Chapter 282

Even after the light of the divine power faded, the bookshelves here and there continued to sparkle. Friedman, frozen with his mouth agape, his eyes trembled intensely. I waited for the divine power to completely subside before getting up.

“There’s so much.”

“…Wait, what…!”

Kwaang—!

“Aack!”

As I swung the staff, Friedman, who had kicked his chair and rushed at me, fell to the floor. He clutched his bleeding nose and snapped his head up. He wasn’t even familiar with divine power incantations, yet his grasp of the situation was quick. He had to protect the secrets of this place, even if it meant throwing his own body in the way, so that made sense.

I pressed Friedman’s head to the floor with magic power and pulled out the shining document closest to me. Along with a printed photograph of a letter, I saw a label marked 2/28. A classified document from a week ago.

“Unfortunately, it seems your hoarding disorder hasn’t subsided for a single moment since you created this archive. And as if that’s not enough….”

If it contained secrets worth writing “burn after reading” for, one would use ink that disappears over time, like Gelda Asman did, or attach a time-limited artifact. But to be told to burn it and still take a picture and label it by date? A truly delightful method. I squinted, smiled, and flipped the letter to the back.

“You’re a person who doesn’t listen worth a damn.”

“You…!”

“Upset?”

I pulled out the shining documents indiscriminately. Then I approached where he had fallen, forced his head up, and read the letter. The sensation of his hair in my hand was unpleasant.

“…! Aack!”

“So you were already receiving rebates. No matter how bad relations between countries are, even the Emperor’s physician is a doctor from Bavaria, yet I found it a bit strange that the Imperial Central Hospital doesn’t use Bavarian-made drugs…. I suppose you’d want to buy products from the company that lines your pockets, right? Even if they’re imitations. Where did you spend the money you received?”

“…For, for the hospital’s operation…”

“Then what did you write in the ledger for the extra money that came in through you? If you’re telling the truth, I can request an audit right now.”

“……”

I just smiled and dropped the classified document on top of him. As I moved to another letter, I saw a name from the list Jürgen Beck had written.

“A letter from a familiar name. Isn’t this person also a supporter of Adrian Askanian?”

It was written verbosely, but in short, it was asking if he could get more of the medicine from before. I read it and said.

“I don’t like the class system. But putting my personal feelings aside, it’s a different story when we talk about the realistic differences created by social status.”

“Why is that relevant now…”

“To have the surname Friedman despite being a New Human, your paternal line must have been commoners of Jewish descent. Considering the morganatic marriage in your maternal line, your paternal ancestors must have been of a certain standing, but even so, this number of servants and this grand mansion is quite surprising. Answer me. Have you lived in this mansion for generations?”

Friedman, his face filled with fear, clamped his mouth shut. It seemed he didn’t want to answer, but due to the divine power, he shook his head without realizing it. I took out another shining letter and document.

“Of course not. With several servants and a grand mansion in Berlin, you look like a bourgeois who had a foundation from the start, but the problem is why a man of such great wealth is so obsessed with Adrian Askanian. With his enthronement, a huge amount of money will move on this continent, so it’s understandable to support him, but you were unusually desperate, beyond measure. A person of your stature could have walked a smooth path in Prussia, let alone Anhalt, but the fact that you decided you couldn’t… means that something among your resources is unusually lacking. What could this mean?”

What does it mean?

I smiled as I engraved each letter on the page into my mind.

“It means you have no connections. It means you’re nouveau riche.”

“……”

“The old, cunning nobles and politicians have too solid a foundation to join hands with you. In their eyes, you’re just a doctor who can be summoned to their homes at any time, not someone they would see as an equal. Of course, it’s the same for Adrian Askanian, but he has his own circumstances, so that’s that.”

“How…”

“Perhaps because of that, you wanted to win over Adrian Askanian’s followers who are in a similar situation to yours. Seeing as every letter I open is full of familiar names.”

“……”

This is my lucky day. I finally met someone who has data I can use. If he hadn’t tried to kill me, I would have lived without knowing, but he dug his own grave.

What I need is not money, but people, and the public opinion of the empire. He, who has no political base, cannot satisfy my needs.

Just then, I heard a familiar sound.

Tiring—!

