Chapter 27
“Ghk—!”
Inside a tent, a man who had been swallowed by darkness staggered and clutched his mouth.
He gagged several times before suddenly vomiting a mouthful of black blood.
“Cough—!”
“C-Commander!”
A subordinate who noticed the sudden situation hurried toward him.
But the man seemed to have no room to respond, coughing up blood several more times.
“W-Which bastard…?”
He glared wide-eyed at empty space.
“Which bastard killed my familiar…!”
“F-familiar?”
The subordinate continued, flustered.
“Y-you mean that bug? The one you said would be almost impossible to detect, B-boss— I mean, Commander…?”
“That’s right.”
And yet, that familiar had just been destroyed.
Destroyed in the brief moment when he let his guard down.
“Looks like someone with real skill has gotten involved this time.”
“Pardon?”
Instead of answering the subordinate’s question, the man asked one of his own.
“Kalto. When you went to that mage’s house today, was there anyone else there?”
“No. I’m absolutely certain.”
“Then that means they arrived afterward.”
The man stroked his thick beard, sinking into thought.
A mage who had lost their mana heart was no more than an ordinary person.
That was why he had planned to threaten and coerce him into becoming a subordinate…
‘Seems an unexpected guest interfered.’
The man frowned.
Ethan Brotherhood’s commander—Ethan Marker.
He was a fourth-circle mage capable of freely controlling familiars.
In other words, he had enough sense to roughly judge an opponent’s strength.
‘Should I pull back a little?’
He thought so rationally, but soon shook his head.
No. That wouldn’t do.
There was a contract.
The contract Ethan had signed with them was not something he could break.
And to fulfill it, he needed Varean’s alchemy.
Judging from the fact that his familiar had been discovered and eliminated, there was a chance the opponent was a mage stronger than himself…
“But even so, it’s not a problem.”
Ethan wiped the blood from his mouth and grinned.
Behind him, an orb burned ominously.
As if affirming his resolve, it continued to burn endlessly.
After some time passed and night fell, Varean opened his eyes.
“Kh… uh… w-where is this…?”
Panting heavily, Varean looked around.
Then, he came face to face with someone.
A boy sat on a chair beside the bed, reading something.
“Y-you are…?”
“Ah, you’re awake.”
The boy, who didn’t look even twenty, lifted his gaze from the papers and spoke.
“Moving right away will be difficult. As you know, senior, you were practically at death’s door.”
“……”
Varean stared at the boy for a moment.
Then—
“…Senior?”
“Oh, my apologies for the late introduction.”
The boy smiled playfully as he introduced himself.
“I’m Sion Rosterly of the Blue Tower. I’m currently working there as an instructor.”
“The Blue Tower…!”
Varean jolted in surprise and fired off questions.
“Y-you’re a mage of the Blue Tower?! How is it now? The Council must still be pressuring it— is Lumia holding out somehow?!”
“That’s an easy question to answer.”
Sion pointed toward one corner of the room.
There, a girl was asleep with her head resting on a desk.
When Varean recognized her, he let out a sigh of relief.
“Lumia… Ah, thank goodness. She managed to endure their pressure…”
“She did endure it. Though her hardships are just beginning.”
“Beginning?”
“You know it well enough. The Council won’t give up so easily. The Blue Tower is at a point where it wouldn’t be strange for it to collapse at any time.”
“……”
At those words, Varean lowered his head and clenched his fists.
After watching him briefly, Sion spoke again.
“We don’t have much time, so I’ll get straight to the point.”
Looking directly at Varean, Sion continued.
“You made a reckless attempt. Taking an unverified invention was never a wise choice.”
“……”
“For someone like you— a brilliant mage who stood just before reaching the seventh circle— there’s no way you didn’t know the risk.”
“…I knew.”
Varean nodded with difficulty.
Yet his thoughts were in utter chaos.
He drank what he believed to be a last resort, realized it was a failure, and thought he would die helplessly.
But when he woke up, Lumia—like a younger sister to him—was here, along with a mage of the Blue Tower.
And the boy speaking with him now, Sion Rosterly, had an oddly unsettling presence.
‘It feels like I’m speaking to someone older than myself.’
He had only exchanged a few words, yet that was his instinct.
Once a genius mage, his intuition was sharp—even if his mana heart was gone.
And once again, he was forced to be surprised.
“You’re being blackmailed, aren’t you?”
“…!”
“That reaction confirms it.”
Sion continued his reasoning without hesitation.
“The ones threatening you are probably some brotherhood that’s been running rampant around here lately.”
“…Did you already know?”
“I wish. Unfortunately, that’s information I gathered locally— with a bit of deduction.”
Varean’s eyes wavered.
It wasn’t impossible to deduce.
But despite calling it a guess, Sion spoke with absolute confidence.
That kind of attitude was not easy to have.
One needed unwavering faith in one’s own thoughts.
Long ago, Varean had known someone like that.
“…Lord Belusian.”
“Hm?”
