TMLOH 110

Chapter : 110

“※Looking for a Person※

The protagonist of the Magic Tower event! Conqueror of the Secret Room! Apprentice (prospective) of the Great Mage! Please contact us immediately!”

The advertisement posted by the Magic Tower had spread all over the capital. As a result, the capital was in chaos.

Just a few days ago, I had almost been caught, but thanks to all the mages from the Sky Tower coming down—maybe for a meeting?—the Magic Tower had been in disarray, which allowed me to escape unharmed.

And now, they were spreading flyers on a scale so absurd that they were looking for me.

The phrases were pure clickbait, and even Mehen, who usually had no interest in gossip, showed curiosity.

“Looks like we hit the jackpot.”

“Really?”

“At this rate, someone’s life would change overnight. Whoever becomes the protagonist would have a great time. But why hide?”

Because I didn’t want my life to change.

I wanted to get healthy, not attract this excessive attention.

‘I absolutely must not let them know it’s me.’

I glared reluctantly at the front page of the Albrecht Times that Mehen was holding and lowered my eyes obediently.

“You’re going out to play later?”

Breakfast time.

I nodded while eating a balanced, healthy meal.

“The twins are going to show you around the auction house.”

“With Sperom’s introduction, it shouldn’t be a problem. I’d like to go with you, but…”

“I know, Mom’s busy.”

Mehen smiled calmly, a look that seemed to say there was a lot left unsaid.

“It’s really fine. Not just the twins, but Harun and Pession will be going too.”

“Well, I suppose good things should be accepted as they are.”

Mehen nodded.

“Buy whatever you want, as much as you want.”

“Oh, really?”

“It’s not like Arel spends enough to bankrupt us.”

I smiled back at his gentle expression. After a long moment of shared laughter, I shifted my gaze to the empty space.

“But where’s Dad?”

Mehen shrugged with an ambiguous expression.

“He seemed busy. Something about looking for a singularity or whatever…”

“Singularity?”

“Yes. He’s been summoned to the palace.”

“Oh, right.”

Come to think of it, a few days ago, I had seen the emperor’s chamberlain clinging to Dad’s sleeve, pleading for something when leaving the palace.

It should be fine. Dad isn’t a child.

“The Great Magical Beast of Sharit Lake has disappeared. Additionally, roughly ten other sealed magical beasts have vanished without a trace.”

“If we include other territories or regions, that number could rise even further, correct?”

“If the Great Magical Beast sealing formation is malfunctioning, the palace’s linked barrier stones would be affected, right? Does this mean the palace’s barrier is unaffected?”

“It’s probably related to the palace barrier breaking on the founding festival’s first day.”

The royal family had set up a special task force for this unusual event.

“So, just the magical beasts disappeared. No one ate them, right? How is this even possible?”

Duke Sperom frowned.

Unstable security during a festival with an ongoing auction was disastrous.

Emperor Edward pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

“I wondered why a great mage suddenly appeared, and now I see such things were happening behind the scenes. Tch, I thought it was because of the previous palace barrier incident.”

Another issue was added.

“Take a look at this. A request for cooperation in an investigation came from the Magic Tower.”

“What kind of cooperation?”

“They say mages are going missing. Details aren’t clear, but it’s happening in other kingdoms too. I heard the Magic Tower was even sealed off.”

“I’ll patrol with the security forces for the time being.”

When Duke Muvisk responded, Emperor Edward finally relaxed his expression.

In the bustling conference room, one man—Valer—sat quietly, observing.

His indifferent eyes scanned the reports, but all that occupied Valer’s mind was the singularity.

‘What on earth is it?’

He had searched Halbern’s secret archive thoroughly but found no information on the singularity. That meant even Halbern had not observed it.

Still, Valer could slowly sense that ‘something is changing.’

‘Has an incident like this happened at this time before?’

No.

‘Have the mages ever acted like this?’

No.

Everything was new. Something he had neither seen nor experienced before.

Ah, perhaps that phrasing is contradictory.

‘New, huh…’

Rolling the word on his tongue, Valer smiled faintly.

At some point, Valer had started dreaming—an aftereffect of his abilities.

Dreams of past, present, and future that had never existed, appearing as if they were lost memories.

The beginning of each fragment was always the same: the moment his older sister handed him the infant Arelinn.

“The child’s name is Arelinn.”

As if that naming triggered it, Valer always returned to that moment and followed the same destructive sequence.

Arelinn dying, Mehen leaving, himself wandering and breaking down.

The childish vow of a younger brother to save his poor sister had, now as an adult, transformed into saving his sister’s daughter.

That purpose was a revelation, a gospel—like faith, reason unnecessary. Amidst the flooding memories, he always blindly tried to save Arelinn.

He had never succeeded.

No matter the choice, no matter how he struggled, small things changed but the big picture remained the same.

Perhaps during this repetition, he had come to believe that the future would not change, that it was a fate ordained by the gods—a sense of helplessness and despair ingrained in his mind.

‘Yet everything has changed so much.’

He did not know what had caused the distortion, nor how much the singularity had influenced it.

Valer recalled the dreams he had repeated hundreds of thousands of times. Not only had the events changed, but Mehen had too.

Before Arelinn’s death, he had done his best to be a ‘protector,’ but suddenly he acted as if he were truly her mother.

Threatening that she must come or be killed had become the driving force for Valer.

And Arelinn…

In truth, Valer knew nothing about his own daughter.

Being apart had kept her alive, and every time he saw her, she was already dead.

This was his first real chance to be a proper father. And so he discovered for the first time that his daughter possessed such abilities.

[Your daughter’s fate is already decided. Accept it.]

Finally, he recalled the dragon’s words—spoken with the sword he himself had wielded—that he couldn’t remember the name of.

Valer had been confined in the Northern Castle partly to capture the dragon’s minions, but also to negotiate with the dragon.

The most supreme beings on the land. He thought they might know a way.

[You alone cannot change anything, mortal.]

The curse-like declaration from a race that refused to speak with humans made Valer take an unusual choice.

It was indeed crazy to oppose dragons.

But it was a Dragon Heart—perhaps feeding it might change something?

It was a top-tier elixir.

Though it failed, he remained undisturbed. Reality was better than any dream.

“Valer.”

The voice calling him snapped his violet eyes back into focus.

“What do you think?”

“Hmm…”

By now, only the two of them remained in the conference room.

Valer looked down, utterly indifferent and languid.

“Send Idikels.”

A suggestion that they should just ask what the Magic Tower was planning.

“He’s in the Southern Empire. Because of you.”

Emperor Edward frowned.

He was frustrated at being unable to use the master of negotiation and diplomacy at the right time.

“The Regent Duke’s eyes and ears are focused on you. You’d better be more careful.”

“Careful? Me? Or him?”

Edward shrugged.

“Not planning to reconcile with the Regent Duke?”

Valer smiled. A dazzling, brilliant smile. Edward reluctantly nodded.

‘Right, there’s none.’

Sighing involuntarily, Edward tossed something forward.

A dispatch sent by Duke Idikels.

“The Regent Duke Locke has been missing for several days.”

Valer’s expression stiffened.

“If he moves this secretly, there can only be one destination, right?”