Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Resti Eleanor (3)
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Who exactly is Elder Zilleon?
From what I recall of my time as the Next Mage Tower Lord, Elder Zilleon was a pretty decent fellow.
'A bit shady, sure...'
But he was helpful in all sorts of ways.
Our goals aligned back then, after all.
'He crossed the line now and then, but it wasn't bad.'
Growing the Ashen Mage Tower. Elevating it to the pinnacle of all towers. With that shared purpose, I'd maintained a fairly good relationship with the old man.
-I don't want to.
-Why me?
...Even if I said that, it doesn't mean I particularly disliked Elder Zilleon.
'He sacrificed for the Mage Tower, after all.'
I held some respect for that fact.
But I knew the old man's true depths.
I hadn't realized it while establishing myself as the Next Mage Tower Lord, but once I was fully settled, Elder Zilleon's real face was... unique, to say the least.
It was nothing like his outward appearance.
'No wonder he held that elder seat for so long.'
The more you got to know Elder Zilleon, the more exhaustingly shady he became. He'd play the kindly old man up front, then scheme to screw you over behind your back.
'True nature doesn't change...'
He must have tried cozying up to Jangno or Resti, and when that didn't pan out, hatched this plan.
"......"
I silently regarded the old man. I could more or less guess this sly fox's scheme.
'Obvious without looking.'
He nominates me as the Next Mage Tower Lord.
The nomination comes with a solid justification. And it's not just justification—backing me pulls in my master's faction support automatically.
A Next Mage Tower Lord backed by two factions emerges in one fell swoop. But the Mage Tower's wizards, unaware that I'm Raniel, would think:
'Isn't she a bit inexperienced?'
Such doubts would arise.
This old man wouldn't miss that.
He seats an inexperienced wizard as Next Mage Tower Lord. What comes next is obvious. The Mage Tower's history provides the answer.
'Under the guise of guidance, he'll seize power himself.'
Then Zilleon enacts sweeping reforms to the Mage Tower. Not a bad plan, really.
'If I were truly an outsider.'
Pretending to accept his offer and returning to seize power would be child's play.
I'd already experienced the Next Mage Tower Lord position once.
What's one more time?
'...And I've got some prepared materials.'
This wasn't a new idea.
I'd thought the same when I first came to the capital.
Build achievements.
Draw the gaze of the Ashen Mage Tower's affiliates.
Return to the Mage Tower.
Whichever elder's faction produced the Next Mage Tower Lord, it'd just be a puppet for power struggles anyway.
Snatch that seat.
Become Mage Tower Lord again and finish the reforms I couldn't complete before.
That was my plan upon returning to the capital.
And what did I find upon my return?
'The newly elected Next Mage Tower Lord.'
That child wasn't chosen from among the elders. She was handpicked by the elder who'd chosen me, and bestowed that name.
Resti Eleanor.
While staying at Aphria, I watched her.
Observed her up close, tested her talents.
-Is this right?
-I've solved them all.
I saw it with my own eyes.
I judged for myself.
'More than enough.'
I saw potential in her too.
Resti had talents utterly different from mine. The thought even crossed my mind that she might remake the Mage Tower in a better way than I ever could.
'Me meddling here...'
That just wouldn't do.
A child fully qualified was claiming her place. She was still growing. For me, someone who'd already stepped back from the front lines, to interfere and meddle—that felt wrong.
'Still, I can do this much.'
I eyed the scum before me.
A withered, rotten old man, but his eyes still writhed with lust for power.
'What do you call this again?'
The word came easily.
"What is the meaning of...?"
"Elder Zilleon."
The first thought that arose from his actions.
I voiced it.
"Know your place. It's pathetic."
2.
"Know your place. It's pathetic."
Zilleon's eyebrow twitched.
His face twisted viciously. Hoping he'd misheard, Zilleon asked again.
"...What did you say?"
"I said know your place."
"To me?"
