Chapter 417: Central Magic Tower (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 417: Central Magic Tower (1)
Alexion first calmly reviewed the numerous blueprints the two Tower Masters had brought.
He reached a conclusion without much difficulty.
Are these guys out of their minds?
That was his impression after reading through about half of the dozens of blueprints.
Unaware of his thoughts—or perhaps simply not caring—the two Tower Masters were chatting with each other, wearing confident smiles.
"Right, let's proceed with Sector 5 like that."
"Then we can raise Sector 6 at the same time while we're at it."
"Ah—but if we do that, we'll need a bit more supplies, so maybe it's better to do it this way—"
When they had first arrived, the two were at each other's throats, acting as if building something together was an absolute impossibility. Now, they exuded such a friendly atmosphere that one had to wonder if they were even the same people.
Despite this, Alexion’s opinion remained unchanged.
Is this... what a mage is?
As far as Alexion knew, mages were fundamentally unhinged.
Of course, there were plenty of normal people among the lower-tier mages, but the higher their tier rose, the more they tended to have a screw loose.
It was only natural.
To begin with, the realm of a high-tier mage was reserved only for geniuses beyond the reach of ordinary people. And naturally, geniuses capable of such obsession with magic were bound to have a few screws loose.
In other words, Alexion’s hypothesis—that a mage's tier was directly proportional to the number of missing screws—was quite credible.
He had briefly forgotten that fact because he’d only been looking at Alon lately. But today, that thought, which had been submerged beneath the surface, rose again.
Alexion remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking up.
"That—"
"Oh."
"Are you done reading?"
The moment Alexion tried to speak, both Tower Masters immediately turned their heads. Seeing the confident expressions on the two mages' faces, Alexion spoke.
"I didn't have enough time to read everything, so I've only gone through about half."
"Right, what are you curious about?"
"It's not a matter of being curious... Ahem."
"? Is there a problem?"
The words Did you bastards really think there wouldn't be a problem with these blueprints? almost surged up his throat, but Alexion forced them down and cleared his throat.
Then, he looked at the Brown Tower Master, Manram.
"...The blueprints you've made are truly excellent, but realistically, I think they might be a bit difficult to construct."
"What makes you think that?"
"First of all, to build a castle of this magnitude, the amount of resources and labor required would be astronomical..."
As the size of a castle increases, the costs grow exponentially. First, material costs skyrocket. Then, the number of workers needed to build such a massive structure increases. Consequently, the construction period lengthens.
And if the construction period lengthens? The funds required to employ that labor increase yet again.
In short, these blueprints were absolutely impossible to realize at the current moment.
To Alexion’s logical argument, Manram replied:
"True, it will require quite a bit of labor."
"Right?"
"But you don't need to worry about that. Support will come from the two Magic Towers."
"From the two Magic Towers...?"
"Yes. Including us, about several hundred."
"...Several hundred?"
"Yes."
Manram answered simply.
Alexion recalled that the last time several hundred mages were mobilized was to restore the half-destroyed Rosario. His jaw dropped for a moment before he regained his senses and asked another question.
"Even if the labor is sufficient, where will you get the materials...?"
"Ah, don't worry about that."
This time, the Purple Tower Master waved his hand dismissively at the concern.
"We can't get everything, but we can provide about 70% of it."
"...70% of the materials for a castle this massive...?"
"Yep."
At Norton's words, Alexion’s jaw felt like it was going to hit the floor. He wondered if that was even possible, but he soon had to accept it.
After all, the Purple Magic Tower was the wealthiest among the five. They were the ones raking in a fortune through Alchemy.
"..."
Wait? Isn't this actually a good thing? We can build this incredible castle almost for free.
The thought flashed through his mind for a moment, but Alexion pulled himself together.
"Even if all of that is possible, the size of the territory..."
In truth, even with materials and labor secured, building the castle as designed was impossible. Regardless of anything else, the size of the territory was limited.
However, to Alexion’s common-sense rebuttal, Manram replied:
"Why? We can just expand the territory."
"...Excuse me?"
"We can just designate this area as the Northern Zone and build the castle outside."
The Brown Tower Master casually uttered a statement that shattered Alexion's common sense, and then he delivered the finishing blow.
"Shouldn't a King's castle possess dignity?"
"Well, that's true, but..."
"To be honest, I think if we built a castle that fits the current size of this territory, it would just look awkward."
No, is it really that bad? It's still quite large.
Just as a rebuttal naturally formed in his mind, Alexion’s thoughts were unfortunately cut off by the Purple Tower Master, Norton.
"It's not like it's costing you anything anyway. If we're going to build it, wouldn't it be better to make it grand?"
Alexion fell silent. Her words weren't wrong.
"..."
And so, for reasons he couldn't quite grasp, Alexion—who had been 'persuaded' into having a castle built for him—continued to voice realistic concerns that wouldn't work on them for a while longer.
After some time had passed.
"...For now, I understand," Alexion concluded.
"Then let's prepare immediately—"
"However, this is still too large, so I think it would be best to make some adjustments here."
