Chapter 106
Chapter 106
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: Siegfried (2)
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When the Welton Count first heard that Siegfried had visited the estate, a variety of thoughts crossed his mind.
Most of them were negative.
First, the purpose of the visit.
It was obvious. It had to be because of his son, Jamie Welton.
To enter the Mage Tower, one had to be at least eight years old. They wouldn't accept anyone before that.
Jamie's talent had become widely known at age seven.
Several mages had wanted to recruit him, but they couldn't because he wasn't yet eight. If his status had been lowly, they would have used any means necessary to take him, but Jamie had the Welton Count behind him.
No one in their right mind would want to make an enemy of the Welton Count. So they had waited.
Until he turned eight.
'But I didn't expect this guy to show up.'
The Welton Count looked at Siegfried, who was wearing a sly smile.
He knew about him whether he wanted to or not.
'The greatest genius before Jamie.'
Jamie had entered the 6th Circle at age seven.
It was talent that transcended the realm of wonder.
Siegfried had first entered the 6th Circle at fifteen. Late compared to Jamie, but it was still absurd.
In the entire world, those born with the aptitude for magic numbered about one in ten thousand.
Less than half of them reached the 3rd Circle or higher, and those at the 5th Circle or above were even rarer.
From the 6th Circle onward, they were called high mages, and their numbers were exceedingly sparse.
Yet at fifteen, when even geniuses were struggling at the 3rd or 4th Circle, he had entered the 6th.
At the time, not only the kingdom but the entire world took notice of him.
Even more astonishing was the identity of the boy who displayed such immense talent.
'A slave.'
One in a particularly miserable state, from what he'd heard.
He didn't know the exact details of his past, but Siegfried was a hereditary slave. By chance, he encountered magic, and a mage who recognized his extraordinary talent bought him and took him as a disciple.
And Siegfried, showcasing his tremendous talent, absorbed all knowledge like a sponge, earning the title of the world's greatest prodigy.
It had been fifteen years ago.
Seven years later, he successfully entered the 7th Circle, claiming the title of youngest grand mage.
Now thirty, Siegfried stood on the cusp of the 8th Circle.
'For a figure of that caliber to come in person...'
It meant the Mage Tower was seriously intent on recruiting Jamie.
The Count asked again.
"Tell me. What is the purpose of your visit?"
"Haha. It seems you already know."
Siegfried scratched his cheek.
Of course, the Welton Count knew why he was here without asking. His words were a warning akin to 'say it with your own mouth.'
Siegfried had no choice but to state his purpose directly.
"I came to see if we could welcome the greatest talent."
"Is that mockery?"
"Heavens, no!"
At the accusation of mockery, Siegfried vigorously shook his head.
Was he mad enough to mock the Count's child in front of him?
The Count wouldn't, but Siegfried valued his life.
He had no desire to unnecessarily anger a Sword Master, always mentioned among the kingdom's strongest.
'Though I think I've already made a bad impression.'
Just being from the Mage Tower put him at a disadvantage from the start.
"As Your Excellency knows, Young Master Jamie has turned eight, hasn't he?"
"And so?"
"I believe he's an indispensable talent for our Mage Tower, so I came here... though unannounced?"
"Without so much as a letter?"
He should have at least sent a letter beforehand.
'No, if I had, he probably would have torn it up without reading.'
Judging by the Count's current attitude, that was certain.
"I apologize for that. I didn't think you'd receive me otherwise."
"You know well."
"......"
He had always been straightforward, but being so openly hostile was disheartening.
"Anyway, with that said, could I perhaps see Young Master Jamie?"
"What do you think I'll say?"
"If I may overstep, isn't the choice ultimately Young Master Jamie's?"
"If you know you're overstepping, you shouldn't say it."
The Welton Count replied coldly.
Siegfried kept his smile, but didn't avert his gaze from the Count's.
The two men stared at each other in silence.
The Welton Count spoke first.
"But you do have a point."
The choice belonged to Jamie.
Separate from his dislike of the Mage Tower, he was willing to let Jamie go if that's what he wanted.
However.
"Your side's situation is a mess, too."
The Mage Tower was currently divided into three factions.
The King's faction, led by 1st Elder and the king's teacher, Ophen Jinzer.
The noble faction, led by 2nd Elder and great noble, Linmel Marquis.
The Equality faction, led by 5th Elder and commoner, Luke Presel.
These three forces maintained a precarious balance in a tense tug-of-war.
The problem was their dirty tricks to expand their influence and seize control of the Mage Tower.
The Count didn't like that situation. Send his son there?
Jamie was remarkably mature for his age, but could he survive such vicious politics?
He might be used due to his background and exceptional talent.
'I have almost no influence in the Mage Tower.'
Numerous royals, nobles, and factions sponsored the Mage Tower.
It wasn't for nothing that Seldam Kingdom's Mage Tower rivaled the Magic Kingdom Clones.
Fortunately, Count Simon provided some stability, but even that was不安定.
"I understand."
Siegfried scratched his chin and nodded.
In his view, the Mage Tower was full of idiots.
"But I survived. And I'm free."
Siegfried was the only elder in the Mage Tower unaffiliated with any faction.
It wasn't because he was special.
"Do you know when I realized I had talent?"
"Tell me."
"When I became an elder."
