◈ Episode 399. The Butterfly Effect in the Flower Garden (1)
The William family.
Matisse assessed its might in plain terms.
“One of the greatest magical families of the present age.”
Bellier nodded quietly.
“Senior Bensh, in particular, was so renowned that he was called the Flame Emperor of the William family. Even before he entered the Magic Tower, rumors of him had already reached it. I remember chatting with him myself. I wondered if there was something in their background that made fire mages inevitably famous, Karimjeva included.”
Hm, hearing that, I understand. ‘So that’s where that unbreakable self-esteem came from.’ In short, a flower raised in a greenhouse that had never known failure.
A man who had no concept of adversity itself.
That was Bensh William.
Well, he had never offended Granfell’s sensibilities.
I had glimpsed nobility in the way he dressed. ‘I just thought he was on the level of ordinary senior mages.’ Players could choose the mage class as they pleased, but the people of Arcana could not.
They were not called magical families for nothing. It meant that bloodline was important if one wanted to become a mage.
Bellier smiled as she looked at Bensh walking ahead.
“Even so, Senior Bensh is quite unblemished as a person, isn’t he?”
Twenty senior mages, each overflowing with individuality.
Their general personalities?
You could tell by how they treated Bangrit, a fellow senior mage.
The one and only senior mage of common birth in the Magic Tower. At some point, Bensh had gone beyond treating that Bangrit without prejudice and had begun treating him like a close friend. ‘The problem is that he’s far too oblivious.’ Well, still, he’s a good person.
In any case, Marcelo was Marcelo after all.
So he hadn’t permitted Bensh to leave the tower for no reason?
“Nash William. He is my younger brother, but he is quite admirable. Apart from his magical achievements, he is extremely diligent. Should I say he’s humble, unlike a mage? Though sometimes his humility goes too far and prevents him from displaying his abilities properly.”
Nash, the imperial mage I had met in Antonium.
I pulled his face from my memory.
I had thought that blond hair strangely resembled someone’s…
Only now did I nod in understanding. ‘I didn’t know because, other than their appearance, nothing about them was alike.’ The features that blended with that dazzling blond hair certainly resembled each other.
And yet, to think they were blood relatives was almost difficult.
Their personalities were that different.
Bensh said with certainty.
“If it’s Nash, he will definitely know something!”
Then there was no reason to hesitate.
Whoooom.
Bensh searched for Nash’s mana.
Following the mana reaction, he manifested a portal.
I stepped forward first, and the rest followed behind me.
“Uegh?!”…
Now that I look at it, even their startled exclamations are the same.
After Nash saw my face and stamped his feet in shock.
He then saw Bensh’s face revealed behind me and was aghast.
“Sir Lee Hoyeol… Ah, no! Br-Brother Bensh!!”
“It seems you’ve been well, Nash.”
“I missed you, Brother…!”
Nash even had tears in his eyes. I wondered if the brothers were making too much of a fuss, but once I heard the details, I could fully understand.
“You’ve grown so tall? You might be taller than me now.”
Hadn’t he said this was the first time they had seen each other since Bensh entered the Magic Tower? Considering how mages of the Magic Tower, especially high-ranking mages, and even more especially Bensh, had repeatedly failed to leave the tower… ‘I feel a little guilty.’
I must have had a share in denying him permission to leave every time.
I should generously watch over at least this touching reunion.
Soon, Bensh introduced us.
“This is Senior Mage Matisse Dean Karl, founder of Black Magic Studies, and Senior Bellier Yusia of Healing Magic Studies. Both are highly renowned even within the Magic Tower. And this person, as you are well aware.”
“Yes, Sir Lee Hoyeol…”
“The pride of our Magic Tower.”
“…
Pardon? Magic Tower?”
Come to think of it, I don’t think I ever had a proper chance to converse with Nash. Even if the Emperor knew that I was the Chief of the Magic Tower, Nash might not know.
Bensh gilded me in radiant gold.
“He is the founder of reversal magic, evaluated as the most abstruse magic in the history of the Magic Tower, and the rebuilder of the Magic Tower. At the same time, he is our Chief Mage Lee Hoyeol, who has brought a new wind to the Magic Tower!”
