Chapter 196: Even If I Shout (5)

Chapter 196 Even If I Shout (5)

"I-I just wanted to check what kind of magic was cast on it..."

"Die!"

Did Liam just hit the guilty wizard in the solar plexus? Watching this, Meister opened his mouth with a sigh.

"Fine. I guess that solves the matter with the robe. But are you really not messing with our guest? To me, it certainly looks like you are, though."

"...This examination was requested by the guest himself."

At Liam's words, Meister turned to look at me. It seemed like he was trying to ask me whether that was true.

I closed my eyes and gave a slight nod. I didn't do it too confidently, but I knew from Meister's expression that he'd recognized it as affirmation.

"...Okay. I got it."

And like that, the misunderstanding that wasn't really a misunderstanding was resolved.

"Rather, how do you know hi—"

"Workshop customer."

"...I see."

"Anway, you there. Give me the coat."

"Coat...?"

It appeared the Hero's party still hadn't figured out what was going on. They grew even more flustered when Meister asked me for my coat.

The gazes they directed at me clearly read: You're not actually giving it to him, right?

Whoosh.

However, Meister and I had already made a deal.

"Come back here once you're done. Don't hand this robe to anyone else either."

I tossed him the coat, which had returned to me again without me noticing. It seemed their plan to seal its return function for further observation had failed spectacularly.

Thud.

Anyway, Meister, who'd stormed into the room, stormed out in the same way.

The people left looked like some sort of disaster had hit them—perhaps that wasn't so wrong, actually—with dejected expressions on their faces.

"...Erm, Demon Knight. Do you know him?"

"Uhm, Demon Knight. Did you happen to meet him somewhere...?"

On another note, it seemed Meister's skills really were that good.

That 'sage' Karl didn't even attempt to confront him when he just showed up... but he'd even acted like this toward another sage, Liam, and no one even tried to stop him.

"Is the examination over?"

Well, not that it mattered. The more capable Meister was, the better it was for me.

"N-No, there are still some things left to check."

"Then go on with it."

Ignoring the words of the Hero's party, I urged the wizards to finish their examination quickly.

Both the bewildered sage and the wizards hurriedly got back to their work.

* * *

Even using spells and whatnot, you'd never get results without following due process. It could only shorten the time needed compared to standard methods.

That was why Karl and Meister waited patiently for their experiment to conclude.

In the meantime, they each kept busy with their own matters to avoid wasting time.

"Are you still fiddling with that?"

But as Meister was tinkering with one of his personal projects, Sage Karl couldn't help blurting that out.

Meister's hands paused for a second.

"Yes, I'm still fiddling with 'that.'"

While Sage Karl was helpful in many ways, he couldn't be said to be the most understanding person. Meister clenched his fist as he reflected on that fact once more.

"I have no idea what you even see in it."

However, he didn't let this lead to anger. Meister had realized long ago that others simply couldn't understand him.

So, instead of getting hurt by these words, he just brushed them off with the determination that he would one day illuminate their dim minds.

"More than that... just what is this? I can't even see its essence."

"Even your mighty magic can't figure it out?"

"Yeah. What about you?"

"How could I even start to investigate when it keeps disappearing before I get a reaction?"

"What? So even that thing you believe in so much is useless in the end."

Meister bit his lip at the sage's stinging words. He wanted to refute somehow, but he had nothing to refute with.

Ultimately, wizards lived and died by the results they produced, and he'd yet to produce anything decent. Even though nine years had passed since he'd taken the title of Meister, this was still the case.

Rattle, rattle.

Even as he resigned himself to that, Meister found his irritation ever increasing. He put even more strength into his hands working on his project.

"Why don't you just give up?"

"Because I don't want to."

"Honestly, nine years is a lot of wasted time. Making magic accessible? That's simply impossible. So..."

"For a wizard to even utter the word 'impossible'? That's not very sage-like. Should I tell Grandpa?"

"You know I didn't mean it like that."

"Oh, that's interesting. So the word 'impossible' has a new meaning the world has never heard of? How about we share that revelation with the world right now?"

"I was just joking, damn it."

It was almost funny, hearing a wizard talk about cracking jokes.

Meister flipped him off for good measure and finally put down his project. The object, whose purpose was still entirely unclear, was completely covered in Arcane formulas.

"Ha, if your research succeeds, I promise to crawl around the outer perimeters of the Magic Tower on my bare knees."

"And what would I gain from that, Sage Karl? But sure. It's no loss to me, so I'll just accept that promise."

No matter the anger he felt momentarily, he would succeed.

