Chapter 118: The Archmage and the High Noble’s Man (1)

High Priestess Moria.

Even among the Blue Tower’s pessimistic mages, the Frozen Breath had been considered one of the most difficult, yet she deceived the former Tower Master and even won his favor.

It was proof of just how exceptional her deceitful eloquence was.

And yet, the reason she managed to seed suspicion toward Risir in the minds of a high noble and an Archmage wasn’t merely due to that silver tongue.

In fact, she hadn’t even used any real persuasive tactics during this incident.

She didn’t need to.

Moria, the genius mage.

That persona, that supposed talent, was nothing but a fabrication—a fictitious identity crafted by a high tiering priestess of the White Shadow Order, who gave up her 8th tier powers to assume it.

The genius she displayed during the duel flirted with the incomprehensible, and even then, it was barely acceptable through sheer force of compromise.

And yet a mage of the same “age” effortlessly denied that genius.

Risir’s talents were fundamentally alien even when compared to Moria’s.

Then came the revelation, Moria’s so-called genius was nothing but a fabrication by a high priestess.

Naturally, they were led to a single question:

—So Moria’s genius was fake?

—Then what about “that”?

—That “thing” that casually dismissed her fake genius… what is he?

Given the circumstances, the high noble and Archmage had no choice but to assume Risir was another mysterious monster concealing his true nature, just like Moria.

Even Moria herself had become convinced that he was either a black mage or a devil worshiper.

In such an unprecedented situation, their thinking narrowed, and inevitably converged.

Her grand scheme had fallen apart.

Having earned the suspicion of both a Archmage and a high noble, Moria saw no future left.

All she had left was her poisonous nature.

—If it’s come to this, then you’re going down with me.

Determined to expose Risir’s true face, she willingly gave up everything.

She handed over the “Mirror of Reflection,” one of her treasures as a high priestess, to Drey and Pallarg.

And after that…

Everything unfolded exactly as expected.

…Or so everyone thought.

“Impossible!!!”

Moria screamed in fury.

“Those things are not normal elementals!!!”

“…”

“…”

Drey and Pallarg, deep down, nodded.

Risir’s spiritual world, resembling a hellish abyss, was something no ordinary individual could possess.

Even dissected into parts, it was the same.

The endless lake of blood.

The black pillar of flame.

The vast sandstorm.

Each one was a spiritual world of overwhelming power.

You’d have to be a Swordmaster or Archmage to even begin to possess such a landscape.

Which meant, each of those “adorable” elementals was equivalent to a being of that scale.

But then—

“You’re saying those things were sealed away in his inner world?! Absurd…! It must be a trick!”

Moria’s claim made sense, if it weren’t being made against someone who defied all sense.

Everyone here knew that now.

Moria too, though she ranted and denied it with clenched teeth, understood it in her mind.

You cannot judge “that” within the bounds of common sense.

Drey exchanged a glance with Pallarg, silently asking for his opinion.

Pallarg shook his head.

“A trick? A summoning? If it were any of those, there would have been some mana response. But there was none.”

“Then…”

“Withdrawal.”

“Withdrawal…?”

The once evil-filled spiritual world of Risir was now completely empty.

Because the elementals who had filled it with that sinister energy had simply been taken out.

That was all.

“….”

Pallarg gazed into the Mirror of Reflection once more.

An empty spiritual world…

That someone like Risir could have a spiritual world with nothing in it—was an impossibility.

He racked his brain to interpret what an empty spiritual world truly meant.

Eventually, he arrived at a conclusion.

“Hah… haha…”

A dry chuckle slipped out through the thick beard of the Archmage.

The overwhelming aura he’d carried—mismatched with his age and appearance—faded.

Now, the man looked tired and humbled, as he gestured toward Moria.

“There’s no way… no way that could be possible!”

The ice prison binding Moria swallowed her completely.

Her venomous screams vanished.

Silence fell over the basement.

In that moment,

The presence of “Moria” was erased from the hearts of Drey and Pallarg.

This was the same woman who, with her unparalleled talent, had once dazzled the eyes of a former Tower Master and a collector of gifted individuals.

Once, her loss would’ve thrown them into despair.

But now, they felt no such thing.

Not even a flicker of regret.

Moria.

A once “unparalleled genius” now felt like nothing—because of the boy standing in front of them.

All misunderstanding around him had evaporated.

Of course, they still didn’t fully understand what he was.

But this much was clear:

As a noble who cultivates talent,

As a mage who walks the path of magic,

He was a man they absolutely could not afford to lose.

The eyes of the high noble and the Archmage began to shine.

…And then, their expressions contorted with anxiety.

