Chapter 305
Chapter 305
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 305
>Chapter Title: As Much Weight as Taken
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The laughable misunderstanding was just a fleeting moment.
We had a serious conversation about the "future."
The discussion dragged on until dawn broke, and once everything was settled, Leodis left the room with a satisfied(?) look on his face.
No, he paused at the door and tossed one last remark my way.
"Actually..."
"Yes?"
"Rana would be too pitiful to pair with you. I'm genuinely relieved the talk went well."
"......"
Stars... who said anyone wanted that?
I stared coldly at the door Leodis had exited through, but only for a moment.
Left alone in the room, I calmly reflected on the conversation we'd just had.
Leodis's phrase "the talk went well" was something I could agree with. No, I had no choice but to agree.
'...Better than having my core shattered.'
Of course, if it had ended with just sparing my core, I'd probably be spitting curses right now.
The reason I wasn't was because I'd gained something from this conversation too.
And what was that?
'Rights to the Light of Healing.'
Yes, that was it.
The "rights" here meant full authorization to use the Light of Healing, and Leodis had put it like this.
- I'll make you the only mage who can use the Light of Healing without being Blandoga blood.
In other words, I could now use the Light of Healing without worrying about prying eyes...
But there was a trap in those words.
'The only mage.'
That meant if I ever passed the Light of Healing to anyone else, I'd be in deep trouble.
In essence, he was forcing me into exclusivity.
Fine, whatever with the creepy undertones, but from my perspective, it was an unexpectedly generous offer.
After all, allowing an outsider to use the Light of Healing was tantamount to breaking Blandoga tradition.
A tradition upheld for centuries at the shortest, millennia at the longest.
'...Even a patriarch would hesitate at that.'
So, what was Leodis after, willing to bear that burden?
- I'd like the Heavenly Origin Art.
Handing over the Heavenly Origin Art? No reason to hesitate.
'It was getting pried out of me anyway.'
Ah, and "pried" here didn't mean my core. Even if I refused, Leodis could get it through Hazen.
More than that, this was for the good of Decullan.
Huh? How is giving away a secret art to another house good for Decullan?
What a clueless question.
'The core secret art is the heart of a house. Mastering it means inheriting that house's spirit.'
And now Blandoga had mastered Decullan's secret art.
What did that mean?
It meant Blandoga was inheriting Decullan's spirit.
In other words, Decullan had absorbed Blandoga without spilling a drop of blood, thanks to me. But my benevolence didn't stop there.
'Later, we'll put the Heavenly Origin Art up for sale in the markets.'
Think about it.
The snot-nosed kid next door, the washerwoman at the river, the drunk who does nothing but booze all day, even the neighbor's mutt.
Everyone masters Decullan's secret art.
You, me, us.
A world united by Decullan's secret art.
What happens then?
"Continental unification through secret arts."
Ah, is there a way to make Decullan greater than that? If there is, step up. I'll smash your head before you open your mouth.
But the Heavenly Origin Art Leodis wanted wasn't that.
- From what I can tell... you're practicing the Heavenly Origin Art. Right?
- Spot on, but...
- What I want is the Heavenly Origin Art you're practicing. Your personal version, infused with your own imagery.
He must have guessed I was practicing it from our fight... Or was he overreaching? Either way.
It was a tricky request for me.
Why?
"...I don't really know myself."
I'd infused imagery into the Heavenly Origin Art while forming my second and third circles, but I had no clue what that imagery was.
I could only infer that it was something familiar to me, since the art worked flawlessly.
...Honestly, I was tense.
Afraid he'd smash my core if I said I didn't know.
But Leodis graciously considered my situation.
- Infusing imagery is hard, but realizing what's already there isn't so tough. I can wait as long as it takes.
Doubtful it was as simple as he made it sound.
Still, not a bad deal for me.
And so.
Our conversation ended with me getting the 'Light of Healing' and Leodis getting 'my Heavenly Origin Art.'
"...Hm."
My gaze drifted to the sunlight tickling my eyes.
Far off, beyond the horizon, the sun rising. Darkness retreating as yellow light flooded everything.
A thought crossed my mind.
'Giving away what's mine isn't so hard.'
But.
From Lortel to Blandoga, and even Muspellun sunbae.
Originally, I'd planned to stock the magic tower with every secret art I'd acquired, no discrimination...
Lately, it felt like I was drifting further from that path.
Why?
It was a matter of relationships.
'If I stock Blandoga's secret art in the tower...'
Leodis aside, could I maintain the same relationship with Damian?
'Or if I acquire Lortel's secret art and stock it...'
Her blade would surely turn toward the tower.
Muspellun sunbae... well, she'd probably just chuckle and smack my head, so that's fine, but building the tower meant every relationship I'd built could end in disaster.
