Chapter 245

The Tiger’s Den

If Vans had said that an hour earlier, I probably would have lost my mind. His request would have torn apart the entire future I had been planning around him.

But after gaining even a partial understanding of what kind of monster Duke Ludwig really was, I had already abandoned those plans. There was no lingering regret now.

I’ll just be satisfied with having formed a connection with the second son of a ducal house.

Anything more ambitious might end with that crouching dragon tearing my head off.

“Very well. I will do so.”

Surprisingly, Duke Ludwig accepted Vans’s request without the slightest hesitation, almost as though he had expected it.

“And your second request?”

“I would like you to allow the companions who returned with me to become knights of our house.”

“Young Master!”

Guts and the others turned toward Vans in shock. Apparently, they had not expected him to make that request immediately upon returning home.

The duke, however, answered without hesitation.

“Impossible. They do not yet possess enough skill to carry the name of House Ludwig.”

Vans lowered his gaze briefly, but he did not give up.

“Then would you permit me to take them as my personal retainers and train them until they are worthy of becoming knights?”

“Hahaha. That presents no difficulty.”

The duke studied his younger son.

“But I would like to know why you wish to do so.”

Vans straightened.

“I learned something during this journey. Our family has many enemies, and if I wish to avoid being helpless before those enemies, if I wish to obtain peace, then above all else I need strength.”

I almost flinched.

That was exactly what I had told him.

Peace requires strength.

It seemed Vans had already started absorbing my way of thinking.

Surely the duke wasn’t going to decide I was corrupting his son and kill me over this?

“There is already more than enough strength within this family,” Duke Ludwig said.

“When I first began learning swordsmanship, I was taught to choose a weapon whose weight I could properly control.”

Vans glanced briefly toward Lawrence standing behind us before returning his eyes to his father.

“I was still a child then. I had tried to imitate adults by swinging a heavy real sword, and that was the advice Uncle Lawrence gave me.”

His expression grew more serious.

“Now that I think about it, that lesson applies to more than swords. Strength I cannot trust and cannot properly wield is no different from having no strength at all, Father.”

For several seconds, the duke stared at him without expression.

Then he burst into laughter.

“Hahahahaha!”

This time was different from when he laughed at me.

His eyes were smiling too.

“Lawrence. You taught my son well.”

“It was merely Young Master Vans’s own understanding that allowed him to grasp the lesson, Your Grace.”

Lawrence immediately returned all credit to Vans.

The duke looked back at his son.

“So you believe these people can become strength you can trust?”

“Yes, Father.”

Vans answered without the slightest hesitation.

“Young Master...”

Guts and the others looked ready to cry.

“Hahaha. Then I will trust your judgment this once.”

The duke nodded.

“Train them well. See that they become more than simply trustworthy strength. Make them useful strength.”

“Thank you, Father!”

Vans bowed deeply.

But the duke was not finished.

“There is, however, one thing I find curious.”

Vans raised his head.

“What is it, Father?”

“The others are one matter, but that man does not strike me as someone who would be satisfied becoming a retainer of House Ludwig.”

His gaze settled directly on me.

“Correct. Mr. Karath only promised to help me. He has refused the idea of joining House Ludwig as a knight from the beginning.”

The duke gave a small nod, as if Vans’s answer merely confirmed what he already expected.

“Then I suppose I should ask him directly.”

Here we go again.

“What do you seek by helping my son? A man who has already become an advanced Aura User and reached the Fifth Circle at such a young age cannot be doing this without a reason.”

The arrow had come flying straight at me again.

Fortunately, while Vans and the duke had been talking, I had already expected this question.

“There are two main reasons.”

I answered without hesitation.

“The first is that I already had business in the Kingdom of Winston. More precisely, I intended to visit the Gray Magic Tower.”

“The Gray Magic Tower...”

The duke thought for a moment.

“Ah. The one in Whitestone City?”

Even Wiggins had not known exactly where it was, yet Duke Ludwig recognised it immediately.

