chapter 18
Inside the moving carriage.
A blond man sat in the chair, shaking his legs nervously.
“Damn bastards… not telling me until the end! If I go back, I’ll flip the table!!”
He slammed his fist on the chair, venting his anger. It was Shiruen Kizane.
“But it’s okay… the condition is perfect! Once the Tower Lord sees this fruit! Euhheehee! Euhheehee!”
The man who was alone and delusional, spitting out sinister laughter, was Shiruen Kizane.
He was the chief of the Sabhadan Matap.
Soon, he would be the greatest magician and the strongest magician of the current era, surpassing both the kingdom and the allied nations.
As the 1,093rd birthday party of the Great Tower Lord Levian Rageta was approaching, he was on his way, bringing the Guardam fruits that the Tower Lord loved the most.
Most of the chiefs had the same thoughts as him, so he had planned to prepare roughly and just fit the appearance. But contrary to his expectations, he managed to obtain an incredible amount of Guardam fruits.
A Guardam fruit that was so perfect that he himself had never seen before.
Even if he had lived for a thousand years, he might not be impressed, but it was a remarkable achievement just to have made the effort to obtain them!
The running carriage came to a slow stop, and Kizane’s trembling legs stopped as well.
His messy hair that had been messed up from laughing and getting angry alone.
When he waved his hand slightly, crackle crackle! Static electricity crackled in the air, and Kizane’s messy hair neatly tidied up.
“We have arrived, sir.”
“Okay.”
Kizane, who got off the carriage, frowned as he looked around.
The birthday party of the strongest and greatest magician.
Magicians from all over the country naturally gathered, even including nobles and royalty from each country.
“Over there, I see a rumored warrior in the distance.”
A young child who was surrounded by three beauties, not knowing what to do.
Even though he was only 15 years old, he was a monster who could easily defeat himself, the chief of a Matap in one region.
Even such a monster couldn’t miss the birthday of the Tower Lord.
That’s because Arwen Rageta, who is in charge of magicians at the warrior party, is the only illegitimate daughter of the Tower Lord.
While glancing around with a suspicious look, a woman in revealing attire that reached down to her waist approached Kizane.
“Long time no see. It’s been exactly a year, hasn’t it?”
While other magicians were all wearing robes, her attire exposed her sexy figure boldly.
A bra and panties. Wasn’t it underwear? Under the clothes with such a small area that it could be misunderstood, there was metal that made a clinking sound every time she walked.
Kizane furrowed his brow at the woman’s greeting.
“Hmph. I’m not happy enough for it to feel like just a year.”
“Oh my? Aren’t we the ones who used to cling to each other every minute and second before?”
“Shut up! Sagritsa!”
“Ahh~ I miss the kind Kizane from before~ If you go back to the past, I wouldn’t mind letting you have a taste~”
“Click…!”
A woman with a sinister smile, to the extent that her teeth make a snapping sound, Ki Janae.
Depheron Sagritsa turned his body with a snort.
“No need for greetings. Did you prepare a gift to offer to the Tower Lord? Perhaps just the usual Guardam fruit?”
“…”
“Haha~ Even though the Tower Lord enjoys Guardam fruit, he must be getting bored of it by now~”
“Then what gift did you prepare for this year?”
“Me~?”
With the intent of achieving her goal, Sagritsa licked her lips with the tip of her tongue, revealing a mysterious smile.
And from the depths of her chest, she put her hand in and took out a small bead.
Inside the bead, a red energy writhed as if alive.
“That, that thing?! How did you get it?!”
“Don’t even the great Ki Janae know about this? That’s right. It’s a Sunstone~ Do you know how much I had to go through to obtain it~”
A Sunstone imbued with the power of the sun.
A rarity with such scarcity that it may only appear once every 100 years, containing the essence of nature’s magic.
Sagritsa proudly showcased her gift and put the Sunstone back into her chest, sporting a sinister smile.
“Well then, I’ll be off~ I have to leave my mark on the Tower Lord~”
“Click…!”
No matter how close to perfection Ki Janae is.
Or rather?
Even if it were a perfect Guardam fruit, it would be consumed once eaten.
But the Sunstone could be given to her daughter, Arwen, to help her grow.
Or given to a hero to grant them the power of the sun.
It could provide the Tower Lord with various options.
After all, it’s a birthday party and a birthday gift.
The annual competition between wizards for bribery.
“This damn woman will win this year…”
Even so, Ki Janae did not give up.
In the first place, just thinking about winning with a Guardam fruit is a problem.
But even if she doesn’t win, she can still catch the Tower Lord’s attention.
His plan to maximize profit with minimal investment remained unchanged.
Everyone has their own aura color.
Deperon Sagritsa, who primarily wields fire, has a red aura.
Siruen Kizane, who mainly deals with lightning, has a yellow aura.
So what about the Great Tower Lord, Leviann Lageta?
Like the black strands of his hair, he possesses a black aura.
Once you become a Tower Lord, you can use a variety of magic beyond your primary attribute, but not as naturally as your own attribute.
But Leviann Lageta is different.
