Chapter 107. The Eccentric of the Magic Tower (1)

The corridors of the Genmel Monastery exuded an austere atmosphere. Walking here had become so familiar to me that it was almost tiresome.

'I knew it, but I didn't expect to be summoned so suddenly.'

My presence here was, of course, to speak with the High Pontiff Tenelon of the Dawn Society.

'Having boasted about putting an end to the Sword Saint, I must have really raised expectations.'

In the end, I hadn't brought back the head of 'Hayden Reich', so they were bound to be disappointed.

'Let them be.'

Surely, they wouldn't kill me over just this much.

After all, I had built up so much. As long as no order for my execution was given, everything would be fine.

If trust was lost, I could build it up again, and if worst came to worst, I could deal with it.

For the tumultuous Dawn Society to be settled, Tenelon would have to disappear.

Though I wasn't sure if I could confront him yet, I felt I could at least oppose him to some extent.

'It won't be long now.'

The task of handling these nuisances.

In the past, even contemplating such a thought would have made my hands sweat with tension.

However, now I felt none of those emotions. I simply wanted to deal with it quickly and move on to other matters.

'Hmm?'

While making my way to the audience chamber, a man emerged from deeper within the monastery, catching my attention.

Only those of at least the rank of "Monsignor" were permitted in that area.

The man appeared to be quite burly.

It didn't take long for me to recognize him as 'Corund'.

"To think we'd meet in such a place. It's been a while, Corund."

Though not exactly an acquaintance, I had seen his face among the bishops when I had previously met with Tenelon.

Nonetheless, I decided to acknowledge him.

― Don't feign ignorance. You were aware of the eavesdropping spell on Bishop Corund and used it, didn't you?

I remembered what Eleanor had told me during a previous conversation.

I still didn't know exactly what happened at the Martial Arena.

I only knew that Aiden's aim had failed due to Eleanor's hint.

"Uh, uh...... Sir Yulian."

That's why I grabbed Corund.

To find out what exactly happened yesterday.

"Yes, yes. Wasn't there any trouble in the Holy Kingdom?"

"Yes, fortunately."

"You must have had a tough time. Guarding a prince unassociated with the line of succession isn't exactly a pleasant job, is it?"

"Hoho, not as much as you'd think."

As I offered a brief laugh and looked him straight in the eye, Corund flinched.

His reaction confirmed his fear of me, though the reason was still unclear.

"Come to think of it, I think this is the first time I've seen you since I visited the audience chamber before heading to the Holy Kingdom."

"Ka, cough, cough!"

In the middle of speaking, Corund began to cough roughly as if something went down the wrong pipe.

'What's with this guy?'

As I thought about it, he spoke up first.

"For, first time...... Didn't you see me at the Martial Arena?"

"What do you mean?"

I played dumb.

In truth, I hadn't seen Corund directly. I had only heard about it from Eleanor.

This allowed me to act even more brazenly.

By doing so, he'd assume I was pretending not to know while actually knowing everything.

"Were you at the Martial Arena by any chance?"

"Uh, um?"

Moreover, this conversation would serve not only to satisfy my curiosity but also as a "warning" to Bishop Corund.

"It's strange. You don't seem like someone who'd go to such a place... Did you have a 'meeting' of some sort?"

Gulp.

The sound of him swallowing was audible from here.

"Hmm?"

Seeing his complexion turn pale, I couldn't help but let out a small scoff.

"S-sir Yu-Yulian, listen. I did meet Aiden there, but I refused his offer!"

"An offer... So Sir Aiden harbored malicious intentions towards me?"

"Y-yes!"

"So he proposed a collaboration with you, Sir Corund, as a fellow mage."

The way he jilted confirmed the situation to some extent.

"And you said you refused his collaboration, right?"

"O-of course. Before considering right and wrong, there wouldn't be a noble who'd try to bring something like that against you who laugh in the face of institutions!"

Yet, there were quite a few who openly held grudges.

"Indeed, Sir Aiden and I have had our conflicts. I thought it was a reasonable course of action from my perspective, but it seems Sir Aiden disagrees."

"Well, mages are inherently shameless, you know."

Seeing the sweat trickling down Corund, I couldn't help but sneer.

You're one of those mages too, aren't you?

***

Inside the audience chamber, I paid my respects to the High Pontiff Tenelon and briefly explained what transpired in the Holy Kingdom.

"Hayden Reich used the power of a demon, you say?"

Initially, disappointment was evident on his face due to the unresolved 'conclusion', but as the story progressed, a flush of excitement began to illuminate his features.

"Yes, the demonic energy surged from his body alongside his aura."

"Even the great Hayden Reich couldn't help but yield before the Demon King's power!"

Tenelon laughed heartily, looking rather pleased.

I had a rough idea.

The relic he possessed, the Demon God's Chalice, could utilize demonic energy and allow control over demons.

It was literally a 'relic for the Demon King'.

'If Tenelon can fully utilize the Demon God's Chalice, he probably thinks he can easily kill even a Sword Saint brimming with demonic energy.'

Of course, that notion was merely Tenelon drinking copious amounts of metaphorical kimchi soup.

'The Sword Saint would be aware of the Demon God's Chalice's existence, wouldn't he have some countermeasures?'

Even if he didn't, it was impossible for the Demon God's Chalice to work on the Sword Saint, who possessed various 'mental resistance' abilities.

"Indeed, I agree wholeheartedly with that assessment, Sir Tenelon."

