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Episode 63
Last number (6)
Woooo …
I slowly examined Riley’s hands.
On the back of her hand was engraved a colorless symbol symbolizing the Tower of Irantes.
It may sound a bit strange to say that it is a colorless pattern, but it would be easier to understand if you think of it as a faint mark on the skin.
“It is a token of the ‘oath of loyalty.’”
Jan Irantes began to explain this sign.
“Unlike regular marks that fade after a few days, this mark will remain on your hand forever, until the day you die.”
“… … .”
“From now on, that badge will prove that you are a member of the Irantes Tower. You won’t have to go around the city to renew your ID card.”
The status of a wizard belonging to the five great magic towers is recognized everywhere.
This meant that, like mercenaries or merchants, they would no longer have to wait in long lines and undergo security screening every time they visited a new city.
If you just listen to it, you might wonder what’s so good about it… … .
This was a considerable convenience, considering that it took Riley half a day just to get through Wilhelm’s screening.
“Of course, there is another, bigger reason why wizards make the “Oath of Loyalty.”
“… … .”
“You, who are from Letemis, would know the reason, right?”
In response to Jan Lantes’ question, Riley nodded immediately.
“I understand it is to plant a heartworm that will eat away at the heart of a traitor.”
“hmm.”
After hearing Riley’s answer, Jan Lantes slowly nodded with a satisfied expression.
Heartworm.
This was a spell created to prevent traitors from arising.
When the spell is deployed, the magical power engraved on the token digs into the target’s heart.
This spell was given the name ‘Heartworm’ because its appearance resembled an earthworm eating dirt.
Thanks to the existence of this Heartworm, the five great towers were relatively free from the danger of spies.
If you betrayed the Tower, Heartworm would read the traitor’s mind and automatically eat his heart.
-You want to enter the Tower of Lantes and act as a spy? Don’t you even know about the existence of Heartworm?
That was the main reason Garon Theobald tore Riley apart last night.
As long as Heartworm exists, there can be no spies in the five major towers structurally.
‘Your Majesty.’
[why.]
‘Then how come I’m fine? Even now I’m thinking about hitting Jan Irantes on the back of the head.’
[Oh, that?]
It’s thanks to my existence.
No, more precisely, it’s thanks to the power of the bond between me and Riley.
[Originally, Heartworm was designed to monitor only one person’s thoughts.]
“… … .”
[But because of the power of binding, a foreign entity called the “Book of Grimoire” has entered your consciousness, so Heartworm is overloaded and cannot perform its function.]
Of course, this was only a temporary measure.
It was okay to think about betraying Irantes like this… … .
If this were to be put into full-scale action, Riley’s heart would immediately be eaten by the Heartworm.
[So we’re going to get rid of this heartworm as quickly as possible. At least within three months.]
‘……yes?’
After hearing what I said, Riley immediately asked a question.
‘You can get rid of heartworm in 3 months?’
[huh.]
‘I learned in Artemis that it was impossible… … ?’
[Well, usually that’s true.]
It takes nearly 20 years of preparation to get rid of heartworm.
It was only possible to perform the “Heartworm Removal Technique” by neutralizing the heartworm by consistently consuming small amounts of poison.
Most spies are exposed during this twenty-year process.
This is precisely why it was known that it was virtually impossible to eliminate heartworm.
[But that’s okay. I have a way.]
I didn’t waste tens of thousands of years of studying the grimoire.
Getting rid of heartworms is a piece of cake.
It wasn’t that I was trying to use Riley as a spy for the Irantes Tower without any plan.
[So don’t worry too much. As soon as the final exam is over, the Heartworm problem will be solved.]
‘All right.’
After hearing my words, Riley looked straight ahead with a much more relaxed expression.
Just then, Jan Lantes looked at us and quietly opened his mouth.
“Well, I think the explanation is roughly finished, so let’s end the final exam here.”
Taaak─!
A guy who snaps his fingers in the air as soon as he finishes speaking.
