The moment that he heard those words, the wheels in Eugene’s head quickly began to spin. Why had Lovellian suddenly said something like that? What on earth could have made him so certain about Eugene’s true identity?
There was no way to tell.
Genos of the Knights of the Black Lions had been able to discover Eugene’s true identity because Genos was exceedingly familiar with Hamel’s techniques. Having shown such an understanding and mastery of those techniques that could only have belonged to Hamel himself in front of someone like Genos, it couldn’t be helped that Eugene had revealed his identity.
However, Lovellian was a different case. Unlike Genos, Lovellian wasn’t familiar with Hamel’s techniques. Also, Eugene had always been careful with his mannerisms when he was in front of Lovellian.
No, it wasn’t just Lovellian. With the sole exception of Genos, after having been reincarnated as Eugene Lionheart, he had never once said or done anything that might arouse the suspicion of the people in his vicinity.
[I really don’t feel like that’s the truth…,] Mer muttered to herself inside his cloak, but Eugene didn’t feel the slightest bit of embarrassment from thinking something so blatantly false.
Sienna, who had been wide-eyed in shock, suddenly blinked. Just like Eugene, the cogs in her head were also spinning quickly.
How had Lovellian found out? In fact, that wasn’t the most important thing to Sienna. What was important to her was that it was the Red Tower Master, in particular, who had discovered Eugene’s identity. This was the heir to Theodore Thorne, one of the disciples Sienna had accepted so long ago, the head of the magic school that claimed to be the successors to Sienna’s inheritance, the master of the Red Tower of Magic, and Eugene’s magic teacher.
—A three-hundred-year-old wizard flirting with a young man who is just in his twenties! What would the world think when they saw this?
Anise’s cutting words echoed inside Sienna’s head. Although Sienna had dismissed Anise’s concerns at the time, saying, ‘What of it?’,… in fact, what people said often didn’t reflect what was in their hearts.
Sienna was well aware of the fact that she was an extremely famous and respected wizard. She felt that it was only natural that she had become an object of admiration and emulation for all future generations of wizards.
As such, even if it was just for the sake of preserving the dignity of her title as the Wise Sienna ... she had made up her mind to be careful of how she treated Eugene when in front of others.
In particular, Sienna had reminded herself that she needed to take even more care when in front of the Red Tower Master since they had so many layers of relationships tying them together. Because Sienna didn’t want to show an embarrassing and shameful appearance in front of her direct successors.
‘However… what if the Red Tower Master finds out about everything? Doesn’t that mean I no longer need to be so careful?’ Sienna suddenly came to this conclusion.
Without lifting his bowed head, Lovellian carefully examined the situation.
Lovellian knew that he was taking a considerable risk with this. The only basis for his suspicion was a hunch. Even so, he had felt certain of the truth, but… what if he was wrong?
Lovellian thought worriedly, ‘Now that it has come to this, it’s not like I can just say that it was a joke….’
He might still be able to pass it off as if nothing had happened, but… Lovellian had to swallow back a gulp of fear.
Honestly speaking, Lovellian was afraid of the Wise Sienna’s personality. Just yesterday, that great wizard had threatened to sink the entire Royal Palace of Abram beneath the lake and had beaten the Green Tower Master into a mess in front of countless witnesses. Considering the Green Tower Master’s pride, it wouldn’t be strange if he decided to retreat from the world of magic for the rest of his life, all because of the previous day’s incident.
Most wizards had slightly twisted personalities. Putting it in extremely polite terms, they were often eccentric while putting it bluntly, they were ill-tempered, and putting it insultingly, they could all be said to have the temperaments of easily offended nerds.
So speculating on the personality of a wizard who had lived for over three hundred years, if the fact that it was twisted was taken for granted, just how much more twisted could it have gotten over the years?
‘What if Lady Sienna becomes angry at me for saying such absurd nonsense?’ Lovellian couldn’t help having this thought.
If she decided to punish Lovellian for taking out the name of her long-lost comrade to spout off a joke, she might even collapse the entire Red Tower of Magic around him.
