Chapter 153
Chapter 153
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 153
>Chapter Title: The Mongrel and Its Place
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Baidun Village Central Square.
It was the bustling lunchtime hour, yet only two figures occupied the space.
A burly mage and a frail old knight.
They sat side by side in front of the fountain, gazing ahead as if basking in the sunlight, painting a serene picture like a single frame from a painting.
A vast blue sky, pristine white clouds, pleasantly warm sunshine, and a breeze tickling their hair.
Perfect conditions for a nap.
But.
It didn't take long for that peace to shatter.
"So, old man. Did I hear that right?"
"You should tell me what you heard first. I'm not peering into your guts."
"......"
The burly mage, Holland, fell silent for a moment. Then, with bloodshot eyes fixed ahead, he spoke.
"Lortel is finally raising its banner against the Decullan Family. That's how I took it."
That was when Hamelran burst into laughter.
"Hah, raising the banner! Raising the banner... Well, set aside the terminology for now. You've got a real talent for blowing things out of proportion, don't you? How does it twist into that conclusion in your head?"
Hamelran curled his lips upward, genuinely amused.
His laughter stopped when a stray puppy approached him.
As Hamelran stroked its fur, the yellowish pup wagged its tail and quietly leaned into the touch.
Hamelran picked up the puppy, cradling it in his arms, and continued petting its soft fur.
"Listen, we just had no choice but to back out of the deal. How does that turn into raising a banner against the Decullan Family? Can't keep a promise, so it's rebellion? Sheesh."
"So, in the end, you're siding with the Magic Tower, the Sword Pavilion, and whatever else those nobodies are?"
"Come on, that's not it either. You're so stubborn for a young guy. Look, handing Infinite Chain to the Magic Tower and Sword Pavilion was regrettable even for the main family. But what can we do? It was the Patriarch's decision. That's it. Deal's off. Nothing more, nothing less."
"......"
"Oh, and drop any thoughts of using this as an excuse to stir trouble with the Magic Tower and Sword Pavilion. If you do, then you'll get exactly the situation you want."
Holland didn't respond.
He simply stared straight ahead in silence.
The scene was peaceful, but in his bloodshot eyes, it reflected a burning inferno. And Holland's inner turmoil was no different.
Just suppressing the surging killing intent felt like a taste of hell.
In contrast, Hamelran appeared utterly calm. He simply watched the stray puppy playfully trembling in his arms with fondness.
"You know what?"
"......"
Hamelran stroked the puppy and cast his gaze into the distance.
About ten years old, perhaps? A boy peeked from the mouth of an alley, watching them. Probably the pup's owner.
Hamelran turned his eyes back to the puppy and tickled it. Soon after, its mouth opened.
"Dogs resemble their masters. That kid must be a good one. Rotten just enough, and does good deeds just enough. If I'd married, I'd have had a grandson about that age."
"So... that's why you don't know your place, old man?"
"This body of mine does tend to forget its place. Not so destitute that I'd share a meal with the likes of you. But what I'm getting at is a story about some mad dog the Decullan Family's raising."
"......"
"Is it madness? It doesn't know its place at all. Lets its worthless tongue wag about Lortel, and... where does a mongrel pup bark without its master's permission? Huh?"
"......That's aimed at me, I take it?"
"Stupid to boot. Dogs naturally take after their masters, after all. Hmm."
Hamelran said that much, then set the puppy down on the ground.
The pup panted happily, wagging its tail, before scampering off toward the alley.
But it didn't run to the boy, so contrary to expectations, it seemed to have a different owner.
Anyway.
"No use fussing over another house's mongrel pup, but don't presume to judge the main family's intentions lightly. Know your place as a pup and just follow your master's orders."
This was a warning.
Don't spout nonsense—just report the facts as they are when you get back.
It was highly insulting language, but Holland showed no reaction.
Hamelran's voice wormed into his ear.
"You've got two things to relay. Lortel backed out of the deal due to unavoidable circumstances. The recipients are the Magic Tower and Sword Pavilion, and they are Lortel's allies. That's it. If you're thinking of adding anything more, say it now. Even a stray pup deserves a good thrashing."
With that, Hamelran brushed off his seat and stood.
He glanced back at Holland then.
"Do you need proof that the main family harbors no hostility toward the Decullan Family?"
Holland's bloodshot eyes looked up at Hamelran.
Hamelran met those demonic eyes and smiled faintly.
"If you need proof, go show your neck to your master. And say this."
- The thing perched atop my neck here is a token of friendship from Lortel.
"How's that? Crimson Jade's Captain. Sending you back with your head intact makes for pretty good proof of friendship, no?"
There was no reply.
But Hamelran wasn't expecting one.
He just smiled faintly at Holland, then stretched his mouth wide in a yawn toward the clear sky.
After a long, languid stretch, Hamelran sauntered off.
"If you've got it, I'll be on my way. Unlike you, I've got a busy schedule."
And so, Hamelran walked out of the square.
Even after his figure vanished completely, Holland didn't move from his spot.
He simply stared ahead with bloodshot eyes.
He kept repeating endlessly in his mind.
Lortel.
And...
'Magic Tower, Sword Pavilion. Magic Tower, Sword Pavilion. Magic Tower, Sword Pavilion. Magic Tower, Sword Pavilion. Magic Tower, Sword Pavilion. Magic Tower, Sword Pavilion. Magic Tower, Sword Pavilion. Magic Tower, Sword Pavilion. Magic Tower, Sword Pavilion. Magic Tower, Sword Pavilion. ......'
The existences of the rats that had raised their banners against the Decullan Family.
How much time passed like that?
Holland finally rose and started walking. Just then, the crow that had kept its distance to avoid Hamelran returned.
