◈ Episode 338. A Worldline Without You (1)
It was different from usual.
The first to notice the sign was Bensch William.
Bensch’s office.
The sunset fading beyond the window.
“……
Hm?”
Bensch leafed through the parchment.
One page, two pages, three pages…….
But no matter how many pages he turned, there was no reply from Chief Lee.
Because Bensch had exchanged more written correspondence with Chief Lee than anyone else,
his head tilted on its own.
“Strange……?”
The notice of rejection always came back at the same time.
Right on the hour, around when the sunset was fading.
He did not know the exact reason why the reply always arrived at such a consistent time,
—it was because Hoyeol began his work by notifying Bensch of his rejection—
but there had never been the slightest deviation.
For a moment, Bensch was tempted.
“……
Could it be that, this time, he has finally recognized my sincerity?”
But even Bensch had a conscience.
No, an intuition.
“No, that can’t be…….”
That intuition seemed to be telling him.
No matter how he thought about it, this silence did not seem to mean anything positive.
After staring at the blank parchment for a while, Bensch picked up his quill.
Ssssk—『Rules of the Magic Tower』As soon as he wrote those words, the current status of the Magic Tower executives appeared in real time.
What Bensch wanted to check
was none other than whether Hoyeol had submitted a leave of absence.
“Let’s see.”
Unless he had submitted a leave of absence,
there was no reason why Chief Lee, who was always as precise as a blade, would not send a reply. But soon, after finding Chief Lee’s name, Bensch’s pupils trembled.
“……
Huh?”...
The Floating Garden.
Marcelo faced Senior Bensch William.
“It is a concern you are perfectly justified in having.”
“As expected, I knew Chief Marcelo would understand!”
“However, concern must not become suspicion.”
The rules of the Magic Tower were strict.
Even a chief was not free from the rules. Above all, if none other than Chief Lee had broken the rules and left his post, there must have been a reason befitting that action.
Marcelo continued.
“I do not know the detailed circumstances, but Chief Lee said that the selection review for the advance party would begin as of today. So, if only to ensure there are no disruptions to the procedure, would he not return soon?”
However, several hours later.
Marcelo and Bensch, who had parted ways in the Floating Garden,
ended up meeting again unexpectedly.
In front of Chief Lee Hoyeol’s office.
At the sound of someone’s presence, Bensch, who had been lowering his head, raised it.
“Ah, Chief Marcelo.”
“You were here first, Senior Bensch William.”
“Well, I simply couldn’t shake this uneasy feeling…….”
He did not hold meetings that had not been arranged in advance.
Though he knew it was a discourtesy that went against decorum, Bensch had just knocked on Chief Lee Hoyeol’s office door with his lips pressed tightly shut. Even if he were to receive etiquette lessons for it, he only hoped to hear that cool voice.
But.
“It seems he is still away.”
There was no answer.
From inside the office, neither voice nor presence could be felt.
Marcelo searched his memory.‘A fortnight.’The longest period Chief Lee Hoyeol had ever been away.
Compared to that time, perhaps they were making a fuss over nothing.
But the situation then and now was clearly different.‘……
You mean His Excellency left no word whatsoever?’For anyone else, perhaps, but for Hoyeol, it was unthinkable.
Tap.
At last, having made up his mind, Marcelo placed his hand on the office doorknob.
If he had waited quietly because he trusted Hoyeol,
then likewise, this was a decision he made because he trusted Hoyeol now.
Bensch flinched and said,
“Chief Marcelo, this is a grave breach of decorum……!”
Contrary to the words he spoke,
Bensch stuck close behind Marcelo as he opened the door.
Soon, the office came into view.
Marcelo and Bensch slowly surveyed the bleak office.
Documents neatly arranged on the desk.
Teacups lined up on the table.
Everything was no different from usual.
Bensch carefully opened his mouth.
“Um……. As expected, I think I may have caused a needless commotion. Our Chief Lee is not someone whose safety would be threatened by anyone. Especially not inside the Magic Tower!”
Marcelo did not answer immediately.
He stood motionless in front of the desk.
After maintaining silence for a while, he replied.
“You can tell by the order in which the documents are arranged.”
“……
Pardon? The order they are arranged in?”
“It seems the Chief arranged the documents for the advance party review in order, exactly as he said he would in advance. Among them were documents related to you as well, Senior Bensch William.”
“Truly?”
Drifting—Bensch examined the documents floating in midair.
“……!”
It was true.
From the list of books on flame magic theory that Bensch himself had authored. Perhaps because he had written them countless times, even the introduction to the application to leave the tower, which even he now only vaguely remembered, was densely filled in with Chief Lee Hoyeol’s handwriting.
