Chapter 23
Chapter 23
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: For Aldeon's Light
-----------------------------------------------------------------
While waiting for Dershion to speak, I looked around.
But for some reason, the atmosphere felt off.
“…….”
“……Ahem.”
The elders were standing far away, staring at us.
For whatever reason, they all had grim expressions, and whenever their eyes met mine, they averted their gazes as if ashamed.
And they were all simultaneously glancing at Dershion.
Only then did I start to understand the situation.
It seemed the other elders hadn't expected things to turn out like this.
‘So... he pulled off this atrocity all by himself?’
This horrific evaluation appeared to have been forced through by Dershion alone.
Honestly, it was surprising.
No matter how great the tower lord's authority was, for the other elders to be this powerless?
As those thoughts crossed my mind.
Finally, the words I'd been waiting for came from Dershion.
“This should do it... We can say all the impurities have been filtered out now.”
......I was floored.
I'd expected him to apologize or explain as the one in charge... but this was his opening line?
I wasn't the only one dumbfounded. One of the mages slumped on the ground behind spat curses and charged at Dershion.
“You fucking bastard...!”
He was still clutching the short sword from the [Demon Goblin] I'd knocked away earlier.
I had no idea when he'd picked it up.
I reached out to block him before things escalated.
“Fuck... don't stop me!”
Bloodshot eyes.
Ragged breaths leaking out.
Hunched shoulders.
He looked exactly like someone on the verge of snapping.
Of course, it was a situation that fully justified his rage.
But times like this called for even greater calm.
Letting emotions take over would only make things worse in the end.
And I knew that better than anyone.
That's why...
“What, you gonna kill the tower lord? You, who could do nothing but tremble even in front of lowly demonkin?”
I scolded him even more firmly, more harshly.
“......Are you saying I'm in the wrong right now?”
His grip tightened on his sword as if he might attack me, but I ignored it and maintained my resolute stance.
“Not wrong, no. Everyone has their own thoughts. But...”
I placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Only stake your life when you have no regrets about your choice.”
“Argh...!”
He let out a frustrated yell.
But that was it.
Perhaps realizing his position, he didn't charge again.
Dershion, who had been watching the scene silently, spoke to me.
“Tsk tsk, the more I see, the more I covet talent like yours.”
Talent my ass—how the hell could he smile in this situation...?
I quickly changed the subject before the guys behind got riled up again.
“So, what's the plan now? We don't have enough people left to continue the next evaluation.”
“Hm...”
Dershion glanced around before answering.
“Indeed, you're right. It's impossible to proceed with evaluations with so few left.”
Every word from him was a gem.
I'd just said it offhand, but there really was a next evaluation?
His mouth opened.
Well... what nonsense would come out this time?
“I'll give you all a choice.”
“A choice?”
“Leave now, or become disciples of Aldeon.”
“That means...”
“Yes. You're all accepted.”
Dershion's gravelly voice echoed through the silence.
His tone was like he was granting mercy.
Someone ground their teeth with a crunch, but nothing major happened.
Which made sense.
These people here had all made it this far through a 1,000-to-1 competition, no matter what anyone said.
In other words, most were the type where reason overrode emotion.
But Dershion wasn't satisfied with that. He made one more demand.
“Those leaving, get out... Those who follow the light, prove your loyalty before me.”
This could be seen as the final hurdle...
It might even be harder than whatever next evaluation had been planned.
Pledging loyalty to the man who'd indiscriminately slaughtered blood ties, comrades, family—people precious to some.
Even if it was only on the surface.
“......”
As expected, everyone just eyed each other warily. No one stepped forward.
The funny part was, no one was leaving the tower either.
They were probably agonizing over whether to choose morality or the practical gains from learning light magic.
“......Tch. If you're going to do it, do it right.”
Since they couldn't decide easily, I stepped up first to set an example.
There's only one way to show loyalty in Aldeon.
Step.
I took one step forward, straightened my back into attention stance, and placed my fist over my heart.
Then, in a low voice:
“For the light of Aldeon.”
“......”
A vow to offer one's heart to the light.
And that was the trigger.
Snap, snap!
Thompson and Roan fell in beside me.
And...
Snap, snap, snap!
The rest of the mages followed.
They lined up straight, fists to chests, and said lowly in unison:
“For the light of Aldeon.”
“For the light of Aldeon...”
“For the light of... Aldeon.”
Same posture, same words.
But their expressions varied wildly.
Some shed tears, some had resolute faces like they'd made a decision, others wore blank masks to hide their feelings.
