Chapter 78 : Chapter 78

Chapter 78

The crowd in the campsite couldn't easily believe the two professors' words.

"What does that mean... he was dragged before the magical beast king?"

"Then... did the magical beast king order Eddie to be captured?"

"N-no way. The professors must have misunderstood. The magical beast king. Does that even make sense?"

When one receives too great a shock, one tends to deny it before being surprised.

The two professors' explanation was quite clear, but almost no one was accepting it.

Only the few who had remained at the scene until the end understood the situation and despaired.

"W-wait a minute. Even so, saying he was dragged before the magical beast king is too much of a conjecture."

One of the unbelievers.

Rob frowned and approached the two professors.

"Just because a central individual took him, how can you be so sure that it was the magical beast king's will? It could have been that the creature just took him as its prey..."

Hwareureureuk-

Colorful auras that appeared like flames blocked Rob's path.

The auras gradually took shape and transformed into dozens of summoned beasts.

Brenda, who had sensed that words would not work on Rob, had opened her summoning stone.

"...!"

Those who saw the summoned beasts were surprised and murmured.

Of course, it wasn't because the summoned beasts were strange.

The summoned beasts were all raising their heads and tails, their whole bodies glowing brightly.

Those with even a little knowledge realized that the summoned beasts were responding to a howling.

If it was powerful enough to pierce the rapport of a summoner, and a skilled one at that, a professor, and make the summoned beasts obey...

"Heok...!"

Rob's face turned pale as he finally understood the situation.

"It is the howling of the magical beast king, Rakan. No matter how strong a central individual is, it cannot pierce the rapport of a first-class summoner and make dozens of summoned beasts obey."

"N-no way..."

"And... it is by no means 'a relief' that he was taken as prey by a central individual and not the magical beast king."

"Ah... th-that is...!"

Brenda's following rebuke sharply pierced Rob.

She was pointing out his attitude of implicitly valuing the magical beast king's intervention more than Eddie's life.

In any case, thanks to Brenda's summoned beasts, Eddie's abduction was accepted as a fact.

The campsite was instantly engulfed in shock and fear, and the murmurs about Eddie's mana, as much as Rakan's appearance, continued unabated.

According to the testimony, there was no part of the series of events that Eddie had not touched.

It was he who had expanded and maintained the portal while everyone evacuated.

It was he who had created a separate small portal for the three male students to evacuate.

And it was he who had even saved the two professors and Joy in a touch-and-go situation when the magical beast broke through the shield and charged.

All of it was Eddie's achievement.

His spirit of sacrifice and character were surprising, but people were more surprised by another fact.

'What in the world is that unbelievable level of mana?'

At a rough estimate, it was on par with a senior professor at the academy.

Just 14 years old.

It was truly shocking that a child, not even a descendant of a prestigious family, had that level of mastery.

That was why the news that he had been dragged before the magical beast king was considered even more credible.

If Eddie was that strong, it wasn't strange for him to be targeted as the king's prey.

"In any case, it would be hard for him to be alive."

Soon, a voice lamenting that it was a pity was heard from the crowd.

No one spoke up to agree, but most had the same thought.

No matter how strong Eddie was, he couldn't be as strong as the magical beast king.

It was a pity for his amazing talent, but there was almost no chance of him being alive.

That was why Hendricks and Marcel's legs had given out.

"Ugh... heueueueu..."

Hendricks' face was already a mess of tears.

Next to him, who was sobbing, was Marcel, pale and breathing heavily.

Both of them blamed themselves.

'It's my fault... if I hadn't been so preoccupied with hiding my identity and had used my ability, I would have known the magical beast was approaching much earlier... then Eddie wouldn't have died either!'

'If I hadn't gone to the ruins... if I hadn't argued with him... then there might have been a slightly higher chance of him surviving...'

Joy bit her lip as she looked at the two in despair.

She had already heard from the two professors that Eddie had even considered such a situation.

But that didn't make her anxiety disappear.

He was facing not just any other being, but the magical beast king, Rakan.

There was nothing she could do even if Rakan had a whim or if things went wrong.

Joy endured solely based on her faith in Eddie.

She didn't know about other things, but he was definitely not a guy who would die easily.

