265

Chapter 265 — If It Exists (3)

“Will you tell me about the qualifications?”

Eyes whose original color he could no longer even remember gleamed as Meister stared at his grandfather.

A trace of anticipation and excitement filled them.

“No.”

Despite reading every bit of that emotion, Blue Coral cut him down in a single stroke.

Meister’s expectant expression instantly went cold, bringing a chill with it.

Not even the warm brown and fluffy pink of his hair could hide the wintry look on his face.

“For fuck’s sake, then why are you telling me to go?”

Meister pushed up the bridge of his glasses with his middle finger.

With every other finger folded down and only the middle one raised to adjust his glasses, the gesture was extremely blatant.

“Where did you leave your respect for your elders?”

“Sold it off ages ago.”

“…….”

But Blue Coral knew the temperament of his own grandson well enough.

He let out a long breath through his nose and sipped the tea a friend had brought him.

Aren’t you going to give me any?

His grandson cursed him with his eyes.

“I’ll say it again. I am not telling you about that.”

“Yeees. I figured… you wouldn’t.”

But that was not Blue Coral’s concern.

One way or another, the brat had a brilliant mind. Having said this much, surely he had already understood enough.

“…….”

Sure enough, his grandson stopped midsentence and closed his mouth as if something had just clicked.

As expected of someone who barely managed to cover up one fatal flaw with two strengths—his intelligence and the fact that, in his own way, he genuinely tried to act for the greater good.

Pour.

As the cup was refilled with tea, Blue Coral continued.

“Still, this proposal should not be a loss for you.”

“…Why?”

“Even if you remain here, there is nothing you can do anyway.”

Warm.

Very nice.

Satisfied by the heat spreading into his palm, Blue Coral slowly sipped the tea.

“Your workshop, your materials, and your money have all vanished. Knowing your personality, you certainly never kept any savings either, so you will have nowhere to pull emergency funds from.”

Naturally, compared to what he had drunk in the past, both the aroma and taste were terrible.

It had nothing to do with personal preference. The quality of the tea leaves was simply far too poor.

“How exactly are you supposed to conduct research under those circumstances? And before research, what will you do about the custom orders you already received? You will be fortunate if the clients are considerate enough to extend the deadlines, but you likely do not even have the money to reimburse anyone who demands a full refund.”

Still, considering their current circumstances and the outlook for the future, even this counted as a luxury.

So rather than complaining, Blue Coral waited for his tongue to grow accustomed to the inferior tea.

Though, judging by the way things were going, he would probably develop the habit of simply not drinking tea before his tongue became any less discerning.

“…It’s true that I’m in that kind of situation right now, but following them won’t exactly solve those problems, will it?”

“Becoming a collaborator of the Hero is a fairly useful excuse when asking for understanding. Who would refuse when doing so could make them look like a heretic?”

“That’s practically extortion.”

“Why are you saying that as though it is somehow surprising?”

“…….”

Meister’s brow furrowed at Blue Coral’s words.

He could not deny it, but he still disliked hearing it.

That feeling was written into every crease between his brows.

What an amusing brat.

“I will deal with whatever problems remain even after you ask for their understanding. As your grandfather, I can at least do that much.”

“You suffered more damage than I did, though?”

“Do you think I keep everything I own piled up in one place like you?”

Separate from everything else, that much was completely sincere.

Their Magic Tower might be one step from ruin, but surely it did not have less money than an individual craftsman.

Blue Coral had accumulated wealth over an entire lifetime.

Did his grandson seriously think a single incident could leave him penniless with absolutely nothing?

“I have investments in other cities. If I recover those and borrow money from the other Tower Masters, I should be able to put out the immediate fires.”

“Oh…….”

They said a rich family could survive for three generations even after falling into ruin.

Blue Coral was much the same.

The core of his fortune might have disappeared, but he still possessed assets he had diversified elsewhere.

“So stop worrying about this side and go with them.”

“Still…….”

“More importantly, you have no desire to keep working for the people of this city, do you?”

But what surprised Meister most was not the revelation that his grandfather still had money.