And they were probably all thinking the same as me right now.
Learn light magic fast and get the hell out of this damned place—.
“Good eyes.”
It hit me anew where I was.
This was [Devil Fantasy].
A world where only those cold enough not to waver emotionally after losing something precious could survive.
This was that kind of place.
***
Step, step...
Now official members of Aldeon, we climbed a mysterious staircase that defied all sense of direction to reach the second floor.
Following the elder's guidance, we ended up in a room with fifteen beds.
The lighting infused with light magic kept it from being dark, but with no sunlight, it felt oppressively enclosed.
And.
“You'll live here from now on.”
It was the space where the twelve of us, who had overcome the trials, would stay together going forward.
Think of it like a dormitory.
“What do we do here?”
I'd raised mages multiple times with sub-accounts, but this was my first time as an Aldeon disciple.
I cautiously asked the elder before he left.
“You new ones have nothing to do yet. Just attend the one class per day at the set time. I'll be teaching it, so keep that in mind. Seventh Elder, Oli Didan.”
“What about the rest of the time?”
“Do what you want. I won't interfere for a while.”
That "for a while" part was nagging at me... but it meant all free time anyway.
“One more question?”
“Speak.”
“Can the Aldeon School hold out?”
“......”
Aldeon hadn't just raised demons—they'd gotten twenty noble mages killed in the evaluation.
By modern laws, that'd be aiding and abetting murder, a serious crime.
With noble families and those who escaped first, an investigation was sure to come, and if things proceeded normally, Aldeon wouldn't stay intact.
Of course, the seventh elder understood my implication but didn't give a straight answer.
“......The light will guide us.”
Just some cult-like mumbo-jumbo.
But his expression made it clear even he didn't know how it'd play out.
“I see.”
Yeah, looks like I'd use my free time plotting an escape from the tower.
“For the light of Aldeon.”
I gave the elder the Aldeon salute as he left, then turned around.
My gaze went to the rectangular table in the room's center.
It was laden with appetizing food, as if meant to soothe our grudges.
But the only one sating his hunger there was Uncle Thompson.
Chomp—chomp—!
......Just like a commoner, he devoured it greedily.
“Hey, top-scorer! Done talking? Hurry up and eat. The food here's killer!”
“Yeah.”
I stepped over and took a seat.
Then, I glanced around.
“You guys not eating?”
“......”
The ten noble mages just stared at me silently.
It probably wasn't that they weren't hungry.
By now... it'd been about sixteen hours since we last ate.
So, guilt or something?
Whatever it was, I'd done all I could for them.
I wasn't their babysitter—I couldn't coddle them forever.
“......Suit yourselves.”
I finally ignored them and picked up a hunk of meat that looked like a chicken leg.
Someone spoke up just as I took a big bite.
“How can you eat right now? After all this?”
It was the mage who'd charged at Dershion earlier.
“What, too barbaric?”
“......Just curious.”
“Oh? Then let me ask you something too.”
I swallowed the chewed bite and looked at him.
“Why are you just sitting there?”
“Huh?”
“Why aren't you eating?”
“What are you getting at...?”
“Sitting still doesn't help anyone, Mr. Rieff.”
The one who answered instead was Roan, who had plopped down in a seat out of nowhere.
“Right, Yoo Han?”
Roan, chin propped on one hand, met my eyes with a sly smile.
......This slimy bastard.
“Now I get a better sense of who you are, Yoo Han. You're the type who can discard anything for your goals. Even your emotions, your humanity. Right?”
“......”
“Could even say you're afraid of being weeded out.”
Afraid of being weeded out...
Not wrong, so I stayed silent. He speared some veggies with his fork and continued.
“But your stomach's something else. No matter how rational you are, after all those mages got hacked to pieces... starting with meat?”
Hmm... yeah, it might look a bit off.
But this was another unconscious rational choice.
“Meat restores vitality the best.”
In this world, where you never knew when or where a fight might break out, prioritizing meat was most efficient.
Uncle Thompson across from me knew that too, which was why he was wolfing down meat nonstop.
“Right, Uncle?”
“Hm? Oh... just 'cause it's tasty? I don't eat veggies anyway.”
......Anyway.
Considering the energy I'd burned, I needed a ton of calories.
With the intent to stockpile stamina, I kept shoving food in without pause.
“But when the hell do you plan on stopping that damn informal speech of yours?”
“......”
Even after Roan's brow furrowed...
I pretended not to hear and kept at it.
And so, the first night in the tower passed peacefully without incident.