novelraw Chapter 142 : Chapter 142
Chapter 142 : Chapter 142
Chapter 142: Liberation Faction (1)
To the east of the Ekampote territory, there is an orphanage.
Even though it wasn't run by the Church, the facilities and environment were quite decent.
Usually, without the name of the Church, they are mostly a mess.
That's why Wimar, who was busy searching for suspects, had once been pleased.
The orphanage in Ekampote was a facility for children, and the director of the orphanage was a believer of the Sun.
“I am Anton.”
The orphanage director, Anton, greeted with the sign of the cross.
He was like a neat missionary.
When he was alive, Wimar had praised Anton's character, calling him a rare, upright young man.
“This is my thing.”
Anton fiddled with his ear.
It meant his ear was his Origin.
He had overheard the conversation between Ocellin and Harad from a distance.
So, the orphanage director, Anton, was the manager.
‘Wimar would flip if he knew.’
Perhaps he would be relieved.
At least, that was how he was in the end.
“The range is considerable.”
The distance between the warehouse building and the orphanage was quite far.
“I am only good at listening.”
Anton smiled gently.
He looked like a kind orphanage director. Kkyareureu. The sound of laughter could be heard from outside. It was the sound of the orphans here playing in the yard.
Children are transparent. They are clumsy at lying, and sometimes they fall into the desire to show off their specialness.
This is why it is difficult for young mages on the continent to survive.
“They seemed like normal children.”
Therefore, there are no mages among the orphans.
I was certain. Because when he was alive, Wimar had finished inspecting this orphanage.
The only devil suspect Wimar had found was Rosen.
He had not found any other suspects in this orphanage.
“Is it for show?”
“It’s embarrassing, but… yes. I am using them.”
Anton said with a face full of guilt.
He had set up the orphanage for his own safety.
“I don't think it's a shameful thing, since you're helping each other and living together.”
The orphans got a place to live, and Anton secured his safety through the orphans.
‘Is he keeping his distance from the mages working in the warehouse building? Then he would have survived in the past life too.’
An experienced mage was a valuable asset.
I wasn't talking about combat experience.
Anton knows how a mage survives on the continent.
The Liberation Faction of the Liberation Tower had no choice but to cherish him.
“I heard that our Countess was rude to you.”
He was talking about her sudden manifestation of magic.
Ocellin had wanted Harad and Ellen to return quietly.
“I understand. It's a land that's a waste to throw away.”
A mage's peace is precious.
A land where the lord is a mage.
Ekampote must be a very precious safe zone for the Liberation Faction.
“But you'll have to be more careful from now on.”
Since the magical beast of the forest is dead, the church will regain its function.
New priests and believers will be dispatched.
Ocellin and Anton would have to earn their trust again. It would not be an easy process.
“I am always prepared.”
As befitting his position as manager, Anton seemed accustomed to deceiving the eyes of the Church.
“But at least we did not get involved with the shadow.”
The shadow mage.
Getting involved with that Great Devil would be even more troublesome.
“It's thanks to you, Harad-nim.”
Anton thanked Harad.
It was because Wimar had directed the Great Devil's whereabouts to the west.
“It's thanks to Wimar.”
“I heard that you persuaded the priest.”
Anton pretended to have heard it from Rosen.
In reality, he must have heard it himself.
“What you heard is all there is. If you're expecting more, there's nothing.”
There is no such thing as a way to seduce a priest.
Harad and Ellen had only befriended the old man Wimar, not the priest Wimar.
“I suppose so.”
Anton smiled bitterly.
“I will be satisfied with the hope that has been created.”
Anton was a weak but strong man.
The Liberation Faction always lives with hope.
The ones I remembered never knew how to give up.
“I wouldn't recommend it, but well, you would know better.”
There was nothing for Harad to point out.
In fact, when it came to the continent, Anton was more of an expert.
Iagar was proof of that.
I was a mage who had already failed on the continent.
‘It would be different now, though.’
Well, would that have any meaning?
Anton was not a regressor. Nevertheless, he had survived to middle age and was a manager who provided a home for other mages.
I stared at Anton.
He said he was using the orphans.
But this orphanage was excellent.
So much so that even the picky Wimar had been impressed.
Anton was an excellent orphanage director.
‘As expected of someone from the Liberation Faction.’
What the Liberation Faction wants is only liberation.
They only want the survival of mages, a place to live, and a small peace there.
Their methods are gentle.
They just live in hiding. They hate blood and do not seek revenge.
And yet, their hands are big.
The Liberation Faction does not wish for their own peace, but for the peace of all mages born on the continent.
“I said that earlier, but I don't want to cause any harm. I doubt you would touch our young lady anyway.”
In the past life, the Rebellion Faction had entered under the command of the Otherworld.
The Liberation Faction had sided with the continent.
The continent did not accept them, but the Liberation Faction fought and died independently against the Otherworld.
The Liberation Faction had even wished for the peace of the continent.
Having lost much, and wishing for something so modest.
“Anton, I respect you. Only you.”