Retry Lv. 6

— Checkpoint

 1. ‘Theatiner Church Eucharist Liturgy’

 2. ‘Andrea Friedman’s Mansion’

If I’m not careful, my chance to return to the cathedral will disappear. It’s time to wrap things up.

I touched my ear. The artifact was gone. He probably took it off and threw it away. I let out a deep sigh and, for lack of a better option, tapped the magic power connected to Leo’s core to send a signal. Then I grabbed Friedman by the collar and lifted him up.

“Keok…! Wait, wait…!”

“Now, speak.”

The despair that had filled his eyes since I ransacked the archive was now even deeper. Of course, it didn’t matter to me.

“What exact defense formulas are on this archive?”

*  *  *

“The blood of Christ.”

“……”

I snapped my eyes open.

A familiar moment is unfolding again. The Theatiner Church. I got all the information from Friedman and turned back time with Retry before the first checkpoint was pushed back.

Right now, I was getting up to line up to receive the Holy Blood, and Leo and Narce were in the line in front of me.

I’m back.

It was a day I didn’t want to return to, but I’m back. The memory of what happened here is replaying, and my skin is crawling. At the same time, I feel like laughing. Now, here, I will make the three days of sleep a non-event by any means, and I will not leave any trace for my brother.

“…!”

Just then, from the seat in front, Leo whipped his head around. His face, which had been calm until a moment ago, suddenly hardened, and horror filled it. The moment I smiled to acknowledge him, I hit my head on the chair.

Kudangtang— Kwang—!

“Ah.”

I clutched my head where I had hit it and grimaced. He probably didn’t mean to, but Leo grabbed me by the collar.

“How…! Wait, you…”

Has this guy finally lost his mind? I felt the surrounding atmosphere instantly freeze in shock and hurriedly cast a sound-blocking spell. I put strength into my hands to pry his off.

“…Yeah, it’s good to see you again. Let’s greet each other properly later.”

“That’s not it, that’s not what’s important.”

Now I’m getting goosebumps for a different reason. The people standing around are still frozen in bewilderment at Leo’s bizarre behavior. Even Elias.

“Your Highness…!”

“Leo?! Hey! What’s wrong…!”

“Get out.”

I was about to kick him as usual, but I glanced at the king and carefully helped him up.

“Lukas. Wait a minute, I need to… to you.”

“What is the matter.”

The king said in a terrifying voice. Leo stood there blankly, pressing his temples, staring at me. He didn’t seem to have grasped what was going on yet. It’s understandable for him to react like that. The current Leo would be confusedly accepting the fact that I died and came back to life in this very spot, and that I drank human blood. A bewildered atmosphere continued. Finally, Leo opened his mouth.

“I apologize.”

A tone without a single ounce of sincerity. I can see the king’s eyes turning cold. He changed his tone and said to Leo.

“I have educated you poorly. Follow me after this is over.”

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

“……”

A gag order will soon be issued for what happened here. It wouldn’t be a problem even if it got out, but for the dignity of the royal family.

The line gradually shortened, and soon it was my turn. My heart, which had been relatively calm until a moment ago, was slowly starting to beat faster. By the time I stood in front of the deacon, I felt as if someone was hitting my eardrums.

“The blood of Christ.”

“……”

The same voice I heard before, the same words.

I snapped out of it and carefully accepted the chalice the deacon held out. I could feel Leo’s gaze, held down by Elias, clinging to me tenaciously. I would be the same. With this, we would test the hypothesis we had made.

The one second it took to bring the chalice to my lips felt like an eternity. The moment the wine touched my lips, I couldn’t hear a single sound. The wine spread on my tongue. It was an ordinary wine, with the same watered-down taste as before. I could vividly feel the movement of the wine going down my throat and down my esophagus.

“……”

The deacon gave a vague smile when I didn’t hand back the chalice. I stared blankly at his face and thought.

‘…Nothing.’

Nothing happened.

Success. Our prediction was correct.

Then let’s take it one step further. The story is that the Holy Blood reacted to my soul at that time. Soul or whatever, it sounds unrealistic to me, a 21st-century person, but since there’s a precedent of only the contents changing, I could accept it. No, I had to.

Now the problem is why the Holy Blood reacted to my soul. This is the problem.

As I returned to my seat, I saw Elias pressing down on Leo’s legs. I gave Leo a look and sat down again.

