Chapter 621: Kindness is the Height of Arrogance
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 621: Kindness is the Height of Arrogance
[Hello, Chosen of the Floating Castle! Today, a black mage has escaped from the Security Bureau! We are releasing his description and ask that the Chosen of the Floating Castle subdue him on sight or report him to the Security Bureau!]
An avatar of a girl with pigtails, crafted from light magic, was diligently reporting the news. My face, from a photo taken who-knows-when, was plastered in a large frame, and next to it, my characteristics were listed in detail.
Origin: Military State. Mana level: negligible. Has undergone a surgical procedure to implant a bio-receptor, a physical catalyst. And so on. The information was quite specific and distinctive.
“I’ve never been a wanted man before. This is the first time I’ve been this famous.”
I was in disguise, but someone with a sharp eye could probably apprehend me right this instant. And yet, no one had found me.
No, they weren’t even thinking of looking.
“But…”
I glanced around the information board and muttered.
“No one seems to care.”
The mages didn’t give it the slightest bit of attention. At most, a few mages who took an interest in the girl’s avatar watched it closely, but they left without paying any mind to the actual content.
Amidst the utter indifference, the girl’s avatar pitifully repeated words that no one would hear.
I asked Lankart.
“Lankart, is the Floating Castle always like this?”
“Like what?”
“…You weren’t paying attention either, were you?”
Well, if he had been, he wouldn’t have let me walk right past my own wanted poster. When I pointed at the avatar, Lankart finally noticed it.
“This avatar? It’s for announcing news on the Floating Castle. Mages are thoroughly indifferent to anything outside their own interests, so I heard they use exaggerated forms like this to at least catch the eye.”
“Even considering that, they seem incredibly uninterested.”
“Anyone with above-average intelligence knows it’s strange to be interested in a virtual being. It’s only natural.”
He says some dangerous things. What’s wrong with getting invested in a virtual character?
“Not that. My face is on a wanted poster.”
“A wanted poster? I’ve had one too, it’s no big deal. Mages are rational. If they meet someone clearly superior, they will bow their heads and seek instruction. If you toss them a scrap of your wisdom, they’ll pant like dogs and love you for it.”
“What wisdom do I have to toss around?”
I pressed my hand to my forehead.
Lankart Spendry. A classmate of mine from Hamelin Secondary Military School, and the man who spectacularly betrayed the Military State to join the Mage Federation. A genius who awakened his own Unique Magic at the tender age of thirteen.
How did a genius like that and I become friends? It was simple.
I just had to pretend to be a genius on his level.
They say lies are eventually exposed, but I am a mind-reader. Just by reading the thoughts of a genius like Lankart and following along, I could be treated like a genius myself. And what if I added in the perspectives of others and pretended to be one step ahead? I would become a genius who surpassed him.
That was how Lankart came to firmly believe that I was a genius greater than himself. Well, mind-reading is my ability, so I guess that makes me a genius in a way.
“Let’s say the mages are indifferent. What about the other ignorami?”
Lankart answered my question as if it were obvious.
“Ignorami? There’s no such filth on the Floating Castle.”
“The point of a class system is exploitation. Don’t even mages need someone to clean or run errands, hence the creation of an ignorami class?”
“Unnecessary. Filth like that. At least on the Floating Castle, there is no place for ignorami to stand, nor air for them to breathe.”
“You’ve certainly become one of the Chosen since we last met.”
“One does not become one of the Chosen. One is born that way. Even back in the Military State, you and I were the only ones who weren’t foolish. The rest, frankly, were substandard humans. Wouldn’t you agree?”
I should state for the record that this is Lankart’s personal opinion and is a far cry from my own. You have some dangerous ideas, my friend.
“And this Floating Castle is proving that one doesn’t need ignorami to live. Look.”
It was just as Lankart said.
A mage walking down the street arrived at a building. There was a door on the first floor for visitors, but his destination was much higher. The mage tapped the ground with his staff, and gravity distorted, lifting him straight to the fifth floor.
Another mage, feeling hungry, placed a milk crystal in a bowl and sprinkled some crumbs over it. Then, he imbued it with mana and gave it a light tap. The milk crystal melted, and the crumbs absorbed the moisture, swelling up to become cereal. The mage slurped it down noisily.
A mage reading a newspaper tore out a page and floated it in the air. He then took a jewel from his pocket, attached it to his staff, and scattered the light. The flashing light passed through the paper, the ink became shadows, and was then etched into a small orb as if being sucked in. Having instantly clipped the article, the mage burned the rest of the newspaper and went on his way.
The entire world was filled with magic. The grace of magic provided convenience for the simple reason that one knew how to use it.
Gravity, light, wind, crystals, space. The Floating Castle was truly a city of magic.
“I hear mages who reside in the Lower World employ ignorami. But even that is impossible on the Floating Castle. The mysterious magics that fill this place would only cause accidents if they couldn't detect mana.”
“Don’t the mages here keep servants?”
“An Archmage, or a Tower Master, might take on disciples. But there is no innate hierarchy among the Chosen. Anyone can awaken their own Unique Magic, and the master of that Unique Magic is the person themself.”
The ignorami are foolish. The Chosen are wise. And no further distinction between the two is necessary.
