Everything According to Procedure (2)
Garnet Hall. Within the hall that managed the Mage Tower's magic tools existed a separate chamber overseen by the enchantment school. The work carried out there was, naturally, the enchantment of magic tools. An enchantment school where the results never quite matched the effort invested. A single misalignment could damage a precious magic tool.
Sighs never ceased in Garnet Hall's separate chamber.
But then.
"Ugh... Why must this trial befall me of all people...!!"
A wail rarer even than those sighs leaked from the chamber. Kiko Armin, senior enchantment mage. Her lament, brimming with resentment.
Splat—
Kiko lay sprawled starfish-style atop the enchantment platform. The skilled mages exchanged glances as they gazed at her.
'Is she really okay?'
Kiko showed no sign of rising. In the end, one of the skilled mages had no choice but to step up.
"Senior Mage Kiko. Perhaps we should take responsibility after all..."
"If that was your plan, you shouldn't have come to me in the first place."
"Ah, sorry! We were short-sighted..."
"But what if you'd stayed silent and things went wrong? I wouldn't have sat idly by then either. I'd have grilled you on why you didn't tell me."
"Th-that's also our fault..."
"What do you have to be sorry for? Anyone can see I'm the one being capricious."
Still sprawled flat, Kiko fired off her prickly words like chain lightning. The skilled mages exchanged glances once more.
Oh no. It had manifested!
Senior Mage Kiko's persecution complex!
Her delusion stemmed from a lack of self-esteem. While other Mage Tower schools busily amassed wealth, the enchantment school squandered its inherited fortune.
"You all should change careers while you still can. Why cling to enchantment? Damn it, scholarship! If I were as young as you..."
Even bringing up her age, something she rarely did. This episode of her complex wouldn't fade easily.
The skilled mages shook their heads sympathetically.
'Can't blame her.'
But they understood her plight. The culprit behind this mess was obvious.
Kiko, mid-hysteria, finally uttered the name.
"Just what is Chief Mage Lee Hoyeol lacking that he has to meddle with enchantment? No matter how I look at it, this is a hint! 'Get out of the Mage Tower, you money-sink parasites!' That's what he's saying instead of outright telling us, right?"
The obvious culprit: Chief Mage Lee Hoyeol!
Indeed. The emergency in Garnet Hall's chamber stemmed from Hoyeol's commission.
"I knew it from the way he hinted at the dinner table..."
Poke—
Muttering resentfully, Kiko finally lifted her head.
"...Read that request one more time?"
Frizzy deep violet hair. Darker shadows under her eyes.
If you're going to scowl like that, just don't look at me...
"Hey, are you listening?"
Shake, shake—
Prodded, the skilled mage shook off idle thoughts and replied.
"Ah, yes! According to the commission from Chief Mage Lee Hoyeol...
First, extract the effect from the submitted magic tool and enchant it onto the submitted clothing.
Second, amplify the effect extracted from the material and enchant it onto the magic tool..."
Kiko watched the skilled mage read from the parchment. His chattering mouth showed no sign of stopping.
'...No matter how many times I hear it, it doesn't make sense.'
As expected, the root of all evil: Hoyeol!
The love-hate affair of enchantment. The knowledge required was absurdly vast, but the losses incurred to properly wield it were immense. As mentioned, it was an inefficient branch of magic. One deemed unworthy of deep research.
Even Chief Mage Marcelo's knowledge of enchantment barely scratched the surface.
Yet.
'How does he know so much detail?'
The commission from the rolled-in chief was excessively precise. It grasped enchantment's limits yet demanded results pushing right up against them.
In a word, an exceedingly picky request!
'Without advanced knowledge of enchantment—'
No one could make such a demand.
Thinking back, it was the same at the regular conference.
'He asked sharp questions about enchantment research.'
One of the skilled mages before her had struggled thanks to that.
The mage finally finished his recital. Kiko jerked her chin.
"Seems there's more at the end. What does it say?"
"Ah, there's a postscript."
"Postscript?"
"It says to use it if it's helpful... But we have no idea what it means. It's beyond our skilled mages' knowledge."
The owner of a personality that refused superiors. But personality and ability were separate.
