He strode through the heart of the terror. Ifrin, clutched in Rohakan's large hand, blankly watched the ensuing bombardment, the buildings shattering, the horrific spectacle of exploding bombs.
“Why…….”
“You can’t ask for a reason. It’s the mad act of madmen.”
*CRUMBLE─!*
Rohakan manifested magic toward the collapsing statue. He seemed to try to halt the collapse with 「Psychokinesis」, but it wasn’t as neat as Deculain’s.
“Well, well. I can’t do it as cleanly as him.”
Rohakan smirked and soon purified the area with his own magic.
*SNAP—!*
As he flicked his fingers, the debris of the falling building disintegrated into dust. The explosive flames were extinguished, and the fire ascended into the sky.
“What was that just now?”
“I call it 「Elementalization」. It melts processed matter into its most primal elements. You probably won’t find it in any textbook.”
“Wow.”
Ifrin exclaimed, closing and opening her eyes.
In that instant, the two had already left the city behind.
“……Where is this now? Is it teleportation?”
It was some hill. The square that had turned from festival to terror was now so far away, and a peaceful cabin stood before them.
Rohakan smiled warmly and took a deep breath.
“It’s been a while since I’ve showcased my magic before a young talent.”
Speaking thus, he gathered mana. In his hand was a branch of the World Tree she had seen before.
*THUD─!*
Rohakan struck the ground with the World Tree. The magic born from that shock formed a wave that surged in all directions.
The grand magic that cleansed the thick miasma in the square, 「Flow of Purification」.
“I’ve done this much, so they should handle the rest on their own.”
“Yes, yes. Then I’ll be on my way—”
“Using grand magic has made me hungry. Ifrin, won’t you have some meat? I caught one last night.”
“……Meat?”
Ifrin asked back doubtfully.
*CHOMP—!*
Ifrin tore into the meat.
Every bite was delicious. It wasn’t the luxurious taste of a Roahawk, perhaps because it hadn’t been aged, but there was a rustic novelty to it.
“It’s tasty. If it suits even my picky palate…….”
“Wasn’t it you who ate everything well?”
Rohakan replied thus, but he was busy. He was scurrying about here and there inside the small cabin.
“What do you mean I eat everything well. I don’t.”
“By the way, where did your friend go? There was one more of you.”
“……Ah. She’s not feeling well, so she’s resting.”
Ifrin gave a bitter smile. Sylvia had collapsed during the exam from sudden overexertion. From what she heard, she hadn’t slept or eaten throughout the entire finals period.
“But have you been living here all this time? How were you not discovered?”
“Hmm~ This hut is no ordinary hut. How else do you think I’ve been able to escape for decades? It’s like a ship.”
“A ship?”
“Right. Why you call it the ‘Ninth Sequence’, or ‘Specialized Magic’—it’s a signature born when a magician’s disposition, personality, and talent all come together.”
Signature magic. The ultimate career that every magician on the continent desired.
Ifrin merely blinked.
Ah, her mouth moved too. She chewed on the meat, munching away.
“Here. Look.”
Rohakan closed the cabin door. Then, he grabbed a certain lever sitting like interior décor beside the fireplace.
*THUD─!*
A single vibration. Ifrin flinched as she chewed, and Rohakan smirked as he opened the cabin door.
“……Huh?”
Ifrin, looking beyond the threshold, blankly opened her mouth. Her large eyes fixed on the scenery outside the cabin.
It was a desert.
A desert where nothing existed, with only sand-filled hot winds billowing in. Lips would chap within ten seconds of looking around.
Rohakan muttered nonchalantly.
“How is it? Amazing, isn’t it?”
“Th-this……”
Ifrin hastily grabbed him by the collar.
“T-take me back!”
“Hahaha.”
“Don’t laugh, stop laughing and hurry! You kidnapper!”
*SHAKE— SHAKE—*
She clumsily shook the large criminal’s body.
“Send me back!”
“Hahahaha.”
“I’m telling you to send me back!”
“Of course I’ll send you back. I might even get scolded by that punk Deculain.”
“……What? Why would you get scolded by Deculain?”
“Hm? Weren’t you two Deculain’s disciples?”
Ifrin furrowed her brow.
“What nonsense are you talking about. More importantly, where on earth is this place?”
“It’s the Kahal Desert in the eastern continent. In this absurd climate, several villages of the Red Plague exist.”
“If it’s the Red Plague, aren’t they the instigators of today’s terror?”
