Chapter 447
Chapter 447
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 447
>Chapter Title: The Important Thing
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One, even self-indulgence has its limits.
Aster calmly laid out the information he had obtained from Megarium.
Well, the info from there wasn't much—just that this "Fourth Elder" had started moving for some unknown reason....
But that was enough.
"I've uncovered that the Fourth Elder has joined hands with a prestigious family. But I couldn't pin it down to the Decullan Family specifically. However...."
Aster tapped the armrest of the sofa as he gazed at Pahren. Pahren was smoking what must have been his umpteenth cigarette, his eyes utterly impassive.
As if it were all lies.
But that didn't matter.
What mattered now was which side packed more punch.
"In truth, I believed Keystone's words."
He never had.
"Disguising themselves as others to sow discord is Salvatium's specialty, after all."
Was it?
"And then it hit me. 'Decullan' and 'Salvatium.' Is that combination really a coincidence? It wasn't."
So what was it? No clue.
Anyway.
Having said that much, Aster turned his gaze not to Pahren, but to Paraphus and Count Taurus.
"You sure about this? The Empire's declared extermination on Salvatium, and you're throwing in with Decullan at a time like this?"
"......"
"......"
The two lackeys had no reply. Or rather, they couldn't muster one.
Aster watched them for a moment before shifting his eyes to Kahazar, Demeia, and Keystone. Then he spoke.
"Believe it or not, that's up to you.... But isn't it worth mulling over?"
Pushing any further would just backfire.
You know how it is.
'The real deal doesn't need to proclaim itself.'
Just stay quiet, and the real thing shines on its own. The ones desperate for validation are usually fakes, or real but second-rate.
Stay quiet. That's all.
Now, the last piece left....
*Pahren.*
It all depended on how he played it.
Aster leaned back against the chair as he stared at Pahren. Pahren kept smoking.
Was he pissed?
Or just dumbfounded?
Whatever the silence meant, it was baffling.
But what did the reason matter?
Just drive the nail in.
"Why not try defending yourself?"
The usual hard sell—laying out "this, that, so therefore this"—is already a failure.
Just go with "It's a given you're A. So why'd you do it?" or "Defend yourself." Boom, success rate over fifty percent.
And so, silence descended.
"......"
"......"
All eyes fixed on Pahren.
They were puzzled too.
True or false, he should react somehow, but Pahren showed nothing.
There's a saying for times like this.
......Silence is golden.
But here, silence was poison.
And as that poison of silence slowly spread.... How much time passed?
A dry chuckle echoed softly through the parlor.
"Haha."
It came from Pahren, a faint smile curling his lips.
As questions swirled in everyone's minds at this inexplicable sight, Pahren's voice rang out.
"What if the Tower Lord's right?"
"......"
"......"
"What then?"
......Coincidence?
Boom—!
A tremor shook the room.
Creak, creeeak...!
The magic circles lining the walls glowed brighter. And their suppression intensified beyond the initial level.
Paraphus, the weakest in realm, struggled just to circulate his mana. But the observers' focus wasn't on that.
It was on... Pahren.
Exhaling thick smoke, he scanned the room with a sinister smile.
Then he asked.
"What then? Speak."
* * *
The air turned frigid.
Amid the mounting pressure from the intensified magic circles choking their breaths, Pahren lit another cigarette. Then he spoke.
"This body of mine has allied with Salvatium. And Salvatium's right here in this room. So, let's see...."
Pahren eyed Paraphus.
"What then? Choose."
"Th-that's...."
Paraphus glanced around at the others, his eyelids twitching. It didn't take long for his mouth to open.
"I'm already sworn to the Patriarch, aren't I? Heh, heh...."
"Is that so."
Pahren turned to Count Taurus next.
"And you, Count? What say you? You've more to lose than Paraphus. Will you still follow me?"
"I...."
Count Taurus's mind raced. The scales tipped back and forth; he couldn't easily weigh what to put on each side.
There was no shortage of factors to consider.
But soon enough, he realized no answer mattered after his "calculations" were done.
What was needed now wasn't calculation.
Just... a choice.
And that choice was....
"I too shall follow the Patriarch."
Full formal deference, unlike before.
Pahren regarded Taurus for a moment before looking away. Then he spoke again.
"Well? Think you can handle this? Seems worth the gamble."
The question carried layers.
Murder and silence. Pahren intended no survivors.