Bensch spoke, his face clearly moved.
“As expected, every rejection held a profound meaning.”
It was undoubtedly a misinterpretation.
But Marcelo did not bother saying so aloud.
Because there was something else that mattered now.
“The documents themselves are proof that Chief Lee had no intention of violating procedure. Even if he left his post of his own will, it means he had no intention of being away for this long.”……
Then, as expected, by someone else’s will?
Shake, shake.
Bensch, who had been about to misinterpret again, shook his head.
That was impossible to accept, even assuming the worst upon the worst.
Then there was only one option to consider.
“Something went wrong unexpectedly……?”
Marcelo nodded.
There must certainly have been a reason His Excellency left his post.
But in the process, something even His Excellency did not expect must have occurred, preventing him from returning to the Magic Tower.‘I cannot be certain I will be of help to His Excellency.’But if that was the case,
he wanted to be of even the slightest assistance.
That was why Marcelo manifested magic.
At the surging mana, Bensch stammered.
“Ch-Chief Marcelo. Manifesting magic in the Magic Tower is……!”
“In accordance with procedure. I will have to submit it, a written explanation.”
The fact that he was prepared to submit a written explanation.‘Does that mean he has caught some sign……?’Bensch swallowed dryly and watched the magic being manifested.
Marcelo’s mana settled softly over the office.
Soon, the traces of mana engraved in the office surfaced.
Since His Excellency was surely no longer inside the Magic Tower,
he had guessed that he had moved somewhere through a portal.
And yet…….
He was wrong.
From the surfaced traces of mana, the process of portal interference—
no, not even a trace of mana could be seen.
Goooo—Marcelo withdrew his mana.
His complexion darkened.
Marcelo opened his mouth.
Yes.
“……
Now is a time when we desperately need Senior Matisse’s help.”
The only thing detected was “compatible mana.”*
The organizer of black magic.
The founder of dark magic studies.
At the same time, the senior mage who had achieved magical accomplishments comparable to theoretical magic, which was called the greatest discovery in the history of the Magic Tower—Matisse Dean Karl. At this moment, he was tormented by helplessness.
The Crystal Hall.
Matisse desperately held onto his senses.
He looked at Marcelo as he continued speaking.
“The mana trace detected in Chief Lee Hoyeol’s office was no ordinary mana trace. It was ‘compatible mana,’ which responds only to the manifestation of black magic.”
At Marcelo’s words, the office unfolded in his mind.
From several days ago until only moments ago.
Chief Lee’s office, which he had literally been scrutinizing until his eyes bored holes into it.
Marcelo’s words were not wrong.
What had been detected in Hoyeol’s office
was nothing but vast amounts of compatible mana.‘And I am the only one who can grasp the clue.’Matisse looked back over his knowledge of black magic.
However, he knew nothing of black magic that could replace a portal.
Furthermore, he could not find the reason why such black magic had been manifested.‘How, then, can I call myself the founder of dark magic studies?’Marcelo’s gaze turned toward Matisse.
“According to dark magic studies, to quote Senior Matisse Dean Karl, even if black magic capable of replacing a portal existed, there would be no reason to manifest it deliberately.”
Matisse picked up those words.
“Because compatible mana is unstable.”
Compatible mana originated from the caster’s past and background.
Yes.
In truth, Matisse had guessed from the very beginning.
Chief Lee Hoyeol.
The reason he had vanished
must surely have been influenced by
his immeasurably vast compatible mana,
and by a past and background so deep and dark
that one feared to even dare fathom them.
Elder Yugwid asked,
“Do you have any idea, Senior Matisse?”
However, Matisse shook his head.
Because he could not doubt it.
No, more precisely,
because the moment he doubted it, he felt as though he would be swallowed whole.‘That must never happen.’Vast beyond measure, compatible mana.
If the past and background that served as its source had flowed backward,
then he thought that even Chief Lee would not be able to overcome it.
That was also the reason Matisse had always worried about corruption. It was not faith that Chief Lee Hoyeol would overcome even falling to darkness.
It was faith that he would never fall into darkness in the first place.
Perhaps, because he was the founder of dark magic studies, he had sensed it instinctively. The unfathomable depth of a past and background against which even struggling might prove meaningless…….
It was the moment Matisse sank into thought.
Shudder—The cat, the Tower Master, trembled once and opened his mouth.
“Then it seems what the Magic Tower must do from now on has been decided.”
What the Magic Tower must do.
Those who had long known the ways of the Magic Tower would have had no choice but to ask in return. They might even have mocked, asking if such a thing even existed. Because the Magic Tower had always responded with indifference to anything that was not the truth they pursued.