“Ch-Ch-Ch-Chief Mage…!!”
Somehow, Nash looked even more surprised than when I had saved the Empire.
In fact, from a mage’s perspective, it wasn’t incomprehensible.
It’s a little awkward to say as the Chief myself, but… ‘It’s not something you can easily see on the Arcana Continent.’
The strongest armed group on the Arcana Continent.
Because they were far too powerful.
They were the executives of the Magic Tower, who could not exercise their influence during the former days of the Arcana Continent and could not show themselves outside.
It was understandable that mages, who fundamentally couldn’t help but admire the Magic Tower, would look at me that way.
However.
“But Nash, this is not the time to be surprised, little brother.”
Was it because he was in front of his younger brother?
Bensh continued with dignity.
With a serious expression, Bensh asked about the situation.
“Why are you outside Antonium, Nash?”
“Yes, Brother. By His Majesty’s command, I headed outside Antonium to erect mana stone spires in the rebuilt cities. Sir Hoyeol. No, Chief Lee Hoyeol. No, infinitely deep…”
…
Yes, I understand why you’re stammering.
I have so many epithets.
Your head must be complicated, right? ‘Even I get confused sometimes.’
I spoke generously to the wandering Nash.
“You may call me whatever is comfortable for you.”
“…
Thank you. It was all thanks to Sir Lee Hoyeol laying the foundation with reversal magic. The protection of the Qirnberg Machine Tower cannot be overlooked either.”
“Ooh.”
Granfell’s way of speaking never explains kindly. I had only said that the Empire had begun rebuilding, not told the senior mages in detail exactly what help I had given in the process.
“As expected of reversal magic!”
Bensh looked around and continued.
“I did think it was beyond expectations, but as expected, Chief Lee’s support shone through! Then let me ask you, Nash. Why has Antonium sealed its gates? Does the Emperor perhaps have some plan?”
“That is…”
For an instant, Nash’s gaze turned toward me, if only for a moment.
“I regret to say that I cannot guess, Brother.”
“Is that so? Well, it happened while you were outside.”
“I apologize.”
Even as he trailed off, his eyes once again turned toward me. ‘This.’
Judging by my instincts as a working adult, it seems he has something to say only to me.
Then let’s create an opportunity.
I immediately spoke to the three seniors.
“Can you enter Antonium?”
“I judge it difficult to bring down the walls with our magic alone. Moreover, the Empire has been wary of the Magic Tower since ancient times. In Antonium’s imperial archives, there will likely be measures prepared to deal with mages, including obsidian.”
“Above all, wouldn’t there be no way to enter Antonium without harming the people? We can’t summon Meteor Strike like we did in America, so this is troublesome.”
Matisse and Bellier looked troubled.
Bensh was once again talking about the secret magic of the William family.
I didn’t think there was any need to listen closely.
“Keep watch and deliberate.”
“We will.”
With my words, the group dispersed.
Nash naturally followed behind me.
Only after confirming that there was no one around did he speak.
“I apologize, Sir Lee Hoyeol. There is something I could not say in front of the others, and of course not even in front of my brother, so I regretfully resorted to signaling you with my eyes.”
“There is no need to ask for understanding.”
Surely, there must be a reason for it.
“I know your heart for the Empire.”
An opportunity for Nash to leave the Empire?
He had had plenty.
There was no need to go far back. Even when the Sword Saint, Shegwin, had surrounded Antonium with the rebel army. If someone of Nash’s caliber had decided to betray the Empire? ‘The rebel army would have welcomed him even if they had to treat him with the utmost courtesy.’
However, Nash had defended Antonium until the very end.
It was impossible without a heart that cared for the Empire and the Emperor.
“I do not know where to put myself, hearing you say that.”
Nash nodded quietly and continued.
“And… I do not know if I should say this.”
What is he trying to talk about, laying the groundwork first?
Needless to say, although Granfell was severe about grudges, he was not narrow-minded.
And if the target wasn’t a demon, he could generously forgive even grudges.
“Of course.”
When I nodded, Nash made his decision.
