"Outside the building," Lichthofen said after a brief moment of thought, flicking his fingers.
Leo, still aiming his wand at Lichthofen, nodded.
It was a signal that it would be fine to release the restraints on his hands.
I crushed the magic orb binding him underfoot.
"Well, I didn't expect this, but thanks."
"Don't mention it. I'll just bind you again later."
"Haha…"
Lichthofen rotated his shoulders, stretching them, and swept his hand through the air while muttering an incantation.
[In omni re vincit imitationem.]
In the space where his arm swept, an image of the crowd outside appeared.
In the distance, I saw a familiar figure kneeling with their neck held in someone's grip.
Their voices, amplified by magic, echoed loudly through the room.
"It's obvious how little thought went into trying to brush this over with a careless apology."
"Who is that?" Leo asked.
Lichthofen squinted as if he were trying to see through his veiled eyes.
"The Commander," he replied.
"Robert Müller?"
"One of them, at least."
The fact that Robert Müller wasn't just one person wasn't surprising. What mattered was that this one was our target.
And the fact that he was with Elias.
'Perfect.'
It was a stroke of luck that Elias was with him.
"Some call me 'blue blood,' others call me 'an insolent bastard.' Should I be offended by both?"
"...."
As expected, that was Elias.
Even when captured by Robert Müller himself, he didn't show a shred of tension.
Unconsciously, I glanced at Leo to gauge his reaction.
'Hmm.'
Surprisingly, Leo didn't seem irritated or alarmed.
What I saw in his eyes, instead, was trust.
'…Now that I think about it, this happened often in the novel.'
"If you can't understand my words, I guess I'll just have to show you."
"No, I understand. Why are you acting so high and mighty? You're just trying to use me as bait to lure Nikolaus Ernst out, aren't you? Do you really think he'll walk right into your trap just because you put me on display?"
"Good judgment," Lichthofen interjected with a smirk.
So, the Commander was the type to act like that.
Naturally, Nikolaus wouldn't go.
Their intentions were blatantly obvious; why would he oblige?
'More importantly, this isn't something Nikolaus should involve himself in.'
Earning the support of the Catacomb was pivotal to changing Elias's fate. From now on, every word Elias spoke had to be his own choice.
At that moment, the magical restraints on Elias's hands shattered.
"H-Hey, what's going on?!" "That guy just broke…!" "Now it's obvious what Robert Müller really wants, isn't it?"
Watching the scene, I couldn't help but chuckle.
"…He'll need to buy us more time."
"Seems like it," Leo responded simply.
I sat down and broke the magic covering Lichthofen's eyes.
"…Hmm?"
"I've changed my mind."
I pressed my hand firmly against his chest, channeling energy into him.
"I can do all things through Him who gives me strength."
"Ugh!"
"Control the transfer of vision yourself. Or dispel the curse magic altogether."
"...."
Lichthofen squinted against the light, then smirked at me.
"…Naturally, I'd have to. Otherwise, I'd die, wouldn't I?"
"You're catching on."
It was subjugation magic—a spell I had modified from another and was testing on him for the first time. Judging from his reaction, it seemed to have successfully anchored itself in his core.
"Now, you'll be coming with us. But first, let me explain what we need to do next."
Looking down at him, I asked, "What do you think we came here for?"
"You came because of Pleroma… most would say that."
And you think differently?
I swallowed that thought and smiled.
"We did come to capture Pleroma."
"Hmm…"
He gave a cryptic smile and nodded.
"And to catch Robert Müller, the one who tried to kill me. We're here to eliminate both threats."
"Understandable. It seems you'd have personal reasons to do so."
I pulled a folded letter from my pocket and held it up.
"The Emperor instructed me to investigate the Catacomb's movements. So no, this isn't just personal."
"...."
Lichthofen stared at me intently before asking, "So you came all the way here for the Emperor? Out of loyalty to him?"
"The opposite. I came to remove the pretext he might use to justify a massacre of the Catacomb."
At that, Lichthofen's lips curled into a grin. He tapped his ear three times and said, "Thanks for the useful information. I was wondering when you'd bring up the Emperor."
"…!"
I immediately realized what he'd done.
A sensory transfer artifact.
"Don't worry," he said. "I only relayed that to the squad members."
I stared at him for a moment before bursting into laughter.
We had inspected him for magical triggers, but he'd managed to hide this. No doubt it was tied to spatial magic.
At any other time, I might have rewound the situation immediately, but now it couldn't have worked out better.
"Shouldn't I be thanking you for this instead?" I said.
"Don't get me wrong. It wasn't easy. I've been here for ten years, but being a noble hasn't exactly earned me many allies."
Lichthofen stood up.
"Still, fortunately, not everyone in the vigilante corps supports Pleroma. When the Commander demanded the introduction of Vitriol, there was considerable resistance at first. But with the Emperor now in the mix, things are bound to change."
"How many people?"
"Five hundred people should be secured with this," Lichthofen said.
Not bad.
I hadn't expected such thorough preparations, but this was certainly useful. With manpower settled, it was time to shift focus.
I turned my gaze back to the image of the square.
While Elias was working to win the support of the Catacomb's people, my task was to deal with the Pleroma connection tied to this place.
"Does the Pleroma faction Robert Müller is in contact with know about this situation?"
"We haven't directly informed their leadership, but they'll know. Another Robert Müller must have told them by now."
That meant there was a way to contact their leadership.
I extended my hand toward Lichthofen and said, "Lead the way."
