Chapter 214
Chapter 214
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: My Friend Told Me
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My friend told me something.
Grand Black Magic!
Rishir could vaguely guess the value it held, even if not in detail.
Grand Black Magic referred to specialized knowledge for countering ancient black magic—
Black magic was a forbidden power not easily accessible, after all.
A grand black magic expert capable of satisfying two mage towers in dungeon investigations.
Such a person wouldn't be common, and naturally, finding one would take a long time.
Even Rishir, who had no experience hiring personnel out of necessity, could grasp that much.
Just that much.
He knew it would take a long time.
But how long, exactly?
He lacked the experience and samples to make an objective judgment.
After all, it had been less than a year since he left his family and entered the world of magic.
In that situation,
Rishir had two bases to judge Rocard's proposal.
One was Rocard's humble(?) personality, as he had directly experienced it.
And the other was—
the conversation he'd had with Durangaleon right before accepting the proposal.
-That worm dug his own grave!!! My lord! How about accepting his proposal and seeing how he reacts!? A grand black magic expert! There's no one on this continent more suited than you, my lord!
'It's true I have some knowledge, but I'm no expert.'
-My lord!!! You must not forget the being born by your side to eradicate vile black magic!!!
'A being born to eradicate wicked black magic?'
-Yes! I speak of none other than myself, Durangaleon, the sunshine that caresses the world in light!
Rishir murmured wistfully to himself.
'Everyone... doing well, I hope?'
As he recalled the demon worshippers who had followed Durangaleon.
Anyway.
'So, should I trust you, Durangaleon, and accept the proposal?'
Rishir was about to accept Rocard's proposal, trusting Durangaleon.
-Kaaaaah!!! To think you'd trust me!!! What utmost joy is this!!! I, Durangaleon, am so honored I don't know where to put myself!!! And yet—no, precisely because of that! I must say this!
'Huh?'
-My lord!!! To be honest, I, Durangaleon, do not wish to recommend accepting that worm's proposal! Even if it's to strangle him with his own scheme, to stoop to such lowly trickery...!
'What are you talking about, Durangaleon? He's such a good person.'
-My lord!?
'Think about it.'
In the past,
Rishir had witnessed the masters tormented and complaining to Rocard.
And he had no choice but to realize one fact.
Rocard.
The kindness and humility he had shown might just be an illusion created by Rishir's warped senses.
Rishir tried to view and deal with Rocard from a newly corrected perspective.
However,
Rishir was newly realizing it.
The tenacious and vicious power of preconceptions.
It was quite difficult for him.
To view the person named Rocard negatively.
Probably because of the good first impression.
And above all—
'Right now, he's making such a huge concession for our Gray Tower? Out of 'pure goodwill.'
Rishir thought.
Without prejudice(?), he couldn't be anything but a good person.
-Oh, oooong...!?
Even realizing the facts changed nothing.
Rocard.
To Rishir, he was still a humble and kind person.
"Sir Rishir...? You mean—that's what you're saying?"
"What else? Just as you said, Sir Rocard. Our Gray Mage Tower accepts the Yellow Mage Tower's request."
"...Request?"
"Yes, request."
"...So, you're saying your tower can procure a grand black magic expert faster than the deadline we mentioned?"
"Yes."
"...Do you remember the deadline I specified?"
"A week, wasn't it?"
"...Are you serious?"
He had proposed it readily, but now that the other side accepted, he nitpicked.
This was the behavior of Rocard, the Golden Saint, in this official setting.
His actions were undoubtedly petty,
but no one present paid it any mind.
They knew from the start that Rocard's proposal was not sincere but part of a deception.
In that regard, what truly flustered them was not Rocard's behavior, but the young Gray Mage's actions.
"R-Rishir!?"
"What is this...!"
His actions even made his own allies gasp in shock.
The Gray Masters were so flustered that they openly showed their astonishment in front of others.
When they should have maintained composure to back the young mage.
"Ah."
A sly smile crept onto the lips of Rocard and the Yellow Mages.
From the Masters' reactions, they realized the young mage's action was an unconsulted impulse.
The Yellow Mages smirked, understanding.
A passionate young scholar losing reason and insulting the towers—
It was entirely plausible.
Of course,
from the Gray Tower's perspective, they couldn't take it lightly.
To retract words spoken in such a public forum!
It was harder than gathering spilled water.
The young scholar's impulsive bravado.
The responsibility fell entirely on the Gray Tower.
The Yellow Tower had no intention of letting that opportunity slip.
