[V10C2] W– What Did you Just Say?
Translated by Jodas 10: A Job for a Con ManAfter coming across Hütter and the others, Dammer lead the group to a building that looked like the village hall.
Since there were quite a few mages at the Wedge Tower, one village wasn’t enough to house all of them. Thus, there were plenty who elected to pitch tents and set up camp instead.
He explained that those with the gravest wounds, along with a few others, were borrowing an empty house to get some rest.
They didn’t see many people around when they entered the village, but Hütter started seeing faces he recognized as they moved towards a side with more homes.
The lady who always took care of him at the dining hall was there. When he said “Thank goodness you’re okay,” tears welled up in the lady’s eyes.
(From what I can tell, morale seems quite low here…)
The Monsters suddenly attacked and stole their home base. That was plenty reason enough.
Yet on top of that, having Headmaster Möbius and Assistant Headmaster Miriam, their psychological supports, taken out of the fight appeared to have even more of an effect.
(And there’s a few other things that bother me…)
The first concern was that he didn’t see any sign of the Apprentices.
Excluding Oliver, who was at the Lange Hamlet; seven of them: Rose, Julius, Gerald, Finn, Ella, Roswitha, and Sophie should still have been at the Wedge Tower.
If they weren’t injured, it would make sense to send them out to run errands or relay messages, but that wouldn’t explain why he couldn’t find a single one of them.
Furthermore, this was Hütter and co.’s grand homecoming. Surely someone would have thought to come out and welcome them.
…Tia and the others were probably all thinking the same thing. Every one of them had tense expressions as they searched the village in hopes of finding their friends.
“Mr. Hütter!”
As they were wondering, a woman’s voice called Hütter’s name. Running towards them was a woman with bright blonde hair tied behind her head — Protection Office Director Böll.
She ordinarily kept her face clean, smooth, and applied makeup, but now she wore no makeup and bags showed beneath her eyes.
“Director Böll. Glad to see you’re okay.”
“Yes, you as well, Mr. Hütter… I’m so glad you were able to make it back safely… Thank you too, Otto, for escorting them all this way.”
Böll, the Director of the Protection Office, was Otto’s direct superior.
Otto responded with a respectful nod.
“I have returned from my duties, Director Böll. I’ve heard only a little of the current situation, but is Headmaster Möbius…?”
“About that… Well, it sounds like they’re going to explain everything pretty soon. Let’s head to the village hall together.”
Saying that, Böll started to walk off, but soon swayed to the side.
Hütter rushed to support her as Böll slinked down his arm and hunched over where she stood.
She covered her face with both hands and sobbed.
Usually, she was a headstrong, resilient woman, but now she cried like a whimpering child.
“Director Böll…”
Hütter kneeled down beside her and gently spoke, to which Böll whispered between sobs.
“…I’m sorry… Just, why!? …Why would Liese…!?”
Liese — In a voice filled with anguish, Böll continued to repeat the name of the Guidance Office’s Instructor Anneliese Röhm.
From her muttering, Hütter could intuit at least part of what had happened.
…The worst-case scenario he had brought up in his discussion with the Apprentices was correct.
“I’m Caspar Hütter of the Guidance Office. After the mission to retake the Darwock Royal Palace was cut short, I returned via the Lange Hamlet, arriving just a few minutes ago.”
Everyone’s attention turned towards Hütter, Otto, and the Apprentices as they entered the room.
They were assembled in the village hall’s meeting room. The upper echelons of the Wedge Tower — Spiremasters and Directors — were gathered inside. However, there were many absences. There must have been casualties.
While Hütter assessed the faces in the room, Hegelich opened his mouth to speak.
“…I’m glad to see you’re well. The Apprentices are all uninjured, I hope.”
Hegelich himself had bloodstained bandages wrapped around his face and limbs.
While everyone had sustained injuries big and small, Hegelich appeared to be by far the most heavily wounded one here.
Tia warbled “Pyoeh…”
“Director Hegelich, your voice sounds like it hurts a lot.”
“Hmph! I’m only lightly injured, you know? Besides, the other Apprentices I was supposed to care for…”
Hegelich’s face turned into a slight frown as he avoided giving a direct explanation.
“…I’ll just say none of them are critically wounded.”
Hütter reckoned Hegelich intended those words as a form of kindess.
Most likely, the betrayal they predicted had occurred. With that in mind, he wanted Tia and the others who worried for their fellow Apprentices to know that none of those who they’d left behind had suffered critical wounds.
