Ch.137137. Senia, and Jang Seon-hee (6)

Meanwhile, the truth about the Lemtert Plague spreading throughout the Principality was truly devastating.

When it was revealed that the blue spots, which had been ignored until now, were traces of mana being devoured by entities called Devourers, the Principality was thrown into chaos in an instant.

The situation that Professor Muniher and other professors had feared had come to pass exactly as predicted.

However, Professor Dalia’s research findings, which urged people not to despair yet, were also emphasized and added to the announcement.

It was firmly stated that they should not give up, adding that neutralizing agents could extend the time before Devourers consumed one’s mana.

Nevertheless, humans are inevitably fragile beings.

Faced with the sudden prospect of death, with the knowledge that they are now living on borrowed time, they absolutely refuse to be optimistic.

*Swish*

Drawing the curtain and looking outside the window, Dalia let out a deep sigh.

“They say there were too many extreme opinions demanding the extermination of Sirens, so they had no choice…”

This announcement was made to prevent people from rising up with weapons demanding the immediate extermination of Sirens, and as intended, it somewhat calmed the anger directed at the Sirens.

Although they’ve bought some time, the pandemic that will follow in reverse cannot be quelled without the announcement of a new medicine.

This massive wave, now filled with their fear, will create yet another problem.

People will shift blame, saying, “I’m facing this situation because of this and that.”

For now, the direction of their anger has merely been temporarily diverted from the Sirens to something else.

“In the end, they just need somewhere to vent their frustration.”

Who becomes the target of that frustration? Starting with those who committed minor wrongs, it eventually turns toward those who discovered this truth and those who kept silent about it.

Tembris won’t easily yield to such backlash.

Therefore, the end of this blame-shifting will be retaliation against those who took the most ideal countermeasures and the Sirens, who are considered the original cause.

“Junon… where on earth are you?”

Looking at the empty Bluchar Arc once again, Dalia called out the name of the student she was most worried about.

***

Though he had rested well, it was true that his body was in tatters.

It was actually unreasonable to keep moving with a body that had confronted Shanberesh.

But what could he do? Now he was carrying not just one person’s life but all the problems at hand.

Resolving to willingly sacrifice his body temporarily for the sake of the future, Junon entered the Academy.

“Hm? Did anyone else hear that rustling sound just now?”

“What are you talking about? There’s no one coming here. With everyone sick in bed because of the Devourers, who would even think of setting foot in Levrant?”

“Hmph, I guess I must have heard wrong then…”

“Yeah, yeah. It happens. After rotting away in the Octagon for so long, tsk tsk.”

“Hey, come on! That has nothing to do with it!”

The security was nothing more than a few students.

Since all available forces had to be poured into the subjugation battle, pitifully, only ordinary students were left to guard this place. Thanks to that, Junon was able to slip over the wall without even facing anyone.

Though it had become quite noisy, he wasn’t suspected further, so Junon headed toward a secluded area.

Students were murmuring everywhere, so he couldn’t go in that direction.

This murmuring was the anger of those filled with contempt and betrayal.

“…”

—It’s all because of that bastard Junon! How does it make sense to tell us not to use magic when time is of the essence?!

—If we had reached the main force earlier, would this have even happened?!

Other students who heard this agreed, saying it seemed that way.

So that’s how it’s going to play out. Junon turned back toward the wall in resignation.

Although there was nowhere else to stay besides Levrant Academy, remaining here now would only make things worse.

It was something he had expected anyway. And having experienced worse, there was no need to respond emotionally.

So he aimlessly walked toward the western part of the Academy, where students wouldn’t be strolling at this time.

The town also seemed to have been affected, as there were few visible shops.

“Yikes! Hey, student!”

“…Me?”

“Yes! Oh my, tsk tsk.”

While looking around, a shop owner rushed out, gasping and clicking his tongue.

“Look at you, walking around with discharge oozing like this? You look like an Academy student—shouldn’t you be getting treatment there first?”

Only now did Junon check the area the man mentioned. Of course, noticing it wouldn’t change anything.