"Yes. Pathetic."
The reply was the same.
His nails scraped the staff with a grind. Zilleon narrowed his eyes at the girl before him.
A complete look of disdain.
It tested his patience.
'...From start to finish.'
He'd endured up till now.
Ignoring his words? Fine. Understandable. Silence wasn't bad. She could be the quiet type of wizard.
Not even meeting his eyes? That too. He might intimidate a young wizard.
He'd overlooked every petty attitude. It was bearable.
-I don't want to.
-Why me?
But this? No.
-Know your place. It's pathetic.
Spilling coffee on his recommendation letter, then this contemptuous attitude—he couldn't let it slide.
Zilleon was an elder of the Ashen Mage Tower.
He took pride in that. He wasn't one to lord his power over others...
'She crosses the line at last.'
But he wasn't magnanimous enough to tolerate someone mocking his authority.
"Hmph."
Zilleon spoke.
"One thing. You're mistaken."
He raised his staff.
"I am an elder of the Ashen Mage Tower. The longest-serving one at that. For the tower's survival, I bowed my head to you. Do you not grasp its value?"
If not...
"Feel its weight."
He had to make her understand.
Zilleon slammed down the raised staff.
Boom!
Mana surged from the staff.
Zilleon's mana infused the ambient mana. An artificially created mana domain.
Creeeak, grind.
Thick mana pressed down on the surroundings.
The coffee cup crumpled, the scenery warped. The wooden floor creaked.
Realm of Mana.
A spell that spreads mana to drastically raise the local concentration. The drinker was within range too, but Zilleon was a wizard who'd wandered untamed lands in his youth.
He could handle this much.
Gripping his staff, Zilleon crossed his legs.
"Do you feel its weight now?"
His voice remained steady amid the density.
Emphasizing it, Zilleon smiled.
'Similar to the mana spring in Harmein.'
The concentration around a mana spring.
A wizard without field experience would struggle to even breathe in this.
"I'll ask again. This proposal..."
"I said no, and you keep pushing."
...What?
Zilleon's eyes widened.
The girl's voice was smooth. Her breathing steady.
"What are you doing?"
She looked up, staring Zilleon straight in the eye. Flustered, he ramped up the mana density further. But the girl's breathing showed no change.
Steady.
Still relaxed.
The air was warping beyond distortion, yet the girl casually tilted her head.
Meanwhile...
Zilleon's own breathing grew ragged.
Push it higher, and he'd be the one who couldn't endure.
'...What in the world.'
Everything warped.
Except the girl, perfectly fine.
"Ha."
A sneer curled her lips.
Then, she lifted her foot. Not high. Just slightly, while seated.
And tapped the floor lightly.
The motion was neither violent nor flashy.
Boom.
A light foot stomp.
That alone disrupted the spell's flow. Cracks spiderwebbed through the domain. The gap widened uncontrollably.
Crack.
The spell shattered. But the saturated mana lingered. And that mana?
Followed the caster's will.
Now, that authority belonged to the girl who'd hijacked the spell.
Whoosh.
She drew a line with her finger, from above down, about a handspan long. Zilleon followed its end.
'...My finger?'
He tried yanking his hand back, but mana struck first.
Crunch!
"H-hurk!"
Zilleon gulped air, staring at his hand. He'd heard something break. But no pain.
'Ah.'
Only then did he realize. It wasn't his finger. Something more vital, perhaps.
His ancient staff.
The symbol of an elder, its head dented. She could have shattered it, but hadn't.
Screech.
A chair scraped.
Zilleon looked up. His eyes met the girl's as she rose.
"Nothing more to say?"
Zilleon swallowed dryly.
"Then I'll be going."
She brushed past him with leisurely steps, as if nothing had happened.
Screech.
As her fingers hooked the doorknob.
Regaining his wits, Zilleon ground his teeth and spoke.
"...You'll regret this."
"......"
The girl turned to Zilleon.
