"What the hell? He's a newblood himself. Did he file a self-report?"
Elias muttered, his face pale.
Then, biting his lip, he continued:
"This isn't the time to joke around. We have two options—take them down first…."
He flipped the receipt over and showed it to me.
"Or escape."
I glanced toward the entrance.
Fortunately, we weren't sitting in direct view of the militia unless someone actively looked our way.
Elias spoke rapidly, his voice almost a whisper.
"There has to be a code or pattern these guys use for their warp spells. All three places I checked yesterday used secret teleportation circles for their meetings."
"But we don't know which circle they're using here."
"That's why we try them one by one. It shouldn't be anything too complicated."
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. When are we supposed to do that?
Engaging in something so suspicious right now could only invite trouble.
I pointed out the larger issue:
"Even if we escape successfully, how do we explain this to the tavern owner? If he suspects us, he'll report it in a heartbeat."
"..."
"And don't forget, we just registered our identities here. If we run as soon as someone mentions checking for newbloods, it'll only escalate the situation."
"We could say we fled because we thought they were after Pleroma. It's risky, sure, but still—"
"Would that really reassure anyone in the Catacombs?"
Elias fell silent.
It was clear he knew how flimsy that excuse would sound.
Let's think. Not about escape—about another approach.
Several questions nagged at me, but two stood out.
First: How did someone file a report about "newbloods being here"?
Recognizing a newblood by appearance alone is nearly impossible. The most likely explanation is that someone unaffected by perception distortion magic identified us and filed the report.
This raises the unsettling possibility that they specifically named "Lucas Askanian" or "Elias Hohenzollern." But for now, I had to set that aside.
Second: Did the militia know that third-year student from the Magic Department was a noble mage?
Certainly not.
The Catacombs' anti-noble sentiment is fanatical. There's no way they'd allow a noble mage to operate within their militia.
Which means...
I turned to Elias.
"Sit up. Act natural."
"What?"
"There's more than one person here whose life is in danger."
Elias furrowed his brow in confusion before his lips slowly twisted into a smirk.
If we didn't recognize that third-year from the Magic Department, he would carry out his duties as a militia member without hesitation.
But we do know him.
If he recognized us, he couldn't act without risking exposure.
After all, we could simply reveal his status as an Imperial Second Academy mage, and it would all fall apart.
Elias spoke quietly.
"Alright. Then… can I do whatever I want?"
"Why ask? You always do."
"Well, worst case, we can just blow everything up and escape."
Hardly a solution, I thought, but nodded anyway.
If things went south, I'd simply rewind time.
Checkpoint Assurance
Rewind: Level 1
Return to the last checkpoint within Chapter 5Cost per use: 2.0 pointsNext level unlocks at: 2.0 points used
Current points: 10.0 Luck to next point: 0.90
Perfect.
I'd already used rewind nearly five times, but by avoiding frivolous expenditures, I had plenty of points remaining.
"…Thank you. We'll verify quickly."
The conversation between the tavern owner and the third-year from the Magic Department reached our ears.
Patrons seated near the entrance were already undergoing identification checks.
Suddenly, Elias stood.
Every militia member turned to look at him.
Even knowing he was prone to reckless behavior, his boldness caught me off guard.
Elias addressed them casually.
"What's going on? Something wrong?"
"We received a report of newbloods entering this tavern," one militia member replied without hesitation.
Elias glanced briefly at me, but he didn't need my signal to understand what was off.
…They didn't recognize him.
The perception distortion magic was working perfectly.
No one here suspected "Elias Hohenzollern" or "Lucas Askanian" was present.
This meant the report hadn't named us specifically—it truly targeted newbloods in general.
But who could have filed such a report?
For now, I couldn't afford to dwell on that.
The third-year at the counter, unlike the others, wasn't reacting normally.
His gaze remained fixed on Elias, unblinking.
One of the militia members addressed us.
"Since you're already up, could we see your—"
"No need. We're leaving."
The third-year cut in, his voice cold despite the slight smirk on his lips.
"Excuse me?"
"We're done here."
"Verification isn't complete yet—"
"Do I need to repeat myself?"
"..."
The other militia members exchanged uncertain glances before bowing slightly to the patrons and exiting the tavern.
Elias muttered, incredulous, "What the hell was that?"
"..."
A noble mage, not just residing in the Catacombs but commanding authority in the militia? And leading other commoner mages as subordinates?
With these lingering questions, we met Julian Baum and quickly returned to the surface.
The priority now wasn't uncovering clues about Robert Müller—it was getting out of there.
"You're back? Wait… your face!"
Narce, who had been reading in the room, leapt to his feet in shock.
"Things got… complicated."
"Wait, Lucas. What do you mean, 'complicated'?!"
His reaction was amusing, especially coming from someone with foresight abilities.
I headed straight to my room and called for Leo.
Leo's reaction was similar but we didn't have time to explain everything. Soon, both Narce and Leo stood before us, their faces tense.
"What the hell happened? Why does your face look like that?"
"Leo, the Imperial Second Academy's Magic Department doesn't admit commoners, right?"
"Are you going to tell us or not?"
