Ed subjugation battle (2)
– ‘I have to go out and come back today because I have some business to do in the living area. So don’t come looking for me until tomorrow morning.’
You have to lose it to know how precious freedom is. Clevious realized that fact painfully.
Is it a problem that I stayed at school because I didn’t really want to go back to my parents’ house?
Clevious was dragged around by Elvira throughout the vacation and went through all sorts of hardships, such as attending social gatherings among students and taking basic etiquette classes.
Clevius, who was naturally gloomy, was wondering how much he would win the favor of people by going out a little, but Elvira held on to Clevius’s collar until the end, saying that it was important to accumulate experience step by step in such matters.
One way or another, Clevius could not resist Elvira and hung out with her throughout the vacation, but as the start of school approached, Elvira seemed to have become busy in her own way, so she had less time to pay attention to Clevious.
“this… freedom… ?”
Elvira’s hellish forced march stops, and as he sits alone in the private room of the Ofilis building, the familiar darkness of the corner of the room greets Clevius.
Clevius was lying on the bed in a daze, looking up at the ceiling, and a wave of emotion came over him. The tip of his nose was so stinging that he even sniffled.
How long has it been since I’ve been lying still and doing nothing like this? A part of her heart feels relieved when she can’t see Elvira, who always runs at her like a moon.
“… .”
So Clevius lay on the bed for a while.
The time is midnight.
Originally, Clevius was nocturnal. He decided to enjoy the quiet atmosphere, buried in the familiar darkness of the night.
Sensitive silence.
Since Elvira, who was always so loud, was gone, I returned to the quiet room as always.
What remained there was emptiness rather than rest.
“I’m finally crazy too.”
There is no need to become friends with people. Even if you engage in unsuitable extroverted activities, the only thing that remains is a scar.
For Clevius, most human relationships end in hurt, so he thinks that his relationship with Elvira will be the same. She just hasn’t faced catastrophe yet.
Most people who interacted with Clevius either spoke poorly of him or came to despise him.
Clevious himself is aware of this. He is absolutely not the type of person that anyone would like.
Therefore, Clevius… It was my daily routine to be stuck in a corner of my room like this and look up at the ceiling blankly.
I don’t go out of my way to expand human relationships. You have your own way of life.
“… ”
In this way, he strengthened his shell even more and sighed in a gloomy voice.
I can’t believe it’s so peaceful without even a single Elvira. It’s truly ironic.
Now that I think about it, why did Elvira, who was always busy running around, leave for some reason?
Actually, I’m not very relieved.
Isn’t this Elvira, who talks to Clevius every time and tells her every move?
It’s not a day or two that Elvira is seen chatting away about things that Clevius has no interest in, such as what she ate for snack today, or that a new store has opened in the living area.
However, Clevius did not have a particularly good feeling about Elvira’s strange behavior of suddenly closing her mouth and disappearing.
What are you doing in the living quarters in the middle of the night like this? If you go to the living area late at night, all the facilities will be closed.
In addition, Elvira packs a lot of alchemy reagents and magical engineering supplies right before she disappears… It looked like they were preparing for battle.
“… I wonder if they did something useless again… ”
Clevius mumbled and opened the window of his room. If you look towards Maxes Bridge from the upper floors of Ofilis Building, you can see a glimpse of the living complex, but it is only a small part of it.
“done. “Why should I care?”
Even though no one was listening, Clevius muttered that and lay down on the bed again.
Now is the time to enjoy the freedom that has been in your hands for the first time in a long time.
Clevious lay on his side and concentrated on the comfort that felt in his body.
However, the silence of the room still tickles the back of his neck.
The summer night breeze blows in through the open window. It made the curtain flutter once, hit the back of Clevious’s head, and then dissipated.
Clevius lay down and stared at the wall for a long time.
“… .”
*
“Speak without hesitation, Lortel. While running the business, have you done anything that is dishonorable or worth getting caught and taken down? “You have to tell me everything without hiding anything.”
“To be honest… “There are so many frustrating things that I don’t know what to choose.”
I pressed my temples and narrowed my eyebrows. However, he did not slow down his pace.