Cold sweat began to pour down Lovellian’s forehead. It would have been great if he had just made a quick follow-up, but now… this silence had already stretched on for far too long. That being said, Lovellian thought it would be too disrespectful of him to raise his head without first obtaining his grandmaster’s permission.
“Ahem…,” Sienna was the first to break the silence with a cough.
She did nothing to hide the twitching of her cheeks or the upward curve of her lips.
Meanwhile, the wheels in Eugene’s head were still spinning.
No matter how much he thought about it, there seemed to be no clear basis for Lovellian’s remarks. So why had the name of Hamel Dynas dropped from Lovellian’s lips so suddenly?
Eugene stared at Lovellian with his eyes wide open. Since Lovellian’s head was bowed, Eugene couldn’t see his expression. However, as his senses had been sharpened due to his training, Eugene could hear the sound of Lovellian’s rapidly beating heart.
“Just how did you find—”
“Whaaaaaat!”
Just when Sienna was about to ask her question with a grin, Eugene let out a loud roar, covering it up.
To stop Sienna from saying anything more, Eugene yanked Sienna over to him and clapped his hand over her mouth.
Eugene continued in a panic, “What! Just what are you saying?! Sir Lovellian, no, I mean Master!”
What was this bastard playing at now? Sienna glanced at Eugene dumbfoundedly.
Ignoring Sienna’s gaze, Eugene said quickly, “You’re saying I am Sir Hamel? Haha! Really now, Master, that’s too much even for a joke. How could I be Sir Hamel? After all, Sir Hamel already passed away three hundred years ago!”
With one hand, Eugene repeatedly poked a finger into Sienna’s side. Sienna, whose mouth was still covered by Eugene’s other hand, silently twisted her body as she tried to escape his tickling.
“I, um, I really don’t know why you would say such a thing, Master. However! I am definitely not Sir Hamel. After all, Master, didn’t you first meet me when I was only thirteen and participating in the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony? I am born in Gidol, and I am the son of Gerhard Lionheart. I am Eugene Lionheart! I am not Sir Hamel!” Eugene tried desperately to convince Lovellian.
There was a simple reason why Eugene didn’t want to reveal the fact that he was Hamel in front of Lovellian.
He had known Lovellian for far too long. Eugene first met Lovellian when he was only thirteen years old. At that time, he was mixed in with the other children who were participating in the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony, so, not wanting to attract any annoyingly suspicious gazes, Eugene had acted like a child.
He had played with the thirteen-years-old Cyan and Ciel, and he had even hung out with Gargith, who even back then was an idiot, and Dezra.
Eugene had always acted in a manner befitting of a supposed thirteen-year-old.
This was on the day before the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony when he had first shared a meal with Lovellian and also on the very day of the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony itself!
This meant that when the other children were watching with sparkling eyes during Lovellian’s presentation and display of magic, he had done the same.
If it was revealed that all of that was a lie and that he, a hero from three hundred years ago, was deliberately pretending to be a child… and was actually playing around with the other kids…!
From beating up the thirteen-year-old Cyan to proudly showing off his strength in front of the other children during the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony, then there were the times when Eugene had been asked, which of the heroes from three hundred years ago did he most respect? Whenever Eugene had received such a question, he had always said, ‘It’s Sir Hamel!’ without any hesitation….
—I’m just saying this because you don’t know any better, but Sir Hamel is definitely not an idiot like that Death Knight.
—Sir Hamel wasn’t someone so shallow that he would curse his comrades just because of the contents of a fairy tale.
There was no way. Whether it was in front of Lovellian, or anyone else who had known him from a young age, Eugene definitely couldn’t bear to reveal his true identity.
Eugene’s voice and expression were so desperate that Sienna also decided to back down for now.
She escaped Eugene’s grasp and loudly cleared her throat, “Ahem, my successor is correct. Hamel… well… he already died a long time ago. He died in a particularly stupid fashion, at that.”
“It was a heroic death,” Eugene tried to correct her.
Sienna argued, “How is throwing himself into the path of danger while in a situation where he really didn’t need to die a heroic death?”
