Chapter 224
Chapter 224
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 224
Chapter Title: The Last Leaf, The First Sapling -3
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Kidnapped by a murderer.
That's a nonsensical statement in the current situation. After all, the culprit has been killing people and holograms without a shred of hesitation up to now.
Throwing myself at a guy with zero intention of extorting money or anything else would just get me stabbed first. That's the only future I can see.
So, what do I do? I need to offer bait he can't refuse.
Something so alluring it turns a murderer into a kidnapper, and buys enough time for Siselle to track my location.
Actions reveal desires. I can figure out the bait to hook the culprit from here.
The culprit erased holograms one by one, as if checking my reactions, and whether by chance or fate, reached the main actor, Karen. From that, I sense clear malice directed at me.
To taste it in more detail... resentment? Hard to say. There's no passion in the movements. Given the brutality toward unrelated third parties and the rough handling of corpses, he's closer to a pleasure killer archetype.
The Evil God-chan nodded at my speculation too.
"I agree. Doesn't seem like the type who hesitates before killing."
"The question is why that arrow is aimed at me of all people."
"Well... unless you were just ridiculously unlucky, isn't it one of the two?"
One of the two.
I'm your average mage holed up in the Violet Magic Tower, rarely venturing out. Opportunities to build grudges are few and far between. So, the number of people who'd put a knife to my throat can be counted on one hand.
First off, academy students and session participants are completely off the suspect list. I trust our bonds, but more certainly, I've been inside their heads once.
That leaves one of the warlocks whose facilities, plans, and lives I blew to smithereens with my own hands. Or...
The Red Duke House, who sent Roderus to take my head.
This advances us another step.
From the Five Great Trees, I learned that the Red Duke's metamorphosis is fate manipulation. And while tracking the serial killer, I couldn't quite catch their tail. Due to bad luck.
Yeah, this was a collaboration between two metamorphoses.
It's weird I haven't caught them yet.
I may have been busy running sessions, but who else is a mage who can keep up with me in the info war?
So, the probability that the Red Duke House is behind this is extremely high. Far higher than the chance of another mage on my level existing in the world.
At that conclusion, Evil God-chan pretended to vomit with a "blegh."
"So unlucky."
"Shut up."
The conclusion is that this incident is a check consisting of the executing culprit and rear support from the Red Duke House... to keep me from dominating the Hero Selection Tournament.
Are they seriously gunning for the Hero Selection Tournament?
Fine then. I'll give them information. The duke must sense the many suspicious points about this tournament too. Dangle some tasty intel, and they'll bite.
Open an unofficial negotiation table. Make it look like I want info exchange and a truce.
And when that culprit comes to me, I immediately signal Siselle for a raid on the spot── while flipping the negotiation table and screaming in Karen's form.
"I've been kidnapped! Help!"
Perfect.
"Reaaally? So what bait are you planning to prepare? And how do you intend to deliver its fragrant scent right under the murderer's nose?"
"By leaving a sign so irresistible they'll come running without a second thought."
I quietly raised a finger and pointed upward. Beyond the lighted ceiling, beyond the roof, to the vast canvas where sun, moon, and stars trace their orbits.
"I'll move the sky."
"...Huh?"
"I know what the goddess is, the Evil God statue as her terminal receiving 'that' power is in my grasp, you've got your smarts, and I've got a clever brain too. Isn't it more than enough to recreate the Succession Metamorphosis... Cogwheel series?"
A brief silence.
Then Evil God-chan made a disgusted face, like watching someone toss a gem in the trash. Or an idiot who bought a watermelon for ten gold. She raised her voice in frustration.
"Yeah, that kind of bait would make their eyes roll back. Showing the next step right in front of guys struggling to control even my minor authority! They'd charge like ghouls at a corpse!"
"What's wrong with that...?"
"You could use that as a trump card, or save it as bait for a more decisive moment. It's that big a feat. So why waste it here, you idiot! Just kill Karen!"
"No, if I want to use it, I use it. Why are you getting pissed?!"
Is she going through puberty?
Poke.
Yuna Yurensuto Violetiris quietly held her breath behind the wall, listening to Mima and Evil God-chan bicker.
Yuna was always nearby. Just hidden where no one could notice.
When she heard the reverse kidnapping plan, she thought, This guy's jumping in without a care for his body again. Should I kick the door down and give him a thorough Yuna punch?
But when the part about recreating the Succession Metamorphosis as bait came up, for some reason, a question popped into her mind.
Why do I like him?
Because he changed the Violet Magic Tower's atmosphere and treated her well?
No. That would just be simple gratitude. Thanks for helping me, us... That's all it needed to be.
Not reason enough for this complex, inexplicable feeling of liking him.
Looking back.
He's not the type you fall for.
He's off his rocker. Swayed by 'that' in his head, harboring malice, deriving pleasure from tormenting people. A bad guy.
He's putting in maximum effort to suppress that side of himself.
He even lost his own name, acts erratically, unpredictably. Basically a shameless, thick-skinned prankster, but sometimes he flails around spectacularly.
And he throws his body into things without hesitation.
Like it's no big deal, but chewing it over, every instance is life-endangering peril. Infiltrating the Succubus Queen's mental world solo, sticking his arm in a falling goddess beam from the sky...
Doesn't he value himself?── But no. He's not like Siselle, throwing himself away indifferently. He has convictions.
Evil God-chan shrieked.
"That kid thing you pointed out... yeah, that complicated my head for sure. But this is clear. I wouldn't 'overinvest' that much. Never! Hey, is that Siselle or whatever even worth investing in that far?"
"She is. Once they've passed through my hands, every story has to end in a happy ending. Because I'm searching for a certain story!"
Yeah.
He's obsessed with happy endings.
