Chapter 295

Judging by the Magic Power I felt from behind, Elias and Leo had warped here at the same time. Elias spoke.

“Get a patent for that skill, Leo. And Luka’s going to die.”

“……”

Only then did the plant pressing down on my head shrink back to its original position. In truth, there shouldn’t have been an ‘original position’ in the first place, but that’s what happened. Someone with a weary expression was looking down at me with cool eyes.

“Where have you been?”

“……”

“Where did you go that you’d warp back lying down?”

“Right. Did someone attack you?”

Elias seemed to have wondered about that too. I understood. If it were me, I would have also assumed he had warped in a hurry after being attacked. But that wasn’t the problem. It seemed I had adapted to someone else more than I thought in those two weeks.

‘Ah, why…’

“Lukas. I’m telling you…”

“Aaaargh!”

CRASH—!

“…!”

As I unintentionally let out a scream and tried to get up, pressing my knees into the bed, an attack spread in all directions. A startled Elias and Leo simultaneously dodged to the side. I could see their faces turning pale. Goosebumps rose all over my body, and I just couldn’t bear to look at it with my own two eyes. I’m not mentally prepared to see a grown-up five-year-old right now, so why do I have to see him first every time I wake up? I’m strongly convinced that he finds me like a ghost because of the core subjugation.

Meanwhile, the grass around my neck once again pressed my head down. It was because Leo, having been attacked, got tense and momentarily lost control, but it was fortunate for me as the grass half-obstructed my view. As I closed my eyes and grimaced, Elias waved his arms frantically and asked. I could hear the sound of his flailing arms from here.

“What, what’s wrong?! It’s us!”

“Why…”

“Uh-huh. Tell me!”

“Why is it so dirty.”

“What…”

Leo, who had been standing there blankly as if he knew I was talking to him, hastily stepped back and pulled at his shirt to smell it. He even went so far as to pick up a perfume bottle that was on my desk—also covered in grass, of course—so I quickly corrected myself.

“No, I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant.”

“Then is there another meaning? I just washed…”

“I get it. I get it, so you don’t have to.”

I patted the edge of the bed with my palm, gesturing for him to calm down and come talk. However, that was just an action born of my own panic. I soon realized that I didn’t want Leo close to me either, and I also realized something was externally wrong because of Leo’s flustered expression.

“……”

“Haha, I’ll sit here~”

Elias abruptly sat down next to me. I just stroked Elias’s head with a feeling of ‘let it be’.

“Good boy.”

“What dog? Are you a kid?”

“What! Enjoy it while Luka’s being this warm. He’s usually a machine.”

Elias strongly protested Leo’s rebuke. I’m glad Elias is here.

If he wasn’t, I might have been asked when I had changed careers to a full-time New Human daycare assistant. Having three jobs at this age is ridiculous.

In truth, just telling him to come over would have been enough, but I had unknowingly been treating the five-year-old Crown Prince like that. The five-year-old didn’t say anything and rather liked it, so I forgot it was strange. In fact, no matter how much of a five-year-old he was, there probably wasn’t anyone else as rude as me who would beckon a Crown Prince with a gesture.

During Leo’s continued silence, I stared somewhere between Elias and the floor. Meanwhile, Leo approached and spoke.

“Why are you avoiding my eyes? Is something bothering you?”

He’s like a ghost. I can’t say it’s because I feel like throwing up. No matter what, this isn’t right. Although if I really do throw up on Leo, that can’t be helped, I can’t say it out loud. I looked around as much as possible and said.

“Don’t talk.”

“…? Why.”

And he was just 120cm a moment ago, but now he’s like a telephone pole…. Why are humans so vertically long? He’s gotten way too long. It would be fine if we all went back to the age of Australopithecus. Of course, no matter what, I can’t say this.

“Sit on the floor.”

“Why should I.”

“I’m not used to you looking down on me.”

“…I’ve been looking down on you from the beginning, what do you mean you’re not used to it now. And make a request that makes sense.”

“Sit down.”

“……”

Leo looked down at me with a contemptuous gaze, then sighed deeply and sat down.

“Are you satisfied now?”

“Hoo…”

I clutched my head. Right. To put it nicely, he’s grown up well. As expected, Leonard is lucky.

But the most important thing is that whether this guy has grown up well or not, it’s not my face, so ultimately it’s none of my business, and either way, it’s a fully grown adult face. I never saw the 5-year-old and the 17-year-old as completely the same person from the start, but looking at this, I want to pretend I don’t know for a while.

Leo, who seemed to have felt my existential crisis, replied with a more annoyed face.

“What, why are you like this after I finally sat down.”

“Hey.”

