“He’s refusing to go all the way in? Somebody should tell that bastard he’s already in too deep.”

Elias murmured to himself, resting his chin on his hand.

Leo adjusted the artifact he had in his ear and bit his lip slightly.

“Starting off with magic, huh….”

“Judging by his reaction, it doesn’t seem like he’s been hit directly yet. But the problem is that Luca has already moved somewhere completely different.”

“…So you’re saying the coordinate system is different? Have you ever heard of anything like that? You’ve looked through the imperial archives before, right?”

“No, I’ve never heard of such an expression. But it might have been in a higher-level archive than the one I accessed.”

Elias continued.

“I thought I had raided everything there was, but there could be an even more confidential storage area. If it’s really top-secret, its existence might not even be known… but key players might be aware.”

“…Connecting with the royal family is the priority for now.”

But what if this is something that even the royal family doesn’t know?

Leo sighed deeply, leaning back against his chair and crossing his arms.

If it’s something neither Elias nor I know, the chances of getting any meaningful help here drastically diminish.

‘Narce would know…’

It’s not the kind of information that friend would be aware of.

According to the materials I lightly investigated at the start of the semester, Narce is from a family of clergy with strong ties to the Papal State, but there was no trace of him personally being involved in the Papal State’s affairs.

‘The Papal State might know, but if I try to contact them…’

Leo groaned and massaged his temples.

How did things come to this? Warp magic that crosses imperial borders is prohibited.

Should I open a portal, accepting some sanctions from the kingdom’s side? Honestly, given that this is no ordinary situation, I could get post-facto acknowledgment of its urgency.

Moreover, the royal family should accommodate that.

Beep—

At that moment, Leo grabbed the artifact in his other ear and focused intently on listening.

He nodded briefly, then turned to Elias.

“It’s been transferred to the Royal Investigation Bureau now.”

* * *

“Ugh!”

Boom—

With a kick from Lucas, Strauch toppled sideways.

Just because I can use magic four or five more times doesn’t mean I can block every one of his attacks.

This entire situation is now being handled by the Bavarian Investigation Bureau, and if the investigators have quickly grasped the situation, it will soon be taken over by the Royal Investigation Bureau.

So, to some extent, this damage isn’t a significant threat to me.

I was prepared to take a few hits from the start. I wouldn’t have stepped into this fight without that much resolve.

‘And I have to prepare for the plan going awry, too.’

The plan was for Leo or Narce to rescue me as the situation wrapped up, but Strauch seems to be using spatial magic formulas that aren’t commonly known.

There’s a reason neither the imperial nor the Papal State could do much over the past decade.

Even with typical spatial magic, it’s hard to locate where it was used if there’s no medium connecting the two spaces. To make matters worse, if he’s using an entirely new formula, the difficulty is much higher.

‘At least it’s fortunate there’s a medium.’

The artifact connected to Leo.

I don’t know what formula Strauch used, but as long as it’s spatial magic, having even one medium increases my chances of survival.

However, since it’s unfamiliar magic, it will take time to gain entry from the outside, so it’s better to conserve my magic to unleash it all at once at a life-or-death moment rather than using it in bits and pieces.

Lucas sat in front of the senator, smiling and nodding toward the blood trickling from his mouth.

“You should go to the hospital first. This… getting like this from one hit.”

“Haha… ha….”

Strauch let out a hollow laugh, spitting blood-tinged saliva on the ground, and muttered.

“From your actions… I expected you wouldn’t care about any danger, but I didn’t anticipate this level.”

Well, I came knowing it would come to this.

But I’m not about to give him any information by saying that.

Lucas replied nonchalantly.

“What’s done is done.”

“At this level, it’s a sickness. You haven’t been living thinking this is normal, have you?”

“…….”

Lucas silently looked down at him. With a mask on, there’s no expression to see. No need to fake it.

Strauch pressed against his spine, slowly getting up from the ground.

“Listen. I’ll send you back to where you came from.”

Strauch chuckled nervously, his voice trembling as he continued.

“In exchange, when you return, announce that Pleroma was not involved and that everything you uncovered was a fabrication of your own.”

How kind of him to dig his grave so readily.

Lucas met his eyes and smiled.

“Why should I do that?”

“Why? Do I need to spell it out? Think about your situation for a moment.”

Strauch quickly traced a line in the air with a shaking finger. A pitch-black vitriol shot toward Lucas’s throat.

Boom—!

His vision shook from the impact.

Lucas clenched his teeth, gripping the vitriol squeezing his neck. Of all the things, it was a marble floor, so the impact of hitting his head felt even greater.

“…….”

“Not a word from you… Sir Nicolaus is known for being… quite stubborn, isn’t he?”

Strauch grabbed Lucas by the shoulders and leaned him back.

“No, it can’t be Sir Nicolaus. You must live as yourself most of the time….”

“Guh…”

“Like I said earlier, I’m curious who’s hiding underneath that mask. I bet the whole nation wonders why someone needs to wear a mask in the sacred assembly… And how that even got approved. Of course, that’s thanks to the Wittelsbachs.”

