Chapter 327
Chapter 327
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 327
>Chapter Title: A Thrilling Heart
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Aster barely had time to calm his pounding heart.
Soon, Sallie opened his mouth.
“There’s…… none?”
“That’s right?”
Yeah, he hadn’t expected anything anyway.
Of course, he hadn’t planned to hit him either.
‘It was a joke, just a joke.’
If he’d really meant to hit him, he would’ve done it right away. He definitely hadn’t asked just to put him at ease before striking.
“But, who are you really…….”
“I told you, I’m not saying.”
Aster lightly brushed off Sallie’s question before sinking into thought for a moment.
‘It’s certain he hasn’t gone astray yet.’
He’d joked about chopping off hands and feet, but Sallie’s reaction had been clear disgust.
A sincerity that couldn’t be faked.
That left one final thing to confirm.
“Alright, let me ask. If someone offered you power. Would you kill people for it? Or not?”
“People……?”
Sallie tilted his head.
He was utterly bewildered.
But that lasted only a moment. His expression hardened, and the reason was simple.
‘His eyes…… they’re insane.’
It felt like standing before a rabid dog, but this kind of unease wasn’t entirely new.
The conclusion was different, but……
‘……Patriarch.’
Whenever he faced that man—whom even calling “father” felt awkward—Sallie had felt something similar.
“Your answer?”
Sallie cautiously gauged the masked man’s mood before speaking.
“What kind of…… power?”
“Raising your circle, awakening your talent. Let’s see…… double your talent per kill. Process a dozen or so, and your talent might actually become usable.”
“…….”
Sallie clamped his mouth shut.
He couldn’t grasp the intent behind the question, nor if such a thing was even possible.
What meaning could this foolish Q&A possibly have?
But.
“So, would you do it? Or not?”
Faced with the masked man’s utterly serious question, Sallie had no choice but to agonize.
Not answering wasn’t an option.
He knew the only way to safely end this situation was to play along with the masked man’s whims.
So, his answer……
“I could kill, but I wouldn’t.”
“Strange answer. If you could, you would, right? Saying you wouldn’t?”
“That’s…….”
Sallie pondered for a moment.
Everyone dies eventually.
And his longing for talent wasn’t so faint that meddling in deaths would prick his conscience. His upbringing hadn’t been warm either.
Yet, why wouldn’t he?
The reason was simple.
“It’s repulsive.”
“The question?”
Sallie shook his head.
“Killing to gain talent is repulsive. It feels like…… denying my own life.”
“Denying your life?”
“Yes.”
Sallie nodded, calmly unraveling his thoughts into words.
“It’d be nice if power came that easily, but…… the moment I say ‘yes,’ it’s no different from admitting my past life was wrong.”
“An issue of identity?”
“……Probably.”
If he pursued practicality, killing a hundred or a thousand would be justified, but Sallie felt revulsion.
Why?
Because of the path he’d walked for over half a lifetime.
Like a knight who’d wielded the sword his whole life proving himself through it, Sallie had proven himself through effort.
……Even if no one acknowledged it.
Anyway.
Having thought that far, Sallie cautiously observed the masked man’s demeanor.
And the moment he met those eyes, a chill ran through him.
What dwelled in them was…… clear hatred, a shred of pity, and an indescribable tangle of emotions.
‘Maybe…….’
Sallie realized.
He might meet his end here today.
It was then that the masked man reached out.
“……!”
Sallie squeezed his eyes shut and hunched his shoulders. That grip seemed ready to seize and snap his neck at any second.
But why?
Grab.
It clutched his hair…… no, his head.
It gripped firmly, but not to the point of pain.
“……?”
Sallie cautiously opened his eyes, and the masked man was gazing at him with those same complex eyes.
“Is that your line?”
“My…… line.”
Sallie mulled over the masked man’s words.
Then he answered.
“……Yes, I think this is my line.”
Beneath the mask, Aster’s eyes trembled faintly.
After this conversation, he knew for sure.
The Sallie of his past life was gone.
Buried in that vanished future.
What sat here was a boy unfit for the name “Decullan”…… powerless and foolish to the extreme.
“Fine, it’s decided.”
“What…….”
As Sallie tilted his head in confusion, Aster’s grip held his head firm, refusing to release.
With his head fixed, Sallie had no choice but to meet Aster’s gaze, and Aster chewed out each word while locking eyes.
“If you swear your heart won’t change, I’ll teach you until you graduate the academy.”
“What…….”
The masked man’s atmosphere shifted so suddenly that Sallie trailed off.
The untamable, rabid-dog aura vanished, and before Sallie stood a grand archmage.
Yes, an archmage.
Sallie couldn’t know Aster’s true circle, but in this moment, that’s how it felt.
Amid that, Aster continued as if swearing to himself.
