Chapter 238
Chapter 238
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 238
>Chapter Title: Another Wyvern
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After cleanly wrapping up the Second Troubleshooter Training Center, I contacted Hazen's subordinates waiting below.
The minions, who had already rounded up the Black-White Slums strays, quickly climbed up to the training center and handled the situation with practiced efficiency.
"This doesn't seem like the first or second time you've dealt with something like this."
I struck up a conversation with a passing minion, who glanced around before whispering to me.
"We do smuggling broker gigs on the side."
"Hmm."
Yeah, that made sense.
No wonder they handled corralling people like pros.
Apparently, these were Hazen's secretly retained direct subordinates. It was one of those moments where I grew curious about the face behind Hazen's mask.
Anyway, putting that aside.
"......"
I stood outside the training center, in front of the main gate, calmly taking in the scene as everything got sorted.
'Was No. 2 rolling around here at this time too?'
No. 2—that is, Lucifer, as we called him among ourselves.
Spotting Lucifer in the Second Training Center had been unexpected for me.
And understandably so, since I knew all my other comrades had become Troubleshooters later than I had.
Ah, by "comrades" here, I mean a few of the Single Numbers from before my regression.
Anyway, after mulling it over, I realized Lucifer had been in a slightly special situation.
'Come to think of it, Lucifer was already No. 2 before I even became a Single Number.'
The others had all become Single Numbers after me.
Why was I thinking about this?
Because after regressing, I'd been slacking on finding my comrades, figuring there was still time—and now I wondered if that judgment had been wrong.
Good thing it wasn't.
'Hmm, I wonder what the others are up to.'
Meeting Lucifer had stirred up some nostalgia, but I soon shook my head.
'Not like I need to go looking for them.'
The Troubleshooter training centers were all getting destroyed anyway, and Lortel had agreed to handle the follow-up.
In other words, my comrades who became Troubleshooters later than me wouldn't end up in Decullan's clutches again.
Unless fate brought us together by chance, I had no intention of hunting down guys who were probably living decent lives.
Sure, scraping by as strays might not count as "living well," but they weren't the type to starve to death, whatever they were doing.
The problem was No. 2, Lucifer.
I let out a chuckle at the sight of Lucifer—big and clumsy, blinking his eyes as he followed the minions' lead.
"......That dumb mug of yours hasn't changed."
Honestly, up until just now, I'd been wrestling with all sorts of worries.
The Magic Tower was short on people, and Lucifer's talent was proven.
Unlike me, he never quite broke past the Troubleshooter limit in the end, but that was just because I was special.
So I'd been debating whether to bring him into the Magic Tower, but seeing that dopey look cleared my head right up.
'He'll figure out how to live on his own, whatever.'
Would meddling in Lucifer's life really give him true freedom? If it were the pre-regression Lucifer, he'd have snapped, "Don't spout that bullshit."
Anyway, just as I finished sorting out my thoughts on Lucifer, the crystal orb in my pocket buzzed.
It was Shine.
[We're done here.]
"No issues?"
[Nothing but annoyances. Just like you said, I snapped their necks so they couldn't communicate.]
"Hmm."
So the Third Training Center was wrapped up.
I gave Shine a few instructions on cleanup and ended the call, but the orb rang again right away.
[All finished. Am I late? Heh heh.]
"No, sir, considering your age, that's impressively fast."
[When it's time to go, order doesn't matter.]
Senior Myselrn quipped back playfully before getting to the point.
[Communications are jammed, so no word got to Decullan. No rats slipped out either.]
The Fourth Training Center seemed mostly taken care of too.
Like with Shine, I gave a few pointers and ended the call.
Let's recap.
'Out of four training centers total, three are wiped out... so just the First one left?'
Destroy one more, and the Troubleshooter training centers would cease to exist.
Of course, that wouldn't make the existing Troubleshooters vanish overnight.
Deep down, I wanted to free every last active Troubleshooter too, but I decided to drop that greed.
- You don't need to take responsibility for everything. Not the tower, not the people, not... anything.
Shine's words from our parting echoed in my ears, so for this part, I'd borrow some of Lortel's power.
Right on cue, a shadow knight approached.
"Tower Master, we should get moving soon."
The shadow knight captain... his name was...
"Sir Aden? Let's do it."
"......I've never told you my name. And I don't plan to."
Man, what a stiff guy.
I could've cracked his skull right then if I wanted, but since Lortel had done so much for this operation, I held back.
No matter how remote the training centers were from Decullan territory, without Lortel diverting attention by moving her troops, we could've wrecked the places but wouldn't have had the leeway to extract the trainees.
"Pulling eyes from the main house can only last ten days. If we don't head to the First Training Center now, we'll be late."
"Hmm."
I nodded with dignified gravitas.
But first.
I kicked off the ground and leaped onto the palisade, taking in the view inside the training center.
Amid the wooden buildings stood an open clearing where dozens of trainees lined up under the minions' guidance.
They all wore dazed expressions, not yet grasping their freedom, so I snapped my fingers to draw their eyes.
Snap!
A crisp sound rang out across the space.
Once their gazes focused, I spoke.
"I was originally a Black-White Slums stray. Had nothing—no clothes to wear, no food to eat, no learning. Yet somehow, I climbed this far."
