Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Kaig Magic Tower
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“Lord Balaka?”
Glia's plaintive voice sought the necromancer who had manifested through her body. There was no reply from the necromancer. Glia felt the connection linking her to Balaka sever completely.
The undead spirit had returned to the spirit realm, where she rightfully belonged. From the moment of her death up until now, she had forsaken every effort she had made to return to the mortal world. She had even shouldered the risk of never being able to come back again.
“Why?”
Very irreverently, those two words floated into Glia's mind.
Fled.
In that instant, Glia's body collapsed limply. Salana approached and struck the nape of her neck.
With that, the sorceress's scheme, backed by the necromancer, ended in a minor commotion.
“Miss Salana. If I may.”
Rishir moved without hesitation.
He approached Salana and brought his hand to the scar on her chest.
“Ah...”
Salana unwittingly placed her hand over Rishir's. How could she put this sensation into words? It felt like all the filth clinging to her body was being washed away.
Rishir pulled his hand away. Salana immediately took out a mirror to check her appearance.
Completely healed. No other description was needed. Salana's skin had regained its original color. The scars and wounds remained, but they were the sort that could be easily treated with even a fraction of the effort she had invested so far.
Salana stared at her reflection for a while, stroking her restored skin.
Rishir watched her with a satisfied smile.
This was more than enough to call the original goal of “leaving a good impression on a high-rank adventurer” a resounding success.
Rishir had high hopes for this.
It's hitting me again, but with my status as a bastard, I really can't do anything.
It was something he had felt keenly in this incident.
Even in a place where he had been invited after his abilities were recognized, his bastard status led to constant disdain.
If it hadn't been for the full support of Salana, a high-rank adventurer, he wouldn't have been able to say or do anything. And without the name of the high noble Durayeg, even the power of Normalization wouldn't have been accepted.
On the flip side, what if I weren't a bastard but a great noble?
No need to think deeply. The moment he revealed his abilities to Salana at their first meeting, everything would have proceeded smoothly. Salana would court him, Meltas would watch his step, and Glia would fret.
Thus, Rishir reached one conclusion.
Maybe I should aim to rise in status.
He had thought escaping bastard life would free him from status constraints, but it was the opposite.
An essential element was added to Rishir's idea of a happy life.
Money. And status.
In that sense, this connection with Salana was highly significant.
With a high-rank adventurer's backing, establishing a position in Bondalles and building a foundation for rising in status would be much easier.
As Rishir organized his thoughts, Salana, having done the same, spoke up.
“Rishir. Let me introduce myself properly once more. I am the master of the Black Hand, the Black Snake. You might find 'master of the assassin guild' more relatable.”
“?”
What.
Rishir was taken aback.
He had thought a formal introduction meant treating him to the full Bondalles adventurer experience. What? Master of an assassin guild?
To be precise, she's a heavyweight incomparable to a high-rank adventurer... a heavyweight, but... tsk.
Rishir's pupils trembled violently.
Salana burst into her signature cheerful laugh, finding his reaction adorable. “Ha!”
“I owe you a huge debt. I thought about how to repay it, and this was the only thing that came to mind.”
Shrrk.
Salana pulled a single sheet of parchment from her bosom and handed it to Rishir.
“If someone you want dead appears, write their name on it. Even if it means breaking the rules, I'll make your wish come true.”
“?”
Rishir was dumbfounded.
What's this, a Death Note...!
It was a reward utterly different from what he had expected.
To be precise, it's an enormous reward incomparable to a high-rank adventurer connection... a reward, but... tsk.
Whether she misinterpreted his confusion or not, Salana placed the parchment in Rishir's hand.
Keep it.
Keep it.
Rishir was horrified at how casually she handed him the ominous item, like giving pocket money for travel.
That was when Meltas's voice came from behind.
“Is it proper for someone who calls herself a master to be so worldly?”
He seemed more flustered than when he had seen the necromancer manifested from death.
Assassins were insular beings. They killed solely for the beliefs they held, isolating themselves completely from the outside world.
Unlike their reputation as objects of terror, they lived lives akin to ascetic monks.
Yet here she was, posing as a high-rank adventurer in the secular world and handing out hit lists? And as a guild master, no less?
“Blind faith is noble, isn't it?”
Her humbly nodding appearance looked like she was defiantly saying, “I'm not noble, so I'll do as I please.”
Meltas thought Salana was a true assassin worthy of fear in every sense.
“Meltas. Just to be sure, do you plan to take what happened here outside? Even a little?”
Salana spoke in the cheerful demeanor of the high-rank adventurer he remembered. But those eyes. Her pupils, dead like they sucked in all surrounding light, chilled Meltas to the bone.
Without a doubt, she was a 6th-circle mage, a being even Meltas—an elite of Kaig Magic Tower—couldn't face lightly.
“I guess I'm getting old. My memory's fuzzy... I can't even remember why I came here.”
“Haha. No need to be so self-deprecating about getting old and dying.”
“...My memory must really be fuzzy. When did I say that?”
Salana hoisted Glia's limp body over her shoulder.
She approached Rishir and patted his face familiarly—tap tap.
“You know what? Thanks to you, my excuse to wander outside is gone.”
“Uh... Did I do something unnecessary?”
“Haha. I'll let it slide. Honestly, I was getting bored anyway. By the way—”
Smooth. Smooth.
