Chapter 247 - Chapter 246: The Tranquilizer
The first month of Fire, the second week, a Tuesday.
Two weeks had passed since the discussion at the Fifth Knights Order outpost.
During that time, Mika had been holed up in the inn, though not entirely stuck there.
First, he had someone from the Fifth Knights Order bring magic bags from his house.
They were Kistil and Nerisfeene's belongings.
He also had them buy several more magic bags and pack his household items into them.
He went to deliver these to Rish Village.
Additionally, he had gone into mountain seclusion for a few days in the mountains north of the capital.
Even if you train with muscle exercises, a dull body does not return to its former state.
Only by placing oneself in nature and fighting magic beasts can Mika's body and senses be sharpened.
However, there was one troubling issue.
The magic beasts were fleeing.
It had crossed his mind a bit when capturing a Sou-Labi, but back then, he had spotted them and immediately restrained them, so he couldn't be entirely sure.
But by actually going into the mountains like this, it became clear.
As soon as the magic beasts sensed Mika's presence, they fled immediately.
This left Mika with nothing but a bitter smile.
Well, an Agu Bear probably wouldn't flee, but those are not creatures one sees often.
In fact, there are no Agu Bears in these northern mountains.
If they circled around to the east of the mountain and searched the forest, they might be there, but he decided against it this time.
This was purely rehabilitation.
He limited himself to chasing and hunting small magic beasts within the mountains.
Through this rehabilitation, Mika finally began to regain the sharpness of his original body.
While Mika was doing abdominal exercises in his inn room, Adelriese and Nozzemueller visited.
It seemed they had brought the third prototype.
Needless to say, the second prototype had failed as expected.
However, it seemed they had gained some hints from the failure of the second one, and Nozzemueller said, "We'll try that this time."
"............How is it?"
Mika put on the bracelet, closed his eyes, and remained perfectly still. Nozzemueller spoke up.
"It's working... The turmoil in my heart... hardly arises..."
As Mika muttered this, Adelriese let out a sigh of relief.
Until now, just thinking about Hibujiza would trigger an urge to go berserk.
Well, even with this bracelet on, he still thought, "I want to kill him," but that was within a very normal range.
The kind of urge that had to be desperately suppressed no longer surged up.
"We incorporated the blessings of various gods. It was difficult to balance the powers of opposing gods... but we managed to make it work."
It is said that materials used as ingredients for [Bestowal] are those that house the blessings of gods.
In reality, specific effects are likely just linked to specific gods, and that is all there is to it.
"...I never thought I'd have to rely on the [False God]."
Mika couldn't help but smile bitterly.
It seemed they used a material housing the blessing of the [False God] to suppress or hide Mika's killing intent.
They had initially tried methods to suppress the killing intent directly, but since the first and second prototypes had no effect, they changed their approach.
(I thought the [False God] was just the comic relief in a fable, but it's actually useful.)
He had such a rude thought.
"We can't know exactly how much it's suppressed without asking Yaroibarov or Ozendorwa... But from what I can see, you look like your usual self, boy."
Adelriese said this with a smile.
It seemed that until now, even to Adelriese, he had been radiating a rather dangerous aura.
"Magic tools that only calm the mind need to maintain a very precarious balance at this level. It was quite a challenge to make, and fun."
Nozzemueller grinned.
(She's completely enjoying this. Where did the initial refinement go?)
While thinking that, Mika gently stroked the bracelet on his right hand.
This bracelet has two effects.
Hiding killing intent, and mental stability.
Since the [False God] governs secrets and concealment, they succeeded in hiding Mika's killing intent with this.
For mental stability, it seems they mainly utilized the power of the God of Light and its subordinate deities.
However, the God of Light cannot stabilize without the other five gods being present.
Therefore, in the end, they incorporated the powers of the gods of Earth, Fire, Water, Wind, and Darkness as well, balancing the forces that cancel each other out to maintain a high level of effect.
(A substitute for tranquilizers...? This is the Tranquilizer, huh.)
Following the Magic Bag Stabilizer Bracelet, this was the third piece of equipment.
The overloaded bracelet on the left arm.
The Tranquilizer on the right arm.
And the earrings, the necklace, and the Magic Bag Stabilizers on both index fingers and pinky fingers.