“Sir Hamel sacrificed himself for the sake of his comrades,” Eugene insisted.
Sienna frowned, “It seems that suicide is actually called sacrifice in this day and age?”
Eugene’s eyebrows rose as he was forced to listen to Sienna’s mockery.
If only they weren’t in front of Lovellian, he would definitely break her out of this bad habit of hers. But for now, the only thing that Eugene could do was glare at Sienna as his shoulders shook with suppressed anger.
Eugene reluctantly responded, “Even if… even if the death was a suicide! If you say such a thing, Lady Sienna, then I’m sure that Sir Hamel will be sad in the afterlife.”
Sienna waved it off, “No way, it’s fine for me to say such a thing. I was Hamel’s friend after all, and also, ahem, Hamel, he… didn’t he say that he loved me? So that’s why it’s fine for me to say such things.”
Even though she was just saying this to make fun of him, after Sienna finished speaking, it was her face instead of his that ended up blushing.
While glaring into Sienna’s face, Eugene snorted, “Did Sir Hamel really love Lady Sienna? I’ve also read the fairy tale a few times, but… how should I say this… it feels like the author put in too much of their personal feelings—”
Sienna snapped, “Hey! What do you know? Also, you… how dare you say that Hamel didn’t love me? Do you really mean that?”
Eugene hesitated, “No, well…. I’m not Sir Hamel, but… even so, as Sir Hamel’s successor, and his many times distant junior, uh, I don’t really feel like Sir Hamel would confess that he loved Lady Sienna with his last words on his deathbed… well, at least that’s just my opinion on it….”
Sienna and Eugene’s glares clashed in mid-air. Even at this moment, Lovellian still kept his head bowed in silence.
Belatedly noticing this, Sienna cleared her throat once more and turned to Lovellian to say, “You may raise your head, Red Tower Master.”
Having finally received his Grandmaster’s permission, Lovellian slowly raised his head, only to reveal that there wasn’t even a trace of the earlier nervousness on his face. Instead, Lovellian’s eyes appeared victorious, as if he had confirmed the truth, and his expression was peaceful and calm.
“My thanks,” Lovellian said politely.
His suspicions had solidified into certainty. Even though Eugene had burst out with denials, through the series of conversations that followed, Lovellian had confirmed that Eugene’s real identity was that of Hamel Dynas, the hero from three hundred years ago. Otherwise, everything would cease to make sense.
“Allow me to show you inside,” Lovellian said as he turned around, luxuriating in the relief now coursing through him.
As Lovellian walked off with a light step, Eugene followed behind with a confused expression.
Hesitantly, Eugene called out, “Um, Sir Lovellian, Master? You do understand what I was trying to tell you, right?”
Without turning back, Lovellian replied, “You don’t need to be so polite, Sir Hamel… no, I mean Sir Eugene.”
“But it seems like you haven’t gotten the point, though? I’m telling you, I’m not Sir Hamel,” Eugene stubbornly insisted.
“My apologies. It seems that I unintentionally made a slip of the tongue. I will be sure to be more careful from now on,” Lovellian promised.
Eugene must have a good reason for refusing to reveal his true identity. Right away, Lovellian could think of several reasons why that might be. Most likely, he was worried about the threat posed by Helmuth’s Demon Kings and demonfolks. Even after hundreds of years had passed and he was reincarnated in this era, that great hero still seemed to be pursuing the long-cherished wish that he hadn’t been able to fulfill during his previous life.
Lovellian realized, ‘Come to think of it… ever since he was young, Sir Eugene has always hated black magic and demonfolks.’
This had been unusual to see in a child of this era, but Lovellian had thought it wasn’t that strange for a child of that Lionheart clan to hate black magic and demonfolk.
However! As the reincarnation of the Stupid Hamel, Eugene would naturally have no choice but to hate the fact that the demonfolk still remained alive in this era. The more he thought about it, the more the puzzle pieces inside Lovelian’s head seemed to come together.
