Chapter 119: Half (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 119: Half (1)
The Labyrinth City, Lartania, is divided into a total of eight sectors: four internal and four external.
Among them, the eastern zone on the outskirts of Lartania is a slum known to mercenaries and explorers as the "Street of Refuse."
The Street of Refuse.
Initially, it was merely a place where scavengers nested, but it had now grown into a district that even the Lord of Lartania found troublesome to touch.
Though it was attached to the outer castle walls, it was effectively a territory beyond the reach of the law. This was due to the numerous hidden powerhouses lurking within its alleys. Consequently, most mercenaries avoided the area unless it was their primary base of operations.
Three organizations divided and controlled the Street of Refuse.
One was the Underground-Zik Group led by Surod.
Another was Punk Knife, led by Kokan, located in the northeastern sector where Lartania’s various dregs gathered.
And finally, there was Dark Mud, led by Salamandra. While it was called a three-way power struggle, Dark Mud was known to be the practical ruler of the Street of Refuse.
Of course, there was a time when the three groups divided the district equally.
However, at a certain point, Dark Mud seized hegemony, leaving the other organizations unable to even breathe properly. The reason was simple: the boss, Salamandra, and her executives had become incredibly strong.
The other organizations had no idea how Salamandra had ascended to a completely different level of power so suddenly.
They only saw the result.
They saw Salamandra, wreathed in black mana, tear apart a powerhouse from Laxas—someone nearly at the level of a Sword Master—with her bare hands.
Since that day, it was safe to say that not a single person in the Street of Refuse could ignore the words of Dark Mud.
And within the hideout of Dark Mud, which could practically be called a kingdom...
“……”
A mountain of corpses and a sea of blood had been unleashed.
Everywhere the eye could see, there were only bodies.
Inside the buildings.
Outside the buildings.
On the ground, toward the sky, on the exterior walls, at the main gate.
No matter where one looked, there were only corpses.
There was, however, one peculiarity: massive golden tubes of immense length were skewering those bodies. These golden tubes, which had turned the Dark Mud hideout into a chaotic mess resembling a twisted jungle gym, gleamed vividly under the blue moonlight of the dark night.
The master of Dark Mud, Salamandra, stared at the entity before her with an expression of extreme tension.
A woman with golden eyes that clicked and whirred behind her, her green eyes shining brightly under the blue moon—
No.
It was Line, a High Councilor of Lartania.
“—Re҉s҉t҉o҉r҉e҉.”
The moment the command fell from her lips, the golden tubes that had been skewering the corpses moved at an incredible speed, dismantling the "jungle gym." Simultaneously, the tubes melted back into her eyes as if they had never existed.
And then.
Thud! Splat!
Even as a rain of corpses fell haphazardly, creating flowers of blood upon the ground, Line nodded several times with an eerily satisfied expression.
“Mm—as expected, the power that person gave me... is beyond magnificent.”
Line, looking grotesquely pleased, gave a bright smile toward Salamandra.
“Now then, it seems all the nuisances have disappeared. Shall we have a chat?”
“……”
Salamandra’s brow furrowed involuntarily. However, after shooting a quick glare at Line—
“Tsk!”
She immediately turned and fled.
The reason was clear. She was certain she could not defeat the entity before her. At least, not right now.
Bang!
As soon as she made her judgment, Salamandra entered the building without hesitation and bolted down to the basement. She believed that if she used "that" which was kept in the basement, she might somehow be able to stand against the creature above.
Arriving in the basement, she immediately opened the box she had prepared for such a day.
Her only hope, her only lifeline.
Unfortunately, the moment she opened the box, she could no longer reach out. All she could do was look down.
“Gah—!”
She stared at the golden tube that had pierced through her heart from behind and protruded out of her chest.
The very same golden tube that had slaughtered all her subordinates.
“Ah—this is troublesome. I wasn't supposed to kill you.”
With Line’s voice, dripping with regret, serving as her funeral dirge, Salamandra died instantly.
Line approached, licking her lips as if disappointed, and then...
“...Hm?”
She saw it.
An enormous quantity of Abyss Bodies, soaked in Salamandra’s blood.
“Is this...?”
Line’s voice echoed softly in the dark basement.
