HLnovel Chapter 174 : Chapter 174
Chapter 174 : Chapter 174
Chapter 174
Marquess Dmitry looked at his Secretary-general with a serious face.
“What?”
“The Magic Tower has delivered a request for reinforcements from Moner.”
The Marquess, wiping his face with his wrinkled hand, asked again.
“It’s been a long time since the Magic Towers in both Moner and Obsol were vacated. Yet you say contact came from the Magic Tower? Why didn’t they use the communication sphere?”
“I’m not sure about that either…….”
The Secretary-general, blurring his words with a troubled face, handed over the letter from the Magic Tower.
[Moner Reinforcement Request]
“Hah. Did they really send just this? That stubborn wizard?”
After pondering for a moment, he stood up.
“I suppose I’ll have to meet the Tower Lord of our domain. Make preparations.”
“Yes!”
* * *
Though circumstances differ by domain, the Marquess’s house has maintained a friendship with the Magic Tower in the Marquess’s domain for generations.
It was thanks to the continuous sponsorship of the Magic Tower under the belief that ‘Without the Magic Tower, there is no progress.’
‘Though visiting them is still annoying.’
Even though they had built friendship for generations, Dmitry did not visit the Magic Tower.
Partly because he hated the sight of them subtly asking for sponsorship every time he visited, but a more fundamental reason was the wizards in the Magic Tower.
It wasn’t easy to maintain a smile while conversing with humans crazy about magic and academics.
“Marquess, we have arrived.”
As soon as they arrived at the Magic Tower, a wizard came out as if waiting and greeted him.
“We were waiting for you. I will guide you to the Tower Lord.”
“Andor, it’s been a while. By the way, it seems like you were really waiting for me?”
“Because it’s not a common occurrence. The Tower Lord is waiting.”
The Marquess, debating whether to ask another question, shut his mouth and headed to the Tower Lord’s office.
“Marquess! It’s been a while!”
“It’s been a while, Tower Lord.”
As the Marquess greeted him and sat down, the Tower Lord asked him with a sly smile.
“What on earth is happening up in the north?”
There’s no way the Tower Lord hasn’t heard the rumors about Moner.
‘It seems he’s curious about the truth of the rumors.’
There were countless rumors floating around the world.
The problem was that there were so many rumors that it was impossible to determine the truth.
‘Since the Magic Towers in Moner and Obsol have all withdrawn, they probably can’t get information either.’
The Marquess buried his body in the chair with a calm face.
“I came to find out about that too.”
“Ahaha! Of course you would. However, there is nothing I can tell you. The letter we gave to the Duke is all we received.”
The Marquess, looking at the slyly smiling Magic Tower Lord, let out a small sigh.
“Haa…. If that were really the case, you wouldn’t have waited for me.”
Looking at the Tower Lord’s face, which was still smiling, the Marquess sighed.
“All I know is that Orcs are targeting the Royal Army.”
“Isn’t that something everyone in this kingdom knows? How famous was the Orc targeting the kingdom for a while. There’s no way you don’t know that ‘Orc’ was a misrepresentation.”
Grind.
‘Misrepresentation? Misrepresentation, you say? A person who knows nothing!’
That wasn’t a misrepresentation; it was a scam.
And a scam perpetrated directly by a Prince of this kingdom.
Recalling the Prince who was throwing a tantrum lying down in his office, the Marquess ground his teeth and said.
“That is true. Words are bound to be misrepresented.”
“Ahaha! Isn’t it really funny? No matter how ignorant, to believe in Orcs that fly in the sky and spew lava!”
Grind.
The Tower Lord laughed as if it were funny, but the hidden meaning was different.
Because it wasn’t commoners but nobles who sent troops believing in ‘Orcs that fly in the sky and spew lava.’
‘Is he trying to check if the stupid nobles were tricked by the Prince, or if there is real danger in Moner?’
The old man in front of him, who looked like a sage, was also a wizard.
A person who would do anything to fill his knowledge.
The Marquess, after brief contemplation, crumpled his expression.
“It could be a matter on which the future of the kingdom depends. Do you really have to be like this?”
Meaning it’s a kingdom secret, so don’t dig any further.
At those words, the Tower Lord answered with a hollow laugh.
“We only follow knowledge and the truth of the world.”
The Marquess’s eyebrow twitched.
It sounded like proper words, but ultimately it meant wizards didn’t need to know about the future of the kingdom.
‘Father said so too, that as long as the Magic Tower exists, wizards are ultimately outsiders.’
That’s why everyone shuns wizards.
Because the values they hold are different from other humans.
‘Should I try moving them with sponsorship? Threats?’
Moving the Magic Tower with money and power isn’t impossible.
The Magic Tower is also a place where people live, and above all, magic is a study that cannot be researched without money.
‘Seeing him come out this brazenly, I don’t think he’ll change his mind…….’
The Marquess, pondering for a moment, looked at the Tower Lord with sharp eyes.
“I didn’t know the Tower Lord was so interested in rumors. I heard you coldly refused when Moner asked for help.”
“That couldn’t be helped. Violence is not the way to truth.”
For him, who knew what kind of existence wizards were, it was an answer that didn't even deserve a snort.
It’s quite common for crazy wizards to get caught conducting human experiments.
And it’s an open secret that those wizards had all learned combat magic.
