Chapter 162
Chapter 162
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 162
>Chapter Title: Life and Eggs
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
Even as guilt gnawed at me for possibly straying from the path of goodness,
Henji smiled and spoke up.
“Still, you got one thing right, Aster. Well, strictly speaking, it’s not exactly right either... But first, let me explain from the beginning.”
Henji patiently cleared up each of my misunderstandings.
Listening calmly, I realized just how ridiculous my assumptions had been.
“The Jillox Patriarch has a deep attachment to the Blandoga Family. Him plotting a rebellion? Ridiculous. If he were that kind of person, he never would have chosen Jillox in the first place.”
“Then why did he choose Jillox?”
“To create chaos.”
“Chaos?”
“He worried that the Blandoga Family’s power would be divided. Back then, he held considerable influence himself.”
In other words, choosing Jillox had been his way of looking out for the Blandoga Family.
So why was he stirring up trouble like this now?
“It started with the Trial Tower incident.”
“The Trial Tower?”
“Yes, even though it was concluded as the sole doing of the Bimar Family, who would believe that? The Decullans and their excuses are nothing new.”
Henji wet his lips with tea, chuckling as he continued.
“The family was in quite an uproar back then. Calls to punish the Decullans, and so on. The hardliners insisted on military confrontation, no matter the cost. That’s where the Young Matriarch and the Jillox Patriarch parted ways.”
“How so?”
“The Young Matriarch sided with the hardliners, while the Jillox Patriarch opposed any military response.”
“Wait a second.”
A question arose as I listened.
“The Young Matriarch was the hardliner?”
“Ah, there’s context to that... Hmm, I suppose I need to explain the situation in more detail.”
Back then, the Blandoga Family was a complete mess.
These days, it’s divided into hardliners and moderates, ending with a moderate victory without escalating to war...
‘But the factions were brawling so badly even the underlings were throwing punches?’
In such an emotionally charged atmosphere.
“The Young Matriarch must have been torn. She wanted to side with the moderates... but the hardliners’ emotions were boiling over. Suppressing them... Well, you know what happens when you bottle up feelings.”
“They explode.”
“Exactly. So she took the lead in venting those emotions. No, she went even further than the hardliners, advocating for radical action.”
“Hmm.”
I could roughly picture the dynamics.
You know how it is—dogs barking their heads off at each other. Take off the leashes and say ‘Fight!’ and suddenly they’re awkwardly staring at distant mountains like nothing happened.
What must the hardliners have thought of the Young Matriarch’s approach?
“Chilling.”
“Haha, right? Terrifying. The moderates were foaming at the mouth, but the hardliners were cowed by her unexpectedly extreme stance.”
“Makes sense. War isn’t something to take lightly.”
The Young Matriarch had dragged the abstract notion of ‘war’ from their minds into harsh reality.
And war, when it hits close to home...
‘Is horrifying.’
Just look at the headmaster and Liheim senior.
They seemed fine on the outside, but inside, their minds were tangled webs of madness.
That’s what war does.
Even the iron wills of master mages in transcendent realms end up scarred...
By that ferocious beast.
“Well, somehow the Young Matriarch backed down, and the Patriarch along with the elders who’d survived the old wars stepped in to calm things... But that whole situation must have been a huge shock to the Jillox Patriarch.”
“Why?”
“It really felt like war was about to break out. Everyone opposed it, but until the Patriarch and elders intervened, no one could stop her. Haha.”
“......”
I tried imagining the Jillox Patriarch’s state of mind back then.
Patriarch of the vassal Jillox Family.
It might sound glamorous from the outside, but for someone who’d once eyed the Blandoga seat, it couldn’t have been an easy choice.
He probably would’ve been better off staying and inheriting a position.
But he left to avoid chaos.
And yet.
‘Even after all that, the family he cherished... is heading down the wrong path? And he can only watch?’
It must have been nightmare fuel.
Like flesh being torn from his own body, his heart must have ached.
Of course, he likely understood the Young Matriarch’s intentions. He was a seasoned politician, after all.
But.
‘Knowing it in your head doesn’t make the anxiety disappear.’
Especially when what’s at stake is the family he left everything to protect.
“He probably thought, ‘Ah, if the Blandoga Family goes astray... someone has to rein them in.’”
“So...”
“He used you as the pretext. Honestly, any excuse would’ve done. Oh, and that’s the part you got right earlier.”
“Trying to curb the Young Matriarch’s influence?”
“Haha, yes. But not quite. He doesn’t want her power disrupted. He just wants a position where he can put the brakes on it himself.”
“Hmm.”
Henji went on to explain the Jillox Patriarch’s intentions in detail, but summing it up:
His desired stance...
‘Not an opponent to the Young Matriarch, but a representative for the Blandoga vassals.’
Stepping forward as my scapegoat was the foundation to solidify that stance.
In other words, becoming the focal point for scattered voices.
That much made sense.
“Then the Tulk Family’s wastrel was sent to blow things up even more. From what I heard, my issue was already cold rice.”