Kiko clearly remembered what Hoyeol had shown.
Above all, the biggest impression came from.
The senior mage Banggrit Tom incident, naturally.
'He was no ordinary man.'
Banggrit Tom. Elder mage. And devil worshipper.
An unimaginable contradiction in the Mage Tower. Hoyeol had claimed the greatest credit in resolving it.
'Use it if it's helpful?'
That piqued her curiosity. What had he written that even skilled mages were stumped?
"Guess I have to read it."
Swish—
Kiko finally rose from the enchantment platform. She beckoned.
The skilled mage scurried over and handed her the parchment.
"Impressive. Sincerely."
Our rolled-in chief. He never did anything halfway.
The postscript was substantial enough not to call it a mere afterthought. Long enough to surpass the detailed commission itself.
No wonder she stepped up to read it.
But soon, Kiko's expression shifted.
'Wait. This is...?'
The moment she read the first paragraph. She realized.
"Of course you couldn't understand it."
It wasn't enchantment knowledge.
"Strictly speaking, it's from other schools."
Mixed with so many schools' knowledge it defied categorization.
But as senior enchantment mage, she could infer.
"No wonder he made such a demanding request."
Hoyeol's postscript might compensate for enchantment's limits.
She realized it the instant she read.
Not a difficult solution. Just a shift in perspective.
'How did he see it from this angle?'
The answer didn't lie solely in enchantment.
Why Kiko hadn't shifted perspective was simple. A thought any senior mage harbored.
"Enchantment is supreme..."
Yes. Stubborn pride in one's own magic.
Then it dawned. How Hoyeol conceived it.
Kiko let out a hollow laugh.
"Only possible because he was the rolled-in stone?"
After all, a rolling stone gathers no moss.
Soon, Kiko hiked up her trailing robe.
"Fine. Good. Time for me to shed mine too."
Time to scrape off the moss she'd unwittingly gathered.
But the skilled mages, unable to parse even the postscript, couldn't grasp her deeper meaning.
'Suddenly shedding what?'
They exchanged odd glances.
'How much stress must she be under to spout nonsense?'
'Poor Senior Kiko.'
'...Should we really change careers now?'
*
What was the Mage Tower's ultimate goal? The pursuit of truth.
Of course, the current tower didn't even know what truth was.
'But the endgame's the same anyway.'
In that sense, did schools need to bicker?
Thanks to Grandfell's innate magical genius, she'd learned.
"The darkest place is under the lamp."
Digging many wells, perhaps? The answer appeared unexpectedly easily.
It was the same at the regular conference. And with this enchantment commission.
'He wrote it in detail out of scholarly spite.'
As if uprooting the Mage Tower's foundations, as he'd vowed.
I'd attached highly specific demands to the commission. Considering how each detail hiked the unit cost of the tower's enchantment service, a normal player wouldn't dream of it.
'Gotta milk it properly. Everything.'
Of course, too much freeloading causes indigestion. So I'd added a postscript.
Advanced Enchantment Theory.
Knowledge gleaned from reading in the abyss.
Naturally, it would boost enchantment success rates. No loss for me.
Better to button the first one right, even if bothersome. Then it works next time too.
"However, procedure matters more than results."
Here, procedure meant deadlines.
Who knew when crises would erupt? Items might be needed urgently.
Indeed. Commissioning the item enchantments.
And equipping an item from inventory.
All for full preparation.
Threats must be eliminated.
— Dispose of the escaped devil worshipper. (In Progress)
• Thwart the resurrection of the upper demon king. (In Progress)
I'd merely turned pages and enjoyed tea time. Yet the devil worshipper spilled their known plans.
I intoned calmly.
"Upper, lower, demon king. All equally insignificant."
Swayed by pride, though those words flowed. I fully grasped the gravity.
Demon hunter knowledge confirmed it.
—"Not all demon kings are equal. The hierarchy creates gaps beyond low demons and kings. Thus, upper demon kings wield power indistinguishable from archfiends."
Simply put: Shortcuts weren't my monopoly!
Demons. Devil worshippers. Same scheme.
-"......Our plan was to revive an upper demon king faster. Yes, Banggrit Tom was merely one sacrifice. Damn it, we failed."
