NDSIL 22

Chapter 22

Love for Fellow Alumni

“What happened? Galahad and Corton went out together—.”

At the question from his aide Rumian, 5th Battalion Captain Mark nodded.

The situation had flowed in a direction different from Mark’s expectations.

“Do you know why I called for Galahad?”

“Wasn’t it to keep Corton in check by bringing in the mage Galahad? You were also thinking of looking into the price of magic stones.”

“Correct. Corton’s growth was too fast. There was also something unsettling about him. I called Galahad with the intention of keeping him in check. Since Galahad hasn’t established himself, he wouldn’t be able to refuse my offer.”

Tap tap, Mark’s fingers drummed on the table.

“Is there a problem?”

“They say he caught a mid-rank demon, sixteen mole-men, and two mages. Without Adrianna.”

Rumian’s words stopped for a moment. Soon Rumian furrowed her brow and asked.

“Couldn’t he be bluffing?”

“No, it wasn’t that kind of look. It wasn’t bragging—it felt like he was just mentioning work he’d handled on the way here. Like soldiers saying, ‘Ah, a fox showed up today. Caught it—.’ It was very monotone.”

The conversation paused for a moment. Tap tap, Mark drummed the table with his fingers.

“Isn’t it better if his skills are good?”

“The problem is that it’s not just ‘good.’ You know their composition, don’t you? The only useful one among them is Sir Gilbert. Even Sir Gilbert isn’t at the level to handle all of that. If he was the one who caught the demon—.”

“That’s a big leap.”

At Rumian’s point, Mark readily nodded.

She was right. Mark often made leaps in his thinking. It was Rumian’s role to catch him on that.

“So Corton and Galahad knew each other. Both from the same Academy, apparently. They say Galahad was quite famous—. But there was no news of him after graduation.”

Rumian stayed silent. It wasn’t a question seeking an answer. It was just self-talk to organize his thoughts.

“Graduated from the Academy, no news, then suddenly sent as Adrianna’s husband—. The third son of a count? What does that mean? It means he worked somewhere connected to the Imperial household.”

Tap, Mark’s finger stopped abruptly.

“I don’t know exactly what organization Corton belongs to, but he seemed to have quite a bit of information. If even Corton doesn’t know Galahad’s whereabouts, then it’s one of two things.”

“What is it?”

“Either he was unemployed, or he was in a very secret group. It can’t be the former, so it must be the latter. Working for the Imperial household in a very secret group means—.”

At Mark’s pause, Rumian swallowed. Mark furrowed his brow for a moment, then let out a small breath.

“I don’t know.”

Rumian’s eyebrows twitched slightly. Acting like he’d figured something out, and then saying he didn’t know—. How absurd.

“This feels like bringing in a tiger to catch a fox.”

“That’s a big leap.”

“How is that a leap—. It was strange from the start that the Archduke created a unit for a mage sent from the Empire. The rumor that he defeated Hermun in one blow… no, it’s not a rumor. On top of that, he caught a mid-rank demon and sixteen monsters on his first mission—how is that a leap?”

At that question, Rumian shut her mouth tight. Laid out like that, it certainly was an impressive record. Rumian was starting to worry too.

“Hmm, I’m worried I might have spoken rudely to Galahad.”

“You probably did speak rudely. Considering your usual tone, Captain.”

“That’s a big leap.”

Mark retorted in an irritated voice.

****

‘He’s flustered.’

Galahad raised the corner of his mouth at Corton’s stiff face.

They stood facing each other in a silent room. It was a room lined with books on all sides, with no windows. Mana lamps placed here and there provided light.

The pungent smell characteristic of mana lamps made it feel exactly like being in the intelligence bureau. The atmosphere of the room was unusual.

The bookshelves on all sides were suspicious. The shelves were closer than the visible area between them suggested.

What might be hidden behind the bookshelves—.

Galahad muttered softly and put a cigarette in his mouth. He lit it without asking permission.

A refreshing lemon scent wafted deeply. Savoring it, he waved his hand.

“There’s too much dust.”

Wind blew naturally. The smoke from the mana cigarette spread widely, following it. Because it was a mana cigarette, the smoke did not easily dissipate.

The smoke tapped the middle of the bookshelves on all sides. He noted the smoke dispersing between them.

‘Three of them.’

Two behind the left bookshelf, one behind the right.

‘The back, then.’

He had entered from the front, and there was no one behind the bookshelf at the front, so there was definitely something in the back.

Galahad flicked his cigarette and assumed the worst.

Two on the left, one on the right, plus Corton in front—. It was not a good space for fighting four mages.

Galahad relaxed his hand as if patting his thigh.

Would the desk move? He tried pushing it slightly, but it was fixed. They wouldn’t use wide-area attacks in this narrow space—.

