Chapter 258: Intervention (4)

Tatiana Chiglet, the Witch of Conflagration.

From newspaper reports, she seemed like a wizard of the worst character, plagued by accusations of excessive cruelty and civilian casualties. Yet, seeing her in person, she wasn’t as insensitive or arrogant as that. Perhaps she merely looked exceptionally tired, having been called back from the front lines where she had been handling matters until recently.

Fortunately, the moment Tatiana arrived, the Magic Tower swiftly regained order. Perhaps due to her notoriously volatile personality, not only other wizards but also the Elder Council, who belatedly regained consciousness, quietly began to follow her lead in managing the situation.

Her efficiency was considerable, even to Lennok. She searched for and collected the debris of the fallen Bicheon slate, recovered the grimoires and artifacts Gionis Verbane had tried to abscond with, and simultaneously supervised the repair of the Forge, which he had intentionally damaged.

“Oh! Hey, wait a sec. That’s different from the one you were just smoking. What brand is that?”

Moreover, her conversational skills knew no boundaries. It was clear she was an utterly unique individual in many respects.

“…It’s custom-made.”

“Huh… Well, can’t be helped then. It’s a hassle to go all the way to the megacity just to get cigarettes made…”

She said, looking dejected, then abruptly turned her head towards Evelyn Marcia.

“Can’t you get me some?”

“Shut up.”

“…”

It was the first time Lennok had seen Evelyn, who usually had a somewhat blank expression, speak in such a way. Tatiana, undeterred by the brusque reply, squatted down and focused on smoking her cigarette.

“Haa… Cleaning up Gionis’s mess is annoying, but this isn’t so bad either. The front lines are far more irritating.”

“Is the central front still like that?”

“Well, yeah.”

Tatiana replied indifferently.

“The old men in the Elder Council here, at least they’re relatable since they’ve been demoted, but over there, they’re completely blinded by money.”

It wasn’t for nothing that the Magic Tower’s wizard forces were being concentrated on the central front.

Twenty years had passed since Ars Nova, the central city of the continent that occupied the fertile granary, fell in war. The conflict to claim the legacy and resources of the continent’s wealthiest city had yet to end.

With street battles and bombardments alternating as the backdrop for that massive city, home to twenty million people, it had turned into hell. Now, it was only known as the central front.

Just as many coveted the wealth of the central front, countless others sought the power of the Magic Tower.

It was impossible for massive powers like the Magic Tower to ignore that vortex of desire.

Brushing back her red hair, she exhaled streams of smoke and said,

“This is still under embargo, but one Flame Master died.”

“…”

“Not a direct disciple of the master, but from a collateral branch, so the cleanup was quick… but how would other ordinary wizards accept that?”

A dark smile played on Tatiana’s lips.

“Everyone’s going crazy together… I thought it would end when someone died, but seeing this mess even after a Flame Master’s death, it won’t be long now.”

Such dark emotions dripped from every word that even Lennok, who knew nothing, could surmise the devastating effects. Even a veteran of her renown, who must have overcome countless difficulties, seemed utterly worn out by war.

Lennok watched her from above with an intrigued gaze, then knelt before her, meeting her eyes.

“If it’s that difficult, why not just leave the Magic Tower?”

“Heh, you’re an arrogant young pup, talking so easily.”

Tatiana chuckled.

“Then what am I supposed to do for a living, you rascal?”

“I’ll hire you.”

“…?”

Lennok took a cigarette and a business card from his pocket and handed them to her.

Evelyn Marcia looked dumbfounded and asked,

“Van, what are you…?”

“I run a company. Talented individuals are always welcome.”

Going through this incident at the Magic Tower had solidified Lennok’s thoughts. The Eyes of Blue, or Pandemonium, held no significant meaning for Lennok. What mattered was powerful enough strength to impose his will and a faction capable of adequately supporting that strength.

In that case, it wouldn’t hurt to give a hint to talented individuals he encountered.

Tatiana stared at Lennok for a moment, then tilted her head and asked,

“You’ve got some nerve. Are all wizards with clout in Vulcan like this?”

“…”

When Lennok didn’t answer, Tatiana let out a small laugh and took the business card and cigarette Lennok offered. She snapped her fingers in the same way Lennok did, lit the cigarette, took a deep drag, and smiled.

