Chapter 117 - What's Wrong with You...? (4)

Melat, a sixth-tier mage and professor at the Red Magic Tower, found his mouth falling open at the scene before him. It was all because of what Selaim Micardo, master of the Blue Magic Tower, had said.

'... An honor?'

He had heard it with his own ears, yet he could hardly believe it.

Selaim Micardo was remarkably easygoing and kind compared with the other tower masters, or even Penia, who would one day inherit his ambitions and become tower master. That made him popular even among mages from other towers. He freely offered advice and never hesitated to teach.

Yet for all his kindness, Selaim possessed tremendous authority and pride when it came to magic. Everyone knew of the incident when the Purple Magic Tower's master disparaged his magic at a meeting in the Central Tower, only to be utterly trounced by Selaim before all the assembled mages.

And that was not all. When the Green Magic Tower's master raised a single objection during one of his lectures, Selaim forced a debate that lasted three days and nights, until the other tower master conceded defeat.

Kind though Selaim Micardo was, his pride in his own magic meant he would not readily bow to anyone on that subject. No wonder the scene before Melat seemed so extraordinary.

He looked around.

"..."

The other mages were reacting no differently. Certain now that he had neither misheard nor imagined things, he studied Marquis Pallatio.

The marquis was fourth-tier. Admittedly, he was unusual among mages for using ancient magic—primitive magic, in other words—but there was nothing else remarkable about him.

'What on earth is going on...? What could make the Blue Magic Tower's master fuss over him like that...?'

Questions filled Melat's mind.

Meanwhile, Marquis Pallatio, the focus of everyone's attention, was equally bewildered beneath his impassive expression.

'... Seriously, what is going on?'

He had no idea why Selaim was suddenly changing his attitude like a character from some other game.

'Didn't he speak to me without any formality at all last time?'

Alon was still wondering whether to ask about it when—

"Ah, please come inside first."

"... Are you sure that's all right?"

"Of course. Surely I can find a seat for you if you wish to attend, my lord?"

Before he could finish deliberating, Alon found himself whisked into the lecture hall.

"Please sit here."

"... I don't mind standing at the back."

"I couldn't possibly allow that. It's quite all right. This was my seat, anyway."

Thanks to Selaim's decidedly excessive consideration, Alon ended up listening from the very front.

... With everyone's stares boring into the back of his head.

####

The lecture ended. Ultimately, attending Selaim's lecture had been the right choice. Alon had learned quite a lot about magic.

That said, if anyone asked whether he wanted to attend another...

He doubted he could manage it. The material had been excellent, but he had been forced to endure the other mages' eyes drilling into his back.

'Even if I overlook all the staring, what on earth was that... smile?'

Alon recalled what had happened earlier—more precisely, the smile Selaim had worn while staring at him with uncomfortable intensity. Anyone would have thought he was plotting something. As Alon left the hall with an uneasy expression—

"How did you find the lecture?"

The source of his unease(?) suddenly appeared. Alon was startled, but quickly regained his composure.

"It was informative."

"I'm very glad you enjoyed it."

Selaim nodded, looking genuinely pleased, and Alon asked him a question.

"By the way, may I ask you something?"

"Certainly. Please go ahead."

"... I don't recall you speaking this formally last time. Why the sudden change...?"

He was not only puzzled, but uncomfortable.

Selaim's face lit up with an amiable smile.

"I've simply developed a sudden respect for you."

"... Respect?"

"Yes."

"... Why, all of a sudden?"

Alon was lost once again. Just as Selaim was about to answer—

"Selaim, what on earth did you do to leave all those kids looking like they've got screws loose?"

A voice came from behind them. Alon turned to find Parkline Kesis, a man he knew well despite never having met him in person.

"Come on. You promised to assist me with this spell, didn't you? I'm already busy as hell. What are you doing out here—hmm?"

Approaching in irritation, Parkline spotted Alon.

"... You're surely—"

"A pleasure to meet you, Master of the Red Magic Tower. I am Marquis Pallatio."

Alon greeted him with a slight bow.

Parkline let out an "Ah," then spoke with a somewhat disgruntled expression.

"... I've heard a great deal about you. You use primitive magic?"

"... Yes, I do."

Alon wondered what was wrong with this man, too.

But then—

"I've been hearing plenty about you. You saved my daughter in the jungle this time, I understand?"

"I did, but—"

"Thank you. My daughter praised you highly. Very, very highly. For over a week after she returned, in fact."

Those words made Alon realize why he was acting this way.

'... Right. This man is a doting fool.'

Just as the daughter-obsessed Parkline was about to add a few more words—

"How dare you!"

"Oh, shit—you scared me!"

Selaim suddenly shouted beside them.

"Speaking to Marquis Pallatio like that! Apologize!"

"...???"

Parkline was left speechless. His expression plainly asked whether the bastard had finally gone mad.

"... You got wanderlust and went roaming all over the country looking for Magi. Have you finally lost your mind?"

He began to speak, but—

"Tower Master? Um—how long should I tell them to wait?"

A mage opened the lecture hall door and cautiously asked the question. Parkline let out a long sigh.

"Stop talking nonsense and hurry up. Keep your promise."

He turned to leave.

"Wait! I should finish our conversation before leaving! My lord, is there anything else you would like to ask?"

As it happened, Alon did have another question.

"Come to think of it, there's a rumor circulating in the magic towers lately. May I ask you about that?"

"What rumor?"

