CHAPTER 68

News that the Tower of Grace was being demolished.
As soon as I heard it, I immediately sought news of Rapiel.
There were Holy Mages at the Pioneer Guild.
They would surely know something about the Tower of Grace.
When I went to the Pioneer Guild, however, there were no Holy Mages to be found.
Don’t tell me they all went to the Tower of Grace.
I bit my lip.
I couldn’t go directly to Rapiel’s residence.
I had been excommunicated, and my presence would only complicate things.
With the Tower of Grace now linked to Black Dawn, a Transferee disciple was a major headache.
I couldn’t cause Rapiel any more trouble.
It seemed I had no choice but to go to the Tower of Grace myself.
“Harua.”
Just as I steeled myself to go, Aranseol spoke to me.
“I think my master has returned.”
The Sword Lord was back.
Had he finished chasing Black Dawn?
The timing was impeccable.
“With my master, you should be able to visit Lady Rapiel. Shall I go?”
I didn’t have to think for long.
“Please.”
Though I had been excommunicated, in my heart, Rapiel was still my master.
I wanted to know what had happened to her, by any means necessary.
Aranseol smiled as if to say ‘leave it to me’ and immediately set off.
After sending Aranseol off, I decided to look into the matter of the Tower of Grace myself.
My plan was to head to the tower as I’d first intended.
“I’ve got nothing better to do, so I’ll go with you.”
Babiyen readily offered to accompany me.
However.
“I don’t particularly need you to.”
“This is when you’re supposed to say thank you, even if you don’t mean it!”
Babiyen said, lightly punching my shoulder.
“Something might happen, so I’m coming along because I’m worried, you know.”
Who knew Babiyen had such a considerate side to her.
This was a first.
“I-I’ll go too.”
Horizon also raised her hand, expressing her intent to join.
Thanking them both, we headed straight for the Tower of Grace.
The Tower of Grace was located in the central district of the capital, Valterion.
An ivory tower that soared high into the sky.
It was a landmark visible even from a distance.
As we followed the tower into the streets, we found them bustling with people.
Among them were a considerable number of Holy Mages.
Their expressions were complex, and some were shouting at the top of their lungs.
“Demolishing the Tower of Grace is absurd! Why should the entire tower be blamed for the Tower Lord’s mistake!”
“Execute the Tower Lord and his family and elect a new Lord through the council of elders! The demolition of the Tower of Grace must be stopped!”
Some among them were spouting radical words.
What did these uncivilized bastards just say?
Maybe I should plant a death-blow fist into their skulls.
“You’ll stand out. Just try to bear with it and let’s go.”
As I was grinding my teeth, Babiyen pushed me from behind.
“What do you mean, stand out? Look how many people are here.”
“Honestly, you stand out a lot, you know? You stick out like a sore thumb wherever you go.”
Do I stand out that much?
I thought people always looked at Aranseol, Babiyen, or Horizon, but never at me.
“Because I’m a Transferee?”
Still, there were quite a few Transferees around.
With such a commotion, everyone and their mother had come out.
At my question, Babiyen snorted and glanced up at me.
“You just have a face that stands out.”
“H-Huh? Is that so? Harua doesn’t look that different from other Transferees, does he?”
Horizon, on the other hand, didn’t understand Babiyen’s words and tilted her head with a puzzled look.
If Horizon says that, maybe I only stand out to Babiyen.
Then, something occurred to me.
Babiyen had once experienced age regression.
At the time, she had been practically glued to me and Aranseol.
A child can always find their parents, no matter where they are.
Conversely, a parent can always find their child.
It’s a kind of imprinting effect.
An effect for finding one’s parents, and one’s child.
Could it be that something related to me was imprinted on Babiyen back when she regressed?
If so, I might need to visit the Mental Magic Society soon.
“I thought Babiyen was all grown up, but she’s still a baby.”
“What kind of nonsense are you spouting now?”
I gave Babiyen a pitying look and continued toward the Tower of Grace.
Sure enough, the demolition of the tower was truly underway.
The Holy Mages who had been staging a sit-in protest were all dragged out by the hands of the Imperial Knights.