"Well then. I was greatly surprised for a moment? To think you'd accept our unreasonable request so readily. In that case, let's conclude this matter by fully entrusting it to the Gray Tower."
Rocard acted swiftly before the Gray Tower could respond.
If this flow continued, the Gray Tower would bear the blame for breaking promises.
'We entrusted the grand black magic matters to the Gray Tower as they claimed—but they failed to meet the deadline...'
Rocard smiled contentedly to himself.
Was there a better pretext to exclude the Gray Tower from the dungeon investigation?
Even as things proceeded according to the Yellow Tower's plan, the Gray Tower's 'justification' was a major headache.
But now,
an opportunity to seize that justification had arisen.
Rocard looked at the one who provided that golden chance.
The young mage Rishir, whose passion overrode reason.
"Looking forward to it, Sir Rishir."
Rocard said, brimming with satisfaction.
'I knew something was off from the start. He ends up doing us a big favor.'
Rocard recalled Rishir's demeanor from their first meeting.
That stubbornness.
That bravado!
Rocard thought.
'Haven't met a kid this likable in a while. In many ways.'
Before long, Rocard's eyes on Rishir were filled with fondness.
He extended his hand to Rishir.
"Yes! I'll make sure to meet your expectations, Sir Rocard!"
Rishir grasped it without hesitation.
Those watching felt a subtle discomfort.
Setting aside the shady Rocard.
Rishir,
that unassuming young man, was looking at him with an expression eerily similar to Rocard's.
"Ahem."
Anyway,
with the matter tentatively settled, the woman from the White Iron Guild cleared her throat.
A sharp yet astute impression, forcibly subdued by contrived primness.
It was Lareta, the head of the White Iron Guild.
"S-Sir Rishir, was it?"
Lareta had already heard about Rishir from meetings with city leaders.
They fully vouched for his skills and credibility.
That was why, despite leaning toward the Yellow Tower, she kept the door open for the Gray Tower.
However,
meeting Rishir now, she couldn't help but doubt their guarantees.
'He was this young of a mage!?'
The incredible feats the leaders described.
Lareta had assumed Rishir was a seasoned mage.
Her mind pictured a grumpy middle-aged man with deep wrinkles.
But lo and behold,
the mage before her was astonishingly young.
Young enough to call him a boy.
'Did they exaggerate...?'
His aura, serene like a calm pond, defied gauging his level.
Two possibilities.
Either a master who had perfected aura control—
or protected by some magical means.
Lareta naturally and objectively concluded the latter.
Thus,
her polite demeanor betrayed unhidden worry.
"Regarding the matter you just mentioned... I wonder if you've fully consulted with your colleagues..."
Reopening a settled issue would only stir trouble.
Of course, Lareta knew that—but
she worried this might unnecessarily affect the dungeon investigation.
If this soured relations between the two towers, the sandwiched White Iron Guild would be in a tough spot.
Ahem.
The barely composed Masters subtly signaled Rishir.
They too saw his outburst as stemming from pride in their tower.
-My tower must be superior to the Yellow Tower, right!?
Something like that.
The Masters had no intention of scolding Rishir for it.
Instead, they blamed themselves.
For their reality failing to meet his expectations!
"Ah."
Then,
Rishir let out a small sound, as if just remembering.
'Come to think of it. I haven't told the tower folks about this yet.'
What they knew of him was only that he had rooted out the black mage 'Tullan' hiding in the Master Tower.
An impressive feat, but insufficient to claim grand black magic expertise.
Their worry was justified, and Rishir sought to dispel it.
"By the way, I made a new friend recently. I've learned a few things from him."
Good lord.
Lareta sighed unwittingly beside him.
Well, at least the young mage had some backing.
But the foundation of that confidence was flimsy at best.
A new friend just recently,
and learned something from that new friend.
Grand black magic knowledge wasn't gained over tea and chit-chat.
It required direct involvement with black magic—
and those involved were undoubtedly the continent's most dangerous beings.
"Oh dear."
This time, even Rocard and the Yellow Mages felt pity for the Gray Tower.
They had empathized unwittingly.
If
a young Yellow scholar made such a laughable mistake, how would they react?
No need to ponder.
Just like the Gray Mages now—
"Ah, I see! Right! That's what it was!"
"?"
The Gray Mages accepted it immediately.
For the first time, different expressions appeared on the faces of the Yellow Mages, who had consistently looked down on the Gray Tower.
'Is that really okay?'
They went beyond disdain to genuine worry for the Gray Tower.
Four days later.