Then, the gate at the far end of the room began to move towards Riley at a terrifying speed.
Shh …
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Rattling─!
“… … .”
[… … .]
The gate came right before our eyes in the blink of an eye.
Riley looked up and down the door with cautious eyes.
It was the same gate we had seen at the management office a few hours ago.
“That door is a teleportation gate to the administration office. The administrator waiting there will explain anything I haven’t been able to explain.”
Jan Lantes said, waving his hands.
“Then go and rest, child. You must be tired from taking the test for a long time.”
“… … .”
It’s been a long time… … .
okay.
It really took a long time to take one final exam. It felt like half a day had passed.
‘Then I guess I should go in and rest.’
Instead of answering, Riley nodded slightly at Jan Lantes and stepped back.
She slowly pulls the handle of the gate.
Squeak─.
Beyond the gate that opened with the sound of old hinges, a pitch-black magical power was seen swirling and surging.
Damn it.
That was the moment when Riley was about to step through the gate.
[Wait a minute, Riley.]
“… … ?”
Stop─.
When I called Riley’s name, she immediately stopped walking and stood still.
‘What’s going on?’
[Let’s do one more thing before we go.]
‘……yes?’
I finally met Jan Lantes, so I can’t just part ways with him like this.
I wanted to give that con guy a piece of shit before I went back to management.
To give Riley that small but definite hint, I whispered a little plan to her.
About 10 seconds passed like that.
After hearing the whole story from me, Riley slowly turned back towards Jan Lantes.
“Why, is there anything else you want to say?”
Jan Lantes, who saw that sight, asked a question with a puzzled expression.
Riley nodded and answered immediately.
“I want to make one last move before I leave.”
“… … The last number?”
“yes.”
Riley pointed at something cautiously.
Jan Lantes slowly followed her fingers and asked a question.
“……hmm?”
At the location Riley’s fingertips were pointing, there was a giant chessboard.
“Chess? Is there anything else to play? The game would have ended in stalemate.”
“No, the game isn’t over yet.”
Riley firmly denies Jan Lantes’ words.
The guy who heard that assertion looked blank for a moment, then started laughing out loud.
“Ha, right. Are you saying that you won’t give up on this game until the very end?”
“… … .”
“Good. I’m curious about your last move. Let me see.”
Bow─.
After receiving permission from Yann Lantes, Riley bowed in thanks and then immediately attempted the last move I had told him.
Woof.
Ssuk─.
As I said before, Jan Irantes did not play chess to decide who would win or lose.
He simply used chess as a tool to convey a silent message to Riley.
[So let’s give back the same.]
Like Jan Lantes, I also wanted to send a message to that cheater through chess.
“I’m going to move my phone to the G8.”
“… … ?”
The chessboard is 8×8 in shape.
G8.
Here, the alphabet G signifies a horizontal row on the board, and the number 8 signifies a vertical row.
In other words, it means that the phone has reached the G8… … .
It was like a pawn with no power at all finally successfully reaching the far end of the enemy’s camp.
Wooooowow─!
Light began to emanate from the soldier’s body.
A pawn is a piece that can only move forward.
Unlike other creatures, they could not move backwards. They could only move forward, and forward again.
But once a pawn reaches the final row, there is nowhere else to go.
So these phones are given one special privilege.
“I will promote the pawn to a queen.”
Promotion.
A rule that allows a pawn that has reached the final row to transform into another piece.
Hwaaaa …
It changes.
The phone, which had only the appearance of a private, began to change little by little.
And so, the once lowly private returned to the chessboard as a dignified queen.
The queen aimed her scepter at the enemy general with majesty.
-… … !
The king of Jan Irantes was surrounded by his allies.
A situation where all possible spaces for escape are blocked.
The sturdy defensive wall that once protected the king was now a dead-end wall, pushing the king into a desperate situation.
In an instant, the tables were turned.
