✦ Chapter 79 – Suspicious Couple (5) ✦
「Translator – Creator」
Inside the restaurant, the thugs whispered amongst themselves.
“Love at first sight?”
“But… already a couple?”
“…And adoption?”
It was a ridiculous story, but… it somehow… made sense. And then… they burst into laughter.
“BWAHAHAHAHAHA—!”
The restaurant echoed with their boisterous amusement.
“Good. Now I won’t feel guilty robbing them!”
“Consider this your punishment, wretches! Wahahaha!”
As the room filled with mocking laughter, a frantic conversation unfolded between the Imperial Magic Tower companions via telepathy.
— Love at first sight? Honestly!—
— We all shouted different things!—
— Well, at least it hid our identities.
Ezekiel had a point; the thugs didn’t seem to even consider the possibility that they were from the Imperial Magic Tower.
— Anyway, Inspector, it seems they’re all robbers. What are your orders?—
— Do I really need to spell it out?—
Just then…
One of the thugs grabbed a dagger, a predatory gleam in his eyes.
“Let’s start by killing the little girl! That’ll be fun!”
He hurled the dagger towards Tether with surprising speed and force; this wasn’t his first rodeo.
SWISH—!
— By the way, Agnes, I didn’t expect you to call us a couple.—
— Don’t misunderstand. I was merely doing my best to conceal our affiliation with the Imperial Magic Tower and the Imperial Family.—
— Who said I didn’t understand? I’m just surprised.—
— By “doing my best,” I meant that I acted purely out of a sense of duty. Acting purely out of duty means that I excluded all personal feelings. Excluding all personal feelings means that I would never… towards the Inspector…—
— KYAAAAAA! The dagger! Aren’t you going to block it?!—
Tether screamed through the telepathic link. But before she could finish her sentence…
CLANG—!
An ice spike shot out, intercepting the dagger mid-flight. And then, with a sickening thud, it embedded itself in the forehead of the thug who’d thrown it.
“How did he deflect the dagger so quickly?!”
The thugs stared in horror.
It wasn’t surprising. Ezekiel’s ice creation magic was far too fast for their eyes to follow.
‘…My skills are improving.’
Ezekiel, too, sensed his own growth, the refinement of his Ice Magic and his overall mastery of ice magic. If this was achievable with mere medicinal herbs, he anticipated even greater results with the Sun Elixir.
His resolve hardened.
He popped another lollipop into his mouth.
“Threatening a family with a dagger… you’re lower than animals. Robbers are worse than beasts.”
The ground began to freeze over, spreading outwards from his feet, ensnaring the thugs in a chilling embrace; terror filled their eyes. Ezekiel continued to unleash his power, unflinching, unmerciful.
Tossing a dagger at Tether without hesitation… it meant they were used to killing, even young girls. There was no way Ezekiel could let them live.
“H-Hold on a sec—!”
One of the thugs tried to plead for mercy, but…
FWOOSH—!
The entire restaurant was encased in a thick layer of ice.
Except for the one who’d cried out, that is.
“Agnes, paper and pen.”
Agnes, without a word, handed him the requested items.
Ezekiel conjured a table and chair out of ice and forced the remaining thug to sit down. He placed a hand on the man’s shoulder, his grip firm.
“Write down everything you know about this domain.”
CRACK—!
He shattered one of the frozen thugs into a million icy shards.
“The more detailed you are, the better chance you have of a clean death.”
• • • ₪ • • •
The restaurant was now a frozen tomb, its occupants encased in ice.
Agnes reviewed the information scrawled on the paper.
“It seems the area around our arrival point is… a dumping ground for criminals. The Black Tower has been herding bandits and other undesirables here. According to this, they’ve completely taken over this entire district.”
Tether’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Instead of arresting them, they simply… herded them into a single location? What kind of logic is that?!”
“It seems they intend to use them to… inconvenience us,” Agnes replied dryly.
Tether clenched her fists, her usually cheerful, rabbit-like face contorted with rage.
“Those scoundrels!”
She could no longer contain her anger.
“Inspector! Demonic sword or not, why should we play along with their demands? We should march straight to the spire and punish them!”
Agnes nodded in agreement.
“Yes. It seems they’ve crossed the line. It’s clear we need to come up with a plan.”
“We shouldn’t just stand here and take this! The Imperial Magic Tower exists to monitor and punish other magic towers! So, right now—“
“Stop.”
Ezekiel’s single word silenced Tether.
He nodded, his lollipop bobbing up and down, his eyes filled with understanding.
“Don’t worry. We will punish the Black Tower for their disrespect.”
“So we’re heading straight to the spire…”
“But…”
Ezekiel’s voice turned serious.
