Chapter 60

“…….”

“…….”

The two figures, their hair completely drenched in holy water, stared blankly at the ceiling.

“Their eyes are still dull—it seems the purification wasn’t complete. As a saint, I cannot allow mediocre work, so once more…”

“Enough already!”

“And you dare call yourself a saint?!”

Aria and Verian shouted in shock, spitting insults. At their reaction, Jace smiled in satisfaction.

“The purification is complete, my lord.”

“Good work.”

“Thank you. My lord, may I ask you for two sheets of paper?”

Fernan handed him a couple of sheets from the room’s shelf. Jace scribbled a few things and handed them to Aria and Verian.

“What is this…?”

“An invoice.”

“An invoice?”

“I’ve removed the corrupt magic from your brains, so naturally, you must pay for the service, don’t you think?”

Verian took it obediently, but upon seeing the figures written, he let out a shriek.

“What kind of scam is this?! Not even the worst thief would charge this much!”

“He’s absolutely right! Verian is one hundred percent correct!”

Despite their outraged cries, Jace shrugged with complete calm.

“Expensive, you say? I, a saint, personally purified the minds of nobles of distinguished blood like you. How can that be expensive?”

“…That…”

“Of course. My work is not cheap. Accept it and that’s that.”

“How can you change your attitude so quickly?!”

Truly, people with big ears were straightforward and carefree. The saint showed an unabashedly worldly smile.

“I’ve never heard that being a virtue.”

Since when could “elf” and “carefree” coexist in the same sentence? Fernan let out a snort of laughter.

“…Fine.”

Aria accepted the invoice, and Verian could no longer keep protesting. After all, Jace hadn’t said anything incorrect.

“Then I’ll appreciate if you pay as soon as possible. My lord, I’ll take my leave.”

“Are you busy?”

“Yes. During the festival I also have many responsibilities as a saint of the Dragon God Cult…”

The anniversary of the Empire’s founding was approaching, when the first emperor defeated King Colomo and proclaimed the birth of the nation.

The academy would celebrate with a festival, and as a saint of the Dragon God Cult, Jace had to oversee several events.

“If I find any clue about the corrupt, I’ll send it your way.”

“I’d appreciate it.”

And Jace departed.

“Well, let’s return to the matter.”

Fernan leaned his chin on his hand, staring intently at Aria and Verian.

“What the hell happened to you two during this time?”

“Uh…”

Aria blinked.

“I don’t think anything out of the ordinary happened. At least not that I remember—or did it?”

“…Even if you’ve been purified, that doesn’t mean all memories are completely restored.”

In truth, they could remember clearly everything before the contamination by corrupt magic. What remained blurry was what happened under its effect.

“And you, Verian?”

“…I don’t remember anything special either. The only thing I could mention is that, even though the time changed, that elf told me the same thing in the same place. Several times.”

“And what was it she said?”

“That, well…”

The answer came from Aria.

“That there was a problem with the branch of the Mother Tree. I think. Or not? Well, yes, probably that. And that, following her advice, I was supposed to look for a reliable piece and that’s why I came to hire Verian. Maybe.”

Thanks to those words, Fernan could draw a clearer conclusion about how the demon summoning had originally taken place.

‘A suggestion was implanted in Aria, who was supposed to handle the watch, so that she wouldn’t report the problem, and during that lapse the summoning was carried out.’

But now the future had changed thanks to his intervention.

In the past, Aria would have kept the secret to herself until she forgot it, but now, thanks to Fernan’s presence, Verian had also become involved.

And not only them, but also Jace.

‘Perhaps…’

Perhaps he could still prevent the summoning of Andromalius. He didn’t know the exact date, but at least he was certain it would be before the start of classes.

The moment when students began returning to the academy and the island regained its bustle after the holidays.

Two weeks remained until then, and not many had returned yet.

If he caught the corrupt beforehand and stopped the ritual, the plan was feasible.

Of course, it was only a possibility. It didn’t mean he truly intended to do it.

‘What if the corrupt also know that we met today?’

For them, Aria had to be a key figure under watch.

“Tell me. Who did you meet during the holidays?”

“With so many. Professor Nania, Professor Elia, Professor Grad, Professor Dominique, Assistant Miller, Assistant Aron, Assistant Pierce, Senior Nopen, Senior Clio, ah, also Professor Valennod! And Professor Rosalia! And…”

Fernan, who had been jotting down all those names without pause, stopped his pen.

“Are you going to tell me every single name in the academy?”

“It’s just that I saw them all during the holidays.”

“What I’m asking is if there’s anyone you found suspicious.”

“I don’t know. I think there was someone but it’s all blurry, like it’s wrapped in fog.”

Nothing useful. Fernan turned his gaze to Verian.

“The same. There’s no one in particular that caught my attention…”

“What a headache.”

He thought he had finally found a lead, but it was an illusion.

‘Of course they wouldn’t let themselves be caught so easily.’

They had been acting from the shadows for a long time without leaving a trace. It wouldn’t be that simple.

‘If I think about it, the summoning of Andromalius is completely opposite to the pattern they’ve followed until now. Which proves how dangerous Aint is to them…’

Otherwise, there would be no reason for something so risky.

“For now, it’s best to check the state of the branch of the World Tree.”

It was the only option he had at that moment.

“…Let’s go.”

“Yes!”

“Me too?”

