Chapter 150

CHAPTER 150. Shimmer, It Was Dazzling

A few days into our residence in Rortel.

We were living in greater luxury than I had ever dared to dream.

“Head of the Tower, your meal is served.”

“Mm… let us begin.”

“Today’s selection includes steak seasoned with crushed Puriling leaves, known for aiding internal recovery, paired with a salad featuring Kakalak fruit gathered from the Hamelin Great Forest. We trust it meets your approval.”

“Mm.”

Every meal consisted of the finest bounties from the land and sea.

It far surpassed the opulence I had experienced during my time at House Brando.

Perhaps they were being mindful of my health—each meal was packed with ingredients beneficial for internal injuries, and the true highlight always followed the dining.

“Your post-meal elixir.”

“Mm!”

This, too, was a potion highly regarded for healing internal trauma.

The cost… well.

“Quite expensive, I imagine.”

I deliberately refrained from asking.

Even now, knowing only a drop or two remained in the vial made it feel like a profound waste—if I were to actually hear the price, I would likely be tempted to lick the glass clean.

“I shall remove the empty container for you.”

“Mm.”

I smacked my lips while observing the attendant take away the potion vial.

“Tch. Seems like there might be a couple more drops in there.”

Just for the record, my verbal responses while in Rortel were strictly limited to “Mm.”

On the night we arrived in Rortel, Parun gave me this instruction.

Even though we were a clandestine group, we had been introduced to Rortel as the Head of the Tower—should I not conduct myself with a gravity befitting that position?

“…Though it feels like whatever shred of dignity I possessed vanished the moment I told them to ‘go ahead and slice my stomach open’.”

Still, I could not argue the point, as I fully understood the necessity for decorum after observing the Head of House Muhad.

But why force it all into a single “Mm”?

I repeatedly attempted to adopt a more formal and dignified way of speaking, but rather than appearing refined, I felt like my stomach ulcers were about to rupture.

That was when Shine’s advice struck home.

Just keep your mouth shut.

…….

Forget about speech patterns or tone—whenever you speak, you exude a scent of desperation. How is it that even your attempts at elegance sound so base…?

True. When you are essentially born into a prestigious (名家) background, there is little one can do.

In honesty, Shine is equally crude when he speaks bluntly, so I tried to challenge him on that, but it was an argument I was destined to lose.

Me? Compared to you? Ha! Look here. Professor Parun, you be the judge.

Ahem, Shine cleared his throat and began.

You sly rat, (beep—) cut that out, and from this point on, limit your replies to ‘Mm.’ A (beep—) like you, even if you (beep—), you will just end up (beep—) anyway. (beep—), (beep—), (beeeeeeeeeep—)

For the record, (beep—) represents my own self-censorship within my memories.

How a direct descendant of a prestigious (名家) family could know more foul language than someone like me, who grew up scuffling in back alleys, is beyond my comprehension.

It was too vulgar to even retain in my own mind.

But what was even more startling was… indeed.

Well? Professor Parun.

Incredible. It is the first time I have discovered that even coarse language can possess a sense of authority.

Did you see? That is what we call dignity.

As Parun confirmed, Shine’s harsh profanity somehow carried an air of distinction.

“…What a corrupt reality.”

Some individuals speak with grace and still appear common, while others spew insults and somehow sound sophisticated.

But what choice did I have?

If I intended to uphold my status as the Head of the Tower, I had no alternative but to remain silent.

Perhaps he misinterpreted my expression?

“…Would you like me to fetch another vial?”

The servant inquired tentatively, pausing as he moved toward the exit.

I replied, “Mm.”

“Understood, I shall return with it immediately.”

“Mm.”

That was a refusal.

Well, if he is offering, what can I do? I should drink it and enjoy it.

Anyway, after finishing the second potion the servant brought without leaving a single drop, I walked out of the dining hall.

I was living a life of indulgence that anyone would envy, but in reality, I harbored a few concerns.

First.

“…Is that truly the Head of the Tower?”

“That is what I have heard.”

“Indeed. That is the word going around.”

The inexplicable hostility from Rortel’s knights.

Initially, I suspected it was because of the ruckus I caused on the first day, but the atmosphere felt strangely ambiguous for that to be the only reason.

Most notably—look there.

Captain Ekst was approaching me after catching sight of me.