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

Risir and his elementals stared at them silently.

The misunderstanding was gone. Only an unjustly treated young man remained.

There might still be a way to mend things.

Pallarg and Drey began replaying events in their minds, trying to find the right words…

“It would’ve been nice if, before you interrogated me based on the high priestess’s words, you had at least asked me for my side first… Did you really trust me so little? Less than a high priestess of a heretical cult?”

Risir saved them the trouble.

With a soft, bitter tone, he carefully listed out their “crimes.”

Indeed, they had ended up interrogating Risir alongside Moria.

The same Moria who had infiltrated their ranks as a high priestess of a heretical cult.

And the same Risir who had helped root her out and prevent disaster.

Their suspicion had been grounded.

It had logic and precedent.

But bringing it up now would only sound like an excuse.

So what could they say?

They didn’t know.

Frankly, there was nothing to say.

“No, that’s—”

“That’s not—”

The high noble and the Archmage squirmed before a nameless honorary mage whose lineage they didn’t even know.

And the elementals came to Risir’s aid.

“To think that the heir of a high noble house and a former Tower Master would be so easily swayed by a cultist’s lies. How uncouth.”

The sharp-eyed girl spirit sneered coldly.

“A high noble and an Archmage joining hands with a heretic to oppress a young, righteous, and talented mage, surely a scandal worthy of shaking the continent! And the worst part? It’s all true!”

The gray-white fire spirit shouted loudly.

“You’re not Mastah’s friends anymore! I thought you were friends, but you hurt him! Now you’re mean!”

The baby sand spirit stood with arms on her hips, furrowed brows, and chastised them.

“No…”

“That’s…”

Pallarg and Drey, like broken record players, could only repeat the same two words.

Watching it all silently, Risir offered a calm, bittersweet smile.

“I understand your positions. So please, don’t let this incident trouble you further. If you have no more business with me, I’ll take my leave.”

Even now, he bowed politely and took his leave with grace.

Had he instead shown anger or resentment, they could have used their experience to comfort and win him over.

After all, nobles and mages were people who prized face and honor above all else.

Handling people like that was easy, just treat them as lesser nobles or lesser mages, offer some dignity, and patch things up.

“No…”

“That’s…”

But Risir hadn’t come to them as a noble or a mage.

He had come only as a wounded young man.

And so, they had no idea what to do.

He was a type of person they’d never dealt with before.

It was a situation they’d never encountered.

How were they supposed to fix this?

How were they supposed to win back the heart that had so thoroughly turned away?

The high noble and the Archmage were suddenly caught in a very personal crisis.

“Mastah! Surely, you could’ve demanded an apology or compensation from those fools right then and there! Yet instead, you chose to leave them with a good impression! How wise and merciful you are!!!”

As we left the basement and walked through the hallway, Dan’Galeon spoke, having returned to my inner world.

His words practically dripped with an attempt to dress up my decision in fine rhetoric.

—Well, they’re still people of high status, way above us.

Clana added her own comment.

Were they trying to console me?

Maybe they had misunderstood something, possibly because of how I looked before leaving the basement.

To clear things up, I decided to explain the true reason behind my actions.

The way nobles and mages behave.

What would happen if I followed that mold,  and what would happen if I didn’t.

To put it simply, I wanted to make them squirm. I figured that would make it even more awkward for them to deal with me.

—As expected of Mastah!!! You defy convention! Not just that, you use it to your advantage! Once again, I, Dan’Galeon, am humbled by your wisdom!

If you praise me like that, it just sounds like you’re mocking me.

—No, the devil has a point. Among nobles and mages your age, I’ve never seen anyone act or think like that. You’re… a real mutant.

Can’t even tell if that’s a compliment or an insult.

Chatting idly with my “elementals,” I eventually arrived in front of my room.

There, waiting for me, stood a girl in pure white.

“Ugh…!”

I shielded my eyes from her dazzling beauty and stepped back.

“How strange… Why is the sun out at this hour…?!”

“Full of energy, I see. Wandering around already. You even spout nonsense the moment you see me.”

“Let’s get one thing clear…”

“Another excuse incoming?”

“Sorry. Did I keep you waiting?”

“Oh?”

I explained everything that had happened in the basement, why I had no choice but to briefly abandon my promise to her.

“…I was just on my way back after resolving that.”

“Well. I guess that couldn’t be helped.”

“Oh… I didn’t expect to be forgiven this easily… I should note this, Fienne is weak to compliments about how she resembles the sun…”

“Then maybe note this too: she’s also weak to people being late.”

