Chapter 84 : Chapter 84

Chapter 84

Thump, thump, thump-

Leodimir’s heavy footsteps headed towards Rosetta Hall.

Today was the final day of his appearance before the field trip accident investigation committee.

The results of the discussions so far were scheduled to be announced at today’s meeting.

“Hmm……”

Leodimir let out a deep groan as he walked down the corridor towards Rosetta Hall.

A few hours ago.

He had heard from Parita and Bex about what had happened last night.

And also about Eddie’s instructions regarding Hendricks.

‘Having a druid on our side would certainly be a significant reinforcement of our strength. But…….’

Leodimir’s footsteps suddenly stopped.

It was because of a scene from a memory that had just flashed through his mind.

Not long after he had become Edmund’s disciple, a picture in a frame he had seen in his laboratory.

The picture depicted two academy students with their arms around each other’s shoulders, laughing brightly.

It was the young Edmund and a druid who had been his best friend.

That frame was kept in the deepest part of Edmund’s laboratory.

It was by no means a forgotten item.

The area around the overturned frame was so empty it seemed artificial.

Edmund had consciously not placed anything around it.

That was how much it was a memory he couldn’t forget even if he wanted to, but too painful to recall.

It was intertwined with the roots of the ‘incident 64 years ago’.

But now, the reincarnated Edmund was trying to paint the same picture as that painful memory himself.

‘What meaning would it hold for Master to once again join forces with a druid he met at the academy?’

He couldn’t guess perfectly.

However, Leodimir vaguely thought that he must be feeling a ‘sense of responsibility’.

Expressing concern over his master’s decisions had always been his job.

But despite his concerns, his master always produced the best results.

To the point where he felt embarrassed for having worried.

So, the choice Leodimir had to make this time was to prepare for the what-ifs, but to trust and follow his master.

‘The Mercury to be assigned to Hendricks should be one of the academy administrators.’

With that thought, Leodimir started walking again.

As he got closer to Rosetta Hall, the butlers and security personnel of various families came into view.

Most of the members of the investigation committee were the heads of influential families.

Therefore, the outside of the hall was bustling with the vassals who had come with them.

Leodimir furrowed his brow as he looked at the chaotic scene in front of Rosetta Hall.

The area in front of Rosetta Hall was a place students had to pass by several times a day to attend classes.

No matter how great the vassals of a family were, he could not allow them to inconvenience the students.

‘There’s no way they would listen to the words of commoner administrators.’

Leodimir gathered his mana and cleared his throat.

“Everyone, your attention please.”

Leodimir’s profound voice echoed in the minds of dozens of people.

The startled vassals flinched and turned to look at him.

“Until the meeting is over, everyone except the committee members themselves, please wait outside the campus.”

“But……”

“This is a place where students pass by to attend their classes. At the academy, nothing can take precedence over the students’ affairs.”

“……”

Leodimir’s voice, echoing in their minds, was nothing short of resolute.

To go outside the campus, of all places.

For these vassals of high noble families, it was an utterly unfamiliar treatment.

But the place they were standing was none other than Lieferden Academy.

A place where Headmaster Devens' influence was immense.

Moreover, since the reason was for the students’ sake, there was no room for rebuttal.

In the end, the vassals, who had been glancing at each other, began to leave the area in front of Rosetta Hall one by one.

But there was one person who remained in front of the hall until the very end.

It was Ronan, the butler of the Kirhausen family.

Ronan stared at Leodimir for a moment, then bowed his head in a show of respect.

A seasoned smile played on his lips.

“As expected of Headmaster Devens. You always put the students first, no matter the situation. It is an admirable quality, befitting the Prophet of Mana.”

“Thank you for the compliment. The meeting will start soon, so I’d appreciate it if you would also move outside the campus.”

“Unfortunately, I cannot do that.”

“Cannot?”

“Because I will be attending today’s meeting as the proxy for the head of the Kirhausen family.”

“…Lord Furas seems to be very busy. To the point of sending a proxy to the most important seat.”

“He is always busy with public and private affairs. Ah, is Eddie doing well?”

The war of nerves had already begun.

The one who fired the first shot was Ronan.

His tone as he asked the question was blatantly obvious.

As if implying that Eddie was actively taking a rest.

A tone that suggested he already knew the coma was a lie.

But Leodimir was not swayed at all.

“He is not doing well. He’s so gravely injured that he shows no signs of waking up. His mana circle, which was overloaded from fighting the mana beast, also suffered severe damage.”

“So that’s why his recovery is so slow. Even though he’s receiving ‘special treatment’ from the academy.”

“It seems you are very concerned about Eddie. Shall Kirhausen take him back today? We can’t undo the healing magic formula that has already been cast, so our healers will have to follow.”

The exchange went back and forth without a moment to breathe.

This time, it was Leodimir’s attack.

Ronan’s eyebrow twitched slightly.

Inwardly, he scoffed.

‘As if the ones following would be simple healers.’

Was he planning to infiltrate people into Kirhausen so casually?

The face that spoke so naturally was quite shameless.

Ronan stared at Leodimir in silence for a moment.

His eyes had a sharp, blue light, completely different from Furas' vacant gaze.

But his inability to easily reveal his intentions was the same.

Ronan soon put on a smile and shook his head.

“No, it’s alright. I’m sure Headmaster Devens will take good care of him.”

“I’ll do my best, so don’t worry. Let’s go in now.”

Leodimir passed by Ronan and entered Rosetta Hall first.

