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Chapter 250: Blooming the Flower (1)

“Did you lose him?”

The Red Tower Master, Kudel Redmane, was absorbed in polishing an orchid with a fine cloth.

“You really have gotten old. Couldn’t even bring back some half-crippled brat properly…”

He glanced over at Dane’s hand, wrapped in bandages.

“And what’s that supposed to be?”

“…I let my guard down and got it cut. I managed to reattach it, though.”

“Well, well.”

Fwoooosh!

No sooner had Dane finished speaking than the orchid Kudel was polishing burst into flames, vase and all.

In an instant, it was reduced to black ash.

Clicking his tongue, Kudel muttered:

“Tch. Why do they keep sending me this sort of thing as a gift anyway?”

Finally turning his head, he asked:

“Who cut it off?”

“Oscar Crucian. It was a sudden spatial severance spell.”

“…Spatial magic, you say? So the rumors were true after all.”

The fact that Oscar Crucian wielded spatial magic had never been publicly revealed.

But ever since the White Night Festival ended, eyewitnesses had been flooding in, claiming he vanished in an instant with the White Tower’s mages.

Thanks to that, third-rate tabloids were already buzzing with every sort of speculation imaginable.

‘That irritating brat.’

Same as during the Night of the Mages—despite not even being Level 7, he kept getting under Kudel’s skin.

Kudel spoke.

“So you’re telling me you failed because of some mere Level 6 mage?”

“The White Tower Master appeared in person. There was nothing I could do.”

“…The White Tower Master? That little brat?”

A deep furrow formed between Kudel’s brows.

If the White Tower Master, now Level 8, had moved personally, then Dane returning empty-handed was understandable.

Dane might be talented for a Level 7, but he was no match for someone at Level 8.

“So the White Tower Master made a move, huh…”

Truthfully, that hadn’t been in his calculations.

He hadn’t expected the White Tower Master, who openly despised Lloyd, to step in personally to rescue him.

‘Unless she knows why that brat came to the Red Tower?’

Kudel mulled it over, then shook his head.

The timing didn’t line up.

At the White Night Festival, the White Tower Master had shown no sign of knowing about it.

“So what do you plan to do now?”

“What else?”

At Dane’s question, Kudel grinned, baring his teeth.

“If the kid ran away from home, then we just go bring him back.”

* * *

The story went on until late into the night.

Lloyd would pause to sip water when his throat grew dry, then continue.

The two of them never interrupted—only listened silently.

“After that, it’s as you both know. I ran, blacked out, and when I woke up, I was here.”

Finishing his account, Lloyd stared blankly at his own hand with those ever-indifferent eyes.

The way he kept fiddling with his hand—it was his tell whenever he felt nervous.

Glancing over, Oscar checked on Sasha’s state.

“……”

At some point, her head had drooped.

Her red hair veiled her face, so he couldn’t see what kind of expression she wore.

Slowly turning his gaze back, Oscar found himself awkwardly watching Lloyd.

‘Truth is, I’d somewhat expected this.’

Or rather, he had suspected there must be some reason Lloyd had left the White Tower.

But the truth turned out far weightier—and far sadder—than he had imagined.

‘At such a young age.’

Even now, if he closed his eyes, he could vividly picture it.

That same boyish face, but always playing the older brother—mature, dependable Lloyd.

Oscar had wished Lloyd could just act more like a child sometimes.

That he’d whine more, throw tantrums, be more selfish.

But he hadn’t.

Or more likely, he couldn’t.

“……”

Because no one had given him an environment where that was possible.

Only a heavy, bitter burden had been left on his shoulders before everyone abandoned him.

Oscar wanted nothing more than to pat his back right now.

To tell him: You endured well. You’re the true reason the White Tower and your siblings survived.

But unlike with Sasha, the words stuck in his throat.

‘Who am I to say that?’

It was he himself who had driven Lloyd into such despair.

So how could he now dare to act the role of master?

At that moment, Sasha suddenly leapt to her feet and bolted from the room.

“Wait—”

“It’s fine.”

When Oscar rose to stop her, Lloyd quickly held him back.

In fact, Lloyd’s face looked a little more at ease after she’d gone.

“She’s bound to be overwhelmed. Honestly, I would’ve reacted the same.”

“…Even so.”

“Sixteen years. Do you really think all that built-up emotion could melt away from a single story told in a few hours? That would be far too naïve.”

His words came out like a machine, drained of emotion, before he shifted the topic.

“More importantly, what you should be worrying about now is the Red Tower Master.”

“…You’re certain he’ll come?”

“Not certain. Absolutely sure. He will come. There’s no way he’d give up on the Flower of Refinement.”

The Flower of Refinement.

That was why he had tormented the White Tower to drag Lloyd away.

Oscar asked cautiously:

“Does that mean he’s already ready to ascend to Level 9, if he’s aiming for Level 10 through the flower?”

“I can’t say for certain, but I think not yet. That’s still far off.”

Lloyd elaborated.

“To be honest, even holding myself back from reaching Level 8 was grueling. It felt like being tested every day, every moment. Level 9 would be incomparably worse.”

“Ah, I see.”

Oscar found himself nodding unconsciously.

Up to Level 8, it felt like growing stronger as a human.

But from Level 9 onward, one began to transcend the limits of their species.

He was sure no human could resist such a temptation.

“But then why is he already preparing for Level 10, if he hasn’t even reached 9 yet?”

“To explain that, we first need to look at the relationship between the Red Tower Master and my teacher.”