‘Damn things. I don’t know what’s going on, but it seems he suddenly became curious about what’s happening in Moner.’
The Marquess, letting out a brief sigh, made a decision.
“Please make an oath.”
The Tower Lord, looking at the Marquess with surprised eyes, nodded.
“I swear on mana and the truth that makes up the world, this conversation will not leave the Magic Tower.”
‘Meaning, he will inform the Magic Tower.’
The Marquess, clicking his tongue at the blatantly revealed intention, continued.
“It is true that Orcs are targeting Moner. The enemy reported by Moner is 100,000.”
“…100,000?”
The Tower Lord, opening his eyes wide as if that couldn’t be, poked at a sore spot.
“Then why is the kingdom…….”
He didn't finish the sentence, but at the gaze asking why the Royal Army wasn't moving when 100,000 enemies appeared, the Marquess wiped his face and said.
“It is unverified information.”
“Unverified?”
The Tower Lord, tilting his head for a moment, burst into laughter.
“Ahaha! Is that so? Unverified, unverified! Of course. Verification, it is needed!”
Unlike his smiling face, his gaze was full of ridicule.
There’s no way verification is needed when enemies appear.
Needing verification means doubting allies, not enemies.
The Tower Lord realized that the kingdom was doubting its own nobles, and specifically the Moner family, called the Guardian of the Kingdom.
‘Hahaha! Doubting a family that kept their loyalty even while eating food mixed with sand? Are you guys truly human?’
Though he didn't say it, the Tower Lord, scoffing at the pathetic behavior of the kingdom, continued in a sly voice.
“Ah! I heard news about the Royal Army from a wizard who withdrew from Obsol. It must have been troops dispatched for ‘verification’.”
“Ahem! That is correct.”
As the Marquess answered reluctantly, the Tower Lord grinned and said.
“I heard the ‘cavalry’ of that Royal Army is so outstanding. Truly, the pride of the kingdom!”
Looking at the Marquess who shut his mouth unable to say anything, the Tower Lord chuckled, cleared his throat for a moment, and thought.
It was famous that horses couldn’t operate in the forest of demonic beasts.
Moner’s knights who didn’t ride horses were famous in a bad way.
‘So seeing that there was cavalry, it seems they didn’t intend to verify for real. Did they move targeting Moner from the start? Why?’
The Tower Lord, tapping the table, changed his thought.
‘Asking why is stupid. Humans who seize power are bound to want more. The King might have been jealous of the honor.’
Targeting a family loyal to the royal family just out of jealousy was incomprehensible, but if it’s human desire, it’s entirely possible.
Since it was common for knights and generals who won wars to be demoted due to all sorts of framing.
‘That’s not what’s important. Then the reason Garme sent the letter…….’
The Tower Lord, looking at the letter he handed to the Marquess a moment ago, burst into laughter.
“Ahahahaha!”
“…Tower Lord, what is this behavior?”
“No, I apologize. The situation is so funny that I committed a discourtesy.”
To the Marquess glaring at him with a scary face, the Tower Lord asked.
“That letter is a letter for emergency contact that only Archmages can write. It’s a magic developed directly by the Magic Tower because there are many who target high-ranking wizards.”
At the Tower Lord’s words, the Marquess picked up the letter and asked.
“This? I don’t feel any magic power though.”
“Yes. Even if it looks ordinary on the outside, it’s a magic that one cannot even attempt unless they are an Archmage. Unlike communication networks, it can send a rapid telegram anytime, anywhere, so it’s good for notifying danger. It can notify all Magic Towers in the kingdom where the corresponding wizard is located, anytime, anywhere.”
Hearing the explanation, the Marquess’s face crumpled.
“All……?”
The Tower Lord smiled broadly as if it were amusing.
“Yes, all Magic Towers.”
The Marquess hurriedly stood up and offered a farewell.
“I will be going now.”
“Safe travels.”
* * *
When the Marquess left, a disciple came to find him.
“Master, what is the matter?”
“Ahaha! Isn’t it funny?”
At the Tower Lord’s question, the disciple tilted his head.
“What is?”
“I’ve been curious since I heard that crazy guy Garme stayed to help Moner, but it seems there’s a peculiar guy in the Moner family this time.”
“A peculiar guy?”
“Yes. What do you think Garme’s letter means?”
“Well…….”
The disciple, thinking for a long time, answered.
“Since the kingdom cannot be trusted, maybe he informed all the nobles?”
“That could be it. But, didn’t the 2nd Prince take all the troops of those innocent guys? The only ones with remaining troops are the pro-kingdom nobles, and there’s no way they would help Moner.”
Magic Towers existed in every domain, and the blatant discord between the royal family and Moner was already famous among the nobles.
“Wouldn’t it be because he needs troops even that way? If 100,000 troops are really targeting Moner, he’s not in a position to be picky.”
“Right. That could be it. However, no. If he really needed help, he would have contacted using a communication sphere to show how desperate it is.”
At that explanation, the disciple nodded.
“That is correct. Unlike a letter that can only convey text, a communication sphere can convey voice and expression. Then making contact through the Magic Tower…….”
The Tower Lord, chuckling, grinned and said.
“It’s for exoneration. He wants the Magic Tower to be a witness. Even if the Orcs they failed to stop spread to the kingdom, it will all be the royal family’s responsibility.”