The Liberation Faction are pushovers.
I respected their soft but noble ideology. I had no choice. I was a mage, and a regressor.
“You have a conflict with the Rebellion Faction.”
Anton immediately understood what Harad was saying.
It was respect, but also a threat.
“Are you in contact with the Rebellion Faction by any chance?”
“Fortunately, no.”
Although he was called a manager, it was not a particularly special position.
“I am only assigned mages who need a place to live. And I look for mages with nowhere to go.”
“Do you not interact with the Rebellion Faction?”
“We are too busy just trying to survive. The higher-ups exchange opinions, but that's their share.”
Although they were from the same Liberation Tower, the Rebellion Faction and the Liberation Faction rarely got involved with each other.
This is because their orientations are polar opposites.
“I don't know what the Rebellion Faction thinks, but we… haha. It's difficult. We respect them, but we don't want to join them.”
Anton's reluctance was palpable.
To the gentle Liberation Faction, the Rebellion Faction's ideology was too rough.
“The story of Harad-nim and Ellen-nim will absolutely not flow to the Rebellion Faction.”
“You're quick on the uptake.”
“We are continental mages, are we not?”
Harad and Anton laughed.
It was a pitiful commonality.
* * *
“I will answer everything I know.”
Anton readily handed over the lead to Harad.
He said it was the price of Rosen's life.
Furthermore, it would be the price of the lives of all the mages living in Ekampote.
They owed their lives to Harad.
Because if it weren't for Harad and Ellen, Wimar would have burned them all.
That fact, Anton knew better than anyone.
He was a seasoned survivor.
“However, I do not know much. You may not know, but the Liberation Faction is not a very great group.”
Anton added awkwardly.
The Liberation Tower is not a very great group.
And even that is the influence of the Rebellion Faction.
The gentle Liberation Faction is weak.
However, they didn't know less than the Rebellion Faction.
As they pursue safety, the Liberation Faction is sensitive to information.
“I am nothing more than one of the few branch managers of such a Liberation Faction.”
Anton's words meant to refrain from difficult questions.
“I heard that you are the one who met Balbebron and Alena. And that you told them the asylum route.”
“So you really came because of that.”
Anton looked surprised.
“You didn't believe me until now.”
“I thought you would ask for information on the Rebellion Faction. Since you have a conflict with them.”
A conflict.
I scoffed.
“I'm not interested in information on the Rebellion Faction. I don't need it either.”
I already know as much as I need to.
That was enough for those from the Rebellion Faction.
“……Did you perhaps come as a Serzila?”
“I came as a mage. It's curiosity. I promise there will be no retaliation.”
Asylum is an act that insults Serzila.
Anton was afraid of that. I reassured him.
“As for the asylum method through the western sea, I am the one who told them.”
I scanned Anton again.
‘Origin is the ear.’
Anton hears many things from afar.
That's all. It's good for detecting magical beasts in the Boundary, but it didn't seem like he could survive.
“What is the route?”
“That is…”
Anton used the table as a map and made a path with his finger.
There was hesitation in that line.
It meant he had never been there himself.
“You haven't been there.”
“I have a different role. I only tell the mages who wish for it.”
Asylum is an option.
Anton does not recommend it.
He has never even walked the asylum route, let alone the Boundary.
Anton had only heard it from others as well.
“Do not despair even if you fail in your asylum. Because there is a village in the Boundary where such people live together. I heard you said something like that.”
“That is correct.”
“Who is the source?”
At those words, Anton took a deep breath.
Magic suddenly occurred and flowed into Anton's ear.
A large ear materialized on top of his ear.
‘So that's how he listens.’
Anton seemed to be listening to the voice of the territory.
After some time, the magic ear disappeared.
Anton carefully opened his mouth.
“I heard it from a mage from the Otherworld.”
This was another out-of-the-blue statement.
“The Otherworld?”
“Yes. We call them Scouters.”
I understood at once.
“They're recruiting mages with outstanding Origins.”
“That is correct.”
The Otherworld infiltrates and operates secretly on the continent.
It was the cornerstone for the great task of conquering the continent.
‘And recruiting on the side.’
I let out a hollow laugh.
Unlike the continent, the Otherworld was diligent.
“They really live busy lives.”
This is why we lost.
* * *
“They must have told you the asylum route just in case. If you've broken through the Boundary and reached the Otherworld, that alone would make you a talent that cannot be ignored.”
In the Otherworld, Origin is talent.
However, they do not simply ignore small Origins. There are some small Origins that achieve high Ranks.
A small Origin that has survived the Boundary would be welcome even to the Otherworld.
‘They're using the Boundary as a testing ground.’
They take the outstanding Origins, and they select the small Origins through the testing ground.
‘Efficient.’
That must be the reason why the Scouter shared the sea route with the Liberation Tower.
‘Then what is the village?’
Is it to give hope not to be afraid of the challenge?
‘I don't think so.’
It was not an emotionally based hypothesis.
