Chapter 52
Chapter 52
Chapter 52
Tower of Trials (1)
Returning from his contemplation, Rudian muttered while mulling over Elvin's words.
"Right, such a place would have been created only in the age of myths."
However, the fact that it was created in the past could coexist well enough with the fact that it exists in the present.
"Tower of Trials..."
Rudian quietly spoke the name of a place.
"Diablo."
-What is it, brat?
"If you were to meet another of the Seven Seats in your current state, how would you react?"
-What?
Diablo asked back as if dumbfounded.
But that reaction lasted only for an instant, and soon after he began to laugh sinisterly.
-KUHUHUH, if I were to really meet them, I would greet anyone with a very happy smile while crushing their face.
"You must have gotten along quite well."
-Before raising the common banner of invasion of the middle realm, the Seven Seats engaged in endless bloody slaughter battles day after day. Making alliances to destroy one guy, then immediately stabbing each other in the back the next day was routine.
It's boastful.
-Even though this body is sealed, to think I can't handle mere chicken-heads from the heavenly realm and have to make truces... They should be grateful I'm letting them off with just face-crushing!
"Ah, is that so?"
Rudian muttered helplessly.
-But for you to say such things to this body, there must be a good reason for it, brat?
Rudian nodded in agreement.
"Right. I'm thinking of obtaining one of the legacies left by the Seven Seats within a month."
-Hooh?
"And while I'm at it, I'll train there risking my life."
At the mention of a Seven Seats' legacy, Diablo showed great interest.
-Which of the Seven Seats?
"It wouldn't be fun if I told you now."
Diablo flew into a rage and made a fuss at those words, but Rudian easily ignored him.
When Diablo quieted down, Adi stepped up to bat next.
-Master.
"What?"
-Master is growing very rapidly even now.
"I know."
-The five-year deadline Master proposed, considering the current growth rate, you'll easily achieve that goal and more.
If Adi says so, then it really would be so.
-Aren't you rushing too much...? If it's a legacy left by beings called the Seven Seats, surely the difficulty of obtaining it will be tremendous?
Rudian nodded.
"Right. Actually, Diablo's case was lucky. Originally, powerful demons or demonic beasts would have appeared in droves."
-If you know this, is there a reason you must take such risks? Rather, it would be better to recover one of my terminals first and then challenge it...
"The risk itself is the purpose. And there's definitely a reason."
Rudian looked at Adi and raised a finger.
"I bluffed and forcibly made a non-aggression pact with those guys, but I don't know when or where my true capabilities will be exposed. And this contract itself isn't between groups but between me and Asmodeus, so even if others intervene, it won't break easily."
Asmodeus probably agreed to make the contract knowing this fact.
Of course, this part was what Rudian aimed for.
"Anyway, this non-aggression pact won't last long. Before I strike them first, there's one fool who can't stand it and will attack me first."
Diablo laughed pleasantly as if he realized.
-KUKUKUK! You mean Rigos.
"Correct."
-Certainly, if it's that battle-crazy fool, there's a high possibility he'll attack you without thinking ahead. Marbas is controlling him, but no one knows when that lid will blow off.
Naturally, Diablo knew in detail about Rigos, one of the seventy-two Demon Kings, and even his disposition.
"So I'm going to strike him first."
-Wouldn't Master making a move be a contract violation?
"If he attacks first, it's not a contract violation."
Rudian smiled like a mischievous child.
"If I leave the capital, he'll be dying to move. Since Marbas is away on an expedition, Asmodeus alone won't be able to stop him, so there's probably a high chance he'll come rushing out."
-But there's no guarantee he'll come alone. He'll probably bring a bunch of subordinates, and then Master would have no chance of winning.
"I know. Fighting head-on would be certain defeat. But I have an idea."
Rudian's eyes turned to a girl who had been quietly watching him from the corner.
Neither Sonya, nor Gray von Bellatrix... None of them could notice the existence of the girl who had been keeping her place until now.
"Because I have the strongest guardian."
Yev's expression, looking at such Rudian, still showed no change whatsoever.
***
The next day, Rudian immediately submitted a leave of absence to the Knight Department.
There were looks questioning why a transfer student who had barely been enrolled was submitting a leave of absence, but when he showed documents stamped with not only Luciella's but also Duke Bellatrix Sonya's seal, the person in charge passed Rudian's leave of absence without any complaints.
Power is indeed truth.
Having handled the academy matter, Rudian immediately proceeded to his next action.
-This is the Liberal Arts Department?
'I know.'
Rudian moved toward the Liberal Arts Department instead of the Knight Department he originally attended.
'Oh, just in case, you've finished confirming the location and status of all your terminals, right?'
-Yes, the exact locations have been identified.
'Good.'
-However, they were merely locked from user access and the terminals themselves were already activated.
For a moment, Rudian's steps faltered.
'What? Then what happens?'
-The energy and computational power that the terminals possess can be used. Like me right now. Of course, since the AI is asleep, commands would have to be input one by one.