That was the rule that governed the Floating Castle, and for the Floating Castle alone, it was true. It would be nearly impossible to survive here without having awakened one’s mana.
Lankart scoffed and continued.
“I don’t agree that there’s no hierarchy among the Chosen, but I can’t deny that this is better than the idiots in the Military State.”
You’ve found a land that suits you. Good for you.
I offered Lankart a silent blessing and then asked.
“So, what about the person who’s going to help us? Is she superior?”
“She’s on the superior side. For a right-hander.”
“More than you?”
“For now.”
Lankart admitted it readily.
He added ‘for now’? For Lankart, that was as good as a declaration of surrender. This was the same guy who took nearly a year to admit defeat to me (or more accurately, to my mind-reading). Earning his acknowledgment was no easy feat.
“Of course, she’s not as good as you. She lacks ambition. She makes no effort to become wiser.”
“That’s too harsh, Lankart. If you considered the time and expense I’ve put into looking after you, you wouldn’t dare say such a thing.”
Just then, a voice drifted over. It had to be the acquaintance Lankart mentioned, the one who would ‘help us.’ I turned toward the source of the voice.
Lankart’s acquaintance didn’t look like a mage. That is to say, she looked bright and cheerful.
She was a mage with long, slender limbs. Her short-cropped blue hair looked as refreshing as its color, and a plain gold earring glinted on her long ear. Seeing no jewel on the earring, it seemed to be an accessory purely for fashion.
Her wide-legged trousers, which at a glance looked like a skirt, and her form-fitting gloves went well with her blue shirt. Through the translucent sunglasses resting lightly on her fair face, I could catch a glimpse of her clear eyes.
I was quite surprised. That a mage, of all people, would be dressed with such consideration for the eyes of others.
And not just any mage.
“Huey. That’s the collaborator I told you about. The Blue Tower Master.”
For a Tower Master, a mage who had even awakened her own Unique Magic, to be pursuing fashion!
“I’m Elisha Celsius. On the Floating Castle, I’m more often called the Blue Tower Master. A pleasure to meet you, friend of ‘the’ Lankart.”
The Blue Tower Master smiled refreshingly and extended her hand to me. There was something about her that made it hard to refuse, and I dazedly took her hand and shook it. Whether it was the effect of magic or her constitution, I could feel a chill even through her glove.
I wasn’t the only one sizing someone up. The Blue Tower Master glanced at my wrist and spoke.
“So you’re the black mage who escaped. I hear you gave the Security Bureau a nice middle finger, yes?”
“I had no choice. I apologize for the commotion.”
“Ahaha! It’s fine. The Security Bureau needed a little stimulation. The Floating Castle, inhabited only by the Chosen, lacks a certain tension. Shall I call you Huey?”
Her friendliness was incredible. To the point of being overwhelming. I replied, with a slight hint of refusal.
“That was the name I used in the Military State. I go by Hughes now.”
“A shame. It was a good name. Then again, after all the wicked things the Military State did, I suppose you had no choice but to discard it. Personally, I find the matter of Hamelin to be a true shame.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s the biggest problem with black magic, isn’t it? That it can be strengthened by using the lives of others. That’s why black mages are more susceptible to corruption than anyone… But I respect you for ultimately rejecting that taboo and leaving.”
Elisha continued the conversation, sounding genuinely regretful. I was quite flustered by her probing questions.
Was it because she knew about the Hamelin incident? Because she had some understanding of me?
No. The Blue Tower Master, Elisha Celsius, was the head of the Floating Castle’s intelligence bureau. It was her job to grasp and collect information from outside the Mage Federation, and she would know more than she didn’t, especially when it came to matters of magic. Since she had dealings with Lankart, it wouldn’t have been difficult for her to find out about the Hamelin incident.
It was just, purely…
“Hey, Lankart!”
I was flustered by this mage’s un-mage-like friendliness!
“You’re the one who introduced us! You take the lead now!”
It’s exhausting trying to talk to someone so forward when we’ve just met! At my call, Lankart spoke with a reluctant air.
“I don’t really want to talk. She’s draining.”
“You think she’s not draining me?!”
“You too? Strange. In my judgment, you two seemed to be of the same kind.”
“She and I are different genres! My friendliness lets me blend in naturally, but hers forces its way in! It’s a dynamic where I’m the only one suffering!”
“Ahaha! What an interesting ignoramus. Saying I’m overwhelming right to my face. Even I’m a little hurt, you know?”
The Blue Tower Master pushed up her sunglasses and grinned. Her mere presence seemed to cool the air around us.
This person, who seemed like she’d be more popular with women than men, was the Blue Tower Master, Elisha Celsius.
The mage Shei had thought of, someone who might help her.
I had wondered what kind of eccentric mage would step up to help others, but after meeting her and reading her thoughts, I understood.
‘The ignorami can’t be helped. They’re foolish. Who would want to be born so foolish?’
Was it because she was kind? Humble?
No. This mage, the Blue Tower Master…
‘Ah, the more I learn of the world outside the Floating Castle, the more I realize how full of foolishness it is. So much so that it’s considered ‘normal.’ So I suppose I must be kind to them. A single thread of knowledge bestowed upon an ignoramus. That will be my tribute to my own brilliant intellect.’
Among the mages known as eccentrics, she was the most unhinged of them all