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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Ah, Then Just Kill Me
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I stood there quietly gazing at the bookshelves before lifting my head. Then I stared straight at Henji.
Just as I was about to say something.
"This is no lighthearted matter. I'll give you plenty of time to think it over, so don't rush your answer just because of the reward in front of you."
Henji cut me off.
But I shook my head.
"I can answer right now."
"...Very well. Let's hear it."
"No thanks."
Henji's eyes went blank as they took me in.
I met that gaze calmly, but his look seemed to question whether I was in my right mind.
Of course I was, so my answer didn't change.
That said—
"Well, if you've got a favor to ask, I'll at least hear you out. If it sounds doable, I'll do it. If not, I won't."
He seemed to have some circumstances, so I figured I'd listen.
"...Even if just hearing it could put your life in danger? And if you refuse after hearing me out, I might have to kill you, Aster."
A chill flickered briefly in Henji's eyes.
It was unmistakable killing intent.
So his words about possibly killing me were sincere.
That's why my tone turned sharp.
"Ah, then just kill me."
"..."
A brief silence.
Sss—
Moments later, a sticky killing intent began to fill the vice-commander's office.
Papers rustled and scattered in the hundreds.
A sinister smile crept across Henji's previously flawless face.
His eyes weren't the same as before either. Like he'd completely discarded his mask to reveal his true self.
"Haha, how amusing. You're a real character, Aster. If you're saying that because you trust in the Young Patriarch's influence, you'll regret it big time..."
His gaze swept over my body.
Cold-blooded, like a reptile's.
But I didn't back down.
"If I die, I die. Whatever."
"If you think death is the worst of it, I'm offended, Aster. In my private quarters, I can show you pains far worse than death."
At this point, a thought crossed my mind.
'Is madness hereditary?'
Henji's eyes held a gleam no normal person could muster.
Part of me wanted to observe Damian's father, the Blandoga Patriarch, but the current situation didn't allow it.
"What's one more death after the first?"
As I said that, I realized, *Oh crap*.
*Ah, so I die twice in this life.*
But it was fine.
Honestly, I'd half-expected it. With a personality like this, I wouldn't last long.
In my previous life, I'd scraped by like a scrawny goblin in shallow hills, eventually growing strong enough to take down a wyvern...
But this life, I was swimming with the big fish.
No helping it.
I'd just do my best.
"Should I go first?"
"You'll really regret—"
The moment he started to speak, I swung at him.
At this distance, magic wouldn't cut it—fists were best. And my punches weren't ordinary. They incorporated techniques I'd researched with my past-life comrades. But...
*He'll block it with a barrier.*
Probably.
Still, this was just a probe. A small pebble to shift the battle's momentum my way.
...Or so I thought.
*Thwack.*
"...?"
A crisp impact rang out.
*Thud!*
Henji spun three times in the air before crashing to the floor.
Buried in a pile of papers, he flailed his limbs a few times, clearly in shock.
Even I, who'd landed the hit, was pretty stunned.
*Why... didn't he block?*
A mage of Henji's caliber could've stopped that easily. I'd been prepped for two or three follow-ups.
Anyway, golden opportunity!
I rushed over and stomped down on him. Or tried to.
*Flash—*
A brilliant light shone.
The signature effect of the Blandoga Family's core secret art, Light of Healing.
"Heh. Aster, you pass the test. You're trustworthy. That said, you use some peculiar secret arts..."
Henji rose with the same gentle smile as before, unflustered.
But maybe because I'd seen his limbs tremble several times, he no longer felt like the noble elite from earlier.
Watching him, I asked,
"But a test...?"
Normally, I wouldn't buy it, but I did.
Because a mage like Henji couldn't fail to block an attack.
I just hadn't expected it. No one anticipates a mage's punch being this fast and powerful without casting.
Brushing aside that minor miscalculation.
Henji answered.
"Ahem. To be blunt, I needed someone reliable. But not from the Blandoga Family..."
He returned to his seat.
But was it my imagination?
*Tremble.*
His hand seemed to shake slightly.
It wasn't imagination—an aura of light flowed faintly. He'd cast Light of Healing again, and the trembling stopped completely.
A moment later, Henji continued.
* * *
Henji straightened his disheveled hair and sipped his tea.
Fortunately, the brief commotion hadn't spilled it, but Aster set his cup down after a sip attempt.
*...*
Too much dust.
Anyway, Henji's point was this.
"Honestly, I had no expectations. Black-White Slums brats are all the same. The Young Patriarch's so young, he might not have good judgment."
He hadn't paid much attention, but then rumors spread.
"Alfredo recommended you for the academy... Do you know? Even if Alfredo begged, that never would've happened."
He judged you worthy to stand by the Young Patriarch's side.
That was his reasoning.
Henji kept spilling his thoughts.
"Alfredo's eyes are sharp. And his devotion to the Young Patriarch is unmatched. Few meet his standards. Yet he keeps a Black-White Slums brat close? Made me think there was something to you. And right then..."
"Your pathetic little brother came back after getting beat by me... right?"
"...Pick one—casual or formal, Aster."
"Casual it is."
Aster switched to casual speech.
Henji had said to speak freely, so he picked the freer option. Sure, he hadn't explicitly said casual, but since he offered a choice, going with the comfortable one was natural.