Twenty-two. The age when Siegfried was appointed the Mage Tower's youngest elder.
There was much opposition, but in the end, everyone had to acknowledge him. That's what a grand mage was.
People usually want to claim geniuses for their side, especially in power struggles where they pull out all stops.
But if the talent is too overwhelming, it's different.
"To them, I must have looked like a monster."
Siegfried remembered that day.
At twenty-two, when he established his own magical philosophy and opened the door to grand mage.
It started with his master.
His master was a 5th Circle master. He received much guidance, but at some point, it stopped.
Instead, he began to be checked.
When he surpassed his master's realm, enemies multiplied around him. He did nothing wrong, but everyone hated him.
By the time he reached the 7th Circle, no one hated him anymore. They just watched.
"Even the other elders looked at me the same way. They treated me thoroughly as an irregular."
No faction reached out to him.
Each had their excuses.
The King's and noble factions rejected him due to his origins.
Ridiculous. At grand mage level, origins meant nothing.
The Equality faction, advocating equality, was somewhat favorable but didn't want the risky variable of Siegfried.
Any faction that recruited him would face concentrated attacks from the other two and be annihilated.
Their goal was to gain the upper hand in the tightrope balance and reach the top of the Mage Tower.
Siegfried was a brilliant but poisonous fruit. Great power, but not enough to handle two factions.
So they left him alone. That was the conclusion of the three factions.
"So you were ignored, then?"
"That's too negative a view."
Siegfried shook his head with a playful expression.
"They feared my talent."
"Fine. But hearing this makes me even less inclined to send him."
The Mage Tower was rotten.
If it were being purified, maybe, but it was actively rotting.
Those obligated to advance magic for the kingdom's future were scheming to dominate the Mage Tower.
"Why should my son go to a place like that? Tell me."
"Let's be frank. Even I wouldn't want to send my own child there. But."
Siegfried, who had maintained a smile throughout, turned serious.
"The Mage Tower holds knowledge beyond measure. Especially things like the 'Omniscient Crown'... you know."
The Omniscient Crown.
The crown said to have been possessed by Seldam Kingdom's first king.
In the kingdom's early days, it symbolized the king, but with the Mage Tower's rise, it became its core.
Rumors said the three factions vying for dominance sought to monopolize the Omniscient Crown.
"When one becomes a grand mage, they get one chance to wear it."
Those who haven't lament it's only once.
But those who have know once is enough.
"A chance to wear the Omniscient Crown. For a once-in-a-millennium genius like Young Master Jamie, that's reason enough to join the Mage Tower."
"......"
The Welton Count couldn't refute that point.
"I'll ask Jamie."
"The young master's will is paramount."
"Master. There's a strong human here."
The pink squirrel Vena, perched on the steel bar, said to Jamie, who was diligently swinging his sword.
"Seems a guest from the Mage Tower arrived."
"From the Mage Tower?"
"The servant said it's 7th Elder Siegfried."
"Oh, I know him. Siegfried of Space, right?"
"That's right."
Anyone in Seldam Kingdom who dabbled in magic knew Siegfried.
Vena, being a black sorcerer's familiar, knew him especially well.
Mage Tower mages were enemies of black sorcerers. Siegfried was particularly aggressive among them, a battle mage.
"The genius mage who became a grand mage at a young age!"
"I'm more of a genius."
"Do you have to say it out loud?"
"You have to take care of your own praise."
Jamie finished the final form of the Welton Style's Ten Forms and lowered his sword.
"Hoo-"
"Much cleaner than before."
"Do you know anything about swords?"
"Not me, he said it."
Vena pouted and flapped the scarf around her neck. It was Philion, her ego hammer.
[Definitely an absurd body.]
"He says your body's gone mad."
"Don't twist his words to your taste."
"Hehe."
Jamie shook his head and wiped his sweat with a towel.
"But are you just hanging around after finishing your training?"
"......The weather's nice today."
[You little!]
The towel fluttered and covered Vena.
"Kwaak!"
The pink squirrel wriggled inside the towel and fell to the ground.
"Get back up and train. No slacking."
"Pii-"
Vena waddled out from under the towel, cheeks puffed.
Ignoring her, Philion urged her on at Jamie's words.
[Hahaha! Nothing Jamie Welton says is wrong! Get up there and put in moooore effort!]
"Shut up!"
Vena yelled and vanished somewhere.
Probably slacking by the lake again.
Wonder how the conversation between the Count and Siegfried was going?
'Quite some time has passed.'
He knew it would drag on, but it was longer than expected, stirring an urge to eavesdrop.
Then.
"Young Master."
It was the servant who had announced Siegfried's arrival.
"What is it?"
"The Count calls for you."
"Father does?"
Perfect timing.
Jamie grinned and gestured for the servant to lead the way.
Arriving at the drawing room, Jamie said with a bewildered expression.
"The Omni... scient Crown?"
"Yes. The Omniscient Crown."
Siegfried nodded and elaborated.
"A repository of all the world's knowledge."
All the world's knowledge.
The moment he heard that, Jamie answered without hesitation.
"I'll go."
He didn't know what knowledge it contained, but
'Maybe information from that day is there.'
Information on the erased history strictly controlled by the 12 Gods.
Perhaps he could glimpse even a fragment of it.