As I quickly climbed the stairs and reached the fourth floor, I saw the hole in the ceiling that Ziggs had pushed through.
Should I call him tough or ignorant? Moonlight was streaming down from a hole in the ceiling.
The rope that Ziggs had tied also caught my eye. It was quite high, but even I was worried about whether Lortel would be able to climb the rope.
When I glared at him, Lortel nodded without saying anything.
“I’ll give it a try.”
“Hold me and come up.”
My body is not in a normal situation due to the ring’s recoil.
Although I have recovered a lot, I still have a mild fever and chronic fatigue, and I have many limitations ranging from physical abilities such as stamina and strength to magical abilities such as magical power.
Still, I thought it would be possible to climb up the rope, so I quickly placed my feet on the wall and pulled the rope.
Lortel also tied his red-brown hair back, rolled up his arms, and held on tightly to the rope.
When I held out one arm, Lortel put his right arm over and shared the weight with me. This will allow you to climb the wall with some ease.
We climbed the wall of the hallway, whining for a while. If you go up to the roof like this, there will be a ladder installed on the outside wall for roof work. Just climb the ladder down to the first floor and escape toward the camp.
“Ugh, huh!”
Is it because of my weak strength? Lortel’s slender wrists trembled. As I pulled Lortel up with all my might until I reached the rooftop, his hand suddenly reached out from the rooftop and came down.
― Tak
A hand as slender as Lortel’s wrapped around my wrist and pulled me up with a squeaking sound.
It wasn’t a great strength, but I was able to get up to the rooftop easily anyway.
I almost fell and landed on the rooftop, so I lifted my arm and helped Lortel come up.
“Do you have a hobby of working out at night?”
“You came.”
“I came with Ziggs. I had no idea that such a mess would have been made… ”
I saw the other person lying down on the rooftop next to Lortel.
Tracyana Bloomriver, the fourth-year member of the Magic Department and renowned as a paragon of witches.
The short hair that falls down to her shoulders and is gently curled is the same as when I saw her before.
That bluish hair reflects the moonlight, subtly stimulating the eyes.
“Senior Tracyana?”
From Lortel’s perspective, he must have been an unexpected person.
Tracyana, the top student in the 4th year Magic Department, is a powerhouse in her grade who can use all kinds of high-level magic at a young age.
In addition, he has a lot of direct combat experience and practical combat experience, so he is considered a veteran among the students.
“Senior, why are you here?”
“I came running after hearing that my junior was in danger… “It would be a pretentious answer.”
It’s grumpy, but it’s not mean.
Tracyana sharpened her cane as big as her upper body and spoke.
“Because Petrine owes something to Ed Rosstaylor. “I came here to hit that.”
“… Senior Ed? “Did you know Tracy or Senior?”
“We bumped into each other a while ago, so we got to know each other a bit. “There is also news that the Ross Taylor family and the Bloomriver family have joined hands.”
Tracyana Bloomriver is one of the strongest students.
He is a human who holds the top spot among fourth graders with the highest average level of magic.
Although he often gets upset because of his mischievous younger brother, he is a person whose skills are certain.
“I heard all the details from Ziggs.”
Tracyana touched the hairpin holding her bangs up a few times and said that it was okay to skip the detailed explanation.
“I will wait here. Ayla will probably come up soon, so take care of her, and if Tailly comes again… ”
Tracyana thought for a moment about what to say, then continued talking as if it was no big deal.
“… “We have to do something.”
“I am grateful that you came so late at night.”
“Well, anyway, my mother instructed me to be as cooperative as possible with the Ross Taylor family. So, I think she has a fair amount of debt in her heart.”
Tracyana said that and jumped down the hole we came up from.
After landing in the fourth floor hallway, she patted the hem of her robe and looked up at us.
“I used to only see fellow students who were preparing for graduation and only worried about the future, but seeing juniors like this is refreshing and makes me feel good. Go slowly. “There isn’t much time.”
After saying that, he quickly put on his robe hat.
Lower your head and raise your cane diagonally. The wizard’s robe with loose sleeves and lower collar, and the eyes shining softly under the hat in the moonlight, are impressive.
