Chapter 283
Chapter 283
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 283
Chapter Title: Midnight Ball (4)
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Amy frowned even more than Shirone.
While ostentation could be a virtue for royalty, it seemed he hadn't considered that such displays only put Shirone in greater danger.
Shirone was scanning the faces of the nobles gathered in the banquet hall when he met the eyes of a large man across the room.
The man then let out a hearty laugh and crossed the hall diagonally toward them.
“Greetings, Sir Shirone! My apologies for the late introduction. I was distracted by the braised lamb over there. Ah, there I go again, delaying my introduction. I'm Litny Walker, Head of Security. The man in charge of keeping the royal castle safe.”
For the first time, Shirone smiled.
If he was in charge of security, he was also involved in his parents' safety, so it wouldn't hurt to make a good impression. Besides, he liked the man's straightforward demeanor, so unlike that of a typical noble.
“Hello. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Haha! That's right! It's never a good thing to see the Head of Security too often!”
He was a dependable man. His face bore the harshness of sixty winters, but his body was larger and looked more solid than anyone else's in the hall.
Walker offered a handshake, and Shirone accepted it.
In that instant, a flash appeared in Walker's eyes, and a wave of light washed over Shirone's mind.
For a moment, Shirone felt his thoughts come to a complete halt.
It was a level of control far beyond any eye technique he had ever experienced.
But as a mage who had reached the Adamantine state, he didn't yield control so easily.
Walker tilted his head in confusion, then, as if in realization, he smiled and released the eye technique.
Shirone swallowed a ragged breath and looked at Walker. His thoughts had been wiped away, leaving no memory, but he hadn't felt any particular hostility.
“Impressive, indeed. To withstand Clear.”
“Clear? Is that an eye technique?”
“It is. A technique that injects madness into the target. Prolonged exposure leads to loss of consciousness. But it seems it doesn't work on you, Sir Shirone.”
Shirone’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Are you saying you were trying to make me pass out?”
“Haha! Of course not. It just goes to show how powerful madness is. So powerful, in fact, that when you're hit with Clear, you can't think at all. Thanks to that, it cleanly wipes away even mental magic. It's the same principle as using hydrochloric acid to remove a stain that soap can't wash away.”
Madness was the purest mental state a human could reach. Therefore, any thought was bound to be swept away before it.
“As the one in charge of the royal castle's security, it was my duty to check if you had been brainwashed. I apologize if you found it rude.”
Shirone understood Walker’s position.
This was the heart of the kingdom, not a battlefield. The Head of Security had to be concerned with more than just visible threats.
“It's alright. If I were brainwashed, I wouldn't know it myself. Having you confirm it actually puts my mind at ease. I feel like I've just had a vaccination.”
Walker scratched his head, looking a bit sheepish.
“To be honest, it didn't go in perfectly. But if you can withstand my technique, which I've honed for decades, then no one should be able to brainwash you. And if you still get brainwashed despite that… what can you do? Some things just can't be helped.”
Shirone wasn't sure if he was supposed to laugh at that. For a Head of Security, it sounded incredibly irresponsible.
Then, Walker winked and added.
“The royal castle is a difficult place to understand. It's like a house with dozens of family members, all with different last names. Always protect yourself.”
Shirone belatedly understood his meaning and nodded.
“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind. It was nice meeting you.”
Walker let out a booming laugh and crossed the hall once more. Watching him pile his plate with braised lamb, Shirone was reminded of Rian, and a smile naturally formed on his lips.
The meeting between Shirone and Walker was an event that drew the attention of numerous nobles. And Zion was one of the people who had witnessed the scene.
After confirming that Walker had left, Zion moved behind Arius, pretending to choose some food as he spoke.
“Are you sure it’s okay? It looked like Walker just tried to use Clear.”
Arius had been thinking about that as well.
This morning, in the waiting room, he had installed a 'door' in Shirone's mind. If Clear had fully taken effect, it could have been affected.