"I'll explain later."
Leo glared at me, exhaled sharply, and replied.
"Technically, it's not banned, but it's practically impossible."
"Has it ever happened?"
"Not in the last decade, no."
"Right. So, we just ran into a Magic Department third-year in the Catacombs."
"What?!"
Elias shrugged.
"You know the guy we played poker with? It's him. We even spoke directly—it's definitely him."
There was no doubt about it.
Not only was he part of the Imperial Second Academy, but he'd also represented the academy in competitions. I'd seen him just a few days ago.
"The third-year vice representative from Class 2? He's a Prussian noble. He shouldn't be anywhere near there!"
"And yet, there he was. In the militia."
"...."
Leo was at a loss for words.
I turned to Narce, whose expression mirrored Leo's.
"Narce."
"Yeah?"
"Do you think they recognized Elias?"
"No. If the disguise were that bad, I would've stepped in. Also…"
Narce hesitated, speaking carefully.
"Lucas, your appearance wasn't particularly recognizable either."
That makes sense.
While I had received treatment at the Catacombs' infirmary, my battered state worked as an unintentional disguise.
Plus, my face isn't nearly as well-known as Elias'.
"So, how did you encounter the militia?"
"There was a report that newbloods were in the tavern we were at."
"…!"
"That's all the explanation you'll get for now. I called you here to discuss revising the plan."
"And what revision would that be?" Leo asked seriously. "Frankly, I'd suggest pulling out. There are other paths to our goal."
I understood where he was coming from.
But retreating wasn't an option anymore.
The moment that third-year recognized Elias, the stakes had risen.
If he was a spy for the Emperor?
Elias entering the Catacombs alone would be more than enough grounds to eliminate him.
"As much as I hate to say it, we have no choice but to go deeper into the Catacombs."
"That man isn't there legitimately, and he's already exposed himself to you. How can you be sure of anything if you stay?"
Leo's logic was sound.
If retreat were viable, I'd have rewound time already.
But this isn't something we can escape from.
Leaving the Catacombs would only increase the risks for both Elias and me, and it would render us powerless to stop the Emperor's plans.
On the other hand, staying posed its own dangers.
But when weighing the two options, retreat carried the higher risk.
"Unfortunately, there's no way to resolve this without infiltrating further."
I turned to Narce.
"That's why I need your help."
"What do you need?"
"Come into the Catacombs with me."
Leo's frown deepened, but I raised a hand to calm him.
"It'd be ideal if all four of us could go, but having one publicly recognized face—Elias—is enough."
Narce mumbled thoughtfully.
"I do want to help, but… no, I think there's a better way."
"What do you mean?"
"It'd make more sense for Leo to go. I'll join later."
He must have a plan.
Knowing Narce, asking too many questions would just waste time—it was better to trust him.
Between Narce's higher magic power and Leo's superior skill stats, either could contribute effectively without much difference in overall capability.
After some deliberation, Narce looked at us.
"You should still disguise yourselves before heading in."
"Well, that's a given. Though it won't do much against him."
"There are better methods. Leo, if you're okay with it, I can lend you my appearance."
"…What?"
Leo's baffled tone was met with Narce's mischievous grin.
"Exactly what I said. It's not hard—at least, not as hard as making someone look older."
"Is that even possible to learn?"
"Of course. The textbook method involves memorizing a three-page formula, but for someone like Lucas or me, overlapping it with mental manipulation magic should work."
"Lucas would probably just memorize the formula."
"…Yeah, probably."
Narce nodded thoughtfully.
"So, who should we test it on first? Elias?"
Narce snapped his fingers.
Snap!
"…!"
His hair grew longer and turned white.
But the hair was the least shocking part.
His eyes, nose, mouth—every feature shifted until he was a perfect replica of Elias.
"Well?"
"Elias…"
"Haven't done this since I was a kid. Feels fun! So, what's something you've always wanted to hear?"
Reality snapped back into focus as he teased.
I scoffed, unimpressed.
"The real one's right here. Hearing it secondhand means nothing."
"You wound me, Lucas~"
"…!"
"Anyway, point is—I can do this. Any guesses on what you'd like me to say?"
Narce's impression, from Elias' mannerisms to his drawling tone, was uncanny.
Even Leo was squinting as if trying to distinguish them.
"You're scarily good at this, Narce."
"Thanks! Calling you 'Lucas' feels fresh."
With another snap, Narce returned to his original form.
"So, Leo, what do you think? Would you enter the Catacombs using my face?"
"…Why can't I just use my own face?"
Narce smiled slyly.
"Normally, I'd hesitate to say this with certainty, but—yes, you really should use mine."
"…Fine. It's weird, but fine."
***
As Narce finalized his plan, I had an idea.
"Narce, you just need to avoid entering the Catacombs yourself, right?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"Then, could you turn into me instead?"
"Hmm… sure, if I had some elixir. Why—ah."
Narce's understanding smile mirrored my own.
In a nearby café, Narce—now disguised as me—sat waiting.
"Missed a lot of classes lately, haven't you?"
Narce glanced up to see the third-year from the Magic Department pulling out a chair across from him.