Golden magic flowed from Marianne Baum's fingertips.
This was it. I had succeeded in gaining her trust.
Suppressing the smile that wanted to surface, I relied on the acting skills she had ironically described as perfect for one-on-one swindling.
Marianne noticed my expression and chuckled as she waved her hand.
"Still in disbelief?"
"..."
"You're not planning to deny being a mage now, are you?"
I shook my head.
With my blood already spilled, there was no way to deny it, nor any reason to.
"No, it's just… a bit surprising."
"It's not common to see oldbloods using magic. Have you not met any other mages?"
"I have. But I never expected to meet someone like you."
Marianne nodded as if she understood.
"Of course. We're all isolated."
She suddenly stood and poured another bucket of water over me.
Splash!
The icy chill seeped into my bones, making me shiver.
"A bit of warning would be appreciated."
"You're lucky to have water at all. If you wander around like this, the secret police will get you."
She draped her coat over my bloodied clothes.
"Come now, let's have a proper talk."
***
"You said you know other mages?"
"Yes."
I replied while seated in front of a crackling fireplace.
Leo couldn't join me due to his public profile, but Elias and Narce might be able to accompany me despite the risks.
Even if the Catacombs weren't affiliated with Pleroma, I couldn't let my guard down.
If they discovered that I was a newblood mage, I might not leave alive.
'Then again, I haven't felt safe since the moment I got stabbed.'
Just because this was Robert Mueller's base didn't mean I'd capture him as soon as I entered.
Finding clues would require going deeper, and I couldn't do that without allies.
As I stared into the fire, Marianne silently sat beside me, her piercing gaze fixed on me.
"Which school did you graduate from?"
"I graduated from a gymnasium in Hanover."
I recited the details of my fabricated credentials.
"Ah, I suspected as much from your accent. You're Prussian, aren't you?"
"Yes. I'm here on business."
"What did your parents do for a living?"
"They were in trade during their lifetimes."
"Ah, I see. My apologies for asking."
She must have already known.
No doubt she'd done a background check over the past few days. She wouldn't have revealed herself as a mage otherwise.
As I continued staring at the flames, she spoke again.
"Mr. Granach, how much do you know about the Catacombs?"
"All I know is that it's a collective of commoner mages."
Marianne smirked.
"So, not much at all."
"..."
"That's normal. If you knew anything, that would mean the nobles and even the Emperor know, too."
She continued.
"As I said, the Catacombs are a gathering of commoners. Recently, it's grown to include around 200,000 mages."
"I can't even imagine that. Do they all live there full-time?"
"Some do. But others, like me, maintain lives on the surface and only visit occasionally."
"How does one enter?"
This was the most critical question.
Like Pleroma, the method of entering the Catacombs wasn't publicly known.
"Do you want to go there?"
"I do. Knowing there are others like me, I'd like to see it for myself."
"Once you enter, you'll have to register your name for life. Are you okay with that? It means not only will this harsh surface world track you, but so will another."
Her words carried a chilling weight.
Still, Elias had taken the same risk in the novel.
If I wanted to stop Robert Mueller's plans and ally with the Catacombs before the Emperor obliterated them, this was a gamble I had to take.
"I'm fine with that."
"Good."
Marianne grinned.
"Speaking of which, I met someone like you yesterday. You're around the same age. When you get to the Catacombs, you should get along well."
"Yesterday? What a coincidence."
"Indeed. I found some beggar lying face-down in the snow and flipped him over, only to sense magic in his pulse."
"…A beggar?"
"Yes."
"..."
Could it be?
Marianne clapped her hands, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"Well, let's head out, shall we?"
***
We stepped outside and climbed to the roof in silence. Snow continued to fall from the sky.
"What are you doing?"
Marianne opened her pocket watch, using a small mirror attached to it to reflect the sky.
Snow quickly accumulated on the mirror.
"Preparing to go to the Catacombs. The sunrise will make for quite the view."
Why would reflecting the sky lead to the Catacombs?
Brushing off the snow, she grinned mischievously.
"Ready?"
I nodded.
Marianne grabbed my wrist and tapped the mirror's surface with her ring.
In an instant, the world seemed to flip.
"…!"
Light seeped through my closed eyelids.
