Counterattack-1
After that, the meeting went fast.
The festival asked to stop, but as expected, it had to be rejected.
Even considering the cost of the festival, it was common sense to stop the festival. There were only a few days left until this festival, so it was impossible to postpone it.
That said, the nobles who invested in this business and even the invested wizards will become known in an instant.
As a result, it was decided at the meeting that the festival would continue, and it was announced that it would be supplemented by increasing the number of guards.
As if in such a hurry, the meeting ended.
“…So…Uh…”
That’s how it must have ended.
Seeing the outcome of the meeting, Rios looked at his eyes and hesitated.
Usually, I would have said ‘Aww~’ and clung to her, or said ‘God of pure love~’ reverently.
“…That’s why… A corpse…”
There was nowhere to turn a blind eye to the arbitrary action he had just taken.
“I announced that I would sell it. Dear Mage Tower owners.”
“…Ah…Uh…Um…”
At Reinhardt, it was decided that the decision regarding the corpse would be left entirely to Leonardo.
Even at the time of inspection in the mansion, they announced that they put more emphasis on Leonardo’s decision than their own.
That’s why there was no problem selling it.
I wasn’t there.
“…Is that really okay?”
I couldn’t quite understand it ethically.
Even if it’s not the corpse of the real parents, it still looks the same, but Leonardo didn’t feel a pinch of emotional change, let alone agitated.
“Anyway, it is a gamble. If the enemy had an extra hand, he might have blown a corpse.”
“…No… That’s not the problem…”
Ariaspil and O’Brien both wanted to add a word to it, but since he was the most calm, he had nothing to say.
It was as if he was explaining all the tragedies that happened before the return, in a certain tone of voice, as if he were explaining the lunch he ate yesterday, so I couldn’t even argue.
“…No, that’s the problem.”
Soon after the meeting, Eileen walked towards Leonardo. Her hair, damp like seaweed from a profuse cold sweat, gave an idea of how tired she was.
“What on earth were you thinking when you did that?”
“…Eileen, did you have a good conversation with the second prince?”
“We haven’t met yet, and I’m not in the mood to talk about that idiot.”
Aileen would be the only one who could openly call the emperor of that empire an idiot, like an idiot in the neighborhood.
“Certainly the idiot prince is annoying.”
No, Ariaspil is also possible.
It was new, but I could feel that the ranks of the people next to me were standing at the apex of the pyramid.
With the power they had, they could lightly shatter the regiments of the empire’s legion, so I was convinced that they wouldn’t bend.
“So I want to hear the reason. Why did you gamble like this?”
In terms of tone, Eileen’s high-pressure pressure was heavy enough to be felt.
It was a tone I used often with others, especially Ariaspil and Rios, but it was an attitude I didn’t see as much as Leo.
“…I am sorry for not explaining it in advance.”
“I apologized. Give me an answer I asked because I didn’t understand what he was thinking.”
It wasn’t just Eileen. Others were also questionable. The fact that everyone did not object to Aileen’s opinion proved this.
“…If the traitor saw this action, what would he choose?”
Perhaps it was because she answered questions with questions, Eileen’s expression didn’t look very good. Despite feeling frustrated, Aileen meekly answered Leo’s question.
“…At least if it were me, I’d sacrifice my native magic to obtain the corpse.”
This chimera could be cloned, but it was impossible to mass-produce. If possible, it was reasonable to create a legion and push it away instead of using only two people.
If it falls into the hands of another Mage Tower Master, through additional research, it might be possible to find out the weapon to respond to or the traitor himself, just like the Black Tower Master said.
“But if you’re a traitor, wouldn’t it be dangerous to teach you the unique magic formula? It’s about revealing your own special move.”
It was a conflicting opinion with Eileen, but there was truth in what Rios said. Informing about one’s unique magic technique meant informing all of one’s capital.
Even if you don’t have to use your own magic, it means that you will be able to know all the fields you are specializing in, so on the other hand, it was a situation where you had no choice but to live.
“That’s why I don’t understand. If we were going to hunt down the traitor, we’d be sure to get it in cash.”
That’s why Eileen couldn’t understand Leo’s behavior. If he was going to hunt down the traitor, getting paid would have been a sure thing.
“No. It won’t make a difference.”
It was Ariaspil who disagreed with this.
Perhaps it was because of the appearance of an unexpected person, everyone was looking at Ariasviel with quite a surprise.
“On the other hand, it is the same with money… It may be difficult to judge. After all, the one with more money right now than the traitor might take the body, right?”
It was a short point, but there was evidence.
No matter how astronomical money the position of Mage Tower owner gave, there was of course a difference in financial power between the same Mage Tower owners.
For example, the Black Tower, which made a profit by renting and selling a large amount of equipment thanks to the festival, and the Blue Tower, which pushed for investment in magic development and research targeting the festival.
If the two were to face each other only on financial strength, who would win?
It was a story that didn’t even need to be asked.
“…More logical than I thought.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ah, it means that I realized that becoming a hero wasn’t just about power.”
Ariasviel’s expression crumpled at Eileen’s ironic praise.
‘…This woman is really…’
Even if you try to look good on that woman, she has a knack for earning hate with her crooked lips. Every single word she said was giving her nerves the unpleasant feeling of scratching her nerves with her jagged fingernails.
‘…That disgusting b*tch…’
Eileen felt the same way. In fact, considering her discomfort alone, Eileen’s pain would exceed Aria’s by many times.
