Chapter 1 Part 7: I, Who Was a Top in Reality

After observing for several days, Ezekiel concluded that Rudan—or rather, the unknown figure inhabiting Rudan’s form—was the calm-but-scattered type.

More precisely, it seemed he couldn’t stand being idle.

If you broke down his behavior patterns, it roughly went like this: He’d appear to be deep in thought, then suddenly spring up and announce he wanted to go buy a specific food.

After eating, he’d make a disgusted face and read the books he’d bought.

Once he finished reading, he’d tinker with Ezekiel’s crude handiwork or do light exercise.

Even though he dry-heaved dozens of times a day, he showed no signs of distress.

When his focus slipped and his guard dropped slightly, he’d let out an unconscious groan, but that was all.

It was clear he was running a constant fever, so there was no way he was in perfect health.

Ezekiel thought he had a rather foolish side.

“Today, then……”

Ezekiel lifted a cup of red tea and gazed up at the waning moon.

Just as the white sun was a symbol of Kirios, the moon, waning until just before it waxed again, was a symbol of Secreta.

So what he’d told Rudan wasn’t entirely a lie.

However, Secreta’s messengers only came for young wizards after they’d shown a certain level of potential.

In his current guise as a child of about seven or eight, he hadn’t yet reached that ripe age.

And it wouldn’t be strange if a young child who’d barely encountered any wizards besides himself didn’t know the details.

Ezekiel’s plan was to gloss over it for now and gauge the reaction.

“I can’t figure out what he’s thinking.”

Rudan could apparently see his true form, but this place was a fortress that appeared as nothing but an empty lot to others, thanks to the layered barriers and concealment magic that Gideon—its original owner—had woven.

On top of that, Ezekiel, who specialized in stealth magic, had made a few additional touches, so there was no better place to hide.

But the fact that he was holed up in a safe place also meant that nothing stimulating was happening.

That would be undesirable even for that restless man, and for Ezekiel especially, it was something that must not happen.

Taking him to the nest would be a decent backup plan, but Abaddon tended to focus a bit more on Rudan’s utility value than on the danger he posed.

Rather than going through that tiresome cycle again, it seemed better to sacrifice some safety.

As long as he helped Rudan achieve what he wanted, it didn’t seem like he’d try to separate ‘El’ from him anytime soon……

“Haha.”

He wasn’t even being that careful with his actions, yet he’d somehow managed to keep up his innocent-child act without being caught.

Probably thanks to the fact that the other party tended not to pay much attention to others.

Rudan would occasionally question something, but then he’d shrug it off with a reasonable explanation.

He must have judged him as someone who wouldn’t cause harm.

For some reason, Ezekiel’s mouth tasted slightly bitter.

Soon, Ezekiel’s keen ears detected a small noise.

From the direction of the third floor, where Rudan was.

Ezekiel didn’t bother changing his form and strode down the stairs two at a time.

“Oh my.”

Of course.

Rudan, with unfocused eyes, was staggering down while leaning against the wall.

“You really are high-maintenance, Master Wizard.”

Rudan muttered softly.

“f*ck…….”

What a charming vocabulary.

Thud. Sensing the moment his unsteady body tilted, Ezekiel caught him.

Looking down at Rudan’s face in his arms, Ezekiel let out a small giggle.

Though he didn’t know the cause, Rudan remembered nothing of what he did after waking in the middle of the night.

For the first few days without knowing this, he’d had quite a hard time supporting him in the form of a child.

“What would you like me to do?”

“It hurts.”

“Where?”

Rudan spread his palm and covered his own belly.

Ezekiel raised one eyebrow.

“Should I make you some medicine?”

Tch.

Clicking his tongue, Rudan shook his head.

“Forget it.

I want to get some air.”

“Alright.

Then I’ll help you down.”

Even without that, Rudan, who had to bear massive magical power in his already frail body, often showed signs of being unwell.

Had he always been this bad?

Ezekiel couldn’t recall the detailed medical history of someone he’d never paid attention to.

Once outside, Rudan flopped down onto the grass.

What he would do next was predictable—rattle off a rapid-fire string of colorful curses, muttering about how he wanted to quit everything as soon as possible.

Ezekiel crouched down, resting his chin on a hand made into a flower cup, and watched the spectacle with a smiling face.

“What is it that you want to quit so badly?”

“What would you know about it.”

