Chapter 247

I looked up at the sky.

Since every single light in this place was extinguished, the starlight was clearly visible.

When I turned my head, I saw something sparkling here and there. As expected, it was the marks that had appeared on the hands of those holding the Imperial newspaper.

I felt my mouth go dry.

“Wow, that was surprising. I thought the ground was shaking, didn’t you feel it?”

“I didn’t feel it….”

“Hey, what’s on your hand.”

“Hand? Huh?”

I heard people’s conversations. The murmuring grew louder, and the opening ceremony venue gradually became agitated. Even if the number of people under the curse was small, it was a natural reaction to be surprised when something strange suddenly appeared.

‘The screen went off.’

There were two possibilities as to why this happened.

First, my actions, different from the past, had changed the present.

Second, if the player had ‘originally’ not committed suicide, the future would have flowed this way. In other words, even if I hadn’t made minor changes like entrusting technology development to the Catacombs, reducing the screen volume to 70%, or setting a time limit for entry, the possible world where the player does not commit suicide would unfold in this way.

‘Hmm. I’d know which of the two is correct if I turned back time once more….’

There’s no need to go that far. As long as I get to Seoul, it doesn’t matter how I get there.

Just then, Elias called me in a murderous voice. I had already removed the soundproofing spell when Elias broke it.

“Luka.”

“Yeah?”

“Was this part of the plan?”

“No. Now we have to go solve it.”

Elias blinked and then grinned.

“…Ah~ that’s refreshing. Good. But you’re not talking about casting a wide-area curse as if nothing happened, are you?”

“Of course not. If I did that, I’d become a criminal.”

I looked around and continued.

“It’s already happened. Now we have to respond according to the changed situation. We need to move up the plan, but we also need to try something that wasn’t in the plan.”

“Something not in the plan.”

The original plan was to ‘for now’ let the 1.37 million people get cursed as they were.

But now that things have gone wrong and fewer people have been cursed, I need to make even fewer people get cursed.

Why?

Because at this rate, more people will be cursed than the previous 1.37 million.

Just then, an announcement was heard in the dark stadium.

[Attention. The magic power in the circuit is currently depleted, and the magic circuit is being readjusted. I repeat. The magic power in the circuit is depleted, and the magic circuit is being readjusted. We apologize for the inconvenience.]

“…….”

Depleted.

Others might actually see this as a possible accident, but we already know how well the screen’s magic power was working in the previous timeline.

Even now, the maximum volume is lowered to 70%, so the magic power consumption has also been significantly reduced. Since there were slightly fewer people who entered than before, the number of copied event sites attached with space magic has also decreased.

Someone intentionally depleted the magic power.

Or the government cut off the screen, using depletion as an excuse.

‘I need to think about this.’

The second possibility I considered earlier, the original future of the ‘world where the player doesn’t commit suicide,’ if it’s like this, then there’s information that’s difficult to give a high probability even with my reasoning.

In any case, since a variable has occurred that prevents me from going with the originally established plan, what I have to do now is clear.

‘First, I have to go to the Emergency Committee right away.’

The terrorist didn’t use that technology and vast magic power to curse just this many people. As I expected before, they could forcibly revive the screen or cast an amplification spell to spread the curse again, so I need to block the sound right away. To do that, I’ll need quite a few mages, so I need the Emergency Committee’s order.

However, the problem is that unless the Emergency Committee calls me, I have no way of calling them first. I asked for their contact information, but they flatly refused.

Even though I solved the magic lamp terror, I’m still an outsider, is that it?

In the end, it’s difficult to meet the Emergency Committee right away, so I have to call them even if it means using a shortcut.

Of course, that’s for later.

Right now, it’s more urgent to stop the curse from being cast again.

“Eli. The artifacts and potions I requested from Bavaria, how are they now? Are they finished?”

“No. It’ll take a little longer.”

It’s a potion for the air and the ground, but my order was a bit complicated and the requested amount was large, so it seems to be delayed.

I tapped Elias and prepared to move.