‘In that case, I should catch the one in front first, pull him in and use him as a shield while handling the right side. Then the left—.’

“What are you doing?”

Corton’s question broke his thoughts. Corton still had a somewhat uneasy face.

He couldn’t very well answer that he was planning to punch a hole through his head, use him as a shield, and catch the other three mages—so he deflected appropriately.

“…Ha, accepting the offer so readily—you must be quite desperate.”

The fellow sneered openly. His voice was full of thorns. If he was too compliant, they would actually be wary. So Galahad deliberately answered sharply.

“Desperate? I just couldn’t refuse a fellow alumnus’s kindness. But is this the workplace? It’s smaller than I thought. There’s no magic stone mine here either—is it behind the bookshelf?”

The fellow flinched slightly. It was a very fleeting reaction, but Galahad did not miss it.

‘So it really is behind the bookshelf in the back.’

“You’re making a pointless provocation. I’m just being careful because if you turn out to be a low-quality fellow, it would smear my face.”

At the fellow’s smug answer, Galahad clicked his tongue softly.

‘He’s definitely different from before.’

The old Black Magic Society feared nothing. They approached any mage who was doing well.

Now those same people maintained a cautious attitude even when facing Galahad.

The bookshelf in the back was the same—. They definitely seemed to be paying more attention to security than before.

However, right now there was one stupid fellow in front of Galahad who had taken four years to graduate.

Originally, the most terrifying thing in war was not a capable enemy but a stupid ally.

‘What kind of bait should I give him?’

Galahad reviewed the cards he held.

Something worth giving to a Black Magic Society fellow—.

‘There’s plenty.’

The important thing was that the fellow must not realize Galahad was giving it to him.

Mages inherently tended to overestimate themselves.

If he gently prodded him while slightly adding to his inferiority complex—.

‘Perfect.’

Having finished his calculations, Galahad leaned back in his chair and smiled.

Like a fellow who still couldn’t let go of his glorious days and was putting on airs—.

“You know my abilities better than anyone, don’t you?”

He smiled arrogantly.

A sneer rose on Corton’s face.

It was a very good start.

****

Corton had not expected Galahad to accept his offer.

It hadn’t been an offer in the first place. It was mockery directed at Galahad.

Yet Galahad had grabbed the offer as if he had been waiting for it.

From that, it was clear just how desperate Galahad was. He was clearly desperate enough to snatch at a mocking offer from a classmate he didn’t even remember.

It was a bit questionable. Why had Galahad, who had been called a genius during his Academy days, ended up like this—.

“Abilities? Did you ever have abilities?”

“I am the fiancé of that Adrianna. I am to become the Archduke’s successor.”

The Archduke’s successor—. Corton could not hide his laughter.

Galahad was a justification sent by the Empire assuming the Archduke would kill him. There was no way he would marry Adrianna or become the Archduke’s successor.

“What… Have you even met Adrianna?”

“We’re at the stage of holding hands.”

At Galahad’s bluff, Corton, who had been laughing, suddenly recalled Galahad’s position.

‘Right, the fellow is Adrianna’s fiancé.’

Being a fiancé was a position that at least allowed him to approach Adrianna.

If he took in such a fellow, an opportunity to deal with Adrianna could arise.

How much was the bounty Dawn had placed on Adrianna? It wasn’t simply a matter of the bounty.

If he dealt with Adrianna, the branch manager position of the Black Magic Society would not be the immediate problem. He could see beyond that.

He could rise to Dawn. He would even receive a high position—.

Corton silently admired his own brilliant mind.

“And I’m a captain! A captain! The captain of the special task force!”

Then, Galahad boasted again.

This time it was the captain thing. At that, Corton furrowed his brow. What was there to brag about a unit with only four members, a unit in name only—.

‘No. Even if it’s in name only, a captain is a captain.’

Corton had struck a deal with 5th Battalion Captain Mark, but recently he had been feeling its limits.

Mark rarely showed an opening. In that situation, Galahad, even if a captain in name only, was absolutely necessary.

No, rather, he was more useful precisely because it was in name only. If he put Captain Galahad in front and operated from behind, he could certainly run the magic stone mines more comfortably.

On top of that, the fellow was that Galahad. Galahad had been forgotten as time passed after graduation with no news, but to Academy alumni, he was still remembered.

Whatever state the fellow was in now, the name Galahad was quite useful.

‘Thank goodness I’m brilliant. If it had been another stupid fellow, he would have missed it!’

Corton was slightly relieved.

It was fortunate that he had figured out how to use him—if it had been another stupid fellow, he would have missed Galahad’s value without knowing it.

However, he was concerned about Galahad’s activities after graduation.

“What did you do after graduating from the Academy? Didn’t I answer earlier? I did this and that.”