Even without Balbebron and Alena, and Ellen, I would have reached the same conclusion.
The village could very well exist.
No, it might be stranger if it didn't.
‘Avery Aquins and Aroshu were familiar with those who had been rejected for asylum.’
Because they use the Boundary as a testing ground?
‘They were also familiar with Balbebron.’
They seemed familiar with those who were not mages as well.
It must mean there have been many precedents.
Everyone must have failed in their asylum.
Then did everyone die?
‘Aquins went down. The place he came down to was the Boundary, not the Wall.’
The fire that burned the watchtower.
Avery Aquins had pinpointed my location to the Boundary.
It was the same for Aroshu of the Bonfire.
‘The location where Psina of the Ivory Tower died was the basis for that.’
The Boundary is a land where people cannot live.
Of course, I am confident I can live. Because I am the Sun.
‘The Otherworld doesn't know my Origin is the Sun. In fact, Aroshu assumed I was a star.’
The Tower of the Deep Sea would be the same.
‘Avery Aquins was a star. But he wore a robe that was resistant to the Boundary.’
He is a fake star.
To borrow Aroshu's words, the star of the Red Tower is real.
But it didn't seem like there would be that much of a difference.
‘It's because I'm the Sun that I'm free in the Boundary.’
But the Tower of the Deep Sea did not loiter around the Wall.
They chose the option of the Boundary.
‘Because the Wall is dangerous?’
That's right.
But that's no reason not to investigate.
The tunnels were blocked, but the sea route remained.
If they had put their minds to it, the Otherworld could have sufficiently infiltrated and investigated Serzila.
‘They didn't. But they sent the precious star to the Boundary.’
It meant only one thing.
‘People are living in the Boundary.’
The Otherworld knows that fact.
“That Scouter. Is it possible to meet him by any chance?”
I wanted to verify the hypothesis I had just established.
“Yes?”
Anton showed a look of displeasure.
“He's here.”
“...I did hear that he is scheduled to visit us in a few days.”
My eyes shone.
“Scouters are usually associated with the Rebellion Faction, but they sometimes visit the Liberation Faction like this.”
“The purpose must be recruitment.”
The Scouter seemed to be sweeping through the branches of the Liberation Faction periodically.
“Is it the Ivory Tower?”
The Rebellion Faction has already contacted the Ivory Tower.
It was a 3rd Rank mage named Pitel.
‘There might be more.’
Anton said.
“Yes? No. I believe it is the Tower of the Deep Sea.”
It seemed the Liberation Tower's connections to the Otherworld were not just one or two.
‘The Tower of the Deep Sea.’
They are sworn enemies with the Red Tower.
It didn't matter much.
“Introduce me too.”
“Yes?”
“I want to be recruited too.”
“W-what do you mean…”
“Don't worry. I'll kill him so no harm comes to you.”
“Yes?”
Kill him?
Anton's face turned pale.
For him, a member of the Liberation Faction, those words were too provocative.
“If you're really uneasy, you can say I killed him. Just omit the fact that I'm a mage.”
“……”
“Then the Rebellion Faction will be overjoyed.”
Anton leaned back slightly, putting distance between them.
I got too excited.
I composed myself and spoke again.
“There are four mages living in Serzila. Not including me. They're even raising a magical beast.”
Anton slowly returned to his seat.
“It's unofficial, but it's no different from being official. His Highness the Grand Duke has given his permission.”
“……”
“There is no church in the North.”
No Church, and a land with permission.
The Rebellion Faction would be nothing but tempted.
“It's a very good land to live in, except for the cold.”
Anton was now leaning forward towards Harad.
“You heard earlier, but our young lady is a Serzila. She's from a collateral branch, but her influence is second only to the Grand Heir.”
In fact, it's more than that.
Grand Duke Aratus can't even say a word to Ellen.
“Ahem…”
“Will you introduce me? Then I can introduce you too.”
Gulp.
Anton swallowed his saliva.
He was completely hooked.
I was certain. It was then that the door suddenly opened.
It didn't open, it was smashed.
Kwaang! The torn door fell to the floor. A broken hinge dangled from the corner.
“……Ellen?”
I was rarely flustered.
I couldn't help it. Ellen's right hand was covered in blood.
Ellen held out that hand.
On closer inspection, she was holding a heart.
I drooled without realizing it.
Steam was rising from the heart. I could also feel magic.
“Where did you get that… Is something wrong?”
In my flustered state, Ellen's face came into view.
Her disheveled hair was stuck to her cheeks. Unlike her usual self, her breathing was rough. Ellen seemed to be in a hurry for some reason.
“There’s nothing. Eat.”
“What?”
“I said, eat it quickly.”
I reached out my hand.
It was hard to endure any longer.
But Ellen pulled her hand away.
“Don't eat it.”
“……?”
“But eat it.”
Is she crazy?
“...I shouldn't eat it, but they say I have to.”
I don't know what happened, but the timing was not good.
“D-does Serzila force mages to predate hearts?”
Anton, who had been completely hooked, was appalled.