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“What business do you have there?”

“The owner of the dungeon I discovered in the Grimwood Mountains was originally a mage of the Gray Magic Tower. In that sense, the roots of my magic can be traced back to that tower. I wanted to visit it at least once.”

Since the duke clearly already knew I was Roven, there was little reason to hide that much.

“To seek the origin of your path...”

He nodded thoughtfully.

“That is certainly important. But you have advanced far too quickly for someone your age. Advancing too quickly can be more dangerous than advancing slowly, especially when one is studying both magic and aura.”

“!”

His words immediately caught my attention.

He knew there was danger in developing aura and magic simultaneously.

Apparently, however, he did not know that I had already crossed that dangerous stage and stabilised myself.

Not surprising.

There probably was not another human alive who had transformed their mana circles into an infinite circuit.

“That is actually one of the reasons I wanted to visit the Gray Magic Tower.”

“Oh?”

The duke raised an eyebrow.

“Have you decided to choose magic over aura?”

“Yes. I believe my aptitude may be better suited to magic.”

I simply followed the misunderstanding he had created and lied naturally.

There was no reason to tell him I had already integrated my mana circles and mana core into a single system.

“Reaching the Fifth Circle at your age is certainly an extraordinary achievement.”

The duke appeared satisfied with the answer and nodded.

“I understand your first reason. What is the second?”

A faint smile appeared on my face.

“The second is simple.”

I glanced at Vans.

“Vans is my companion and my friend.”

Silence immediately settled over the audience chamber.

Vans turned toward me with a deeply moved expression.

The duke, meanwhile, stared for a heartbeat before breaking into laughter.

“Krahahahaha! A friend?”

He looked genuinely amused.

“Friend. What an absurdly excellent reason.”

Chapter 246

The Tiger’s Den

“Father, do you truly believe that man’s words?”

After Vans and the others left the audience chamber, only Duke Ludwig and his eldest son remained.

The warm expression the young man had worn while listening to his brother’s adventures had vanished. His face was now calm and serious.

“What do you think, Rian?”

The eldest son considered the question carefully.

“...I do not believe he was lying.”

He paused.

“But I cannot say with confidence that he was telling the complete truth either. Speaking with him felt less like speaking to a wandering mercenary and more like dealing with one of the experienced nobles in the royal capital.”

Duke Ludwig listened in silence while recalling the young man who called himself Karath.

Then his thoughts moved toward his own sons.

His eldest, Rian, had slightly less talent with the sword than Duke Ludwig himself had possessed at that age, but his judgment and political instincts were considerably deeper.

The second, Van, was the opposite. His talent with the sword had already surpassed what the duke had shown at the same age, yet his personality remained almost painfully innocent.

Each son possessed something the duke himself had lacked and something he possessed in greater measure than either of them.

Compared with the children of most noble houses, both were exceptional.

Then there was Karath.

The duke had not asked his exact age, but judging by appearance alone, he seemed older than Van and younger than Rian.

Yet he had already reached the advanced Aura User level.

More importantly, according to all available information, he had taught himself to fight while surviving alone in the Grimwood Mountains. Van, by contrast, had studied House Ludwig’s swordsmanship from childhood and enjoyed the guidance of a teacher as capable as Lawrence.

Viewed purely as a warrior, Karath’s talent was at least equal to Van’s.

Perhaps greater.

And despite that, he intends to choose magic rather than aura...

It was not necessarily an unreasonable decision.

A Fifth Circle mage at his age was extraordinary enough that choosing magic made perfect sense.

If his martial talent could be called genius, then his magical talent bordered on unprecedented.

But that was not what made him truly dangerous.

Alongside extraordinary talent in both combat and magic, he possessed political instincts that were far too developed for someone his age.

Rian had compared him to experienced nobles of the royal capital.

In other words, he believed Karath’s judgment had already reached at least his own level.

Perhaps higher.

Duke Ludwig, himself one of those experienced high nobles, had reached much the same conclusion.