In the middle of the moonlight pouring down from the hole, Tracyana stood quietly.
I checked the situation and grabbed Lortel’s hand.
The key right now is to keep Lortel as far away as possible. Whatever Dune has planned, as long as he doesn’t give Lortel into his hands.
While repeating that, I ran back towards the emergency ladder attached to the outside wall.
*
“Elvira, why are you… ”
“There are circumstances. “I can’t let you move forward.”
Tailly and Elvira are close classmates.
There have been many times when I got caught up in various incidents due to Elvira’s stubbornness. Anyway, we’ve shared quite a bit of time here and there, so we’ve been close friends for a long time.
Elvira appears out of nowhere and blocks Tailley’s path. From Taily’s perspective, it was a situation where her eyes could not help but widen.
“I’m sorry, but I’m completely on Ed Rothtaylor’s side. “Taylor.”
“what?”
Tailly’s pupils suddenly trembled.
The front yard of the store is full of abandoned workers.
After wiping away the hair that was sticking out here and there, Elvira opened the entrance to her alchemy bag.
―Kagan! Kang! Kang!
When the entrance was turned over, all kinds of reagent bottles and magical engineering supplies came pouring out.
This is Elvira, who lost all her magic engineering supplies during a fight with Lucy last vacation.
However, in just one semester, we were able to recreate a ridiculous amount of magic engineering supplies. Considering that there are so many reagents… I can actually feel how much I devoted myself to my personal research.
Just like that, Elvira picked up the empty bag and threw it nearby.
Then, he took out a shock-enhanced wave ball and activated it quickly… A powerful shock wave was emitted centered around Elvira.
– Whaaaaaa!
― Ka-gang! Ka-ga-ga-gak!
All kinds of supplies lying around Elvira are blown away by the shock wave.
Soon, the products made by Elvira were spread widely in the front yard of the store.
Wherever you go, it’s full of various reagent bottles and magical engineering supplies.
From Taily’s point of view, things that he doesn’t know how to use or their effectiveness seem to be everywhere.
If you make a wrong move and break a reagent bottle or activate a magic engineering item, there is no way to know how it will affect the battle.
Elvira is the only one who is fully aware of the effects of all devices and reagents.
As of this moment, this battlefield is completely Elvira’s domain.
“Are you saying this even though you know what Ed Rosstaylor is planning?”
“You were trying to kidnap Ayla and use her as material for research on aspect magic? Well, it’s a bit violent, but what can you do? “Academics sometimes require sacrifice.”
“You… ”
Tailley looked at Elvira in disbelief.
At least Elvie is an academic who keeps the line. He was not a person worthy of such a ridiculous way of thinking.
“You would say something like that… “I didn’t think about it.”
“Let’s not talk too long. “I have to stop you here and end the situation.”
“Elvira!”
Tailly gritted his teeth and looked at Elvira. In an instant, her pupils widened, and her eyes became fierce as she looked at Elvira.
Elvira swallowed dry saliva.
It is Elvira who went on the journey by Tailley’s side rather than Ed. She realizes more than anyone else that Tailly’s swordsmanship skills are growing at an unbelievable rate.
Will you be able to win in a direct fight? I honestly can’t guarantee that.
Elvira is not the type that is good at fighting. Sylvania’s Alchemy Department does not learn science for the purpose of combat. It’s just that combat is possible to some extent.
– Woe!
With just one leap, Tailly comes right in front of you. Elvira definitely felt it.
Tailly plans to subdue him, even if it means using somewhat harsh means. Of course he doesn’t intend to kill you, but if you let your guard down, you could get seriously hurt.
Elvira activated the ‘Typhoon Radiator’, a magical engineering product next to her, by moving her foot.
― Quaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa where only where where where possible?
The wind suddenly rose up, raising dust around the area and blocking the view.
Tailly swung his great sword once and blew away the dust with a sword wind, but Elvira was no longer there.
Elvira, who was far away, was in the process of taking out ‘Red Paper Glue Reagent’ from the floor and pouring it on the floor.
