Chapter 262
“Academia members, thank you for braving the long journey. On behalf of Yggdrasil, I appreciate your cooperation with Academia.”
A woman ranked 7th in the Hero Ranking.
Magician Trisena.
Standing with me was the Hero who I had fought alongside the Archbishop Bifrons, along with a male team member who seemed to be part of her squad.
As the airship safely landed and we stepped out, she greeted us with a smile.
The fact that a single-digit Hero was assigned as a guide indicates the Central Church highly values Academia’s capabilities.
“Nice to meet you, Trisena. I am Fergio, a professor at Academia. I’m here as the representative for Chancellor Gulemashia, who couldn’t make it.”
He extended his hand and shook Trisena’s.
“I was surprised how quickly Academia’s airship arrived.”
“Thanks to our excellent students. We encountered an ambush from Altife on the way, but we banded together and managed to fend them off and complete our flight.”
“Sounds like quite the ordeal! I’m glad you all made it through without incident.”
After exchanging niceties with Fergio, Trisena addressed everyone.
“Only the professors who have been informed beforehand should follow me, and the rest of you can move with my team members and go with the students.”
“Has the meeting already started?”
“No, Rikeion’s airship hasn’t arrived yet, so we haven’t begun. I received word that it should arrive in about 15 minutes.”
“Got it. Then let’s move quickly.”
After finishing her conversation with Fergio, Trisena shifted her gaze to the students.
She informed them that some students also needed to participate in the meeting.
“Students Diphelia, Vargan, Alicia, and Erica, please come over here.”
I led the nearby people to Trisena’s side.
Since Diphelia is the current Student Council President, she was invited, but my purpose was different.
After exchanging a casual greeting with her, Trisena smiled back slightly.
Her expression suggested she had a lot of questions for me, but since we were in an official setting, I stepped forward to lead the way.
“This way, please.”
We headed toward a large tent.
The destination was a large barrack.
It was clearly built to serve as a temporary shelter, but its size and quality were far from shabby.
Upon closer inspection, it was fortified with all sorts of magical spells, making it sturdier and more resilient than a decent castle.
As I entered, most of the seats were already taken.
The empty chairs surrounding the round table seemed to belong to Academia and Rikeion.
All eyes turned towards us at the entrance of Academia.
I discreetly examined them.
Though they were likely interested in us, I was equally drawn to the distinguished guests gathered here.
‘Helion, Ferangis, Kello… That man is missing an arm and one eye. It seems there are quite a few from the Central Church too… Huh? Could that burly guy be Grayden by any chance?’
The Martial Artist ranked 3rd in Hero Rankings.
With his bushy beard and a neck thicker than a barrel, he caught my eye.
Grayden, who looked me over from head to toe with a disgruntled expression, soon made his first remark to me.
“You look more scrawny than I thought! Do you think you can wield a knife and fork like this? You’re seriously trusting a brat like that with an important task?”
“…I believe the necessity for Vargan and the effectiveness of the Unique Spell have already been sufficiently explained, though?”
“Damn it! Trisena! Are you coddling him just because he’s another magician, or have you fallen for him already?”
“What the…! Ugh… Fine. I don’t want to argue in a place like this, and there’s no way I can have a conversation with you. I planned to explain everything again when everyone arrived, so why don’t you just listen for once?”
“Ugh!”
“…….”
I took a dismissive attitude and moved to my seat.
There was no point in trying to reason with that musclebound brute.
To his eyes, filled with nothing but muscle, it seemed that having a magician like me around was inappropriate…
“Is there anything to explain! It’s a simple proof I’m here for!”
“Grayden!”
This guy.
He was even more of a lunatic than I anticipated!
As a sudden intent to kill emanated from him, I instinctively readied myself for combat.
The opponent was Grayden, who was staring right at me.
He charged at me, filled with ‘intent’ on purpose.
The table and chair he sat on were obliterated, creating a storm of wind pressure.
In that fleeting moment, I took in his fist.
I realized.
If I got hit by that, I wouldn’t die quietly.
No matter how much I’m wrapped in darkness and protected, I’d surely burst like a watermelon.
Grayden’s lost his mind.
At that moment.
Koooom—!
A holy light of mana acted as a shield to block Grayden’s blow.
The man holding that shield was Helion.
With a bit of his usual gentleness stripped away, he asked,
“…Grayden, what on earth are you doing?”
“Haha! Helion! Are you stepping in? This just got interesting!”
“Just answer the question already.”
“I said what I meant! I’m here to see if he’s really capable! If he goes down this easily, he’ll be dead before he ever gets to shine on the battlefield!”
Kwaajijijijik—!
Even though they were in conversation, the two did not back down.
Grayden’s fists were relentlessly pushing forward with overwhelming strength, trying to break Helion’s shield.
However, Helion also stood his ground.
“No matter what, this has gone too far.”
“Cough! Gone too far? You want me to take it easy on those monster bastards called Altife?”
“…….”
“Still, well… Ha! I suppose your spirit isn’t too bad…!”
