◈ Chapter 213. Away from One’s Post
Scary.
So scary.
As expected, people really are the scariest thing, aren’t they?
Ssssk—across the desk.
A mountain of chief duties was piled high.
Even as I swept my quill pen across the page, I could hardly calm my startled heart. It was only natural. I never imagined from the very beginning that everything had been an act.
‘So, to put it simply.’
The Tower Master’s act had been meant to deceive those former Archmages dwelling in the conical hat……!
In that sense, the Tower Master truly was the Tower Master for a reason.
Just as the Tower Master had looked through Jesse’s memories.
The Archmages, too, would be able to examine the Tower Master’s memories of conversing with me.
‘If you only look at what the Tower Master said out loud…….’
There wasn’t the slightest room for suspicion.
So that was why he had come at me so harshly.
Thanks to that method acting, they wouldn’t be able to sense anything amiss.
After all, even I, who had been facing him directly—
─Thwart the Archmages’ conspiracy. (In Progress)
If the quest window hadn’t flashed.
I would never have realized the hidden meaning behind those words.
That didn’t mean I was slow-witted.
Telling me out of nowhere to become his accomplice!
Anyone would have misunderstood that, wouldn’t they?
‘So he really isn’t someone Marcelo respects for nothing.’
The system window, the exclusive domain of players.
A blind spot the former Archmages could not perceive.
To think he would make use of that system window to convey the circumstances of the incident to me.
‘That means he understands the system.’
Just as players could not easily understand 『Magic』, [System] was not a concept Arcanians could readily accept.
You could tell just by looking at how even the great Marcelo struggled with the Strange.
I spoke calmly.
“Indeed, one does not rise to the position of Tower Master for nothing.”
Somehow, it didn’t seem like something a person who had taken the chief’s seat through a parachute appointment should say……. Still, when it came to the Strange, perhaps I had the right to puff out my chest a little.
‘In any case.’
In the end, it seemed the Tower Master had been measuring me until the very end.
Whether he could trust me or not.
Considering the contents of the quest, I thought it was only natural.
‘How many sly old foxes do I have to deal with here?’
It wasn’t the conspiracy of an Archmage.
It was a quest to thwart the conspiracy of Archmages.
The Tower Master had been carrying out such an absurdly high-difficulty quest all on his own. And while sharing every sensation with such enemies, at that.
‘I’m starting to understand.’
Why the Tower Master had brought Jesse into the Magic Tower.
The Tower Master must have chosen Jesse.
As an ally who would stop the Archmages’ conspiracy with him.
If I were to put it in terms from when Arcana was merely a game.
That must be the storyline of the Archmage class quest.
-“Teacher and disciple, huh……. There may have been one or two who thought of it that way. Well, most of us, including me, probably didn’t.”
To say that when he himself was her teacher.
Then again, it must have been an act that even he had to deceive himself with.
This wasn’t the time to nitpick that the Tower Master had lied.
What mattered most was what exactly the Archmages’ conspiracy was.
Just what conspiracy had the Tower Master discovered?
For him to forcibly separate his body and consciousness, enter the tiger’s den that was the conical hat, and throw the gamble of handing the position of Archmage over to Jesse……?
‘In the end, is that damned truth the problem?’
The moment I thought of truth, one person naturally came to mind.
‘Karimzeba.’
The basement of the Magic Tower.
Unlike the two elder mages who had collapsed in the Infinite Darkness.
Karimzeba had not bent his yearning for the true truth, even as he froze in absolute zero.
And what Karimzeba had done to reach that true truth was none other than the resurrection of a high-ranking Demon King…….
As expected, no matter how I thought about it, something stank.
At the end of the Demon King’s Battle, I had faced one of the high-ranking Demon Kings, Gamigin.
Thanks to that, I had personally confirmed just how extraordinary a high-ranking Demon King was.
For starters, words did not get through to a high-ranking Demon King.
-“□□.”
But let’s assume.
If the “true truth” Karimzeba spoke of and the Archmages’ destination, the “extreme of magic,” were one and the same…….
‘Does that mean the Strange is the true truth?’
Through my conversation with the Tower Master, I had figured out that the extreme of magic was the Strange. No, beyond figuring it out, I had proudly gone and boasted that I was the founder of the Strange.
Since I had said it with my own mouth.
Not only the Tower Master.
