Chapter 321
Chapter 321
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 321
Chapter Title: Ashen Mage Tower (4)
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The Ashen Elder, Krenbel Eleanor.
I knew what kind of convictions drove the man known as Krenbel Eleanor to live his life. I also knew well the path of magic he pursued.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Krenbel Eleanor was a mage who had devoted everything—his gains, the power and fame that came with responsibility—to the Ashen Mage Tower.
Solely for the Ashen Mage Tower.
His life had become one with the tower itself, earning him the title of elder. Knowing this, I found it hard to believe he could betray it.
"This wasn't a choice you made on your own."
"Haha. You sound so certain."
I stated it flatly to the elder.
"I know it's not something you would do."
He was a man who strove to live rightly.
A man who never forgot a mage's true calling.
Such a person wouldn't choose betrayal of his own will. It would be tantamount to denying his entire life.
"...Raniel must have said as much."
I nodded silently.
The elder gave a bitter smile and sighed.
"Yes, Miss Lania."
"Please, go ahead."
"Do you know what's eating away at my body?"
Of course I did.
I had the same thing planted in me.
I nodded and replied.
"I know."
"At first, I thought it was demonic energy, but it wasn't. What do you think it is?"
The moment I tried to say "shade," my tongue froze stiff. The elder was someone untainted by such knowledge. I exhaled briefly and continued.
"...It's hard to explain in detail, but you're right—it's not demonic energy. It's something more insidious, sticky, like a curse that won't be purified."
"A curse... a curse."
As the elder mulled over the word, I asked.
"How did this happen to you?"
He didn't know it stemmed from the Demon King. Naturally, he'd never faced the Demon King. Yet the curse was embedded in his body.
From where? How? And why?
I needed to know the reason.
In response to my question, the elder slowly opened his mouth. But what came out wasn't the answer I'd hoped for.
"Just one question for you."
The elder countered with a question of his own.
"Can you cure my illness?"
He looked straight at me.
His blackened eyes were regaining their original color.
"......"
Before those eyes, I fell silent.
In my sight, the elder's body was already fused inseparably with the shade. It had spread from his heart and invaded his brain. It was a miracle he was still alive.
His soul was stained black.
There was no way to reverse a soul that could no longer distinguish white from black.
'...Even Cardijo couldn't find an answer.'
The solution I'd discovered was meaningless here.
Even if I injected mana that devours shade into his body, his soul would burn away. As I pondered how to explain, the elder read my expression and smiled bitterly.
"No way, then."
The elder looked at me.
"In that case, can you kill me?"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Kill me.
At those words, Lania fell silent for a moment.
If it was just about possibility, then yes, it was entirely feasible. It didn't even require her specifically. The issue was the intent behind such a request.
As Lania furrowed her brow to read the elder's intentions, he spoke.
"Precisely thirty-seven... Ah, do you know how many days it's been since I woke?"
"I believe it's been four days."
"Then it's thirty-three days."
The elder stroked his chin.
"In thirty-three days, can you kill me?"
"Why thirty-three days specifically?"
"Because that's the time I've been given."
What happens after thirty-three days?
To that question, the elder replied curtly.
"I won't be myself anymore."
The elder smiled bitterly.
"I know it's a difficult request. It is difficult. But you're the only one I can ask."
He raised his hand.
His fingertip pointed at Lania's heart.
"You carry the same thing I do, but unlike me, you seem to have a way to fight it."
Just as Lania had sensed the shade within the elder, he had felt the same in her the moment their hands touched. Narrowing his eyes, the elder continued.
"So only you can kill me. It's a hard request, but one only you can fulfill."
Even as he spoke of his own death, the elder's voice was remarkably calm, as if discussing someone else's. Feeling the dissonance, Lania was about to ask a question when—
Dong, da-dong.
The bell tolled.
The hourly chime rang out, and the elder slowly closed and opened his eyes. With fatigued eyes, he looked at Lania.
"I'm sorry."
He opened his mouth with effort.
"Can you come back later?"
2.
Leaving the elder's office, I walked while organizing my thoughts. I mulled over what he'd just told me. But still, no answers emerged.
In thirty-three days, kill me.
On the day I cease to be myself, kill me.
Only you can do this.
That's what the elder had said.
