CH 43

༺ Similar, Yet Different ༻

“No way…”

After seeing Frey lose consciousness on the top floor of the commoner’s dormitory, Irina was in shock.

“Is it really true that he acted as the medium himself?”

Based on the theory that Irina established, to destroy the magic circle drawn inside the commoner’s dormitory, it was essential to install a ‘Medium’, where mana was concentrated, in the center of the magic circle.

Only by concentrating a large amount of mana in the medium, and then releasing all of it at once, was it possible to shatter the structure of the magic circle inscribed with dark magic.

Of course, there is also a standard method by decrypting the magic circles in the order they were drawn.

However, in an urgent situation like this, if the standard method was used, the magic circle would have been activated, so there was probably no other way.

Still, there are significant risks in this method as it does not follow the standard decryption method.

That is….

“…Are you perhaps dead? Frey?”

Irina, who was immersed in her thoughts as she stared blankly at Frey, came to her senses after a while when she heard Ferloche’s voice in front of her.

“Um…hello? Mr. scumbag?”

Ferloche was poking Frey with a slightly terrified expression.

“Hiik!”

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Ferloche, who continued to poke Frey with her fingers, screamed in shock when Clana grabbed her by the shoulder from behind.

“Frey is currently unconscious.”

“Oh…I see..”

Upon hearing those words, Ferloche stepped back with a complicated expression on her face, but Clana was still looking down at Frey.

– Spark

Then, a small golden flash of light began circulating in Clana’s hand.

“Argh….”

Seeing the light, Ferloche made an anticipated expression, while Clana began approaching Frey with a resolute expression.

“Frey!! Are you all right!?”

But at that moment, Serena rushed over to Frey.

“Please step aside for a second, Serena. I will take a look…”

“Ah, the crow that was probably controlling Frey is staggering!!”

Clana frowned slightly and opened her mouth, but Serena began talking without giving her a chance.

“That crow is the culprit behind everything! So, at least, in this case, Frey is innocent…”

“…Sigh…”

Clana looked at Serena for a moment as she hugged Frey and started speaking urgently, then turned around with a cold expression on her face.

“Your Highness…Clana..”

Then Ferloche looked at her drenched in a cold sweat.

“…it’s rather good. It’s a good opportunity to ruin him.”

“But still….”

“If I were to kill him now, I could probably pull it off… But then, that would be a very comfortable death for him, and there would be too many witnesses. Not to mention, the corruption and the information about the Demon King’s army that will be buried with his death will be considerable.”

Clana, who had been talking to Ferloche, heaved a deep sigh and continued to speak.

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“There are a lot of evil people in this Empire, besides Frey. And we must somehow seize power and drive them out. So, we cannot rush things.”

“Yes…”

When Ferloche answered with a sullen expression on her face, Clana continued to speak, quietly looking at Frey behind her.

“Still, this doesn’t mean that I will just stand there and do nothing.”

“What?”

“This incident has revealed that Frey is involved with the Demon King. Most likely, this news will soon be known to the public and his reputation will be smothered.”

“Still, if Frey uses another scheme…”

“It’s not like I’ve been playing until now. I have already gathered some influence. So, the moment I get out of here, my three spies will spread rumors all over the Empire. That will be our first counterattack against Frey and the Empire’s darkness .”

At that, Ferloche opened her mouth and looked at Clana.

“This is just the beginning. I will gather my forces as quickly as possible to bring down Frey, and afterwards, I will purge all the corrupt nobles associated with him.”

“I see…”

“So, let’s postpone killing him until later. Now is the time to revive the Empire and use him to defeat the Demon King.”

When Clana finished her speech, Ferloche, who was nodding fiercely, immediately tilted her head and asked a question.

“Uh… By the way, why is Ms. Kania -?”

But Clana hurriedly shut her mouth before she could finish her words, and Ferloche began fussing with an anxious look.

“…I’ll personally let her know later.”