“Alright. Put up the soundproofing spell again.”

“Huh? Where are you going!”

“To cast a reverse soundproofing spell on another building.”

As I answered and quickly ran out to the staff corridor, Elias ran after me like crazy.

“Aaaargh! You’re not going to cast a spell, you’re going to do something else!”

“Why did you think that.”

“It’s too inefficient!”

Hmm.

I stopped running and turned around. Elias, who almost collided with me, jumped in surprise. I grabbed him and said.

“What other way is there. By the book, I should be at the Emergency Committee right now.”

“The Emergency Committee?! Just tell me. I don’t have the authority to enter the Emergency Committee, but….”

Elias muttered with an expression of someone saying something they didn’t want to.

“If there’s something you need the Emergency Committee to do, it would be faster to tell my father. Don’t we have to deal with it right now?”

Elias’s father is the emperor’s younger brother.

Elias is not on bad terms with his father. Of course, regardless of their relationship, Elias doesn’t like to ask for help from adults. In the end, his father didn’t have the ability to defend his child from the emperor’s attacks, and he is actually living his life trying to please the emperor.

The problem is that Elias doesn’t accept help from any Hohenzollern, including his father. Looking at the case of the contaminated demonic beast, why would Elias have moved alone, even to the point of falling off a cliff and breaking his leg? It’s because of his stubbornness and belief that he shouldn’t accept more help from the Hohenzollerns than necessary.

Elias started shaking me.

“Just say it. Quickly! The lives of… almost two million people who came here depend on you! You have to give the order for me to relay it!”

“…….”

I shook my head.

“Your father is not necessary. I don’t want to tell him. Can you contact the King of Bavaria for me?”

“No. He’ll take as long as the Emergency Committee. If you want to save people, tell me.”

That’s true.

It’s not that the King would ignore our words, but for him to mobilize Bavarian mages here, he would need to get permission from Prussia due to diplomatic issues. That’s a given.

I looked at Elias’s determined eyes and let out a deep sigh.

I didn’t want to do something to make Elias feel sorry, but it couldn’t be helped.

“…Tell them to control access to each building and cast a reverse soundproofing spell on each building. As soon as possible, starting from the outskirts where there are no screens on the streets or buildings.”

“Outskirts, reverse soundproofing. Got it.”

Elias replied without expression and contacted his father.

After about three minutes, Elias nodded and looked at me. Fortunately, his father seemed to have accepted his son’s words without any disagreement.

Of course, I expected it. From the novel, Elias’s father had a tendency to listen to whatever Elias said because he felt guilty for not being able to protect his child from the emperor.

More than that, the way Elias used his father just now was not very proper. The jurisdiction over this place belongs to the emperor, and the emperor’s younger brother has less real power than a government organization to which the emperor has delegated authority.

That’s a given.

In other words, this is close to a move to mobilize Elias’s father’s private soldiers just for a ‘quick response’. It’s a situation where they would be criticized for overstepping their authority by the Emergency Committee and the emperor, and in the medieval era, their heads would have been chopped off, but since the emperor is fond of his younger brother—this is surprisingly true—and the terror situation is certain, they can avoid punishment. If luck is on their side, it could even become a merit.

I looked at Elias’s somewhat bitter expression after he finished the call and said.

“I’m sorry.”

“Hey, what for. I’m relieved that you gave me something to do, so why are you apologizing.”

Elias led me and started walking back to the stadium, muttering.

“I wish I had as much power as my father, that’s what I’m thinking.”

“You’ll have it soon.”

“Ooh.”

Elias grinned and whispered.

“It’s thrilling to hear you say that. But if you mess up, you’ll really go to jail!”

It’s not something to go to jail for. For example, if I told my other Eszett friends, ‘You’ll have power soon,’ there would be no problem.

Only because the opponent is Elias, something that is not a problem becomes a problem.

“I didn’t expect you to say that, it’s surprising.”

“You’re right. I was fine when I was spouting off things that could get me charged with treason.”

