Chapter 446
Chapter 446
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 446
>Chapter Title: Doubts Aren't Cleared Up by Explaining
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- What of Reverse Heaven?
Upon hearing that ambiguous question, the first thing Aster thought of was this.
‘……How?’
How did Pahren know the whereabouts of Reverse Heaven?
But the doubts didn’t end there.
Since when had he known? No, was he even certain? And furthermore, what were his true intentions?
But the confusion was fleeting.
Soon, Aster realized.
‘He’s selling medicine?’
Pahren didn’t actually know Reverse Heaven’s location. He was just probing.
If he truly knew, he wouldn’t have posed the question like this.
In that case, the right response in this situation was……
“Reverse Heaven?”
Aster tilted his head. Then he furrowed his brow. His expression wouldn’t be visible inside the mask, but he made a face as if utterly baffled before tossing the question back.
“Are you trying to pin treason on me now too?”
Those words startled Parapus.
Coming from the Imperial faction, he knew full well how grave and horrific a charge of treason was—and Aster didn’t miss that flicker of agitation.
“I get that you want to bury me, but pinning treason on me is a whole different story, isn’t it? Using ‘treason’ for political ends…… Even for the Decullan Family, that’s not going to come without backlash.”
Treason was blasphemous in and of itself. Punishing those who committed it went without saying, but even those who hadn’t were not spared if they wielded it for political gain.
It was to prevent growing numb to the act of ‘treason’ itself—or so the rationale went. Regardless, for the Empire’s nobility, ‘treason’ was something that could never be uttered lightly.
And Count Taurus was one of the Empire’s nobles too.
“…….”
Confirming the anxiety flickering in Count Taurus’s eyes, Aster turned back to Pahren.
Yet Pahren’s response was utterly audacious.
“Grimoire.”
“……Grimoire?”
“That’s right, a Grimoire. Did you perhaps not know its name? Then remember it from now on. The name of the Grimoire you possess is ‘Reverse Heaven.’”
The atmosphere in the room shifted dramatically at those words.
“Grimoire……?”
Kazar, who had been eyeing Pahren warily, narrowed his gaze at Aster.
“…….”
“…….”
Even Keyston and the Judge of Jamal turned with hardened expressions. Uncharacteristically, Demea, the patriarch of the Dinai Family, couldn’t hide her surprise.
Aster scowled fiercely under that scrutiny.
‘……This mad bastard.’
He was utterly insane. No one in their right mind would spout such nonsense.
Anyway, let’s calmly sort this out.
First off.
‘Pahren isn’t certain I have Reverse Heaven.’
The fact that he’d brought up ‘Reverse Heaven’ here was proof. If he knew for sure, he wouldn’t probe in a public forum like this—he’d track down the Magic Tower’s location and seize it by force.
But to go beyond probing and expose it like this?
Why?
Guessing the mind of such a vicious schemer was no easy task for anyone. The wicked always exceeded the expectations of the righteous.
Still, if he tried to infer his intentions……
Aster realized.
Why Pahren was spouting this deranged nonsense.
‘This bastard…… It doesn’t matter if it’s true or not.’
If they really had Reverse Heaven, he could gauge the reaction—perfect.
If not, he didn’t even need to lift a finger; the Keyston’s Sharon Earl family, Kutlan family, and Dinai family would check the Magic Tower for him—also perfect.
Of course, if they did have Reverse Heaven, acquiring it might get a bit messy.
The other factions would now suspect the Magic Tower of possessing Reverse Heaven…… another Grimoire.
But he hadn’t thought that far.
Either way, Pahren himself lost nothing!
Thus.
“…….”
Aster let out a hollow laugh as he stared at Pahren. Then he quietly turned his mind to the problem.
How to navigate this wretched situation in a way that would earn him praise for handling it masterfully.
‘Pahren and his two lackeys, plus Salvatium.’
In the end, he had to check both the Decullan Family and Salvatium—and now he was cornered like this.
Aster pondered.
And found the answer with ease.
……Doubts aren’t cleared up by explaining.
‘Just bury them under even more tantalizing doubts.’
“I had my suspicions……”
“……?”
Aster trailed off, drawing everyone’s attention before continuing calmly.
“Looks like the intel about Decullan joining hands with Salvatium was true after all. Pulling stunts like spouting this nonsense to buy time……”
“…….”
Parapus’s face hardened. He glanced at Pahren. Count Taurus did the same.
Of course, it was hard to believe.
Decullan allying with Salvatium?
Even Aster, who’d said it, could scarcely credit it himself.
But truth was always a matter of how you framed it.
“Two full years…… no, going on three now. I chased them relentlessly, and now I find a clue in a place like this.”
Eyes that had been wavering now fixed on Aster.
As if to say, “If you know something, spit it out.”
Aster met their gazes, closing his eyes briefly.
‘Let’s see, so……’
There was no actual countermeasure.
