[V6C13] A Bad Man Who Loves Bad Men
Translated by Jodas 6: Secrets of the Wedge TowerThe man by the name of Sombart was roughly a decade younger than Hütter. In his late twenties, his blond hair framed a sweet, attractive, and boyish face.
That said, his smile was unfathomably sketchy. A con man’s instincts screamed that this man was up to no good.
Hütter suppressed the urge to click his tongue and assumed the posture of a dedicated educator.
“I had a little work left over… Actually, there was a type of magecraft I wanted to recommend to one of my students.”
As he spoke, he grabbed the notes on choral magic from his desk.
It was a form of Classical Magic he was considering getting Tia to learn. It was no lie that he’d been accumulating material on the topic.
“I only ever studied illusion magic, so I don’t really know my way around the Classical School’s magecraft… I was wondering if there was anyone who could teach it.”
“Satie Otto.”
Hütter was taken aback by the name on Sombart’s lips.
Wasn’t that the name of Otto’s late wife?
(Why would he bring up that name…?)
“She was one of the very few people in the Wedge Tower with training in choral magic. It seems like she’s been dead for thirteen years, though.”
“I see… That is a shame.”
“Does the surname Otto not interest you?”
Hütter’s face soured to Sombart’s words.
There was no doubt. Sombart was definitely starting to become suspicious of Hütter. On top of that, he’d already done some research as well.
“I heard from Director Kappel just last night that Otto’s wife had passed away. I didn’t know that she was a choral magic user, though.”
“Satie Otto was best friends with Assistant Headmaster Miriam. Plus, I’ve heard rumors that Headmaster Möbius had a thing for Satie, and that he and Lutz Otto were in a love triangle.”
Sombart spoke freely and casually as he spread those slanderous rumors.
Hütter chose to reply dispassionately, simply saying “Oh, really?”
(…As if I’d give the likes of you any information for you to go on.)
If he wanted to hear that kind of gossip, there was no need for him to ask Sombart. He would have a much better time asking Old Man Kappel for that information instead. There was no reason for him to go along with Sombart’s chatter.
“By the way, what are you doing here so late, Mr. Sombart?”
Hütter played dumb and turned the question he was asked earlier right back at the man.
Sombart smiled confidently. He had the same unnatural smile that he always did.
“Mr. Hütter, you know, I love bad men.”
‘What the fuck are you talking about?’ Keeping that reaction to himself, Hütter frowned.
Sombart kept his smile as he sat in a nearby chair.
“When I read stories, I always root for the villain instead of the protagonist. I especially like crafty, evil men. Every time I see a charismatic villain, I feel tingly all over!”
He spoke like a carefree little boy.
Yet his words carried a desperate obsession that belied his smiley exterior. Something about him felt remarkably chilling.
“When I first laid eyes on the great Samuel Löwenich, I thought he was the perfect image of my ideal evil man! He was a genius like no one else! He was a proud and cruel overlord!
Be it money, power, precious knowledge or tomes, he could have anything he wanted!”
Sombart’s eyes gleamed in excitement and he smiled.
Unlike his typical, artificial smile, he now looked like a boy receiving the toy he’d always dreamed of.
“When I approached him and said ‘When I grow up, I want to be your right hand man!’ Mr. Löwenich just laughed at me, and he said ‘Do whatever you want. I always do whatever I want.’ Back then, that sneering face he made when he made fun of me… It was the best!”
Hütter took a step back.
(Sombart… I knew he was nasty, but he’s a lot worse than I thought…!)
“I was still a student when Mr. Löwenich went to the Wedge Tower but I decided that, when I graduated, I had to go to the Wedge Tower. I figured that, by then, Mr. Löwenich had to have taken over the Wedge Tower already. So I came here thinking ‘I’m gonna become Assistant Headmaster!’ … Then I actually got here.”
It seemed as if his emotions dissipated with that last few words.
His fake smile disappeared and he slumped down in his seat like a dropped marionette.
Indeed. Samuel Löwenich was expelled from the Wedge Tower… then, only a short time later, died from an illness.
“I want to know why Mr. Löwenich was expelled, Mr. Hütter… you want to know too, right?”
“…What do you mean by that?”
He couldn’t allow himself to get swept up in Sombart’s tale. He had to maintain ignorant and quiet.
