Chapter 355

Words : 2463 Updated : Oct 9th, 2025

“What exactly is that mansion?” “I don’t know the details either. It’s only been 73 years since we first confirmed that mysterious place. That means I haven’t even spent a full year there yet, staying just 3 days each year.” Less than a year seems ridiculously short. Even exploring something unknown takes at least a few years. Considering that, there was still infinitely insufficient time to explore anything in the Kasar Basin. “Of course, since magicians gather from all over the world, even three days have extraordinary density. Still, it hasn’t been that long since the mansion became known. Has it been 10 years now?” “That’s much shorter than I expected.” “Even the path to the mansion is filled with mysterious power. Moreover, that mysterious power of the Kasar Basin lingers inside the mansion as well. Naturally, the mansion itself is no different from a magical realm.” A place where all the surrounding land centered on the mansion is covered in mystery. Hearing this, it’s far from ordinarily interesting. “But who are magicians? Aren’t they the type who go crazy over knowledge of unknown magic?” “I won’t deny that.” “Those folks have investigated many things about the mansion over the past 10 years. Who built it? When it was built. How it was built. And according to what was discovered, the mansion was built at least hundreds of years ago.” “Hundreds of years, you say?” “That’s right. However, they say the mansion is still intact despite no maintenance work being done. Moreover, it’s believed that the owner was a magician. Several circumstances point to that.” The magicians who explored the mansion found several books about magic inside. Most were written in ancient languages that had been lost, making interpretation difficult, but according to some interpreted materials, they were likely lost magic. “And I hear that you recently completed the interpretation of the Larsil language. You also published the interpretation method.” “Yes, that’s right.” “Aren’t you curious? You should be able to interpret the contents of the books inside, given your abilities. You could discover knowledge about magic from hundreds of years ago.” Hmm. Rudger wasn’t very keen on it. While the knowledge of magic from hundreds of years ago was appealing, he already had a living witness of magic who had lived for hundreds of years. ‘But Master hasn’t taught me magic that’s too old.’ He wasn’t sure if it was because his abilities were lacking, or if even that was too rushed to teach. It was meaningless to try to predict Grandel’s whims, like tomorrow’s weather forecast. Considering that, it didn’t seem bad to participate directly in the Night of Mystery. “Are you certain there’s information about non-attribute magic power there?” “Teacher. How many people do you think have had non-attribute magic power until now?” “According to what Duke Heiback said, just two in total.” “That’s right. But I knew about people with non-attribute magic power before that. Three of them, in fact. Didn’t I tell you? There were quite a few of them. And they all had something in common.” “That they don’t live long.” Heiback nodded. “You know well. Most people with non-attribute magic power struggle to live past 25. It’s a sad thing. A life that doesn’t even last half as long as a normal person’s. But do you know what another commonality they share is?” “What else is there?” “All the non-attribute magic power holders I know participated in the Night of Mystery. As if they were looking for something in there.” This was a fact that even Rudger didn’t know. “Those who were destined to live short lives with terminal fates. They all gathered at the Night of Mystery without exception. What do you think that means?” “That there might be a way inside to improve their cursed constitution?” “Exactly that.” Rudger pondered for a moment before speaking. “But that’s just a leap. We’re not even certain there’s really information about non-attribute magic power in there, and there’s a possibility they went there holding hope rather than certainty, isn’t there?” “Ho ho. If you put it that way, I certainly have no rebuttal. However...” Heiback looked at Rudger with an even deeper, contemplative gaze. “There’s a clear difference between having no chance of finding anything and having even a slight possibility.” “...” “And do you really think they would do such a foolish thing with their lives at stake? I don’t think so. They headed to the Kasar Basin like moths drawn to flame because they saw some kind of possibility.” “To an unknown land where hardly anything has been properly discovered?” “It’s precisely because it’s unknown. And while the details haven’t been revealed, major facts have become known, haven’t they? That the mansion was built long ago, and that knowledge of magic from hundreds of years ago exists there.” Rudger pondered. Heiback’s words were certainly convincing. A mansion containing knowledge of lost magic from hundreds of years ago? It was definitely attractive, and in some ways, it seemed possible to discover knowledge that hadn’t been found until now. ‘Even Master couldn’t resolve the non-attribute magic constitution. But could there be materials about non-attribute magic power in the mysterious mansion in the Kasar Basin?’ It wasn’t completely impossible. While his master was an ancient magician and vampire who had lived for many years, she didn’t know all the magic in the world. Rather, she spent most of her long life in boredom. Considering that, it made sense that she didn’t know about the Night of Mystery. ‘Even Master herself said she doesn’t know all magic.’ Then maybe those materials really could be in the mysterious mansion. Besides, they say hundreds of years, but that’s just an estimate. Maybe it’s much older than that. And there could be other information besides non-attribute magic power. ‘Like materials about relics that have existed for a long time.’ It was intriguing and appealing, and it didn’t seem like there would be any harm in going. Of course, there were matters that needed to be resolved. ‘The impurity that Duke Heiback mentioned must be a First Order.’ First Order Leslie was plotting some scheme to infiltrate the Night of Mystery and eliminate the magicians. It couldn’t be a lie since he personally told Zero Order so. Judging by his actions, he seemed to value regulations and was loyal to Zero Order. At the time, since it wasn’t directly related to Theon, Rudger hadn’t paid much attention to it. ‘Now that it’s come to this, I suppose I have no choice but to get involved.’ Perhaps noticing the change in Rudger’s demeanor, Heiback’s eyes curved upward. “Now you feel like doing it?” “I just thought there’s nothing to lose by trying.” “Ho ho. I’m glad you liked the information I gave as an advance payment. But Teacher, there’s one thing I’m curious about.” “What are you curious about?” “You’re worried about non-attribute magic power because of that student, right? But I find that a bit strange.” Rudger frowned. “What’s strange about it?” “No. There’s nothing strange about a teacher looking into something for their student. Especially seeing how you treated the head of House Lumos at the last banquet, you seem to care deeply for your students.” “I don’t care that much.” “If you say so, we’ll leave it at that. But when this old man gets on in years, he sees things beyond what meets the eye.” Though Heiback spoke with a light laugh, his gaze was sharp as if trying to pierce through Rudger’s thoughts. “To my eyes, you don’t seem to be looking for information about non-attribute magic power simply for your student’s sake. Rather, there seems to be another reason. Something deeper, more emotional.” “...” “So I made this guess.” Rudger tensed for a moment, wondering if this person might be approaching the truth about that day. Someone of Heiback’s caliber might very well be able to... “You’ve fallen into forbidden love with your student!” “...” “Aren’t you looking everywhere for information for the woman you love? What could be more reasonable than that?” Right? Am I right? Heiback looked at Rudger with such an expression. Rudger’s face, which had shown subtle tension, turned cold. Moreover, his gaze toward the other person changed to one of looking at something beneath contempt. “Oh? Teacher. Your eyes right now seem to be looking at something less than human. That must be my imagination?” “Since you understand so well, I won’t say it directly.” “Ho. That means I hit the mark exactly.” “It’s completely the opposite.” There was a slight hint of irritation in Rudger’s voice. “Hmm? Am I wrong? Strange. Usually when someone acts like that, isn’t there some personal interest involved?” “That child is a student, and I am a teacher.” “A romance between teacher and student! Isn’t that a common story?” “Common? Where does that happen?” “You don’t know? Surprisingly, it’s an annual event at Theon for teachers and students to cause incidents after falling for each other. Even the subject you’re teaching now became vacant because the previous teacher developed feelings for a student and stepped down.” What? That was the reason this position was vacant? Rudger felt dizzy. “...I’m not particularly interested in stories about my predecessor. Isn’t that irrelevant to me?” “No, you should be curious! Because not only did the previous teacher do that, but the one before that did too. Strangely, manifestation course teachers