Genius Warlock-Episode 651
651. fatigue (2)
Rossburn opened the door and came out..
Oliver's first feeling upon seeing Rosburn was relief..
A feeling of relief as the worries and anxiety accumulated in your heart are washed away..
Thanks to this, my reason, which had been clouded by worry and anxiety, returned to a clear state..
“rosburn······.”
Oliver called out to the boy in front of him..
The boy answered with determination in his voice..
“yes sir.”
“······Are you okay??”
“······yes! I'm OK.”
Rosburn took more time than Oliver before answering. It was a strange answer. I'm fine.
It was interpreted as meaning that no one is okay except oneself..
Even when asked if he was okay, emotions such as guilt, fear, and regret also shone through..
Then once again anxiety tried to crawl up Oliver's spine and invade his brain..
It didn't feel very good.
It was a bit strange. It didn't seem like this in the past.
Being swayed by emotions like worry, fear, relief, and anger..
Although I felt a little bit of regret during the orphanage and mine, I wasn't too emotionally affected..
Because there were no expectations, there was no disappointment, and there were no worries, so there was no relief..
I was able to accept everything as is..
All Oliver cared about there was survival..
But not now. So much so that even the insensitive Oliver felt it..
Oliver then realized that he had changed quite a bit..
Just a few years is a short period of time..
That fact was clearly revealed on Oliver's face, and Rosburn's expression of worry lit up when he saw that face..
A subtle but mask-like crack appeared on Oliver's face..
“Hey, are you okay, teacher? Where are you hurting??”
Rosburn asked a worried question. Oliver came to his senses and answered..
“it's nothing······. Rather, Rossburn.”
“yes sir.”
“How are you here now??”
Oliver's worries and anxieties about Rosburn were relieved, and his rationality returned to him, asking the questions he should have..
As far as Oliver knew, Rosburn was currently staying with Yareli and Derek at the Ark Orphanage. Because he decided to leave it there..
Upon hearing that question, Rossburn's emotions stirred again..
Fear and terror shone as if a bad memory had come to mind, followed by emotions such as sadness, guilt, trouble, embarrassment, and perplexity..
I'm sure something is going on, but it doesn't seem easy to explain in words..
Seeing Rossburn's reaction, Oliver felt an ominous feeling coming over him once again and thought of the Arc Orphanage he had visited only once in the past..
A fairly large orphanage located on the outskirts of town.,
Director Ameline repairing the roof,
Children running around and playing energetically, showing off Joanna,
A rich and warm meal,
Conversation with the director in the middle of the night, etc..
All of that passed through Oliver's mind like a flash..
I could say it was a pretty happy memory..
Was it because of that? Oliver asked Rosburn again what had happened, and then a familiar third voice intervened..
“i brought it.”
It was Kevin's voice..
Kevin Dunbar, Merlin's student, professor of the Magic Tower's Elemental School, and former military wizard..
At the sound of his voice, Oliver naturally turned his head and saw Kevin standing on one side of the mansion..
He seemed to have been busy with work, and unlike usual, he was only wearing a shirt and pants..
Considering that I was more concerned about my clothes than others due to my status as a red person, it was something that I couldn't just ignore..
“······Professor Kevin.”
I had a lot to ask, but ironically, there were too many, so I couldn't ask and just called his name in emptiness..
As if reading Oliver's feelings, he ordered Rosburn to go up..
“Go up there and help Yareli..”
“ah······.”
Rosburn gasped and looked at Oliver..
When Oliver nodded, only then did Rosburn climb up there, and Pandora followed suit..
As Pandora and Rosburn disappeared down the stairs, Oliver asked Kevin a question..
“What happened to Mr. Yarely and Mr. Derek??”
After hearing the question, Kevin did not answer right away but was lost in thought for a moment..
Rather than saying it was difficult, I felt like I needed some organization to answer..
So Oliver was more concerned..
If it's not a big deal, there's no need to organize your thoughts..
After a short but long silence, Kevin finished thinking and opened his mouth..
“Is that all you’re curious about??”