“Clear is certainly the natural enemy of mental magic.”
“What, so you’re saying it failed?”
Arius gave a relaxed smile.
“That’s what would normally happen. But the door is different from brainwashing or hypnosis. It doesn't need to interfere with the deep parts of the consciousness. I installed it on the 11th level in case a situation like this arose.”
“Are you sure? What if it was broken?”
“That won't happen. If Clear had encroached upon the surface levels, Shirone would have lost consciousness. Knocking out a candidate for the First Prince in a banquet hall full of nobles would cause a huge stir.”
The 11th level of the human mind was where the thoughts of others flooded in indiscriminately. No matter how pure Shirone's mind was, finding the door there would be like finding a needle in a haystack.
Still, a shiver had run down his spine when Walker attempted Clear. He must have done a quick check in his capacity as Head of Security, but it was safe to assume that all layers below the 9th had been completely swept away.
‘He couldn’t have really thought Shirone was brainwashed. What is he suspicious of?’
Litny Walker.
Head of Security for the royal palace and a theorist on swordsmanship who authored *Kazuran Court Swordsmanship (Beginner)*. He was a man of great skill who, after winning a regional sword competition at eighteen, was scouted for the royal castle and had risen through the ranks ever since.
The position of Head of Security wasn't one you could get just by being strong. You had to have a thorough understanding of the nature of politics.
The fact that he attempted Clear right after the demonstration of Ataraxia was proof that he anticipated the existence of pests latching onto the archangel's power.
‘In that case, I must be within his sights as well. Of course, I’m no mere pest.’
Zion asked.
“Anyway, what now? It looks like Walker is suspicious. Don't tell me this will give him a reason to catch on to us later?”
“There’s no need to worry. Walker isn’t an expert in mental magic, and Clear, while having a wide range of applications, is based on a simple principle. You know how they say there's no panacea that's truly effective for everything? I can bypass it whenever I want. Let’s proceed as planned.”
“I see. Understood.”
Zion put some food on his plate and moved away from Arius.
After his encounter with Walker, the nobles stopped approaching Shirone. There was nothing to be gained from getting on the Head of Security’s bad side.
Seeing Shirone standing alone, Amy quickly came over to keep him company.
“Shirone.”
“Yeah. How’s the party? Are you having fun?”
Amy shrugged.
“It’s alright.”
“Same here. So, what have you been up to?”
Amy pointed to her own eyes.
“I was watching with my Red Eyes.”
“Watching? What?”
“How many times people glanced at you.”
Shirone’s mouth fell open in a daze.
Of course, with eidetic memory, it was difficult but not impossible. But was there really a need for such hard labor?
“What kind of information can you get from that?”
Amy pouted.
“I don’t know. I was just bored, so I tried it, but it didn’t really tell me anything special. You’re the star of the party, so it’s only natural that people would glance at you.”
“Haha! Right. Don’t tell me you’re just figuring that out now?”
Shirone threw out a joke, but Amy didn't laugh.
“But… I did notice one strange thing. If I saw correctly, there’s one group that hasn’t looked at you once since the party started.”
Amy gestured with her chin for him to see for himself. Where she looked, a group of mages belonging to the Magic Department was gathered.
At that moment, a middle-aged mage standing in the center of the group turned to look at Shirone. His gaze felt like it was carving out Shirone's very mind, freezing him in place.
“That’s Aimar Bosun, the Head of the Magic Department.”
“That man is…”
A 4th-Grade mage, officially recognized by the Red Line.
A man of versatile talent, said to be so skilled that there wasn't an element he couldn't handle. Shirone had heard he oversaw all matters related to food production for the Kazura Kingdom.
Kazura, being weak in magical power compared to other nations, had no official 1st-Grade mages besides the Association President. The position of Head of the Magic Department was one held by a 3rd-Grade archmage in Tormia.
But even so, he was not someone Shirone could dare to judge.
