CH 51

Translator: Yonnee

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“If you put it that way, then yes. But because I can’t read their minds, I can’t say that I’m certain.”

She was wary of which stance Cornelli and Yennit had taken, but Ophelia continued to say that the situation wasn’t as bad as she thought.

“Both of them favor you and they aren’t wary of you, so when they come back, take them somewhere so you can talk.”

“Take them? Where will you be?”

“I need to go elsewhere for a while. It’s been a while since Lilith has shown herself.”

And there were some people she needed to talk to…

As Ophelia muttered, she glanced away for a second, but her gaze soon returned.

“And from their point of view, I’m an outsider, so it’s better that I’m not around. They’ll be less vigilant.”

Ophelia answered indifferently. Her expression held no agitation, even as she placed the ring on her finger again and arranged her clothes.

It wasn’t until she had fastened two loose buttons that she said, Ah! and raised her head.

“Perhaps, is it because you feel awkward around those two?”

Alei didn’t answer. He didn’t want to agree because it was so foolish and child-ish.

But he couldn’t hide his reddened face.

Ophelia reached out and wrapped a hand over Alei’s cheek. Her hand was cold. How hot had his cheeks become?

“They like you. Don’t worry.”

“Sometimes, I’m more afraid of benevolence rather than wickedness, Ophelia.”

Benevolence tended to dwell within a person. By controlling his actions and restraining himself, he was constantly asking if he was acting like an idiot.

Even if it wasn’t a great relationship, if one were to turn their head, they’d see dozens of other people who continuously try not to lose the favor of someone else.

“Rather than sticking to this method… I think it would be better if they see me in a bad light.”

“If you’re someone who could be seen in that way, it would be enough. Don’t stick to it.”

No matter what you do, there will be someone on your side.

Listening to this, Alei wordlessly lowered his gaze.

He wasn’t confident to face Ophelia. Even if she was just saying that to comfort him. It wouldn’t be different.

If he were to look into her eyes, he knew that a question might slip out.

Ophelia, will you be the one who’ll stay beside me?

‘I can’t say that.’

And for that reason, Alei couldn’t fully be comforted by Ophelia’s words.

As she said, no matter what he did, there would be people left.

But what if among the people left beside him, the one he wants isn’t there?

If that person grows sick and tired of him, if that person were to hate him, what should he do if the person he wants would leave?

In the end, he had no other choice but to do everything he could.

So Alei gave a small nod and replied to Ophelia.

“I’ll do my best.”

* * *

And so, back to the present—

He regretted thinking so arrogantly.

“So how have you been, Lord Alejandro?”

“Did you just continue staying here in Milescet? You’ve never been to Ronen?”

These boisterous, chick-like mages were, in many ways, difficult to deal with. This was especially true in the way they didn’t seem to know where else to bounce up and down.

“I’ve been working as a mage in the imperial palace of Milescet. I’ve also been to Kschent, but never to Ronen.”

“Ah, that’s too bad. If you went to Ronen before, you would have been able to meet me!”

“Lord Alejandro, have you ever met a mage from another magic tower?”

When Cornelli asked this question in a bright tone, Alei replied, trying very hard to loosen his tongue and talk casually instead of formally.

“Um, Milescet doesn’t have someone like that.”

The Milescet Empire was the most influential region in the Maynard continent.

Though this also meant that mages still didn’t have a strong position there.

“But even if you met one, it wouldn’t have been easy to recognize you, Lord Alejandro. They’d need to be a high mage to meet you. Do you remember this much?”

“No, I don’t… Was there such a requirement for meeting me?”

“Not really, it’s just that only high mages can officially take part in research studies for magical formulas, so… Oh!”

Yennit had been talking cynically until now, but her face suddenly brightened up.

“I just remembered, is there a formula you’ve been researching so far, Lord Alejandro? If not, maybe a method to improve one?”

“Ah, right! I compiled the things that I wanted to ask you once you returned, Lord Alejandro!”

