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[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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Chapter 165: The Blue Magic Tower Head, Karios
Suddenly, all the mages gathered at the Blue Magic Tower widened their eyes.
The Blue Magic Squad Commander, who knew the Second Elder's usual upright character well, also looked this way with disbelief.
Amidst Vaph's screams echoing from his destroyed Mana Core, McClaine, instinctively driven by maternal love, waved both hands and embraced Vaph.
"Medical team! Medical team!!"
With a groan, Vaph fainted.
Mages specializing in healing were already pouring potions into him, but there was no way to regenerate a completely pierced Mana Core.
McClaine, having lost her reason, screamed while tearing at her hair.
"Bring that bastard here! Now!"
As the Blue Magic Squad members took a step forward at her shrill voice, the Second Elder raised his hand.
"Do not act rashly."
"Are you crazy, Second Elder! What are you doing right now!"
The Second Elder turned around and glared at McClaine.
"Be quiet!"
"You're telling me to be quiet... cough."
Exposed to the abruptly emanating mana wave, McClaine clutched her neck and gasped for breath.
Only then did the Second Elder turn around again and meet my eyes.
"I never expected you to come first. We should have visited Samael first, but we had so much to sort out internally that it was delayed. Please understand."
I met the Second Elder's gaze.
I realized there was no falsehood in his words.
"You're sincere. Did you deliberately hide the rumors?"
"I didn't hide them. We were still investigating internally."
The Second Elder glanced at the unconscious Vaph.
"Is this a just consequence for what the First Elder did?"
"It has nothing to do with that. This bastard put a hit out on me in the Demon Realm."
"Huh."
The Second Elder, who never expected to hear such a thing, let out a sigh of disbelief.
"So, was your visit today purely because of Vaph?"
At that moment, feeling another strong presence, I stared intently beyond the crowd.
The Second Elder immediately stepped back and looked in the same direction as me.
"Why has the Tower Head come out?"
The Blue Magic Tower mages parted like the tide to the left and right, bowing to a man descending from the upper floors.
Step by step.
The closer the man got, the more a chilling coldness seemed to flutter around.
Saaa—
Blue clothes and black hair.
An impression that seemed even younger than Parin or the Second Elder.
McClaine started shouting as if she had met reinforcements.
"Tower Head! Our Vaph is hurt. Vaph is... sob. It's his doing. That guy! The Second Elder did something terrible to me too..."
"Silence."
"Mmm!"
With a simple gesture from the Tower Head, McClaine's mouth was sealed shut.
"6-star master? No. 7-star."
The mana wave that bloomed momentarily was extraordinary.
To manifest a 6-star level spell this easily means he's at least two steps ahead of Parin as a mage.
As expected of the Tower Head.
"Thank you for preventing an accident, Second Elder."
"You're welcome."
The Tower Head finally looked straight at me.
"I've been wanting to meet you. I am the Blue Magic Tower Head, Karios Blemantarn."
"I'm Ruin Samael."
Karios's eyes flickered with interest.
"The person himself has come directly. As it happens, I was just talking with Ardehain a few days ago."
I pointed at Vaph first.
"You need to discipline your child properly."
Karios, with a chilling aura swirling around him, replied.
"He's a child without talent. I didn't know he would throw away even his discernment."
"He's worse than a third-rate gangster."
"Did he harm the Crazy Mage Squad Commander?"
"He tried to assassinate me."
I took out Vancle from my pocket.
"Seems like he was quite greedy for this."
Karios glanced at Vaph's condition.
"You've shown mercy."
"I'm still thinking about it."
I suddenly felt that Karios's answer was a bit strange for a Tower Head.
Looking back and forth between McClaine and Karios, I thought to myself.
'It seems Karios isn't his father.'
Karios seemed to know that but wasn't showing it.
I didn't really want to pry into other people's family affairs, so I dropped the thought.
"If you'd like, would you care for some tea upstairs? It seems we have things to discuss."
"I do have some questions."
While we were talking, the mages watching couldn't hide their surprise.
It was because the Second Elder and the Tower Head were treating me unusually. Moreover, even though I was speaking informally, they remained consistently polite.
McClaine also seemed to sense that something was wrong, her eyes widening as she looked back and forth between Karios and me.
Karios said,
"I will deal with Vaph according to the rules of the Blue Magic Tower."
With his Mana Core destroyed, it was practically a death sentence.
When Karios gave a few orders, the Blue Magic Squad took Vaph away, and the other mages also disappeared to attend to their duties.
The atmosphere instantly turned quiet again.
"Let's go."
As I followed Karios to the upper floors of the Magic Tower, the crowds we encountered thinned out.
Above the 7th floor, it was completely empty.
However, the magical energies occasionally felt from the closed rooms were not to be ignored.
It seemed like the true power of the Blue Magic Tower lay elsewhere.
***
10th floor of the Blue Magic Tower.
The Tower Head's room, occupying the entire top floor, was filled with pure white furniture.
In one corner of the spotless room, snowflakes were fluttering against an artificially created glass wall, with a few pure white branches placed underneath.
"White Flower Tree?"
"You know about it?"
Karios's voice, which had been calm while preparing the tea, rose slightly for the first time.
"You have quite the discerning eye. Very few recognize this tree."
"It must have been difficult to obtain."
The White Flower Tree, imbued with the energy of extreme yin, has considerable value. It's called a divine elixir for those suffering from blocked meridians due to an excess of yang energy.
Even for those without meridian issues, it's valuable for purifying impurities in the body and can even replace several ingredients needed to restore damaged mana circles.