It was no longer us who were in a dilemma, but Jan Lantes.
Riley, seeing that sight, declared in a quiet voice.
“Checkmate.”
“… … .”
[… … .]
This is exactly the message I wanted to convey.
The next three months.
Did you say you would eliminate the other three powers before the Wilhelm Round Table Conference?
okay.
We’re going to work like crazy until that day.
I will endure any pain and bear any hardship.
Having overcome all those adversities, we will achieve growth at an unprecedented rate, as we have done so far.
So one day.
When you feel safe and secure, surrounded by a safe defensive wall.
Riley, who was just a private, has now become a queen and will finally give you the end.
“Well then, the match is over, so I will take my leave now.”
It had been about five minutes since Riley had made his final move, but Yann Lantes had not said a word.
Damn it.
Riley bowed slightly towards him and slowly stepped out through the gate.
Hwaaaa …
The magic began to surge.
I felt like my body was being sucked somewhere, with a strange sense of floating.
At the same time, the teleportation gate began to operate and our vision began to gradually darken.
“her…….”
Just before the field of vision becomes completely covered in darkness.
I could see.
I mean, Jan Lantes muttered to himself, bursting into a hollow laugh.
“This hit me hard.”
[under.]
And when I heard this guy say this, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
You said you had a big room?
With just this?
What do I do with this?
You haven’t even seen the room we prepared yet.
* * *
Woohoo──.
The magic of the gate engulfed us.
As I was teleporting towards the management office, Riley suddenly asked me a question in a cautious voice.
‘Is it okay?’
[what.]
‘I came out after checkmating at the end. I’m worried that it will be seen as me rebelling against Yann Lantes for no reason.’
I really worry about everything.
Well, well.
Riley, even though she may seem like a pushover, she’s surprisingly always careful in important situations like today.
[Well, that’s okay. Didn’t you see Jan Lantes smiling at the end? He probably liked it when you did it.]
‘… Is that so?’
[Yeah. Through Checkmate, Riley has once again proven her competitive nature.]
At the last moment, Jan Lantes suddenly gave a hollow laugh.
It wasn’t a smile that oozed discomfort.
Rather, he seemed to be impressed with Riley for not giving up the fight until the end.
[And in the first place, Jan Lantes couldn’t even imagine that you would betray him?]
‘why?’
[That’s because there’s a heartworm firmly planted in your heart.]
As I said before, it takes at least 20 years to get rid of heartworm.
Therefore, there has never been an instance of a freshly planted, hot heartworm malfunctioning.
Especially since he is Jan Irantes who has lived for hundreds of years, it is unlikely that he will suspect Riley.
[Rather, Jan Irantes probably thinks you are being deceived by the plan to conquer the continent.]
“… … .”
[Well, we can aim for that point and hit the back of his head.]
There’s nothing more frustrating than getting stabbed in the back of the head by someone you never expected.
I wanted to give Jan Lantes that dirty feeling.
In order to do that, we need to grow Riley as much as possible in a short period of three months… … .
Well, the growth plan was already somewhat drawn up. If it went according to plan, Riley would be able to grow sufficiently in time.
Saaaa …
[… … .]
I was just thinking about that.
At that moment, the flow of magical power gradually slowed down and the surroundings gradually began to brighten.
Looks like we finally arrived at the management office.
I looked around slowly.
Through the clearer vision, the interior of a clean white building began to appear.
[……ok?]
for a moment.
What is this?
As I was looking inside the management building, I couldn’t help but ask myself a question.
[Why is it so dark here?]
‘That’s right.’
It was too dark.
The management office was always brightly lit, but for some reason, the interior of the building was very dark now.
That wasn’t all.
A terrible silence, so intense that not even the sound of ants crawling could be heard. No sign of life could be felt within the management office.
[What is this… … .]
It was at that moment that Riley and I were quite bewildered by the sight of the unfamiliar management office.
Right then.
“Miss Riley.”
A woman’s voice was heard.
