Chapter 119

—Aha, so the Archduke of Flames plans to… and then… Patel?

—That is correct. Ultimately, I intend to make him my…

—Oh my, oh my! In that case, I think we can help you! How about using something like… or… here? The effects are so certain that even a Tartaruga would…!

—Not bad. But is it really alright for me to accept all of this?

—Of course! In exchange, just give us a portion of Patel’s… later.

—For real? There’s a demand for that?

—Naturally! A black mage’s… is a very popular item among nightmare demons! Besides, since he’s been the most prominent figure lately, it’ll sell for a high price!

The Council session resumed.

While I had been chatting with Velada, it seemed Flauros and Rubietta had reached some sort of agreement.

I didn’t know what kind of deal had been struck, but both of them wore satisfied expressions.

The way they occasionally glanced over at me was a bit unsettling, but regardless.

“The Seat of Flame will cooperate in the attack on the Magic Tower.”

“An excellent choice. Since more than half of the quorum has voted in favor, we shall conclude this agenda as passed.”

The Council adjourned following Kravec’s announcement that the specific schedule would be communicated through the witches.

I woke up alongside Ha Yeri in the hotel where we had been staying.

Inside the room, which we had converted into a darkroom, a hundred ‘Kandu Bailanish Mirror Balls’ brought in by the witches were emitting a brilliant radiance.

Frowning, Ha Yeri went into the bathroom, removed her mask, and took out her contact lenses.

Emerging a short while later, she immediately convened an emergency meeting in Seoul.

She seemed slightly more excited than usual.

“This operation was certainly a great success.”

“It was. We’ve learned of the demons’ Great Invasion in advance and identified the existence of another Archduke on Earth. All the information obtained from the Council will be helpful when we launch a counter-invasion of the Demon Realm in the future.”

“An even greater harvest than that, Hayan, was confirming firsthand just how much those people trust you.”

A gaze filled with complex and subtle emotions swept over my mask.

Perhaps because of her small stature and Gothic-style clothing, she felt somewhat like a doll.

However, a strange spirit dwelled within her eyes, which glistened under the light of the mirror balls.

“This matter must be kept strictly confidential, so do not speak of it to anyone else.”

“Understood.”

“And just in case, don’t even dream of betraying humanity.”

“Good heavens! I thought you said you trusted me!”

To think she was still suspicious of me.

Did I really seem that untrustworthy?

Even though I had escorted her all the way to the Council, Ha Yeri was still—no, rather, she was even more—worried that I might side with the demons.

While I understood her perspective, I couldn’t help but feel a bit hurt.

“I’m just worried that Hayan, who gets swept away without any conviction, might suddenly flip to their side.”

“Oh, that won’t happen. I will be busy as Sae Hayan, the Light Mage (in training), protecting the safety of Seoul’s citizens until the day I retire.”

“Even if the demons offer you free toy hamburger sets for life?”

“Th-that’s…!”

The hostage was a bit too strong.

Given that the witches were looking to expand their business into human society, I could enjoy a truly legendary status if such a world ever came to be.

The moment Tentacle Pay was introduced in South Korea, I’d be able to get every hamburger for free, every toy for free, and even ride every subway and train for free.

For someone like me, who had to wire my entire salary to a hacker by the end of this month, it was a temptation no different from the Forbidden Fruit placed before Adam.

As if fueling that internal conflict, Ha Yeri spoke to me in a rare, playful tone.

“How about it? If you betray humanity right now, you can lick Deputy Commander Yoo Se-byeol’s feet as much as you want. Mine too, if you wish.”

“Guh…!”

For a moment, Patel, the evil black mage within me, shot his hand up and shouted, ‘Me!’

The pure part of my mind tried desperately to resist, but it couldn’t overcome the desire.

Just as the devotee of the Great One, Sae Hayan, was about to vanish completely, and the persona of ‘Blackie’—who greedily craves women’s feet—was about to take over my body…

A certain question suddenly occurred to me.