But had a new wind not blown into the Magic Tower?
None other than Chief Lee.
The new wind Hoyeol had brought with him.
“I…….”
Carried on that wind, the senior of pure mana studies, Bangrit, who had returned to the Magic Tower, opened his mouth. In a situation like this, his timid personality was no obstacle to speaking.
“Just as Chief Lee Hoyeol saved me when I had fallen into the clutches of the demon worshipers……. I believe that this time, we—the Magic Tower—must step forward for Chief Lee Hoyeol!”
The Tower Master’s tail swayed.
“For once, that is the correct answer, Senior Bangrit.”*
Only five days.
And yet, the absence of his existence was greater than ever.
News of Hoyeol’s disappearance reached the Holy War Alliance as well.
Just as the Magic Tower had traced Hoyeol’s movements back from the Magic Tower,
they too pursued Hoyeol’s traces from their respective places.
The Yusra Kingdom.
A separate chamber in the Golden Palace.
The Garden of Dignity.
“Hm.”
The elf, Elsidore, lay sprawled over the table with his chin in his hand, looking out at the garden. Who was he? He was an elf, more intimate with nature than even spirits born from nature.
“There’s nothing to find fault with. No need to come inspect it.”
Elsidore shook his leg in a sloppy manner.
Five days to an elf who had lived for an eternity?
Even calculated honestly, it would be no more than an instant to a human.
But it felt different.
Elsidore grumbled.
“Still, shouldn’t he at least check what my pride is like?”
Elsidore still did not know what pride was.
It was only that the insolent silver-haired fellow had told him he would return his mother’s blessing if he regained something called pride. So he simply tended the garden in order to regain his pride.
This time, Elsidore sneered.
“No, isn’t the one who left without a word the one with less pride?”
Only one person had ceased to show himself.
And yet the atmosphere in the Golden Palace was dreary beyond measure.
It was as if the already uncomfortable palace had become even more uncomfortable.
“Honestly, this is why humans are.”
Elsidore did not stop muttering complaints even as he tended the garden.
Eventually, he even began speaking to the growing miracle herbs and elixirs.
“When he comes back, you all give him a piece of your mind too. Tell him you were hurt.”
However, Elsidore’s sulking did not last long.
On the sixth day since Hoyeol had vanished.
Elsidore’s body twitched.
“……!”
More precisely,
his blood, thicker than water, began to boil.
Elsidore’s gaze urgently turned toward the sky.
Elsidore opened his mouth.
“……
Lizard?”
Because his bloodline was connected to the World Tree, he could feel it.
At this moment, attempting to reveal itself in reality,
the state of the lizard, the dragon, was anything but ordinary....──────[Emergency Update]
A new boss monster will be added.‘Elder Dragon Yunaxus, Devourer of the Evil Fruit’ : Lv.2,500──────Now that Hoyeol had gone missing,
the details of the emergency update were like despair to humanity.
However, even if defeat loomed,
not retreating was pride,
and at the same time, it was the void Hoyeol had left behind that had to be filled.
The Holy War Alliance.
In place of Commander-in-Chief Hoyeol’s empty seat, the Knight Commander of the Lionheart Knights,
Harkon cried out.
“Today, we shall meet a glorious end!”
Even if they had to fill that void with blood.*
The manager of Orc Auction, Ulrich.
His voice, as he sat across from Kichi and spoke with her,
was trembling roughly for the first time.
“……
I-I cannot believe it, Kichi.”
“What can’t you believe? He’s perfectly alive, that person you’re talking about.”
“No, even if I saw it with my own two eyes, I could not believe it.”Ulrich could not possibly continue speaking while sober.
Gulp, gulp—He emptied a strong drink cleanly and barely continued.
“……
I peered into it.”
“Peered into what?”
“Rise, the great sage who foretells the future in Pandora’s Attic.”
“Ah, that old man?”
“I saw that person’s final moments through the crack in the attic window……!!”
“……!”...
Something had gone wrong.
I realized it thanks to the system message.
I opened my eyes in the darkness.[You are entering the curse, ‘Understanding of Darkness’.][Warning: Your understanding is too low.][The past is unstable.]
My understanding was low.
The past was unstable.
It did not take long
for me to realize what those messages meant.
Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo.
When it came to my dark history,
I thought I knew every single thing about it.
But apparently, that was not the case.
Silver hair fluttered before my eyes like hanging drapes.
Between those strands,
I could see the back of a man
with the same hair color as me.
Without showing his face, the man said,
“I hate you, Grandfell.”
What kind of absurd melodrama is this……!!