Report
------------------
HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Jjescus]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Join our Discord for release updates!w
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
------------------
Chapter 1: The Wizard of the Elder Tower
“Your Majesty, a wizard from ‘The Tower’ has arrived.”
The chamberlain announced.
King Fried Gallant already felt annoyed at just two words.
The Tower?
What tower?
It wasn’t as if there was only one tower in this kingdom!
Arrogant bastards.
A wizard?
What kind of wizard?
Do they really believe they can use magic?
Fraudsters.
“What is the reason for their visit?”
Fried tried hard to infuse his voice with authority, fearing his tone might unintentionally reveal the slightest trace of fear.
The chamberlain answered in an uneasy voice.
“They did not state the purpose of their visit.”
“They didn’t disclose the purpose of their visit to the king?”
He suddenly remembered a phrase his father often used:
‘One day, I’ll destroy every tower those bastards live in and crush those wizards under the hooves of my horse!’
The chamberlain, eager to make it clear this wasn’t his fault, replied with an expression full of sincerity.
“They said they wished to speak only to Your Majesty.”
“They’re not here to ask for money again, are they?”
Every year, the Wizards’ Tower demanded gold equivalent to a tenth of the annual budget.
They didn’t ask for a tenth—they simply requested a sum that always happened to be precisely that.
In years with higher budgets, they somehow noticed and demanded more.
In deficit years, they didn’t demand any gold at all.
Rumor had it that, decades ago—though it wasn’t officially recorded—when the treasury was nearly empty, the wizards had even brought gold as gifts.
“It’s not New Year’s, so I doubt it. And since they didn’t bring any gifts, it’s unlikely.”
Wizards only came to request gold once a year, on New Year’s Day.
On those occasions, they brought small gifts, though none had ever been satisfactory.
Last year, they brought a thick book filled with drawings of various plants.
Fried had flipped through just two pages before shoving it into the royal library.
Even so, he couldn’t ignore the wizards.
Deep within him lay an instinctive fear.
Even his father, despite his threats to crush them, had never attempted to act on those words.
In fact, outwardly, he seemed almost submissive, obedient to the wizards’ advice.
None of the previous kings had ever disregarded their counsel.
Well, except for one.
About two centuries ago, King Perrins Gallant had ignored the wizards’ advice.
When northern barbarians persistently raided the southern regions, he prepared for war to drive them even farther north.
The wizards advised against war and suggested a peace treaty to stop the raids and incursions.
However, Perrins Gallant ignored their advice, launched the war, and ended up losing two northern islands and the vast Crescent Plains.
The wizards issued another warning to negotiate peace, but Perrins, out of pride, went to the battlefield himself—only to be killed when his head was split by an axe.
Since then, the northern barbarians had become a perpetual problem, draining the kingdom’s finances for two hundred years, and they were still at war today.
That incident ensured that no ‘Gallant’ ever disregarded the wizards again.
Fried Gallant was no exception.
“Let them in.”
“They said they wish to meet you alone.”
The chamberlain glanced uneasily at Claive, the captain of the royal guard, who stood near the wall.
The captain scowled openly and shouted,
“Let them in! The king of Triton has never met a wizard alone!”
“Yes, sir.”
The chamberlain retreated, and soon the massive red doors opened.
The wizard who entered was an old man draped in a purple cloak embroidered with gold thread.
He had removed his hood in a show of courtesy, but even that gesture irked Fried.
Even envoys from the empire would feel tense upon entering the grand reception hall, adorned with opulent decorations and luxurious carpets.
Yet the old man looked as relaxed as someone invited to a friendly dinner.
His white beard and thick gray eyebrows lent him an air of dignity.
‘Is it a mistake to meet such a man without a single advisor present?’
He could have ignored the wizard from the start and sent him away.
Or gathered his chancellor and ministers in the council chamber and ordered the wizard to return the next day.
Or he could have agreed to meet, only to make the wizard wait endlessly in the antechamber, a subtle insult.
But no, he had foolishly pretended he wasn’t afraid—and now he regretted it.
“May the Gallant King, eternal light of Triton, shine forever. I am Zea, from the Tower,”
the wizard said.
“You’re new to me.”
“Yes, Your Majesty, I’ve been occupied with urgent matters since you ascended the throne and could only come now.”
“Then the wizards I see every New Year must be your subordinates.”
Zea smiled warmly, like a kindly old man from the countryside—a smile so disarming that one might be tempted to grant him anything, just out of goodwill.
“I wouldn’t know exactly who has visited Your Majesty, but they are not my subordinates. Our Tower operates without hierarchy; all are equals.”
“You look older than any wizard I’ve met. Does that make you the most powerful among them?”
