“Huh?”

“I said I sent him to my room. Why are you so surprised? He’s the one I’ve been looking for.”

“But weren’t you outside Osnabrück?”

“I returned briefly to speak with him. I’ll be leaving again in an hour.”

I forced the most insufferable grin I could, just as Ainsidel had done, and stepped closer to him.

“I’ll ask what I need to and send him back. Now leave.”

“…Understood.”

Surprisingly, he didn’t doubt me.

As I passed him, I suddenly turned and fired a burst of magic at his neck.

Thud—!

His mouth gaped open.

The spell hit cleanly, and he collapsed without so much as a scream.

Since I was still wearing the bishop’s face, anyone linked to his vision wouldn’t dare protest this action.

Still, I had to move quickly.

I felt the strain on my core as I stepped out the door.

Someone was approaching from the opposite end of the hallway.

“Bishop.”

“……”

A figure slightly lifted their hood, meeting my gaze.

It was Richthofen.

“Narce Farnese’s divine power allowed me to escape, but we don’t have much time.”

‘…He came through for us.’

Marianne Baum had honored our request to bring Narce to the Catacomb.

I’d have to thank him in person once this was over.

I gave Richthofen a silent nod.

Even if it was just an illusion, I had no desire to hear Ainsidel’s voice coming from my own mouth.

Richthofen smiled and led the way.

“Anywhere that smells like paper should be worth checking.”

Narce must have relayed my plan properly.

I followed him outside, down the path he had chosen.

The alleys we took were strangely narrow and felt more like hidden corridors than actual streets. But as long as we reached our destination, I had no complaints.

Before long, we arrived at a building that was an exact replica of part of Göttingen University in Lower Saxony.

Richthofen cast a soundproofing spell.

“I came here earlier, actually. Even seeing it a second time, it’s fascinating. This is my first time in Pleroma’s domain, but it feels eerily similar to the Catacomb.”

“They’re similar, sure. If you ignore the complete lack of originality.”

“You’re right~ They just copied it wholesale and plopped it down here.”

Thanks to our disguises, the guards at the entrance unlocked the door without question and stepped aside.

Richthofen gave them a polite nod as we passed.

The archives were silent.

Looking up from the hollow central hall, I saw rows of bookshelves spanning multiple floors.

Then, footsteps echoed from behind us.

Leo, dressed in a priest’s robe, approached me.

After seeing my face, he hesitated for a moment before regaining his composure.

“There’s no conscious Pleroma left here. Do what you need to.”

“Thanks.”

I had been wondering why there were no other Pleromas using the archives.

Leo must have knocked them all unconscious.

Richthofen, who had been counting the floors, looked at me and asked,

“You’re not seriously planning to destroy everything, are you? Trying to locate spatial layering magic in such a massive space feels… overwhelming.”

“Destroying it all would be the same as declaring war.”

Personally, I wanted to burn it all down.

But that would be the equivalent of broadcasting our location to every enemy nearby.

Scaling things up could be good, but letting things spiral out of control was always a mistake.

“Well, I’m relieved to hear that. So, do you have a plan?”

“No need to worry.”

Leo answered in my place, handing me a wand.

His tone had returned to its usual formal register when addressing Richthofen.

More importantly…

‘…Did I just hear Leo say don’t worry?’

I was winning him over, little by little.

As I silently stared at the air, Leo opened a clutch bag and handed me a small vial.

I recognized it instantly—the Wittelsbach elixir.

Popping the cap open, I drank it down.

My core, which had been depleted, quickly stabilized.

It wouldn’t be enough to break the curse magic woven into the air, but at least it restored my stamina.

I twirled Leo’s wand in my hand to get a feel for it.

“You’re ready to start?”

“Yeah.”

At my response, Leo cast a large-scale soundproofing spell around the entire building.

I transformed Leo’s wand into a staff and struck it against the ground.

—Seek, and you shall find!

A blinding white light filled my vision before quickly dissipating.

Before anyone could say a word, I spoke.

“Catacomb, spatial layering magic.”

At that moment, the lingering divine power in the air responded—a corner on the top floor began to glow.

Richthofen, eyes locked on the sight, shook his head.

“…Damn. I really didn’t need to worry. I forgot you’re a mage who can use divine power.”

“Let’s go.”

Before I even finished speaking, something the size of a wolfhound bolted up the stairs.

“…?!”

Leo, jaw dropped, turned to exchange looks with me.