If it were truly because of that first day’s intrusion, then the person who should be most resentful of me would be Captain Ekst…

“Head of the Tower, have you eaten? I am currently drafting anti-magic strategies—if you have a moment, would you mind offering some insight?”

His tone was thick with unearned goodwill.

“…Why?”

Even if I accepted the knights’ general hostility, why was this man acting so friendly?

Regardless, setting aside Captain Ekst’s baffling behavior, I came to a few realizations about my current situation.

“Firstly… most of the individuals glaring at me with malice are common soldiers.”

I rarely encountered captains or vice-captains to begin with, and even when I did, they showed no such animosity.

And there was one more thing.

Among the rank-and-file knights observing me, the term “Suyangnok” kept surfacing frequently.

“…Suyangnok? What is Suyangnok?”

It felt like a coincidence at first, but after hearing it repeated, I knew better.

There was clearly some link between the common knights’ subtle resentment toward me and that word, “Suyangnok.”

But it would be awkward to ask about it directly…

“Ah, are you busy by any chance? It will not take much time. Hmm, if not, may I at least inquire about a few things briefly?”

I gathered my thoughts at Captain Ekst’s query.

“Tch. Whatever.”

Even if the average knights glare at me, what will they do—stab me in my sleep at best? I am already well-accustomed to Rortel’s back-stabbing culture.

Certainly, they say familiar perils are the most dangerous, but regardless.

“Mm.”

I signaled a refusal to the persistent Captain Ekst and kept moving. Or rather, I intended to.

Then a heavy hand clamped onto my shoulder!

“Thank you so much! I was in dire need of advice from an expert mage! Let us move to a more private area. There is something I have been contemplating, you see…”

No, this older man.

I told you no, did I not?

“Mm. Mm.”

I shook my head repeatedly to decline, but Captain Ekst was not easily dissuaded.

“Ah! You are saying I should not thank you? How modest!”

Captain Ekst erupted with joy and pulled me into a bone-crushing embrace!

I bit my lip to suppress a scream as my ribs felt like they were being pulverized.

“…Is this man doing this intentionally?”

The moment Captain Ekst finally released me, having caught me around late morning, was approaching lunchtime.

“Head of the Tow— no, Head of the Tower! Truly, thank you! It was immensely helpful! I have never met anyone as deeply versed in anti-magic tactics and defensive measures as you. If you would only join me for lunch—”

“I am busy.”

Having resolved not to use “Mm” with Captain Ekst, I rejected the invitation and stepped outside.

For the record, my interaction with Captain Ekst was actually quite beneficial for me.

“Anti-magic tactics? What is there, really?”

You simply charge directly at them. Of course, the difficulty lies in the execution.

But when someone is looking at you with the desperate eyes of a vicious old sheep, how can you turn away?

So I spoke to him.

Told him what?

“Deculan’s tactics.”

Of course, I was not part of the mage corps, so I was not intimately familiar with the specific formations and strategies of Deculan.

But while I was preparing for my retirement, I had studied formations, tactics, and their potential weaknesses—just in case.

“Only partially, but… it is not bad.”

When I said that, Captain Ekst looked as though he might faint from sheer happiness.

Naturally, I did not say, “This is Deculan’s formation and tactical style.” I simply stated that in such a formation, using this particular tactic, it is more efficient to act in a certain way. Regardless.

But why was it significant?

Because I caught two rabbits with one stone.

“By offering guidance to the vicious old sheep and aiding him, I also broadcasted Deculan’s name far and wide.”

Two good deeds at once!

“Could it be that I am truly the disciple of Deculan?”

Waking or sleeping, my thoughts center on Deculan. When I open my mouth, I invoke Deculan. I carry Deculan in my heart.

At this stage, Deculan ought to be presenting me with an award…

“Oh—those were not two rabbits. There were three.”

By explaining, verbatim, the route and method I used to infiltrate Rortel, I also made any potential fellow conspirators miserable—so it was truly killing three birds with one stone!

Anyway, that was why it was meaningful, but—

“…Still, it is peculiar.”

Why is that vicious old sheep so friendly?

During our conversation, he remarked something along the lines of, “Thanks to you, the knights can improve their cultivation…” but I had no idea what he meant.

My unease intensified.

However—

“What does it matter to me?”

I forcibly shook off the uncomfortable feeling and continued walking.

I wanted to corner one of the passing knights and beat him down, but there was something more pressing than that right now.

