novelraw Chapter 204: Abyssal Holy War - Preparations for the Start of War (5)
Chapter 204: Abyssal Holy War - Preparations for the Start of War (5)
Episode 204. The Abyssal Holy War - Preparing for War (5)
Louis d'Aquitaine, now a twenty-year-old adult, calmly prepared himself while looking in the mirror.
He draped a cloak over his Magic Tower uniform and tied a cravat around his neck.
After taking a considerable amount of time to get ready, Louis gazed at his reflection.
Brilliantly shining golden hair, blue eyes, a high nose, and a well-proportioned face.
He looked nothing like his half-sister, Christine, who had a generally sharp look, but the man in the mirror was handsome in a soft way.
Some might think him arrogant for it, but honestly, even he had to admit he was quite good-looking.
Louis d'Aquitaine had a fair amount of confidence in his appearance, and he was popular enough with the women of the Magic Tower to back it up.
Though the one person whose heart he wanted to win saw him only as a subordinate and a younger brother to be looked after, he wondered if maybe Giselle would see him a little differently now.
“...Alright.”Louis lightly patted his cheeks with both hands and turned around—only to freeze in shock.
“Ugh, T-Teacher!”
The old man, who had entered without a sound, was stroking his long white beard that reached past his chest. He clicked his tongue and spoke.
“Pathetic, truly pathetic. A disciple of the Magic Tower Master, dolling up his appearance instead of studying magic like he’s supposed to.”
“I-I’m sorry…”
“It’s because you run around with that pretty face of yours that the students of the Tower can’t focus! Back in my day! I would have written at least one more line in a report in that time!”
“N-No, that’s not my intention, Teacher!”
“If that’s not your intention, then what is! If this Magic Tower Master has personally accepted you as a disciple, you should consider it an honor and detach yourself from worldly affairs, you good-for-nothing who spends all day thinking of women instead of studying!”
“I-It’s not that bad…”
The Magic Tower Master clicked his tongue, looking at the sweating Louis with a pathetic gaze.
“I wonder why I took back a guy like this who left the Magic Tower on his own two feet.”
Louis could only offer an awkward smile.
Back then, he had thought he would be of great help to his older sister, that he was more than capable of pulling his own weight.
He had simply been eager to show his grown self to his sister and others, envisioning a magnificent version of himself playing an active role as a full-fledged magician.
…He had thought of himself as having grown strong through a rather unfortunate childhood, but on that fierce and blazing battlefield, he had clearly realized that was nothing but a delusion.
Louis d'Aquitaine recalled the face of Léon Durand—no, Gilles de Lionel—who had saved him but also deceived and abandoned him, and spoke with a wry smile.
“My apologies, Teacher. But this is an important occasion. Taking at least some care of my appearance… is…”
Louis’s voice trailed off as he looked at his teacher's shaggy beard and the robe that bore the marks of time, which even cleaning magic couldn’t seem to erase completely.
At this point, wouldn't this be less of a piece of advice and more of a criticism against his teacher?
Of course, the Magic Tower Master took issue with something other than Louis’s attitude.
“Bah! If you gathered up all that time and poured it into magic research, you could write three more lines in a report!”
He was the leader of an entire organization, after all; wasn't that a bit too careless of him…?
Louis thought so, but he didn't voice it and receive another scolding.
To call it a life skill learned from the hardships of the past two years was just too sad.
“Tsk, what a waste of time! Let’s go!”
“Yes, yes, sir! Teacher!”
Louis snatched the bag the Tower Master tossed him and began to walk in a flurry, trying to keep up with the old man who walked with long strides that defied his age.
He was sure the man had expressed all sorts of regret and treated him so kindly when he left the Magic Tower, but to be treated like this as soon as he became a disciple again…
So this is what the seniors meant when they said not to take a professor at his word.
Following his teacher, Louis secretly let out a deep sigh.
“Was that, did you just sigh at your teacher?”
“N-No, do you have eyes on your back?”
“So I was right? You insolent—”
“Ah…”
Swallowing his tears, Louis had to endure the Tower Master’s shouting and lecturing.
*
A short while later,
“It is a true honor to meet the renowned Tower Master of the continent’s Magic Tower! I am Maurice Talleyrand, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Francia and the President of the Revolutionary Party!”
“A pleasure. I’m the Tower Master.”
The Tower Master spoke bluntly and shook Talleyrand’s hand.
“T-Teacher. At least introduce yourself properly…”
Louis whispered in alarm, but the Tower Master retorted in a loud voice.
“Tsk! ‘Tower Master’ is enough. What more is needed!”
Oh, my head…
Louis felt a headache coming on for a different reason and shook his head.
Talleyrand awkwardly let go of the hand, and as soon as he did, the Tower Master turned his gaze to the person beside him.
“It’s been a while, Countess Aquitaine! Your beautiful and intelligent features are as radiant as ever! Hahaha! The members of the Magic Tower have been counting the days until you’d visit, yet you haven’t come by.”
…Wasn’t this the same person who, just a moment ago, scolded me for caring about looks instead of spending that time on research?
As if he knew or not that the respect Louis held for his teacher was shattering into pieces, the Tower Master just beamed.
“It’s been a while, Magic Tower Master. I’m glad to see you’ve been well. I’ve been busy with public and private matters, but I was also concerned that my visit as a supporter might interfere with your research.”
“My, such consideration! Your heart is as beautiful as your face, Countess. We need talent like you at the Magic Tower! It’s fine, it’s fine. Your support always makes a great contribution to the development of magic technology for the Magic Tower, no, for all humanity. Do you think our members wouldn’t spare a moment for you? Please feel free to visit anytime, hahaha!”
Unlike the curt handshake he’d given Talleyrand, the Tower Master held onto Christine’s hand and chattered for quite a while before letting go.
Watching the Tower Master walk the tightrope of being just barely not rude, Louis thought to himself.
‘It’s a good thing Marquis Lafayette isn’t here.’
Louis’s respect crumbled for a second time.
Seeing that the Tower Master showed no sign of introducing his disciple, Louis, even though everyone knew each other, Talleyrand guided the Tower Master to his seat.
“Now, if you would please come this way.”
“Ahem, ahem. Let’s do that.”
Louis was about to follow his teacher when his eyes met Christine's.
As his older sister’s eyes curved into a natural smile, Louis returned a faint smile of his own.
A reunion after a long time.
A distance where his sister did not embrace him, nor did he eagerly approach her.
Nevertheless, the respect between them as adults in their own positions, not just as siblings, was quite to Louis's liking.
*
“I heard from His Majesty, King of Holland. That the Revolutionary Kingdom of Francia wishes for the Magic Tower’s cooperation in this ‘expedition.’”
As the Tower Master stroked his shaggy beard and spoke, President Talleyrand replied with a bright smile.
“That is correct. This war will be a holy war for humanity against the abyss of those demons, the Abyss Corporation. His Holiness the Pope of the Holy Theocracy also—”
“Ah, hold on, hold on. Time is gold, President. Let’s make it brief. Although there was a request from His Majesty the King, even he has no authority to force the Magic Tower to participate in a war.”
By the standards of diplomatic rhetoric, it was an extremely rude response, but Talleyrand, who had heard a thing or two from Christine, simply kept his smiling face and closed his mouth.
“We are a people who live by research and development, without interfering in worldly affairs. This one here…”
The Tower Master glanced at Louis, who was sitting next to him—
“My pathetic disciple…”
He then turned his gaze back to Christine.
“If it weren't for the request of Countess Aquitaine, the Magic Tower’s greatest supporter, I would not have even come to this meeting.”
“Haha, I am well aware that the ‘Storm Witch’ was a unique case.”
At the words ‘Storm Witch,’ the Tower Master’s eyebrows subtly twitched upwards.
The three Sages.
Now only two remained, but the fact that a magician on par with the Magic Tower Master had gone to the battlefield and met a futile end made the Tower even more reluctant to intervene in outside affairs.
“Yes, that’s right. No one wants to follow the same path as that foolish woman, Wilhelmina. So, what’s important to us is one thing. Despite all that, do you have something that makes it worthwhile for us to go to war?”
Talleyrand nodded with a bright smile.
“It’s simple. You’re well aware of the demons' magitek, are you not?”
“…Of course. But it’s so shrouded in a veil…”
Talleyrand replied with a bright smile.
“If the Magic Tower cooperates in this war, we will hand over all the magitek facilities and technology we seize upon our victory over Abyss Corporation, for you to research as you please.”
The Tower Master’s jaw dropped.
“All of it?”
“Yes, all of it.”
With a very leisurely attitude, Talleyrand watched as the lust for knowledge and greed filled the Tower Master's eyes.
“Hoho, hohoho. All of it, you say… Won’t the other nations have quite a few complaints?”
Talleyrand replied with a faint smile.
“Besides the Magic Tower, is there any country with the technology to analyze it? And, I understand that the Magic Tower has a regulation requiring it to provide a portion of its researched and developed technology to its supporters.”
The Tower Master’s gaze naturally shifted to Christine.
Such a regulation did indeed exist.
The Magic Tower was, in essence, a group that only did research, and was naturally a money-eating hippopotamus.
It couldn't be maintained without supporters, and it wouldn't receive support without a reward.
While Christine had personal reasons with Louis and was such a big spender that her support was massive, even she had not been supporting the Tower without receiving anything in return.
As Christine gave a light smile, the Tower Master let out an empty laugh and turned back to Talleyrand.
“Oho. You’ll hand it all over to us, and Francia will receive the analyzed technology through its greatest supporter, Countess Aquitaine?”
Christine answered.
“Of course, Francia will receive the most technology. But at the same time, we plan to distribute the technology to the other participating nations according to their contribution rate.”
The Tower Master’s face turned sour.
“That’s quite…”
In the end, it was a structure where the immense compensation given in return for the Magic Tower’s support would flow back to Francia.
The other nations would have to fight hard for their own compensation, making it a profitable venture only for Francia.
Naturally, as the Magic Tower Master, it was a gut-twisting affair, but…
“If the Magic Tower refuses, we will have no choice but to divide it among the participating nations, but frankly, we are concerned as well. How much of that technology will be lost if nations that are laypersons in magic willfully tear it apart—”
“Absolutely not!”
Hearing Talleyrand’s words, the Tower Master shouted as if screaming.
Abyss Corporation was certainly a fearsome enemy, but the Eastern Empire was confronting them, and Francia had gathered almost the entire Central Continent.
The possibility of achieving victory against the demons was higher than ever before—perhaps even the first and last chance.
And after winning such a war, laypersons who knew nothing would divide and damage the unknown, advanced technologies that surpassed human capability? How could they know how much that was worth!
But he couldn’t just volunteer the Magic Tower’s services for the sake of its pride…
“Though I am a supporter, I can’t save face if I receive a reward greater than the amount I’ve donated to the Magic Tower. Other nations, as well as Francia, will pay a small price for the technology I provide, and I will donate 50 percent of those proceeds back to the Magic Tower.”
As Christine drove the final nail in, the Tower Master could hold back no longer.
“Deal!”
Christine replied with a subtle smile.
“Marquis Lafayette will be very pleased.”
The Storm Witch.
Faced with the overwhelming pressure of that violence, like a natural disaster, how his heart had pounded as Pierre confronted her with only human strength.
But this time, that power would fight alongside him.