Chapter 459 – At the Border -3-

It is said that a huge hand appeared and swallowed the church building whole.

Theodore tapped his sharp nails on the wall and smiled as he looked down at the elf.

“That’s an interesting story. Is there a lot of damage?”

“That’s right…! Oh, there’s an event today and a lot of church members have gathered from all over! We need to tell everyone about this quickly.”

A glimmer of hope and possibility that Theodore was interested in.

The elf made a desperate sound as he looked at the closed door.

“No. Entry is not permitted. If there are any problems due to late reporting, I will handle it.”

“!”

We must not pour cold water on or add confusion to the smooth progress of the armistice agreement.

If the date is pushed back due to the commotion, it would be like being played by warlocks.

“It was literally an interesting topic, so forgive me for interrupting the conversation. Go back.”

“Well, no, that’s…”

The attitude of an idiot who still thinks of excuses.

Even though he showed tolerance because it was in front of customers, his refusal to back down made me angry.

‘Vulkan will nag me again…’

Take it up to that point. As the thought of just killing him and getting rid of it occurred to me, my knuckles began to crackle, and I gained strength.

“Theodore.”

“Hmm?”

Just before chopping the creature in front of me into pieces. Theodore’s head turned at the sound of Roman’s voice.

“If you would allow me, may I have a few words with the elf?”

“Hmm… I was going to kill you because it was annoying, but does this little ogre seem worth using?”

A warning of murder suddenly appeared in a calm tone.

The body of the elf kneeling on the hard floor shook as if in a fit.

“It’s not because of its usefulness, but because I started to have doubts after hearing the story. It doesn’t matter if you kill it.”

“If you say that, I wonder what you will ask.”

The fingers, which had been bent with the intention of tearing something apart, opened.

After receiving permission from Theodore to try it, Roman took a step forward.

He looks down at the trembling elf and refines his thoughts.

‘Looking at it, it seems like there is no problem with the empire, but if it’s just the federal state…’

While Theodore was having a brief conversation with the elf, Roman immediately took out the artifact from his pocket and exchanged brief communication with the lovers in the mansion.

I am relieved to hear that there is no incident at the mansion.

Relief spreads through my heart and I feel at ease in my mind.

“Let’s start from the beginning. Was there any trace left where that hand disappeared?”

“The ground turned black as if a shadow had fallen… According to the priests who were outside and were not taken away, it was the energy of black magic…”

“What about backtracking?”

“We are continuing this by using Blanc’s wizards and priests.”

The elf notices Theodore and gives him the honorific title Eoyeongbuyeong.

Looking at where he stood and how he was treated, it seemed like he had come to some conclusion about how to treat Roman.

“Isn’t the backtracking fruitless right now? Did you find any traces other than what turned black?”

“···Yes.”

“Hmm.”

Theodore looked at Roman, who was drooling and rubbing his chin.

People are looking at me as if there is a problem there.

“I don’t have a great theory about magic, but having spent time as an adventurer, I do know some of the key aspects.”

“Ah. I heard there are quite a few wizards among adventurers. I think I’ve seen them sometime.”

“Let me tell you what I learned there… First, backtracking becomes more difficult as the traces become fainter as time passes. If you rush in right away and there is no result, it is too late to save the person.”

“I expected that part. Since he committed it openly in the capital, he must have had the confidence not to be chased or caught.”

Roman shook his head in agreement with Theodore’s words.

Quite a few paladins and priests think of the days they spent living in a relationship with incomparably unclean things.

‘From what I hear, I’m not immediately sure that it’s Nema Natas. A high degree of probability.’

Black magic is ultimately a branch out of a large mass called magic.

Roman’s knowledge in the field itself cannot be compared to that of Rike, Alice, or Liline.

There is data and understanding accumulated while meeting warlocks as enemies.

“Recently, I’ve been living a life of cutting off the heads of warlocks and demons. I’m confident that I understand their tendencies to a certain extent.”

“I guess there’s a theory that comes to mind. Tell me.”

Exciting laughter.

A thick tail could be seen moving here and there.

“Dark magic has stronger effects and destructive power than ordinary magic. Since it has such merits, all it requires to activate it is basically mana and a sacrifice.

“Hoo.”

“It can be used even if the sacrifice is not sufficient, but the output is significantly weakened, so it is the tribes that use the blood of goats or humans to draw magic circles.”

