Surviving as a Villain at the Academy - Surviving as a Villain at the Academy chapter 183

183 – Flipping the Tower. (2)

Edmund Lancel looked at the towering spire before him with a tense expression.

The Imperial Magic Tower.

The cradle of the empire’s most outstanding magicians.

In other words, the moment a bloodbath ensues, the extent of the damage is unimaginable.

But surely, a bloodbath was inevitable. Edmund was certain of it.

This matter was rotten to the core.

The moment it’s thoroughly shaken, all sorts of horrific truths will likely unfold. What they were thinking, not even attempting to cover it up, he couldn’t fathom.

Or perhaps, they had tried to conceal it in their own way.

But the sorcerers, they are all obsessed with magic, aren’t they?

They are inevitably vulnerable to anything that requires professional concealment. Even if they put their utmost effort into it, in the end, those who are not experts can only attempt to hide.

Eventually, they are bound to be caught. It’s regrettable, if not pitiable, that it was not the Imperial Intelligence but the Sanctum’s Seekers, a new faction, that caught their trail.

He truly felt devastated that the situation had come this far. Why did the sorcerers commit such a taboo?

Even Delazio Talantis. That man is more severe. How could one born of the royal bloodline, who lived amidst the adoration of all the empire’s citizens, seek magical achievements through the sacrifice of his own people?

It’s unthinkable. It should not and must not happen.

He surveyed the faces of the personnel lined up behind him. Perhaps, among them, there were those who would not live to see tomorrow.

To think that they came just to inspect the Mage Tower, yet now had to worry about their lives. It was utterly absurd.

However, they could not just leave the Imperial Mage Tower as it is. The very existence of an institution that sacrifices people within the empire is nonsensical.

Moreover, if the Sanctum already knows of this fact, for the sake of relations with the Sanctum, they cannot simply ignore it. They must reform the Mage Tower completely this time.

The problem had been the Mage Tower’s excessive secrecy. Once that secrecy became a shield, it was inevitable for the sorcerers to harbor other intentions.

Edmund sighed and proceeded towards the entrance of the Mage Tower.

Two sorcerers guarding the tower greeted Edmund with puzzled expressions.

“Prime Minister? What brings you to the Imperial Mage Tower? And the troops behind you…?”

“Is the Tower Master present?”

Edmund asked coldly in response to the sorcerer’s question.

“Ah, yes. He is here. But may I ask what this is about…?”

“His Majesty the Emperor has commanded me to inspect the Mage Tower.”

“An inspection… you say?”

“Yes. Recently, suspicious activities have been detected around the Mage Tower, and His Majesty has ordered a thorough investigation. And the Tower Master is not exempt from this inspection.”

“Just a moment, please. I will report to the Tower Master.”

“Do so. But do not keep me waiting too long. Given the solemn imperial command, all sorcerers of the Tower must cease all activities and cooperate fully with the inspection.”

“Understood…”

The sorcerer, with a look of unease, hurried off somewhere. By the looks of it, he was going to the Tower Master.

It wasn’t long before the Tower Master appeared.

* * *

I found myself gazing at the Tower Master who had suddenly appeared before us.

I had only heard of him, for he was always holed up in the tower, and this was my first time seeing him in person. He looked like the very embodiment of a stubborn old man.

Should I say his solitary path of magic was clearly reflected in his demeanor?

Without any sign of confusion, he welcomed us.

“I heard His Majesty the Emperor has commanded gratitude. May I verify the imperial edict bearing the royal command?”

“Here it is.”

“…Indeed, it bears His Majesty’s seal. Very well. I shall humbly accept.”

“The other sorcerers must also cooperate accordingly. And should any traces related to the primary purpose of this audit, the human experimentation, be discovered immediately…”

“Immediately?”

“The instigators will be executed summarily. His Highness has decreed that the charges for this case be treated as more severe than treason.”

“…Understood.”

Surprisingly, the Tower Master accepted the audit without fuss. This was unexpected. But then again, since the order was to capture the instigators, it’s possible the Tower Master had prepared to sacrifice a few to save the rest.

After all, only a sorcerer could perform such a cover-up.