After that, I don’t know with what state of mind I sat there. I just sat there, staring straight ahead.

“…Eternal Father, I offer you the most precious blood of your Son, Jesus, together with all the Masses offered throughout the world today, for all the sinners in purgatory, for the sinners in the Church throughout the world, and for the sinners in my own household and family. Amen….”

As the Mass was concluding, I heard the priest’s voice.

Unlike the last timeline, it ended smoothly. Now it’s time to go to Berlin.

*  *  *

“Lukas. Let’s go take pictures. I’ve been waiting for the day to come to Berlin.”

It’s Berlin.

In this timeline, Heike was following me around. It’s interesting how my friends’ reactions change slightly each time I rewrite time.

I opened the warp mailbox and asked.

“A photo studio?”

“Yeah. And after that, I’m going to take pictures of birds in the park. Do you want to join?”

“So you like taking pictures too.”

I smiled and replied, then opened the letter.

Four hours after I sent my letter. This time, my brother’s letter arrived after four hours. The content was also different from before.

[You’re back in Berlin. I’m glad you seem to have had a good time with your friends. I sincerely congratulate you on the Grand Cross of Anhalt. It’s truly a monumental event. I’m really sorry I can’t be there to hold a celebration party for you in person.

….

I often praise you to the Imperial Government, Luka. I hope your life at Eschet is a little more comfortable. As I told you when you were first selected, if you have any difficulties while living as an Imperial Mage, no matter how trivial, please tell me. As your older brother and senior, I will advise and help you. I hope you, who have worked so hard until now, can live a little more comfortably.]

Peaceful. Up to this point, it was much more peaceful than the previous letter. However, the next part was similar to before.

[And, I have requested a detailed examination of your core and supplementary treatment from the Deputy Director of the Imperial Central Hospital. He is someone who has always said he wanted to examine you, and his skills are reliable. He will come to the school to pick you up soon.]

In the last timeline, he didn’t request an examination; instead, the Deputy Director directly won the physician case from Adrian Askanian. He said the Deputy Director had contacted him ‘the other day’, so by today’s date, that ‘the other day’ is the future.

This time, my brother made the preparations first. As expected, he wants to know the state of my core.

“……”

With this, the possibility became more certain. Adrian Askanian had predicted that the Mass that day would cause an abnormality in me.

‘How.’

Bavaria mobilized even divine power mages to search for the culprits among those who were in the cathedral that day like they were hunting rats, but no culprit was found. In a game board without a culprit, how is that possible? Is Ash Wednesday really the variable? An absurd possibility, but.

I shook my head and stared at the letter.

[If you have time on the weekend, would you like to come to Italy? I miss my family after a long time.]

He wants to check for himself, right.

With this, one more thing became certain. In the last timeline, he was almost certain that something had happened to me. He noticed that a change had occurred in me just by me collapsing during the Mass.

But not this time. He suspects that his prediction might have really failed, so he wants to see it with his own two eyes.

I folded the letter, put it in my pocket, and went to Leo’s room. I had just asked him to draw a little blood for me. Leo was just rolling up his sleeve and putting on a bandage.

“…A sight that makes me feel sorry as soon as I arrive….”

“You know how to feel sorry?”

Leo smiled and shrugged. What does this guy think of me? I had no choice but to ignore his words.

I took the bottle of blood and changed its appearance to an elixir. Although I couldn’t change the taste, I thought this was the only way I could swallow it without throwing up. I swirled the blue liquid, closed my eyes, and poured it into my mouth.

A wave of nausea washed over me, but I was able to swallow it this time. Leo, who was watching me with his arms crossed, tilted his head and asked.

“Is it delicious?”

“……”

I almost spat out the blood remaining in my mouth without realizing it.

“Why do you keep making such absurd statements? Logically, would it be delicious to you?”

“That’s not it, I mixed in a lot of healing magic on purpose, so I was wondering if the taste had changed a bit.”

“…Ah, yeah. It’s better than just drinking blood.”

I’m getting overly sensitive about blood. It might be because I’m doing something that cannot be forgiven religiously, socially, or humanly. As I was trying to calm my mind and compose myself, Leo said something that made my efforts futile. As expected, this was the reason he asked about the taste.

“You threw it all up last time.”

“……”

“What happened there.”

“You probably have a rough idea.”