The accessories jingled loudly.
Still, with this, he should finally be able to walk properly within the capital.
"Thank you very much. If it weren't for you two, I don't know what would have happened."
He thought this deeply.
But when Mika expressed his gratitude, Nozzemueller shook her head.
"Thanks to the Apostle, we've been truly entertained. We should be the ones thanking you."
"The Great Mother... That's a bit much."
Adelriese also gave a bitter smile at Nozzemueller's excessive honesty.
Mika joined in the bitter smile, but soon let out a sigh.
"...Haa... Now I can finally show my face at the Academy, but I'll probably get lectured about various things."
He hadn't been to the Academy for about a month and a half.
He had sent a letter after returning to the capital, letting them know he would be appearing soon.
(It's depressing, but I can't just stay like this...)
Academy Director Maurice and the Crown Prince would surely ask about the details.
Kifrod must be worried.
Most importantly...
(Paraleira has been left alone. I wonder what's happening.)
He had actually asked Ozendorwa quite seriously if there had been any Explosive Flame incidents within the capital.
Since Mika asked such absurd things with a serious face, Ozendorwa had widened his eyes.
Mika felt a bit dejected, thinking the cleanup would be troublesome for a while.
■■■■■■
The first month of Fire, the second week, a Wednesday. Morning.
Dunnn!!!
"............Don't mess with me..."
Paraleira shook her fist, slamming it onto the desk.
The Tranquilizer was finished, and the next day Mika headed to the Academy for the first time in a while.
However, he thought meeting Academy Director Maurice would bring various troublesome matters, so he came to see Paraleira first...
"I thought you showed your face after a long time, but you came here to talk about such trivial matters!?"
Paraleira stared at Mika, her eyes filled with intense hatred.
Mika told her that Hibujiza might be an imposter.
"The handwriting is different!? So what!? What does that mean!? There is no doubt that he is Hibujiza!!!"
Paraleira clattered her chair as she stood up and tried to leave the room.
"Wait, Paraleira-san!? Where are you going!"
When Mika grabbed Paraleira's arm to stop her, she shook off his hand.
"...I told you to wait quietly while you gathered information, and you come back with such nonsense..."
Paraleira spat these words out and left the dormitory.
She probably intended to search for the truth herself again.
Mika stood there, staring blankly at Paraleira walking away quickly.
Perhaps he had underestimated Paraleira's hatred.
(Oh right, Nerisfeene told me to be careful of Paraleira.)
When Mika decided to return to the capital, Nerisfeene had told him this.
The day Paraleira was brought home, Nerisfeene had turned pale.
It seemed she had lost her blood color upon seeing Paraleira.
Nerisfeene can "see something" due to [Blessing].
There are people who emit bad things, and it seems Paraleira was in a state of spewing out those bad things at that time.
Bad things happen around people like that.
Nerisfeene knew this from experience, which is why she turned pale for bringing Paraleira home.
Incidentally, it seems Mika was in a similar state now.
Nerisfeene stayed by his side even though she could see that, so he could only be grateful to her.
(That said...)
Mika scratched his head irritably.
It seems he had really messed up.
He sighed, dropping his shoulders.
("...Well, certainly... I can't say for certain it isn't him...")
Of course, if the handwriting samples are too few, the accuracy of the analysis drops.
Still, even to assert it is Hibujiza, there is no evidence.
In short, it is merely Paraleira's intuition.
(Am I overlooking something...?)
With a cloudy feeling in his heart, Mika helplessly made his way to the classroom.
"Mika-kun!?"
As soon as he entered the classroom, Rimliche raised her voice loudly.
Immediately, all attention in the classroom focused on him.
It felt a bit embarrassing since it had been so long.
"Good morning. Long time no see."
He walked to his seat with such a casual tone.
It seems his seat had been kept empty.
Good, good.
"Mika..."
Cleiria had a complicated expression.
She surely had many things she wanted to say and hear.
But she swallowed them down and put on a smile.
"...How is your schedule today?"
It is difficult to talk in the classroom.
If there is time, it means she wants him to come to her house after school.
But Mika shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know... You know, right?"
After this, he would surely be summoned from the Academy.
The news would reach the Crown Prince immediately.