He can perfectly manipulate all attributes.
Since all colors were mixed in, he ended up with black magic and was known as the Black Lageta.
Such a Great Tower Lord Lageta sat on a black throne identical to his own color and met countless people.
“Congratulations on your birthday, Great Tower Lord!”
“Yeah.”
“I’ve prepared something here!”
“Yeah.”
Mechanically.
How many times do you need to have a birthday party to enjoy it? 10 times? 100 times?
It gets boring.
What will Lageta be like on his 1,000th birthday party?
Those who look ordinary in his eyes can be easily passed by.
Even ordinary-looking gifts can be skipped.
Even if he spends 1 second on each person, it’s 1 minute for 60 people. It’s an hour for 3,600 people.
“Should I stop doing this from next year?”
He used to consider it an opportunity to see interesting things, but now even that value has disappeared.
As Lageta thought about the wastefulness of his time, someone familiar appeared.
“Lord Director Deperon Sagritsa of the Mehart Matap wishes to meet with the Great Tower Lord.”
“Long time no see.”
The Great Tower Lord, who used to allow only one second for each person, said something other than “yeah.”
“I’m glad to see you’re in good health.”
Sagritsa also continued to speak as if excited by her actions.
“Sure.”
[Sure], it restarted once again.
“I offer this humble paper crane to the Tower Lord!!”
Sagitza, worried that Lageta’s interest might fade, quickly took out the sun magic stone he had hidden in his chest and handed it to her.
As the real sun shone down on the sun magic stone, a beautiful sparkle dominated the surroundings.
“That, that is! The sun magic stone?!”
“How did you get that?!”
“This year, Lord Mehart has made up his mind…”
“Enough! This is definitely a win!”
While the surroundings became noisy, Sagitza smiled inwardly.
“Sure. Thank you.”
Lageta’s reaction was slightly improved compared to when she received the ordinary guardram fruit.
From an ordinary person’s perspective, the sun magic stone is extremely precious and valuable.
However, for Lageta, a Tower Lord who has lived for a thousand years, they were as plentiful as dust on her feet.
Sagitza was shocked by her cold and indifferent reaction, but only for a moment.
“Th-thank you very much, Tower Lord!!”
He quickly bowed his head and left.
On the other side, Kizane walked towards them holding a luxurious box.
The two exchanged a few words but eventually fell silent and went their separate ways.
Next, Kizane kneeled before Lageta.
“Sabhadan Matap District Chief Shiruen Kizane greets the Tower Lord.”
“Yeah. It’s been a while for you too.”
“The gift I have prepared is the guardram fruit.”
“Ah.”
Lageta was about to say [Sure] just like before, but her words stopped.
A perfectly round guardram fruit like the sun.
Even Lageta, who has lived for a thousand years, had never seen one before.
The perfect guardram fruit was inside the box Kizane was holding.
“That is a guardram fruit?”
The surroundings quieted down at her reaction.
“Did you… ask the High Tower Lord just now?”
“Well, I mean… that High Tower Lord?”
Levian Rageta, the incarnation of curiosity.
There’s nothing she doesn’t know.
The reason she continues with these annoying ceremonies is because she’s afraid she might not know something.
Afraid she might have missed some knowledge over a thousand years.
As she’s been considering ending this event for over two hundred years due to the lack of new knowledge.
Something she doesn’t know appears before her.
“Hey, Kizane. I’m asking you. Is that a Guardram fruit?”
“Huh…? Yes, yes! It is!”
With a resounding response, Kizane, who had been frozen in shock, made Rageta’s back tremble for the first time in hours.
“Come closer.”
“Y-Yes, Your Grace!”
The High Tower Lord, who normally restricts access to her surroundings, allowed the approach.
The High Tower Lord, who knows everything, asked.
Kizane felt a pleasure beyond words.
“I’ve reached the space that no one has touched in two hundred years! Right next to the High Tower Lord!”
At the same time, she felt an immense fear.
“Kizane, where did you get this?”
“I knew it would come to this, damn it!”
In the end, she was faced with a question about the source she had not discovered.
Kizane’s life depends on how she answers here.
“Should I lie and say I gathered it myself?”
No.
It’s a shortcut to ruin.
“Should I honestly say I got it from the Mercenary Guild?”
The High Tower has been discreetly ignoring the Mercenary Guild.
Trivial errand runners who would do anything for money.
Did she really use the power of the Mercenary Guild?
The High Tower’s Lord?
The gazes of the people around were terrifying!
“Oh, what should I do!”
“Kidzane?”
No way!
I can’t steal Lageta’s precious time!
Kidzane, who was becoming overwhelmed by the chaos, finally spoke.
“I obtained it through a request from the Sabhadan Mercenary Guild!”
His words silenced the surroundings.
Everyone’s eyes turned to Kidzane.
“Oh… I’m done for…”
In the moment when Kidzane unknowingly started to tear at his own hair, contemplating the chaotic future that lay ahead.
“Let’s go.”
“… What?”
“Let’s go to the Sabhadan Mercenary Guild. Right now.”
“What?!?!?!”