Chapter 174
Chapter 174
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 174
Chapter Title: Just My Luck (5)
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“This fog… it’s no ordinary sea fog.”
Faced with the unusually thick mist, the pursuit party had no choice but to halt.
“An alarm system for intruders, sensory disruption, and numerous traps inside. I’ll need to investigate further, but this is what I can confirm for now.”
Even without the warning from Professor Aquila, the self-proclaimed greatest tracker in the Empire, no one was foolish enough to plunge headfirst into a fog so dense you couldn’t see an inch in front of you.
“We need to decide whether to enter now or not.”
At his words, the knights began to voice their opinions, which were split into two camps.
“A long tail is bound to be stepped on. If we waste time and they find out we’re here, we might be leaving a problem for the future.”
One side argued for an immediate attack on the Azure Tower.
“If you’re worried about leaving future problems, then it’s all the more reason to request additional reinforcements from nearby families and knight orders and combine our strength.”
The other side advocated for a more cautious approach to ensure a complete annihilation.
The former group consisted of the Cradle’s professors and figures from nearby families and knight orders who had joined later, while the latter were those dispatched by the Imperial family.
“Mages are a pride-less bunch. Cut off the head, and the rest will scatter on their own.”
“And will the hands and feet just sit idly by while you’re cutting off the head?”
“It’s just a matter of whether we cut off the head first or the limbs first. The order is the only difference.”
“Could you try to make some sense? And even if we get lucky and wipe out the leadership, what will you do about the remnants scattering in all directions?”
“With so many brave and dedicated knight orders and knightly families all around, that’s a needless worry. If we miss this chance to take the Azure Tower’s head, we’ll regret it for a long time to come.”
As the two sides clashed sharply.
“Professor Aquila. This sort of thing is your specialty. Give us your honest opinion.”
“I heard you pursued the Azure Tower’s mages several times before taking up your post at the Cradle. Your words should be worth listening to.”
The attention turned to Professor Aquila.
“Honestly, it’s true that a chance to wipe out the Azure Tower in one fell swoop doesn’t come easily…”
“Yes!!”
“But it’s also unlikely the Azure Tower hasn’t made any preparations, so we also need to prepare…”
“Exactly!”
“That said, if we’re too cautious and they become aware of us, that would also be a huge problem…”
“Oh, indeed!”
“But just because it’s a rare opportunity, rushing in would also be…”
“A very wise point!”
Every word he spoke was met with alternating cheers and groans, making him almost afraid to speak.
“So what in the world are you suggesting! You’re going back and forth!”
“Are we going to wipe them out now, or are we waiting for reinforcements? Pick one.”
Eventually, he was berated by both sides simultaneously, a situation he found utterly unfair.
Flustered, he was about to retort when a low voice cut through the air.
“The only reason I’m tolerating this meaningless debate is because I do not wish to recover a cold corpse.”
It was the professor dispatched from the Gaznae family.
“Tearing these Azure Tower bastards to shreds is of no consequence. The boy’s safety must be secured first.”
Her words were a belated reminder that their mission was not the annihilation of the Azure Tower, but the rescue of a missing person.
“If you let yourselves be blinded by pathetic desires for glory and something happens to the boy, it would be the very definition of sacrificing the greater good for a small gain.”
Though an overstatement, her point was valid.
The knights of the pursuit party, who had been arguing back and forth, immediately fell silent.
“Was it Akali?”
“It’s Aquila.”
“Right. Agila. What happens if we step into this fog?”
“…Nine times out of ten, they will become aware of our presence.”
Despite the blatant condescension, Professor Aquila couldn’t utter a single complaint.
It wasn’t just because of the weight of the Gaznae name.
It was the sheer gravity of her presence.
The presence Professor Navian currently exuded was far too heavy to belong to a mere knight.
Even the high-ranking knights from the Imperial family and the Cradle were subtly watching her, yet she herself seemed completely oblivious to it.
“You’re saying you cannot guarantee the boy’s safety, then.”
Nevertheless, in that moment, they knew one thing for certain.
They knew who would make the final decision on whether to plunge into the fog.
