Chapter 79
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: Suspicious Couple (5)
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The thugs inside the massive restaurant muttered to each other.
"Love at first sight today?"
"But a couple?"
"...Even adoption?"
Absurd as the content was, their words somehow fit together in a ridiculous way. In the end, all the thugs clutched their stomachs and burst into laughter.
"Wahahahahahaha!"
Boisterous laughter filled the restaurant.
"Even worthless scum like this come to restaurants to eat!"
"Perfect. No guilt even if we rob them."
"Just think of it as them getting their due punishment. Wahaha!"
Sneers and mockery began to mix thickly in the air, but amid the Yellow Tower group, urgent telepathic messages flew back and forth.
─What does 'love at first sight' even mean? Love at first sight...
─All three of us shouting completely different things!
─Well, thanks to that, we hid our identities perfectly.
Zekiel had a point. The bandits didn't seem to even imagine the involvement of the Yellow Tower.
─Anyway, Inspector, from what they said, they all seem to be bandits. What should we do?
─Do I really need to answer that?
Right at that moment.
Someone boldly grabbed a dagger.
"Let's cut off the little girl's breath first! That oughta feel great, right?"
The bandit hurled the dagger with impressive force. It was no amateur throw—the speed and power were top-notch.
Whiiiish─!
─By the way, Anes, I didn't expect you to introduce us as a couple.
─Don't misunderstand. I was just doing my utmost to hide our ties to the massive forces of the Yellow Tower and the Imperial Palace.
─Who doesn't know that? I just meant it was unexpected.
─When I say I did my utmost, I mean I approached it purely out of duty. Purely out of duty means I excluded all emotions, and excluding all emotions means I have no...
─Gyaah! No! Aren't you going to block that dagger?!
As Ether screamed telepathically.
Clang!
An ice spike shot out like lightning, smacked the dagger aside, and then plunged straight into the forehead of the bandit who had thrown it.
"The dagger he threw... when did...!"
Horror spread across the bandits' faces.
And rightly so. Zekiel's ice projectile moved at a speed no ordinary bandit could track with the naked eye.
'...My mastery is steadily improving.'
Zekiel could feel his freezing arts—and his overall prowess—growing. If spirit medicine yielded this much progress, just imagine what Sunweed would bring.
...His motivation surged.
Zekiel pulled out a lollipop and stuck it in his mouth.
"Throwing a dagger at a happy family? That's not something a person does. Bandits are worse than beasts."
As he approached, gradually freezing the ground beneath him, terror filled the bandits' faces. Zekiel unhesitatingly drew up more chill.
They were the type to hurl daggers at Ether without hesitation—meaning they'd casually killed children before. No way he could let scum like that live.
"W-W-W-Wait a second─!"
One of the bandits cried out desperately, but.
Boom─!
The entire interior of the restaurant froze over in a blinding white.
Everyone, that is, except the one who had just shouted "wait."
"Anes, paper and pen."
The Inspector silently received the items he requested.
He sculpted an ice desk and chair, sat the sole surviving bandit down, and draped an arm around his shoulders.
"Write down everything you know about this region."
Crash!
He did this while shattering one of the nearby frozen bandits.
"The more detailed, the prettier your corpse stays."
The restaurant, with every last bandit frozen solid.
Anes examined the writing on the paper.
"It seems the Black Tower deliberately herded bandits and vicious criminals into this area around where we arrived. It says they've taken over the entire region."
Ether, listening beside her, went wide-eyed.
"Instead of arresting them, they corral them into a whole neighborhood? What kind of thinking is that?!"
"They're trying to keep inconveniencing us."
Ether clenched her fists. Rage burned across her rabbit-like face.
"These despicable bastards!"
In the end, Ether vented her fury.
"Inspector! Magic sword or whatever, do we really need to humor their every demand? Wouldn't it be better to head straight to the Spire and wipe them out?!"
Anes nodded in agreement.
"Yes. They've gone far beyond the pale. It's clear we need countermeasures now."
"We can't just sit here taking this! Isn't the Yellow Tower supposed to monitor and punish other towers? So right now...!"
"Enough."
Zekiel cut Ether off with a single word.
As if he already knew, he nodded around his lollipop.