After checking the reagent that had seeped onto the floor, Elvira carelessly threw the empty bottle nearby.
“why? “Is it so surprising that I ended up on Ed Rothtaylor’s side?”
“you… “You weren’t that kind of person, Elvira.”
“I have my own reasons.”
Elvira looked at Tailly with sad eyes.
“I have no obligation to explain that.”
From Tailley’s point of view, this is such a cruel thing. There is no longer any reason to hold back.
Tailley, who rushed forward with his great sword, tried to close the distance again to right in front of Elvira. However, after a few steps, his feet stick to the floor and do not fall off.
“Ugh?!”
As Taily stumbles, losing his balance due to the weight of the great sword, the basic elemental magic ‘Water Ball’ takes advantage of the gap and hits him.
The water gathered together with great pressure hit Taily’s body, and Taily clenched his teeth at the impact.
“K, each!”
Elvira’s elemental magic is not at a very high level. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a shock.
Tailly gritted her teeth, endured the excruciating pain, and stood upright.
But my legs still wouldn’t leave the ground. It seemed like the aftereffects of the reagent Elvira had just sprayed remained.
‘Red Paper Paste Reagent’
It is an alchemy reagent that grants the power to attract everything that touches the earth. It was a reagent mainly used for mousetraps and traps.
“Taylor, you were born with great fighting power and potential, but there is still one thing you overlooked.”
Elvira glanced around and spoke. The surrounding area was full of Elvira’s inventions.
“You have very little knowledge of alchemy, right? “You can’t predict where and what variables will pop up.”
All of those inventions are things that only Elvira can use.
“This is already my area.”
Tailly clenched his teeth as he held his greatsword tightly.
Among all the items, I grit my teeth at the sight of Elvira shaking off her skirt.
However, Elvira paid it no heed and pulled out a small staff from the edge of the skirt of the alchemist uniform she was wearing.
Elvira’s fighting style was always like this. Tailly didn’t know either.
However, I could not imagine the possibility of encountering an enemy. That’s natural.
This is because I thought Elvira would always be my colleague.
*
“I don’t have time to get the keys! Just destroy everything and get down!”
Dune led the workers all the way down to the basement of the store.
His judgment of the situation is definitely quick.
Some Sanghoe workers were ordered to keep blocking the entrance, while others were ordered to search the upper floors of the Sanghoe.
And the decision to quickly go down to the basement of the trading floor with the remaining personnel was an easy decision.
The most likely solution right now is… He is securing Ayla, who was locked up in the basement of the company, with his own hands.
Tailley McLaure’s target is Ayla Trees. Once you have that goal in your own hands, the scope for negotiation becomes much wider.
No matter how you think about it, Ed Rosstaylor’s movements are suspicious. Seeing as he disappeared side by side with Lortel, Ed’s movements cannot be ignored without suspicion.
From Dune’s perspective, it didn’t make sense.
Ed Rothtaylor, judged by Dune, is by no means an emotional person to the point of giving up enormous benefits due to personal feelings.
This is the type of person who is always rational, clearly distinguishes between interests and interests, and clearly calculates the stakes.
So Dune was somewhat confident. If these conditions are met, Ed will stick to his side.
However, Ed Rothtaylor’s choice was completely different from Dune’s expectations.
‘I saw the wrong person?’
Dune also lived as a merchant for more than a day or two.
Was there a change in Ed’s feelings in that brief moment?
To him, the existence of Lortel Keheln had value beyond simply being the owner of a store that helped him.
I never thought that would happen. This is because, as Dune has met Ed in person again and again, he continues to carefully judge his character and inclinations.
He is like a vulture, alone among the corpses on the battlefield, devouring them.
It is a poisonous species that can eat any corpse if it can fill its stomach in order to survive.
It is easy to see by looking at his behavior and values that he lived a life during such a war.
– Boom!
In any case, there is no point in regretting past judgment mistakes now. Just do what needs to be done right now.
By violently breaking down all the doors leading to the basement, Dune arrived at the cellar.
They dragged the worker to the inner room where Ayla would be trapped and ran straight to the room, yelling at them to bring a rope for binding.
