Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: The Mage Tower
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Mage Tower.
True to its name, it began as a single tower.
Its history wasn't long. It started a few hundred years after the Empire's founding, when five mages gathered together.
Their goal was simple.
To pursue their own magic free from the influence of the Imperial Family or the great magical houses.
To share and advance each other's magic, ultimately reaching the truth.
Those five mages pursued their ideals in that place.
Now, it had become a city—no, a nation of mages. Small in scale, but its influence on the Empire was far from insignificant.
"Was this really necessary?"
Damian shot Ezekiel a glare as he asked.
They could have just used the warp gate like normal, but he'd gone and made things unnecessarily complicated.
"Procedures this, procedures that—it's all such a hassle."
Ezekiel shrugged off the reaction without a care.
'You did this because it's a hassle?'
A long-distance teleportation spell from the heart of the continent to the eastern coastal edge—an astonishing feat.
The aftermath rippled across the entire Mage Tower. Unless they were locked in a cell, no one could miss the arrival of the three.
'I knew he was impressive, but...'
If only his personality were a bit more normal, he'd be even more revered as a mage. Damian shook his head at the pointless what-if.
"Uuuugh...."
Suddenly, Agnes shuddered and collapsed to her knees.
The three were still hovering above the Mage Tower. A transparent platform held them aloft.
"S-Sorry. I-I'm a bit... afraid of heights...."
Agnes's face had drained to a pale blue. It wasn't just simple fear.
"Uwaaaaa...."
Finally unable to endure it, she grabbed Damian's waist and squeezed her eyes shut.
Agnes, who never showed weakness and hated seeing it in others.
Seeing her like this left Damian speechless. He simply rubbed her back to help her calm down a little.
"Let's get down quickly. She'll faint at this rate."
"Just wait a bit. You know we can't go down yet."
The skies above the Mage Tower were shielded by the continent's greatest mana barrier.
And it was the strongest one at that.
Up to now—no, even before his regression—no one had ever broken through it.
"About time you slowpokes showed up."
Three mages flew toward them from inside the barrier.
Their faces were stiff, eyes trembling with unease. The miracle Ezekiel had just performed had thrown them into panic.
"E-Ezekiel. So it was true you were attending the conference this time."
"Yeah. Why the faces like I've shown up where I don't belong?"
"N-Nothing like that! But who's that with you...?"
"Hah, look at these guys. No clue what's going on in the world anymore. It's Damian Renekht, the rising star grabbing all the attention lately."
"It's not that we don't know him, but...."
"Ah. So why's this kid here?"
*Snap.* Ezekiel sidled up behind him and placed a hand on Damian's shoulder.
"Because this guy's my disciple."
The three mages' eyes widened. Stunned, they could only stare at each other without a word.
"...W-When did this happen?"
"Starting today."
Their mouths gaped open. For several seconds, no one spoke.
But it wasn't entirely incomprehensible.
This conference—more precisely, the banquet afterward—was a bit special. Bringing a disciple was mandatory.
Rumors had spread openly through the Mage Tower that Ezekiel would attend the banquet.
Some said the condition was added specifically to block his entry.
So Ezekiel had two choices: skip the banquet or take on a disciple.
And the only one Ezekiel had ever accepted as a student, even nominally, was Damian. Just one option.
师徒 relations among mages weren't ordinary, but the master was the eccentric Ezekiel.
Considering his past antics, this was mild by comparison.
"Then that young lady is...?"
"His fiancée. I invited her as my guest. Name's somethin' like Ah-nny... what was it?"
"Agnes Schubert, Master."
"Thanks, disciple."
Ezekiel waved his hand dismissively. That meant the explanations were done.
"Now, how about opening the door already?"
The man who seemed to be the leader turned and contacted someone somewhere.
"Y-Yes... Understood."
He nodded several times.
"Entry permitted. However, you must complete Damian Renekht's formal tower admission procedures promptly. And this is a message from the Tower Lord to Ezekiel."
"What?"
"'Show up like this one more time, and I'll put a hole in your skull.'"
"Hah. That old man's still got it."
*Ding ding ding.* One of the mages rang a small bell, and the barrier parted. Ezekiel snapped his fingers, and the transparent platform moved inward.
"Th-That was embarrassing."
As the altitude dropped, Agnes regained her composure.
"It's fine. It couldn't be helped."
Even as Damian reassured her, she bowed her head repeatedly to him, face flushed.
He'd thought she was all sword and steel, but she had her share of endearing quirks.
"Here we are. We'll be staying here for a while."
The three landed at a massive mansion. It looked intact from the outside, but somehow didn't feel lived-in.
"Well. The master's back, so time to liven this place up."
At his words, every door and window in the mansion flew open, expelling the dust that had built up inside.
Wooden dolls bustled about inside, cleaning the place. Scattered furniture moved on its own to their proper spots.
The whole thing was one giant magic artifact.
"I'm off to bed now. I'm beat."
Ezekiel was already in plush pajamas.
"*Yaaawn.*" His massive yawn made it clear he wasn't joking—he really was exhausted.
They'd crossed half the continent. Even for a mage of Ezekiel's caliber, fatigue was inevitable.
"You two grab some food and sightsee the tower or whatever. I'll explain tomorrow's plans tomorrow. ...Oh, right, almost forgot."
Ezekiel paused on his way to turn around and looked at Damian.
"You get the vibe around here, right?"
"More or less."
"Then behave yourself. Don't go stirring up trouble."
With that, Ezekiel headed into his room.
"Whew... Feels like a storm just blew through."
"Yeah, tell me about it."
That morning, they'd left Byzantine for the capital under escort from the Imperial Special Forces.