often have such relationships with students. It’s not like it’s a cursed position or anything.” No, what kind of jinx is that, that you must get involved with a student? It’s not even that kind of position. “So you think I’ll end up the same way?” “Won’t you? Moreover, you’re even more outstanding than any teacher so far. Good-looking, talented. I guarantee there must be many female students suffering from love sickness for you.” “I’m not interested. They’re just kids, aren’t they?” “Aren’t the students at Theon legally adults now? Shouldn’t they be old enough to marry?” “You’re really praying for me to be cursed, aren’t you?” “No, that’s not exactly it, just sometimes things can happen differently from what you think. Well, it’s not like the previous teachers came to teach manifestation courses at Theon with the intention of seducing students, right?” ‘This is driving me crazy.’ Rudger pressed his furrowing brow with his fingers. They say people get more meddlesome as they age, and Heiback’s behavior was exactly that. “Anyway, I’m not interested in such things.” “Ho ho. Is that so? Ah, in that case, would you like to meet my granddaughter? Despite how I look, she’s intelligent enough to inherit the family, and she’s quite beautiful, taking after me.” What, he’s suddenly acting like a matchmaker? Rudger muttered in disbelief. “So this was your real intention.” “You caught me.” Heiback clicked his tongue in disappointment. Rudger sighed. “Could you please not say such things, even as a joke?” “But I wasn’t joking?” “...Anyway, I’ll accept the request.” Rudger drove Heiback out of his office, saying the conversation was over. He felt like he would lose his mind if he continued talking with him any longer. * * * Rudger came down to the streets of Leathervelk. It was to check how things were progressing since he had managed substantial funds this time. “You’ve come?” Perhaps because he had given notice beforehand, Hans welcomed Rudger as if he had been waiting. “How’s the situation?” “It’s going smoothly, like having the wind at our backs. That giant Ranpartz Company is being dismantled miserably like a grasshopper being eaten by ants.” “Ranpartz won’t just sit still. Were there no other movements? Like using their usual connections in political and business circles to request help?” “I’ve been watching just in case, but it seems no one is extending a helping hand, probably because they can see the tide has clearly turned.” However, Hans continued. “The chairman of Ranpartz, Drachen, hurriedly went somewhere...” “Where?” “It was the territory of Lumos, one of the three great ducal families.” “I see.” “...Eh? That’s all the reaction you have?” Hans had thought it was quite significant news and spoke with gravity, but the response was thoroughly uninterested. “Don’t tell me you knew?” “I heard there was someone pulling strings behind the scenes.” “Tch. I got excited for nothing.” “Anything else?” “You know that guy you chased away then? Albert.” “You mean the thug from the Pablo family?” “They sent some people as retaliatory measures from that side. Since Albert that thug was damaged to the point where even daily life became impossible. As a father, he had to do something, right? Of course, it wasn’t an official apology request, but through underhanded methods.” “So what did you do?” “We made an example. No damage on our side. Caught all the rat bastards.” Understanding the meaning behind those words, Rudger nodded with satisfaction. “Well done. Continue to show them that there are people we shouldn’t mess with.” “But will it be alright? Usually back alley thugs bow their heads when shown force like this, but nobles don’t do that.” If this didn’t work, they would surely send stronger forces next time. Especially if magicians got involved, things would be different. But Rudger laughed silently. “We were also getting tired of having our elite forces just sitting around doing nothing.” “Well, that’s...” “Anything else?” “Nothing. Business is going smoothly, and we’re making good money. Ah, but there is one thing.” “What is it?” “You know that Casey Selmore you mentioned? The one you told us to keep an eye on just in case.” “Right.” He didn’t expect that name to come up suddenly here. Rudger examined Hans’s expression and asked. “Is there a problem?” “Well. That detective lady has been confining herself to her room ever since returning from the capital.” “Her room?” “Yes. Since it’s her, we couldn’t conduct surveillance inside, but...her condition doesn’t seem very good.” “Is that so?” As Rudger nodded his head, Hans, who seemed to notice something, opened his eyes wide. “Brother?” “It’s time I paid a visit.”

Chapter 355

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