Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Mad Mage...?
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Mad Mage...?
What words would the mage utter to us?
Would he acknowledge our hard work and efforts with genuine praise? Considering his demeanor in the classroom, the mage seemed like a thorough pragmatist. He might skip the comforting words altogether and get straight to business.
So, words of solace weren't even on the list of possibilities. Something more fitting for him would be asking if we'd secured the glowing irregular polyhedron—or perhaps urging us not to dawdle since he had other matters to attend to. That kind of brusque prodding seemed likely.
Or...
In the case of someone truly vicious. He might even go as far as reprimanding us. Scolding us for failing to produce worthwhile results despite being given six whole days, declaring his disappointment outright. Arrogant mages tended to act that way.
However, the first words from the mage as he entered the room were something none of those scenarios could have predicted.
"Uh, um... You're awake, everyone. Did you... have fun?"
...It was a question that veered wildly off from any normal reaction.
The mage's face was unusually pale, and his fingers fidgeted passively. It was a far cry from the attitude he'd shown in the classroom. Bennett and Niore tensed up.
A mage who appeared mentally unstable and acted out of character was a dangerous sign.
But Tara was too furious at the mage's words to notice his change.
Tara blinked. It was a deliberate blink to suppress her bewilderment at hearing such unexpected words in this situation. Doubting her own ears, she even asked again.
"...Did you say... fun?"
"Ah, yes. Yeah...?"
The mage tilted his head as if wondering why she was reacting that way. To an outsider, it might have seemed like genuine curiosity. That brazen attitude made Tara's anger boil over.
She glanced around. Niore's eyes swirled slowly with dark pessimism instead of innocent righteousness. Bennett was trying to play it cool, but his face wasn't unscathed either.
She herself had lost Abraham and her holy power, so she hardly looked fine. And yet, was this man claiming he couldn't sense the heavy atmosphere enveloping them?
It was like barging into the tent of defeated soldiers and asking if the defeat had been enjoyable. She could have accepted incompetence-fueled criticism, but this vicious mockery was unbearable.
Tara's neck veins bulged as she shouted.
"There was nothing fun about it!!"
In response, the mage pressed his index finger to his lips. He made a short "shh" sound. Unlike his earlier stuttering, he delivered his line with confidence.
"Tara... Saintess. This is just Illusion Magic."
"...What?!"
Tara clenched her fists, trembling violently. Those absurd words invalidated all their experiences in an instant, igniting her genuine rage. Bennett and Niore, who had been observing the mage's changes from behind, couldn't help but feel the same fury.
It was blatant insult with obvious intent. How many had died over those six days? Calling it a fleeting illusion was tantamount to belittling their entire journey.
The mage hadn't expected such an intense reaction; he looked flustered.
"Wha-what? D-didn't I mention...?!"
"Just curse us out or laugh in our faces! What the hell kind of prank is this?! Do you have to twist the knife this deep to feel satisfied?!"
"I didn't say it wasn't an illusion...! No, that's not it!"
"You bastard—!!"
Tara grabbed the mage by the collar and slammed him against the wall. The mage feigned panic at first, then suddenly plastered on a fake, nailed-on grin.
"I-it seems there's a misunderstanding between us. Haha!"
He was mocking her to the bitter end.
Meanwhile.
Violet Magic Tower Master Yuna Yurensuto Violetiris, who was real-time puppeteering the mad mage avatar, thought to herself:
...I need to salvage this!
You crazy bastard, how am I supposed to handle no prior heads-up?
Yuna screamed internally, but there was no one here to hear it. She'd have to bury this grudge deep and repay it with a Yuna Death Beam someday. The future output of her Yuna Death Beam just leveled up.
Her plan to partially heal her apprentice's mind had gone smoothly up to this point. The mad mage was half-asleep inside the simulation world.
All that was left was for the players in the session to defeat the wicked outer god...
"I can tolerate insults to me, but I won't let you mock Abraham's death—!!"
Shake, shake, shake.
Having his collar grabbed by the saintess and shaken like a reed was way outside expectations.
He'd always muddled through situations with his bizarre silver tongue. He'd picked fights with the prince and survived, even with the princess—and lived. Let alone this session's victims being green academy sprouts.
So, borrowing his usual lines and tossing them out casually should make them misunderstand and move on, right...?
But seeing the saintess on the verge of flipping out in rage, it looked like she'd smash his head regardless of sessions or whatever.
Moreover, he hadn't even laid the groundwork by hinting it was all Illusion Magic. The three were firmly convinced it was dimensional magic, not illusion.
So, instead of "While you're safely on an illusion magic tour, wanna help me out?",
It became convincing them to dive into a dimension teeming with terrifying outer gods to save lives. The difficulty spiked dozens of times over.
But, she had just called it an insult. The saintess did.
