BXBX NOVEL Chapter 95 - The Tower of Illusions (5)
Chapter 95 - The Tower of Illusions (5)
On the way back to the academy.
Orendi, whom I had expected to pester me with questions about my relationship with Kaiden, paid no attention to me.
Instead, he walked straight to the dormitory, his nose practically buried in the notebook filled with the magical formulas Kaiden had explained earlier.
Mages, huh.
After sending Orendi off, I walked home alongside the kids when Knightley spoke up.
"Professor, how do you know that mage, Kaiden?"
"We’ve known each other since the war."
"What kind of connection? You two seemed really close. And he’s from the Demon King Slayer Task Force, right?"
"Yeah, that’s right. Didn’t I mention before? I was part of that too."
This time, unlike last time, Knightley didn’t freak out and accuse me of lying. She simply looked at me, then at Merilda and Hindrasta, one by one, without saying a word.
"Welcome back, Sir Dian."
When I got home, Olysia, who had been dozing on the living room sofa, groggily stood up.
"Why didn’t you go to bed?"
"Everyone else was out on business, so I couldn’t relax and sleep comfortably. Are you hungry?"
"No, I’m fine. I’m just heading to bed. You should get some rest too."
"Yes. Good night…"
After Olysia went to her room, I bid the kids goodnight as well.
"You all did well today. See you in the morning."
"Good night, Professor."
"And don’t come upstairs."
"Got it."
After making sure the warning was clear, I headed up to my room.
# # # # #
"Hey, Merilda."
Lying awake and staring at the ceiling, Knightley turned her head toward her.
"You know something about Professor Dian, don’t you? You kept talking about waiting for him for ten years. But ten years ago, that’s around the time Professor Dian finished the war and went to Brunsswell, right?"
But there was no response. Looking closer, Knightley realized that Merilda had already fallen asleep.
She thought about shaking her awake but decided against it. Instead, she turned to the other side.
"Sophie, you know something too, right? You said before that Professor Dian was actually a terrible person and that you were trapped. What did you mean by that?"
But Hindrasta didn’t answer either. She, too, was sound asleep.
Looks like I’ll have to ask them again tomorrow.
But what if Professor Dian really was part of the Demon King Slayer Task Force?
That’s something hard to believe.
The reputation of the Demon King Slayer Task Force is so legendary that even from a young age, I’ve been bombarded with tales of their accomplishments.
In the Empire, knowing the history of the Task Force is practically a requirement for being considered educated. If you’re ignorant of their deeds, you’re seen as unlearned.
Linus, Celine, Lormane, Kaiden.
But there’s no mention of anyone named Dian.
Not in textbooks, not in statues, not in murals—nowhere.
If that’s the case, it means someone intentionally suppressed information about Professor Dian.
And the only entity powerful enough to do that across the entire Empire would be the Imperial Palace.
But why would the Imperial Palace go to such lengths? What would be the point?
Could there have been some undisclosed conflict between Professor Dian and the Imperial Palace?
Now that I think about it, the fact that he went all the way to the distant neutral port of Brunsswell is strange in itself.
Maybe he was exiled or banished?
But that doesn’t make sense either. From what I’ve seen of Professor Dian’s character, he’s not the kind of person to get into extreme conflicts with anyone.
He’s the type to laugh things off and move on, always preferring to avoid conflict.
There’s clearly something more complicated going on here, but I can’t even begin to imagine what it is.
But could it really be true that this guy was part of the great Demon King Slayer Task Force?
It just doesn’t seem to fit….
# # # # #
The next morning.
The kids were nowhere to be seen on the first floor.
According to Olysia, they had left early, saying they were heading to the main building.
As I walked toward the training grounds, I thought about what I needed to do today.
The most important task was to inform Ismera and Kirrin about Kaiden’s cooperation with his illusion magic and get approval from the Palace.
Kaiden was supposed to head directly to the capital today, so we just needed to make sure we weren’t late.
The only problem was that I hadn’t made an appointment in advance with the Second Princess. Well, I’ll figure it out somehow.
"Good morning, Professor!"
At that moment, Lina approached me with her usual upbeat bounce in her step.
She’s always in such a good mood, honestly.
"You’re early."
"With the competition coming up soon, we need to focus all our efforts on the academy."
Lina was right. The competition was just next week.
After that, it would be summer vacation.
