Chapter 235
Chapter 235
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 235
Chapter Title: Uninvited Guest (3)
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The Night of the Mages was approaching.
There was about a month left until the grandest event of them all, and I planned to sort out the tasks I needed to handle before then.
'First things first, this one.'
I rolled a potion bottle between my fingers as I walked. The place I arrived at was the Royal Guard's office. Since I'd already received an invitation, getting inside wasn't much trouble.
Creeeak.
As I pushed open the door to the office, the first thing I saw was a living, breathing zombie. I greeted the paradoxical creature.
"How've you been holding up? Kalt."
A desk buried under mountains and rivers of paperwork.
The zombie slumped over it slowly lifted his head to look at me. Kalt blinked his sunken eyes a couple of times and spoke in a raspy voice.
"...I'm about to drop dead, Senior."
"Looks like it."
I gave a wry smile and perched on the edge of the desk.
I picked up one of the scattered papers at hand and read it. It wasn't pleasant reading.
"Illegal research facility? There are still people brazenly building these in the capital?"
"Because we slacked on crackdowns lately, they've popped up in droves in the underground sewers. I've been running around cleaning them up and haven't slept in days."
"But isn't that the usual?"
Traditionally, cleaning up illegal research facilities and executing rogue mages had always fallen to the Royal Guard.
In short, routine work. I doubted that alone would have Kalt sounding like he was dying.
"Sure, it's a hassle, but not a big deal. You just gotta pound the pavement. The real problem is..."
Kalt pulled out a medal buried under the papers.
"This. This thing."
Guarder.
I blinked at the word engraved on the medal.
"Guarder? First time I've seen that rank."
"It's a title they hand to the head of the Royal Guard. We never had a formal leader—that was tradition—but looks like that's changed."
Guessing why wasn't hard.
"...You've been too outstanding, huh?"
Among the Royal Guard, Kalt stood out as an anomaly.
A knight from the battlefield who'd racked up merits even before joining the Guard.
'Leaving a guy like that as just another "Royal Guard" does look kinda off.'
I nodded and added,
"You've got a ton of achievements under your belt."
"That's part of it, but also all those incidents in Aphria lately, and the ones we handled together, Senior?"
Kalt ticked them off on his fingers one by one.
"First, the Skeval repulsion in spring."
"That was the one tied to Resti."
"And the heretic repulsion around summer."
"Belnoa and Chloe, right? That was rough."
"...And the recent Skeval repulsion."
"Oh, that one was dicey. That skullhead brought some freakish crystal orb..."
As I muttered reminiscing about those events, Kalt let out a long sigh.
"Somehow, things always blow up when you're involved, Senior..."
"That's 'cause I go where the explosions are."
No one else to handle it.
"...Anyway, three times in one year. Repelling disasters three times—that's merits even the palace brass are wary of now."
"Wary?"
"Yeah. Too much for one knight to claim. So they decided to promote you this time. Got tangled in some politics..."
From what Kalt said, there'd been complications lately: the First Prince's disappearance, Royal Guard power restructuring, etc.
And at the end of it all...
"So you're the new head of the Royal Guard?"
The rank of Guarder.
"Yeah. Not thrilled about it, though."
He didn't seem pleased, but it was undoubtedly an honorable position.
"The job itself hasn't changed. Still running the field and handling paperwork..."
Kalt trailed off.
It didn't take long for that trailing end to turn into a sigh.
"Huuuuh..."
He stared at the desk with hollow eyes, looking like he craved a smoke.
"The volume's doubled."
Mountains of paperwork piled high.
Kalt's gaze on the paper towers had long lost any spark of life.
"The papers... the papers won't decrease..."
"Organization shake-ups always spike the workload insanely. It'll settle down soon enough."
I gave a wry smile and patted Kalt's shoulder.
"Congrats on the promotion, anyway."
"Yeah, I guess."
"Then as your old senior, I gotta give you a gift."
Thwack.
I reached out and grabbed Kalt's head.
"...What? Why grab my head?"
"Hold still."
"No, why grab someone's head like—"
"Ah, quit squirming."
Holding Kalt's head steady, I slotted the potion bottle I'd been rolling between my fingers into a magic injector.
A specialized injector engraved with effect amplification runes.
The potion inside was a restorative one Cardi had developed herself. It pushed superhuman self-healing to its limits and supported it.
"Sip. Hold still."
I aimed the injector's tip at Kalt's left eye socket. His remaining right eye twitched.
"Wait, hold on—"
"Eh-eh. Hold. Still. This stuff's ridiculously expensive. Took half a year of the Tower's budget to make? I burned through gold just on materials—know how much?"
"How much gold...?"
I whispered the exact amount into Kalt's ear.
"Eight, nine, ten...?! Gaaasp..."
Even for Kalt, it was beyond imagination; he gulped dryly. I nodded with a hum.
"Yeah, changed the fourth digit on my account balance."
"...Fourth? Senior, just how loaded are you?"
"Told you before. Enough to build five Mage Towers. Anyway, it's pricey, so hold still."
Saying that, I gripped Kalt's head tight and pressed the injector to his eye socket.
"Hiiiik...!"
