SWNOVELXO Chapter 98
Chapter 98
Genius, Deis (2)
After that day’s class, Harang returned to the dormitory in a good mood.
It was because he finally received the long-awaited message from Acting Archbishop Ezakt.
Carrying the letter, Harang swiftly returned to his dormitory, sat at his desk, and carefully broke the magical seal.
[Valenka Muel, though timid, possesses great ambition and a nature that does not fall for deceptive illusions before his eyes. Additionally, he does not ignore the grace he has received and knows how to keep faith. I believe you can trust him. Of course, this is just my personal opinion…]
Harang had assigned Valenka a single covert mission: when faced with a life-or-death situation, would he remain faithful and die, or succumb to greed for the gold in front of him and spill every secret?
The letter stated that Valenka had made the correct choice.
Though terrified to the point of wetting himself, even with an axe held to his neck, he had steadfastly kept his faith…
‘It was an extreme test, but it couldn’t be helped. Right now, I need someone trustworthy. Since I put him through such a trial… if he truly becomes my man, I must reward him with something greater.’
Even Acting Archbishop Ezakt seemed to hold Valenka Muel in high regard.
[Thus, I wish to proceed with something alongside him…]
The fact that Ezakt himself had a task he wanted to handle first showed that Valenka was indeed reliable.
Harang readily sent a reply granting his permission. Of course, the work had to proceed without losing sight of its ultimate purpose.
[From today onward, “Deis” will be sponsored by the Muel Tower.]
[Additionally, Muel Tower shall use the golden card to expand the tower itself, and there is no need to save money in this process. For the expansion, hire professionals…]
While Harang would have loved to thoroughly consult on how much the tower should be expanded and how many staff members should be hired, unfortunately, this wasn’t his area of expertise.
[Moreover, go to the location written below and secretly contact an informant. Immediately begin tracking the individuals listed.]
[The targets are Hameli, former professor of Arniel, and Kanya of the Beluna Family.]
[…And.]
Harang hesitated briefly before adding an additional command.
[Perta, the adopted son of the Rendella Family.]
[End.]
After writing the final command, Harang set down his quill pen.
‘It would have been easier if I could contact Kaladan’s informants.’
With his current status, even making contact with Kaladan’s informants waiting outside was difficult.
No, to be precise, the moment he stepped outside, all his movements would be monitored, making it impossible to roam freely.
However, now he was officially sponsored by the tower.
This meant that no matter how much money he spent, where he traveled on weekends, or what kind of contact he received from outside—none of it would seem suspicious.
‘Outings. That’s quite important, too.’
From the perspective of the tower, it wasn’t strange to take sponsored students anywhere—be it a magic exhibition or an academic conference.
Of course, Harang had no interest in actually attending such events.
The reason he wanted the freedom to go out was to make his missions easier, but more importantly, to obtain the [Quest Rewards] he had previously completed but not yet received.
Currently, there were six remaining quest rewards.
Among them, one was located near this city.
“Tower of Radiance”
It was one of the world’s greatest magic towers, built with the combined efforts of the Five Great Magic Families, where the Ainglass Family wielded the most influence.
Its technological prowess was said to be decades ahead of any other magic tower, and it was known for developing mysterious magic that other magicians couldn’t even fathom. Entry was strictly restricted.
Why was Kaladan’s legacy slumbering in the very heart of the Tower of Radiance, the birthplace of magic itself?
Why did it have to be the Tower of Radiance? How was he supposed to enter?
Harang didn’t waste time complaining about such things.
Instead of that, he preferred to find the optimal solution.
‘The Tower of Radiance regularly hosts events, inviting tower officials and the magic students they sponsor. All I need to do is expand Muel Tower to a size that qualifies it to participate in such events.’
Confirming that his plan was progressing smoothly, Harang snapped his notebook shut with a thud!
Fwoosh! The notebook containing Harang’s plans was engulfed in flames and crumbled into ashes.
What remained now was to gain Arniel’s trust and, secondly, receive an invitation to the Tower of Radiance to retrieve the Kaladan legacy slumbering within.
Neither task would be easy, but Harang wasn’t afraid.
As the path one seeks becomes more difficult,
The harsher, steeper, and more painful it is,
That challenge shines all the more brilliantly.
The next day arrived.
Alowin watched nervously with a stiff expression.
There weren’t many classes where 8th and 9th graders studied together, so, as always, he had to wait until the afternoon Defense Arts lecture.
Once the lecture ended, Deis would always be the first to leave the classroom.
But today, Kanya would strike up a conversation to stall him for time. In that moment, Alowin would pretend to be running an errand for the professor and come in with an armful of documents.
