."
When Mika asked, Rimliche's expression darkened.
Mika crossed his arms and placed his hand on his chin, thinking for a moment.
So far, the discoveries were in District 1, District 3, District 6, and District 8.
First, the young man with reddish-brown hair took me to District 4.
So far, there has not been a single overlap.
Thinking like that, the possibility of it being placed in the remaining districts is high.
In other words, District 2, District 5, and District 7.
"...Probably, it's in District 5."
"Why?"
When Mika made a prediction, Rimliche tilted her head.
"District 2 and District 7 are easy to search. But District 5 is the most chaotic, right?"
"Yes..."
Cecilia nodded to Mika's prediction.
Anyway, the place where people are swarming is the Great Cathedral in District 5.
Honestly, it's not even a search situation inside District 5.
It's a state where even moving a little is difficult.
"It's getting late, and it might be better to stop the search. If it's just District 5, I think I can find it alone."
Using the detector [Fee], I feel like I could find it by circling the plazas in the district.
Right now, even circling those plazas is difficult.
"The problem is how to tell everyone to stop the search...."
"That's fine."
"Charl seemed to have said beforehand that even if not found, return to the dormitory at dusk."
"Charl [That guy], gave instructions that far. She is truly excellent."
Surprisingly, I couldn't help but admire, "She's suited for a commander."
Mika tends to get distracted by things right in front of him, but Charl had a solid and broad perspective.
Um, it's a bit frustrating.
Thus, the search for the "black cocoon [Artorum]" was temporarily concluded.
When they returned home, it took about an hour for Fee to drop the "something" attached to Mika.
Apparently, a lot of unknown things were attached again.
While "something" was dropping,
"Mika-sama, did you see! There was a Miracle of the Gods!"
Nerisfeene was very excited, talking about the light that happened during the day.
Mika somehow maintained his composure and listened to Nerisfeene's passionate talk.
He remained silent about it being Fee's doing.
A secret to take to the grave had increased by one.
And, naturally, the chaos in the royal capital did not end in one day, and continued for three days thereafter.
Not only the Fifth Knights Order and others involved in maintaining public order in the royal capital, but the rest of the Kingdom Army were also sent out to support.
■■■■■■
Mika went out to search for the "black cocoon [Artorum]" after the chaos near the Great Cathedral settled down a little.
However, he circled the plazas in District 5 but could not find it.
As expected, there is a high possibility that it has already disappeared, but Fee did not return a reaction.
Was the prediction wrong?
The chaos at the Great Cathedral seemed to be terrible.
After circling the plaza in District 5, Mika went to see Kifrod.
"I have never seen such a thing either."
Kifrod had a somewhat tired expression.
"People also poured into the chapel. It seemed they couldn't move properly."
"I saw it from the outside too, but it was definitely not a state where I could approach."
When Mika said that, Kifrod nodded.
"The sky shining is one thing, but suddenly a black round thing [mon] appeared."
"Buuf!?"
He choked.
A black, round thing!?
"W-w-w-what!? Where!?"
When Mika asked in a panic, Kifrod pointed to the "Clio" on the wall next to the chapel.
"It's a strange thing [mon] that you cannot touch even if you try to touch it? Everyone was reaching out, thinking it was part of a miracle."
Visible, but unable to touch.
It seems they associated it with the miracle of the sky shining and thought it was some kind of miracle.
Mika asked where it was, and reached out.
Although invisible, it seems the "black cocoon [Artorum]" is indeed there.
Mika involuntarily made a complex expression.
"...Kifrod-sama. Keep this secret from everyone."
Saying that, Mika explained that this was related to a curse.
And thus, he asked if it was possible to dispel it, but since there would be a loud noise, please think of a way to somehow deceive them.
Hearing Mika's story, Kifrod also made a complex expression.
"I will consult with His Holiness the Pope and the Cardinals. Oh my...."
Later, he made an agreement to prepare an environment where dispelling could be performed after clearing people away, and Mika returned.
With this, the prospect of dispelling all "black cocoons [Artorum]" has finally been established.
■■■■■■
On a sunny day the week after the chaos in the royal capital subsided, permission was obtained from the academy, and a barbecue party was held.
The qualification to participate was those who participated in the "black cocoon [Artorum]" search.
Well, since no one knows who participated, it was almost open to anyone.
They bought about one ton of meat, and the Cafeteria Lady and everyone in the dormitory helped out, resulting in a grand barbecue party using the academy grounds.
Well, if there's any left over, we'll donate it to the dormitory, so please use it for tomorrow's ingredients.
In this country, skewered meat is a popular dish, but dormitory students cannot eat it.
It's not served in the dormitory meals.
The main protein is obtained from beans.
Meat is such an expensive ingredient that it will never appear in the dormitory students' meals.
The most that happens is a little minced meat or chopped meat included.
"Yum!"
"Delicious!"
Everyone was happy with the chunks of meat that they usually cannot eat much of.
By the way, instructors are clearly mixed in, did they participate in the search!
Well, it's fine.
For those who found the "black cocoon [Artorum]", we treated them to tea and meals on a separate day.
We were declined by Stellan and Messerite, who requested it again.
Isn't that a bit heartless?