Ch.168EP.40 – Spring of the Knights (3)

How can one trust the words of a child from the streets?

If someone were to ask this, Ihan would reply:

That kid’s guts and confidence are proof enough.

…Well.

‘His heartbeat is calm too.’

He thought his lie detection ability probably accounted for about 80% of his trust.

And then,

“Ah, the reason I know these things is because I heard it from a drunk merchant once. He used to trade with the Magic Tower.”

The child’s eyes were clear as he even revealed his source of information, as if afraid of being doubted.

Although his legs were trembling with fear, it was as if he couldn’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Ihan asked the boy, Patrick:

“Young friend, are you really okay with these terms instead of money?”

“Yes! Just take me to the South. That’s all I need!”

“…That doesn’t seem like a very good choice.”

The boy Patrick wanted to escape the Empire, or rather, the Central Continent.

That was what he wanted in exchange for his information.

Patrick nodded his head vigorously.

“The Central is like a volcano that could erupt at any moment. The cities ruled by lords and kings are at odds with each other, and the Imperial family has neither the justification nor the power to stop them. So the Empire will plunge into war at the slightest gunshot. And children like me will be immediately conscripted. Rather than that, going south is more beneficial.”

“…You thought of all this by yourself?”

“If you use your brain a little, the calculation makes sense, right?”

“…What was I doing at that age?”

Ihan couldn’t help but laugh.

What an impressive kid.

Not only were his guts and confidence remarkable, but his intelligence was extraordinary.

If the Empire hadn’t been in such a state, wouldn’t he have made a name for himself as a prodigy?

While expressing such admiration:

“But why us? Are you certain we’ll safely take you to the South?”

“……”

Lac’s sudden remark.

It seemed threatening at first glance, but Ihan knew it wasn’t.

This guy…

‘He’s testing him?’

As if appraising a raw gemstone.

Patrick…

“…I’ve dealt with many merchants, so I know that sometimes boldness is needed for business to succeed. Of course, you shouldn’t rush in blindly, but you need to be confident it will succeed. In that sense, I think the knights are worth investing in boldly.”

“Based on what?”

“Not just your strong military power, but the fact that you treat me as an equal despite me being just a child, and…”

“……”

“I trust you because you came to punish the wizards.”

“Spell-casters?”

“…Yes, I really hate wizards… spell-casters.”

“……”

The two knights fell silent.

Because they glimpsed resentment and hatred that couldn’t be hidden despite attempts to conceal it.

No matter how clever he was, Patrick was still a child who couldn’t completely hide his emotions.

“……”

However, the two knights didn’t ask many questions and simply followed the child silently.

Rather, they seemed to understand something as they observed Patrick’s anger.

And so.

“We’re here.”

“Is that it?”

“Yes, it’s the only entrance to the Magic Tower.”

The center of the city.

A massive facility that maintains the colony’s veil and an observation network where wizards who manage the colony’s veil are always on standby.

However, the resentful child stated that the building wasn’t used solely for that purpose.

A device for moving to the Magic Tower, commonly known as:

“Merchants call that a [Portal].”

“Hmm.”

“Sir Knight?”

Patrick blinked at his subtle reaction.

Could there be some problem?

Ihan shook his head slightly at Patrick’s question.

It wasn’t that there was any problem-

“That looks less like a portal and more like…”

Ihan scratched his cheek, unable to say that it looked like a [capsule ejection device].

* * *

Are there enemies in the Magic Tower?

– Tons of them!

The boy declared.

There were so many enemies you could trip over them.

Even without the two knights, there were plenty of people targeting the Magic Tower.

Well, for any prominent organization or institution, it would be stranger not to have enemies.

In this sense, the Magic Tower had received countless attacks until now.

But no one had ever succeeded in attacking the Magic Tower.

The reason?

– They say a mana barrier protects the Magic Tower. I heard it’s incredibly sturdy.

Mana barrier.

It’s a basic skill for wizards, commonly deployed using telekinesis, but the mana barrier surrounding the Magic Tower is said to be on a different level in terms of quality and quantity.

– There was a massive attack using siege weapons a long time ago, but even after attacking for over a month, it didn’t even budge.

Would you believe that during the attack, the wizards in the Magic Tower were leisurely drinking tea and chatting about “what nice weather we’re having today” despite the assault?

That’s how sturdy the Magic Tower’s mana barrier was.

To the point where breaking through seemed impossible.

In that sense.

“No matter how strong you knights are, breaking into the Magic Tower won’t be easy. Historically, even the most renowned knights and armies have never broken through. So the only way to enter the Magic Tower is to use that portal.”

Whoosh!

Just as Patrick finished his explanation, a round object was shot into the sky from the ejection port of the peculiarly shaped building.

In an instant, the object smoothly flew through the air, rapidly heading toward the Magic Tower.

Thanks to the colony being directly above Patrick, they could witness the entire scene, and they watched as the capsule slipped into the Magic Tower with a soft “thunk.”

“You saw it, right? If you can hijack that, you might be able to enter the Magic Tower somehow. -Though it won’t be easy.”

Sigh…

Patrick had finished all the explanations he could provide.

But as soon as he finished, fatigue washed over him and his head cooled down.

‘Did I do something foolish?’

Now that he was thinking clearly, he realized.

The Magic Tower truly was an impregnable fortress.

No matter how strong these knights were, conquering that tower might be impossible…

‘The portal is the same. It’s easy to talk about, but even if they manage to seize that building, they might not be able to use the portal. It might only work for wizards.’

No, it’s probably certain that only wizards can operate it.

The Magic Tower, as Patrick knew it, wasn’t run by fools.