As for Eugene’s excessive admiration of the Sutpid Hamel… well… Lovellian thought that was also a natural consequence. From Lovellian’s perspective, if he were to be called the Stupid Lovellian three hundred years after he had died, he felt he would also be furious and desperate to somehow defend himself. Of course, he didn’t think he would be as blatant about it as Eugene, but….
“You came to visit us so suddenly, so I’m afraid that we weren’t able to prepare a proper welcome for you,” Lovellian apologized.
“It’s fine. I don’t really enjoy it when it gets too noisy in any case,” Sienna said as she plopped down on a sofa.
Lovellian politely sat down in front of her and then turned to look at Eugene. Eugene still had an uncertain expression on his face.
Sienna reminded him, “My heir, what are you doing? Hurry up and sit down next to me.”
“Alright,” Eugene said as he sat down next to Sienna as instructed.
This sight caused Lovellian to show a bright smile.
Witnessing in person the reunion of a couple that had been separated for hundreds of years, Lovellian, who had never once been in love with anyone, felt as if a flower was blooming in the desolate wasteland of his heart.
“This is quite the beautiful sight,” Lovellian commented.
“You’re talking about our master-student relationship, right?” Eugene asked uncomfortably.
Lovellian hesitated, “Yes, well, that’s right.”
Eugene’s expression crumpled as he forcefully turned his gaze away. Noticing how the atmosphere of the room had changed, Sienna donned a whimsical smile. Even in this situation, Sienna felt a deep sense of amusement.
Sienna changed the subject, “We weren’t in a good mood yesterday, so it seems that we couldn’t have a proper conversation with you, no? So anyways, you’re Theodore Thorne’s successor?”
“You are indeed my former Master’s Master,” Lovellian confirmed.
Sienna sneered, “That cheeky Green Tower Master… I definitely don’t want to recognize that Osman guy as one of my successors. According to what I’ve heard from this cute successor sitting next to me, you, the Red Tower Master, and the White Tower Master were of great help during my rescue. Not only that, I’ve also heard a lot about you from Mer. She said that you’ve always shown her special attention. Is that right?”
“I haven’t done anything impressive enough to deserve such praise,” Lovellian deflected. “As one of Aroth’s Tower Masters, I’ve always had to stand in a neutral position, and it was impossible for me to take Mer, who was bound to Witch Craft, away from Akron.”
“However, you did pay attention to her. I’ve heard that you always made sure to politely greet Mer whenever you visited Akron, and that wasn’t nothing, now was it?” Sienna said as she rested her hands in her lap. Without any of her previous playfulness, she stared at Lovellian with a serious look in her eyes, “I might not be able to properly reveal the full details to Aroth, but you, the Red Tower Master, know a bit about why I was forced to go into seclusion. That unexpected seclusion left Mer in a depressing state. Since you showed Mer even the slightest bit of care when she was in dire straits, I should also show you the same level of friendship.”
Lovellian shook with suppressed emotion. He had never imagined that he would actually hear something like that from the Wise Sienna….
Sienna added, “Not only that, but you also took very good care of my heir — Eugene Lionheart. The fact that Eugene was able to grow into a proper wizard is all because of your teaching and care.”
Lovellian was overwhelmed, “I… I have never truly been all that great of a teacher for Sir Eugene. Even if it wasn’t me, any other wizard who first met Sir Eugene would surely have been eager to take him in as their disciple.”
“I don’t think that matters all that much. Red Tower Master, my successor has recognized you as his master, and you have treated my successor as your disciple. You taught him magic, advised him on any problems he might have, and assisted him in his goals, and in the end, you became someone my successor trusted enough to ask for help when he was attempting to rescue me. Although there are a lot of people who have been drawn to my successor, leaving him far from on his own, you, Red Tower Master, have become a special and strong presence even among all of them,” Sienna assured him as she stretched her hand to one side.
Fwoosh.
A magic staff covered in a white light, Frost, appeared in Sienna’s hand.
“Theodore Thorne’s successor, the Master of the Red Tower of Magic, Lovellian Sophis. I, Sienna Merdein, do recognize you as one of my heirs. I will also stake my name and reputation behind the Red Tower of Magic by officially sponsoring it,” Sienna formally announced.