But to think they could escape so easily would be a grave miscalculation.

From the moment I brought Asti here, they had no way out.

And that goes for Aym, too.

He’s probably scrambling to flee by now, but is it really possible?

Originally, Asti was supposed to capture Aym, but there was a better way.

The Dragon of Sloth, Sloth itself.

Upon hearing that, I immediately revised the plan.

Asti would join our side to protect Adrian, Father, and the party, while Aym would be dealt with by Sloth.

I can’t believe how foolish I’ve been. There was an easier way, yet I chose the harder path. Sending Asti to deal with Aym would clearly be a waste of our forces.

Especially when we had Sloth, an excellent resource.

Above all, the reason I changed my mind was to prepare for any unexpected situations. And among those around me, Asti was the best suited to handle such events.

I felt a twinge of worry lift from my heart. Aym may be a higher demon, but Sloth is a monster capable of grappling with even higher demons.

A mere higher demon stands no chance at all.

Moreover, no matter what the Tower Master has prepared, how could he possibly deal with Asti? Whatever he has planned, Asti will be able to thwart it.

I glanced over at Asti and Adrian.

They noticed my gaze and gave a slight nod. I had already told Adrian to stick close if anything unusual happened, so they’ll probably handle it well.

But what exactly has the Tower Master prepared that he accepted the audit so readily?

That was a bit curious.

Well, I’ll find out soon enough.

* * *

The Dragon of Sloth, Sloth, looked at the towering spire with an expression of annoyance.

The grand dragon, too conspicuous to the eye, had taken the form of a human woman as she stepped into the human realm, clicking her tongue in disdain.

“Is it really worth waking me up just to catch a mere high-ranking demon…?”

She voiced her complaints aloud.

Annoyed at being roused from a pleasant slumber in the depths of hell to capture a high-ranking demon, she found Asti’s summons quite bothersome.

“The reward had better be substantial for this inconvenience… Still, it’s such a nuisance. A high-ranking demon named Aim, was it?”

After all, she could easily crush a high-ranking demon like that. She spread her magic to survey the entire imperial magic tower. Having wrestled with demons for thousands of years, she was adept at detecting their presence.

From noble mtl dot nete

Naturally, finding Aim’s trace was not difficult.

“Found you.”

As if she had been waiting for this moment,

Slothus smiled. But she had no intention of confronting and killing the fiend right away. She planned to ambush and kill him the moment he felt safe enough to let his guard down.

She was well-versed in human affairs and knew it would be problematic if humans feared her due to her causing a commotion.

Even if a grand dragon appeared in the imperial magic tower and squashed a demon, there was no guarantee that humans wouldn’t attack her. It was better to handle things safely than to take unnecessary risks.

She decided to wait leisurely for Aim to flee further away.

* * *

Aim realized it was time to slip away when he suddenly saw Edmund Lancel visiting the magic tower.

He had prepared well in advance. He smiled, knowing now he could leisurely escape to another place and repeat similar deeds.

After all, the human realm was nothing more than a playground to him.

It was just bad luck this time. He never expected to be caught by the holy kingdom. He took this as a lesson and planned to nest in a country far from the holy kingdom next time.

“Well, it might be a bit difficult to find a place as good as this… but it’s better than getting caught by the holy kingdom and having a headache.”

With a sly glance around, he slowly concealed his presence.

* * *

The father, as if determined, had mobilized a large number of court magicians to start a formal audit. However, less evidence turned up than expected.

Even after combing through the magic tower thoroughly, the lack of evidence made the father slightly anxious.

“…This is troublesome.”

Barely audible to the master of the tower, the father muttered softly.

Apparently, even the master of the tower had joined in the cover-up efforts. No matter how skilled the court magicians were, their abilities ultimately could not surpass those of the master of the tower.

“Have you found any evidence?”

“We haven’t searched the entire tower yet, so we need to look a little longer.”

“Ha ha. I see. Very well. Keep up the good work.”

The master of the tower began to wear a triumphant expression. Perhaps he was gleeful at the thought of making some request to the royal family if no evidence was found, his inner joy transparently visible.

Certainly, I wasn’t particularly worried.

After all, Asti was already here.