Chapter 156
Chapter 156
Palace of Dreams (2)
“What now?”
I closed my eyes against the brilliant light, then opened them to find myself in an unfamiliar place. In the dim chamber stood a device that emitted a bizarre operating sound.
The only difference from the game was that, besides the barrier protecting the device, crystal walls that appeared to be made of Canis's crystal surrounded the area.
I gently set the Dream Bird down on the floor and slowly walked forward. Just then, I noticed a gap in the barrier, wide enough for someone to pass through.
“Senior!”
“Davide!”
The moment Winter and Aro spotted me, they hurried over while calling my name.
Winter, in particular, turned deathly pale the instant she saw me. Only then did I remember that I was covered in wyvern blood. Even though it had been made of clouds, it had still spewed blood.
“It isn't my blood.”
“R-Really? You're not hurt anywhere?”
Without even listening to me, Winter immediately began checking me over. I simply stood still and let her do as she pleased.
Instead, I observed the strange standoff unfolding before me. On our side were the Homeless Man, the Imperial Princess, the Vice-Commander, and the members of our Religious Order.
Facing us were the Administrator of the Floating Island and the Academy personnel.
“Director?”
“...Student Davide.”
I called out to the familiar face among them. After confirming it was me, the Academy Director let out a quiet sigh.
“You insolent brat! Do you have any idea where you are?! This is where one of the Floating Island's most important devices is located!”
The Administrator of the Floating Island raised his voice without the slightest regard for the Imperial Princess's presence.
Pointing a finger at me, he flew into a rage. His face was flushed bright red, showing just how furious he was.
I merely smiled at him in an irritating manner.
“And what important device would that be?”
“What?”
“I was asking what important device is supposedly here.”
The Administrator ground his teeth. Winter gently tugged at my sleeve. Her face was filled with worry.
I lightly patted her shoulder and slowly stepped forward. I stole a glance at the Imperial Princess. Standing behind the Vice-Commander, she had her arms crossed beneath a robe.
“This area of the Floating Island strictly prohibits unauthorized entry! I will report this incident to the Academic Department!”
Ignoring the Administrator's threatening words, I suddenly brought up something entirely unrelated. Everyone present looked puzzled.
“Come to think of it, Administrator, weren't you classmates with the Director?”
“What are you getting at?”
“Your complexion looks remarkably healthy. Your magic also seems incredibly pure. Could it be that you've been draining someone else's life force?”
“You bastard!”
Enraged by my insulting remark, the Administrator cast a spell at me.
It was Magic Cloth, one of the most common spells.
However, depending on the caster's ability, its power increased exponentially. It was a spell commonly used by mages without an elemental affinity.
“Hm.”
Even so, it was completely useless against my sword, which blocked magic itself. With nothing more than a simple upward slash, Magic Cloth split cleanly in half.
“What do you think you're doing?!”
The Academy Director shouted in anger.
Regardless of any wrongdoing, attacking a student who was still so young was unacceptable. Moreover, the current situation was based only on circumstantial evidence, with nothing conclusively proven.
It was exactly the sort of behavior that would provoke a Director who cared deeply for his students.
Yet the Administrator ignored him completely and simply continued glaring at me.
“Conducting illegal magical experiments is, by itself, a serious crime. Isn't that right, Vice-Commander?”
“Indeed. Under Imperial law, any experiment conducted without proper authorization is subject to severe punishment.”
The Vice-Commander perceptively sided with me. Before I knew it, I was standing shoulder to shoulder with the Homeless Man.
“What about experiments that extract the power of spiritual creatures or flora and fauna protected by the state?”
“That would be an extremely serious offense. If Chimera creation is considered the highest category of crime, then this would rank immediately below it.”
As I listened to the Vice-Commander's answer, I nudged the Homeless Man beside me.
He let out a small chuckle at my cue and handed me something from inside his clothes.
It was a stack of documents, taken from within the Homeless Man's now surprisingly clean outfit.
I accepted them and handed them over to the Vice-Commander.
“Hm.”
After carefully reading through the papers, the Vice-Commander briefly shifted her gaze toward the device.
Then she looked back at the Administrator.
Receiving that icy stare, the Administrator visibly shrank back.
The Vice-Commander then handed the documents she had been reading to the Imperial Princess.
“Y-Your Imperial Highness...”
The Imperial Princess, who had been reading the documents, quietly removed her robe.
Apparently, she had thrown it over herself immediately after passing through the opening, so only now did many people realize who she was.
Without exception, everyone dropped to one knee and paid their respects.