Mika's schedule would depend on that.
Mika whispered softly near Cleiria's ear.
"...But I will definitely make time soon."
After saying only that, he returned to his seat with a nonchalant expression.
And thus, he answered the barrage of questions from the Leventein Group and Rimliche appropriately.
Before class began, an Academy instructor came to call Mika.
It seems a report had been made that Mika had appeared.
He was told to bring his luggage and walked down the corridor, led by the instructor.
But the instructor did not head to the Academy Director's office, but went in a different direction.
(............Where are we going? Outside?)
The instructor headed straight for the Academy's main gate.
Outside the main gate, a splendid carriage was waiting.
When the instructor opened the carriage door, Maurice was sitting inside.
It seems they were going out together with Maurice.
Without asking anything for now, he silently boarded the carriage.
Once the carriage started moving, he asked Maurice.
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"
When Mika asked this, Maurice answered with a sleepy face.
"That saves trouble, doesn't it?"
"Well, yes."
In the end, he would have to speak with Maurice, then with the Crown Prince, telling the same story.
Doing it together certainly saves trouble.
After that, there was no further conversation, and he silently gazed outside to see where they were going.
Crossing the First Wall gate, it seemed they were heading to the mansion where he had been taken when Viscount Mumbaro.
Upon arriving at the mansion, they were guided to a room on the second floor.
This mansion is always guarded by elite knights.
Well, that is to be expected.
Sitting on the sofa next to Maurice, the movement of people inside the mansion soon became hurried.
The Crown Prince must have arrived.
Following Maurice standing up, Mika also stood up.
When the door opened, Maurice bowed his head.
Mika bowed his head in the same way, and the Crown Prince entered the room followed by several knights.
More knights entered following the Crown Prince.
Including the knights originally in the room, there were about twenty knights.
Isn't that too many, by any means?
"You seem to have returned safely. You came back well."
The Crown Prince offered words of comfort to Mika.
Mika tilted his head.
"Tell me in detail what happened."
Prompted by the Crown Prince, Mika hesitated.
Is it okay not to dismiss everyone?
Mika looked around at the knights, and the Crown Prince also made a thoughtful face.
So, leaving one old knight behind, the others were assigned to guard the corridor and balcony.
With the others dismissed, he could finally tell a slightly more detailed story.
Family-like people were kidnapped.
Forced to fight bandits.
Body and mind weakened, unable to move properly.
Since Kistil and Nerisfeene's engagement has been annulled, it was decided that they were merely family-like to Mika.
And since he didn't want to receive strange restrictions on his magic, it was decided that his body and mind were exhausted from the fight with bandits.
Damn... If it weren't for [Heal], this would have been a simple case of "severe injury."
"A mage from the former Court Magic Institute..."
Hearing Mika's story, the Crown Prince muttered with a difficult expression.
"I think there is something suspicious about that. The handwriting is too different."
"Hmm... Certainly, characters have individual characteristics... But it is dangerous to conclude they are different people based solely on that."
"That is certainly true, but..."
Maurice also seemed skeptical of the theory that Hibujiza is someone else.
Or rather, he seemed to be thinking without definitively concluding it is either the real person or someone else.
Am I leaning too much towards the imposter theory?
The Crown Prince crossed his legs and leaned lightly against the backrest.
"Anyway, I am glad you returned safely. From now on, we will assign guards to you."
"Huh?"
At the Crown Prince's sudden remark, Mika blinked his eyes.
"Why...?"
"Why not? You are the one asking strange questions."
The Crown Prince made an exasperated face.
"This incident may have been an attack from Gronoir. Those who might have instigated the Church to assassinate you could be agents of Gronoir?"
He said this with a serious face.
"Our country's Church of Light is not recognized by Gronoir's church. Weakening the church would be advantageous during wartime. And in fact, that is what is happening."
Corruption was advancing in churches in various places, and among those called healers, there were some who were completely corrupted.
It seems those healers were not given labor duties but were sent to [Wrath of God] research facilities without exception...
"In this case, the former Pope who tried to corrupt the church at once might have been an agent of Gronoir... We should have kept him alive."
The Crown Prince muttered regretfully.
