It’s a hospital.
Not the streets of Primrose Path, nor Marco’s Labyrinth.
As always, Wittelsbach’s magic power enveloped my core.
‘…No.’
It feels different from the magic power stored in an artifact.
When I lifted my head, my eyes t the real Leo’s. Narce, Elias, and Pai were all gathered, the four of them staring at in unison.
Leo finished casting his healing spell and said quietly,
“Everything went exactly as you said, Lucas.”
The day before yesterday, I kept my promise to Leo Values and held a strategy eting with him that evening.
Landing a critical hit on the Chairman wasn’t an easy task, so we needed as much help as possible.
Leo’s plan was to take advantage of the mont when the Chairman and his subordinates collapsed from inhaling the air, hand the subordinates over to the Royal Investigation Bureau, and transfer Marco and to the hospital.
Narce said with a grin,
“Those Pleroma folks sure recover fast~ Had to chase them down right away, and man, did I break a sweat.”
“Must’ve been tough. No issues, though?”
“Hahaha…”
Narce dodged the question with a laugh.
Looks like there was a bit of a standoff. I got up from my seat imdiately.
“Good work. Where’s Marco Schreiber?”
“Next room.”
I walked out and opened the door to the adjacent room.
Marco Schreiber was sleeping like the dead.
I placed my hand on his core and completed the covenant incantation I hadn’t fully recited yet.
*—In this world, you will face tribulation, but take heart. I have overco the world.*
“…”
His eyelashes twitched. Marco’s eyelids slowly opened.
For a while, he remained still, as if waking from a long dream, then lifted his hand to examine it. The way he stared at it, like it belonged to soone else, hinted at the past ten years of his life.
His head slowly turned toward .
“Jeremiah.”
“…”
“You were just speaking to , weren’t you?”
It’s done.
The revelation of Abraham that had been placed on him no longer functions.
My friends, who had hurriedly followed , stared at him in a daze. From their reactions, it seed Narce had filled them in on the Chairman and Abraham.
Narce said with a smile,
“You did it.”
Driven by his obsession to save the children, Marco’s ntal strength had soared to its limits, and he would no longer comply with soone who posed a threat to them.
The Chairman’s revelation ability, no matter how often used, always carried minimal risk. That’s only natural when the source can’t be located.
Even when he was being consud by the Labyrinth, he didn’t leave Marco’s body and instead asked , *‘What are you trying to do?’*
For Abraham, maintaining the revelation imposed on Marco’s body was overwhelmingly advantageous, no matter what I tried.
But the fact that he’s not here now…
“You killed the Chairman, didn’t you, Mr. Schreiber?”
Though the words might sound chilling at first, he gave a faint smile and nodded. I ant it in a positive sense as well.
Without Marco’s body, Abraham cannot beco the Chairman.
If he had already established a cult and was actively operating, he could have appeared in another body, spouting nonsense like *‘I’ve been resurrected in a new form’* to convince his followers. But thankfully, his cult was still in the preparation stage.
His cult, his influence, his career—everything he had painstakingly built over ten years has been reduced to nothing.
Abraham will have to start from scratch and toil for another decade.
“I believe you rember everything you did as the ‘Chairman.’ Is that correct?”
“…Two sets of mories coexist. The mories Abraham implanted in and the mories of acting as him.”
“Perfect. You’ve laid the groundwork, so now it’s my turn to keep my promise. I’ll help you take down Abraham.”
Marco gazed at silently.
“Of course, I’ll be the only one eting Abraham.”
I said this and gave a subtle glance.
“Rest. While you’re resting, the Royal Investigation Bureau will likely co to request an interview.”
He nodded obediently.
Even if it wasn’t his true self, he seed fully aware of the cris committed through his body.
As I stepped out of the room, Leo spoke up.
“Lucas. You’re not going sowhere else, are you? Why don’t you rest for a bit?”
“I will.”
I ant it.
The emotions drawn from Marco’s mories still lingered in a corner of my heart.
The cri committed by the Empire ten years ago, which left 353 citizens to die, cannot be undone. Marco’s children, revived as Pleromas, will never rember their father.
Even though their father willingly beca a living corpse for their sake for ten years.
I needed to escape this heavy truth.
Returning to the bed where I had woken up, I took a mont to breathe. Leo sat beside and said seriously,
“What’s your next move? For Abraham, having the tower he built over ten years collapse must be maddening, but he’s likely already established a significant position in his original body. You know he wasn’t living as the ‘Chairman’ 24/7.”
“Didn’t you just tell to rest?”
“Huh? I ant don’t go running around.”
Leo replied with a gentle expression, as if there was no issue.
