Chapter 342
Chris answered slowly.
“…Her Majesty had no particular words for me.”
“Is that so? You’ve worked hard.”
The Magus Chancellor didn’t press any further, but Chris had a gut feeling.
That he knew everything.
‘…What is the Magus Chancellor scheming? Why did he have me meet the Demon Empress?’
Everything was a mystery.
And so, his visit to the Center ended, having only produced a mountain of questions, and he returned to the Dark Demonic House.
[Ohoho. Welcome back, Young Master. Seeing you after so long makes my heart flutter even more. Why do you keep getting sexier, Young Master?]
At Marie’s unchanging demeanor, Chris’s lips tightened.
A completely different atmosphere.
But it felt like facing the same being.
Confusion tore through his mind.
He couldn’t figure out what the truth was.
As Chris just stared at her silently, Marie tilted her head.
[Why are you looking at me so intensely? Oh my, could it be that you have some sort of lewd thoughts for me? Goodness. My heart is racing. Shall we head straight to the bed? Of course, anywhere is fine with me.]
“…It’s not like that, okay? Can you not try to strip at the drop of a hat?”
As Marie, despite being a ghost, made a gesture as if to take off her clothes, Chris was horrified.
Hearing Marie’s crude jokes, his head began to clear.
‘Right, the most important thing isn't Marie’s true identity.’
Chris held out a piece of jewelry wrapped in a silk pouch.
“Picked this up on the way. Keep it or throw it away, do as you please.”
[…Goodness.]
Marie wore a moved expression.
Chris let out a smirk at the sight of her jumping for joy and flying all around the room.
[Thank you. As I thought, there’s no one but you, Young Master. I’m so glad I chose to serve you as my master.]
“Really? Do you sincerely think so?”
Marie looked puzzled for a moment, then gave a soft smile.
[Of course. You are my one and only master.]
Chris nodded.
Right.
The most important thing was that Marie was his ghost.
Whatever Marie’s true identity was, that fact did not change.
‘I need to find out more about the Center.’
The horrific sight he had seen in the Center.
The Demon Emperor’s true will.
The relationship between the Demon Empress and Marie.
There was much to uncover.
‘I also need to find out why the Demon Empress told me to kill her. And what will happen to Marie if I kill the Demon Empress.’
Chris’s gaze settled.
‘…And above all, I have to get stronger.’
He was already growing stronger at an insane pace, but it wasn't enough.
This incident had made it clear that he would have to face the Center.
He had to obtain the power to surpass the Demon King of the Red River, the Magus Chancellor, and even the Demon Emperor.
‘First, I must complete my power of light at the Keinper Training Center.’
It wasn't just to stop his vessel from collapsing.
It was time to obtain a power worthy of the title ‘Demonic Radiance’.
* * *
The Keinper Training Center is situated within the Round Table.
The southwest of the Alliance.
The coalition of prestigious houses was located in the region between the Gold Cross and the Holy Empire.
The Round Table, due to its nature where a small number of noble families monopolize all power, had one social class that could not be found in other regions.
They were the ‘Mano’.
Meaning ‘servant’, it referred to the servant class that attended to the needs of the noble families.
Though not slaves, they were bound to each noble house and were treated as lower than commoners.
No matter how talented they were, they could not escape their lot as tools to be used by the noble families.
But there was one exception.
It was Ranya of the Hero’s party.
She came from a Mano background in a magic noble house.
The magic noble house was a family that held sway over the Celestial Magic Tower and possessed the greatest power in the Round Table.
As such, they were extremely closed-off, making it impossible for someone from the Mano servant class to rise, no matter their talent, but she was the first exception.
“Hmph, it’s all thanks to me being a genius.”
Ranya held her head high.
The Master of the Magic Tower, who had recognized her talent, had adopted her as his daughter.
Of course, becoming the Tower Master’s adopted daughter did not mean all her difficulties had vanished.
Even now, as the next Tower Master, eyes followed her every time she walked through the tower.
They were gazes hideously mixed with vigilance, jealousy, and contempt.
She was used to it.
Ever since she had been adopted, not once had she been free of those stares.
But Ranya did not falter.
On the contrary, she held her head high and worked herself to the bone. So that no one could look down on her.
Not just in magic, but in all aspects. The reason she was always so proud and haughty was to overcome people’s disdain.
Of course, it wasn't easy.
She had come close to breaking countless times, but she had endured.
She had a ‘reason’ she had to.
Ranya stopped abruptly in front of a room.
“Tower Master.”
“Enter.”
Creeak, as she opened the door, she saw an old man with sharp features.
It was Heperlman, the Master of the Celestial Magic Tower, the ‘Seeker of Truth’.
A 9-Star (entering) and one of the Sacred Ones, a superhuman who represents the Alliance.
Like most of the high-ranking mages in the tower, he was from a magic noble house.
As his sharp features suggested, he was an object of fear to the mages of the tower, but he smiled gently at Ranya.
“It’s been a while. It seems you’ve made some progress recently.”
At the warm voice, Ranya smiled back.
In the Magic Tower, where she had only enemies, the Tower Master was the only one who showed her any kindness.
If it weren't for the Tower Master's protection, she would not have been able to endure, no matter how much of a genius she was.
“Thank you. I’ve had a recent enlightenment.”
It was thanks to Chris.
Her skills had recently skyrocketed thanks to her research on a topic Chris had given her.
“So, you’re going to the Keinper Training Center this time?”
“Yes.”