“I need to hear it from your mouth. Until I hear it from your mouth, I won’t know what you went through.”

I shrugged. I could feel Leo’s gaze sharpening. There was nothing much I could say. I didn’t want to confirm it with unnecessary words, and it’s better not to know what has already passed. For the mental health of my friends, too.

“I drank well.”

I don’t know if it’s okay to express it like this after eating a part of a person. I put the vial down on the table and turned to leave.

This time, too, I activated the communication artifact and arrived at the main gate. Andreas Friedman sent a message asking if we could meet in 30 minutes. His impatience was the same this time. It means that the Friedman of this timeline also wants to get evidence to get rid of me as soon as possible.

“Greetings, Your Excellency.”

We met.

A New Human with a rather irritable face held out his hand to me with a relatively gentle smile.

“I am Andreas Friedman from the Imperial Central Hospital. I was asked to conduct a detailed core examination and came to pick up Your Excellency myself. These two here are our hospital’s core specialists.”

“I’ve heard the news. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

I smiled and shook hands with them, and then warped to the central hospital while holding Andreas Friedman’s hand.

“There are quite a lot of people.”

“It’s always like this where the core examination rooms are. There are many people who want to be examined, and many examination rooms to go through. Now, please enter here first.”

He gave the same answer as before. Andreas Friedman led me to the room on the left. There was examination equipment that looked similar to what I had seen in Bavaria. I looked at one of the doctors who came with Andreas Friedman.

“The person next to you seems to use divine power?”

“You have a good eye. That’s right. Could you shoot out some magic power for a moment?”

The same instruction as before. As the red magic power spread on the silver tray, the doctor checked the number written on the artifact and nodded.

“No problem. Now we will infuse magic power into Your Excellency. We can determine the degree of damage based on the core’s reaction, so please wait even if it stings for a moment.”

The other doctor took my arm, took off his glove, and blew magic power into my wrist. The doctor let go of my hand, smiling as if it were strange.

“No problem at all this time either. The core condition is very good, it’s surprising.”

“Is that so?”

I acted with a slightly displeased expression, touched my heart, and asked. At that moment, Andreas Friedman began to observe me intently.

It was about time my waist would be zapped, and he must have been preparing for it. I can’t be zapped again, so I’ll change the development here.

“I have a slight discomfort. May I ask you about it?”

At those words, the two doctors looked at Friedman. A glint of ‘finally, a chance’ flashed across Friedman’s face. He put on a serious expression and said.

“Of course. Please speak. It is our job to fix it.”

“Actually, it might just be my imagination, but I still feel a slight sense of looseness. I wondered if the aftereffects of my core not functioning normally until last year remain. Because of this, I often feel my balance is off when I train. Do you know a cure?”

“Does that feeling disappear naturally?”

“It gets a little better when I replenish my magic power by drinking an elixir. Of course, it’s only a temporary effect. Does the Imperial Central Hospital have any tools or methods to test this?”

To a doctor who knows the exact workings of an elixir, it was a statement that could be easily dismissed. Nevertheless, Friedman’s eyes sharpened for a moment. The phrase ‘replenish magic power’ seemed to sound different to Friedman. Of course. Because he wants to know whether I have the property of absorbing magic power or not.

“……”

Friedman and the other two doctors exchanged glances.

It’s obvious what they’re thinking. Friedman stroked his chin and opened his mouth.

“It hasn’t undergone safety testing yet, but there is one tool we have developed. Of course, I can’t guarantee that it will eliminate the discomfort in your core, and we also lack clinical results on what happens when this tool is used on various people, but…”

Hooked.

The moment Friedman spoke, the subtle flow of divine power from the doctor who could use it changed. From now on, he is preparing to use divine power on me. He will put that machine on me and, as soon as a problem arises, he will erase my memory and make me believe I went berserk.

I smiled and nodded.

“I see? What could possibly go wrong. Anything is fine, let’s just give it a try.”

Friedman smiled and gestured, and one of the doctors warped to another place and brought the machine I had seen before.

“It will sting.”

The same machine from before wrapped around my forearm. Two needles from below my wrist pierced my skin and went in. I can see the doctors exchanging glances with slightly nervous faces. The wavelength of their magic power is gradually becoming rigid. One of the doctors pressed the second button from the top.

