"Successor, Come To My Tower" V6 - Epilogue
"... Why did you decide to join as an apprentice of the Tower?"
Forte Packingum's voice echoed coolly through his head.
He had a desk in his office — a lecture room that used to be called the Childman classroom. It was a little dim — but it was still morning, and the sunlight wouldn't be so bad come noon. What caught Majic's attention more than anything else was that there were ten lockers neatly lined up in a row. All of them still had name tags on them — on the far right, he saw a name in familiar handwriting that was hard to read. Krylancelo. Below that, in a different handwriting — a doodle someone had drawn, perhaps — with just a single word.
However, it was faint and unreadable.
He squeezed his hands, dazed... Then Majic came back to himself. He turned to the man at the desk, who was giving him a quiet look, and cleared his throat.
"Oh, well, let's see... That's—"
After much hesitation, he told him.
"I don't want to slow him down. My Master..."
When Forte heard that — he seemed to take a deep breath. Then he let out a sigh.
There was a clanking... probably because Forte adjusted his body a bit. The legs of the chair groaned. As he sat there staring at him, Majic felt a vague sense of discomfort.
Last night's brawl was almost a non-starter for Majic and the others, thanks in part to Forte's prior arrangement — and the Whurl Classroom had been dismantled. Regarding the assault of the Senior Sorcerer Leticia McCready, as well as several other alleged murders, it was determined that they would await further action from the Executive Department. Majic had no idea what the final punishment would be, and honestly wasn't too interested in it.
However—
"Krylancelo was recognized as one of the ringleaders of the private conflict."
Forte suddenly muttered — Majic jolted, startled. As if he could read his thoughts, Forte changed the subject, maintaining his calm look.
"The Tower Executives have finally applied the charge of treason against the alliance."
"... Alliance... Treason?"
"It's practically the same as being sentenced to death."
"............"
He felt his heart palpitating as he waited for his next words.
Forte shrugged his shoulders and continued.
"I had no intention of letting them kill Krylancelo. I also made a bad play, after all. He escaped his death sentence. However, it was decided that he would be permanently expelled from the Tower. His dragon pendant was taken away. Right now he's... just a rogue."
"... But..."
Majic managed to hide his trembling voice and continued.
"Master was a rogue from the start."
"To you, I suppose he was."
Forte answered lightly, and he stood up — turning his back to him, toward the window. He continued, gazing out into the morning sun.
"I was about your age when Krylancelo left the Tower."
"............"
He tried to say something — but Majic only swallowed the words. He didn't know what to say, or what it was he was hoping to hear.
"Leticia and I tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen to us. He was a good sorcerer — one of my favorite juniors, too. But he was a young man."
He glanced over his shoulder at him—
"I wonder if he knows how much damage his running away caused to those around him... Well, he showed his face to me again, even if it was just this once, so I'll forgive him."
Then, he returned his gaze to the window again.
"By the way, there's a box on my desk."
"?... Yes."
Majic hesitated for a moment, but then he recognized the box immediately — it was just a paper box. Surely containing shoes or something in it.
"Open it."
Prompted by Forte's words, Majic opened the box. What was in the box—
"This is..."
Majic exclaimed. A silverwork dragon emblem — a one legged dragon clinging to a sword. Not a trace of rust to be found on the thin chain.
Only, it contained two of them.
"The dragon is said to signify not the dragon race of the continent, but something mightier — what the legends call the One True Dragon..."
Forte's voice spoke only that much, then quickly dropped in tone. He quietly continued.
"One of the pendants belongs to Krylancelo. The elders confiscated it, but I picked it up from the disposal. He should be thanking me for sticking my head in garbage early in the morning to find it."
"Who's the other one...?"
"Give it to Krylancelo, he'll know."
"............?"
Majic gently turned the coat of arms over, wondering — he knew that the name of the owner was engraved on the pendants. One was indeed inscribed Krylancelo. The other one —
(Azalie...?)
"Give him both of these."
Forte said quietly, then turned to him. Before he could agree, he continued.
"However, I've gone against the Elders' decision, and giving an outsider who has been permanently expelled from the Tower equipment bearing the Tower's emblem without permission — That's a serious offense. It would be safer for you to never return to the Tower again."
"............Huh?"
Majic asked back in a dumbfounded voice, confused. Holding the two emblems in his hand, he turned to face Forte...
Forte asked again, quietly.
"Why did you decide to join the Tower?"
"............"
This time he couldn't answer. When he was silent, Forte huffed a breath through his nose, just short of laughing.
"I'm sorry, but I just couldn't help but think that the reason you gave me was a boring one."
"... But—"
Forte continued, ignoring his words.
"It's sad to see someone who's been by your side suddenly disappear one day. Just like what happened with us... He didn't say that he didn't want you to stay, did he? Then it would be meddlesome for you to make that decision on your own."
After saying as much in a quiet tone, he sat back down in his chair again.
"The reason he left the Tower is... a personal matter, and I'm not going to tell you what it was. You'll have to ask him directly. I've asked Leticia to delay their departure until the afternoon. If you hurry, you can still make it."
"............"
Majic held the pendant — still waiting for the next words. Only Forte, as if he had nothing more to say or hear, rested his elbows on the desk and closed his eyes...
Rubbing the backs of his fingers under the eyes, Majic slowly opened his mouth.
"Thank you... truly!"
Majic exlaimed and rushed out of the room.
Now alone in the room after Majic's departure, Forte mumbled.
"Azalie, the Demon Witch... —The golden trump card. No, perhaps she doesn't even have a role. What do you think? Krylancelo... Kimrak won't be an easy opponent."
Table of Contents
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| (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) |
Starting At Night Arriving At Morning Rushing Through The Launch Break Moving Fast In The Afternoon Footsteps Echoing After Sunset Burning At Midnight Missing The Sunrise |