As expected of a model student—thinking is nothing to him… Doesn’t he know thinking burns calories too?
Of course, since he’s been casting healing spells on the whole ti, he probably knows I’m not physically exhausted.
Elias, who had been listening with a smile, seized the chance to jump in.
“Yeah, Lucas, stop running around. Sit down and read that Pope Gregory book you brought. We saw each other the day before yesterday, but it feels like forever, doesn’t it~?”
“True.”
Thanks to frequently rewinding ti, it feels even more so for .
“Ugh… I can’t believe we have to let Lucas do all the legwork. If I hadn’t been marked by Primrose Path, I’d be out there. Use for sothing!”
“No way.”
“Wow, so firm. How do I get in on Lucas’s plans~?”
I gave a light laugh.
I’ll only use him when sothing crazy is needed.
Besides, he talks like that, but he’s probably digging into things behind my back. He might even be sniffing around sothing right now without knowing.
And…
“It’s over now. You don’t need to think about being part of my plans.”
This long, arduous saga of Primrose Path and the campus berserk incident will finally conclude with one person: Abraham.
Though it’s just the beginning with Abraham.
I shook off my thoughts and looked at my friends and Pai.
“Focus on your school life and stop worrying. The third exam is coming up, you know.”
“Are you a professor now?”
“He really sounds like one.”
Elias’s teasing was t with a serious comnt from Leo.
I had nothing to say. I didn’t even feel like a student myself.
*If you think about it, even in my original world, I was technically a student until the end.*
Except for my high school days, every phase of my life involved more ti at work than at school, so neither then nor now did I strongly identify as a student.
Anyway, with the storm finally settling and a chance to rest, I pushed aside complex thoughts and listened to my friends’ conversation.
Of course, they imdiately dragged the topic back to this.
“Lucas, shouldn’t you have at least asked that guy what Abraham looks like? He’d know, right? I’m rooting for you to figure it out from scratch, but this ti it feels like it’s gonna be rough~”
A fair point.
But I shook my head.
“He doesn’t know either.”
“What?! Didn’t he give him blood and stuff?”
“Yeah. He didn’t drink it directly, though. And he probably didn’t deliver it himself either. He likely used a servant to pass it to Abraham.”
Narce tilted his head at my words.
“Guesswork~?”
“There was cognitive distortion magic on Marco Schreiber. If he saw Abraham’s face, they would’ve brought a divine power mage to erase parts of his mory. Or they cast cognitive distortion magic on him at the ti.”
It might be a bit hard for my friends to accept.
I can’t explain everything, so it might sound a little curt, but from my perspective, it’s not a guess—it’s almost certain.
If Marco knew Abraham’s face, I would’ve clearly recognized it in the Labyrinth.
He used Marco’s body for ten years—an important person—yet he doesn’t rember the face properly? That ans his mind was already tampered with, so there’s nothing more to extract from him.
“If you want, you can ask His Excellency Schreiber directly.”
Elias shook his head.
“If Lucas is this confident, there’s no need to ask. But all we know is the na Abraham. It’s gonna take forever to find him! Isn’t this the perfect ti to use ~?”
Elias leaned closer with a grin.
I don’t know what he’s trying to dig up, but it’s starting to feel like trouble.
“Thanks, but you don’t need to step in.”
“Why not?”
“Because I already know who Abraham is.”
Leo’s gaze turned to . Elias’s eyes widened.
Even Pai, who had been quietly munching on grass, looked at , sensing the mood.
“You know?”
* * *
Questions poured in about what evidence I had for claiming to know.
The evidence is solid. And not just one or two pieces.
For now, I can just sit back and watch the funeral.
I need to stay relaxed until I et Abraham. It won’t be long, but I’ll take what I can get.
The next evening, an excited investigator’s voice ca through the artifact.
[Your Excellency Ernst, you were right!]
“Right about what?”
[No, how do I even describe this… You said there was soone giving revelations to the professors, right? Have you seen Senator Alexander Kluger’s interview in the Imperial Tis? He’s saying exactly what you did!]
“Hm.”
I turned up the artifact’s volu and flipped through the newspaper.
The Pleroma senator I’d threatened yesterday was eagerly giving an interview in the Imperial Tis.
[A mage introducing himself as Abraham or Gregorio is currently causing problems across society. Abraham can directly issue commands to people’s brains if he has their blood. With Pentalon approaching, cris may occur amidst the chaos, so all citizens must exercise extre caution…]
‘He’s doing well.’
He almost looks genuinely concerned for the citizens’ safety.
I didn’t expect much since both tis we t, he was just whimpering in front of , but I guess a senator is a senator, even if he’s a Pleroma.