“That man seemed to realise part of our plan the moment he met me,” the duke said. “And beyond that, I believe he also sensed something about my true level.”

Rian’s expression changed.

“When he said that you and Viscount Tex were on a different level... was he referring to your cultivation?”

“That is how I interpreted it.”

“Then could he possibly be near your level himself?”

“No.”

The duke shook his head.

“I do not believe so. Rather than accurately understanding my strength, he seemed to sense the danger instinctively.”

His gaze became distant.

“According to our reports, he survived alone in the Grimwood Mountains for years. Perhaps such instincts were sharpened there.”

Then the duke unexpectedly gave a quiet chuckle.

“He appeared from nowhere. Under normal circumstances, the proper assumption would be that his story and the information surrounding him are false.”

He leaned back.

“And yet, strangely enough, the claim that he survived alone for years in the Grimwood Mountains feels true.”

Rian waited.

“It is the only explanation under which his story, his abilities, and his behavior all begin to fit together.”

Everything about Karath seemed irrational.

His combat ability.

His magical ability.

His unusual lack of common knowledge.

Even the fact that he had suddenly become involved with Van.

None of it seemed reasonable.

Yet once the Grimwood Mountains were added to the equation, the contradictions somehow stopped feeling like contradictions.

The duke shifted topics.

“We should also finish dealing with Van’s matter.”

“How do you intend to proceed?”

“The Kingdom of Partan will not remain silent over Viscount Tex’s death.”

His voice was completely calm.

“Execute the ringleaders responsible for targeting Van and send their heads to Partan.”

Rian’s eyes narrowed.

“Gallas as well?”

“Of course.”

Gallas was one of the men who had mobilised the Ravens against Van, as well as one of House Ludwig’s knight commanders.

“He is an Aura Expert, just as Tex was. His head should be sufficient compensation.”

Rian hesitated.

“Would that not be cutting away too much of our own strength?”

The duke’s eyes shifted slightly.

“What Van said earlier comes to mind.”

Rian looked puzzled.

“Strength that cannot be trusted and cannot be freely wielded is no strength at all.”

“...”

Rian immediately understood.

“Furthermore, they crossed the line.”

The duke’s voice hardened.

“They brought an outside power into an internal dispute of House Ludwig. Worse, they involved a noble of another kingdom.”

His expression became cold.

“That can no longer be excused as excessive loyalty.”

“Which side do you believe encouraged them?”

“It was not His Majesty.”

The duke answered immediately.

“The king would prefer Van’s loyalty, not his death. Van is someone expected to defend the borders of Winston in the future.”

“Then you believe Duke Degol was behind it?”

“Perhaps.”

The faintest smile appeared on Duke Ludwig’s lips.

“Or perhaps someone under Duke Degol demonstrated a little excessive loyalty of their own.”

The phrase clearly amused him.

“They struck at us first.”

His eyes sharpened.

“It would be rude not to return the favor.”

“I will give instructions to the Ravens.”

Rian naturally assumed his father meant assassination.

The duke shook his head.

“No.”

Rian paused.

“We will introduce Karath to the Gray Magic Tower under the name of House Ludwig.”

“Ah.”

Rian understood immediately.

But then his expression grew uncertain.

“Do you truly believe he is capable of accomplishing something significant enough to matter?”

The duke did not answer directly.

Instead, he asked something seemingly unrelated.

“Rian, do you know why none of the nations on this continent have ever seriously attempted to conquer the Grimwood Mountains?”

“Because of competition between nations and existing border disputes, is it not?”

Rian answered carefully.

“And even if one kingdom invested the resources required, there is no certainty that whatever they gained from the mountains would compensate for the losses. No one wants to weaken themselves only for neighboring states to take advantage.”

The duke nodded.

That was the commonly accepted explanation.

It was logical.

It was also incomplete.

“There is an old legend passed down through House Ludwig and the royal family.”

Rian looked surprised.

“Not only here. Similar versions are apparently preserved among the royal families and highest noble houses of several kingdoms.”

