Chapter 43: Arrest

After dropping the hints about the location of the iron, I thought there wouldn’t be much else to do.

“Would mixing black obsidian with iron make the magic automatically discharge when swung?”

“How does it feel cutting monsters with an iron blade? Does it take less strength?”

“Now that there’s no need to hide it, how about we spar with real swords next time? I’d like to try sharing a sword

made of iron.”

Grace asked me questions frequently from the side.

Some were for reference when designing weapons made from iron, but most were driven by her personal interests.

Each time, I answered her questions without hesitation.

I was grateful that Grace had allowed me to possess the iron, and it was rare to see her this excited, so I knew I had to

handle this situation well.

If I insisted on maintaining a mysterious air and hid more details about the iron than necessary, we would probably

end up sparring with real swords for sure.

Yeah, I rejected the idea of sparring with real swords.

Seeing her desire to fight with the iron, I felt like this time, she would seriously go for it.

No matter how much I had black obsidian in my hands, I could be struck down in one blow.

I admit, I was scared.

Just as the meeting on the Bingjeong weapons was ongoing—

“Master.”

Elaine and Sophia returned to the 5th basement floor.

However, both of their faces seemed to carry a sense of urgency, and everyone in the room turned to focus on them.

Sophia entered the center of the group and began to draw something on a piece of paper.

The drawing was so detailed that even someone who didn’t study magic, like me, could instantly tell it was a magic circle.

“What is this?”

“This is a magic circle found in the third-floor fortress. It’s used for remote explosions.”

“!!”

Sophia’s words shocked not only Dariel but even Grace.

I had suspected something was wrong, but hearing that explosive traps had been set made me tense.

“…What element?”

“From the structure of the magic circle, it’s fire. Upon further inspection, we discovered five more of these magic

circles scattered across the fortresses.”

Six fortresses had explosive magic circles installed.

This could only mean one thing.

“This isn’t a prank to secretly increase the firepower of the fortresses.”

“No, it’s aimed at collapse, not paralysis.”

Sophia said this while looking at me, giving a small nod.

Her expression was serious, but it seemed like she was silently thanking me for leading them to this point.

This wasn’t a situation to feel proud about, so I focused intently on the conversation, maintaining a serious demeanor.

Naturally, the Bingjeong weapon meeting was put on hold.

And the intellectual effort that had gone into weapons shifted entirely toward identifying the culprit who had planted

the bombs.

“A fire mage, huh. Who could have done such a thing?”

Dariel’s gaze turned to Sophia.

He wasn’t suspecting her, but since Sophia had specialized in fire magic and reached the rank of Elder, her insights

into fire magic were superior to Dariel’s, so he was seeking her opinion.

“Setting up traps with this level of firepower isn’t difficult. But creating a remote activation system and compressing

the explosion into such a small magic circle without getting detected—that’s something only a skilled person could

do.”

At that moment, all the mages in the room turned to look at one person.

The gaze landed on a man wearing a red robe, a man with a mustache, who had been staying with other mages while

observing the Bingjeong.

When the eyes of the group turned toward him, he opened his mouth in a somewhat stunned manner.

“It wasn’t me! Why would I do something like that in the tower? I have no grudges or complaints against you! Even if

I were the culprit, I’d rather challenge you with firepower than resort to such a sneaky trick!”

His words, sounding very much like a defense, made Sophia nod in agreement.

“Olran wouldn’t do that. As you said yourself, if he were the one, he’d just set fire to the place without making such detailed traps.”

“That’s right!”

When Sophia supported him, Olran smiled widely.

But wait, did he just subtly criticize someone there?

Even Dariel seemed to acknowledge this, nodding before speaking with a gloomy expression.

“We’ll have to investigate all the fire mages in the tower. Sophia, could you look into the mages from Bingjeong, and

Olran, would you investigate the external mages? Would that be alright?”

“External mages? Well, if we’re talking about external mages, there are only four of us in Bingjeong’s fire mage

group, including me, and I know them all well. None of them would harm the tower.”

