Chapter 19 - Somali Pirates (1)

Selaim Micardo, master of the Blue Magic Tower, was one of only five officially recognized eighth-tier mages.

Several months ago, he had left on a research trip to the northern lands inhabited by barbarians. The moment he returned to the Blue Magic Tower, he could tell that something had happened in his absence.

The first reason was the disappearance of the Time Gate, whose presence he had always sensed upon returning to the tower.

The other was his disciple, Penia, whose talent was so extraordinary that even an eighth-tier mage like him could call her “brilliantly blessed.”

The Penia he knew had always been supremely arrogant, a personality born of her talent. She had once shown at least a minimum of respect toward Selaim as her teacher. But after reaching the sixth tier at such a young age and then becoming deputy tower master, she had gradually begun treating even him with an insolent casualness.

... Granted, he had some idea that this attitude was less a matter of taking her teacher lightly than of resenting the excessive paperwork he always dumped on her whenever he left on a trip.

Anyway, even allowing for all that, Penia had achieved far too much for her age and grown excessively arrogant. Yet Selaim had never felt any particular need to correct her.

Arrogance was an emotion that mages pursuing knowledge needed to guard against, but at least Penia was not arrogant when it came to research. Besides, he believed that time would temper her personality considerably once she reached the seventh tier.

No matter how talented or overbearing a mage might be, reaching the seventh tier inevitably humbled them. What a seventh-tier mage could see made them realize that everything they had accomplished was merely one insignificant fragment.

That was why he had left her alone, but...

“You mean Count Pallatio came here and closed the Time Gate?”

“Yes.”

Selaim looked at Penia as she answered listlessly. Her stern gaze, which had never softened even when facing her teacher, now drooped as though all her spirit had drained away. Seeing her speak so cautiously, as if mindful of something, was quite unusual.

“... And although the count closed the Time Gate, you cannot tell me how he did it because you took a mana oath.”

“... That's right,” Penia murmured, thoroughly subdued.

At this unfamiliar sight, Selaim raised his brows in interest and thought of the Count Pallatio she had mentioned. Unfortunately, he knew very little about the man.

The Blue Magic Tower was quite far from the Kingdom of Asteria. All he knew was the name, which he had briefly heard a few years ago when rumors spread that the current Count Pallatio was a mastermind who had killed all his siblings to claim the title.

That only made it harder for Selaim to conceal his growing curiosity about Alon. He knew Penia was not the sort to surrender her pride easily. More than that, her talent itself helped sustain her arrogance.

There was only one way to surpass that talent and strip her of her pride.

'Magic beyond the comprehension of even Penia's talent... No, an Origin.'

Having reached that conclusion, Selaim smiled, feeling his interest begin to settle on a count from a small kingdom whom he had scarcely known anything about.

####

The next day.

Alon read through Yutia's letter, which had become a familiar arrival every month or two.

'Nothing particularly special.'

As always, her letter contained no extraordinary events, only accounts of daily life: how she was getting on at the convent, updates on the Five Great Sins she had recently been in touch with, and other little things.

But he preferred those mundane details to letters full of conspicuously unusual incidents. A lack of anything noteworthy meant the Five Great Sins were doing very well.

... Of course, it felt a little lonely that the others, despite doing so well, never sent him so much as a single letter. Still, Alon understood.

'I suppose never meeting them in person made a big difference.'

He had never visited the orphanage, so naturally he had never met any of the Five Great Sins face-to-face. He had certainly given them plenty of financial support, but from their perspective, he was probably just a man they were grateful to.

... Actually, he thought they were more likely to regard him as simply a man who had been kind to them once, rather than someone they still felt grateful toward. But that was fine.

His original goal had not been to earn the affection of the Five Great Sins. It had been to guide them down the right path so they would not destroy the kingdoms. He had already accomplished that splendidly, so there was no reason to feel disappointed.

“Ahem...”

Still, human feelings were what they were, and Alon could not help feeling a little hurt. But as he looked at Yutia's letter, a fond smile soon formed inside him, even while his face remained expressionless.

None of the others had ever sent him a letter, not once. Yutia alone continued to write every month, even while living as a nun.

It was nothing particularly remarkable, yet remembering that always warmed his heart. It felt as though he had raised five sons and daughters, only for all of them to forget what he had done for them and never write—except for his eldest daughter, who seemed to appreciate his efforts.

'Yutia really is the only one I can count on.'

While Alon was basking in the curious feeling of being a doting father...

KNOCK, KNOCK

Evan entered after a brief knock.

“What is it?”

“Oh, I meant to tell you when I saw you at the training grounds yesterday, but I realized I'd forgotten. You asked me to look into something separately last time, remember, my lord?”

“I did.”

As Evan said, Alon had asked him to check with the Information Guild on whether the Five Great Sins were doing well. In the past, Yutia's letters alone had been enough to tell him what the other Sins were doing, but lately her letters had included fewer updates about them.

“So, did you get a general idea?”

“Yes, but some of them are so widely talked about that I didn't even need the Information Guild. Deus and Seollang in particular.”

Alon tipped his head for him to continue. Evan stepped fully into the office, seemed to gather his thoughts for a moment, and began.

“First, Seollang. From what I hear, she's already become a gladiator nearly on par with a Baba Yaga. They say she's won thirty-two matches in a row.”

