Chapter 414. The Second (3)
In the Allied United Kingdoms, there are five great Magic Towers.
The Blue Tower, whose master is Selaim Mikardo.
The Red Tower, led by Parkline.
The Purple Tower of Norton Mirage.
The Green Tower of Sharan Poranu.
And the Brown Tower, guided by Manram.
These five towers are the pillars that sustain the world of magic.
Therefore, the masters of each tower held a Great Conference every five years.
The Great Conference.
In reality, the Great Conference does not differ too much from a common magic congress.
The tower masters impart teachings to lower-ranking mages, and the towers present the theories and spells they have jointly developed. That aspect never changes.
Even so, there is only one reason why this event receives the name of Great Conference.
Because all the tower masters attend.
A common conference does not require mandatory attendance. If one does not wish to go, they simply do not go.
But at the Great Conference, even if other mages are missing, the tower masters can never be absent. And to obtain even a fragment of their knowledge, countless mages congregate as well.
And now…
With still some time before the Great Conference began, the five masters gathered at the Central Tower.
“Long time no see gathered like this.”
Selaim smiled gently.
“Yes. Since the previous cycle, there hasn't been another occasion.”
“Exactly.”
The Red Tower Master, Parkline, and the Green Tower Master, Sharan Loranú, nodded.
But…
The masters of the Brown Tower and the Purple Tower observed the others with unpleasant faces.
“Why do you look at us like that?”
When Selaim opened his mouth before those gazes, Norton Mirage and Manram frowned in unison.
“You speak so well now, huh.”
“That’s right.”
Manram, whose physique did not look at all like a mage’s despite his advanced age, and Norton Mirage, with her characteristic purple hair…
Even in the face of their hostility, Selaim only shrugged his shoulders.
Then—
“Don't play dumb, Blue Master. We asked you to introduce us to Marquis Alon Palatio… no, the King of Palantia, and how many times did you ignore us!?”
Unable to hold back, Norton raised her voice.
Selaim, as always, acted oblivious.
“I'm sorry, but that doesn't fall within my responsibilities.”
“Even so, you could have tried to talk to him!”
“Oh, really? Is that so?”
“Grrr—!”
While Norton ground her teeth, about to retort, Selaim spoke first.
“And weren't you the one who mocked us, saying we were making fools of ourselves calculating like simple operators?”
Touched on a sore spot, Norton froze, then began to justify herself clumsily:
“Well, that is… how to put it… it was just that… being tower masters, seeing you there at Central doing basic calculations was—”
“Then why do you now want the opposite of what you said?”
“Ugh…”
Selaim's words were true.
In the past, when the Blue, Red, and Green masters intensely helped Alon Palatio with the calculations of Chained Operation, Norton mocked them.
It seemed absurd to her that those who should struggle to ascend to the next Circle dedicated themselves to elementary calculations. It was, for her, pathetic.
Yes, those investigations resulted in methods and formulas very useful for the magic world. But even so, she continued to consider it something undignified.
Furthermore, she didn't like Alon either.
Mages should contribute to the advancement of magic, not set about helping with mechanical calculations. That situation displeased her enormously.
And that was barely a few months ago.
Norton, who despised the masters who helped Alon, now acted this way for a single reason:
Divine Blood.
The Divine Bloods.
Since the War of Destruction of Ashtalon, a force capable of razing worlds, impossible to stop for a simple human.
Since that entity appeared in the Allied United Kingdoms…
And since she discovered that Alon Palatio was actually a Divine Blood, and furthermore that he had learned to control it—
‘I must… no matter what…!’
Norton needed to create ties with Alon.
It was obvious.
At this moment, the only one who could stop the Divine Bloods was the Marquis, and Norton was the Master of the Purple Tower.
If she didn't strengthen a relationship with him, she wouldn't be able to ask for help when disaster struck.
Moreover, the influence of having a connection with Alon was now equivalent to political power.
“Well… let's say that… I thought wrong at that moment…”
“Hmm… And didn't you call us ‘pathetic’?”
“Yes, I remember a letter like that.”