“I doubt I possess the kind of power Your Majesty imagines.”
“You keep talking about magic, but I’ve never seen it. Even the jugglers at annual festivities pull fire from their pockets. Couldn’t you at least give me a small demonstration of this magic?”
The king’s tone was mocking, but the wizard seemed accustomed to such treatment.
“Such misunderstandings are common. We don’t practice flashy tricks meant to please the eye.”
“So, you can’t summon fire, control water, move clouds, bring thunder, or transform a sheep into a lion?”
“We understand the principles behind such things but cannot replicate them. As for sheep and lions... I do enjoy lamb.”
Zea shrugged with an ambiguous smile, leaving Fried unsure if he was joking.
“Then why should we call you wizards?”
“Many people call us wizards, but we are simply scholars who study and share knowledge. We prefer to be called teachers. Among ourselves, we use an ancient term, Senelot, meaning ‘sharer of wisdom.’”
“Are you a Senelot, then?”
“Embarrassingly, yes.”
“Should I call you that too?”
“It’s a term we use among ourselves. Your Majesty may simply call me by my name.”
“Very well, Teacher Zea. Why have you come today?”
“When a Senelot appears before someone, it is to share wisdom.”
Such arrogance!
Yet Fried couldn’t laugh it off.
The wizard’s presence felt strange and heavy.
“Speak, then.”
“I wish to speak with Your Majesty alone.”
As soon as Zea said this, Captain Claive gestured, and the ten knights standing in pairs along the walls simultaneously slammed their spears into the ground.
Thud!
The sound reverberated through the chamber, as if shaking the entire castle.
“What’s the meaning of this, wizard!”
Claive’s voice boomed louder than the spears’ impact.
He was skilled at projecting authority.
But the wizard wasn’t intimidated.
Instead, it was Claive who seemed overwhelmed.
Normally, he didn’t need to raise his voice—his rank and presence were enough to command respect.
Now, however, his loud defiance resembled a housecat bristling at a lion.
‘This one is certainly different from the wizards who come for gold each year.’
Ignoring Claive, Zea focused solely on the king.
“Sharing wisdom means offering it to each other as gifts. It is not as simple as it sounds, Your Majesty. Are you willing to share the king’s wisdom with mere court officials? Even the most loyal knights cannot help but repeat what they hear. What if that wisdom spreads to other nobles? At that point, it may still be called wisdom, but it will no longer be ‘the king’s wisdom.’”
“That’s quite amusing, Teacher Zea. When I was young, my tutors told me to share the king’s wisdom with the people.”
“Perhaps you misremembered their words to mean sharing knowledge gained from wisdom?”
The king was left speechless and sank into thought.
It was not easy to reach a conclusion, but it was even harder to act on one.
“Everyone leave.”
At the king’s command, the captain of the guard asked with a pale face,
“Are you serious?”
“It might be amusing to see how this man’s magic changes me. If a frog ends up sitting in my place, cut its head off swiftly and painlessly. Then, cut the wizard’s head off too.”
Fried hoped his joke would make Claive laugh, but he was only met with a pained expression.
‘He’s genuinely worried. He claimed not to believe in magic, yet here he is.’
It took quite some time for the captain to clear the room of knights.
Even the sound of their footsteps seemed heavy.
The sound of the door closing was ominous.
“Now, speak.”
Despite the king’s command, the wizard remained silent, gazing at something beyond the door.
“If you’re worried about eavesdropping, feel free to come closer, Teacher Zea.”
Fried spoke challengingly.
It might have been courage, demonstrating that he wasn’t intimidated by magic, or it might have been recklessness, inviting an assassin closer.
The wizard stepped forward, five paces closer—a distance within reach of a thrown dagger, and too close to react swiftly if attacked.
Though Fried wore a sword at his waist, he doubted he could hold his ground until the knights outside intervened if the wizard was a skilled fighter.
Besides, it had been over ten years since he last practiced swordsmanship.
‘Good grief, here I am worrying about being assassinated by an old man. I’ve clearly spent too long away from real danger.’
“Now, speak,”
Fried urged again.
The wizard’s response was unexpected.
“Kill General Terdin.”
Fried prided himself on his ability to handle shocking news, but this was beyond his preparation.
“I prefer concise conversations, but this is too brief and absurd.”
“It is brief, but not absurd.”
“Do you even know who Terdin is?”
“He’s a hero of this nation, the supreme commander of all royal forces, and a man who, if he so desired, could overthrow this palace and claim the throne.”
“And do you think you can walk out of this palace alive after saying such things?”
“I am an ordinary old man who values his life, and a loyal servant who treasures Your Majesty’s safety.”