Staring into those blue eyes, Zilleon said,
"Defying an elder—me, no less—and entering the Ashen Mage Tower..."
"Elder Zilleon."
A chilling voice.
"There won't be a second time."
Cold eyes fixed on him.
In them, Zilleon felt a familiar chill.
-Elder Zilleon.
A different voice, but the same iciness echoed in his ears.
Over five years ago, yet the memory was vivid.
-Don't overstep.
The wizard who'd seized six factions in half a year.
The voice most fitting to carry the 'Ashen' name resounded.
-There won't be a second time.
An image flashed: the wizard alone in a flame-engulfed lab, eyes cold. The voice echoed.
Gulp.
Zilleon trailed off, swallowing dryly. His aged body hunched involuntarily.
"The judgment isn't yours."
She raised a finger.
It pointed at his staff.
"I see. I judge."
Screeech.
As the door opened, she said,
"Whether they're fit for that position."
How arrogant.
A mere wizard judging an elder's worth, uttering such nonsense.
Yet Zilleon said nothing.
He just watched her open the cafe door and leave.
"...Ha."
A weak laugh escaped.
No matter how he straightened, his frail body refused to stand tall.
"...All laid bare."
He felt utterly exposed.
Feeling pathetic, Zilleon caressed his cracked staff.
3.
Research reports scattered on the floor.
Ones she'd pulled all-nighters for. But Resti's gaze didn't go to them.
It was fixed on the letter Elder Zilleon handed over. Her pupils shook.
"Ah."
A sound leaked from her lips.
The trembling pupils settled. Unfocused, she kept rubbing her eyes.
"......"
Rub and blink as she might, it didn't change. Resti's mind summarized the situation.
Elder Zilleon produced a Next Mage Tower Lord recommendation letter.
Meant for Professor Lania.
Should she praise her wizardly rationality for analyzing even now?
"Ha."
The leaked sound turned to laughter.
Her blank expression crumbled bit by bit.
The dammed-up burdens crushed her.
'Why.'
A question arose.
'Why, of all things?'
Her chest tightened like suffocation.
Pent-up pressure ready to burst. Bitten lips tasted blood. Front teeth reopened an unhealed wound.
As blood beaded on her teeth...
Boom!
A vibration spread from the cafe.
Resti lifted her bowed head.
'...Realm of Mana?'
She knew the spell.
Knew it, but was just as shocked. It had no place in negotiations.
Resti peered narrowly into the cafe. Something was off.
Coffee spilled.
The recommendation letter stained black.
Glances between them murderous.
Even as she observed, mana density rose relentlessly. The warping air obscured the interior.
And.
-Crack.
The domain shattered.
No time to focus. Screech—the cafe door opened.
Half-open, but no one emerged. Resti stared at the woman by the door.
"...Th-this... isn't."
A voice. Professor Lania's. Resti listened intently.
"I see. I judge."
She extended a finger.
Pointing at something.
"Whether they're fit for that position."
Leaving those words, Professor Lania departed.
Only Elder Zilleon remained.
"......"
Resti turned to where Professor Lania had pointed. Definitely toward Elder Zilleon.
First, the table caught her eye.
The recommendation letter on it.
'...Blackened recommendation letter.'
Still on the table.
Not even opened.
Anyone could see the proposal rejected.
'What did she just say?'
Easy to recall. Resti repeated Professor Lania's parting words inwardly.
-I see. I judge.
What.
-Whether they're fit for that position.
Who?
Unknown.
But she'd pointed at the recommendation letter last.
"......"
That position meant Next Mage Tower Lord. And the tone didn't point to Professor Lania herself.
Who was the subject of judgment?
Resti looked down. At the name on the first scattered research page.
-Next Mage Tower Lord.
-Resti Eleanor.
She slowly reached out.
Picked it up.
"......"
Resti stared at it for a long while.
Author's Note:
Hero Party emoticons have been released :D