Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 019
Chapter Title: Baal's Proxy
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I couldn't help but be surprised by her words.
"A person from the Mage Tower?"
That towering Mage Tower, where no one ever emerged into the mundane world unless the very heavens collapsed...?
'Why would someone from the Mage Tower be in the 8th Special District...?'
Unfamiliar with my reaction, she let out an awkward laugh.
"This must be the... typical perception ordinary folks have of us."
"Well, but you guys really don't come down from the tower, do you?"
"Umm... that's undeniably true."
But soon, introducing herself as Marie Fleetwood, she lit up with excitement and said,
"More importantly, if it's not too much trouble, could you use your magic just one more time?"
"Magic?"
"Yes!"
Startled by her sudden advance, I quickly put some distance between us.
"Sorry, but please don't come any closer."
"Pardon? Oh. I'm sorry. Was I being too pushy?"
"That's part of it. But not just that."
"...?"
Honestly, her face had me a bit intimidated.
Thinking back now, didn't that mean this woman had been at the bar too?
And objectively speaking, the mage before me was undeniably beautiful.
'No, what kind of curse is this?'
Every crime scene had to feature at least one beauty.
And by now, with disasters accompanying each one, it was getting hard to even joke about.
"If possible, could you keep a certain distance?"
"Oh, should I? I wanted to observe up close, but if that's more comfortable for you, I'll do that."
As she stepped back again, I asked,
"So, did you follow me all the way from the bar?"
"Yes!"
"......"
Did people usually admit to tailing someone with such a brazen face?
Suddenly nursing a headache, I asked again.
"Wh-why?"
"Because your magic was so fascinating."
"My magic?"
Fleetwood nodded vigorously in response.
"Yes! It's so different from conventional spellcasting methods—I was utterly captivated. If it's not rude, who inspired your magic? How do you manifest it...? More precisely, how do you replicate mana phenomena while skipping the visible incantation calculations...?"
"Ah, hold on, just a moment."
Raising my hand to stop her, I found myself rubbing my temples without realizing it.
Incantations? Processes? Replicating mana phenomena?
From my perspective, it was all gibberish from start to finish.
"This might sound odd, but I have nothing to say about it."
"Oh, right. Asking about someone else's incantation processes out of the blue... I was being impolite."
"No. That's not what I meant."
I corrected her misunderstanding.
"Even if you ask, I can't answer. Because I don't know."
"...You don't know?"
"Yes."
"About the incantation processes?"
"Yes."
"Uh... then how do you use magic?"
"...Just like that?"
I didn't know exactly myself.
I just acquired the skill, focused my intent, and it worked.
"J-just... like that..."
Fleetwood's face took on a look of shock.
But only for a moment.
Her expression shifted to deep contemplation before she fixed me with a serious gaze.
"Wait, but... Oh, sorry. May I have your name?"
"Kyle Clark...?"
"Thank you. So, Mr. Clark. Are you using magic intuitively? Without consciously focusing on the theory?"
That question gave me pause.
'Intuitively?'
It did feel closer to that.
"Yeah, well. If that's what it is, then sure."
"...Good heavens."
At my answer, Fleetwood covered her mouth with both hands, as if struck by realization.
'What?'
Seemed like I'd sparked some weird misunderstanding.
"That's... No, if so, then surely... Hmm..."
Lost in her own thoughts again, she nodded as if convincing herself.
"That explains it..."
"So, is that settled now?"
Honestly, I just wanted to get away from this stalker as soon as possible.
With my head already tangled up over my sister, today had left me mentally exhausted—no more trouble, please.
But oblivious to my mood, she widened her eyes and shook her head.
"Oh, no! Still, I really want to see your magic one more time!"
A curt reply slipped out unbidden.
"Why should I?"
"Uh, um."
Caught off guard by my retort, Fleetwood faltered before her eyes sparkled anew.
"Come to think of it, you were looking for a magic artifact, right?"
At that, I narrowed my eyes involuntarily.
"...Did you eavesdrop back at the bar?"
"Sorry. It wasn't on purpose—my hearing's naturally sharp."
Still, it didn't sit well with me.
That meant she'd overheard my entire conversation with that guy.
But suddenly, a flicker of doubt crossed my mind.
'That's weird, though. Why did both that guy and I completely forget about her presence at some point?'
As I tilted my head, she rummaged in her robes and pulled out a blue gem.
"Th-this is... a magic artifact I crafted myself."
"...Pardon?"
Her face flushing, Fleetwood cleared her throat softly.
"Ahem, well... My crafting skills are so amateurish it's embarrassing to show anyone—it's pretty crude... But if this would be acceptable as payment for showing me your magic?"
I glanced down at the blue gem she offered.
"You crafted it yourself?"
"I-I know it's not something to brag about, but in Sapientia—no, the Mage Tower—crafting isn't highly regarded. But it's my hobby... I was originally planning to get it appraised by a back-alley expert I was introduced to."
Twisting her fingers nervously, Fleetwood continued.
"St-still, it activates properly. It's lightning attribute. Not inscribed with anything too powerful, but it could help in a pinch..."
'Lightning...!'
A magic artifact was great, but a rare lightning one at that.
My eyes widened despite myself.
'No, this changes everything.'
Plus, made by someone from the Mage Tower—even if crude, it had to be better quality than anything from the outside world.
'Probably worth way more than 30 million credits.'
When I pointed that out, she waved her hands dismissively.
"Uh... I'm not really interested in money. I can craft more... What I want is to see your magic. Results stem from causes, after all. Your magic must have some activation mechanism. I want to understand it."
For this woman, my magic clearly mattered more than money.
'This is... an unexpected windfall.'
Free lightning magic without spending skill points.