“No, you’re not needed.”

Fernan stood up.

***

“My God, Mother Tree! How could it end up like this?!”

Ah, ah… Even if Aria didn’t need to cry out with such a funeral tone, the state of the branch of the World Tree was clearly dire.

The branches and leaves were completely blackened, and even the soil around it was tainted by darkness.

It was evident that the corruption was complete.

And that wasn’t all.

Zap!

“Ouch!”

When Aria extended her hand, corrupt magic burst forth, causing a violent reaction. She screamed and stumbled back a step.

“…This is serious.”

What was strange was that, despite its condition, barely a trace of corrupt magic could be perceived. Fernan didn’t know whether it was because of the effectiveness of the corrupts’ concealment spell or some special property of the World Tree’s branch.

“Aria, can you purify it?”

“I hate to say this, but it’s impossible.”

She explained that not a trace of the forest spirit remained.

“That’s no longer an avatar of the Mother Tree, but something else wearing its form.”

It was similar to the undead. Resurrecting a corpse with magic didn’t mean the resulting being was the same as it had been in life.

Even if sometimes it retained certain abilities of the original body.

“So… it’s already too late.”

“…It’s my fault. If I hadn’t been so stupid as to fall into a mental spell—surely there were plenty of chances to prevent this!”

Aria muttered, eyes bloodshot.

For elves, the importance of the World Tree was reflected in the very way they named it.

And now, its avatar had been corrupted by the corrupt. Fernan couldn’t even imagine how an elf must feel seeing this.

‘Maybe if I lost everything completely, it’d be something like this.’

Just imagining it gave him chills. Grrr, Fernan ground his teeth, cursing the corrupt.

“Whoever it is, I’ll catch them and rip off their limbs! I swear on my name they’ll pay dearly for touching the Mother Tree!”

So, first.

Aria drew her staff. The mana of the surroundings began to swirl around her like a vortex.

“Let’s free the avatar of the Mother Tree.”

“…What?”

Fernan, surprised by her sudden decision, stepped between her and the tainted branch.

“Stop, Aria. It’s still the avatar of the World Tree. Are you really going to destroy it? And you call yourself an elf?”

“I’d rather destroy it with my own hands a thousand times over than watch those bastards use it. Dad would praise me for it too.”

Well, maybe he’d be angry if he knew the avatar had been completely corrupted. Aria lowered her gaze, crestfallen.

“Either way, it has to be destroyed!”

“If you do, the contract with the academy will be completely void. Are you ready for that?”

“…That…”

The avatar of the World Tree wasn’t just elven property.

It was part of an agreement between the academy and Fridien, and destroying it on Aria’s personal judgment alone would be a mistake.

“…Then, what do you propose? Do you have a solution?”

“What were you planning to do?”

“Release the soul of the Mother Tree’s avatar and report it to my father. It’s a problem I can’t solve alone.”

“I have a better idea.”

“What is it?”

“First, ask Jace for help. We could also use the holy water that cured your head.”

Aria frowned, unconvinced.

“Pouring a high-level potion on a corpse isn’t going to revive it.”

“This is different. It’s a branch of the World Tree.”

“Hmm…”

“I also plan to ask Aint for help. As the legitimate heir of Armian, natural enemies of demons, perhaps he has a solution. Better to try something than to give up without doing anything, don’t you think?”

“Well, that’s true…”

That tone meant she was almost convinced. Fernan nodded.

Though in truth, he had no intention of healing the branch of the World Tree.

It was all an excuse to buy time. If they left it alone, the summoning of Andromalius could be completed.

And even if the academy suffered some damage, Aint’s growth was for the good of all humanity, so overall, the balance was still positive.

The branch would be the catalyst for the summoning but—so what? If they said it had been destroyed by the demon, no one could complain.

It wasn’t the original World Tree, just a young avatar that could never withstand a demonic attack.

“Trust me. Has it ever gone badly for you when you listened to me?”

“And has it ever gone well? It’s not like we’ve shared that much history together.”

She was right. He had let slip the tone he used with Luina out of habit.

With her, he had shared experiences the entire semester, but with Aria the approach had to be different.

“Doesn’t fighting together on the battlefield count?”

“That was business.”

“For a merchant, those who travel with him in a caravan are comrades.”

“Not for elves.”

Then he had to apply an approach that worked with Aria Fridian.

“Alright. Do you know the professor from the Knight Department in charge of third years, Edmond Altriach?”

“Eh?”

“I’ll introduce you.”

“…Oh.”

Aria was momentarily stunned, but nodded out of reflex.

“Alright then!”

Edmond was a direct descendant of House Altriach, one of the Empire’s pillars.

He wasn’t the heir, but bearing the Altriach name and castle was already enough.

“I’ll trust you, senior. We’re comrades who fought together.”

“Isn’t it because of the connections?”

“I won’t deny that plays a part. But even so…”

Aria’s eyes grew serious for a moment.

“Even if it’s a corpse, I can’t stand to see demons use the avatar of the Mother Tree. I meant it when I said I’d destroy it if necessary.”

Her resolve to shatter it if things went wrong was clear.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Ah, and while we’re at it.”

“Are you good at spiritual summoning?”

“Is that like asking a monkey if it knows how to climb trees?”

“If you help me, I’ll introduce you to someone else.”

“Who?”

Aria’s eyes sparkled like stars.