Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Chapter 23
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Exclusive Knight-4
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[Mage Tower? The one I know?]
The Mage Tower had existed even in the Sage's era. No matter how much the Sage had been left to fossilize, it wouldn't surpass the history of an entire organization.
[Why is the Mage Tower, which should be focused on research, getting involved in a mermaid incident?]
In the Sage's time, the Mage Tower was probably just on the level of an academy or research institute studying magic.
He wasn't an expert in magic or history, so he couldn't be certain, but the Sage's reaction served as evidence supporting his guess.
"Leonardo, we have arrested and detained you as a 【Illegal Magic User】. Are you aware?"
In place of a reply, a brief silence rang out.
[Fuck... What bullshit about magic being illegal or not.]
...said the 【Essence of Magic and the Origin of All Magic, the Establisher of Modern Magic】 Sage.
Honestly, Leo wanted to slap his knee and agree, but he needed to maintain decorum first.
"I am aware, but I cannot agree."
"Your agreement or lack thereof is irrelevant. We make the judgment."
With that firm declaration, the two Mage Tower mages sat down. Leo sat on his chair, facing them.
"We didn't tell you to sit."
Truly pointless posturing.
"I am not a criminal. Nor was I brought in as one. There's no reason to oppress me over mere seating."
"...We'll see about that."
Unable to come up with anything beyond threats, the mages added nothing more.
[So just throw me in a cell?]
He had come here willingly to minimize the scale of the incident. If he fled, these stubborn types would inflate the charges relentlessly.
[Then what? Need to spew words convincingly.]
He was already planning to do just that.
Of course, he'd use the refined terminology of 'defense' rather than spewing bullshit.
"You may exercise your right to silence or appoint a lawyer, and your testimony can be submitted as evidence. Understood?"
"Yes. Understood."
As if waiting for those words, the woman dressed primarily in blue handed Leo several photos.
"Between 8:00 and 8:30 PM, an assault using magic occurred in this city alley, as shown in the photos. You know about it, right?"
The photos revealed the destroyed alley from various angles. The sprawled assassins of the Blood Shadow additionally highlighted the destruction.
"I am aware, but 'assault' is not the correct term."
He needed to seize the initiative here first.
"For a magic assault to be established, I would first need to have attacked with magic or shown intent to do so, which doesn't match the current situation."
All three mages around him slightly opened their eyes and mouths.
Naturally, Leo was ignorant of both magic and law. Both fields were distant from his environment and interests.
However—
If it was legislation related to crime and violence, the premise changed entirely.
"If ambushed with something like an assassination or preemptive strike, a counterattack with magic is permitted. This is called legitimate self-defense, isn't it?"
They must have been flustered.
They had probably begun the interrogation with at least three premises in mind.
Leo knows magic despite lacking formal training.
Leo doesn't know magic and used an unauthorized magic tool.
Leo used black magic or illegal magic.
That was likely the limit of their imagination for a 13-year-old boy.
If they had anticipated him being a regressor with the Sage's Stone, they'd be beyond genius—utterly mad.
"If I'm mistaken, please correct me. With little experience, I'm not entirely confident."
He didn't even need their verbal reply; their expressions provided an excellent answer.
"...Impressive that you know that at such a young age, but as you say, your experience is lacking."
[...Tsk tsk...]
The Sage, annoyed, clicked his tongue several times. Leo felt deeply annoyed as well but decided to hold back for now.
"Why can't it qualify as legitimate self-defense?"
"First, the fact that you tortured the assassin Kan means that point..."
"An escort knight has a duty to protect their master, which requires identifying any additional enemies. Considering that, the torture was a necessary process."
No moment to think, no room for doubt.
He wasn't great with words, and the mages overwhelmingly superior in magical and legal knowledge.
Thus, he overwhelmed them with sheer momentum.
"Right eyeball destroyed. Jaw, nose, cheekbone fractures on the face, plus injuries all over the body—considering..."
"If I hadn't countered with magic, I might have ended up the same way—or worse."
This wasn't mere posturing.
In truth, without using magic, victory wasn't guaranteed. Leo had won because they were weak? No—because of the wildcard of magic they hadn't anticipated.
"...Then why use such magic?"
"What kind of magic?"
"Dare to play innocent?"
The man in black clothes thrust the photos forward again. They showed scorched ground, shattered stone spears, and walls pitted by wind bullets.
"You still say that after seeing this?"
"Yes. What's the problem?"
"Using 3rd-Circle magic for self-defense—do you think that's reasonable?"
[...Huh?]
"...Huh?"
Like mirror images, the Sage and Leo showed identical reactions. They were so alike it was almost eerie.
"...What do you mean...?"
Catching Leo's flustered response, the two mages latched onto it without mercy.
