EP.233 An Uninvited Guest (1)
Lac returned from the trial.
Sitting in the grass, Lac stared blankly at the sky, his gaze filled with questions.
“Is that so? The sky can be split too…”
Muttering something incomprehensible, Lac nodded his head vigorously.
“The world is this vast. There are so many strong ones. Everything is so unfamiliar…”
He looked like a philosopher contemplating enlightenment.
A look that didn’t suit him at all.
“Lac?”
I called out to him as I approached, but there was no response.
Finally, I went thwack and slapped Lac’s cheek, which made him turn to face me.
“Uh, huh? Professor Rania?”
“Yeah. Are you coming to your senses?”
After blinking a few more times, Lac opened his mouth.
“I’m a bit confused, but yes. I’m coming to my senses.”
“What was the trial of the Holy Grail like?”
“Well, the one who appeared for the trial wasn’t you, Professor Rania. It wasn’t the Sword Demon either…”
“Ganikalt.”
At my words, Lac’s eyes widened.
“Ganikalt van Galatrick, right?”
“How did you know?”
“I just had a feeling.”
I let out a long sigh.
As I expected, Lac must have encountered Ganikalt. Seeing that he’s aware and coherent, it seemed he met Ganikalt from his heroic days, not Death’s Blade.
‘What a relief, really.’
I felt a sense of relief inside.
If by any chance he’d met Death’s Blade during the trial… Lac’s mind would have shattered into pieces.
‘Lac’s determination and willpower are strong, but…’
This was a different issue altogether.
At this point, if Lac faced Death’s Blade, it was uncertain whether he could keep his sanity.
I exhaled briefly and asked Lac a question.
“What did you experience inside?”
“Um, I learned about willpower. If one’s will is firm, they can overcome the limits of the physical body…”
“Willpower? Limits?”
“Yes, mainly about possibilities…”
Lac briefly recounted what he’d experienced in the trial. As I listened, I nodded and muttered.
“Sounds just like Ganikalt.”
Human possibilities.
The knight who challenged that potential.
“Anyone can become a hero.”
“I trust in the light possessed by humanity.”
Just then, while I was recalling the records I’d seen in the northern tower, Belnoa, who had been quietly eavesdropping on our conversation, spoke up.
“Professor Rania.”
I turned to look at Belnoa.
With a serious expression, Belnoa asked me,
“Is it a coincidence?”
A question without a subject or object.
But I could easily understand what Belnoa was getting at.
‘If you give me this many hints, it would be hard not to suspect.’
I opened my mouth slowly.
Avoiding words tied by constraints and filtering through words I could actually say wasn’t an easy task.
‘So Cardi was skilled after all.’
Thinking about the effort Cardi must have put in to give me clues, I answered Belnoa’s question.
“It’s not just a coincidence that they share the same name.”
“So…”
“There is a connection. In some way, shape, or form.”
A meeting that skipped the established order.
And the clues given far too early.
Thus, there wasn’t much I could tell these two.
“You’ll understand as you challenge the trial. It’s not that I can’t tell you, it’s that I won’t.”
Belnoa looked at me with a skeptical expression, then nodded. It seemed she found it hard to believe, but she was willing to try.
“By the way, it’s a pity.”
I shook the Holy Grail.
It no longer resonated with Lac and Belnoa. Cardi had said it could be used three times in one go, but it stopped functioning after just one use. It seemed it would need some time to reset.
“I didn’t expect it to break down this much at once.”
“Oh, about that Holy Grail…”
Belnoa pointed at the Holy Grail I was holding.
“I heard in the trial that as we get closer to the wall… the level of trials we can handle increases.”
She added that it was something Belial had conveyed.
I narrowed my eyes and glared at the Holy Grail.
“Is that so?”
The stronger we become, the closer these kids get to the wall, the greater the trials the Holy Grail can withstand.
‘That means we can learn more.’
I chuckled while shaking the Holy Grail.
‘What am I, a part-time instructor?’
A special lecture that could only be attended once a year.
Also, it’s a kind of exam that evaluates the accomplishments up to now.