“Deis, don’t you think you’re being incredibly rude to your seniors?”
“…….”
Kanya was scolding Deis.
It was something that happened from time to time.
If there wasn’t a big difference in status, it was common for seniors to reprimand juniors, all for the sake of maintaining order.
Since Harang was a commoner, he had no choice but to stop and listen to whoever addressed him.
“Are you talking about me?”
“Yes, you. You’re completely rude.”
“I’ve always been rude.”
“Oh, um… I see…”
“Can I go now?”
“No, wait. I’m telling you to fix that attitude.”
Kanya was trying hard.
By now, most of the students had already left the classroom. A few remained to watch Deis getting scolded, but they were standing far enough away not to be a concern.
Everything was ready.
Thud! Crash!
“Oh no!”
All that was left was to put on a little act.
It didn’t matter if it was clumsy—Alowin had purposely dropped the stack of papers behind Deis, where he wouldn’t see.
“…What’s going on? What a pain. I’m leaving now.”
Sensing the situation, Kanya turned around and disappeared after Alowin dropped the papers. Deis was about to leave as well, but Alowin quickly called out.
“Wait! Wait a moment. Help me with this, will you? It’s an errand for the professor, and it’s too heavy for me to manage alone.”
“……”
Deis paused, glancing around.
Seeing that no one else was around to help Alowin, he approached, knelt down on one knee, and picked up the documents.
“You could just use telekinesis.”
“There are very few 9th graders who can hold documents in their hands and use telekinesis at the same time.”
“Really?”
“Yes. It feels like trying to control four arms at once, with two of those arms holding chopsticks.”
“Where do these need to go?”
“We need to take these to the basement of the old main building’s third wing. And don’t misunderstand—I’m not up to anything weird. I’ll admit my defeat yesterday fair and square.”
“I never doubted you.”
Alowin scoffed to himself inwardly.
‘What a jerk.’
He was even worse than the rumors said—rude, insufferable, and obnoxiously self-assured, as if he were a noble despite being a commoner.
Just imagining that stoic face begging for his life brought him a grim sense of satisfaction.
The plan was simple.
Once Deis entered the art room, Alowin would slip out, and Kanya, who was waiting in a designated spot, would activate the curse formation.
If everything went according to plan…
‘You’ve been acting too cocky. Someone was bound to do this eventually, Deis.’
Alowin no longer felt any guilt.
‘…What’s going on?’
Meanwhile, among the students watching Kanya scolding Deis, one of them, Princess Citrinne, frowned.
“That’s an obvious setup.”
Behind Deis, Alowin had put on a pathetic little act. Deis might not have noticed, but Citrinne saw it all clearly.
‘And he’s just following along like a fool?’
Momentarily dumbfounded, Citrinne quickly followed Alowin and Deis from a distance. She didn’t need to tail them closely, as she had already overheard their destination.
A time difference of about five minutes.
Even within the school grounds, that was a considerable gap, so Citrinne felt a slight sense of urgency but didn’t let it show.
‘Surely they wouldn’t try something so ridiculous in Arniel of all places?’
That’s what she thought.
Arriving at the basement of the old third wing, Citrinne quickly scanned her surroundings.
‘Where is it?’
This place was rarely visited.
Because of that, there was no one around to question, nor anyone to act as a witness.
With the building being massive and full of classrooms, Citrinne was torn between where to look first or whether she should attempt using her imperfect tracking magic.
Click!
Just then, she heard a door close nearby. The art room’s door shut, and Alowin emerged, leaning against it with a single bead of sweat rolling down his temple. A sly smile crept onto his face, as though he had already imagined what would happen next.
“Whew…”
“Hey!”
“?!”
As Citrinne shouted, Alowin stumbled back with a scream, as though he had seen a ghost.
When he finally recognized her face, his expression shifted to one of disbelief.
“Princess Citrinne. Even if you’re royalty, you still have to address your seniors with respect in this school…”
“What did you do here?”
“Oh… it’s nothing.”
“Open the door. Now.”
“Well, I don’t think I can open it right now?”
Why not? She was about to ask when—
Kwoong—!!
A massive roar erupted from inside the art room.
Citrine glared at Alowin as if asking whether this was intentional, but his expression was… odd.
“Huh? Wait, what?”
Surely ghosts weren’t supposed to cause physical disturbances, so why was there such a noise?
Maybe Deis had panicked and triggered a spell? But even so, something felt… off.
Kwoong—!!
The sound echoed again.
Kwoong—! Thud! Kwoooong—!!