A short but meaningful question.
Oliver thought for a moment and then answered..
“There's more.”
“say it.”
“I want to know everything about the situation now.”
Oliver responded after confirming that Rosburn was safe..
Currently, all Oliver knows is empty information. In order to make the right decisions, I needed to understand everything that happened..
As if that thought wasn't wrong, Kevin nodded and suggested sitting on a chair in the living room..
Meaning it is difficult to explain briefly..
After Oliver sat down as instructed, he took two cups and a bottle of liquor from the corner and placed them on the table..
Grumble.
Oliver took one of them and drank it, and Kevin spoke up..
“As soon as you left for the night, Roderick made his move. I led two-thirds of the paladins in the city to where the warlocks were..”
“I know that too.”
“I didn't notice?”
“yes?”
“The fact that he moved as soon as you left means he was watching, but it doesn't make sense that you didn't notice.?”
Kevin asked a very obvious yet sharp question..
Oliver's eyesight got better than before every time he faced countless powerful people such as the human meat cook, the fan, and the burned one..
If you want, you can cover the entire city..
Thanks to its performance, it became common to unintentionally spy on other people's emotions, and sometimes it was even possible to understand their intentions through their emotions..
Now that I think about it, it was strange..
I was careful to escape without anyone noticing, but it made no sense that Cardinal Priest Roderick came right in..
If he was watching that much, Oliver should have noticed too..
“Well, anyway, Cardinal Roderick left and I was under the watchful eye of the paladins, since you suddenly went to where the warlocks were..”
“sorry.”
“doesn't care. Soon enough, the Pied Piper appeared and it was no longer important..”
“I heard that.”
Oliver answered.
“I heard this from a nun on the way. A person who served as an attendant to Cardinal Roderick..”
“Well then, the story will be quick. What and how much did you hear??”
Oliver answered Kevin's question right away..
The Pied Piper stormed into the city along the main street with over a hundred children..
The remaining paladins in the city mobilized to stop him, and the army also tried to move, but it was in vain as the sound of the flute rang out..
“I heard that the soldiers attacked each other. Is that correct?”
Kevin nodded..
“War wizards who knew how to use some magic resisted using magic, but were injured or killed by their allies' attacks..”
“At that time, I heard that children in the city were also kidnapped..”
“Huh, did the nun tell you that too??”
“Yes, while the adults were unconscious, the children were kidnapped by the Pied Piper..”
“They taught me this way.”
“yes?”
When Oliver asked about something he couldn't understand, Kevin answered correctly..
“The kids' parents didn't faint..”
“then······?”
“Then what is it? The kids were completely sane while following the Pied Piper, possessed by black magic..”
I paused for a moment at the story that didn't make sense even with Oliver's common sense..
“······Usually, don’t you block it??”
“The Pied Piper kidnaps them.?”
“Still, how many people would have stopped it??”
“It's a pity, but people aren't that brave. There are more people who can do nothing even if their child is kidnapped right in front of their eyes. At best, you can pretend not to see it or pretend to faint..”
There was a strange empathy in Kevin's voice..
“Then what the nun said was······?”
“I'm quoting the expression here. Children are kidnapped, but in many ways, it's better to say they're unconscious than to say they're conscious, right? For conscience and face. It's an old, indirect expression for the center of the continent..”
Only then did I roughly understand what he meant..
The Pied Piper started kidnapping hundreds of years ago..
In other words, in the limited space of the center of the continent, children have been continuously kidnapped by the Pied Piper for the past hundreds of years..
“In theory, every family has lost a child at least once. all generations.”
In that case, it was somewhat understandable that the nun showed her sincerity rather than lying when she said she lost consciousness..
The eyes of a black magician who see through emotions literally see through emotions, not whether they are absolute truth..
If the subject recognized an incorrect fact as true or unconsciously believed it to be true, it could only be regarded as sincerity..
A warlock's eyes see through emotions, not the truth..
“But there were also people who said they would look for the children.?”
“It's just that I felt guilty later on. It's easy to see.”
Kevin's voice once again conveyed the feeling of empathy..