But then.
“…
Your blood relative.”
That first sentence alone is beyond anything I imagined…?!
“That’s right. Not long ago, a man who claimed to be the prodigal son of the Claudi family came to Antonium. It is my fault for guiding that man to His Majesty. I should not have listened to such nonsense…!”
My blood relative.
If this had been reality, would he have been talking about an enemy?
I would have first suspected that Lee Yerim had caused some kind of trouble.
But this was the Arcana Continent.
On the Arcana Continent of the present, not the past.
There was only one person who could be called my blood relative.
That bastard from that day.
“Because he had the same silver hair as you, Sir. Because I thought I must not be rude to someone who might be your blood relative. I could only watch as he moved that vile mouth of his before His Majesty…!”
So that was what happened.
After hearing Nash’s words, I could guess.
Why the Emperor had sealed Antonium’s gates.
Yes, he had been bewitched by a demon. ‘And that’s no ordinary demon.’
It was none other than the great evil, the Seven Deadly Sins Pride.
-“Are you telling me to confess everything truthfully? Are you saying you truly do not know what happened? Claudi, a man with the same silver hair as you…!”
-“Took the lives of my kin.”
-“Pride. He definitely said that.”
Ulrich, the orc I met while carrying out a request in the uppermost spacetime.
While carrying out that quest, I had been certain that he was Pride. ‘I thought he had been oddly quiet.’
The Emperor changing his mind as easily as flipping his palm?
Now that I know the circumstances, it isn’t shocking.
A demon’s ability rises greatly depending on the vessel of the body it possesses. You can tell just by how the demons coveted my body without knowing their place, can’t you?
In that sense, a Claudi body? ‘It might be beyond a great evil.’
The final Seven Deadly Sin.
It meant he might be prey truly worthy of that name.
It didn’t simply mean strength.
“I am filled with regret. If only I had not gone outside Antonium, I might have been of some small help to you and Brother Bensh…”
He was holding the people of Antonium hostage.
The great variable was that there was no telling what he would do if things went wrong.
I opened my mouth.
“It is not your fault, Nash.”
“…
It was all my negligence.”
“No, the root of all this is a demon.”
“A d-demon…? Su-Surely?”
“He is not my blood relative.”
I continued coldly.
“He is nothing more than an inferior and hideous breed.”
Leaving Nash, who flinched, behind.
I looked at Antonium’s firmly closed gates.
I thought of a way to retake Antonium safely. ‘It won’t be easy.’
Pride.
He was the demon who had led none other than Claudi to destruction. Even if other forces, including the Shadow Mercenaries, had joined in, leading that must also have been one of his abilities.
In other words, there was reason to suspect what kind of plan he was hatching and coiling around within the tightly shut Antonium. What was urgent was information from inside Antonium. ‘I need to know the specific situation within Antonium.’
Through experience, I imagined the worst-case scenario.
If Pride was planning to offer Antonium as a sacrifice.
Merely sweeping over it with the Evil Eye would not reveal the signs.
And what bothered me most of all was. ‘He doesn’t seem to have any intention of hiding this insane stunt.’
If he wanted to hide it, he could have hidden it as much as he liked.
If he had not suddenly locked Antonium’s gates, then not only I, but even Nash at the Emperor’s side would not have realized that Pride had extended his evil hand.
It was at the moment my head was growing complicated.
“!”
Suddenly, mana rippled from Nash’s body.
“Who are you?”
Nash warned in a sharp voice.
Though not to the level of his elder brother Bensh, it was still a fine flow of mana in its own right.
Did the other party also sense that?
“I have come because I have something to tell you.”
An awkward but seemingly as respectful as possible polite voice rang out.
But at the words that followed, I froze. …
What?
“My life has been abandoned by the world and thrown to the bottom, but because of that, I do not forget the grace I received from others, even in death. I have brought you news from inside Antonium.”
The man raised his head.
Over his face, the Citadel overlapped.
The faces of the assassins.
I see.
So that was it.
“The Scavenger will repay Claudi’s mercy.”
So you hadn’t let my old-fashioned words go in one ear and out the other, Granfell?