Chapter 102
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: A Hero's Resolve
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“Unexpected.”
After tending to the orchid by the window, the Chancellor personally served the tea.
“I never thought you'd request a meeting with me yourself.”
“I've heard the stories.”
“What stories might those be?”
“Rumors that quite a commotion occurred in Professor Rosalia's laboratory.”
“Hmm.”
“The tea has a fine aroma.”
The Chancellor smiled faintly.
“Isn't it? I grew it myself. It may sound like I'm boasting, but the quality isn't half bad.”
“Yes, it's quite excellent.”
“A Vile Breed appeared. It tampered with Professor Rosalia's research, and there was a process of eliminating it.”
Ludger, blowing on the steaming tea to cool it, asked.
“You're answering so directly?”
“Is there any reason to hide it? You came here already knowing, didn't you.”
While not as potent as the mana stone cluster, the ice crystal was also a massive concentration of mana.
Using it up completely to cast a spell would generate a magical wave that was anything but small.
No matter how many shielding and concealment magic circles were carved into the walls, there were limits.
Just as the Chancellor had felt it, some of the academy's professors had noticed the anomaly.
“Professor Joell was one of them. In terms of ability, he's among the top five professors.”
Professor Joell was one of the academy professors with ties to Ludger, and by extension, to the Schwaben family.
“What happened to the Vile Breed?”
“We caught it.”
“I heard you intend to postpone the Continental Academic Conference.”
“There was a small problem while dealing with the Vile Breed. Professor Rosalia's research, prepared for the Continental Academic Conference, was ruined.”
“Is that so?”
“I intend to ensure it can be safely presented at the conference. It would be a shame for a talented professor's brilliant discovery and invention to go unrecognized due to an unforeseen accident.”
The Chancellor added milk to his black tea and stirred it with a teaspoon.
“Would you like some as well?”
“I'm fine, thank you.”
“Some people ask why one would add milk to black tea, but once you try it, this smoothness isn't half bad.”
Faced with this sly demeanor, like that of a crafty old fox, Ludger felt a strange sense of irritation.
“Why are you telling me everything so readily?”
“Is there a need to ask? It's because you, Student Ludger, already know everything.”
Mmm, the Chancellor savored a sip of his milk tea and smiled with satisfaction.
“This is an academy. Academies are for studying, not for brawling with one another.”
“When you think about it, isn't fighting what we learn?”
“In the grand scheme, the framework is similar, but they are distinctly different.”
The Chancellor, having emptied his cup in an instant, refilled it with fresh tea.
“Weren't you largely uninterested in the academy?”
“No matter how little interest I have, I can't just stand by while a parasite grows inside my child, can I?”
“That's also true.”
“So, will you interfere?”
“I don't have the power to do so.”
Ludger shook his head.
“Even if I did, I have no reason to. In fact, if you wish, I can lend a hand.”
“There's no need for that. Just don't get in the way.”
“Understood. But that Vile Breed, who found it?”
“Student Aint. As expected of an Armian, his ability to detect demonic energy is exceptional.”
“I see. Thank you.”
“If you wish for another meeting, feel free to request one anytime.”
The second prince of the empire left the office.
“So he doesn't want to step into the forefront until the very end.”
Although he had answered the questions honestly, he hadn't told him everything.
That Pernyan was at the center of it all.
Pernyan wanted to keep it a secret, and the Chancellor accepted his request.
Because the Fallenberg family was the academy's largest donor.
‘It's not hard to guess why he wants to hide it.’
Even if Ludger already knew that Pernyan had grown close to Aint, this was a different matter.
The Chancellor poured his third cup of tea.
“Mmm. My own tea really is the best.”
It tasted especially good today.
* * *
A gust of wind sent a leaf falling.
*Swish—*
The fluttering leaf blocked the sword's path. The blade sliced the leaf in two as it advanced.
*Clang—!*
Sparks flew as sword met sword.
At the same moment, a sword flew from its owner's hand. After spinning slowly five times, it stuck into the ground with a thud.
“…”
Aint Armian stared blankly at his torn palm and the sword embedded in the ground.
“What do you think you're doing?”
Verian Calburden approached, fuming.
“You asked for a spar, so where's your head at? You think I'm a pushover?”
“…Don't I seem like a complete idiot?”
“What?”