Come to think of it, this was my first time seeing the Imperial Knights.
Clad uniformly in gold-colored plate mail and red capes, they were an incredibly intimidating sight.
Unlike the Regular Army, which was a global protection organization, the Imperial Knights served only the orders of the Imperial Palace.
That was why they were clad in the gold and red that symbolized the Gladion Empire.
“Please, don’t do this. This is our home, our life. Please, convey to His Majesty the Emperor to withdraw the order to demolish the Tower of Grace!”
An old man who appeared to be an elder pleaded earnestly before one of the knights.
The man, who had rich golden hair that matched his golden plate mail, wore a gentle smile.
Seeing how the public’s attention was focused on him, he seemed to hold a high rank among the Imperial Knights.
As I watched him, the man slowly opened his lips.
“How dare you question and object to an order given by His Majesty.”
The moment those short words were spoken.
Slice!
A severed head flew gracefully into the air.
It was the head of the old man who had been pleading with the knight just a moment ago.
The gazes of everyone watching the demolition of the Tower of Grace shot toward it.
A moment later, the elder’s head rolled wretchedly on the ground.
Thud—
Silence filled the space.
The Holy Mages stared with wide eyes, and the crowd covered their mouths in shock.
“Th-The Third Elder...”
One of the Holy Mages expressed his disbelief.
However, the knight who had beheaded the elder turned his head as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Listen.”
A booming voice flowed from him.
“From this moment on, if any of you who live under the grace of His Majesty the Emperor in Valterion dare to disobey His Majesty’s command even once, you will all suffer the same fate as this man.”
The moment he spoke, the Imperial Knights all snapped to attention, stomping their feet on the ground with a loud thump.
“You will suffer the same fate!”
Their voices echoed in unison.
The thunderous chorus of the knights’ voices carried a considerable amount of pressure.
Indeed, all the Holy Mages became as silent as mice.
An elder had just been beheaded.
There was no reason to think the others would be spared.
The knights resumed the demolition.
The people began to whisper amongst themselves about what had just happened.
But now, no one opposed the demolition of the Tower of Grace.
“...For him to step in personally, this must be a bigger deal than I thought.”
Babiyen muttered as she looked at the knight who had cut off the elder’s head.
“Babiyen, who is that knight?”
“Use a respectful title. If others hear you, you don’t know what they’ll do to you for lèse-majesté.”
Babiyen placed a hand over my mouth, signaling me to be quiet.
“That is His Majesty the Emperor’s son, the 2nd Prince, Dreivan Gladion. He is the current Commander of the Imperial Knights.”
So he’s the highest authority with the power of summary execution.
Now I understood why people didn’t say a word even after the death of a Tower of Grace elder.
“For someone like him to get involved...”
“Yes, the demolition of the Tower of Grace is inevitable. It seems the Tower Lord was involved with Black Dawn so deeply that it’s irreversible.”
That wasn’t good news.
His daughter, Rapiel, was my master.
Please, I hope no trouble comes to Rapiel.
All I could do was hope for good news from Aranseol.
In the end, we had no choice but to watch the Tower of Grace being demolished before we left.
The inside of the tower was completely empty, and they said the tower itself would be brought down within a few days.
The Holy Mages watched, dumbfounded, as their home disappeared.
Some were discussing plans to build a new tower.
There were surely those who wanted to seize this opportunity to build a new tower and grasp power within the Holy Mage community.
Such people would be moving diligently behind the scenes.
You guys can have your power struggles.
All I care about is Rapiel’s safety.
“Well, I’ll be going then.”
“S-See you next time!”
We parted ways in front of the inn.
Since Aranseol hadn’t returned yet, I decided to wait quietly in my room.
My head was a complicated mess, and I couldn't even lie down, just sitting on the edge of the bed.
Clack—

“Harua.”
Aranseol was back.
I shot up from my seat, and Aranseol gave a slightly bitter smile.
Seeing that expression, my heart sank for some reason.
“Aranseol, did something happen?”
“...Let’s talk on the way.”
Aranseol immediately led me outside.
“First, everyone related to the Lord of the Tower of Grace is currently subject to punishment. Some have had their assets confiscated and are being detained.”

“Detained? Don’t tell me...”
“Lady Rapiel was scheduled to be detained as well. My master came because he heard the news.”
Dammit.
Even if Rapiel was innocent, there was such a thing as making an example.
In this uncivilized world, they were surely planning to punish everyone involved to prevent such an incident from ever happening again.
And in this world, punishment usually meant death.
“So my master broke Lady Rapiel out.”
“Broke her out?”
“Yes. The Imperial Knights were about to imprison her, so he smashed his way in and got her out.”
Crazy. Is he out of his mind?
Even if he was the Sword Lord, there was no way he would be forgiven for such an act.
The Empire would surely be furious.
“And so...”
“The Imperial Palace will have a lot to say, but... it will probably be fine.”
“He does something like that and it’ll be fine?”
“Yeah. My master once helped the current Emperor out in a big way. He gets a pass for even some extreme actions.”
Just who in the world was Soun?
I didn’t know the details, but I was starting to understand the power held by the strongest person in this world.
“So Lady Rapiel’s punishment has been changed to exile from the country.”
“Exile...”
“She’ll be going to Wolun, the nation of the Oegak Tribe.”
So that’s what happened.
I finally understood why Aranseol had come to get me in such a hurry.
Rapiel Vaniola.
She had brought me here to say one last goodbye to her.
Before I knew it, we were on the outskirts of the city.
It was late at night, a street where few people walked.
Four people stood there.
One was an Oegak tribesman and his disciple.
Another was an Elf.
And the last was an Angel.

“Master.”

I called out to her, and Rapiel’s eyes turned to me.
A moment later, bitter tears welled up in her eyes.
“Harua.”
I had come here today for what was, in effect, a final farewell with my master.