Light bloomed from the tip of Frost.
Thwiiiip!
Strands of white, magical light flew over to one corner of Lovellian’s room and wound around each other to form a sphere. Upon seeing this sphere, Lovellian unconsciously leaped up from his seat.
Lovellian gasped, “Witch Craft…!”
A copy that appeared identical to the first volume of Witch Craft that was stored on the uppermost floor of Akron, within Sienna’s Hall, had just been freshly created inside Lovellian’s office.
Though it wasn’t completely identical. Instead, this version of Witch Craft was slightly smaller than the one in Akron.
“It doesn’t just hold the formulas behind the Eternal Hole; I’ve also stored within it some of the other magic that I use,” Sienna informed him.
Just like the Witch Craft in Akron, it would be impossible to try and understand its contents after only a few attempts. However, if a desperate and exceptionally talented wizard were willing to devote himself to examining it dozens or even hundreds of times, they would definitely be able to surpass their own limits.
“To tell you the truth, Akron’s Witch Craft isn’t actually incomplete. It wasn’t even divided into three actual volumes in the first place. Witch Craft was solely created so that future generations of wizards would be able to access the papers for the Eternal Hole. However — I can assure you — I am much greater than I was when I first created Witch Craft. So this Witch Craft is a better and more complete version than the Witch Craft sealed within Akron.” Sienna grinned as she lowered Frost and continued, “I will donate this Witch Craft to the Red Tower of Magic. Whether you wish to make it your sole focus of study or choose to use it as a different perspective for your personal research… I leave this to you, the current Red Tower Master, and all future generations of Red Tower Masters.”
“Th-thank you so much…!” Lovellain stammered as he bowed his head while crying.
Sienna wasn’t done just yet, “Also! I may have acknowledged you as one of my heirs, you don’t need to call me your Grandmaster or even Master. Just call me Lady Sienna. Got it?”
Lovellian nodded, “Yes, understood.”
Sienna turned away from Lovellian, “As for my successor, Eugene. You… it’s alright if you want to call me Master. But don’t call me Grandmaster.”
Eugene asked, “What exactly is the difference between the two?”
“Because Grandmaster makes me sound a bit older than Master…!” Sienna complained.
“So what,” Eugene snorted. “I’m supposed to call Sir Lovellian my Master, who in turn calls you Lady Sienna despite acknowledging you as his Master. But you ask me to call you Master, as well?”
“Just why do you have to put it in such a complex and irritating way? You can just address the Red Tower Master and me as your Master — ah… hmm, it should be okay, right? Or else… is this just because you also want to call me Lady Sienna?” Sienna asked, her lips twitching as she tried to stop herself from smiling.
That way of addressing her also seemed pretty satisfactory to Sienna. However, Eugene just shook his head in exasperation.
“Fine, I’ll call you Lady Sienna,” Eugene agreed.
Lovellian chimed in, “Sir Eugene, there’s no need to address me as Master. In fact, up until now, apart from when you were asking for me for something or were feeling apologetic for some reason, you have never once called me Master… so just feel free to address me more casually.”
Eugene nodded, “Alright, L-Sir Lovellian.”
Eugene managed to avoid the slip of the tongue that Lovellian had been waiting for.
Sienna hesitated, “Also… there’s still the White Tower Master, right? Her name is—”
“It’s Melkith El-Hayah! Big Siiiiis!” Melkith cried out through the office window.
Sobbing, Melkith rubbed her face against the tightly closed window as if trying to squeeze through it.
Melkith had actually been waiting outside of the window since earlier. She had been hoping to somehow sneak inside, but because Lovellian’s magical barrier was so sturdy, Melkith hadn’t been able to get through it, so she had just kept rubbing her face against the window like she was now.
Sienna hesitantly observed, “She doesn’t seem to have any of the dignity of a Tower Master… let alone an Archwizard….”
Lovellian sighed, “Lady Sienna, please don’t judge the characters of the other wizards of this era by what you might see from the White Tower Master. In return for being born with overflowing talent, the White Tower Master has a lot of flaws in her character.”