***
"…Robert Müller?"
"You're not thinking of denying it, are you? It's exhausting just talking to you," Elias said, tightening his grip on the hand holding his shoulder.
At that moment, the Catacomb vigilante mages standing in a line on both sides of the balcony raised their wands.
[Immodica ira creat insaniam.]
"…!"
Elias quickly moved his hand to his chest as the spell took effect. The flow of magic in his body, previously coursing alongside his blood, began to slow as if it were being suppressed.
'It seems they thought one wouldn't be enough. They layered multiple spells at once.'
Elias grinned to himself as he carefully channeled his magic into his core. He had to act, albeit slowly, to prevent their magic from completely overwhelming his body.
"Trying to block my magic, huh? I'm not even angry yet, and I certainly haven't gone mad. Don't you think your spell choice is a bit… underwhelming?"
"Even a royal known as a good-for-nothing would understand this much interpretation, I see."
"Well, we're forced to learn this stuff to death at school."
"Not relevant to someone like me who couldn't even get into a gymnasium."
Elias sighed, still wearing his signature smirk.
"…Ah, really. This again… Of course, this would be a sore spot."
"This again? Do you not realize your very existence is an offense to us?"
"Yeah, I guess I'd be pissed too. Honestly, I'm amazed you've kept me alive this long."
At that, the Commander spoke in a soft tone, "You are gravely mistaken."
"About what?"
"That Latin you find tiresome to study is something the children in the slums below would desperately wish to learn. That tattered outfit you put on to infiltrate this place is someone else's daily wear. And those sacred incantations you recite so casually? They are a privilege denied to many."
The murmurs in the square began to fade, as if the crowd was waiting to hear Elias's response.
Undoubtedly, there were bourgeois commoners in the crowd. Still, given the nature of the Catacomb, which prioritized the most downtrodden, the Commander had strategically framed the narrative to highlight the struggles of the lowest classes.
Of course, that was as far as the analysis needed to go.
Elias had never been blind to these realities. Despite what others assumed, he had always questioned the privileges he was born into.
The Commander bent down, leaning close to Elias's ear, and spoke in a sharp voice.
"Even if you see yourself as the black sheep of noble society, or if that is indeed true… You are still someone far more accustomed to Premier Cru Classé wine than a 5-pel gin."
"...."
Elias silently gazed down at the people in the square.
The Commander wasn't wrong.
Was there a more accurate way to describe him?
But claiming to think differently from them, or to share their struggles, would achieve nothing. At best, it would provoke anger.
'Standing in the heart of privilege and saying such things would be meaningless.'
Elias couldn't even discern whether his defiance stemmed from genuine beliefs or a simple rebellion against his uncle.
Even if it were merely rebellion, he had no intention of defending the class system. But to pretend he understood the lives of commoners while being held captive by them would make him no better than his opportunistic uncle.
'If I ever say such things, it should be just before I cut my uncle's head off.'
Only then might the message carry weight.
Of course, even then, he risked being branded as a despot wrapping a coup d'état in the guise of reform. But it would be far more fitting than now.
"Frankly, I can't help but laugh at your words. What depth could there possibly be to a phrase like, 'If it were me'? From birth, you've stood in a position that can never understand ours. Whatever lofty ideals you've latched onto, it's just excessive self-righteousness compelling you to 'help' us, isn't it?"
"Spot on."
Elias murmured with a faint smile.
Soon, his uncle's shadow would reach this place.
If the Catacomb's secrets were exposed to spies likely planted by the Emperor, it would result in devastating losses, no matter how advanced their spatial magic was.
Even if Elias often thought of them as fools, they weren't actual idiots.
Like Lucas, Elias couldn't bring himself to leave these people to die.
The Commander's cold voice broke into his thoughts.
"But understand this: we do not need the help of someone as noble as you."
Even now, as he endured their treatment, the outcome reflected generations of oppression, which had forced the marginalized to seek refuge underground.
'…But that's beside the point.'
It was time to move on to the real issue.
Elias spoke clearly, his smile vanishing.
"You don't need my help? Makes sense—you've already allied with Pleroma."
The square fell into a stunned silence.
Elias let out a quiet chuckle at the reaction.
"…Pleroma?"
"Pleroma, he says?"
Someone in the middle of the crowd shouted, "What is the meaning of this?! Explain!"
The murmurs spread like wildfire across the square.
Elias tilted his head with a mocking expression.
"What's this? You didn't agree to let that slip? Impressive~"
"Enough!"
The Commander stepped forward, raising his hand.
The rising clamor in the square began to subside.
Elias let out a sharp whistle.
"Wow, you've got their support. No wonder you can sell the country so freely."
"Keep spouting your delusions if you like," the Commander said.
Elias pulled the corner of his mouth into a sly grin.
The Commander seemed to think holding a conversation was a better approach than locking Elias away immediately.
Suppressing suspicions without addressing the claim of a Pleroma alliance would only fuel the crowd's doubts. At the same time, it suggested there was something to defend against.
"You think my privileged position means I can never truly understand your lives. That compared to worrying about surviving today, I live in comfort, spouting meaningless complaints. Am I right?"
"Not bad for someone who just woke up. But how does this relate to your earlier claim?"
"Haha…"
Elias chuckled softly.
It was entirely related.
To win the crowd's trust, the first step was to acknowledge his own weaknesses.
Slowly, Elias pushed away the Commander's hand and stood, raising himself to his full height.
"You're right. Claiming to understand everyone would be arrogance."