His guard was heavy even unconsciously.

Ezekiel wasn’t particularly disappointed—he already knew that’s how he was.

“If I knew, I could help you.

I may look like this, but I’m actually the right-hand man of Nieta’s leader.”

“Hah…….”

After catching his breath, he spoke.

“Do you know what you call people who offer to help you for no reason?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure.”

“Con artists.”

Ezekiel thought.

‘Oh…… smart.’

Rudan, who had been staring intently at his own hands gripping the ground, tapped Ezekiel’s knee with his dirt-stained hand.

A signal to help him up.

Ezekiel glanced briefly at the dirt on his white pants, then gladly complied with the request.

It was a long night, and there was still time left.

***

Thump!

Thump!

Thump!

The repetitive noise coming from one corner of the room finally shattered my concentration.

“Are you going to keep doing that forever?”

El, who had pried a fist-sized glowing stone from one of the unidentified objects scattered around the castle, had been wrestling with it all afternoon.

He said he wanted to fit it into his staff.

He needed to learn when to give up after trying to a certain extent—his persistence was driving me crazy.

“I’m almost done!

I think twenty more hits should do it!”

Thunk!

Roll, roll……

“Doesn’t seem like it’s going to work.”

When I picked up the stone that had rolled toward me, El dropped his head with a sulky face.

“Why are you trying to put that in there anyway?”

“I want to show the messengers a bit more of a cool side……”

A kid’s still a kid no matter how cool they look.

I wanted to avoid exerting any strength with this frail body, but if I left him alone, I’d be suffering from noise pollution until nightfall.

I approached the boy and held out my hand.

“Give me the hammer.”

El’s face brightened as he handed me the wooden mallet.

“Can I hit it hard?

Will it break?”

“It won’t break.

It’s a magic stone.”

“Got it.”

With a strong swing, the stone was roughly fitted into the hook-like part of the staff.

I expected him to stop bothering me, but instead, El tugged at my wrist and started nagging about how now he needed to make a cool outfit.

In the end, night fell with only half of the book I’d planned to read through finished.

After barely calming down the child who wanted to coordinate a clown-like outfit set so he’d stand out, I dressed in reasonably neat clothes and stepped outside.

At the wide lake behind the castle, the best spot to see the moon in the area, we stood side by side looking up at the sky.

The staff with the magic stone emitted a pale beige glow.

Even with a light source nearby, it didn’t pale in comparison, and the stars in the pouring night sky sparkled brilliantly.

If I’d been a slightly more romantic person, it was the kind of scenery that would have made me forget my original goal and stare in awe.

“How long do we have to wait?”

“Um, I’m not really sure……”

After that answer, a brief silence fell.

The boy kept glancing at me before timidly speaking up.

“Actually, they might not come today.

Last time I waited and waited, but they never showed up.”

“……I see.”

Come to think of it, when I’d explained the plan a few days ago, I’d heard something with that kind of nuance.

The boy, perhaps thinking I’d scold him, had half the excitement he’d been showing all along drained away.

This wasn’t really the time to be wasting meaninglessly, but……

“Oh.”

Just then, a massive pattern appeared in the sky.

“A magic circle?”

It was a regular shape mixed with ornate, unknown characters—exactly the kind of magic circle you’d see in fantasy works.

And from the direction it appeared, a fierce wind blew.

“Did they come?

Those messenger people or whatever.”

When I turned to look beside me, El was staring at the sky with a hardened face.

“No.

That’s……”

Soon, a fierce light poured down from the magic circle that had been in the form of lines.

I squeezed my eyes shut against the blinding intensity that seemed ready to scorch everything around us.

As the light gradually faded and I slowly opened my eyes, there in the air stood a wizard with a terribly familiar appearance.

“My love, was your stroll enjoyable?”

The leader of Imera.

The oldest wizard.

The Tower Lord, Killian, who wore the form of a boy, walked through the air and drew closer.

Feeling a pounding headache, I took a step back.

I’m fucked……

“Let’s go.”

When I came to my senses, I was already running, the boy tucked under my arm.

I knew full well it wouldn’t work, but my instincts had taken over.

“I’m getting a bit tired of hide and seek.

Won’t you play with me a little longer?”

Killian was following, deliberately keeping some distance.

“Get lost!”

Can things really go this wrong?

I’m going to lose my mind.

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