Chapter 119 - Half (1)

The labyrinth city of Lartania was divided into eight districts: four inner and four outer. The eastern district on its outskirts was a slum known among mercenaries and explorers as the Street of Filth.

The Street of Filth.

It had begun as a nesting ground for run-of-the-mill scavengers, but now even Lartania’s lord hesitated to interfere there. Though it lay just outside the city walls, it was practically beyond the reach of the law. Too many powerful figures lurked in its streets. As a result, most mercenaries refused to go anywhere near it unless it was their own stomping ground.

Three organizations divided control of the Street of Filth among themselves.

One was the Underground Sieg Gang, led by Surod. Another was Punk Blade, led by Kokan and based in the northeastern district, where all manner of Lartania’s trash gathered.

And finally, there was Dark Mud, led by Salamandra. People spoke of a three-way struggle, but this group was known to be the street’s true ruler.

There had, of course, been a time when the three divided the Street of Filth equally. At some point, however, Dark Mud had seized supremacy, leaving the other organizations unable to assert themselves. Its boss, Salamandra, and its officers had grown unbelievably powerful.

The other organizations had no idea how Salamandra had so suddenly risen to an entirely different level.

But they had seen her wreathed in dark mana, tearing apart with her bare hands a fighter from Laxas whose strength approached that of a Swordmaster.

Since that day, it could be said with absolute certainty that not a single person on the Street of Filth dared disregard Dark Mud’s commands.

And now, in Dark Mud’s hideout—a kingdom in all but name—

"..."

Lay mountains of corpses and a sea of blood.

Nothing but corpses filled the view.

Inside the buildings. Outside them. On the ground, in the sky, along the outer walls, at the main gate.

Wherever one looked, there were only corpses.

The one unusual feature was the enormously long golden pipes impaling them. The pipes had turned Dark Mud’s hideout into a chaotic jungle gym, gleaming brightly in the blue moonlight beneath the dark night sky.

Salamandra, Dark Mud’s master, stared at the being before her with an intensely strained expression.

A woman whose green eyes shone vividly beneath the blue moon, with a golden eye creaking behind her—

No.

Rine, a high councilor of Lartania.

"—R҉e҉s҉t҉o҉r҉e҉."

The instant the command left her lips, the golden pipes that had been piercing the corpses moved at tremendous speed, dismantling the jungle gym. They melted back into the eye as though they had never existed.

And then—

THUD! THUD-THUD-THUD!

Even as corpses rained down haphazardly, sending flowers of blood blooming,

"Hmm... The power he gave me really is... absolutely wonderful."

Rine nodded again and again, her utter satisfaction almost uncanny.

"Well, now that all the nuisances seem to be gone, shall we have a little talk?"

She smiled brightly at Salamandra.

"..."

Salamandra’s brow furrowed involuntarily. Then she glanced sidelong at Rine—

"Tsk!"

And turned on her heel and fled.

The reason was clear. She was certain she could never defeat the being before her.

At least, not as she was now.

BANG!

The moment she made that judgment, Salamandra rushed into the building without hesitation and raced down to the basement. If she used “that” down there right now, she thought she might somehow stand a chance against that being.

Upon reaching the basement, she immediately opened the box she had prepared for that day.

Her only hope. Her only lifeline.

Unfortunately, the instant she opened the box, she could no longer reach out.

All she could do was—

"Gurk—!"

Lower her head and stare at the golden pipe that had pierced her heart from behind and emerged through her chest.

The very same golden pipe that had slaughtered all her subordinates.

"Ah... This is awkward. I wasn’t supposed to kill you."

With Rine’s regret-laden voice as her funeral dirge, Salamandra died on the spot.

Rine approached, smacking her lips in disappointment.

"... Hmm?"

Then she saw them: an enormous quantity of Abyssal Cores, soaked in Salamandra’s blood.

"What are these...?"

Rine’s voice echoed softly through the dark basement.

