Chapter 124
Chapter 124
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 124
Chapter Title: Havel of Banpellyon
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Havel of Banpellyon.
Who exactly was he?
His position in Babel was a bit ambiguous.
Rumors about him spread far and wide, but few had actually laid eyes on him.
In the tower's lower floors, it was Dante's name that echoed, not Havel's.
By the time he cleared the 6th tier, he had suddenly vanished without a trace.
And when he resurfaced, it was in the 7th tier.
The 7th tier—excluding the lower sections—was a place teeming only with elite climbers.
Moreover, nearly all of those elite climbers hailed from the Five Great Families.
As a result, his name was constantly on everyone's lips.
Yet no one truly knew his real strength.
Some claimed his sword could split the heavens.
Others called him the greatest swordsman alive, surpassing even the current Sword Saint.
But those who had witnessed it firsthand kept their mouths shut.
Which left everything unverified.
This led to rampant distortions in rumors about his skills and exploits.
Out of all the wild tales, only a handful came close to the truth.
That he was a mercenary for Banpellyon.
And that he was a silver-haired handsome man.
Everything else was utter nonsense.
And even that silver hair bit was originally silver, not white.
So the information was a complete mess.
This sparked a surge of imposters dyeing their hair white to impersonate Havel.
It even became a trend, with everyone claiming to be Havel.
Thud...
Perhaps because of that.
Most people walking the streets now failed to recognize Havel as he passed by.
They didn't even notice the ferocious glint in his eyes.
Standing before him was a single knight.
Emblazoned with a lion emblem.
The crest of Banpellyon.
The knight's face was deathly pale.
His name was Blen.
One of the trio who had joined the Dawn Knights after seeing Dante.
Now active as a new pillar of the Dawn Knights.
But in front of Havel, he was less than a pup.
For he was one of the only three in the Dawn Knights who had witnessed Havel's true power.
"Looks like the Dawn Knights need some proper discipline."
"I-I'm sorry."
Blen fidgeted even more under Havel's evident displeasure.
On paper, Havel was just a mercenary for Banpellyon.
But those who had observed his actions—or seen him in action—knew better.
He wasn't just any mercenary; he always gave his all for Banpellyon.
"Whoa, what do we do? Havel's really gonna smash everything, isn't he?"
Then Elrasia, who had been trailing behind him like a shadow, spoke up worriedly.
"A lot of them will die."
Pyod nodded as if the outcome was already clear.
"Elrasia, how much longer?"
"Almost there."
Havel was currently following Elrasia's light magic.
Her magic was thriving amid the calamities.
They had layered anti-tracking spells to counter detection magic.
Yet Elrasia pierced right through them and succeeded in tracking.
With her calamity-handling training complete, her magic was now beyond what ordinary mages could block.
"What if something happens to Arthur?"
Elrasia glanced at the furious Havel and asked the one behind her.
Baria Graiza, following along, answered honestly.
"Babel will vanish."
No one could deny those words.
"Ah, here it is."
At that moment, Elrasia's beam of light slipped into a building.
It was a bustling inn, full of constant foot traffic.
Havel casually strode forward and flung open the inn's door.
All eyes turned toward him in an instant.
"Haha, see? I told you the next guy would be a Havel imitation!"
Just then, some patrons were betting on the hair color of the next arrival.
With so many fake Havel look-alikes sporting white hair these days, it had become a game.
"Ah, damn it, pissing me off."
The loser slammed the table in frustration.
Drunkenly staggering, he turned around.
"Hey, you bastard, why'd you dye your hair like that and make me lose my drinking money?!"
He picked a fight with Havel out of nowhere.
His flushed face drew closer.
That was the moment.
A beam of light and a dagger flew at him simultaneously.
"Ack!?"
The light beam grazed his neck and punched through the stone wall.
The dagger lodged perfectly between his toes.
As he yelped like a startled chick, narrowly avoiding losing his neck and foot.
A burly man appeared before him.
Covered in bull tattoos, he exuded a monstrous aura.
"You wanna die? Who the hell do you think you're messing with?"
The man shrieked as Pyod glared at him.
Elrasia peeked out from beside him.
"You know you almost blew up the whole inn just now?"
Baria tsked while stowing her dagger up her sleeve.
"Tch, can't even get drunk peacefully."
The inn fell eerily silent, as if the earlier commotion had never happened.
These three were clearly no ordinary folk.
Everyone avoided their gaze out of fear.
Only Blen, standing quietly beside them, scanned the room eagerly.