“······What did the Holy Knights do??”
Oliver thought he already knew the answer, but he asked anyway..
Because sometimes the process is more important than the result..
“At first I tried to stop the Pied Piper.”
“Does that mean not at the end??”
“It was already expected.?”
Kevin saw through Oliver's thoughts, and Oliver didn't make much of a rebuttal..
It is the duty of a paladin to protect the human world and protect people from evil, but after seeing and experiencing the world in Landa, Oliver learned that such laws do not necessarily apply..
There are exceptions anytime, anywhere..
One of them is the urban agreement signed between Pater Bridge and the city of Landa. It would be no different from the Pied Piper..
“When the soldiers were mesmerized by the sound of the flute and fought among themselves, some of the Holy Knights tried to stop the Pied Piper, but they all died..”
I wasn't really surprised because I had already expected it..
“Are the unblocked paladins safe??”
“Safe like me. I tried to fight too, but gave up. The spirit didn't respond so I gave up right away. ······Are you going to criticize me??”
Kevin's question. Oliver shook his head from side to side..
“Who can blame me, as I wasn't there? Plus, I know the power of the Pied Piper. I fully understand.”
Kevin was silent for a moment at Oliver's words..
“······There's a lot I want to say, but let me just boil it down to the main point: The Pied Piper was strong and no one could stop him. He was rather forced to choose between.”
It's a choice. I thought I knew what it was.
“They said that if I pretend not to see the children, they will leave without causing any further harm, and if they continue to block me, they will kill everyone in the city..”
“You chose the former..”
Oliver guessed after looking at the relatively intact city and the people who survived without dying..
“It's a realistic and wise attitude. Because that would be better than everyone dying. It's already a familiar thing around here... This time the case is a little different..”
“What's different??”
“The Holy Knights and the army took the brunt of it while stationed... The Pater Church and the kingdom were always careful to avoid such situations. But this time, I ended up suffering. So it's unclear what will happen in the future. Even if the kingdom is like that, the Church of Pater has to fix this disgrace somehow..”
Oliver noticed the oddity in what Kevin said..
While explaining what had just happened, Kevin at some point guessed what would happen next by combining the surrounding circumstances..
“Is there anything you would like to say??”
“First of all, how about leaving for Landa??”
Kevin offered his opinion right away..
“Suddenly? What is your promise to Cardinal Roderick??”
“Haven't we already solved the warlock problem??”
“how did you know?”
“It would have been resolved if you had gone.”
Kevin responded as if it was obvious..
“Even if they weren't, warlocks aren't a big deal anymore. The Pied Piper, whom I had tried so hard to ignore, rose to the surface. Even if you disappear now, there won't be anything you can do right away..”
Perhaps he had thought about it in advance, but Kevin's words were like a waste of water..
After hearing it, it didn't seem like a bad opinion..
When a big problem arises, other problems are sometimes buried..
That was the case now..
“······Thanks for the advice. professor. However, you haven't told me the really important thing yet..”
“······.”
“I asked Rosburn why he was here. No matter how I think about it, I should be at Ark Orphanage..”
“······After the Pied Piper left town, I went there. Using space magic items. I left it to Yareli just in case..”
“ah······.”
“Immediately, I moved in that direction... Fortunately, Rossburn was okay..”
Oliver paused. Kevin's emotions fluctuated..
“What about other people? Mr. Yareli, Mr. Derek... And the orphanage??”
At that moment, Kevin closed his eyes for the first time..
It never happened like this during a conversation..
“······Follow.”
Kevin opened his eyes and stood up. Then I took Oliver to a room on the second floor..
There was Joanna, a holy knight with bandages all over her body, and Yareli, Rosburn, and Pandora who were taking care of Joanna..
Upon seeing that scene, Oliver guessed that something was going on at Ark Orphanage and at the same time felt a sense of discomfort..
there was no one.
“professor······. Where is Derek??”
At that moment, for the first time, Kevin sighed. A sigh mixed with many emotions.
“······Dead. Stopping the Pied Piper.”
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