Anyway, people don’t know he’s a Pleroma. The trust that cos with his position is an asset. That’s why we had to use not just Nicolaus but also a federal senator’s mouth to make a nationwide announcent.
[This individual can change their na and appearance at will. Two hours ago, forr Deputy Minister Marco Schreiber revealed he had been under Abraham’s control for ten years. Report anyone making unreasonable demands for blood, and if a stranger attempts to engage in conversation, avoid them as much as possible.]
Marco’s article was published at 6 p.m. as well.
I told him there was no need to rush the announcent, and I actually wanted to monitor public opinion further and ti it better, considering Marco’s ntal strength and image. But his resolve was firm.
He wanted to crush Abraham’s hand as soon as possible, even by a day.
I read the Imperial Tis and rummaged through the newsstand. I needed to check other papers too.
“Oh, are you a priest?”
At the shopkeeper’s words, I smacked the artifact to mute it.
Seeing hit my ear with my fist, the shopkeeper looked utterly confused, so I quickly put on a smile.
“Yep, that’s ~”
“Which parish?”
“Not here—Arica. I’m Arican.”
“Oh~ Now that you ntion it, you do have that vibe.”
What vibe…
I laughed vaguely and changed the subject.
“By the way, this is huge news. It hasn’t even been a day since it broke.”
“Abraham, you an? Makes sense. That kind of unique ability is a first in Imperial history. Probably doesn’t exist anywhere else either.”
Exactly.
Abraham’s ability is unprecedented in the Empire.
When interrogating the professors before, the imperial mage with had a hard ti accepting my deductions for that very reason.
I skimd the front pages of various newspapers as my eyes landed on them.
[Crown Prince Elisabeth Hohenzollern: ‘Will Personally Oversee Primrose Path Investigation’]
[Under ‘Abraham’s’ Control for 10 Years… Senator Marco Schreiber’s Shocking Revelation]
[Who Is Abraham—A New Human Supremacist and Cult Leader?]
[Abraham’s Superpower: Is the Ability to Control Human Brains Real?]
[Forr Deputy Minister of Magic Marco Schreiber: ‘Controlled by a Mage with Unidentified Abilities for 10 Years’]
[Primrose Path’s ‘Chairman,’ Forr Deputy Minister Marco Schreiber? A Different Mastermind Behind It All]
No wonder people are so terrified.
Thanks to that, the articles keep pouring in.
Even if he uses another identity, Abraham can no longer operate as freely as before.
Of course, there were plenty of opinions questioning whether Marco was lying.
I bought a newspaper and read a relevant article.
[All organization mbers apprehended at Primrose Path were Pleromas, and they testified that he was indeed the Chairman who managed all of Primrose Path’s establishnts and provided funding. One mber claid Schreiber’s assertions were ‘rely a ploy to avoid punishnt.’]
A perfectly reasonable suspicion.
At least at this stage.
But that’s not what matters to right now.
Because soone is bound to co looking for .
I walked leisurely, holding a bottle of liquor in one hand and reading the newspaper with the other.
Fortunately, it didn’t take long to get caught.
“You can’t go in there!”
Soone blocked my path.
The gazes of the people gathered in small groups along the street turned toward .
Understandable.
This is right in front of Primrose Path, and it’s just after an ergency investigation team was ford due to the Marco and Abraham incident.
A detective from the Royal Investigation Bureau scrutinized my face, which was under cognitive distortion magic, and frowned.
“Aren’t you a priest? What brings you here?”
“Hey! No ti for questions—get in here!”
Another detective shouted from inside the cordon.
The detective gestured vaguely at and turned around.
“Move along. You can’t co in here for a while.”
Can’t argue when they say no.
I wasn’t here to get in anyway.
I nodded and turned, only to lock eyes with soone holding a stack of papers.
Lemon-colored hair and golden eyes.
Judging by their attire and the items in their hand, they were clearly involved in the investigation—likely soone high-ranking. The striking New Human approached with intrigued eyes.
“What brings you here?”
“I ca to see what the investigation’s like. But the vibe’s not great.”
“Haha, sa here. I was thinking the sa thing.”
“Really~?”
“Yep. Why did you co to watch the investigation?”
He asked with a polite smile.
“Because soone’s bound to co looking for .”
“Hm? Haha.”
“What’s so funny? You’re here for the sa reason.”
No response ca.
I slowly turned my head to look at the face of the person beside .
“Aren’t you, Your Highness the Crown Prince?”
Golden eyes, like Adelbert’s, glead sharply.
Without breaking eye contact with those deep irises, I corrected myself.
“No, Abraham.”
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