Thud—

My core shook violently, and I had to try to keep my balance. Andreas Friedman’s sharp gaze swept over me, my wrist, and the area around my heart where my core would be. I felt dizzy as my core’s magic power drained away. The sensation was brief, and magic power started to surge from my core and circulate throughout my body. As the healing magic spread throughout my body and I experienced this while fully conscious, I felt a little nauseous.

As I calmly looked down at my wrist without showing any signs of it, the doctors exchanged glances again with bewildered expressions. Now, confusion was mixed in their faces. Because, for ten out of ten people, it’s normal to have their magic power sucked out by this machine and collapse. Up to that point, all humans are the same. What they want to know is whether the core sucks in others’ magic power in a touch-and-go crisis situation or not.

I exhaled and leisurely observed the changes in their expressions, then asked.

“Is this not supposed to be like this? Is a different reaction supposed to appear?”

“What? No, no. That’s not it….”

“What exactly is this tool?”

“…It’s a device that cleanses the impurities in the core.”

“Is that so. Anyway, this still hasn’t resolved the strange discomfort.”

“What exactly does it feel like?”

“It feels like my magic power is being sucked into the machine. I’m dizzy, so I’m barely managing to stand here.”

“…Do you feel anything returning to your core? This machine is shooting magic power into your core.”

He’s even lying so skillfully.

It’s true that someone’s magic power is flowing from the machine. But normally, magic power doesn’t return to the core. He’s making it sound like it’s supposed to.

“Is that so? As you can see if you touch it, I don’t feel anything like that, for some reason.”

One of the doctors placed a hand on my arm. He looked at his colleague with an even more confused face, then put his hand in his gown pocket. There must be a syringe with an anesthetic or sleeping pill in there. Friedman just had a grim look on his face and didn’t give any other sign, so the doctor had no choice but to take his hand out of his pocket. I said this before they could zap me with electricity again.

“If you need further confirmation, I’ll come again tomorrow. Do you have time?”

“Of course. We can always make time for Your Excellency.”

Friedman said in a soulless voice.

It was smooth this time too. I received a prescription and went out to the hospital lobby. Because Friedman was following me, the staff in the hospital kept getting up from their seats to greet me and him. Surprisingly, he didn’t stop there and grabbed me.

“I will escort you.”

I smiled and stared at him. Thanks for saying what I was about to say.

“…Please do. But this time, I’m going in through the back gate, so I’d appreciate it if you could warp to the coordinates near the Spree River instead of this one.”

Friedman, without any suspicion, held my hand and warped. A tree-lined street with no one passing by unfolded. The buildings that should have been around were all hidden by the forest-like trees.

“Your Excellency, if you have time now, may I invite you to my home?”

As expected, Friedman and I have the same idea right now.

“Hmm, why?”

“I have something more to tell you about your core’s health.”

“……”

“If you have an appointment with your friends…”

“Yes. So it’s a bit difficult. How about the weekend instead?”

“The weekend. That’s fine.”

Friedman blinked and licked his lips. Then he smiled apologetically.

“I was too hasty. I just wanted to get rid of the discomfort in Your Excellency’s core as soon as possible.”

“Haha, thank you, but you don’t have to go that far. Thank you for today. I can go to the hospital at 3 o’clock tomorrow, right?”

I said things I didn’t mean and smiled.

“Yes.”

“Good. See you next time.”

I said that, turned around, walked a little, and then ran back to the doctor.

“Doctor!”

“Yes?”

Friedman stopped his hand that was about to warp and asked.

“You’ve known my brother for a long time, right?”

“It’s not that I know him well, but I’ve been indebted to him since he was young.”

“I’ve changed my mind. I want to go to your house now.”

“What?”

“I want to give my brother a gift, but I don’t have anyone to ask.”

“Even if you ask me about such a topic…”

“Well, you won’t be of any help at all.”

As my tone changed, Friedman’s face hardened for a moment. I grabbed his hand and pulled him.

“…!”

—Enter through the narrow gate.

I caught him as he was about to fall and whispered in his ear.

“You won’t be able to remember anything I’m about to say. There’s no problem, so just let it go. And….”

I put my hand under his wrist and said.

“I heard that the Imperial Central Hospital’s rebates were delivered to the press. Wasn’t that something only you and the pharmaceutical company knew? You should check right away if there’s a problem with your home’s security…”

“…!”