“She also has a habit of eavesdropping,” Eugene added as he nodded in support of Lovellian’s words.
With an uncertain expression, Sienna flicked a finger at the window. At this gesture, the window was thrown open, and as if she had been waiting for this, Melkith somersaulted into the room.
“Lady Sienna, big Sis!” Melkith shouted flatteringly. “I also did my best to save you, Sis! I’ve also done a lot to take care of big Sis’ cherished heir, Eugene. In fact, the cloak he’s wearing right now, which he wears everywhere he goes, every single day for the past few years, actually belongs to me!”
“Did you give him that cloak as a gift?” Sienna asked as her eyes narrowed dangerously.
A black flame of jealousy flickered into life deep within Sienna’s heart.
Eugene shook his head, “It’s not a present. We made a bet, and after I won, I took it from her.”
“I haven’t really given it to you,” Melkith refuted. “I’m just lending it! Do you know how many years you have left? When you were seventeen, I agreed to lend it to you for nine years, so there are only five years left!”
“Wasn’t the time extended at all during the past few years?” Eugene reminded her, “As far I know, I’ve given you all sorts of help, Lady Melkith.”
“Who knows? I don’t remember any of that,” Melkith scoffed. “If you have a contract that says so, then bring it right here! Huh? You don’t have one, do you? You can’t trust verbal contracts; because neither you nor I, and not even God, knows whether or not you or I might be lying about something. In any case, you only have five years left!”
After unleashing that torrent of words, Melkith crawled up to Sienna on her knees.
“Big Sis, I also have a whole lot of respect for you. If it wasn’t for you, the world’s greatest wizard, I wouldn’t have become a wizard myself,” Melkith said flatteringly.
Eugene ruthlessly exposed her, “Lady Sienna, that’s a lie. From what the White Tower Master has told me, she became a wizard not because of you, Lady Sienna, but because she respected Ver… Sir Vermouth.”
“I respect them both!” Melkith shouted. “And I love you, big Sis! There’s still a difference between respect and love, right? So because I love you, can’t you please give me o-o-one of those W-w-witch Crafts as well? Pleeease?”
Sienna looked between Eugene and Melkith with narrowed eyes.
So this was the White Tower Master, Melkith El-Hayah. From what she had heard from Eugene, she was an outrageous Spirit Summoner who had managed to make contracts with three Spirit Kings.
‘But why do they look so friendly?’ Sienna thought suspiciously.
There didn’t seem to be any of the normal feelings that might exist between a man and a woman, but even so, Sienna didn’t really like Melkith, so….
“No, I don’t want to,” Sienna forcefully declared. “White Tower Master, Melkith El-Hayah, I’m aware that you have given a lot of help to my successor and that you also contributed to my rescue. Even so, I cannot give you a copy of Witch Craft. After all, you’re not one of my successors!”
“Big Siiiis!” Melkith whined.
Sienna sniffed, “I’ll permit you to call me big Sis. But nothing more than that.”
“Please!” Melkith grabbed onto Sienna’s leg and begged.
As her face crumpled into a scowl, Sienna glared down at Melkith, “Is this… truly… the greatest and most powerful Spirit Summoner of this era, no, of all eras?”
Three hundred years ago, during that age of war, Spirit Summoners who had managed to contract one of the Spirit Kings were rare. Even when you looked throughout all of the ages, there was no other Spirit Summoner who had managed to contract multiple Spirit Kings.
But this… was this really that one-of-a-kind Spirit Summoner? Completely unable to believe this, Sienna’s body shuddered in disgust.
[See that, Hamel,] Tempest shouted inside Eugene’s head. [I’m not the one who’s wrong. It’s the Spirit Kings of Lightning, Earth, and Fire who are wrong. Just look at Sienna’s expression! If you’re a wizard, if you’re a human, if you’re any sort of being with intelligence! You wouldn’t be able to do anything other than despise Melkith El-Hayah’s very existence!]
‘Tsk….’
Eugene felt the same way, so he couldn’t really say anything in response to Tempest.
But deep down, he thought he would someday like to see Tempest, who was so repulsed by her, sign a contract with Melkith.