Rather, he had to give them credit precisely because he hated them so much.

One needs to know the enemy to find ways to confront them.

…But the problem is that the more you investigate your opponent, the less answers you find…

‘Dad, Mom…’

Grind!

The reason Patrick still burned with resentment was because of his parents’ unjust deaths.

The Magic Tower, after creating the colony, had elevated their already powerful position in the Empire even further.

They had become more arrogant than nobles, more extravagant than merchants, and more authoritative than royalty.

Knowing that without them there would be no way to block the blizzards, they fully enjoyed their status.

Eventually, the wizards’ tyranny began to cross the line, and they started tormenting those who weren’t nobles, the so-called lower classes.

And Patrick still remembers.

The day when their poor but warm-hearted household was completely destroyed…!

A wizard spread a plague under the pretext of an experiment, and as a result, an entire village was devastated…

And even as the villagers and his parents were dying…

– Hmm, I see. So this pathogen is this lethal to ordinary people? Complicated. Using the cure would be meaningless.

A gaze that seemed to not even view people as human beings.

Patrick still can’t forget this.

The wizard left, and Patrick was waiting for death, but fortunately, he survived by consuming the only potion in the village.

…His parents had secretly given him the only potion to save him.

Afterward, Patrick became the sole survivor of the village, and he has never forgotten his resentment toward wizards.

Some say that wizards are a necessary evil.

That they are evil, but still beneficial to people…

‘Don’t make me laugh!’

He wants to shout.

There’s no such thing as a necessary evil in this world. People just choose to look away.

How many evil deeds have those wizards committed, and yet everyone turns a blind eye!

That’s why Patrick hated everything in the world and only believed in money.

Is there no God?

‘God is merely an observer.’

God never intervenes in the world.

He just watches silently.

Therefore, he’s not helpful or trustworthy.

But money doesn’t lie or betray.

That’s why he believes in it.

And Patrick had something he wanted to do with the money he would gather.

– Become a merchant, become a merchant and earn an enormous amount of money… accumulate wealth enough to eliminate the Empire, no, even the Magic Tower.

This could be considered Patrick’s life goal.

He knows it’s nearly impossible.

But even so.

– Someday…!

It was a goal he absolutely wanted to achieve.

But now…

“……”

Newly realizing it, the Magic Tower was too massive and incredibly powerful.

To the point where he couldn’t even think of toppling it-

Patrick hung his head low.

Because his dream seemed too childish.

“S-Sir Knights, I think…”

Patrick tried to continue speaking, hiding his feelings and frustration.

No matter how you look at it, it’s nonsensical for just two people to bring down that impregnable fortress.

The more rational he became, the more the two knights’ charge seemed like a suicide mission, and Patrick wanted to dissuade them for the sake of these decent knights.

Hoping they would value their lives…

However.

“Can you see anything?”

“Stay still. Will you take responsibility if my concentration breaks because of you?”

“…I’ll stay still.”

“Hmm, I see, so that’s the structure…”

They had already begun preparing their attack.

“…Sir Knights?”

Patrick blinked and called out to the knights.

Wondering what they were doing.

To his question.

Tap.

“You did well bringing us here, young friend. Thanks to you, I think we can figure out how to attack.”

“…Pardon?”

“It’s simple, right? We can’t just brute force our way through.”

“??”

“Just wait, young friend. We’ll show you soon.”

“…?”

Patrick couldn’t understand them at all.

But still…

‘Despite their appearance, they have gentle hands.’

The rough hand patting his head felt somehow warm, and Patrick’s anxious heart gradually calmed down.

* * *

Ihan’s words to the child weren’t just for show.

He expressed gratitude because the help was genuinely valuable.

‘I understand it’s an impregnable fortress. The power surrounding it is extraordinary.’

He sensed that it was fortified by the telekinetic power of hundreds of spell-casters.

Only an Aura user could break through something like that with bare hands.

But Ihan didn’t give up.

What does it matter if it’s solid?

When was anything ever easy?

However, watching the portal, or rather the capsule carrying people up to the Magic Tower, Ihan realized.

Ah, there’s a gap even in that, -he thought.

‘Of course. No matter how powerful a barrier is, it can’t be perfect.’

Nothing in the world is perfect.

Everything has gaps, and the rule of conquest is to pierce those gaps to create a large hole.

In that sense…

“-I can see it.”

He was fortunate.

The guide provided by Galahad had extraordinary eyes.

His tricolored gaze fixed on the Magic Tower floating in the sky, and the spear-wielder memorized even the flow visible when the capsule passed through the tower.

The only knight in Galahad’s long history who successfully embodied the Seven Mysteries as techniques.

Lac de Duron had succeeded in finding a gap in the Magic Tower that no one had discovered in a thousand years of history.

However, finding a gap is one thing; breaking through it is another matter.

To break through, they needed a destructive weapon that could soar through the sky with the same speed and movement as that capsule.

And just then.

“Rogue, among your techniques, do you have one that can soar into the sky like that capsule while having enough power to destroy a castle wall?”

“…Do you normally ask people if such a thing is possible?”

“I’m asking because you’re not human.”

“……”

“So, do you have it or not?”

“Sigh, I do have something…”

“……”

“Wait…! Why are you looking at me like that after asking?”

“…Beast.”

“!!?!”

Fortunately, they had a “weapon.”

*

*

*

KWAAAANG-!!

[Imperial Year 1,024.]

[The Magic Tower, or rather, the tower inhabited by ‘magical creatures’ in human form, was split in half and fell from the sky, but fortunately there were no ‘human casualties’.]

-Excerpt from the diary of Patrick, the Golden Merchant-