“I received one too.”
Norton closed her eyes tightly.
How was she to know!
How was she to know that he would become someone so important!?
If she had known, she would never have said those things!!
…But she couldn't say it out loud.
She had too much to lose.
Then—
“Ahem… and couldn't I either…?”
Manram spoke cautiously.
“You? Didn't you say the same?”
“What was it? Trash, right?”
“I think you called us a pathetic trio defeated by a third-rate noble…”
Faced with that combined attack even more cruel—
Manram also closed his eyes with a grunt.
The two, Norton and Manram, deeply regretted not having seen the future.
They looked at each other.
You incited me!
If you hadn't added fuel to the fire!
They blamed each other with their gazes… only for an instant.
Because, while he watched them, Selaim touched his chin and smiled in an unsettling way.
“Actually… it's not that there is no method.”
…There was no method?
The two masters turned their heads at the same time. Selaim was delighted with the reaction.
“If done well, you can create an extremely strong bond with him. More than any gift you can offer him.”
And he smiled broadly.
“Are you interested in listening?”
It was an offer impossible to refuse.
Some weeks passed.
As always, while traveling investigating magic, Alon arrived at the capital Asteria, Teria.
“…Did a Divine Blood really attack here?”
“If the Information Guild reported it, it must be true, but…”
Seeing the exterior of Teria, Penia expressed her surprise, and Evan agreed with a gesture.
The reason was simple:
“To have been attacked by a Divine Blood… it is too intact.”
Teria was impeccable.
There were no traces of destruction, nor cracks, nor repairs. As if nothing had happened.
“…Let's enter first.”
“Yes.”
They entered the interior of Teria.
Alon thought:
‘Did the Divine Blood fail to enter as far as the interior…?’
The interior was just as impeccable.
As if they had never been attacked.
But the Information Guild had clearly reported that Teria was attacked. And that Siyan had stopped the Divine Blood.
Alon remembered the Divine Bloods he faced in Colony.
That overwhelming power, almost impossible to face alone.
That enemy he only managed to stop when all of Colony was destroyed.
‘How…?’
How could Siyan stop something like that without damage?
With doubt growing, they arrived at the inner castle.
There, Alon was received as always.
“Welcome.”
“She is waiting for you.”
After a brief greeting with Siyan's secretary, Alon headed to her office.
Not to the audience hall, as usually happened.
Upon taking the doorknob, he felt a strange premonition.
He suddenly remembered The Wanderer, who claimed to be the original form of the goddess Sironia.
What if…?
What if Siyan was in a similar situation?
The thought crossed Alon's mind for barely an instant.
Alon discarded it immediately.
Thinking too much served no purpose now.
He took a deep breath and opened the door.
There she was.
“What a pleasure to see you again.”
Siyan.
Just as he knew her.
“It has been a while.”
Alon felt his tension dissolve a little.
Siyan smiled gently.
“Take a seat.”
She had prepared a chair in front of her.
As soon as Alon sat down, Siyan placed a sweet potato in front of him.
“Eat. You like it, don't you?”
Alon opened his mouth to say something, but closed it and began to eat.
Siyan watched him with her chin resting on her hand, smiling calmly.
When he finished—
“Since I knew you were coming, I've been thinking about where to start.”
Siyan said slowly:
“Because I have a lot to tell you.”
“Really?”
“Yes. While you were eating, I kept thinking what the first part would be.”
“…And have you decided?”
Siyan smiled softly and nodded.
She moved her hand.
A small click sounded in the room.
Alon looked at her, not understanding.
“Don't worry. I just made sure no one can hear us.”
Afterward, her gaze lowered to the dull red insignia and the green brooch on Alon's chest.
“Tell me, Alon. If the world in which you live had already reached the ‘end’ once… what would you think?”
“…Huh? About wha—?”
“Ah, complicated?”
Siyan tilted her head.
“Then I will say it more clearly.”
She sat up slightly.
“What would you think if your current life… was not the first, but the second?”
She said it like that.
With absolute tranquility.
As if only describing a fact.
The calm lake rippled.