Clana, meanwhile, answered while staring quietly at Kania, who was watching Frey with Serena and Isolet from afar.

“Um…. by the way..”

To those two, Irina, who had been watching them quietly until then, spoke in a hesitant tone.

“Uh, yes?”

“What is it?”

Then, Ferloche and Clana naturally moved away from each other and tilted their heads when Irina, who was observing them for a while, asked a question in a hushed tone.

“…You two have memories of the future as well, right?”

“Uh, uh, how would we know?”

Then Ferloche broke out a cold sweat and began to stutter.

“…Ferloche, did you forget that Irina is not a bad person?”

“Oh, that’s right!”

Clana, who drove sense into Ferloche, quietly looked at Irina and said.

“…Let’s all talk in more detail later..”

“Is it going to be…another cat cafe?”

“No, there is a place set aside by my three spies.”

After finishing her sentence, Clana quietly turned her gaze towards Frey.

“By the way, he must have taken a significant amount of damage.”

“…I guess so.”

As Ferloche had a concerned face as it was the first time that she didn’t treat a severely wounded person, Clana, who was quietly clenching her teeth, murmured.

“Although things would get quite difficult if he were to die now… but honestly, on the other hand, I want him to just die already.”

Then Ferloche, who had a knack for healing, quietly opened her mouth.

“Seeing how the mana of his body is disorganized, I think he will stay unconscious for at least a week.”

“….How persistent.”

Irina, who had been silently listening to their conversation, continued her trail of thoughts.

‘Still, I can’t believe that he tried to become the medium himself.’

The ‘Medium’ used to shatter the sacrificial magic circle must have excellent mana cohesion. Not just a bit, but a lot.

Of course, if it is a small magic circle, it could be replaced with artificial mana concentrators or magic stones, but if it is a large magic circle that assigns all the students of the commoner’s dormitory as sacrifices, even if it is an unexpected emergency… There is only one medium that can be used.

Which is a human being.

After the spirits, who have been using mana since birth, humans are ranked second in terms of their familiarity with mana, and are able to freely manipulate the mana existing in nature as well as their body.

Of course, to use the same amount of mana that was just used… the person needs to be strong.

In other words, it is natural for the other people to think that what just happened is a side effect of the magic circle’s failure to activate… Considering the usual weak and incompetent state of Frey.

However…

‘What if Frey is… really Liana, who saved me last time?’

Frey protected me all day with his completely tattered body and slew the demons.

Not to mention her condition worsened after she defeated the Dark Golem that destroyed the Sunrise Academy and disappeared.

If ‘Liana’, a mysterious woman who somehow knows the nickname I personally gave to the fruit, is actually Frey, then the hypothesis that has been set up so far will also be proved.

Frey used himself as a medium to shatter the sacrificial magic circle.

While acting as if he was brainwashed by the crow.

Otherwise, there would be no way that a person who wants to awaken the power of the Demon King would be able to do something that would entail the terrible pain of condensing mana into the body of his own volition.

‘…Still, how come?’

Then why did Frey come up with such a plan?

In my memory of the future, he had committed terrible evil deeds.

Unable to feel any kindness or compassion, his evil deeds… literally seemed like a concentration of all evil in the world.

So, why the hell did he directly break the magic circle that awakened the power of the Demon King, just before activation?

Perhaps all of this was something he had in store, but… his plan went awry, so he decided to betray the Demon King, and broke the magic circle?

Or, is there some reason for there to have been no other choice but to break the magic circle while acting?

‘I don’t know… The information I have is too vague.’

Irina, who was following Clana and Ferloche towards the entrance of the dormitory, ruminated repeatedly. She then stopped for a moment and began to organize her thoughts.

‘But… one thing is for sure; there must be some reason that Frey saved everyone today.’

Of course, Irina did not know why.

However, the zeal and tenacity that had raised Irina as an Archmage had just decided to get to the bottom of this.

So, from now on, Irina will officially start making moves to find out why Frey made such a choice.

