Chapter 105
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Wow, Rewards Are Pouring In! (5)
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‘0th Princess.’
Why was it that thoughts of her kept circling in his mind?
Zekiel had desperately tried to protect her but ultimately failed. The emperor of the empire had stood by and watched, and the Demon King had taken a great liking to this princess.
Suddenly, memories from that time resurfaced, bringing torment.
If only he had done a little better back then, could he have saved her?
“...”
He soon shook his head.
The past that had already unfolded couldn't be changed, and besides, the "goddess" the elite demons had mentioned was surely not a reference to the 0th Princess.
Zekiel wasn't foolish enough to get lost in ridiculous assumptions and lose focus on other matters, so he quickly shook off the stray thoughts and regained his usual composure.
Meanwhile, the situation nearby wrapped up quickly.
“...Oh, it's the one who helped us.”
“The inspector from the White Tower uses ice magic?”
“We will never forget this favor.”
The frog girls had quite a cute side to them.
They looked just like ordinary girls, yet they spoke with such formal, proper phrasing.
Black Tower Lord Greta quietly nodded.
“...It seems the inspector truly is a benefactor.”
Everyone began gathering near Zekiel with various items in tow, but at that moment, Zekiel spoke up.
“Thanks, but everyone, step back. I've had an inspiration.”
Was it from battling the demons? As his body fully loosened, the cold energy gathered within him. A desire welled up to unleash every sensation swirling in his mind.
“Have you gained some realization in the meantime...?”
Greta looked somewhat surprised as she set the disk on the ground and waved the frog girls back.
Ssssh—
Zekiel immediately drew up his cold energy.
‘Forget what the elite demons said, for now.’
It wasn't difficult.
Soon enough, he could focus solely on his own cold energy.
The ice element that had yet to be captured in the disk.
To craft a beauty worthy of boldly filling that gap, Zekiel began carefully unraveling his cold energy while analyzing it piece by piece.
Unbound by form or power, without yet imagining the finished product, he simply concentrated.
Sruk— Sruk—
The cold energy began writhing like a living creature.
The energy, now refined enough to be visible to the naked eye, continuously welled up and wandered the surroundings,
and at last, at some moment.
“...Flow.”
The blueprint and mental image in his head aligned perfectly.
Zekiel strained not to lose sight of that form in his mind as he fused mana with cold energy.
...Just how many magic circles would it require?
He tried not to fret over it. If more were needed, he'd simply add as many as necessary. No matter the number, it was nothing to worry about at his level.
And so, more than twenty magic circles unfurled.
“Hup—.”
With a single breath.
Infusing his entire body with power, he triggered every design mechanism linked to his magic power at once.
Hwaaaaak—!
Like a fuse igniting, mana raced along the circuits, dyeing all the colorless magic circles blue. Resonance produced humming sounds as a bonus.
Wung—!
Wung—!
A pleasant vibration no mage could ignore.
Even though Zekiel's magic power had completely bottomed out.
It didn't matter. This sensation was unmistakably success.
Kugugugugugu—!
Before everyone's eyes, something blue surged up with tremendous vigor. Its size was so immense it was hard to believe it was conjured by magic—like it had always been part of the terrain.
A chill swept through.
Kwaa— Kwagwagwagwa— Gwagwagwagwa—!
Ice waterfall.
An ice barrier of unknowable height, something sparkling under the sky's light endlessly plummeting and crashing into the ground. That, too, was ice.
Immensely grand, yet not dangerous. Its form, exhaling finely shattered ice mist into the surroundings, was breathtakingly beautiful. It had a quality that drew gasps of admiration from all who beheld it.
“...”
Everyone lost their words for a moment, simply taking it in.
It couldn't be helped.
The ice... was flowing like a massive torrent. The frozen waterfall poured ceaselessly, circulating without end.
It was a creation of spine-chilling perfection.
“Greta.”
At some point, Zekiel called out to the Black Tower Lord. She, lost in a daze, finally turned to look at him.