Maybe the next line would fix it. Yuna switched the mage avatar's expression to a sigh and followed up.
"I-I'm denying it's Illusion Magic, so what do you think you'll gain from... Ah, no. Sorry!"
She stopped short of saying "Oh dear" or whatever, fearing the saintess might actually kill her.
What to do. Really, what now.
The players' participation was essential to Yuna's plan. No time to recruit others, and these three were exceptionally capable. She had to keep the session going somehow.
Think. Think, Yuna...!
In that moment, a memory flashed through the young archmage's mind. From when she'd wandered modern civilization with him, rolling around in a manga cafe reading comics.
It was too late to politely say, "Please save the world, hero." Look at those three's eyes. They burned hot. First button wrong? Time to twist the concept entirely.
I'm... I'm the mad archmage who saves the world!
Poof.
"Wh-what?!"
The mage, shaking like a reed in Tara's grip, suddenly turned to dust and scattered. Then, reassembling in the corner of the room, he appeared with a beaming smile.
It was an exaggerated grin reminiscent of a clown's makeup.
"So... has your anger subsided a bit?"
"......"
"You looked like you needed an outlet for your emotions."
"...You did that on purpose?"
The mage lightly shook his head at Tara's question.
"Half and half. Actually, calling it Illusion Magic isn't wrong. Really."
"...Explain in more detail, mage."
"Of course, Bennett. Hm. What I wanted to say was... if you fail to save that world, it'll vanish like a fleeting illusion. Swallowed whole by the outer god."
The mage projected an image of a blue planet into the air. And a massive, infinitely bubbling foam mass. Once the foam passed over the planet, nothing remained.
"Elder Abraham died. All that's left is his research, meant to better the world. Now, it'll be used to destroy it—unless you intervene."
[Are you asking us... to save that world?]
"Even if you hadn't brought it up—!"
"Wait, Tara, Niore."
Bennett cut them off and stepped forward. Staring piercingly at the mage's face, as if peering beyond his expression, he asked.
"Why us? And... why?"
"Because you tracked the demon sword. Didn't you want to... save people? Thinking the sword was dangerous."
"You're missing a 'why,' mage."
"What... do you mean?"
Niore tugged at Bennett's collar. Tara watched him with anxious eyes. Was he thinking of bailing on the group?
Bennett turned back, signaling them with his eyes. He had no intention of backing out. He just saw an opening to probe the mage's true motives. Tapping Niore's hand as if to say trust him, he faced the mage again.
"I'm asking why you're so obsessed with saving another world. Is that glowing irregular polyhedron really that essential?"
"No, we can do without it."
"That makes it even more incomprehensible. It's another world, unrelated to ours. Whether it vanishes or becomes a living hell shouldn't matter."
"Because even other worlds' lives are precious..."
"Don't make me laugh, mage. If you valued lives so much, you wouldn't have unleashed succubi on the academy or turned classrooms into dungeons."
"...Dun? Ahem. Well, you see..."
The mage pondered long, then lowered his gaze as if making a tough decision.
"...Do you really think this concerns only another world?"
"What?! What do you mean by that!"
"Exactly what I said. Do you truly believe all this is confined to another world?"
"...You mean it could spill over... to our world?"
The mage made an ambiguous gesture—nodding yet not quite. But that was enough. Hard to believe easily, but not implausible.
"Of course, questions will remain. But that this benefits our world is unvarnished truth... See you next week. Farewell."
"Wait—...!"
The mage vanished into thin air.
Silence fell over the three left in the room. It was hard to believe, a heavy truth. Niore wrote cautiously.
[...Is it real?]
"No reason to lie... Second Prince dispatching him to the academy, backing him... Makes sense if that's why."
[Then, what about us... Bennett?]
"......"
Bennett seemed lost in thought, silent. After a long pause, he spoke carefully.
"I think the mage is telling the truth... Something to verify. Catch you later."
"Wait. What is it, Bennett!"
Bennett dashed off after those words.
Bennett Hilton knew of the black mages' sinister plot unfolding at the academy. 『Nightmare Summon』—powered by amplifying and collecting students' negative emotions.
He didn't know what it summoned. Only that witnessing it could drive one insane.
If the mage was telling the truth,
Then the nightmare the black mages summoned might be this world's outer god.
If blocking that was the mad mage's goal, it fit why he'd weeded out black mages from day one. The demon sword commotion was to find talent willing to jump into that world. Every action had purpose.
Bennett was heading to confirm the final puzzle piece.
He ran. Destination: the academy's abandoned building basement. There lay the summoning plan's core—a magic circle amplifying emotions.
If the mad mage had intel on 『Nightmare Summon』, he'd have tampered with this key spot.
He pulled back the carpet. A door to the basement appeared.
Descending the ladder, Bennett confirmed the wreckage of a smashed golem and a magic circle modified to produce entirely different effects.