“……Their relationship?”

There wasn’t really anything there.

Honestly, nothing at all.

Oscar asked in a distinctly reluctant voice.

“He felt an overwhelming inferiority toward my master, but at the same time, as one who walked the path of magic, he admired him. Even in my younger eyes, I could see the crazed desire to surpass him.”

“That must’ve been hard.”

“But he never gave up. Let me repeat: simply reaching the 9th level was not his goal. He wanted to surpass the man known as the greatest mage in history.”

“No matter how you look at it, that seems impossible.”

The reason he himself was called the greatest archmage in history wasn’t simply because he was 9th level.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

If you search through the history books, there were other 9th-level archmages and knights. But without ever directly dueling them, how could the word “in history” have been attached to his name?

It was because he had cut off the head of the Great Emperor, bringing victory and peace to humanity—that symbolic feat added weight to his reputation.

As Oscar thought this through, he suddenly furrowed his brow.

“Wait, don’t tell me……”

“You’re thinking the right thing. He knew better than anyone that just reaching the 9th level wouldn’t let him surpass my master. That’s why he set his eyes on something higher—the 10th level.”

No matter how great Oscar Sage was, in the end, he was still just a 9th-level mage.

If Kudel really could climb to the realm of the 10th level, his evaluation would inevitably change.

Even a stray dog on the street would know that the 10th level is greater than the 9th.

“But even my master could not go beyond the 9th level.”

Lloyd spoke, recalling the memories of his childhood.

“He told me that to climb to the summit called the 10th level, you need magical talent, effort, and luck—and even a body naturally suited for it.”

That was true.

That was precisely the greatest reason he himself had never aimed for the 10th level in his previous life.

‘Given time, the Great Emperor might have reached the 10th level, but I couldn’t.’

His body was already filled to bursting just by installing nine mana circuits.

There was no space left to add more.

That was why, when he examined young Oscar’s body, he thought there might be a chance for him to reach the 10th level.

“So the Red Tower Master intends to reconstruct his body first, through the Flower of Refinement, before he even reaches the 9th level.”

“Exactly. Having already seen my master as a perfect example, he must have realized that once he reached the 9th level, his physical limits would block him from the wall of the 10th.”

“……”

Oscar’s eyes darkened.

In short, it all came back to him once again.

‘So it was to surpass me that he inflicted such suffering on my people.’

If that old man of the Red Tower were standing right in front of him, he’d want to smash his jaw with a punch.

Tap, tap.

Just then, Lloyd tapped his arm.

When Oscar looked at him, wondering why, Lloyd jerked his chin toward the door and said:

“Go check on Sasha.”

“Why?”

“She might be off crying by herself somewhere. If someone were to see her like that, it could damage the Tower Master’s dignity and reputation. Not that it’s really my place as an outsider to care, but……”

He rambled, but in short, it meant he was worried about Sasha.

Smiling faintly at that kindheartedness, Oscar said:

“The Tower Master must be lucky. To have someone care about him like this.”

“……Tsk, shut up.”

Clicking his tongue, Lloyd turned his face slightly away, avoiding his gaze.

* * *

Since childhood, whenever Sasha fought with someone, she would often run off to a certain place.

How she found it at such a young age was a mystery, but it was a small cave in the White Tower’s forest.

He used to call it “Sasha’s Thinking Cave.”

“Ugh, it’s damp. A lot of snow’s piled up here.”

“……”

Sure enough, there she was—Sasha sat huddled in the innermost part of the cave, knees pulled to her chest, glancing up at him.

Oscar bent over, trying to squeeze into the cave, but gave up.

“I can’t go in any further. How did you even crawl all the way back there?”

“……”

Not a word in response, only a sulky expression.

Lying down on the snowy ground, Oscar propped his chin on his palm and asked:

“Why’s our little one so downcast? I thought you’d be happy after learning the truth about Lloyd’s feelings.”

“……I’m not happy at all.”

Sasha muttered into her knees.

“I didn’t even know such a thing happened.”

“Well, of course not. Lloyd never said anything.”

“……But I could’ve believed him.”

Tears welled up in her eyes and trickled down her cheeks.

“Big brother always looked after me so much when I was little, but then I got so caught up in feeling betrayed that I never once stopped to think about how he must have felt.”

“That wasn’t just you. Everyone thought the same.”

“That’s why it’s worse!”

Her tear-choked voice reverberated in the small cave.

“……I shouldn’t have thought that way, at least. Now I feel so guilty, how can I even face him?”

“……”

After a moment of thought, Oscar tugged on the threads of space.

In an instant, the two of them were transported outside the cave.

“W-what are you doing! Let me go back in!”

Startled, Sasha scrambled and tried to burrow back inside like a mole.

But Oscar quickly grabbed her by the scruff of her neck.

“Just apologize.”

“……”

Suspended in the air, Sasha froze.

Her arms and legs went limp as she asked quietly:

“Now, after all this time?”

“Better late than never. Just tell him you’re sorry.”

Oscar gently set her down and brushed the dirt and snow off her clothes.

Then he crouched down so their eyes were level.

“You can do it, right?”

“……”

Her shoulders drooping, Sasha hesitated for a moment, then muttered:

“Fine. I’ll apologize.”

“Very good. And what’s our rule when we apologize?”

At that, Sasha searched her memory, then squeezed her eyes shut and shrieked:

“I-I’m not doing the hugging part!”

[Translator - Night]

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