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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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Chapter 197: Backstabbed?
The number of guards at the main gate seemed to be at least three times the usual amount.
It looked like even the reserve forces for shift changes had been fully deployed.
The atmosphere was strange.
I paused for a moment and looked up at the sky, but the night sky was still dark.
"At this early hour?"
The stiffly postured guards were all glaring intensely. Even the low-ranking ones to those who seemed like veterans were all the same.
"Hello there?"
"... "
"Excuse me?"
I called out, but they didn't answer.
They just glared blankly into the void like statues.
Anyone who didn't know better would think there was an emergency, like an enemy invasion. However, with my keen sense of things, I immediately realized that wasn't the case.
Some of the guards I recognized from around the city didn't even acknowledge me. It didn't seem to be related to the Blue Magic Tower either.
Truly bizarre.
"...May I enter?"
"Rune Samael! Crazy Mage Squad Commander of the Samael Clan!"
"Whoa, damn. My eardrums are about to burst."
"Permission!"
"What?"
"Permission! Enter!"
"... Thank you."
As soon as I entered with a bewildered feeling, another strange scene unfolded.
Elite mages belonging to the Alliance, who would normally only be seen from the 4th floor and above, were lined up in a single file on the 1st floor.
The administrative bureau's clerk, Aguro Mahon, and someone who appeared to be the head of the administrative bureau were also quietly waiting on one side.
Even the usually upright Guard Commander, Powell, was standing awkwardly, seemingly cautious of something.
I finally had a rough idea of the cause of this strange atmosphere.
'Someone has arrived.'
Looking at the place where people were gathered and the direction they were facing, I saw a tightly closed door.
As I slowly approached, Aguro, who noticed me, hurriedly whispered,
"Crazy Mage Squad Commander!"
"Who's here?"
"Shh! You can't be here."
"You know me well."
"Excuse me?"
"Nothing is impossible in this world."
If someone says it can't be done, I'm the one who makes it happen.
Suddenly, I looked to the left and saw the Yellow Magic Tower Head had even brought his mages.
"I'm dying of curiosity."
As soon as I tried to squeeze my way in, everyone gathered there, regardless of their affiliation or rank, simultaneously turned their heads to glare at me.
Aguro desperately blocked my path.
"Who in the world is here?"
Just as Aguro was about to reply, the tightly closed door opened with a clatter.
Those who were glaring at me immediately straightened their posture.
A sudden, suffocating tension began to fill the entire first floor of the Alliance headquarters.
Thump—
The figure who emerged from the room with heavy footsteps was a man I knew.
The knight of Hyark, the Six Dominion Sword, Altair.
He was the knight I saw sitting at the entrance to the 6th floor of the Alliance when I visited Aguro's office before.
What was surprising was that Altair, who seemed to fear nothing in the world, had a hint of tension in his expression.
Altair paused for a moment, looked around, and then took a step aside from the door.
The status of a Six Dominion Sword was not insignificant.
Hyark was a clan that competed with Ardehain for the top spot among the vassal clans.
And Altair held the title of Dominion Sword, given only to seven knights within that clan.
For him to show this level of courtesy, the meaning was clear.
The Divine Clan.
Creak—
At that moment, along with the sound of footsteps, someone's shadow slowly stretched out from the room.
"It's noisy."
A low voice came from inside the room.
Although it was a plain tone with no emotion mixed in, a chilling tension filled the entire first floor.
A silence beyond stillness.
Gulp.
When the sound of someone swallowing their saliva pierced everyone's ears like an arrow, a man slowly emerged from the room.
"I thought I told you to be quiet."
The administrative bureau head's face turned pale.
Clerk Aguro was no exception.
"Ah... that, uh..."
Aguro tried to say something but couldn't seem to organize his thoughts.
This was because he knew he couldn't afford to make a single mistake.
The beads of sweat running down his forehead clearly showed how nervous he was.
He seemed even more nervous than when he faced Mahon Sirius... no, it was incomparable.
"Why is everyone gathered here?"
In an instant, everyone's bodies stiffened once more.
They all thought it was natural courtesy, but when the man asked, no one could answer.
At that moment, the Yellow Magic Tower Head, who had been waiting for a chance to speak, cautiously took a step towards the man.
"Um..."
Sweep.
The man slowly turned his head to look at the Yellow Magic Tower Head.
Instantly, the Yellow Magic Tower Head, involuntarily tensing up, swallowed his words.
The Tower Head of the Yellow Magic Tower, one of the four major Magic Towers, flinched with just a single glance.
Meanwhile, Aguro, who had finally gathered his thoughts, quickly spoke to the man.
"I apologize. The Alliance Head is currently in a meeting regarding an urgent matter. A defensive magic circle is also activated in his office, so I couldn't relay any messages. I will report to him as soon as it's over."
"But?"
"..."
"I'm not here to see the Alliance Head."
"Excuse me? Then..."
As soon as Aguro asked back, he realized his slip of the tongue and covered his mouth.
"Gasp, I apologize!"
"Ha."
A subtle displeasure appeared in the man's eyes.
"How bothersome."
Fwoosh—
A suffocating pressure.
The man didn't activate any spells or release any mana, yet everyone here felt as if they were suffocating.
That was the man's position, his presence.
But there's always an exception to every situation.
There was another man who didn't mind this suffocating situation at all.
