Chapter 121 - Damn Reincarnation

The Hearing

Honestly, he had lost his temper.

That was why he had blurted it out. Whatever the circumstances, he had never intended to swear an oath...

'No. Maybe this much is all right?'

Since he had beaten them to the punch, they probably wouldn't bring up an oath themselves. But that was only a rationalization after the fact. The only reason he had abruptly sworn to tell the truth and brought up Senya was that he didn't want to listen to any more of Conrel's bullshit.

He had acted on emotion, but the effect was unmistakable. The name Senya the Wise carried tremendous weight in Aroth. Besides, all the mages present at this hearing had passes to Akron. They were archmages who had first encountered Witch Craft well over a decade ago.

As such, they could never dismiss Senya. Everyone here was an archmage, but not one of them had devised an original system of magic that rivaled Witch Craft.

The six other than Etgard, the head of the Mages' Guild, were all at the Eighth Circle. They knew how high and solid the barrier to the Ninth Circle was. Even if they devoted every remaining year of their lives to it, they had no confidence they would reach the Ninth Circle. Indeed, Senya the Wise might have surpassed even that...

To these mages, Senya was an unknown entity. She could hardly be placed in the same category of mage as themselves; she stood somewhere they could never reach. That inspired an instinctive fear.

"... Drowning it, you say..."

Balzac spoke, chuckling as he stroked his chin.

"Lady Senya could do that very easily."

"... Black Tower Master."

Conrel turned to Balzac, his face pale.

"That is no exaggeration. In fact, one needn't even reach Lady Senya's level... I myself could sink the royal palace of Abram to the bottom of the lake."

"..."

"If I can do it, then every other tower master can as well. And Lady Senya is an overwhelmingly superior mage to any of us. Even judging by her abilities two hundred years ago, when she went into seclusion, no tower master of that era surpassed her."

On that point, Balzac spoke with absolute certainty.

"If Lady Senya returns to Aroth and tries to drown the royal palace of Abram... Haha. Who could possibly stop her? I certainly couldn't."

Balzac pointedly raised both hands.

"... It would be impossible even if all the tower masters joined forces."

Hiridus, the Blue Tower Master, murmured as he stroked his beard.

"I agree entirely with the Black Tower Master. Before I am the master of the Blue Tower, I am a mage. I grew up hearing Lady Senya's legends from the time I was a snot-nosed child. Even now, I respect her from the bottom of my heart."

"..."

"I have no desire to resist Lady Senya's wrath. If she appears in anger, I will immediately bow my head and beg her forgiveness."

"... What in the..."

Conrel shook his head in disbelief. He wasn't a mage, so he couldn't understand the tower masters' reactions.

"Let me put it simply, Conrel."

Melkith spoke with a grin.

"Making something is difficult and tedious. I don't know whether you know anything about carpentry, but suppose you're making a chair or... a desk."

"... What does that have to do with anything?"

"Just listen. Making a chair and a desk would take you quite some time. Making things generally takes time and effort. But breaking them? That's easy. Throw them, or smash them with a hammer. No matter how long something took to make, destroying it once it's made isn't all that difficult."

Conrel understood what Melkith was saying.

"Two hundred years ago, Lady Senya took about a week to create Abram, didn't she? She collapsed the entire ground, created a lake, moved the royal palace onto it, and installed all sorts of magic. But destroying it wouldn't take nearly that long. An hour, to be generous?"

The color drained from Conrel's face. Only now did he understand the fear of the unknown that the tower masters felt.

"Boom."

Melkith pursed her lips and made the sound for his benefit. That little utterance made Conrel's shoulders twitch.

"And down it goes. Who could stop her? I agree with the Black and Blue Tower Masters. If Lady Senya does that, I won't stand in her way. I'll run a safe distance away and watch, and when her anger seems to have cooled a little... Hehe. I'll slip over and offer her a nice cold drink."

"How can you even say...!"

"If you're so determined to stop Lady Senya, don't ask us. Tell the court mage corps to do it."

Melkith spoke teasingly, and Conrel quietly turned his gaze to Trempel. Under that look, Trempel's face twisted into a fierce scowl.

"... Ahem..."

Honein gathered his tumultuous emotions. He swallowed several times, took a deep breath, and looked at Eugene.

"... Did Lady Senya truly say that?"

"I swore an oath, didn't I? I wasn't lying."

"... Why did she say it?"

"There are several reasons, but only one I can tell you. The mages of Aroth did not respect Lady Senya."

"Respect?"

Conrel hurriedly interjected.

"What on earth do you mean? Aroth has honored Lady Senya as a great historical figure for two hundred years! We built a square bearing her name, maintained her mansion, and erected countless statues! And that's not all! Every part of the curriculum taught to Aroth's children encourages them to respect Lady Senya—"

"You use that square and mansion as tourist attractions, don't you?"

