Chapter 82
Chapter 82
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: Cracks in the Symbiosis
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Wizard Grisha.
Thanks to his parents working for the Marriott Merchant House, he had received their support from a young age and entered the Magic Tower.
Afterward, his ties with the Marriott Merchant House only grew stronger.
The mana potion business, spearheaded by Grisha, brought enormous profits to the merchant house.
In return, the Marriott Merchant House continued to invest heavily in him.
The councilor position was no longer a distant dream.
Of course, the recent chaos in the Magic Tower had allowed Ezekiel to snatch it away from him this time.
However, competing so closely with a figure of that stature was proof of his own influence.
“Come in.”
Two visitors arrived at Grisha’s room.
“It’s our first time meeting like this, Damian.”
The emperor’s illegitimate child, the lowliest among the nobility, master of the green flames, disciple of the eccentric Ezekiel, and more.
Damian Renekht, the most talked-about talent in the Magic Tower right now, had come to see him.
At his side was his fiancée, Agnes Schubert.
“An honor to host such esteemed guests.”
“This is the Magic Tower. No need for such formalities.”
He seemed polite, yet provocative.
But his exceptional looks made it hard to take offense.
Even Grisha, a man, couldn’t help but admire him.
Agnes, his fiancée, was attractive in her own right, but she paled in comparison to Damian.
“Welcome, Miss Agnes.”
“Thank you, Mr. Grisha.”
Yet she possessed a charm unlike that of typical noblewomen.
Most nobles who trained in aura or magic did so superficially, but Agnes’s passion for the sword was well-known even to a wizard like Grisha.
That must be why she stood so confidently beside Damian.
Noble engagements were alliances between families. There was no room for personal feelings.
But Damian and Agnes clearly shared emotions of their own—at least, something beyond mere duty, even if it wasn’t clear if it was love.
“I heard there was some unpleasant business recently.”
“There’s been all sorts of trouble in the Magic Tower lately.”
The Hilton Merchant House’s new mana potion. It allowed full utilization of the mana in a single mana stone, stabilized through a novel medium.
Officially, it stemmed from Wizard Dylan’s research, but it was an open secret that Damian was behind it.
Word was, their contract with the Hilton Merchant House came through his connections.
Anya Hilton. The mysterious figure whose true identity remained unknown had reportedly approached Damian directly.
The once-pitiful illegitimate son had achieved massive success in mere months. He had nothing left to fear.
Even so, not everything went his way. This incident proved it.
“Take a look.”
Thud. Damian placed a stack of documents on the desk.
Grisha had already heard that he was investigating Hameln.
He’d instructed his men to delay the cleanup and gather any traces that could be useful later.
One was his own man, the other sent by Leon as expected.
Those two idiot wizards had gotten themselves caught.
No surprise—they were worthless scum who couldn’t even set foot in the Magic Tower.
“Oh ho….”
But the documents Damian presented were impressive in their own way.
Evidence building hypotheses based on information found in Hameln.
It was as if they’d been crafted to definitively pin the explosion on him and Leon.
“Fascinating read. If this is true, Leon and I are the culprits behind the explosion. Defending against this… would be a headache.”
“Let’s cut to the chase.”
Damian retrieved the documents as he spoke. Grisha kept his sly smile.
“Let’s make a deal. Testify, and we’ll let you off the hook. Wizard Leon will be the only one punished.”
Grisha couldn’t stop the corner of his mouth from twitching.
Young and naive. Exceptional at overwhelming foes with raw power, but lacking in cunning.
The current evidence wasn’t enough to perfectly prove his and Leon’s guilt.
That’s why he’d come crawling. Nothing beat a co-conspirator’s testimony.
Everyone knew Grisha and Leon were bitter enemies.
Similar ages, entry times to the Tower, and research fields.
Both backed by the continent’s top merchant houses.
“You know why you attacked the Hiltons— to eliminate a rival. You can testify anonymously. Wouldn’t it benefit you more to take out a longtime competitor than make a new one?”
“Hahaha. What on earth are you….”
The world saw Grisha and Leon as mortal foes.
But that was only part of the truth.
They cooperated whenever it suited them. They just kept it hidden.
Hostile symbiosis. A relationship unknown to the Magic Tower and the world.
“I’ve got nothing to confess or testify to. It has nothing to do with me.”
Even this illegitimate son was approaching with shallow judgment.
Trying to provoke him by bringing up Leon, thinking he could get what he wanted.
“Well, Leon’s done so many dirty deeds, who knows with him. If you want to raise a formal objection, please follow proper procedures.”
Damian’s eyes hardened. The boy, used to getting his way, was flustered by this unexpected roadblock.
Grisha knew it himself.
By birth or talent, he couldn’t compare to Damian.
No—staying in the Magic Tower this long was a miracle in itself.
And he’d clawed that miracle into existence. Through bribes, threats, extortion—every means at his disposal.
“You planning to try Wizard Leon next? Don’t waste your time.”
Leon was cut from the same cloth.
That’s why Grisha despised him enough to kill, yet trusted no one more.