Instead of answering, I nodded and headed for the staff entrance of the stadium.

For now, I’ve put out the urgent fire, so I need to watch the situation a little longer. To see the situation, it was better to go inside the stadium than to stay in the corridor.

‘In the previous timeline, the Emergency Committee contacted me first.’

I need to check if it will unfold the same way as then. My plan will also go smoothly if I make contact with the Emergency Committee.

With that thought, I cast a reverse soundproofing spell on Elias and myself. Now, the sounds from outside were inaudible.

“Luka. They’ve cast a spell on twenty buildings now.”

“That’s fast.”

“Oh, thirty-five.”

“It’s increasing every time you speak….”

“Because they’ve laid out a lot of mages.”

Thud—

“…?!”

The soundproofing spell shook.

My eyes met with Elias, who was receiving a call from his father on his artifact.

[Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.]

[Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.]

[Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.]

A murmuring sound faintly leaked in as the soundproofing spell shook. The sound overlapped from all directions. I couldn’t understand the words. But the content would be the same as what I had heard before.

“…….”

Elias looked at me with his mouth open. I immediately broke the soundproofing spell and ran into the first floor of the stadium.

‘The screen.’

The screen is still off. But….

The unlucky blue light has increased a hundredfold. The murmuring from all over has also increased in proportion to the increased marks.

“Ugh, it’s so noisy.”

“That just now… hey, what’s this?”

“Huh?”

People looked down at their hands.

The sound that was just heard was not from the screen. It was closer to someone casting an amplification spell on the entire site and speaking.

‘As expected.’

There’s no way that terrorist would stay still.

To have enough magic power to cast an amplification spell on the entire site, I wonder if they have a machine that creates magic power.

In the previous timeline, the Emergency Committee called me around this time. When the scale of the incident had grown this large.

I tapped the artifact at my ear and said.

“Leo.”

[Lukas. Can you hear me?]

“I can hear you. The Emergency Committee?”

[I’m not having much luck contacting them either. At least I’m with Narce now, but….]

“…….”

[The Emergency Committee must know that this is a curse…. The fact that communication is down suggests they have a plan they’re executing among themselves. You probably don’t think that’s a possibility, though.]

Yes. In the last timeline, they had no plan. They probably don’t now either.

Right now, I think they’re in a state of ‘believing they have a plan’.

“Alright. What about that player?”

[Narce interrogated him, and it just finished. There were no memories this time either, so there was nothing to gain.]

“Can you have him recite that curse one more time?”

Leo, who seemed to have noticed what I ultimately wanted to confirm, answered quickly.

[That spell is a one-time use. you know that.]

“You mean you’ve tested whether the curse works again if he says it with his own mouth.”

[Of course.]

I see, for now.

A spell that can only be used once.

It’s natural since it’s not a magic spell, and saying a normal word infinitely doesn’t mean magic will come out infinitely, but I had hoped it could be used multiple times.

If it can only be used once, it becomes a bit tiring for me too.

“For now, thank you. Let me know if you find out anything else.”

[Alright.]

I raised my hand to the artifact to cut the connection. And at that moment, I doubted my ears.

Bam— Babam—

A trumpet sound suddenly blared. I wasn’t the only one who felt it was sudden, as the murmuring of the people paused for a moment. Just then, the light of the magic lamp installed at the far end of the dome came on.

“What is this…?”

Elias, who was standing crookedly next to me and listening to my and Leo’s conversation, widened his eyes.

It couldn’t be helped but to be flustered.

On the stage, children dressed in choir gowns were lined up in two rows.

[Glória in excélsis Deo―.]

“…?!”

[et in terra pax homínibus bonæ voluntátis.]

The choir began to sing the Gloria.

Elias looked at the choir with a dumbfounded expression.

I was also dumbfounded.

‘What is this?’

“Suddenly? This?”

“…….”

I slowly turned my head and looked at the crosses that had appeared on people’s hands.

The surroundings grew cold, and Divine Power began to pour from the sky.

