Chapter 47
Chapter 47
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: The Missing Chimera
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Damian, sir! Damian, sir! Please, save my life!”
Dillon was clinging to the mansion gate like his life depended on it.
The mansion was Ezekiel’s, complete with basic security spells, yet none of them reacted.
It judged Dillon as completely harmless.
Anyone would hesitate to think a threat was coming from someone whose face was covered in tears and snot, eyes bloodshot and red.
“Waaah! Damian, sir! Damian, sir!”
Dillon thrust his hands through the gap. They were just as smeared with tears and snot.
Forget pitiful— the sheer physiological revulsion made it impossible to touch him.
“What the hell is this guy? First thing in the morning. Should I install new security spells...?”
“E-Ezekiel, sir! I’m Dillon Falco. Please save this poor soul!”
“What, you think mentioning your name means I know you?”
“W-what? But surely you...?”
Both men’s gazes turned to the same spot.
*Ahem.* Damian cleared his throat and continued.
“Dillon Falco. My master mentioned you once—a mage.”
“Did I?”
“Yes. You tend to forget things easily, don’t you?”
“That’s true, but... Fine, whatever. So why the hell are you making a scene in front of my house?”
“Please help me! I’m about to get kicked out of the Mage Tower!”
Ah. Realizing the issue, Ezekiel opened the gate.
“Tsk, tsk.”
He bent down and patted Dillon’s shoulder. A picture of benevolence.
“Don’t worry too much. You’re not the first mage to get booted from the tower, nor the last. The path ahead isn’t just this one road.”
A polite way of telling him to get lost.
Dillon understood perfectly, so he desperately grabbed Ezekiel’s pant leg.
“Please, I beg you! Save me!”
“This guy’s really clinging.”
“Waaah!”
Ezekiel flicked his hand, sending a fierce gust of wind that blew Dillon away.
“Please! Please!”
He flew off like a twig, then crawled right back.
He couldn’t even use magic, so he must have been mentally pushed to the brink.
Just as Damian was about to hear him out, Agnes stepped in first.
“Ezekiel, sir. Let’s bring him inside for now. It doesn’t look good bickering out here.”
She held out a handkerchief as she spoke. Moved to tears, Dillon bowed deeply to her.
“Oh, thank you. Miss Agnes.”
“You know me?”
“Of course. Heir to the Schubert family, which produced several Royal Knights. The young prodigy the world’s watching, right? Wow, skill, looks, character—nothing lacking. Truly the perfect match for Damian, sir... Ah, I mean, not that I’m implying anything impure...”
Watching Dillon, it was clear flattery was a talent in itself.
“What’s with the morning drama?”
“This house must be Ezekiel’s...”
“Damn it, let’s hurry inside. Nothing good comes from tangling with eccentrics.”
“...Come in for now.”
More eyes were turning their way. For Ezekiel, who hated attention, it was unavoidable.
Once inside the mansion, Dillon downed a glass of cold water and regained his senses.
“The chimera’s gone?”
“Yes, Damian, sir. If I don’t find that chimera, I’m done for.”
Dillon’s professor, Cadrel, had borrowed a chimera for research.
Then, out of nowhere, this morning—it vanished.
Cadrel flew into a rage at Dillon, threatening to expel him if it wasn’t found.
“Did you investigate?”
“No signs of anyone forcing it out. No breaches in security. It must have slipped through on its own somehow.”
The chimera in question was a mix of eagle and crocodile. It couldn’t fly, but it was far more agile than a regular croc.
“Doesn’t the tower have a department for this?”
“The Guardians handle tower law. They don’t move unless it’s a crime.”
This was clearly a mistake, and since the chimera hadn’t rampaged inside the tower, no reason for Guardians to act.
“What about Cadrel’s other students?”
“They’re all washing their hands of it. I’m not exactly the social type, so nowhere to ask for help.”
Dillon hung his head. He didn’t look like he had many friends.
“But Cadrel researching a chimera? Not his field, is it?”
Ezekiel tilted his head. He knew Cadrel too.
“He said he’s unveiling new magic at the next evaluation. I don’t know details, but it’s chimera-related.”
As Dillon spoke, Agnes’s eyes sharpened briefly.
Damian felt a twinge of unease too.
Cadrel, deeply involved in the tower’s shadows. And procedures turning humans into chimeras.
There was likely a connection.
“Well, where it went is obvious. No rumors of a chimera rampaging this morning.”
“Yeah. That’s the only place.”
Dillon nodded. Damian and Agnes just tilted their heads, clueless about ‘that place.’
“It hid in the sewers.”
“Sewers?”
“Yeah. But not the kind you’re thinking of.”
Magic research means countless failures. And failures mean endless waste.
Early on, it wasn’t a big deal.
But as the tower grew and mages multiplied, they needed somewhere else for the refuse.
So the then-tower lord proposed excavating underground sewers.
Built by mages, they were nothing like city sewers.
No effort needed—the waste would auto-recycle into mana stones once enough piled up.
Mages cheered the breakthrough, thinking waste problems solved forever.
That illusion shattered within years.
The sewer functions mixed with tower waste, causing bizarre reactions.