“Now, why don’t you bring the Apprentices to a separate room…”
As Abel, sitting at the other end of the room gave her suggestion, someone projected their voice to interrupt her. It was Sevil.
“No. We will be standing in on this meeting.”
Sevil took a step forward and surveyed all of the faces in the room. She spoke proudly, not willing to take ‘no’ for an answer.
“Along our travels, we encountered Monsters and witnessed the engagement at the Lange Village to its conclusion. Would it not be best to exchange information as promptly and directly as possible?”
Abel briefly stared at Sevil in silence.
Spiremaster Abel, of the First Spire: White Smoke, gave the outward impression of a gentle old lady. However, now that Headmaster Möbius and Assistant Headmaster Miriam were absent, she acted in their stead and held command over the proceedings.
After sighing, she said “Very well,” and motioned for the Apprentices to take a seat as well.
(Wow, at times like this, having Sevil around really helps get things done fast… I’d really hate to make an enemy of her, though.)
It made things a whole lot easier when she would say the things Hütter really didn’t want to say himself. And she had the intimidating presence of an Imperial Princess on top of that.
Hütter gave an awkward smile that said ‘Sorry about my students, guys,’ as he took a seat.
Then, he took note of the ones who weren’t present in the room.
(Headmaster Möbius, Assistant Headmaster Miriam, Library Office Director Linke, Maintenance Office Director Kruger, and all of the Medical Office’s Directors are absent.)
He’d heard that Möbius and Miriam were heavily injured.
Maintenance Office Director Kruger had a weak constitution and was on the cusp of retiring anyways, so it wasn’t strange for him to be absent.
And he assumed the Medical Office’s members had their hands full tending to the wounded.
(That means Director Linke of the Library Office must be wounded. That, or…)
Abel spoke up with an uncharacteristic expression on her face.
“First, I must let you know: In pursuance of her duties at the Tower, Library Office Director Linke has passed away.”
The atmosphere of the room grew heavier. ‘I thought so,’ Hütter remarked mentally.
The top two were so heavily injured they couldn’t make it here, and one of the directors was dead. Of course that would have an effect on the morale.
“What I must share with all of you pertains to the Wedge Tower’s fundamental duties. While I believe some of you are already aware, I would like you to bear with me…”
Abel paused mid-sentence and looked around at everyone in the room.
A clear and potent willpower resided within the eyes of this gentle old lady.
“The proper name of the Wedge Tower is the Ancient Magical Artifact ‘Chariclea, the Wedge Tower.’ It is a magical device of unparalleled scale that projects an immense barrier to repel Monsters. That means the Western Wall that protects us all is a product of ‘Chariclea, the Wedge Tower.’”
“Ah—!” When Abel revealed the truth of the Wedge Tower, Wren almost shouted.
(So that’s the ‘Wedge Tower’s fourth’ that Julius was talking about…! The fourth Ancient Magical Artifact! Ah~ damn, I knew something was bothering me, but I didn’t realize what it was until she said it…!)
Hearing the functions and duties of the Wedge Tower, Sevil thought of her father, the previous Emperor. She had a revelation, realizing what the previous Emperor was thinking and why the Wedge Tower had cut ties with him.
(So this is the truth the Wedge Tower was hiding… I see. I know now what Father had done.)
Tia, for her part, knew that Ancient Magical Artifacts required wielders.
Just as Helena wielded ‘Eurydice, the Cackling Foam,’ this Ancient Magical Artifact must have had a wielder as well.
Thus, she realized the truth of that girl she despised so much.
(I get it now… The user of the Ancient Magical Artifact ‘Chariclea, the Wedge Tower’ must be that girl. That’s why Möbius and the others were hiding that girl underground.)
Rukiye, was surprised. However, ever the artisan, she was able to accept the truth of the Wedge Tower being an Ancient Magical Artifact with relative calm.
(I always thought it was weird that there was a mana forge in the Wedge Tower… Those things don’t work unless they can draw mana from a place where it’s super abundant. I had wondered where it got its mana from, but I bet they’re just reusing the mana this Ancient Magical Artifact gives off.)
— In spite of their surprise, all of the Apprentices were able to calmly internalize the facts in their own ways. As for the third-rate con man Smoke Fox…
(W– What did you just sayyyyy!? The Wedge Tower is an Ancient Magical Artifaaaaaaaact!?)
He was more surprised than anyone else.
True, genuine surprise.
If this was the truth the Wedge Tower was hiding, it was far too much for a third-rate con man to make use of.