Chapter 109: A New(?) Start
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 109: A New(?) Start
After the banquet with Alto’s group concluded, Silone and Adrian visited the Dean’s office.
The two flinched at the sight of the trashed table, but their faces brightened when they saw Liras sitting there with a refreshed expression.
“Dean, finally…!”
“That’s right, Silone. The negotiations with the Bloodhounds have been successfully concluded. Mwahahaha…!”
“Congratulations, Dean! Now all that’s left is to have a baby!”
“Don’t jump the gun, Adrian. Silone, they made the exact demands we expected.”
“You mean a supply of magic stones as requested and a certificate signifying the de facto clearing of the Magic Tower Dungeon. Everything is ready for that.”
Indeed.
As for the magic stones, Narupa had already stripped as many as she wanted from Liras’s body, and the certificate had already been drafted.
All that remained was execution.
“There’s no reason to delay. Adrian, please deliver this to Lord Alto immediately.”
“I’m on my way!”
Liras watched Adrian run out excitedly with a warm gaze, then opened his arms toward Silone.
Silone naturally sat on his lap, acting coquettishly.
“So, how did things go on your end?”
At Liras’s question, Silone flinched.
She recalled the icy negotiation table where only the women had faced off.
‘My husband suffered a very unpleasant experience here, at this Magic Tower. What does the Magic Tower intend to do to compensate for this?’
It was a demand for compensation from Airune, who was no different from a tyrant.
‘We have detained the guest who caused the trouble. We will show you an appropriate punishment shortly.’
‘Oh my, Narupa. What is this woman saying? She doesn’t seem to understand the meaning of compensation.’
‘Since Lady Narupa has already administered private sanctions, we are adjusting the level of compensation and punishment accordingly…’
‘No, no. Those were sanctions that obviously had to be carried out. Manager Silone. Have you forgotten who I am? Have you forgotten who Narupa is? Do you not know who Yarismal is?’
‘…Lady Airune is the successor to the Great Lord of Hus, Lady Narupa is the head of a global magitech corporation, and Lady Yarismal is an executive at the Adventurer Guild headquarters and the youngest elder of the Church.’
Slam!
‘I put that bitch in her place for daring to touch the husband of us three women, and you say what? Private sanctions?! Furthermore, that bitch is the one who humiliated him in the past!’
‘Rune, don’t worry. If it comes down to it, we can just take the compensation ourselves.’
‘We could just take the Magic Tower Dungeon itself as compensation. I’ll notify headquarters. After I occupy it first, of course.’
As they took turns spitting out threats, Silone could do nothing but break into a cold sweat.
‘I will present a compensation plan that will surely satisfy you, so please give me time to draft it.’
‘If we are not satisfied, we will make our demands directly to the Magic Tower.’
The successor of Hus, who had been shrouded in mystery, was arrogant and violent.
Supposedly, she had grown up gentle in the shadow of her father and brother, but the side she showed now was the complete opposite.
If anything, it felt as though those two figures had been suppressing Airune’s true nature.
Silone, who had somehow endured that agonizing meeting alongside Adrian, felt as though she was finally being rewarded for her suffering now that Liras had succeeded in his negotiations.
“It begins now.”
“Yes, I will get to work immediately.”
“I’m sorry, but I must conserve my strength for a full day starting now.”
“Of course. I understand, Dean.”
“What is Resin Luna’s condition?”
Silone checked on the comatose Resin through a magic lens.
She was staring blankly with her mouth hanging open.
Muttering unintelligible words and twitching her one remaining finger, she was no different from a vegetable.
“It seems her mind has almost completely collapsed.”
“Inform me when she regains consciousness. I must break her further with my own hands.”
“Yes, I understand.”
They had only tied one knot.
In terms of the entire process, this was the very beginning of the beginning.
Silone decided to end her indulgence to carry out the next step.
“Are you leaving?”
“Yes, Dean. Now that we’ve secured Resin Luna, I intend to dispose of the remaining baggage.”
“How do you plan to handle it?”
When Liras asked in his capacity as her master, Silone gave a thin smile.
“That woman Mirei is as vain as Resin Luna, but her pride has never been broken. She surely still has confidence in her skills. I will use that to make her leave on her own.”