With Kalt's bizarre scream, the injection went perfectly. Recovery would take about ten days, but the effect was guaranteed.
"Congrats on the promotion, Kalt."
I grinned and smacked his back.
"...Thanks for the gift. Never thought you'd actually fix this."
He rubbed his eye socket, then shot me a sidelong glance as if remembering something.
"Senior."
"What."
"When I retire, could you buy me a building in the capital? My dream's to be a landlord..."
"We'll see how you do."
Still holding onto that dream, huh.
2.
I'd handled the top priority: restoring Kalt's eye. The rest weren't urgent.
'Not things I can knock out in a day or two. Gotta take the long view.'
Things to handle alongside daily duties.
Back to routine life, I continued lecturing at Aphria as usual.
"That's it for today's class."
Conduct class as always, assign homework.
"Any questions?"
The difference? Now, students actually responded to my perfunctory end-of-class question.
"Um, Professor Lania. In that last part you covered, this section..."
After class, students started coming up with questions one by one. I'd always bolted when the bell rang, but now I stuck around a few extra minutes.
"It's like this... Engrave the circuit this way. Anything else?"
"Professor, mine too over here..."
"Sure. Let me see."
This delayed my return to the faculty office, sometimes keeping my waiting master from our lunch plans... but Master seemed pleased.
"You've grown, Lania."
"Huh? Grown how?"
"Keeping some distance from students is fine, but a completely mysterious aura isn't. They start thinking you're not human."
You've improved in that regard.
Showing a more human side.
I tilted my head at Master's words.
"A more human side?"
"Like what you pulled at the start of the second semester. So embarrassing I couldn't show my face for days."
"...Oh."
The awkward topic made me hastily change the subject, earning a subtle jab from Master: 'At least you know to be embarrassed.'
Anyway, that was my routine.
I'd grown accustomed to lecturing and to the students' faces. Breathing the crisp late-autumn air, I headed to the forest near Aphria.
For a routine duty add-on... my 'special class.'
"You're already here."
The students had arrived in the woods.
"Rak. Belnoa."
The two who'd endured the Trial of the Holy Grail.
The two I had plenty to teach. I rolled my wrists loosely.
"Shall we begin today as well?"
3.
"Hey, Belnoa."
"Why."
"Why do you come back covered in dirt every three days? I heard the maids talking—three outfits ruined already?"
"...Circumstances I can't discuss."
Deep, profound circumstances.
The kind you can't talk about anywhere.
Belnoa tilted her head back and let out a long sigh. Exhausted from today's 'training,' her whole body ached. Her arms barely lifted.
"Circumstances you can't discuss? Like what?"
With no answer from Belnoa, Chloe tilted her head and glanced aside. Rak sat there with an ice pack on his neck.
"Rak. Know anything?"
"Circumstances I can't discuss."
"Who beat you up?"
"........."
Rak stayed silent.
The two had grown chatty without Belnoa knowing, but she decided not to pry.
"He won't say either."
It was a secret private lesson, after all.
Belnoa rolled her stiff shoulders, clenching and unclenching her fists. The lingering sensation in her palms was rough.
'Still hard to draw it out, huh.'
The new direction of shamanism she'd glimpsed in the Trial.
She was fighting to pull it forth, but it wasn't clicking.
「I'll be your trial.」
Professor Lania was overseeing, but the road ahead looked long. Resting her trial-abused body, Belnoa sighed.
"Huu..."
As Belnoa sighed like a weary old soul who'd tasted the world's bitterness, Chloe fiddled with her teacup and spoke.
"Hey, Belnoa. The Night of the Mages is coming up, right?"
"Yeah, I heard."
"You're going with Uncle Yetal to the mage banquet?"
"Probably, as his prized disciple."
"...Knew it."
Chloe eyed Belnoa enviously.
"Rak too, right?"
"Yeah. Looks like I'll go with Master. He's heading to the capital this time..."
"Ugh..."
Chloe's shoulders slumped.
Belnoa blinked at her uncharacteristic demeanor. Chloe, who usually loved festivals more than anyone, seemed off.
"What's up? Told not to go?"
"...Yeah. Uncle Yetal said stay in my room for the ten days of the festival. No going out."
"Suddenly?"
"Dunno. He says he doesn't know either, but it feels like I absolutely can't."
Chloe hung her head and sighed.
'Must be some reason...'
She didn't look great moping like that. For festival-mad Chloe, ten days locked in her room was torture.
"Even the Ancient Dragon Mage is coming. Who knows when we'll get another chance..."
Chloe grumbled.
Left alone, she'd sulk till festival day, so Belnoa finally spoke up.
"Days three or four are no-go."
"...Huh?"
"I'll sneak you out on day five. If we're together, he won't complain."
"Really?"
"Not our first rodeo."
The Black Mage Tower Lord had banned them from outings before, but they'd escaped every time.
'No big deal this time either.'
Festival meant mages flocking in, security tight. Knights everywhere—who'd cause trouble?
'Especially with the Ancient Dragon Mage coming...'
Who'd dare act up before a god-like being?
"Really? Promise!"
Belnoa gave a faint smile at Chloe's cheer. A bit of hassle, but if it made her happy, that was enough.