The workers followed, shouting loudly in response.
Anyway, as long as you secure Ayla Triss, you can return her to Tailley if things go wrong.
Then the situation itself can be ended immediately. Just by having that option, Dune can gain a fairly clear advantage in the current urgent situation.
– Woe!
Dune arrived at the room where Ayla was being held… I couldn’t believe her eyes.
Ayla, who should be tied up and tied up… . does not exist.
Only the worker who was watching her was lying unconscious.
“what… ?”
Dune hesitated for a moment, her voice trembling.
Ayla is more of an academic with no combat skills at all. Although he knows how to use magic, he is not strong enough to easily overpower workers.
Because Dune knows this, it deployed only the minimum amount of manpower. As long as the reporting system is in place, there is no reason to invest too much manpower in surveillance.
However, the guard worker who lost consciousness after being completely suppressed… I was completely lost.
“this… how… ?”
Dune found a tray rolling on the floor. Even if they were hostages, they could not be starved to death, so they would only feed them the minimum amount of food.
– ‘I really enjoyed the meal… .!’
There is a note written in neat handwriting expressing gratitude for the food I received. Ayla’s handwriting looked clear.
I feel like I’m getting more distracted because I’m being unnecessarily polite.
Nearby, magical engineering supplies such as ‘magic cutter’, ‘shock-enhanced wave sphere’, and ‘power radiator’ were lying around, having reached the end of their useful lives.
While Tailly was making a fuss, he took out magic engineering supplies from his body, subdued the worker, and escaped.
In the meantime, did he have enough time to remember the meal he got and leave a thank you note?
indeed… Should I say that he is a person with a lot of kidnapping experience? Even though it was like this, I had a hearty meal and drank all the cold water. He has the calmness of a professional.
I thought of Ayla burping once and leaving the prison with a blush on her face, wondering if anyone had heard… Dune ground his teeth.
Ayla had been tied up ever since she was captured by Ed. There was no way he could have secured such magical engineering supplies for escape.
─From the time he was first captured, he was caught with everything hidden in his collar.
The story goes that Ayla Treece was also in the same boat as Ed Rosstaylor to begin with. It is natural to think that the magic engineering supplies were also provided by Ed Ross Taylor.
In this chaotic situation that Tailly is entering, the way she moves so tightly as if she has made a promise… If you think about it that way, it can be explained.
“Ed… Ross Taylor… !”
Dune gritted his teeth and raised his eyes.
From the beginning, Ed Rosstaylor had no intention of joining Dune’s side.
All of this was planned by him.
In order to throw ashes on Dune’s plans, steal Lortel, and use the Elte Company as a battlefield against Taily… It was a picture he had drawn.
“Go up to the upper floors! Find Ayla Triss! Ed Ross Taylor and Hoeju Assistant Manager too!”
Grinding and gritting his teeth, Dune ordered the workers again.
The situation is not over yet. Soon at dawn, the imperial carriage arrives. Until then, Ed Rothtaylor and Lortel Kecheln must be secured.
*
“Is it going to rain?”
Lucy, who was sniffing the tip of her nose, suddenly said something like that.
“… Rain? “Is it this clear?”
“It smells like rain.”
When it rains, Lucy Mayril notices it like a ghost. Of course, there is no way that Princess Fenia would know that fact, so she can only hear it as something out of the blue.
“… By the way, it’s Aken Island soon. “Where can I drop you off when I arrive?”
“Aren’t you going to go to the royal residence anyway?”
“Before I go, I’ll stop by the place you want and drop you off.”
Of course, it was common sense to follow the princess’s movements, but Princess Fenia was considerate and told Lucy Mayril that.
Of course, Lucy had no reason to even read the intention of that action, so she just answered indifferently.
Lucy looked up at the late dawn sky through the window… Suddenly, I imagined the rain pouring down, and sighed a fleeting sigh.
“Near the North Forest.”
It was an answer Fenia expected to some extent.
“I want to go to camp.”
So the imperial carriage moves forward.
In the far corner of my vision, I could see the small Maxeth Bridge leading to Aken Island.