Verian furrowed his brow at the sudden change of topic.
Aint pulled out his sword and swung it. But the blade, lacking any strength, couldn't even properly slice a single falling leaf.
The sloppy swordsmanship spoke volumes about his state of mind.
“That seed… if we had just let it be, a demon would have been summoned. It contained magical power comparable to, no, even greater than the Branch of the World Tree.”
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
“If we hadn't found out until the end, and a demon was summoned the moment Professor Rosalia made her presentation in front of everyone…”
It would have been a planned catastrophe.
The Continental Academic Conference was one of the most prestigious events in the world of magic.
Countless mages attend for money and fame, and the sweet scent of opportunity attracts wealthy patrons and nobles.
If things had gone according to the Vile Breed's plan, countless people would have died, including many talented individuals who support the empire's present and future.
It was a horrifying future, too terrible to imagine.
“So what the hell are you talking about! Speak so I can understand!”
However, Verian didn't know the truth.
“Ah… you weren't there, were you?”
“Are you mocking me? Just because I've been hanging around you, you think you can look down on me…”
“There was a Vile Breed in Professor Rosalia's lab. It tampered with what she was going to present at the Continental Academic Conference, and if we'd left it, a demon would have been summoned at the conference hall.”
“…”
Aint briefly summarized the recent events, and Verian hiccuped, overwhelmed by the sudden wave of information.
“…Something like that happened?”
“Pernyan noticed the Vile Breed in advance and stopped it.”
“Hah, that guy. He's certainly capable. When and how did he find out?”
“That's the problem.”
“What?”
“It's a huge relief that he stopped it, but I didn't know anything.”
Even after obtaining all the first emperor's arrangements.
Even while considering myself the adversary of demons.
“I couldn't do anything but trail along behind Pernyan, completely clueless.”
How stupid, how pathetic.
“Is that really so important?”
“It is. It's now a given that the Vile Breeds' schemes won't end after one or two attempts. But I can't just be caught off guard every time.”
“Pernyan will take care of it.”
“I can't just keep relying on him forever. He is who he is, and I am who I am.”
Pernyan wasn't Aint's man, nor was the Fallenberg family a vassal of the Armians.
“I need my own people. People who will help me.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“I've never really thought it was a pity that my family fell. I felt sorry for my relatives who only chased past glories, but I never experienced our heyday.”
A sense of lack only comes from knowing abundance.
For someone born and raised in a small village, city life was just a distant tale.
“Of course, I thought it would be nice if the family became great again, but it was a vague idea. Now that I'm at the academy, I see it clearly.”
Just how pathetic the Armian family has become.
“If the Armians had their former power, I might have been able to find the Vile Breed before Pernyan did.”
“Sorry, but I'm not your friend to share heartfelt confessions with. Did you forget how we ended up together?”
“Subconsciously, I did think it would be nice to become the great Armian of the past. But I've never felt this desperate for it…”
On top of that, Gardner's words fueled his ambition.
The timely appearance of Vile Breeds and demons increased the possibility.
“I want to rebuild the Armian family.”
It was the first time he had said it in front of someone.
It was that heavy a matter.
“You crazy bastard…! You're not listening to me, are you?”
Verian's face turned pale.
“No, I'm listening.”
“If you want to rebuild your family, tell someone else! Don't drag me into it.”
“The situation is favorable. The power of Armian is the natural enemy of demons, and just in time, Vile Breeds and demons are throwing the continent into chaos. It's a time that needs a hero.”
Aint wanted to be a hero.
“But even a hero can't do everything alone. I need you. To be precise, I need you to be my man.”
“What the hell is this madman spouting?”
Verian's face twisted into a grimace.
“I'm on Prince Ludger's side.”
“You *were* on his side. You've been abandoned now.”
“I wasn't abandoned, I was blackmailed into being by your side!”
“Well said. Hanging around Pernyan, I've learned something. To get what you want, you must not shy away from any means necessary.”
Aint's expression turned cold.
“You don't mean…?”
“Did I forget how we ended up together? How could I? And it brings another saying to mind. The first time is the hardest; the second is easy.”
Verian's eyes widened with a deep sense of foreboding.
“Become my ally, Verian. This isn't a request, it's a threat.”
“This bastard, really…”
Verian gritted his teeth.
* * *
[Breaking News: 198th Continental Academic Conference Postponed for Two Weeks...]
