Chapter 360
Chapter 360
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 360
Chapter Title: The Magic Association (6)
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Shirone hailed a carriage to the Magic Association. His head was still throbbing from the series of knocks he'd received.
As he sat with the iron box in his arms, pouting, Plu scoffed.
“What? Are you upset you got hit? Well, who told you to jump into the scene without permission? Do you have any idea what this is about? A kid without a mage license using magic is a violation of the kingdom's laws.”
“I’m sorry about that. But people were about to die.”
Plu couldn't argue with that point.
“Hmph, that’s that, and this is this. You were prepared to take responsibility anyway, weren't you? So don’t complain.”
It was true, so Shirone kept his mouth shut. More than anything, the terror attack he had experienced today had completely changed his image of Vashuka.
“I’ve heard about Radum before.”
Plu, who had been gazing out the window with her chin propped on her hand, turned her head.
“A friend from the academy used to live there. She said it was a truly terrible place.”
“Hmm, that’s right. The residents of Radum are forbidden from engaging in economic activities.”
“Why does the kingdom just leave a place like that be? Terrorism is obviously wrong, but couldn't a more peaceful solution be found?”
Plu was silent for a long moment before she spoke.
“Do you know what happens if you don’t have a trash can in your house?”
“Huh? A trash can?”
“Eventually, the entire house becomes a trash can. But in reality, because we have trash cans, our homes stay clean. Radum is that kind of place. The capital’s trash can. It doesn’t do anything productive, but its mere existence has value. That’s why even the nobles can’t just get rid of it.”
“But that’s…”
“I know what you’re thinking, but don’t say it. Convictions can’t be forced on others. If you have a conviction, you have to be the one to realize it yourself.”
Shirone lowered his head, crestfallen. It seemed that discussing ideals without the ability to act on them had no place in the world of professionals.
“However, today’s incident will probably make the politicians think a little differently.”
Shirone looked up again.
“Bat Mimicry is a unique vampire ability. But there have been no academic reports of it manifesting in broad daylight. Something is changing within Radum. Something like species improvement, or perhaps a fusion…”
It was certainly a possibility.
Radum was a district where numerous demi-human races, having fled from across the continent, lived jumbled together. If one wanted to conduct biological experiments, there could be no better laboratory.
Shirone turned his head to look out the window. The capital’s scenery was as brilliant as when he had first arrived. But now, he could see the shadows within it.
Light and darkness. Perhaps they, too, were a law of nature, defined only by their opposition to one another. But Shirone didn't know which came first.
* * *
After passing through the main gate of the Magic Association, Plu turned to look back at Shirone.
“I’m going to file my report, so you go to the Engine Room and give this to the maintenance team. And stay put! Don’t you wander off again!”
He had never wandered off for any reason other than running errands. But by now, Shirone had resigned himself to it and turned away. He walked carefully toward the Engine Room, worried that the item might have been damaged.
Fortunately, the maintenance team inspected the item and determined that it was fine.
As Shirone let out a sigh of relief and left the Engine Room, Plu had already arrived. Her expression was colder than before; it looked like she'd gotten an earful from her superior.
“Um, did the report go well…!”
“Ugh, seriously!”
Without warning, Plu smacked Shirone on the head.
“Ow! Why do you keep hitting me!”
Having had enough, Shirone glared and snapped back.
“I can’t deal with you! Do you have any idea how hard I worked to stop this incident? You haven’t even gotten your license, but you’ve already learned how to act all high and mighty!”
“I wasn’t acting high and mighty! People were dying, what was I supposed to do?”
“Quiet! Most importantly, the news that you’re here has spread throughout the association! This is a really serious problem. I think the Association Head wanted to meet you quietly, but I don’t know anymore!”
Shirone felt regretful about that as well.
“There’s no use crying over spilled milk now.”
“Aha? So you think you can just go back home, is that it? You're determined to drive me crazy! Follow me!”
Plu grabbed Shirone by the ear and dragged him to his quarters. She slammed the door open, shoved Shirone inside as if throwing him in a prison cell, then pointed a finger at him and shouted.
“Don’t you take a single step out of here! I want you to lie low until this blows over.”
Shirone grimaced, rubbing his stinging ear.
“Isn’t this too much? What about when you need me to run errands?”
“You’re still talking back like you did nothing wrong…!”
Just as Plu was about to launch into a second tirade, Gando’s voice came from the hallway.
“Plu, what’s going on?”
Plu turned her head, her face a mask of utter injustice.
“Gando-nim, this little brat…”
Her words were cut short as her body froze. Trailing behind the concerned Gando were two other people.
Kangnan, the Chief Secretary of the Magic Association.
And the figure with a black fur coat draped over his shoulders was Micaiah Gaold.
The moment Plu saw Gaold, she felt as if her heart would explode.
She knew he was returning today, but she had never imagined she would meet him here. The number of times the Association Head had come down to the third floor since she started working here could be counted on one hand.
‘Why is he here…?’
He could have just given an order and they would have brought Shirone to him, yet he had come to the third floor as soon as he returned.
Most importantly, she hadn't yet cleaned up the mess Shirone had made. The fact that word of Shirone’s arrival had spread through the Magic Association was an unforgivable mistake, no matter the excuse.
Plu’s body reacted on instinct as she lifted her head and yelled.
“Squad! Attention!”
Gando put a hand to his forehead and shook his head. In contrast, the corners of Gaold’s mouth lifted in amusement.
“Kukuku, am I the only one who can't see them? There’s no one here, so what squad is at attention?”
“Ah… I apologize! I was just nervous!”
Kangnan, who had been partially hidden by Gaold, stepped out and asked.
“Was everything alright? I heard on the way here that there was an incident a little while ago.”
Thinking that the inevitable had come, Plu’s eyes widened as she spoke.