“The smoke taste is a pass. No, it’s more than enough…”

“I promise free supply if you join the company.”

“Hahaha!!”

At his nonchalant reply, Tatiana burst into laughter and stood up.

“Evelyn, you’re working with quite an interesting guy.”

A faint vitality returned to her previously somber expression.

“Well, I’ll keep it in mind. If I ever become unemployed, I’ll look you up, so you know.”

She patted Lennok on the chest and immediately turned her back.

Lennok silently touched his chest where she had patted him.

“…”

The location where the red book, held by Gionis Verbane, was stored. Although she passed it off as a joke, Tatiana seemed to have a rough idea of its value.

Of course, she would. Gionis Verbane had imprinted the imagery in his Domain by imposing various geases, including conditions and restrictions, upon himself. When he deployed his Domain, he directly summoned this item to unfold his spell.

Lennok had been watching it since then, but once he got his hands on the book, he, too, vaguely understood its abilities. It wasn’t merely something used to increase or assist the power of spells.

It was an item that drastically accelerated the casting speed of fire-attribute spells. Considering that Gionis used this artifact when deploying his Domain, the same ability must apply to deploying a Domain.

There was no need to explain the value of an artifact effective even for an Archmage. Tatiana had decided to hand this item over to Lennok as both compensation and a means of keeping him silent regarding this incident.

‘If I study the principles of the artifact, I might be able to significantly reduce the time it takes to deploy my Domain, regardless of its attribute.’

What if Lennok modified it into an artifact that affects spell casting speed regardless of attribute…?

“Anyway, I’m off. If you have anything else to do, come find me at the Magic Tower.”

She waved her hand and headed for the Magic Tower first, and Lennok belatedly grasped his leg and stood up.

“Hmm…”

A groan escaped him just by straightening his back. Perhaps it was due to the intense battle, but his joints felt particularly troublesome. He had heard before that joints couldn’t regenerate or be strengthened… Quickly dismissing the ominous thought, Lennok turned his gaze towards Evelyn Marcia.

They had already agreed on how to handle the aftermath of this incident. Evelyn and her agents would stay longer to help with the Magic Tower’s restoration, while Lennok decided to return first due to the need for potion supply for his business.

“Time to wrap things up and head back…”

“…”

Evelyn Marcia had her arms crossed and was subtly turning her head away. Lennok sighed quietly at her clear stance of refusing conversation.

Lennok fumbled in his pocket and subtly placed a cigarette in her hand.

“If you wanted one, you should have just said so.”

“…”

Snap!

Evelyn Marcia looked at Lennok with an incredulous expression, then silently snapped the cigarette in half.

“That’s not it.”

“Then what is it?”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were going to offer Tatiana Chiglet a scout offer?”

Lennok was speechless.

Evelyn belatedly added, as if making an excuse,

“…There’s a proper order to things, you know. Van, you didn’t even tell me separately that you’d created a company, did you? I didn’t even get a business card.”

“If you want to join our company, what’s a business card? Jenny would be thrilled.”

“Of course… that’s not what I meant, but when recruiting high-level sorcerers as external advisors and collaborators… No, never mind.”

Evelyn Marcia rambled, her thoughts seemingly tangled, then shook her head vigorously and tightened her lips.

“Tatiana Chiglet has a terrible reputation, but at least she’s much more capable and a better person than that. She’s going through a complicated time right now, so it’s probably best not to unnecessarily unsettle her, don’t you think?”

“…Alright. That was certainly impulsive of me.”

Lennok finally sighed and nodded. Evelyn Marcia turned away with a relieved expression, and Lennok continued,

“But my not offering you a recruitment proposal isn’t solely because of the Agents’ work.”

“What do you mean?”

“If I were to pull a member from an organization already short-staffed, wouldn’t Lapis give me an earful?”

“Oh, for crying out loud, what are you talking about?”

Evelyn Marcia chuckled.

“Lapis isn’t the type to nag like that in the first pla…ce…”

Belatedly realizing the meaning of Lennok’s words, Evelyn Marcia slowly turned her head with a creaking motion. Lennok watched her silently, his expression calm.

His deliberation had been long, but Lennok had made his decision. After this incident, he might not meet Evelyn Marcia directly for a while. So, he had to give her a heads-up before it was too late.