"... That's..."

"Besides, Aroth's mages have been abusing the familiar Lady Senya left behind for a very long time. Surely you don't intend to claim that dissecting a familiar doesn't count as abuse?"

"That... was... unavoidable, for the advancement of magic and to find traces of Lady Senya..."

"Yes. You can offer those excuses to Lady Senya herself when she returns in anger. In any event, Lady Senya transferred Akasha to me, and at her request, I took her familiar into my care."

"... What?"

No one but Lovellian and Trempel had known that. Eugene ostentatiously lifted his cloak.

"Did Lady Senya really get angry because of me and say she'd drown Abram?"

Mer poked her head out as though she had been waiting for her cue. Both moved and excited, she looked up at Eugene with sparkling eyes.

"Yeah. Do you know how angry Lady Senya got when I told her about you? I'm not bullshitting you. I was so scared I nearly ran away."

"Lies!"

Conrel roared. Mer whipped her head toward him.

"Lies? You old fool! You're the one lying! The living witness who suffered that abuse is right here! How dare you spout that nonsense?!"

"Ahem...!"

"You brought Witch Craft's familiar out? How? No, are you even allowed to do that?"

Honein asked hurriedly. Witch Craft was the heart of the Hall of Senya and, beyond that, the most valuable treasure in Akron. Akasha was one thing, since it was a staff they couldn't use, but the loss of Witch Craft was something he could never overlook.

"Yes, I am. Mer is the only thing I brought out. Witch Craft is still there."

"But... the familiar..."

"All Mer does in the Hall of Senya anyway is wait for the elevator doors to open and shout, 'Welcome to the Hall of Senya the Wise!' Isn't that right?"

Eugene spoke as if it were nothing, and Mer puffed out her cheeks. Squirming inside his cloak, she pinched his side.

"No, it isn't. I do lots of other things. I clean, organize the bookshelves..."

"Other mindless familiars can do that instead of you. Stop interrupting and get back inside."

"You're trash, Eugene."

Pouting, Mer retreated into the cloak.

"Anyway, I brought Akasha and Mer out because Lady Senya wanted me to. When Lady Senya tells me to take Akasha, how could I refuse? Handing over something she gave me without her permission would also be disrespectful to her."

He hadn't said it outright, but everyone seated there knew precisely what Eugene meant.

Whatever excuse they offered, taking Akasha from him would mean disrespecting Senya the Wise.

"... It is truly a relief to hear that Lady Senya is alive."

Balzac spoke. Given who the speaker was, every gaze turned toward him. He smiled at their blatant scrutiny and shrugged.

"I mean nothing else by it. As a fellow mage, I too respect Lady Senya. Many people still suspect black mages and His Majesty the Demon King of Incarceration of involvement in Lady Senya's sudden seclusion... Sir Eugene. Would you kindly reveal the truth of her seclusion here?"

Well, well.

Eugene stared at Balzac.

Vermouth had inflicted the wound that forced her into seclusion, and the Black Dragon Raizakia's attack was the reason she had failed to recover from it for two hundred years.

Perhaps the Demon King of Incarceration was behind it. But Senya hadn't said anything about who was behind the attack. Could he turn the question back on Balzac? That would carry too great a risk.

"... Lady Senya went into seclusion to pursue her studies."

Keep it measured.

"And to protect the elves from demonic sickness, for which Helmuth has failed to take responsibility."

"Haha..."

Balzac shook his head with a bitter smile.

"I have no choice but to remain neutral on the matter of demonic sickness. But please understand this: taking responsibility for demonic sickness, His Majesty the Demon King of Incarceration has shown great mercy to elves who become citizens of Helmuth."

"That's none of my concern."

Eugene's lips twisted into a smile.

"... I understand the circumstances."

Honein, who had been lost in thought with a troubled expression, spoke.

"First, I believe that Lady Senya being alive is something everyone in this magical kingdom of Aroth should celebrate. Even if she is angry with Aroth... I... as Aroth's crown prince, will gladly welcome her return."

"Even if she tries to drown the royal palace?"

Melkith asked with a mischievous expression. Conrel's shoulders twitched and his eyes widened, but Honein nodded without hesitation.

"I believe Lady Senya's anger is justified. Even if the perpetrators were mages from centuries ago, it remains a fact that Aroth's mages abused her familiar."

"... But... Your Highness. However great a figure Lady Senya may be in Aroth's history, threatening the royal palace is..."

"We must take responsibility."

Honein glared at Conrel as he spoke.

"Or would you mobilize the entire court mage corps to face Lady Senya? If you did, how many mages do you think would side with her? Of the five tower masters alone, three have already said they won't fight."

