I Captured the Enemy Who Tried to Kill Me - Chapter 21
For magicians, Duke Ariel was a respected tower master and spiritual pillar.
‘Our tower master would never engage in frivolous actions! That cold, icy expression, do you know how cool it is!’
She was their own star, one that even Awakened Ones couldn’t ignore.
That’s why they didn’t notice the Family Head’s eccentric behavior at first.
It started with something quite trivial.
Magicians are lazy. Most of them quietly slept through the morning.
Among them, one magician who exercised in the morning to avoid dying from poor physical condition was shocked.
At first, he couldn’t tell who the person lying face down on the lawn was.
Rubbing his eyes in confusion, he saw it was their Family Head, Hillaria.
‘F-Family Head? Why are you in the garden so early in the morning?’
And what are you doing?
To him, who couldn’t bring himself to ask, Hillaria replied with her usual cold and dignified face.
‘Looking for a five-leaf clover.’
But why?
‘I shouldn’t tear it.’
Seeing this scene that would normally have alarmed and worried him, the magician thought.
Our Family Head has developed a strange hobby!
Perhaps five-leaf clovers help enhance magical power!
Such incidents happened quite often, frequently.
Over the past few days.
Eventually, all the magicians reached a point where they would just assume the Family Head had her reasons whenever Hillaria exhibited strange behavior.
***
“Finally!”
I shouted loudly.
I had been doing all sorts of things for days.
I couldn’t understand why I needed to pick up coins from the street, or why I had to count how many steps were in the northern tower!
I couldn’t even comprehend why there was an outrageous quest like feeding stray cats in the imperial garden.
‘Just thinking about it still gives me goosebumps.’
Feeding stray cats in the imperial garden.
It was a time when I had gained confidence because no matter what I did, due to the system’s effect, everyone around didn’t react with ‘Our Duke would never do that!’
I headed to the imperial palace without hesitation.
I had to go to work every day anyway, and with only 3 points left until magic unlocking, nothing else mattered to me.
While calmly feeding cats in the garden.
‘Duke.’
I encountered the emperor.
‘What exactly are you doing?’
‘……’
The awkward atmosphere at that moment.
I tried to believe in the system’s effect, but it seemed useless against Kaisis.
His expression clearly showed suspicion.
‘Explain why you are here, Duke Ariel.’
Since Kaisis had been giving me scrutinizing glances lately, it was terribly nerve-wracking.
But what could I do?
The one who could threaten Kaisis was my nighttime self, not my daytime self.
I trusted Duke Ariel’s unpleasant reputation.
Which means I decided to push forward shamelessly, business as usual.
‘It’s no different from what you see. But Your Majesty, isn’t this a public access area? Is there a problem?’
‘……’
With cat food in hand.
‘Huh? You call that an explanation?’
‘……’
Meeting eyes that clearly flashed with incredulity, I thought the system’s warning window might appear.
‘You know, Duke Ariel. Your behavior has been strange lately.’
In the end, I heard those heart-dropping words…
‘This is what I’d like to say to Your Majesty.’
‘What?’
‘I’ve heard that lately in battle, Your Majesty has been uncharacteristically cautious with your body. Is this also just a rumor I’ve picked up?’
‘You certainly pick up rumors well.’
‘I would say I’m making sincere efforts to serve faithfully. Wouldn’t you agree?’
Ugh. I shuddered remembering the emperor’s cold face afterward.
Anyway, like that, currently.
The most important moment now!
“Finally unlocking!”
I invested all 900 points I had accumulated into unlocking.
The white light that spread whenever the system gave rewards soaked me from head to toe.
“Meow meow!”
Hearing the cat’s seemingly pleased voice, I also clenched my fist full of expectation.
Yes, now the memories of the Grand Magician will naturally spring forth.
I’ll be able to use magic naturally like Duke Ariel!
[Congratulations!]
Good, good.
Even that annoying status window didn’t seem hateful anymore.
Come on! Make me a Grand Magician!
[You have used your accumulated points!]