"... I heard that you had approved a relationship between Penia and me. But—"

"You have my approval."

"... Pardon?"

"I am prepared to support your relationship wholeheartedly."

This time, Alon was the one left speechless as Selaim nodded with a positively radiant smile.

'Is he trying to... dump a ticking bomb on me?'

Thinking that this rumor might explain Selaim's sudden change in tone, he tried to set things straight, but—

"Come on already! We're starting now!"

Before Alon could say anything, Parkline began dragging Selaim away.

"Until next time, my lord!"

Now that Alon had realized the truth, all he could do was watch Selaim being dragged away with a smile that somehow seemed even brighter than usual.

####

At Blue Moon's regular meeting, the Moons, who had been chatting until moments ago, quickly fell silent. Yutia's projected face looked unusually serious.

["I've found the people who were trying to harm the Great Moon."]

A stir ran through the gathering. Once everyone fell quiet, Hidan began his report.

["I'll explain from here. Through our continued tracking and surveillance of the remaining organizations, we located the places sending written directives to their subordinate groups."]

["How many?"]

["Twenty-one in total. We've confirmed that every one of them has connections to the actual mastermind behind the attempt to harm the Great Moon. However—we have yet to identify that mastermind."]

After a brief silence—

["Then we just need to raid those organizations and find the bastard who tried to harm the Great Moon, right?"]

Seollang, who had been smiling innocently moments earlier, wore a fierce grin, her golden eyes gleaming.

["Where are they?"]

Rine's question followed.

["They're spread across several locations. Using the regions where the Moons reside as reference points, we've confirmed five near Callivan, five near Laxas, three in Ashtalon, three near Lartania, and five in Rosario."]

As soon as Hidan finished his report, Yutia's voice rang out.

["You all heard that, right?"]

["Send me the information and I'll move out immediately."]

["Same here."]

["I will, too."]

["Sounds like there aren't any in Coloni, so—I'll go to Ashtalon. I just kill them all, right?"]

["Make sure you get information before killing them."]

Having cautioned the Moons, whose eyes gleamed as they spoke, Yutia exhaled and eased the heavy atmosphere a little.

["There's another item on the agenda, too."]

["Another item?"]

["What is it?"]

Radan and Seollang responded at once.

["It seems the Great Moon needs a specialty product for his territory. So—does anyone have any good ideas?"]

["A specialty product? Does he want something that gives the territory its own distinctive character?"]

["It seems so."]

["Me! Me, me, me!!"]

Seollang thrust her hand up with great fanfare.

["Let's hear it."]

["Build a colosseum in the Great Moon's territory, and I'll be the specialty product!"]

["Rejected."]

["Why?"]

Seollang looked sulky, but Yutia did not bother answering. She did not even know where to begin correcting that suggestion.

["You can't go there yourself. Each of us has our own orders."]

["Booo."]

Just then, Deus's confident voice cut in.

["A specialty product? Isn't the answer already obvious?"]

["What is it?"]

["If the marquis writes an autobiography, that will solve everything."]

Yet another dubious suggestion had emerged.

[["..."]]

The other Sins wore expressions that said even they thought that was a bit much.

["Ah... An autobiography written by his own hand... I can hardly wait. He could personally sign the first edition, like a classic novel—no—perhaps I could assist him in writing it instead—"]

Deus was already lost in his own deliberations, apparently indifferent to everyone else's stares.

By now, the other Moons were somewhat accustomed to this behavior. They left him alone and continued discussing the matter.

["... A specialty product."]

Ignoring Seollang's disgruntled voice, Radan, who had been stroking his chin in thought, spoke up.

["I've got a fairly good idea about that. Leave it to me and I'll give it a try."]

["What is it?"]

["None of us has the ability to do that sort of thing anyway, so I thought we could bring in someone who's very good at it."]

["You know someone like that?"]

["Yes. I met someone recently."]

Radan grinned.

Meanwhile, in the slums of Laxas—

"!?"

"Big Brother? Why are you suddenly shaking like that?"

"No reason—I just suddenly got a chill."

After being dragged away by Radan and nearly killed, Identifier Alexion had returned to savor life with twice his former happiness. Now, struck by a sudden, inexplicable chill, he looked out the window with a face full of unease.

"... What is this?"

... A blue moon shone outside.

####

At that same moment, Alon saw that the moon had risen and immediately set out to learn magic.

"Good evening."

["Welcome."]

He met Heinkel in the library, where blue moonlight streamed in.

["Here. What you asked for."]

Unlike when they had met yesterday, she looked remarkably refreshed. Alon felt a strange sense that something was off, but—

["Try summoning it."]

"Then, if you'll excuse me."

At her prompting, he summoned Basiliora by directing mana only into the pattern, just as before. Soon, Basiliora appeared.

["I'llnevergetcockyagainI'msorrysopleasejustsparemethefistbandagingaaaaaaargh!"]

"..."

A Basiliora that seemed... a little broken.

["Ah, aaaah—I'm alive. I'm alive, I'm alive, I'm alive, I'm alive, I'm alive, I'm alive, I'm alive!! I'll do as you say! Submission or whatever else, I'll do anything you want, so please spare my life—!"]

Alon stood aghast at the little snake's desperate wailing, but only for a moment.

["Well? It worked out nicely, didn't it?"]

"... Yes, I suppose it did."

Watching Heinkel address him with a sweet smile, Alon broke into a cold sweat.

Somehow, she had become a little frightening.