If everyone died, who could spread the tale?
......A rather convincing pretext.
- Salvatium attacked the Sanctuary.
It would all fall on Salvatium.
Suspicions?
Sure to arise.
No matter how veiled Salvatium was as a secret society, if great archmages dropped dead at once, doubts would linger.
But the dead don't talk.
Of course, assuming Pahren could handle the other great archmages....
"If you think you can handle it.... Then try."
Pahren brimmed with arrogance. No, unshakable confidence.
......Demeia moved first.
"......"
She rose wordlessly and stared down at Pahren. She pushed back against the bizarre magic circle's pressure, igniting her mana.
Soon....
Crack, craaack—
Ice crystals formed in the air.
Tension teetered on a knife's edge. Aster blinked at the scene.
'...For real?'
Decullan allied with Salvatium?
It made no sense whatsoever—
Boom!
Another tremor.
Creak, creeeak...!
The wall's magic circles darkened further. The fourth barrier activated, utterly unlike the prior three.
Tzz, tzzzz....
Like mana shackles clamped on, squeezing their cores.
"Urgh."
Paraphus cracked first, the lowest realm. Then Keystone, Count Taurus.
As the three great archmages groaned under the pressure.
Aster's eyes gleamed faintly.
'Send the lackeys packing.'
Here, just Keystone's out.
So our side's strength....
'Me, Zamal's Arbiter, Demeia, Kahazar... four. Theirs... one?'
This might actually be winnable.
No, it's a sure thing.
Failure would be the surprise.
As the saying goes, no match for a group beating. Sure, it applies to moderate level gaps, but who here was ordinary?
'Two house patriarchs. One desert old man over there. And me... the Tower Lord.'
The issue, though....
Creak, creeeak...!
Aster frowned at the ever-tightening pressure.
He figured it'd ease off eventually, but the magic circles only grew fiercer with time.
To the point where even those holding firm showed dismay.
Aster was relatively free of it, but Pahren was the problem.
'Could turn into a one-on-one if we're not careful.'
Aster glanced at Pahren's aura while surveying the room. First things first: free Kahazar from the mana shackles.
Then everyone pile on Pahren....
As Aster envisioned a rosy future.
"This should do."
A leisurely voice. Aster tilted his head.
Do what?
Pahren stood, dusting himself off. He strode to the door, paused, and glanced back.
"Absurd nonsense. Quite entertaining."
"Absurd nonsense?"
"Worth responding to?"
Pahren chuckled dryly.
"Allied with Salvatium...? Creative, I'll give you that. But impossible."
"So it was... all bullshit?"
"Can't accept it? Believe what you will. But you'd best solve the problem at hand first. They've waited long enough, no?"
......Waited long enough.
Meaning, no more waiting.
Salvatium intruders or whatever, he'd handle it personally....
Creeeak—
Aster narrowed his eyes at Pahren heading into the corridor. He tilted his head.
'All bullshit for real?'
As doubts lingered.
"......Tch. Better handle the situation first."
Kahazar shook his head, equally unsatisfied, and followed Pahren out.
And behind them—
Clang, clink...!
Crash!
Mana shackles clattered to the floor.
Aster let out a "Ha!" of laughter.
"Th-that guy...."
Fucking con artist. Knew how to break the shackles the whole time and played dumb?
Now it made sense why he strutted before Paraphus and Count Taurus—not some noble pride bullshit, but faith in his own power.
How utterly shameless....
Aster tsked softly at the sight. Demeia brushed past him.
"We'll need a detailed talk later."
Her voice chilled.
Aster scratched his head.
'Isn't this a bit too distrustful?'
One attitude shift and those eyes?
A sigh escaped him.
[What then?]
Aster smacked his lips at Zamal's Arbiter's question.
That was the golden chance, and he blew the timing this pathetically?
Regret twisted his gut.
But.
Can't stall forever.
[We go. Gotta check what's happening, right?]
[So be it. Lead on.]
[......Yessir.]
Aster trudged forward. Far down the corridor, Pahren, Kahazar, and Demeia walked ahead.
......The magic circles' pressure mounting relentlessly.
A foreboding premonition flashed through his mind.
Maybe....
'...Gonna be a real shitshow?'
Whoooosh—
A chill wind tousled his hair.
Aster smoothed it down as he walked.
An unpredictable Sanctuary.
......The important thing was an unyielding heart.
Nothing else.