Max Richthofen.

A name I’d heard Leo mention a few times.

He sat across from Narce, who was currently disguised as me.

“You look pretty unwell.”

Narce kept his expression neutral, careful not to smile or show his usual habits while under the illusion.

Max leaned back, smiling faintly as he spoke softly.

“Not much else—I just thought I’d check in. Our school’s the only one with both second and third-year Proyssen teams in the quarterfinals. It’d be tough if you stayed out for too long. Even the professor asked if you’d be able to return, despite how difficult it must be.”

“I’d like to, but it’s hard to sit for long.”

“Hmm, I thought so. It’s not an order, so no worries.”

Everything so far seemed innocuous.

But that wasn’t the point.

This wasn’t why he had approached Narce.

What is he really getting at?

It’s always difficult to read someone you’ve just met.

Narce sipped his tea silently.

“By the way, you look fine.”

“…….”

Curious.

The illusion I’d cast showed me unscathed.

Why bring this up unless he knew something?

I was certain Max hadn’t seen me prior to the attack, so how could he know what state I’d been in?

Does this mean he’s figured out that Dietrich Granaach and Lucas are the same person?

He doesn’t have insight-based abilities, so how has he come so close to the truth?

It’s fascinating but also unsettling.

Still, Narce remained composed, his gaze fixed on the teacup as he responded.

“Why wouldn’t I be fine?”

“No reason. You look great. It’d be good if you stayed that way.”

“I intend to.”

“Well, take it however you want, but I mean it sincerely.”

Max smiled, stood, and turned to leave.

“Do pass along my regards.”

“…….”

Narce slowly set the teacup down, the faintest hint of amusement curling at his lips as he watched Max walk away.

***

“Do pass along my regards.”

The meaning was clear.

Max knew Narce wasn’t me, and he knew I had entered the Catacombs.

Furthermore, his comment about staying “this way” was a warning—don’t come back.

But that’s not an option.

Narce said there wasn’t a strong sense of connection to the Emperor, but the situation was murky.

Unless Max was a direct link to the Emperor, there was no reason for his presence to deter us from continuing the mission.

“Warm weather today. Though the rain suggests otherwise.”

Marianne Baum’s voice broke my train of thought.

I followed his gaze to the window, where rain—not snow—was falling just days before New Year’s.

Given that we were bracing for potential bloodshed in the Catacombs, mild weather was a small mercy.

Baum turned to the disguised Leo standing behind me.

“So, this is the friend you mentioned—the one who can use magic.”

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Michael Schultz.”

Hearing Leo’s serious tone in Narce’s voice was… disconcerting.

Leo was using the alias Narce had adopted previously.

It wouldn’t matter for long. I handed Baum the forged ID and documents we’d prepared.

“If you’re bringing someone, I need their details first.”

“Very well. Shall we go?”

Baum tucked the documents into his bag and led us to the rooftop.

***

“Won’t you verify the documents now?”

“I trust you’ve brought someone reliable. There aren’t many people who’d endure such a beating without using magic.”

“…….”

Trusting me this much feels undeserved.

Enduring that attack without retaliation had been the right call, but I couldn’t help feeling a pang of guilt.

Of course, Baum knew the documents would be submitted to the Catacombs’ security office, so he was likely relying on their system to verify them.

“Rooftop?” Leo muttered.

With the rain coming down, there wasn’t much time to explain.

Baum drew a magic circle on the ground with his staff, tapping it rapidly with his ring.

“…!”

We found ourselves standing on the same illusory glass floor as before, high above the clouds.

“…Wow.”

Leo couldn’t hide his amazement.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” Baum grinned.

He chanted a command, and the familiar Catacombs landscape unfolded around us.

As we walked, I turned to Baum.

“Do you know much about the Catacombs’ militia?”

“The militia? Sure, why?”

“What’s their standing here?”

“They’re essentially the police. There aren’t enough officers for a place like this.”

So there were police, after all.

Given the transient population, a formal police force couldn’t possibly cover everything.

“Why do you ask?”

“There was a report of newbloods at the tavern I visited yesterday.”