“Then you must also know that General Terdin is one of my most loyal subjects.”
------------------
HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Jjescus]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Join our Discord for release updates!w
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
------------------
“Of course. General Terdin would rather take his own life than betray Your Majesty. If you were to ask me to name the one person in this palace you could trust implicitly, I would stake the honor of Elder tower and name Terdin.”
“Then why say such a thing?”
“There was a prophecy.”
Fried let out a bitter laugh.
He wanted to end this conversation quickly and later recount it over drinks, joking with the court jester about how absurdly amusing the wizard’s claims had been.
“What prophecy?”
“Even before the prophecy, we wizards feared that Terdin’s overwhelming power might one day consume this kingdom. When we interpreted the prophecy we received, it foretold not only the destruction of this kingdom but also of the empire to the south. That’s why I came here in haste.”
“Ridiculous. Just now, you said Terdin is the most trustworthy of all my subjects. Why would such a man betray me?”
“Because Your Majesty will betray Terdin first.”
Fried fell silent.
The wizard continued.
“The tide of history is elevating Iliam Terdin to kingship. Your Majesty cannot resist it. You know this yourself. That is why you deliberately sent him to the most dangerous battlefield, hoping he would perish there.”
“I entrusted the most glorious war to the greatest general—to reclaim the lands my ancestors lost two centuries ago!”
The king’s voice thundered, but it felt like the wailing of a child before his severe and unyielding father.
He felt like a young prince whining in front of his stern predecessor.
Even the wizard’s seemingly consoling step forward appeared threatening.
“If it were truly a glorious war, all the kingdom’s resources would have been poured into the north, and General Terdin would have been given unconditional support. But you didn’t. If he fails and returns, you intend to hold him accountable and punish him, don’t you? You believe that’s the only way to survive.”
Fried felt his breath quicken.
‘He’s using magic. I thought magic was just fire or invisible swords stabbing me, but...’
The wizard, as if reading his thoughts, stepped back a couple of paces and bowed his head.
“Senelot always advises but never forces. It was the same two hundred years ago, and three hundred years ago as well.”
“Two hundred years ago? You mean the reign of King Perrins. And three hundred years ago? That wasn’t even the Kingdom of Triton yet.”
The wizard nodded silently, confirming without words.
King Fried Gallant asked in a voice tinged with fear,
“What advice did the wizard give three hundred years ago?”
“The advice was that a lord named Gallant from the land of Triton was gathering spears and shields.”
It was a story he knew.
A story he had forgotten.
A story he had tried to forget.
“So the wizards who advised the previous kingdoms are still advising this one.”
“Senelot’s advice has always been present. Not just in the kingdom before this one, but even before that. When the king decides, we follow.”
“Does this mean that if I don’t kill Terdin, this kingdom will fall?”
“This is as far as my advice goes. Senelot can only speak of fragmented futures...”
At that moment, the door burst open.
Only one person had the authority to force open the royal chamber doors against the king’s orders.
“Your Majesty, forgive my rudeness. I must disregard procedure and enter immediately!”
It was Archbishop Aikob.
Fried exhaled in relief.
‘Perfect timing.’
Aikob had always handled unpleasant tasks on behalf of the king.
His presence made negotiations with emissaries from the empire more bearable.
He had replenished the royal treasury, which had been on the verge of collapse.
Above all, Aikob was one of the few unshaken by the word “wizard.”
And he had been the one to advise sending Terdin to war.
In that sense, both the wizard and the archbishop had given the same advice.
“You say you’re from the tower? Which tower do you mean?”
Aikob entered the chamber with resounding footsteps.
“You wizards always refer to yourselves as ‘from the tower.’ Which tower? Do you think every tower in this kingdom belongs to you?”
The archbishop stepped forward, boldly saying what Fried had always wanted to but never could.
Dressed in flowing white priestly robes and a tall ceremonial hat, the archbishop’s presence usually provoked one of two reactions: servile respect or fearful retreat.
But the wizard showed neither.
“It’s the Elder Tower, Archbishop Aikob.”
“Address me as Chancellor while speaking to the royal court.”
“As you wish, Chancellor Aikob.”
“What business do you have here? Are you here to demand money again? Ever since I took over the royal finances, I’ve wondered on what grounds you claim a tenth of the kingdom’s budget. Explain it now.”
“Since the founding of ‘every’ kingdom, we’ve received these funds. No one has ever questioned it. If you want grounds, perhaps you could call it tradition?”
“I once opened the treasury because of that so-called tradition, but I won’t do it again. Unless you present clear grounds and show how the funds benefit the crown, I won’t give you a coin.”
When no reply came, the archbishop raised his voice.
