Chapter 367
Chapter 367
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 367
>Chapter Title: Nah, It's Not Slacking Off
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“Like this, all of a sudden?”
It was nearing midnight.
That was Evelyn’s reaction to Aster, who had burst into the office.
“It’s not all that sudden.”
“Well… I suppose you’re right.”
Aster had said from the start that he’d leave once the development site stabilized.
So strictly speaking, it wasn’t sudden at all.
But Evelyn couldn’t help feeling flustered, all because of the strike that had happened just a few months ago.
“You’re not leaving because I gave you a hint, are you? If that’s the case, you could rest a bit longer…”
“No way.”
“Then why…”
“How about we chat over some tea?”
Evelyn stared at Aster in that same posture.
What on earth was he thinking?
Impossible to pin down.
He’d always been like that.
He’d act like he didn’t have a care in the world most days, then suddenly start carrying the weight of everything like it was all on his shoulders.
It wasn’t the first day the boy had acted this way, but every time, Evelyn felt an inexplicable sense of distance. Like looking at someone from another world.
At one point, Evelyn had thought that distance stemmed from the secrets the boy carried.
You know, the Magic Tower, Decullan, Salvatium, and all that.
But now, having been let in on most of those secrets…
Evelyn furrowed her brow at the renewed sense of distance. A soft “Hoo” of a sigh slipped through her lips.
The silence just before the sigh… was Evelyn’s time to come to terms with that unfamiliar yet familiar distance.
And once she accepted it, Evelyn nodded.
“Have a seat. I’ll get the tea ready quick.”
Evelyn tidied up her papers and headed to the break room.
…Distance.
Truth be told, it wasn’t easy to accept.
She was just trying to get used to it.
* * *
Clink.
Two saucers hit the table. Steam rose gently from the teacups.
Evelyn blew on her tea a couple times to cool it before taking a sip.
She spoke right after.
“Why?”
“It’s about time.”
“That’s really all there is to it?”
Clink.
The teacup hitting the saucer rang out a bit louder. Aster’s gaze flicked to his cup, then back to Evelyn.
“Well, not entirely.”
Instead of asking, Evelyn just stared at him intently. It was a silent question, and Aster looked down at his teacup again.
Unlike Evelyn’s, which rippled calmly, Aster’s surface was still. He fixed his eyes on that stillness and continued.
The first word out was this.
“Magic Tower.”
Then next.
“Decullan.”
After that came “Salvatium,” and after that, “Second Prince.”
Just a list of words, but Evelyn caught the common thread.
To her, there was one clear link.
…Burden.
Something that made Aster feel responsible.
“Honestly, it’s been kinda tricky. We’re tangled up deep with all of them, right? Decullan’s one thing, but Salvatium and the Second Prince? Total bad luck.”
“Yeah…”
Evelyn’s gaze drifted to the table. Aster, fiddling with his cup, crossed his index and middle fingers. And when he uncrossed them…
Ting.
His finger flicked the cup.
“The Magic Tower’s the real issue.”
…What was the issue?
Aster didn’t explain, but Evelyn had a vague idea.
The Magic Tower… its meaning to Aster was something she knew without words.
‘Something he has to protect.’
Ting—!
A brighter sound rang out. Aster’s voice followed.
“Just try getting caught. Plenty of bastards glaring daggers, and if you go at it, there’s all sorts of crap to worry about. So I mulled it over.”
“What…”
“What to do.”
The tea in the cup rippled. The reflection on the surface distorted wildly. Aster took in the shaking surface, and Evelyn peered into his eyes.
Then suddenly, a bad premonition flashed through her mind.
The Aster she knew didn’t know how to share. In various ways. He couldn’t split what he should give, handing it over whole instead, and he wouldn’t divide what he had to bear, hugging it all to himself.
Like sharing something meant losing even more.
Lots of people had tried to share that burden, and Evelyn was trying too, but she knew. It was Aster’s unchangeable nature.
Her thoughts reached that point, and Evelyn mulled over the words he’d mentioned earlier.
‘Magic Tower, Decullan, Salvatium, Second Prince.’
They seemed casually lumped together, but revisiting Aster’s core flipped her heart with a thud.
The Magic Tower, Decullan, Salvatium, Second Prince.
Things no ordinary person could touch in a lifetime.
…Magic Tower.
The Rapiter Library gained its prestige around the time the great sage who founded Jenion Academy closed his eyes.
Even with the Empire’s help, it had taken that great sage half a century to complete ‘Rapiter.’
Then what about the Magic Tower?
…Decullan.
A supreme noble house that even other great families bowed to—a noble among nobles.
Even families with transcendent powerhouses couldn’t guarantee victory if they clashed with Decullan for real.
That’s the kind of house Aster was up against.
What did that mean?
Aster was running.
…Chasing a dream he couldn’t achieve in a lifetime, facing groups he couldn’t resist.
‘Salvatium, Second Prince.’
Standing against a secret society of unfathomable historical depth and a royal who effectively held the eastern continent underfoot.
