Chapter 141
Chapter 141
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Laying the Groundwork for the Future. (3)
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The innermost chamber of the Mage's Tower, the Tower Master's room.
Ecarot and I sat across from the Tower Master, with the table between us. The food we'd taken out of the basket and placed on the table was cooling.
"Why aren't you eating? I picked out things I know you like on purpose."
"......"
At my question, the Tower Master, Midnel, remained silent. His eyes closed, his face turned toward us.
Midnel Haist.
The first and greatest mage in the empire, founder of the Mage's Tower.
Though blind from birth, he had been born with immense magical power.
'Just like in the original story.'
Long, light brown hair for a man, and an intellectual face. The faint wrinkles around his mouth hinted at his age.
His slender build might seem frail at first glance, but that was a misconception known only to those who understood half the truth.
'A man who could reduce this place to rubble in seconds.'
A powerful presence befitting the strongest mage.
What seemed like a shallow stream was actually a lake too deep to touch bottom. Transparent, dense vitality.
"How did you know I like these?"
Midnel pointed a finger at the food.
Minced meatballs with various ingredients, vegetable puree soup, tender braised fish—foods soft enough to swallow without chewing.
"I'm a big fan of yours, Tower Master."
"......"
Midnel's expression showed he didn't believe me.
Well, it was top-secret information, known only to mages in the Tower.
That Tower Master Midnel disliked mealtimes and preferred foods he could just pour into his mouth.
"Resorting to such tricks......"
Even at Midnel's scolding tone, I smiled without flinching.
"If not for this, how could I meet the busy Tower Master?"
"Don't do this again. It's quite unpleasant."
"Understood."
My ready agreement came with certainty.
Far in the future, Midnel would rush out to welcome me.
"First, state your name."
"Abel Ovest Kindriel."
Midnel's face showed little change.
"......A noble, then."
He muttered calmly, nothing more.
No sense of needing to observe formalities or surprise.
"I won't bother with etiquette. Even if the Emperor came, my attitude would be the same."
His indifferent tone carried fitting weight.
In truth, the relationship between Emperor Theodore and Midnel was hardly one of sovereign and subject.
'If anything, collaborators.'
They treated each other amicably, granting the mages territory in the capital out of respect.
Better to have them as allies than enemies.
"I know."
My grinning reply surprised someone else.
"What? A noble?"
Ecarot's eyes widened as he stared at me.
"You were a noble?"
"What did you think I was?"
"Uh......"
Ecarot's reaction suggested it was better not to hear the answer.
"Nothing changes. I don't need any special treatment from you."
"Then what should I call you......"
"Abel."
At my prompt reply, Ecarot's eyes twitched.
"That's, um......"
"Call me whatever's comfortable."
"......"
Ecarot bowed his head deeply, as if unsure how to react and wanting to hide his face.
Midnel, who had been watching our exchange, spoke up.
"Then let's continue from earlier. Delivering people? What do you mean by that?"
I nodded toward Ecarot.
"Exactly that. I've brought the person you were looking for, Tower Master."
"......The person I was looking for?"
Doubt crept into Midnel's voice.
"Yes. I'd like to entrust this boy, Ecarot, to the Tower."
Ecarot jerked his head up.
"What are you talking about?!"
His face paled as if thunderstruck.
"You're leaving me here and going?"
"It's not leaving; it's entrusting you."
"Same difference!"
Scraaaape.
Ecarot shoved his chair back and jumped to his feet. Anxiety spread across his bloodless face like wildfire.
"I told you yesterday! You'd take me with you! Was that just to dump me here?"
Rumble—
The items in the room shook violently. Not just the food on the table, but the clothes and bookshelves on the walls too.
"Huh."
Midnel's expression changed. He began staring at Ecarot in astonishment.
"Liar!"
Ecarot shouted.
From that moment, objects around them slowly began floating into the air, as if alive.
"Calm yourself."
Midnel quietly reached out and gripped Ecarot's shoulder.
"It's not good to do this here."
The floating objects hesitated midair. Midnel was starting to exert his power over Ecarot.
"-!"
Ecarot whipped around to glare at Midnel. His vivid golden eyes twisted savagely.
Crack—
A corner of the table crumpled. The objects, paused briefly, now moved faster and more wildly.
"Huh!"
Midnel looked around in shock, stunned that Ecarot had shaken off his suppression.
"......"
Midnel's face darkened. His once-mild expression hardened coldly in an instant.
"-Ugh."
Ecarot let out a small groan.
A battle of wills had begun between them—one trying to erupt, the other suppressing.
Rumble rumble—
Midnel's office shook as if an earthquake had struck. One wrong move, and the whole room could blow away—a powder keg ready to ignite.
