Chapter 321
Chapter 321
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 321
>Chapter Title: Something Far More Precious
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Time passed quickly just like that.
In the meantime, Evelyn had recovered all the funds she’d scattered across the Second Black-White Slums, and Lucifer had received the Circle as well.
“This is…….”
“That’s the Circle for you. How’s it feel?”
“……It’s like my eyes have been opened.”
Lucifer described the sensation of creating the Circle as an ‘awakening’. If he compared before and after, it felt like emerging from utter darkness into the light.
“The world’s mana…… I had no idea it was this abundant. It’s beautiful.”
“Don’t get too carried away. It’s your burden from here on out.”
“Yes, Tower Lord. But…….”
Uncharacteristically, Lucifer trailed off, his lips twitching.
“Out with it.”
“You’re not coming to the Second Black-White Slums anymore?”
“That’s the plan for now. Why?”
At my question, Lucifer’s face stiffened slightly as he narrowed his eyes. He looked like he had something on his mind.
“My neck’s killing me. Let’s sit first.”
“Ah, yes.”
“No, you sit on the floor. Neck hurts, I said?”
“……Ah, yes.”
I dragged over a chair and sat down, quietly taking in the sight of Lucifer plopped haphazardly on the ground.
Then I asked.
“You look like you’ve got something to say.”
“I don’t even know how to phrase it.”
“You don’t know?”
Lucifer nodded without hesitation.
His expression was like that of a child who’d only recently learned to speak, lost deep in thought. His sunken eyes perfectly conveyed just how bewildered he was.
“This is…… well, it feels regrettable.”
“Regrettable?”
“Yes. Exactly. This is regret.”
Lucifer mulled over the word ‘regret’ several times, nodding along firmly.
But what exactly was he regretting?
Under my gaze, Lucifer scratched his head sheepishly before gathering his thoughts again. Thankfully, this round of pondering wasn’t too deep.
“Learning from you has been a joy, Tower Lord. But knowing you won’t visit the Second Black-White Slums anymore…… it fills me with regret. These moments won’t come again, after all.”
With that, Lucifer flashed an awkward smile, clearly embarrassed by his own words. I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.
“Yeah, you’re right. These moments won’t come again.”
“So it’s true?”
“But that doesn’t mean you have to wallow in regret.”
“Why not?”
Lucifer’s eyes sank in focus. It was an old habit of his—searching conversations for deeper meaning.
The kind of intense concentration born from the hope that he might uncover some new fact or expand his horizons.
And I’d mostly dashed those hopes before. In my past life and this one.
Why?
Because the things I said were usually meaningless. This time was no different.
“Not visiting the Second Black-White Slums doesn’t mean I’m cutting ties. Worst case, you can come find me later. What’s so hard about that?”
“Word is you operate without revealing your identity, Tower Lord. How am I supposed to track you down?”
“Who knows? Someday my name might echo across the heavens, with the Magic Tower on everyone’s lips.”
“So I should wait until then?”
“Probably. Or ask Grand Duke Musphelun. He’ll know where I am.”
“Hmm, that feels off. Either way, it’s incredibly regrettable. The thought that this might be the last time I see you…….”
“Why would it be the last?”
At my question, Lucifer’s face hardened as if he carried the world’s greatest worry in his chest.
“Two reasons.”
“Two?”
“Yes. First, the Decullans are gunning for you, Tower Lord. For the Patriarch to show up in person…… the bad blood between you and the Decullans must run deep. I don’t know the details, but I can imagine how dangerous it is to make enemies of them.”
“You knew that and still reached out?”
“Didn’t you tell me to contact you anytime the Decullans showed?”
“Fair enough. Oh, the communication orb? You can use that.”
Remembering the orb I’d handed him before, I offered it as a solution, but Lucifer shook his head vigorously.
“The Grand Duke’s disciple took it. The one linked to the Duke, even.”
“Disciple…….”
“Obern. He said it was on the Grand Duke’s orders and took it without fuss. He apologized, but I told him there was no need. You can’t be expected to watch over the Second Black-White Slums forever, after all.”
Hmm. So that’s how it went down.
But Lucifer had it backwards.
It wasn’t that the Slums were too dangerous for me to draw attention. It was my presence there that had put the Slums in danger.
Of course, the real villains were the Decullans.
“But what’s the second reason?”
“The second…….”
Lucifer, who’d been speaking freely until moments ago, now dragged out his words.
“Promise you won’t hit me.”
“Promise made. Easy.”
“Really?”
“For real.”
Even with my firm assurance, Lucifer eyed me skeptically. But it didn’t take long for his mouth to open.
And so, the second reason was……
“The second is your damn temper, Tower Lo—Guh!”
I didn’t hesitate for a second before smacking him upside the head as hard as I could.
“Hey, you promised!”
“Promises are meant to be broken.”
“How can you…….”
I massaged my throbbing fist as I watched the flustered Lucifer. Kid, what’s your skull made of?
Anyway, that wasn’t the point right now.
“Come to think of it, I’ve never actually hit you before.”
I’d beaten the crap out of you plenty in my past life, though.
I started stretching as I closed in on the fleeing Lucifer. Naturally, he didn’t stand a chance.
Why?
Fists are faster than feet.
……What a touching farewell that was.
* * *
After that heartfelt parting with Lucifer, I went to find Myselrn senior.
