I Became the Teacher of the Imperial Family’s Bastard

088. Snow Mountain (1)

Beatrice chased after Schpert towards the snowy mountain pass.

And thus, the place they arrived at.

What stood before them was a massive iron gate.

Of course, it wasn’t just any ordinary iron gate.

“It’s divine power… the divine power of fate.”

These were the words of Historia, who was stroking the iron gate.

With a serious expression and those words, once again, Yuren’s prediction was spot on.

Behind Schpert was the Order of Fate.

So, what should they do?

‘Break through?’

If they faced it head-on, how far could they go?

Beatrice carefully considered the possibilities but finally shook her head.

‘It’s too difficult alone.’

They didn’t know the enemy’s strength.

Their own side’s strength was lacking.

Beatrice could handle most things on her own, but right now, the only help she had was Historia.

Even she was more specialized in support than attack, and the remaining two were a petty thief who wasn’t even an expert and an old man with no vision.

If the fight intensified, they would be immediately held back.

So, should they wait?

‘…No.’

Although she didn’t think Yuren would be late, she couldn’t just sit still.

Beatrice manipulated her prosthetic hand.

Creak, creak―

With the noise, the magic core was revealed.

Immediately, Beatrice’s lips moved slightly.

“Tracking, invisibility, penetration.”

The magic circle was completed and shone.

Sss―

The mist spread and enveloped the four of them.

Historia murmured in surprise.

“It’s infiltration magic…!”

“It’s not perfect. If we get too close to the enemies, we’ll be easily detected, so let’s move as carefully as possible.”

After all, the ones nesting in a place like this couldn’t be ordinary.

There was no carelessness, and so Beatrice passed through the door.

What she faced was something.

‘…A temple?’

A large, wide passage beyond the iron door.

It was a huge temple of a style Beatrice had never seen before.

* * *

Sperth crossed the iron door and reached the temple.

Waiting for him were women in dark purple robes.

They were succubi, with curves that couldn’t be hidden even by the loose robes.

“Welcome.”

“Lead the way.”

Sperth ordered indifferently, and the succubi giggled and complied.

The path was complicated.

Even Sperth, who could generally remember anything he saw once, thought it would take a few visits to get familiar with the way.

After moving for a while, at the center of the temple was a succubus who was both unfamiliar and familiar.

“Welcome, Sperth.”

“…Bel.”

“Hehe, you remember my name. I’m delighted.”

The succubus who had appeared in his dreams and planned with him, Bel, sat on the altar with her legs crossed, letting out a seductive laugh.

Shupeurt grimaced fiercely, trying to hold onto his sanity.

It was because the aura she exuded disturbed his spirit.

“What are you doing?”

“Sorry, but I didn’t do anything. What can I do about my presence?”

Bell, who had been chuckling, stood up.

“Aren’t you just annoyed? I wish you could tolerate this much.”

“Tsk.”

Shupeurt clicked his tongue and looked over the altar.

He had no intention of arguing any further.

His hand swept over the altar, engraved with numerous geometric patterns.

It was a marvel in itself.

Even seeing it with his own eyes, it was hard to understand.

“Is this the legacy of the Outer Gods?”

“It’s a symbol of my mother. Do you know how hard it was to move it here? Building the temple was also a task. The original owners were so vicious, they screamed and screamed when I asked to borrow it for a moment…”

Shupeurt swallowed dryly, half-listening to Bell’s words.

‘A power that does not belong to this world.’

A symbol of the Outer Gods who created the races of the Outer Realm, including the Incubi.

‘With this…’

He could defy providence.

The power of the Outer Gods did not belong to the laws of this land.

Shupeurt felt a considerable thrill at the thought that his goal was approaching.

Of course, he did not act rashly, intoxicated by it.

“Prepare the reagent. I will inspect it personally one last time.”

“Before that.”

“What is it?”

“You haven’t forgotten our promise, have you?”

Bell’s smile stretched wide.

Shupeurt snorted and replied.

“I am granted the providence of the Outer Gods once. I will create a body for you to house your soul. Wasn’t that the deal?”

It was the deal Bell had requested the day they first met in a dream.

If providence was hindering their purpose, they offered to help.

So they asked for a body without a soul.

‘If it’s a body without a soul, a homunculus will do.’

The price for borrowing the providence of the foreign gods might be small, but transactions always divide relative values.

Think about it, at this point, the only alchemist capable of creating a homunculus was himself.

In that sense, this was indeed a fair trade.

‘I don’t know what they intend to use it for…’

It didn’t really matter.

Schubert’s purpose was more important than theirs.

He checked the reagents one by one.

Nothing was missing, and there were no errors in concentration.

As Bell had confidently assured, the preparations were perfectly complete.

Then what remained was time.

The night when the full moon was at its highest.

‘During the cold wave, the spirits’ chill blinds the eyes of the gods. At that time, when the moonlight amplifies the spirits’ power, the amount of spiritual energy generated increases significantly.’

The time when the energy source called soul fills the space, and simultaneously the eyes of the gods are blinded, allowing the foreign gods to interfere in the present world.

He had been waiting for this day for the past year.

If he missed this moment, he would have to wait another year, so mistakes were not allowed.

It was really soon now.

Just a little more…

‘…I can save them. I can set everything right.’

A faint smile began to form on Schubert’s lips.

It was a weak and pitiful smile, as if it would break at any moment.

* * *

I woke up the crown prince, the grand duke, and the members of the imperial guard, and set off immediately.

Since they were just asleep, it was fine to wake up the people of the grand duke’s residence later.

More importantly, the incident needed to be handled first.

They say heading to the snowy mountains during a cold wave is madness.

The only reason we managed to carry out the task safely was thanks to the portable heating artifact that Beatrice had prepared in advance.

We ran and ran again.

The lagging royal guards were instructed to follow the marked location, while only the Crown Prince and the Grand Duke accompanied me to the snowy mountain.

20 minutes… no, 15 minutes.

That was the result of pulling all the mana and running.

Thus, I faced the iron door.

There was a lot of information read through the tunnel.

‘The divine nature of fate, the thickness of the door is about 50cm, and inside… tsk, the divinity on the iron door is interfering.’

Then what about Beatrice and the other three?

‘The traces of mana, they’ve already gone in.’

If they used some kind of penetration magic, it would have been easy to enter.

This door only responds to physical stimuli.

There seems to be an advance party, and they seem to be safe.

Then the problem is us now.

“Do you have any ideas on how to break through?”

“Can’t we just push in?”

“That’s nonsense.”

Are we going to advertise our arrival?

The Crown Prince shrugged, not seriously suggesting it.

However, there was one person who reacted differently.

“Let’s break it down and go in.”

It was the Grand Duke, his eyes bloodshot.

Emotions like impatience, anger, and anxiety were surging as mana.

It was clear at a glance that he was not in a normal state.

The concern was that his anger was dulling his reason.

“…Your Excellency, you need to cool your head at times like this.”

“I know, I know.”

Then why don’t you calm your expression?

It’s not that I don’t understand.

Isn’t it a situation where his son, whom he cherished so much, might be doing something dangerous somewhere?

Considering how much the Grand Duke cherished his son, it’s no wonder he’s so anxious.

Even thinking back to the past before the regression, it was the same.

To clean up the mess Schubert had caused, the Archduke had even burned his own soul and offered it as a sacrifice to the spirits.

“I can’t allow it a second time.”

Even setting aside the loss of power, if I let the Archduke die like this, I wouldn’t be able to face my parents.

In the afterlife, they’d probably ask, “What was that fool doing?” And then, it wouldn’t just be my face, but my sister’s face that would be smeared with shame.

“Please wait a moment. I’ll find a way.”

“Until when…!”

“Just a moment.”

I didn’t want to use it from here.

I took a deep breath.

And placed my fingers on my temples.

This was one of the magical tricks I had learned from Beatrice.

―Hand signs or incantations are not to be ignored. Especially for beginners who lack the experience of manifesting their imagination.

―So you’re telling me to fight while shouting incantations?

―…That wasn’t what I meant. I wanted to say that hand signs and incantations are indeed helpful for the efficient use of magic.

Hand signs, incantations.

These two were not just for show, but effective means to enhance the efficiency of actual magic implementation.

Hearing that, I had my own thoughts.

The enhancement magic of the Tongkwean I obtained from the forbidden library.

This damned, terrible technique that brings aftereffects the moment it’s used could perhaps be used a bit less exhaustingly.

So, I learned how to handle incantations and hand signs in the form of private lessons.

Should I call it the fruit of my efforts?

“Cheontong.”

Hwaaak―!

I was able to control the output of the magic.

The pain, which felt like my head was being crushed, was reduced to a level where my eyes just felt hot.

But even that much made me grit my teeth.

The hand placed on my temple started to tremble.

I wanted to collapse, but I couldn’t afford to groan in pain.

There was something I had to check while the magic was still functioning properly.

“The door…”

A way to pass through without being detected.

Moreover, I had to find out what was behind the iron door.

The penetrating gaze pierced through the iron door.

It dissected the structure thoroughly, trying to see what lay beyond.

It was at that moment.

[…Ah.]

A voice echoed in my head.

[Finally… Finally, you’ve come.]

My body shuddered.

My concentration wavered, and the output of the magic diminished.

A clear woman’s voice, and her gaze, her presence.

What is this?

What is interfering?

It definitely felt my gaze and directly hammered these words into my head.

A sense of crisis surged momentarily.

I tried to withdraw the penetrating gaze’s magic, and at that moment.

[Ah, no! Don’t go―!]

Kiiiiiiing!!!

“Guh?!”

The woman’s shrill voice was accompanied by a ringing in my ears.

My vision went white for a moment, and my body sank down.

The voice I heard at that moment was like this.

“Yu, Yuren!!!”

The prince’s scream.

Leaving that behind, my vision went dark.

* * *

Kallios’s expression hardened.

It was because Yuren, who had been contemplating a way while staring at the door until just before, suddenly fell to the floor.

No, is it correct to call that a fall?

‘It’s like…….’

It felt as if they had been dragged somewhere else.

Whatever it was, it was an unexpected disaster.

Even as hesitation welled up, Kallios continued to think.

He knew well that nothing would change if he stayed still.

“…Grand Duke.”

When Kallios called, Tibria raised her head.

Their eyes met.

A standoff, or perhaps a negotiation.

They briefly looked at the spot where Yuren had disappeared, then at the iron door.

Kallios’s mouth opened.

“…Even Yuren is not here. But if it’s him, he’ll find a way out somehow. Time is of the essence now.”

“Ah, the only heir of the Grand Duke’s family is trapped in there.”

“I’m not good at infiltration.”

“Your Highness has much in common with me. I’m not good at it either.”

“Then it’s decided.”

Kallios took a deep breath and gathered the mana in his body.

Tibria clenched her fist, her face soaked in impatience and anger.

Flames rose from her fist.

Kallios took a stance.

“We’ll break through straight to the center.”

Tibria responded.

“I’ll secure the Superrt first. Your Highness?”

“The heretics of the Outer Church in here. This time, I want to capture them alive.”

“It’s decided.”

No more words were needed.

They were both knights at the top of the expert level, and their views on solving the situation were quite similar.

Their forms blurred.

Immediately,

BOOM―!

The iron door exploded.