[Sudden Postponement Has Some Mages Cheering, 'We've bought more time!']
[Reason for Delay Not Clearly Stated... A Unilateral Decision?]
The Chancellor's words became reality, and the newspapers raised questions about the sudden postponement of the academic conference.
But with the Electors making their move, the matter would eventually be quietly buried.
With Pernyan's support and the Chancellor's help, Professor Rosalia began recreating the mana stone cluster.
And she came face to face with the source that had forced her to act as she did.
“…”
It was utterly unpleasant, foul, filthy, and repulsive.
An instinctive revulsion that any living being in this world, aside from demonic beasts and monsters influenced by demonic energy, would feel.
It wasn't very large. Roughly the size of a human head, if one had to say.
But the sight of blood vessels vibrating faintly like a heart over its thick membrane made it look less like a seed and more like a fetus.
Rage surged within her. At Aaron, and at the seed.
But at the same time, she felt a sense of curiosity.
What in the world was that thing?
How did it beat?
What would be found inside if she dissected it?
*Click.* She put a cigarette to her lips and lit it. Her weary mind cleared a little, and her emotions calmed.
“I've never seen anything like this. It's fascinating, yet repulsive and unpleasant.”
The Chancellor, who had helped with the dismantling, stroked his beard as he watched the seed squirming on the magic circle.
“Professor Rosalia, what do you intend to do with this?”
“You should be asking me, not the professor.”
“You?”
“This came from the research I invested in. Naturally, I am the one with the primary claim to its ownership.”
“But Professor Rosalia is the one who has been conducting the research.”
Their gazes fell on Rosalia.
“It's not that I'm not tempted, but this is not my research subject. However, it's undeniable that it's a byproduct of the mana stones Pernyan invested.”
Having received the Itarium elixir and a massive supply of mana stones, Rosalia knew full well who held the reins.
It wasn't that she didn't covet this strange, new thing, but for now, her research came first.
“So she says.”
“What do you plan to do with it?”
“I'm going to destroy it.”
“Destroy it?”
“It's something left behind by a Vile Breed. It's unlikely to be beneficial to us in any way, so of course, it must be destroyed.”
Other mages might be brimming with scholarly curiosity, but Pernyan was, at his core, a merchant.
He had no intention of leaving something that could cause immense losses if it went off.
“Will you buy it?”
“Didn't you say you were going to destroy it?”
“With demonic energy this potent, even if we destroy it, the energy won't vanish from its remains overnight. For mages overflowing with curiosity, its remnants would be something they'd pay a fortune to acquire.”
It wasn't a demon, so it wouldn't just vanish. It would leave a corpse, like a demonic beast.
“In exchange for helping Professor Rosalia at your request, the remains of this thing should be sufficient payment.”
*He's greedy. He's already received donations, and now he's demanding more?* But to the Chancellor, it was worth it.
“Yes, then I'll destroy it and give them to you.”
“I need some as well.”
“Yes, Professor, you'll have some too.”
“Are you going to destroy it yourself?”
“I've brought the person who will.”
At Pernyan's words, Aint Armian, who had been waiting quietly, stepped forward and drew his sword.
“So this was your plan from the start?”
“It's an item left by a Vile Breed. To finish it off for good, I believe there's no one better than an Armian.”
“If the demonic energy is damaged in the process, its value will drop, won't it?”
“It can't be helped. Nothing is more precious than our lives.”
Aint drew up his aura. A pure white light enveloped his sword.
“Wait a moment.”
The Chancellor gestured briefly. Several layers of defensive barriers enveloped them all.
“My laboratory won't be destroyed unless a hellfire falls on it, but one can't be too sure about people. This is a precaution.”
“Thank you.”
After the brief delay, Aint raised his sword.
But the moment the sword fell.
*CRACK—!*
A powerful repulsive force pushed the sword back.
*Flicker—*
The seed split open vertically.
It was an eye. A single, large, red eye popped out from its center.
- So, it has come to this.
A grotesque voice, as if tearing through eardrums, was heard.
The eyeball gleamed as it scanned the faces of the humans. An immense pressure swept through the room.
The eye soon fixed on Aint.
- Armian, you cursed scion.
- Today will be your last.
With no time to stop it from swelling madly.
*BOOM—!*
An explosion erupted.