Chapter 164
Chapter 164
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 164
Chapter Title: The Mage Tower's Heir (4)
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Cleeve began pressing his temples with his index finger, silent for a moment.
It seemed he was under no small amount of stress from this incident.
"If I slip up even slightly in front of you, it'll be a disaster."
The longer the conversation with Theo dragged on, the more Cleeve felt like he was being sucked into a deep quagmire.
Theo was a swamp.
One he could never escape from.
It was more nerve-wracking than the past few days chasing after Nazario.
"I'm going to pass on answering everything. No comment. Even if we're both Ragnars, there are still secrets I can't reveal yet."
"I wasn't hoping for confirmation or denial. I just want you to hear my guesses. Who knows? It might even help you out, Sir Cleeve."
"......"
"Will you hear me out, then?"
As expected, there was no reply.
Theo took that as silent affirmation.
"I have two guesses."
Theo raised his index and middle fingers, then folded the middle one first as he continued.
"First is that it's a fake-out. The sub-tower master is just a decoy put forward to hide the real deal. But that's a bit odd. There's no reason for the sub-tower master to take on that risk when his position in the Mage Tower isn't shaky at all."
Of course, Nazario might secretly be in a political crisis within the Mage Tower, unlike his public image.
But Theo knew from his future knowledge that he'd never been in such a spot.
He'd risen steadily without a hitch.
The word seemed tailor-made for the Ivory King.
"So, that guess is dismissed. The second possibility is that they deliberately leaked this deal to the Ragnars."
Theo didn't miss the shift in Cleeve's demeanor as he folded his index finger.
"If the deal between Lady Hilda and the Mage Tower was meant to be secret, but the Mage Tower leaked it to up the stakes with the Black Snow, and if they also aimed to stir up infighting among the Ragnars... it seems plausible enough."
Even if Kyle currently held the reins of the Ragnars, there were still plenty who followed Hilda.
The Wing Dragon was a prime example.
That's why Hilda had stayed hidden all this time.
Showing herself around would only alert Kyle and spark infighting.
But now, after decades, Hilda was moving in secret.
Right when the Troyvans were locked in fierce battle.
And with the Mage Tower, of all places, which had bad blood with the Ragnars.
Wouldn't that naturally raise suspicions if it got out?
'Black Snow is the Family Head's most loyal unit. Of course they'd be on high alert for this.'
That was probably why Cleeve had been tailing Nazario.
To uncover the exact nature of Hilda and the Mage Tower's deal.
If it was dangerous, the Black Dragon would formally accuse Hilda.
'And the Mage Tower's just using the Ragnars' political mess to their advantage.'
Whatever the deal was, the Mage Tower would profit from it and shake up the Ragnars.
And all that credit would go to Nazario, the one in charge of this operation.
Solidifying his position as the next tower master.
"I'll stick with no comment."
Cleeve wasn't even surprised anymore at how Theo had pieced this together in such a short time.
'So the second guess is right.'
The feud between Kyle and Hilda.
A shadow conflict that had been hard to grasp in his previous life.
Theo tapped away at his mental calculator, figuring out how this would change the board ahead.
"The sub-tower master's custody goes to you as agreed, so take him. But know that we'll be formally protesting to the White Dragon Knights in Black Snow's name for ruining our operation."
"You're telling me to prepare a solid alibi for our defense. Thanks for the advice."
"......I'm out."
Cleeve gave a wry smile as he slowly rose from his seat.
He was the culprit who'd botched his mission, yet Cleeve couldn't bring himself to hate the kid.
That was when it happened.
"You think our chat's over?"
Theo and Cleeve whipped their heads toward the sudden voice echoing in the air.
Steam gathered in the empty space, swirling into a vortex before taking human form.
The Wing Dragon swept back his hair, his eyes sunken deep.
"I'll be taking the sub-tower master's custody from the Wing Dragon Hall."