“I can’t fix your foolish talent, but I’ll help you carve your path, step by step. It’ll be slower than anyone else’s, but at the very least, I’ll ensure your efforts bear fruit.”
Fools have paths only fools can walk.
And Aster had more than enough ability to guide Sallie down his.
It was merely a matter of will.
On the other hand, a thought crossed his mind.
‘If this decision ends up fattening Decullan…….’
No, no.
For now, he wouldn’t think of it.
A single child flailing foolishly was right before his eyes.
“…….”
Sallie silently gazed at such an Aster.
He couldn’t accept the sudden turn.
Teach him? Couldn’t fix his foolish talent, but would make his efforts shine?
Even his family’s mages hadn’t done that.
And yet, who would……
It was then, as Sallie thought that far.
“Believe it.”
That one phrase.
Just those words made Sallie’s eyes tremble faintly.
And.
“……Ah?”
Unthinkingly, Sallie touched his face. But why? His fingertips were wet.
The tears that had trickled down one by one soon poured out uncontrollably.
His breath quickened naturally. His voice quivered. In a dreamlike haze, Sallie posed his question.
“Is there…… possibility?”
“If you don’t change.”
It was a phrase no one had ever given him.
He’d been shunned by all.
But right now, in this moment.
Sallie realized.
This man was speaking the truth.
“Someday, your will will break. I guarantee it. But if, at that time, you can gather your shattered will again, you’ll rise. To the realm you’ve always yearned for.”
“…….”
“When your will breaks, I’ll give you the strength to gather it.”
“Then…… what must I offer…….”
Aster answered.
“Not turning your back on those like you.”
“…….”
“Like how I’m sparing you today and granting you teachings, show tolerance to the weak.”
That was all Aster desired.
If he could do that……
Sallie being a Decullan meant nothing.
“I understand…….”
Sallie bowed his head.
“…….”
And Aster extinguished the spark of hatred.
……The moment the Magic Tower embraced the child Decullan had forsaken.
* * *
Aster exchanged a few more words with Sallie before returning to the dormitory.
He’d decided to teach his past-life enemy, yet his heart remained serene.
It wasn’t an impulsive choice.
‘Now I’m the top reeducator on the Eastern Continent.’
He dreamed.
Of the changed Sallie, the Decullan he inherited, and the Decullan transformed by him.
Of course, if Decullan crumbled by his own hands, it’d be utterly pointless, but it still held meaning.
In a way, Sallie was starved for teachings too.
A figure the Magic Tower ought to embrace.
Anyway.
“One year…….”
Aster pondered what teachings to impart to Sallie over the remaining year, but it wasn’t simple.
For reference, he had no intention of teaching Heavenly Origin Art.
Just guiding him to the path.
‘It won’t be easy.’
Magic was like that by nature.
Imparting knowledge was simple, but finding the right path for the individual was something no one could do lightly.
Above all, what he had to teach Sallie wasn’t just magic.
Recalling Sallie as observed over the past few days, Aster outlined a rough direction for the teachings, then turned his gaze out the window.
‘For now, Sallie’s settled.’
The next issue remained.
One year of academy life.
Senior Muspellun had told him to drop all responsibilities and focus on academy life, but that wasn’t easy.
Why?
Because there were things that could only be done at the academy.
And what was that?
‘Talent acquisition.’
The current situation was this.
“First, for financial management slave…… no, talent, Evelyn should suffice.”
If work piled up, he’d expand personnel, but he planned to leave that fully to Evelyn.
Then what remained……
‘Armed force.’
Exactly.
When he’d decided to set up in the Second Black-White Slums, he hadn’t felt the lack much.
Why?
Because, regardless of level, the cartels were guarding the Second Black-White Slums.
But.
‘Setting up in Arapurkin changes everything.’
Shine’s absence. Senior Myselrn would return to the Blandoga Family to teach Damian then too.
Of course, Professors Parun and Pellina were there, but……
‘……Two won’t cut it.’
Entrusting security to professor-level mages wasn’t efficient. They’d be tied up from more important tasks.
So, forming an armed group was natural.
“The problem is how to recruit them.”
Naturally, he had no plans to bring in academy students.
Even if individual circles mattered less now due to changed circumstances, he needed immediate combat-ready forces.
However……
‘……I can connect with academy students.’
Like Pola and the Kallia mercenary band.
“Hmm, but…… let’s see.”
Anyone besides Pola worth connecting with among the academy students?
Aster sank into thought, recalling the profiles of academy students he’d seen and heard over the past few years.
‘Which one to hook to make rumors spread that I hooked a good one.’
He wanted a solid slave…… no, ally, like Evelyn.
“Frienduu!”
As Aster pondered, a voice from outside snapped him out of it, and he stepped out.
But.
Thump thump.
The thrilling heart wouldn’t fade.
Shopping was always exciting, after all.