Bosun stared at Shirone for a long time, as if to relieve his pent-up frustration. Then he smirked, picked up a plate of food from the table, and walked over.
“Greetings. My name is Aimar Bosun.”
Shirone and Amy bowed their heads in greeting.
Political affiliations aside, a 4th-Grade Red Line mage was a senior to be revered. While Shirone held a higher rank in the royal castle, showing respect to a senior was also a matter of pride as a mage.
“It was impressive, the power of an archangel. It will be a great asset to the Kazura Kingdom in the future. That is, if you become the First Prince, Sir Shirone.”
Shirone remained silent, tense.
It was the same kind of provocation as Zion’s, but it felt different. Every word was like a blade stabbing at his mind.
Bosun offered the food he had brought from the other table.
“Would you care for some?”
“No. I…”
Shirone’s face turned pale as he saw the food.
It was a chocolate called a Fresh Truffle, dusted with cocoa powder—the same type of dessert that had been served to his family, laced with a lethal dose of poison.
A murderous rage welled up inside Shirone. Was Bosun actually trying to assassinate him?
No, that wasn't important. If he wasn't the culprit, it was all the more malicious.
Bosun, observing Shirone’s expression, tilted his head and asked.
“Hm? What’s wrong? Do you not like chocolate? It’s truly delicious.”
Shirone wanted to punch Bosun in the jaw as he chewed on the chocolate. He was agitated enough to have such a violent thought.
Yet Bosun remained nonchalant. His composure only infuriated Shirone further.
“You…!”
The word escaped him before he could stop it, but just then, Amy grabbed his hand.
It was a trap. Any noble in the royal castle would know that the Fresh Truffles had been poisoned. Bosun simply wanted to get under Shirone’s skin.
Shirone came to his senses and calmed his anger.
When his carefully planned provocation failed, Bosun lost interest, just as she’d expected, and took back the plate.
“It was a pleasure meeting you. If you’ll excuse me.”
As Bosun walked away, the mages who hadn’t given Shirone so much as a glance until now all shot him mocking smiles.
Not a single one of them was a mage to be taken lightly. Shirone was once again reminded of where he was.
“Shirone, are you okay? That bastard provoked you on purpose. You did well to hold back.”
“Yeah. He’s a really nasty piece of work.”
The night deepened, but the banquet showed no signs of ending.
The nobles, perhaps feeling the effects of their drinks, began to dance the traditional Kazuran social dance to the music of the court musicians. And now was the time for Shirone’s group to act.
When the alcohol flows and conversations with ladies begin, all sorts of stories are bound to come out. The plan was for Reina to eavesdrop on them with her powerful hearing.
According to the original plan, Shirone and Reina should be entering the dance floor by now. But when Amy looked, Reina was standing in a corner, just watching hesitantly.
She seemed disheartened by the events of the day.
‘Was this her personality? It's different from how she appears on the outside.’
The thought that she was a kind person wasn't unpleasant, yet at the same time, a corner of Amy’s heart felt heavy.
In any case, the job had to be done. She sighed and went to Reina, then subtly pushed her toward Shirone.
Reina, as if she couldn’t resist, walked over to Shirone. But even then, she hesitated for a long time.
Shirone smiled and held out his hand. He had been feeling bad about losing his temper with her earlier anyway.
“Shall we begin?”
As Shirone treated her comfortably, Reina’s playful spirit returned.
“I learned this after so much nagging. It'd be a shame not to put it to use, right?”
Reina allowed Shirone to lead her as they moved around the dance floor. Countless couples danced the same steps, brushing past them.
A musician can hear a single off-key note even when dozens of instruments are playing. To Reina, human voices were like instruments, and a vast amount of information was being collected.
Talk of booking a villa for the summer vacation now. Talk of switching the bank used for a slush fund. A promise of a secret rendezvous, suggesting they meet in a room because security was tight.
If something big was about to happen, it would inevitably surface in conversation one way or another. But based on the information gathered so far, she couldn't detect any unusual atmosphere.