If I excluded the secret arts from those noble houses I'd bonded with...
'...Is that even a tower?'
I wasn't sure.
This was something I'd have to ponder going forward.
Still, I was grateful. That I hadn't lost the original intent I held when I first decided to build the tower.
And wary. That once I ascended to the throne, I'd lose that heart and become just another noble house.
And I thought...
...This sentimental me.
Wasn't half bad.
* * *
That relief after wrapping up with Leodis didn't last long.
Soon, I faced an opponent no less formidable.
"I heard everything."
"...What?"
"The magic tower and the Second Black-White Slums."
Damian showed up grinning ear to ear and struck right at my solar plexus.
I shot a glance at Evelyn, who'd come with him, wondering if she'd spilled, but it didn't seem like it.
"...The patriarch must've told you."
"Mm."
Ah, no helping that.
Damian was the Young Patriarch of Blandoga, after all. He had every right to know.
But there was something I hadn't anticipated.
"Friend, remember? My birthday."
"...Birthday?"
Wait, when was Damian's birthday again?
Sometime around now, I thought.
But why bring up birthdays?
"Asking for a gift?"
Damian shook his head at my question.
"You don't remember?"
"......?"
"Then, just a sec... Ahem, hm."
Damian suddenly cleared his throat. His eyes soon turned dull, like a rotten goblin's, as if imitating someone.
And who?
...Me.
"'I've got this tower, right? I'll give you one floor.'"
"......"
"I remember clearly. You said the top one."
"What the..."
He remembered that? Just a throwaway line? No, wait, when did I say the top floor?
I stared at Damian in disbelief, and soon his mouth opened again.
"Chenbi's the witness. Right, Chenbi?"
"Uh... not sure about the top, but yeah, he said he'd give you one."
"Aster, did you really say that?"
No words.
Because I had.
"Friend, I think now's the time to keep that promise."
I took in Damian's beaming grin.
'...He's serious.'
Damian fully intended to claim it.
So, I couldn't respond, just letting time pass, when Ransi saved me.
"Dinner is ready."
"Ah, food. Yeah, food's important. I've gone a full day without eating, so I'm starving. How about we all eat?"
I bolted from the room like a goblin starved for four days. Cold stares followed from behind.
My nape prickled like it might burst, but if it got me out of there, what wouldn't I do?
'That aside.'
Tch, come to think of it, Damian's birthday was coming up again.
No wonder the travel schedule felt awkwardly timed.
Looks like we'd hold the birthday banquet right when we got back to the Blandoga estate... What to get him this time?
Eh, worry about that later.
Still.
'Grateful, though.'
Honestly, when Damian mentioned the tower, my head spun with how to explain—from where to where.
I hadn't done anything wrong... Well, mastering the Light of Healing was wrong. And contributing to Heavenly Origin Art research with Hazen too.
Anyway.
With some guilt and secrets, I agonized over the explanation, but Damian treated me like nothing happened. Just like always.
'...He really wants that floor, though.'
He'd shown consideration too.
Grateful for that, I finished the meal.
Fortunately, neither Damian nor Chenbi pressed further about the tower.
As if the tower and Second Black-White Slums were no big deal between us.
Thanks to that, I wrapped up the remaining schedule enjoyably. Not quite like the first day, but still pretty good.
...And so.
The last day before returning to Blandoga.
The terrace from the first day.
"Booze... boooze. Booze is so... tasty. Right, Chenbi?"
"E-Evelyn. You've had too much. You're drunk."
She'd tried making a non-alcoholic cocktail but apparently added strong liquor by mistake, and now Evelyn was slurring with a flushed face.
Chenbi was humoring her, while I watched and shook my head.
'Evelyn put that in on purpose.'
Whatever, didn't matter to me.
Chenbi was the one suffering.
So, the former dog turned human, the protector tending to the dog, and me and Damian.
The four of us sat on the terrace as the sun set, spending the trip's final moments. What a sight.
Crimson sunset, sea sparkling in the glow. And the people around us.
Maybe that's why.
Even without drinking, I felt tipsy, mesmerized by the view.
Summer in Cocartana's coastal region, Kotana. This day, this scene—I might never forget it. No, I definitely wouldn't.
So, etching the moment deep in my heart, Damian's voice rang in my ear.
"Friend."
"Yeah?"
"Let's come back again sometime."
"......"
I fell silent for a bit.
...Damian's voice carried a heavier tone than before. The weight in "sometime" felt different too.
Maybe that's why.
"...Yeah, let's."
A light reply.
Probably because... Damian had taken that much weight for me.
With that, I gave a grin as light as the weight Damian had carried away.
I didn't look back, but Damian was surely grinning too.