‘…Doing such a promiscuous thing in the famous Magic Tower…!’
As a wizard, I couldn’t forgive myself for daring to spend such a soggy and dirty night in the dormitory of the magic tower, the essence of learning.
How could a b*tch called a warrior be so promiscuous?
Is God really blind?
“Aren’t you two tired? You didn’t come here to fight, did you?”
Unaware of Eileen and Aria’s delicate psychology, Leo pointed out as if he was tired of it.
At Leo’s words, Aileen felt her choke on her resentment, but held on to her rationality and calmed her anger. It was just ugliness to run amok.
“…So what’s your judgment? What actions of the traitor were you aiming for?”
Leonardo gave a short answer to the question that brought the topic back.
“Seize.”
It was a short answer, but it resonated.
“Irrespective of who buys it, it would be wisest to steal it.”
If you fall into the hands of another tower master, there is a risk that the weapon you will respond to or the identity of the traitor will be revealed.
However, if you purchase it yourself, you will have to endure the loss of power by revealing all of your unique magic.
“Is that why you are stealing?”
“Because it is the option with the greatest benefit.”
Eileen sighed and grabbed her furrowed brow.
“…Didn’t you consider the possibility that the traitor would buy himself? And even if you steal it, if it succeeds, that’s a problem.”
It was as Eileen pointed out.
There was a possibility that the traitor would rather feel the risk of Leo’s sudden action and reduce the big action,
Even if they really tried, it wasn’t clear who the traitor was, so it didn’t make sense to prepare for the takeover.
“…That’s… I’m sorry, but that woman is right. Leo.”
Even Arya found it difficult to take sides. No matter how much she loved her, it was stupid and tantamount to harm to support her argument without clear evidence.
“…Right. That’s a valid point.”
Leonardo conceded. When Leo admitted it, Eileen, who couldn’t understand it, gave her a venomous gaze, blushing.
“There are parts that you can’t support, and there are parts that you can’t support. If only we had communicated a little more and thought deeply…”
“So we take it first.”
Eileen’s eyes relaxed at the unexpected words. Rios and even Aria were looking at Leonardo with relaxed eyes.
“…Shhhhh…”
While there was such a strange silence, something slowly crawled out of the crack in the building floor, crying out.
The long wriggling shape reminded me of an earthworm, and the scales all over its body suggested that this creature was a reptile, not an insect.
“…A snake?”
Everyone here wasn’t too surprised by one snake. There was a reason I was able to wipe out the snake with one gesture, but it was also because that snake was familiar to me for some reason.
“Ahin?”
“Yes, that is me. Mother.”
Soon, the little snake gradually swelled up and returned to the shape of a little girl. Her white hair and purple eyes confirmed whose daughter she was.
“…Sorry for the delay. Father. Finding a place based on smell was not an easy task.”
“It’s okay. That’s pretty good.”
Leonardo stroked Ain’s hair and praised his daughter’s efforts.
It wasn’t just to motivate him, it was because Ain’s performance was meaningful enough.
“…What do you mean? Did you do anything more besides reconnaissance?”
“I identified the place that smelled most strongly of my grandmother and found a rendezvous point.”
Everyone in this room knew who Ain’s grandmother was.
If only she knew who Leo’s mother was, she would have known anyone.
“You mean there is a rendezvous point…? Then the reason why I sent you scouting until now is…”
“It was to find out where the rendezvous was.”
It was by no means done so much reconnaissance just in case of eavesdroppers or intruders.
The transformation of Ain into a werewolf, the aerial reconnaissance with a black eagle with an excellent sense of smell, and the transformation into a snake as of now.
It was all in order to find the contact point.
“Senpai, then you found evidence! Secret letters or research materials…”
“That’s not true. It was just an abandoned mansion, and I couldn’t see anything that could be called evidence.”
The place Ain found was an abandoned mansion in a remote mountain, away from the magic tower.
Ain searched all over the place, but he couldn’t find any clues or evidence. Even the sense of smell that found this place couldn’t tell if anyone else was there besides Ren’s clone.
The atmosphere subsided again.
Leonardo was the only one whose expression did not change.
In the first place, at the point where the two Chimeras were defeated, all the evidence at the meeting place was erased, which was expected.
“So we are going to seize it first.”
“…So what the hell does that mean?”
“It is literally.”
Instead of verbal explanations, Leonardo pulled out his little fingernails. It was white and short, more like a human fingernail than a beast.
“Ain-ah, wait… Excuse me.”
“Yes. It’s okay.”
When Leonardo poked his fingernails into Ain, Ain’s body began to enlarge as if his skeleton had been reversed.
It wasn’t to the level of Wyvern, but Ain had grown enough to be as tall as Arya.
“…Ahin is…”
The one Ain transformed into was Ren’s Chimera.
“I thought it would be possible because Chimera itself was created with Ain’s data at its core.”
It was a form that could change because it adjusted the state of Ain with the help of a part of Chimera’s body, Ain’s data, and additionally, the sage.
“…I finally understand a little bit.”
Eileen looked at Leo with a refreshing expression, as if a tooth had fallen out. But unfortunately, some of them didn’t understand yet and only blinked their eyes.
“What would happen if Ain, who had changed like this, stole the corpse? In addition, what if you steal the Sage’s necklace stored in the Mage Tower?”
It was only then that everyone in this room understood.
“I will get closer to Ain somehow.”
In order to ask about the circumstances of the sudden action from the perspective of the ‘traitor’.