120 – Fire Moths (1)

Exactly two months and fifteen days had passed since George Henneyway had gone missing. His body was found in Luden’s underground sewer drain. The state of preservation of the corpse was quite good, considering that it had been two months since his disappearance, which seemed to prove that he had been dead recently.

Luden, who was spending a quiet spring day, naturally became noisy when a wizard with outstanding abilities enough to assume a professorship at Estelia Academy was found in a filthy figure covered in filth.

He was a wanted criminal for embezzling the academy’s public money, but before that, he was a wizard who was recognized by people for his outstanding skills. As far as is known, he is a skilled person close to the level of the 7th rank Chesed. Since he was found dead in the sewers of the system, the repercussions must be great.

It wasn’t certain, but if he was really a 7th rank strongman, there wouldn’t be many people in the empire who could kill him. For a while, everyone’s interest in Luden was focused on the identity of the mysterious powerful man who killed Heniway.

All sorts of speculations and hypotheses went around, but none of them came to light in the end.

Since it was often clear where they were at the time when they were skilled enough to do these things, people had no choice but to conclude that it must have been the crime of an unknown mystery person or a strange director.

As is always the case with being human. If you don’t keep adding firewood to burn, you lose interest in it. As the case of Heniway’s death also did not develop from groundless speculation, people gradually lost interest in him.

However, there were some who did not give up until the end in revealing the identity of this talented person. A pagan group that worships foreign gods to which none other than Heniway belonged. They were the ones who called themselves ‘true night’.

For a pagan organization that has been maintained for over a thousand years, these gatherings were not conducted in some gloomy secret space, but were operated in a rented room in a salon like any other ordinary club. The identities of those belonging to this place were all intellectuals on the outside, so it wouldn’t have been too difficult to disguise it as a small academic society.

Since the class with so many geeks is the intellectual class, it wasn’t just one or two meetings like this, and it was more stable to disguise it as an ordinary club than to sneak around and get caught.

They were sitting around a long wooden table and talking about the current situation with serious faces. One of them read the newspaper article on the table and opened his mouth as he looked at the empty table.

“I was anxious from the time I was wanted, but no way… I thought the 5 bishops were dead…”

Could that be the starting point? The atmosphere of the meeting, which had been quiet until now, changed. The man sitting across from the man who opened his mouth struck the table with his fist, enraged.

“Who on earth killed him? Even though the 5 bishops had their sacred powers sealed due to the prohibition, aren’t they the 7th level of power!! He should be able to survive the showdown with the tower master. Who the hell could kill the 5 bishops so quietly?”

“…If you’re a transcendent, isn’t it impossible? Recently, the swordsman took office as the head of the knight department in Estelia. If he did, he would have been able to deal with the 5 bishops without rumors.”

“Who is doing this because he doesn’t know that? What kind of character is the swordsman!! If he had known that the 5 bishops were connected to the main school, he would never have killed them! It’s easier to get information by cutting off his limbs, so why would he kill him? “

“Hey, if he knew, the imperial army would have moved a long time ago. Judging from the fact that he’s been quiet so far, it doesn’t look like he’s from the imperial family… It’s difficult. No, it’s doubtful that he was killed because of the school’s event in the first place. The 5th Bishop Isn’t there a possibility that it was because of his personal affairs? Well, since the first 5 bishops were wanted for the first time, the crime was embezzlement of public money…”

Just because I didn’t give up on uncovering the case didn’t mean I’d reached the truth. Rather, it was these people who were most confused by the current situation. Even though he was wanted, the chieftain who thought he would be alive somewhere was found dead one day.

Their hearts, which had lost their focus, were as dangerous as a lantern in front of the wind.

Under normal circumstances, they would have endured with faith while praying to their god, but the line with God, which was faintly connected, has been severed for a long time. The power of divine power previously obtained remained in their bodies, but no more grace was given to them.

At least, they were able to endure because Heniway took the lead and led them, but with him dead, they had no place to rely on. The situation would have been better if there was someone who said that he would become a pillar himself. The people here were already accustomed to relying on them, and all of them were only those who did not have the heart to stand on their own.

What is the benefit of the power of a group driven to the end? Being a pillar in the current situation only requires responsibility.

“How about contacting the headquarters…? Since we lost the 5 bishops, we need a new leader.”

Because of this, even if such pathetic words came out, everyone was in an atmosphere of accepting this to some extent.

At least one instructor who seemed to be maintaining his composure opened his mouth. Perhaps because of his young age, his right to speak was in the back row for a long time, but he came out because of the appearance of his seniors who were confused.

“The 5 bishops’ research office and home are currently under lockdown. Due to the oath, we cannot record anything about us, but it is possible that the plan the 5 bishops were conceiving might have passed into the hands of the imperial family. “It doesn’t look good to get drunk. Let’s shorten the number of days for the talks. Don’t break out right away because it might arouse suspicion. Slow, long, like a married couple who are in a state of boredom.”

“Let’s split up? I understand what you’re trying to say, but isn’t now the time to gather and unite? The only way to survive is to fall in while the imperial family hasn’t figured it out yet. We need the help of the headquarters.”

“…Even the unit will not be unaware of the current situation. Didn’t it get a lot of praise from the newspaper? If we act hastily, the unit will try to fire us. Wasn’t everyone ready to give up their lives for you?! But what a way to live!!! That makes sense right now…”

He raised his voice gradually, but when he saw the figures in front of him, he fell silent. No one responds to their words. It doesn’t get angry or block it. I just look at him with eyes filled with anxiety about the current situation. The behavior of those who looked at him quietly seemed to agree that everything he said was right.

As the communion with God disappeared, even the faith that was firm at first began to crack. It wasn’t that the young educator, who had raised his voice to the fullest, couldn’t understand this, but it felt like his stomach was boiling as he kept looking at these pitiful figures.

“This!! This, these apostates.!!!”

“stop.”

When the atmosphere was about to turn violent, the man sitting closest to the top seat stopped it. He raised his hand to stop the man and spoke to everyone in a weak voice.

“Let’s…let’s just do this for today. I think everyone still needs time to think. The next meeting will be held a week later than originally scheduled. You should cool off in the meantime. You talked too much.”

“Yes…”

So the talk ended.

They left the room in the order closest to the seat of honor, and in the end, the only person left in the room was the young instructor who had raised his voice earlier. He stared at the empty center chair for a moment before stepping out the door. They weren’t the only cowards who avoided responsibility.

***

“Looks like it’s going to rain.”

A young man walking down the street muttered as he looked up at the cloudy gray sky.

Perhaps because of what happened at the meeting, the young man’s mood was as gloomy as the sky. The appearance of the sky clogged with clouds looks like one’s own life that has become oblivious. When he saw water droplets falling from the sky to the ground, the young man hurried his steps.

Not long after the young man picked up speed, the ground was completely wet with raindrops. Whether it was light rain or not, the stream became stronger and the young man’s body gradually became heavier. It wasn’t that I didn’t pack a raincoat separately, but the clothes that were completely wet from the rain had turned into a heavy burden.

It’s not like he’s going to have a hard time because he’s buried some water, but is it because he swallowed a heavy stone at the summit? Now even this feels very cramped. With only the thought of wanting to go home quickly, he sprinted faster down the street.

way home. The appearance of Alchemy Castle (練金成) towering in the distance comes into the eye. A place that was once his home and now must be torn down. Ever since he came out of that place, the young man’s eyes looking at the tower contained strange aspirations and strength toward his goal, but not today.

Now, only the dark eyes of a man frustrated with his goal were shining on the glittering golden tower.

“Heh…heh…”

Arriving at the door of the house, he let out a heavy breath and looked down at the ground.

As a mana user, this distance wouldn’t be a problem, but the indescribable stuffiness made him choke. It feels like a stake is stuck in the middle of my chest, and I want to pull it out, but I can’t touch it with my hands.

When he unlocks the door with the key and returns to the house, he is greeted by silence and darkness.

The sound of rain is no longer heard. The feeling of being completely cut off from the rest of the world made him feel relieved and able to breathe. He casually threw off his heavy coat and walked towards his study.

If you pick up a book and sit down in a chair, you’ll fall asleep. It was heading toward the idea. His wet body looked like it needed to be dried, but it was a good thing. He needed a complete break with the outside world now.

The hallway leading to the study was filled with the strong aroma of coffee.

The young man frowned slightly at this and erased the incense. So that the welcome sleep does not run away because of this scent. The scent seemed to grow stronger the closer he got to the study, but the young man didn’t stop going there. I didn’t want to turn my foot again because I could erase it with a single gesture anyway.

Opening the door to the library, he immediately pulled out a book from the bookshelf in front of him and headed to the chair. Since he had already been pushed to his limit in various ways, he didn’t seem to need a book to act as a sleeping pill, but he was holding on to the book.

Now all you have to do is sit down in a chair and you will be able to completely relax. he thought so Unless he hadn’t seen the passenger who came to his chair first.

“You’re late.”

With that word, the dying young man’s senses began to revive. Every time you inhale, the deep aroma of coffee enters your nose. The concentration was so thick that I wondered why I had not noticed this until now, but the answer to this question was not important now.

The eyes of the dragon staring at him in the dark made him unable to move as if his entire body was frozen.