I can’t even call him Leo. I pressed my eyes with my hands and let out a deep sigh. Leo must have sensed something was wrong, as his reply came a little later.

“What.”

“I’m sorry, but let’s not see each other for a while.”

“What…?”

“…?! Hahahaha!”

Leo’s irises trembled like crazy. And for good reason, he hadn’t done anything wrong, so it would be absurd for someone to suddenly come at him like this. If a friend suddenly said this to me, I would have the same reaction.

“…What’s wrong, all of a sudden.”

“Ah~ Hahaha! It’s because you made the house like this.”

Elias said, clinging to Leo and lying down. Leo pushed away Elias, who was choking him, and said calmly.

“This is an alarm system. I set it up to catch someone else, but I’m also wondering why you got caught first. Are you angry because of this?”

“I’m not angry.”

“What do you mean you’re not. I’m sorry if you were suddenly surprised.”

His expression doesn’t look very sorry. But his habit of saying what needs to be said is similar to when he was five… just thinking that makes my insides twist, so no.

If he won’t go, I will. I confirmed that the grass pressing on my wrist was gone and slammed my fist on the bed.

And in that moment, I was at the warp point of the Eschet dormitory. I quickly got up and knocked on Narce’s door.

“Narce. Are you there?”

Fortunately, the door opened quickly. Narce, as he had before, pulled me in and quickly got me into the room.

“Haha, I knew you’d come now.”

“How did you know? Anyway, thanks.”

I sat on the sofa Narce gestured to and pressed my head. He must have just returned to the dormitory after investigating all day, as Narce was still in his outdoor clothes. On the other hand, I had been going back and forth in the Extra Chapter since bedtime, so I was dressed quite lightly, but fortunately not in pajamas.

About a fortnight had passed since I left a letter for Narce and went back into the Extra Chapter as a private tutor. A day there is 48 minutes here, so about 12 hours have passed here. I’ve lived for another fortnight, but only 12 hours have passed here. And so, it was now almost 6 in the evening.

I can hear Elias and Leo warping in from outside. Narce stared in that direction, then handed me water and whispered.

“What’s there to thank me for. Did you fight with Leo?”

“Not at all. But I’d rather they didn’t come in here.”

“Ah, you want me to block them?”

“Yes. Please.”

I came back here to talk to the 17-year-old Leo, but that can wait until I’m mentally prepared. The mental preparation to endure the nausea was, of course, very important in terms of courtesy. Otherwise, I might, very regrettably, vomit in front of Leo. I’d like to explain why I said let’s not see each other for a while, but there’s no logical reason I can explain, and it’s something I can solve by just preparing myself not to throw up, so there’s nothing to talk about with Leo.

‘To talk about the Extra Chapter…’

It’s too soon. I don’t want to talk about it yet. If it were a problematic ability, I would have thought about brainstorming together to find a solution, but it’s not that kind of ability, and it’s still uncertain what kind of butterfly effect my words might cause. And if he asks what I was doing in there, what am I going to say? I can never say I was playing with the 5-year-old you.

Narce didn’t bother asking where I had been. I don’t know how much he read with his Insight, but he seemed to have grasped the atmosphere.

Knock knock—

[Narce.]

[Narceeee!]

They’re here.

Leo and Elias, who had been talking to each other in the hallway, are knocking on Narce’s door. Narce, with a smile on his face, looked at the door and held his breath.

[I know you’re in there.]

[Huh, I can’t warp in?! He must have blocked it.]

[What? Narce!]

Leo knocked a little harder.

Narce now casually watched the door and plopped down on the sofa. After about 10 minutes, Leo and Elias, exhausted, disappeared. Narce shrugged and pointed to the grapes on the side table.

“It’s just us again. Want some fruit?”

“I’m fine.”

I ate a lot in Leonard’s sickroom. Pai, who had been sleeping on Narce’s bed, belatedly woke up, recognized me, and climbed onto my shoulder. Narce turned on the indirect lighting, lit the fireplace, and then sat on the sofa in front of me.

“This time, I went to the club we went to yesterday with Elias. It’s still strict, but it was much better since we studied before going.”

“Did they let you in?”

“Not yet… but I got a one-sided lecture on Hermeticism. I think if we build up this kind of rapport, it might be easier to get in later.”

I nodded. Narce moved the shawl that was on his shoulders to his lap and continued.

“And Elias has really great social skills~ I knew it, but it made things a lot easier. I brought him along thinking he could divert the interviewer’s attention since he’s the type who has a lot to say, but it was unexpected.”

“Hmm, that’s a relief.”

So Narce also has things that surprise him. Come to think of it, he probably doesn’t use his Insight every moment, so it’s natural, but it’s new every time I hear it. Narce stared at my face and then smiled.