But what mattered was an unyielding spirit.
Aster lifted his eyelids and continued steadily.
“It started…… yeah, with the Jenion Academy Trial Chamber incident.”
Buttons that didn’t exist were being sewn on.
* * *
It all began with the Jenion Academy Trial Chamber incident.
“You all remember. The one officially concluded as ‘Bimarga’s solo act.’”
Worried someone might not know, Aster calmly explained what the Trial Chamber incident was.
When it happened.
Who the culprit was.
And……
Which group House Bimarga had colluded with.
“It was a gold-robed mage named Prizen. Prizen needed a stage to test an artifact, and Bimarga was following Decullan’s orders.”
Prizen, who hadn’t achieved transcendence, had disguised himself as a gold-robed mage, while Bimarga acted as Decullan’s hunting dog infiltrating the Trial Chamber.
Truth didn’t matter.
Only how stimulating it was.
Anyway.
“Prizen’s goal with that gold-robed mage was to manifest a ‘Demonic Realm.’ And that attempt nearly succeeded.”
As Aster’s tale unfolded, a voice cut in.
“I’ve never heard this story.”
The speaker was Demea, the Dinai patriarch. Aster smiled faintly at her reaction.
‘First time she’s spoken up, I think.’
Or not.
Either way, what mattered was that Demea, who’d been indifferent to everything, was now showing interest.
Frankly, it had been nerve-wracking.
‘If she didn’t react to the Trial Chamber incident, it would’ve hurt.’
Why?
Demea was Dalia’s father. No reaction to the Trial Chamber incident would mean Demea’s affection for Dalia was that shallow.
But with this bite……
‘Dalia grew up in a harmonious home.’
Yeah, that seemed right.
Furion, the Dinai collateral from her class, had doted on Dalia endlessly too. And Dalia had sold him out for a few macarons.
Anyway, not important now.
Aster gathered his thoughts and answered Demea’s question.
“Of course not. Even at the Academy, only a handful knew.”
“So the Academy concealed the information?”
Her tone was flat, almost chilling. But Aster caught the simmering…… faint but burning emotion beneath it.
Rage.
“Not concealed, exactly—there just wasn’t anything solid. They tried digging into House Bimarga, but as you know……”
Aster trailed off, glancing at Pahren. Demea looked at Pahren too. She propped her elbow on the sofa armrest, covering her mouth with her hand.
Eyes closed tight.
No more questions, but Aster knew she was fully immersed in the story.
That look……
Yeah, that was it.
‘Suppressing rising fury.’
Anyway.
Demea seemed half-convinced……
But the real meat came next.
“After that day, I spent no small amount of time uncovering the link between Decullan and Salvatium. But it wasn’t easy.”
From here, there were no truths he could freely share.
Why?
He’d never once pursued anything to prove a Decullan-Salvatium connection.
He hadn’t even chased Salvatium separately.
But did the process matter?
No.
Demea and the observers weren’t curious about the process.
Aster steadily listed only actual incidents tied to Salvatium, steering the conversation.
What came after was probably……
“Do you remember the Jenion Academy principal inauguration incident? The one where the Second Prince tried to pack the faculty with his faction.”
Yeah, probably then.
Back then, he hadn’t even imagined Salvatium’s involvement. But lo and behold—the new principal was a Salvatium gold-robed mage in disguise.
Anyway.
“That’s when we caught a gold-robed mage. And found a small clue. Proving Salvatium might have joined hands with Decullan…… that little piece of evidence……”
That’s when Keyston tilted his head.
“……? I heard the 72 Councillors stepped in then? Rank 4 Wybar on the Third Princess’s orders……”
“We got the info from the Academy side. We’d been sharing steadily on the Trial Chamber incident.”
“I see.”
“Yeah.”
“……Hm.”
Keyston let out a dissatisfied hum, something still off. But he nodded soon enough.
“Continue.”
“Right, so……”
There wasn’t much left to say after that.
From memory, the next encounter was…… yeah, Megarium. When he went to meet Parun in the city of quills.
Aster dressed up his arrival in Megarium suitably. Not to meet Parun, but as the end of a pursuit.
“Then, don’t tell me…… the mysterious archmage who first revealed Salvatium’s presence in Megarium was……?”
At Keyston’s question, Aster dipped his head slightly. Then sighed as if helpless.
“……I wanted to keep it hidden, but it’s come out like this.”
Shaking his head like someone embarrassed to have good deeds exposed, Aster met Keyston’s eyes and continued evenly.
“The mage who saved thousands of soldiers and hundreds of wizards from a monster wave corrupted by dark mana. The mage who’s fought the malevolent group Salvatium. And the mage who sought no reward for any of it.”
All of that.
“Was me.”
……The Magic Tower Lord.
Declaring it so, Aster swept back his fallen hair and gazed at the ceiling. Then he murmured.
“Nothing special, tsk.”
His shoulders were already squared proudly.