Karios changed the subject.
"What kind of tea would you like?"
"I'd prefer some alcohol. Do you have any moonshine by any chance?"
"I do."
"Oh?"
A short while later, I sat facing Karios, who had brought out a bottle of moonshine and a luxurious glass.
Somehow, the moonshine didn't seem to fit the atmosphere, but I drank it anyway.
"It tastes good."
Seeing Karios up close, he had an even colder impression than I initially thought.
As we briefly made eye contact, Karios spoke first.
"I sincerely apologize for Elder Parin's actions."
"What did Ardehain tell you?"
"I heard everything from Ardehain's Third Military Commander. That Parin tried to poison Ardehain's Third Military Commander, and that Samael saved him. I also heard that Parin has someone backing him."
As expected.
Seeing as he didn't pass on the information about the demon, it seems Fichte didn't trust Karios either. It was only natural.
"Let me ask you directly."
I stared straight into Karios's cold eyes.
"How could you not know what Parin was up to?"
Karios shook his head.
"I already told Ardehain this. The Magic Tower guarantees freedom to high-ranking mages. Especially elders, who frequently enter seclusion. It's not uncommon for them to be out of contact for over a year."
"So you're saying you don't know what the other elders are doing either."
"I never imagined the First Elder would do such a thing. I deeply regret my ethical responsibility."
"Shall I be honest?"
I took a sip of moonshine and continued.
"I'm suspicious. There's no guarantee that there aren't others in the Blue Magic Tower connected to Parin. Of course, that includes you."
"That's why you've been cynical from the beginning. To be honest, I..."
Suddenly, a chill emanated from Karios's cold eyes.
"I was careless. This is beyond ridiculous. That the First Elder, not even a Squad Commander, was doing such things behind everyone's backs."
The more I talked to Karios, the more I felt that this wasn't simply a problem caused by the Blue Magic Tower's free atmosphere.
For a Tower Head, he seemed to know surprisingly little about the internal affairs of the Tower.
I looked around once more.
The wall was filled with grimoires.
Traces of diligent magic practice everywhere.
And the aura I felt from Karios himself. It didn't seem to lose out to Hector's at all.
'Was he completely uninterested in anything other than magic?'
Strangely, the fact that Vaph and McClaine were able to act as they did now made more sense.
Shaking my head, I asked,
"How far have you investigated?"
"First, I investigated the offices and whereabouts of all the elders and above, along with Ardehain. But we found nothing."
I felt like I had a grasp of what kind of person Karios was, but I couldn't let my guard down.
He could be deceiving me.
A Tower Head would be capable of fabricating such a situation.
There was nothing dubious about his answers, but they were also vague and unhelpful.
"The matter of the First Elder will soon leak out. There's no way to stop it forever. I'll investigate as much as possible before then."
Karios suddenly muttered,
"I know the First Elder's skills well."
"..."
"I heard that the Crazy Mage Squad Commander uses incantation magic. Is that true?"
"You should already know that."
"I wanted to ask you directly. It's hard to believe that someone your age subdued Elder Parin, and even used incantation magic."
"What do you really want to say?"
Karios showed a faint smile for the first time.
"You're not the only one who uses incantation magic."
"Hmm."
"Those residing in the Upper Tower of the White Magic Tower are also very interested in incantation magic. If you have the chance, please visit them. It will be very helpful."
This was the umpteenth time I'd heard this.
The Upper Tower of the White Magic Tower...
That wasn't important right now.
"Let's finish what we were talking about. Is there anything else you found about Parin's activities?"
"Nothing noteworthy."
"Where is Parin's office?"
"On the 9th floor. I’ve already searched it thoroughly with Ardehain. Likewise, there was nothing noteworthy."
"I'll go see for myself."
Karios nodded as if it were natural.
"The Crazy Mage Squad Commander is more than qualified to do so."
Karios beckoned with his hand, and a clear sound echoed through the room. An adjutant waiting outside entered.
"Guide Ruin to the restricted area on the 9th floor."
"Yes, Tower Head."
***
As soon as I went down a floor, I saw a door on the left, blocked by a red cordon.
Originally, the 9th floor was where the First and Second Elders resided, but with the First Elder's position currently vacant, the Second Elder was using the entire floor alone.
"This is the office the First Elder used. I'll be waiting outside, so please let me know when you're finished."
As soon as I opened the door and entered, I saw a well-organized interior.
It was about half the size of Karios's office, but still quite spacious.
"Hmm."
The bookshelf that filled one wall was crammed with countless papers and books, and I could see small desks and drawers placed in between.
Overall, it was clean, almost devoid of any human touch.
I started to slowly scan the office from right to left.
If Ardehain had investigated with him, they would have surely examined everything in the room. Nevertheless, I chose to check everything with my own eyes.
Loren and Fichte were trustworthy, but they could have missed something.
Besides, I was the type of person who needed to see things for myself.
Furthermore, in the worst-case scenario, if Karios was in league with Parin, he could have tampered with things before Ardehain arrived.
I was going to check for that.
Parin definitely had someone backing him.
Whatever it was, if there were any artificial traces, I would tenaciously pursue them.
That's what the Mad Dog, no, the Heaven-Defying Dog, no, the Heaven-Defying Monster? What was it?
I couldn't remember exactly, but in the end, I was the Crazy Mage. That was the tenacity of a Crazy Mage.
As day turned to night, I continued to scour the office.
My nerves were getting increasingly on edge.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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