Instead of recycling, they interacted, spawning dangerous creatures. Mana overflowed, expanding the space endlessly.
“Most say the Empire’s most dangerous spots are the northern tundra and southern desert, but the tower sewers are just as bad.”
Per square foot, the sewers might top the list. That cramped space teemed with perils.
Yet few in the Empire knew. The tower’s secrecy.
Their ‘sharing’ was only among mages. No need to tell outsiders.
“You know your stuff. So go find it. Stop moping at my door in the morning.”
“But... I’m useless in a fight...”
“Hire adventurers from the guild. Do I have to spell out the obvious?”
“Money...”
Oh dear. Ezekiel slammed the table and shook his head.
“This guy’s a total mess. You look like you live in a library—where’s all your cash going? Fell for some decent girl? Gambling?”
“...Family debts. Parents are sick, siblings too... Most of my tower stipend goes there...”
“...Sorry.”
Ezekiel awkwardly stood and looked away.
“Such circumstances...”
Agnes gazed at Dillon with pity. Her family’s prestige had caused her troubles too.
“I get the situation. Shall we move out?”
“Huh? Th-thank you! Meeting Damian yesterday must be the turning point of Dillon Falco’s fate!”
Dillon knelt in worshipful gratitude.
*If you get expelled, it screws me too.*
Even if he couldn’t reach tower lord like before, he needed influence in the tower.
“I can’t help. Got tower entry issues to handle.”
“No problem.”
He hadn’t expected Ezekiel’s help anyway. Him coming along would be trouble.
*Sewers... Might tie to that tomb.*
Bellephore’s mentioned tomb. Could connect to the sewers.
Agnes or Dillon wouldn’t notice, but Ezekiel would.
No need for needless suspicion.
“Boring, but... I’ll help.”
The tower sewers were restricted for good reason. But Ezekiel could get permits easily.
“Anything else you need, speak up.”
“Thank you, Master.”
“Thank you, Ezekiel, sir. I’ll repay this debt somehow.”
Agnes placed a hand on her sword hilt.
“I’ll go too. Dillon’s plight is pitiful, and I have a promise with Anna.”
To look after Damian closely. As a knight, Agnes intended to fulfill it.
Team assembled, no time to waste. The three gathered gear and headed to the sewer entrance.
“Didn’t expect to see you again so soon.”
Dennis unlocked the door, his expression sour. He’d clearly caught hell from Ezekiel over this.
“Honestly, going through all this for one chimera doesn’t make sense.”
“If he doesn’t find it, he gets expelled.”
“...How admirably kind-hearted.”
Dennis smirked at Damian.
*This guy’s been picking fights since yesterday?*
As a Guardian not yet aligned with the orthodox faction, no need for hostility.
But if he kept it up, that changed.
*Can I take him now?*
Don’t compare to pre-regression Dennis, who’d lost Guardian status.
Guardians implant tower-granted seals in their bodies. They excel against mages thanks to them.
Even if Damian wasn’t a mage, he couldn’t ignore the seal’s power. Stay cautious until assessing full strength.
“Safe travels, then.”
Dennis handed over a key to unlock from inside, then shut the door.
“L-let’s go.”
A short walk in revealed a domed chamber.
A lift to the sewers sat in the center.
*Clank. Clank. Whirr.* Operating the controls, it descended.
En route, the three donned anti-magic respirators.
Tower sewers were mana-dense. Breathing it raw could kill.
*Boom!* The lift hit bottom, kicking up dust.
The entrance above was now a tiny speck.
*Whoosh!* Five lights bloomed from Dillon’s hand, illuminating around.
Weakest fighter, so he handled scouting.
“Trackers?”
“Yes. They’ll ping the chimera’s location within range.”
Without them, even Damian couldn’t help much.
Finding one chimera in this vast sewer was like spotting a camel in the desert.
“Let’s hurry.”
Time was short. Strong as the chimera was per Dillon, survival wasn’t guaranteed.
Damian and Agnes took point, Dillon rear.
“Hard to call this a sewer.”
Agnes’s fingers brushed the wall.
*Grind.* Rusted metal shuddered, the vibration echoing into the dark.
“Wait.”
Damian raised a hand. Agnes and Dillon froze, listening.
*Splash. Splash. Splash.*
Damian nodded; Dillon sent a light orb forward.
“Eek—!”
The revealed monstrosity made Dillon shriek. Damian and Agnes grimaced too.
A giant blocked the way—flesh, filth, and machinery mashed together.
“Grrrrr.”
No face, just a hole where one should be. Strange noises emanated, echoing through the sewer.
*Shing.* Agnes drew her sword, stance ready. Translucent aura flared around her.
“Let’s go, Damian, sir.”
Her face flushed slightly. Memories stirred.
The Arnesian ship ball—back-to-back against attackers.
That’s when her view of Damian shifted, his importance rose.
A lone light on her solitary path.
They’d crossed swords a few times, but she yearned to fight side-by-side again.
She waited for him to draw.
*Whoosh.* Instead, green flames erupted from Damian’s hand, filling her vision.
“Gaaah!!”
The monster burned away in moments. Agnes stared at Damian, dumbfounded.
“What?”
Damian could only tilt his head at her expression.