He wants targets he's interested in or attached to to live happy lives if possible, and he puts his all into helping them. Even if he stumbles, in his own way.
Sometimes at the cost of his own sacrifices, he pursues a 'good ending.'
The Violet Magic Tower mages changed one by one because of his efforts. Are they fully healthy now? It's debatable. But... obsessing over weird hobbies beats pointless revenge, right? Much happier.
That side of him, shining like the sun on those around him... that's probably why she fell for him. It looked cool.
It hurts when he gets hurt. Her chest aches. Sometimes she wishes she could hurt in his place. Enduring pain is one of Yuna's few specialties.
But without that decisiveness, he wouldn't be him.
She pestered him because she didn't want him hurt.
Was that wrong? Her actions.
Another mistake this time? Yuna yanked her conical hat down over her face. Pitch black, no visibility. What should I do? Like escaping a maze.
Her feelings first, or his? How much to accept, what to reject? Is trying to change him okay or not? Inexperienced with humans, Yuna's head spun.
Then his voice came.
"Besides, this time it's different, man. Siselle is, well."
"Mima. Why are you looking around so much?"
He scanned the surroundings meticulously, ran mana detection three times, then lowered his voice to Evil God-chan.
"...Sister-in-law."
"?"
"Yuna's on bad terms with her family, so building a good rapport with her sister-in-law now means... when I marry Yuna later, she'll have someone to walk her down the aisle... right?"
"Ugh, f-f-fucking mother-in-law disease..."
Wham.
"...What was that? You, Mima? Not pissed? Admit it, you were cursing."
"No, wasn't me..."
No. It was Yuna's face exploding beet red.
A torrent of emotions bulldozing her complicated worries. He said marriage. Marriage! Embarrassing and joyful. He said he's putting in extra effort because Siselle's her sister-in-law.
Instinctively to cool her burning head, Yuna flapped her arms and ran around for a while... then crouched in place.
Tiny Yunas screamed in her dizzy head. Wedding tomorrow? Dress big or small? Burst in for a kiss now?
Idiot, what if he hates it? But he has that slight pervert side, might like it. No, priority is honeymoon prep──
In that chaos, one thought.
He does it for Yuna. So Yuna should do it for him. They already were, but one puzzle piece was missing.
Communication.
Before, Yuna tried extracting 'that' for him── slight trouble ensued. He woke up and sorted the mess.
'That' being what it was, ignorance was better, but if they'd talked it out circuitously, maybe a better outcome.
Before, he tried accessing the goddess for Yuna── lost an arm. Urgent situation, unavoidable regret, but if he'd asked for help even briefly, Yuna could've assisted.
So, ultimately.
If they care for each other, instead of clashing... they should combine forces. Obvious realization. Neither did it.
So change from now.
To hide her still-burning face, Yuna donned her mask. The butterfly mask of the Mysterious Beautiful Mage X.
And appeared before him as he grappled Evil God-chan.
"Ow, that really hurts, Mima!!"
"It's supposed to! Today I'm fixing your manners for good... Ma, Magic Tower Master?!"
"S-seemed like you needed help, following faint voices── ally of justice, Mysterious Mage X has arrived!"
"You didn't hear that?!"
Mysterious Mage X thumped her chest with her fist and declared proudly.
"Le-leave the tournament to me! I'll drag out the finals as long as possible, lay bait so you don't need the metamorphosis, rig it for Siselle to win... so focus on the bait op!"
"No, glad you're back, thanks for the words, all good, but... did you hear even a bit of what I just said...?"
"This wanderer takes her leave, a-adios!"
"Did you hear me?!"
Poof. As Yuna scattered like butterflies, the mad mage couldn't process the sudden shift and bluescreened.
But his brilliant brain connected logical dots even in a stalled state, soon shoving a terrifying truth in Mima's face.
No confession yet, and he was blabbing about marrying Yuna, helping so her sister-in-law joins the wedding, chugging a vat of kimchi soup and cursing.
The person herself heard.
"........."
Plop.
A handmade letter from Yuna fell on the embarrassed youth's head. Erased and rewritten many times, slightly crumpled but brimming with thought.
Once that vivid weight crushed him.
Mima rolled on the floor, face as red as Yuna's, for quite a while.
The Courage Tournament finals approach. A festival.
The Mysterious Mage X, with her terrifying showmanship and thick fanbase, officially requested a delay. Public reason: parents not yet arrived in the Holy City.
What filial piety! Wanting to show mom and dad the moment their child ascends as hero candidate!
Call it truancy.
For various compounded reasons, the Cardinal faction permitted a 3-day delay. Admin papers for matches vanished, staff suddenly took deep naps.
Siselle, anxious over Karen's disappearance, agreed too.
The Cardinals needed extra time to manipulate the Goddess further, with the unusual gathering in the Holy City.
On the way out after signing the delay agreement, Siselle asked X. The parents excuse was too obvious.
"...Why delay the match? Mysterious Mage X."
"Hmph. Your face is full of fatigue and worry. Fighting someone not at full heart is no fun, meaningless. I'll fight the full-power you fair and square."
"Fair and square, huh. Appreciate the consideration. But... the fight you want might just be a dull duel."
"I want not bodily power, but heartfelt power. Show up with one arm gone, I'll handicap myself. Bring your heart."
Her attitude oddly friendly. This X feels familiar, like I've seen her somewhere. Siselle asked if they knew each other, but X brushed it off with a vague smile.
And.
Atop the tall spire, the mad mage mounted Evil God-chan like a horse and activated the bait spell. A teaser grand magic to stage an unofficial meeting disguised as a hostage crisis.
"Even as a hasty patchwork bait, couldn't you name it with even a fingernail's worth of dignity...?"
"What's wrong with my naming sense."
Intentions crossed, finale neared.
Thus, 3 days passed.