"......Theo Ragnar secured the sub-tower master. And he handed him over to us in Black Snow."
Cleeve couldn't outright accuse a 9-Dragon without evidence, so he pinned it on Theo.
But the Wing Dragon scoffed.
"That Theo Ragnar is currently under my command, isn't he? Naturally, command authority lies with me, not him. I can't hand over Sub-Tower Master Nazario Monte."
"Theo Ragnar has independent decision-making authority."
"No, more precisely, he's about to receive that authority soon. Don't forget he's still just a Combat Examiner in rank."
Things had gotten messy.
Cleeve bit his lower lip lightly.
"......The division chief won't let this slide easily."
"You seem to be under a misunderstanding."
Thud!
The Wing Dragon took a step forward.
"Surely you don't think I'm asking permission?"
"......!"
Whoosh—
A fierce aura swirled around the Wing Dragon.
Killing intent crushed Cleeve's chest.
Her face went pale in an instant.
"This is an order. Even the Family Head can't defy my commands. Got it?"
Each word made Cleeve's body tremble.
His tone was polite, but it brimmed with the fury of a savage beast.
"No matter how high the Black Dragon flies, to me, you're just a distant junior not even worth noticing. Understand?"
Tremble, tremble......
Cleeve shook like a leaf, unable to even respond properly.
"Understand?"
As Cleeve's mind went blank and her breath faltered,
Theo slipped in casually.
"I'm sure Cleeve gets it after all that. How about calling it off?"
The killing intent pressing Cleeve dispersed midway.
A feat achieved by matching the aura's wavelength in reverse.
Impeccable mana control.
The Wing Dragon watched with a strange glint in his eyes as Theo patted the back of Cleeve, who had collapsed to the floor vomiting her guts out.
The more he saw, the more tantalizing the talent.
A perfect specimen to stimulate his disciple.
"Then it's settled. We'll take custody."
The Wing Dragon clasped his hands behind his back and turned, vanishing.
"Are you okay?"
Only after Theo infused her several times with warm mana did Cleeve finally regain her senses.
"Damn it all......"
That was the only response she could muster.
The wall of the 9-Dragons.
It loomed impossibly high even for her, a Dragon Gate Examiner.
* * *
Hiss!
Clack-clack, clack-clack—
The magic train bound for the White Tower ruins started moving again.
'In the end, the sub-tower master goes to the Wing Dragon.'
Theo gave a wry smile as he glanced at Nazario and Zirima, uncomfortably seated beside the Wing Dragon.
Of course, it wasn't like Cleeve and Black Snow had fully given up on them.
'They'll be hiding in the train cars, identities concealed. Some are probably tailing by carriage.'
This was the clash between Kyle and Hilda—or Black Dragon and Wing Dragon politics.
There'd be plenty more shadow skirmishes between those two ahead.
Theo decided to wash his hands of it.
In a way, he'd openly lit the fuse, but it would've happened anyway without him.
Besides, he was on good terms with both the Black and Wing Dragons.
No desire whatsoever to meddle and draw their ire.
"Aren't you anxious at all?"
"He's completely out of our hands now. Nothing we can do."
"I get that, but...... Sigh! Being around you leaves no room to breathe."
"I feel the same."
"Is it because you're Ragnars?"
"Maybe?"
"Successors are on another level."
"......Why does your chat always veer that way?"
Theo sighed lightly as he watched Selphred and Arin converse.
He shifted his gaze to the book in his hand instead.
"[Explorations in Reverse-Phase Attribute Conversion Using the Wave-Particle Duality of Light]......? That's a tome even atomic mages who handle light attributes rarely touch. You seem quite interested in magic."
But this time, it was Nazario who took interest in Theo.
Even with his hands bound tight in mana-control cuffs, he maintained his leisurely air.
As if he knew the Wing Dragon wouldn't harm them.
'Theo Ragnar...... I have to figure out what that guy did to Paracelsus somehow.'