“Olran, I also specialize in fire magic as an Elder, so I’ve interacted with them. I’m confident that none of Bingjeong’s

mages would do something like this. However, if we keep thinking that way, no one will ever be investigated.”

“Hmm… The young lady’s right. Even so, I still don’t believe any of them would do something like this.”

After hearing Olran groan with a furrowed brow, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

“……”

“What is it?”

“If someone is hiding and orchestrating this, I have a feeling the culprit might not be a fire mage.”

“Hmm?”

Darel tilted his head, as if asking for clarification.

Then, Elaine immediately picked up on my words.

“Within the Iceflower Tower, we can identify who the fire mages are. If the culprit was secretly working, they would

have concealed the fact that they could use fire magic. They must have disguised themselves as a mage from another

school.”

“That makes sense!”

Darel clapped his hands, as if he understood, but his expression turned serious again.

“Then this becomes even more troublesome. Now, we have to investigate not just the fire mages, but everyone else as

well.”

“It’s not as complicated as it sounds.”

“Huh?”

Elaine’s gaze was very serious and sharp.

She continued explaining.

“Sophia said that this isn’t magic just anyone can perform. That means the culprit must have a certain level of fire

magic. If they were using a disguise spell, it would be difficult to master both fire magic and a disguise at the same

time. So, elder-level mages are excluded from suspicion. Likewise, people of similar high caliber can be ruled out.”

“Ah, that makes sense. If they were skilled enough to master both, they wouldn’t be in a position to pull off

something like this. And, even mastering one school of magic is hard enough, let alone stacking two.”

“To master two types of magic, you need a significant amount of mana. So, even low-level mages—students—can be excluded.”

“She’s right. Remote magic circles require a connection between mana lines. The consumption is large, so

maintaining it with normal mana would be difficult.”

I silently watched Elaine’s actions. While I might have been the one who guided her luck, I knew the true culprit

wasn’t the one behind the terrorism, but rather the mastermind pulling the strings. Still, Elaine was narrowing down

the suspects without knowing all the facts.

Honestly, I was impressed.

Until now, I had only seen her strong physical prowess as a captain of the guard, but this side of her… it was quite

admirable.

Before long, even the external mages were listening closely to Elaine’s words.

“Still, this is quite a broad range. You are the Grand Duke’s captain, right? Can’t you narrow it down a bit more?”

“To target key facilities in the tower, you must have a deep understanding of those facilities. Anyone who just does

research is out of the question, so the suspects would likely be those who have been actively interacting with the

tower.”

“Ah, I see! Most mages just do their research in their rooms, and rarely interact with others. Even within the

Iceflower Tower, it’s easy to confuse which room is whose.”

“That’s where we can divide things further. Mages of the Iceflower Tower have either been here long enough to

familiarize themselves with the facilities, or are in charge of managing them. External mages, on the other hand,

would likely have more questions about daily life in the tower rather than magical research.”

Once Elaine finished speaking, Darel turned to Grace and spoke.

“Your Excellency, you have an excellent captain of the guard.”

“She is a proud servant.”

Grace nodded with a pleased look at Darel’s praise, her eyes full of trust and pride when looking at Elaine.

“What’s wrong, Olran?”

Sophia asked, drawing everyone’s gaze to Olran.

The fire mage, Olran, wearing a red robe, seemed to have an inkling of something as he scratched his chin and replied.

“After hearing the conditions just now, I suddenly thought of a mage among the external mages.”

“Really? I have someone in mind too.”

The elderly man in a green robe, who was known as a master of natural magic, chimed in next to Olran.

“Sarah Nosak, you mean? Who is it?”

“The name was definitely Gadi. A young fellow, very earnest, with a thirst for knowledge, so I was always glad to see

him. I’m not sure why he’s come to mind now, though. Ha ha.”