“Barging in and indiscriminately destroying everything and killing everyone… that’s not how the Imperial Magic Tower operates.”
His gaze fell on Tether.
“Tether.”
“Y-Yes, Inspector?”
“Why has the Imperial Family neglected its duty to oversee the magic towers?”
“Well… because… it’s… a matter for the magic towers to handle themselves?”
“The Imperial Magic Tower has been failing to fulfill its responsibilities for over a decade. The Imperial Family could have intervened.”
“Oh… you’re right. Huh… why didn’t I think of that…?!”
Instead of answering, Ezekiel created two crude ice spikes on the table; his fist clenched .
“Observe.”
CRASH—!
He slammed his fist down, shattering one of the ice spikes.
“If the Imperial Family intervened directly, this is what would happen. The Black Tower would be crushed, but it wouldn’t be a true solution. They would simply disappear… on the surface.”
His hand moved to the other ice spike.
“But…”
SCRATCH—! SCRATCH—!
Instead of shattering it, he began to carefully shape the remaining spike, refining its form. Slowly, it began to resemble… a spire.
“We will excise the rot, nothing more. That’s what the Imperial Family truly desires, and that’s what the Imperial Magic Tower is meant to do.”
“Ah…”
“What we must do is what we call purification.”
“…………”
Tether and Agnes watched silently, captivated by Ezekiel’s words.
Ezekiel thought to himself.
‘Strictly speaking, it’s not the royal family, but the emperor’s stance.’
But… it didn’t really matter.
The Emperor’s stance was the Imperial Family’s stance.
The Emperor’s power, as far as Ezekiel could tell, was… annihilation.
That was why their deal had been struck—because Ezekiel could offer a different approach. But if Ezekiel started acting like the Emperor…
His usefulness would disappear. The Emperor would no longer have any reason to trade with him. And Ezekiel would never get his hands on the Sun Elixir.
Coincidentally, Ezekiel’s own goals now aligned with the Imperial Magic Tower’s true purpose. He would dedicate himself fully to the purification of the Black Tower.
Good. He had made his decision.
“Tether.”
“Y-Yes?”
“When do the presentations begin?”
“Today is just the opening ceremony. The presentations start tomorrow, at the spire.”
“Excellent.”
Ezekiel nodded.
“We’ll gather all the information we need, and then, on the day of the presentations, we’ll expose their crimes, one by one, and punish them accordingly.”
“……….….”
“……….….”
Agnes and Tether blinked in unison.
“What? Is there a problem?”
They both shook their heads.
“No, it’s just…”
Agnes blinked rapidly.
“I never realized you were so… thoughtful, Inspector. To consider the true purpose of the Imperial Magic Tower… I must have misjudged you.”
Was that… a compliment?
It had to be, right?
Tether scratched the back of her head.
“I… acted rashly. I let my anger get the better of me. I should know better than to…”
Ezekiel calmly munched on his lollipop.
“The Imperial Magic Tower has neglected its duties for over a decade. It’s understandable that you’re a bit… rusty. We’ll get back into the swing of things.”
“Yes, Inspector! You can count on me!”
Tether raised her fist in the air, her enthusiasm returning. She was, despite her… eccentricities, a surprisingly righteous individual.
“Tether, you can head to the spire ahead of us. Since you’re a secretary, it wouldn’t be strange for you to be by Her Highness’s side.”
“I’m a member of the Imperial Family! I can’t stand idly by while such wickedness unfolds! I’ll do everything in my power to uphold justice!”
Tether’s small frame seemed to swell with determination as she declared this. Ezekiel smiled inwardly.
Agnes tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
“In that case, we’ll depart immediately. The note from the robber… it includes information about the altar where they want us to place the demonic sword.”
“Is it far?”
“Not at all. It’s quite close.”
The three of them nodded, leaving the frozen restaurant behind.
• • • ₪ • • •
Two figures stopped in their tracks in front of the restaurant.
“………….”
The entire building was encased in ice. It was a sight they couldn’t simply ignore, especially since they, too, were masters of ice.
“Such precise control over ice… who could it be?”
“There were no reports of anyone from our tower being in this area.”
Cloaked in blue robes, they were mages from the Blue Tower, specializing in ice magic.
They were… intrigued, to say the least.
Such mastery over ice… who could it be?
Just then…
A family strolled out of the restaurant. A young couple, and their adorable, rabbit-like daughter.
One of the mages pointed at them.
“That family. I think they might be the ones responsible.”
“Let’s follow them.”
He started to walk, then stopped abruptly.
“No, we need to stop them right now! Hey, you there—!”
His booming voice echoed through the streets.
And the family stopped in their tracks.