Hearing that first chilled me. I'd felled Demon King Decarabia, but he ranked a mere 69th of 72.
Between Decarabia and an upper demon king loomed gaps vaster than low demon to king...!
Archfiend Gluttony of the Seven Deadly Sins was similar. He even ignored Decarabia's known exorcism ritual.
Reason unknown. But no archfiend worthy of the name.
I knew best, having slain him.
Yes, even those loose screws took utmost effort to topple.
Had the worshippers succeeded? An upper demon king revived now...
'Can't even imagine. Truly.'
In that light, self-praise was inevitable.
'My bravado timed perfectly.'
Well done, Lee Hoyeol. Good I didn't cower before the elders. Created this counterchance.
However.
"Breathing the same air disgusts me."
One devil worshipper escaped the Mage Tower. As long as he lived and breathed, their upper demon king revival plan endured.
The imprisoned worshippers' silence till the end proved it.
-"We endured believing that. But no more...! I can't hold out. My mind can't take it!"
Of course, truth-telling didn't earn release. Above all, Mage Tower traitors?
Traitors should face tower procedure.
'The last one too.'
The remaining worshipper. Even they seemed ignorant of his whereabouts.
'Tough.'
Even demons possessing humans evaded natural enemy detection otherwise. Tracking an elder-mage-turned-worshipper? No easy feat.
But one thing was certain.
"The day he acts rashly is his execution day."
The moment he moves to execute plans.
That's when I—no, the Mage Tower—would strike.
Yes. Marcelo, twenty senior mages.
Once more. Beyond false pretenses, true might...!
'Makes me almost want to wait.'
But such dark thoughts stayed internal. Unrevealable.
I intoned coldly.
"Writhing desperately to the end."
After all, desperate struggle isn't easy.
No jest. Legs might cramp soon?
*
Hotel penthouse. Scattered clothes. Thick smoke. Surging impure energy.
"Fittingly called a demon's den."
Pomaded white hair. Trimmed beard. Modern attire.
Elder mage. Now mere devil worshipper Karimjeba continued.
"This world mirrors the Arcana Continent. Indeed."
He'd adapted perfectly to society. Save for the vast mana rippling from him.
"Mirrors? If anything, worse shit."
On the bed. Amid drunken women, a man rose.
What to hide before a worshipper? Proof of possession bared.
His pitch-black pupils scanned the hotel.
"I'm a demon too, but in a way, more vile than demons? No excuses like 'for the demon king' or 'to grow stronger.' Pure self-indulgence—kicking fellow humans into the abyss."
"Mind your tongue."
"Got it. Why do you obsess over the demon king more horrifically than demon me...!"
Rooooar—
Karimjeba's murderous aura surged. The demon hastily raised hands, backpedaling.
"Hey, joke. Can't even joke?"
"Our plan a joke to you?"
"No, not that—I mean...!"
"Enough. No need for long tales."
Escaped the Mage Tower. Long hidden in society.
Yet currents felt off.
'No 'telepathy.''
No word from elder mages left in the tower. Worshippers silent.
Unable to approach directly. Exact reason unknown.
But plans disrupted. Clear.
'Incomprehensible.'
They were elders too. Who'd suspect their words or deeds?
Even if suspected. They wouldn't fall so far as to fail telepathy.
'...No way.'
Betrayed? Like betraying the tower before. Now demons?
'No. They know true truth.'
Yet doubt grew with waiting.
Finally, Karimjeba had to contact.
The human-masked demon.
Karimjeba said.
"I need Mage Tower news. Your status here should acquire it easily. The flesh you claimed for that."
The demon smirked.
"Yes. You know that well."
"...?"
"The only one who can resolve your curiosity. Treating me so roughly? I get you're impressive. But we have mutual interests, right?"
...Damn demon brat.
No need for interference. Mana alone could burst such a demon.
But.
'Lose Mage Tower intel. Plans crumble...'
Karimjeba desperately suppressed his killing intent.
And replied.
"You're right. I was rash."
Once called Fire Dragon Karimjeba. Bowing to a mere demon.
Merely first step taken. Already limping.