Catalis is one of the largest cities in the Dominion of Osattaria, and it is quite a bustling city even if you look at the world.

However, if anyone comes here now, they will understand that the "bustling city" is now a thing of the past. After a series of chaos in just a few days, more than half of the city was reduced to rubble.

Even if it is a natural disaster, I am afraid that there is no such a brutal result, the streets that used to be bustled by people have been turned upside down, and the center has been cut out of a terrifying wound. If the direct damage is measured in money, I am afraid that it will make people roll their eyes in fright.

"If I had to say, all I could say was that Sain Democla was a complete lunatic. Lying on the bed covered with white sheets, Curt said solemnly, "But these reporters who talk nonsense afterwards are probably more annoying than the madman." ”

He seemed to be in a bad mood, and as he spoke, he threw a large roll of newspaper on the coffee table in distraught. The newspapers of the past few days have been all about the previous battles, and it seems that there is nothing else to care about them.

He now understands the mood of those people in the garrison, and no matter what they do, those guys who shout "freedom of the press" are more difficult to get along with than the criminals who are really causing trouble. Now, for the first time, he was glad that he didn't have to deal with them directly.

"Haha. There is no way to do this - after all, the laws of the empire have stipulated their freedom, as long as they do not directly touch the cordon, no one can do anything about them. ”

At his bedside. Cruise François smiled indifferently and said, "You know, although they have the freedom to report the 'facts', but in the same way, we have a selective way of weaving the so-called 'facts'. If the need arises, something dangerous may not leave a word in history...... Ah, of course, most things don't have to do it to this extent. ”

It's a windowless room. The furniture around is quite plain, but it is clean. It gives the feeling of a hospital room. In fact, it can be considered a "ward", but its address is a little more subtle.

Just as gang members have their own clinics that they use privately, security guards, staffing agencies, or Catrice colleges have similar in-house facilities. This is a treatment center located within the Academy. On the bright side, it will not be open to ordinary people.

"That's a little scary what you're saying, that is...... If you know too much, will you disappear without noticing?" Listening to what Dean François said, Curt couldn't help but smile bitterly, "But I think I'm already something that shouldn't exist." ”

There are some things that shouldn't leave a word in history, and if anything, Curt and Lizzie are part of these "things". While there is no shortage of immortals in the world, such as some special creatures that outlive humans or undead such as vampires, who now live in many parts of the world - it's just too strange to see how they get hurt and return to their "original form".

Let's say this time, for example. Half of the muscles in his left hand had been sliced off, and his right leg had nearly charred under the heat...... I even heard that the upper body was blown away by the magic of Mercedes. There is no doubt that this is a case where the dead cannot die anymore. But for Curt, it's just "another time".

And this time, the direct cause was that he rushed to Sain Democlave with the "book" in François's hand, so much so that he suffered a full-power magic bombardment. According to Dean François, the mad sorcerer had detonated all the magic power he had accumulated at that time, and the core power was about the same as that of tens of thousands of tons of bombs—and now the hollow in the center of the city was blown up by this burst of magic power.

That was three days ago, and now his body is as healthy as an ordinary person...... Although his face looks somewhat ugly. He still has a lot of old wounds left over from the past. However, those scars were already left before that point, so naturally they will not recover.

However, Cruise François had apparently expected Curt to return to normal. Unsurprisingly, he said, "No, I've never thought of it that way - then again, you're probably the one who wants to be the one who doesn't want to be found out about this anomaly in your body compared to us." ”

Half-jokingly, he looked at Curt with a smirk, his eyes full of age-appropriate cunning. It seems that because he has just solved a big problem, his mood has become very good, and the style of acting without looking for boundaries in the past has become even more confusing.

Curt sighed, knowing that he knew that the old fox in front of him had learned about his and Lizzie's condition through some means, and he was skeptical of what was coming out of his mouth. Although he seems to be mostly innocent, he is definitely not someone who can be easily trusted.

"Well, I'll admit you're right. ”

So after a moment of silence, he could only say this: "Originally, we came to the Osataria Dominion to avoid the troubles that were entangled in us - but it seems that no matter where we hid, there was no way to escape from the chaos. ”

They thought they had made the best choice, but it may have only led them to a path that might be even more difficult to walk than the original path. Curt has already witnessed a "catastrophe" that has caused great damage more than once, but this is probably the first time that this has been caused by one person.

Some people say that there is no way to build something new without destroying the old...... Perhaps Sain Democlave had that in his head. He threatened to establish a new order rooted in the corpse of the old order, so he spared no effort to allocate his forces to destruction.

It seems that it is always easier to destroy than to create, no matter what time it is. This is especially true when things that have been destroyed are of high value. What destroyers can destroy with just a few strokes of their hands often costs several times as much manpower and material resources to build.

It was a mess – even Cruise François didn't want to think about what modifiers to use to describe how bad the chaos would be when it was over. The only thing that can be regarded as good news is probably the madman who caused this tragic situation. There is no chance of a comeback.