'Isn't that dangerous?'
Adi's eyes curved strangely.
It felt like he was holding back laughter.
-If they knew Adora's language system, yes. Even to figure out basic commonly used commands would take an enormous amount of time.
'Ah, I see.'
-And if they keep inputting wrong commands, they'll get caught by security and suffer terribly. I can already see traces of security being triggered several times.
At that moment, Rudian understood why it took the demons occupying the dungeon several years to operate the Demon Gate.
'The Demon Gate was definitely likely created through Adi's terminal.'
Adi's computational power is strong enough to instantly activate any great magic as long as there's magic.
And if even a terminal can follow the performance of the main body Adi to some degree, then causality is established.
'There would be enough energy available.'
In addition to the already occupied Kingdom of Rohans, in the original story they even controlled the Empire, so there would be no shortage of magic or life energy.
'Phew, thinking about it this way, I need to strike them down as soon as possible.'
Rudian was going to find the one he wanted to strike down fastest among them.
"...Oh my, Lord Rudian?"
Sitri Belstad.
She was still surrounded by numerous academy men, laughing HAHA HOHO.
'Hmm, that guy isn't there.'
Rudian confirmed that Calline wasn't among Sitri's entourage and felt relieved inside.
It seemed she had kept her promise after all.
"What brings you here?"
"I wanted to talk for a moment."
"......"
After a moment of silence, Sitri clapped her hands and dismissed all the men around her.
'...It's like a king dismissing his subjects.'
When the surroundings became empty, her attitude, which had been all smiles, completely changed.
"Why did you come looking for me?"
The facade she had shown just moments before completely disappeared, and her cold true nature began to show clearly.
If he made a joke here, it seemed like curses would immediately fly, so Rudian got straight to the point.
"Ah, I came to notify you of something."
"...Notify?"
"Yeah, I'm planning to be away from the capital for about a month. I hope you'll faithfully keep to our contract terms even while I'm gone."
"......"
For a moment, Sitri's eyes narrowed.
It was clearly a sign that her thoughts had become complicated.
"I understand the intention, but it doesn't seem like something worth coming to find me for, does it? Couldn't you just hand it over to someone from your organization?"
"Sorry, but our organization is small and elite. Right now, I'm the only one in the capital. It would be awkward to call colleagues who are busy playing... No, working hard elsewhere, wouldn't it?"
"Small and elite..."
Sitri made a strange expression, taking Rudian's naturally spoken lie as information.
"Well, fine. If your purpose really is observation, we won't be the first to break the promise."
"That's quite reassuring to hear."
If you can control that guy well, that is.
Rudian smiled with his eyes while hiding his true thoughts.
"I trust you'll handle it well. It would be big trouble if that reckless guy on your side attacked me, wouldn't it?"
"......"
"So please take good care of it."
With those words, Rudian stood up without any lingering attachment.
'What? Did he really come find me just to say that?'
Sitri wasted time racking her brain to figure out Rudian's intention.
Of course, she didn't figure out anything.
***
Two days after notifying Sitri.
Rudian left Nevan and headed north.
There was only one companion.
Luciella offered to assign skilled knights, and Maria also recommended capable psychics for escort, but Rudian declined them all.
Elvin said he would follow to the end according to their contract, but Rudian persuaded him that this time was an exception.
-This is really dangerous work. Senior will definitely die.
-Then are you confident you won't die?
-She's here.
-Hmm...!
Elvin looked at Yev's stoic face and eventually backed down.
Yev naturally followed Rudian as if it were obvious.
In Yev's arms were plenty of popular products from a famous confectionery in Nevan.
Rudian looked at that sight with a sour expression.
'She's completely addicted.'
Ever since first encountering parfait, Yev had shown considerable obsession with food, specifically desserts.
When he asked why, she said stimulating and varied flavors were quite nice.
'Stimulating... Would she like spicy food?'
Since it might not end with just getting hit if he got it wrong, Rudian quietly set aside the thought that occurred to him.
Since she doesn't usually touch regular food, she probably only responds to sweet flavors.
'Well, it's better to have a hobby.'
Actually, it was also torture to constantly be conscious of Yev doing nothing but staring blankly at him.
'When she's paying attention to eating like this, it becomes much more comfortable...'
Rudian turned his attention away from Yev and continued driving the horse northward.
When the carriage had traveled several kilometers from Nevan.
Yev, who had been munching on confections, frowned.
"Unpleasant."
"...Huh?"
At the sudden remark, Rudian asked with a racing heart.
"Doesn't it taste good?"
"That's not it."
"Then?"
"Continuously this way. Following."
"......!"
At that moment, Rudian's anxious expression slightly changed to a smile.
"Do you know who it is?"
"Black flies."
"Aha."
There was no doubt about Yev's senses.
'They really took the bait.'
He had his doubts, but he didn't think they would take the bait so straightforwardly when he cast the fishing line.
Rigos.
One of the seventy-two Demon Kings and a famous martial arts demon king even in the demon realm had left the capital to capture Rudian.