My expression must have mirrored his exactly.

We were still speechless when Richthofen emerged from the archives’ upper floor, waving a bundle of white papers over the railing.

“……”

“It’s my innate ability. I can change my form and conceal myself.”

“I see.”

We left the building as Richthofen explained.

From beside me, I heard someone mutter, “You really looked like a dog.”

“That’s actually why Richthofen adopted me.”

“You’re not a New Human, then?”

“Well… technically, I am. But if you all were developed using the latest standard model, I remained in the grandparent generation’s physique. I was born into a now-extinct noble family.”

So, they didn’t have the money to update his modifications.

Since his family collapsed, a relatively wealthier house must have adopted him for his magic talent.

“Is that ability why you ended up in the Catacomb?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Sensing it was a sensitive topic, I stopped prying. But he continued on his own.

“I came here to obtain technology that could remove my ability. As you can imagine, it’s not exactly something you’d want others to know about.”

“…Yeah, I get it.”

The ability itself wasn’t the issue—it was the fear and prejudice others would hold against someone with it.

“Haha… Now that I hear it from someone else, I almost feel like defending myself. But it’s true. Even the Chairman knew about my ability. He didn’t exile me because he saw it as a useful tool to keep me quiet.”

He was talking about Eberhardt.

Both his choice of words and the way he called him teacher suggested they had known each other personally.

“So, the Chairman knew?”

“Yes. He always has a sharp tongue, but he’s kept my secret for over ten years.”

“That’s… fortunate.”

“It is. Now that I think about it, even if it’s not a power I’d want to flaunt, it’s what allowed me to be here today. Looking back, I don’t resent it as much.”

Richthofen chuckled.

Ten years.

If he had spent that much time here, it was no wonder he seemed more at home in the Catacomb than on the surface.

Still, that answered a major question.

Now I knew how he had recognized me the moment I walked into the tavern.

Before I had even stepped inside, he had already identified Elias by his scent.

Then, naturally, he had linked me to him.

“So, I take it you can enhance your hearing and smell whenever you need to?”

“That’s right~ That’s how I climbed the ranks in the Catacomb despite my noble status.”

“…Then you must have recognized Leo from the start, too.”

“Of course. He smelled like a student council junior.”

“That’s a useful ability.”

Of course, now wasn’t the time to dwell on it. I could ask more about Richthofen when we got back to school.

I turned to Leo and asked,

“What about Narce?”

“He’s calculating how much divine power he needs to use. Any magic other than Vitriol gets caught in the curse magic.”

Leo finished speaking and then gestured with his chin toward the back.

Narce, like Leo and Richthofen, was walking toward us with his hood pulled low. He looked at me and spoke in a surprised voice.

“Wow. That face is… new.”

“Good timing.”

“Hmm?”

“There must be clergy in the office and dormitory buildings. Soon, they’ll all disappear at once. When that happens, find any documents that get transferred using divine power.”

“Got it. Where’s the office?”

“I’ll take you there.”

Richthofen stepped forward in response to Narce’s question, then turned to me.

“But I am curious—what exactly do you plan to do here? Can you erase all traces of the spatial layering magic? There must be people who aren’t here right now.”

“That’s why we need to gather them all first. See you soon.”

I waved lightly.

Narce had likely read my thoughts with his Insight trait. Since he wasn’t stopping me, my plan must have no major flaws.

I headed toward the cathedral with Leo leading the way.

Destroying documents was easy.

But erasing the information inside people’s heads—that was the real challenge.

Not because using divine power was difficult, but because I didn’t know exactly who possessed that knowledge, nor was it easy to gather them all in one place.

Leo must have already gotten directions from Richthofen, as he guided us without hesitation.

Casting a soundproofing spell, he asked,

“Lucas. That face you’re wearing… it’s the bishop’s, isn’t it?”

“That’s right.”

“…I don’t know how you figured out what he looks like, but you realize something, right? Sure, the bishop himself isn’t here, so you can impersonate him, but there are people who keep in constant contact with him. We need to make sure every clergy member rushes here before they verify the truth.”

“I know.”

Earlier, I had asked that attendant, ‘Can your master summon every person under the Osnabrück diocese?’

And he had answered yes.

Summoning them wouldn’t be a problem in this form.

The only issue was how quickly I could gather them.

I had an idea.

‘I thought about lying—offering to double the Vitriol distribution to lure them in.’

They would come running.

But without knowing the bishop’s usual rhetoric, it was risky.