Also, she will investigate the relationship between Frey and ‘Liana,’ why he became so evil, his relationship with the Demon King, and everything else related to Frey.

Irina’s passion for completing all these missions set her heart on fire.

“Remember this, Ferloche. From now on, you must not trust anyone.”

“Does that mean that…I should trust Clana? Or no?”

“I should bring some people over. You guys should watch Frey…”

Thus, Irina made up her mind as such and began heading out of the commoner’s dormitory with Ferloche, Clana, and Isolet, who was also heading to the entrance to call for reinforcements…but…

“Aaaarghhh!!!”

“F-Frey!!!”

Hearing the sudden screams of Frey and Serena, Irina turned around, along with others in shock.

“”………!!!””

What came into their view was…

“Frey!! What are you doing? Get a grip!”

“Aaa-aargh…”

Frey, who was trembling with blood gushing out of his eyes, nose, and ears, entered their field of vision.

“Ah, no! Noooooo!!”

With a shocked expression, Serena, who was looking at the profusely bleeding Frey, immediately embraced him and exclaimed.

“Get someone! No, Ferloche! Please help! Please!!”

“……..”

“Frey is going to die like this!! Please!!”

Amidst such a mixture of shock and surprise, Kania, who had been standing quietly next to him until then, began to tremble and mutter.

“Who.. is it….”

Kania understood the current situation better than anyone, and this broke her heart, but she could only keep her head down and mutter.

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“Who… noticed…”

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On the other hand, a few minutes before Frey began profusely bleeding from his nose, eyes, and ears.

“Hello~? Is anyone there?”

A girl was knocking on the door of the orphanage Frey had built in secret.

“..What brings you here?”

After the girl knocked on the door for a while, a female employee opened the door and answered with a puzzled look.

“Is this the newly built orphanage?”

“Yes, it is. Why?”

Then the girl, who once again confirmed that this was an orphanage, went inside and said with a bright smile.

“Do you need an employee, by any chance?”

“…An employee?”

“Yes, an employee.”

When the girl asked such a question with her eyes twinkling, the female employee spoke with a bewildered expression on her face.

“Well… Since it is a newly built place, it is true that we are short of workers…”

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“Is that so!? Then just hire me!”

“…Huh?”

“I’m strong and a diligent worker! So, just let me do the work!”

Saying that, the girl urged, and the female employee who watched her blankly for a moment sighed and said.

“Well… Since we are yet to place an advertisement for new hires, we have not decided on the pay rate. So, please give me a moment to decide the rate…”

“I won’t take anything.”

“Excuse me?”

However, when the girl stopped the female employee in the middle of her sentence, she looked even more confused.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not working to get paid.”

“Th-Then why..?”

The girl replied with an impassive face.

“I’m also an orphan. I know the pain more than anyone else.”

“Ah…”

While the female employee was at a loss for words at that unexpected remark, the girl quietly closed her eyes and continued speaking.

“My dream is to give hope to all orphans in the Empire, so I’m taking the first step here to make that dream a reality.”

After she had finished speaking, the girl smiled innocently and brightly, and the female employee who was moved by such a girl quietly stroked her hair and said.

“…I guess there was one more Saintess in the empire.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

The girl, who had a slightly blushed expression on her face, turned her head and then pointed to the inside of the orphanage and asked.

“Are the children over there?”

“Yes, they are. Do you want me to introduce you?”

“Of course!”

When the girl nodded, the female employee looked at her with delight, then grabbed her hand and entered the orphanage.

“”Hello, everybody!!””

Then, all the children playing inside bowed their heads all at once to greet the female staff, and the female staff began to look at them with delight.

“…The children are quite cheerful?”

“Yes, they are in that age group. My younger sibling was like that, too…”

“You have a sibling?”

When the girl tilted her head and asked a question, the female employee answered with a slight smile.

“Yes, my cute sibling is at the Imperial Academy right now. He’s my most precious kid.”