"Ahem. Anyway, it gave me the perfect excuse. Brother calls in the guy who beat his sibling for a talk. Plausible, right?"
"Plausible..."
Aster's eyes narrowed.
A vice-commander of the magic academy could summon even the Young Patriarch's guest for a face-to-face.
Depending on status, sure, but if he wanted to see or summon someone, excuses were easy to fabricate.
*But...*
He went out of his way to use his idiot brother as pretext?
*He said 'perfect timing,' so maybe it just lined up well... But the nuance feels more like...*
He didn't want to step forward himself.
Henji smiled faintly, taking Aster in.
"You're spot on, Aster."
"You know what I was thinking?"
"..."
Henji clamped his mouth shut. For a split second, a vein bulged on his forehead.
"...Precisely, it was a situation where I couldn't act first. Oh, it's not internal family strife. The Blandogas are tight-knit."
Aster nodded.
In a massive group, some friction was inevitable, but the Blandoga Family's unity topped any great house.
Not fights over personal gain, but clashes over how best to serve the family.
"The truth is, I'm under surveillance right now."
"Surveillance..."
"Do you know the Decullan Family?"
Henji asked, scrutinizing Aster.
*He probably does, but...*
Maybe not.
Aster hadn't shown ignorance or lack of refinement, but he was still a Black-White Slums brat.
In a place where survival trumped all, who cared about continental politics? Distant noble houses mattered less than the toughs flexing in the alleys.
With that in mind, he watched Aster.
"Decullan... Yeah, I know of them."
That's when Henji sensed something odd.
*...?*
Answering nonchalantly, yet his eyes darkened subtly.
No overt reaction. No killing intent, just a shift to flat indifference. But that was weird.
Just hearing the name wouldn't provoke that. And it wasn't grudge or hatred—too calm for that.
*Can't place it.*
Henji gave up probing.
But one thing was clear.
He couldn't read those eyes, but the emotions within were chaotically tangled.
A bundle of feelings that could've exploded ages ago, now suppressed, bound, twisted beyond even the owner's grasp.
Like... yeah.
Himself, a decade or so back.
"But why?"
Henji snapped out of it at Aster's voice.
Then, with his usual gentle expression, he continued.
"I'm under Decullan surveillance."
"...?"
"They've planted a spy in the Blandogas somewhere, but I can't find them. Couldn't make the first move."
Aster stared blankly at Henji.
*What the...*
Was it the madness?
He calmly spouted what others would laugh off, like it was *"Oh, it rained yesterday."*
But that wasn't the point.
"Why?"
"Ah, the reason?"
Henji smiled faintly.
"Well, you said you don't mind dying, so I'll lay it all out. And even if you refuse my request, it's fine. I've no intention of harming you now. At least, not me."
A nuance that even if not him, death might come.
But Aster's eyes remained apathetic.
Henji found it easier to speak under that bored gaze.
"The truth is, I..."
"Spit it out all at once."
"Ah, sorry. The truth is, I'm researching the Decullan Family's foundational art, Heavenly Origin Art. Looks like I got caught. Oh, you know Heavenly Origin Art? Their bloodline's exclusive secret art—I got it through a chance encounter. But..."
"Hold up."
Aster cut Henji off.
A few things nagged at him.
"Researching what?"
"Heavenly Origin Art."
"...How'd you get it?"
"A chance encounter... is all I can say. It's not a bigger secret, but it's not just my business."
Aster stared at Henji.
He thought:
"Why's a guy who should be dead still alive? If the Blandogas researched it, they'd naturally study countermeasures too..."
"Haha, you know your stuff. The Decullans don't mess around. If I'd only researched countermeasures, even as Blandoga vice-commander, they'd have killed me outright."
"And yet?"
Henji grinned broadly.
He stared plainly at Aster, as if daring him to guess.
Aster held that gaze steadily. His mind whirred complexly, until a sudden *what if* flashed through.
"You didn't research *just* countermeasures?"
"Yes, exactly. I started with countermeasures, but... well, see what I mean?"
Henji's eyes unfocused halfway as he stared into space.
Recalling the past, a mesmerized voice leaked out.
"Heavenly Origin Art, root of all Decullan secret arts. Unchanged through ages, perfect as is. But I saw it."
His focus snapped back.
"The way to perfect it further."
"..."
"I knew I should stop, but I couldn't. Anyone would've been the same. A path opens—how could you not take it?"
He looked at Aster.
"So I walked it. You get it, right, Aster...?"
"..."
Aster gazed at Henji with hollow eyes.
How could he understand a madman's heart? Only another lunatic could.
Especially Henji—not ordinarily mad. To comprehend him, you'd need that level of insanity. How many such souls on the continent?
*Don't understand.*
It felt like he might, so he shoved the thought away.
But—
*Damn...*
Something had felt off.
*The Decullans destroyed the Blandogas. Honestly, didn't make sense. Light of Healing? A healing art? If they wanted it, they'd have taken it sooner.*
Even if they coveted the vast Blandoga territories, it didn't add up.
Decullan won the war, but at great cost.
With no other reason to fight...
*I'd chalked it up to that.*
This explained it.
A way to perfect Heavenly Origin Art.
If it lay in the Blandogas... starting a war would've been the weirdest thing not to do.