Chapter 260
“Haa…”
Contrary to my expectations, the Archbishop rolled his eyes as if exasperated and let out a deep sigh.
“What made you so dissatisfied with , huh?”
……
“Was it disappointing that I t you in another body without explaining it?”
‘Another body.’ He’s finally speaking the truth.
He’s a habitual liar. When we watched the play together, he explained his ability by saying he could ‘change faces.’ But at that ti, based on the information I had, I was certain his ability was transformation.
Instead, while acknowledging his transformation ability, he plans to dodge the core reason for this ss.
Why? Because he doesn’t know how much I know, so he can’t outright deny it, but admitting it risks just fishing for information.
Lu Barre’s face now fully mirrored the Archbishop’s expression.
“Or is it because I appeared by your side in this form? Since you prefer Old Humans, it’s understandable… it could be that.”
“No problem there. The issue is your mindset.”
“Really? Then we’re on the sa wavelength. You’re not an ordinary person either.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Considering everything I’ve planned has fallen apart, isn’t it obvious?”
“You have a lot of confidence in your abilities.”
“Of course. So, is it my turn to defend myself now?”
Struggling to breathe under the pressure of my hand, he inhaled deeply and spoke slowly.
“Don’t be too disappointed. To be precise, until this mont, this person wasn’t entirely . The you t was in the Archbishop’s body.”
……
“Especially this body was even more detached from . Because you smashed the artifact, the mories ca rushing in, but originally, it was practically a different self. So, does that clear things up?”
“No. So, ‘Lu Barre’ isn’t really you?”
“What do you think?”
Lu Barre asked with a sly smile.
I shook my head and laughed.
“It’s obviously just one of your bodies. What’s there to ask?”
“You know well. So, will you let go now? I don’t want to stay in this body in front of you. Honestly, it’s embarrassing.”
“Then transform right here in front of .”
He looked at silently.
He can’t transform, can he? If he has the sa transformation chanism as Richthofen, that’s certain.
Back then, he explained his ability like this:
Transformation is the ability to swap with a being that has a synchronized core of the sa components in real-ti.
Let’s say the world we’re in is World A, and a world of pure Magic Power, which we can neither know nor access, is World B. They coexist, but we only perceive World A.
When transforming into a dog, Richthofen’s body in World A moves to World B, becoming invisible to us, while the dog in World B moves to World A. Strictly speaking, the dog’s body doesn’t carry Max Richthofen’s genes. It’s a completely different body swapped across worlds via a synchronized core.
Back then, with the stalker’s elimination in mind, I asked him:
‘What happens if you can’t use your ability, or if you transform but can’t return?’
Richthofen answered, ‘If your Magic Power is depleted after transforming, you can’t return.’
Depletion. Fighting until depletion isn’t bad. But does it have to be that way? Is there a specific reason it must be?
Wouldn’t it suffice to simply block his Magic Power from being used?
I moved my left hand, making the sound of clashing tal, and brushed his face.
“I told you before. I want to know every mont of you. I’d like to see you transform at least once.”
“…You’re good at pleasing and infuriating people at the sa ti. That’s what makes it fun, though…”
Fortunately, he correctly interpreted my words as a challenge to ‘try it if you can.’
“Since it’s co to this, shall we hear your story? How did you figure out Lu Scheller’s identity?”
Figuring out Lu Barre’s identity wasn’t difficult. There were many clues.
First, the ‘Suggestion.’ Second, a 10 Favorability. Third, a baseless na not of his own making—Lou: a shortened form of Louise or Louis. Using abbreviations as proper nas is extrely rare among nobles in this era. Fourth, a ntal Strength of 4 [ 9], clearly enhanced by an artifact. Fifth, his need to verify love. Sixth, the fact that ‘Lu Barre’ and the Archbishop were never in the sa space at the sa ti. Seventh, his free access to the basent and the master’s room. Eighth, ‘fugitive,’ Low German, ‘Barre.’
When would I have ti to explain all this to him? I have plenty of ti, but it’s not a topic I care about, and my mouth would hurt.
So my answer was this:
“You’re awfully relaxed, asking all that.”
“I need to know where I went wrong to succeed next ti.”
“There won’t be a next ti.”
“True. Honestly, I’m at a loss for what to do.”
I checked the slowly ticking stopwatch in the status window. All I can do now is stall until help arrives. With the distortion, I’ll have to wait a long ti here.
Looking down at him, I spoke slowly.
“You asked if I was disappointed because you appeared in another face and didn’t tell the truth.”
……
“I wasn’t disappointed about that at all. After all, if it’s you, you’d have needed to appear before as ‘Lu Scheller.’”
“Oh! You expected it to so extent, huh? Interesting. What’s your basis?”