“Is that so? I’m going to the academy next year too.”

“Oh, is that so?”

While they were having a conversation about the academy for a while, someone suddenly approached the female employee and the girl.

“…Would you like candy?”

A kid was handing candy to the girl with twinkling eyes.

“Thank you.”

The girl who took the candy from the little boy smiled and patted his head, then the little boy’s face turned red and he left the room.

“Does that kid live here as well?”

“No, he visits often because he has many friends here.”

“A-ha…”

The girl, who had been staring at the little boy, at once asked a question in a serious tone.

“By the way, where are these children from?”

“Um… most of them are children begging in the alleys of the market.”

“Still, they are pretty ‘healthy’, aren’t they?”

“Yes, it seems like they also had some money for some reason… and there were signs that they had been well taken care of…”

The female employee, who had her hand on her chin and tilted her head for a moment, carefully made a guess.

“Perhaps the children who were being managed by an orphanage were left on the streets as the orphanage collapsed?”

“…It’s similar.”

“Hmm?”

“Oh, I think so too.”

And from that point on, the girl’s expression suddenly hardened while she was gazing into thin air. She then at once corrected her words and asked one more question to the female employee.

“This orphanage, will it continue to be maintained without failure?”

“Yes, for some reason… We are getting a fairly good budget. It’s a good thing for us.”

“I see..”

After hearing the answer, the girl looked around the orphanage in satisfaction, and the female employee, who was staring at her quietly, inquired.

“…By the way, will you really be fine?”

“Yes?”

“I still think that you should get paid…”

“No, I’m fine.”

The girl, who once again cut off the female employee’s words, answered with a smile

“As I have said already, I’m not doing this for money.”

Having said that, the girl nodded and said,

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow. I need… to care of business today.”

“All right, I’ll see you tomorrow!”

The female employee waved at the girl as she headed to the entrance of the orphanage. She then turned around and asked a question that she just remembered,

“Ah, there… What was your name?”

Then the girl, who stopped walking and stood there for a moment, responded with a subtle smile.

“…Please call me Ruby.”

Having said that, the girl opened the entrance door wide and left the orphanage. She then started walking down the street casually.

“Frey Raon Starlight…”

Then, the girl stopped in her tracks and gazed up into the air like before, and muttered under her breath.

“…After all, you are the Hero.”

A creepy smile lingered on the face of the girl who just said that.

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“Sister!! I have returned after handing out all the candy!!”

Shortly after the girl left the orphanage, the kid who had handed her a candy approached another girl and reported with a bright smile.

“Yes… good job.”

The girl who was stroking his hair suddenly made a perplexed expression and asked the person next to her a question.

“Master, is there any magic that makes letters and numbers float in the air?”

“…zzzzzzzzzz.”

“Master?”

But the old lady next to her was in a deep slumber, and the girl began to shake her wildly.

“Master…! You said that when I have any questions, I should ask anytime…!”

“Huh…”

Then the old lady, who was forced to wake up, rubbed her eyes and mumbled bluntly.

“Ah, these damn kids…I really hate whiny brats…”

“But I am also a kid, right?”

“You are an exception.”

The old lady corrected herself right away upon hearing her sulky tone. The girl then asked once more.

“So, is there any magic that makes letters and numbers float in the air?”

“Of course there are. There are probably hundreds to thousands of them.”

“Ummm…”

“Is that all? Then I will go back to sleep. Next time you wake me up, please finish all your tasks here beforehand.”

Then the girl fell into deep thought, and the old lady momentarily scratched her head and fell asleep again.

“It’s strange… Apparently, it doesn’t seem like other people can see it… Is it only visible to me? But then again, why can I see it?”

When the old lady started snoring again, Glare, who had stopped by the orphanage for a while to see her friends…

“By the way…”

She kept pondering over it for a while, and then tilted her head and muttered.

“…What the hell is the [Path of False Evil]?”