Chapter : 19
“…Now all that’s left is for Everett to play his part properly.”
Valentia pictured the site where Everett was to be dispatched.
Hart — the largest city in the southern grain belt that supplied food to the capital.
If Everett succeeded in closing the gate that had appeared there and rescuing the people, the number of believers supporting the temple would surely increase.
‘…Though it does bother me that his disciple is going with him.’
It was rare for Everett to make such a request so earnestly, and given that there was indeed a shortage of magicians available for dispatch, she eventually accepted it.
‘How much could that disciple really do anyway?’
In the end, it was obvious that the one to shine would not be that magician, but Everett himself.
“There’s still much to be done.”
“The nobles are gradually being won over. Once the rumor spreads that His Majesty has been taking drugs, the imperial family won’t be able to hold out.”
“Once their limbs are cut off, the rebels will take care of the rest.”
It was no secret that the imperial family and the rebels were mortal enemies.
But no one knew — nor could anyone be allowed to know — that it was the temple that had created that hostility.
Owen took out a glass and poured the wine.
The transparent goblet filled with red liquid that rippled like blood.
“All glory be to the god Frua.”
“For the god Frua.”
It was a banquet of the corrupt.
*
After my master and I returned, the Mage Tower was in an uproar.
The moment we got back, Master summoned every magician in the tower to the underground auditorium.
“I’m starting to think I may have given you too much freedom.”
Even in the massive space large enough to hold all the magicians of the tower, only Master’s voice echoed.
He was someone who, while granting freedom, also valued the lines that must never be crossed.
“The explosion’s power was far beyond what a rebel could possibly control. Clearly, there’s an informant within the tower.”
“…”
“Selling the tower’s knowledge for personal gain is the one thing I despise most.”
He brushed back his hair, a frown deepening between his brows.
Through his disheveled expression, his sharp eyes gleamed coldly.
“Then, we’ll have to find the informant, won’t we?”
The veins standing out on his crossed arms showed his irritation.
Unlike usual, there was an edge of sharpness to him — like a scholar at the end of a deadline or an investigator about to interrogate a criminal.
‘For Master to show this much emotion… this is serious.’
It was a crisis.
While I swallowed dryly, Master continued.
“When Themis collapsed, I thought my warning would have been enough, yet here we are again.”
A staff appeared in his hand, casting light across the dark hall.
The light flowed outward behind him, spreading like threads of a spider’s web, forming dozens of globes large enough for a person to enter.
“I’ll have to talk to each of you one by one. Let’s start with you.”
“M–me?”
The magician standing at the very front stammered, eyes wide.
“Yes, you.”
Master smiled.
It was his usual relaxed smile — and that’s what made my spine go cold.
Because that smile meant he was truly angry.
“We’ll have private interviews, one by one.”
Light bloomed again from Master’s staff.
It split into many beams, shooting toward each glowing sphere.
Gradually, they took form — shapes almost identical to Master himself.
Had it been anyone else, it would have looked like a scene out of a ghost story,
but seeing those figures made of light, I could only think — holy.
“The rest of you will be speaking with my clones.”
“Eh?”
“Clones?”
Of course, the magicians who had never seen Master’s clones before were bewildered.
Even I hadn’t known he could wield high-level magic to this extent.
He usually disliked using that much power — anything that revealed the full scope of his abilities.
For him to go this far only proved how grave the situation was.
“Think of them as another version of me who’ll listen to and speak with you — a transmitter and receiver, if you will.”
“P–pardon?”
“There’s no other way if I want to speak to all of you at once.”
Even for a magician of light, creating such specific and numerous figures was nearly impossible.
To hold simultaneous conversations with hundreds of people — not even most geniuses could dream of it.
But my master could make the impossible possible.
“Uh…”
The magicians hesitantly opened the doors of the glowing spheres before them.
The insides were warm and cozy, lit like a room bathed in sunlight — and yet there was something strangely sterile about it.
They said magic reflected its master — and this atmosphere fit him perfectly.
“Then… when will we be allowed back to our labs?”
One of the magicians raised a cautious hand.
“That’s a good question.”
I silently mourned for him.
Master’s lips curved into a wry smile.
“There’s no set time limit.”
…Oh no.
“We’ll continue until the culprit is found.”
“B–but what about our research?”
“You can move it inside. Think of it as your own little solitary cell.”
It was a brutal, almost inhumane decree.
The magicians all gaped in disbelief.
“If you don’t like it, then help me find the traitor.
If the culprit comes forward within a day, you’ll be released immediately.”
Yet no one dared argue after what came next.
“This concerns the honor of our Mage Tower. Do not take it lightly.”
Everyone understood how serious this was.
One by one, the magicians trudged away like livestock being herded to the slaughterhouse, gathering their belongings from their labs.
…But I was puzzled.
‘What about me, Master?’
Everyone else had been assigned a glowing sphere — except me.
The space in front of me was completely empty.
‘Is he planning to exclude me from the interviews?’
If that was the case, I decided to act first.
“Master, may I volunteer to go first? As your disciple, I’d like to set an example.”
I raised my hand high and spoke loudly.
But, of course, that wasn’t going to work.
Master gave me an amused smile and shook his head.
“You’ll go last, Themis.”
“I’d like to go now.”
“No.”
“But—”
“This isn’t the time to throw a tantrum, Themis.”
He firmly shook his head, then gestured to the first magician.
That magician rose from his seat and, as if dragging shackles on his ankles, walked slowly toward the sphere.
And then Master said—
“Well then, Themis. I’ll see you later.”
He opened the glowing sphere and disappeared inside with the magician.
“…Really.”
He had no intention of listening to me — typical of Master.
‘…Except I won’t be here later.’
The reason he didn’t question me first was simple.
I was the least suspicious person of all.
I had been a victim of not one but two attacks,
and I’d worked with Master to contain both.
There was no need to interrogate me first.
And there was another reason.
‘I’m always here anyway.’
He knew me well — that I rarely ever left the tower unless it was absolutely necessary.
‘…But that’s not always true, you know!’
What should I do? I didn’t want to keep doing everything exactly as Master wanted anymore.
I wasn’t always going to stay quietly by his side!
“Why isn’t Themis going in?”
“Well, considering her recent accomplishments, I suppose it makes sense she’s not a suspect.”
The magicians who hadn’t yet entered their spheres whispered among themselves — but only briefly.
“Why are you hesitating to enter? Do you have something to hide?”
“Ah! N–no, sir!”
Startled by the words of Master’s luminous clone, the magicians hurriedly scrambled into their respective globes.
“Themis, return to your room.”
One of Master’s clones spoke to me before vanishing.
It sounded considerate — but it was practically an order.
Not that I had any intention of interfering with his interrogations anyway.
There’s a time and place for everything, after all.
