The window that hadn't appeared after successfully completing the proposal from Chapter 3 was now here.
Sometimes, after achieving a proposal, it would immediately move to the next chapter. Other times, there was a gap. Its appearance now meant I had officially entered Chapter 4. The flow suggested I was on the right track.
'Anyway.'
I needed to think about why the development had changed.
From Pleroma's perspective, if I had to pick a significant enough event to alter the progression, Leo's and my appearance was the most likely candidate.
A question might arise here.
In the novel, didn't the protagonist also stir up the restricted zone?
The protagonist, hiding his imperial identity, acted as a low-ranking noble mage, which were a dime a dozen. He even adjusted the bounty he received to avoid suspicion or drawing too much attention.
Looking just at the result, from Pleroma's view, he wasn't a risk factor.
But Leo's appearance was different.
Leo and the mysterious hunter using divine power had seized public attention.
On top of that, unlike the original, the chimera creatures were also discovered by the imperial family.
If it was certain they had created those chimeras, it would be quite an awkward situation for them.
Whatever the case, the conclusion at this point was one.
There was a worst-case scenario that could unfold, so the benefit gained from handling the problem now was significant.
If handled well, it could completely turn the situation around.
As I was preparing to leave after finishing up, the door burst open.
Leo skipped any greeting and got straight to the point.
"See it?"
"See what?"
Leo thrust a bundle of newspapers at me.
I didn't even need to turn the page. The front page was filled with stories about me and Leo.
[Prince Leonard of Bavaria Visits Mephen's Restricted Zone]
['Blue-Eyed Hunter' Sir Nikolaus's Charity Event]
[Skin Disease Disappears Upon Touch… The Miracle Sir Nikolaus Wrought in Mephen]
"Simple headlines."
"...Look at you, acting all detached because you've been through it before… The place was crawling with local reporters outside. They interviewed people the moment they stepped out."
"Hmm, that's fortunate."
"By tomorrow, it'll spread nationwide."
It would.
They wouldn't miss Leo's visit.
And they got a good story out of it too.
Leo plopped down in the seat across from me, straightening his clothes.
"So, find out anything?"
"I heard the stories started about two weeks ago. Some said they heard about mosquitoes around October 18th."
"So that's when it started."
"Right. Since the patients appeared then too, it's not a stretch to say the insect contamination began around that time. Whether contaminated or not, some always slip through the barrier, so the date symptoms appear and the contamination date probably don't differ much."
"Likely so."
I nodded and handed the newspaper back to Leo.
"I looked through the local papers from two weeks back. It just so happened to rain on October 17th too."
"Quite the coincidence. You're saying they chose rainy days for their experiments, right?"
"Yeah, that seems the most plausible right now."
It was time to revisit the hypothesis I'd briefly considered and set aside before.
If the hypothesis that they used the restricted zone as a revival experiment site was correct, they would conduct experiments on rainy days to leave no evidence, whether they were contaminating the entire area or insect swarms.
Especially since learning a month ago that Leo and his entourage were entering the restricted zone, they would have been even more thorough about destroying evidence.
No need to create troublesome complications.
"You believe it was done artificially, I see. Well, if the insects were naturally contaminated, it would have happened long ago."
"Right."
Now I needed to find a way to properly utilize this situation.
I gave an appropriate response and got up from my seat.
"It's already midnight. Let's head back."
* * *
We stopped by the Baron's mansion to say our farewells, warped from there to Bavarian territory, and then moved on to the school.
It was a decision made in case we were being followed.
'Not getting proper sleep has left me in a terrible state.'
I washed down a headache pill with coffee.
Meanwhile, the classroom was noisier than usual.
"Leo, what was yesterday about?"
"Read the article! Did you hunt magical beasts there again this time?"
"Yeah, stopped by the village briefly after the hunt."
"The article said Baron Mephen will give you and Sir Nikolaus plaques of gratitude, hear about that?"
"Didn't know that. He must have announced it after we returned to school."
The stories from last night's local papers had even appeared in today's imperial newspapers.
