In the history of the Lionheart clan, Vermouth was the only one to have reached the Tenth Star of the White Flame Formula. He was already peerlessly strong even when they were in Helmuth, but Eugene wasn’t sure what had come over Vermouth to make him so obsessed with bearing children…. Vermouth, from Eugene’s memories, wasn’t such an idle person.
—If you just tried a little harder…. You could be a lot better than you are now.
Those were the words he had heard from Vermouth so very long ago. Those words were the ones that had left the deepest scars on his heart during the entirety of his previous life. Vermouth, that son of a bitch, even though he was already a genius, had also put in quite a lot of hard work.
However, compared to the amount of effort he had put in, the results he had achieved were just excessive.
‘Anise and Molon should also have gotten a bit stronger.’
Although he wasn’t able to confirm their achievements with his own eyes, as he had with Sienna, Eugene was confident of this fact. His comrades from his previous life were all just those sorts of people. They were all so talented that they could be called geniuses no matter what era they had been born in, and they all had clear goals and convictions.
And they had all sworn together to wipe out the Demon Kings from this world.
“But that’s what makes me even more worried,” Eugene muttered to himself in a low voice as he got to his feet. ‘Sienna Merdein. If you were that strong, then…. Sienna, who I knew would definitely have found some way to challenge the Demon Kings once more.’
The Demon King of Incarceration and the Demon King of Destruction — these two Demon Kings were so powerful that the Demon Kings of lower ranks couldn’t even be compared to them.
But even if they were defeated because of that, the companions that Eugene was familiar with weren’t the type to fall into despair. On the contrary, after increasing their strength and regaining their confidence, even if victory wasn’t certain, they were definitely the type to once again risk their lives for their convictions before they died.
So for those guys to have not gone to challenge the Demon Kings once more until the very end.
And for Sienna and Anise to have gone into hiding at around the same time.
…And for them to have no interactions with the Lionheart clan before Vermouth’s funeral.
‘Vermouth,’ Eugene let out a long sigh as he shook his head. ‘Just what on earth were you planning?’
* * *
Although Akron, as the Royal Library, had a nominal Library Director, there was no closing time as most of the library’s operation was left to the familiars.
In other words, as long as you gave up on time spent eating and sleeping, you could stay in Akron for as long as you wanted.
‘If that’s the case, it would be good if they had a separate location like a break room,’ Eugene wished.
The library in the Red Tower of Magic was much more convenient in this regard. It had both the cafeteria and bedrooms prepared nearby. But unfortunately, there was no space for such things in Akron. He didn’t know whether it was because they didn’t want the smell of food spreading through the air or if they wanted to maintain a dignity worthy of its title as the Royal Library, but it was strictly forbidden to eat and drink inside Akron.
Fortunately, there were separate research wings attached to the halls on each floor, where you could go to study and experiment with magic. If that was the case, shouldn’t it be alright for him to eat and sleep there? Although Eugene asked Mer about this fact—
“Even though I can’t eat and it’s impossible for me to drink anything, are you really going to do something like that in front of me?” Mer protested. “There’s absolutely no way. If you’re hungry, just go outside to eat.”
—Mer had only offered such a petty denial.
“Are you really saying that such acts are forbidden because of a frivolous reason like that?” Eugene asked in disbelief.
“Of course not. There are definitely reasons behind these restrictions. Since Sir Eugene isn’t a pure wizard, he might not be aware of this, but ordinary wizards… no, even wizards who can be called Archwizards are basically magic addicts,” Mer replied, shaking her head vigorously. “If we don’t draw a clear line like this, the wizards who enter this place might become so engrossed in magic that they even risk shortening their lifespans to stay here longer. Isn’t that why such stories are famous? Stories about wizards who became liches in order to keep researching magic after their deaths. And about wizards who died from overwork while immersed in research within their dungeons….”
“I thought that such stories had an element of exaggeration mixed into them,” Eugene said doubtfully.
“If there wasn’t a precedent, we wouldn’t have any reason to make such a rule, no?” Mer lowered her voice. Intent on creating a gloomy atmosphere, she quietly whispered, “Akron has a long history tracing back to around eight hundred years. A long, long time ago… a certain wizard managed to obtain Akron’s entry pass, which he had longed for all his life. He truly loved magic and was fascinated by the truths found in the research of his great and respected seniors. And just like that… he indulged in magic while forgetting to eat, drink, and sleep, until eventually….”
“So what, does he come out at night as a ghost?” Eugene asked, his tone skeptical.
“He could appear,” Mer insisted. “Though I’ve never actually seen him myself.”
“Wow, so scary.”
Faced with Eugene’s dry reaction, Mer pouted her lips.
“I’ll be back tomorrow,” Eugene said as he turned to leave.
Mer tilted her head in curiosity, “Why are you coming back here? The magic texts in this hall should be too difficult for you, Sir Eugene?”
“If they’re hard, then I just need to keep learning,” Eugene declared confidently.
“I’m not going to teach you anything,” Mer warned him.
“That’s fine because other than you, there is someone who can teach me.”
“If that’s the case, it’s fine, but if you make too much noise, I’m still kicking you out.”
Mer said this with a tone of setting down an ultimatum. Eugene smirked and nodded in agreement.
“I’ll do my best to be quiet,” he promised.