He hadn’t let anything slip yet.
As Hütter repeated that mantra to himself, Sombart lifted his face to look him in the eyes.
Plastered on that face was the fake smile that Hütter hated most.
“After all, the real Dream Mage is in another country, isn’t he?”
“—!?”
“To be honest, I’ve actually seen him a couple times. The real Dream Mage Caspar Hütter, that is.”
This was the worst-case scenario. And this man, of all people!
(Shitshitshitshitshitshit…!)
Hütter panicked as Sombart continued in a cheerful voice.
“You came to investigate the reason why the Wedge Tower cut off ties with the previous Emperor, right?”
With his identity as an imposter completely exposed, there was no point in keeping up appearances any more.
Hütter kept his voice low and answered the question with another question.
“…You don’t suspect that I came to steal the Wedge Tower’s priceless magical secrets?”
“Hm~ You don’t come across as that kind of guy, Mr. Hütter. Besides, aren’t you a complete amateur at magecraft~?”
He was completely right.
“So I figured that if you were investigating something, it had to be something like that…. So? So? How about it? Am I right?”
‘Stop looking like you’re having so much fun asking that!’ Holding back his urge to scream, Hütter responded in a low voice.
“… You’re more or less correct. I won’t reveal my employer, though.”
“It’s the Black Lion Emperor, isn’t it?”
“……”
“The Mage Association has no reason to care about our relations with the previous Emperor. Those guys don’t want to do anything that might affect their ties with either the Black Lion Emperor or the Wedge Tower.”
Sombart may say he loves bad men, but even if he wasn’t worshiping Samuel Löwenich, this guy was still a bad enough man himself.
He was a no-good, evil man.
“When you scared off Dammer with your chantless illusion magic, Mr. Hütter, I thought ‘That’s it! This is my guy!’”
He saw that? …No, more likely, he heard that. From the next room over.
(You’ve got some nerve eavesdropping on other people! … Even though I may have done a little bit of eavesdropping on the students here and there myself!)
Hütter’s eyelids twitched as Sombart made a suggestion with a carefree attitude.
“Hey, Mr. Hütter. Let’s work together! I want to know why Mr. Löwenich was expelled. You want to know why the Wedge Tower cut off relations with the previous Emperor — I’m sure you’ve already realized. Both of those things are connected.”
“…And you’re just letting Julius run around on his own? You’re not going to help him?”
Julius was one of the students in Sombart’s class.
Sombart must surely be aware that Julius was currently wandering about outside in the middle of the night.
“You aren’t wrong, my objectives do align with Julius… But he’s just a kid, you know? I’m only interested in bad adults!”
Sombart was not the kind of courteous grown up who refused to get kids involved in his plans. Not in the slightest.
This bastard simply refused to cooperate with Julius. He just watched the kid run around in vain, dropping the tiniest hints along the way.
(Well, it’s not like I’m any different on that front…)
“Besides, I…”
“Huh?”
“I’ve got some opinions about Julius myself.”
The nature of Sombart’s smile shifted.
While the shape of his smiling lips remained unchanged, his eyes drooped down.
“I think Mr. Löwenich got soft after adopting Julius.”
“……”
“He was so charismatic! He was so cool! He was without compare! Yet, he became more like a normal person towards the end. After he found Julius, after he got a son… I found that so, so, so, so, so, so infuriating!”
‘I hate this. Get me out of here, I don’t want to deal with this guy any more.’ — Hütter repeated those thoughts in his mind. Not bothering to hide his exasperation, he sighed.
“Alright, I get it. I’ll share information with you if you need me to.”
“Really? Oh, I’m so glad~! …Mr. Hütter, if you ever decide to take over the Wedge Tower, just say the word! I’ll be happy to help you!”
“…Did you even hear what I said?”
Who ever said anything about taking over the Wedge Tower?
All Hütter wanted to do was get the information he wanted and then get out of this place as soon as possible.
Sombart addressed Hütter’s dumbfounded expression with a smile. Unlike his usual fake smile, he spoke with a smile filled with joy from the bottom of his heart.
“I said it already, didn’t I, Mr. Hütter? I love bad men.”
‘Stop treating a third-rate con man like some kind of grand villain.’ Hütter sincerely thought.