Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 196 Palace Secrets
"Hey, did Andon actually live in a place like this when he was a kid?"

Soon after, everyone in the "World Tree" came to the bottom of a floating island.

Like most of the floating islands in this space, a waterfall that is not at all turbulent is the only way for the floating island to connect to the ground.

"How do we get up here?"

Ritas asked doubtfully.

"As long as you follow our gatekeeper, you can 'walk' directly to most of the floating islands here."

As Filigree said this, he moved to the side of the waterfall.

The moment his foot touched the waterfall, his body began to turn upside down strangely. As he turned upside down, he calmly placed his other foot on the waterfall, and everyone saw his figure standing horizontally on the waterfall that fell from the sky to the ground.

"It's actually easier to do than it looks. Also, it's only near the ground, so there won't be any danger. So if you're worried, try a few more times before going up."

Filigree continued speaking, looking at the crowd who were still indifferent, and gave a few awkward dry laughs.

All I can say is that sometimes when you are adventuring, it is not entirely a bad thing to have "military generals" like Miriam and Courteney around you who can help you first and then talk about it.

Finally, after some hesitation, Merci was the first to try.

Like Filigree, after putting his feet on the waterfall, he probably didn't expect that his perspective would be reversed like his body. In a panic, Merci looked like she was doing a one-legged dance. After swaying her body and arms for a while, she fell down without disappointing anyone.

"So cold!"

Merci was lying on the waterfall in a prone position. Apart from the coolness, she did not feel much of the pain she was used to. She looked at the scene that seemed to have been turned 90 degrees, as well as Ritas and others in the scene. She opened her mouth slightly in surprise, staring at the "new world" in front of her in a trance.

She had a wonderful feeling.

Just like this space called World Tree, even if it is turned upside down or reversed, it may still be a normal state.

"That water doesn't seem to get on other people."

Ritas looked in the direction of Merci and found that whether Merci was standing or lying on the waterfall, her body and clothes were not wet.

"The World Tree will not expel others, nor will it welcome others."

Engel, who had hardly spoken a word until now, suddenly said this.

"So, you have always been familiar with this space, including the 'World Tree'?"

Ritas' attention turned in the direction of An.

Faced with the question, An shook his head.

"At that time, I just lived at home and never went outside."

"If you don't mind, could you let me know a little bit about your story, Ms. An?"

"Naturally."

Although Ritas' words may sound ambiguous from another perspective, An knew exactly what the professor wanted to know.

"If we start from the source, we are different from most people in the world. We come from a special family."

Halfway through the conversation, An, who usually had the same expression at all times, showed a little sadness.

"It may not be appropriate not to mention the clan. Because, now in this clan, I may be the only one left."

"A special clan. Is it the clan that built this World Tree Labyrinth and the surrounding cities, and erected those stone tablets, claiming to be from the 'Old World'?"

"Probably not."

An shook his head again.
"According to my mother, we come from a similar place as the inhabitants of the World Tree. However, our roots are different. However, since we are in the same boat, we are protected by them."

"them."

Ritas always felt that An's story sounded a little strange. However, his brain was not working properly, so he gave up thinking for the time being.

"So, the story begins with an outside explorer who accidentally enters this paradise-like place far away from the world?"

"No, the story begins with an ignorant girl who was attracted by the prosperity of the world, blinded by illusory emotions, and abandoned everything she should have shouldered."

An, who had recovered from his gloomy state, began to speak in his usual calm tone, or with a slightly sharp tone.

The matter itself is not complicated.

An's mother, who was like a young lady who was naive to the world, soon lost herself in the world after entering the human society. Then, she met An's father, and was blinded by the so-called love, and committed a series of mistakes.

This kind of plot structure is not used in modern stage plays. The only thing worth mentioning is that An's mother is a descendant of an ancient race, and An's father is the current king of the Holy Kingdom of Libera.

After giving birth to An, An's mother realized that she had been "cheated". The King of Libera was a man who could be considered responsible or irresponsible.

Responsible in that he will not evade his responsibilities, nor will he deny his actions. Irresponsible in that An's mother regards him as the only one, but in his eyes, An's mother is just "one of them".

An's mother did not become the queen of the Kingdom of Libera. Instead, she was exhausted physically and mentally during her short career in the palace.

In the end, she fled back to her "hometown" with An, who was so young that he couldn't even remember anything.

Escaped back to such a place in a different space where no one can find me.
A few years after returning to her hometown, An's mother's health became worse and worse.

As her life was about to end, An's mother, who missed her father more and more and wanted An to be taken care of, sent her back to the Holy Kingdom of Libera, to the palace that had caused her so much pain.

"."

After listening to An's story, Ritas couldn't help but feel a headache. Moreover, he knew very well that this headache was definitely not caused by the attack by the woman in white clothes.
So, why on earth did he want to listen to this muddy story between a man and a woman in the "World Tree", a different space far away from the world and full of greenery and beauty?

".Is it okay to describe your story like this?"

Although, when Ms. An was telling the story, she cleverly avoided mentioning the identities of the two people, making it possible for Merci, Engel and others who did not know the truth to hear the story without any problem.

However, Ritas, who knew the protagonist of this love secret, especially who the male protagonist was, felt that his drowsy head became a little clearer. "I don't mind. Although my mother has many shortcomings, she is stupid, blind, stubborn, greedy, stingy, likes to lie, and is easily jealous of others. It can even be said that except for not committing any sins, she has almost all the flaws of human nature. And, objectively speaking, most of the things I encountered during my growth were caused by her. But she is my mother after all."

"."

"As for my father, he is just a person who knows nothing. He seems to have been watching the fantasy he wants to see, and he thinks he has done everything he should do. As for my affairs, he may be proud of his handling of them. After all, even if it means nothing except the 'first place', he gave me the 'fourth place' among many places."

The King of Libera, this is what he is like
No, no, why is the topic becoming more and more dangerous?

At this moment, Ritas seemed to understand one thing.

Even though it couldn't be seen from his expressionless face, which seemed to have been trained through practice, An must have a lot of things piled up in his heart and needed a way to vent them.

However, there was no one around her who was suitable to listen to her words.

In addition, the meaningless "role-playing" she is doing further complicates her identity. Therefore, even if she looks away from her, it is difficult for her to find someone who knows who she is and what she is saying and listen to her.

Or, she shouldn't have been able to find it.
The bigger problem now is that Ritas doesn't want to be this person.

Thinking about finding an opportunity to introduce the goddess of bathing to An, Ritas turned the conversation back.

"Since Ms. An has never seen the scenery of her childhood from the outside, are you sure that your current judgment is correct?"

This time, An finally nodded, and then took out the necklace that seemed to be strung together some fragments.

"This is, 'Key'."

As An spoke, the necklace floated slightly above her palm, with the tip of the fragment pointing in the direction of the floating island in front of her.
"Would you like to come with me, Professor? I probably can't offer you tea, but if it's not a private area, you can explore it on your own."

Just as Ann did not mind telling stories about herself and her parents to a certain extent, she also did not mind satisfying Ritas's curiosity as a reward for his cooperation and help.

After all, no matter what Ritas thought in her heart, at least from her perspective, whether it was the advice after seeing through the secret, helping to catch "Qi Cai", rescuing her when she was in trouble in the maze, and leading her to her hometown in the "World Tree" by accident, etc., Ritas has always been "giving".

Even as a cooperative relationship, all Ritas asked for was to borrow the Guard Knights for the last semester.

For An, who grew up in a harsh environment, Ritas's lack of ulterior motives would cause her more concern than his insatiable demands.

"Although I'm very interested, I don't feel like moving right now. So, please take this with you."

".Eh?"

The Bathing Goddess, who became quieter in more serious occasions, couldn't help but make a puzzled sound when she saw the white disc being handed to An.

"Having her go with me is like me going with her."

"Xiao Li~"

"And it will be quieter here too."

"Hello!"

The feeling of being touched lasted less than three seconds before the Bathing Goddess began to sigh.

Recently, the Bathing Goddess has been feeling more and more that she is being "played" by Ritas.

It’s strange to say, she is obviously the “player”, so since when did she become the one being manipulated?
Amid the goddess of bathing's shrill complaints of dissatisfaction, the white disc passed through Ann's hands and then was transferred to Mercy's hands.

"?"

Merci, who was still lying on the waterfall, took the disc and was a little confused. She didn't understand how she had to go along with it.

If possible, she would rather stay and take care of Ritas.
"Now that we have communicated everything that needs to be communicated, let's set off."

Filigree began to lead the way at the front of the queue.

"I"

Mercy tried to struggle.

But when she saw An also walking up the waterfall, she subconsciously walked forward a distance to make enough space.

Then, Merci, who was sandwiched between Filigree and An, looked in the direction of Ritas with the disc in her hand, and seemed to be hesitant to speak for several times. Finally, she had no choice but to walk towards the floating island.

As the large army headed towards the floating island, only Ritas and Engri were left on the ground part of the "World Tree".

All we can say is that the relationship between Ritas and Engel is very complicated.

Although, since they had not been together for a long time, there was not much emotional connection between them. However, in the past, during their interactions, Engel could vaguely feel that his class mentor wanted to "meddle in other people's business."

Although, her eagerness wasn't as obvious as Miriam's.

And just as Engeli felt, Ritas, who had obtained some "off-site information" from the goddess of the bath, did pay attention to Engeli. Then, even though he knew what would happen to Engeli, he could not avoid it in the end. Therefore, everything about Engeli became a haze in Ritas' heart.

Originally, Ritas planned to fulfill Engli's long-cherished wish if Engli could not wake up again. He would find Engli's sister who was taken away by the "Trickery Society" when he was a child, and he would give her an explanation no matter whether she was dead or alive.

But he obviously did not expect that this day he would "reunite" with Engel in such an unexpected occasion and in an equally unexpected way.

In Engel's vision, Ritas, whose condition was deteriorating, closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

As he looked at the image in front of him that was hard to match his impression, Engel whispered to himself, as if he had felt something in his heart.

"What a mess, professor."

"really."

Ritas, who seemed to have fallen asleep and had not responded to most of the words before, was particularly sensitive in catching Engri's whisper.

And Engel was obviously a little surprised.

However, rather than being in awe of his mentor Ritas, it was more because he felt embarrassed.

(End of this chapter)