“What legend?”

The duke recited it quietly.

“Deep within the Grimwood Mountains sleeps a dragon. Should turmoil disturb the mountains, the dragon’s wrath will descend.”

Rian stared at his father.

Despite having been raised as the heir of a ducal house and educated in countless secrets, he had never heard this story.

But the legend itself was not what truly startled him.

“Father... do you believe Karath is that sleeping dragon?”

The duke shook his head.

“No. He is not a dragon.”

Then his gaze became thoughtful.

“But after meeting him, I began wondering whether the legend might have meant something different.”

Rian waited.

“Perhaps the dragon was never meant literally.”

The duke’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Perhaps it meant that one day, someone would emerge from the Grimwood Mountains and throw the continent into upheaval.”

Karath possessed absurd talent, unsettling judgment, and a capacity for growth that bordered on frightening.

If he continued developing, he might become someone capable of changing the balance of power across the entire continent.

When extraordinary talent appeared, there were generally two choices.

Destroy it before it matured.

Or bring it to your side.

During the audience, Duke Ludwig had considered the first option more than once.

Especially when Van announced that he wished Rian to be formally declared heir.

At that moment, the duke had watched Karath very carefully.

If the young man had shown even the slightest disturbance or displeasure, the duke had intended to kill him on the spot.

Karath was more talented than either of his sons.

Allowing someone like that to involve himself in House Ludwig’s succession could create a disaster far worse than the one they had just resolved.

Yet despite hearing Van completely renounce any claim to the ducal title, Karath had shown no reaction.

Even the mercenaries beside him had displayed small signs of surprise.

Karath had not.

Still, that was not the greatest reason the duke had abandoned the idea of killing him.

“Friend...”

Duke Ludwig quietly tested the unfamiliar word on his tongue.

It had become a strange word to him after so many years among nobles.

But he remembered the expression Karath had worn when he said it.

More importantly, he remembered Van’s face when he heard it.

That was what had ultimately persuaded him to let Karath live.

There was little doubt that the young man would become one of the major figures of the next generation, long after Duke Ludwig himself had stepped away from the stage.

And if he truly considers my son a friend, then that makes him an ally.

Duke Ludwig smiled faintly.

Having his son stand beside a future dragon capable of reshaping the continent did not seem like a bad position at all.

Chapter 247

The Gray Magic Tower

“Damn it.”

No phrase described my current situation better.

I had avoided the worst-case scenario of having my head casually removed by Duke Ludwig, but that did not mean I could relax.

Apparently delighted that I had called him my friend, Vans had enthusiastically insisted that I stay at Ludwig Castle for several days.

Then his damned father joined the attack from the other side.

“A noble house that cannot even properly entertain its son’s friend would bring shame upon itself.”

Coming from Duke Ludwig, it sounded less like hospitality and more like a polite warning that leaving immediately might result in my head being cut off.

In the end, father and son had successfully trapped me inside the castle.

Knowing that Duke Ludwig was almost certainly an Aura Master made it nearly impossible to rest properly. Every time I thought about the possibility that he might see through my disguise, my nerves tightened again.

I did not even dare use the communication device for fear of drawing his attention.

If I disappear for several days without contacting anyone, the alliance is going to lose its mind.

The thought of warriors pouring out of the Grimwood Mountains in an attempt to find me was terrifying in its own way.

My neck was a problem.

The alliance was a problem.

Everything was a problem.

I need to get out of this damned castle as quickly as possible.

For several hours after the audience, I had been trying to invent a reasonable excuse.

Knock. Knock.

Someone tapped on the door.

“His Grace wishes to invite his guests to dinner. He specifically said that there is something he must discuss with Sir Karath.”

Why did that monster want to see me again?

Just imagining sitting at a dinner table with someone who made me feel as though one wrong glance might sever my neck was enough to kill my appetite.

But after the servant emphasised that the duke specifically wanted to speak with me, refusing was hardly an option.

