Chapter 322
Chapter 322
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 322
>Chapter Title: Do You Know What They Call That?
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The bitter cold of winter had passed.
The war between Lortel and Decullan, which had seemed endless, came to a complete end after the armistice negotiations.
Thanks to the imperial mediation, both families were able to settle their long-standing grudges—at least on the surface—which was enough to reassure the empire's subjects.
Lortel gained quite a bit in the process.
- The Decullan Family shall bear due responsibility for the downfall of the Empire Family.
A single remark from the emperor during the armistice talks.
The fall of a single vassal family translated into no small sum of money, resources, and vested interests, fattening Lortel up nicely.
Not all Lortel knights were satisfied with the outcome, but there were few who opposed it.
Wars couldn't be fought on ideals and honor alone.
- The living must go on living.
This timeworn proverb was something even the knights of Lortel, steeped in conviction, couldn't escape, so they sheathed their swords with the blood debt of the Empire Family buried in their hearts.
The blood that had been spilled wasn't enough, but it was far from insignificant.
The war left massive losses on both Lortel and Decullan, and both families went into seclusion immediately after the armistice.
[In truth, it's a defeat for the Decullan Family. The main house claimed victory. You played a huge role in that. Who would've thought you'd drive back two of the Seven Mages! It's an incredible feat, even now.]
"Hmm."
On a lazy afternoon, Aster responded indifferently to the voice of Lortel's young patriarch, Sion, coming through the crystal orb.
Outside the window, things were bustling. With third-year classes about to start, students were moving into new dorms, and the room Aster was in now was his newly assigned one.
Aster had once again been given a private room—a consideration from Headmaster Schwerts, who was concerned about him, or so he claimed.
Having finished moving his belongings early, Aster stared blankly out the window, boredom filling his eyes.
[...So, about that. Tower Lord. Are you listening?]
"Huh? What?"
[Hmm. Is something wrong? You seem out of it.]
"No, nothing much. So, what happened?"
Aster refocused on his conversation with young patriarch Sion. But his gaze remained fixed outside, the boredom unrelenting.
No, it wasn't boredom, actually.
His eyes were glazed over, as if entranced by something.
[Decullan agreed to pay a massive sum in reparations to the main house. They even have to cede part of their territory. It's not much land, but it must sting for Decullan.]
"Uh-huh."
[But the biggest winner from this armistice is the imperial family.]
"...The imperial family?"
Aster tilted his head.
[Yes. On the surface, the war ended without a victor. The main house got reparations, but that's not public knowledge. So how does it look to everyone else?]
"Like the imperial family crushed two great houses. Boosting their prestige in the process."
[Exactly. All they did was investigate and mediate, but to outsiders, it's no different from putting Lortel and Decullan in their place.]
So Lortel took all the tangible gains, while the glory went to the imperial family.
That left Aster with one burning question.
"What about Decullan, then? They wouldn't just take it lying down. Wasn't the evidence against the Empire Family shaky?"
[The evidence... we found it during the war, I suppose.]
"So Decullan had no choice but to take the beating?"
[Well...]
Sion's voice from the crystal orb trailed off. Aster's words had made him sense something off too.
[You're right, it's strange. Decullan aren't the type to back down so easily. Do you know something?]
"Who knows."
If anything came to mind, it was the Second Black-White Slums.
Timing-wise, Pahren von Decullan's visit there had been either right before or after heading to the capital for the armistice talks.
But whether that had influenced the negotiations... who could say.
'Was it because of Senior Musphelun?'
The imperial family and Musphelun senior weren't on great terms, but Decullan would still find it burdensome.
Still, it was just speculation without proof.
'We'll see.'
Wrapping up his thoughts, Aster looked at the crystal orb.
"Anyway, congrats on the armistice."
[Thanks. You helped a lot. You created the opening that let us secure evidence on the Empire Family's downfall.]
"Then pay me back handsomely."
[Come visit the family sometime... Ah, time's up already. I'll be going.]
"Talk soon."
[Don't ignore me.]
That ended the call with Sion.
Pip.
Aster stared at the now-dark communication orb for a moment before storing it in his subspace. His gaze drifted back outside, his focus blurring once more.
And in his mind, a single image began to surface.
-I'll give you one signpost.
A few days ago.
