Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 263 The Soul Doesn't Lie
The Church of the Holy King.

Miriam became an orphan at a very young age and grew up in church facilities.

Perhaps it was because her horizons broadened after arriving at Erles Academy that Miriam now thinks the Church of the Holy King is quite strange in many ways.

As its name suggests, the Church of the Holy King is a church rooted in the "Holy King Faith." Although the Holy King is merely a "king," in the doctrine, this king is a being far more powerful than God.

Because the Holy King is the king who guards the "World Tree".

The "World Tree" as understood by the followers of the Holy King differs from that of various schools of thought on the continent.

They believe that all universes beyond this world are a gigantic "World Tree" with countless branches and leaves. And the world they currently inhabit is merely a tiny existence supported by a single leaf of this World Tree.

In other words, the World Tree Saint King is the guardian of countless worlds.

So, what are the main things that the church, which has faith in such a powerful king, needs to do on a daily basis?

The answer is to ensure that the World Tree, as the embodiment of the "Holy King's Favor," will not wither in this world.

To put it simply, it's about protecting the real, tangible "World Tree" in this world.

It's roughly an environmental organization, by far.
The main area of ​​activity of the Holy King Church is a place called "Ubia Territory" within the territory of the powerful nation of Keskat Empire in the south of the continent.

Most of the time, the Holy King Church would publicly refer to their stronghold as the "Eubia Theocracy." However, in terms of taxation, levies, and other matters, the Koscat Empire clearly had different opinions from the Eubia Theocracy.

Sometimes, Miriam felt that the Church of the Holy King was quite similar to the Church of the Bathing Goddess.

The doctrines are nonsensical and lack purpose, and the objects of faith are also absurd.

Or, in some ways, it is not even as good as the Church of the Bathing Goddess.

After all, joining the Bathing Goddess Church also has unverifiable benefits, such as "skin becoming smoother after bathing." When the Bathing Goddess is in a good mood, she'll even chat with you.

But joining the Holy King Church brings nothing.

Because the very existence of this world, free from harm, is already a testament to the benevolence and grace of the Holy King. In other words, whether one believes or not, as long as the world continues to exist, and as long as one continues to live in this world, one is automatically entitled to equal blessings. No matter what one does, it will neither be more nor less.

Furthermore, joining the Holy King Church will also grant you the additional mission of protecting the "Incarnation of the World Tree".

On the side of the grand hall where the judging session was being held, Miriam faced two students from the Obsidian Magic Tower.

At this moment, Miriam's feelings were very complicated.

That's right, he was a pawn planted by the "Holy King Church" in Ers Academy.

No.
Whether it can be considered an installation is worth discussing.

Because it was Livis who personally visited the Euphrates Kingdom and discovered Miriam, her students' records clearly state their place of origin as the "Holy King Church."

Furthermore, since the Holy King's Church could produce an Ers student by chance, Miriam had not undergone any specialized training.

As for Miriam's mission at Earls College, it has always been rather vague.

What he needed to do was investigate the "World Tree" located in the Erles Higher Magic Academy.

The Church of the Holy King seems to have been convinced from the beginning that Erles Academy is hiding something related to the World Tree.

It was precisely because Miriam's mission was so vague that there was no need to report to the Holy King Church beforehand, and there was no contact person or anything like that.

It's fair to say that if two clearly holy men from the Holy King's Church hadn't appeared before him that day, Miriam might have almost forgotten about this whole affair.

Of the two, the shorter one was someone Miriam knew.

Her name is Adela, and she left the "Ubia Church" two years before Miriam. She should now be a student in the higher division.

As for the girl next to Adela, whose appearance was somewhat unusual—a face that was somewhat square and long, and filled with determination—she was probably a young girl, and she clasped her hands in a fist salute to Miriam, saying in a gruff voice,

"Nice to meet you, Saint Miriam. My name is 'Meme,' and I, like you, am a mage apprentice who enrolled this year."

"Oh, okay. Nice to meet you, Saint Meimei."

After waiting a moment and confirming that "Meimei" was indeed the girl's full name, Miriam greeted her.

In comparison, Meme's figure is actually not as large as Iris's. However, facing Meme, Miriam still felt a sense of oppression that wasn't really related to her size.
"It seems you're not here to catch up with me."

Miriam looked around somewhat uncomfortably.

Although she hadn't done anything wrong overall, Miriam felt somewhat guilty about her current position and didn't want others in the academy to see them together.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that Adela and Meme planned to have a private conversation with him in this drafty, open-air setting.
“Of course. Grandma Enpa has gained new insights.”

Adela noticed the obvious reluctance on Miriam's face and added a few words before reciting the revelation.

"Don't forget, if we hadn't been picked up by the church, we wouldn't be standing here now, or we might not even have the chance to be a gutter rat."

"."

Miriam fell silent.

Although he didn't particularly like his current identity as an undercover agent, he did indeed have feelings for the Holy King Church.

Even though to most people the "World Tree" at Erles Academy, which had become a treehouse, was just an ordinary tree that had grown taller and thicker, the Holy King Church remained convinced that the false World Tree was connected to the real "World Tree" in their eyes.

Therefore, as long as the "Tree Witch" remains in control of this place, the Holy King Church will always be hostile to Ers Academy, regardless of appearances.

"Don't be too nervous or resistant. Granny Empa won't ask you to do anything too difficult. You just need to bring Ritas Elson, the Tree Witch's disciple, to [the location] at the designated time."

Why is the professor's name mentioned?

"You don't need to know too much about the specifics. Just continue to follow Granny Empa's 'correct' prophecies in the coming changes."

"Change? What is that!"

Faced with Miriam's lack of cooperation and his relentless questioning, Adela sighed softly.

Although Miriam's deployment to Ers was almost an unavoidable event, his complete lack of self-awareness, beliefs, and consciousness, and his utter disregard for the organization and mission, still greatly displeased her.

"Eileen."

The name Adela suddenly mentioned quickly calmed Miriam's somewhat anxious mood.

"How about writing a letter to Eileen once in a while? She misses you terribly."

Somewhat impatient, Adela gently reminded Miriam of the reasons why he had to obey the instructions from the Holy King's Church.

Miriam, whose questioning had abruptly stopped, lowered his head slightly, trying his best to hide the strange expression that involuntarily appeared on his face.

"Eileen, how have you been lately?"

There was a subtle awkwardness in Miriam when she called it that name.

"Yes, she's doing well. However, she's still bothered by not being able to go to the magic academy. All I can say is that magic is a truly wondrous thing, completely unrelated to things like bloodlines. Anyway, she's looking forward to you becoming a mage and returning to the Holy Kingdom."

Although she was still wearing her school uniform, Adela displayed a remarkable maturity and ruthlessness.

Upon hearing the mention of the "handle" of still being in the Euphrates Kingdom, Miriam became more subdued. Adela, her expression slightly softening, continued, "The specific timing will become clear in due time. As for where you need to take Ritas Elson..."

"Stop, Adela. There's someone nearby."

Just as Adela was about to assign Miriam further tasks, Meme suddenly raised her hand, signaling for silence.

Before long, the three of them saw several figures with unusual gaits walking out of the auditorium.

Judging from their attire, those people were guests attending an art appraisal meeting.

At that moment, they were each holding a picture frame that was about half their height.

Although they seemed to be struggling to hold the picture frames, that did not seem to be a reason for them to drag themselves along one leg and limp forward.

"Watch out, something's fishy!"

Meimei spoke up again to remind them, but by then it was clearly too late.

The three first saw a figure emerge from the auditorium, their eyes seemingly completely absorbed by the blue. Then, they saw the same deep blue color rapidly filling the previously empty white canvas within the picture frame.

Furthermore, the blue on the canvas seemed unwilling to be confined by the frame, extending out in all directions.
When she came to her senses, Miriam was completely immersed in the endless deep blue.

"Well, in any case, these things should be outside the scope of work."

In a daze, Miriam seemed to hear a somewhat familiar voice murmuring to itself.

My body is giving me a very wonderful feeling.

On the one hand, he couldn't feel any solidity or weight in any part of his body. But on the other hand, he could feel every corner of his body being crushed by something.

He was having great difficulty breathing; in fact, it seemed as if he couldn't breathe at all and hadn't been breathing for a long time.

"Pooh!"

Having used almost all his strength, Miriam, sensing the imminent danger emanating from the strange sensations in his body, exhaled a breath.

She still couldn't feel her breathing, but Miriam gradually felt her body functioning more smoothly.

"Oh? You're awake, Miriam student. As expected, you were the first to wake up. Although I'm a little tired of hearing you say you're talented, I never imagined you'd be so gifted in this area as well."

"who is it?"

After looking around blankly, Miriam realized that the voice was coming from his hand.

It was a white, disc-shaped object.
"Master Bathing Goddess?"

After saying the name unconsciously, Miriam realized something was wrong.

The disc felt very soft to the touch. More importantly, he didn't make any lifting motion, but the disc remained stuck to his hand because he was holding a strip-shaped object.

In his hand was a white mushroom with a disc-shaped cap!

"!"

Miriam nearly screamed, instinctively trying to throw the white mushroom to the ground. But the stem of the white mushroom seemed stuck to his palm, impossible to shake off.

"First, stay calm. Professor Ritas should have taught you that mages must remain calm in all circumstances, even when facing things that they subconsciously resist."

As the white mushroom spoke, it swayed its body alluringly.

"Very good, you've calmed down. Now, while we get a general idea of ​​the surrounding situation, let me tell you about your predicament."

Miriam, whose hands were covered in white mushrooms, gradually got used to her body, which seemed to be mutating, and looked around.

He was in a very strange space at that moment.

As far as the eye could see, there was an endless expanse of blue, and he himself was standing in a place that seemed to be above the surface of a lake.

If it weren't for the problem with her memory, combined with the last scene she saw before her consciousness faded away, Miriam felt that she had been sucked into that painting.

"You might guess that you've been sucked into the painting. But that's not actually the case. You're just being attacked by a 'soul spell'."

"Even if you only talk about soul magic, I still can't understand it."

Is this white mushroom capable of reading minds?

"Oh? Professor Ritas didn't teach you any of that? After what happened, I thought he would at least tell you some of it. Perhaps, rather than preventing it, he didn't want you to become curious about it. In my opinion, that's an unnecessary worry. If simply explaining it can lead you astray, then no matter how much he tries to prevent it, you will eventually go astray anyway."

"Well, strictly speaking, soul magic isn't really 'deviant.' It's just a relatively rare form of magic these days. And it's precisely because it's rare that it's difficult to guard against."

"If you can't defend yourself, you recruit someone who can? But how did he know?"

"Hehehe, is it just a coincidence, or is everything planned? Because it's him, it's sometimes really hard to tell."

It wasn't until the white mushroom laughed that Miriam recognized the owner of the voice in that distinctively personal, deep, and playful tone.

"Professor Serene?"

"It could also be 'master' or '○○'s ○○'."

"."

Miriam was somewhat speechless.

He had heard that Seren, who was usually quiet and reserved, could be very proactive and explicit in his letters. For this reason, Ritas had forbidden the students from receiving letters written by Seren.

So, for Serian, turning into a strange mushroom and talking is equivalent to her writing a letter?

"Now that my identity has been discovered, let's talk about yours, Miriam student."

Interrupting Miriam's thoughts, Mushroom continued.

"Uh, what do you mean? Professor Seren, what other identity could I possibly have?"

Miriam's heart tightened, though he didn't quite understand the current situation. However, he was somewhat worried that his relationship with the Holy King's Church might be exposed to Serian.

But soon, Miriam began to hope that what he had exposed were the dispensable parts of the Holy King's Church. Because...
"It seems you haven't realized it yet, Miriam. If you lower your head slightly, you can actually see it clearly. You're standing on the lake, so it's normal to have a reflection."

"Reflection"

Miriam lowered his head.

Originally, the lake surface was crystal clear and completely empty, but as Miriam's perception changed, a slightly swaying figure began to appear.

The moment Miriam saw her reflection, her mind went blank, and a chill ran through every corner of her body.

Miriam's reflection was that of a beautiful silver-haired girl.

"Don't try to fabricate lame excuses. The soul doesn't lie. At least, for those who can't use soul magic, this rule is absolute."

"So, who exactly are you, Miriam? Or rather, this 'unknown girl'?"

(End of this chapter)