“Good, I trust you will do well. You are my daughter, after all.”
Warm encouragement, as always.
Ranya bowed her head.
“Yes, I will absolutely achieve the best results. Worthy of my father’s name.”
For her, who had already reached 7-Star, the training center’s results were meaningless, but she always had to be the best.
As a former Mano of humble origins, there could be no flaws in her path to becoming the next Tower Master.
“Yes, I believe in you.”
“Father… I have a favor to ask.”
“What is it?”
At his gentle gaze, Ranya clenched her fists tightly.
“When this training is over, could you tell me the truth of what happened at Argos?”
“……”
Argos.
It was the place where Ranya’s biological parents had been murdered by unknown assailants.
The Tower Master knew who the culprit was but had delayed revealing it.
Heperlman stared at Ranya.
Unlike usual, his eyes held no warmth, and Ranya flinched for a moment.
Strangely, whenever she asked about her biological parents, Heperlman would show those same cold eyes.
Before, she had been too afraid of that gaze to press further, but Ranya did not back down.
“I beg you.”
Heperlman was silent.
After a moment of suffocating tension.
“Very well. However, there is a condition. You are to set foot into 8-Star at the Keinper Training Center.”
“!!”
Ranya wore a shocked expression.
He was telling her to become an 8-Star Absolute.
Even for her, it was an unreasonable task.
However.
“I will show you a path that will aid you.”
A grimoire floated up and flew before Ranya.
“This is?”
“It is an unpublished grimoire I authored. It contains the essence of the enlightenment I have gained throughout my life, so it will be of great help to you in your achievement.”
Ranya wore a deeply moved expression.
The desire of mages to monopolize knowledge was so hideously strong that they wouldn't easily pass on the essence of their enlightenment even to their own children. He had truly bestowed upon her a great grace.
“Thank you. I will absolutely achieve it.”
Ranya said in a firm voice, taking Heperlman’s hand.
Afterward, when Ranya had left.
The expression of Heperlman, who was left alone, turned ice-cold.
He looked down at his own hand. The one Ranya had held.
“Filthy.”
* * *
The day of Chris’s departure for the Keinper Training Center was approaching.
However, some unexpected figures were talking about Chris.
They were the House Heads of the Round Table.
“Have you heard? The Hero is coming to the Keinper Training Center as a professor.”
“How could we not know? What does the Karn Empire take our Round Table for, to make such a rude request.”
The Round Table was a council of seven prestigious houses.
The six House Heads, excluding the head of the magic noble house, had gathered with displeased faces.
“It is unpleasant enough that they dare to carelessly call him the Hero.”
“That's right. According to the prophecy, the Hero is supposed to come from our Round Table.”
There were several reasons they were displeased with Chris.
The most important was the fact that he was the Hero.
The Round Table had believed that this generation’s Hero would come from among them.
This was because of a prophecy from the Constellations.
-From the House of Lions, a Hero will be born.
Of course, this prophecy originally referred to the swordsmanship noble house, the family of the original Hero, Evan.
But the people of the Round Table had naturally assumed the prophecy referred to them.
If it was the House of Lions, it had to be the Round Table.
“Furthermore, for them to pressure us by citing his status as a royal of the Karn Empire. What do they take us for?”
The reason Chris had become a temporary professor at the Keinper Training Center was thanks to the influence of the Karn Empire’s royal family.
Even the Round Table could not ignore the wishes of the Karn Empire, the strongest nation in the Alliance.
They had been forced to comply, but they were thoroughly offended.
“We cannot just stand by and watch.”
“I doubt he is even the real Hero.”
“That’s right. Aren't the achievements he’s credited with until now also absurd? Defeating the Ghost Sword King in a duel and catching a devil that descended upon the mortal plane? Are you saying a young brat like that is a Sacred One?”
Out of resentment, they even disparaged the achievements Chris had made in the Alliance until now.
Kwang!
“The Keinper Training Center is the pride of our Round Table. We cannot just stand by and watch that whelp tarnish the honor of the Round Table.”
Everyone nodded their heads as if in agreement.
Just then, a middle-aged man with a giant build opened his mouth in a meaningful voice.
It was the Head of the Martial Arts House.
“Do not worry too much. This year’s class at the training center includes our ‘Morning Star of the Round Table’.”
At those words, the other House Heads wore surprised expressions.
“Is that true? Has it already been that long?”
“To think two years have passed.”
The ‘Morning Star of the Round Table’, as the title suggested, was a title given to the strongest of the Round Table’s next generation.
This generation’s Morning Star had especially received the full expectations of the Round Table, as they believed he would be the Hero of the prophecy.
He was a figure worthy of it.
Aiden, the Pulverizing Mace.
The young lord of the Martial Arts House, a genius among geniuses who had reached 7-Star around the age of thirty.
A rate of achievement rare even in the Magus Empire, where there are as many powerhouses as there are stars. His talent could be said to be in no way inferior when compared to the Alliance’s greatest talents, Evan and Ranya.
For the last two years, he had even entered closed-door training to raise his achievement.
The Head of the Martial Arts House spoke, filled with pride.
“It seems he had a great achievement during his closed-door training. It is embarrassing to say, but I now find it difficult to handle that child myself.”
“Ooh! How marvelous. Congratulations.”
“The real Hero is clearly our Aiden.”
The Head of the Martial Arts House twisted the corner of his mouth.
“That whelp will find out soon enough when he meets Aiden. Who is truly worthy of being the Hero.”