It was an incredibly pricey lecture, but… it truly had value. Learning from ancient heroes ‘directly’ was priceless.
“I wish I could take it too.”
As I muttered that, Lac, who was sitting with his head leaned back against a tree, let out a sigh.
“By the way, Professor Rania.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“In the trial of the Holy Grail, didn’t you say a stronger version of oneself appears? So does that mean the people Belnoa and I saw are stronger than you?”
I flinched, my brow furrowing.
“Lac.”
“Y-yes?”
I bent my knees to meet Lac’s eye level.
“The trial you underwent for the Holy Grail is a bit different. How should I put it? An exception? It’s a different case entirely, so the trials were measured in another way.”
With my hand on Lac’s shoulder, I continued speaking softly.
“That stronger version you envision is me, right? Isn’t it?”
“W-well, that is the case…”
“Then that’s settled. Strength is relative. It changes every time based on the situation, so ranking them is a really bad habit…”
Clears throat!
“Umm, ahem.”
Turning around at the sound of a cough, I saw Belnoa turning away to avoid my gaze. I glared at her with wide eyes.
“You’re not different, are you, Belnoa?”
“Well, the scene I saw in the trial was so astonishing…”
“And?”
“It was astonishing, but still, the stronger version I envision is you, Professor. A memory of such a perfect balance is hard to fade.”
“That’s right. You know a thing or two.”
I nodded vigorously.
Even though it felt like we took a sharp turn in the middle, that didn’t matter.
‘Compared to Belial and Ganikalt, I’m a little…’
My conscience pricked a bit.
‘Well, maybe a lot, but that’s not important.’
In the end, it’s me who teaches those kids.
If I leave them with a more intense impression than a part-time instructor who comes around once a year, that should be sufficient.
“Yeah. That’s how it is.”
I smiled brightly and patted Lac’s shoulder.
“Let’s give it our all.”
2.
“I suspected this might happen, but it seems that’s indeed the case.”
In the highest floor of the Black Tower.
In the personal research laboratory of the Master of the Black Tower.
“On the day of the final battle approaching, it was Gleria who suggested it. To leave behind remnants of ourselves just in case.”
“And the Northern Tower is one of those things?”
“Exactly. The Northern Tower, the Holy Grail, and I even made arrangements regarding Ganikalt’s sword.”
While shaking the potion he was mixing, the ancient elf, Cardi, continued speaking.
“The Holy Grail was one of those. Gleria and I developed it together… so it was definitely doable to devise a way to leave something behind based on that structure.”
Of course, we never thought the Holy Grail would end up being used in such a manner back then.
As he muttered this, Cardi chuckled.
“I anticipated Belnoa might participate. However, the child from the Grace family was a bit unexpected. That child still hasn’t wielded the sword located in the Holy Site, has he?”
“He hasn’t.”
“Then the Holy Grail wouldn’t call upon Ganikalt, would it? That’s a strange matter.”
“About that…”
Sitting beside Cardi, with her half-closed eyes, Raniel looked at him, asking a question.
“What exactly is the connection between Lac and Ganikalt?”
“I don’t know the details either. All I know is that Ganikalt had a disciple who he deemed remarkable, and that boy’s name is Grace.”
“…A disciple?”
“Yes. A disciple. Ganikalt said that in terms of innate talent, that disciple surpassed him.”
Cardi exhaled slowly as he spoke.
“I’ve seen him once. Ganikalt requested me to entrust his sword to that boy.”
“Oh, so that’s why your crest is in the Holy Site…”
“I did help establish the Holy Site. I could do at least that much for a comrade’s disciple.”
Even while continuing to speak, Cardi didn’t stop moving his hands. With minimal yet elegant movements, he continued his alchemical work.
‘It’s always fascinating to see.’
Raniel watched the quickly filling and changing color vials, her tongue clicking in awe. She wasn’t the only one who was impressed.
‘How astonishing.’
From a distance, the figure crossing his arms was none other than the Master of the Black Tower, Yetual, who narrowed his eyes at Cardi’s alchemical demonstration.
Yetual had quite a bit of knowledge about alchemy.
Thus, he understood that the elf before him was performing alchemy of a very high caliber.