The three groups gathered again at the location designated by the Yellow Mage Tower.
A midpoint check to fine-tune the dungeon investigation plans—
and the Gray Tower's final nail in the coffin.
The reason the Yellow Tower set the meeting on such short notice was simple.
Their externally hired grand black magic expert had arrived earlier than expected.
"So this is the Yellow Mage Tower..."
The grand estate the Yellow Tower had secured in Bondales.
The White Iron Adventurers' Guild was impressed by the streamlined dungeon investigation preparations underway.
The structures' designs, materials, the mana and energy flowing within.
Based on the given info and clues, the Yellow Tower had assembled teams for systematic dungeon analysis.
Any manpower shortages were already filled externally.
The foundation of that terrifying execution was undoubtedly their overwhelming resources.
'We were right to entrust it to the Yellow Tower...'
Lareta, head of the White Iron Guild, couldn't help but think so unconsciously.
Since when?
She had been avoiding the Gray Mages' eyes out of discomfort.
"Now then—shall we head to where they're waiting?"
Under Rocard's guidance, they entered a room in the estate.
A massive oval table filling the room.
Covered densely with documents and materials.
And a group encircled it.
Lareta's eyes widened at their ongoing work.
"No way..."
Each one a grand black magic expert?
Assembling a group when even one was hard to find?
Lareta unwittingly looked at Rocard.
"..."
Rocard responded with a smug, self-satisfied smile.
Lareta realized.
Yellow Mage Tower.
From the moment they received the commission, they had prepared for the dungeon investigation at full throttle.
Otherwise, this many personnel made no sense.
"Heh."
Lareta let out an involuntary chuckle.
An ignorant execution born from extreme self-centeredness, ignoring the Gray Tower's intentions.
Utterly infuriating for the Gray Tower, but utterly reliable from the client's view.
By now,
the White Iron Guild's inclination was fully toward the Yellow Tower.
To the point they'd raise no objections even if the Gray Tower was excluded.
"Hold on."
"Please step back. Outsiders cannot view these documents."
Then,
the grand black magic experts blocked the approaching Gray Mages.
Hah!
What is this!
Really!
The Gray Mages expressed their outrage through their entire bodies.
"What is the meaning of this! Did you start the investigation without even consulting us!?"
Rocard replied without hesitation.
"How could we? The analysis of grand black magic, most crucial for this dungeon investigation, and countermeasures against it—the responsibility lies with Sir Rishir, does it not? We merely prepared in advance to make his work smoother."
"..."
The Gray Mages trembled at the predictable deception.
"Sir Rishir, come this way. Please review the materials we've compiled and share your insights. This dungeon expedition hinges entirely on your opinion."
The experts stepped back willingly, but shook their heads at Rocard's demeanor.
The documents they had compiled over days
weren't something one person could grasp at a glance.
"Now, now. If you would—"
"Then, gladly—"
Rishir approached the table under Rocard's guidance.
Various papers arranged to form a massive canvas.
"Hm?"
Rishir tilted his head at the canvas.
Rocard and the others saw it as a perfectly natural reaction.
It was far removed from the runes or scripts mages commonly encountered.
Like a giant's careless scribbles.
Astonishingly, it was the barrier of black magic guarding the dungeon—the magic circle.
That was why grand black magic knowledge was so esoteric.
Black magic deviated entirely from the standards shared by general magic.
"The magic circle found at the dungeon entrance. Currently, all we know is that it's related to black magic. Any insights upon seeing it?"
It was a lie.
The Yellow Tower had already built considerable information and hypotheses about the circle.
Rocard watched Rishir's reaction with his signature sly smile.
"..."
Rishir simply stared at the circle in silence.
Rocard assumed he was speechless from the sudden presentation.
No.
Rishir was listening intently.
Not to Rocard, but to another.
"...Huh?"
Suddenly, Rishir's eyes widened.
"Heh...!"
Then, he chuckled in disbelief.
Rocard simply enjoyed the meaningful reaction.
"Seems you've had a flash of insight. Care to share with me?"
"The world truly is small, or perhaps we're lucky. Things seem to be progressing more smoothly than expected."
"Oh ho. Is that so? Did that 'friend' of yours tell you?"
"Yes. Apparently, this pattern is based on a branch he created."
What kind of 'friend' could impart sufficient grand black magic knowledge?
Rocard subtly mocked Rishir and gauged his reaction.
"Hahaha, is that right?"
He echoed soullessly, keeping his signature smile.
"Hm?"
Then, he furrowed his brow.
Those words caught in his ear.
"Created?"