Ignoring the four, Havel began walking forward with steady steps.
Elrasia's light magic was no longer needed now that they were here.
His instincts were telling him.
Arthur was here right now.
Havel tapped the shoulder of a robed man.
The robed figure slowly turned around.
His eyes widened round.
"...Havel?"
Beneath silver hair, blue eyes gleamed.
Arthur Banpellyon.
There he was.
Looking perfectly fine, no less.
Nothing about him suggested he'd been kidnapped.
"What are you doing here?"
"What are you doing here, Arthur?"
"I was waiting for something..."
Arthur trailed off, his face turning sheepish.
"Uh, um, did you come because of the kidnapping?"
Havel realized the situation wasn't what he'd heard.
"Ah, Arthur..."
Blen started to shout upon spotting him, but Elrasia and Pyod clamped his mouth shut simultaneously.
They too sensed there was more to the story.
Arthur held a pocket watch, checking the time.
Havel scanned the surroundings.
"You were waiting for something."
"...Yeah."
Arthur scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"I was waiting for the gang who kidnapped me to hand me over to their accomplices."
The situation was taking a strange turn.
Arthur Banpellyon.
The rising star, the young head of Banpellyon.
While managing the growing family, he learned a spy had infiltrated the knights.
Simply expelling one wouldn't solve it.
Another would sneak in even more covertly.
So he deliberately let himself get kidnapped to expose and crush the spy's backers.
Conveniently, he had an excuse to visit the tower to greet Havel after his 7th tier clear.
And as Arthur planned, the spy did kidnap him.
He had confidence in his own strength, plus escape magic and artifacts aplenty.
This plan was known only to the handful who cast the spells—not even the butler.
"...That's how it happened."
After entering the room and hearing the explanation, Blen looked dumbfounded.
To him, Arthur was always the head he had to protect.
As proof, Arthur lifted the bedskirt.
There lay Voltia of the Dawn Knights.
The very man who had kidnapped him.
Bound tightly with rope, unconscious.
'Now that I think about it.'
Havel recalled the day he first met Arthur.
He had declared he'd climb the tower himself.
Arthur looked skinny in clothes, but.
He too had honed his body relentlessly.
'To me, they all looked the same.'
Now looking closely, aura clearly flowed through Arthur.
And not a trivial amount, either.
A bit less than Blen, the veteran climber beside him.
'He had more innate aura than I thought.'
Of course. Arthur was Banpellyon blood.
Banpellyons had more innate aura than most.
For their head, it was only natural.
To Havel's eyes, Arthur and Dante had seemed unsteady.
But compared to this era's average swordsman.
Arthur was far from weak.
"I've been learning swordsmanship from Dante all this time.
Back then, it was the only thing I could do."
Arthur gave a wry smile.
At that time, Banpellyon was on the brink of collapse.
To rebuild it, Arthur couldn't pick up a pen.
He had to pick up a sword.
"We worried for nothing. With Arthur's skills, he could've climbed pretty high as a climber too.
Pfft, a day where we see Havel making a fuss."
As the mood lightened, Elrasia teased slyly.
Smack!
"Kyaa!"
She crumpled to the floor, clutching her back.
"Talking nonsense and earning a smack."
"Havel's been too lenient lately."
Pyod and Baria looked at her pitifully.
Ignoring her whimpers, Havel turned to Arthur.
"So you were waiting for the kidnappers' accomplices to come collect you."
"Something like that."
After subduing the kidnapper Voltia.
Arthur interrogated him right away.
It was a chance to show Banpellyon's enemies what they were dealing with.
Having heard it all, Havel regarded Arthur approvingly.
'True to Banpellyon blood.'
Banpellyon was Banpellyon, after all.
Havel nodded in satisfaction.
"Smart thinking."
A head's duty was to smash enemies as an example.
"I'll help with the plan."
Havel gladly offered his aid.
Arthur paused, then beamed.
"Haha, with your help, I'm set!"
It was risky for a family head.
He hadn't hesitated to do it anyway.
Arthur expected a scolding for the danger.
But no.
Havel was all in, raising both hands in approval.
The butler would've nagged all day.
But pioneers of a new era were different.
"We gotta shred the bastards who touched Banpellyon."
"Agreed. Make sure they never forget what Banpellyon is."
Havel and Arthur flashed identical grins.
Like blood brothers.
At that moment, they looked exactly alike.
Elrasia, Pyod, and Baria fell silent watching them.
They could only offer silent condolences to those who dared touch Banpellyon without fear.