As balance returned, I cautiously opened my eyes to a sight I couldn't have anticipated.
"This is the Catacombs."
We stood in a space surrounded entirely by glass.
Below us were clouds instead of ground, and in the distance, the sun was rising.
Light refracted off the glass, creating a soft, shimmering glow.
I turned, taking in both the pitch-black expanse behind us and the brightening horizon ahead.
"…I thought the Catacombs were underground burial chambers."
Even if it was just a name, this was clearly not underground.
If this much was known, it should have been mentioned in the novel. Perhaps Elias had been too disoriented during his visit to describe it.
"That reaction is by design. When we first started calling ourselves the Catacombs, we intended it to mislead."
So even the name was a ploy to keep people searching underground.
'Clever.'
I liked it.
Marianne raised her voice, addressing the empty air.
"What is right is wrong, and what is wrong is right!"
The scenery shifted again.
Though the clouds overhead remained, we were now standing in a massive plaza.
'A system to filter out outsiders once more.'
From there, Marianne led me to the Catacombs' security bureau.
The architecture mirrored our world exactly, making it unclear if it was based on something or entirely original.
The only difference was the glass walls, with clouds hovering just below eye level beyond them.
After having a vial of blood drawn at the bureau for identification, Marianne patted my shoulder.
"Now that you're registered, if you have no plans, take your time exploring until six. Surface life is becoming increasingly restrictive, so you might find it harder to stay there in the future."
In other words, establish roots here.
Her support for commoner mages was evident.
'I should finish my business here quickly and leave.'
Though I felt a bit guilty using her goodwill, coming here had been unavoidable.
Instead of replying, I asked a question based on what I remembered from the novel.
"Do you often bring commoner mages to the Catacombs?"
"Yes, it's a regular part of my life."
"Isn't it dangerous?"
"Of course it's dangerous," Marianne said, her tone grave. "The risk of being discovered on the surface is high, and bringing the wrong person into this place could jeopardize my position here."
She must have noticed my silent gaze because she continued without prompting.
"Last week alone, five mages were killed in Prussia. Did you know that?"
"..."
I couldn't answer.
Marianne interpreted my silence and carried on.
"That's right, you probably wouldn't. We're so insignificant that our deaths don't even make the news."
Indeed, stories like that wouldn't appear in the papers.
To prevent even a hint of sympathy, such facts were deliberately excluded.
If the bourgeois commoners began seeing "commoner mages" as victims of massacres rather than just "mages," it could spark unintended backlash.
"The sun rises equally for everyone, but they believe only some deserve to stand beneath it. How could I not bring people like you here?"
"..."
"No matter how burdensome it may be, someone has to remind the world that we have the right to live. Someone once did the same for me. Now, it's my turn to repay that debt."
"So you've brought us to a place where we can see a higher sun."
"Haha, that's one way to put it."
He chuckled lightly before adding, "But there's another reason. The Catacombs need to grow stronger."
"Stronger?"
"The Emperor must be terrified. After all, the consequences of centuries of persecution could fall upon him or one of his descendants at any time."
It would fall on him. Elias would bring him down with the help of the Catacombs.
"That's why he's so eager to snuff us out as quickly as possible. But we won't just lie down and die. The Catacombs need every hand we can get right now."
"Then I'll do my best when the time comes."
"Haha, let's hope it doesn't come to that."
I replied with a quiet smile.
At that moment, Marianne stopped abruptly.
"Ah, there's someone I wanted to introduce you to."
"Pardon?"
She waved enthusiastically toward the distance.
"Karl!"
A young man accompanied by a wolf-sized dog was wandering nearby. Upon spotting us, he shouted loudly enough to make ears ring and sprinted over.
"Teacher!"
"…!"
I knew this person well.
The black-haired Elias ran toward us, grinning ear to ear as he shook his head in mock disbelief.
"Wow, you're really messed up this time."
"What a way to introduce yourself."
Marianne scolded him gently.
I was too stunned to speak, pressing a hand to my neck as I closed my eyes.
"…So…."
That beggar I heard about yesterday was him?
I couldn't help but laugh dryly.
"Beggar? What beggar?"
"I didn't say that out loud yet."
"What's your name?"