But there was no need to tell him this upfront.

He was blissfully happy by himself, drumming and blowing his own horn.

Given the situation, maybe I should pour a bit more oil on the fire.

"By the way, the fact that they managed to set up a Gu Poison Hall would suggest they're definitely collaborating with the high priests."

Oh! So he does have some 'thought' to him.

As Tenelon said, setting up a place like that would require the cooperation of the high priests in the Holy Kingdom.

Which means.

'The Holy Kingdom is supporting the Sword Saint's endeavors.'

This further disproves the notion that the ruined Gu Poison Hall was the only one.

"Ah, that reminds me, there was something I needed to inform you."

Tenelon suddenly changed the topic of discussion.

Curious, I shifted my gaze to him as he spoke.

"Recently, it seems the 'Blind Eyes' have been making moves to investigate us."

The Blind Eyes? Why am I hearing about this just now?

"Is that so?"

"Yes, do you know anything about it?"

"I'm afraid I don't. This is the first I'm hearing about it."

"I suppose it's understandable. You've only just returned from the Holy Kingdom."

Though most might assume that I, as 'Yulian', would know about the happenings within the Blind Eyes, I wasn't their commander.

Furthermore, as a 'Royal Intelligence Agency,' they were bound to handle certain matters discreetly and informally.

"I'd like for you to take care of it."

His suggestion was so preposterous that I almost laughed out loud.

Why would I do that? This wasn't something I should do, even if I could.

"It's difficult for me. I am, after all, also a member of the Blind Eyes."

Saying that as a member of the Dawn Society with the title of 'Bishop' felt audacious, but Yulian would understand that it was in line with his character.

I was merely pretending to act courteously for formality's sake.

"Fair enough, they might even suspect you if a fellow Blind Eyes member were harmed."

Tenelon seemed to find this reasoning logical and nodded understandingly.

"In that case, we'll have to delegate the task to another bishop."

"Well then, I shall take my leave...."

Just as I made a slight bow of acknowledgment and was about to exit the audience chamber, Tenelon called out.

"What are you planning to do about Aiden?"

As expected, grand Archbishop Tenelon appeared to be aware of the tensions between Aiden and me.

"Are you planning the same 'method' as you used with Gerard?"

The question held a hint of skepticism.

Unlike when I first joined the Dawn Society, Tenelon now harbored a small amount of hostility and suspicion toward me.

While the intent behind his question was unclear, one thing was certain: he would not easily overlook everything like before.

"I didn't deal with Gerard. He simply got himself 'handled,' didn't he?"

At this point, what did it matter? The deed was already done.

"That's also true."

With a demeanor that seemed both convinced and unconvinced, Tenelon nodded.

"Yulian, as you guessed, after Gerard disappeared, the Black Knight ceased to appear, so it's a fitting case of retribution."

"Hoho, indeed."

"However, what if the Black Knight were to re-emerge?"

Tenelon left his remark hanging, leaving a lingering silence afterward.

"There's no way that would happen, is there?"

Indeed, how could that happen?

I was the Black Knight he spoke of.

I didn't plan to use that persona for some time.

I was busy with other things; why keep pretending?

That sort of thing was out of the question.

***

I knew that Aiden's laboratory was located in the slums.

However, I hadn't pinpointed its precise location. To discover it, I decided to leverage the people in the slums.

Gaining the cooperation of the Blood Demon Order wasn't difficult.

― I-if you assist us with this matter, we'll overlook the fact that there were criminals active within the Martial Arena... right!?

T'alle, the leader of the Blood Demon Order, seemed to still be preoccupied with the incident at the Martial Arena.

"What does that have to do with us?"

The issue was that Maier, temporarily overseeing the Nameless Band, didn't seem very cooperative.

"A demon incident occurred in the slums relatively recently, didn't it?"

"So what?"

"What I'm looking for is related to that."

"Get lost; that has nothing to do with us."

Short, curt tone, and insolent attitude.

Her upbringing in the slums was clear to see.

Young and disrespectful.

"Aren't you supposed to maintain order here?"

"That's not something we need to do. There are plenty of others in the slums besides us, right?"

Come now, it's not quite like that. There are just two more groups at most.

"Will you really not help?"

"Yeah, besides, I don't know you, so why should I?"

Such an attitude.

'Should I intimidate her?'

That could work, but resorting to such a tactic might stir up unnecessary trouble with Maier.

Neither did I want to become enemies with a potential 'Five-Colored' mage.

While pondering for a moment, an idea sparked in my mind, and I slowly spoke up.

"It's a shame."

"Whether you're disappointed or not is none of our business."

"I'm talking about the Black Knight. As you say you're not involved, I'll be on my way."

I said this and began to turn away as if to leave.

"Hey, hey! Repeat what you just said. Who would be disappointed?"

The predictability was almost amusing.

"The Black Knight. It was 'he' who requested this from me."

"Is that... really true?"

Indeed, it was true.

'Since I am the Black Knight.'

Though I wasn't currently active in that capacity, let's go with that story.

"Are you saying this isn't a mission for the Dawn Society?"

"Yes, more accurately...."

I leaned toward Maier and whispered quietly.

"It's to root them out."

When Maier looked at me with a slightly startled expression, I simply offered a gentle smile.

I was aware that this was a dangerous statement that could be exposed at any moment. Yet since this was Yulian speaking,

'Maier has no choice but to listen to the Black Knight.'

That's the nature of a life debt, after all.

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