####

Lately, Evan had little to do. What work could there possibly be for him in the Central Tower while the magic symposium was underway?

Alon placed no particular restrictions on his movements, so he could wander around whenever he grew bored. He simply chose not to.

... More precisely, he had stopped doing so recently.

There was one reason: starting a week ago, the number of mages pestering him had increased exponentially.

Had that popularity been purely thanks to his looks, he would naturally have been ready to enjoy it. Feeling overwhelmed? What was that? Evan was the type to relish attention.

Unfortunately, the reason lay elsewhere: the master and deputy master of the Blue Magic Tower, both of whom were connected to Alon.

'Whew...’

Evan recalled the mages who swarmed him whenever he stepped outside his room.

["What exactly is the relationship between the Blue Magic Tower’s master and Marquis Pallatio—er, His Lordship?"]

["Is it true that Penia Kraisinne and Marquis Pallatio are courting?"]

["Give just me a little hint, and I’ll give you a fine artifact. What do you say?"]

["Could you pass this along to His Lordship? It’s extremely good for the health—"]

The moment they spotted Evan, the mages rushed him, trying to confirm the rumors while pressing gifts on him to establish some sort of connection.

As though advertising how poorly socialized they were after spending all their time holed up in magic towers researching spells, they refused to leave him alone even when he declined or indicated that he knew nothing.

They only crowded closer, squawking like a flock of penguins.

'What on earth has His Lordship been getting up to...?’

Honestly, he could not understand what Alon was doing to cause all this.

'No, he doesn’t seem to be doing anything—’

Of course, Evan knew he wasn’t doing anything in particular. He generally accompanied Alon, and Alon never did anything especially unusual when they were together.

If he had to pick something, perhaps it was eating nothing but sweet potatoes for over two weeks while traveling, apparently without tiring of them?

But with things as they were, Evan began to suspect he might be doing something behind his back.

... Well, knowing Alon, asking would only leave him feeling genuinely wronged.

'... Though it’s hard to tell with that expressionless face.’

After serving him for more than nine years—nearly ten—Evan had become reasonably capable of reading the emotions behind his impassive expression.

In any case, after being kept in his room for several days because of all that, Evan had finally ventured out and was walking through the tower. He figured enough time had passed for the rumors to die down.

A little while later,

'I was right.’

He was pleased to find his judgment confirmed. The mages only glanced at him as he walked past rather than gathering around, so he assumed the gossip had been quelled.

Just as he began leisurely sightseeing around the tower—

"It’s been a while."

"Oh, Pelin?"

"Indeed."

Evan ran into Pelin Kraisinne, whom he had met in Laxas. Though initially distant with one another, they had become fairly friendly while traveling together there.

"What brings you here?"

"What reason does a mage need to attend a magic symposium? That’s what I’d like to say, but it isn’t why I’m here."

"Then why?"

"... I was dragged here."

"Dragged here? By whom?"

"My sister. Because of the rumors."

"... Ah."

Evan immediately understood.

"Is she very angry?"

Alon had already told him that Penia Kraisinne had spoken ill of him.

Pelin hummed thoughtfully for a moment before answering.

"I asked her myself, just in case."

"And?"

"She slapped me."

"Hmm..."

"Five times..."

"Oh dear."

"I hate to say this, but—she’s become terribly violent."

A hint of fear colored his voice. Evan noticed that much of the admiration for his sister that had filled his eyes in Laxas had faded.

... Perhaps because it indirectly showed how much Pelin had suffered at Penia’s hands, Evan couldn’t help feeling sorry for him.

"So you came because of those rumors."

"... More precisely, she said she’d find the tower master who’d been spreading them and fuck him up—no, have a talk with him."

Had he misheard something...?

"Ahem. Couldn’t the deputy tower master have come alone, then?"

"She figured the tower master would hide, so she dragged me along too."

"Ah."

... He’d been conscripted into the search party. Evan briefly reflected on how fortunate he was not to have an older sister.