“But Commander Ha Yeri, why?”

“Excuse me?”

“I’ve never licked your feet before, have I? I never even requested it.”

“Th-that…”

I wanted the Star Scar; I was absolutely not a pervert who enjoyed licking feet, no matter what happened or even if the world collapsed.

Because I was satisfied… no, enduring licking Yoo Se-byeol’s feet, I had never extended those demonic hands toward other women.

I hadn’t even used a Wish Coupon to ask Ha Yeri to let me lick her feet, so her sudden proposal was highly suspicious.

“I simply deduced it because Hayan’s gaze was unpleasantly flickering toward my legs.”

“Hmm… is that really all?”

“Yes, that’s all. At any rate, just remember one thing: if you betray humanity, you will pay a corresponding price.”

“What kind of price?”

To my casual question, Ha Yeri answered with dead seriousness.

“My pride and dignity were completely trampled today.”

“…”

“If you mess this up, I will commit social suicide by filming myself calling you ‘Papa’ and posting it for the whole organization to see, and then I’ll make sure you go down with me.”

Upon hearing that chilling threat, I decided to dedicate my life to humanity.

Ha Yeri finished her preparations to head up to Seoul.

The Great Invasion was still some time away, and she needed to return to the capital to coordinate a response. Before she departed, I took the opportunity to ask her a question. I was referring to the way she had subtly nudged the demons toward attacking the Magic Towers.

“Do you have a specific plan? From what Hans said, it sounds like even the Busan Pact might be nullified. The damage won’t be light.”

“Hmm… I suppose it’s alright to tell you, Hayan. The Magic Towers aren’t as vital to humanity as those demons think.”

“Is that true?”

“It would be more accurate to say they can be rebuilt at any time. As long as the Tower Masters remain alive, that is.”

Tower Masters.

This referred to the heads of the magic world—Awakened of the Transcendent Realm who resided at the pinnacle of the four Magic Towers. In the case of the White Tower, the seat remained vacant because no one had yet mastered magic to that degree, but the others were different.

In short, as long as the safety of the Tower Masters was secured, the Magic Towers the demons were targeting were nothing more than castles made of stacked stones.

“When we dismantled the Black Tower, our primary concern was whether the Tower Master was dead or alive.”

“Did they die?”

“The records from that time say they did, so that’s likely the case. Given that the Black Tower hasn’t been rebuilt to this day, it’s almost certain.”

“I see…”

I was fairly sure I’d heard that the Tower Master was still alive during that standoff over the Hand of Oblivion and the Handkerchief of Bewitchment. However, it wasn’t important right now, so I didn’t bother mentioning it.

Since the demons would get suspicious if the mages serving as professors suddenly fled back to their posts, I decided to remain in Busan for as long as possible. Ha Yeri gave me my own set of tasks.

“There are two things you need to do. First, speak with Lord Hans; if he truly intends to betray humanity, eliminate him.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“Then you are to deploy him into the operation when I give the signal. Second, there’s a matter regarding Commander Cheon So-baek.”

Cheon So-baek?

She was also in Busan right now. I wasn’t sure if Ha Yeri knew that, but she told me to go with Cheon So-baek to meet the Master of the Red Tower. The reason, naturally, was for the Heavenly Immortal’s safety.

“The entire operation is top secret, but the Heavenly Immortal must be informed. I’ll give a heads-up to the other Tower Masters in advance as well.”

I hadn’t been able to see them last time, so I might finally get a look at their face. Since I’d be going with Cheon So-baek, I didn’t think it would be too difficult, so I accepted the mission without much thought.

Just before boarding the train that had arrived at the platform, Ha Yeri stopped in her tracks and turned to me as if something had just occurred to her.

“By the way, regarding your conversation with that demon, Velada.”

“Yes?”

“What did you mean when you said you’d discovered something more important than the Chairperson’s true identity?”