Grayden grinned widely, his big, bulging eyes turning toward us.
To the left was Alicia, already ready to strike with Naias in hand.
To the right was Erica, who had finished setting up the basic formation to cast Warp Magic and Freezing Magic simultaneously.
If Helion hadn’t intervened, they would have collided head-on with Grayden.
“You two should also gather your mana.”
“…….”
“…….”
The two women didn’t ease their vigilance even at Helion’s instruction.
As I nodded, indicating I was fine, they finally calmed their charged mana.
“Tsk. Things are becoming boring.”
Grayden clicked his tongue in disappointment, letting go of his killing intent.
His fists, more dangerous than any bomb, returned to their designated position.
Facing him, Helion scattered his shield into the air and said, “Vargan, you should do the same. Break the spell you set here.”
“A spell… what kind of spell are you talking about?”
“Don’t play dumb. The moment you stepped into the barracks, you filled this space with your Unique Spell.”
“…You figured that out? As expected of my only master.”
As I mentioned that I had already cast the spell, whispers began to spread around us.
In a way… no, without any doubt, this was quite an absurd act.
To have cast Curse Magic in a place filled with high-ranking officials and elite heroes!
It wouldn’t be surprising if someone called it outright treason!
“It seems my master knows everything about his disciple’s affairs.”
I lightly praised Helion, but deep down, I was once again in awe of his abilities.
The Unique Spell I completed was designed to be unnoticeable to anyone but the caster, which meant nobody else knew it was in effect.
Even the Archbishop Bifros only barely grasped it when his time was up, but Helion saw right through it.
Indeed, the sacred magic he wielded was definitely a counter to my own!
—Zzzz-zz.
As per his instructions, I deactivated the Unique Spell.
The解除（かいじょ） of the spell was something anyone present could sense.
“Wait, the spell really is…!”
“Is this the Unique Spell I heard about from the author?!”
“Is that really the issue right now? Look at that brazen face after committing such blasphemy! They could have easily killed us! The author is definitely a dangerous person! Untrustworthy!”
The high-ranking officials of the Church were in an uproar.
If you looked closely, some of those present were people from the earlier incident when I had sought out the Judgment Weapon.
Consistently hating me is something I’d commend them for.
As I scanned my surroundings, I started my act.
An act laden with lies.
“I know that my impolite actions are unforgivable. However, I beg you to overlook it with a generosity as vast as the sea. I activated the spell because I feared for my insignificant life in front of the valiant heroes.”
“I know well, but I hope you can overlook this with the vast generosity of the sea. I was afraid my miserable life would extinguish quickly in front of the brave hero, so I activated my spell.”
“…Vargan, are you saying that you expected Grayden to charge at you?”
“Master Helion is correct. My magic skills are lacking, but my insight is so quick that even the sky would be astonished.”
I shifted my gaze to Grayden and smiled.
I had to express my gratitude to him.
Thanks to him, I had a decent excuse.
“The moment I stepped into the barracks, I had a gut feeling that Grayden would test me, and so I activated my defensive spell. Unfortunately, I couldn’t foresee that Master Helion would stop me. If I had known, I wouldn’t have cast the spell.”
“…….”
Then, an old man from the Central Church shouted.
“How can you believe such nonsense!”
Of course, it’s hard to believe.
I knew it sounded ridiculous, as I had somewhat concocted this excuse.
I recognized that Grayden was not ordinary.
However, I didn’t even know he was inside this barracks.
In fact, I was trying to see if there was anyone here who could recognize my unique spell and how long it would take to manipulate those present here if no one knew about it.
A barracks brimming with strong individuals.
There couldn’t be a better place to experiment with my spells.
So, from an intentional perspective, the suspicions of the high-ranking officials of the Central Church were indeed spot on.
However, the outcome proves my innocence.
The martial artist Grayden was indeed as much of a lunatic as I had ‘thought’ and charged at me with deadly intent.
My unique spell truly became a means of defense.
Additionally, I posed a threat to them while simultaneously proving my ‘capabilities’.
Those who hold authority in magic or swordsmanship wouldn’t have known a thing, would they?
This experience must have felt chilling to them.
In simple terms, I left a strong first impression. If utilized well, they would harbor expectations that I could contribute significantly in war.
Next, I wiggled my tongue, skillfully evading their suspicions and slanders to minimize my guilt.
I also made sure to subtly express my necessity to them.
Of course, I’d be the target of chatter and blame, but who cares about that?
Let them yap all they want.
“Grayden, what do you think?”
I took a step closer to Grayden and asked casually.
“Doesn’t this mean that I, and my unique spell, are quite usable?”
No matter how dubious and untrustworthy I might seem, there are countless ways I can be used without causing them harm.
Even warping right into the middle of the enemy territory would inflict catastrophic damage on them, so they couldn’t ignore me.
Perhaps my boldness reached him, for Grayden smiled widely, showing his white teeth.
“This guy is a lunatic beyond my imagination.”
He acknowledged me.
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