"Better not try to wriggle out. The power and form are at least 2nd-Circle."
"Under penal code, unauthorized 3rd-Circle or higher magic is punishable. Depending on circumstances, even imprisonment..."
"...Khk..."
Leo barely suppressed his words and breath. If even one slipped, it would be a grave discourtesy.
[Kuh...kuhahaha...!!]
The Sage, unburdened by such concerns, was busy bursting into laughter... but Leo had to hold it in.
"...What's so funny? The seriousness of the situation..."
"Ha... it's 1st-Circle."
"...What? What is..."
"The magic I used—and my own circle—are both 1st-Circle."
He had thought it subtly strange.
The way the Mage Tower people reacted so sensitively, treating a mere 1st-Circle spell like black magic, was indeed odd.
'I thought it was just an initial threat at first... so that's what it was.'
From the start, they hadn't charged him with basic 1st-Circle magic use.
[So...! Kuk...! They took your magic for 3rd-Circle...]
Their true purpose was interrogating how he had learned and used a high-level 3rd-Circle spell.
"Don't lie! Are you mocking us?"
[Mocking themselves with their own words.]
...He wanted to reply exactly like the Sage, but Leo couldn't ruin his nearly complete defense.
"Shall I prove it then?"
Leo raised one hand and deployed a magic formula in front of his palm. Was it the fruit of special training in drawing shapes? In less than a second, the [Fireball] magic circle was constructed.
"...What is..."
"Looking at the formula alone, it's a Fireball. If you can't believe it, check my mana flow. There's ample proof."
Thinking deeper, even this power was natural.
His teacher was none other than the undisputed 【Essence of Magic and the Origin of All Magic, the Establisher of Modern Magic】.
[Yes! This is magic!! Got it!? You morons!!]
...Right, that was the 'Sage'.
Probably a shorthand for "Reality is a cesspool, kid." Or rather, he was convinced of it.
"...Th-then...! Who exactly taught you...?"
Leo glanced sideways at the culprit.
[What? Why?]
His ear apparently itchy, the one who had bestowed that supreme teaching was digging it with his pinky finger. Leo desperately hoped it wasn't the finger he'd used for his nose and averted his eyes.
"I cannot say."
Nicely put, a lie; bluntly, perjury.
But to shatter the idols and hopes of those young mage hopefuls, Leo's conscience was as coarse as sandpaper.
[But why say it like that?]
The rough false testimony went something like this.
One day, Leo entered a cave to escape the rain and met a hooded man.
The man had been in the cave for days, starving, and demanded Leo's food and water.
After giving them, the man taught him magic as thanks.
Not long after, the man died of illness, and Leo buried him before departing.
...A patched-together fateful encounter straight out of a third-rate novel.
[Am I coming off too pitiful? And what's with dying at the end?]
And honestly, this was already quite beautified. If he told the full truth, the mages would face cosmic horror and tear out their hair to block their ears somehow.
[Why that look?]
In the end, thanks to the Sage's magic, Leo had overcome the crisis. This result deserved gratitude.
[...Brat, good you know. But listen.]
Stroking his chin and beard briefly, the old Sage spoke up.
[Now, how are you going to learn magic?]
What was this all of a sudden?
[Not that, you fool. With that repertoire, you can't learn 2nd-Circle magic.]
Indeed, under the current scenario of self-teaching, he couldn't claim to have learned magic alone—especially not the next level up, 2nd-Circle.
[Proxy teacher?]
A proxy teacher—even a sloppy one teaching 2nd-Circle—would provide justification for learning it.
He had used magic in the first place to create a pretext for learning from that proxy.
[Who? No mages in the family?]
Leo stepped out through the iron door and pointed to the side.
A fool who had teleported in approached Leo.
His sly, half-closed eyes and flowing white hair as elegant as Aria's were quite striking.
If seeking why Leo was versed in such laws: 20% from mercenary work, 80% from idiots like this one.
[Hey, no way.]
Reinhardt's fool of an eldest son, and
Rios Reinhardt, a current 4th-Circle mage, made his entrance.
"Out pretty early. Taming those old fogeys— as expected of the Joke Assassin!"
Rios said provocatively while offering a block of tofu wrapped in newspaper. He didn't know why something as delicate as pudding was wrapped in newspaper, but it was Rios, so he'd accept it.
"In the East, they say you get tofu upon release. Eat it tasty~"
"...Ah... yes."
Retorting was pointless now. He was hungry anyway, so he'd eat this.
The moment he unwrapped the newspaper and took a bite of the tofu—
"...Fuck... cough...!"
The tofu, soft as pudding, clogged his throat and stopped his breath.
Imagining smashing the newspaper offices before even hunting Jehard and the mastermind made his airway spasm repeatedly.
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