‘There’s no waste in his movements. It’s precise. I’ve seen it before, but this is… astonishing.’
A top-class alchemist.
Since it was a rare opportunity to witness the alchemical processes of such a skilled alchemist, Yetual was enjoying the situation.
‘If this weren’t my office, I might have enjoyed it a bit more…’
That was precisely the problem.
“May I borrow the laboratory? I need a space for alchemy, and a proper environment is essential.”
Recently, the Ashen Mage had suddenly come to him.
She demanded a laboratory that was ‘not visible to the eyes of people but well-equipped,’ and Yetual gladly accepted the request.
The fact that the Ashen Mage was staying at the tower?
That was something to celebrate with open arms.
He thought to ask her various things about his ongoing research, so he lent his private laboratory to her. But…
“The facilities are better than I expected.”
Yet, the one who appeared at the tower was an elf.
The one he’d seen before, the old-fashioned elf.
“I’m going to impose for a few days.”
That declaration felt like a descent into hell.
Really, those were days that felt like hell, and Yetual could feel his temple throbbing.
“Huh…”
Yetual sighed deeply.
That is, the figures of the Ashen Mage and the elf engrossed in conversation seemed to have no awareness of his presence at all.
‘By the way, what on earth are they discussing?’
Though they weren’t far away, Yetual couldn’t catch their voices. It felt like something was obstructing their sounds.
I wonder what kind of trick they’ve pulled now.
‘It’s tiring just trying to understand.’
Having that thought, Yetual cleared his throat a couple of times. Just then, the two turned to look at him.
“Is the research progressing smoothly?”
“Ah, have you arrived, Master of the Black Tower?”
Raniel nodded.
“Thank you for lending the research facility. I owe you again, as I did last time.”
“Ah, ‘owes’ is a stretch. I still have things that I haven’t repaid to you, so I ought to do at least this much.”
Yes, this is what normal conversation looks like.
Having been tormented by the old-fashioned elf for the last few days, Yetual felt grateful for such simple and mundane dialogue.
“I believe the potion is almost complete. I should finish the work within today or tomorrow.”
“That’s good to hear.”
It was truly heartwarming news.
Not holding back his joy, Yetual continued speaking.
“By the way, the reason I came is to share some news with you.”
“News?”
“Right. It is information that just arrived.”
Yetual took out a letter from his pocket.
The letter had various symbols decorating a single circle. That decoration was certainly familiar to Raniel.
‘The symbol of the Six Towers.’
Six towers of colors.
There were six symbols and six colors inscribed on the letter. Since Raniel had once directly penned such a letter, she understood its implications.
“Is it… the Night of the Mages?”
A banquet held under the auspices of the Six Towers.
Numerous mages gather from various regions, each presenting their incredible achievements… the grand festival for mages.
However, as Raniel gazed at the letter, her expression was less than pleased. She tilted her head and murmured.
“Is it really going to be held already?”
As she recalled, the Night of the Mages occurs every four years. The most recent festival took place two years ago, so timing-wise, it shouldn’t be due again.
“Well, this time is exceptional.”
With a tap, Yetual pressed the center of the circle that adorned the letter. A new symbol appeared.
It was the emblem of a dragon.
White, black, blue, red, green, and gray.
In the center of the circle adorned with the six colors appeared a platinum symbol. The moment Raniel saw the symbol, her eyes widened in surprise.
“Is it… the Mage of Ancient Dragons?”
The platinum-tinted dragon emblem.
It symbolized the Mage of Ancient Dragons.
“Exactly.”
Yetual nodded.
“In a month from now, the Mage of Ancient Dragons is scheduled to visit the capital. The Night of the Mages will be held according to that timing.”
“Why is that person coming here…?”
Just then, as Raniel couldn’t contain her surprise, Cardi, who had been quietly listening, furrowed his brow and spoke up.
“Why the hell is that crazy lizard coming here?”
Swish, Raniel and Yetual turned their gazes toward Cardi. Unfazed by the incredulous looks from both, Cardi simply shrugged his shoulders.
“What’s wrong? Did I say something wrong?”