“All are equal before God. Don’t delude yourselves into thinking you’re superior because of your abilities. You’re just subjects of His Majesty like everyone else.”
“We understand, Chancellor Aikob.”
The king thought the wizard was being remarkably polite and respectful to the archbishop.
But the wizard’s next words made him realize otherwise.
“Then shouldn’t the archbishop also be one of those equal subjects? If all are equal before God, why does the archbishop place himself above others? Above even the king, it seems.”
“What did you say?”
The archbishop glared as if ready to grab the wizard by the throat.
It looked as though the two old men were about to come to blows, but the wizard’s expression remained lighthearted.
It was a look Fried had never seen before in his time as king.
‘This man sees everyone as equals. He respects the archbishop not because he’s the archbishop, but because he respects everyone the same way. That’s why he’s fearless—even in front of me.’
The wizard turned his gaze to the king.
“Your Majesty, this is no time to celebrate a full treasury. Draining the people to fill the royal coffers, and allowing a man who hoards gold in his so-called sanctum to remain as chancellor, will only fuel dissatisfaction among the people. Soon, discontented nobles in the provinces will arm those same people.”
The archbishop shouted.
“Captain of the Guard! Cut this insolent man down at once! Destroy every wizard’s tower in the kingdom before the day is over!”
The guard captain entered promptly, sword already drawn.
He raised a hand, signaling his ten knights at the door to block the wizard’s escape with their spears.
The king could still shout an order.
‘Stop! Who acts without my command? The royal court belongs to me, not Archbishop Aikob!’
But he gave no such command.
Things were taking a strange turn.
‘So this is what it feels like to be ensnared by magic.’
The guard captain didn’t wait for the archbishop’s order a second time. He struck the wizard’s neck with his blade.
The sword passed through, yet the wizard’s smile remained unchanged, as if nothing had happened.
The king had seen countless executions, but there was no blood this time.
The wizard’s body crumbled into glittering dust, scattering like sand before vanishing without a trace.
Everyone—from the guard captain to the archbishop and the knights—was left speechless.
“It’s a trick! He’s still somewhere in the palace. Find him!”
The archbishop’s shout spurred the soldiers into action, leaving only the guard captain behind.
“Are you unharmed, Your Majesty?”
The king waved a hand.
“Leave me. I need a moment alone.”
“As you wish. I’ll stand guard at the door.”
“Do so.”
The door closed again.
Moments later, the wizard Zea spoke.
“Were you startled, Your Majesty?”
“…Yes.”
The wizard hadn’t moved from the spot he’d stood in.
The guard captain’s sword had cut nothing but air, and everyone else in the room had been fooled into thinking the wizard had turned to dust.
Only Fried could see the real wizard.
The archbishop hadn’t even looked at the right place when addressing the wizard earlier, his gaze slightly off.
Where he’d looked, there stood a figure identical to the wizard.
That was what the guard captain had struck.
The king now doubted whether the person before him was the real wizard.
“This is your magic?”
“It’s more of a simple illusion. You might also call it a different kind of magic than you’re used to.”
The king said nothing for a while, and the wizard waited patiently.
“What must I do?”
The king buried his head in his hands.
At some point, the wizard stepped closer and patted his shoulder, as if lifting the burden of kingship with an oddly calming reassurance.
“The time of Senelot has passed. Now, it’s your turn to share wisdom, Your Majesty.”
“What wisdom could I possibly offer?”
“That which only you can provide.”
Fried wracked his brain.
Before he knew it, he was like a student striving to answer a teacher’s question.
“What I do best… is fighting. I’ve never lost in politics or war!”
Senelot shook his head.
“No, your greatest strength isn’t wisdom. There are others far better at fighting than you.”
Though he wanted to deny it, it was true.
“Then what?”
“Tell me what you love most. Do you love fighting itself?”
“I love… no. What I love is… winning.”
Fried looked up at Senelot, finally arriving at a clear answer.
“I love winning battles.”
Senelot smiled with satisfaction, like a teacher pleased with a student’s correct answer.
“Then that is your wisdom, Your Majesty.”
And with that, he disappeared.
There was no sound, no glittering dust, nothing.
The room had only one exit, and the guard captain outside hadn’t noticed a thing.
The king didn’t even wonder how the wizard had left.
He was preoccupied with one thought.
‘If he can do all this, killing someone would be effortless for him. Why did he ask me to do it?’
The king called out loudly.
“Claive!”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Prepare for a campaign.”
“To where…?”
Claive’s face showed more exasperation than confusion at the decision.
“In the current situation, where else? To the north. I will personally lead reinforcements to support General Terdin.”
------------------
HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Jjescus]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Join our Discord for release updates!w
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
------------------