Salana stroked Rishir's face with her palm.
“You. Your skin is amazing?”
“Is it?”
“Yeah. To the point where I'd want to swap it with mine if possible.”
“...Saying that after revealing you're an assassin is a bit scary.”
“Haha. What do you take assassins for?”
Salana lifted Rishir's hand and pressed it to her scarred right cheek.
“One last time. Can you do that again?”
It couldn't be asking him to use Normalization—
Rishir gently rubbed her cheek.
“...”
Salana closed her eyes and surrendered to the touch.
“Mmm~ This sensation. I could get addicted. Should I just take it?”
“...My arm?”
“What do you really take me for?”
Salana savored Rishir's touch for quite a while longer.
For a brief moment, Rishir thought she resembled a large dog moving her head to match his hand.
“Alright. That's enough. Rishir. If the chance comes, let's meet again.”
With those words, Salana left without looking back.
Rishir, stunned, pulled out the parchment from his bosom to check it.
“Remember this well. When using that item, you must exercise the utmost caution.”
Meltas said from the side, looking queasy.
“Of course.”
“Ahem. Well then. Shall we get going too?”
Meltas fiddled with his braided beard and said.
“'We'...”
“Why? Do you have other business after this?”
Rishir recalled the schedule he had planned before meeting Salana.
Originally, after dining with Fienne, he had planned to visit the adventurer's guild.
Today, he and Fienne shared the goal of finding work.
Ahem.
Before Rishir could respond, Meltas continued.
“To the point. Rishir. I've taken an interest in you.”
“...”
Rishir hugged his body with a serious expression.
Meltas glared at him with an even more serious face.
Rishir released his arms, nodded as if nothing had happened, and continued the conversation.
“What business does Sir Meltas have with this bastard?”
“...Ahem. I understand. You're still holding onto my initial attitude toward you. But this will benefit you too, so hear me out positively. What do you think of Kaig Magic Tower?”
Kaig Magic Tower.
Also known as the Gray Magic Tower.
Among all magic towers, it had the freest disposition and was one of Bondalles's representative institutions.
“Not for any other reason, but I'd like to recommend you as an apprentice at Kaig Magic Tower. Let me be clear: this is an opportunity like no other.”
It was as Meltas said, which left Rishir perplexed.
“I have no family or school to boast of.”
There were few places like magic towers that scrutinized status and background so much.
Even Meltas, who had thrown a fit upon learning a bastard like him was participating, was open-minded compared to the mages belonging to magic towers.
“The minimum requirement for joining a magic tower isn't family or school. It's the 3rd-circle realm. You've somehow met that condition, haven't you?”
“From what I know, magic towers don't accept just anyone at 3rd circle.”
“Of course. Reaching 3rd circle at your age is something anyone can do. It's the realm of the utterly ordinary, beyond doubt. And magic towers are never kind to the ordinary. Yet—I intend to recommend you. Do you know why?”
“Is it because of the power of Normalization?”
“Exactly! Good thing you're not foolish enough to overlook the uniqueness of that power.”
As the power of Normalization was mentioned, Meltas's demeanor noticeably heated up.
“A power that eradicates all impure energies regardless of type! My word! I, Meltas Dradnov, have walked the path of magic my whole life and never heard of such a thing!”
Meltas's trembling finger pointed at Rishir.
“You! As a mage, you have a duty to fully awaken that special talent. You understand what I'm saying, don't you? As one who walks the path of magic!”
“...I'm not sure if I should say this in this flow, but—to me, magic is just a means for livelihood.”
“What!!!”
A death rattle. Meltas's body stiffened.
It took him a very long time to recover from the shock.
“How could such a special talent be wasted on someone like this...!”
Meltas's braided beard and hair trembled.
“Could someone like me adapt to a magic tower?”
“...Ahem. For now, come take a look. No need to decide hastily.”
Rishir gladly accepted.
It was clear there would be benefits in many ways from building ties with a magic tower.
“Oh, wait. Before we arrive at the tower, there's a place I need to stop by briefly. I need to pick something up. Is that alright?”
“Sure.”
The two left the laboratory and headed toward the center of the magic district.
“Here it is.”
A short while later, their destination appeared.
It was a magic shop called [Blue Traces].
“Meltas?”
The moment the two entered the building, a woman spotted Meltas and spoke up.
Oh...
Rishir inwardly admired her.
Wide-brimmed pointed hat and ornate robe—she was the epitome of a mage.
The distinctive part was that her robe was cut open at the chest.
That overwhelming cleavage proudly on display.
She must have tremendous pride as a mage.
As Rishir admired her inwardly, the woman scanned him up and down.
“What's this? You, dragging around some young punk. Finally decided to take a disciple?”
“None of your business, Marina.”
“From your reaction, he's not a disciple. Makes sense—a kid just entering 4th circle wouldn't catch your eye.”
“Enough nonsense—... Wait, what did you say?”
Meltas, who had been listening dismissively, suddenly looked at Rishir in shock.
“...!”
His eyes widened soon after.
“Uh.”
A beat later, Rishir realized the change in his own body.
He tried to calm the astonished Meltas.
“Don't worry about it. It happens occasionally.”
He had definitely been at the 3rd-circle realm until leaving the laboratory, but now he had reached the 4th-circle realm.