Leon would know it too.
Silence was their best course.
* * *
“What do we do, Damian?”
Agnes asked with a troubled expression.
They’d visited Leon before coming to Grisha. He’d given the same response.
Circumstantial evidence pointed to Grisha and Leon as culprits.
Intuition, motive, past behavior—all screamed guilt.
But no hard proof. That’s why he’d tried to drive a wedge between them for a testimony.
If both fell for it, perfect. Even nabbing one would set up the next move.
But both had reacted with cool composure.
As if they’d anticipated Damian’s plan.
Agnes found this type of enemy trickier.
Easier if they could be taken head-on.
But Grisha and Leon weren’t the type for that.
Damian must be wrestling with the same dilemma. He’d solved many problems with his own strength.
Honestly, even if Grisha and Leon teamed up, they couldn’t beat Damian.
Knowing that, they’d use subtler methods to check the Hilton Merchant House.
“What do you mean, what? On to the next phase.”
“You already have the follow-up plan?”
“Of course. Those sly foxes wouldn’t bite on a simple deal.”
If they’d agreed to testify, Damian would’ve been disappointed.
He might lose one, and fail to claim the bonus promised to Ezekiel.
“You seem to know those two well.”
“…Well enough.”
One had been an ally, the other an enemy. That’s what made this plan possible.
* * *
-Lord Leon. Have you seen it?
“I’m looking at it now.”
A week later, Leon scowled at the Magic Tower newspaper.
It covered major events across the magical world, read by most wizards as basic edification.
And on its front page—an item that should never have appeared.
[Cinder Mana Stone Mine Flooding Incident. Truth Behind the Catastrophe Five Years Ago?]
That mine was managed by Leon and the Forrest Merchant House.
-Why bring it up now…?
A Forrest merchant voiced doubt through the communication artifact.
Mana stone mining was dangerous work.
The rule was one wizard per set number of laborers, but five years ago, they’d bent it for faster extraction—and an accident happened.
About twenty laborers died. They pinned it on worker error, paid off the families, and buried it.
Day laborers living hand-to-mouth—no one made a fuss after compensation.
Now that old incident was resurfacing.
Claiming the accident stemmed from failing to assign enough wizards.
“No big deal, is it?”
-You’re right.
Even if exposed, it wouldn’t touch Leon or Forrest. They’d cut tails just in case.
“Still leaves a bad taste.”
Someone with intent was behind this. Leon wanted to unmask them.
To probe a five-year-old case meant a wizard with some reputation.
And one harboring grudges against him or Forrest.
-Then it’s gotta be Grisha or Marriott.
Fair suspicion.
But no reason for open hostility now. They’d agreed to help check the Hiltons.
A week ago, Damian Renekht demanded testimony, promising immunity.
He’d refused, of course. Grisha likely did too.
Attacking him in that context? Didn’t make sense.
‘Or some other scheme?’
A man with barely enough talent to linger in the Tower, yet bottomless ambition.
Even as an ally now, he could strike anytime.
“Cover this incident first.”
No good letting talk fester. Toss another old case, and it’d bury itself.
-Ah, perfect. We just got a solid tip.
“What’s that?”
-A tip on Gartsville Mine. The flooding two years ago—you know it?
“Ah, that one… Not bad. Similar vein to ours, but bigger scale.”
The Gartsville flooding killed over a hundred. Details never fully emerged.
-The tipster wants a fee. Full info after payment.
“Merchant funds might be tricky. I’ll cover it—don’t worry.”
Days later.
“How do you screw up like this? Wasn’t Gartsville handled properly?”
-W-We’re sorry, Lord Grisha. We never thought it’d blow up like this…
The Gartsville flooding happened mid-discovery of a new mana stone vein.
Grisha was in charge, and he’d worked hard to bury it.
-But nothing ties back to you or Marriott. No need to worry too much.
“That’s not the point! There’s a mastermind behind this—someone gunning for me! I need that council seat for your merchant house to profit more. Find the bastard.”
-Top suspect is Leon or Forrest…
While cooperating against Hilton? They’d hit a Hilton site just days ago.
‘Never trustworthy to begin with.’
Maybe he’d heard Damian’s offer and got ideas?
-Anyway, let’s bury this first. Got a good tip. But…
“But what?”
-Tipster wants a fee. Merchant funds are iffy.
“Fine, fine. I’ll pay. Bury it quick. That case still gives me chills.”
If handled right back then, he could’ve crushed Leon two years ago. No need for hostile symbiosis.
Days apart, new scandals hit the Magic Tower newspaper.
One erupted, only for another to bury it—over and over.
“That bastard Leon! Who else would dig this up?”
“That damned Grisha! Fine, let’s end this.”
Cracks formed in their symbiotic hostility.
“Alright, let’s settle it. Time you paid.”
[New Mana Potion Research Blocked—Plot of the Old Guard?]
They’d crossed the line.
“Hey, nice work.”
“Told you. It’s airtight.”
Meanwhile, money piled up in Ezekiel’s account.
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