episode_0092

“Hey, Leo…”

Tap- tap-

After a long overdue cleaning, the two met again after a long time. However, this is the first time they’ve met in a place like this.

“…Are you listening?” “…….”

The spire, as always, rose straight and tall. Its upper levels, the Archmage’s chambers.

Tap tap tap tap—

With a very displeased expression, Leonardo rested his chin on his hand and tapped the table with his index finger.

“…I should have spared a few.” “Whew—”

The Northern Naifrantz Spire, Archmage Leonardo Price.

It took a lot to get that brand-new, shiny nameplate onto this desk.

Having received Lea’s tutelage and experienced a period of rapid growth, he ultimately surpassed his predecessors and the upper echelons of the magical world before their conspiracy could begin.

All Leonardo could think about was the possibility of his master being struck down. His heart pounded with urgency.

After much deliberation, he came to this conclusion:

‘Strike before being struck.’

He had the strength, the justification, and the advantage. As the Captain of the Royal Mage Corps, he used the King’s authority to raise an army and surrounded the residences of his elders, who were passed out drunk from the night before.

“Ugh- What is it… Just get to the point—” “Th-This is…!! Nellkong, open your eyes properly…!!” “Insolent! How dare you, a junior, forget your duties and do such a thing—”

At first, he was tense.

The abilities of his seniors, who had a firm grip on the magical world and were exceptionally skilled in the control of spells.

Leonardo knew this best. Honestly, he couldn’t help but acknowledge their magical prowess.

And he quickly realized that that skill was a thing of the past.

The Archmages, having reached the limits of spell development, were immersed in alcohol and women, wasting their time. They were no match for their junior, who trained in mana control every day.

The battle was decided the moment they began their incantation.

Ten seconds? While the old men mumbled the incantation, it felt far too long to Leonardo, who could manipulate the mana in his body like extensions of himself.

Before three words could leave their mouths, he filled his fist with mana. One by one, in order of age, he delivered a hard punch.

Like their yellow teeth, barely clinging to their gums before being knocked out cleanly, they bled from their mouths and noses, surrendering completely.

“Pl-Please…spare my canines…!! Little brother-! I need to eat, don’t I…!!” “I’ll feed you gruel.”

Bam—!

That day, the former Archmage and all the bigwigs of the magical world vanished into the annals of history, along with their worn-out past glories.

And, in the present.

With the core members of the magical world—those who truly had ‘ability’—gone, the spire was on the verge of collapse.

Of course, this doesn’t mean the actual tower was crumbling. It was operationally devastated.

Firstly, the distribution lines. Buying monster hunting spoils from the Adventurer’s Guild, and supplying specially made magic stones to the castle and academy.

Leonardo, whose last experience with money-making was childhood playtime, had no economic knowledge. Without outsourcing, there wouldn’t be a single copper left in the budget.

Secondly, staffing. Due to the purge and the dismissal of a large number of existing personnel, few people remained to keep the tower functioning smoothly.

Thirty percent of the key personnel had been eliminated, another thirty percent followed them and left the spire, and the remaining thirty percent were poorly managed.

Ultimately, there was no choice but to outsource again.

Finally…the third point, the very raison d’être of the spire, its ‘ultimate goal’.

Until now, the Archmage and the upper echelons of the magical world had aimed for the ‘ultimate spell’.

But that was impossible for Leonardo, a devout follower of the Lea religion, as it contradicted the fundamental doctrine that mana precedes spells in importance in magic.

So what should he do from now on? Should he outsource this too—

“This won’t do, let’s quit!”

What abruptly ended his complicated thoughts was the Goddess of the Lea religion.

Having grown tired of this bleak atmosphere, she issued a merciless oracle to simply give it all up.

“But—with so many problems piling up…how can we just leave things as they are, Your Divinity?!”

Smile.

The solution to the unsolvable problem she proposed was nothing special.

“…Adventuring?” “Yes, let’s go on an adventure!”

. . .

Taking a break from the spire and doing adventurer work might bring answers.

That was the main content of the oracle.

By dealing directly with merchants, gaining economic understanding, meeting adventurers gathered in the guild, building connections, and ultimately finding a goal, a dream for this spire.