“Hm?” Baum tilted his head, rubbing his chin.

“I hadn’t heard about that. Normally, such an incident would be announced across the Catacombs. How were they identified?”

Leo and I exchanged a glance.

If it was something that should have been announced widely but wasn’t, the report must have been fabricated.

“I didn’t get the details.”

“Interesting. I’ll have to look into that later.”

Baum gestured for us to explore the city and turned to leave.

I stopped him.

“Wait.”

“What is it?”

“There’s something I need to discuss with you.”

***

After parting with Baum, we headed to the agreed meeting place with Elias.

Leo broke the silence first.

“The report was a decoy.”

“Exactly.”

The report had been fake, which explained why it hadn’t been announced.

“Who do you think made it?”

“I thought it might be that third-year, but…”

Before the time reset, he’d fled as if he’d seen something he wasn’t supposed to.

Would someone like that report us and then join the search party?

“Still, his knowledge of Granaach complicates things.”

Until more clues surfaced, I had to set the matter aside.

“For now, we can’t say. Leo…”

“What?”

“Can’t you use insight magic in that body?”

“…Obviously not. It’s just an illusion.”

A shame.

If it were possible, Narce would have mentioned it yesterday.

Leo scowled, clearly unsettled.

“…This whole thing’s awkward enough without you reminding me. I was starting to forget I’m walking around as Narce.”

“You’re doing fine. It’s refreshing seeing eye-to-eye with you for once.”

“…….”

Leo seemed more uncomfortable than anyone else about using someone else’s face, but it didn’t stand out much to onlookers.

Ahead, I noticed a familiar figure lying in a park.

A massive dog circled him lazily.

“Oh, come on. Why does he look familiar?”

Ignoring Leo’s muttered disbelief, I approached Elias, who was reclining casually.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh! You’re here.”

Elias shot up, casting a silencing spell and wiping the grin off his face.

“So… you’ve already stirred things up? Impressive.”

“They’re just being efficient.”

With Baum gone, whoever was after us would make their move now.

I didn’t bother scanning the surroundings; the growing sense of magic beneath us told me everything I needed to know.

The murky dawn sky began to brighten into an unnervingly uniform white.

A space-altering spell.

The outside world would remain untouched while this pocket of chaos unfolded.

Leo drew his wand from its holster, steady and prepared.

“As expected.”

I nodded.

Expected?

More like… hoped for.

Boom!

A deafening roar tore through the air as a blinding golden light erupted in my peripheral vision.

Leo deflected the attack, and the golden barrier around us wavered under the impact. The shockwave rattled my skin like a drumhead.

[“I was quite clear about delivering the message.”]

A familiar voice echoed from above.

Dozens of figures in black robes emerged from the mist, and the reason for Elias’s earlier comments about the “fog” became immediately clear.

[“It seems you’re unfamiliar with Catacombs law. The rule is simple: newbloods are to be executed on sight.”]

Coming from him? Hypocrisy much.

Richthofen hailed from a noble Proyssen family. The fact that someone like him could even utter such a statement without irony was astounding.

[“Two newbloods and one unidentified figure. If necessary, eliminate the unidentified one as well.”]

Before his words fully registered, I swung my wand with all my might.

BOOOOOM!

Dust and rubble flew as grey mana surged, smashing against the barrier.

“Wow, this is the dumbest frontal assault I’ve ever seen,” Elias said with mock admiration.

Despite the relentless onslaught, Elias stood relaxed behind the golden shield Leo and I had conjured.

“Now’s not the time to relax,” Leo snapped as his wand swiped through the air, bolstering the barrier. “Unless you’d rather get fried and forget how to block!”

Elias sighed theatrically. “You’re just grumpy because we’re cornered. We really should’ve picked a better place to lie low.”

His smile faded as he gripped his staff.

“Hold the barrier steady,” he ordered sharply.

Before I could respond, Elias slammed the staff into the ground.

CRAAAACK!

The barrier we’d been maintaining shattered under the force of blue mana bursting outward. My ears rang, the delay in sound only amplifying the blow’s force.

“Ugh!”