“Exactly. And conveniently, that wastrel was head over heels for the Jillox daughter, so fanning the flames wasn’t hard.”
“Got it so far.”
But the most important question remained.
The Blandoga internal drama was entertaining to know, irrelevant otherwise—just side noise.
So what mattered?
“So, how exactly are you helping me? With the Jillox Patriarch already set on this... he won’t let go of a perfect pretext like me.”
“Is the method what matters?”
“Well...”
I paused, taking in Henji’s enigmatic smile as I gathered my thoughts.
‘The method?’
Not really.
No matter the Blandoga mess, it wasn’t my problem unless it was huge.
I just wanted these pests off my back ASAP.
As I thought that, Henji subtly shifted the topic.
“More importantly, let’s talk something constructive.”
“Constructive...”
“You didn’t think I’d handle this for free, did you? Actually, I have a favor to ask of you, Aster.”
“A favor?”
Henji nodded.
“It’s not difficult. Honestly... from your perspective, this issue resolving or not doesn’t make much difference, right?”
“True enough.”
I wasn’t hung up on the Blandogas.
“My favor is about the same level.”
“...Let’s hear it.”
I dodged a firm yes.
Madmen’s standards differ from normal folk. Swallow the bait on something trivial, and you won’t live long.
But oddly, Henji’s request this time was genuinely minor.
Just... a bit puzzling from my end.
What was it?
“Could you let my little brother join the Magic Tower?”
In other words, get his brother into the Magic Tower.
Why... exactly?
* * *
My meeting with Henji ended, leaving lingering questions.
Guided back to my room by Dinner No. 1, I lay on the bed in the dark, sorting my thoughts.
‘Honestly, letting Stan... no, Rober or whatever into the Magic Tower is no big deal.’
The question was Henji’s intent.
People say ‘all show, no substance,’ but the Magic Tower had no show at all—a fictional group.
On the surface, top-tier ally via Lortel’s platinum badge, but really, nothing there.
Henji had to know that...
Hold on.
A sharp intuition hit me. I bolted upright.
“Is he plotting something using his brother?”
Yeah, possible...
- You wicked bastard, do you think everyone’s like you?
What the—?
I scowled at the voice echoing in my head.
Shivering, I scanned the room—no Shain. So, this was my inner voice.
“Tch. Yeah, that’s too far.”
Henji might use his own brother, but somehow, it didn’t feel right.
For some reason, that snake treasured his sibling.
‘Anyway, I’ll think on this later.’
Tomorrow was the priority.
- Take your time deciding on my brother’s induction. I’ll handle the Tulk pest and Jillox first.
‘The Tulk’s easy, but Jillox is the issue?’
It might take time, so avoid trouble and stay low-key.
Fair enough—if vassal resentment grew here, even the Jillox Patriarch couldn’t stop.
Not too worried, though.
I wasn’t endurance itself, but my patience was top-notch.
A man who endures injustice. That’s me.
The problem was...
“Tch, tomorrow’s Damian’s birthday banquet.”
Yeah, that.
Ransi’s words flashed through my mind unbidden.
- Trip him.
- Make him present.
Countless noble cruelties besides.
Frankly, scary.
“Can I endure that harsh persecution and humiliation?”
No help for it.
Black-White Slums stray here. No one to shield me amid those nobles.
Don’t come, don’t come—won’t stop them.
“My chest... aches.”
Eyes closed, I dreaded tomorrow’s humiliation.
Lonely night, Black-White Slums stray clutching aching heart, weeping alone.
A sudden thought struck.
What is life?
‘Life is...’
Eggs.
‘Life is wanting eggs.’
Maybe life and eggs are a paper’s width apart. Both boiled, both equally tough.
* * *
Meanwhile, as Aster slept.
Henji slipped a letter into Dinner No. 1’s beak and sent it out the window.
“Leave it by the pest’s pillow.”
Piiik—
Dinner No. 1 pierced the dark night sky with a sharp cry.
Henji lit his cigar only after it vanished from sight.
Fwooh.
‘The Tulk pest is handled now.’
Not much handling needed.
The mess that wastrel made was so vast.
Tulk covered it up somehow, but one leak ends his social life.
Jillox was the real issue.
‘That’ll sort itself out over time.’
Henji exhaled, problem shelved.
Deep sigh, white smoke wafting and spreading. His eyes followed it, then turned to the window.
Gazing at the Young Patriarch’s residence where Aster stayed.
Henji thought.
“...So quiet.”
Not a breath of wind—like the calm before a storm.
And likely, no different.
‘A fierce storm might ravage the continent.’
This peace, just the eve of tempest.
When? Unknown.
One year? Ten? Or maybe eternal calm, defying worries.
‘But if the storm hits, best be at its center.’
Henji blew smoke, eyes gently closing.
Foolish little brother, resent me all you want. The Tower Lord won’t abandon you, no matter the toil.
Even if the world turns away, even if I do.
That’s why Henji wanted his foolish brother in the Tower.
And one more thing.
‘...Sticking by the Tower Lord, at least he won’t get beaten to death somewhere.’
Henji watched the drifting smoke.