"Four."

Lovellian, who had been listening in silence, spoke up.

"It hardly needs saying, but I consider myself Lady Senya's disciple. I will never stand against her. The same must be true of the Green Tower Master."

Generic didn't answer. He only glared at Eugene with fiery eyes. Eugene could feel the naked, intense jealousy in that gaze.

"... Then we must exclude all the magic towers from our forces. Lord Etgard, what of the Mages' Guild?"

"... If that is the royal family's wish... I will lend my strength. But I cannot compel the mages belonging to the guild. Your Highness, please understand."

"Of course I understand. The guild is not an army."

"How can citizens of Aroth...!"

Conrel trembled with rage, his fists shaking. But no one was inclined to change their mind because of his words.

"... Do not misunderstand, Chancellor. Aroth has no intention of waging war against Lady Senya. Nor would she wish for it."

Honein sighed and continued.

"I can only hope the royal family's apology will soothe her anger. ... What do you think, Sir Eugene? Do you truly think Lady Senya will drown Abram?"

Eugene thought back to Senya's temperament.

She was certainly more than capable of doing just that.

"If I speak to her properly, she won't drown the royal palace. She might stop at knocking down a little of the castle wall..."

"Aroth will make no claim to ownership of Akasha."

Honein nodded as he spoke.

"Naturally, we will also guarantee the freedom of Lady Senya's familiar. As proof of that... we will issue her an Aroth citizenship card."

"That's unprecedented too."

Melkith interjected with a chuckle.

"A familiar with a citizenship card... Oh, don't take offense. It's just fascinating because it's never happened before."

"Is there anything else you want?"

Honein had mixed feelings.

In his view, taking Akasha from Eugene had been impossible from the outset. They might manage it through sheer obstinacy, but doing so would destroy their relationship with him.

Honein wanted a great deal from Eugene. He had even promised to appoint him commander of the court mage corps when he ascended the throne in ten years. It had been a verbal promise, but a sincere one.

That wasn't all. He had promised to let Eugene see the latter two volumes of Witch Craft kept by Aroth's royal family. That was the greatest favor a king of Aroth could offer a mage.

'... I meant to smooth things over and win his favor by handing him Akasha.'

From the moment Senya the Wise was mentioned, this hearing had ceased to be an occasion to question Eugene. Instead, they were the ones watching his reactions.

'... No. Since Lady Senya transferred Akasha to him... it was bound to turn out this way from the start.'

But the fact that Senya herself had declared she would turn Aroth upside down had tipped the situation entirely to one side.

Honein was sincerely grateful that his father, the king, hadn't attended. Ultimately, what this meeting had established was that the magical kingdom of Aroth wanted no war with Senya the Wise.

An entire nation was treading carefully around a single mage.

That was something the king must never acknowledge in person.

"... Let us conclude here."

Honein rose from his seat with mixed feelings. Conrel was beyond conflicted; his face was twisted into a miserable grimace. He simply didn't want to accept this situation.

This was neither a hearing nor an interrogation. At a gathering like this, shouldn't they discuss matters in greater depth, weigh their respective interests, and put the nation's practical benefit first? That was why he, the chancellor, had come in person.

What on earth was this? It wasn't some childish squabble, yet they were backing down because the other side had a louder voice and greater strength...

'... That is the essence of politics, though.'

Conrel sighed, his face still crumpled. Even as someone who wasn't a mage, he had no choice but to admit it.

Senya the Wise had gone into seclusion two hundred years ago.

If she was still alive and had become an even more transcendent mage than she had been then... the strength of an entire nation couldn't contend with her.

'... How strange.'

Eugene was glad things had worked out easily, but it left him feeling a little odd.

'Well, I mean... someone like Senya deserves that kind of treatment.'

The greatest mage in history. One of the five who had defeated three Demon Kings three hundred years ago. Eugene treated Senya casually because he knew her so well, but to the mages of later generations, Senya the Wise was a living legend whom they could never imagine opposing.

'Then what about me?'

Hamel the Stupid.

'It's all because they stuck "the Stupid" on my name. Damn you, Senya. If you were going to give me an epithet, there are plenty of better ones! Hamel the Strongest, Hamel the Absolute, Hamel the Asura...'

["When Hamel swings his sword and shouts 'Asura's Frenzied Slaughter,' he truly becomes an asura."]

Moron's assessment came back to him. The Hamel Style techniques Genos had told him about circled through his mind.

Hamel the Strongest's Lightning Counter.

Hamel the Absolute's Dead End.

Hamel the Asura's Asura's Frenzied Slaughter...

Unable to take any more, Eugene slapped his own cheek with his palm.