"Don't worry. We'll make the Black Tower pay for their rudeness."
"Then straight to the Spire...?"
"However."
Zekiel's tone grew deadly serious.
"Storming in and smashing everything to pieces? That wouldn't qualify as Yellow Tower discipline."
His gaze shifted to Ether.
"Ether."
"Y-Yes?"
"Why has the Imperial Palace left matters between Magic Towers alone all this time?"
"Uh... well... because they're matters between Magic Towers?"
"The Yellow Tower hasn't fulfilled its role for over a decade. The Palace could step in directly."
"Oh, yeah? Uh... wait... why?!"
In lieu of an answer, Zekiel sculpted two crude ice spikes on the desk and clenched his fist.
"Watch."
Crack!
He smashed one of the spikes to pieces.
"If the Palace intervenes, it'll end up like this. The Black Tower might vanish, but it's no true solution. They'd just disappear on the surface."
Zekiel's hand now moved to the other spike.
"But."
Ssssh─!
He didn't shatter the remaining one. Instead, he refined it, shaping it ever more precisely until it took on the elegant form of a perfect spire.
"We'll excise only the rot perfectly. This is what the Palace truly desires—and what the Yellow Tower must truly do."
"Ah..."
"What we do is called purification."
"..."
Both Ether and Anes simply blinked quietly, fully absorbed in Zekiel's words before they knew it.
Zekiel thought to himself silently.
'To be precise, it's the Emperor's stance, not the Palace's.'
Whatever. It didn't matter.
The Emperor's position was the Palace's—and on another level entirely.
The Emperor's ability was probably 'Erasure'.
The deal was struck because Zekiel handled things differently. But if he mimicked the Emperor's methods exactly?
He'd lose his unique edge, the Emperor wouldn't bother with the deal anymore, and he'd never get the Sunweed.
Coincidentally, Zekiel's goals aligned perfectly with the Yellow Tower's now. All he had to do was pour everything into purifying the Black Tower.
Good. Thinking done.
"Ether."
"Y-Yes?"
"When does the presentation start?"
"Today is just the opening of the exchange conference. The presentations begin tomorrow at the Spire."
"Good."
Zekiel nodded.
"We'll gather all the intel, then on presentation day, list every single crime and judge them all."
"..."
"..."
Anes and Ether blinked in unison.
"What? Any issues?"
This time, both shook their heads.
"No. It's just..."
Anes blinked rapidly.
"I never realized the Inspector thought so deeply. Considering the Yellow Tower's true duty... I must have misjudged you."
Praise?
Had to be praise.
Ether scratched the back of her head.
"My thinking was too shallow. I was about to just spew emotional rage. I shouldn't have..."
Zekiel calmly crunched his lollipop.
"The Yellow Tower's neglected its duties for over a decade. It's natural to feel rusty restarting now. We'll get used to it step by step."
"Got it! Let's do this!"
Ether pumped her fist high, her resolve ignited. She had a surprisingly strong sense of justice.
"Ether, you can head to the Spire ahead of time. You're the secretary, right? It wouldn't be odd for you to be by Her Highness's side."
"As someone in the Imperial service, how can I stand by while such evil runs rampant? I'll devote myself to upholding justice!"
Her bold declaration from that small frame was rather endearing, Zekiel thought quietly to himself.
Anes brushed her hair behind her ear.
"Then we'll depart immediately. The paper from the bandit also mentions the altar for the two magic swords. It's close."
"How close?"
"Very."
All three nodded in unison.
Leaving the fully frozen restaurant behind.
The two halted in front of the restaurant.
"..."
The building itself was entirely encased in ice—an impenetrable sight. And they, too, were ice wielders.
"The ice is incredibly refined. Who could it be?"
"No word of anyone from our tower passing through."
The two in blue robes, practitioners of freezing arts, were mages from the Azure Magic Tower.
Which only deepened their bewilderment.
Such advanced freezing mastery—who?
Just then.
A family leisurely emerged from the restaurant: a young man and woman, and their rabbit-like daughter.
One mage pointed at them with his index finger.
"That family. Bet it's them."
"Chase 'em down."
He said, then shook his head.
"No, stop them right now. Hey─!"
His booming voice echoed out.
And the family ahead halted their steps.