Fervently praying for success yet again, he reached a hand out to Karl.

In theory, to activate these formulas smoothly, a bit of Arcane Power was required at the initial stage.

"Inject some of your Arcane Power."

"You're so shameless."

"Then give back the coat."

"You're seriously shameless!"

Karl shrieked at Meister's threat and took the item while grumbling.

"Take it."

He returned it shortly after. Since all he had to do was inject a bit of Arcane Power, it didn't take long.

But for someone like Meister, who didn't have any Arcane Power within him—well, except for the bare minimum all people were born with—this was an eternally impossible task.

"Alright..."

In any case, he still infused the Arcane Power that would act as its starter fuel.

Now, the only thing left for Meister to do was check whether it was working properly.

"..."

"..."

As Karl and Meister watched, the motionless object remained as such.

"...It doesn't look like it's gathering any Arcane Power."

"Yeah."

While Meister lacked the ability to sense or manipulate Arcane Power on his own, he had an item that could show him its flow.

However, even with those glasses, he couldn't see anything. Karl's confirmation made it certain.

"Another failure, huh?"

Yes, it was a failure.

"Damn it!"

He'd thought this time would be different! Meister threw the item onto the floor.

This marked his 2250th failure.

"I told you so."

"Shut up."

"The outcome might have been different if you'd used rare and expensive catalysts, but with these common materials? It won't happen."

"Shut up."

He didn't want to hear it. He simply couldn't bear to hear it anymore.

Grinding his teeth, Meister fought to keep the heat from rising to his head after barely managing to cool it down earlier. It was a familiar struggle, but it was by no means an easy one.

Crouching down, he messed with his hair in frustration.

"...Even just the function to autonomously gather Arcane Power would require some really precious materials to pull off."

"Shut up before I take back the coat again."

"..."

With a deep breath, Meister brushed back his bangs and swept away the loose hair that had fallen to his face. "Ah, it's gone," Karl muttered behind him. It seemed the coat had vanished again.

"Aah, this is so damn annoying. Do I really have to continue experimenting with that guy standing right next to me?"

Well. Perhaps.

Meister started thinking to himself. Although he'd been researching persistently for nine years, it never got any easier to continue working on something that yielded no results.

Especially right after another failure.

"You're not going to get the coat?"

"Get it yourself."

"...Are you upset?"

"So what if I am?"

Still, he had to keep on trying hard. He couldn't give up on this dream he'd held ever since realizing he would never be able to use Arcane Power himself.

Having steeled his resolve, Meister grabbed the item he'd thrown to the floor. He then pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and put it between his lips. It was an attempt to relieve his frustration.

"You crazy bastard! Don't smoke in the lab!"

Sage Karl shouted loudly.

"Ah, so uptight."

"If you want to smoke, go outside!"

"Fine, fine."

Well, it wasn't like he didn't understand where Karl was coming from. He just didn't want to be considerate right now.

Creeeak.

Anyway, Meister slowly left the lab with his cigarette hanging from his lips. He was headed for the terrace connected to the hallway.

"What are you looking at? Keep your eyes down."

At the sight of him, the wizards passing him by hurriedly left with pale faces.

The acridness of his cigarette was one thing, but they knew anyone unfortunate enough to get caught by Meister right now would find out exactly why he was nicknamed "Mad Dog."

"Light it."

And then, one unlucky soul was given no choice but to act as a fire starter before hurriedly scurrying away the instant the cigarette was lit.

"Erm, mister. How did you come to know someone like that...?"

"Why did you give him your coat earlier?"

Anyway, there were still some people here who didn't know why those people were running away from Meister.

"Mister."

"Demon Knight!"

The one wearing Karl's robe over his shoulders slowly but surely approached from the other side of the hallway, followed by two chatterboxes.

They weren't heading directly toward Meister, but since the terrace was open, they inevitably spotted each other before long.

"Quite the unique companions you got there."

"No."

The knight with a Demon sealed in his arm, the members of the Hero's party following him, and some half-baked wizard and master craftsman who couldn't use any magic stood together at the border separating the terrace and the hallway.

"Never mind, then."

* * *

I'd been wondering why Meister was crouching near the hallway like that, but then I saw the thing he held in his mouth and stiffened.

To flaunt a cigarette before some who'd barely managed to quit smoking at twenty-seven. How inconsiderate.

"What are you looking at?"

On another note, Meister seemed a little prickly right now. He was speaking in a strangely sharp tone. Or was it just me?

"Erm... First of all, it's nice to meet you. It really is an honor to stand before a great master."

"...Yeah, sure. Hello."

