Chapter 79 : Chapter 79

Chapter 79

The unconscious Eddie was in a truly miserable state.

His entire body was covered in blood, and his shirt was tattered with holes and tears.

It looked as if there had been a bloody battle, besides being bitten on the shoulder by the central individual at first.

"W-what should we do... he must have been bitten all over by the magical beast."

"Fred, hurry up and use healing magic on Eddie..."

"No, look closely. These bloodstains are from a while ago. There are no wounds now."

Samuel stopped the two professors who were about to cast healing magic and laid Eddie straight.

Then, without hesitation, he tore Eddie's clothes to check his condition.

He was right.

Although he was covered in blood, Eddie's body was clean without a single wound.

"It doesn't smell like the blood of a beast. It's certain that there was a life-threatening injury. It seems he managed to use healing magic just before losing consciousness."

"No... if it was an injury that would cause this much bleeding, he would have already exhausted all his energy and mana. This is as if..."

"Fred, let's take Eddie to the campsite first."

Brenda quickly cut off Fred's following words and said.

Fred also belatedly realized his mistake and shut his mouth.

Eddie's appearance was as if someone had cast healing magic on him.

Since Eddie, who had been dragged before the magical beast king, had returned alive like this, the one who had healed him must have been Rakan.

Samuel, with his excellent judgment, must have inferred this much.

The more chaotic the situation, the more one had to be careful with their words.

Seuseuseut- Seuseuseut-

While the two professors were racking their brains, the central individual returned Eddie's wand and slowly turned its body.

Every time mana shimmered from its huge body, a sound like the wind brushing past was heard.

The four of them were tense for a moment, but the magical beast returned as it was.

Even with mages much weaker than itself in front of it, it didn't even lick its lips until the end.

Samuel muttered as if he couldn't believe it.

"Amazing... was its only purpose really to hand over this child?"

A few hours that had passed breathlessly.

During that time, Samuel had experienced his common sense being destroyed several times.

And at the center of that destruction was a child named Eddie Summerson.

***

Eddie was taken to the professors' tent within the campsite.

While crossing the campsite to reach the professors' tent, everyone saw Eddie's state.

The campsite quickly became a crucible of shock and fear.

Although wrapped in the city guard captain's cloak, the bloodstains on his face were still clear.

The clothes in Fred's hand were literally soaked in blood.

Not to mention the students, but the city hall side, including Rob and Blake, turned pale as if they were about to faint.

The price of abandoning the students in front of the magical beast and running away was a student who had returned as a bloody mess.

They were so afraid of the aftermath that they felt like they wanted to die right away.

Thinking about what it meant that the central individual had brought Eddie was a matter for later.

For now, they just hoped that Eddie would regain consciousness safely.

And that the sparks of the situation would not fly to them.

There was nothing to do but hope and hope again.

While the two professors were examining Eddie's condition, Samuel had his men bring warm towels and new clothes.

Rob, who was watching warily, ordered the city hall mages to help, but the two professors steadfastly refused.

"But you two professors have already consumed a lot of mana. The campsite barrier seems to be useless anyway, so our mages will examine the student..."

"I understand the mayor's feelings, but please stop your well-intentioned but useless kindness here."

"..."

Rob could not say anything in response to Brenda's rebuke.

He left the tent and glared at Blake with bloodshot eyes.

About an hour passed anxiously like that.

The two professors who came out of the tent gathered the students in the plaza.

It was to sort out the situation and calm the chaos.

"You must all be very surprised. First, I will tell you what has been determined about the current situation and our return."

The students gathered in the plaza focused on the two professors.

It was dawn, but no student looked sleepy.

Fear and tension had completely driven away their sleep.

"Fortunately, Eddie's life is not in danger. He hasn't regained consciousness, but fortunately, Professor Jin's healing magic is showing its effects."

"But since he came in such a serious condition, it seems it will take a considerable amount of time for a full recovery."

"And the field trip has been immediately suspended. The Archimedes is currently on its way, and we will return to the academy as soon as it arrives."

The two professors took turns explaining as if they were in agreement.

And as soon as the short explanation was over, the students' questions poured in.

"Then did the magical beast king, Rakan, just return Eddie without eating him?"

"That is highly likely. The central individual's actions are the will of Rakan."

"Th-then are you saying that Eddie became friends with the magical beast king like Phoenix Embas?"

"We don't know that yet. We'll only know the full story when Eddie wakes up. But judging from his depleted mana, it seems there was a power struggle."

The two professors answered the questions quite shrewdly.

Like Rob, they were careful not to show their true intentions.

But they did not deny the questions that would draw attention to Eddie and left room for interpretation.

At the two's skillful groundwork, the students were once again amazed.

Many circumstances and evidence already supported the fact that 'Eddie was the second Phoenix Embas.'

The magical beast, which had run wild beyond their plans, had brought the legend back to reality.

As time went on, that reality would spread as rumors everywhere.

After some groundwork was laid, it was time to return to the real problem.

The problem of returning to the academy safely.

"But why are we waiting for the Archimedes to arrive? We don't know when the magical beast will appear again, so shouldn't we create a portal and return right now?"

