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Chapter 23

***

I looked around, waiting for Dercion\'s words.

But somehow, the atmosphere felt a bit strange.

"......"

"...Ahem."

The elders were standing at a distance, looking in my direction.

For some reason, their faces were all dark, and when our eyes met, they averted their gaze as if embarrassed.

At the same time, they seemed to be watching Dercion\'s reaction.

That\'s when I began to understand the situation.

It seemed the other elders hadn\'t expected things to turn out this way.

\'So... you\'re saying he did all this on his own?\'

This disastrous evaluation appeared to have been born solely from Dercion\'s forceful push.

Honestly, I was surprised.

No matter how strong the Archmage\'s influence was, for the other elders to be this powerless?

As I was thinking this, Dercion finally spoke the words I had been waiting for.

"I suppose... we\'ve now filtered out all the impurities."

...I was dumbfounded.

I had expected him to apologize or explain as the person in charge, but... this was his first remark?

I wasn\'t the only one taken aback. A mage who had been sitting behind me swore and rushed at Dercion.

"You son of a bitch...!"

He was holding the short sword of the [Demon Goblin] that I had deflected earlier.

I wondered when he had picked that up.

Before things could escalate, I stretched out my hand to block him.

"Fuck... don\'t stop me!"

Bloodshot eyes.

Rough breathing.

Hunched shoulders.

The typical appearance of someone just about to cause trouble.

Of course, it was quite an infuriating situation.

But in times like these when one needs to be even more calm.

Letting emotions take over and making things worse will only lead to even more unfavorable results.

I know this better than anyone.

That\'s why...

"What are you going to do? Kill the Archmage? You, who couldn\'t do anything but tremble before a mere low-level demon?"

I rebuked him more firmly and coldly.

"...Are you saying I\'m in the wrong here?"

He shook the tightly gripped sword as if he might attack me, but I continued my resolute attitude without concern.

"I\'m not saying you\'re wrong. Everyone thinks differently. However..."

I placed my hand on his shoulder.

"Only bet your life when you\'re sure you won\'t regret your choice."

"Tch...!"

He let out an angry hiss.

But that was all.

Perhaps realizing his position, he no longer tried to rush forward.

Dercion, who had been quietly observing the scene, said to me.

"Tsk tsk, the more I see you, the more desirable a talent you become."

Talent or not, how can he laugh in this situation...

Before the others behind me could flare up again, I changed the subject.

"So what are you going to do now? It seems we don\'t have enough people to conduct the next evaluation."

"Hmm..."

Dercion looked around before answering.

"Yes, you\'re right. It would be unreasonable to continue the evaluation with just these numbers."

Every word out of his mouth is truly a gem.

I had just thrown that out there, but there really was supposed to be another evaluation.

His mouth opens.

Well... I wonder what he\'s going to say this time.

"I\'ll give you a choice."

"A choice?"

"Whether to leave now. Or become Aldeon\'s disciple."

"You mean..."

"Yes. All of you pass."

Dercion\'s iron-like voice broke the silence.

His tone suggested he was bestowing mercy.

Someone\'s teeth could be heard grinding, but nothing major happened.

That\'s understandable.

After all, those here now are mages who\'ve made it this far, beating odds of 1 in 1,000.

In other words, they\'re mostly people whose reason precedes their emotions.

However, Dercion wasn\'t satisfied with just that and made one more demand.

"Those who want to leave, get out... Those who will follow the light, show your loyalty before me."

This could be seen as the final hurdle...

It might even be more difficult than the next evaluation that was originally planned.

Blood ties, comrades, family, and so on.

Having to pledge loyalty to the very person who indiscriminately slaughtered what might have been precious to someone.

Even if it\'s just on the surface.

"......"

As expected, everyone just looked at each other, with no one stepping forward.

The funny thing is, no one was leaving the Magic Tower either.

They\'re probably struggling internally, weighing their morality against the practical benefits of learning light magic.

"...Tch. If you\'re going to do it, do it properly."

Seeing that they couldn\'t make a decision easily, I finally decided to step forward and set an example.

In Aldeon, there\'s only one way to show loyalty.

Thud.

I stepped forward, straightened my back into an attention stance, then placed my fist against my chest.

And then, I spoke in low voice.

"For the light of Aldeon."

"......"

It meant pledging one\'s heart to the light.

And that was the beginning.

Step, step!

Thompson and Roan followed, lining up beside me.

And then...

Step, step, step!

The rest of the mages joined as well.

Standing straight in a line, they placed their fists on their chests and said in low voices.

"For the light of Aldeon."

"For the light of Aldeon..."

"For... the light of Aldeon."

The same posture and the same words.

But their expressions were all different.

Some were in tears, some had faces set with determination, and others wore blank expressions as if trying to hide their emotions.

And they\'re probably thinking the same thing I am right now.

Let\'s learn light magic quickly and get out of this god forsaken place-.

"Good eyes."

I suddenly realized where I was.

This is [Demon Fantasy].