Cornelli added onto Yennit’s question and brought out his bag.

Saying that he was a high mage wasn’t an exaggeration. He loosened the strap of his bag and took out its contents one by one.

“I figured I should bring the things that you were researching before you left the tower, but since you’ll be coming back to the tower later, it’ll be fine!”

“Is it okay if you just stop by the tower for some questions you can answer? I have a lot of questions, too. I’m trying to improve the arrays for an instantaneous teleportation circle, but there’s so many things I can’t figure out…”

Yennit also joined Cornelli’s barrage of questions, bringing out some sheets of paper and writing on them. It was a portion of the magic circle she was talking about.

Like enthusiastic students bursting with curiosity, they chatted between themselves, and they eventually became in sync on one thing.

“Can you take a look at this, Lord Alejandro?”

That is, if there was something they didn’t know, they’d ask Alei.

And the problem was that Alei, who was listening to their conversation, also started to get swept away because he was interested in the subject.

The formulas on the sheets he could see looked to be quite interesting.

If Ophelia had seen this scene, she’d have nudged him and told him to focus on getting intel on the magic tower and what they’re doing.

“Th… en let me have a look.”

Just as he was curious about the memories he had lost, he was also curious about the research materials that the two mages brought with them.

It wouldn’t hurt to look at these first for just a bit, then they can talk about the tower again later.

Alei’s conscience was rearing its head as he accepted a stack of documents from Cornelli, but he tried to ignore it.

“Are these all just research materials?”

“Oh, a few miscellaneous things got mixed in, but they mostly should be.”

Cornelli was right. After looking at quite a few of the pages, he saw that they were all for research.

Cornelli sometimes cried while doing his research, and he even left notes that sounded more like his complaints.

「 If Lord Alejandro was here… 」

「 Will Yennit know about this formula? It’s time for her letter to arrive. 」

「 Ah, my head hurts. 」

They were mostly things that he said to himself.

Smiling without realizing it, Alei flipped through the pages.

Then, one note caught his eye.

「 Lady Mercia made a mistake. That person couldn’t have used black magic. 」

「 If it’s not that person, then now there’s no one who can solve this problem… 」

From skimming, Alei’s gaze came to an abrupt halt.

It was an unexpected clue.

‘That person’ and black magic.

Alei couldn’t have missed this.

His gaze hovered over the note.

‘Did most people in the tower come to the assumption that I used black magic?’

However, Alei knew nothing about black magic.

He wasn’t certain about his past, of course, because there’s a possibility that his knowledge of black magic was also taken away along with his other memories that were sealed.

Even so, Alei knew what would happen to a mage who had gotten in contact with black magic.

‘Their soul would be devoured, and even their own mana would start to be tainted with an unpleasant energy.’

If one’s soul was devoured by black magic, this also meant that the nature of their mana would change.

At the very least, Alei could feel that his mana was untainted, so he was confident that he was a mage who had not touched black magic.

So here, what caught his attention wasn’t just the surprising misunderstanding that he involved himself with it.

‘Now I know.’

He could now guess why Cornelli had burst into tears the moment he saw Alei.

It wasn’t just because he missed Alei.

‘Maybe he was worried that I’d been tainted by black magic.’

Cornelli would have felt the mana emanating from Alei.

—What a relief. What a huge relief…

While crying his eyes out, Cornelli even muttered this. At that time, Alei just thought that Cornelli was feeling relieved that he was alright, so he didn’t think much about it.

‘There’s another side to it.’

Lady Mercia? No one to solve a problem?

Did a problem come up in the magic tower?

‘Let’s take a look at the other side.’

Pretending that he didn’t find something, he turned the page to the next.

But he didn’t find any additional notes until he reached the last page.

In the end, he’d have to personally ask the person who wrote that note.

Setting the documents down, Alei calmly opened his lips to speak.

“I read it all. You studied hard, Cornelli.”

“Y-You’re exaggerating! This much is nothing. I just compiled the formulas!”

“Did someone help you with it?”