“Lukas, you… ah, you got a clue too.”

“Yes.”

“I also made an appointment with Archduke Österreich-Este. It’s the day after tomorrow.”

“The day after tomorrow. Thanks. I can go with you, right?”

“Yeah.”

After finishing my conversation with Leo, I will meet with Archduke Österreich-Este, who has information from the past 12 years, and talk to him. Although the Archduke’s claim that ‘I have no idea why they were stolen’ conflicts with my hypothesis, I have to talk to him for the sake of that conflicting question. Then the jewel theft case will be solved.

Beep—

Notification sounds started pouring from the artifact in my ear. They were from Leo and Elias. As I was turning off the notifications, Narce smiled.

“Persistent, aren’t they~ Is it okay to keep wearing those clothes?”

“Why? I’ll only be indoors, so it’s fine.”

“Hmm, okay. Let me know if you need a suit.”

I’m getting a sense of déjà vu from January. Is something going to happen where I have to borrow clothes?

As I was thinking that and infusing Pai with Divine Power, Narce brought over a thick book.

“More importantly, let’s read this together. It’s a catalog of artifacts made by the Papal State. I brought it thinking it might help us understand this case.”

“You think the thief did something to the holy relics too?”

“There is a possibility. If their goal wasn’t to sell the relics to a collector for money.”

I nodded. After all, didn’t the Archduke also say that ‘holy relics are good materials’? It’s a reasonable suspicion.

And, as expected of the Papal State. Every page I turned was filled with drawings of artifacts infused with Divine Power. As I thought earlier, Divine Power is very difficult to infuse into an artifact, and the only place with the technology to make it possible is the Papal State. The Divine Power artifacts used in this country are either imported from the Papal State or manufactured with their technological cooperation.

I skimmed through the book and then looked at Narce’s hand and asked.

“Is your ring also an artifact made by the Papal State?”

“Ah, this.”

Narce looked at the green ring on his finger, thought for a moment, and then shook his head.

“I guess so. It’s ambiguous~”

It’s his own, but what’s with the ‘I guess so. It’s ambiguous’? I deliberately brought up all sorts of trivial thoughts and continued.

“I thought so. When I looked through it, there wasn’t an artifact like yours. What’s its function?”

“……”

Narce looked down at the ring silently, then tilted his head and smiled.

“You’re interested in my artifact. Should I say it’s a stabilization ability?”

I looked at his expression and then turned my head. And so, I continued to ignore the pouring notifications from Leo for a while. As I was re-reading the investigation records and booklets on Narce’s desk, time flew by, and it was soon time for bed. Just as Narce was starting to make the bed on the sofa, a long beep came from the Bavarian royal family’s communication artifact, not the school’s.

Beeeeep—

“……”

Narce, who somehow heard the beep that only I could hear, turned to me with the same expression. That wasn’t important right now. I tapped the artifact with a feeling of wanting to grab the back of my neck.

“Yes.”

[Your Excellency Ernst. His Highness the Crown Prince has ordered you to move to the Munich Residenz reception room as soon as you hear the message. You must arrive within 10 minutes.]

“……”

“Hmm, it turned out as I expected in the end. I was hoping I could talk about the investigation with you until tomorrow.”

Narce smiled regretfully, then looked at me and said.

“You have to go right now, right? I’ll lend you some clothes.”

*  *  *

As Lukas Askanian, I went through security, quickly stopped by my office to change my hair and eye color, and then headed to the Munich Residenz. After passing through the lobby and standing in front of the room I had entered to become a private tutor, a servant opened the door and announced loudly.

“His Excellency Nicolaus Ernst has arrived.”

“……”

As I entered the reception room, I saw Leo sitting with his chin propped on his hand. Bavarian nobles were sitting around him.

Leo just looked at me and didn’t greet me first. I see his intention. I suppressed the urge to grab him by the collar and said calmly.

“I am honored to see Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

“You’ve come. It’s hard to see your face, Sir.”

At those words, the nobles nodded to me and began to leave. Apart from that, I said what I had to say.

“I am sorry.”

“For what.”

What do you mean, ‘for what’? Either don’t say anything at all.

“Let’s take off the mask when we’re alone.”

“I don’t want to.”

“……”

Leo nodded as if to say ‘do as you please’. Then, he just had a staring contest without saying anything. I felt like I might inadvertently commit insubordination, so I turned my head, and Leo tapped the table twice.

“Speak.”

Instead of speaking, he just stared intently.

‘This stubborn bastard…’

As I closed my eyes to regain my composure, Leo began to send shocks to my core. I was starting to get annoyed too, so I responded to his staring contest as he wished. After a long while, Leo finally spoke.

“Still disgusted?”

