Chapter 83

EP.83 Revelation-6

Blue Magic Tower

A group that oversees the blue color among the four magic towers, each responsible for a different type of magic.

The Blue Tower, following the first Blue Tower Master's intention to lead the wisdom of magic, focuses on the research and development of magic.

While it is extremely conservative in terms of obtaining wisdom, which is the essence of magic, the Blue Tower has shown academic progress in developing new magic.

In other words,

“Where is that guy?”

It was a group of magicians who had the worst relationship with the priests at the opposite end.

“Um... please calm down...”

Bang

A woman struck the ground at the temple entrance with her long staff, expressing her frustration.

“Calm down? If you want me to calm down, bring that guy Leonardo!”

“But... bringing someone...”

Thud, thud, a black knight and magician was walking towards the commotion. He was both the cause of the commotion and the key to resolving it.

“...You really came suddenly.”

Leonardo looked at her from the temple entrance and said softly.

“...Finally showing up? What a face to show. Sub-Tower Master?”

Leonardo slightly frowned at her openly mocking and taunting attitude. He didn’t expect her to be friendly, but he didn’t think she would display such overt hostility.

“...Isn’t it proper to send a telegram if you have a reason to come? Mage Platius.”

There was no need to be cordial. With a tone even colder than Ein’s, Leonardo asked a business-like question.

“...Your words have become sharper, haven’t they? Junior?”

[...That insolence... doesn’t get old, does it...]

The sage, who had been hiding to avoid Ein and the Holy Maiden, glared at Platius with a voice full of hostility. It was strangely familiar, given his usual demeanor.

“Unfortunately, I can’t speak softly to uninvited guests.”

“I can’t forget how you used to chase me around calling me ‘senior’?”

[You’re making a fuss. You were the one who clung to me like a leech.]

The sage, defending Leonardo, glared at Platius with his eyes and mouth. Given the usual relationship between the sage and Leonardo, one could guess the woman’s temper.

“...Is that so? That... lady is Senior Leonardo?”

Aria, who had somehow stood beside him, held Ein’s hand and linked her other arm with Leonardo’s. Her overt actions made Platius snort.

“...Now I understand...”

Whether she had the right to sneer or not was another matter.

“Why are you playing with people...”

To Leonardo, she was not even worth playing with.

“What do you mean? Since the beginning?”

“If you wanted to transfer, you should have been quiet... not cause this commotion?”

[Why are you barking as soon as you see me?]

To Leonardo, who had never even ridden a horse, let alone transferred, such barking was meaningless. It was an insult even to well-behaved animals.

“...What?”

Leonardo glared at her with a look of human contempt.

“Isn’t that so? You sucked all the life out of people, and now that you don’t need them, you repay them like this?”

[You need to have something to suck out, you bitch.]

He didn’t owe the Blue Tower much. At most, he had been allowed access to the Blue Tower’s specialized library and sought advice a few times.

The help he received from her was limited to asking if a book could be checked out.

Moreover, he often asked other tower masters for similar favors, and the Blue Tower Master never showed any displeasure or refusal.

“Blaming me for everything, and having your father beat me up? Do you know that the Blue Tower is wobbling because of you?”

Her words were a waste of breath.

Initially, Platius had almost self-destructed, and while it was a bit regrettable that the Blue Tower was affected, it was a fair fight with mutual agreement.

“Look...! Your words...!!”

“Isn’t it great? To have a lady from the Reinhardt family by your side?”

Everyone’s faces turned serious. Her statement could be considered blasphemy.

“...Ha...”

The line had already been crossed, and playing with fire beyond that line made it impossible not to sigh.

“So, you’re playing family with that doll...”

“Is it so embarrassing that you have to make such a fuss?”

Thus, he didn’t need to hold back.

“...Wh...What?!”

“If I had confessed nicely and caused this commotion, I might understand, but where did you get the idea to confess in a courtyard where at least ten people walk?”

There was no reason to stay silent when his family was involved.

“And the life force? I felt bile rising in my throat every time I saw you flirting around me before you confessed?”

It didn’t suit his temperament to let such a scoundrel go unpunished.

“Your public confession only embarrassed you, but I had to suffer for a year. Do you know that?”

The public confession was the trigger.

The situation was fundamentally different from when Aileen Tempeius was involved.

To others, it looked like a “kind and beautiful senior noblewoman was trying her best to take care of a commoner boy, but he was just being arrogant.”

-----

People gossiped and bullied him.

-What’s so great about that kid?

Some students mocked and cursed him as if to be heard.

-Poor Senior Blanc.

The materials he put in his locker were found in the trash.

-He, seducing a hero and doing such things with a senior. That’s why commoners...

Books he bought separately were torn or defaced.

It took a long time to stop the bullying and erase the prejudice on his own.

-----

“That... that was...”