[A Miracle Performed on 150 People… Sir Nikolaus's Charity Magic]
[Unprecedented Scale Charity Magic Event Draws Support Pledges from 9 Families Within the Empire]
[Who is the 'Blue-Eyed Hunter' Nikolaus?]
[Baron Mephen: 'To Award Plaques of Gratitude and Honorary Citizenship Within the Week']
All headlines I'd seen in passing today.
I tried to focus on my book while waiting for the morning assembly.
But no matter how hard I tried to shut it out, it was difficult to completely ignore the excited commotion coming from the same classroom.
"What kind of person is he? To use divine power for that long, he must be from a really good family. Probably a bit older too."
"How did you even meet him?"
"Narke, do you know someone named Nikolaus? Famous in the Papal States?"
"Well, there are many with that name, so I'm not sure."
Narke laughed and played along.
It was all fine… but them constantly talking about me in class was breaking my concentration.
Need to drink some coffee and focus.
"But is it okay for a traveler to use magic like that all over the country? Ah! Of course, he did good deeds but…."
Leo shook his head at that question.
"He's a Bavarian citizen. Hired as a royal army mage, so no need to worry about problems."
"I see!"
'....'
Army?
Since when?
I shot up from my seat. The sound of the chair scraping made Leo turn his eyes toward me.
Pie, who was in my jacket pocket, popped his head out.
"What's wrong, Lucas?"
I was thinking of spitting out my coffee and leaving the classroom.
Just as I was passing through the door, a student came running up in a hurry, grabbed the doorframe, and shouted into the classroom.
"Hey! Come down, come quick! You gotta see this right now!"
* * *
Now I understood how he persuaded the Wittelsbach family regarding an unidentified person.
Saying not to worry about problems meant not to worry because any problems would be punished under military law.
'Suddenly got bloody.'
Not that it matters since I don't plan on causing trouble anyway.
To live as Nikolaus, I needed a guaranteed identity, so getting royal citizenship without any effort was actually a benefit.
I just have to not cause incidents.
Pie kept talking from my jacket pocket.
"Lucas, know what I did over the weekend? I tried making a hometown."
"How do you make that…"
"I piled up so many rocks! And put flowers on them too."
"I see."
"Come play later!"
"Okay, thanks for the invitation."
I answered Pie almost on autopilot and checked my watch.
Morning assembly would start soon.
I left the park next to the lecture hall and approached the main gate.
"Eeeek!"
Then, a scream came from the completely empty plaza in the distance.
Approaching, I saw a student on crutches had fallen. The student was muttering various curses.
"Damn this rain… This probably got me another two weeks of medical leave."
Seemed like an exaggeration.
Anyway, he showed no sign of being startled or avoiding me when he saw me. I sat beside him and helped him up by the shoulder.
The student laughed brightly and greeted me.
"Oh, thanks. You saved me."
"No problem."
"But you look familiar. Name?"
"Lucas."
I picked up his crutch and handed it to him.
At my answer, the other person frowned and observed me.
"Hmm, Ascania? Really changed so I didn't recognize you. You have a better impression than I thought."
"Have we met?"
"You might not know, but people know you. Anyway, we're in the same class now. See you later."
He raised the corners of his mouth in a smile, waved, and energetically moved away on his crutches.
Same class?
And *now*?
'Never seen him before.'
Not in Luca's memories either.
Don't tell me….
The moment I turned to check on him again, Pie popped his head out.
"Lucas, aren't you late?"
"Ah."
Checking my watch, I wasn't late yet.
I climbed the steps into the building. Entering the lobby, I could see it was packed with people, no room to step.
'Why so many people?'
Morning assembly was about to start, but no one seemed to want to leave.
I moved closer to see.
A student in the middle, face flushed red, was pressed tightly against the side of the staircase, grinding his teeth.
Looking at what he was doing, his hand was tied to the staircase handrail.
'…Isn't that a school tie?'
A familiar purple fabric was connecting his wrist to the handrail.
'Why can't he just untie it and come out?'
Maybe everyone thought the same, as a student who had just arrived like me voiced the same question.
"Is it enchanted? Why can't he get it off?"
