Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Secret Society: Celestia (2)
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“Let’s see, this is quite a rudimentary ritual, isn’t it?”
Battle mage Creighton Lukebart.
He spoke while flipping through the pages of the magic tome in his hand, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
The magic tome in Creighton’s hand had belonged to Ras Heildum, the black mage who owned this workshop.
A basic necromantic grimoire containing the ritual for ‘Wraith Control’.
It was something Creighton had seized after subduing Ras.
Ras’s grimoire was messily filled with rituals for binding and controlling the dead through magic.
“The encryption on the ritual is half-assed, and it’s so sluggish it’d be useless in actual combat.”
“…….”
“Scribbling it out like this just wastes space, doesn’t it? Wouldn’t you say, Mr. Black Mage?”
Thud.
Ras stared at the mage before him with eyes soaked in terror as Creighton closed the open grimoire.
A battle mage from the Mage Legion.
One of the imperial war weapons deployed for battles had come to this place.
Ras couldn’t comprehend why such a being had tracked down a black mage hiding in the boonies.
It wasn’t the level of force you’d send just because a few villagers had gone missing.
“I, I was wrong……! Please, give me back my grimoire…….”
Desperation had even driven those pleading words from Ras’s lips as he gazed at him.
Creighton was a mage who could demolish the workshop with a single gesture.
No matter that Ras was a black mage specializing in toying with human lives, he was no match for a battle mage whose daily work was slaughtering on the battlefield.
Mages from the Mage Legion were in a league entirely apart from mere skilled mercenaries.
They were monsters bred expressly to crush armies.
That was the true nature of Creighton, standing before Ras’s eyes.
“Sorry, but I don’t think that’s possible.”
Yet Creighton, gripping Ras’s grimoire, flashed a fierce smile and shook it teasingly.
He had no intention of returning the grimoire.
Ras’s pupils trembled violently at Creighton’s words, laced with clear intent.
Necromancy was dangerous magic that drew the church’s scrutiny just from learning it.
Mages with ample resources wouldn’t even consider bothering with it.
Moreover, the spells Ras wielded weren’t even potent like Creighton’s magic.
Just bone shields and controlling corpses—that was the extent of Ras Heildum’s necromancy.
“That, that’s dangerous magic! If the mages of the Magic Tower find out you have my grimoire, it’ll cause problems for you too……!”
“I’m well aware of the risks.”
“W-what……?”
“Didn’t I just say I know? Mr. Black Mage.”
Creighton calmly tucked the grimoire containing such forbidden magic into his bag.
Ras’s face twisted in horror as he watched.
It was an incomprehensible scene.
Why take this crude necromancy when you could pull thorns from barren soil with magic?
Even research-obsessed mages had an unspoken rule against touching necromancy.
“You… that’s taboo! A Mage Legion mage isn’t allowed to learn it!”
Ras’s voice sharpened toward Creighton.
Dabbling in taboos was for rogue mages like himself.
“Isn’t that why I’ve come to punish a mage breaking taboos?”
“…….”
“No need to worry. I’ll make good use of the magic you’ve researched your whole life.”
And yet Creighton gazed at Ras with a satisfied smile, not even considering burning the grimoire.
Something was off.
Complicated thoughts began swirling in Ras’s mind.
Doubts chained together, blooming in the wicked black mage’s head.
Was this man really from the Mage Legion?
And why was he so keen on taking Ras’s own magic?
Those questions slipped from Ras’s lips toward the mage before him.
“What in the world… do you plan to use it for…….”
A short phrase.
But the response was far from light.
Swipe.
A piercing gaze fixed on Ras.
—Killing intent.
The mage who had survived countless battlefields glared at him with thick malice.
The heavy air pressed down on Ras’s shoulders.
A chill raced up his spine as their eyes met.
“Do you really want to know, Mr. Black Mage?”
“T-that, uh…….”
“If you learn that, you won’t die a clean death.”
Creighton whispered into Ras’s ear, his face stripped of any mirth.
For a frail black mage in the mountains, the killing intent of a battle mage who had slain countless lives his whole life was overwhelming.
Just facing it made his legs buckle.
“Let me ask once more. Do you really want to know why?”
Creighton’s second question.
Thud.
Ras quietly bowed his head in response.
A silence signaling he wouldn’t pry further.
A declaration of defeat before the mage.
Creighton’s laughter echoed anew as he watched Ras.
“Good. I like that. I could use someone just like you right now.”
“…….”
“With how remote this place is, no one’s likely to come poking around.”
Tap, tap.
Creighton’s palm patted Ras’s shoulder.
Ras’s tense eyes stared at the mage’s rough hand gripping his shoulder.
“I need help for an ‘experiment’ in a few days, so this is fortunate. If it’s just copying rituals, even you can pitch in.”