It was that final statement.

His raised brows revealed a faint trace of surprise.

For some reason, it felt unexpected.

“You sound very certain.”

“I know how much you hate the argument that one should ‘sacrifice for everyone.’ There is no way you would enjoy this situation. And it is not as though you ever loved this city enough to overcome that dislike.”

From the first time they met until now, Meister had always been quite clear about what he liked and disliked.

And precisely because of that, Blue Coral might not understand every part of his grandson, but he at least knew his general preferences.

This was hardly a difficult prediction.

“I’m not exactly sacrificing myself.”

“But they are dumping responsibilities on you however they please, are they not? Because you are capable. Because you can solve things faster than anyone else.”

Blue Coral could also roughly imagine how the people outside would try to use Meister.

His grandson really did possess a completely unnecessary number of talents.

“So if you’re going to do work you hate anyway, I’m telling you to leave. Whether you remain here or follow them, it will be equally difficult to conduct research. If that is the case, you may as well choose the side that will at least leave you with plenty of free time.”

But did all those talents have to be spent on this city alone?

Blue Coral lifted his head and looked into his grandson’s violet eyes.

Eyes that had once been mottled, but which had become a single uniform color after the aftereffects of the experiment were erased.

He had brought that child to this city because he wanted him to live however he pleased.

He had not brought him here to bind him to this city.

Just because Blue Coral loved this city did not mean his grandson had to love it too.

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“People like to say that if you have ability, you should use it for everyone. Yet among those who say such things, very few remember that the person possessing that ability is also a human being.”

“Human stupidity.”

“…If you genuinely care about this city and wish to remain for its sake, then I have no objection. But if that is not the case, stop worrying about other people and make the choice that is better for your own life. This place is not so fragile that it will collapse simply because you leave, and even if you stay out of some shallow goodwill, all you will get is disappointment while they work you to the bone for next to nothing.”

“I won’t get paid for working if I follow them either.”

“But you will be able to see the world you never had the chance to see. And considering they focus on hunting demons, you should also be able to collect a fair number of useful by-products.”

“…The people in the city are probably going to curse me.”

“And is that enough to stop you from going?”

“Of course not.”

Good.

That was how he should answer.

Blue Coral looked with satisfaction at the grandson who would probably pick his ears while people criticized and slandered him.

The fact that this was, objectively speaking, not a particularly admirable personality trait meant very little.

As a grandfather, if his grandson could live comfortably, Blue Coral could not have cared less about how frustrated the people forced to deal with him became.

“But I don’t think there’s much I can actually do by following the Hero.”

“Who knows.”

Still…

Even so, Blue Coral hoped that this foul-tempered grandson of his might, for once, avoid driving one particular person mad with frustration and instead lend a hand.

With the greatest reason he wanted his grandson out of the city in mind, Blue Coral set down the teacup.

“You have a commission from that side, do you not?”

“…Wait. That’s—”

“You have already been paid, and that particular commission must be delivered no matter what.”

The Divine Power filter the Archmage had commissioned had to reach its destination.

“It absolutely must.”

That was the one obligation that remained.

* * *

Perhaps because I had helped with something I had never needed to help with, the innkeeper treated me fairly well throughout the day I stayed there.

She gave me a little extra food, offered me free lemon water that she normally sold for money, and things like that.

Small conveniences.

But would I really be myself if I accepted all that and just sat there doing nothing?

That would be the persona, not me.

So every time I received some sort of service, I repaid it by helping clean or carrying heavy things…

And as a result, I somehow ended up on the verge of having her daughter introduced to me.

If her daughter had not been away working at the barracks, I probably would have been trapped into meeting her.

“Why don’t you stay just one more day…? I’ll let you have the room for half price.”

“Haha…….”

Being able to stay another day for half price was certainly tempting, but if the price was going on a matchmaking date, then that was a little…….

“I’m not only saying that because I want to introduce you. Young man, you said you’re heading for Manhapelt, right? Do you have any idea how chaotic the road there is right now? Haven’t you heard the rumors about a demon appearing on the side road that branches off in that direction?”

