Chapter 445

Hersh, who had a chance to rise in status, glared at the cathedral with a face full of enthusiasm and determination, as if she had become a liberation fighter.

But in the end, she was just changing from a slave to a paid slave.

I, on the other hand, observed the patrol priests’ shift cycle and the duration of the barrier magic next to her.

They moved every twenty minutes, always activating the barrier magic just before leaving their original position.

Twenty minutes later, as the barrier magic’s effect was about to fade, a new priest arrived to guard the spot.

With that kind of system, there seemed to be no gaps…

The security method looked watertight.

The only way to break through was either to sneak in by avoiding the priests’ surveillance or to break the barrier magic and enter.

At least, that’s how it seemed to me.

However, Hersh’s judgment seemed a bit different.

“…The activation range is hemispherical. It’s certain that it weakens over time, so the question is whether the barrier’s strength or range weakens… Since it’s a spherical magic, not a blind spot, it’s a magic that spreads its power outward to the limit range, not one that wraps a certain area inward. Then, the range would decrease first. The maintenance time is twenty minutes, so after about seventeen minutes, the range would decrease by about thirty percent. If we aim for that gap…”

Hersh was muttering to herself without pause, and upon closer listening, she was analyzing the barrier magic.

And quite professionally at that.

Despite her usual scatterbrained behavior, she seemed quite competent in her field of expertise.

A fool who only knows their specialty, you could say.

“So, you’re saying we should enter near the edge of the original range about three minutes before the barrier magic deactivates?”

“Huh? Ah, yes. That should work.”

When I spoke, Hersh, who seemed startled, nodded and pointed to a corner of the cathedral.

“In five minutes, we should enter from there.”

“Good job. Just do that.”

I praised Hersh and grinned.

Her efforts to prove her worth were already quite impressive.

Though it was because I pressured her, she used to tremble every time I spoke, which made her seem unreliable. But at this rate, I could trust her with infiltration or investigation tasks in the future.

Though she still needs to improve her skills to be truly useful.

—

Five minutes later.

Hersh and I cautiously approached the cathedral, exploiting the gap in the weakened barrier magic to enter the interior.

The lack of reaction even after we entered confirmed that Hersh’s analysis of the barrier magic’s reduced range was correct.

I had been half-doubting it, to be honest.

After that, it was a typical infiltration.

The priests only guarded the outside of the cathedral, not patrolling the interior, so avoiding their gaze wasn’t too difficult.

The garden area beyond the wall was filled with statues of masked magicians and leafless trees.

Hiding in their shadows, we quickly moved close to the cathedral building.

The cathedral was about five stories high, but due to the high ceilings, it was actually divided into three floors, excluding the towering central tower.

Magicians seem to have an instinctive urge to build towers, and these were no exception, having built a tower that looked about ten stories high.

It was said to be the research lab of the high-ranking priests.

That tower was definitely one of the most suspicious places.

In tower-shaped buildings, stronger enemies usually appear as you go up, with the boss waiting at the top.

Perhaps Cardinal Walter Rübitz resided there.

Those in high positions tend to prefer physically high places, whether in this world or the original one.

I planned to search other places first, but if nothing was found, we’d have to climb that tower eventually.

Whether to climb the outer wall or enter the tower and search inside would require some thought.

Anyway, investigating the cathedral area came first.

Following the plan, I moved around the cathedral’s outer wall and found a window on this floor not covered by stained glass.

An arched window for ventilation and lighting.

The inside of the window frame had small pillars arranged like security bars to prevent entry.

But they were just thin stone pillars, so passing through wasn’t too difficult.

Unlike glass, which would shatter upon impact, stone pillars could be cut and restored.

I climbed the wall, approached the window, and used Durandal to cut two inner bars, creating an entry space.

Then, as Hersh, who followed me up, held the upper part to prevent the bars from collapsing, I climbed over the window frame and entered inside.

Once inside, I supported the upper part of the bars, and Hersh quickly followed.

Hersh carefully placed the cut stone pillars back into their original positions, and as soon as I let go, the upper structure pressed down on the pillars, firmly securing them.

The window was perfectly restored.

The only trace of our entry was a faint cut mark, barely noticeable unless closely inspected.

—

After entering the cathedral’s floor, we immediately climbed a pillar and settled on a beam.

Looking down from the ceiling, this floor area consisted of narrow passages, a large central prayer room, and about eight rooms lined up on both sides, forming a rectangular space.

Unlike the first floor, which was open to outsiders for business purposes, this floor was off-limits to non-related personnel.

Only the Grimnir Church members would know what this place was used for.

To me, it seemed like the living quarters for ordinary priests.

The structure resembled a military barracks, and faint sounds of sleeping people’s breathing and snoring could be heard.

Still, we needed to investigate.

Hersh and I carefully moved around the floor, trying not to wake the priests.

We walked stealthily on the beams when moving through the corridors, and when we found a room with no signs of life, we carefully descended and opened it.

As I expected, six of the eight rooms were clearly bedrooms, and the remaining two were a storage room and an office-like space.

Inside the office, there was a personal desk and chair, with a wooden bookshelf filled with magic books, prayer books, and novels.

A quick glance showed they were all ordinary books, with no significant clues.

In the opposite corner, there was a low table and a long sofa, with an ashtray on the table filled with burnt magic herbs.

Typical of a living space, someone must have spent nights here reading or smoking magic herbs… but no one was here now.

Maybe they went to the bathroom?

The room opposite the office was used as a storage space, but the stored items didn’t seem related to magic.

There were only clothes, bedding, and cleaning tools.

“…Nothing much on this floor. Let’s go up.”

I led Hersh to the third floor.

—

The cathedral’s third floor, unlike the second, felt distinctly like the domain of magicians.

A strange chemical smell lingered with every breath, and the anti-magic force faintly twitched, sensing the residual magic in the air.

The third floor was divided into three sections, with the front area resembling a botanical garden filled with various plants, mushrooms, and flowers.

Some plants were similar to those in Ophelia’s lab.

Lamps hanging from the ceiling flickered with crimson flames, illuminating the plants, and the temperature and humidity seemed artificially controlled, making it slightly hot and humid even in winter.

We quickly collected samples of a few narcotic plants and put them in our pockets.

They were supposedly used for magic reagents… but who knows if they were using them for magic or just as drugs.

“This plant, if you dig up its roots and dry them, can be used as a potent poison.”

“Poison, huh… Let’s take a bit of the root too.”

Growing not just narcotic plants but also poisonous herbs, even if for magic research, was quite suspicious.

—

Beyond the botanical garden, we entered a massive research lab-like space.

It felt like Ophelia’s personal lab enlarged tenfold.

Desks filled with strange reagents in flasks and incomprehensible books were everywhere, and the walls were covered with unknown equations and symbols.

Strangely, in the center of the lab was a large glass tube filled with glowing blue gems.

The gems pulsed continuously, emitting magic power.

They were undoubtedly magic stones, the Empire’s proud invention.

Not using magic, huh?

They had magic stones openly gathered here.

Seeing it myself confirmed that they indeed used holy power to activate magic… but they didn’t completely exclude the use of magic power.

Quite different from what was known. Didn’t they boast to other churches that they didn’t use magic at all?

The glass tube had to be broken to retrieve the magic stones, so we left them as they were for now.