“Before he disappeared, whenever I spoke with him, he talked just like you.”
“Ah.”
Sion gave a meaningful smile.
“That makes sense.”
Once again, that simple reply carried a strange sense of age.
Clearly, the person before him was just a boy far younger than himself.
“Just who are you, exactly…?”
“One thing I can tell you.”
Sion shook the documents in his hand.
They were records of the research Varean had devoted his life to.
“There is no way to regenerate a mana heart.”
“…!”
“Even if you grind up an entire pile of dragon bones and inhale them, the result would be the same. That’s reality.”
“How could you possibly know that?!”
“Well. How do I know?”
Sion let out a bitter chuckle.
It should have sounded like nonsense.
And Varean, as a ‘senior,’ should have rebuked him for his shallow understanding.
Yet—
“…Don’t tell me you read all my research materials? And even understood them?”
“Yes.”
Sion nodded calmly.
“Either way, that’s why reclaiming your mana heart and burning the bandits as a sixth-circle mage… is, regrettably, an impossible dream.”
“…Then does that mean I must live on in resignation? Being exploited by them, unable to protect even one village?”
“That’s not what I mean.”
Sion said with a strange smile.
“What’s the point of being fellow alumni if you don’t use it at a time like this?”
“…Are you saying there’s a way to subjugate the brotherhood?”
“Rather than a concrete method… let’s call it a more positive alternative.”
“Hm?”
Varean looked at Sion in confusion.
Sion grinned.
“You want to use magic, don’t you?”
“I do—but you just said I can’t.”
“Are you mocking me?”
Varean replied curtly, irritation creeping into his voice.
“No. I said your mana heart can’t be restored. I never said you couldn’t use magic.”
“…Is there a difference?”
“There is.”
Instead of explaining further, Sion acted.
“May I see your hand?”
“…Very well.”
Curious about what Sion was planning, Varean extended his hand.
At that moment, Sion suddenly reached into empty space and pulled something out.
It was a sphere about the size of a palm.
At a glance, it was exquisitely crafted.
“This is…?”
“You could call it a signpost to a new path.”
Sion spoke with certainty.
“You won’t regret it. Never.”
Then—
Kiiiing!
The sphere began to glow.
The next day.
“Senior!”
As soon as Lumia woke and saw that Varean was awake, she sprang to her feet.
“You’re up!”
“It’s been a while, Lumia.”
Varean greeted her with a bitter smile.
She hurriedly scanned his body.
“D-do you feel unwell anywhere?”
“No. Thanks to timely treatment, aside from some muscle soreness, there’s no major issue.”
As he spoke, Varean sat up.
It wasn’t an exaggeration—his movements looked perfectly fine.
“T-thank goodness… truly…”
Sensitive by nature, Lumia teared up easily.
Chuckling softly, Varean continued.
“I’ve heard the general situation from Sion. You’ve been through a lot.”
“A-ah, y-yes! Thanks to Sion, we managed to find a way to survive!”
“I see.”
From their conversation, Varean confirmed that Sion had spoken the truth.
Then there was no reason to hesitate.
He explained the situation to Lumia.
“Lumia, this village is currently—”
After hearing everything, Lumia’s face turned cold.
“…They’re taking the villagers hostage and forcing you to make medicine?”
“Yes. And it’s unlikely they intend to stop at simple addiction.”
“That’s awful…”
Her expression hardened.
At the same time, hostility toward the unseen bandits flared within her.
“Senior, leave it to me. With my magic, I can—”
But her confidence didn’t last.
“Tower Master.”
“Yes?”
“Do you remember almost getting yourselves killed last time?”
“…Ah.”
At Sion’s words, Lumia recalled the memory.
Charging in confidently, only to nearly be killed by a mage-killer artifact.
If not for Sion, she might have suffered something terrible.
With that thought, she fell silent.
“Well, th-that time…”
“I know you’re confident as a sixth-circle mage, but rushing in without a plan can get you killed.”
“Y-you’re right…”
She shrank back timidly.
Theory and practice were different.
Even she couldn’t be certain of every variable.
Her lack of real combat experience was undeniable.
“Just because they’re bandits doesn’t mean we can afford to underestimate them. We still don’t know their full strength.”
“Th-that’s true… We should be more cautious.”
“So first—”
Sion continued with a chilling smile.
“Let’s throw out bait. The kind they can’t help but bite.”
“B-bait…?”
Sion looked at Lumia with gentle eyes.
Placing a hand on her shoulder, he said:
“Tower Master, recall that recklessness you just showed—charging ahead driven only by emotion.”
“…Huh?”
“From now on, you’re a berserker who’s lost all reason, enraged by the pitiful state of an old senior, and charging in blindly.”
“…?”
Lumia’s eyes trembled.
At the casually rude words, she shook with indignation and looked to Varean, silently begging him to say something.
But Varean simply nodded in agreement.
“It suits you perfectly. You’ll do well.”
“…Senior?”