I released a sigh too quietly for anyone outside to hear and told the servant I understood.

A short while later, another servant arrived to guide me to dinner.

After walking through several long corridors, I met Guts and the others outside a large door, and we entered together.

“Sit comfortably.”

Duke Ludwig was already seated.

We bowed respectfully before taking the empty chairs he indicated.

A duke sharing a dinner table with common-born mercenaries was strange enough on its own. Unsurprisingly, Guts and the others looked almost as tense as I felt.

The luxurious dishes laid across the table might as well not have existed.

For a while, only the quiet scrape of knives cutting meat broke the silence.

“Karath.”

“Yes, Your Grace?”

Naturally, the duke chose me as the first person to speak with.

“You said the roots of your magic lie with the Gray Magic Tower and that you wished to visit it.”

“That is correct.”

“You clearly have no desire to become a knight or mage of House Ludwig, and I doubt you helped Van because you wanted money.”

The duke set down his knife.

“So, as repayment for your assistance to my son, I would like to introduce you formally to the Gray Magic Tower. What do you think?”

For a moment, question marks filled my head.

Why was he suddenly offering me exactly what I wanted?

I doubted a man this difficult to read was acting purely out of kindness.

“If Your Grace would do that for me, I could only be grateful.”

Whatever his intentions, I had wanted contact with the Gray Magic Tower from the beginning.

There was no reason to refuse.

“I hope you gain something useful there.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

“When would you like to depart?”

I nearly answered, Right now.

Instead, I exercised restraint.

“There is little for me to do here, so perhaps tomorrow or the day after would be appropriate.”

“Hmm. Sending you away so soon feels somewhat regrettable.”

The duke nodded.

“I will have a letter of introduction and a carriage prepared by tomorrow morning.”

“Thank you, Your Grace.”

Relief almost escaped with my bow.

Then he continued.

“Ah. And while you are away, why not leave that axe here?”

“My axe?”

Silvertusk had not escaped my battle with Viscount Tex unscathed.

It was not destroyed, but the edge where Tex’s sword had repeatedly struck it was badly damaged.

Of course, considering its ridiculous weight and durability, it was still perfectly capable of crushing someone to death. It had simply gone from a terrifying axe to a terrifying blunt weapon.

“The knight who stored your weapon informed me that the edge was badly chipped.”

“That is true, but it remains usable.”

I instinctively resisted.

Leaving Silvertusk here felt suspiciously close to handing over collateral.

“No matter how exceptional the weapon, an axe with a proper edge and one without are entirely different things.”

The duke continued calmly.

“I also heard it is made of mithril. There is no need for concern. The smith employed by House Ludwig is capable of working mithril.”

“You are already introducing me to the Gray Magic Tower. Asking for my weapon to be repaired as well seems excessive.”

“There is no need to worry.”

His expression did not change.

“In fact, I suggested leaving the axe here precisely because you are going to the Gray Magic Tower.”

“...”

It took me about a second to understand.

Then I almost grimaced.

I was a wanted criminal in Winston.

To conceal that I was Roven, I had to hide the combination of traits associated with him: enormous axe, aura, and magic.

But the duke was formally introducing me to the Gray Magic Tower as a mage.

That meant I would need to conceal the axe and my aura anyway.

In other words, he was telling me that if I already had to leave Silvertusk behind, I might as well let his smith repair it while I was gone.

He hasn’t even left me a reasonable excuse to refuse.

There was no choice but to leave Silvertusk at Ludwig Castle.

If the orcs ever learned that I had entrusted the symbol of their Grand Chief to a human duke, some of them might genuinely cry blood.

“I am grateful for Your Grace’s kindness.”

I forced my expression to remain pleasant while effectively handing my axe over as collateral.

“Hahaha. Speaking with you really is comfortable.”

The duke appeared satisfied.

“You understand quickly enough that lengthy explanations are unnecessary.”

His mouth laughed.

His eyes, as usual, did not.

“Y-Your Grace.”

Wiggins, who had been eating quietly near the end of the table, cautiously raised his hand.