In the current situation, where evidence was needed to clear the Sirens’ false accusations, there was no time to worry about each and every wound.

“I’m fine. Please leave me be.”

“What? Well, I never.”

The shop owner was shocked again at Junon’s response. Then, scratching his bushy beard that looked like it would feel fluffy to touch, he grabbed Junon’s arm.

“Uh, hey? Excuse me, mister?”

“Now, now. That’s not right. You seem to have some circumstances, but come in and get treatment first. A young man like you with such severe injuries… my goodness. It pains me just to look at you.”

“But…! I’m really fine…”

“That’s enough, just sit down. Come on.”

It might seem forceful, but it wasn’t entirely so. Because,

“You’re an Academy student who got hurt fighting for the Principality—how could we citizens with no power just walk by?”

The shop owners and residents of Levrant City were indebted to the Academy students, so showing this much kindness wasn’t strange at all.

Therefore, providing a place for a passing student to rest briefly was more than justified.

He started rummaging through his storage, saying, “Let’s see… where did I put that…?”

After a few minutes, scratching his bushy beard again, the middle-aged man came back with a transparent rectangular lens.

However, he seemed to be examining the wounds from various angles.

“Excuse me, but… may I ask what you’re doing?”

“Oh, this? It’s a magical tool that came out as a prototype recently. They say it works by stopping a person’s time and storing it inside, or something like that.”

“Hehe…?”

Junon couldn’t help but laugh at the absurd statement. A magical tool that stops a person’s time and stores it inside?

Though he knew there was no malice, anyone who misheard could seriously misunderstand.

“Ah, don’t misunderstand. Just because it stops time doesn’t mean it drastically reduces the person’s lifespan like in urban legends. According to the creator, it’s only about 1-2 seconds at most.”

“…What exactly is it used for?”

“Hehe. It has many uses. Look. Since it captures time as it is, isn’t it quite vivid?”

Up to this point, Junon had shown no particular interest.

“You can take this and show it to a doctor, and they can see the wound exactly as it is. With such a vivid image of the wound, doctors say you don’t even need to bring the patient.”

“…!”

But this statement was quite—no, perhaps it was exactly what he needed most right now.

“Anyway, I’m going to the pharmacy for a bit, so wait here, student. Got it?”

The owner left his customer behind, and Junon remained alone, pondering this clue.

“Yes… with this… I wouldn’t need to bring them directly, would I?”

Capturing time.

Just hearing it like that, it sounds like nonsense to laugh off.

But is it really something to laugh about? Being able to preserve a wound so vividly is a significant matter.

In terms of functionality, it’s remarkably similar to modern technology.

This is essentially no different from taking a photograph—a device that creates definitive evidence of a moment in time.

“Here it is. There’s an Academy student here who… Huh? Hey, I told you to sit down because you’re injured…”

“Mister, where did you get that from?”

“Eh? This guy jumped up and what is he saying?”

How could he just sit and wait?

When the ultimate card that could satisfy both objectives—the Lemtert Plague and clearing the false accusations—was right before his eyes.

***

When they returned to Levrant, they were filled with joy, thinking, “We can do this too, we’ve accomplished something significant.”

But what actually greeted them was the truth about the Lemtert Plague.

Being told that they were slowly dying, that parasites were living in their blood—the still immature students couldn’t help but tremble.

“In my body… in my blood, magical beasts are parasitizing…?”

“When the Devourers consume all our mana, they’ll bore a hole to kill the host and emerge…”

“Where did it all go wrong…?”

Division occurs when things are most unstable.

Slipping through the cracks, stealthily.

“Where did it go wrong? We couldn’t exert our full power from the beginning. Why… you all actually know, don’t you?”

“Couldn’t exert our full power… that means…”

“It’s all because of that bastard Junon! How does it make sense to tell us not to use magic when time is of the essence?!”

“If we had reached the main force earlier, would this have even happened?!”

“”…””

Everyone falls silent. Thinking about it, that was true.