Rohakan held a bitter smile. Without answering Ifrin’s question, he continued.
“From now on, the Red Plague will likely be annihilated. The persecution of minorities will intensify. A storm fiercer than the hot winds of this desert will blow…… Ifrin. What do you think?”
“Why are you asking me that. I’m a mage. Not a politician.”
“It’s because I too am slowly in need of someone to inherit my legacy.”
“Legacy?”
Rohakan’s sidelong gaze reached Ifrin. His eyes were somehow sorrowful.
“That’s right. When a magician reaches a certain level, they can know their own lifespan. I don’t have many days left.”
“……Then just have Professor Deculain do it.”
“Would that punk listen to me?”
Ifrin nodded, recalling Deculain’s unique ego.
Arrogant, haughty, noble, and lofty—his self-righteous demeanor.
“Indeed. He won’t listen to anyone. Even if a god told him to, I don’t think he’d do it if he didn’t want to. No, he simply wouldn’t.”
“Kekeke. Now that’s certainly the truth.”
Rohakan laughed and closed the cabin door. Then, he used 「Psychokinesis」 to bring over a magic pouch tossed in the corner.
“Here. Inside this pouch are ‘elixirs’ and a ‘magic training manual’ I wrote, and such, that will help a young talent.”
“……But?”
In an instant, Ifrin’s eyes became filled with anticipation.
“I’ll give this to you and your friend.”
“……Huh? Why? It’s suspicious.”
It was a perfunctory doubt. Ifrin’s eyes were already fixed on the magic pouch.
Rohakan smiled faintly.
“When a magician reaches a certain level, they can read others. Of course, that only applies to simple people like you. I can never read complicated, closed-off punks like Deculain.”
“Huh? Sylvia isn’t a simple child.”
“No. That child may be even simpler than you. Anyway. Will you accept it?”
At Rohakan’s words, Ifrin pondered.
Black Beast.
The meaning of that word was black beast.
This Rohakan, known as the worst criminal on earth……
Seemed like such a nice old man.
“Half is yours, and half is your friend’s. I even put name tags on them.”
“……”
Ifrin, who had been agonizing fiercely, glanced at it—then snatched the pouch with a flourish.
“Fine.”
“Good. Since you’ve accepted my goods, I’ll leave Deculain to you two. I’ll also come to ask a favor later.”
“Huh? I don’t know about a favor, but why would you leave Deculain to us?”
“Hmm~ You don’t know yet, but I can glimpse a bit of the future. At most, two weeks, or a month into it.”
Ifrin was shocked by Rohakan, who spoke with a warm smile.
“Bull—! Ah, I mean, that’s a lie! How can you see the future?”
“There’s nothing to be surprised about. It’s proof of my short remaining life. Magicians grasp more truths the closer they get to the heavens.”
*CREAK─*
Rohakan closed the door. The desert scenery was hidden.
“I have at most two to three years left, but there are many magicians who will become pillars of this world. Whether you like it or not, that punk Deculain will become one of those great pillars.”
“No way.”
“Yes. ‘No way,’ indeed. He could become a pillar, or the catalyst for destruction.”
“They’re both huge problems for me. What kind of future did you see? Can’t you go take another careful look?”
“Hahaha. I’d like to, but it’s not something I can just see whenever I want.”
Having finished speaking, Rohakan opened the cabin door again.
It was the main street of the familiar capital.
But the time was strange. The sky had darkened. Before she knew it, night had fallen, and it was quiet as if the terror had already been sorted out.
Ifrin looked up at Rohakan blankly.
“……You really seem like a mage, old man.”
“I hear that often. Just as you look at me, there was a time when I looked at Demakan.”
Archmage Demakan. If Rohakan is at this level, how mysterious and great must he be?
Ifrin looked at the moon in the sky for a moment. Then she looked at Rohakan. No, she looked at the spot where Rohakan had been standing.
He and the cabin had already vanished.
“Ifrin.”
Instead, a cold tone flowed in. Ifrin flinched.
It was a voice so familiar that it was terrifying.
“P-Professor……?”
Deculain.
He was glaring at her with a sharp gaze.
At his following words, Ifrin’s heart dropped.
“You met Rohakan.”
“N-no.”
“What did he say.”
Ifrin tensed. Her mouth went dry. A shadow-like pressure seemed to crush every part of her body.
“Ifrin.”
When he had called her name twice.
“Speak.”
“……It’s a secret!”
Ifrin resisted his pressure, shouting as she squeezed her eyes shut.