"Holland, what happened?"
"Report to the Patriarch."
"......?"
"The deal is off. Lortel handed Infinite Chain to the Magic Tower and Sword Pavilion. And they said they'll protect them."
"What do you...?"
The crow faltered at the one-sided report, but Holland didn't give it a chance to speak.
"Finally."
"......?"
"Tell them I'm taking the position I put off."
With that, Holland walked out of the square.
The crow didn't understand, but the position Holland had put off meant the throne of the Seven Mages.
Politics and all that trivial nonsense, a throne swarmed by flies with only a fine facade.
A seat where he could seize power incomparable to that of a magic squad captain, but he'd delayed it because all that annoyed him.
But.
'I'll burn them all alive without fail.'
To repay this indelible humiliation, he had to become a player himself.
Not a chess piece, but the player moving the pieces.
Holland recalled the nearest Seven Mages position and headed straight there.
To claim the throne.
* * *
And so, Holland departed.
On the roof of a building overlooking the square.
Hamelran watched until the crow left, then pulled a communication orb from his bosom.
"Patriarch, One Sword reporting."
[I'm listening.]
"As expected. Holland didn't come alone. A Decullan crow was with him."
[......]
Muhard gave no reply.
A silent signal to continue the report.
Catching on, Hamelran calmly briefed the Patriarch on the situation. When the report ended.
The silently listening Patriarch spoke.
[How was he?]
"You mean Crimson Jade's Captain?"
[Yes.]
"Definitely no pushover."
He hadn't hesitated to hurl insults like mongrel pup earlier, but Holland was no one Hamelran could take lightly.
Setting aside personal feelings, the man himself was like that.
[More details.]
"You might have guessed from today's contact, but actually, this old man breached the deadline by about three days. I'll gladly take the reprimand, but..."
[A test? You've picked up a bad habit.]
"My apologies. But really. He was furious, just as the rumors said, poison rising to his head... but that's exactly where it stopped. No killing intent leaked out. He just held it in. Whew, those eyes... You should've seen them yourself, Patriarch."
If he'd vented killing intent, it wouldn't have even registered.
Even if he'd smiled like a snake to hide his feelings, same thing.
But Holland was neither.
His rage boiled over so much he couldn't hide it, and his chest burned with hot killing intent, yet not a shred escaped.
It was as if... yeah.
"A well-trained hunting hound. Knows how to suppress even its instincts. I hurled a few insults his way, but he didn't budge an inch."
[Regrettable?]
At the Patriarch's question, Hamelran answered without hesitation.
"Of course. From what I could tell, he's on par with the Seven Mages... When do you get a chance to take a head like that? Dang, why's a guy like that still just a captain?"
[You held back just the same.]
"Must be this old age... I was confident about Holland alone, but that crow way off in the distance? No guarantee."
[Better than half-assed.]
"Thank you."
Hamelran smiled broadly and looked up at the sky. The Patriarch's voice came right then.
[How does he compare to the Tower's Master?]
"......Holland, you mean?"
[Speak freely.]
"......Hmm."
Hamelran chose his words carefully for a moment.
The comparison itself wasn't hard.
But he couldn't quite read the Patriarch's intent.
That hesitation didn't last. Hamelran soon voiced his thoughts. Regardless of the Patriarch's motives, his job was just to answer.
"The Tower's Master and Holland. If comparing the two..."
The answer was simple.
"If we clashed head-on, I'd die nine out of ten times."
[And the other one?]
"Barely scrape by with my life and flee."
A harsh assessment.
But all the more accurate.
'The Tower's Master seems to have reached transcendence too, but...'
The Holland that Hamelran saw appeared to have entered the realm of perfect transcendence. He couldn't gauge the exact level without clashing, but his instincts said it surpassed even the Tower's Master.
Of course, the Tower's Master wasn't without a chance.
If he timed that terrifying magic—the one he'd used on Hamelran—perfectly, he could probably take Holland.
But even that was a slim probability.
Holland wasn't just any mage; he was the Decullan magic squad's captain, a battle mage honed over a hundred battles.
Yet, for some reason.
Patriarch Muhard asked again, as if surprised.
[......Hmm, really that much?]
"Yes."
[Quite generous of you.]
"Is it? But same realm... Hmm. Put it this way—under the same conditions, I'd say the Tower's Master wins for sure."
[......]
Patriarch Muhard fell silent.
Not from disbelief.
He trusted Hamelran's eyes as much as his own.
They were wrong now and then, but rarely.
Perhaps that's why.
Patriarch Muhard spoke.
[Then, it's fine to lend a bit more strength.]
"......Pardon?"
[Take a break.]
"......?"
Hamelran tilted his head.
Lending more strength meant giving the Tower's Master a little extra help, but suddenly ordering him to rest?
The question didn't linger long.
[Go on a trip near Decullan territory.]
"......"
[A vassal family with decent standing wouldn't be bad either.]
What was this?
It meant not just drawing Decullan's eyes, but raking them in with a harrow.
'......Is this a vacation?'
Hamelran swallowed the question rising to his chin.
Instead, he offered a timid... but pointed joke.
"I think I'll end up supporting the Young Patriarch."
Meaning he'd vote for the Young Patriarch's anti-mage stance. Anyone could see the Patriarch's shift was because of the Tower's Master.
It was barely even a joke.
The successor was the Young Patriarch anyway, sole heir.
But Patriarch Muhard wasn't one for humor.
[Official statement?]
"......"
[I'll send the execution squad. It was fun while it lasted.]
Hamelran swallowed a boiling sigh and spat his reply through gritted teeth.
"......It was a joke."
Muhard replied.
[Mine was too.]
......Sure it was.