“... Thirty-two in a row?”

“Yes.”

“Is that even possible?”

“Honestly, I find it hard to believe myself, but judging by the rumors, it seems to be true.”

“...”

“What's more, only one of those thirty-two matches lasted longer than ten exchanges. Apparently, the other Baba Yagas are getting very nervous.”

“I can certainly imagine that.”

Alon nodded at Evan's words, even as he struggled to take them in. Baba Yaga was an honorable title held by only four people in Coloni, and that number never increased.

In other words, once Seollang reached the hundred wins required to challenge a Baba Yaga, one of the four would have to fight her.

“... As far as I know, wasn't the Lion King the gladiator with the longest winning streak in Coloni's history?”

“I believe so. I think it was forty-one consecutive wins.”

“... So nine more wins in a row would put her past the Lion King.”

“That's right.”

Alon had asked while picturing the Lion King, the overpowered ally who briefly joined the party in the game, and Evan nodded in reply. Hearing that made him recognize anew just how absurd the Sins' talents were.

As far as he knew, although Coloni's gladiators included some riffraff, there were also plenty of exceptionally powerful fighters among them. According to the setting, Coloni relied on its gladiators for most of its military strength, yet even other kingdoms could not readily pick a fight with it.

Maintaining a winning streak for so long in a place like that was itself proof of her talent. As that realization settled over Alon's face, Evan continued.

“There are rumors about Deus as well.”

“What rumors?”

“They say Deus and Eclipse, the knightly order he leads, recently slew Kurga of the Snowfields, one of the barbarians' eight chieftains.”

“... One of the eight chieftains?”

“Yes, one of those eight. You know them, don't you? Those monsters who, despite being barbarians, transformed into superhumans through a ritual.”

Alon knew about the eight chieftains without Evan's explanation. More precisely, he already knew from the game just how ridiculous their stats were.

To obtain the special magical equipment needed to become a glass cannon in Psychedelia, it was necessary to fight the barbarians and defeat the god they worshipped.

'Just thinking about it makes me dizzy...'

For a moment, Alon felt his head spin. It had been well over five years since he had encountered Ultultus in the game, yet that being had been so powerful that the memory still made his stomach churn.

In particular, according to the setting, if Ultultus, who had descended in spirit form, awakened and became a true divine being, he would gain power equal to that of the Five Great Sins.

In other words, if Ultultus awakened in the north, all the kingdoms could potentially be swept away even without the Five Great Sins. Yet Alon had a reason to remain at ease.

'Thank goodness I'll never have to meet him.'

As far as he knew, Ultultus would not appear unless the Five Great Sins descended. In the setting, Ultultus appeared when the god that joined with the Five Great Sins descended and the laws of the world collapsed.

That meant there was no reason for Ultultus to descend unless the “god” that would create the Five Great Sins came down and broke those laws, which even Alon did not understand.

“... Deus is really going to do well for himself.”

“It's more than just doing well. He's killed a chieftain who would give even a Master Knight trouble. He's practically being treated on the same level as Reinhardt, the First Sword!”

Hearing what Deus had done, Alon felt a slight pang of regret.

'... Should I have gone to see them three times a year or so?'

The perks of knowing a Master Knight would have been pretty sweet... Alon swallowed that bitter thought and put it aside as Evan also told him about Rine, who was working as an appraiser in the labyrinth city as planned.

“A black imprint?”

“Yes. Apparently, the shop Rine runs applies a black imprint that enhances relics' abilities.”

“... That's fascinating.”

His fascination with an ability he had never seen even in the game lasted only a moment before he asked about the whereabouts of the last one.

“How is Radan?”

In fact, curiosity about Radan was part of the reason he had asked Evan to investigate rumors about the Five Great Sins. Later than Seollang, but still roughly half a year ago, Radan's movements had become unclear in Yutia's letters.

Of course, the updates had stopped only after Alon heard that Radan had arrived safely in Laxas and was learning his work well, so he had not been particularly worried. But with no word of his activities at all since then, he was curious.

However...

“I haven't found that out yet. The Information Guild does have something, but they asked for a little more time. They said another week or so should let them determine how reliable the information is.”

“In that case...”

Evan's answer left him with a slight question, but he soon nodded.

####

About two weeks later.

After researching phrases as usual, Alon returned to his office. He was looking at an invitation to the Asteria Social Gathering, an event held every three years that all the nobles attended, and debating whether to go when...

“My lord...!”

“...?”

Evan suddenly flung the door open and entered without even knocking. Alon was about to say something, but...

“It looks like Radan has become a pirate...?”

“... What?”

The words that followed left Alon momentarily blank-faced.

“Do you know the Seven Fleet Isles?”

“... You mean the place off Laxas where the seven great pirates reside?”

“Yes. Apparently, he's become the captain who rules the whole of the First Fleet Isle, the largest of the seven.”

“Really...?”

“Yes.”

At Evan's answer, an internet post Alon had seen a very long time ago suddenly flashed through his mind. It was about a child the writer had faithfully sponsored through UNICEF for eight years, only for that child to switch careers and become a Somali pirate.

“...”

Somehow feeling as though he understood exactly how the writer of that post had felt, Alon froze at the news that Radan had become a great pirate.