For someone whose life he had once saved, she deserved to know what direction Van, the freelancer she had rescued, was heading.

Even if it didn’t fully reveal himself as Lennok.

Her green eyes trembled violently. As they faced the hot wind blowing up from below, the two of them gazed at each other for a long moment.

“I feel relieved.”

“[Why didn’t you just say so earlier if you were going to worry so much?]”

The day after their not-so-short journey to the Magic Tower concluded.

Lennok returned to his new home and lay down, lost in thought.

It was already the third time taking the pill Yakson had formulated for him. Now, the sensation of his body’s senses temporarily shifting didn’t bother him at all.

With the feeling of rotating his knee, he pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and moved his fingers to lift his elbow. He put the cigarette in his mouth, lit it, and inhaled deeply, feeling the smoke fill his belly.

Davi, who hadn’t appeared during this incident, sat curled up in her toad house, looking down at Lennok.

Lennok muttered,

“Until now, I couldn’t be sure if Evelyn was truly affiliated with the Eyes of Blue. Since she reacted to Lapis’s name, I had no choice but to give her a heads-up…”

No matter how perfectly Lennok concealed his three identities, there were limits to creating alibis. Even with perfect disguise magic and mana pattern concealment, it would be impossible for Evan and Van to exist in the same place simultaneously.

Even if he could create a clone, could he avoid Evelyn Marcia detecting that fact? If he ever had to work with Evelyn Marcia as Evan, an Agent of the Eyes of Blue, expending effort to keep secrets from her would simply be a useless waste.

It was better to tell her beforehand and preemptively diffuse any troublesome situations that might arise between the megacity and the Autonomous Region.

“[Won’t it be dangerous?]”

“As long as my identity as Lennok isn’t exposed… I can always bear the risk. What’s needed isn’t suspicion, but trust.”

Puffing out clouds of smoke, Lennok looked up at the ceiling. The presence he had felt from the upstairs apartment was now, somehow, empty.

Evelyn Marcia’s extended stay at the Magic Tower meant she had simply hired a moving company to move her belongings by proxy. This was only possible because her move had been prepared in advance, but it was naturally disheartening for Lennok, who had been anxiously wondering when he might be discovered.

He couldn’t deny that he sometimes felt skeptical about how long he could live wearing such masks. But it was clear that now was not the time to stop pondering it.

“…Alright.”

As the pill’s effects wore off and his body’s senses returned to normal, Lennok vigorously stood up. Even if Evelyn Marcia had moved out, didn’t Lennok still have a lot of work to do?

Now that she was finally gone, he could finally set up a separate laboratory in his newly moved house. He chose the largest room in the house, covered the walls with mana-blocking material, reinforced the walls, floor, and ceiling with sturdy steel plates, and then drew barrier arrays.

He thoroughly prevented internal mana from leaking out, utilizing various public magic security spells, as well as barrier techniques whose understanding he had deepened with Liberation Daoist Arts and Divine Seal Daoist Gates. Finally, he set up a library for his stored research materials, pushed a workbench and a potion crafting station into opposite corners of the room, and the setup was mostly complete.

Davi, floating above Lennok’s head and watching all the work, said,

“[You have a lot to do.]”

“Mountains of it.”

He needed to organize and theorize the insights gained from observing and manipulating the fire-attribute Domain. He also had to document his proficiency in ice-attribute magic and collect additional papers on the transformative effects of Mystic Eyes.

Furthermore, he had to produce the potions whose supply had been delayed while he was away from Vulcan and deliver them to Jenny. He also needed to pick up the custom-made revolver he had ordered from Palmer and contact Aris Richellen to inquire about his assistant professor duties.

And he couldn’t forget to visit the Cartel executive vault to search for necessary items. His body was already exhausted just from practicing magic, yet external matters continued ceaselessly, too important to ignore.

He thought he was focusing only on his own survival, but somehow, the people who had gathered around Lennok and the connections he had formed had become immeasurably complex.

There were mountains of things he wanted to do and worries he needed to address, but he had no choice but to tackle them step by step, starting with what he could.

“Let’s tackle this first, shall we?”

THUD!!

Falling onto the workbench with a heavy thud were the items Mauser had given him as a gift and a token of farewell when they parted ways. Two rechargeable shotguns with sleek, dark blue barrels glowed faintly.