Chapter 105
Chapter 105
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Chapter 105
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: The Runaway from Group Work (2)
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Early summer sunlight burned hot rather than warm. Belnoa frowned under the blazing rays. It wasn't a bad mood.
Just unfamiliar.
He had lived his whole life in the back alleys. Stepping into the sunlight to live... that had been less than two years. Ample time if it was ample, but Belnoa still wasn't used to this light.
The reason he was seen as sharp-faced and perpetually angry was nothing special.
'Dazzling.'
He just squinted against the glare. The world had misunderstood on its own. Belnoa let out a short sigh.
'About time they showed.'
Belnoa frowned and tilted his head back. His neck caught lightly on the bench's backrest.
The capital's central square.
Belnoa sat on a bench in the bustling square teeming with people. He was waiting for someone here.
Rustle.
With his head thrown back and eyes closed, a shadow suddenly fell over him. He opened his eyes to find cascading white hair tickling his face.
"Frowning again."
"You're the one who's late."
"But the bakery smell was too tempting! Here, Belnoa. Got yours too."
She shoved a piece of bread straight into his mouth. Belnoa chuckled softly and worked his jaw. It was torn just right for one bite.
"It is a hot day, huh?"
The girl straightened the hem of her pure white dress and sat beside Belnoa. She shook her head lightly, and her white hair fluttered in the breeze.
Pure white hair.
Round eyes with sparkling green irises.
Among the throngs passing by, she naturally stood out. Sitting next to the weary, gloomy-looking Belnoa only accentuated her features more.
Belnoa called her name.
"You made it? Chloe."
"Yeah. Why the deadpan face?"
Chloe.
The girl who had grown up with Belnoa in the slums.
"Not deadpan. Weather's too bright."
"It's great! Belnoa, you're kinda gloomy, so no frowning."
She grabbed the corners of his mouth and pulled them wide.
"Ow."
"Hurts 'cause you're not used to it. Smile more normally."
Belnoa rubbed his stinging mouth corners and asked.
"So, where to today?"
"Saw a shop on the way. Hurry up. You said you can't stay long today?"
"Yeah."
"Then let's go already."
Chloe grabbed Belnoa's wrist and tugged. He half-stumbled off the bench.
"Hm-hmm~"
Humming, Chloe strode ahead.
Belnoa checked the time as he followed. There was still some leeway before the group project meeting.
He didn't usually schedule so tightly...
'Chloe's the one short on time.'
Unlike the old days when he had no time.
Now Chloe was busier than him. Coordinating schedules was exhausting, making these meetups precious.
'That's why the tight squeeze.'
They used to stick together every day back then.
Lost in such thoughts, Belnoa trailed Chloe. She glanced back with a mock-serious face.
"Big trouble, Belnoa."
"What?"
"Three shops I wanna hit, but time might not cut it? Gotta pick one..."
Belnoa chuckled and said.
"Just hurry. Pick on the way."
Everything was still so novel.
Days rolling in the slums, rummaging trash heaps, fretting nightly over where to sleep—felt like just last night. Yet here he was, pondering peaceful dilemmas.
The balmy sunlight.
Such serene worries.
Still all so unfamiliar to Belnoa.
2.
"Looks like the resistance stone served you well."
"Yes, thank you again."
I sipped my tea and nodded slightly.
Getting a mid-to-high-grade resistance stone was pure luck, honestly.
'If I were still next Mage Tower Lord candidate...'
Stones of that caliber weren't easy to come by. Few dealers stocked them. You'd need a colored Mage Tower at minimum.
"Thanks to it, the project should go off without a hitch."
"Using a stone like that for a school project... absurd from my view, but whatever."
Black Mage Tower Lord, Yetoal.
I gazed at him across from me.
'Seeing him a lot lately.'
He was Belnoa's master, and I was an Aphria professor—that connection existed, but... it still felt odd on reflection.
I was an Aphria professor.
And Yetoal was the Black Mage Tower Lord.
The gulf in our social standing was like heaven and earth. Even Aphria's prestige couldn't compare to a Tower Lord.
"You're granting me quite a few favors."
"Hm?"
A sudden thought prompted the question.
"The circuit records last time, these private meetings... feels like a lot of consideration."
It was true.
The Black Mage Tower Lord I'd faced as Raniel differed vastly from the one I met as Lania.
'Shady old codger back then.'
Sitting here now... I wondered if it was even the same Yetoal.
"Hard to call it favors. 'Laying groundwork' fits better."
My question had him stroking his chin as he replied.
"Groundwork...?"
"Tower Lords like me—only skill that grows is reading people."
He pointed at me with a finger.
More precisely, at the spells Stocked in my body.
"Ashen beat us to it, but I've researched circuit Engraving for ages."
"..."
"Since the Black Tower's founding—generations back—we've delved into it. Fruit not ours... but records don't vanish."
Yetoal pointed to his own eyes.
"From that fruit, I saw what other Tower Lords missed."