“I never said I was disgusted.”

“I didn’t even get a proper story, and as soon as I came, you said weird things like ‘dirty’, and you didn’t want to hear my voice or see my face. If you say you didn’t say you were disgusted, how much am I supposed to tolerate, on a human level?”

I never said that much.

Of course, since that’s how he felt, it’s certainly understandable that he would be upset. The fact that he felt it so accurately deserves points for sensitivity.

If he looked completely different from the five-year-old, it would be a different story, but there’s a strange lingering feeling, so I still feel sick. It’s a feeling of dissonance that he was a young child who followed me well then, but now he’s a grown-up who gets on my nerves.

However, the initial shock had already passed half a day ago, and thanks to mind control while I was with Narce, I no longer needed to try to endure the nausea.

“Tell me. What’s it about.”

“……”

“Is it because I made grass grow in your room with my unique ability? I’m sorry, but I didn’t make that to catch you. I spread it all over the house to detect and grab any lingering Magic Power in case someone warped you away like during the Primrose Path. And if the culprit warped into the mansion building again, I’d be even more grateful. Why on earth would I need to trap you?”

“You’re the type of person who would.”

“I’m telling you I’m not, so why do you think I would? I guess it’s because I used this method when I fed you blood before, but this time, there’s no reason to catch you. And I’ve cleaned up all the grass since you left.”

Thinking about it calmly, there is no reason. What would he do by catching me? If I’m here, I’m here, and that’s it. I agreed and said what I had to say.

“First of all, the ‘dirty’ thing was just me talking in my sleep. And there’s something I want to ask of you. How long has it been since I left? It’s been 12 hours. You don’t have to worry so much about me being gone for 12 hours.”

“Was that what you disliked?”

“It’s not because of that, but I’m asking you first.”

“If it were early January, I wouldn’t have gone this far either. And…”

Leo took a sip of the tea in front of him and continued.

“If you hadn’t almost been killed by Andreas Friedman a few days ago, I wouldn’t have gone this far.”

“……”

As I thought, he knew. He knew and was asking me.

Also, early January would be before the Primrose Path. The Primrose Path happened at the end of January.

“In a situation where the whole country is hell-bent on catching either Lukas Askanian or Nicolaus Ernst, what guarantee is there that you won’t disappear like last time? I even made an artifact to prevent that, but this time it didn’t even work. Narce said it was fine, but in a situation where neither the communication artifact nor anything else can physically prove it, how far can Elias and I be sure?”

“……”

“It’s your freedom wherever you go, and I believe you can handle yourself well for the most part, but I, of all people, know what happened to you. How can I just stand by and do nothing, knowing that?”

I looked at him and slowly nodded. In short, he sent a signal to my core with the subjugation magic, but since he didn’t receive a response from me, he considered it an emergency. No matter how much Narce said it was fine, his personality would inevitably make him trust the Magic Power directly connected through his artifact more. From Leo’s perspective, it was a valid concern, so there’s nothing I can refute here, nor do I want to.

“So, where have you been? Why didn’t you respond when I called?”

Leo tapped the table. As I showed a reflex action to the shock to my core, Leo fell silent. He fixed his gaze on my shoulder and then asked.

“It works now, so why didn’t it for the past 12 hours? Do I need to improve the function?”

“How should I know.”

I gave a longer answer.

“I went to investigate. It wasn’t a dangerous place at all. You understand what I mean by saying this.”

Leo looked me over with a displeased gaze. Visually and in terms of Magic Power, there were no problems with my health.

“…Alright. If I ask you exactly where you went, are you going to say you won’t see me again?”

“Yeah.”

“……”

Leo’s expression crumpled slightly in a way similar to when he was five. Now that I see it, the 17-year-old isn’t that strong-willed either.

Well, yeah. By my standards, 17 is still quite a difference. Even if he doesn’t have a 5-year-old’s visuals, he might still be soft-hearted. I don’t particularly want to consider that, but anyway. I felt like my mouth would protrude if I were any more honest, so I waved my hand and said.

“I didn’t mean to fight. And I’ll tell you about what I’ve investigated later. Right now, there’s something I need to tell you. Before that, you have to tell me something.”

“……”

“Tell me about the ability to turn back time. From the process of you getting caught up in my ability, everything.”

“Why all of a sudden?”

Suddenly.

I’m going to connect this problem with the information I got from the Extra Chapter, so it doesn’t seem random to me, but it might feel that way to him.

The time has come to settle this matter.

“A lot of time has passed. It’s about time I heard it.”

“……”

“You promised.”

I took off my mask and held out my pinky finger. Leo, with a hardened face, looked at my hand and then pressed his forehead. Then, after a long while, he finally spoke.

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