“……”
The expected scolding did not come. However, the magic pouch clenched in her hand smoothly moved to Deculain’s hand.
“……Ah, ah! P-please! Give it back!”
Deculain looked inside the pouch. Ifrin fidgeted like a puppy whose snack had been taken, but he was composed.
*GULP—*
He’s going to take it. It’s all going to be confiscated. At that moment when Ifrin’s heart felt like it would burst.
“Take it.”
“……Huh?”
Deculain returned the pouch to her. The air around him was still gloomy and oppressive, but there was no scolding or confiscation as she had feared.
“Disappearing without a word.”
“……Yes?”
“I was looking for you.”
No—rather, of course his face and voice were still cold, but he spoke as if he were worried.
Still dumbfounded, Ifrin soon saw a potion bottle in his hand. A name tag reading [Deculain] was attached to the potion.
Old Man Rohakan had deliberately delivered her near Deculain.
“Go to the police station. Your friends are waiting for you.”
After leaving those words.
*THUMP— THUMP—*
She blankly watched his tall receding figure walking away.
* * *
Sylvia had slept for a long time. Like a bear in hibernation, she had dug a burrow in her room. Inside were only Sylvia, Swiftrock, and Chubbypanda.
……But.
*TAP—! TAP—!*
For a while now, a strange sound kept coming from the window.
The time was 4:30 AM.
*TAP—! TAP—!*
She tried to ignore it, but it was irritating.
How dare some fearless bastard.
*TAP—! TAP—!*
Unable to bear it, Sylvia drew the curtain.
A stupid face was below the mansion. Ifrin, who had been about to throw a pebble, beamed a bright smile.
“Stupid Ifrin.”
Sylvia closed the curtain again. At the same time, the rock-throwing resumed.
*TAP—! TAP—!*
“……”
I’ll endure just three more times.
If you keep going, I’ll beat you up.
Sylvia narrowed her eyes fiercely, but perhaps sensing her intent, the rock-throwing stopped.
No.
*KNOCK— KNOCK—*
The rock-throwing turned into knocking.
The moment Sylvia let out a sigh, the door flung open. As expected, it was Ifrin.
“Who said come in. Who let you in. Who said open the door.”
“Ah, sorry. The maid Lethe……”
“Get out. Get out. Get out, get out.”
“Wait. Just look at this. If you see this, you’ll change your mind.”
Ifrin pulled out a book from some pouch. It was a tome that looked priceless at a glance. For an instant, Sylvia’s eyes sparkled.
“I met Rohakan, that old man. He said it’s a gift for us.”
“……”
“Look. It even has your name tag here. [Sylvia].”
Sylvia the document collector couldn’t refuse Ifrin’s offer, and Ifrin sat down beside her.
“Sylvia. What are you going to do now?”
She naturally asked about her future path.
Sylvia glared at her drowsily, but soon answered in a low voice.
“……I’m going to the floating island.”
“The floating island?”
“Become a high-ranking mage there. Become a greater mage than that professor, Dekulerain….”
Silvia could not yet understand her own feelings. The scene from that day had been a massive shock to her, and her heart was tangled like a knotted thread, chaotically intertwined.
“Become one, and then?”
“I don’t know what comes after.”
Ifryn nodded. Dekulerain had gone from “Professor-nim” to “that professor,” but she was not a tactless fool who would ask why.
“Huh? Hey, is this a radio? Amazing. I’ve never seen one before.”
Ifryn discovered the radio sitting on the nightstand by the bed. Silvia glanced at her and turned it on.
“—……In response to the large-scale terror attacks, the Imperial Court has declared a state of emergency across the Empire, and key figures, including the magic professors of the Imperial University and the Knight Commander, have been summoned.”
“Wow. It really does make a voice.”
As she listened to the news, Ifryn recalled Rohakan’s words.
Where and how would the “Gale” that the old man spoke of surge forth?
“—In particular, the fate of Chief Professor Dekulerain, who had defended the Jeokgwe in Bercht and received heavy criticism from not only the magical community but also political and financial circles, is drawing atten—”
Click.
The radio cut out. It was Silvia. Ifryn, who had been about to ask why she turned it off, fell silent upon seeing Silvia’s face, which looked as though she might burst into tears at any moment.
Silvia spoke.
“If you want to listen, go outside and listen by yourself.”
“……Okay.”
Ifryn took the radio and went out to the living room.
A dark mansion.
She placed it down on the sofa table with a clack and fiddled with it this way and that.