“Are you not worried she might demand Resin back?”
“I am.”
“Ho-ho.”
Liras was slightly surprised by the possibility.
“Is their relationship bound by that much loyalty?”
“No.”
Silone realized she had been too brief and laughed.
“I meant there’s a possibility she’ll ask for her so she can offer her as a sacrifice to Lord Alto.”
“Ha! Disgusting. Truly disgusting.”
“That’s why I plan to suggest she bring a different, fresher sacrifice instead.”
“Mwahahahaha! You pass! You pass!”
Liras, satisfied with the growth of his disciple and lover, squeezed her buttocks.
Silone twisted her body slightly but did not push his hand away.
“Once everything is finished, I shall dote on you the most.”
“You have to love me even more than Adrian.”
“Of course, of course.”
Reluctant to part, Liras added one final word.
“I love you, Silone. My life truly began the moment I met you and Adrian.”
At those words, Silone ran back and gave Liras a deep kiss.
After a few lewd sounds escaped, Silone bit her lower lip and whispered.
“I feel the same way.”
“If only I were a bit more handsome…”
“Liras, to me, you are the most wonderful man in the world. Don’t hurt our feelings with words like that. Spend that time loving us more instead.”
“…I was wrong.”
“I’ll forgive you. But next time, you have to do it inside… you know?”
Unlike her usual haughty demeanor, Silone left while acting cute.
Watching her retreating figure, Liras savored the lingering warmth of happiness.
“I can’t afford to idle either.”
Taking his place in the center of the Dean’s office, he assumed a meditative posture to accumulate power.
Gathering mana and demonic energy caused the Curse of the Magic Stone Crystals to weigh down on him even more heavily, but it was essential for the next phase.
“I will surely survive and enjoy happiness.”
Contrary to his serious and determined eyes, a warm smile refused to leave his lips.
* * *
Leaving the Dean’s office, Silone went straight down to the 1st floor.
It was the shabbiest room, closest to the Magic Tower’s entrance.
She knocked on the door, but there was no response from inside.
Silone tried a couple more times, and when only silence lingered, she cleared her throat.
“I’ve come to speak about Resin Luna’s condition.”
Creek—
Maybe she should have said that from the start.
She felt resentful that the door opened so easily.
Mirei stood there, her hair frizzy and her face haggard.
Silone gave up on entering due to the hot air and stench wafting from the room.
“How is she?”
“She’s a wreck.”
“So she’s become trash. With her limbs cut off, she can’t even be used as a meat shield.”
“I see you don’t have any feelings of pity.”
“You must not have seen it because you arrived late. She went crazy blaming me for everything.”
Mirei didn’t even let out a hollow laugh.
Her indifferent gaze didn’t even register Silone.
“Thanks to her, everything I did to Alto was exposed. I was just in the middle of receiving protests telling me to get lost in real-time.”
Only then did Silone notice all sorts of notes and graffiti scribbled on and around the door.
Things like ‘Traitor’ and ‘Get lost.’
For mages, they certainly have a lot of initiative.
They were probably doing this out of fear that Narupa’s sponsorship of the Magic Tower would be cut off because of this incident.
A significant number of students and researchers at the Magic Tower were continuing their studies through Narupa’s support.
“It is disgusting, isn’t it?”
“What?”
Mirei twitched.
“I heard you brought another man into the Party House and were moaning and panting while getting plowed, without even knowing the party’s man was there? What on earth were you thinking?”
“You…!”
“Why? Do you want to repeat pathetic excuses like a retard like Resin Luna did, and wait for the parties involved to come and beat the crap out of you?”
It wasn’t Mirei who grabbed the other’s collar, but Silone.
They glared at each other with fierce expressions.
Silone did not shrink back even under Mirei’s gaze, which had crossed the line between life and death many times.
Silone, who was gambling her life for love, was already at the edge of a cliff herself.
“Do you know what we’re going through because of Resin? We’re being torn apart in real-time by the successor of the Great Lord of Hus, a magitech tycoon, and the youngest executive of the Adventurer Guild headquarters and the Church. Isn’t it amazing? The man you treated like a retard in your party comes out into the world, and these incredible women recognize him and scramble to become his wives.”
“He wasn’t a retard, he was Alto Bertrand…!”