“How about it? Is this worthy of the disk?”
Greta didn't reply with words.
She simply activated the disk.
...Ever since becoming Black Tower Lord, Greta—the former witch—had harbored one intense longing deep in her heart.
Tormented by persecution simply for being a witch, discriminated against even more for delving into black magic.
Yet amid it all, there was something she yearned to create even at the cost of her own life force, an endless aspiration: a single landscape.
Of course, far from ordinary.
Wishing for all mages to live in harmony, she desired a landscape gathering masterpieces each vividly embodying their elements—so that "harmony" could be expressed.
Thus, the pieces she had gathered.
A flame mountain range solidified into form, a lake pooled with darkness, a girl of congealed wind wandering the area...
Now, nestled between that range and lake: the ice waterfall.
The landscape Greta had so desperately wanted was complete.
The instant her dream became reality. How ecstatic—a vista where every element shone brilliantly.
No words could capture it.
Only shivers.
“Ah...”
Greta quietly closed her eyes.
It couldn't be helped. With eyes shut, the landscape sharpened even more, felt through the body alone. An elemental vortex enveloped her.
The entire world was elements.
Happiness slowly colored her.
The flame mountains warm, the ice waterfall cool. The darkness lake mirroring the sky like glass.
When Greta at last lifted her eyelids again.
Her eyes were damp.
“...Thank you.”
Those were her first words.
Greta gazed quietly at Zekiel.
She hadn't dared expect success, yet it was a resounding triumph. Thus, in this moment, she offered thanks more heartfelt than any in her life.
“Inspector, this disk is yours.”
A landscape impossible to complete with her power alone, yet one she'd longed to witness alive someday.
With her wish fulfilled, ownership mattered little.
“Keep it under the Black Tower Lord's name. I'll just handle storage.”
Greta quietly nodded at his words.
She slowly raised both arms, surrendering her body to the landscape. Feeling the five elements embrace her, she pulled her conical hat low and savored the bliss.
Something trickled down her cheek by then.
Someday.
Someday.
May all mages live in harmony.
Just like the vista this disk now displayed.
Afterward.
They swiftly returned to the Imperial Magic Tower.
“The disk's landscape was truly moving! How wonderful if Greta were the Black Tower Lord. Everyone would view the Black Tower with kinder eyes!”
“Indeed. But we confirmed the potential, didn't we? The Black Tower will grow happier by the day.”
Anes and Ether seemed to have grown a bit closer in the interim.
The disk's landscape had touched them so deeply they'd discussed it nonstop on the way back—and it wasn't empty talk. Greta would surely find even greater happiness ahead.
‘Because Greta agreed to resume her role as Black Tower Lord.’
Zekiel trusted her that much. The Black Tower would be splendidly rebuilt, becoming his steadfast ally in the process.
It was a path that made the future all the more exciting.
Lots to handle afterward, and time flew by in a blur.
.
.
.
.
.
.
“Inspector, a humble gift...!”
“Could we see the Inspector's face just once?”
Rewards and gifts abounded, but with his fame soaring, visitors flocking to the Magic Tower for even a glimpse of Zekiel had surged.
Incomparable to the aftermath of his feats in the Luiple region before. After all, he'd achieved something at the presentation itself—the ripple effect was massive.
Yet Zekiel himself was absent from the Imperial Magic Tower.
‘Finally, today.’
As soon as the sun rose, he set foot on imperial grounds. Even Zekiel couldn't say how eagerly he'd awaited this day.
He'd checked the disk—the Black Tower's secret technique—countless times, regulating his mana flow and cold energy endlessly to ensure no bodily mishaps.
The reason was one alone.
To ingest the Sunwater with this body.
‘Finally, today.’
Zekiel gazed toward the distant audience chamber.
The empire's loftiest being: the Emperor.
The day to receive the Sunwater from him had arrived at last.
And one more thing.
Solana had come out to greet him.