“He was a junior who liked to engage in discussions. He’s been here only a few months, but he often asked about

living in a cold region. He’d ask a lot of questions, going around talking to the mages of the tower.”

“Gadi…………… I’ve heard that name before. He was definitely an alchemy major. He even attended my special lecture.”

Both Sarah, Olran, and Sophia recognized the name.

In fact, several nearby mages, who had also known Gadi, joined in the conversation.

“What color was his robe?”

Taking advantage of their whispered conversation, I asked the external mages who seemed familiar with Gadi.

“Gadi’s robe color? It was brown.”

It seemed like I found the culprit.

Upon hearing the question I asked Olran, Sophia’s expression grew serious as well.

“We need to catch him quickly.”

In the novel’s Snowflower Tower terror incident, it was said that cold magic spread outward, causing damage to

both the tower and the castle.

That meant…

The fact that a magic circle had been installed on the fort suggested that the perpetrator was now on the brink of

carrying out the terror attack.

[Didn’t expect you to contact me first. What’s going on?]

It wasn’t just a matter of drawing the curtains; it seemed there was some kind of arrangement. In a secluded space

with no other sounds, a small light flickered from a communication crystal.

A man with red hair, alone in the space, spoke to the crystal.

“You know that rat you planted in the north? What was the deal with that contract?”

[Is that necessary for the mission?]

“It’s not something I need, but I figured it might be something you’d be interested in. After all, we’re colleagues.”

After a brief silence, the man on the other side of the crystal finally understood the implication and responded.

[The payment I’ll receive is the title of Duke within Snowflower Tower. In exchange, I agreed to provide ten years’

worth of research funding, free artifacts, and a book of visions to him.]

“He went all this way just for that? What’s he even doing?”

[…………I don’t think you’re in a position to talk, considering your own ventures in s*ave trading and expanding drug farms.]

“Fcking bastard… wait, never mind. I’m not here to fight you. We have no need for that.”*

[Desperate magicians will do anything for results. I’ve heard of an alchemist who sacrificed his daughter just to

secure research funds.]

“What the hell? If he needs money, just send his daughter to us. If she’s young and curvy, we’ll pay well. Virgins

cost more, of course.”

[They say she was just a child.]

“Perfect. If she’s a virgin, starting her on instruments or dance lessons will only increase her value.”

After a short sigh from the other side of the crystal, the man spoke again.

[Are you going to handle it? I thought your creed was to keep transactions clean.]

“Well, I’m trying to do it cleanly. A guy who got involved for greed is always someone who can turn on you for even

more greed. That bastard will probably like this kind of setup.”

[Not denying that.]

“Yeah, I’ve come this far, so might as well make some pocket change. Apparently, magicians’ organs are worth a lot

due to all the magic they use.”

[If you’re done, I’ll end this now.]

As soon as the words ended, the light of the crystal faded.

Low shrugged, stashed the crystal away, and then pulled out a small straw puppet from his cloak.

“Let’s see… is it doing okay?”

Last time, it didn’t seem like it was being properly fed, and I was worried if its organs were still healthy, but for now, it was still useful.

“Wait… what’s this?”

There was an unusual response from the puppet.

Realizing what was happening, Low’s face contorted in frustration.

“Tch, useless bastard. You can’t even handle that?”

Low let out a sigh filled with genuine irritation.

I had a bad feeling about being called here, but I didn’t think it would get to this point.

Maybe Snowflower Tower was more capable than I thought?

“Sh*t, now I’ll have to go to the prison and kill that bastard myself. What a hassle.”

He sighed deeply at the increased workload and stood up.

That incompetent magician had messed up the job, so now he had to take care of it personally.

“My mission was only to destroy the Ice Palace… but since that idiot got caught and the Duke’s plans failed, if I

return now, that trash will probably say something. …Ugh, f*ck. Can’t be helped.”

After a moment of hesitation, he clicked his tongue and pulled out another tool to make contact.

“Well, fine. I memorized the layout of Snowflower Tower, so from now on, I’ll do things my way.”