* * *
Lately, Evan had nothing much to do.
What work would there be in the Central Tower where the Magic Society’s meeting was being held?
Of course, since Alon hadn't placed any specific restrictions on Evan’s movements, he could have wandered around if he was bored, but he chose not to.
...To be more precise, he hadn't been doing so since a few days ago.
There was one reason.
Starting a week ago, the number of mages clinging to Evan had increased exponentially.
If that popularity had been solely due to his looks, he would have been more than ready to enjoy it. Pressure? What was that? Evan was the type to enjoy attention.
Unfortunately, the reason lay elsewhere.
It was because of the Tower Master and Vice Tower Master of the Blue Magic Tower, who were involved with Alon.
Sigh.
Evan thought of the mages who swarmed him the moment he stepped out of his room.
‘Excuse me, what exactly is the relationship between the Blue Tower Master and Marquis Palatio—no, the Marquis?’
‘Is it true that Penia Kraysinne and Marquis Palatio are dating?’
‘If you give me a little hint, I’ll give you a good artifact. What do you say?’
‘Could you deliver this to the Marquis? This is something very good for the body—’
Mages would rush at him the moment he appeared, trying to confirm rumors or shove gifts at him to establish some sort of connection. To make matters worse, as if to prove they lacked social skills from being cooped up in magic towers doing research, they refused to leave him alone even when Evan declined or claimed ignorance.
They clung to him even more, squawking like a huddle of penguins.
‘What on earth has the Marquis been doing...?’
To be honest, Evan couldn't understand what Alon had done to cause this.
‘No, it doesn't seem like he’s doing anything—’
Of course, he knew Alon wasn't doing anything in particular. Basically, Evan accompanied Alon everywhere. And when they were together, Alon didn't do anything strange.
If he had to pick something, it would be the fact that Alon had been eating nothing but sweet potatoes for over two weeks during the trip without getting tired of them.
But given the situation, Evan couldn't help but wonder if Alon was doing something behind his back.
...Well, knowing Alon’s personality, even if he asked, the man would just look genuinely wronged.
‘...Though it’s hard to tell because of his expressionless face.’
Having served him for nearly ten years, Evan had become somewhat capable of reading the emotions behind Alon’s blank stare.
Anyway, thanks to that, Evan, who hadn't been able to leave his room for days, was finally walking through the Magic Tower. He judged that enough time had passed for the rumors to have died down.
A short while later.
‘I was right.’
He was satisfied to see his judgment was correct. Even as he walked around, the mages only glanced at him briefly without swarming, leading him to believe the gossip had been suppressed.
Just as he began to leisurely tour the tower.
“It’s been a while.”
“Oh, Pellin?”
“Yeah.”
Evan ran into Pellin Kraysinne, whom he had met in Laxas. Though they were awkward at first, the two had formed a decent friendship while traveling together in Laxas.
“What brings you here?”
“What else would bring a mage to a Magic Society meeting? I’d like to say that, but that’s not why I’m here.”
“Then?”
“...I was dragged here.”
“Dragged? By whom?”
“My sister dragged me here. Because of the rumors.”
“...Ah.”
Evan understood Pellin’s words instantly.
“Is she very angry?”
He had already heard from Alon that Penia Kraysinne had been badmouthing him.
Pellin hummed in thought for a moment before speaking.
“I asked her about it, just in case.”
“And?”
“I got slapped.”
“Hmm...”
“Five times...”
“Dear me.”
“It’s a bit much to say this, but—she’s become incredibly violent.”
His voice held a hint of fear. Evan noticed that the respect for his sister that had filled Pellin’s eyes back in Laxas had faded significantly.
...Perhaps because he could indirectly tell how much Pellin had suffered under Penia, Evan felt a pang of pity for him.
“So she came because of the rumors.”
“...To be precise, she said she was going to find the Tower Master who spread those rumors and crush—no, have a word with him.”
I think I heard that wrong...?
“Ahem, then couldn't the Vice Tower Master have come alone?”
“She judged that the Tower Master would try to hide, so I was dragged along too.”
“Ah.”
...So he was drafted as a search party member. Just as Evan was thinking it was a relief his own sister wasn't like that...
