Chapter 187: Confusion (4)

Creaak!

When Dereck opened the door on the ground floor of the Main Hall and came down, the gazes of the gathered nobles immediately focused on him.

Unlike Princess Roselin, who merely observed everyone from the balcony above, Dereck was the true person in charge of the place, the one who knew every corner of this academic facility and who held effective control of the situation.

As soon as they confirmed his presence, the murmur among the guests only intensified.

“H-h-hey! Tell us how the situation is!”

“H-haven’t there been any more victims? How is the search progressing?”

“P-please…! I’ll pay anything, just get me out of here…!”

“Hieeek… hng…!”

When he directed his gaze toward a corner, Dereck saw the last magical advisor Kohella had brought, trembling while crying inconsolably.

Even in that state, he had positioned himself in a spot clearly visible from the balcony so as not to leave Princess Roselin’s field of vision.

Only by remaining within her gaze could he feel even minimally safe from the machinations of the confusion mage.

‘It’s an atmosphere that could explode at any moment.’

Dereck walked among them with steady steps, observing the faces of the guests.

Among them, he distinguished Siern, sitting silently with an expressionless face; Ellen, tense and with a drop of sweat running down her cheek, yet not raising her voice; and also Diella, Aiselin, Denise, Trisha, Leigh, Linus—since this was a gathering of guests from the southwest of the continent, familiar faces abounded.

He climbed onto the platform, where all gazes converged, and took a deep breath just once.

Then he placed a large book on the lectern and swept the place with his eyes.

Thud!

“…”

A heavy silence settled over the atmosphere.

Dereck closed his eyes for an instant and, when he opened them, spoke in a calm tone.

“I have decided to employ an extreme solution. It is a measure approved by both Princess Roselin and the great magical advisor Kohella.”

“E-an extreme… solution?”

“If things continue like this, it’s clear that nothing will be resolved and that the number of victims will only increase. That is why we have decided to accept a certain level of sacrifice.”

One of the nobles asked with a trembling voice.

Dereck kept his breathing steady and looked once more at the book on the lectern.

“This is a magical artifact known as the Book of Longing. It is an artifact that the great magical advisor Kohella created after devoting countless years to it, and it is said to possess the power to grant wishes.”

“W-what did you say?!”

“An artifact created by Lady Kohella herself…?”

While stroking the book’s cover, Dereck continued, focusing.

“However, whoever reads it and fully comprehends its contents sees their mana burn away until it disappears, and they end up bleeding to death. If they manage to endure that searing pain, they can perform miracles that exceed the power normally permitted to them—though that limit is also defined.”

In other words, even the wishes it grants have a limit.

The most unjust part is that no one knows what that limit is.

It is an artifact that, at the moment of use, practically guarantees death.

According to what Kohella had explained to Dereck, in many cases it allowed the use of magic of a rank far higher than what the user was normally permitted.

In other words, there was a possibility that Dereck, who was brushing against the level of five stars, could deploy power close to that of six stars.

The price, however, was the total loss of mana and the death that followed.

A legendary grimoire that opens only to those willing to gamble everything they have in life to fulfill an impossible wish.

That book was none other than the Book of Desire.

“I will use this grimoire to manifest six-star exploration magic.”

A murmur spread among those present.

Dereck’s wish was aimed at the pinnacle of the magical domain.

That was also his deepest longing, and the book would not ignore it.

If he managed to reach, even through an artifact, the realm of six-star exploration magic, he would undoubtedly be able to reveal the identity of the confusion mage.

The natural enemy of confusion magic is exploration magic.

No matter how powerful a six-star confusion mage may be, before exploration magic that has reached the summit, they cannot hide anything.

Reveal all the truth and then disappear, burning along with his mana.

That was what Dereck was declaring.

A chilling silence fell over the Main Hall.

No one dared to refute his decision.

In a situation where people were dying one after another, it was almost certain that the next target would be Dereck himself.

If he offered his life first to locate and subdue the murderer, the guests had no choice but to regard it as a noble sacrifice and applaud silently.

Otherwise, no one knew how many more deaths there would be.

Bang!