“In the name of the Imperial Princess, I hereby decree that the Administrator of the Floating Island is stripped of all positions and authority, and his magic shall be returned to the Imperial House. His crimes are the exploitation of the magic of a Class-1 protected species and the conduct of illegal experiments.”
The Academy Director was the first to move.
The moment the Imperial Princess finished speaking, he used the spatial magic he was so proud of to bind the Administrator.
The Imperial Princess tossed the documents to the Director. Catching them with magic, he slowly read through them.
“...What a fallen age.”
The Academy Director let out a heavy sigh.
The bitterness in his voice was unmistakable.
“D-Director! Weren't we classmates?! You're going to judge me guilty based on nothing more than those papers?! I've clearly been framed!”
“Silence.”
The Director growled at the Administrator's desperate plea.
He then walked over to the Imperial Princess and bowed deeply.
“I sincerely apologize for causing Your Imperial Highness concern. If I may ask, would you permit the Academic Department to handle the matter from this point onward? I swear that we will carry out Your Imperial Highness's judgment without the slightest leniency.”
“I permit it.”
With the Imperial Princess's approval, the Academy Director straightened himself.
The look he directed toward the Administrator had become frighteningly cold.
With a single wave of the Director's hand, the bound Administrator disappeared.
The dignified white-haired gentleman who had once descended from the Floating Island vanished in an instant.
I stretched my arms widely.
Complicated matters like this were now for the Imperial Princess and the Academy Director to deal with.
All that remained was cleaning up the remaining horned monsters on the Floating Island.
I just had to keep collecting horns and Mandrake Seeds.
“Your Imperial Highness.”
At that moment, the Homeless Man suddenly knelt before the Imperial Princess.
I looked at him in confusion.
The Imperial Princess merely gazed at him indifferently.
“Yes. Is there something you wish to say?”
“I have but one humble request.”
At his words, the Imperial Princess's eyes twitched slightly.
She stroked her chin for a moment in thought.
“You were the one who submitted the evidence in this case. Your actions are worthy of commendation. Very well, speak.”
“The Administrator's magic originally belonged to the Dream Bird. Though I make this request with the utmost humility, I ask that the magic be returned to its rightful owner.”
I tilted my head.
Come to think of it, the Imperial Princess had said she would confiscate the Administrator's magic.
I hadn't even known such a thing was possible.
Well, apparently it was. The Homeless Man's request sounded perfectly reasonable.
“Hm.”
“?”
Suddenly, the Imperial Princess met my eyes.
She stared at me intently before giving a slight nod, as though asking for my opinion.
Out of habit, I almost shrugged but stopped myself.
Etiquette mattered here, and I had no intention of giving anyone an excuse to criticize me.
Though, to be fair, I'd already crossed plenty of lines.
“I grant your request. Consult with the Director regarding the details. Afterwards, submit a written report.”
“Your grace is beyond measure.”
The Homeless Man could not hide his delight.
Satisfied that everything had been resolved, I quietly slipped away toward the device surrounded by crystal walls.
There lay the exhausted Dream Bird.
I slowly approached it.
“You've come to your senses?”
-Mwii...
When I lightly poked it, the Dream Bird gave a faint nod.
Chuckling softly, I stroked the back of its neck.
“So...”
-Mwii?
After casually leading into the topic, the half-conscious Dream Bird blinked lazily at me.
“Do you... happen to like lightning?”
-Mwii...?
“Oh? You do? Got it.”
Without another word, I engraved Anaye's mark onto the back of the Dream Bird's neck.
Neither the Holy Scripture nor the Dream Bird showed any resistance.
Seeing Anaye's emblem clearly engraved there, I smiled.
Somehow, every Believer I gathered turned out to be non-human, but as long as they were useful, wasn't that enough?
“Hey~ It suits you really well.”
-....
The Dream Bird looked utterly dumbfounded by my joke.
I simply patted it gently.
“Hm. So this is where you were.”
“You're here.”
Hearing footsteps approaching from the entrance, I looked up.
The Homeless Man was slowly walking toward me.
“Thank you. Honestly, I thought this would take far longer and be much more difficult, but you and your companions possess remarkable abilities.”
“I guess we do.”
I was just as bewildered.
We hadn't even followed the game's sequence, yet the other members of the Religious Order had happened to be doing the quest at exactly the right time.
Thanks to that, we finished everything in about half the original time.
“I'll be sure to repay you properly someday.”
“I'll be looking forward to it.”
“Haha. First, I should treat the Dream Bird. I'll come find you tomorrow.”
Watching him gently stroke the Dream Bird with great care, I nodded.
“May I know your name?”
“My name?”