“Ah! I have something to report. At the scene of the recent terror attack, Shirone acted impulsively…”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Gaold cut her off dismissively and walked past her. Plu, still standing at attention, froze like a statue.
Shirone looked up at Gaold and swallowed hard.
He was taller than he had imagined. This was the strongest mage in the kingdom, a man he had only heard about in rumors, and a man who had sparked an even stronger curiosity in him since his arrival. It was probably a trick of the mind, but he seemed so immense that his body might touch the ceiling.
The corners of Gaold’s mouth lifted.
“You’re Shirone?”
*3. The Strongest Mage*
Shirone was finally inside the Magic Association’s elevator, something he had long been looking forward to. However, the atmosphere was strange, so he couldn't openly show his excitement. The elevator wouldn't go anywhere until someone pressed a button, but no one was moving.
Gaold stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the floor indicator. Kangnan was meditating in a corner, while Gando couldn't hide his unease, clearly uncomfortable standing next to Gaold.
‘Lord Gaold…’
A mix of disappointment and sadness filled Plu’s eyes as she kept her head down.
Until now, she had done her best not to tarnish the name of Gaold's personal guard. But all her efforts had become worthless in the face of the name Shirone.
Shirone's name was now known throughout the association, which meant it would have reached the ears of the mages who opposed Gaold. Above all, this project was the culmination of twenty years of preparation, the magnum opus of Gaold's life.
But Gaold had said:
—It doesn’t matter.
She felt utterly insignificant.
She had admired him since her academy days and had worked for him for two years after joining the association, yet it seemed she was worth less than Shirone, who wasn't even an official mage. It was pathetic.
Kangnan’s eyes snapped open, and she walked toward the panel.
“Well then, we shall descend.”
Shirone looked puzzled.
‘Descend?’
They were on the third floor, so going down could only mean the first floor. They wouldn't take an elevator to get to the second.
Kangnan took out a key, opened the control panel, and placed her thumb on a glass plate. A thin beam of light scanned it, a light came on, and an internal mechanism slid out. It was a panel with a six-by-six grid of thirty-six buttons.
Kangnan took a deep breath and entered a pattern using twenty-four of them.
Once access was granted, a female voice sounded from the ceiling.
—Descending to Basement Level 10. This is a Level 1 security area.
Gando and Plu glanced at Gaold. They had ridden the elevator with him, but how far they could accompany him was entirely at Gaold’s discretion.
“Hmm.”
Gaold paid them no mind and observed Shirone instead. He noticed Shirone’s gaze was fixed on the panel and let out a soft chuckle.
“Find it interesting?”
“Huh? Ah, yes. It’s my first time in an elevator. I just learned now that it has a password.”
“Kukuku, you were sneakily trying to memorize it, weren't you?”
“N-No!”
Shirone, who had been waving his hands in denial, soon confessed with a reddened face.
“Yes. Actually…”
“Hahaha! Thorough, aren't you! Well, a mage should be. But it’s useless. The code changes every day. And what’s really important is that no one in the association actually knows the code.”
Shirone tilted his head.
“No one knows it? But Ms. Kangnan just…”
“Yes, she entered the pattern correctly. But you see, even Kangnan doesn’t know what she pressed.”
Was that possible? Shirone asked himself.
“How can that be?”
“The pattern is stored in the subconscious, not the memory. It’s easier to think of it like a musical instrument. If you practice the same piece every day, your hands move before you can even think. It’s a similar principle. Kangnan goes to a random code generator and stares at the pattern for about an hour every day. It’s important not to think about anything. Then she just presses the buttons as her hands guide her.”
Gaold made a motion of pressing random buttons in the air.
“Of course, it’s different from an instrument and requires training, but once you master the technique, it’s more secure than any other code system. The more you try to consciously remember it, the harder it becomes to recall.”
Shirone was astounded by the security system that defied common sense. The fact that a code system he had never even read about in books was already implemented here spoke volumes about the association's technological prowess.
‘Look at him, all excited. He must be so full of himself now that the Association Head is being nice to him.’
Plu, who had been listening to their conversation, glared daggers at Shirone.
Even she had never exchanged more than a few words with Gaold. Yet here was Shirone, not only being taken to a Level 1 security area but also getting a friendly explanation of the secret behind their code system.
The elevator passed the first floor and plunged into complete darkness. Thinking Basement Level 10 was about the same distance as ten floors above ground was a mistake. The elevator descended for a full minute before the doors finally opened.
It was the first time here for not only Plu but Gando as well, so they were naturally tense. After waiting for Gaold and Kangnan to exit first, Plu looked around, her eyes wide with excitement.
“This place is…?”
It was a massive cavern. The ceiling was as high as the sky, and the interior, completely devoid of pillars, was expanded far beyond the surface area of the Magic Association building.
Even Shirone, who had visited his fair share of extraordinary places, was shocked by the scale of the underground space. The temples he had seen in Miro’s dimension and the buildings in the heavens were grand, but the emptiness here exerted a different kind of pressure.
‘But why did we come here?’
The place was unnecessarily vast for a simple meeting.
When Shirone looked back at Kangnan, she pushed up her glasses and explained.
“This is the largest space in the Magic Association. It’s an empty lot, but it’s used as a bunker, so its durability is beyond imagination. It’s also one of the few places free from the mana control device. It was built for multiple purposes, but when we’re not at war, it’s mainly used to demonstrate confidential magic.”
“I see.”
Since the Magic Association was where every magic in the kingdom was analyzed, a space like this was an absolute necessity.
Then it hit him. Shirone turned to Gaold with a look of surprise.
“Demonstrate magic?”
Gaold turned to him with a grin, and Shirone flinched.
His aura heated the air in the bunker. He was a completely different person from the one in the elevator.