“How did Silvia do it again?”
But no matter how much she tried, no sound came out, and Ifryn stared blankly for a moment before speaking.
“Speak.”
No response.
“……Why aren’t you speaking?”
Ifryn, who had waited for some time, furrowed her brow.
“Is this rebellion……?”
She spoke again with her arms crossed. This time, a little more solemnly.
“Speak.”
“Speak as you were just speaking.”
“Speak at once!”
“……Are you rebelling?”
“Aha~ so you recognize your master? But, hey. Silvia said I could listen too, you know? That means I have permission. So open your mouth.”
“Speak.”
“I told you to speak.”
“I said speak?!”
The radio, which she was seeing for the first time in her life, was fiercely rebellious, and Ifryn quarreled with the thing until the maid Lethe arrived.
* * *
[ “……During the Empire’s Grand Festival for All People, simultaneous magic bomb terror attacks broke out. A total of 18 locations, including the square where the festival was in full swing, were targeted.” ]
[ “Thanks to the dispatch of Chief Professor Dekulerain, along with mages and knights, suppression came without delay; however, numerous casualties occurred, including over three thousand dead and over ten thousand injured.” ]
[ “A portion of the clan that perpetrated these terror attacks was identified as the ‘Jeokgwe.’ They opposed the widespread discrimination against the Jeokgwe on the continent and, furthermore, planned the terror attacks while denouncing the Bllet Church as a heretical religion.” ]
[ “……Regardless of region or capital, countless petitions flooded in. Their gist was the oppression of the Jeokgwe.” ]
[ “Half a year ago, ‘Rokhark,’ who had murdered numerous mages, was revealed to be a Jeokgwe. The Leork Kingdom, which values the magical arts, declared the Jeokgwe enemies of the race…….” ]
“What do you think? More than half of the terror ringleaders were Jeokgwe, and because of that, all hell has broken loose.”
Emperor Sofien asked this with a smile.
I did not have much to say in response. The sudden event Al Lose had hinted at, the temple’s “Gale,” was a scheme using the Jeokgwe.
“How was the Jeokgwe identification confirmed?”
“Betan. Those fellows of that house developed some method.”
“May I ask what method?”
“We tore out their hearts and the results came out. Indeed, a Jeokgwe’s heart is different from that of a human. They are not called the bloodline of demons for nothing.”
“…….”
It was an incredibly crude method. I was at a loss for words for a moment, but I soon realized there was no alternative.
“Yukraine. We cannot offer any resistance to this public opinion.”
The oppression of the Jeokgwe was a massive tide. One could say the very premise of the mid-game main quest was “Jeokgwe oppression” and it would hardly be an exaggeration.
“Petitions are fierce from both the capital and the provinces alike. We shall act according to the will of Our subjects and the myriad people.”
I had hoped to delay it as long as possible, but this era would inevitably oppress the Jeokgwe.
“For now, they will seize the land and confiscate the property of prominent Jeokgwe.”
The Jeokgwe were largely divided into two categories.
The Jeokgwe scattered across the continent, and those who were not.
The former showed little difference from Imperial citizens in appearance and speech, but they could be distinguished by their religion, diet, and so on.
The latter spoke in a noticeable dialect, and villages and regions where only they lived existed in the Empire’s borderlands.
“The rage against the Jeokgwe is that sharp. Not only the magical community, but even those merchant fellows are rolling their eyes at the chance to make money. Why, are there not many wealthy Jeokgwe?”
The trigger had already been pulled. The bullet called “Imperial terror” had been fired, and the casualties were in the tens of thousands.
I looked at Sofien, who was smiling gleefully, and spoke.
“A clan has carried out a terror attack that will bring calamity upon its own clan.”
Looked at closely, it was a bizarre turn of events.
Why could those who carried out the terror in the name of their clan not consider that this terror would bring calamity upon the entire clan?
Naturally, it was strange, but in truth, it did not matter.
This terror was merely an “excuse.”
Just as offering a condemned prisoner to a maniac who happened to want to dance with blades, it merely handed the justification to the millions of imperial citizens who fervently desired the oppression of the Jeokgwe.
That was precisely why it was a “Gale.”
If I opposed this Gale alone, I had no choice but to be swept away.
From now on—Yukraine, Illaid, Beorad, Betan—none could escape it.
It was the time to enter the main quest in earnest.
The oppression of the Jeokgwe became the right thing to do, and defending the Jeokgwe turned into a wrongdoing.
“Take this.”
Sofien held out some sort of identification badge to me, who had been lost in thought. I looked at the small card.
“‘Reshtel,’ it is called. It means tiger in the Runic language.”
[Achievement Reward: Emperor’s Royal Guard]
◆ Shop Currency +1
◆ Mana +50
◆ Item Catalog: 1 Page.
“It is a Royal Guard founded separately by Us. Since you have taken it upon yourself to be Our teacher, We have assigned you the rank of ‘R,’ both to maintain that dignity.”
“Is that so.”
“We expect you to show a prestige befitting Yukraine… Well then, do you still intend to defend the Jeokgwe?”
I looked at Sofien.
I did not yet know Sofien’s true intentions, but if I stubbornly defended the Jeokgwe even within this tide, the ending would be death in isolation.
Not only I, but the entire territory would be bled dry and perish.
“I shall build an internment camp.”
“An internment camp?”
“Yes. It will be less provocative than extermination, yet still able to garner the support of the masses.”
“Where do you intend to build it?”
“The Yukraine estate has vast lands. Vast as it is, there is a region called ‘Rohallak.’”
“Rohallak? Is that not the region close to Myeolji?”
Sofien’s eyes went wide.
It was widely known that Rohallak was a high-risk zone where magical beasts appeared dozens of times a day. To some extent, that was true.
“Dekulerain. Were you not someone who favored the Jeokgwe? An internment camp is one thing, but Rohallak? You mean to send them all to their deaths?”
“I do not like them. I merely thought there was no reason to hate them.”
“Hmm. Does this mean you now have a reason to hate them after this terror attack……?”
Sofien stroked his chin, then shrugged and asked again.
“But, is it all right to build such a detestable facility in your territory?”
“Your Majesty, I know you will provide compensation befitting it.”
“Oh-ho?”
A tail sprouted from the back of Sofien, who smiled with narrowed eyes. Had I seen wrong? When I opened my eyes wide, it was a cat. That same red-furred munchkin.
“Very well. We shall reward you appropriately depending on the number of Jeokgwe you take in. The central government shall also cover the cost of building the camp.”
“In addition, we will need to make an example.”
“An example?”
“Yes.”
I recalled the memories in my head.
Among the Jeokgwe, there existed villainous named characters.
Named characters who were not evil because they were Jeokgwe, but simply evil because they were villains.
If left alive, they would bring harm not only to the main quest in the distant future, but to the Jeokgwe clan itself.
“I shall capture and execute several dozen of them. The Magic Tower is on holiday now, so I have time on my hands; it would not be a bad idea to seek them out personally.”
When I answered thus, the Emperor fell silent.
[ The Jeokgwe have been known since ancient times as a clan of demons…… ]
I had been reading the petitions of ministers denouncing the Jeokgwe when, because the silence stretched on for quite a while, I raised my head.
The Emperor was looking at me with an expression of utter disbelief.
“Dekulerain…… The price of betraying your convictions is truly cruel, is it not?”
It was an uncharacteristically surprised voice.
“Is that so.”
I had not spoken a single lie.
I was going to execute criminal Jeokgwe, and I was going to build an internment camp. The location would be “Rohallak.” However, Rohallak would no longer be as dangerous a region as the rumors claimed.
Furthermore, I did not know how the word “internment camp” would be received in this world.
But what and how I would do things inside it would be entirely at my discretion.
“Indeed. You were the only one who defended the Jeokgwe. And yet you changed so drastically in an instant? Hahahaha.”
Sofien seemed pleased by my words.
Well, according to his character settings, Sofien did not have very favorable feelings toward the Jeokgwe, either.
“This won’t do. We too shall study diligently. We must not betray your convictions!”
“I know perfectly well that you will lose interest in five minutes.”
“Hmph—” Sofien twisted the corner of his mouth.
“Lose interest in Us? Impertinent. Very well. Let Us see. Today, We shall definitely make progress of at least one page———”
“———It bores Us to death. Get out.”
Just now, the two statements had overlapped almost simultaneously.
It was probably three minutes. The Emperor recited a few Runic characters before throwing my textbook aside as if fed up.
Of course, the Runic language was a power that demanded not only mana but also mental strength, but still…….
“Your Majesty. Five min—”
“Ebebebeb— Ebe— Tweh—! My mouth grows bitter from handling this damnable Runic language. Leave!”
“…….”
“We are sleepy. We shall sleep.”
Sofien lay down on the spot and even turned his back to me, and I had no choice but to leave.