He judged that implementing the entire blueprint was too much. No, he felt that even if they were building a castle, there was no point in building useless parts, so he voiced his opinion.
"Fine. What are you dissatisfied with?"
"First, regarding this 5-layered Wall—"
Alexion opened his mouth to persuade the Tower Masters who had created the blueprints—
"Now, think about it. A 5-layered Wall can be surprisingly important. The more walls there are to protect the King, the better. It means you can create five separate gates."
"...That's not incorrect."
To persuade the Tower Masters—
"This underground facility is absolutely necessary. What if you end up in a siege? You must have facilities of this caliber."
"...Certainly."
The Tower Masters—
"Similarly, the reason there are two large castles flanking the Central Castle is because of the magic circles. Just by erecting two castles, the durability of this fortress will increase several times over."
"Oh..."
...Alexion was persuaded by the Tower Masters.
And so.
"Then, let us begin."
...The construction of Palantia's castle began.
The construction of a very, very ominous castle...
* * *
"Lord Alon, we are approaching the Central Magic Tower."
A few weeks after Alon left Teria.
At Evan's words, Alon turned his gaze and saw the Magic Tower soaring high into the sky as always.
"How long do you plan to stay this time?" Penia asked.
Alon thought for a moment before answering.
"I expect it will be about three days at most."
"You aren't staying long."
"There isn't much I need to do."
Of course, it wasn't that he had no business at the Magic Tower at all. He had to receive the interpreted magic from Heinkel and had various things to ask her. However, since those weren't things that would take a long time, he had set the duration at about three days.
"But why? Is something the matter?"
"Hmm—no. Actually, if you were going to move faster, I had some things of my own to handle and was going to return after staying a bit, but three days seems like a decent amount of time."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. I think we can return together."
Penia nodded after a moment of thought. Alon also nodded in agreement, but then...
"...?"
Quite suddenly, he felt a sense of déjà vu.
Isn't Penia supposed to be at the Magic Tower normally...?
It was a point he should have considered a long time ago, but until now, he had just accepted it naturally. Realizing this fact anew at Penia's words, Alon paused.
"What is it?"
"...No."
"?"
"It's nothing."
He briefly debated whether to point it out but ended up glossing over it. Penia looked puzzled for a moment but soon accepted it and looked away from Alon.
Upon arriving at the Central Magic Tower, Alon headed to the library to meet Heinkel, as he usually did.
And then.
[You've arrived just in time.]
"...? Did something happen?"
[Well—I had a lot I wanted to tell you.]
"What is it?"
[I think I've found a suitable method. A way to change the means of Phrases other than through magic.]
"!"
He was able to hear something important from Heinkel.
* * *
Around the time Alon met Heinkel, in the wasteland between the United Kingdoms and the Empire—
[Arm Spitter...]
[Is it Burnt Vegetation?]
A total of four Divine Bloods were facing off.
To an ordinary human, the sight alone would have been enough to drive them insane. Four Divine Bloods, each radiating a bizarre aura, gathered in one place—it looked like a calamity in itself.
After a heavy silence.
[Step aside quietly. I don't particularly want to fight without any gain.]
Looking at the Arm Spitter who had appeared from the coast of the United Kingdoms, the massive forest giant, Burnt Vegetation, who was constantly ablaze, spoke.
[Regrettably, I cannot do that.]
[Do you truly intend to fight? I know you are strong among those who can move right now, but there are three of us and only one of you. You will only suffer damage without any profit.]
At Burnt Vegetation's words.
[No matter how strong you are, you cannot defeat the three of us simultaneously.]
[You should know that much.]
As if in agreement, the two Divine Bloods behind him also spoke, their grotesque forms shifting. However, the Arm Spitter remained unmoved and countered.
[Conversely, you shouldn't have a reason to cross over to the United Kingdoms either, should you?]
[Hardly. We are moving because we have business.]
[Is it to deal with the Star Eater?]
[Yes.]
[...So you intend to carry out Rotten Mouth's request, is that it?]
[That's right. So clear the way. There is no reason for you to fight us. It will only be a meaningless battle. Or—will you join us?]
[Join you?]
At the Arm Spitter's question, Burnt Vegetation nodded.
[Yes. After all, there are no eternal factions. In the end, don't both you and I have to choose wisely? Join us this time, deal with the Star Eater, and come under Rotten Mouth. They said they would give us high positions if we complete the mission.]
It was a persuasion attempt by Burnt Vegetation. To that, the Arm Spitter replied as if it were ridiculous.
[Regrettably, I have no intention of doing so.]
[And why is that?]
[Because following Rotten Mouth only means belonging to a faction, and nothing else, doesn't it?]
[...Then I suppose there's something in it for you if you protect the Star Eater?]
[Of course there is.]
[What is it?]
[It is the ability of other Divine Bloods.]
To the Divine Bloods who had come to kill the Star Eater—
[...What does that mean?]
[Exactly what I said.]
He delivered new information.
[The Star Eater can absorb the abilities of the Divine Bloods he deals with and distribute them to other Divine Bloods as he pleases.]
[What...!?]
...Some very strange information.