"So did you just arrive?"

"No, we arrived late yesterday. My sister searched for the tower master on her own, and we agreed to meet today and search together starting on the first floor. She should be here about now. Where is His Lordship, by the way?"

"Well... I imagine he’s attending a lecture somewhere in the tower right now. Anyway, getting that angry over what’s just a false rumor... She must really dislike him... Hm?"

At the sudden murmur among the mages, both looked ahead and spotted Alon in the distance. He was reading a book they had never seen before, while Penia Kraisinne stood behind him, watching him.

An odd pair to see together.

Unlike Alon, who was completely oblivious to her presence, Penia wore a grave expression, as though pondering something.

"Sis, over here—"

Just as Pelin opened his mouth to call her—

"My looord—"

"?"

"H-hewwo...!?"

Evan and Pelin watched as Penia, who had looked so serious a moment ago, approached Alon with a sunny smile and a coy, nasal voice.

"?" "?"

Evan wondered whether his eyes were deceiving him.

"... Deputy Tower Master?"

"O-oh, don’t call me that! Call me Penia, my looord—"

"????" "????"

As Penia continued her... cutesy act, bewilderment spread across the faces of every mage present.

"Wha—at?"

Pelin, who had been raising his hand to call the being who, until a moment ago, had been his sister, gaped blankly, utterly unable to comprehend the situation.

A drop fell.

Apparently so dumbfounded that he could no longer help himself, a bead of drool slipped from his mouth.

"... Has my sister gone insane?"

The mutter escaped him before he realized it.

####

Penia did not like Alon.

That was perfectly natural. She had not a single reason to like him in the first place, and every time rumors involving him spread, they stressed her out immensely. Hadn’t she come to the tower specifically to hunt down the Blue Magic Tower’s master and beat the shit out of him for spreading those rumors?

Yet despite all that, the reason she was beaming at Alon was, of course, Heinkel.

She turned her gaze upward. Though invisible to the other mages, Heinkel was clearly visible to Penia, looking down on the scene in spirit form.

She was watching intently, as though determined to verify that Alon and Penia were romantically involved.

Having spotted her, Penia had rushed up to Alon and launched into this ridiculous performance.

... Even if the stress ate away at her entire body, she desperately wanted lessons from Heinkel, who was revered as a hero among mages.

And so—

"Why are you looking at me like thaaat, my lord?"

Penia looked at Alon with a desperate smile.

Meanwhile, the recipient of her nasal cooing was inwardly flustered by her sudden approach.

'What on earth is wrong with her...?’

At least, the Penia he knew would never react like this.

Which was why—

'Did she eat something bad?’

He regarded her gravely.

"Er—why are you suddenly acting like this?"

"Ahahaha, what do you mean, suddenly? We’ve always been like this, haven’t weee?"

"... Weee?"

What was that bizarre sound supposed to be?

While Alon recoiled behind his impassive face at Penia’s nasal voice, the rumors that Marquis Pallatio and Penia Kraisinne had vehemently stamped out at the Blue Magic Tower began blazing anew, thanks to Penia’s full-body contortions and cutesy antics(?) in pursuit of Heinkel’s magical instruction.

'So they really are involved?’

'They were just too embarrassed to admit it.’

'The Blue Magic Tower’s master officially approved it in the first place. There’s no way the rumors were false.’

"Your Eminence, there is a new rumor concerning His Lordship—"

"Yes? What is it, Cardinal Sergius?"

"... Rumors have begun circulating that the Blue Magic Tower’s deputy master and Marquis Pallatio truly are romantically involved."

"Ah... Wasn’t that the false rumor from before?"

"Well—this time, it appears not to be false. There have reportedly been several witnesses at the magic symposium—"

"... What?"

The blaze was rather fierce. Very fierce, in fact.

Fierce enough to reach the ears of the Holy Kingdom’s cardinal, who kept an ear out for rumors about Marquis Pallatio, in a mere three days.

"..."