Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 269

[As you said, I’ve confirmed that there was no contact with the other four families.]

“I see.”

[Rather, the Six Spirits are expressing resentment that their proxy has disappeared. They insist it was absolutely not their intention…]

“Well, I can understand that much.”

The Voice is also gathering information about well-known freelancers outside the Citadel.

It’s common knowledge that a freelancer named Mad Manson is quite insane, and it’s also understood that he has some connection with the mage known as Ban the Steadfast.

It’s hard to understand why Manson disappeared as soon as he contacted Ban, but if their relationship wasn’t just a friendly one as it’s known to the public, but a strict superior-subordinate relationship, it would be explainable.

And if the Voice’s guess is correct, there would be a need to be even more wary of the mage named Ban.

“Ban… Ban, Ban…”

[……]

“He’s a tricky one. Did he know from the start that things would turn out this way?”

It wasn’t difficult to gather information about the mage who not only confronted the Cartel head-on but also achieved a de facto victory.

The fact that no one thinks Ban was defeated by the Cartel, even after he became an outside director, is proof of the mage’s skill and status.

It’s only natural that a mix of fantasy, awe, and fear about him creates countless stories.

However, among the information the Voice gathered, there was no truth about Ban.

Identity, origin, past, and background. Not a single fact is known, only absurd rumors abound.

The only officially confirmed information is about the moments when Ban wanted to reveal himself.

In this world full of informants and talented people, the way Ban skillfully and thoroughly controls information about himself is admirable, even to the Voice.

“There shouldn’t be any other reason for him to step into the Citadel at this time, and yet he cleverly hid his destination.”

[We can always create a pretext…]

“There are different kinds of people to force things on.”

The Voice stated firmly.

“What would the outside atmosphere be like if rumors spread that the Cartel’s outside director was mistreated and kicked out? He knows that well, so he entered the Citadel so openly.”

[That’s…]

“I heard he crawled up from the bottom, but it seems he knows how to use his position and authority well.”

A chilling change in tone.

The Voice murmured quietly.

“But the game is almost set. He’s gone too far to muddy the waters alone. I’ll watch for myself how far he can push his arrogance.”

* * *

Once the decision was made, there was no need to hesitate for long.

It wasn’t difficult to explain to Chen’s half-sister how he got the ticket.

The woman, with her dark navy hair tied back, stared at the ticket for a long time.

“I’ve heard the story.”

It didn’t take long for a hollow smile to appear on her lips.

“My father, who lived consumed by desire, even sold the authority to appoint the family’s proxy. I never imagined it would come back this way.”

“……”

She looked at Lenok for a moment, then turned her back.

“I’m sorry for making you come all this way, but let’s pretend this never happened.”

“S-Sister Suyeon…!!”

Chen, with a surprised expression, grabbed her shoulder as she turned away.

“You can’t give up. This is practically a miracle.”

“……”

“I don’t know why he’s offering to help us, but that man is from a different world. He can definitely break this game…!!”

“A different world…”

It was understandable that Chen was excited by Lenok’s words, but even at best, that was a bit of an overestimation.

Lenok frowned at the praise that made his face burn, and Manson chuckled.

“Chen, you really don’t know anything.”

However, the woman called Suyeon frowned and brushed off Chen’s hand.

“Because I don’t know his reasons, I cannot accept that man’s offer.”

“That is…”

“I’ve heard stories about him. Why would a mage who is skilled and resourceful enough to hold a position in the Cartel want to help us?”

Suyeon’s gaze turned sharp.

“Now that my father is dead and even the family members have scattered, I cannot face my deceased mother if I cannot even protect what remains in my hands.”

“……”

Chen couldn’t easily speak in response to Suyeon’s fierce words.

That’s because her rebuttal wasn’t just a matter of pride, but the result of choosing the best reality from her perspective.

Lenok also understood her position.

It was difficult for her, who didn’t know much about Ban, to trust him rashly, and the timing of his appearance, as if he was showing off in this desperate situation, was too convenient.

Lenok paused for a moment to choose his words before speaking.

“I won’t deny that my goal is elsewhere.”

“That’s…!!”

“But if I thought I couldn’t fulfill the role of a proxy properly, I wouldn’t have come to you in the first place.”

The surroundings calmed down with Lenok’s quiet words.

“If you’ve heard my name, you probably know roughly what I’m doing outside.”