On the surface, Paracelsus looked unchanged.
But a mage's intuition screamed otherwise.
This Paracelsus was no longer the one he knew.
'It couldn't even probe what the R-rank data was before. It definitely absorbed the data, though.'
Without knowing what he'd done to the AI's algorithms, he couldn't proceed with Paracelsus research recklessly.
But Theo merely glanced at Nazario before looking away, showing no interest.
Nazario bristled inwardly.
No one had ever treated him so coldly before...!
"If you need it, I could offer plenty of help with basic magic myself. We've got time until the destination, so ask away anytime. Haha! Nothing worse than idle chit-chat-less time."
But he forced a hearty laugh, hiding it as best he could.
'Pathetic.'
『Pathetic indeed.』
Of course, it fell flat on Theo and Lordbroke.
『Heh heh heh! Fidgeting like a dog desperate to shit.』
'Truly vile tastes.'
『Who do you think my companion is? Pairs always resemble each other.』
Theo knew full well from experience that arguing with Lordbroke yielded nothing.
'What exactly did you tamper with back there?'
『It's a secret. But one thing I can say for sure: once you unravel it, you'll prostrate yourself before me in gratitude.』
'Keep saying that, and it only makes me more eager.'
『Oh? Gonna guess?』
'It has to be something time magic-related, right?'
Lordbroke fell silent.
But Theo could feel her smirking.
'Let's give it a shot.'
Theo pretended to read while closing his eyes slightly.
Hacking Paracelsus had yielded much.
Time to verify those insights.
Thump-thump-thump-thump!
His heart pounded wildly,
Whoosh—
Mana rising from his dantian mingled with his heart's mana, surging straight to his mind's eye in one breath.
The moment [Spirit] dwelled in his eyes,
Fwaaa......
Theo felt the air grow stifling.
As if time had frozen.
He looked around.
Nazario was still blabbering away.
But so slow it was practically halted.
He peered out the window.
The scenery rushing by was nearly still, every blade of grass visible in detail.
And that wasn't all.
The air's scent, the train's vibrations, mana aromas, others' chatter......
All registered in exquisite detail.
As if Theo alone had been detached from the world, everything external slowed to a crawl.
『Your thought speed has accelerated abnormally, making the outer world seem relatively slower. Time given to each is always relative, after all.』
'Amazing.'
『Amazing? This world you're seeing is the one we dragons inhabit too. It's why we dragons live unnaturally long lives mismatched to other beings—each experiences time differently. The ultimate reason we faced extinction, too.』
Lordbroke muttered bitterly before continuing.
『Look down once.』
Theo shifted his gaze downward.
Tick-tock-tick-tock—
A chronograph spread gently beneath his feet, its hour, minute, and second hands turning.
『That's the <setting> of time currently applied to you. Now, time to make use of it, right?』
Freely moving in a world slowed to a crawl would open countless combat applications.
Plus, the ■■regression ability from the quest reward tied directly to this.
Theo nodded and tried moving his arm first.
In that instant,
Sizzle!
His arm burned red-hot, wracked with excruciating pain as if it would tear off.
'Urk!'
Bloodshot veins bulged in Theo's eyes.
『Hahaha! Foolish! Think your body keeps up just because your mind speeds up?』
'How...... should...... I......?'
Nervous system's limits couldn't match his consciousness's pace.
Air friction heat and muscle strain were far worse than he'd imagined.
『What do you mean how? Keep at it until you can.』
It wasn't impossible.
When the Plum Palace Lord taught him Plum Blossom Bloom, she'd borrowed a separate time flow just like this.
Actual time elapsed had been mere instants.
Achieving such impossible harmony at will—that seemed the essence of time magic.
'And after, I can set my desired time flow. So let's make it happen.'
Theo refocused on his chronograph.
Tick-tock-tick-tock-tick—
As he immersed in training, time flowed on,
And before long, the magic train arrived at its destination: the White Tower ruins.