Chapter 310 – Gathering
"Excuse me for a moment."
Listener rose from his seat and settled across from Verden.
The same face as when they had last met in the principality's industrial city, Cohen.
But whether that was his true appearance, even Verden could not discern.
For Listener was skilled not only at concealing his outward form, but also at altering even the very essence of his magic power into another shape.
"Mm, yes, this is much better. Truly, when it comes to conversation, nothing beats meeting face to face like this, don't you agree? And now that I look more closely, it seems you've become even more handsome than before."
That Listener was a mage was certain.
But there was none of the unique presence of a magus about him.
'Is it that he was born with a special trait?'
It could just as well be an artifact.
Or perhaps both… in any case, Listener was certainly not merely some ordinary contact for the Ark.
Verden crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair.
As he lightly manipulated his magic power, the menu at the corner of the table floated up and stopped in front of Listener.
"If there's something you want to eat, pick whatever you like."
"Oh, you're treating me? Perhaps, besides drinks, even dessert… ha ha, thank you. Then I won't hold back."
Listener swiftly scanned through the menu.
Then he called a server over and chose a fine tea, and afterward ordered an egg tart, a chocolate cake, and madeleines.
"Sir Asher, you won't be having any?"
Verden shook his head.
Nothing in particular tempted his appetite.
A short while later, the server rolled a cart over.
The desserts, already prepared, were placed one after another upon the table. Following them came the steaming tea, from which white vapor drifted upward.
Munch, munch.
"Mm, mm, better than I expected."
While Listener enjoyed a teatime closer to a full meal, Verden turned his gaze outward, fixing his eyes on the view of Riverungr spread beyond the café window.
Watching him, Listener dabbed at his mouth with a napkin, and smiled faintly.
"…you have changed."
"…?"
"You feel far more at ease now than before. Compared to when we met in the principality's resort city, Briente."
Their first meeting had not been a pleasant one.
In fact, it had been downright hostile.
For Verden had been under pursuit by the mysterious group known as the Ark, and realizing too late that he had not noticed it left him seething with displeasure.
That oppressive magic power from back then, Listener remembered vividly.
'Ease, he says…'
Verden's eyes narrowed.
When he achieved Defying the Heavens and arrived on the Eastern Continent, he sought and yearned for magic power and magic that, bound by the limits of the flesh, he could never hope to touch in a lifetime.
As Mage Asher, his life was full of twists and hardships. Yet through them, he ascended to a higher realm than ever before.
But now it was different.
In the struggle against the Demon King's clone, the Administrator, he had once more achieved Defying the Heavens.
He had stepped into the realm between human and Transcendent, the Quasi-Transcendent.
Unlike the lower stages, the 6th tier, which lacked subdivided boundaries, allowed no further physical growth.
What remained was only spiritual enlightenment.
And the Administrator had said:
───There is no need to cling to the notion that you must achieve it alone. Especially if you are to stand against the magic tower.
───You mean… to make companions?
───You may take companions, or you may even lead a group yourself. Either way, the meaning is the same. Since the magic tower has inflicted such a terrible life upon you, surely there are others who bear the same thirst for vengeance. If you were to stand together, it would have meaning.
He remembered those words, spoken just before the Administrator's demise.
'That is why I let go of impatience.'
For neither achieving transcendence, nor saving a companion like Adrian, were things that could be solved by rushing.
He knew well they might only drift further away.
That was precisely the reason.
Why Verden had come to carry himself with ease.
"Now that we've wetted our throats, shall we get to the point."
"Ah, yes."
Listener brought out his customary device.
When he activated the magical item, Noise, the surrounding air distorted. From this moment on, their words would not leak outside.
The preliminaries were done.
"Sir Asher, allow me to sincerely congratulate you on overcoming the ancient trial, the Tomb of the Demon King."
His voice was solemn.
His pale brass-colored eyes gleamed.
"To confess honestly, I was very surprised. That you succeeded in finding the location of the Tomb of the Demon King within a span of mere months could perhaps be ascribed to luck… but to challenge the trial without hesitation, that I had not expected."
"You were tracking my location?"
"As you know, we are the Ark. That said, we cannot know the details of your deeds. All we can confirm is your location, and even that is difficult if you conceal yourself or go underground. As for the rest, we only learn through word of mouth."
To be able to track one's location in real time… this must be one of the Ark's hidden powers.
Yet he felt no particular displeasure.
Rather, he found it curious. Even after stepping into this realm, he had never once felt the sense of being watched.
Just what manner of ability was it?
"…within the Ark, we judged it highly probable that you would not return. For the Tomb of the Demon King had claimed not only talented candidates, but even the Captain, a 6th-tier magus, who never came back."
"So you never told me to overcome it, after all."
"You realized that?"
"When you think on it, it isn't strange."
Verden continued.
"To recommend such an ancient trial—one that even mighty figures of higher realms could not conquer—to me, who was but 4th-tier at the time… and then to expect me to locate it myself and clear it, within just 1 year and 63 days. It all made little sense."
It had been a proposal premised on failure.
Had Verden failed to find the trial, or abandoned it, the Ark would have approached him again.
And then they would have said it.
That if he truly became one of the Ark, then unlike before there would be no time limit, and he could challenge the ancient trial whenever he wished.
"Perhaps it might have been some other proposal, but… well, at this point, it hardly matters."
And so it was.
Whatever intent they had concealed, Verden did not care. For in the end, it was the Ark who had given him the chance of the ancient trial.