I couldn't grasp his true intentions. Nor did I know how to interpret it, or the origin of the shade gnawing at his body.
'...Complicated.'
Everything was unknown.
Still, a few things were certain.
The elder desired death.
He had accepted his own death.
He awaited it with resignation.
His voice, calm beyond measure as if prepared for death long ago, echoed in my ears. I frowned. The elder I remembered had been passionate. Why this change?
"What in the world happened..."
I muttered as I walked.
That's when I locked eyes with Resti waiting at the end of the corridor. She hurried over with quick steps.
"Did you have a good talk?"
I looked at Resti.
She seemed brighter and more energetic than usual.
"Is it because we talked so much about you? The elder seems very interested in Professor Lania too..."
Every time she spoke of the elder, Resti's words grew longer. She had so much to say that her sentences rambled, repeating the same stories multiple times.
I listened as I walked.
Resti, chattering happily beside me, looked joyful, giggling repeatedly. She wasn't one to laugh easily, but when talking about the elder, she'd smile lightly.
A light laugh, as if unburdened.
A smile that said she was enjoying this moment.
I couldn't watch it with peace of mind. The elder's voice still lingered in my ears.
"The elder waking up is just... so wonderful."
"I'm counting on you."
"Really, every day feels so joyful lately."
"In thirty-three days, can you kill me?"
Outwardly, I nodded along to Resti's words with smiles, but inwardly, I had to keep replaying the elder's. My throat felt tight as I walked.
"Professor Lania."
Just before leaving the Ashen Mage Tower, Resti stopped and called me. I turned to look at her.
"Thank you."
She smiled at me.
It was the same smile she'd given me once in Aphria's garden. Back then, it was a spring breeze; now, it was summer's scorching gust.
A humid, unpleasant wind.
Resti's hair swayed in the wind blowing through the tower's open door.
"Because you told me not to do anything I'd regret, because of those words... I made it this far. I can stand proudly before the elder who's opened his eyes."
Resti Eleanor smiled brightly.
"It's thanks to you, Professor."
A radiant smile and sincere voice.
Back then, when I saw that smile, how had I replied? Something like "I'm glad" or "I'll cheer you on," I recalled.
"......"
Now, I couldn't say that.
I moved my lips but found no words.
I just nodded slightly and turned away, walking off.
The summer wind blew.
Whether from the humid heat or the damnable weather... breathing felt a bit hard. My chest felt clogged.
3.
Thud.
Back at the mansion, I slammed the door shut and stripped off my clothes. Roughly unbuttoning my sweat-soaked shirt, I collapsed into a chair.
"Hoo..."
I could use magic to cool the sweat, but my mind was too tangled even for that.
"Can you kill me, Lani..."
The elder's request to me.
Taking a life at someone's request wasn't new. On the battlefield, it was commonplace. I'd gladly granted easy deaths to those who wished it.
So killing the elder wouldn't be hard. But the image of Resti happily chattering about him kept flickering in my mind.
"......"
I hung my head.
Drip, drip—sweat fell to the floor.
Gazing at the drops, I thought.
What would happen to Resti if the elder died?
Predicting her reaction was simple. Resti shared many traits with me. So, how would I react in her place?
I imagined the scenario.
Put Master in the elder's position, myself in Resti's. If the same situation unfolded...
And in the end, Master died.
How would I react? What would I do?
"If I had to kill Master with my own hands..."
I muttered.
Crash.
A glass shattered behind me.
Startled, I whipped around. Master stood there, having entered the room.
"M-Master? When did you get here?"
"......"
She didn't answer.
With trembling eyes fixed on me, Master spoke in a quavering voice.
"What did you just say...?"
Kill? Me? By your hand?
Master staggered back a step, muttering. Her face showed deep shock. Only then did I recall what I'd mumbled.
"Ah."
I jumped up hastily.
"N-No, that's not—"
"D-Don't come closer."
Master flinched and stepped back.
I took another step forward to clear the misunderstanding, and she retreated again. The distance between us didn't close; her expression grew graver.
"What have I ever done wrong to you...?"
"You haven't done anything wrong. No, I was just talking about something..."
"If I haven't done wrong, then why...!"
"That's not it...!"
With my head already in knots, I spent a good while sweating to dispel Master's misunderstanding.
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