"Hey, if you're asking for my opinion, then I can only tell you that you're making a mistake when choosing your target. Hearing Curte's words, François laughed happily, "You should know that the city of Catrice is a city where all kinds of different groups gather. If you want to compare the undercurrent entanglement in the background, I am afraid that this place is much more troublesome than those old cities in the old continent. ”

If you plan to live in peace like a retired old man. He should have chosen one of the few people in the Northland border village in the first place—as if mocking Curt's claims, he smiled happily and rose from his seat.

Originally, it was compared to chatting with Curt in this closed hospital room. He had many more important things to do. The garrison from the capital temporarily took over the management of the city, and it was Cruise François' job to deal with the remaining magical influences.

However, the situation is clearly not optimistic, and just looking at the pictures in the newspapers that were taken with cameras can tell you how bad the environment in the city is. Not only the physical destruction, but the magic that permeated every corner even affected the balance of magic in the city, and now it is no longer an area that can be stepped on casually.

Although the sorcerers under Abbot François have been in action since that day, the streets of the city have not been completely affected by the Rubik's Cubes that once covered the city, and those neighborhoods polluted by anomalous magic can only be temporarily sealed off layer by layer.

Especially around the site of the last battle, the neighborhood near the central square was almost completely destroyed. It's not just the pavement that has been shattered by the furious magic, some high-rise buildings have even fallen apart because the foundations have been shaken. The biggest problem is that it is centered on that "altar". It had left traces of high levels of mana erosion around it, and some of the mages who had gone to support at the time seemed to have been hospitalized after the battle.

It will probably take a long time to get them back to their original state...... Not only the physical damage, but also the complex psychological trauma left behind by some people. And it seems that because the person who knew the result of this destruction was a mad magician, their situation suddenly became quite awkward...... Some citizens in their homes who were damaged complained about their ineffective actions and, even worse, even blamed them for everything.

"I don't know what that guy thinks. But if all he's after is for others to be in awe of the fear of the power he has, I think he's at least partially successful. "It sounds like a sigh. François muttered, "It seems that in some people's perception, it is not 'the prisoner who is the magician who has fallen into madness', but 'the magician who has fallen into madness is the culprit.'" ”

Although it was only in a different direction, the aftershocks left behind were enough to shake the foundation of the existence of the mages - the study of spells, which was originally slightly closer to the world, seemed to have begun to fall into isolation again. If Sain Democlera was trying to do just that, he did.

After leaving Curt with a wry smile, "If you're in good health, get out of here early," Cruise François left the room. He seemed to be thinking about something, and he even forgot to close the door to the room for Curt.

Through the window opposite the main entrance, you can see the vast expanse of the sky that seems to be unique to a sunny autumn day. Today was also a good day, with only a few faint cirrus clouds in a clear blue sky, and from time to time a few small birds could be seen flying over the window edge and landing on a nearby tree whose leaves had begun to turn yellow.

The bloody battle a few days ago seemed to be just a dream, and the blood-colored stratus clouds that stained the sky completely disappeared as if they were hallucinations. Perhaps this is because the academy is not the center of chaos, and this "everyday" situation gives Curt a sense that everything is over.

"So, how long are you going to stay here?" said the girl in black dressed in black standing in the shadows by the window, a little unpleasantly, "I went to the temporary stronghold of the mercenary management office this morning to greet the big country, and the eldest sister asked me to tell you to help as soon as you recover - but I don't think even Dhoni alone is of little use, after all, they are now so busy that they are about to explode." ”

It was as if her whole body had melted into the shadows, and only the pale complexion reminded the passers-by that someone was standing in the doorway of this ward. Her eyes were not bright, but they were quite sharp, and their cold gaze made people feel like two daggers.

"Is that so? Looks like I'm almost going back to work. ”

Glancing indifferently at Lizzie with a stinky face, Curt rolled over from the hospital bed and got off the ground, stretching his waist widely: "After all, nominally only suffered some 'minor injuries' in the battle, if I find an excuse not to work, then my evaluation this month will be over." ”

No matter how much I regret my choice, this time the matter has reached the end, and this "end" undoubtedly means the beginning of another thing. Although the body can return to the state it was in at that point, it is impossible to go back to that time.

If equivalent exchange is really the principle of this world, then if you want to get something, you must lose something. Perhaps, as François said, if they had wanted to have a smooth "routine", they shouldn't have come here in the first place.

Anyway, no matter how troublesome the results are, the worst result is just "die again", which is a situation that the two of them have long been accustomed to. The so-called "future" is always unpredictable, and since the choice has been made, no matter what lies ahead of the road, it can only be honestly accepted and then find a way to solve it.

Looking at Curt, who was already alive, Lizzie looked unmoved and said, "If you're going to leave this hellish place today, then let's go home first." After all, if you go to a temporary base right now, you'll probably be too busy in the cycle of dealing with paperwork and field work. Since they give you time to rest, it's too late to go tomorrow. ”

After that, she didn't care about Curt's answer, and walked a few steps into the hospital room, casually starting to pack Curt's luggage. Seeing that Lizzie was rude and stuffed all those things into her bag, Curt had to smile wryly and follow her instructions...... Reject this option, which did not exist in the first place.

"Tsk, how do I feel that from tomorrow, the real tragedy will really begin?"

Once you've made your choice, there's no turning back, because the past is buried in time – all you can do is look forward. (To be continued)