After walking for a while—

“Hmm. Is this the place?”

I arrived at a structure somewhere in Rortel.

Its name was…

The Mahakgwan.

A center for magical research.

Occasionally, people are surprised to learn that a prestigious sword house (名家) possesses a Mahakgwan.

The Mahakgwan was not a facility for practical magic training, but rather a collective that delved into theory and conducted academic research.

It is an institution that, unless you are a prestigious magic house, you do not require—and even if you did, it is arduous to sustain.

But ironically, the more a house identifies as a prestigious sword house, the more resources they pour into maintaining their Mahakgwan.

“Regardless of being a sword house, you still require mages… and ‘know yourself, know your enemy, and you will win every battle’—it is all about understanding the adversary.”

Naturally, there were numerous differences compared to a prestigious magic house, the greatest being its composition.

Unlike prestigious magic houses, which staff their Mahakgwan with mages from within their own kin, the members of a prestigious sword house’s Mahakgwan were entirely outsiders.

“Well, it is said there are lifelong mages who serve loyally for generations, but… that is exceptionally rare.”

As for disparities in research quality and the like, that was not even a topic worth discussing.

“But then, why did the old sheep come to me when Rortel already possesses its own Mahakgwan?”

My confusion lasted only a moment. I quickly ceased thinking about the old man.

The more I dwelled on him, the more I felt an unexplainable anxiety—as if I had committed some grave sin without even realizing it.

But why did I come here?

“Our Professor Parun.”

Yes. Because Parun was here.

Ah, he had not switched professions.

He was here to learn how to operate the Infinite Chain from the Mahakgwan that held the expertise.

With that in mind, I entered the Mahakgwan to locate Parun.

There were sentries at the threshold, but when I displayed my temporary Platinum Token, entry was granted without question.

And as I stepped into the Mahakgwan—

I stood in the ground-floor lobby, staring blankly as I absorbed the scene.

“Excuse me—how may I be of service? Ah, could it be… are you the Head of the Tower?”

One of the Mahakgwan’s clerks recognized me, but I did not answer. No—I could not bring myself to answer.

“How… can this be…”

“Head of the Tower? If you are here to find your associates, I can show you the way—”

I recoiled and stepped away from the clerk approaching me.

Perhaps he was startled by my reaction—because he, too, flinched and froze in an awkward position, a nameless clerk.

I glanced at the bewildered clerk, then scanned the room once more.

“W-what on earth is wrong…?”

Why, you ask?

“…Are you inquiring because you truly do not know?”

“Yes, yes… what on earth is wrong?”

Fury began to boil.

Truly, truly—you do not know why?

“…You are not qualified to be clerks.”

“Head of the Tower? What do you mean—”

Perhaps my volume was too high.

The clerks in the lobby… no, the mages’ gazes snapped toward me.

Normally, even this situation would call for “Mm.” But at this moment, I could not restrain my tongue.

“Why is everyone’s hair so thick?”

The question pierced the silence like an awl.

“…!”

Someone was visibly shaken.

“……”

Someone’s eyes trembled with subtle fear.

It was then that a cold breeze swept through the Mahakgwan.

And was it some twisted irony?

Thud.

A tuft of fibers descended on the wind.

No, it was not a tuft of fiber.

“That is…”

At my inquiry, the mage who had dropped the “fiber clump” smiled bitterly. And as he lowered his head to retrieve it—

I witnessed it.

The vast expanse of his scalp, spread broad like an expansive desert.

The mage standing before me added at that very moment.

“It is a wig, Head of the Tower.”

He lifted the lid… no, the hairpiece—proving his point.

Starting with him, one after another, the mages lifted their nests… no, their wigs—and authenticated themselves.

I had no choice but to bow my head.

“…My judgment was superficial.”

“No, Head of the Tower.”

Clerk 1 smiled bitterly.

“It is quite alright.”

Clerk 2 also offered a strained smile.

And while every clerk present wore a look of bitter resignation—

“I have heard you are a phenomenal mage, Head of the Tower.”

Clerk 1 gazed at my head as if expecting something. Every clerk’s eyes converged on my hair.

Beneath that intense scrutiny, I smiled calmly.

“Thank you.”

“Yes, then…”

“Now, guide me to my associates.”

“…Head of the Tower?”

I turned my gaze out the window.

“Is the weather not marvelous today?”

The sunlight was intense.

Shimmer, it was dazzling.