"Ha... shi... but why is everyone just standing around... Mayor!"

And here, there was someone who was reacting to the situation with a different sentiment.

Rob was startled when Alexein called him as if shouting.

"What are you doing not requesting reinforcements from the imperial family right now?"

"Ah... th-that is, we need to assess the situation a little more..."

"Assess what situation! Didn't you hear that a student was taken by a magical beast?"

Unexpectedly, Alexein was pursuing an active solution.

He had courage and determination.

But unfortunately, it was just a child's tantrum now.

Alexein continued to speak, not caring that Rob, who knew the detailed situation, was frustrated.

"We might all be eaten soon, so we should be requesting search and protection support right now, what are you dawdling for...!"

"Th-that's not as easy as it sounds! An ordinary army is useless against the magical beast king!"

"That's why we need to report to the imperial family quickly..."

"Young master! The opponent is the great magical beast Rakan! If he decides to come out, even the imperial army won't be able to stand against him!"

Finally, unable to bear it, Rob raised his voice at Alexein.

As Alexein flinched, Rob pushed him as if venting his pent-up anger.

"Besides, if we rashly deploy troops and it escalates into an all-out war with the Rakan tribe, that would be a really big problem! It could become a war with the magical beasts!"

The mayor, who had been bowing and scraping the whole time, suddenly raised his voice at him, and Alexein shut his mouth.

Soon, the campsite was engulfed in silence.

Gulp-

Rob belatedly checked Alexein's expression.

But this time, he did not apologize for his rudeness.

He was also quite annoyed with Alexein for just nagging him without knowing the situation.

'He's the next head of House Dickens, but he doesn't even know how strong magical beasts are?! Does he think we can just catch them like we're hunting wild animals?!'

Rob's pitying gaze momentarily swept over Alexein.

Then, Alexein bit his lip and clenched his fists.

It wasn't out of anger, but out of shame that came late.

'Damn it... I didn't know magical beasts were that strong.'

It wasn't even in the curriculum, so he didn't know much about the power of magical beasts.

He had tried to show a leadership-like image as the president to make up for the grievances he had suffered, but!

He hated the fact that he had ended up looking stupid instead.

But he thought he couldn't just stand by, so he tried to speak with courage again.

He wanted to show a side worthy of the next head of House Dickens even now.

"B-but it's still true that we need reinforcements. We have to save that guy, Eddie Summerson!"

"Alexein, that's enough."

But Fred stepped forward and stopped Alexein.

"I don't know your feelings as the president, but even if the search party is reinforced now, we can't rashly send them to the ruins."

"Can't send them... why?"

"Not only do we not know the exact location of the Rakan tribe's home, but if we rashly deploy a search party, we might just provoke Rakan and put Eddie in more danger."

"Ah..."

"Besides, there's almost no chance that the imperial family will step in for something like this."

"That's exactly what I was saying. Hah, as expected, the professor sees the situation clearly."

Rob nodded his head in strong agreement with Fred's words.

But in the following words, the gap between the two's intentions was clearly revealed.

"The army that the imperial family would send would be a magical legion composed of mages. They could become prey for the magical beasts, so it would be better to contact other knight orders in the vicinity..."

"To save just one attendant, not even a child of a noble family, how could the imperial family deploy a magical legion..."

Fred and Rob spoke at the same time.

Both explained why the imperial family would not want to deploy a magical legion, but the content was quite different.

And because of what Rob had said, the campsite fell silent once again.

"..."

Fred and Brenda's cold gazes were directed at Rob.

Rob belatedly realized his slip of the tongue, but it was already too late.

"Ah... I didn't mean that, what I meant was..."

Cold sweat poured down his face like rain.

'Damn it. I thought the professor thought the same as me!'

The contemptuous gazes directed at Rob were not only from the two professors.

All the students in the campsite.

Even the upper-class students were frowning at him as if he were disgusting.

Just as the tension was about to escalate beyond awkwardness.

Hendricks, who had been sitting and crying the whole time, suddenly lifted his head.

"What's wrong?"

Joy, who was comforting him, asked, but Hendricks didn't even answer and quickly stood up.

"Hendricks, what's wrong? What is it?"