Strauch kept talking, tapping on Lucas’s mask.

Beep—

A small notification sound echoed in Lucas’s ear.

Strauch, oblivious, kept talking with the same grin plastered on his face.

“Or maybe you’re in a position that must remain hidden? Perhaps you’re the next pope, or a relative of His Majesty the Emperor… In which case, it would sting a bit to be nominally under the Crown Prince of Bavaria. But what would nobles at the end of the class spectrum like me know about royal matters?”

“…Guh, ugh…”

“What, are you going to try and stop me? Or should I take your silence as permission to proceed?”

Strauch laughed as he dodged Lucas’s kick. Then, he grabbed the edge of the mask and infused it with magic.

Ting—

The black glass of the mask shattered along thick cracks. Strauch laughed and turned Lucas’s head toward him.

“What kind of bastard are you…”

Strauch’s eyes widened. The vitriol he had been maintaining abruptly dissipated. He let go of Lucas and slowly stood up.

Boom—

“Askanian? What are you doing here….”

Strauch frowned and muttered.

Lucas lay on the floor, clutching his neck, coughing hard, and exhaling deeply.

“Hah, hah, phew….”

“They clearly said you were in the Papal State. No, wait, you’re a bit too young….”

Strauch grabbed Lucas’s robe and lifted his upper body. He peered intently into Lucas’s eyes and muttered.

“An Askanian, indeed… but the younger brother. Right. I got confused because the color is similar.”

Lucas punched Strauch, forcing him to release his grip. Strauch let go and stepped back.

“This is truly… enough to turn the Empire upside down. So, Nicolaus is Pleroma.”

“…….”

“Come on, answer me. How does it feel to deceive the public? You put on a mask, and suddenly, a pariah becomes a hero. Surely, you must enjoy it, seeing the whole nation as nothing but fools….”

“You’re being rather harsh.”

Lucas wiped his mouth with his robe sleeve, his voice sharp.

Fortunately, the connection was severed. Judging by the notification sound earlier, they had the good sense to cut it off.

Now, I have to initiate communication again from my side.

“What exactly is harsh? Surely you’re not going to play the people’s advocate in this situation….”

Strauch narrowed his eyes and took a step closer.

“Is there a more suitable word? What does it matter if you’re an Askanian? No one wants to be around you. If you wanted to get along, you should have been as discreet as I am.”

“For someone who couldn’t even keep one lab secure and is about to lose everything, you talk big.”

“…….”

Strauch was at a loss for words for a moment before shoving Lucas back with vitriol and shaking his head.

“…Alright. This is an incredible stroke of luck. Your value has just doubled. The bishops’ council was already talking about contacting Lucas Askanian….”

Forget contacting me….

Thanks for the information.

It’s not even a decision yet, just a proposal that was raised. Given that, it seems this guy isn’t a mere layperson within Pleroma. He’s likely a bishop or someone at that level.

‘And once he mentioned a fabricated case, it’s certain this will be passed on to the royal family.’

The Royal Investigation Bureau is probably already searching Strauch’s estate in that world. Now all that remains is to wait for reinforcements.

‘Considering the coordinate system issue, I should give it about 30 minutes to an hour.’

In the meantime, I have to decide whether to subdue him or watch what he tries to do to me.

‘For now, the latter seems better.’

Taking down Pleroma right here would make a nice picture, but honestly, I’ve already gained enough recognition in terms of ability.

What needs to be imprinted on the public right now is not how strong I am but how firmly I stand on the side of justice.

Given that the recording will be passed on to the Royal Investigation Bureau, highlighting Pleroma’s evil deeds and gaining public support in return is no disadvantage to me, even if I get hurt in the process.

And meeting a Pleroma who’s a bishop is a stroke of luck. The Pleromas we’ve caught so far have mostly been low-ranking members, insignificant and lacking information.

But this one is different.

If I play my cards right, I might be able to gather information that will be useful for my next plan to improve my standing.

‘The key is what methods he’ll use to achieve his goals.’

Strauch smiled broadly, squatting down to sit in front of Lucas.

“As you know, we haven’t had a chance to meet until now, have we? Now… my demands remain unchanged.”

Strauch tapped Lucas’s shoulder, leaning close to his ear and pressing each word firmly.

“When you go back, say that Sir Nicolaus fabricated everything. It was all your delusion. The imperial police, royal investigators, Imperial Newspaper, various research institutions, and the subjects were all caught up in your fantasy. It’s unfortunate, but Duke Elias also turned out to lack judgment.”

“I won’t do it.”

“In that case… how about we reveal to the public that Nicolaus is Pleroma?”

Lucas chuckled.

He thinks if he reveals my identity now, the image of Lucas Askanian will be overwhelmed by that of Nicolaus.

It’s rare to hear others’ opinions like this, but it’s interesting to hear them.

Of course, revealing my identity now is premature for many reasons.

Lucas shrugged and asked.

“What if I’m not Pleroma?”

“Your core may be ordinary, but it’s certain you possess our nature.”

“…Haha….”

Lucas laughed hollowly.

These bastards….

They’re more careless than I thought.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep