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Chapter 82
"Honestly, the chances are low, but I will do my best to recruit him."
To them, Leon was a talent they absolutely could not afford to lose.
* * *
After the Kraken subjugation, I could tell that the way people looked at had changed.
Among those gazes, so saw as a monster of talent or sothing beyond that.
And understandably so.
It's not that geniuses don't exist among teenagers.
But nowhere in the history of the continent has there been a teenager who mastered 6th-circle necromancy and achieved the rank of Sword Master.
More than that, those who realized that everything about the Kraken battle had been ticulously planned from start to finish must have felt even more bewildered.
Of them, the only ones whose attitudes toward remained unchanged were Isna Mielephon and the Sword Saint Osberg.
"Take care."
The elderly man carrying an unconscious Isna on his back smiled faintly.
The reason Isna had passed out was simple.
She had injured herself by tripping during one of her usual antics at dawn.
Then, in her reckless nature, she had tried to cause a ruckus again and ended up getting subdued and knocked out by Osberg.
"Yes. Sorry for leaving the clean-up to you."
"No need to apologize. It was originally our duty. Without you, not only would we have suffered trendous losses, but the subjugation itself might have failed."
There was no doubt that the Sword Saint was strong.
But by human standards.
In a battle at sea against a Kraken, a disaster-class sea king, victory was uncertain at best.
It was already a miracle that Mielephon’s patriarch, Catsey Mielephon, returned alive.
Perhaps even the Kraken itself had deed it unworthy to entertain itself with a re hunt, so it had let her go after wounding her.
The leader of the subjugation force, Beren, had also changed his attitude toward .
Before, his words carried a hint of distrust and concern, but after the battle, he no longer hid his respect and gratitude.
"Sorry for not giving you a proper send-off."
"Commander, please take care as well."
"We all owe you our lives."
The aning behind his words was the sa as the Sword Saint's.
He had surely prepared extensively for the Kraken subjugation, but the Kraken had more tricks up its sleeve than expected.
He must have felt a lot about it deep down.
The rest of the subjugation knights were the sa.
While they couldn't fully conceal their astonishnt at my monstrous talent, they were overwhelmingly positive toward .
Behind my back, I even heard murmurs about how the Sword Saint had truly picked the perfect husband for Isna.
So even said that, contrary to my appearance, I was extrely aggressive and masculine.
After all, I had erected a barrier, inhaled deadly poison to the point of destroying my body, and still fought the Kraken in a one-on-one battle.
Thanks to that, a knight I encountered during a al gave an exaggerated thumbs-up, creating an absurd scene.
And about that husband talk…
Even though I had sohow ended up engaged… Well.
I had a feeling this engagent wouldn’t last long.
Engagents were often broken over trivial matters, and circumstances could always change.
anwhile, there were those who were truly botherso.
"Lord Leon! Join our Magic Tower. I shall report this incident to my Tower Master and ensure you receive the highest treatnt!"
"But I’m not an elental mage."
"Haha, what age do you think we live in? Such outdated distinctions don’t matter! In all my life, I have never seen such an extraordinary—no, unparalleled—specin… I an, budding mage! No, actually, given your skills and mastery of magitech, you are no re sapling—you are already a towering tree!"
I had heard that the Magic Towers were desperate for talent, and apparently, that was no lie.
Initially, it was the mages who had shown the most resistance to my decisions.
But now, they were the most eager to win over.
"I’ll consider it for now."
"You must! If I had my way, I’d have you sign the docunts this very mont…!"
"Hey! You sneaky bastard! Don't you dare claim him first! Lord Leon! Forget them, co to our Magic Tower instead! We’ll offer even better treatnt!"
"Hmph! Know your place! A minor Magic Tower dares to compete with us?"
The mages sent as envoys had co from different Magic Towers, and they were now acting as if they were bidding for in an auction.
But not everyone was friendly toward .
There was one person who could not conceal his blatant hostility.
"……."
"Don't mind him. That’s just the kind of person he is."
"Who is he?"
He looked about my age.
Judging by his mana flow, he was around the 3rd circle.
He wasn’t without talent, but if asked about his future prospects… Well, let’s just say the answer wouldn’t be promising.
Had he at least been in the latter half of the 3rd circle, that would be one thing, but from the instability of his mana flow, it was clear he had only recently broken into the 3rd circle.
"He’s actually the son of a high-ranking noble. He wouldn't have been allowed to join the subjugation force, but… well, politics."
Ah, a parachute recruit.
Now that I thought about it, he was the one who fired a piece of the Demon Tree’s fragnt.
Osberg had been furious enough to nearly kill him, and it took multiple people to hold him back.
Because of that, this noble brat, who had once acted so arrogantly under the protection of his family's influence, had his reputation utterly destroyed.
Well, if you're going to ride on connections, you should at least know when to keep your head down.
Once you make a fatal mistake in real combat, no one is going to protect you.
Besides, his personality didn’t seem particularly pleasant either.
The only reason he wasn’t openly lashing out at was obvious.
Dismissing as a minor noble from a backwater kingdom was one thing, but the Mielephon family’s backing was too formidable to ignore.
That said, it seed his sponsors and he himself had intended to make him one of the most celebrated figures of the subjugation force.
But I had completely shattered that plan, which was likely why he was so bitter.
[Translator - Night]
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Indeed, since the incident, he hadn’t even co to offer an apology.
He must have felt too humiliated.
Honestly, part of wanted to grab him by the head, slam him into the ground, and forcibly teach him the aning of etiquette and apologies.
But seeing how Osberg was already watching him with a predatory gleam in his eyes, I figured I didn't need to bother.
Osberg Mielephon might have seed like a kind and benevolent man, but one of his old nicknas said it all.
The Mad Wolf of Mielephon.
There was a ti when he was called that.
"At least, that’s how I see it. That brat has fallen out of favor with the Sword Saint, so no matter how noble he is, his future won’t be easy."
A mage approached with a friendly smile, explaining the situation.
"Thanks for the explanation, but I don’t really care."
Truthfully, I had initially planned to crush him upon my return.
But since his recklessness had led us to the cultists and, most importantly, the Necronomicon—the biggest threat—we had been able to locate and destroy it first.
If we hadn’t known about it beforehand, things could have gone very wrong.
"Haha, even the deanor of a magnanimous person!"
No, why do they keep trying to wrap everything in a positive light?
Do they want sothing from ?
That thought only lasted a mont.
The mages cautiously asked ,
"Young Master, would you be willing to sell the five devices you used to hunt the Kraken to our magic tower?"
"...Excuse ?"
Now that I think about it, didn't the magic tower develop a jamming artifact?
Since those devices blocked the Kraken's ntal attacks on a wide scale, it's no wonder they are incredibly interested in them.
After so contemplation, I shook my head.
"I'm sorry, but I must refuse."
Even if I sold them, they wouldn’t be able to understand how they worked.
The Heart of the Machine God doesn’t just change form—it can even alter its internal structure.
At first, I thought it was made of simple iron or tal, but in reality, it might be softer than gold or more heat-resistant than titanium.
This is still an advanced technology for them.
At least, that's what I believe.
Arrogant?
Overconfident?
Do I think no one else could analyze sothing I created on my own?
To be brutally honest—yes. If they could, then magitechnology on this continent wouldn't be at its current level.
Besides, I’m not the type to just hand over my trump cards to others.
"Is there... truly no way? I may not be a magitechnician myself, but even I can tell how incredible those devices are... I'm even willing to offer a hefty price—"
"I must politely decline."
"...Ugh. Fine, I'll withdraw for now. Persisting any further wouldn’t be courteous. However, if my predictions are correct, other magic towers will co to approach you frequently, Young Master."
No, just don’t try persuading in the first place.
These people really are stubborn, like whale tendons.
Typical mages.
Even as they left, so still asked how I beca an Archage at such a young age and whether I had a teacher.
A teacher?
I did have one.
The problem is, they all got "teacher out!"—by dying at my hands.
Since, in the end, I had no teacher, I chose to remain silent, and the mages, finding it hard to press further, finally withdrew.
And now—
I received one of the Kraken's cores as my reward.
lissa and I agreed on this; we didn’t even want to look at the other parts.
That disgusting octopus bastard took my family from .
Even though I got my revenge, my parents and my adorable youngest sibling would never co back.
That bitter truth weighed heavily on .
As a result, we started our return to Cascadia much earlier than planned.
Seated in the carriage, Luna, lissa, and I stared at each other.
Hostility?
Tension?
In that heavy atmosphere, the first one to move was lissa.
"Now!"
She quickly flipped over the card in front of her.
It revealed three strawberries.
In front of —two strawberries.
In front of Luna—four bananas.
Five in total.
Bingo.
I imdiately reached out to ring the bell at the center—only to flinch and retract my hand at the last mont.
BANG!!!
Luna’s absurdly strong palm strike crushed the bell flat like a piece of paper.
Even if I had hit it first, she wouldn’t have stopped.
If I had, my hand probably would have ended up as crushed as that bell.
"......"
lissa and I, faces pale, turned to Luna and asked,
"Just curious... but were you always this strong? Why do you seem to be getting stronger?"
"I'm useless. I'm not even using 10% of my strength."
That’s less than 10% of her full power?!
When we first t, she wasn't this strong.
Speechless, I just stared at the completely flattened bell and shook my head.
I must be insane—for making a ga for these lunatics.
"This is fun. Let’s play again."
As Luna pulled out a spare bell with a bright smile, lissa cleared her throat and looked away.
I, too, subtly covered my pile of cards with my palm and scattered them onto the carriage floor.
"...How about we just have so snacks?"
The mont the first bell rang, the ga had already been destroyed.
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