"Yeah. They say it's not ordinary magic. Even the professors can't undo it."
The face of the student bound by the tie was turning red and purple. He suddenly yelled at the large crowd gathered around watching.
"Ah, not leaving?! Get lost! The XX, what's so fun to watch?!"
"Student, remain still while the formula is being removed!"
"Who did this?"
"How should I know? Ah, really annoying XX…."
"Student, once this is undone, please follow me to the dean's office."
"Ah, damn…."
What a strange sight.
Seeing he was still in school despite such indiscipline, he was likely a first-year.
Best not to pay attention to someone who'd be expelled soon anyway.
I ignored him, pushed through the crowd, and went up the stairs.
Not long after I took my seat, the professor opened the door and entered.
"Ahem… There was a bit of a disturbance this morning. Please do not pay attention to trivial matters, and focus solely on your studies, students of the Magic Department, second year, class two."
The professor cleared his throat and opened the attendance register.
"Agnes Michelen."
"Present."
"Gert Zeiler."
"Here."
As the roll call was nearing its end and my turn approached, I looked up from my book and straightened my posture.
"Lucas…."
Clatter—!
With everyone seated, someone leisurely opened the door and entered.
"Ah, I'm a bit late. My apologies."
Just like when I had entered the classroom at the start of the semester, a subtle tension rippled through the students.
The student on crutches entered with a smile, scanned the classroom, and sat in an empty seat.
From his heavily wrinkled uniform shirt to his rain-soaked jacket, nothing was in proper order.
It was the student from earlier.
For some reason, I felt a sense of déjà vu.
'Not just because I saw him earlier, but for a more fundamental reason….'
Besides just now, I was sure I'd seen him somewhere before.
The professor frowned as he looked over the student's appearance.
"Student, where did you leave your tie?"
"I lent it out. Professor, am I late?"
"Not called yet, so it's fine. But what do you mean you lent it out?"
"Someone seemed to need it. It was kinda funny how much malice they were spewing. Right?"
"...."
Leo's face, which had been creased with displeasure since the student entered, twisted further.
The professor also stared blankly at the student and shook his head.
"…Don't tell me you tied up a first-year student in the lobby?"
"He is a first-year, right? Seeing he hasn't been expelled yet, I figured."
"Answer the question."
The student's face turned serious at the professor's firm question.
"Yes, that's right. It was me."
"You came to school to avoid repeating a year, and now you want to get expelled for school violence?"
The student stared silently at the professor for a long moment, then shrugged.
"He called me a leg-crippled XX who can't even walk properly."
"...."
"I was going to break his too but held back. Wanted to tie up his legs, but with the crutches, he couldn't sit. Do you know how hurt I was by such insults?"
His expression didn't particularly look like it, though.
I looked back and forth between his confident smile and the professor's seemingly quite shocked face.
"…How did your leg end up like that?"
"Fell off a cliff. The medical report is already submitted to your office, professor. Luckily it was shallow, so no need to worry."
"Hoo…."
One bewildering statement after another.
As far as I knew—no, as everyone here knew—there was only one person who would come to school with a leg injury from falling off a cliff and, claiming to be insulted, tie up a student's hand without hesitation.
And, a person not in Luca's memories.
There was a long-term absentee in our class who had transferred from class one.
In the novel, there was also a long-term absentee who changed classes.
Since all the story was written from his perspective, there wasn't a strong sense of him being absent.
'Don't tell me….'
The professor, who had been silently watching the grinning student with a troubled frown, quietly opened his mouth.
"Follow me after the assembly. Student Elias."
"…!"
I unconsciously held my breath.
Hearing his name, I could be completely certain.
That person is the novel's protagonist.
Ding—!
〈 Chapter 4. Constant Dripping Wears Away the Stone (2) 〉
Proposal 1: Make 'Elias Hohenzollern' your ally. (0/1) (23 hours 59 minutes 58 seconds)
* Route 1 — 〈 Proposal 2 〉
* Route 2 — 〈 Chapter 5. Do Not Praise the Day Before Evening Falls 〉
—-----------
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