"If it left you displeased, I apologize. But that you returned alive and well, that I am truly glad for. In fact, we welcome it. Above all, that you, Sir Asher… have gained much through the trial."
Listener sipped his tea, studying Verden.
There were countless changes, but above all, what weighed on his mind was the indescribable presence that could not be felt at all, unlike before.
A presence untouchable.
"It was that difficult, and I certainly gained much. Enough to understand why it was classified as an ancient trial. Let us leave the matter at that."
Verden asked,
"The Ark conference. You alone came to meet me?"
"Each attendee is assigned a handler. For you, Sir Asher, that is I, Listener. And as for Lady Leira, who resides in this city, another is assigned to her."
"When do we depart?"
"At the latest, within three days. If you wish, we can move earlier, but it would be best if you travel with Lady Leira. Only after the two of you arrive together may we enter the conference hall."
I see.
"Then so be it."
"Thank you. Then, two days from now, when you leave Riverungr, I will guide you. With that, our talk is concluded───"
Listener swiftly moved his fork.
After finishing the remaining dessert and draining his teacup, he lowered his head slightly.
"Until we meet again."
***
The day promised with Listener approached.
"Please return safely, my lord. Before you come back, I will have the investigation of Riverungr finished."
"I leave it to you."
After Adrian's send-off, he passed through the city gate.
Many people were visible nearby, the majority adventurers. It seemed they were heading out early to subjugate demi-humans.
After walking some distance, the city receded.
When human presence grew scarce, a man in plain leather armor, bearing an iron sword, approached from behind.
Even without checking, Verden knew it was Listener.
"Now you play the adventurer?"
"With the demi-human subjugation, many adventurers have gathered. The essence of disguise is to blend with the crowd, is it not? More importantly, how did you recognize me? I suppressed my magic power completely."
"Well, hard to explain."
If anything, it could be called intuition.
Without detailed logic, he could directly perceive the essence of things.
It had happened before, but after stepping into the new realm, such senses had clearly sharpened.
Step, step.
Verden followed Listener.
Leaving the road, they entered a shallow forest, where the cries of beasts began to echo.
'Something hidden here, perhaps.'
He walked in silence, scanning the surroundings.
Before long, two figures appeared.
"You have come, Asher."
"A pleasure to meet you, Sir Asher."
Blood-red Sword Leira.
And beside her, a woman in adventurer's garb, with an expressionless face. Clearly the handler Listener had mentioned.
"Since we are all gathered, I will begin concealment, Listener."
"I leave it to you, Taila."
Taila drew out a silver pocket watch.
She pressed down the crown protruding from its top, and with the sound of ticking, the watch shattered.
At the same moment, the surrounding space began to distort.
Seeing this, Verden's eyes widened.
"…spatial distortion?"
Not an artifact, merely a small watch.
For such a thing to hold the supreme attribute of space itself… he could only feel astonishment at the incomprehensible phenomenon.
Leira stepped closer.
"Heh, so even you can make such a face. But it is too soon to be surprised. Isn't that right, Listener?"
"Ha ha, indeed."
Listener took out a pocket watch from his breast.
Unlike Taila's, this one shone golden.
Activating it the same way, the watch shattered, vanishing without a trace.
Immediately afterward, geometric magic patterns, long dormant within, floated into the air.
Above, middle, below. Circular sigils linked, encircling the four of them, including Verden, in a great round.
'Could this be…'
Verden had just finished his interpretation.
"Then, let us depart."
Fwoooosh!
A vivid violet burst forth like flames.
As the raging whirl of magic power subsided, the distorted space returned to normal.
No trace of the four remained in the forest.
***
Rumble───Crash!
Amid thunder and lashing stormclouds, a giant airship advanced through darkness streaked again and again by intense blue lightning. Upon the bulwark of its deck stood a brown-skinned woman.
From the stern came a man with a great scar over his left eye, who sighed as he addressed her.
"Legrit, we must prepare for spatial teleportation, please come inside. If you get flung off, we won't fetch you back."
"Heh heh…"
"Legrit?"
"Ha ha ha ha ha!"
The woman, Legrit, burst into loud laughter.
Sudden eccentricity, but familiar.
Rubbing at his eyes, unable to hide his weariness, the man sighed deeper.
"…again, why so? Has something delightful happened?"
"Heh heh… delightful, yes. Truly, one could call it so."
Her lips would not lower, her eyes shone with heated light.
On closer look, her reaction was fiercer than usual, and the man tilted his head.
"Strange. Haven't you always said the Ark conference is tedious, that you hate it?"
"The conference is tedious, true. What interests me is not that, but the Ark candidate."
"The candidate?"
"Details are still confidential, so I cannot tell you. Only that the candidate is a most extraordinary man."
Legrit's shoulders quivered.
"Ah, how did a 5th-tier mage possibly break through that trial, how did he survive, and what did he gain…! I cannot hold back my curiosity and anticipation…! Can you not feel the same?"
"No, who exactly is this───"
"This is no time for that. Who knows what may happen, it would be best to reach the Ark as soon as possible. Prepare the spatial teleportation at once! Ferwick, you come too! Ha ha ha ha ha!"
"Ugh!"
Legrit seized Ferwick by the scruff.
It was overwhelming strength.
Resistance was meaningless.
Resigned at once, Ferwick was dragged like a doll, staring into the air.
For Legrit to be so stirred, rare indeed.
'Something is bound to happen in the Ark.'
A gut feeling, born of experience.
Damn captain.
Sighing faintly, Ferwick exhaled.
It was already his third sigh today.
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