He unconsciously frowned and tried to lift his head. With this, I secured his proactiveness.

I patted his shoulder and smiled.

“Let’s go to your house right now.”

*  *  *

As the sun was setting, Andreas Friedman was pacing in the hall of his mansion.

After conducting Lukas Askanian’s examination and taking him to the school, Friedman immediately went to his mansion. There was no reason to linger at the hospital any longer. He had to discard the flawed hypothesis and devise a way to expose Lukas Askanian’s temperament completely.

‘It can’t be.’

He can’t be that fine.

If Adrian Askanian sent a letter asking for a core examination, there must be something, so why can’t I find any abnormalities?

He even used the tool he had prepared in advance, but Lukas Askanian was still the same. He had left it as a last resort because of the high risk of absorbing the user’s magic power, but he just stood there calmly as if he were getting a single injection. He had not expected this result at all.

‘…His magic power wasn’t even all sucked in, in the first place.’

Just how much magic power does he have?

Then there’s a need to improve the machine’s performance. But Lukas Askanian clearly said, ‘I think my magic power is being drained,’ and everyone agreed when they checked his pulse, so considering his temperament, it’s normal for the magic power in the machine to be absorbed into his core. Seeing as his magic power was only being drained and the machine’s magic power was not being absorbed by his core, our hypothesis might be completely wrong, but….

You never know.

‘I might be able to find out for sure if I dry him out completely.’

He said he’d come again tomorrow, so it’s worth a try. We have a doctor who can use divine power, so there’s no need to be afraid. Friedman, who had entered his room, reassured himself and leaned back deeply into the sofa. He turned on the gramophone next to him and closed his eyes, when a strange sound came from outside.

[Your Excellency, if you make an appointment…!]

[Appointment, what appointment! Get out of the way!]

[Aaaargh!]

‘Hmm?’

Kwaang—!

Friedman’s eyes snapped open. Someone had torn off the door with magic power and burst in. The servant had fallen from his attack and was rolling on the floor, clutching his arm. A New Human with a flushed face spotted Friedman and started to pant.

“You…!”

“Councilman?”

A member of the Federal Council whom he knew grabbed him by the collar, filled with rage. Friedman was so flabbergasted that his mouth fell open.

“You…! What on earth have you done?! Do you even know what you’ve done?!”

“What? Ah, no, calm down. You came to my house without any notice, what is this…”

“Calm down?! Calm down?!”

The councilman shouted and grabbed his own neck. He threw the newspaper in his hand. Then, with wide eyes, he said, as if suppressing his anger.

“You’ve been dismissed. It’s over. The board of directors unanimously kicked you out, and the prosecution just requested an arrest warrant. Do you have to be told like this to understand?! Did you not know anything until I told you?”

“…What? A warrant?”

“Ah, I don’t care whether you’re dismissed or not! What about me? What about me!”

The councilman’s resumed tantrum was not important.

Dismissed? The board of directors? And why the prosecution? An arrest warrant?

How much money did I feed those two…! This person must be mistaken. There’s no reason for me to be dismissed. The intruder alarm didn’t go off. My letters and documents are safe and sound in that room, and those who have received money from me and given me money are not people who would flap their mouths carelessly. Nevertheless, Friedman hurriedly picked up the newspaper. An unbelievable sentence was written on the front page of the Imperial Newspaper.

[Suspicious Documents of Insider Trading by Deputy Director of Imperial Central Hospital Found… 23 Million Pel Received Over 5 Years Through Paper Companies and Relatives]

[Exclusive] [10,000 Ghost Patients? Imperial Central Hospital Board of Directors Unaware of 5-Year Embezzlement by Director and Deputy Director]

[Imperial Central Hospital Manipulated Medical Performance Indicators with Help from Federal Council… Illegally Received National Subsidies, Support Funds, and Health Insurance Amounting to 48 Million Pel]

“The emperor had already ordered no-tolerance punishment because of Pentalon, and of all times…! I was crazy to believe you! I told you over and over to burn it! Now what are you going to do!”

The councilman’s voice was muffled as if underwater. A shiver ran down his spine. Friedman felt a chill on the back of his neck as he read the words he had already read over and over again. Nothing changed.

“…Huh?”

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