It was a blunt and perfunctory answer, but it actually put his mind at ease.

If Galahad had some other scheme, he wouldn’t have answered so vaguely. He would have told detailed, fabricated stories instead.

It was probably that his activities had been unremarkable and he was embarrassed to say, so he was obviously deflecting.

And even if there was something suspicious, it didn’t particularly matter.

The fellow was a mage.

If he was a mage, he had no choice but to fall into the Black Magic Society.

Magic was a slow and blunt discipline. As one’s level rose, the ascent became increasingly slower. Eventually, it felt like facing a wall.

Black magic worshipped only ascent. It sought ascent regardless of means or methods.

Once one tasted such black magic, one could not escape.

Normally, he would have had to report upward and wait.

But then there was a chance another fellow would steal the credit. He couldn’t stand to see that.

“Was this outside your authority? It’s fine. When you meet a fellow alumnus after a long time, you can get a little carried away.”

In addition, Galahad’s arrogant attitude was starting to grate on his nerves.

‘This is a card that works. It’s time to throw down the bet.’

Having made his decision, Corton rose from his seat.

“Follow me.”

Corton headed for the bookshelf behind the fellow. When he pulled out a series of books, the wall split open.

A basement staircase leading down appeared. The musty air characteristic of basements greeted them.

“Follow my footsteps exactly. If you step on anything else, it’ll be a big problem.”

Corton walked with concentration on the stairs. Each step was full of caution.

At the bottom of the stairs was a dead end. A large figure wrapped in a black hood was there.

“The fire is.”

“Cold.”

After exchanging the password, the fellow pulled a hidden lever. The wall split open roughly. Beneath it was another basement staircase.

Following him down, this time iron bars appeared. Corton took out a key, inserted it into the hole, and turned it. The iron bars opened with a loud noise.

Stairs again.

This time there were two hooded figures. Between their hoods, sharp beast-like teeth were visible.

“Hmm, the process is quite troublesome.”

Galahad complained openly.

It was true that it was troublesome. The process was so tricky that even Corton sometimes got confused.

Corton pondered for a moment and then opened his mouth. This much wasn’t a secret. Rather, it was something the Black Magic Society emphasized every time.

“When we were in the Empire, the Black Magic Society was thriving. There wasn’t a noble we hadn’t connected with, and we even had ties to the Imperial household. Then suddenly a certain organization began attacking us. We tightened our defenses, but they say that organization was so stubborn they never let go.”

He continued speaking while taking out a magic stone from his bosom. It was a device for opening the next door.

“A certain organization.”

The fellow muttered softly and coughed. Was he laughing? A quick glance showed it was a cough.

“Under that onslaught, more stubborn than a starving wolf, the thriving Black Magic Society collapsed just like that. We moved to the North to escape them, and the North, which we headed to as if fleeing, turned out to be a land of opportunity. There are even stories that we’ve entered a greater boom than before. You can see it for yourself by looking at me, can’t you?”

Corton gestured to himself up and down. From the staff studded with massive magic stones to the coat made of demon leather—. It was an outfit that had cost an enormous amount of money.

“It must be expensive.”

The fellow asked with a grin.

“It is expensive. But the attack by that certain organization must have been quite a shock, because the Black Magic Society invested enormous sums in security. To the point where branches don’t know each other’s locations, and each branch has a different security system.”

Corton answered as he took out the next key.

Then, the final door appeared. It was a door with triple security: iron and magic circles.

The Black Magic Society, which had raked in money through the magic stone mine business, poured enormous money and capital into security out of an unconquered fear.

The door here was the crystallization of that.

“Oh, a security device using three magic stones. The linkage of the magic circles is exquisite. There wouldn’t be security like this even in the Magic Tower—amazing. This isn’t just a magical tool; it’s a work of art.”

Galahad kept exclaiming as he examined the door here and there.

At that, Corton felt inordinately proud.

“The higher-ups are worried that the certain organization will chase us all the way to the North. So they poured money into security. So that no one could approach.”

Corton tapped the phrase written above the door. It read: ‘Security is life.’

Bringing Galahad here without permission was a bit of a burden, but this much was worth enduring.

“Even if the head of that certain organization came, this door would never be passed. The one who made this guaranteed that no one could open it. Unless someone stupidly opens it themselves, it’s absolutely impossible—.”

Corton confidently tapped the door. In fact, three magic stones had gone into just this one door.

At the laughter from behind, he turned his head and saw Galahad covering his mouth and coughing.

‘What a frivolous fellow.’

Corton clicked his tongue and pushed the door.

The triple magic stone lock with overlapping magic circles that boasted ironclad security—.

Opened wide.

“Thank you.”

Galahad’s gratitude was filled with sincerity.