“Agilia. You’re the expert here, correct?”
“…It’s not Agilia, it’s Aqui—”
“Then you must have a plan.”
Faced with her almost tyrannical attitude and the constant mispronunciation of his name, Professor Aquila couldn’t even muster the will to protest.
“A plan to get the boy out without a single scratch on him. I’m sure you have one.”
He could only rack his brain desperately.
After a long while, he finally came up with a suitable method.
“I believe escalating the situation might work.”
“Elaborate.”
“We mobilize the maximum possible force to stir up the entire fog-covered area, making it difficult for them to respond…”
“The short version.”
“…Fortunately, the Dasmier family, one of the Eight Families, is nearby. If we strike with their forces, the enemy won’t be able to spare any attention for a mere prisoner…”
“A mere prisoner?”
“…I mean, for the boy. In the chaos, a small team can infiltrate to carry out the rescue. Once the boy is safely extracted, we can proceed to annihilate the Azure Tower.”
Professor Navian did not hesitate for long.
“Good. I’ll be that small team.”
“Alone?”
“Acura, you’re coming with me.”
And just like that, Professor Aquila’s infiltration of the Azure Tower was decided.
A short while later, the imperial knight who had gone to request reinforcements from the nearby Dasmier family returned.
He was accompanied by the Dasmier family’s White Whale Knights.
“There’s nothing more to fear. I, Moro Dasmier, and my White Whale Knights have arrived. You all just follow from behind! We’ll handle the rest! Hahahaha!”
His attitude, immediately treating the pursuit party’s knights as cowards, caused everyone’s expression to harden.
“When the sea roars, a storm follows! Before us White Whale Knights, the mages of the Azure Tower are nothing but a disorganized mob…?”
Moro Dasmier, who had been boasting without a care in the world, flinched and turned his head.
It seemed he had belatedly realized someone was looking down on him.
Frowning openly, his gaze swept over the person from head to toe, finally landing on the black full moon crest embroidered on a corner of the black uniform.
“A black moon crest… Gaznae?”
His eyes widened in recognition, and his face lit up.
“Well, well, a Black Moon Knight of Gaznae was with us all along! To think I’d unexpectedly meet a member of the Eight Families in a place like this! A pleasure to meet you! I am Moro Dasmier! The current head of my family is my uncle. As for your branch of the family tree…”
“You ask for my lineage? Your uncle wouldn’t dare do such a thing, even if he were here himself.”
Stunned by the sudden outburst, his face turned beet red a moment later.
“Watch your tongue! My uncle is a proud member of the Eight Families, the master of the Azure Sea…”
Moro Dasmier, who had been shouting with a face full of anger, abruptly fell silent.
He then began to break out in a cold sweat. The White Whale Knights, who had looked ready to draw their swords at any moment, stared at their master in bewilderment.
The knights of the pursuit party were just as clueless.
They could only guess that the direct descendants of the Eight Families might know each other.
They simply entertained the possibility that the person they thought was a mere Black Moon Knight was a much bigger deal than expected.
Professor Aquila thought so, too.
Certainly, judging by her actions since leaving the Cradle, it was hard to believe she was just an ordinary knight.
There were even public rumors that she had fought the Director of the Cradle, a member of the Zodiac Knights known as the Gale Knight, to a standstill in several spars.
Add to that her uninhibited demeanor and unbelievable presence.
He couldn't rule out the possibility that she was the Captain of the Black Moon Knights herself.
The current Knight Captain of Gaznae was a monster personally raised by the legendary Black Knight.
Like other members of the Gaznae family, not much was known about her, but the fact that the Captain of the Black Moon Knights was a powerhouse that even the heads of the Eight Families deferred to was hardly a great secret.
If she truly was the Captain of the Black Moon Knights, it wouldn't be strange for her to act so boldly toward a direct descendant of the Dasmier family, who were in the lower ranks of the Eight Families.
“Let’s do this well.”
*Nod, nod.*
At her casually spoken words, Moro Dasmier nodded so vigorously it looked like his head might fall off. The Cradle professors exchanged glances.