The only man who was watching this whole situation unfold like a play from the perspective of a spectator.
That was me.
Instantly transforming from spectator to actor, I stealthily approached the man from behind.
Arriving in an instant without anyone noticing, I shook my head at the man who was shaking his head at the crowd and struck the back of his head.
Whack—!
"... "
The man's head dropped as he was hit in the back of the head while off guard.
The eyes of those who were looking this way widened, their mouths agape.
After a brief silence...
People started collapsing one by one.
Thud— Thud, thud—
"Oh, no..."
But the man's next action was something no one expected.
The man, who was rubbing the back of his head, looked up at me and smiled.
"You came?"
I asked the man,
"Why are you here?"
"I knew you'd come if I was here."
"I didn't know putting on airs was your hobby."
"I clearly said I would be quiet."
"Look at them, they're scared."
"Isn't it better than destroying everything?"
At the man's casual words, a few more people fainted.
I shook my head and looked at Aguro.
"You said the Alliance Head is in a meeting. Is he meeting with the 2nd Elder of the Blue Magic Tower by any chance?"
"... Ah, yes."
"Why are you just standing there with your mouth open? Answer me."
"Uh, ah..."
"Hmm. It seems you can't speak. Nod your head if it's true."
Aguro managed to nod his head.
"I'll be in the 6th-floor VIP room. When their conversation is over, let them know I'm here."
I went straight up to the upper floor and said to the man,
"Let's go up. I have something to talk to you about."
***
Slam—
Even after the two disappeared, the silence continued.
Altair, who was leaning against the wall, suddenly let out a hollow laugh.
"The Black Star himself?"
Shaking his head, Altair muttered to himself,
'Did he know the Black Star?'
Although most people on the continent only knew the Black Star's reputation through rumors...
Altair was one of the few who had witnessed the Black Star's true face.
The rumors were definitely not exaggerated.
'For the Black Star to react like that, what in the world...'
Moreover, Altair was surprised not only by the Black Star.
The Crazy Mage Squad Commander of Samael.
He remembered encountering him not long ago, but he felt different this time.
"I can't get a read on him at all."
Altair suddenly burst into hearty laughter and then slowly walked up towards the upper floors of the headquarters.
"A new wind blowing is an interesting thing."
Even after Altair disappeared, the silence remained.
The renowned elite mages of the Alliance.
The knights dispatched from prestigious clans across the continent.
The Yellow Magic Tower Head who brought the rising stars of the Yellow Magic Tower.
They were all the same.
A bewildering tension and shock that made it impossible to even breathe, and at the same time, a contrasting sense of relief, gripped their entire bodies.
"J-Just now..."
It was a long time before the administrative bureau head uttered his first words. The bureau head, who had finally regained his color, looked around. Most people were still in shock.
He finally took a deep breath and looked at Aguro.
"Aguro."
"...I saw it too."
"Then it seems I wasn't seeing things. What in the world..."
"The Crazy Mage Squad Commander of Samael. Sir Ruin Samael hit the back of Black's head..."
"Yes, the back of his head..."
"Let me correct that. He raised his right hand and hit the back of his head..."
Aguro tried to organize the situation as he usually did when reporting, but after realizing it was impossible, he sighed.
"...I can't believe it."
"...Same here."
The administrative bureau of the Magic Tower Alliance.
Not only was it in charge of the Demon Realm, but it also coordinated decisions between Magic Towers, influencing all magic clans on the continent. It was the core department of the Alliance and the department in charge of all practical affairs.
For the two people who were at the center of it all, their reactions were far too foolish.
In reality, it was anything but.
"That Black Star of the Baltahar Clan... after being hit in the back of the head..."
"...Yes. He smiled."
Divine Clan.
A name referring to only three clans among all the clans on the continent.
A title bestowed with reverence by those who didn't know, praising them for protecting the continent by repeatedly fighting against enemies threatening humanity for eons, a struggle longer than anyone could fathom.
Divine Clan, and Clan of Trust.
Who wouldn't be nervous before such a name?
Furthermore, it was none other than Black Baltahar.
The first son of the Sword Divine Clan, a man who had no interest in anything but the sword.
In the past, some questioned Black's abilities.
The attention of bards, who loved to compare, usually focused on such things.
However.
Five years ago, after that incident at the Divine Bestowal Banquet, Black Baltahar's reputation spread throughout the continent like a legend.
The next generation's absolute ruler.
That was the public's assessment of Black.
Aguro struggled to suppress the trembling of his heart, which he couldn't control.
It was only natural.
It was shocking enough that Black Baltahar appeared at the Magic Tower Alliance.
But the incident that just happened was simply...
Hit Black Baltahar in the back of the head?
And he smiled?
Incomprehensible.
That was the perfect word.
It would have been more believable if Black had threatened to blow up the Alliance headquarters. That was something he could actually do.
"Ruin Samael, no, the entire Samael Clan."
Aguro turned his head to look at the bureau head at the sudden whisper.
As their eyes met, Aguro immediately understood the head's intentions.
"I will raise their evaluation."
The man acknowledged by Black Baltahar.
No, putting aside all prejudices, the word "acknowledged" wasn't enough. Acknowledged was a word that should be used for Black's behavior towards the Six Dominion Sword, Altair.
With Ruin, it would be more accurate to say that they were on equal footing.
"Raise it to special grade."
"...Understood."
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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