“You must’ve had a lot of questions for . Like how far I’d go to fulfill your requests… how much I love you. But if you asked as the Archbishop, you wouldn’t get honest answers from .”
The Archbishop listened silently. I looked down at his face, half-obscured by the table, with only one eye visible, and continued.
“So you used a third party to get honest answers from . Whether I could beco Pleroma like you, whether I could give you blood to drink, whether I could fulfill any of your requests without hesitation…”
……
“Whether I love you enough to resist the temptation to escape.”
“Ah~ Spot on.”
He burst into laughter. I don’t know what’s so funny about this situation.
I continued.
“So when I said I had more to ask about my last conversation with ‘Lu Scheller,’ you had no choice but to grant my request. Even if it ca during a ceremony to pledge love—especially because of that. The words you spoke through Lu’s body were ant to verify my love.”
“Really…”
“If you resented my lies… that’s unfortunate.”
The Archbishop slowly closed his eyes.
“As expected, you’re Nicolaus.”
Boom—!
“…!”
My head jolted as it hit sothing. Lu Barre kicked my leg and stood, now looming over . He habitually brushed his ear with one hand, then raised an eyebrow, probably mistaking that his hair was down as it was in the Archbishop’s body. Regardless, he laughed as if even that was amusing. Smiling with squinted eyes, he spoke rapidly.
“Resent? No way. I’m sorry for deceiving you. I wanted to live happily with you. You know? I gave everything for you. I’m not asking for repaynt, but… I finally got you after giving my all, and I just wanted to hear your true feelings, even just once.”
……
“Would that ruin things between us? If so, I’m truly sorry, but you just said you weren’t disappointed by it. I’m glad. We really are on the sa wavelength.”
Hearing such words in a New Human’s form and voice makes my stomach churn a bit more. Fine, I’ll admit so bias based on appearance. Maybe I do prefer Old Humans. Or rather, it’s closer to familiarity. If I lived as a New Human for 20 more years, I might think like them, but I’m an Old Human here for less than a year.
“Can’t we keep going? I won’t do anything you dislike anymore…”
Lu Barre’s left hand covered my cheek.
“If you release this, I’ll return to the form I showed you earlier. Wouldn’t that be better?”
“I’ve never understood this. Why do you love ? Why?”
“Hm? I love you because I love you. Is there a reason for love?”
“I think there is. At least, there has to be a cause.”
“That’s a subtle distinction.”
There must be a cause for falling in love. How could there not be? I don’t believe it’s possible. Maybe that’s why Elias calls a machine. Even so, I think it’s worth examining the primary cause of this phenonon.
“Think carefully. Why do you act so crazy about ? Sure, you’re crazy, but why is that directed at ?”
“Is that important? Isn’t the fact that we love each other right now what matters?”
“It’s important because it’s the answer to why you held 600,000 lives hostage to play a terror ga with .”
……
Lu Barre tilted his head with a smile.
“You’re being overly sensitive right now.”
……
Since I brought up this topic again without backing down, he must’ve decided he can’t retreat anymore. Unlike earlier when he avoided answering, he’s now set on a course.
“It’s true I can move between multiple bodies. It’s not unlimited, but yes, the attendant Lu you saw was . But… holding 600,000 lives hostage to play a terror ga with you?”
He now wore a troubled expression. His face drew closer to mine.
“Even for , that’s too much. I lost a lot to save you. I’m not demanding repaynt, as I said, but I don’t want to hear this kind of talk.”
……
“Got it?”
“Hoo…”
Instead of answering, I stared into his brown eyes.
He took my restrained hand and pulled a rose from my boutonniere, holding it out.
“Let’s go kill Ainsidel.”
……
“Ainsidel may try to take you away, but what can I do? If you don’t trust that much, it’d be easier to just go together.”
“You’re impressive in many ways. Stop it.”
“Stop…? I don’t know what you’re thinking now, but it’s not a lie that I know Ainsidel’s location.”
“No, it’s not a lie.”
At my cold response, he stopped moving and looked down at .
“Ainsidel is with the Pleroma leadership right now, isn’t he? Am I wrong?”
……
“You seem pretty shaken. Earlier, and even before, you kept misjudging how much I know… and now you’ve decided to just call the Bishop of Osnabrück ‘Ainsidel’?”
Lu Barre raised an eyebrow. The corner of his mouth slowly curled up.
“…Ha, hahahaha…!”
“When you talked about ‘Heike Ainsidel’ and the ‘Bishop of Osnabrück,’ you said, ‘At least their surna and unique ability prove they’re related.’ Why would you say that to without even introducing the Bishop’s surna, assuming I know it? Just the other day, you naturally referred to the Bishop of Osnabrück as ‘Ainsidel.’ Sa now. Why? Because I know the Bishop’s surna. Because you know I know. You said you t after Eszett, so that’s curious.”