"Dietrich Granach."
"Huh, not exactly a beggar's name. Interesting."
"I told you I'm not a beggar!"
Elias chuckled, slinging an arm over my shoulder.
I shot him a look, silently asking what he thought he was doing in front of someone else.
Marianne, however, seemed utterly unbothered.
"He's quite personable, isn't he? Anyway, I need to visit my family. Feel free to call me if you want to leave."
"Got it! Take your time!"
Marianne seemed to have already figured out how to deal with Elias—by ignoring him entirely. She disappeared without another word.
She took his antics as mere friendliness… remarkable.
Taking advantage of the arm over my shoulder, I pressed my right hand firmly onto Elias's head.
"You little—"
"Whoa, is this the first time you've ever cursed at me? Refreshing."
"Stop joking. When did you even get here?"
"Yesterday. Couldn't leave you here alone, could I?"
Pretending to care, no doubt.
He must have found out about someone in the Catacombs and decided to infiltrate early. The beggar act was probably his "brilliant" plan to get Marianne's attention.
"Unbelievable. Meanwhile, I thought my nose was going to break."
"Don't feel bad. It wouldn't have worked for you. You're too well-groomed to pass as a beggar."
Says the guy who's pretending otherwise.
"Alright, Dietrich," Elias teased, "I bet you're shocked this place feels more like a city than you expected. But don't just sit around admiring the buildings."
"Of course not."
Now that I was inside the Catacombs and Marianne was gone, it was time to investigate.
Elias wandered around the city with me, eventually leading us into a small tavern.
"Two Weisswursts and beers, please!"
"Coming right up!"
"Did we come here to eat?"
"There's a plan," Elias said, giving the owner a few whispered instructions before guiding me to the most secluded table in the back.
Even after casting a soundproofing spell, he lowered his voice further.
"Your main target's still Robert Mueller, right? To stop our dear uncle's lunacy and deal with the guy who almost put a hole in your stomach?"
"Exactly. That's why I'm here."
"Good. So, yesterday, I checked out some of the radical anti-Pleroma groups in the area. If Mueller's extreme enough to try killing you to hurt Pleroma, he's probably involved with them."
"Hmm."
Not a bad approach. I nodded for him to continue.
"But here's the thing… they don't know him. Not a single one. I checked out three different groups, and they all reacted the same. If anything, they seemed like they'd kill Mueller on sight."
"Really?"
"Yeah. These people would throw themselves off a cliff if you asked. They're scary loyal."
So Mueller wasn't with the anti-Pleroma radicals.
It wasn't a dead end, but it was disappointing.
Though I couldn't rule out all possibilities, Elias's assessment suggested this avenue was a waste of time.
"Then our next step is clear."
"Oh? What's that?"
Elias folded his arms and grinned, clearly curious.
"Let's approach Pleroma's faction in the Catacombs."
The lower ranks of Pleroma wouldn't take issue with an attempt on my life. Unlike the leadership, they had no need to consider the broader implications.
To them, Robert Mueller was likely a hero, and they might have gathered more information on him.
Elias's grin widened in satisfaction.
"Of course. I knew you'd suggest that. I'm starting to get a sense of how you think."
He flipped over a receipt lying on the table, revealing rows of the same phrase written repeatedly:
"In the beginning was the Logos."
It was a line from the Gospel of John in the New Testament—and from Faust.
I couldn't help but laugh.
"Impressive. How'd you even find this?"
"People here love their codes. Fortunately for us."
"Is this a meeting location?"
"No, we'll have to move again. But as long as we have blood, we can access it."
Elias flipped the receipt back over and muttered, "Let's wait until they show up."
I nodded and raised my beer mug.
Just then, a group of figures in black robes entered the tavern.
They handed a certificate to the owner and announced, "We're with the Catacombs Militia."
While I watched without much thought, a familiar face caught my eye.
"…!"
It was someone I'd played poker with during the festival—a mage from the Imperial Second Academy.
Elias noticed my reaction, his expression hardening as he glanced over.
'The Imperial Second Academy only admits nobles. So why are they with the militia?'
The robed figures scanned the room and spoke to the tavern owner.
"We've received a report of newblood mages here. May we conduct a search?"