He'd expected a summons to the Imperial Council, but instead met Emperor Lucas.
Ezekiel had shown up looking for him, they'd fought, and he'd become his disciple.
And now they were at the Mage Tower.
It was barely noon.
* * *
After eating lunch prepared by the wooden dolls, the two stepped out of the mansion.
"Wow, wow, wow."
The streets of the Mage Tower were fundamentally different from any other city. Everything in the city ran on magic.
"Wow, wow, wow!"
Agnes's eyes sparkled as she took in the magic-filled city. A girl who'd devoted her life to the sword, but she didn't hate sights like this.
"Oh! Look at that, over there—those flying things."
"Are those dolls? Or maybe fairies?"
"Eeeeek! The stairs are moving on their own!"
Just like her, others were gawking at their surroundings now and then. They were guests invited by fellow mages.
"But Damian, when Ezekiel asked if you knew the atmosphere here, what did he mean exactly?"
"Ah, the nobles get discriminated against, subtly or not."
"Y-Yes? Not the other way around?"
Agnes tilted her head in confusion.
"In the Mage Tower, your status before admission means nothing. Magic superiority is the only measure that matters."
Noble or commoner—it didn't matter. The Tower judged solely by magical prowess, nothing else.
That's why some from great magical houses joined the Tower on paper but never actually participated.
Not just the strict meritocracy, but the very idea of sharing magic rubbed them the wrong way.
The magical houses had advanced through their secret arts. Sharing them meant diluting their own power.
Because of that, most of the Tower's leadership were commoners. It kept a certain balance with the Empire's magical houses.
"But why is that a problem?"
"Because some guys are threatening that balance."
Rubia de Clarent from the eastern magical house of Clarent.
3rd Prince Boris and Princess Erewin.
The most promising young mages in the Tower right now.
Rubia's talent especially was on another level, with many expecting her to revolutionize modern magic.
On the flip side, some eyed them warily.
All three had deep ties to the Imperial Family. There were fears it could undermine the Tower's independence and autonomy.
But without hard evidence, they couldn't make an issue of it.
So instead, noble-born mages often faced sabotage. They toed the legal line just enough to avoid trouble.
Especially targeting young mages—wealthy commoner types in particular.
"So what Ezekiel meant by 'behave' is...?"
"That there are plenty of guys who'd pick a fight with me."
Half-brother to Boris and Erewin, and somehow connected to Rubia too.
To those unhappy with the Tower's current state, he was prime bait.
"No way that would happen...?"
Illegitimate or not, he was still Imperial blood. Messing with mid-tier nobles was one thing—this was another level entirely.
But no need to answer that doubt.
"We never dreamed we'd have the honor of meeting you like this."
A booming voice rang out as three mages descended from the sky.
Two men and a woman. A bit older than Damian.
Kell, Max, Lena.
Commoner-born, the three bowed exaggeratedly to Damian.
"You became Ezekiel's disciple, right? Makes sense, considering his personality."
"Huh. Rumors said you were built like a beast, but this is ridiculous. No need for magic to haul books or crates."
"Still... he looks good. Body and face."
They spouted whatever they pleased without preamble.
Damian stayed expressionless; Agnes forced a stiff smile.
"What's this about?"
"Isn't that... Damian Renekht?"
"Come here. Something's about to go down. Even that green flame guy's there."
Onlookers gathered, murmuring. To them, this was just another entertaining slice of Tower life.
"Since fate brought us together, let me introduce you to a Mage Tower tradition."
Kell spread his arms, and duplicates appeared to either side. Their numbers grew until they encircled Damian and Agnes in a ring.
"""""Newbies have to prove themselves to their seniors. Guess which one's real.""""
The clones spoke in unison, echoing like voices in a cave.
'Tradition my ass.'
He'd never heard of such a thing. He tried to ignore them, but Max and Lena blocked the way.
"Whoa now. Imperial blood or not, you gotta respect Tower traditions."
"Exactly. What, you think hanging out with us is beneath you? Sorry, but this is the Empire—yet it runs on its own order, not Imperial law. Mmm~ That troubled look is cute too."
Mana chains barred Damian's path. And they spewed nonsense loud enough for all to hear.
'In the end, crowds always produce trash.'
They'd entered as commoner geniuses—proof of exceptional talent and the luck to hone it.
They must've been local prodigies back home.
But gathered among true geniuses, they vented their inferiority this way.
'All that balance talk—it's just scapegoating.'
Illegitimate or not, Damian was Imperial. Such rudeness could mean death elsewhere.
But this was the Mage Tower. Their actions wouldn't be an issue here.
They reveled in that. Deeds that once demanded deference were now possible.
Because they were Mage Tower mages. They wanted to savor that power trip fully.
"""""Hahaha. No clue where the real me is, huh? Well, you're new—still got a ways to go.""""
"Rumors are always exaggerated. Maybe that unique color's hype too."
"Not the looks, though. I'd love to see him cry."
The taunts grated. Pure arrogance, assuming total superiority over Damian.
Delusions were free, so shattering them was too.
Should he just torch them with Hellfire? Tempting, but Ezekiel's warning stayed his hand.
Plenty to do in the Tower.
Causing a scene right after arriving would complicate things.
'Finding the real one's easy anyway.'
A glance with Black Magic—Gaze would compare mana flows. As he reached for Decarabia's power—
"""""Focus more on your magic. A non-knight wasting energy on a sword... Eek!"""""
The words cut off. Clones began vanishing one by one.
"Take that back. 'Wasted' is the wrong word."
Agnes's hand blade hovered just below Kell's ear. Any closer, and it'd have grazed his throat.
"It's not for you to judge so lightly."
Her voice was calm. She smiled, but that only deepened the rage behind it.