However, Siern, who had remained withdrawn in a corner, suddenly stood up.

— Screech!

An enormous surge of icy mana condensed and began to fill the Main Hall.

The cold that seeped among those present caused the guests’ faces to go pale.

When Siern truly became angry, she had that quality of saturating the entire area with intense cold.

It was because she still did not fully control the innate mana she had possessed since birth.

“I don’t agree, Dereck.”

True to her style, Siern did not elaborate.

She did not speak of unnecessary sacrifices nor say that he should not die.

She conveyed only one clear and refined idea she did not want Dereck to die.

Little by little, the other disciples of the Ravenclaw faction began to rise from their seats.

“I don’t know how reliable that Book of Longing is, but using it doesn’t guarantee you’ll catch the murderer. Don’t say nonsense, Dereck.”

Diella climbed onto the platform with firm steps, looked at the book, and let out a mocking laugh.

“Die for something like that? In that case, I’d rather support lifting the barrier.”

“I think the same way, Lord Dereck.”

Aiselin, who had been sitting in the area reserved for the Duplain family, stood up and spoke with her eyes wide open.

“Sacrifice is not something inevitable, Lord Dereck. There is no reason for you to accept such an imposition…”

“J-just as expected of Baron Ravenclaw…!”

“T-to make a decision of this magnitude…! One truly feels the dignity of a ruler worthy of his fame…!”

Upon hearing those voices, Aiselin turned her head with trembling pupils.

As soon as someone began to praise Dereck for his bravery, other guests started to raise their voices one after another.

“B-Baron Ravenclaw! I had heard you were a brave and resolute man, but I never imagined to this extent…!”

“Damn it…! He had a clear purpose, and yet we doubted him out of fear…!”

“I always trusted you, Lord Dereck! You’ve made the decision…!”

“Such a difficult act…! The Ravent family will surely remember your merit…!”

Aiselin and the other disciples of the Ravenclaw faction began to tremble as they watched the nobles, one after another, burst into cheers.

The moment Dereck declared that he would sacrifice himself nobly, they began to rise and praise him without restraint.

Although Dereck’s reputation was known in the southwest of the continent, it had never reached the point where nobles of illustrious lineage praised him in unison.

After all, he governed only a small border territory and was of commoner origin; to those with an old-fashioned mindset, he was merely a somewhat competent minor noble.

However, observing the atmosphere of the Main Hall, where the cheers continued to swell, it felt as though Dereck were the head of a new rising power.

A declaration that, even at the cost of his own life, he would find the culprit at a moment when everyone’s death was just one step away.

With that alone, Dereck’s position rose as if it would pierce the heavens, and the atmosphere began to fill with praise for his noble decision.

‘W-what… what is all this…? Were these people always capable of raising their voices this much…?’

Trisha, who observed the situation from a withdrawn posture, looked around several times with a bewildered expression.

To her eyes, the nobles offering reverential applause to Dereck looked like human sacrifices trying to escape this blazing hell first.

For members of noble houses who were supposed to know dignity, nobility, and the duty to step forward without avoiding danger or responsibility, they looked far too miserable and desperate.

There is no one who does not fear losing their life.

After spending the entire day trembling at the fear of death, if someone raised their hand saying they would die in their place, it was inevitable that applause of veneration would burst forth almost automatically.

And yet, Trisha felt nauseous.

Cold sweat ran down her back.

The fantasy she always repeated—that of dignified and elegant nobles—collapsed miserably before the fear of dying.

“Really…! We truly owe you an enormous debt…! Please, endure it!”

“If you come out alive, I’ll double the financial support to House Ravenclaw! I promise sponsorship on the level of the Duplain family!”

Once the cheers began, they grew uncontrollably and completely filled the Main Hall.

Dereck was praised as a hero who saved the nation, and accolades poured over him without end.

But at the end of that applause, what awaited him was a miserable death, bleeding out.

Everyone praised him, but in reality they were only grateful that someone else had offered himself as a sacrifice in their place.

That discrepancy made Trisha’s stomach churn once more.

Dereck bowed his head slightly and walked, step by step, among the present crowd who acclaimed and praised him.