"H-he's alive... he's coming this way..."

"What did you say? I can't hear you well... hey, where are you going alone!"

Then, before she could stop him, Hendricks ran towards the entrance of the campsite.

Joy, surprised, quickly followed him.

Then, the professors and the crowd in the campsite followed them.

"Hendricks, stop! You can't go outside the campsite!"

"This won't do, Fred. We have to catch him with a binding spell quickly...!"

The two professors thought it wouldn't do and tried to catch him with magic.

But just before that, Hendricks stopped at the entrance.

He caught his breath and looked in the direction of the ruins.

Those who had followed him in panic at his sudden action scolded him, asking what he was doing.

But Hendricks just stared silently in the direction of the ruins.

He paid no heed to the rising voices and Alexein's hand slapping the back of his head.

And a little later.

"E-Eddie!!"

He shouted in a desperate voice, having found something in the distance.

At the word Eddie, everyone focused on where Hendricks was looking.

Something really was approaching from a distance.

But no matter how they looked, it wasn't Eddie, or rather, it wasn't even a human figure.

"That's... a magical beast, isn't it?!"

Everyone was surprised by the horror of an employee with good eyesight and stepped back.

After hearing his words, it was even clearer.

A body too large to be a person.

A body that shimmered with light even in the dark of night.

And a horn that sparkled even more in the moonlight.

What was approaching was really a Rakan tribe magical beast.

"Wh-why did a magical beast come all the way down here? Don't tell me it's going to eat us all too?"

"A-and at that size, it's a central individual! It broke through the dozens of barriers surrounding the campsite!"

"Damn it! We have to run away now...!"

"Wait a minute! There's something on the magical beast's back!"

Just as chaos was about to spread, Joy shouted calmly.

At her words, those who were in a panic focused on the magical beast again.

On the back of the closer magical beast, there really was something limp, like a piece of luggage.

Upon closer inspection, it was a person's body.

As Hendricks had said, it was Eddie.

"H-heok!"

Rob gasped in surprise and took a step back.

The student he thought had been eaten was right in front of him.

Considering the reputation he had lost so far, he should have stepped forward himself and brought that child back.

But he was scared.

This situation itself didn't make sense in the first place.

A magical beast carrying an unconscious mage without eating him.

He couldn't find the courage to step forward in such a strange and unprecedented situation.

Rob's lips turned blue with fear and anxiety.

But he was soon relieved to see the two professors who were just as flustered as he was.

'Th-that's right... even the professors can't step forward rashly. So it's not a picture that I should be criticized for not being able to step forward now...'

Rob, who was lost in self-justification.

A student's figure flashed past his vision like an arrow.

"Hendricks!"

Joy quickly reached out her hand, but it was too late.

Hendricks ran at full speed towards the magical beast carrying Eddie.

Joy tried to follow, but Brenda stopped her.

"Students are not to leave the campsite under any circumstances!"

The two professors who had given the order ran after Hendricks to the magical beast.

It wasn't to stop Hendricks, but to bring Eddie back.

The last one to run out was Samuel.

He could hear the voices of his men calling him, but he quickened his pace towards the magical beast.

It was a moment that made Rob's self-justification meaningless.

Hendricks, who had run out first, soon reached right in front of the central individual.

On the back of the magical beast, Eddie was really limp and covered in blood.

And the magical beast was holding what was presumed to be Eddie's wand in its mouth.

As Hendricks approached, everyone who hadn't stepped forward watched with their hearts in their mouths.

But contrary to their many worries, the magical beast's reaction was completely unexpected.

The magical beast did not growl even when it saw Hendricks who had come right up to it.

Instead, it stopped its steps and waited for Hendricks to get Eddie down.

"E-Eddie...! Keueuk... kkeuk! Are you okay?!"

Hendricks, struggling to get Eddie down, burst into tears again.

The magical beast was so large that he couldn't get Eddie's body down on his own.

The two professors and Samuel, who had arrived after him, joined forces to carefully get Eddie down.

The magical beast remained calm even while the four humans were touching its body.

Thus, Eddie, held in Samuel's arms, was placed on the ground.

"...!"

The four of them barely suppressed their screams at his shocking appearance, even just looking at him.

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