"Ecarot."
Until I grasped Ecarot's hand.
"-!"
Ecarot startled and looked at me. His pale face was drenched in cold sweat.
"Don't waste your strength on pointless things."
I wiped his forehead and the bridge of his nose, then gripped both his hands tightly.
"What did I say was the reason I brought you here?"
"......"
"A place where your talent can bloom. And only here can that happen."
Ecarot's eyes reddened. Soon, a damp voice leaked out.
"......Why leave just me here?"
"......"
"Ugly kids, pretty girls, muscle-headed guys. You keep those around."
The Victoria Merchant Group folks would clutch their necks if they heard that.
"Tch."
I pinched Ecarot's lips shut with my fingers.
"If you don't want to, you don't have to stay. Let's go back."
Color bloomed on Ecarot's face, then,
"But you'd live your whole life without knowing your own power."
Faded again at my follow-up.
"The power to protect yourself and even others."
"......"
"This world isn't that kind. You know that, right?"
I released his hands as I spoke.
"That the weak and foolish just get hurt. That you lose yourself and get dragged around."
Like molten gold overflowing, Ecarot's eyes boiled then cooled repeatedly.
"Even the people you look down on have overcome their own hardships to be where they are."
"......"
"You decide. The choice is yours."
I stepped back from Ecarot, watching him silently as I waited for his answer.
"......Okay."
A subdued voice emerged, and the air around us calmed at the same time.
Clack, thump, rattle.
The floating objects settled back to the floor.
"I'll be good. I'll do as you say. So......"
Ecarot's voice choked, unable to continue. As he closed his eyes, tears welled up and spilled from the corners.
"......Don't,"
"What's got you so anxious?"
I cut him off, reaching out to wipe the teardrop pooling under his delicate chin.
"You think I'll leave you here and never come back?"
"......"
"If that were the case, I wouldn't have saved you."
I gently brushed his damp lashes, rubbing the moisture from my thumb as I spoke.
"Got it? I didn't bring you here to make you a slave."
"......"
"You're your own master. Don't rely on others as your center."
I straightened his messy hair and firmly guided him back to his chair. Ecarot yielded to me meekly.
"I'll be leaving the capital for a while anyway. Planning to return in a few months."
"......Where are you going?"
"The north. Perfect place for a kid like you to freeze to death."
"......"
"If you want to travel with me, get stronger than you are now."
I flicked his forehead lightly and grinned.
"Eat well, grow a bit taller."
In the original story, Ecarot grew into a tall, handsome man, so it wasn't wrong.
"......"
Midnel had been watching us quietly. Especially when Ecarot's energy subsided, he even let out a low sigh of admiration.
"Well then."
I turned to Midnel with a gentle smile.
"Please take good care of our little one."
Midnel looked at me, his face flushed.
"How did you find this child?"
"By chance."
Though we'd prepared thoroughly to encounter him, whether it truly counted as chance was debatable.
"He seemed extraordinary, so I brought him to a place fitting for him."
"......Indeed."
Midnel gazed intently at Ecarot.
"I've never seen talent like this. No other place could handle him."
He tried to play it cool, but his face was full of surprise at this sudden stroke of luck.
Like searching through mud for pearls, only for someone to hand you a massive one.
'Right when he was agonizing over raising another disciple.'
In the original story, around this time, he was quite troubled.
By his first disciple, Siena Cruelty—brilliant in talent but inversely awful in character.
Siena was eyed as the next Tower Master candidate, but Midnel doubted the future she'd create. So he sought another disciple to check her ambitions.
One with unbreakable resolve, aimed in the right direction, drawing support with untouchable genius.
'That was Ecarot.'
Appearing alongside Cain, Ecarot rocketed to next Tower Master contention like wildfire. Cain's waterfall of wealth further solidified support for him.
"Here."
I handed Midnel a sheet of paper.
"This is a pledge that I'll be his guardian. Touching him is the same as touching the Kindriel family."
Midnel unfolded the paper and read it quietly. Though blind, he perceived objects as if seeing.
"He must lack for nothing—be it food, shelter, or research materials."
"......"
"I'll pay generously. All costs from here—"
I pointed to the bottom of the paper.
"—will be covered by the Victoria Merchant Group. Plus, a massive donation to the Mage's Tower."
Snap.
Midnel folded the paper audibly and stared at me.
"Joining the Tower means becoming family."
His voice was rock-solid.
"Even without your threats, I wouldn't mistreat this child."
"Threats? I was just asking nicely."
I grinned and leaned back.
"Just a request."
"For a request, your glare was awfully fierce."
"Must be your imagination."
I leaned loosely into the chair.
"Finally, one last 'request'."