The other Archmages must have realized that fact as well.
‘As expected, my mouth invites the beating.’
If the personality of some Archmage other than the Tower Master popped out, things would become quite troublesome. I could only hope Jesse would not suffer from mana exhaustion.
After swallowing a brief sigh.
At the end of my thoughts.
I came up with one possibility.
‘Wait, if a high-ranking Demon King is an existence within the domain of the Strange.’
If I proceeded under that premise.
There was one question that would be solved at once.
That’s right.
I had found the reason Gamigin had been able to resist [『the Strange』]!
The Strange had, quite literally, strange effects.
The reason Karimzeba, who had once been called the Fire Dragon, had lost to me when I was incomparably weaker than I was now was because he had no resistance to the Strange.
But Gamigin had been the only one.
I recalled the battle with Gamigin once more. If it had not been for the help of my Akshan seniors, even if I had manifested the Strange, I would not have been able to cast Gamigin into hell.
Then the conclusion was clear.
High-ranking Demon Kings.
They, too, like me, were existences that had entered the “domain of the Strange.”
Thinking of it that way, I understood why high-ranking Demon Kings possessed such overwhelming abilities. Because it was a strange power, no one had been able to resist it.
I murmured.
“I see.”
Yes, it wasn’t just me and Marcelo who had been running toward the Strange, was it? Not only the high-ranking Demon Kings, but the Archmages as well were advancing toward the Strange.
But, you see.
Everyone, keep this in mind.
Know your place.
“However, do not think to stand at the same eye level as me.”
As long as my dark history had its eyes wide open.
I had confidence that I would reach the Strange before anyone else.
It was not mere words.
Now that I knew high-ranking Demon Kings, demons, were related to the Strange.
Grandfell had no choice but to become even more serious.
Sshashashak—!……
No, that didn’t mean he had to get serious even about this.
Somehow, the speed at which the quill moved grew even faster.
There, I was able to feel it once again.
Good grief.
It seemed that, more than the path toward the Strange.
The path of hardship had opened far more clearly.
─Thwart the Archmages’ conspiracy. (In Progress)
●Face the Tower Master’s body. (In Progress)
But every road begins with a single step.
If it was the Tower Master’s body, it should be floating within the mana sphere at the topmost floor of the Magic Tower. As always, everything according to procedure. Visiting the topmost floor would come after finishing the chief’s duties.
And as always.
“Fail. Bensh William.”
Sssk—!
*
Yusra Kingdom.
The new captain of the Golden Palace’s Royal Guard was Enoch Lauren, the third-in-command of the Lionheart Knights.
Enoch suddenly thought of Jessica.
Why had Jessica been so horrified?
“Huaaam—”
There was so little to do that a yawn came out.
-“Commander, I wish to join the Zero Mountains expedition.”
Jessica’s declaration.
To think Jessica would take my place in the perilous Zero Mountains expedition. Enoch had no reason to object.
With Harkon’s approval, Jessica and Enoch’s duties had been exchanged today.
That did not mean guarding the Golden Palace was by any means an easy mission.
But.
“……
It puts my mind strangely at ease.”
It could not be helped.
Who in the world could approach the Golden Palace with impure intentions? This was a place Commander-in-Chief Lee Hoyeol visited every single day, no less.
Of course, the Commander-in-Chief was an extremely busy person. He did not remain there forever. Then, were there people who might aim for his absence?
No, what a thing to say when you know nothing.
‘Beyond one mountain, another mountain waits.’
That’s right.
In a detached room of the Golden Palace was Elsidor.
A bloodless, tearless elf was standing watch with eyes wide open.
I don’t know how he made an elf like that submit, but…….
Indeed, everything must be thanks to Commander-in-Chief Lee Hoyeol’s abilities.
“How long has it been since I had something this sweet?”
And Jessica’s contribution for turning down such sweetness should be added as well.
However, Enoch was mistaken.
The work of the Golden Palace Royal Guard had not even begun yet.
The sun rose high in the sky, and the clock hand passed precisely noon.
“……
Wh-what is this?”
Rumble—
As though they had all coordinated beforehand.
People began to gather like clouds in front of the Golden Palace.
They were none other than reporters who had flocked there to cover Hoyeol.
A sudden crowd.
Enoch reflexively shouted.
“Halt. Commander-in-Chief Lee Hoyeol has not yet returned!”