“...Is that what you should say?”

Not only Leonardo, but also the people from the temple, especially Ariasphil, felt a deep desire to kill.

“That... but... the damage you caused to the Blue Tower...! What are you going to do about it...!?”

The situation was too trivial to be used as a pretext, and no one would take her side given the current circumstances.

“Is that so? Are you really here for the Blue Tower’s honor?”

At that, Leonardo pulled a knife from his pocket.

“Then come at me. This is enough.”

The dagger was just a dagger.

It wasn’t a famous sword made of special metal,

nor was it a magical sword with magical treatment.

It was just a decent iron dagger, about the length of a dagger.

Using only that dagger was the condition Leonardo set.

“...Sir Leonardo...! Even if that’s the case...!”

“I’m sorry. It’s my problem, and I’ve involved the temple side without permission.”

That wasn’t the issue. No matter how arrogant and rude she was, as the daughter of the Blue Tower Master, she was a significant figure among magicians.

In fact, she was a 5th Circle Mage, a recognized expert not only in the Blue Tower but in the entire Magic Tower.

“That’s not the point...!”

When even Ariasphil tried to stop him, Leonardo smiled and said,

“Miss, it’s fine.”

Then he whispered in her ear,

“I don’t want to lose to anyone but you.”

Her worried face turned red, and she naturally let go of Leonardo’s hand. With Aria’s implicit permission, Leonardo looked at her and made a bet.

“If you win, I’ll apologize to the entire Blue Tower, the Blue Tower Master, and you, in the public way you like.”

Leonardo gave her a chance. Considering the conditions and the potential gains, he wouldn’t lose.

“In return, if I win, you have to apologize without a fuss and never pretend to know me or the people around me again.”

That was a price worth paying. After all, his goal from the beginning was to restore his honor through a duel, so there was no risk.

In fact, by imposing such a restriction on himself, it was advantageous for him.

“...Fine. Now we can talk, junior...”

“And don’t call me that. It makes me feel sick again.”

By the way, this was a statement unrelated to the outcome of the duel. Ignoring the rowdiness and insults he had caused, she trembled her hands and raised her staff.

“No need for a separate place, right? After all, you’ll be finished in one hit...”

“You’re still not thinking about the consequences.”

Saying that, Leonardo cast a protective array with one hand. Naturally, people were able to stand in a safe area beyond the circular boundary.

“Why? Are you still feeling bad when hit where it hurts?”

Unable to bear the provocation, Platius, as always, lost her composure.

What came flying was a barrage of rocks.

Each rock, capable of breaking bones and piercing flesh, was a manifestation of rock magic.

The problem was that she cast this retaliatory magic in less than a second. Even a high-level mage, she was more than just someone who could cast high-level magic.

One of the five rotating circles served as an auxiliary device to rapidly manifest even low-level magic.

[Tempest Blast]

Avoidance was difficult, so he used a storm magic to scatter the rain of rocks. If he had just deployed a shield, he would have been trapped and attacked like a rat in a jar.

“Hah...! Hahaha!”

Finding the defense laughable, Platius sneered in disgust.

“You’ve worked hard, haven’t you? Reaching 4th Circle in four years is good, isn’t it?”

The barrier he cast earlier and the wind magic he just used, considering their quality and speed, indicated a proficient 4th Circle mage.

Of course, reaching 4th Circle in four years was an impressive achievement, but to Leonardo, who had been continuously training at 5th Circle, it was laughable.

“Oh, did you think I’d be careless in close combat with just a dagger?”

Mocking him, she drew a magic circle on the ground, and giant golems made of earth and rock appeared one after another.

“Did you think I was just playing around while studying abroad? I’ve already thought about close combat.”

Saying that, she prepared the next magic behind the golems. She planned to use the golems to buy time and then finish with a high-power magic.

“...Ha... I expected it, but...”

Leonardo sighed softly at the golems.

“...What can we do...?! With Sir Leonardo’s sword...!”

“No, it’s fine.”

Despite the disadvantageous situation, Ein calmly contradicted.

“I cut through an iron golem in seconds during my battle with the Blue Tower Master.”

With a slight sigh, Leonardo’s dagger moved. When Leonardo, who had disappeared from sight, landed on the ground, the bodies of the rock golems were split one by one.

“...What...!”

But it didn’t end there. The dagger, elongated with flames, drew a red line. Though it was just an afterimage, the line had a meaning beyond just an afterimage.

“Fire Storm.”

As Leonardo shouted, a storm of flames swept in with the swing of his sword. The explosion, far exceeding 5th Circle magic, reduced the golems to ashes.

“That’s my father’s unique magic.”

Leonardo’s magic circle was now embedded in the form of swordsmanship.

“The name is ‘Aria of Martial Arts and Magic.’”

The name evoking a woman’s name was not just a coincidence.