Words of encouragement flew toward him, and some even shed tears.

The figure of Dereck walking away looked like that of a savior descended into the human world.

Tap!

Just as he advanced with the Book of Longing held against his side, someone stepped into his path.

“Dereck. Think about it one more time. Is this really the best option?”

There was no one there who did not know who she was.

Ellen, of the Belmierd family, breathed heavily as she gathered the courage to block his way.

A tense atmosphere began to spread among those present.

No matter that she was the true authority of the Belmierd family, standing in the way of a hero who had decided to sacrifice himself to put an end to this tragedy was an action that was looked upon unfavorably.

However, Ellen completely ignored that pressure and spoke frankly.

“You don’t have to sacrifice yourself, Dereck. Think about it again… The situation has become extreme, and the pressure on you is too great. You’re just letting your emotions cloud your judgment.”

What was she saying?

Some murmured that someone should stop her, but few nobles of the southwest of the continent would dare raise their voices against the future head of the Belmierd family.

Ellen, visibly trembling at the neck, continued.

“There’s no need to shoulder such responsibility using such a dangerous method. A ruler is one who assumes responsibility, but you are only the person in charge of this place. Sacrificing yourself to this extent for such limited authority is an excessive decision.”

“…”

When Dereck looked at her with expressionless eyes, Ellen bit her lower lip and clenched her fists tightly.

Just as she thought of using force to stop him, even resorting to magic.

Thud!

A disheveled-looking man emerged from among the crowd.

He grabbed Ellen by the nape of the neck and, brushing his bangs back, spoke.

He had a poorly shaved beard, an unkempt appearance, and a strong smell of alcohol emanated from his body.

“Let’s respect his decision, Ellen.”

“B-brother Linus? Now that I think about it, you said you were in Duplain territory…”

“Why are you trying to interfere with Dereck’s noble choice? The more you do, the more miserable the sacrifice will be. If someone decides to become a hero, they should do it properly.”

Murmurs of approval began to be heard among those present.

Ellen, with an incredulous expression, sharply turned her body and grabbed Linus by the collar.

“You, who abandoned the family to wander around, what do you know! Do you really think Dereck is someone who can just die like this?”

“Hey, hey. Don’t look at your own brother with such ferocity.”

Linus steadied himself as best he could, let out a loud burp, and looked toward Dereck.

He sketched an absurd smile for a moment, then calmly closed his eyes and spoke to him almost in a whisper.

“So you decided to make a big bet.”

“…”

Linus was unsettlingly perceptive.

After catching something in Dereck’s movements, he let out a dry laugh and forcefully pulled Ellen’s arm to clear the way.

“What a pity, gambling is my specialty. What do you say? Want me to check your bet?”

“I appreciate the intention, but I’ve already done all the calculations.”

“Is it a winnable bet? Is the payoff worth it?”

“Probably.”

“Probably…? I suppose in gambling there’s never an absolute.”

Ellen watched Dereck and Linus with trembling eyes.

Dereck bowed his head once more and, without saying anything, began to walk with firm steps toward the exit of the Main Hall.

As if he were going to take care of everything on his own.

The night was dark.

The silhouette advancing beneath the starry sky was that of someone going alone to face a six-star confusion mage.

***

After walking for quite a while after leaving the Main Hall, Dereck stopped alone in a huge clearing to the north of the academy.

That magical training field, surrounded by forest, was submerged in darkness at night.

Only the chirping of insects could be heard among the nearby vegetation.

Dereck had deliberately separated himself from the crowd.

Standing alone, he took out a sheet of paper from inside his clothes.

It was the letter that Princess Roselin had personally handed him just before he came down from the second-floor balcony of the Main Hall.

‘…’

He hesitated for a moment over whether to open it or not, but finally put it back against his chest.

Then he took out the Book of Longing he had fastened at his waist and threw it open to one side of the clearing.

In an instant, mana began to swirl around his body, and a light seeped through the darkness of the ground.

Dereck knew it by instinct.

It’s coming.

It’s coming to kill me, in person.

Behind Dereck, who stood alone in the darkness, an indescribable cold rose.

It was unmistakable killing intent.