“So, goodbyes all done?”
“Yeah, more or less.”
“Figured as much. For a second there, I thought you were slaughtering a pig. What was with that yelling…….”
“Probably just excited.”
“……Right?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Myselrn senior shot me a weary look before letting out a deep sigh and shaking his head.
He looked like he had a lot to say, and if he started, it’d drag on forever, so I beat him to the punch.
“But why’d you call me?”
“Why do you think? Heard you were leaving the Second Black-White Slums.”
“……?”
“……What?”
I couldn’t have been more puzzled.
What did my leaving the Second Black-White Slums have to do with Myselrn senior?
“You’re acting like we’ll never see each other again.”
“……We will?”
“Of course?”
“……I’m sticking around the Black-White Slums.”
“You planning to hole up like a prisoner?”
“No, but…….”
Oh, brother.
Now I got it—he’d called me because he was bummed about us parting ways.
But Myselrn senior had nothing to worry about.
Lucifer was still a green sprout who couldn’t fend for himself, so I was keeping my distance. Myselrn senior, on the other hand, could handle himself just fine—and even cover for me if things got dicey. A capable slave…… er, spirit user.
They might’ve taken Lucifer’s communication orb, but surely not senior’s.
Ah, wait—was that it?
‘Still too bummed out?’
In that case, I had a solution.
“How about this, senior?”
“What…….”
“We set a weekly date for a 72-man banquet. Catch up on the week’s news, build some camaraderie among the crew. Sound good?”
“……Do we have to?”
“What do you mean, have to? It’s perfect…….”
“Sigh— Out.”
I tilted my head, staring at Myselrn senior as he waved me off with a defeated look.
What gives? I figured he’d be thrilled.
Where else was he gonna find a junior like me?
‘Treating you to meals out of respect, providing entertainment so you don’t get bored.’
Perfect junior material, right?
Puzzled by Myselrn senior’s inexplicable mood swing, I stepped out of the orphanage.
Truth be told, there weren’t many people in the Second Black-White Slums I needed to say goodbye to.
‘I already bid farewell to boss Svetlana and Timur…….’
No one else I was really tangled up with.
Ah, well, there were these guys, sort of.
Yeah, them.
The Troubleshooters I’d released on the plains before raiding the Troubleshooter training facility.
“Tower Lord.”
“Yeah.”
“Take care.”
“You too.”
They bowed their heads and backed away, looking so integrated into society now that you’d buy them as local thugs.
……This really for the best?
‘Better than being Troubleshooters, at least?’
I didn’t bother saying goodbye to the orphanage kids.
All I’d done was set things up for them. The real heavy lifting had been Musphelun senior and Myselrn senior.
How long did I wander the Black-White Slums like that?
“You’re here?”
“Business.”
“All sorted? What about you, Aster?”
“Me? Whatever.”
“Fair enough. You don’t really have much going on anyway.”
……Still holding a grudge?
I’d hit her less than Lucifer, but Evelyn sure knew how to drag it out.
My fists were practically screaming for justice.
But Evelyn was sharp as ever—she switched topics quick, and it was one I couldn’t just brush off.
What was it?
“Grand Duke Musphelun’s waiting. Let’s hurry.”
Musphelun senior, who’d gone into seclusion after completing his Circle, was waiting for me.
“Dinner?”
“If he’s calling at this hour, probably together.”
“Yeah, figures.”
I chatted with Evelyn about what dinner might be as I headed toward the Grand Duke’s residence.
Grand Duke’s residence, my foot—it was just a slightly upscale mansion, temporary quarters at best.
Anyway, I stepped inside.
“You’re here.”
I quietly took in Musphelun senior, seated in the reception room.
“Yeah, I made it…… but.”
Was this the same guy?
His eyes were calm and settled. His presence gentle. But just looking at him sent an indescribable pressure washing over me……
Looks like Musphelun senior had fully stabilized his Circle.
Did he pick up on my thoughts?
Musphelun senior smiled warmly and shook his head.
“Still a ways to go. Far from my peak. This Circle business…… it’s devilishly tricky.”
“Ah, yeah.”
I couldn’t shake the thought.
Maybe…… I’d awakened a monster.
“Anyway, you’ve been well?”
“Yes, senior.”
“……Suddenly so polite?”
“I’ve always been this polite.”
“That’s not what I heard from Myselrn. Something about you mixing up ‘etiquette’ and ‘realm.’ No clue what that means.”
“What? Me? No way.”
Slick old fox.
Pulling the elder card!
But thankfully, Musphelun senior was a broad-minded soul, unlike Myselrn.
Why broad-minded…….
‘Strong folks usually are.’
Sure, the second he laid hands on me, ‘destruction’ would tag along as a descriptor.
I switched topics before Musphelun senior could press further with that quizzical tilt of his head. And as expected, the real point was elsewhere.
“But…… why’d you call me?”
“Nothing major—just thought I’d give you a parting gift on your way out.”
“A gift…….”
My heart raced as I waited for him to elaborate.
Money? Gold? Land?
What kind of present would a Grand Duke from the imperial family offer? Surely not something weird like that narrow-minded Myselrn would give.
……But Musphelun senior’s gift turned out to be far more precious than anything I’d imagined.
So what was it?
“Care for some humble teachings?”
Teachings from the Archmage of the End.