“……”

“The only thing that can guarantee a freelancer’s trust is always the request and the contract.”

Lenok smiled faintly as he looked at Suyeon.

“If we clarify what we each want, wouldn’t we be able to have a more constructive conversation?”

It’s all a matter of trust.

As Lenok is tracking the traces of the Guido Order, he is certain that the Five Wheels are not connected to the Order,

Conversely, it would be difficult for Suyeon to have such trust in Lenok.

However, the solution itself is not that difficult.

Since Ban entered the Citadel openly, it wouldn’t be difficult to prove his past actions to Suyeon.

At least on the surface, Ban is just a suspiciously capable freelancer searching for space-time spells or artifacts.

If they can vouch for each other’s identities, Lenok could be the most suitable proxy in this situation.

“Sister.”

Chen grabbed Suyeon’s sleeve with a stiff expression.

“This might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

“……”

“If he was planning to kill or betray us, he wouldn’t have chosen such a complicated method.”

“My reputation…”

Is it that bad?

Muttering with a sullen expression, Lenok heard Manson’s laughter growing louder beside him.

Chen, not caring about the slightly strange atmosphere, said firmly.

“I will take responsibility and vouch for Ban’s identity and abilities. If you wish, I’ll write a pledge.”

“I never thought you’d say that…”

Suyeon, muttering with a greatly shaken expression, finally sighed.

It didn’t take long for the decision to be made.

* * *

“So, what are you planning to do?”

“About what?”

After Lenok accepted the position of proxy for the Five Wheels, Suyeon began to gather the family members again as if she had made up her mind.

It was foolish to cling to a family that had already collapsed, but an organization that had decided to rebuild would need people and resources.

Lenok, perched on the rooftop observatory of the old-fashioned wooden mansion, was looking down at the people appearing in the mansion one by one.

“You know that those people won’t be of much practical help.”

“You’re realistic.”

Perhaps because he was born a businessman, Chen’s perspective and conclusions were slightly different from others.

The gathering of family members to establish legitimacy and organizational power.

Chen had already concluded that Suyeon’s efforts, which she was putting all her energy into as soon as she found a proxy, were meaningless.

It wasn’t because he didn’t understand the importance of legitimacy or the concept of organizational power, but because he didn’t think it was beneficial to the current situation.

And just by not telling Suyeon his judgment, Chen possessed the qualities of an excellent businessman.

Before replying, Lenok took out a cigarette from his pocket and offered it.

“Want a smoke?”

“…Sure.”

As he accepted the cigarette with a sullen expression, Lenok flicked his fingers and lit it.

Chen’s face turned strange at the bizarre sight of the cigarette lighting up without him even putting it in his mouth or inhaling, but he still quietly put the cigarette in his mouth and inhaled the smoke.

“Cough!!”

“…If you don’t smoke, you didn’t have to take it.”

“No. I actually smoke sometimes.”

Chen replied while coughing repeatedly.

“When doing business, whether you smoke or not is quite important, so I often join in.”

“You don’t like it, then.”

“You can’t just live doing what you want.”

Chen said, looking down at the night view of the Citadel with a complicated gaze.

“Everyone is like that… It’s just a matter of how much they acknowledge and accept that fact.”

“……”

“I couldn’t accept that fact and ran away from the family. My sister didn’t. Some might think it’s about birth, but I knew. My sister wanted to go outside the Citadel as much as I did…”

Lenok listened to Chen’s monologue without a word.

He had noticed that Chen wanted to talk about Suyeon.

“She mastered the family’s secret swordsmanship, which our pleasure-seeking father had abandoned, and reached that level on her own. She was too good to be tied down and rot in this old family.”

Indeed, Suyeon’s swordsmanship, which she had shown at their first meeting, seemed to be on par with Manson, albeit briefly.

It was difficult to grasp the specific level, but at that level, she must have clearly understood what the nature of magic power transformation was.

If she had reached that level through self-study, it was understandable why Chen would say that.

“That’s why, if you, Ban, help us, my sister might give a different answer.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. The reason doesn’t matter.”

Chen’s gaze turned to Lenok.

“You’re someone I can’t compare to anyone I know.”

“……”

“Isn’t it because you’ve never fallen off the tightrope that you’re where you are now?”

Chen’s tone was calm, but the content was more than harsh.

“I just bet that the mage wouldn’t fall off the rope this time either.”

