Chapter 322
Chapter 322
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 322
Chapter Title: Ashen Mage Tower (5)
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A disciple I had raised like my own son was trying to kill me.
Rosel recoiled in horror, backing away from Lania for a good while, but after a prolonged struggle, he was finally caught. Naturally, Lania didn't smash her fist into Rosel's head. Instead, she knelt before him and spent some time explaining the situation.
"...So that's what it was?"
"What else could it be...?"
Lania let out a sigh and hung her head low.
"Why would I ever kill you, Master? What grudge could I possibly hold?"
"Well... true enough."
Rosel knew that rationally.
But he couldn't deny that with this child—brimming with suspiciously decisive action—he'd wondered, what if...? She was quick to judge in odd situations, after all.
"Or did you do something wrong to me, Master? Why are you so repulsed?"
Lania grinned mischievously, and Rosel let out a hollow chuckle before flicking her forehead.
"Ow!"
"You think that's how you talk to your master, who was just about to brew you some coffee after you showed up sweating buckets on a hot day?"
"Uh, um... sorry."
Lania rubbed her forehead and beamed at him.
Rosel sighed and patted her head lightly with the back of his hand. Recalling the earlier scene still made his heart pound.
"Hoo..."
He cleared his throat after a short exhale.
"So, about what you just said regarding the Elder."
His eyes narrowed.
Rosel looked at his disciple and said,
"Tell me more details."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Lania spilled everything she knew to Rosel, and after listening for a while, he stroked his chin and hummed thoughtfully.
"...He didn't explain the reason or the cause?"
"Yeah, he blatantly tried to change the subject."
Rosel had known the Elder since his youth.
Back then, he hadn't been an Elder yet, but just a senior mage(?). Even so, the character of the mage known as Krenbel Eleanor had never changed over those decades.
A deeply thoughtful man.
If he was hiding information, there had to be a reason.
"He's not one to obsess over his own honor. He'd sooner stay silent than speak falsehoods. His thoughts run so deep that guessing his motives is no easy task."
Rosel tilted his teacup.
Sipping his tea, he narrowed his eyes.
"He asked you to kill him?"
"...Yes."
"And you plan to grant that request?"
Lania's lips trembled.
Unable to answer easily, she bowed her head slightly and forced the words out.
"...I do."
Rosel studied her expression.
She seemed tormented and hesitant, but not about killing the Elder herself. Her anguish stemmed from somewhere else.
"It's Resti that's bothering you, isn't it?"
Lania flinched, her shoulders trembling as he hit the mark.
Lifting her head, she looked at Rosel and said,
"I've just been thinking about it a little."
Lania sighed.
"To her, the Elder is like a master to me—father, benefactor, teacher. A great man like that."
A master who had changed her life.
He had set her on the path of magic(?), provided the stage for her to unleash her potential fully. And to her, an orphan without family, he had become a father.
Their bond was inevitable.
If that family member rose from his sickbed after years, only to be murdered by someone...
What would Resti feel?
"Before I experienced the battlefield, I think I'd have broken a little."
Someone who had stood by her side.
Someone precious. If she'd never lost such a person, she herself would shatter too. Lania was certain of it.
And even now, I probably would.
Even now, with her mind somewhat matured, imagining her master's death sent chills down her spine.
It was too awful to even picture.
And Resti would have to face it in reality.
"She smiled every day, saying how happy she was."
The moment Resti had beamed brightly, her voice full of excitement as she said "Thank you"—it kept replaying in Lania's mind.
Her voice echoed in her ears.
Her smile flickered before her eyes.
It squeezed Lania's chest tight, over and over. Feeling suffocated, Lania muttered,
"And now, that has to be taken away."
By no other than her own hand.
"Not an easy matter, is it?"
Rosel sighed.
It truly wasn't.
Since he's begging for death, suicide must be impossible...
If Lania didn't kill the Elder, he'd transform into something else before Resti's eyes. That would mean an even more horrific outcome.
No matter the choice, tragedy awaited.
Whichever path, only devastation lay ahead. The runaway carriage hurtled toward the cliff.
"The choice is yours, but in this case, there seem to be two paths."
Rosel held up two fingers.
"One: Tell Resti everything. Share every detail you told me. Let her face the truth and overcome it herself."
The direct approach.
The righteous(?) path, and thus the hardest.
"The other."
Rosel hummed.
It wasn't a method he'd recommend.
But not everyone could walk the difficult road. Sometimes, the wrong path saved those who would break on the righteous one.
"Deceive her."
Rosel said.
"Someone murdered him. No one knows who. But that person exists somewhere. Fool her like that."
Lania could manage it.
"Let revenge keep her alive. At least while her resolve burns, she won't shatter."
Until she could accept the truth.
Until she matured mentally.
Deceive her again and again.
"...That's."
"I don't recommend it. But know that such a path exists."
Lania fell silent.
Rosel sighed and rubbed his eyes.
"The choice is yours. Or there might be a better way. Let's think on it more."
Rosel said that, and Lania nodded.
But both knew deep down.
No other way existed.
She'd have to choose one of the two.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 2.
I stood before the Ashen Mage Tower and sighed.
In the end, I chose neither.
Dawn broke as I agonized, so I put off the decision. No need to choose right away. About a month remained.
Making excuses to myself, I entered the Ashen Mage Tower. My status as the successor to the Ashen Mage—and the Elder's permission to visit freely—made it easy.
Resti was absent, busy with duties.
Relieved by that, I headed to the top floor.
"Ah, you've come."
The Elder waited in the same spot as yesterday, with the same expression. I nodded, pulled up a chair, and sat beside him.
"Have you considered my proposal?"
"...Much remains unresolved, but."
I nodded.
"I'll do it."
But, I added a condition.
"Tell me everything. No holding back."