Showing off a spell in exchange? No skin off my back.
"...In that case, I'll show you—as long as time allows."
Fleetwood's face lit up like the sun.
"R-really?"
"Of course, I have to head back before it gets completely dark..."
"Even just until then is fine. Please, I beg you."
Was it really that important to her?
Scratching my head, I raised my hand.
"Alright, here goes."
"Yes!"
In front of her eager, sparkling eyes, I cast the spell.
That night.
Marie Fleetwood returned to the Mage Tower, where lights burned late into the night. As patrolling tower knights approached, she swiftly donned her hood and infused it with mana.
The knights passed by as if sensing no presence at all.
Slipping past them effortlessly, Marie rushed to her room, threw off her hood, and shouted,
"Today was incredible!"
"Miss...!"
A freckled woman about her age hurried over to Marie.
"You promised to be back by 9 at the latest! If the Sage finds out...!"
"Forget that, Lizzy! I had the most unexpected harvest today!"
"A harvest...? Did the back-alley appraiser you were introduced to rave about that gem or something?"
"No, not that!"
Her voice brimming with excitement, she shed her robe and continued.
"Guess who I met outside today?"
"Who?"
"A mage!"
"Ah, I see."
Lizzy's face soured at the words.
"A heretic mage? Sure, the first time you see one, their primitiveness might seem novel."
"No, no, that's not it. This person was different from other mages. Even from Sapientia's mages!"
"...What do you mean?"
Marie launched into a tale of the mage she'd met.
Lizzy clutched her forehead in confusion.
"W-wait a second. So, that man wiped out a whole mafia crew?"
"No, what I'm saying is the same magic acted far more powerfully, while completely skipping the standard incantation processes. So I asked how that's possible."
"...And?"
"He said he uses it intuitively."
"Pardon?"
"He manifests magical phenomena purely on instinct!"
"Whaaat??"
"I couldn't believe it, so I begged him to demonstrate several times..."
Her face flushed with fervor, she declared,
"I truly, honestly couldn't comprehend a single thing!"
"...!!"
Lizzy couldn't hide her shock.
Marie Fleetwood, standing before her, was one of the Mage Tower's top geniuses.
The granddaughter of the Tower Lord himself, famed for deciphering incantations at a glance.
And even she couldn't grasp this magic?
"Are you serious...?"
"You know me, Lizzy. When it comes to magic, I'm always dead serious."
With that, Marie began changing clothes.
Shocked, Lizzy asked,
"Wh-what now? Where are you going?!"
"Where else? My grandfather's lab, obviously."
Her grandfather—the Sage, the Tower Lord.
Lizzy's eyes nearly bulged out.
"Whaaat?!"
"This is just my hunch."
Innate talent to wield magic unconsciously through pure instinct.
And spells that transcended existing incantation systems via unknown processes.
"It seems he's finally appeared."
"A-appeared? What?"
"The living repository of wisdom who will upend our stagnant magical paradigm and lead us into a new era of magitech..."
Marie Fleetwood spoke with utmost gravity.
"The descendant of the Origin Mage."
Somewhere in the 8th Special District.
Beneath a dank underground cavern, black-hooded figures crowded around a round table.
One wearing a wooden mask spoke.
"Gerald Hudson, that werewolf—where has he gone?"
The elderly woman at the head replied.
"Praying at the altar. Considering his sins, how could he show his face so shamelessly?"
"I still can't believe it."
His voice laced with disbelief, he continued.
"Why on earth would Baal's Proxy stoop to serving as a police dog?"
"Who can fathom such profound intent? But I saw it with this 'eye' of mine. He cast curses without any sacrifice."
"I'm saying there must've been a mistake. The prophecy states signs accompany his reincarnation—yet there were none anywhere."
"Interpretations of the prophecy vary. It's not strange if some sign we missed appeared somewhere."
The wooden mask let out a scoff at the old woman's words.
"You call that logic? Spouting such nonsense—High Priestess, have you lost your mind to senility?"
"You bastard!"
With a bang!, a pointy-eared dark elf woman shot to her feet.
"I've been watching you, and now you're mocking the High Priestess?!"
"What I'm saying is it's utterly illogical! If he's truly Baal's Proxy, why no signs? Why hasn't he descended upon the cult sooner and instead played lapdog to those cops?!"
"Gamlong!!"
As the furious dark elf reached for her magic sword, the High Priestess raised a hand to stop her.
"High Priestess...!"
"Gamlong. Whether you believe or not is irrelevant. I confirmed his existence with my own eyes, and by the name of the cult's High Priestess, I declare here that Baal's Proxy has descended upon the mortal realm."
Murmurs rippled around the table at the formal proclamation.
Gamlong slammed the table with a bang!.
"What nonsense!"
He stormed out, grinding his teeth as the dark elf seethed.
"That arrogant prick...!"
"Helena."
"But High Priestess! Letting scum like Gamlong slide...!"
"I know your concerns. For now, just watch."
The old woman smiled mysteriously.
"He'll prove it himself soon enough."
Meanwhile, emerging from the cavern, Gamlong gnashed his teeth.
"That cunning old hag... With her position threatened lately, she's propping up a fake proxy to reclaim control of the cult?"
A fool's errand.
His followers asked,
"What shall we do, Gamlong?"
"What else?"
Gamlong replied.
"...Prepare assassins. I'll weave the curse with these hands myself."
"Pardon? You mean..."
"Think about it. If that guy's truly Baal's Proxy."
His eyes flashed red beneath the wooden mask.
"He wouldn't flinch at any death curse, right?"
"!!"
"That damned hag must think the heavily guarded penal unit prevents my interference."
He chuckled darkly.
"Let's see if she still calls him proxy over a corpse."