"Of course, that would be the best way if we could. But neither Professor Arno nor I have enough mana to create and maintain a long-distance travel portal right now. And..."

"Due to a series of unpleasant events, we have decided that it would be better not to receive any more help from the Lacania City Hall."

At Brenda's last words, the city hall employees and mages flinched greatly.

The students murmured for a moment at the two professors' decision but soon nodded their heads.

The students' trust in the city hall side was already at rock bottom.

Whispers of distrust flowed from here and there.

"Well. They're the kind of idiots who jump into a portal in a group to run away, so would they even maintain a portal properly?"

"There's nothing more to expect. It would be a relief if they don't become a hindrance on the way back."

"That's right, that's right."

But there were also students who were more anxious about the immediate fear than their distrust of the city hall side.

"Even so, isn't it too dangerous to wait until the Archimedes arrives? The barrier is useless against a central individual, so this is no longer a safe zone."

"That's what I'm saying. A lot of unbelievable things have already happened, so how do we know what else will happen here...!"

The voices calling to return as soon as possible grew louder, and public opinion began to become anxious again.

The two professors tried to reassure the students somehow.

But since it was a situation where the students had every right to be anxious, it was not easy to calm them down even with the professors' intervention.

But here, Alexein stepped forward.

"Everyone, stop it. Didn't you see the central individual obediently hand over that guy Eddie and go back earlier?!"

It wasn't his usual tantrum.

A calm annoyance that reminded them of what they had seen and heard.

The students stopped murmuring and focused on Alexein.

Alexein took advantage of the momentum and calmed them down.

"If it intended to attack this place, it wouldn't have brought him here in the first place. So stop whining and wait until the Archimedes arrives!"

"..."

At Alexein's rebuke, the voices of the students who had been talking at random subsided.

Although his tone was somewhat unkind, the chaos was quelled.

'I showed a foolish side earlier without knowing the situation, so I should show a more mature side here.'

As expected.

Alexein Dickens' spirit was not one to be broken by one wrong opinion.

Now that he was the only one in the presidential group who had come to his senses, this was his chance.

He intended to somehow quell the students' chaos and lead them in one direction to make up for his earlier disgrace.

That way, his existence would not be buried when Eddie woke up.

Although his intentions were cunning and self-centered, on the other hand, he was completely caught up in Eddie's intentions.

It was a cunningness based on the premise that Eddie had become a tremendous existence.

In any case, Alexein's appearance seemed quite mature on the outside.

Joy was amazed at seeing Alexein like this for the first time.

'There will be many things to hear when Eddie wakes up, but there will also be many things to tell him.'

Meanwhile.

Marcel also had a lot to talk about with Eddie.

But unlike Joy, Marcel was not confident that he could make that conversation happen.

He felt that after waking up, Eddie would become an existence that he could no longer approach.

He was also curious.

What did he mean by what he had said to him back then?

Who was it that had made a request with only sincerity?

And.

'What in the world is your identity.'

By the time he asked all this and got the answers, he felt that he too would be different from before.

.

.

.

About an hour later, the Archimedes arrived.

The students picked up their own luggage and hurriedly boarded.

The city hall employees could only watch anxiously.

Especially Rob and Blake had blank expressions as if they had already given up on everything.

But in their seemingly empty eyes, a hint of distant despair could be seen.

'I'm ruined... and miserably at that.'

Rob put a cigarette in his mouth as he watched the Archimedes take off.

So many things had happened in the past day.

But among those many things, there was nothing that was advantageous to him.

Tomorrow, the story of this incident would be on the headlines of every newspaper.

'The ruins will be controlled, and Lacania will be in a slump for a while.'

And he, the mayor, would be responsible for all of it.

Rob took a harder drag on his cigarette.

He exhaled white smoke towards the receding Archimedes and racked his brain.

With no way out in sight, all he could do was a final desperate struggle.

'I just need to secure the money I've saved up and my life. I'll have to take a gamble at the Varel family's villa.'

***

The next day, the entire Luxorin Empire was turned upside down.

The news of the academy's first-year field trip was on the front page of every newspaper.

And the entire empire came to know about 'the Kirhausen family's tail who was taken by a magical beast and returned alive.'

The major newspapers owned by high-ranking noble families had very detailed reports.

The departure of the three students, including Eddie, and the search process.

And even the irresponsible attitude of the Lacania City Hall.

The reports of such major newspapers were quickly spread by smaller newspapers, spreading the news even further.

But there was just one thing.

No newspaper article mentioned Eddie's condition or the magical beast king, Rakan.

It was thanks to Leodimir, who had quickly sent letters to all the newspapers in the empire as soon as he received the report.

If it became known that Rakan had made a move, the shock and chaos would be great.

For the sake of the 14-year-old child who was hovering between life and death, please adjust the level of reporting.

The reasonable plea of the academy's dean and an adult moved the hearts of the newspaper owners.

But there was just one place.

The empire's largest newspaper, the 'Westin Post,' did not easily agree to Leodimir's request.

The head of the Wester family, which owned the Westin Post, proposed one condition in return for agreeing to the request.

It was the exclusive interview rights for the academy's first-year student, Eddie Summerson.

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