[grátias ágimus tibi propter magnam―.]

‘Ah, these bastards.’

I know why they brought the choir.

I laugh because I never imagined such a countermeasure. I thought the variable would be on our side. I came up with a way to deal with the enemy’s tripping us up, and now our side is tripping us up?

The government is now trying to break through this problem in a very bizarre way.

‘They’re thinking of distracting people and finding a solution in the meantime.’

Yes. This is very interesting.

I looked at the choir and fell into thought.

‘The situation has changed.’

Previously, the player shot himself in the head and died during a live broadcast of the Imperial newspaper.

That was enough to throw people into a panic. In a country already uneasy because of Pleroma, a suicide that didn’t seem self-willed made people sense the hint of terror, and the event site was turned upside down by people trying to escape immediately.

But not now. Because the player didn’t die, people saw the ‘white magic-like’ cross on their palms and didn’t think it was a curse. That’s why they’re all just sitting there saying things like ‘what is this’ with a carefree attitude.

It’s the same.

Because the player didn’t commit suicide, the Emergency Committee’s response changed.

‘Even so, this is a despicable act.’

To whom?

It’s a despicable act to the people. I’ve seen all sorts of crazy bastards.

The Emergency Committee knows this cross is a problem.

I knew that if the apparent danger level decreased, the Emergency Committee would try to solve the case quietly, but I thought it would be to the extent of secretly calling the people involved for a meeting. I never thought they would go so far as to use a diversion and hide behind it to solve the case.

They plan to treat the cross on their hands as a kind of event.

But they shouldn’t respond like this. They don’t know that the time limit is only 30 minutes. No, even if they don’t know, who in their right mind would think they have plenty of time here.

Is it the Minister of Magic’s mistake? It’s meaningless to think about it now.

So, to summarize.

Unlike the previous timeline, the Imperial government is trying to hide the curse problem.

When the player died, there was no other choice, but now it’s different. Since a mood of fear has not been created, they clearly believe they can handle it ‘safely, peacefully, and quietly’.

The problem is that they themselves don’t feel the mood of fear, so they’re acting quite carelessly compared to last time. They’re probably running around in all directions trying to find a curse dispel expert, so they’re completely unaware that they’re acting carelessly.

Behind us, where we stand, I can hear laughter from the audience seats above, and on the wide stage in front of us, I can hear the children’s singing.

Carefree reactions poured out from all over.

“Wow, the scale is really huge.”

“I know, right. I didn’t know they were doing something like this, it’s amazing.”

“But why did they put up this cross?”

People are reacting as the government intended. Among the audience, some who are skilled in magic probably noticed that this cross was a problem, but since the number of ordinary people was overwhelmingly large, the strange reaction was not outwardly visible.

Elias’s face began to rot.

There’s a variable here.

In the last timeline, the Emergency Committee called me at this point. But if the Emergency Committee changes its strategy like this, the possibility of them not calling me has increased.

Just like with the magic lamp terror incident, they only ask for outside help when they’re not confident, running out of time, or cornered. And as I thought before, I’m an outsider.

Of course, they will now try to solve it on their own. If they don’t call me, I have no choice but to go there myself.

‘At this point.’

There’s something to think about.

What is the method to dispel the curse?

It’s simple.

As the code written on the white phosphorus match says, ‘Sagt es allen—tell it to everyone’. At least, according to the creator’s intention.

So, what should be told?

The ‘answer’ that the terrorist said he showed to over 100 people must be told.

Let’s re-examine how the curse worked. It was cast on those who ‘heard’ a specific phrase. According to my deductions from the information so far, the dispel also works in the same way. I’ll think about this part in more detail later.

If the dispel magic has the same mechanism as the curse magic, as I have assumed, then to dispel the answer presented by the terrorist, I can’t just mutter the answer to myself. It must be heard by all those who are cursed.

That’s why I said before that I could handle 95% with my own power, but I couldn’t do the same for the remaining 5%. No matter how I broadcast the voice through screens and newspapers, and no matter how many people in the event venue are focused, I can’t be sure that everyone will be listening to the broadcast. Honestly, 5% is a hopeful figure.