Although it was understandable when spoken, Leonardo wasn’t convinced.

But what could he do if he couldn’t understand? He had to obey when the new master of the world told him to.

So far, so good. But…

“Is it alright for the Queen to be doing this…” “Hee hee- What’s wrong? It’s something ‘he’ allowed.”

Their divinity—no, Lea, now the nation’s Queen, insisted on joining the adventure.

“Your Highness…is this really alright?” “It’s fine! Adventure is something I’ve always enjoyed. And—”

Her black hair, even though it was nothing new, was always striking. Aside from its rarity, its beauty was breathtaking.

“Right now, I’m not the Queen of Naifrantz, I’m just Lea, the adventurer.”

How well the leather armor she wore to mimic a common adventurer of the kingdom suited her.

The thought that if wildflowers were given human form, it would be like her, didn’t leave Leonardo’s mind.

“No one would ever guess I’m the Queen, unless you blab.” “Yes, yes…I understand.”

Thus began their adventure, gradually accumulating renown according to their abilities, occasionally even joined by His Majesty the King.

It created the foundation for Leonardo to pursue his dreams.

. . .

Ten years passed, and the spire had finally stabilized.

With spell development abandoned, the work of the mages naturally became repetitive labor. While some criticized that the spire had become a magic stone factory, the newly introduced ‘Pure Mana Studies’ shattered their critiques head-on.

The era where only the talented studied complicated spells was over, and a new era focused on the essence of magic began.

By focusing more on the very basic level of mana manipulation, magical research became something romantic, showing an infinite world without being hindered by the limits of talent.

And it wasn’t just research.

Magical training became more sensory and intuitive. A new understanding took root: that through hard work and experience, anyone could become an Archmage.

Thanks to this, commoners also began succeeding in magic through the academy, and the number of applicants increased day by day.

Naturally, the nobles were not pleased.

Taking away the privilege of the privileged and distributing it equally to everyone was not much different.

Leonardo considered this a good change.

Magic was not a rigid thing that clung to talent and spells, but rather a self-cultivating discipline that constantly strived towards its essence.

Initially, this thought was instilled by Lea. But for Leonardo, who had adventured through a new world with her, it was no longer a borrowed feeling.

A belief he firmly held. Something he thought about even in his sleep.

Sitting in his now completely worn-out chair and desk, looking out the window, he felt as though someone were asking him.

‘What is your dream?’

That voice from somewhere was clearly a hallucination.

Lea Flora was no longer in this world.

However.

Leonardo answered the hallucination.

“I have one. Something very romantic, and very mysterious.”

She, who had briefly settled in his life like a migratory bird, no, she who swept through like a storm and then left without a trace.

Leonardo knew his feelings were selfish.

No one would ever repay him. No one would ever recognize it.

This was his lament to the world, a last struggle for the one he loved and the world, his days numbered.

He would reach the place Lea reached.

Beyond the truth of magic. Within the essence of this world, mana, only she discovered, a forbidden research on souls.

Without the help of Lea, who was his god, master, colleague, friend, and eternal idol.

He would complete that research with his own strength.

Leonardo slowly took a step.

Leaving behind his beloved daughter, who had become a master of Pure Mana Studies, and the girl he had chosen as the next Archmage.

Was it to give her the same problem he had spent his whole life solving?

Reaching the top floor, he quietly sat in the center of the room.

Slowly drawing mana over the spell, which was nearing completion.

“Now…we might meet again.”

For a moment, he recalled her daughter who had contributed some knowledge toward the completion of this research. Actually, if he were to pass on the Archmage position, her daughter would be the best, wouldn’t she?

Grin. But he shook his head again.

Even without giving her problems, she would eventually reach her mother’s achievement on her own.

* * *

He felt he had to.

He held a shining white magic stone tightly in his hand and held it to his chest.

Then, from the fragments of a broken golem, no, from the magic stone embedded within it,

it felt like he heard a voice.

「Clear- the path-」

[??’s Magic Stone]

Rustle-

[‘Lea’s Magic Stone] -Rank: ?? -A magic stone left by ‘Lea’. Only those who have inherited ‘Lea’s’ ‘blood’ can use it. -Can borrow some of ??’s power. Using it will cause ??.