“To the eyes of a bitch like you who couldn’t recognize that, he was just a retard. Wasn’t he?”
“…Is that what you came to say? I thought you were going to tell me to leave since Resin is a wreck.”
“That’s right. Do you want to leave?”
“No. I have nowhere else to go but here.”
“Because Alto Bertrand is here? I’m sorry to say, but his group will be returning to Hus soon. Their business here is finished. And why should Lord Alto accept a penniless loser like you?”
“Business is finished? They clearly came to conquer the Magic Tower Dungeon, and they’re just leaving?”
Ah, it seemed she wanted to wedge herself into this conquest somehow to prove her worth.
A shallow trick.
Silone mocked Mirei inwardly.
“Lord Alto and his party members have the skills to match their status. There’s no room for you to squeeze in.”
“You sure talk big without even trying.”
“In the first place, the Dean has already finished organizing the sectors here. There’s virtually nothing left to do. And once Lord Alto finishes his preparations in Hus, there’s only one place he’ll go.”
Aztera in the Duchy.
Mirei immediately understood the meaning.
“How kind of you to even suggest a direction for me to go.”
“This is a Magic Tower that points the way for those in need of learning.”
“Oh, is that so?”
However, Mirei tried to close the door just like that.
A flustered Silone blocked it by shoving her arm in.
“What are you doing? I told you there’s no point in staying here!”
“I know.”
Mirei smacked her lips.
“I don’t have any money.”
“…Are you asking for a handout?”
“No. That’s not it.”
Mirei had survived extreme situations.
She, too, had learned and grown from those situations just as much as Diane had.
“Resin Luna. Believe it or not, she’s my party member.”
“What do you want? Stop beating around the bush and just say it.”
To think I’d hear a mage tell me to speak faster.
Mirei curled her lips into a smirk.
“Give me some blood money for her. You’re going to use her as an experimental subject anyway.”
Silone glared at Mirei with eyes full of genuine loathing.
* * *
“Heh, they gave quite a bit.”
Having pocketed the pouch of money, Mirei left the Magic Tower with a light heart.
She approached the area where carriage drivers were waiting in line.
Everyone avoided her gaze.
It seemed the rumors about her had already spread.
Shit, Resin.
Useless until the very end.
“Mirei.”
“Huh?”
A calm voice called her.
She turned around sluggishly to see a familiar face.
“Diane…? You were alive?”
“Yeah, I lived. I only chased after Alto.”
“You bastard. Come to think of it, you knew where Alto was and kept your mouth shut, didn’t you?”
“I tried to persuade you to go and apologize together… sigh, forget it. You, Krima, every single one of you…”
A sigh?
How dare someone like Diane sigh at me?
Mirei drew the sword she carried on her back.
Veins popped on her arm muscles.
“What did you show up for again? Still following Alto’s tail and begging for forgiveness?”
“No. I was forgiven. I’m in the same party as Alto.”
“Whaaat?”
That was both hope and despair.
Evidence that a shred of tolerance remained in Alto, and the regret that she wasn’t the recipient of it.
“A piece of trash like you?”
“Everyone treats me exactly the same without exception, don’t they? As expected, without Alto, there was no true comrade or love.”
The voice came from behind.
As Mirei swung her elbow, a noise rang out and Diane’s position shifted.
“What kind of cheap trick is that?”
“A cheap trick?”
When Mirei dismissed the technique she had practiced with Alto as a cheap trick, Diane began to get heated as well.
“Want to test it? Actually, you know what? I’ve been forgiven by Alto, but I haven’t received his love yet. If I capture you and hand you over, I can at least be recognized by his wives.”
Following Resin, Diane also spoke of using her as a sacrifice or a stepping stone, causing sparks to fly from Mirei’s eyes.
“Just try it!”
As Mirei charged forward, gnashing her teeth,
Someone continued to egg her on.
[Yes, be angry. Everything is irreversible anyway.]
At the same time, a power and a sensation Mirei had never felt before enveloped her.
“I’ll kill you!!”
And channeling that power, Mirei swung her sword, tracking Diane’s movements.
Dozens of minutes later,
The former Lukart carriage station manager, carrying a severely injured Diane on her back, urgently pounded on the door of the lodging where Alto’s group was staying.