The Problematic Child of the Magic Tower
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 341: Taming the Mad Fiend (3)
Ten days had already passed since bringing the Mad Fiend along.
If there had been any progress during that time, it was that he had become slightly more docile than at first.
“Mad Fiend, dinner.”
When a tray with a large steak on it was handed over, the Mad Fiend came running over in a hurry.
The fellow stared so intensely at the steak with one eye that it seemed he might bore a hole through it, then suddenly turned to look this way.
“What, you’re telling me to leave because you have to eat?”
Nod nod.
“This is my room though?”
Grrr—
“Tsk, okay. I’ll just step out then.”
The moment Oscar neatly stepped out into the hallway, the clattering of tableware could be heard from inside.
Just when exactly did he plan to properly show his face?
As Oscar let out a sigh and leaned against the moonlit window, he suddenly felt a familiar mana calling to him from the outskirts of the city.
‘This mana....’
Frowning, Oscar immediately generated a portal and moved to the location where the mana was being felt.
Seeing the man sitting on a bench in a deserted park, he spoke.
“So it was you after all.”
“Have you been well?”
The one smiling brightly while looking at him was none other than the Designer.
Oscar looked at him with a displeased expression, as he had shown up without any contact.
“What business do you have in this city?”
“Surely you remember the promise we made.”
“...Ah.”
Hadn’t he said that if Oscar shared the Captain’s location, he would diagnose his mana circuits?
Remembering the promise he had completely forgotten, Oscar nodded.
“You came all the way here without even contacting me just for that?”
“Just for that? After we parted in the dungeon that day, I ran without resting a single day in order to meet you, Oscar.”
“...I’m not interested in excessive attention from men.”
Still, a promise was a promise.
Clicking his tongue lightly, Oscar sat down on the bench with one seat of distance between them.
“This won’t take long, right?”
“Yes, it won’t take long. But are you sure that’s alright?”
“With what?”
“With this.”
The Designer handed him a newspaper.
It was from the newspaper company with the largest readership in the Empire, and the front page was decorated with flashy headlines.
[Ruane Airport Terror Attack — Is It the Work of the Demon Race? Forensic Investigator: “Traces of Demonic Energy Discovered in Small Quantities.”]
[Oscar Crucian of the White Tower, who was patrolling the airport, critically injured by an unidentified attack.]
[Grand Temple judges his “life to be in critical danger”... dispatches high-ranking priesthood including the Saintess to the White Tower.]
[Tension rises across the Empire due to possibility of demon race involvement, panic-buying of daily necessities spreads.]
“Judging from the articles, Oscar, it looks like you’re on the verge of death... yet you seem quite fine?”
“You read that and still came here out of the blue to call someone out?”
“Well, you looked perfectly fine when you left the dungeon.”
“...I had personal circumstances.”
Naturally, all of this was bait meant to capture the Yellow Tower Master.
An enormous piece of bait that even the El Terra Order had joined in on.
“Anyway, if you’re fine then that’s good for me. Could you give me one hand then?”
“Like this?”
When Oscar extended his left hand, the Designer closed his eyes and took his pulse at the wrist.
At the same time, Oscar suddenly felt very uncomfortable.
It was because the Designer’s characteristic sticky gaze felt as though it were sweeping through the inside of his body.
“Oh, ohhh.”
He exclaimed repeatedly while frantically observing Oscar’s mana circuits.
After a moment, he released the pulse and spoke in an excited voice.
“This is the first time in my life I’ve seen circuits like these. Just how did you come up with such a blueprint?”
“Well, it’s just...”
Because he was experienced, that’s all.
Oscar responded with an awkward smile.
“It’s like inspiration just flashes in my mind from time to time?”
“Oho, inspiration! I know that feeling very well too! I should examine it in a bit more detail.”
The Designer, whose eyes were shining, looked as pure as a child at this moment.
While holding his pulse and observing the circuits, he repeatedly scribbled something in a notebook and muttered.
“It’s a perfectly flawless structure. Rather than something that needs improvement, it feels like it shouldn’t be touched carelessly.”
“Normally mana loss occurs in this section... but that issue has been solved by inserting a buffering structure.”
“You’ve removed all unnecessary branch points in the circuit and opened a path for speed.”
“Hm. This isn’t the realm of calculation but closer to instinct. Almost like a work of art.”
The Designer, who had been busily writing while muttering, suddenly tilted his head.
“But even knowing the nature of mana, you know it too well. As if...”
Eyes filled with the desire for inquiry turned this way.
“As if someone installed these circuits after already perfectly awakening to the nature of mana itself.”
“....”
Oscar met that burning gaze without avoiding it.
After a moment, he chuckled lightly and shrugged.
“That’s quite a flattering interpretation. It just means I’m a genius.”
“....”
The Designer, who had been staring at that arrogant expression, slowly nodded.
“Well, if someone possesses the genius required to install mana circuits like this, such an attitude can be forgiven.”
“Hey now, don’t go gilding someone’s face so much. It’s embarrassing.”
“Oscar. This is a circuit that feels insufficient even with this level of praise. It’s the first time I’ve been angry at my own lack of vocabulary.”
When the Designer closed his notebook, Oscar withdrew his wrist and asked.
“So the diagnosis is finished?”
“Most of it ends here.”
“...Most of it?”
“Yes.”
He rummaged in his clothes as he spoke.
“But in the case of someone with outstanding mana circuits like yours, Oscar, I usually proceed with observing the mana flow as well.”
“You said it wouldn’t take long.”
“Even if we include that, it won’t take long. Ah, here it is.”