“Ah…….”
“Take care for the next few days. Mr. Black Mage.”
That ended the conversation between the black mage and the suspicious battle mage.
The black mage’s trembling hand clutched the empty folds of his robe.
It seemed he’d been dragged into something absurdly dangerous.
Divine punishment for laying hands on the taboo.
* * * * * *
Lua Polaris, a formal mage of the Blue Tower, had been incredibly busy lately.
There were various reasons for her busyness, but the biggest by far was one.
Archmage Johan’s assignments.
Lua had been saddled with an overwhelming volume of study she could scarcely handle.
- “Verify the signals coming from Celestia. We need to measure the delay.”
In her lab at the Blue Tower.
There, she hustled about, listening to the voice emanating from her brooch.
Scribble, scribble.
Her pen raced across blank paper, jotting down numbers at top speed.
What Lua was currently researching was maintaining the connection between ground-launched spells and Celestia.
The ritual stage that Johan had dubbed HandShake.
- “Once verification of that ritual is complete, we’ll move to testing the summoning spell. With insufficient data here, even I can’t predict the outcome.”
“……Yes.”
- “It’s the first experiment, so failure is likely. Still, we need to rigorously minimize variables.”
This was a crucial ritual for guiding Johan’s summoning research to the ground, handling the spell’s stability.
That was why Lua had to pour her time into magical research nonstop.
But the studying she needed wasn’t limited to this.
Crackle, crackle.
Voices poured ceaselessly from the brooch she wore.
- “Once the ritual starts functioning properly, check the activation speed of ice spells next.”
“…….”
- “The spells from the Second Archive are important, but so are the foundational rituals. Don’t neglect learning the First Archive’s rituals.”
The ice spells Lua had obtained from Celestia.
On top of that, Johan urged her to master even basic spells.
Checking activation speeds.
Verifying permafrost duration.
Reviewing the First Archive’s ice spells.
Hearing such demands, Lua reluctantly voiced a small protest with a troubled face.
“Um, Archmage Johan… I have a paper to present soon.”
She still had materials to compile for a conference presentation.
Her schedule was piled mountain-high.
These were efforts to climb higher in the Blue Tower.
So, wasn’t her time a bit tighter than others’?
To that, Johan unhesitatingly shot back a cold reply.
- “Don’t worry about time. You can make up any shortfall in Celestia.”
“Ah, no, that’s…….”
Work 24 hours a day.
Hearing Johan, Lua began sensing something was off.
It was true she’d resolved to work hard to help the archmage.
But even if she loved magic, working 24 hours straight wasn’t right.
The thought suddenly struck her.
- “Is there a problem?”
“I’ll do it. I’m already doing it.”
Yet such qualms meant nothing before the archmage who had brought the Extreme Magic Research Society’s vice president to her knees.
Wasn’t Johan the one who could shred even soul-manipulating mages soul and all?
A mage like Lua was easily replaceable for him.
Lua shoved her worries aside and resumed scribbling numbers with her pen.
Scribble, scribble, scribble.
It was only a moment that Lua moved her pen with a sulky expression and complicated look.
Crackle, crackle.
Johan’s voice rang out from the brooch again.
- “Lua Polaris.”
“Yes!”
- “No need to worry too much. If more guests come to Celestia, I’ll try to lighten the load.”
“Got it. I’ll… yes, I’ll work hard.”
- “Also, I’ve added a few menu items to Celestia’s restaurant.”
“……!”
- “I dug through my memories and added some new ones. Some should suit your tastes.”
Lua’s lips twitched as she wrote.
New food added to the restaurant.
What menus had been added?
Her expectant eyes subtly shifted toward the brooch.
Swipe.
Her busy pen began to slow.
“Ahem.”
Lua cleared her throat, forcibly regaining composure and returning her gaze to the paper.
No matter how she thought about it, that alone wouldn’t carry her through this ordeal.
Lua needed greater motivation.
Something more vital than the spells she’d already received to play that role.
And so, Lua’s eyes lingered in contemplation for a while.
Crackle.
A noisy voice rang from the brooch once more.
- “Separate from my preferences, since you all seem to like them, I’m planning to expand the restaurant.”
- “Liquor or drinks… If I dig a bit more into my memories, I can recreate tavern-like atmospheres too.”
- “Around fifty-plus desserts added…….”
Thud.
Johan’s words cut off.
The mana stored in the low-grade magic stone had apparently run dry.
But Lua’s mind filled in the rest of the truncated tale on its own.
Fifty-plus desserts.
It was more than enough to shock her.
“One month… If I just work hard for one month…….”
Lua fidgeted with her hands, her gaze turning to the brooch.
Material things don’t always bring happiness.
But there was no doubt they could ease pain, if only for a moment.
Lua Polaris.
She loved Celestia’s desserts.