Chapter 160. I’m Lucky
At Henji’s summons, I crossed the grounds of House Brando.
Of course, under normal circumstances, it would’ve been something I wouldn’t even dare to attempt.
They say sneaking around inside is easier than breaking in from outside, but House Brando’s defenses were anything but ordinary—befitting a great house.
What made this possible wasn’t just the Troubleshooter’s experience, but also the capable guide known as Dinner No. 1.
Piiiik, piiik.
Following Dinner No. 1’s wingbeats, I slowly approached the Magic Studies Hall along routes with few people.
Left wing flaps, go left. Right wing flaps, go right.
‘What is this… It’s not like it’s a mount or anything.’
I’d somehow become a bird’s mount, but maybe because I had experience with Breakfast No. 1, it didn’t feel that awkward.
As I wandered through the darkness blanketing House Brando, I brought up a few thoughts I needed to整理 before meeting Henji.
‘Meeting Henji is fine, but…’
There were things that bothered me.
Let’s think about it.
To Henji, what kind of person is “Aster”?
The first thing that would come to mind would be my background—“a Black and White Zone vagrant.”
I might have ended up in the same boat as the new Thousand Origin Art after getting entangled with Demian, but underneath it all, the image of me as a Black and White Zone vagrant would still be firmly rooted.
My worries started from there.
‘How am I supposed to explain everything that’s happened so far?’
Honestly, there hadn’t been that many incidents related to the new Thousand Origin Art.
The attack on Parun’s mansion was unavoidable, sure, but the Hall of Trials incident was something even Parun didn’t know about.
So in the end, the only thing that really remained was the recent Infinite Chain matter.
And those two incidents were exactly the problem.
‘If it’s Henji… he could connect me to the masked person who appeared during the attack on Parun’s mansion.’
There might’ve been contact with Parun that I didn’t know about, and even if there wasn’t, the way the circumstances interlocked was far too convenient.
Compared to “a masked person happened to appear and helped Parun,” the conclusion “that Black and White Zone vagrant and the masked person are connected somehow” was simply the more plausible inference.
Sure, most people would shake their heads and say the latter was ridiculous—but the Henji I’d seen was not “most people.”
Most people believed in coincidence over a dust-speck of possibility, but Henji would focus on the dust-speck of possibility over coincidence.
But think about it.
‘The Black and White Zone vagrant I dragged in by chance turned out to be a remarkable expert?’
Yeah. You can’t not suspect that.
So what would a normal person do?
‘Ah, I’m lucky… and let it go?’
Like hell.
If it were me, I’d have cut him open.
Even suspicion that didn’t exist would boil up like an active volcano, and I’d lock him up and grill him until he admitted he knew things he didn’t even know.
And if, on top of that…
‘…What if he’s gotten information about what happened in Lortel, too?’
My head started spinning.
If I were Henji, I’d probably drag me into that “private space” I’d joked about before and enjoy an absolutely dreadful, intimate time.
Well, the Lortel part might’ve been going a bit too far, admittedly.
“Tsk. Having too much to hide is a problem too.”
Actually, I wasn’t hiding anything.
I was simply a mysterious man who, like an onion, revealed new layers no matter how much you peeled.
Anyway, the ambiguity of the relationship slowed my steps, but it wasn’t like I was particularly nervous.
I just had a headache over where to start and how far to go with the explanation.
‘For now, I should probably share up to the Lortel part…’
Expecting tonight’s conversation to be long, I picked up my pace, following Dinner No. 1’s guidance.
Behind the Magic Studies Hall, where we arrived like that.
Even though it was pitch-black night, I slowly looked up at the Magic Studies Hall, brightly lit, and that was when Dinner No. 1 flapped its wings.
Flap, flap.
It landed on a window at the very top floor, and its eyes seemed to say this:
“Go up.”
“You want me to come up?”
Piiik.
Without asking twice, I sprang upward, stepped off the window frames a couple times, and reached the window where Dinner No. 1 was perched.
And before knocking, I took a deep breath.
‘I’m innocent. And I’m confident.’
The last time I came here, I was nothing but a Black and White Zone vagrant. But now that I’ve returned, I’m a righteous Troubleshooter.
So then—what is justice?
Power.
Strong power makes me more just.
So…
‘Henji’s private space?’
I’m not afraid.
All I could do was hope.
That Henji wouldn’t, with a careless judgment, awaken my sense of justice. That he wouldn’t awaken that violence wrapped in “justice”… no, anyway, that he wouldn’t awaken something.
With that in mind, I knocked on the window.
Shrrrk—
The curtain was drawn aside, and a familiar mug came into view.
Henji, still wearing that friendly face, looked at me without a hint of surprise and immediately opened the window to welcome me.
“Haha, Aster-gun. It’s been a while. Have you been well?”
“I’ve been well enough.”
What is this pounding in my chest?
My hands were itching.
Maybe I… got addicted to justice?
Henji served tea with that smiling mug and naturally opened the conversation—starting with “Parun’s letter.”
“Just recently, a letter arrived from Parun. And, well… should I be calling him Tower Master now?”
“A letter?”
I voiced my doubt at the fact that Parun had sent a letter.
I expected the two of them to be in close contact, but it was because of the sensitive word “Tower Master.”
Knowing the “Tower Master” meant the letter contained the overall circumstances tied to Lortel.
