Chapter 134
It was great to move the sky tower and enter the airspace of the Southern Empire with momentum, but there was another problem.
“We don’t have permission to stay…”
The star mages were desperate.
They wanted to meet Arellin.
They wanted to embrace her and see for themselves, just once, if she really was the One they’d been searching for.
“Crazy, stars.”
“If you ask hard enough, the universe will come through.”
“Stars, give us strength!”
The wizards, driven to the brink of insanity, suddenly began to formulate their own insane ideas.
“Should we kidnap her?”
The problem was that the managers who would normally have stopped them were blindsided.
“Sounds tempting.”
The best one was…
“We could hijack her and launch her into the sky and no one would know, and we wouldn’t have to ask anyone’s permission!”
Finally, they began to paint a concrete picture.
“How many people here know how to use stealth magic?”
“Does anyone know the different types of crystals?”
“We can’t afford any casualties. We only need people who can neutralize the knights if they run into them.”
The more organized the plan became, the more insane the mages became…
“Hmph. If only this plan works!”
“The purification power is within our grasp!”
It was then that the infiltration mission was materializing with excitement. An unusually rational star mage raised one question.
“But this plan of ours, do we have to get permission from the Great Master?”
“…”
“…”
The mages, who had been bubbling over with enthusiasm, frowned at the same time.
***
At the same time, Archmage Marcedes was receiving a guest in the Sky Tower after a long time.
It was none other than…
“Archmage Marcedes.”
Archduke of Halbern, Valar.
“I have a question for you.”
At the Archduke of Halbern’s unexpected request for a visit, the tower expected him to talk about Arellin’s imprisonment in Castle Locke.
“As an archmage, I’m sure you have access to rare information in the Tower’s infinite libraries.”
Instead, Valar spoke of something else.
Marcedes’s gaze was intense as he studied the mysterious violet eyes, but Valar was undeterred.
“Do you know about the ‘Singularity’?”
It was the one thing that kept lingering like a thorn in his neck, and he knew he couldn’t make sense of all the new things that were happening without answering it.
That judgment was confirmed by the disheveled look on the archmage’s face at the mention of the Singularity.
“Singularity…”
The archmage, who had been speaking in a tone of voice reserved for the unfamiliar and strange, looked at Valar with a “why do you ask?” look.
Naturally, Valar didn’t feel like explaining.
“If you know about Singularity, why don’t you explain it to me?”
“…”
The silence deepened.
Valar remained where he was, watching the wordless archmage, seemingly lost in thought.
Minutes passed, then hours, with no sign of an answer.
‘I guess I’ll never get answers here.’
The Archmage, he thought, might know something about the anomaly that even Halbern’s secret libraries couldn’t reveal.
Judging by the mood of the room, he was unlikely to give Valar an answer.
Finally giving up, Valar stood up. He was just about to leave.
“A being outside the law of cause and effect, capable of overturning all that is set in stone.”
“…”
“A variable that can be either disastrous or salvific.”
Reaching for the doorknob, Valar paused and turned back around.
“Well, what we call a singularity.”
The Archmage’s depthless eyes held Valar’s.
“You have encountered a ‘what’?”
What.
Valar twisted his mouth into a barely contained smile.
“Well, I don’t know.”
***
Castle Locke, South Empire.
She was still wrestling with the status window. As soon as the five-hour cooldown had passed, she asked coldly.
“Tell me how I can live longer.”
Life extension dreams!
[There’s something we don’t know about you at this time; it’s impossible to retrieve accurate information].
“No, what is it?”
‘Are you kidding me?’
“Then give me my exact information.”
[cooldown until next question: 10 hours].
“@#%$~!!!”
She let out an inhuman scream, her strength draining out of her, and she fell to the ground.
“Ha, yeah. That’s not the point right now.”
Escape. Returned to mom (Mehen).
Reminded of priorities.
Become a big bad that would scare the twins and make Regent give up on her.
‘How can I piss off Regent?’
***
The day at Castle Locke went well enough, except for the very unfortunate fact that there was no Mehen.
She fed, she did not pester her to exercise, it’s peaceful, no one touches her.
She even felt like she was on vacation somewhere for a moment because she thought, ‘Can it really be this peaceful?’
Of course, the absence of her mom (Mehen) is so deadly that the thought of living here is as unappealing as the grime on her toenails.
Regency Road…
“…”
“…”
It was surprisingly okay, except for the fact that he watched her eat three meals a day, came in when she was sleeping, watched her play, watched her get into trouble, and watched her all day long.
He’s not that uptight, except when she asks him to go away and he ignores her.
No? Does that matter?
She’d have to do something big enough to make him want to give up on her, but she couldn’t think of anything.
“A big one.”
And.
“Duke Regent’s disgrace.”
Anything?
Duke Idikels, hearing her serious concern, gave her a surprisingly easy answer.
“Then there is only one.”
“…?”
“Sione.”
“…!”
“Duke Regent forbids me to speak of that name in his presence. So it’s kind of a taboo word, even for his lieutenants, even for his servants.”
Duke Idikels thought for a moment, then frowned.
“Well, it’s not something I’d recommend,” he said, “although you won’t be risking your life like the others…”
What? Lives?!
She rolled her eyes, ignoring Duke Idikels’ afterthought.
‘Okay, this will do.’
***
The evening with Duke Regent came.
‘You’ll be fine when I see you again.’
She felt a chill run down her spine from the imposing presence, but it was surprisingly (?) benign considering the property and items that had been stolen from her.
“You’re being a bit meek today.”
She was frustrated. She is a meek person all year round, and now she is just copying the twins!
‘No, no, no. I can’t let them find out I’m a good kid to raise.’
She stifled a sob and turned to face Duke Regent.
“Do you have something to tell me?”
“Where’s my mom?”
Humph.
Gasps filled the air from all directions. Even the sound of someone hiccupping.
“I want to see my mommy.”
Bam.
Arellin heard someone’s plate smash, but Duke Regent and Arellin were only looking at each other.
Judging by the worried looks on the faces of Duke Regent’s lieutenants, she is pretty sure she caught him off guard, but he’s surprisingly not angry.
“That’s odd.”
“What?”
“You’ve been here for weeks, and now you’re asking about your mother, and you’ve never been interested in her, and you’ve been so nonchalant the whole time, even when I brought up Sione in front of you.”
The corners of Duke Regent mouth turned up in an arc.
“You want to turn my insides upside down, don’t you?”
… Sharp one.