Ronan’s expression hardened as he watched his retreating back.

.

.

.

The meeting proceeded under the leadership of Lyman Jenkins, the chairman of the investigation committee.

The reason an elder mage became the chairman was that the incident during the field trip was not a simple safety accident.

It was an unprecedented event where the Mana Beast King, Rakan, had shown movement for the first time in 1000 years.

The committee’s interest had been focused on Eddie Summerson from the very first meeting.

The issue of responsibility for the safety problem was merely a matter with an obvious answer.

The situation was no different in the final meeting.

Apart from the discussion on identifying Eddie, everything else proceeded swiftly.

That Leodimir and the two supervising professors were not at fault.

That the city hall, which had abandoned the students and fled, would take full responsibility, and accordingly, a request for an audit of the city hall and the dismissal of the mayor would be sent to the Imperial Inspectorate.

And that the entire city of Lacania would be sealed off indefinitely, and its citizens relocated to neighboring cities.

As these decisions were made in quick succession, the faces of the Lacania city hall officials were practically rotting.

Rob, in particular, glared at someone as if he was about to do something at any moment.

‘What happened to telling me not to worry? That cunning bastard!’

The one Rob was glaring at as if to kill was none other than the Minister of Finance’s aide.

He had come to see Rob the day after the incident.

And he had promised protection, saying, ‘The Minister believes that this incident is not your fault, Mayor.’

For Rob, who had been contemplating a final desperate act, those words were like a godsend.

He had shed tears and repeated the question, ‘Did the Minister really say he would save me?’ more than 10 times.

And the aide, without a change in expression, had replied in a sincere tone that it was so.

But there was no salvation.

The Minister of Finance never attended a single meeting, and the aide who did attend remained silent when Rob’s punishment was being decided.

In the end, he had been abandoned.

Rob’s face turned red and blue by the second.

‘Fine… if you people are going to act like this, then I have no choice. I’ll just have to reveal everything here and report it to the newspapers!’

The veins on Rob’s neck bulged.

Since it had come to this, he had no choice but to reveal everything and die together.

It was just as he was about to stand up and protest to the committee members.

“Mr. Mayor, not now.”

Blake grabbed Rob’s arm and whispered urgently.

“If you reveal it now, you’ll end up in prison for falsely accusing the Minister of Finance without any evidence.”

“Then what am I supposed to do!”

“When the meeting is over, let’s go straight to the ‘Irvine Post’ headquarters together. I’ve brought all the evidence to take down the Minister of Finance.”

Blake suggested another way.

Rob, who had been on the verge of exploding, finally calmed down.

“R-really?”

“Yes. So for now, you must look like you’re frustrated and have given up on everything. That way, we can induce them to let their guard down.”

“…Alright. I’ll do that.”

Rob managed to suppress his anger and put on a sad expression.

He felt like his insides were turning over, but he had to follow the words of the only employee who had remained by his side.

Thus, the discussion on responsibility and punishment came to an end.

And the agenda naturally moved on to Eddie.

“Headmaster Devens. I hear that student Eddie Summerson is still in a coma. When do you think an investigation will be possible?”

“The healing of his damaged mana circle and external injuries is still not proceeding smoothly. It seems it will be at least a few more weeks before he regains consciousness.”

“Hmm… a few weeks… Considering how serious his condition was when he was discovered, it will be difficult for him to wake up soon.”

“This is troubling. The information the Kirhausen family has is just a single sheet of paper, this is quite….”

Lyman groaned as if he had a headache.

Regarding Eddie, the core issue was not the investigation of the incident, but who he truly was.

So far, all that had been identified about him was the orphanage he came from.

It was not easy for a person who had captured the interest of not only all the citizens of the empire but also the imperial family to be so shrouded in mystery.

A mystique as if he had just fallen from the sky.

Rumors about Eddie’s identity were already rampant.

A living ancient species.

The reincarnation of Phoenix Embas.

A messenger of God, and so on.

The imagination born from ignorance was endlessly inflating Eddie’s identity, making the public go wild.

And from the imperial family’s perspective, this was a very alarming situation.

If a fanatical group were to idolize Eddie and gather people, it could lead to great chaos.

So the imperial family was constantly pressuring the Council of Elder Mages.

Even when the previous investigation committee reported that Eddie’s condition was not favorable, the same answer came back.

‘Promptly restore his consciousness and ascertain his identity.’

In other words, force him to regain consciousness and interrogate him.

Of course, the Council also wanted to do so if they could.

Since he was an orphan tail with no family or faction to back him up, there were no repercussions to fear.

But the problem was Headmaster Devens.

He, who had custody of Eddie, was so adamant that it was impossible to get close.

In truth, if they asserted the will of the imperial family, even Leodimir would have no choice, but the justification he put forward was too perfect.

“No investigation can take precedence over a student’s life.”

Those were the words Leodimir had shouted at the imperial family’s representative during his first appearance at the investigation committee.

He had adamantly refused to let the imperial family’s healers wake Eddie up by force.

The declaration he had made along with it was quickly turned into an article by the reporters present at the meeting.

In response, the public, especially the commoners, went wild and supported Leodimir.

In addition, others who were watching this incident—the people of Lacania and Embas who were leaning towards the trend heralding the second Phoenix Embas—also did so.

Even the imperial family had to be mindful of this.

Lyman, pondering whose feelings he should be mindful of, wrinkled his already wrinkled forehead even more.

It was at that moment that a person sitting on the committee bench opened his mouth.

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