So then.
…Evelyn thought.
What happens if the one who can’t share shoulders all that burden? No, what action would he take with it?
Honestly, she couldn’t imagine.
That’s why.
“…Aster.”
Evelyn cut off Aster as he opened his mouth and called his name.
“Can’t you just spill what you’re thinking? If we put our heads together, surely we’ll find a way…”
“…?”
Evelyn trailed off at Aster’s increasingly bizarre expression.
What? Did I miss something?
“Th-that… there might be a way?”
“And?”
“So? You’re saying spill it?”
“Yeah? And I did? Remember?”
Evelyn’s eyes twitched at the pitiful look in his gaze. Embarrassment hit her late.
“…”
Evelyn fell silent.
“…”
Aster did too.
Slurp.
Evelyn wet her lips with tea, shook off the awkwardness, set down her cup, and spoke.
“I… did think about it? You mentioned it up to that point.”
“Oh, right, I did. Anyway, whatever. Lots of those bastards around, tons to worry about. I thought it over, but no answers.”
“No answers?”
“Yeah.”
Aster tapped his finger—tok tok—against the cup and continued calmly.
“At first, I thought about holing up in Arafurgin and just indulging in luxury. But time’s not on my side.”
“Time’s not on your side? Why…?”
“Just know it is. Anyway, sitting still won’t cut it. Charging in? Too many hang-ups. Started out debating ‘Magic Tower or Decullan,’ but turns out they’re not separate issues. Oh, putting Salvatium and Second Prince aside for now. Magic Tower and Decullan are the big ones.”
“…So, what then?”
Evelyn perked up her ears.
She was curious.
‘What… solution does he have?’
For someone declaring ‘no answer,’ his voice sounded bright.
Some people feel relieved after giving up, so she couldn’t let her guard down…
‘…He’s not the type to run.’
So, in this stifling situation, what path had Aster chosen?
“But then I had this thought.”
Ting—!
A cheery sound rang out. By the time Evelyn’s gaze flicked down and back up, she saw Aster grinning brightly.
“Forgot about it lately, but I know a plan that never fails.”
“What… is it?”
“No plan.”
“…Pardon?”
Evelyn doubted her ears for a second.
No plan? The ‘no’ (無) plan? Not the ‘martial’ (武) plan?
The former made him a madman; the latter, slightly less so.
So Evelyn hoped for the latter…
Sadly, that hope shattered with a ‘Ting!’
“No answer? Then ditch the thinking.”
“…”
“Build the Magic Tower, smash Decullan, check Salvatium and Second Prince? Nah, that whole approach was wrong from the start. Everything connects to one thing.”
And what was that ‘one’ everything connected to?
Simple.
“Remember I mentioned it before?”
“…”
“Everyone dies if their head gets smashed.”
…Yeah, he’d said that.
And what came next?
Right, like this.
Evelyn dredged up the memory, murmuring what Aster would say.
‘…Only one thing needed in times like this.’
“Only one thing needed in times like this.”
What was it?
‘…Overwhelming force.’
“Overwhelming force.”
“…”
And…
- More precisely, overwhelming force enough to smash your brother and the Beetins’ heads and still come back alive.
“More precisely, overwhelming force to smash Decullan, Salvatium, Second Prince, whoever—heads and all.”
Slightly different from memory, but same idea.
Evelyn realized.
That ‘no’ plan encompassed both no (無) and martial (武)—a double no-plan.
“So yeah, I’m off.”
Ambitious declaration.
Evelyn grimaced at her pounding headache and took a deep breath. No clue where it went wrong.
No, if anything was wrong, just one thing.
‘…Heads.’
And mouths.
No, his very existence.
Evelyn gulped down the half-cold tea. Her throat burned faintly, but the pain sharpened her senses.
“…What about the Magic Tower construction? They’re just starting to break ground. And don’t you need to check the research building for the professors to move into early?”
“Oh, the Magic Tower?”
Aster pulled a subspace pouch from his belt.
“Books are here. Made a list, so check it out. I’ll meet the professors myself, no worries.”
What did that mean?
In other words, from building the Magic Tower itself to the research annex for professors pre-opening—Evelyn had to handle it all personally.
“This… slacking off?”
“Nah, not slacking.”
“Then what?”
When Evelyn asked, Aster flashed a cheeky grin.
“Actually, yeah, kinda is.”
“…?”
“Yeah, total slacking.”
“You little…!”
Evelyn spat curses and went to hurl her cup… but couldn’t finish.
“Little, fu, little…”
She wanted to swear.
…But Aster was already gone.
All that remained in the empty spot.
Flutter—
Just a single note.
Evelyn stared at the fluttering paper, then picked it up with a dazed look.
Once she read it, she couldn’t hold back the profanity.
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0
The missing 1’s yours.
“You fucking bastard!”
A bit past midnight.
A black wyvern soared over the nest. And through it echoed a hollow scream.
Fucking bastard, bastard, bast, ard, ard, ard, ard….
All night long.
Under the bright moonlight.