The Homeless Man stopped me as I turned to leave.
After giving him a puzzled look, I answered.
“Davide.”
“I thought you were a noble.”
“I was disowned.”
“Such is the way of the world. My name is Berrot Oppenheimer.”
Leaving Berrot behind, I walked out.
By then, most of the people had already left.
I headed over to where the members of the Religious Order were gathered.
“So~ Is everything finally over~?”
“More or less. We'll probably be questioned, though.”
Since we had been deeply involved in the incident, there was no avoiding an investigation.
I had enough justification to refuse if I really wanted to, but there wasn't any particular reason to do so.
“Canis, you handle everything that happened outside. Since the Vice-Commander and Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess were inside, they probably won't ask about that, but if they do, Worden, you answer.”
“...It really feels like you're making me do all the work~”
I raised my fist at Canis's timid complaint.
He instantly shut his mouth.
“For now, let's head back to the inn. We can rest until they call for us.”
And so we returned to the inn.
More than anything, I wanted to wash up.
***
“Ah, you're awake?”
“Yeah. Morning.”
I woke up around lunchtime.
For once, I had enjoyed a truly refreshing sleep.
After roughly washing up, I headed downstairs and found the ever-diligent Winter waiting there.
She was reading a book about religion while sipping tea.
“Well, technically it's lunchtime. Hehe.”
Winter seemed to have slept well too, judging from how cheerful she looked.
I ordered one breakfast set from the counter and sat across from her.
“Where is everyone else?”
“I'm not sure. I think they're probably all still asleep.”
Worden and I had obviously gone through a lot, but the rest of the Religious Order members had also been running around nonstop.
I stole Winter's cup of tea and took a drink.
It was cool and refreshing. I generally preferred that over warm tea, but after drinking hot tea so often lately, this wasn't bad either.
Winter stared at me blankly after having her tea stolen.
“What are you reading?”
“Advanced Inquisitor Studies.”
Watching her read so intently made me curious, but the answer I got was unbelievable.
If I remembered correctly, one of the certifications had been something like "Heresy Interrogation and Torture."
“You already have that certification.”
“That's only Grade 2. I made too many mistakes during the practical exam, so I couldn't get Grade 1. I'm studying so I can earn it this time.”
“...Why?”
I asked sincerely.
I genuinely couldn't understand why anyone would need such a certification.
Instead, Winter looked at me as though I were the strange one.
“The rules say that if a Religious Order wants to establish a position related to handling heretics, someone in the Religious Order has to hold a Grade 1 certification.”
“Oh.”
“And besides... I finally feel like I can actually do something now.”
The future Anti-Fiendbeast Unit would officially operate under the guise of heresy investigations.
Winter said she was preparing for that.
I found it admirable.
Still, I couldn't help wondering if someone might nitpick it later.
“In that case, take Canis with you and study—”
“Canis~ has arrived!”
The moment I absentmindedly said Canis's name, he suddenly popped out of nowhere.
At this point, neither Winter nor I was startled anymore.
People really could adapt to anything.
“Anyway, take this guy with you and have him take the exam too.”
“Ah. Okay.”
“Hmm~ You didn't even return my greeting~ I'm hurt~”
Despite what he said, Canis didn't look hurt in the slightest as he slipped into the seat beside Winter.
He glanced at the book she was reading.
Hearing his name and being told to take the exam together, he seemed to have figured out what was going on.
“Ooh~ I'm pretty good at torture too~ This should be easy~”
“Ahem. It isn't quite that simple. The subject is Heresy Interrogation and Torture. Torture is difficult enough, but interrogation is far more challenging.”
I idly passed the time watching the two chat away.
Yawning broadly as I waited for my meal, I noticed someone approaching our table.
“Hm? You're here early.”
“I suppose my timing wasn't the best. I should've come a little earlier.”
The Homeless Man, Berrot, appeared.
My companions rose from their seats and greeted him politely.
Since he had come at just the right time, I invited him to sit.
“You're here about the reward?”
“Something like that. I also have something I'd like to discuss while I'm here.”
He was still dressed in the Homeless Man's usual shabby clothes, but Berrot himself was at least clean now.
I was relieved that he didn't smell anymore.
“Ta-da~ Have a drink while you talk~”
Canis disappeared and reappeared almost instantly, carrying four mugs of beer.
Drinking in the middle of the day was ridiculous, but I didn't really mind.
Berrot also accepted his mug without complaint.
He even pulled the flustered Winter into the toast before clinking glasses.
After taking a hearty gulp of beer in a surprisingly manly fashion, Berrot slowly began to speak.