Still, the good thing is that if I say the dispel spell before the population pool that was focused on the screen and broadcast—the cursed ones—loses interest in the broadcast, I can at least get close to that hopeful figure.

Considering that the dispel magic, like the curse magic, is likely a one-time use spell, I have to choose the timing carefully.

The moment I moved to leave, Elias grabbed my arm.

I asked him, who was looking at me with a serious face.

“Why.”

“Luka. You said you saw the answer before. You found out what it is too.”

“Yeah.”

“Tell me.”

“…….”

When I fell silent, Elias shook his head and said.

“You’re going to the Emergency Committee now to say you know the answer.”

“Yeah.”

“Right now, those terrorists haven’t even given us the book code. If you say you know something at this point, you’re definitely going to jail after this is over. Why? The moment you say ‘I know something’, the prosecution will run to the court to request an arrest warrant.”

“I know. So, are you going to go?”

“It’s better if I go! I haven’t been to jail, but I’ve been to a detention center.”

“…….”

This is really beyond imagination. He probably didn’t go because he committed a real crime—he has no criminal record—but my head is throbbing.

But whatever it is, I can’t.

“No. I have to say the answer.”

“Why?”

“It’s meaningless if someone other than me says it.”

Elias’s brow furrowed.

I already explained it to him separately two days ago. Even though he heard a lot of explanation from me, his reaction is not very desirable.

When I shook my head again, Elias took a deep breath and said slowly.

“I get it all. Then, at least wait until the book code comes out.”

“It’ll be out soon.”

At those words, Elias grabbed my shoulders and shook me.

“Aaaargh…. Luka…. You really don’t listen.”

“I don’t want to hear that from you….”

Elias looked at me and let out a deep sigh. In any case, he didn’t seem to have anything to argue against my words.

Yes. He was never one to try and stop me hard anyway. I smiled and said to him.

“Eli. Find this one thing for me.”

“What is it….”

“Where is the sound room here?”

*    *    *

I don’t think I can get into the sound room.

It would be lucky if I could break in for a moment and shout the dispel magic to the event site, but to save as many people as safely as possible, I need to get the attention of the people who have entered the event venue in advance, so that’s also difficult.

That’s a given. A crime where a curse was cast by sound has occurred, so they would be happy to open the door. They will definitely stop me from entering.

As expected, the front of the sound room was full of guards. The Imperial Divine Power mages were also scattered here.

The mage standing in front of me said seriously.

“You can’t. Private use is absolutely forbidden.”

“It’s not for private use. Didn’t I just explain the whole situation?”

“Even if His Highness the Duke of Anhalt comes, no one can use it directly. A dangerous situation may arise.”

“To whom?”

“To the subjects.”

Hmm. Yes. It seems they’ve heard the situation. The fact that ‘one can be cursed by hearing the words’.

They’re thorough. It’s good that they’re thorough.

The problem is that they’re closing the barn door after the horse has bolted, but since I couldn’t inform them of the incident in advance, I understand that point.

The mage who seemed to be the person in charge smiled and said.

“You said you know how to break the terror. His Majesty has ordered that this fact not be leaked to anyone except the curse dispel experts. Therefore, even if Your Excellency Askanian is affiliated with the royal family, you cannot be completely safe as long as you know this fact.”

“…….”

“We will not speak of what Your Excellency knows about the terror. If you understand, please be on your way.”

If you understand, be on your way. He’s even making threats.

I smiled and exhaled.

As I thought before, the success rate of taking over the place for a moment and manipulating the sound here is low. It would be difficult to take it over in the first place, and it’s safer to get permission and secure the time.

But….

Thwack—!

At the very least, couldn’t I provoke them to meet the Emergency Committee?

As soon as I stomped my foot, red magic power spread out in all directions. I aimed my wand at the mage who had taken a step back with a flustered expression due to the attack.

“Get out.”

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