No, not just once.
The repeated roars pounded against the art room walls violently, and then—
Kwaaang!!!
The wall of the hallway finally collapsed, and it revealed itself.
“Wha… What…?”
It was a monster.
Standing at a height of four meters, its skin was red, and it had two pairs of muscular arms and a set of sharp, towering horns.
It was a monster known as ‘Agui Ogre’.
Estimated danger level: Grade 4.
Even in the great Arniel, it was not a creature that mere students could handle…
“W-what the hell! Why is that thing here? Hey! Damn you, senior! I’ll hold it off, so you…!”
“Ahhhh!!”
Alowin didn’t even look back as he ran for his life.
Citrine watched him flee with a dumbfounded expression before she quickly cast a shield spell, realizing the gravity of the situation.
Kwoong! Crash!
“Ugh!”
The powerful impact crashed into her shield, flinging her into the wall.
Thanks to her Body Shield, it wasn’t enough to kill her, but the shock left her nauseous and unable to use magic.
‘Damn it, why is something like that here…?’
Thud! Kwoong!
The Agui Ogre slowly walked toward Citrinne and raised its massive arm.
If that blow landed, she would die.
Desperately, she tried to conjure a shield, but the internal damage prevented her mana from flowing properly.
‘I… Is this how I’m going to die…?!’
Even if she had to die, she resolved to put up one last fight. As she gathered what little mana she could into her hands, the enormous red mass bore down on her.
‘Oh.’
It was unmistakably the Agui Ogre’s right arm. If she took a direct hit from that muscular blow, her frail body wouldn’t even leave a trace.
But.
Why…
Why did it suddenly look like that enormous red mass was frozen in place?
As if time itself had stopped…
“What are you doing? Move aside already.”
“……!”
Only then did Citrinne drop her gaze and realize someone was holding back the Agui Ogre’s outstretched right arm.
“You— How did… Wait.”
Before she could finish speaking, Citrinne realized the urgency of the situation and quickly rolled away from the wall.
Thud!
Just then, the power struggle between the Agui Ogre and Deis ended, and the two were forced apart by the recoil.
As Deis agilely backflipped to land beside her, Citrinne stared at him in shock.
“…Did you just grab the Agui Ogre’s arm? Without magic?”
Now that she looked closely, Deis’ arm was encased in something like a silvery gauntlet, resembling armor.
Where had something like that come from?
As he casually stroked the gauntlet that covered his forearm, Deis spoke indifferently.
“Magic is always too slow in emergencies. It’s useful, but inconvenient, and it always leaves something to be desired when it counts.”
“……!”
Who else in the world could possibly make such a dismissive remark about magic—at Arniel Magic Academy, no less?
Only one person.
The very person Princess Citrinne had suspected all along.
“So, you really are…”
As she tried to finish her thought, Deis turned his gaze toward her and their eyes met.
“I wouldn’t have saved you if it were anyone else.”
“…Huh?”
“So keep this a secret.”
For a moment, Citrinne’s heart pounded wildly.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
‘W-what is that supposed to mean? If it were anyone else, he wouldn’t have saved them?’
Did that mean he had thought of her fondly for a long time, valuing her enough to risk saving her?
Unlike Harang, whose face was unknown, Princess Citrinne often appeared in public to fulfill her duties and raise her ‘value’ as ordered by the Emperor. It was plausible that Deis had seen her somewhere before.
‘…No, don’t overthink it. Don’t be stupid.’
Citrine quickly calmed herself.
The Kaladan Dukedom had sworn eternal loyalty to the Herael Imperial Family. No matter what happened, the Kaladans would always stand by Herael’s side.
In other words, even while infiltrating Arniel under a false identity, Harang Paul Kaladan had revealed himself to fulfill his knightly duty.
‘And he’s the same age as me…’
To think he already possessed the mindset of a true knight.
The more she learned about him, the more mysterious he became.
“From now on, we’re going to take that thing down. Princess Citrinne, can you do it?”
“…Do you think we can?”
“It’s my first time fighting barehanded, but…”
He couldn’t use his sword. The black marks it would leave would draw unnecessary attention if someone witnessed it.
“But it sounds fun.”
As he said that, Harang flashed a sly grin. Citrinne was taken aback by how confident and amused he looked.
A Grade 4 monster wasn’t something a pair of fourteen-year-old children should be able to handle, yet he genuinely seemed to be enjoying this.
‘I don’t understand…’
And yet, for some reason, being with him made Citrinne feel like she could enjoy this situation, too.
“Fine. Let’s have some fun, then!”
For the first time in a while, life felt exciting.