“Is that so? Well, it’s Fienne’s advice, so I’ll take it to heart. Fienne is weak to compliments about the sun… weak to people being late…”

As I engraved this precious lesson into my mind, Fienne silently walked past me.

I followed her and asked.

“So, where are we headed now, Fienne?”

“District Three. There’s a place I’ve been wanting to try.”

District Three.

One of Bondalles’s most bustling and upscale areas.

Shiver.

My wallet began to tremble in fear.

“W-Well then! Let’s do this! I’ll treat today! Fienne, eat whatever you want…!”

“Ugh, no thanks. I invited you, so I’ll pay.”

“Who are you, and what have you done with Fienne? The Fienne I knew once insisted we stay at an expensive inn even though we were broke—“

“Oh. Thanks to you, I think I’ve found my old self again. Now hand over that wallet. Let’s indulge in this ‘generosity’ you speak of.”

Despite her words, when I actually held out my coin pouch, she recoiled in disgust and waved me off.

Eventually, we arrived at the rear gate of the estate.

There stood a carriage, not gaudy, but clearly refined.

Could it be…?

It was.

“Miss.”

As we approached, the elderly coachman bowed and opened the door for Fienne.

“My god… Is this what a successful woman looks like? Fienne, if it’s not rude, may I… admire you?”

“If you’d kept your title as Gadum’s Deputy Councilor, you’d be riding in something ten times more luxurious.”

Fienne gestured for me to get in first.

Once I was seated, she held out her hand from below.

Was she asking me to help her in?

I gently took her slender hand and guided her in.

We sat side-by-side in the carriage.

“Ugh, cramped. Go sit over there.”

So we sat across from each other instead.

Knock knock.

Fienne tapped the side of the seat, and the carriage began to move.

Just like a true noble lady, graceful to the core.

“By the way, what did you do with those kids?”

“Those kids?”

She tapped her head lightly.

“Oh, the tenants. Of course, they’re still with me.”

I mimicked her gesture as I replied, and she let out a long sigh.

“Hm? What?”

“What do you mean, ‘what’? Obviously I’m overjoyed we’ll have three more guests tagging along on our meal.”

Was it just me, or did the mood suddenly grow a little stiff?

Then, Fienne spoke again.

“By the way… did I ever tell you this?”

“Even if you did, I don’t mind hearing it again. If it’s you talking, I could listen all night.”

“Do you remember Gaderok?”

“Of course.”

How could I forget?

That was when I first drew out the Blade Force.

“Speaking of which, what happened to him after I cut him down—?”

“The wound wasn’t too deep. It would’ve been fatal without treatment, but with immediate care, he could survive.”

“So you saved him?”

“Yes. The city council still had questions for him.”

“He seemed pretty tenacious. Did he answer willingly?”

She raised both palms in response.

“Ah, right. If the Master asks, he must answer. So, did you learn anything?”

“Quite a lot, actually. Thanks to him, we were able to wrap up this case smoothly.”

“No way!? From what I saw, it was all thanks to your tireless efforts!”

“Hm. I’ll take that as a compliment. Anyway, the reason I brought him up—“

You.

Fienne’s voice turned serious.

“Have you heard of the Third Arm?”

“The Third Arm?”

A mythical arm said to exist beyond sight, used by the God of Gamblers to manipulate games in their favor.

The Third Arm.

It was also the name of the most infamous crime syndicate on the continent.

“You mean the crime syndicate, right?”

“You know them. Good. Then I’ll get straight to the point. Gaderok was connected to them. Evidence showed he was receiving support from the Third Arm to expand his business in the back alleys.”

“Support, huh?”

“Yes. You could call it… their version of investment.”

“So, I accidentally screwed up their investment?”

“Exactly. That’s why I’m telling you this. The Third Arm… Sooner or later, they’re going to find out that their investment failed. Because of one man who wiped out Bondalles’s criminal back alleys.”

“You’re saying they might come after me?”

“I don’t know about might, but at least be aware. Don’t accept things from strangers. Don’t follow unfamiliar people.”

“You make it sound like I’m some helpless child.”

“Are you not? You get into some kind of trouble almost every other day.”

“But I fix all of it, don’t I?”

“Sigh… You really need to get properly punished one of these days.”

Our conversation continued, through the carriage ride, through the meal, and all the way until we parted.

“Next time, make sure to leave those kids behind.”

After parting ways with Fienne, I returned to my room intending to refine my “enhancement” technique.

But though my motivation was high, my heart felt heavy.

I knew well that at my current level, there was only so much I could improve on my own.

If I want to make real progress, I probably need to thoroughly leech off another high tier mage—

“Hm?”

My thoughts halted.

So did my feet.

Down the corridor.

Someone was standing in front of my room.