The one spell Musphelun had shown him was exactly that, and Aster savored the vivid image etched in his mind, entranced.
A transparent cube, square in shape. Swirling multicolored mana within. At its core, it was a barrier spell Aster couldn't replicate, but the imagery it contained resonated clearly.
No, actually, the specific imagery of the spell wasn't what mattered.
Rather...
A signpost, literally.
Like a mountaineer eyeing the peak and pressing on, Musphelun's spell gave Aster a clear goal and direction.
It was truly remarkable.
Transcendence was akin to reaching the summit.
Yet Musphelun had shown there was a path beyond—even to the heavens.
Lost in contemplation of Musphelun's spell for a while, Aster stood at the sound of footsteps outside the door.
Soon, a voice called.
"Buddy! Come out! Chenbi has something to say!"
It was Damian.
* * *
Damian, whom he hadn't seen in a while, had shot up in height.
'How old is he now...'
With the year changed, fourteen?
Yet he was nearly 170cm tall already—a remarkably fast growth for his age.
"Buddy... Hmm. You've grown a bit."
"...A bit?"
"No, a lot? Still shorter than me!"
Aster looked at Damian with pitying eyes.
Back then, Damian would've clenched his fists, but things had changed a lot over this break.
What changed?
His growth spurt, making up for all the stagnation!
It had closed the height gap with Damian—and then some—prompting Aster's smug grin.
"Damian, what'd you say?"
"Still shorter than..."
"Do you know what they call that?"
"Bullshit?"
"Right, you get it."
Drunk on the glory of victory, Aster strode triumphantly right next to Damian.
A far cry from his old reluctance to stand side-by-side, and Evelyn, waiting in the third-year cafeteria, spotted them and let out a chuckle.
"Aster, do you know what they call that?"
"The Room of Truth?"
"......"
Evelyn clamped her mouth shut, recalling memories from the Black-White Slums.
But Chenbi had no such memories.
"I know. Measuring acorns?"
"......"
Aster fixed Chenbi with a cold stare. But Chenbi just tilted her head innocently.
It was a skill Chenbi had picked up from long exposure to Aster—the highest authority being Damian, of course.
You know the saying.
You can't spit on a smiling face.
Of course, Aster was the rogue who'd spit and punch regardless, so one more skill was needed.
"You..."
"Oh, right. Know what? Professors Parun and Pelina are retiring after this year."
"......"
Aster pursed his lips at Chenbi's deft subject change.
The topic had smoothly shifted to the professors' retirement, making it awkward to enforce justice.
In the end, Aster had to unclench his fist, and the conversation continued until he and Damian went to buy drinks.
It wasn't a topic meant to last long, but Chenbi desperately dragged it out.
"...Enough. That's good."
"Was it obvious?"
"......"
Aster stared at the sheepishly grinning Chenbi. Her effort was so admirable he didn't even feel like punching her.
Anyway.
"You said you had something to say?"
"Oh, right."
"An adventure?"
"Yeah—no."
Chenbi ruthlessly crushed Damian's hopes. But he didn't look disappointed.
It was more reflex than genuine expectation.
"It's not that, but we're third-years now."
"Yep."
"Only a year left in academy life. Anyone planning to advance to intermediate class?"
Aster reacted first to Chenbi's question.
"Not really."
Pahren had backed off, but Decullan's claws could extend again anytime.
Post-war cleanup meant safety for now, but he couldn't waste it.
Evelyn felt the same.
"I'm finishing in basic class too."
Same reason as Aster. After graduation, she'd develop the Arafurgin lands in earnest.
And Damian...
"Then I'm out too."
For direct bloodline of great houses, the academy was just a social venue to broaden horizons.
No need to go to intermediate.
Having heard everyone, Chenbi nodded as if she'd expected it—then Evelyn asked.
"But why intermediate?"
"Oh, it's not really about that..."
Chenbi's gaze drifted up, as if choosing her words. But she spoke soon enough.
"It just feels like we won't have much time left together as a group of four. So before that... maybe make some memories? The last trip was great, but there are things only possible at the academy, right?"
That was her phrasing, but everyone grasped the meaning.
In other words, Chenbi was saying...
...let's prepare for the farewell.
"Any good ideas?"
A soft smile played on Chenbi's lips.
The faint dimness in that smile... was probably no illusion.