If any of them tried contacting him directly before arriving, the lie would fall apart. It was better to stick to the truth.

There were no guards outside the cathedral.

They were likely inside, holding a mass for the laypeople.

As I stepped forward, Leo naturally took a step ahead of me and threw open the doors.

‘I almost reached for the handle myself.’

Composing my expression, I looked ahead.

Rows upon rows of people sat in the pews.

This was the same place where Strauch had injected Vitriol into me.

Standing here again, the memory resurfaced as vividly as if it had just happened.

A priest stood at the altar, delivering a sermon. When he lifted his head, his expression froze.

“…Ah!”

“B-Bishop?!”

It didn’t take long for shock to spread across his face.

Silently, I strode forward, adopting Ainsidel’s insufferable smirk.

“This concludes today’s mass.”

“Bishop, is there something urgent…?”

It was unlikely that laypeople had been given access to the spatial layering magic.

But since I planned to deal with them anyway, it didn’t matter if they stayed.

“We need to gather all clergy in the diocese. Are there any currently outside Osnabrück?”

“Ah, n-no. Now that Your Excellency has returned, as far as I know…”

“Hmm. Good.”

I waved dismissively and raised my voice.

“Nicolas Ernst has escaped.”

“What?!”

Shock rippled through the congregation.

They hadn’t even known that Nicolas had been brought here in the first place.

Leo, standing beside me, let out a soft chuckle.

Turning back to the stunned priest, I said slowly,

“We need an emergency meeting. Summon all the deacons here immediately.”

Since I had claimed I personally took Nicolas to my room, the blame for his escape would fall on the bishop.

But regardless, losing such a valuable prisoner was no small matter. Given the gravity of the situation, they would all come.

One crucial point remained.

The real bishop was outside Osnabrück.

If I wanted to keep him out of this, I had to ensure the news didn’t spread beyond this diocese.

‘The fact that the spatial layering magic hasn’t spread outside Osnabrück proves the bishop is hoarding it for personal gain.’

I could use that.

As the pale-faced priest frantically prepared to send the message, I leaned in close and murmured,

“If this reaches the other dioceses… you might as well say goodbye to any future within the church.”

“Y-yes, Your Excellency!”

The priest nodded violently and opened a portal-like communication channel, shouting,

“The bishop has issued a full assembly order! Nicolas Ernst has escaped!”

At the same time, similar messages echoed outside the cathedral.

But the external voices were muffled.

They had cast a selective broadcast spell—one that only clergy, not laypeople, could hear.

‘So this is how they communicate.’

Good to know.

In that instant, unfamiliar figures teleported into the cathedral one after another.

Some still had pens in their hands, as if they had been interrupted mid-task.

“Your Excellency, Nicolas Ernst escaped?!”

“We’ll discuss it once everyone is here.”

Despite my calm tone, no one challenged my attitude.

I had played the role correctly.

Within less than a minute, dozens more clergy warped in.

“Everyone is here now! Bishop, what in the world happened?!”

“Hey! Seal the laypeople’s memories and send them away, immediately!”

“No.”

I shut them down in a loud voice.

The laypeople who had begun to rise and the clergy who were about to usher them out all froze, their eyes widening as they turned toward me.

I took the elixir Leo handed me and downed it in one gulp.

The way it spread through my body told me this was a much stronger dose than before.

“Your Excellency?”

Someone spoke in a confused voice.

Of course they were confused.

I had called an emergency meeting—only to casually start drinking an elixir.

Gripping Leo’s wand, I transformed it into a staff and slammed it against the floor.

BOOOOOM—!

A blinding white light surged outward.

A wave of shock washed over the crowd.

—Enter through the narrow gate.

Pouring divine power into my magic, I focused on the keywords I needed to erase.

My core throbbed, but I barely noticed.

—The gate to destruction is wide, and the road is broad. Many enter through it….

With each line I spoke, the shock faded from their faces.

—But the gate to life is narrow, and the road is difficult, and few find it.

I smelled blood in my breath.

For the final confirmation, I cast one more spell.

—Unless Yahweh guards the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.

THUD—!

In an instant, every clergy member collapsed to the floor.

Now, only Leo and I remained standing.

Leo, who had been casting healing magic on me, looked around the silent cathedral and murmured,

“…It’s done.”

“No. There’s one more left.”

There was one person outside the diocese.

The real bishop.

“We wait for Ainsidel. Let’s see when he arrives.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep