Chapter 226: Your Teacher is Serie!
Flamme was treated slightly better. Although her magic was also restricted, she was not shackled, and there was even a glass of warm water in front of her.
"Your Grace, we did not intend to damage the city's barrier."
She told the Duke in detail that she had needed the magic source of the barrier to release the teleportation magic, without any intention of hiding anything.
"Just this?" Duke Hohenheim raised an eyebrow slightly. "Why not seek help from the Temple?"
"We already asked for help, but they said they were powerless to help."
"But just to teleport an elf away," the Duke said, somewhat speechless.
He couldn't quite understand the young mage's thoughts. This matter had caused such a huge mess, even involving an elf, which gave him a real headache.
A hint of guilt flashed across Flamme's face. "There was no other way. We had to take the risk and use the magic of the barrier to cast a teleportation spell to send her to the only person who might be able to save her."
"The only person who can save her?" The Duke grasped the crucial information. "Who is it? Why are you so certain that person can save her?"
Flamme hesitated for a moment.
Mentioning her teachers' names might bring about a change in the situation, but it could also cause unnecessary trouble.
However, seeing the city lord's probing gaze and thinking of Ayla who was still imprisoned, she ultimately chose to confess.
"He is our teacher," Flamme said softly. "Ayla and I are from the same school."
"Oh?" The Duke became interested. "To be able to teach such a powerful mage like you, and even that elf, your teacher must be no ordinary person. What's his name?"
The Duke was already recalling in his mind those famous mages from all over the continent.
But he'd never heard of anyone taking people of different races as apprentices.
Flamme took a deep breath. Although she wanted to say Master Kurtz's name, she knew it was too frightening, so she uttered another name: "Serie."
"Serie!?"
The Duke, who had been as composed as a mountain, suddenly stood up from his chair, his face filled with disbelief, even a hint of fear and shock.
"You... you mean, the elven saint, Serie!? The one who stood shoulder to shoulder with the legendary Godslayer, Kurtz!?"
He couldn't help but be shocked.
Serie's name was like a living myth among the upper echelons of humanity and top magicians.
She represented the unattainable pinnacle of magic and ancient wisdom.
Her disciple? That was quite a frightening identity.
It was important to know that in this era, Serie hadn't formalized the practice of taking on apprentices. She would occasionally teach others a few spells based on her own whims, and her only true apprentices were Ayla and Flamme.
Flamme nodded firmly. "Yes."
The Duke slowly sat back in his chair, his chest heaving violently, and it took him a while to process this astonishing information.
He stared intently at Flamme, trying to find a trace of lying on her face, but all he saw was composure.
"Evidence!" The Duke's voice trembled slightly. "What proof do you have that you are a disciple of that elven saint? You must know that impersonating such a revered person can become a crime punishable by death!"
Flamme remained silent.
She thought back carefully and realized that she really didn't have any tokens that could directly prove her lineage.
Lady Serie had never given her anything that represented her identity.
Her knowledge and understanding of magic were the best proof, but how could she show this to outsiders?
Surely she couldn't just perform some of the Elven race's most famous light arrow spells for this Duke?
But this magic had already been written into the magic books by Master Kurtz, so it wasn't a rare thing anymore. Any magician could use it to some extent.
She shook her head, somewhat helplessly. "I don't have any specific token. My teacher has never given me anything like that."
Duke Hohenheim frowned again.
Without evidence, it was impossible to determine whether it was true or false.
But he had never heard of Lady Serie ever issuing any badges or similar certificates to her disciples, so what the girl said made sense.
Moreover, he had heard of the girl's magical prowess. To achieve such accomplishments at such a young age, it seemed plausible that she had apprenticed under a legendary master.
He was caught in a deep dilemma.
Just then, the door to the interrogation room was pushed open.
Bishop Casalius of the temple walked in slowly.
He had already checked the condition of the barrier core and carefully examined the traces at the sewer site.
"You've arrived," the Duke nodded in greeting.
Bishop Casalius nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over Flamme before turning to the Duke. "How is the situation?"
The Duke whispered about how Flamme claimed to be Serie's disciple but could not prove it.