What he took out next was a small horn about the size of two finger joints.
Recognizing what it was, Oscar frowned.
“...A demon’s horn?”
“That’s right. A precious sample I received from a demon I once encountered.”
Unless a demon had gone mad, there was no way they would give their horn to a human.
He must have torn it off after killing it.
Looking at it, Oscar asked.
“So why suddenly a demon’s horn?”
“As you know, a mage’s mana reacts sensitively to external stimuli. Among them, it reacts most strongly when sensing demonic energy, which can be considered its natural opposite.”
He placed the horn between the two of them and said,
“Please give me your wrist, and slowly move your mana.”
“...That’s all?”
“Yes. I only need to observe the flow of mana.”
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
If that was all, then fine.
After offering his left hand, Oscar slowly drew up his mana.
The smoothly moving mana made a full circuit through the circuits installed across his entire body.
“Hm, as expected the flow is extremely stable and smooth. There is practically no loss.”
After confirming that much, the Designer lightly flicked the demon’s horn.
Then, like embers scattering from charred charcoal, a small amount of demonic energy rose up.
At the same time, a change occurred in Oscar’s mana.
“Oh ho, the waveform spikes far more than that of an ordinary person. The moment it encounters demonic energy, the mana shifts into combat posture, which means the anti-demon reaction is extremely high. And... hm?”
Suddenly, the Designer tilted his head.
Not knowing the reason, Oscar continued circulating his mana, and the Designer released the pulse he had been holding.
“That’s enough. Please stop the mana.”
“Is it finished?”
“It is finished, but...”
As if something didn’t sit right with him, he frowned and stared intently at his notebook.
“Hm. That’s strange. It’s odd that such a result would appear.”
“Why? Is there some kind of problem?”
Oscar asked in a slightly trembling voice.
You know how most people think they’re healthy, yet still feel tense when hearing the results of a health checkup?
It was a similar feeling.
In response, the Designer held out the notebook and explained.
“Please look here.”
Two waveforms had been drawn there.
“This one is the mana waveform I mentioned earlier, Oscar’s.”
“What is this supposed to mean?”
“See how the amplitude is small but the speed of the waveform becomes extremely fast? This is the typical waveform of mana that has entered combat posture. I suspect that Oscar usually dislikes demons more than most people.”
“....”
Well would you look at that?
More capable than he looked.
Slightly intrigued, Oscar turned his body a bit to the side and asked,
“Then what about the waveform below?”
“Hm. The reason I found this strange is precisely because of that. What impression do you get when you look at it?”
Unlike the waveform above, this one descended slowly and gently.
“At a glance it looks extremely relaxed and comfortable.”
“Exactly. Which is why it’s strange, isn’t it? It’s surprising enough that the waveform split into two upon encountering demonic energy, but the states are complete opposites.”
“....”
Now that he heard it, it did seem strange.
For decades he had been active as an anti-demon advocate, naturally loathing demonic energy.
Even sensing that energy nearby made his nerves bristle.
And yet the other waveform was so calm?
“In my opinion, the second waveform regards demonic energy as something extremely familiar.”
“...Could it be because I’ve killed so many demons, or been exposed to demonic energy countless times?”
“Hm. I’d say that’s almost impossible. Becoming accustomed to something through frequent exposure and treating it as familiar are completely different matters.”
Finding demonic energy familiar.
Oscar let out a hollow laugh.
‘Me?’
The White Tower Master, whose very name made demons tremble, the White Mage, finds demonic energy familiar?
If you grabbed a passing demon and asked them, they certainly wouldn’t believe it.
“....”
But the fact that such a reaction had just appeared in his own body was undeniable.
Feeling vaguely uneasy, Oscar asked,
“Is there any other abnormality in my body?”
“What kind of abnormality?”
“Take another careful look. Something like an organ belonging to demons rather than a normal human organ—there’s nothing like that, right?”
Little Oscar had nearly died in a great fire during childhood.
And the Captain had said that demons were involved in that incident.
Perhaps that second waveform had something to do with what happened back then?
“Hm. Then give me a moment.”
The Designer once again observed the inside of Oscar’s body and shook his head.
“There is none. All organs are human, and there is not even a trace of demonic energy.”
“Could it be that you mistook the waveform?”
“I was unsure myself, so I checked it twice, three times. There’s no way it’s wrong.”
“Then that makes no sense.”
“Mm.”
The Designer seemed confused by such results as well, frowning deeply in thought.
After a moment, he shook his head.
“This part doesn’t sit well with me either, so I will investigate it personally. But one thing is certain—there is absolutely nothing abnormal with Oscar’s body.”
“My body is fine, huh.”
Then what, had his soul become corrupted or something?
As he thought that, the Saintess’s words suddenly came to mind.
—You may already know this, but it seems the original owner of that body was favorable toward demons. The remnants of the soul left in that body seem to be interfering with your responses, even if only slightly.
Next, what came to mind was the day of the terrorist attack at the airport.
The image of the red moon that had suddenly appeared within Infinite Sky.
It was clearly the composition of a world he himself had neither known nor created.
“....”
The second waveform, the Saintess’s words, and even the red moon.
All of them were saying the same thing.
Right now, inside your body, something you do not know is hiding.
“Hoo.”
His head became complicated.
If little Oscar had simply joined hands with demons somehow in order to survive, that would be better.
He could just click his tongue once and forget about it.
‘But if that’s not the case?’
Then the situation became serious.
If something that wasn’t little Oscar had taken root in his soul...
‘Who is it.’
Because he could not even begin to guess who it might be.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]

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