……
“It’s not easy to pretend you don’t know sothing you do. Once or twice, maybe, but lies don’t last long. You knew I, as Nicolaus, infiltrated the Catacombs, then Osnabrück, and attacked the Bishop, Ainsidel.”
“Haha…”
“How can you pretend not to know that? Up to this point, I’ve proven you knew about my connection to Osnabrück since early January.”
“Well, fine. But what does this have to do with terrorism? You know, living with multiple faces makes acting a daily routine. It was just a mistake in the process. At least ‘I,’ as the Archbishop, only saw you after you joined Eszett.”
His voice was gentle. He didn’t seem to think it was a big deal.
And why would he? I haven’t even touched the core yet.
“You’re protecting from Ainsidel and the Pleroma leadership. And now, the leadership announced they’ll use as bait to lure Ainsidel. So you’ve been holding back the leadership and trying to personally eliminate Ainsidel to stop their reach toward .”
“Yes.”
“What a funny story. It’s not being chased by Ainsidel and the Pleroma leadership—it’s you.”
“…?”
He smiled and continued.
“How long are you going to slander ? I keep listening because I love you, but honestly, it’s not pleasant.”
“You don’t have any other choice but to listen right now.”
I tapped the tal binding my wrist against the table and said,
“You could baptize right now or break the space magic, so why are you sitting still? Because you can’t use magic, you’re waiting quietly.”
“Not wrong. Alright, let’s talk about sothing else. Your voice is nice to hear.”
Thankfully, I’m used to hearing this kind of crazy talk, so I have so immunity. His words and actions didn’t match. His words were relaxed, but instead of casually touching my face as usual, he looked down at with a slightly stiff smile.
I t his chilling eyes and spoke.
“You’re a truly brilliant person. I don’t want to praise you, but I can’t help but acknowledge this. You’re the most exceptional strategist I’ve seen in this world.”
……
“Before Pentalon, you had two goals. First, to win my heart. Second, to eliminate Ainsidel.”
“Why would I need to…”
“Good question. Why did you need to eliminate Ainsidel? Just because of rivalry between dioceses? That’s not enough.”
I cupped his cheek with my hand and continued.
“Because Ainsidel was trying to kill you, you had no choice but to stop him.”
……
“The Freiburg Archdiocese is the one that contaminated the empire’s land, rivers, and air with berserk potions. The diocese that brought the nation to the brink of ergency, Pleroma’s unparalleled hero. Right? The berserk potions used across all Pleroma dioceses are your invention, aren’t they?”
“You know. That’s pleasing.”
The Archbishop answered calmly.
I had previously discussed this with Congressman Alexander Kluger, asking if the contaminated mosquitoes in pen were Freiburg’s doing. Because it was the first attempt to use contaminated Magic Power to make people go berserk. The contaminated mosquitoes were the starting point of the current nationwide berserk crisis, with the sa principle and purpose.
At the ti, the congressman said, ‘It’s highly likely the two dioceses closely shared their technologies. They must’ve shared the profits too,’ and that ‘it’s clear the two dioceses were in a cooperative relationship.’
He was wrong.
“The reason Ainsidel tried to kill you stems from this. You stole Congressman Werner Strauß’s technology to develop the berserk potion, didn’t you?”
I smiled, but he couldn’t. His eyes widened slightly, then a cold smile spread across his face.
I took his silence as a willingness to hear more and continued.
“So how could a diocese in the southernmost part of the empire steal technology developed by the deputy bishop of the northernmost diocese? Who is the ‘fugitive’ Lu Barre wanted by? The surna ‘Barre’ you hid from is an Osnabrück noble family, and the Low German you habitually spoke is also Osnabrück’s German.”
“‘Barre’? I never said that… Your ability is impressive.”
Ignoring the Archbishop’s aningful smile, I continued.
“Lu Barre is currently wanted by the Osnabrück diocese. Long ago, you used the body of ‘Lu Barre,’ an Osnabrück noble, to approach Pleroma in Osnabrück, and without arousing suspicion, you were eventually ordained as a cleric. With your exceptional abilities, you must’ve risen quickly. Now, you know what I’m going to say.”
‘Lu Barre’ worked as a cleric there, siphoning Osnabrück’s technology to Freiburg.
This is the answer.
I had thought about this before at the Pentalon main stadium:
[You’ll realize there are several blind spots in the logic so far. If you delve deeply, those blind spots completely flip the issue. When learning a subject for the first ti, to avoid overwhelming beginners, we assu the impossible to create the simplest model to build fundantals. Similarly, I must think simply here to later grasp the layers of strategy clearly.]
Now, the most critical blind spot is resolved.