“Yes?”

“If it would not be inappropriate... might I accompany Sir Karath to the Gray Magic Tower?”

Both the duke and I looked at him.

“I have no objection to sending you,” Duke Ludwig said, “but why? Earlier today, Van requested that the others be trained as knights and that you receive support to return to the Azure Flame Tower and continue your magical studies.”

“There is no particular reason, Your Grace.”

Wiggins hesitated.

“I simply... wish to remain with Sir Karath for a while longer.”

He looked at me with an expression so intense that a chill briefly ran down my spine.

For one dangerous instant, I almost misunderstood.

Then I recognised the look.

It resembled the admiration the people of the alliance often directed toward me.

“Sir Karath reached the Fifth Circle at an age younger than mine.”

Wiggins continued.

“And he did so entirely through self-study. If I remain near him, I believe I may learn something simply by observing how he approaches magic.”

“Hmm.”

Duke Ludwig stroked his chin.

“Simply staying beside someone will not grant you his talent.”

Then he turned toward me.

“Karath. Would you be willing to guide Wiggins while the two of you travel together?”

So he wanted me to tutor him.

Since Wiggins was now entering House Ludwig’s service as a mage, any improvement in his abilities would ultimately benefit the family.

And accepting the request was hardly disadvantageous to me.

“Very well.”

I nodded.

“If guiding Wiggins settles the remaining debt between us, that seems fair.”

More specifically, it would make reclaiming Silvertusk afterward considerably less complicated.

“Hahaha!”

The duke laughed again.

“You already thought that far ahead? Truly, conversations with you are entertaining.”

Thankfully, he merely sounded amused rather than accusing me of being petty.

I finally allowed myself a quiet breath.

The accounts between us were more or less settled.

Tomorrow morning, I could finally leave for the Gray Magic Tower.

I had spent hours wondering how to escape this tiger’s den.

In the end, the exit had opened far more smoothly than expected.

And once the relief settled, another feeling began to rise beneath it.

Anticipation.

The Gray Magic Tower...

The origin of the magic I had inherited.

Perhaps somewhere inside it was the clue I needed to take the next step.

Chapter 248

The Gray Magic Tower

Duke Ludwig worked as efficiently as his emotionless demeanor suggested.

The following morning, exactly as promised, a carriage waited in front of Ludwig Castle.

“I will accompany you.”

A well-dressed middle-aged man who appeared to be a steward greeted me as I approached.

“You may speak comfortably with me.”

A servant was one thing, but the steward of a ducal house was likely either a noble himself or someone of comparable standing. Even his clothes looked far too expensive for an ordinary commoner.

“That would be inappropriate. You are a friend of the second young master, and His Grace personally instructed me to treat you with every courtesy.”

“...Then I suppose there is nothing I can do.”

What exactly did he mean by every courtesy?

The suspicion that Duke Ludwig had reasons beyond simple kindness for introducing me to the Gray Magic Tower continued to grow.

“Karath! Travel safely!”

“Mr. Karath, please take care of Wiggins.”

Vans and Guts’s group had come to see us off.

We had travelled together long enough that apparently none of them wanted to let me leave without a farewell.

Starting today, Guts, Elin, and Burke would remain at Ludwig Castle to study the family’s mana cultivation methods and receive proper knightly training.

“You take care of yourself too, Vans. And all of you, I hope the next time we meet you’ll be proper knights.”

After exchanging farewells, Wiggins and I climbed into the carriage.

“Then we shall depart.”

The steward snapped the reins and the carriage began rolling away.

Inside sat Wiggins, myself, and one knight assigned as our personal guard. Two more mounted knights rode alongside the carriage.

Whether because of the Ludwig crest displayed prominently on the vehicle or the intimidating presence of the escort, no one caused us any trouble on the road.

With no ambushes, pursuers, or monsters to worry about, I spent much of the journey staring through the carriage window and sorting through my thoughts.

“Um... Sir Karath?”

