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Chapter 134
Mage Tower.
They’d boldly pushed the Sky Tower into the Southern Empire’s airspace — that had been impressive — but another problem had come up.
“We can’t get a stay permit….”
The hotheaded mages were desperate.
They wanted to meet Arellin.
They wanted, at least once, to receive in person the ‘being’ they’d been searching for and see with their own eyes whether she was truly the one.
“This is driving me insane, stars.”
“If you wish hard enough, the universe will step in and help.”
“Stars, grant us strength!”
Caught in the kind of madness that felt like it would explode at any moment, the mages even began tossing out ideas that weren’t reasonable.
“Should we kidnap her?”
The problem was that even the administrators who would normally stop them had lost their heads.
“That’s tempting.”
The most tempting part was, of course….
“If we kidnap her and shoot up to the sky, no one would ever know. We wouldn’t have to get permission from anyone!”
At last they began to map out a concrete plan.
“How many people here know concealment magic?”
“Anyone familiar with Paital-type wards?”
“If there’s going to be any casualties, that’s unacceptable. Only people who can neutralize knights on contact should go.”
The more systematized the plan became, the darker the mages’ mania grew…
“Heh heh. If this plan succeeds—!”
“The owner of the purification ability would be in our hands!”
They were getting excited, fleshing out the infiltration mission, when an unusually rational mage in their ranks raised a single question.
“But we’d have to get the Grand Master’s permission for this plan, right?”
“…….”
“…….”
The mages, who had been running wild on their own, all fell silent and glum at once.
At the same time, Archmage Marsedes was receiving a guest at the Sky Tower for the first time in a long while.
The guest in question was none other than—
“Archmage, Marsedes.”
Duke Halvern, Valer.
“I have a question.”
The sudden request from Duke Halvern made everyone at the Mage Tower assume he’d come to talk about Arellin, who was being held captive at Lock Castle. However—
“If you’re an Archmage, you must have high-level access to rare information in the Tower’s infinite stacks,” Valer said, surprising them by bringing up something else.
Marsedes studied Valer with a persistent gaze, noting the stranger’s secret violet eyes, but Valer didn’t care and went on.
“Do you know about ‘singularities’?”
It was a nagging question stuck like a thorn in his throat.
Valer judged that he wouldn’t be able to make sense of the new events unfolding now unless he solved this mystery. And the archmage’s expression shifted the moment Valer mentioned ‘singularity’—that confirmed Valer’s suspicion.
“Singularity….”
The archmage repeated the word softly, with the tone one uses for strange and unfamiliar things, then looked at Valer as if to ask, why would you ask about such a thing?
Of course, Valer had no intention of explaining.
“If you know about singularities, would you explain them to me?”
“…….”
Silence deepened.
Valer waited while Marsedes fell into thought. Minutes passed, then hours, and still there was no answer.
‘So getting an answer here is hopeless,’ Valer thought.
He had hoped that the archmage might know about singularities—knowledge not even found in Halvern’s private stacks. But judging by the archmage’s attitude, even if Marsedes knew, he didn’t seem likely to tell Valer.
Valer finally gave up and rose to leave. Just as he was about to walk away—
“A being that overturns all established things, one that breaks free from causality.”
“…….”
“Sometimes a disaster, sometimes a salvation — a variable.”
Valer stopped with his hand on the door handle and turned around.
“That is what we call a singularity.”
Marsedes’ eyes, which revealed depths you couldn’t easily measure, fixed on Valer.
“What did you meet? What was it you encountered?”
“What, exactly?”
Valer twisted his mouth into a strained smile.
“Well, I don’t know either.”
Paital Southern Empire, Lock Castle.
I was still wrestling with the status window. As soon as the five-hour cooldown ended, I hurriedly asked,
“Tell me how to live longer.”
The dream of life extension!
[There is information that cannot be determined about the current user. It’s impossible to retrieve accurate information.]
“What the heck.”
Was it joking with me?
“Then tell me my exact information.”
[Reuse cooldown for next query: 10 hours.]
“@#%$~!&”
I let out an inhuman shriek, then my strength drained and I flopped down.
“Ah, fine. This isn’t the important thing right now.”
Escape. Return to my mother (Mehen).
I recalled my priorities.
Become such a terrifying archdemon that even the Regent gives up on me — so shocking the twins will be stunned.
‘How can I make the Regent really angry?’
Life in Lock Castle was reasonably fine except for one terribly unfortunate fact: Mehen wasn’t here.
Give me food, don’t mess around telling me to exercise, peaceful, nobody touches me.
It was so peaceful that it almost felt like I was on a short vacation somewhere.
Of course, because my mother Mehen wasn’t here, I wasn’t in the slightest bit thinking of living here even for a moment.
The Regent also…
“…….”
“…….”
Aside from watching me eat three meals a day, coming in to see if I was sleeping soundly, watching me play, watching me cause trouble, watching me all day long—aside from all that, it was surprisingly tolerable.
‘If only he wouldn’t ignore my requests to be returned home, I wouldn’t be that mad.’
Is that what matters? Is that important?
Anyway, it seemed I’d have to cause some huge scandal big enough to make him give up on me. But nothing was coming to mind.
“A big strike.”
And—
“The Regent’s one sore spot.”
Anything?
When I voiced my serious worry, Duke Idikels surprisingly offered an easy answer.
“Then there’s only one option.”
“……?”
“Sione.”
“……!”
“The Regent won’t even let that name be spoken in front of him. It’s a kind of taboo word even for his aides and attendants.”
Duke Idikels thought for a moment, then winced until his face turned white.
“Hmm. But I don’t really recommend that method. If you do that, you won’t be risking your life like some others did… but—”
What? Risk my life?!
I ignored Duke Idikels’ afterthought and brightened.
‘Good, this is it.’
That evening, the Regent came by.
‘Even seeing him again, he looks perfectly ordinary.’
He exuded an intimidating presence you couldn’t approach, a chill in the air, but thinking of the wealth and items he’d had ripped off by me, he somehow seemed like a pushover.
“You’re unusually well-behaved today.”
I felt indignant. I’m always well-behaved, after all. I’m just copying the twins right now!
‘No, hold it. Don’t let him see I’m easy to raise.’
I swallowed the impulse and faced the Regent.
“Do you have something to say to me?”
“Where is my mother?”
Gasp.
Sounds of inhalation filled the room. Someone even hiccupped.
“I miss my mother.”
Clang.
Someone’s plate shattered, but the Regent and I only looked at each other.
Judging by how pale and worried the Regent’s aides looked, I’d hit a sensitive spot; surprisingly, the Regent did not seem angry.
“That’s odd.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s been weeks since you’ve been here, but only now you ask about your mother? Weren’t you uninterested? Even when Sione’s name has been brought up brazenly before you, you were indifferent. Why suddenly ask about your mother now?”
Ludwig’s mouth curved into a fine line.
“You want to turn my insides upside down, don’t you?”
…Sharp one.