But then, something strange happened.
A crowd so large it should have been impossible to control lined up neatly in rows and columns again, as though arranged in advance. No one had ordered them to, either; they did so voluntarily.
“Rock, paper, scissors!”
“Yes! VBC goes first.”
“No, Director Yun. Did you spend all your time eating and practicing rock-paper-scissors?”
It seemed there was even a procedure of sorts for deciding the order.
Enoch could sense it.
This, too, was thanks to Commander-in-Chief Lee Hoyeol.
After all, even within the Lionheart Knights, rumors had been widespread.
-“Whenever the Commander-in-Chief opened his mouth, the surroundings went dead silent.”
-“Actually, I heard something from a Magic Tower mage too.”
-“What, what did you hear from the Magic Tower?!”
-“According to rumor, the Commander-in-Chief seems to be from a very noble bloodline in this world. Even those haughty Magic Tower mages said so.”
-“They even said there was a prayer called Homen or something, didn’t they?”
Simply Homen.
……
Was this how you did it?
While Enoch muttered inwardly.
Clop-clop—
The sudden sound of hooves rang out.
At the same time.
Sighs burst from the reporters.
“Phew.”
It was Skal, appearing atop his beloved horse, Alexander.
Hadn’t Skal maintained an air of mystery all this time?
The reason the reporters, who should have cheered at Skal’s appearance, were indifferent was simple.
“No way, he came again?”
“Now I’m sick of him more than glad to see him, seriously.”
“Is he not worried about Liuojunchun? There’s only a one-level difference, you know?”
Getting startled and shoving cameras at him was only fine for a day or two!
Just what business did he have with Hoyeol?
As if to put all his past mystique to shame.
When it came to Hoyeol, Skal was excessively clingy.
He had been chasing after Hoyeol to the Magic Tower, the Yusra Kingdom.
And even the Zero Mountains.
“This time, it really, truly, insanely urgent.”
“Well, is it a scoop this time too, Mr. Skal?”
“Of course. Once it’s resolved, I’ll hold an official press conference.”
As if that were not enough, Skal would subtly make his way to the very front every time while offering the same excuse. As always, Skal was about to grab Jessica and plead with her when he flinched.
“……
Sir Jessica Bright?”
“She has departed on an expedition to the Zero Mountains. From today onward, the captain of the Golden Palace Royal Guard is I, Enoch Lauren.”
“Ah, I see. Mr. Enoch.”
“……?”
Why was Jessica “Sir,” while he was “Mr.”?
It bothered him strangely, but arguing over it would make him look petty.
Besides, the other party was Skal.
‘Skal the Dragon Knight, is it.’
Before the Cataclysm, he had been one of the few adventurers whose fame had already spread even from the Empire. As Enoch was also a knight, there was no way he would not know of Skal, the Dragon Knight.
And yet that great adventurer Skal.
“No. More importantly, this is urgent, Enoch!”
Was restless.
He could hardly calm down.
“Unlike usual, there is something I absolutely must convey!”
He was throwing a tantrum, insisting that he had to meet Hoyeol.
Only then did Enoch understand Jessica’s look of disgust.
So Jessica had suffered under Skal like this every day…….
Unlike the firm Jessica, Enoch was soft-hearted.
“If Sir returns, I will convey your message.”
On top of that, Skal’s voice was deeply persuasive.
But more than anything.
Skal said there was something he absolutely had to tell Hoyeol.
“His lines are a little different than usual today, aren’t they?”
The murmuring reporters fanning the flames also played a part.
Unfortunately, however.
Skal could not achieve his goal this time either.
“But what time is it right now?”
“Huh? Wait, it’s way past.”
“No, Mr. Hoyeol isn’t the kind of person to do this.”
“Could some incident have broken out?”
“……
No way?! Ah, no!”
Lee Hoyeol, who had not broken his daily routine even once.
For once.
Of all days, today, he did not appear at the Golden Palace....
The topmost floor of the Magic Tower.
The soaked floor spoke of what had happened.
Flinch—
The elder mage who witnessed the sight.
“……
Chief Lee Hoyeol?”
Yugwid barely managed to continue.
“May I ask what has happened here?”
The horribly shattered mana sphere.
The essence of mana that had poured out from within it onto the floor.
The Tower Master had disappeared.