Wiggins eventually broke the silence.

“You really can speak normally with me, Wiggins. I’m a commoner too. Suddenly hearing ‘Sir Karath’ every time you address me feels strange.”

“Hahaha... I’m afraid it has become a habit from my time at the Azure Flame Tower.”

He scratched his head awkwardly.

“How could I casually address a high-ranking mage?”

That made some sense.

A Magic Tower was surprisingly similar to a university research institution, and a high-ranking mage occupied a position not unlike a senior professor.

Wiggins, as a Third Circle mage, was essentially still a junior researcher.

Even if a professor told one of those researchers to relax and speak casually, how many would actually manage it?

“I suppose you’ll become more comfortable again after we spend some time together. So what did you want to ask?”

“Ahem.”

Wiggins lowered his head slightly.

“I wanted to make certain that it is truly all right for me to ask you for instruction. We come from different magical backgrounds, after all...”

Apparently, his hunger for knowledge had pushed him into volunteering first, and only afterward had his common sense returned and begun producing concerns.

“My magic may trace its origin to the Gray Magic Tower, but I taught myself.”

I smiled.

“I am not formally affiliated with any tower. If anything, I’m more concerned that teaching someone else using methods I developed alone might cause problems.”

“N-no!”

Wiggins reacted immediately.

“If your methods were fundamentally wrong, there is no way you could have reached the Fifth Circle. You would have suffered mana deviation long before then.”

I blinked.

“Mana deviation? I already went through that.”

“Y-you did?”

His face froze.

“Then how did you reach the Fifth Circle?”

“I just controlled the mana that had gone out of control and used it to form the fifth ring.”

I could not exactly explain the infinite circuit while one of Duke Ludwig’s knights was sitting beside us, so I gave a simplified version of what had happened.

For some reason, Wiggins began looking at me exactly the way I had looked at Duke Ludwig.

Like I was a monster.

The knight beside us had gone wide-eyed as well.

“Y-you resolved mana deviation... by yourself?”

“Who else was supposed to resolve it for me?”

Wiggins stared.

“It is common knowledge even among ordinary people that mana deviation cannot be safely resolved alone.”

“...”

“That is why mages attempting to advance beyond the Fourth Circle normally do so under the guidance of higher-ranking mages. If something goes wrong while forming another ring, the senior mage is there to prevent the situation from becoming fatal.”

So I had apparently violated something even ordinary people considered common sense.

Is that why Renstein’s writings barely mentioned mana deviation?

Once again, studying everything by myself had left absurd gaps in my understanding of basic magical knowledge.

“Honestly, the fact that you handled mana deviation alone is even more shocking than hearing that you taught yourself all the way to the Fifth Circle.”

“Hahaha. That is probably because I learned everything alone.”

Then an idea occurred to me.

“Actually, this may work out rather well. I’ll examine your magic and help where I can. In return, while listening to my explanations, tell me whenever something I say contradicts ordinary magical knowledge.”

At minimum, I needed to repair the most embarrassing holes in my education before walking into the Gray Magic Tower.

After two and a half peaceful days without a single attack, we finally reached Whitestone City.

The Ludwig crest on our carriage turned entry through the city gates into little more than a formality, and we continued riding even after entering.

“Sir, we have arrived.”

A short while later, the carriage stopped and the steward carefully opened the door.

“Hmm?”

I stepped down and looked toward the Gray Magic Tower.

A strange feeling came over me.

It was not some profound emotion about finally standing before the origin of my magical path.

No.

It was something far simpler.

Wasn’t this place supposed to be nearly ruined?

I had half expected a crumbling shack with a crooked sign nailed to the front.

Instead, an entirely respectable tower stood before me.

While I was wondering whether my information had been wrong, the steward walked forward and knocked on the entrance.

Knock. Knock.

“We have come on behalf of the ducal House of Ludwig.”

Creeeeak.

The heavy door opened with a harsh scraping sound.

An elderly man peered out from within.

“Th-the House of Ludwig?”