“Ah, that was my speculation that the demons might focus their efforts on the Yellow Tower.”

The four Outer Gods observe the world from the top of their respective Magic Towers.

The Outer God of Revelation is linked to the Blue Tower.

The Outer God of Judgment to the Red Tower.

The Outer God of Salvation to the Yellow Tower.

And the Outer God of Justice to the White Tower.

“Didn’t the Apostle of the Outer God use tentacles to drag down the Outer God of Salvation at the Thirteen Palaces of Emptiness recently? I suspected they might be trying to gain something from the God that was wounded by the Sword Immortal back then.”

“You seem to know quite a lot for someone who was supposedly hospitalized with food poisoning at the time.”

“Well, it’s a very famous story… Anyway, it’s just a guess! I just thought if Chairwoman Trishy were to manifest personally, it would be at the Yellow Tower!”

“Is that so?”

Ha Yeri pondered for a moment before stepping onto the train.

“If we can hunt an Archduke this time, then we might truly be able to speak as equals, just as the Apostle of the Outer God said. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Fortunately, I managed to convey the likely manifestation range of the Archduke while avoiding any mention of the Star Scar. Once Ha Yeri left, I immediately changed my clothes and headed to the Magic Tower for work.

It had only been a single night. In that short window, I’d had to masquerade as Patel, attend the Council, return to my job as a professor, and prepare for a demon invasion. Perhaps that was why I felt utterly exhausted on my way to the tower.

Mala-nim pressed my fingers backward as if worried about me.

『Fear not?』

“You want me to take this chance to snatch the Star Scars from both the Outer God of Salvation and Chairwoman Trishy? Mala-nim, are you really going to push your only follower even harder after seeing me struggle like this?”

『But—?』

She seemed to be saying, “But so what?”

I didn’t know why, but she seemed extremely displeased. Was it because I let Commander Ha Yeri ride on my shoulders? Or was it because I walked down the street with Velada and Flauros on either side of me? Or maybe it was because I was currently planting Mala-nim in a flowerpot to use her as my next teaching aid.

『Fear! Fear not!』

“Just stay still for a second. I need to show the students that there are albino individuals even among tentacles.”

As the dirty soil touched her body, Mala-nim writhed in extreme disgust. Regardless, with the mindset of a developer evicting a toad from its home to build a new house, I buried her in the pot.

Digestion was nowhere to be found, so the only way to relieve my mounting stress was to bully Mala-nim for at least half a day.

While I was busy preparing for class in the research lab, Cheon So-baek arrived.

“Good morning, Professor!”

“Ah, yes. Good morning, Miss Soso.”

“You stayed in your room all day yesterday, didn’t you? That woman with the cat ears knocked, but you didn’t open the door. Good job.”

Cat ears? Was she talking about No Yeon-hwa?

I must have failed to notice because my consciousness had been at the Council. I reflexively checked the notifications on my smartwatch. There were fifteen messages from No Yeon-hwa—messages I was too terrified to even read.

“What kind of lesson are we doing today? If there’s anything I can do to help, just say the word!”

Fortunately, she hadn’t realized I’d accessed the Council with Ha Yeri, but the fact that she hadn’t used her Word-Spirit to just break the door down was even scarier.

Unlike me, who was feeling a threat to my life, Cheon So-baek seemed to be in high spirits. She volunteered to water and feed the pots containing the tentacle seedlings and asked if there was anything else I needed.

I decided I’d just have to double the ‘friendship fee’ I paid No Yeon-hwa later and focused on the task Ha Yeri had assigned.

“Actually, there is one thing I’d like your help with.”

“Yes! Just say it. If it’s a request from you, Professor, I’ll do anything…”

“I would like to meet the Tower Master. Preferably today, if possible.”

“…Pardon?”

However, upon hearing that I wanted to meet the Heavenly Immortal, her expression shifted entirely, and she froze right where she stood.