I felt the crack in my personal mana shield deepen as I struggled to maintain composure.

If I hadn’t fortified myself… that would’ve sent me straight to the infirmary.

Elias’s intent was clear. He used the shockwave to break our barrier, weaponizing it to knock back the enemy forces surrounding us.

Still, this approach could only work for so long.

“I can’t keep holding them off like this,” Leo called, sweeping away a fresh wave of grey mana blasts.

I took a quick count.

Five on me, three on Leo, two circling Elias.

Direct confrontation wouldn’t work. The area was too open, and this many attackers required a shift in strategy.

Fortifying my shield, I bolted toward the residential area behind the park.

BOOM!

Grey blasts streaked past, narrowly missing as I ducked into an alley.

A flash of silver caught my eye as one of the enemy mages followed close behind. I transformed my wand into a sword and prepared for a fight.

“Stay still,” I muttered, casting a binding spell aimed at his legs.

Predictably, he broke free, launching a counterattack with uncanny speed.

Not bad. But…

CRACK!

I cast a thin barrier of light that shattered as his mana struck, creating a blinding flash.

In the momentary confusion, I closed the gap and grabbed his shoulder from behind.

“Not watching your back, huh?”

I channeled a concentrated burst of mana into the tip of my sword, driving it toward his core.

FWOOSH—BOOOM!

The mage screamed as his mana core ruptured, collapsing to the ground.

No time to waste.

I lunged at the second mage, already closing in, as he morphed his wand into a blade.

“Really? Two-on-one?”

I clicked my tongue as the two coordinated their attacks. It made sense. I was the target, after all.

Despite my attempts to gain the upper hand, something felt… off.

As I shattered the core of one of them, a viscous black liquid spilled out, staining the ground.

Vitriol? No, it’s too runny. What is this stuff?

Questions raced through my mind as I felt another surge of mana from behind.

CLANG!

Blocking a strike, I grimaced.

There was no time to interrogate these pawns. I had bigger fish to fry—specifically, Richthofen.

I rushed toward the building where Elias had taken cover, only to sense another mage lurking nearby.

CRASH!

A window shattered, followed by a sharp scream.

Looking up, I saw Elias perched on the third floor, dissipating a mana-formed bow.

“Took you long enough,” he called cheerfully, winking as he leapt down.

Behind him, Leo scowled.

Elias surveyed the battlefield with exaggerated nonchalance.

“Well, that’s it, isn’t it? If they had more forces, they’d have sent them by now.”

“…….”

“Seriously, they sent thirty mages to kill us, and we’re still standing. You’d think they’d plan better.”

As he finished speaking, the air shimmered, and Richthofen himself stepped into the space.

He surveyed the downed mages before speaking, his tone calm but cutting.

“Breaking their cores instead of killing them? I can’t say I approve.”

WHAM!

Elias lashed out, but Richthofen deflected the blow effortlessly.

“I’m not really here, so you’re wasting your energy.” He smiled thinly. “But I am curious—are you Nicolas Ernst?”

Richthofen’s gaze flicked between Leo and me.

“Which one of you is it? My superior insists I find out.”

“…….”

My lips curled into a smirk.

So that’s it.

It wasn’t just about us being newbloods. He wanted Nicolas Ernst.

Which meant one of two things: either the Catacombs’ militia was entirely infiltrated by Pleroma, or Robert Müller himself was pulling the strings here.

Before I could respond, the air shifted again, and the sky turned a deep crimson.

WOOOOOOO!

A loud announcement boomed overhead.

[“Attention: Two newbloods and one unidentified individual have infiltrated District 1 of the Bavaria Catacombs. Please evacuate immediately.”]

The crimson sky displayed a massive projection of my face alongside Elias’s.

[Karl Hahn/Elias Hohenzollern][Dietrich Granaach/—][—]

Elias gawked at the sky before turning to me.

“…They really escalated this.”

I chuckled.

This was perfect.

If they wanted to paint me as a villain to the entire Catacombs, I’d use it to turn the narrative in my favor.

Let’s see who’s really on top by the end of this.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep