"Die, Barthelmero, El-Melloi!!!"
Amid Gertler's wild laughter, the magic fluctuations in the spirit vein nodes reached their peak, and this "magic volcano" finally erupted.
Horrifying magic power gushed out from underground, and its power was so great that it directly burned Shinji and Lorelaya's magic circuits. This was still the aftermath of the weakening caused by the workshop's barrier.
Under the continuous impact of magic, the solid underground construction began to deform. The square area of about 50 square meters was shrinking little by little.
While the area was being eaten away, no cracks appeared in the walls and barriers of the workshop. Instead, they became thicker and stronger due to the squeeze of magic power.
"Solid and liquid compression technology. This is the paper published by Lord El-Melloi when he was promoted to the 'color position'. You will be crushed into meat paste under this technology, hahahahahaha."
"What should I do? What should I do?"
Gertler's arrogant attitude could not disturb Lorelaia's mood. As the heir of the Barthemello family and the highest noble in the Clock Tower, her pride was deep in her bones and would not be shaken by the barking of a mad dog.
What she cared about was the current situation. The outer wall of the workshop was stronger than she could imagine. With only a whip and a few defensive ceremonials, the only hope of breaking through the predicament was the great magic hidden in the Barthelmero family. However, she had not yet mastered this magic, and the success rate of releasing it was not high. If she failed, then everything would be over.
Should I take a gamble, or—
Lorelaia bit her left thumb unconsciously. She would do this little action every time she was indecisive.
Just then, she found that the man with his head and face covered by a cloak was standing there, motionless.
"Hey, stop standing there and think of a solution."
Shinji opened his eyes upon hearing this and used his magic power to attract the Moon Spirit Marrow Fluid.
"Fervuis. (My blood boils)"
The thin mercury film spread on the ground closed around Shinji, forming a mercury sphere that enveloped the two of them.
He was certainly not standing there in a daze or pretending to be something. He was relying on the Moon Spirit Marrow Fluid to capture the distribution and direction of magic power to see if he could find any clues.
Unfortunately, he didn't find any clues, but he did find the location of the monitoring and surveillance techniques, so he wrapped himself and Loreleiya in the Moon Spirit Marrow Fluid to block the eyes on the ceiling and the ears on the ground.
Seeing what Shinji did, Lorelaia's face lit up with joy. She lowered her voice and asked, "Do you have a solution?"
Shinji nodded, then shook his head.
"Is it true or not? Speak up." Lorelaia was a little anxious. Although she couldn't see, she could feel the pressure approaching.
"Yes, I do." Shinji sighed and removed the one-way sound shielding of his cloak, "But—"
"But what?"
"I don't want to use it in front of you."
"Eh?" Lorelaia thought she had misheard. "You just said..."
"I'm telling you, I don't want you to see my special moves, do you understand? Miss Barthelmero." Shinji, whose actions were repeatedly blocked, had already been full of dissatisfaction, and his tone was a little more angry.
Lorelaia's face darkened, not because of Shinji's tone, but because -
"I have not yet inherited Barthelmero, so I am not qualified to use that title."
The family names of the Clock Tower nobles have sacred and special meanings, and only the current head can directly address them by their family names. Gertler's "the eldest daughter of the Barthelmero family" is acceptable, but Shinji's "the eldest daughter of the Barthelmero family" is not acceptable.
"Also, things have come to this point, and there is no point in dwelling on these things. I can swear on the honor of Barthelmero that what I see next will not be disclosed to anyone."
"I don't believe in the oaths of magicians, especially the oaths of your Barthelmero family." Shinji remained indifferent.
"You—" Loreleija was shaking with anger, "Apologize immediately. This is an insult to Barthelmero."
"Is that really an insult?" Shinji shrugged. "If I remember correctly, the Barthelmero family is in charge of the most special law and politics department among the thirteen faculties."
The Law and Politics Department is the only one in the Clock Tower, and it has no direct connection with the mystery. It is a group that uses the magic and power of the Clock Tower to intervene in the real world or adjust the internal balance of the Clock Tower. It is a vulgar but indispensable group. It is not a place to study law and politics, but a functional department of the administration. It ignores the instinct of magicians to pursue the "Root Vortex" and exists only for the stability and development of the Clock Tower. It is fundamentally a heretical faction.
"Of course." Loreleija held her head high. This was a family matter, so she had to argue for her rights. "The Law and Politics Department represents law and order. This is what we say and what we do. You shouldn't doubt us."
Shinji chuckled: "Listen to the name of your department, Law and Politics. Isn't it normal to be so deceitful in politics? I didn't mean to insult Barthomello, and I am willing to apologize for it, but I will not change my opinion of the Law and Politics Department and the Lord's family of the Law and Politics Department, because that is a well-known fact. Do you dare to say that the Barthomello family has never done anything shameful?"
"I... .."
Lorelaia was speechless. She knew that what Shinji said was true. In order to maintain the stability and development of the Clock Tower, the methods used by the Barthelmero family were indeed not glorious, and not many people in the other twelve departments were willing to have anything to do with the Law and Politics Department. However, she was unwilling to admit this in person.
"I'm serious. Let me tell you what you want me to do."
The stubbornness of biting her lips and the trembling stubbornness in the corners of her eyes reminded Shinji of the most widely recognized title of the girl's future - "the lonely queen".
Aloof: lonely, arrogant, destined to be a loner. Perhaps this aloof girl is really different from others, so she can grow up to be one of the strongest in the human race.
"You can choose between two options: sign a 'self-compulsory statement' or you lose consciousness."
Either of these is an extremely excessive request. "Self-enforced certificate" is the most stringent constraint, representing the absolute distrust between magicians. And losing consciousness means that Lorelaia will completely lose her autonomy. If Shinji has bad intentions towards her, she will be absolutely passive.
"What if I don't agree?" Lorelaia bit her fingers again.
"I will knock you out and then take you away." As he spoke, the lightning of Indra's Thunder moved back and forth along the mercury film like golden snakes - this layer of mercury film had more than one function.
"I understand. I don't have the parchment with the certificate." Lorelaia lowered her hands and closed her eyes in resignation. Her meaning was clear: she would choose the second option and let Shinji knock her out.
This time it was Shinji who thought he had misheard: "Do you trust me so much?"
"Believe it, because you don't want to die, and you don't want to ruin the relationship between Barthelmero and El-Melloi."
Not wanting to die means Shinji will definitely break through this workshop.
Not wanting to damage the relationship between the two families means that Shinji won't do anything to Lorelaia.
"You are so brave and courageous. You are worthy of being the future Queen."
These were the last words Lorelaia heard. After that, she felt a numbness on the back of her neck and lost consciousness.