Honestly speaking, Eugene was experiencing some internal conflict. He wanted to keep getting to know her and even become friends with Mer, who exceedingly resembled Sienna. However, he didn’t think it would be right to transfer that kind of affection to her.
It wouldn’t be correct, and it wouldn’t be fair to Mer either.
After all, Mer was a familiar. She wasn’t Sienna herself. Mer’s existence was also causing Eugene to become overly conscious of his past life. So Eugene didn’t want to get any closer to Mer than was absolutely needed.
However, things weren’t going as he had planned. Just taking today as an example, there were several times when Eugene had seen glimpses of Sienna in Mer’s behavior.
‘But I can’t just act like I don’t know her either.’
If he really wanted to keep his distance, the best and simplest thing to do was not go to Sienna’s Hall any longer. But Eugene didn’t want to go that far. Because aside from the existence of Mer, he also wanted to indulge himself in Witch Craft and the other magical texts stored inside
Before going down to the first floor, taking Mer’s advice, Eugene looked around the lower floors.
Although there were also familiars on these floors, they didn’t have a personality or an artificial intelligence guiding them, so they could only answer a few simple questions and maintain their assigned halls.
There were no familiars as human-like as Mer.
‘Though the difficulty is the same.’
Following the mechanical guidance of the familiars, Eugene had looked at the magic books on display. Even if it wasn’t as much as Witch Craft, which was impossible for Eugene to understand currently, the difficulty of these books was the same as the other magic texts that he had seen in Sienna’s Hall.
When he arrived on Akron’s first floor, a voice called out to Eugene, “You sure were late to come back down.”
It was Melkith, who still hadn’t returned to her own affairs and was just waiting there for him.
“So, how was it?” another voice asked.
Lovellian was there as well. Up until just now, he’d had a frown on his face, but from the moment he saw Eugene, he was walking over with a bright smile as he asked this question.
“Truthfully speaking, I’m not really sure what I saw,” Eugene replied as he shook his head. “Based on the magic theory that I’ve learned so far, I think it will take me several years just to properly understand a single one of those magic books.”
“Of course, that’s the case. Because the magic books stored here are the distillation of Aroth’s hundreds of years of magic,” Melkith responded with a smirk. While glancing at Wynnyd, which was hanging from Eugene’s waist, she continued speaking, “Kid, no matter how smart you might be, there’s a limit to the amount of magic you can learn without a proper teacher.”
Lovellian interjected from the side, “White Tower Master.”
“Ah, like I said, you don’t need to worry,” Melkith assured him. “I have no intention of taking that kid as my disciple. I just… I want to make a plain and simple deal with him.”
“For Wynnyd?” Eugene asked although the answer was obvious.
At this question, as if she had just been waiting for this, Melkith immediately nodded vigorously.
“As long as you lend me Wynnyd for a bit, I’ll explain ten volumes of magic texts to you in a way that’s easy for you to understand. Doesn’t that sound like a good deal?” Melkith persuaded him.
“It does sound good, but…,” Eugen turned his gaze away from Melkith and met Lovellian’s eyes. “Sir Lovellian, may I ask if you have any intention of making me your disciple?”
At these words, the two Tower Masters’ faces underwent drastic changes. Lovellian’s face lit up with a smile, while Melkith’s face twisted into a grimace.
“If that is what you desire, Eugene, there’s no way I can turn you down, right?” Lovellian welcomed him cheerfully.
“But aren’t you very busy?” Melkith objected.
Lovellian insisted, “If it’s for Eugene, no matter how long it lasts, I can make the time for him.”
Melkith turned towards Eugene, “And as for you, kiddo, no matter how desperate you are, you shouldn’t bow your head so easily. Besides, aren’t you a Lionheart? Is it really okay for you to enter a master-disciple relationship of your own volition?”
“Any more objections?” Eugene just sighed.
“There’s also me,” Melkith quickly added. “Since I’m here, you don’t need to enter a master-disciple relationship so carelessly. You might encounter some pointless annoyances later. What will you do if the Red Tower Master does something bad to you after you’ve already taken him as your teacher?”
“Don’t say such nonsense,” Lovellian huffed.
Eugene expressed his faith in the man, “The Head Wizard Lovellian that I know isn’t that type of person.”
Melkith narrowed her eyes in frustration, “You annoying brat, you’re only seventeen years old. Do you really think you know the Red Tower Master better than I do?”
“Why do you keep spouting such ridiculous nonsense?” Lovellian asked with narrowed eyes.
Unable to come up with another answer, Melkith chewed her lips for a moment before finally letting out a deep sigh.
“Fine then. If you do become the Red Tower Master’s disciple, you won’t need me to explain those magic texts in exchange for lending me Wynnyd. Although admitting this really hurts my self-esteem, the Red Tower Master’s magic skills are better than mine, alright?” Melkith reluctantly confessed.
“We don’t necessarily need to trade for guidance on those magic books,” Eugene said with an amused shrug. “Don’t you have anything else that’s worth trading for? Items can work just as well.”
Melkith’s jaw fell halfway in shock at this bold statement. After staring at Eugene for a few moments, she burst into laughter as she shook her head.
“This kid really knows how to cut a deal,” Melkith commented sarcastically.
“If you don’t want to, that’s fine with me,” Eugene casually replied.
“Who says that I don’t want to?” Melkith responded immediately as she rubbed her chin. “Just let me think for a moment.”