It felt like only yesterday that I left Brunsswell at Linus’s request, and now, half a semester had already flown by.
When you’re busy, time really does fly.
"I saw the kids at the main building earlier."
"What were they doing there?"
"They said they were going to Professor Kazadar’s workshop. Apparently, they had something made."
"Commissioning something from a dwarf? What on earth are they up to?"
"I’m not sure, but I imagine it’s something for the competition."
Something for the competition, huh? What could it be?
Before long, I heard the sound of excited chatter and looked up to see Hindrasta approaching with something strapped to her back.
"How’s it, Sophie? Is it okay?"
"It’s not bad."
And floating above Hindrasta’s head was Merilda…? Wait, what?
"Merilda, how’s the ride?"
"It’s comfortable and nice. But I’m worried you’ll get tired."
"Tired?! What do you take me for!"
With that, Hindrasta sprinted toward me at full speed, Merilda bouncing up and down on her back.
"What is that?"
"Isn’t it obvious? It’s a carrier."
Hindrasta was carrying a small backpack-like carrier with Merilda sitting in it, securely fastened with safety belts.
It looked more like a square hiking carrier for kids than a regular carrier.
"Wait… did Kazadar make that for you?"
"Since Merilda can’t keep up with us, I decided to carry her around. What do you think?"
"Carry her around? You think that’ll work?"
Without hesitation, Hindrasta dashed toward the wall of the infiltration training ground and effortlessly scaled it.
"Wow, Sophie’s really strong."
Lina marveled as she watched.
Hindrasta, with Merilda on her back, scaled the wall without any difficulty, prompting Knightley to clap her hands in approval.
"Impressive, Sophie. You pass."
"See? I told you it was a good idea."
Hindrasta beamed as she unbuckled the carrier.
"You’re planning to use that during the competition? What if they don’t let you?"
"Oh, don’t worry about that."
Hindrasta confidently began folding the carrier.
"Wait, am I doing this right?"
"Let me help."
With Merilda’s assistance, the carrier was neatly folded down to the size of a dagger, small enough to carry with one hand.
Is this even possible? Dwarven craftsmanship really is something else.
"I doubt the Security Office will realize that this can turn into a full carrier."
The kids, thrilled with their new toy, ran off to the training grounds, laughing and taking turns riding in the carrier.
Finally, they’re acting like girls their age.
"Take care of the kids for me. I’m going to see the headmaster."
"Don’t worry about a thing!"
After Lina’s cheerful send-off, I headed toward the main building.
# # # # #
"Illusion magic, you say…?"
Kirrin nodded as she listened to my report.
"So, you went to the Tower of Illusions last night and requested the help of a mage there? What was his name again?"
"Kaiden."
"Kaiden… Could it really be ‘that’ Kaiden?"
"Yes, it’s that Kaiden."
"I don’t understand."
Ismera, who was sitting beside her, spoke up.
"You’re telling me you just showed up out of the blue, asked Mage Kaiden to use illusion magic for the competition, and he agreed?"
"I went with Professor Orendi. I can call him in to testify if necessary."
"Hmm, is that so?"
"The Tower of Illusions isn’t a place you can reach without a dimensional gate. The kids saw it with their own eyes too."
"The kids? You took them to the Tower of Illusions?"
"It was a good experience. It broadened their horizons."
"Alright, let’s say that’s true, and you met Kaiden and secured his cooperation. But it still seems strange."
"What’s strange now?"
"How did you manage to get his cooperation, Professor Dian? Do you have some kind of prior connection with him?"
"We’ve been close since the war. I mentioned this before, but you didn’t believe me."
At this, Ismera fell silent, not asking any more questions.
"So, we need to inform the Security Office, right?"
Kirrin asked, sounding slightly anxious.
"Yes. We can’t proceed on our own. We’ll suggest they consider the idea and see if they think it’s a good solution."
"Do you think they’ll be upset?"
"Why would they be upset? Do they think we’re overstepping? We’re the Imperial Academy. We have the authority to make such suggestions."
"Hmm, that’s true. But how should we phrase it…?"
Kirrin scratched her head and glanced at me.
"Do I have to go?"
"I was thinking of going myself this time. Since I didn’t inform the Second Princess in advance, I’ll go take the heat."
It’s better that I take on the role of the uninvited guest than Kirrin.
With that, I got into the carriage and headed for the Imperial Palace.