Not being swayed by emotions even when losing something precious.

Only those with that level of cool-headedness can survive here.

This was that kind of world.

***

Trudge, trudge...

As we officially became members of Aldeon, we passed through a mysterious staircase with no direction and arrived on the second floor.

Following the elder\'s guidance, we finally reached a room with 15 beds.

Thanks to the light magic-infused lighting, it wasn\'t dark, but the lack of sunlight made it feel distinctly claustrophobic.

And then.

"This is where you\'ll be staying from now on."

It was also the space where the 12 of us who had overcome the trials would live together.

One could think of it as a dormitory.

"What are we supposed to do here?"

Although I\'ve raised multiple mage characters as alt accounts, this was my first time becoming an Aldeon disciple.

I cautiously asked before the elder left the room.

"There\'s nothing for newcomers like you to do. Just attend class once a day at the designated time. I\'ll be conducting the classes, so keep that in mind. I\'m the 7th Elder, Ollie Didan."

"What about the rest of the time?"

"Do as you please. I won\'t interfere for the time being."

The phrase ‘for the time being’ bothers me a bit... but anyway, it means it\'s all free time.

"May I ask one more thing?"

"Speak."

"Can the Aldeon really survive this?"

"......"

Not only did Aldeon raise demons, but they also caused the deaths of 20 noble mages who participated in the evaluation.

This would be considered a serious crime, like conspiracy to murder, even under modern law.

There would surely be an investigation due to the noble families and those who had escaped the tower earlier, and if things proceeded normally, the Aldeon couldn\'t possibly remain intact.

Of course, the 7th Elder understood the meaning of my question but didn\'t give a proper answer.

"...The light will guide us."

He just threw out a cultish-sounding phrase.

But judging by his expression, it was clear that even he didn\'t know what would happen.

"I see."

Hmm, it seems I\'ll need to use my free time to figure out how to escape from this tower.

"For the light of Aldeon."

After giving the Aldeon-style salute to the departing 7th Elder, I turned around.

My gaze went to the rectangular table in the center of the room.

The table was laden with delicious-looking food, as if to soothe our resentment.

However, the only person satisfying their hunger there was Mr. Thompson.

Munch- munch-!

...As expected of a commoner, he\'s eating quite ravenously.

"Hey, Mr. First Place. If you\'re done talking, come and eat quickly. The food here is to die for!"

"Okay."

I also took steps to sit down.

And then, I glanced around.

"Aren\'t you guys eating?"

"......"

The ten noble mages just stared at me without saying a word.

It\'s not like they\'re not hungry.

At this time... they\'ve probably been starving for about 16 hours.

So, is it some kind of guilt?

Whatever it is, I\'ve already done as much as I can for them.

I\'m not their nanny, and I can\'t keep looking after them forever.

"...Do as you please."

Finally, I stopped caring and picked up a piece of meat that looked like a chicken leg.

Someone threw a question just as I took a big bite of that meat.

"How can you... eat at a time like this? After everything that\'s happened?"

It was the mage who had rushed at Dercion earlier.

"Why, is it barbaric?"

"...I\'m just asking. Out of curiosity."

"Oh? Then let me ask you something too."

After swallowing what I was chewing, I looked in his direction.

"Why are you just sitting there?"

"What?"

"Why aren\'t you eating?"

"What do you mean...?"

"Staying still won’t do you any good anyway, Mr. Rieffe."

The one who answered instead was the blonde-haired Roan, who had suddenly sat down.

"Isn\'t that right, Yuhan?"

Roan rested his chin on one hand and smiled, making eye contact with me.

...This sly bastard.

"I think I\'m starting to understand what kind of person you are. You, Yuhan... is someone who can abandon everything for your goals. Even your own emotions and humanity. Isn\'t that right?"

"......"

"In a way, it could be seen as fear of being left behind."

Fear of being left behind, huh...

Since it wasn\'t wrong, I remained silent, and he continued speaking as he brought a vegetable speared on his fork to his mouth.

"But your stomach is really something else. No matter how rational one might be, after seeing so many mages butchered like that... to start with meat from the first bite."

Hmm... I suppose it might look a bit strange.

But this too was a rational choice made unconsciously.

"Meat provides the most energy."

In this world where you never know when or where you might end up in a battle, it\'s more efficient to consume meat first.

Mr. Thompson sitting across from me probably knows this too, which is why he\'s been shoveling in nothing but meat.

"Isn\'t that right, Uncle?"

"Huh? Oh... I\'m just eating because it\'s delicious? I don\'t eat vegetables and stuff like that originally."

...Anyway.

Considering the energy I\'ve expended, I\'ll need quite a lot of calories.

With the sole intention of stockpiling strength, I continued to stuff food into my mouth without stopping.

"By the way, how long do you intend to keep using that damn informal speech?"

"......"

Even after Roan\'s brow furrowed... I pretended not to hear and continued.

And so, the first night in the Magic Tower passed without incident.

***