“Ah, those rumors.”

Besides, the debuffs from the disguise skill were beginning to reach a genuinely dangerous level.

Reduced defense and resistance, increased damage taken—those were one thing.

But the damage-over-time ticking every second had reached a point where I could no longer ignore it.

I really did need to leave now.

“I have heard about it… but the city sent an extermination force, so shouldn’t it be all right?”

Fortunately, from what I had heard while wandering around yesterday, twenty soldiers prepared by this city and one knight sent by Manhapelt—the place where the demon appeared was apparently closer to here than to Manhapelt, so they had sent the knight in this direction—were going out to hunt the demon.

Wouldn’t that be enough?

There were priests among that extermination force, and I would have to pass them on the road, but still.

“That may be true… but wouldn’t it be better to leave after you hear that they’ve caught it?”

“I don’t have enough time for that.”

From what I had tested in the Great Forest, I could forcibly keep the disguise skill active for up to five days.

And I meant barely.

Right on the line where it would not quite kill me, with my HP hanging precariously around half.

But could they find and kill that demon and return within those five days?

I did not think so.

Searching for the demon would take time, killing it would take time, and traveling back and forth from the city would take time as well.

So if that was how it would be, leaving early and simply passing them on the road would be better.

It was not as though a demon could actually do anything to me anyway.

“You really are stubborn…….”

“Haha. Sorry.”

“Don’t smile. I’ll get attached.”

“If I ever have reason to come back to this city, I’ll visit again.”

“Yes, yes. Try to come back soon if you can. Before I marry my daughter off.”

I smiled gently at the innkeeper, who failed to hide her ambitions even at the very end.

I would probably never come back here again.

But sometimes ignorance was a blessing.

“Goodbye.”

“Stay healthy!”

“I will.”

I gave the owner a slight bow of my head, then adjusted the glasses that had slipped down my nose.

Unlike Bemurchen, located on the easternmost coastline of the East, it was time to head toward Manhapelt, a city situated in the far western part of the region.

* * *

[You hid yourself well.]

Beneath a Milky Way formed from dozens of chandeliers linked endlessly together.

Someone seated upon a throne in the vast hall opened their eyes.

The horns growing like a crown and the unnaturally colorless white skin proclaimed that this was no ordinary human.

[If you have hidden yourself, then never emerge again. I have no intention of quietly dying to your wrath.]

The figure exhaled blue breath and leaned away from the backrest.

The throne’s back rose higher than the seated figure’s own body, and upon it a symbol of Venus had been carved to resemble a halo.

Even the armrest beneath one hand was far from ordinary.

It had been formed by joining the hand of a statue protruding from the wall directly to the chair.

Every wrinkle and vein had been painstakingly carved into the marble hand, making it look almost as though a corpse had been placed there as decoration.

Aaaaaaaaah—

Behind the throne, thousands of angel statues carved into the wall moved only their mouths, filling the hall with beautiful hymns.

[Adam.]

Listening to the song echo around the chamber, the seated figure grasped the scepter resting against their body with one hand.

Thump.

The scepter was raised slightly and struck downward.

The lake serving as the floor bounced the scepter back.

A faint ripple spread slowly across the entire hall in concentric circles before fading away.

Deep inside the lake—so dark and bottomless that its depth could not be measured—a massive shadow shifted.

—You called?

At the same time, the lake’s surface began to bubble.

The foam that rose from it formed the shape of a living creature.

Because bubbles were fragile, the figure repeatedly collapsed and re-formed, wavering somewhere between the shape of a wolf and that of a lion.

[Prepare the ancient magic.]

The figure slowly crossed their legs.

The hem of a garment slit open along one side fell in several soft folds, revealing a white leg across which words in no human language moved.

Protection.

Dominion.

Master.

Each time another layer of the ancient language accumulated, the banners decorating the hall—and the magic inscribed upon those banners—gave off a faint glow.

[I shall cast the stone of change into a stagnant world.]

Pride.

The final magic blossomed luxuriantly.