If I erased Ainsidel’s mories and destroyed Osnabrück’s double-space magic data, how were double-space magic and its applied form—reverse double-space magic—used in the terror attack?
Did Ainsidel have so miraculous mory technique?
No.
I looked at the Archbishop, who was chuckling, and said,
“Before I destroyed Osnabrück’s data, ‘Lu Barre’ backed up all the data obtained from spying in Osnabrück to your diocese. The Bishop of Osnabrück forgot those mories forever, but you could still use the double-space magic technology.”
……
“And as the Archbishop, you used the ‘contaminated mosquito’ research data stolen from Osnabrück to perfect the berserk potion, which you first deployed in the Baden-Baden hot springs under Freiburg’s jurisdiction. The experint was a success, and afterward, you rose to the top of Pleroma. At least recently.”
“Huh… Hahaha…”
“Even if everyone applauded your achievent, the original creator couldn’t. They must’ve realized your achievent wasn’t your idea but theirs. Ainsidel of Osnabrück figured out your berserk potion was based on Werner Strauß’s idea from pen’s research, and from then on, he’s been pursuing you.”
The Archbishop’s breathing grew strangely rapid. The corner of his mouth slowly curled upward.
“Unfortunately, Ainsidel is soone who stops at nothing for his diocese’s achievents and is obsessively devoted to his friend Werner Strauß. You, like … wouldn’t have known that far. You were lucky to have an Osnabrück noble’s body to use for spying, but the information you gained turned out to be blood-related.”
……
“It must’ve been a headache.”
He didn’t refute. He just kept giggling like a madman.
“So why did you cause the terror? Honestly, I was impressed here. If you hadn’t held 600,000 lives hostage, I could’ve genuinely enjoyed this strategic ga with you.”
……
“You must’ve been disappointed that I wasn’t grateful even after you saved . According to your plan, I should’ve been moved to tears by your sacrifice and devotion to protect from the enemy… Isn’t it standard for a princess to fall for the prince on a white horse?”
I took the rose from his hand and set it down.
He didn’t resist. His attention was on what I’d say next.
“Your initial scenario was to make ‘Lukas Askanian’ mistake Ainsidel as the mastermind behind the Pentalon terror, then save Lukas Askanian from mortal danger. This would achieve two effects. First, you’d win Lukas Askanian’s favor. Second, Lukas Askanian would try to eliminate Ainsidel, the supposed terrorist and avenger of Werner Strauß. In other words, you’d gain Lukas Askanian as an ally.”
“Hahaha…”
“Of course, because I ‘publicly’ shouted the answer, the second effect was completely ruined. The white phosphorus match wasn’t sent by you.”
At that, the Archbishop’s eyes glinted.
He t in the basent near Brandenburg’s Tiss Hotel when the contaminated rats were found, asking if I’d seen ‘a strange code.’ aning, a code other than the anagram he sent.
“‘Tell it to everyone,’ that white phosphorus code was sent to by Ainsidel, who caught onto your sche. You sensed sothing off from Ainsidel and ca to , didn’t you? Am I wrong?”
……
“In fact, the dismantling spell ‘Osnabrück diocese is looking for you’ didn’t need to be heard by everyone. It wasn’t really a dismantling spell. It was just a warp magic spell to capture . Adding the dismantling technique was Ainsidel’s doing. The lifting of the 600,000 curse wasn’t part of your plan.”
“You know well… You know so well it’s astonishing.”
The Archbishop burst into laughter and said.
Why wasn’t it part of the plan?
Because if 600,000 people died, I’d go with the Archbishop, posing as a virtuous citizen, to eliminate Ainsidel.
“Ainsidel is using too. By sending the code ‘Tell it to everyone,’ he made all of Pleroma’s dioceses focus on you. You had no intention of advertising this disobedience, which could lead to at least diocesan expulsion or, at worst, loss of authority, to the leadership.”
……
“With one plan, you could achieve two goals at once. It’s a sha such a brilliant strategist isn’t an ally.”
He was now almost panting. He looked like he was in a near-panic state. On closer thought, it seed he was reacting this way because he was completely consud by his emotions, unable to control them.
“Since you ca this far knowing everything, if you feel betrayed… I’m sorry?”
“Ah… Right. Hahahahaha!”
He threw his head back, laughing, then dropped it. Lu Barre’s black hair fell over his eyes.
“As expected. As expected, you… Feeling betrayed and sad? No. This is how it should be…”
He grabbed my shoulder with one hand. The pain from my shoulder made my face grimace.
He kept chuckling and swaying. Then he slowly raised his head.
I saw his chillingly gleaming eyes.
Surprisingly, the emotion I read in him was ecstasy.
“…Perfect. This is the you I know.”
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