My eyes met No. 2, Lucifer.
"Thanks to the teachings of many people."
Of course, I had no formal master.
But plenty had taught me, directly or indirectly.
Truth be told, the biggest reason was my own talent, but hey, you gotta spin a yarn or two in a moment like this, right?
"So..."
I shifted my gaze from Lucifer and took them all in.
"In the freedom you now enjoy, learn endlessly. Do that, and you too might bask in glory, riches, and decadent pleasures like me."
I skipped the sappy stuff about bettering the world or life's meaning.
For wretches like us, it was worldly desires like glory, riches, and pleasure that got us moving.
But worldly didn't mean vulgar.
That was my take.
* * *
No. 2, Lucifer, quietly watched Aster leave after those final words.
For a powerhouse who'd swept away demon instructors and wizards, it was a cheap speech. But those words rippled through Lucifer's heart.
'Had nothing—no clothes to wear, no food to eat... no learning.'
He realized it.
What he truly wanted.
At the same time, a new curiosity stirred in his heart.
- I was originally a Black-White Slums stray.
To become like that, what did he need to learn?
Into the heart of the Troubleshooter who'd once faced death in a frigid basement, drained of life force, a sky called freedom now spread.
And into that sky, a flying beast spread its wings.
......Still small and young, but unmistakably a wyvern.
* * *
Word of the Troubleshooter training centers' destruction reaching Decullan came days after Aster obliterated the First one.
The discovery started small.
A supply cart driver delivering food stumbled on the scene.
"Wh-what the...?"
The driver hurriedly spread the news.
Decullan moved fast to assess the situation, and the other sites were no different.
"The First and Second Training Centers look like the work of the same person. Estimated to be a lightning-wielding wizard..."
"The Third is bizarre. From the cuts, it's no ordinary swordsman. Faces show no pain, just instant death—likely a high-level assassin..."
"The Fourth seems the doing of an elite spiritist. Elements used: wind, earth, water..."
The investigators dispatched from Decullan reported their findings in real time.
Meanwhile, back at the main house, they scrambled manpower to find the missing trainees, but by then, Aster and his group had already slipped out of Decullan territory.
Decullan ended the investigation empty-handed, leaving those tied to the training centers sleepless.
'Even alive... this isn't really living.'
'Where the hell did the intel leak from?'
It hadn't been long since a bloodbath over info leaking to Lortel about Decullan's hand in the Empire's fall.
Those involved in the Empire's downfall claimed innocence, but Decullan's purge was merciless.
Even without solid proof from Lortel, they'd culled "traitors" indiscriminately.
So the vassals linked to the training centers could only assume the same fate awaited them.
But why?
What awaited them wasn't ruthless execution.
"The Patriarch's orders are to clean this up as fast as possible. Sort out everything, including the supply chains tied to Troubleshooters."
Some worried their heads would roll once the mess was cleared, but judging by past patterns, that didn't seem likely.
After all, cleanup like this could've been done leaving just a few alive.
No need to spare them all.
The vassals accepted the Patriarch's unexpected command with puzzled gratitude. Amid it all, one person—
Holland watched with dissatisfied eyes.
'...What are you thinking?'
Not knowing who the traitor was among them, yet letting them all live out in the open.
Holland usually thought guessing the Patriarch's mind was irreverent, but this time he couldn't help it.
It was just that unprecedented.
And so, everyone harbored doubts about the situation.
In Decullan's inner sanctum, a certain annex.
"......"
Pahren entered alone, without attendants, scanning the surroundings.
Valuables lined the shelves, and Pahren eyed each one carefully as he circled the room.
How much time passed?
After lapping the annex, Pahren stopped.
"It's gone."
Rumors said Decullan held two grimoires, but in truth, there was a third.
A cursed grimoire passed only to Patriarchs.
Yet.
"It's definitely gone. This has never happened before."
The cursed grimoire defied logic, moving on its own, but in centuries, it had never left this annex.
Or more precisely, Decullan's founding Patriarch had bound it here.
Truth be told, the treasures scattered around were mere camouflage for the outwardly shabby grimoire.
The annex's true core was that grimoire...
"Hmm."
Pahren stood still, lost in thought.
'Has it found its master?'
But the grimoire's power alone couldn't let it leave the annex?
Countless possibilities flashed through his mind.
But Pahren quickly shelved the questions.
What mattered now was that the grimoire was gone—and after centuries without choosing a master, it finally had.
So, who was it?
The candidate was clear.
The reason Pahren had come here was suspicion in the first place.
The masked wizard who'd taken Karahen's head. The Tower Master who'd snatched the Infinite Chain from Lortel. Circumstantially, they were the same person.
Assuming that.
Assume the Tower Master was tied to the Trial's Chamber too.
......No, it wasn't an assumption.
Pahren already knew the Tower Master was entangled in this chain of events around the Heavenly Origin Art.
And now... even this Troubleshooter incident.
Consider it.
The sudden archenemy and the vanished grimoire.
Could this truly be called coincidence?
The Tower Master's link to this incident wasn't proven, but Pahren didn't care about proof.
His eyes sank deep.
'......I'll have to confirm it.'
......Tower Master. That existence etched itself clearly into the Decullan Patriarch's mind.