"No reason to hide..."
"Even without you, I know plenty of secrets. Loads of info I must conceal. No need to get permission first—just speak."
I smiled wryly.
"I need the full story to choose."
"...Choose what?"
"Resti Eleanor."
The Elder stiffened.
"If you're murdered and it's revealed someone killed you, what do you think will happen to that child? You've considered it."
"......"
The Elder stayed silent.
I pressed on.
"Better to tell her everything..."
"That won't do."
The Elder cut me off.
I narrowed my eyes. He gazed at me with a pained expression.
"That alone is impossible. For that child..."
"Why?"
"She'd question it, dig for the truth. Why I bear this curse, why I hid it... She'd have doubts."
The natural course.
I asked the Elder,
"And that's bad?"
"It is."
"Why on earth..."
"Because then I'd have to tell her everything. And that would be exactly what he wants."
He? I blinked.
The Elder was breaking into a cold sweat.
"Who is he?"
The Elder was silent for a long time.
After minutes passed, he finally spoke with effort. He made a request.
"Promise not to speak of it."
"I swear on the honor of the Ashen Tower."
"I trust you."
The Elder exhaled and straightened his back.
"I made a contract with a shadow."
Contract.
I nearly choked on the words that followed. The name of an unexpected being emerged.
"The shadow introduced itself as the First Madman."
The First Madman.
The lunatic who birthed the shadows.
The Elder was telling me he'd contracted with that entity.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 3.
Krenbel Eleanor had sensed, upon taking in Resti, that she would be his final disciple. She was talented and learned quickly.
Watching her grow brought joy to his every day. Krenbel taught her everything he knew and strove to be a fine father to the lonely child.
He cherished her like his own daughter.
He sincerely wished for her growth and success, delighted at the mere thought of her one day becoming Mage Tower Lord.
Then one day.
Krenbel spotted a shadow inside the Mage Tower.
It roamed freely, evading every barrier. He pursued it and witnessed it slip into Resti's shadow.
It wasn't a familiar.
Not a mere shadow.
Something sinister, identity unknown.
While Resti slept, Krenbel addressed the shadow pooling beneath her. What are you, stalking this child?
【I'm just parasitizing the seed that will become a great tree.】
The shadow chuckled eerily.
【Too late once it grows into a great tree. Starting now is efficient, no? That's my view—what's yours?】
Krenbel unleashed every spell to banish it, but nothing held. No fixed form. Mana ineffective. It wasn't a being of this world.
An entity beyond providence.
Close to a god(?), it whispered in Krenbel's ear.
【Useless, friend.】
The shadow tried to reenter Resti.
This bizarre entity sought to possess Resti, devouring her soul. To consume his disciple, like a daughter to him. Krenbel wouldn't allow that future.
He sought an answer.
In short time, he agonized and sensed something familiar in the shadow. A clue only Krenbel Eleanor—who had long traded with stars, studying mana trading—could grasp.
The shadow's form, its essence, resembled a star.
Half-doubting, Krenbel extended his hand to the shadow. The mage who always bargained with heavenly stars now beseeched an earthly crawler for the first time.
"I propose a trade."
The shadow halted.
It slowly withdrew from Resti and stared at Krenbel. Eyes formed in its now-shaped form—human-like, yet not human.
The madman's eyes.
The deranged one laughed at Krenbel.
【In earnest?】
"A trade..."
【Oh, of course. I never refuse those who seek trades. I'll do it.】
The madman laughed.
【State your terms, foolish mage.】
Krenbel had made countless trades.
He voiced terms the madman might desire. Hearing them, it laughed.
【You'll give me your soul in her place?】
"Until my allotted lifespan ends."
【Any reason you must?】
"Better to parasitize an old tree like me than an unsprouted seed—for now. Isn't it?"
Krenbel proposed.
"I'm the Ashen Elder. I can't become a great tree like her, but I've achieved more for now. Parasitizing me temporarily..."
【Then switch bodies when you die?】
"Yes."
【Touching sacrifice.】
The shadow laughed.
【I like it. Far more entertaining. But I'll add a condition.】
The shadow reached out.
Its fingertip pointed at sleeping Resti. Indicating her, its mouth split wide.
【If she asks about this contract, you must answer fully. And when that moment comes, I'll propose this to her:】
This old man sacrificed for you.
I'll give you the chance too.
Will you take his place and accept me?
Hearing that, Krenbel froze. Resti would surely refuse? No—she'd accept the contract.
"No..."
But he had no right to refuse. Krenbel accepted.
【Contract sealed, mage.】
Until his lifespan ended.
That condition prevented suicide. No dying in battle. The transcendent pact granted temporary immortality. In exchange, he'd be devoured until the end.
And someday, Resti will learn.
Thus, Krenbel played his trump card.
He wounded his own soul.
With lifespan gnawed, he fell into a coma. To bind the shadow to his body until the end.
Thus buying four years.
In hazy consciousness, Krenbel prayed ceaselessly. That in those four years, Resti would grow. Grow so much the shadow found no purchase.
"But the plan failed."
The Elder gazed at his gaunt arm and said.
"I couldn't sleep until death, waking with 37 days left. Inside, the dormant shadow stirs."
He opened his tightly shut eyes.
Half were blackened.
"In the remaining month or so, it'll fully consume me. Using my body as bait for Resti. I don't want that."
The aged man beseeched Lania.
"So, don't tell Resti. When my time ends... kill me."
Lania couldn't respond.
Her master's disciple's master begged her, having devoted his life. To make his sacrifice worthwhile. To let that choice remain a sacrifice. He pleaded earnestly.
"Ah... damn it..."
Lania rubbed her eyes.
I'm going mad.
A tale where tragedy awaited every path.
Now, one more path vanished.
Only deception or the cruelest road remained.
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