Their faces all showed their conviction about Professor Navian’s true identity.
“Even as we speak, that boy must be enduring unspeakable torment. Let us hurry.”
At her signal, a thoroughly disciplined Professor Aquila began to explain the plan.
And at that very moment, the person they imagined was suffering terribly was lying in a luxurious bed, enjoying a level of comfort he had never experienced in his life.
* * *
Thinking back on it now, when I first arrived at the Azure Tower, I was like a hedgehog with all its spines raised.
“You’ve skipped your meal again.”
I refused the food they gave me, not knowing what might be in it, practically starving myself.
“Hah!”
Not knowing what might happen to me at any moment, I would jolt awake from a light sleep.
But that didn’t last long.
*Munch, munch.*
Before I knew it, I had become a pig being fattened up.
I filled my belly with delicacies at every meal, and when drowsiness overcame me from the fullness, I would take a nap in a luxurious bed the likes of which I had never even seen before.
“O, you who will inherit the Star of Gluttony.”
For some reason, the people of the Azure Tower seemed to consider me the successor to the Star-Devouring Mage.
I tried to correct their misunderstanding a few times, but I soon realized it was a pointless endeavor.
They had no intention of listening to me in the first place.
It seemed they had no interest in anything other than their assigned task—that is, to fatten me up.
At times, I wondered if the wicked mages of the Azure Tower had removed the servants’ free will and were controlling them like puppets, but after eavesdropping on their conversations when I wasn't around, that didn't seem to be the case either.
“Oh man. This work never ends. It just never ends.”
“You’re complaining about a full stomach. The others are dying to get assigned to this section.”
It was the kind of ordinary conversation you’d expect to hear among the servants of a wealthy family.
This was truly unexpected.
In fact, it wasn’t just the servants who were different from my expectations.
Almost every aspect of the Azure Tower was different from what I had imagined.
A paradise that appeared after passing through the fog.
The Azure Tower wasn’t even a tower.
A space surrounded by fog, a community of thousands of people.
That was the true nature of the Azure Tower.
At times, it was so similar to the outside world that I would even forget I was in the Azure Tower.
There were farmlands, markets, and everything else you would expect to find in a city.
Only the ominous aura and sinister gazes of the Azure Mages I encountered, as rarely as beans sprouting in a drought, reminded me of where I was.
I kept a low profile.
This was different from the situation with the Star-Devouring Mage.
These people were not friendly toward me.
I could tell just by the murderous intent and hostility flickering in their eyes.
However, despite their gazes that looked like they wanted to dissect me on the spot, they didn’t seem to have any intention of harming me.
According to the servants, no one would dare do anything rash to the successor (?) of the Star-Devouring Mage.
Unintentionally, the Star-Devouring Mage was now my protector.
Though that very protector hadn’t shown her face since locking me up in the tower.
She wasn’t the only one who hadn’t shown up.
Right after I passed through the fog, my connection to the stars of the outer constellation was severed.
“They’re never there. They’re never there when I need them.”
Since this wasn’t the first time, I just let it go.
“Aaaah! I’m so boooored!”
It was anyone’s guess when the pursuit party would come to rescue me, and the person who stuck me here was nowhere to be seen.
“Where is the Star of Gluttony…?”
Unable to bear the boredom, I asked.
“She did mention she was going to visit the Tower Lord, but I don’t know the details.”
I couldn’t understand why it would take several days to visit the Tower Lord, who should be within the same Azure Tower.
But as it turned out, there was a reason for it.
“The Tower is not a single space. It is a place where dozens, hundreds of different worlds, each with its own master, are stacked layer upon layer. That is the Tower.”
“I see.”
I had wondered why they called it a tower when it wasn’t one, but that made a fair bit of sense.
“But is it okay for you to tell me all this?”
“What do you mean…?”
“I mean, is it okay for you to just tell me secrets like this?”
At my words, the servant tilted his head as if he didn’t understand.
“There is nothing that the one who will inherit the Star of Gluttony should not know.”
“Really?”
An unexpected answer.
“Then, can I ask you something?”
My mind snapped to attention.