He shrugged.
"First saw you at entrance ceremony. Laughable, but I glimpsed your true value."
"...Value?"
"Yes. Others droned on about weak mana, poor control... but my eyes saw."
What had he seen?
I didn't need to ask. Yetoal continued with a hollow chuckle.
"120 circuits Engraved in this office."
"Isn't it 128?"
"...Over 120. Anyway, this office is Black's pinnacle. Our pride. But... seeing you made even it seem trivial."
He shook his head.
"Can't fully read the circuits Stocked in your body. Can only infer the dizzying number."
"..."
"Aphria prof—an obscure mage—walking around with that many Engraved. Imagine."
Yetoal gave a wry smile.
"Crassly put, makes you think: drag her to Black at any cost."
"...No plans to join any specific tower."
"Exactly why I'm saying this."
I inwardly sighed as I watched the bantering Yetoal.
'...Didn't see this coming.'
Demons who could spot my Stocked circuits? Count 'em on one hand: Ganikalt, Gletus... Skeval.
'No need to hide, then.'
Didn't expect someone here to recognize it.
If they did, his reaction made perfect sense. A Black Tower Lord versed in Engraving would grasp the implications.
"Now you see the groundwork?"
"Somewhat."
"Good. Plus, got another kid enrolling at Aphria soon—impressing you ain't bad calculus."
...Enrollee?
'Now that you mention...'
I recalled a recent drinking chat with Kalt. Definitely tied to the Black Tower Lord.
—Ah, senior, know a new hero's born? Word reached the front lines too.
—Heard, but just the birth announcement.
—Odd. Thought it'd hit you first... timing off?
Heroes born periodically.
Always fixed at 'four.' Even during our party's exploits, they rotated steadily.
'Longest 1-2 years.'
Our party exceptional; most heroes lasted 1-2 years on the battlefield. Why Kyle epitomized 'hero.'
Anyway, heroes dying and new ones rising wasn't special.
'Hence the disinterest.'
To my nonchalance, Kalt had fussed.
—This one's different.
—Different how? Holy spear instead of sword?
—No, Starflow.
—...What?
—Not a swordsman. No melee prowess. No signature weapon.
Kalt said.
—Instead, starlight flows through this hero's body.
In other words.
—Yeah, this hero's a mage.
A mage blessed by the stars.
Recalling that, I eyed Yetoal. He'd been tapped as the hero's master.
"Intrigued, I see."
"...Aren't you already raising Belnoa as disciple?"
"She's my prime disciple. The kid I'm teaching now... more ward than disciple."
Nuance of hard to detail, he circled.
"Anyway, that kid's beyond me. Only a mage mastering Balance 'perfectly' can teach her."
"...I see."
A body suffused with starlight mana.
Factoring in the hero bit... Yetoal's words rang true enough.
'Starlight mana means trade terms insanely picky.'
No normal trades with stars, obviously. Spell manifestation wickedly complex too.
"Beyond next-year enrollment, info's scarce... can only ask you take good care."
I nodded faintly.
'Enrolling next year.'
Curiosity piqued, admittedly.
First hero with mage talent.
'Heroes gain star-linked weapons.'
Varied per hero.
Holy sword baseline, but spears, bludgeons too.
But mana itself as starlight... unprecedented.
'Or not?'
Vaguely recalled from ancient kingdom histories.
Ashen Tower's forbidden stacks, though unreliable, torn pages.
'First Saintess.'
Her magics all star-infused, records said. I'd chalked it hyperbole...
'Possible.'
No certainty. First Saintess lore mostly purged; books shredded.
'Separate issue.'
I gathered my thoughts and looked up.
The Black Tower Lord sipped tea. Couldn't tip my hand yet... but a warning seemed wise.
"Sounds like your disciple has a highly unique constitution."
"...Unique, yes."
"Then tread carefully."
I met his gaze.
"Mages with rare constitutions draw predators."
Starlight mana itself.
One notion surfaced: blasphemous, gruesome... inevitable for me.
Rare-constitution mages.
Always top-tier reagents.
For apostates plying their trade... nothing tastier.
Black nodded slowly to my warning.
"...I'll be cautious."
3.
"Found it."
She smiled.
"Finally found it."
Her smile felt alien. Mouth curved up, but her eyes brimmed with fear.
"Th-that... thing?"
She questioned herself. Soon her lips moved on their own, voicing reply.
"Yes."
A bizarre self-interrogation. Yet... close inspection of her nape explained it.
Burrowed in her nape: a parasite.
Its tentacles jerked her mouth. Controlled her body.
"Succubus Queen, Rephe."
The parasite's master issued command.
"Capture that."
The body owner replied in terror.
"Y-yes, sir."
In trembling voice, Rephe named her master.
"Lord Gletus."
Apostate, Gletus.
From deep alley shadows, they rippled. Amid the undulating dark, crimson eyes gleamed.
Author's Note
> Parabaram! ```