“So, have you just arrived?”
“No, we arrived late yesterday. My sister is the only one looking for the Tower Master, and I was told to meet up today to start searching from the first floor together. She should be arriving about now. By the way, where is the Marquis?”
“Well—he’s probably attending a lecture somewhere in the tower right now. Anyway, since it’s just a false rumor, seeing her get that angry... she must really hate him... huh?”
At the sudden sound of mages buzzing, the two looked ahead and saw Alon in the distance.
Alon was reading a book he hadn't seen before. Behind him stood Penia Kraysinne, watching him.
It was a bizarre two-shot.
Unlike Alon, who seemed completely unaware of Penia, she had a serious expression as if contemplating something.
“Sister, over—”
The moment Pellin opened his mouth to call Penia—
“Lord Marquis~”
“?”
“Ah, hellooo...!?”
Evan and Pellin saw it.
Penia, who had been wearing a serious expression just a moment ago, approached Alon with a bright smile and a nasal, cutesy voice.
““?””
At that sight, Evan wondered if something was wrong with his eyes.
“...Vice Tower Master?”
“E-ey, don’t call me that. Call me Penia, Lord Marquis~”
““????””
Following Penia’s... aegyo, the faces of all the mages present were colored with bewilderment.
“What...?”
Pellin, who had been raising his hand to call the person who was his sister just a moment ago, stood with his mouth agape, unable to comprehend the situation.
Drip.
As if the situation was too absurd to handle, a drop of saliva even escaped the corner of Pellin’s mouth.
“...Has my sister gone mad?”
He muttered the words involuntarily.
* * *
Penia did not like Alon.
That was a given. To begin with, she had absolutely no reason to like him; rather, she was stressed to no end whenever rumors involving him spread. Wasn't the very reason she came to the Magic Tower to find and crush the Blue Tower Master who had spread such rumors?
However, the reason she was now showing Alon a bright smile despite those thoughts was, naturally, because of Heinkel.
She shifted her gaze toward the sky. Though invisible to other mages, Penia could clearly see Heinkel looking down at the current situation in her spirit form.
She was watching intently, as if to confirm whether Alon and Penia really were in that kind of relationship.
Because she had confirmed this, Penia had rushed to Alon and performed such an unthinkable act.
...Even if it caused her stress that gnawed at her entire body, she desperately wanted to receive teachings from Heinkel, who was treated like a hero among mages.
Therefore.
“Why are you looking at me like thaaat... Lord Marquis?”
Penia looked at Alon with a desperate smile.
And the person who heard her nasal words...
‘What on earth is wrong with her...?’
Looking at Penia, who had suddenly rushed up to him, Alon was internally quite flustered. At the very least, the woman he knew would never—absolutely never—react like this.
Therefore.
‘Did she eat something bad?’
He looked at Penia with a serious expression.
“Wh—why are you suddenly acting like this?”
“Ahahaha, suddenly? We’ve always been like this, haven’t weee?”
“...Weee?”
What kind of bizarre syllable was that?
While Alon was internally horrified behind his expressionless face at Penia’s nasal tone, the rumors that Marquis Palatio and Penia Kraysinne had been trying to kill off at the Blue Magic Tower...
‘Was it true that those two are in that kind of relationship?’
‘She just couldn't say anything because she was shy.’
‘The Blue Tower Master himself confirmed it, so there’s no way the rumor was wrong.’
Thanks to Penia twisting her entire body and acting cute (?) to learn Heinkel’s magic, the rumors began to blaze once more.
“Cardinal, there is a new rumor regarding the Marquis—”
“Yes, what is it, Cardinal Sergius?”
“...Rumors have begun to circulate that the Vice Tower Master of the Blue Magic Tower and Marquis Palatio are indeed in that kind of relationship.”
“Ah—isn't that the false rumor from last time?”
“It—it seems it’s not a false rumor this time. Apparently, several witnesses have come forward at the Magic Society—”
“...Huh?”
Quite fiercely.
In just three days, the news reached the ears of the Saintess of the Holy Kingdom, who was listening to rumors about Marquis Palatio.
“…….”
The texture of stationery brushed against Yutia’s fingers.
...It was the stationery she used when sending re-education letters.