Yes, that’s right!
The sensation when the light spread felt thrillingly good.
The feeling of magic naturally becomes mine without doing anything.
The exhilarating sense of liberation from something that had been tightly blocked.
It was really amazing…
[One random magic will be unlocked!]
What?
[9CLASS. Great Catastrophe has been unlocked!]
…Huh?
[This is the Grand Magician’s ultimate skill.
It is magic containing the power of nature.
With a single gesture, you can now collapse mountains, dry up rivers, and destroy the earth.
Congratulations!]
A cold silence flowed.
The power of nature…
Tearing apart mountains…
Ha, a hollow laugh escaped.
“……”
“…Hey.”
I looked at the cat with a dumbfounded expression, and my chubby cat dropped the meat it had been eagerly eating.
Rolling away.
I got up from my seat.
And immediately grabbed the cat’s plump belly.
Squeeze. Tight!
“Hey. HEY! HEY! What is this!”
“Meow, meowmeowmeowmeow!”
“You said it would be unlocked. You just said it would be unlocked. You said magic would be unlocked! But why is it random? And why the ultimate skill of all things! What am I supposed to do with that? Sweep away my opponent during a battle?!”
“Kyaaooo, it hurts meooow!”
“Take responsibility for this!”
This is truly like burning down the house to kill a bedbug.
What am I supposed to do with this? What!
For this, I spent days doing those strange things, worrying about my identity being discovered!
“Argh.”
It was a month and a half before the magic demonstration and battle.
***
Today again, those gathered for some purpose united their intentions in the darkness.
─The Duke will participate in a magic demonstration in front of the Gate, they say.
Low sneers spread.
While Awakened Ones and Indoja were utterly disgusting, the magicians who somehow sought to take that evil power for themselves were also spine-chilling, greedy ones in their eyes.
─How is the plan to make them suspicious of each other progressing?
─I heard the Emperor and Duke had a major clash at the imperial palace. But that’s not enough. We’ve decided to take direct action.
─Be careful not to be too late. For our great cause. For that moment of the end. Do you understand, brothers?
─We’ll keep it in mind.
The light of those moving in darkness suddenly went out.
***
Even after the complete failure of magic unlocking, the Gate opened.
If I were a Grand Magician, I could have concealed my presence and moved with just a flick of a finger.
‘But I’m not. My hope is shattered.’
Having only gained magic that destroys nature, I was hiding in the bushes, eavesdropping on the Indoja’s conversations in a somewhat pathetic manner.
“It’s been a while since a Gate subjugation took this long.”
“When it takes this much time, there are usually casualties… It’s so scary. I hope that person isn’t hurt.”
“No one should get hurt. Sigh, waiting seems to be the most terrible moment.”
“I’m worried about His Majesty. Lately… He looked like he was in a lot of pain. Just what is that Indoja who’s supposed to be His Majesty’s match, sigh. Is she crazy?”
Among the Indoja, or the Guides of this place, there were class differences.
They weren’t purely divided by ability alone, but were first divided by bloodline and family, influenced by the class system.
‘I guess they have their own conflicts too.’
Even in the original work, the sunshine female protagonist, who was a Guide with insufficient abilities,s was often shown being persecuted by other Guides in similar positions.
I turned my cold eyes away.
The conversation continued.
“If one has the power to guide His Majesty the Emperor, they should have revealed themselves without hesitation or consideration.”
“Is that rumor really true? They say the magicians were openly spreading it. That Duke Ariel is hiding His Majesty’s match.”
That rumor.
I frowned.
In order to find out where this rumor had spread from, I had been going around intimidating, no, questioning the magicians more fiercely than ever before.
‘It wasn’t me!’
‘Me neither, I heard it from Raphael!’
‘Huh, what are you talking about? I heard it from Josephina, Family Head!’
I couldn’t find the source. It was as if they had all been under a collective hallucination.
It seems those things have been moving.
‘The villains of this novel.’
The problem was…
I couldn’t remember them accurately.