Meister answered casually with a different impudence from my own and continued smoking his cigarette.

Cough, sniff. Unfamiliar with cigarette smoke, the Inquisitor, who was standing nearby, had to take a step back, coughing as the smoke hit her.

"So, do you have any business with me?"

"Ah, erm. There's something I need to discuss with you regarding the previous request."

"Ah, so you were the client."

It seemed even Meister didn't dare continue smoking in front of a client.

He stubbed out the half-burnt cigarette against his robe and stood up. He sure acted pretty tough.

"Let me see the request form first."

"Here it is."

"Alright."

The Archmage handed him a scroll-shaped document as if to prove she really was the requester. Meister unrolled it carefully before speaking up.

"You should head inside first. Besides, the coat disappeared again."

Well, that would be better than just standing here awkwardly. However, it was a bit disappointing that my coat had disappeared again.

"Got it."

Still, if this continued, wouldn't I have to wait somewhere nearby all the time? That would be pretty boring. Sure, I could read some books or something... but still, it would be nothing but a waste of time. And I wouldn't be making any money from that either.

"Wait. Don't head in yet, Demon Knight. There's still something you need to hear."

But the Archmage stopped me from heading to the lab. I wondered why she'd held me back.

Ah, could it be that? Scheduling?

"Hmm, ah. Is that it? Is he the other person?"

"That's right."

However, judging by their reaction, that didn't seem to be the reason.

I looked at Meister as he pointed at me, the request form still in hand. I tried to glance at the paper, but I couldn't make out the writing from where I was standing. That only made it harder for me to understand the situation.

"Well, fine, I guess."

What? Seriously, what? They shouldn't just keep it between the two of them. They should tell me, too.

"... It's about your equipment."

Fortunately, before my eyebrows could arch any higher in annoyance, the Archmage explained the situation to me. However, what she said was also rather confusing.

What did my equipment have to do with anything right now?

"We developed a spell to filter Divine Power. If you wear an item enchanted with it, wouldn't that make battles easier for you? At the very least, you'd take much less damage from the Inquisitor's attacks."

Ah, they weren't talking about my current gear but something new they planned to give me. And it would be enchanted with a spell to filter Divine Power?

...But when did she even develop such a spell? What was the point of filtering Divine Power anyway? It wouldn't be of any use unless you were a Demon or a Demon Worshiper.

"However, to make that item, we'll need to take your body measurements. Well, Meister was the one who requested it, so..."

"I'll do the measurements. All that's necessary."

But why would the Archmage develop something beneficial for a Demon? So, in the end... this spell... was developed for me alone.

Even while I was trying to keep my distance and draw lines between us out of fear, the Archmage had still chosen to prepare this for me since who knows when.

"Please don't refuse."

And having realized that, I felt my heart ache even more.

Could I... even accept this? Could I really wear equipment that reduced damage from Divine Power, the complete antithesis of my existence?

"This is, yes... Just an investment to make it easier for you to fight."

What would she do if I became an enemy?

"Demon Knight?"

An investment, huh? That word should only be used in conversations involving business.

However... this didn't feel like an investment to me. Not with how the Archmage spoke—anyone who heard her could tell she didn't mean it—but I couldn't help but consider the consequences this would have.

If I wore that Divine Power filtering equipment, my life would get easier, but preparing for the worst-case scenario, should it happen, would become a lot harder.

And there was no way the Archmage didn't know that.

In the end, she was aware of this, yet she still decided to hand me this gift under some plausible excuse. She'd obviously done that purely out of consideration for me.

...Consideration that should never appear in business dealings.

"Are you trying to mask your cheap sympathy behind some flimsy excuses?"

I tightly clenched my fist, trying to suppress the tightness in my neck somehow. Crunch. The friction of my gauntleted right hand produced a grating sound.

"Or are you perhaps just that foolish?"

I had anticipated the Inquisitor and Deathbringer not giving up their attempts to get closer to me. They were still young and ignorant.

That blind dedication was precisely why it was so overwhelming.

"...Demon Knight."

"This is your last chance, Wizard."

However, even that blind dedication had its limits.

The more you learned, the more you grew, the harder it became to remain blind and deaf to the truth. Growth made one's youthful ignorance and blind dedication fade away.

"Do not cross the line."

However, while rare, the trust of the elderly was as heavy and unchanging as stone. Even more so because it formed despite their years of experience and cautious wisdom.

"Never."

Which was why this could never happen.

For even the Archmage to act like this.

"Wait—"

I was also only human, after all. If someone extended kindness to me while knowing everything about me, I would be tempted to lean and rely on them.

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