Maybe he noticed my look. Henji spoke.
“Ah, it’s actually the first letter I’ve received in the last few months as well. Thanks to Ilgeom (Single Sword), Deculan’s surveillance has eased.”
Ah, so that’s what happened.
Even so, Parun sending a letter was fairly unexpected.
It wasn’t like Parun wouldn’t know I’d be visiting Lortel during vacation, and there was no need to send a letter—
As I reached that thought, Henji added an explanation.
“For the record, it’s absolutely not because he doesn’t trust you, Aster-gun. He said he sent it to give a more objective and accurate explanation of the situation.”
…Sure.
Maybe he didn’t think I’d run off with the Thousand Origin Art thesis, but there had to be something he didn’t quite trust, so he even sent a letter.
Well, anyway, that fact wasn’t especially important.
‘All right. So what’s he going to do now?’
With my heart pounding, I waited for Henji’s reaction.
In case Henji had been stained by evil, so I could cleanse him with justice, guide him onto the right path.
But in the end, Henji wasn’t stained by evil.
He merely—
“You hid your identity from Parun. A wise choice. If you want to avoid troublesome matters, that’s the better way.”
Supported my choice, and—
“Still, I was surprised. Did you obtain some kind of fortuitous encounter in the meantime? When we first met, I don’t think you were quite at this level.”
Expressed interest and admiration mixed with curiosity.
After that, the conversation mostly consisted of Henji asking and me answering, but the questions were strictly driven by interest.
What was Kalahen like, what exactly happened in Lortel, and Parun seems to like you quite a bit—how did you manage that?
It was that part that made me unable to hide my confusion.
“Parun likes me? He likes me?”
“Yes. Is that hard to believe? Haha, I understand. He’s a rather cold friend.”
It was the moment I became intensely curious about what was in that letter.
Considering the Parun I knew, it wouldn’t be strange if half of it were filled with harsh evaluations like “mindless” and “unqualified as a mage”…
Anyway, after a round of detailed context that wasn’t in the letter and a series of interest-based questions went back and forth—
We paused and wetted our lips with our teacups.
At this point, I couldn’t not ask.
“…Why?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, that…”
Now that I tried to ask, I didn’t know what to say.
It would be awkward to say outright, with my own mouth, “Why aren’t you suspicious of my identity?”
But maybe he really was the type who understood at once.
Right then, Henji opened his mouth.
“Honestly, sure. I am curious. You’re a Black and White Zone vagrant, Aster-gun… and when we first met, you were just a bit outstanding. You weren’t like this. But when I read Parun’s letter… well… haha.”
Henji trailed off with a smile.
As if recalling the surprise of reading the letter for the first time—but it didn’t seem like a dramatic emotion.
Anyway, after briefly settling himself, Henji asked me instead.
“But is that important?”
“Isn’t it… important?”
“Let’s say you’re a chess player, Aster-gun. On the board are your pieces and your opponent’s pieces. But from the start, it isn’t fair.”
Henji spoke calmly as he manipulated his magic, forming a chessboard and pieces.
It was shockingly precise and fast shapeshifting, and soon the colors separated, and black and white chess pieces took clear shape on the board.
But the arrangement was quite strange.
White’s side was packed with pawns, rooks, bishops, knights, king, queen—so full it ignored the squares, crammed in as if it were disregarding the rules.
Meanwhile, black?
Only a queen and a king.
Just two pieces holding on.
“An unfair game, isn’t it? Now, let’s say you’re the black player, Aster-nim. And one day, a ‘pawn’ joins black’s side. A useless little pawn. What would you do? Would you discard it? Or would you hold onto even that and continue the game?”
“I’d… continue the game.”
“That’s why I chose you, Aster-nim. Ah! Of course, I didn’t see you as just a ‘pawn.’ More like, ‘Ah, if it’s this pawn, maybe it can reach the very back of the enemy camp and change its role.’ A faint expectation like that, perhaps.”
By this point, I could understand what Henji was trying to say.
Here, the white player was Deculan.
The black player was Henji and Parun.
At the same time, Henji and Parun were the queen and the king.
And then, one day, I appeared.
‘A pawn that might become a queen.’
But then—wouldn’t you know it?
“When we actually opened it up, it wasn’t a pawn. I don’t know why, but it was a bishop or a knight… maybe even more than that. It exceeded expectations no matter what. In that case, do we really need a reason?”
“……”
I quietly watched the black pawn that drifted up over the chessboard. And that pawn soon changed shape—becoming a bishop, then a knight.
Yeah. I didn’t know how a piece that was supposed to be a pawn could become a knight, but the reason probably wasn’t important.
In this precarious situation, what mattered was only that they’d gained a usable card.
And one more thing.
I also understood why Henji chose chess as the analogy. It was probably this kind of point.
‘Chess pieces don’t need a backstory.’
Why a pawn is a pawn.
Why a bishop is a bishop.
Not many people play chess while pondering that meaning. No—even if they did, what matters in play isn’t the origin.
What matters is only the piece’s use.
At the clean answer, I nodded.
“I’m lucky.”
“…Pardon?”
“No. It’s nothing.”
Regrettably—no, fortunately—there was no need to carry out justice.
As I let out a disappointed—no, relieved—sigh, Henji smiled faintly.
“Right. I heard there’s something you’re supposed to give me? And I also heard you have something you want to ask.”