The bishop's expression shifted slightly, and he subconsciously muttered to himself, "No wonder." However, this emotion quickly vanished as he turned to Flamme, the mage he had met just yesterday, and asked, "Did you use teleportation magic to send that elven girl away?"
"Yes." Flamme had a good impression of the bishop, who had previously been willing to treat Frieren.
"The spatial fluctuations left at the scene are extremely complex, and they're slightly different from the teleportation magic commonly found on the continent today. It seems to be an improved version. It's really amazing."
He first praised it, then paused and looked at the Duke. "Your Grace, the barrier has stabilized, but there is a certain shortage of magic power. Fortunately, it has not been damaged at its core. It will take about a month to restore it fully."
"That's good. There are still three months before the monster tide, so there's plenty of time." The Duke breathed a sigh of relief.
The city's protective barrier was the foundation upon which it stood on this dangerous continent. Any problem with it would endanger the city's inhabitants.
"But the fact that it will take a month to recover is quite a loss."
"Your Grace," the bishop interrupted him, shaking his head slightly as if to convey a certain meaning, "this loss is not irreconcilable with the two disciples of Serie, especially given that one of them is an elf."
The Duke was startled. "Your Excellency, do you mean…?"
"She wasn't lying, at least that's what I think," Bishop Casalius calmly concluded. "That level of teleportation magic is strong proof in itself."
Moreover, their goal had clearly been to save lives, not to cause destruction, and they had not caused significant damage to the city.
The bishop's meaning was clear: after confirming that the two mages in front of him were very likely disciples of the elven saint, he suggested that the matter be minimized.
Although they were in the right and had ample reason to punish the two people in front of them, they might also incur the dissatisfaction or even anger of the elves or that Serie.
"However, the dark, corrupting power within that elven girl who was teleported away is troublesome even for me. They teleported her to Lady Serie. Does she perhaps have some special method?"
The bishop was also very curious about what level of holy magic the elven saint possessed that could heal such a level of dark power.
The Duke's headache worsened.
He didn't care at all about the elf girl who had been teleported away. He only cared about the two people in front of him.
If this human was indeed Serie's disciple, then the elf was obviously so as well, since it made much more sense for an elf to become the disciple of an elven saint than for a human.
But this made their identities too sensitive.
Detaining or even trying them might anger the legendary saint, Serie…
The Duke felt a chill of goosebumps run down his spine at the thought of facing the wrath of a magical progenitor who had lived for countless years.
"Then, in your opinion, what should we do now?" He posed the challenging question to the bishop.
The bishop pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "Releasing them is clearly against the rules, as they did cause damage. But punishing them severely would be riskier, and given the circumstances, it's unnecessary."
"Perhaps we could temporarily imprison them, restricting their freedom, while immediately dispatching messengers to the Elven Kingdom to verify their identities and their relationship with Lady Serie."
It seemed that even the bishop, who was quite wary of that Serie, was not willing to release Flamme and Ayla directly for the time being.
After all, these two had caused quite a commotion, almost draining the entire barrier's magic power. It would be unreasonable not to punish them.
But for Serie's sake, the punishment was changed to a temporary sentence of imprisonment.
The Duke breathed a sigh of relief. This was indeed the best course of action at the moment.
Upon hearing this, Flamme felt somewhat at ease.
Although she would lose her freedom, at least she wasn't being thrown into a dungeon and subjected to any torture, and they were willing to verify, so there was hope.
She was a little worried that it would be awkward if they couldn't verify the information.
Hopefully, Ayla had a backup in the Elf Kingdom.
"What do you think, Your Excellency the Mage?" The Duke looked at Flamme, his tone much gentler, no longer carrying the oppressive aura of a superior.
"I agree to this arrangement," Flamme replied, "but please do so as soon as possible. We are very concerned about whether the elven girl, Frieren, has arrived safely."
Bishop Casalius nodded. "We will make arrangements as soon as possible. As for the elven girl, we hope she can receive medical treatment."
After the decision was made, the atmosphere eased considerably.
Flamme was taken to a quiet, more comfortable cell, and Ayla was brought there shortly afterward and locked in the cell next to her.
[End of Chapter]
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