Theodore lifted his chin to indicate that he should continue talking without stopping

Roman continued with the explanation that came to mind.

“The magic circle’s activating catalyst is a living or dead human species. At a minimum, a goat’s head or severed human limbs and organs can be used.”

The elf’s gaze, which was only looking at the floor, followed Roman and continued to listen.

“I don’t know if it swallowed and moved the entire church building or pulverized it and killed it all, but what is certain is that it was high-level black magic that took great care.”

If, in the process of using black magic, you drew a magic circle and activated it at the right time to avoid exposing yourself, you would have to paint blood and place an offering somewhere in the church.

There is a way to cast the spell by digging the ground in advance and burying a sacrifice like in Juergena’s territory, but I wonder if that is possible since the church is open all day and is full of priests.

“I know that there are many priests in the federal government who are as skilled as you, but not as good as you.”

Even if a skilled warlock, rather than a magic circle, came directly to the capital and caused an incident, things would get strange.

There are church members who are sensitive to unclean energy and even priests who survived. It is said that no abnormality was noticed while the offering box was taken out and high-ranking black magic was cast.

After hearing the story to the end, Theodore twitched one of his eyebrows.

“If you think about it backwards, it’s definitely strange.”

“That’s right. In fact, if we were to judge just by looking at the situation, it seems highly likely that it is a magic circle.”

If there is a way to kill negative energy like the magic circle drawn in Juergena’s territory, the realism is high.

It may be possible for a black magician to invade, but looking back at the memories of that time, the energy was not hidden at the moment of activating the black magic.

Just like in the Empire, if there are people who are influenced by Nema Natas, it would not be unreasonable to establish a specific space within the church.

After concluding with Roman’s detailed explanation, Theodore’s straight pupils slowly moved towards the elf.

The elf, who received a cold gaze, shivered.

“Is the informer… Blanc’s henchman?”

“I don’t know right now. Of course, it’s just one person who will join the dragon, but aren’t there quite a few people who can do it if they put their mind to it?”

Theodore, who was moving his lips here and there as if trying to recall his memory, chuckled as if he couldn’t remember it.

“I don’t know the true state of the church. Considering I only stayed there for a short time, I know quite a bit of detail.”

“There were many differences from the empire, so the things that caught my eye were intense.”

It was like that when Roman looked back on his memories of visiting the federal capital.

There were a lot of rooms that were extremely spacious and unused.

Even though they do not have divine powers like saints, it is full of people who sit in important positions in the religious order, giving the impression of distributing and selling potions and medical tools.

Theodore, who caught the elf’s attention by striking the floor with his tail, announced once again.

“In conclusion, it has already happened. It is not worth informing right away to stop the agreement and move forward.”

“I think it would be like playing around if you move like that.”

“···.”

As the elf listened to the conclusion in a daze, Theodore spread heat around his eyes.

“Did your knees hit the floor? Get out before I kill you.”

“Excuse me!”

Theodore sighed as he watched the back of the elf disappear with a crackling sound.

“Did you say they were bred by Blanc’s ogre? Their stuffy appearance resembles their owner.”

“It’s going to be quite noisy when it’s over.”

“I’m not interested. We’ll take care of finding the culprit later. This is Varian’s specialty.”

“Ah, I’m sure I’ll catch it cleanly.”

“Varian is trustworthy. Much more than the clumsy ones.”

Theodore shows only brief interest in such a major incident. He quickly put the church’s work out of his head.

The topics he is truly interested in are really limited.

“Now that I have time, I’d like to hear the biography of a great adventurer.”

··

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In response to Theodore’s request that he listen even to the words that it would not be fun, Roman continued the events that came to his mind to the point where his mouth was dry.

When the first break came.

After mentioning it only to Vulcan and Varian, Theodore did not inform any more of the incident that occurred in the capital.

Roman is just glad that there doesn’t seem to be any trouble not only in the mansion but also in the empire.

And the meeting continued with a break.

There was an incident where Juveroa Blanc sent various recommendations to Atra during a break, but was rejected in a cold manner that was unimaginable in the past in front of the dwarven representative.

There was no commotion that caused the place to stop.

After going through dozens of items, the meeting ended in the middle of the night and a contract was signed.

Starting from the day Atra visited Roman’s mansion for the second time.

Harun Empire.

Federal State of Volasen.

The eradication of Nema Natas has begun in each country.