Junon had said they needed to conserve their strength, and they followed him, thinking it was a reasonable argument.

Amidst the confused individuals, he continues his assertions.

Once again slipping through the cracks, even more stealthily.

“I saw him yesterday. That guy doesn’t have any spots at all! I saw with my own two eyes that he was walking around perfectly fine!”

“What? So that guy, to save himself, he…”

“I thought something was off when he was throwing some strange potion at the rats…! So that’s what it was!”

“That bastard…!”

Lies are just a bonus. One incitement instantly changed the direction of blame.

The warm camaraderie that would have risen like winter breath while facing magical beasts together vanishes so futilely.

Nevertheless, there are those who object.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Junon is not the type to abandon his comrades!!”

“Don’t you all remember when the Osopteras invaded?! He stood at the entrance to the building until the end, which is why Professor Dalia arrived in time!”

“Besides, this guy ran away while we were fighting the Devourers one by one. How can you believe what he says?”

It was Jon and Noel.

The two who might have died long ago without Junon’s help stood firmly against this sophistry.

Some who had experienced the Osoptera battle agreed, and a few others—some students who had stood against Cayden after the manifestation of the magic field—also came forward to defend Junon.

But this too lacked evidence.

“Then Jon, Noel, do you know what that potion was that Junon suddenly threw?”

“That’s…”

“What if he was just trying to save himself? What then?”

“He’s always used tricks like that! Junon is surprisingly smart and good at deceiving others. Everyone knows that’s how he fooled the nobles too!”

“He must have been plotting something sinister somewhere. If he suppressed only our powers while keeping himself perfectly healthy… it all adds up, doesn’t it?”

Though they thought they had grown close to Junon, the reality was different.

They don’t even know what effect the potion he threw had or what strategy he was implementing.

They had only blindly thought they should follow him.

“Still… still, he’s not the type to sacrifice you to save his own life! You have to meet him directly to know!”

“No way! What other reason would he have for not telling us when he knew everything? It’s no different from deceiving us to save himself!!”

The argument becomes meaningless, as they have already made up their minds.

Those defending Junon are significantly outnumbered. Even if they speak of supporting evidence or try to predict the overall situation, their voices don’t reach.

“Hey, Noel… how do we resolve this?”

“Don’t ask me. I’m not Junon.”

“…Should we take up weapons first?”

“I guess so…? Those guys look like they’ll use force if words don’t work.”

They’re just venting their anger, determined to crush the opposition to prove they weren’t wrong.

Even if it doesn’t help at all.

“Let’s beat up those bastards who are defending the traitor first!!!”

Just as they felt they had to resist at all costs,

*Tap!*

Someone appeared and lightly struck the wrist of the first person to draw a weapon, causing it to fall.

As the person who dropped the weapon to the ground turned his head,

“Damn it… what kind of crazy bastard—”

“Oh? ‘Crazy bastard,’ is it? It’s been quite a while since I’ve been insulted. Go on, say more.”

“Ah, no, that’s…”

“I said, say more? Why, you were babbling so well earlier, but suddenly you can’t?”

Professor Muniher stood there, snorting derisively.

Soon his face grew cold, once again exuding his inherent intimidation.

“Instead of thinking about joining forces to overcome the Lemtert Plague, you draw swords against your comrades while slandering them. Even a passing dog would shake its head at such foolishness.”

Before long, the crowd of students that had gathered dispersed quickly due to Professor Muniher’s appearance.

As the students returned to their places, someone who had been watching nearby approached the solitary Professor Muniher.

“…Thank you, Professor.”

“What thanks? It’s thanks to you that we prevented a situation from developing, Senia.”

Though not clearly visible, Muniher had seen it.

Senia’s hands were trembling.

He was also certain when he noticed the slight gap in the scabbard at her waist, which had almost been drawn.

“I’ll allow it to a certain extent.”

“…Pardon?”

“I’m saying, don’t handle it too excessively. If you too stain that blade with blood, it will be troublesome for many, including him.”