The investigation into the corruption was already finished, and using the magic bags Mika salvaged, all hidden documents and illicit wealth were exposed, so the execution by beheading had already been carried out.
"I don't know where or how you obtained that information, but the possibility that you have been marked for a long time cannot be denied. There is no material to deny it."
He didn't think it was overthinking, but indeed, there was no material to deny it.
Although he tried not to stand out, he had used magic quite a bit.
Burying [Dispel], burying Mika, and burying the Church.
One could argue it was a strategy of killing three birds with one stone.
(But having guards is troublesome.)
Honestly, if it were just Mika alone, there would have been no problem this time either.
Whether he could win in a fight was another matter, but he didn't think he couldn't escape if he really tried.
The problem was that hostages were taken, preventing him from escaping.
Mika took a deep breath and looked straight at the Crown Prince, stating firmly.
"I do not need guards. Rather, it is harder to abandon guards and escape."
Even if it is their duty, there is still a sense of aversion to abandoning someone and escaping.
When Mika said this, the Crown Prince looked at Maurice.
Maurice opened one eye and stared at Mika.
It felt incredibly uncomfortable...
Mika also considered the possibility of being attacked again.
For that reason, he had Kistil and Nerisfeene stay in Rish Village.
Honestly, if Rish Village were attacked, there was nothing he could do.
Should he ask the Crown Prince or a lord to station soldiers?
What use would ordinary soldiers be to someone using magic like Mika?
Besides, stationing soldiers carelessly would make him stand out even more.
Therefore, he could only pray that Rish Village remains undiscovered.
And if they start looking for information related to Mika now, it will reach Mika's ears.
Whether on the surface or underground, the Information Broker Guild has a net spread out to investigate such movements.
In fact, he had detected several movements to find the true identity of the Apostle and the rumored alchemist.
For such people, they probe even the deepest layers of their background and impose sanctions by exposing dark secrets even to those with seemingly innocent backgrounds.
In fact, several people have already been arrested because of this.
For those with no particularly guilty secrets, the scary Big Brother and sisters are dispatched.
It is said that even the bodyguards who were causing trouble at the bar in District 4 were dispatched.
It seems he is acting exactly like a mafia boss.
"Do you have any requests from your side?"
Maurice closed his eyes and said such a thing.
"Requests, you say?"
"Yes. For you to live safely, what do you think you need yourself? Do you want a Safehouse in District 1, or something like that?"
The Crown Prince nodded at Maurice's remark.
Indeed, having a Safehouse in District 1 might save him in an emergency.
But if the opponent is someone who does crazy things, it might unnecessarily expand the damage.
Only predictions of nobles getting caught in the crossfire or situations becoming unmanageable came to mind.
"I don't have anything in mind right now. If I must say, if the country would stop bothering me, that would be enough to save me."
Just like with the salvage of the magic bags, if they say something, he gets dragged along by it.
The situation was already troublesome enough; he didn't want to be bothered by such things.
The Crown Prince crossed his arms and made a slightly troubled face.
"Hmm... Actually, there are quite a few requests regarding the extraction from the magic bags already."
While Mika had been hiding, the next one was already prepared.
"Should I stop everything? Honestly, that is a bit difficult... As for me, I would be somewhat troubled if I were told not to rely on that power."
Unlike the previous situation of "do it regardless," the Crown Prince seemed to be considering various things.
"For the magic bags, just being able to adjust the schedule of when to do it would be a great help. Previously, it was like 'come whenever,' you know."
"That is fine. I have already told them to report to me once regarding that matter."
"Thank you for your consideration."
The position of being under the Crown Prince's protection might not be that bad after all.
In a form of shared fate, if the Crown Prince is safe, Mika is safe.
Provided the Crown Prince doesn't cut him off.
For now, the Crown Prince is relying on Mika's power for various things, so it should be fine for the time being.
(I should go deal with the magic bags soon. If I delay it too much, the Crown Prince might get pressured. Undermining the Crown Prince's position within the palace is not good for me either.)
Regarding the salvage, the rewards are limited, so he doesn't need to ask for anything special.
Instead, it is better to get the Crown Prince's assistance when needed.
Mika breathed a sigh of relief as the discussion between Maurice and the Crown Prince turned out to be less troublesome than expected.