“You’ve got the wrong person.”

Lenok’s lips twisted faintly.

“If you think that way, you’re looking at a clown, not a mage.”

“……”

Leaving Chen speechless, Lenok stood up.

“Whatever. It wouldn’t be bad to stand there and watch how long I can walk the tightrope.”

He adjusted his coat and started walking.

The more wealth and fame he gained, the higher his position and status rose.

The expectations and responsibilities placed on Lenok increased in weight.

This man won’t fail, this mage will win, this person will surely solve it.

He would overcome any unfavorable situation, any absurd injustice, any unbeatable power dynamic.

It’s a delusion.

Lenok knew well that he was not such a great and outstanding person.

He didn’t even know his own future properly, and he had only struggled to survive every moment.

And because he was acutely aware of that, he was not afraid of those expectations and gazes.

The things he had to do were always decided.

The determination in his heart had never wavered.

He could stumble and wander, but he would never sit down and stop.

That was all Lenok could answer to himself.

“Wait, just a moment.”

Chen, who had belatedly followed him down, urgently called out to Lenok.

“So, where are you going?”

“The proxy battle to decide the Citadel Lord can only happen if the numbers match, right?”

Lenok replied.

“The proxy of the Six Spirits among the five families attached to the One Wheel is already on our side. If we can bring in the Eight Shields and the Three Lights, we can balance the scales.”

Becoming a proxy for the Five Wheels didn’t mean the end of the work.

No matter how confident Lenok was in his own power, it would be inefficient and reckless to face the proxies of the other seven families alone.

Fortunately, the One Wheel seemed to think that the game was over when they had secured a majority of the five families, but Lenok thought there were still plenty of opportunities left.

Chen said with a flustered expression.

“The Eight Shields and the Three Lights are completely different from us. The Eight Shields have a bad reputation within the Citadel, and the Three Lights, on the other hand, are too powerful, so they were reluctant to bring them in, but the families themselves are strong enough.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Lenok’s eyes shone sharply.

His left eye rotated, emitting a clear purple light.

“Just by visiting them, I can get an estimate.”

* * *

The eight families of the Eight Brilliance Citadel each have a number engraved in their family name.

At first glance, it might seem like just an easy-to-recognize identification number, but this is a name to indicate the order in which the family entered the ruling class of the Citadel.

Among them, it was only natural that the Eight Shields, which was the last to be incorporated, had a relatively low status.

The problem was that even that relatively low status was incomparable to the situation of the Five Wheels.

“Magnificent.”

Lenok muttered as he examined the Eight Shields’ mansion with a scope from two blocks away.

Its size was similar to the Five Wheels’ mansion, but the density of people was on a different level.

There were at least dozens of magic users. All of them were warriors who had undergone intense training, and there were only a couple of sorcerers to assist them.

Two old magic powers and one unusually strong life force located on the top floor of the mansion.

They were probably the head of the Eight Shields, their direct descendants, and their proxy.

“Can you do it?”

Chen, looking nervous, and Manson, who had followed Lenok with a slouch, muttered in a bored tone.

[If it doesn’t work out, we can just take the proxy’s authority… but to do that, we’d have to knock down all of the Eight Shields’ forces first.]

The family’s proxy is, as the name suggests, an entity that acts on behalf of the family’s will.

However, it is possible to take away that qualification through a duel between proxies.

This is because the existence of proxies was basically created to handle the internal conflicts of the Citadel more smoothly.

It was the result of avoiding the unnecessary deaths of the direct descendants of the eight families and establishing a symbiotic relationship of sharing profits through proxies.

The reason why Lenok hasn’t paid much attention to the Six Spirits since meeting Manson is also because once a proxy is appointed, the decision cannot be reversed for a month.

Considering that the Citadel Lord decision battle will be held in two weeks, the Six Spirits are essentially forced to fill our numbers, whether they like it or not.

The misstep of the Six Spirits, who tried to raise the family’s prestige by putting forward a capable freelancer like Manson.

They probably didn’t think that Ban would have Manson by the neck.

As soon as Lenok heard Manson’s words, he stood up from the top of the stone wall.

“With these conditions, it’s more than enough.”

Whoooooooosh!!!

The flow of magic power rapidly gathering between his five fingers.

Chen and Manson’s faces turned pale as they belatedly realized his intention.

“W-Wait a minute…?”

[What are you trying to do now?]

“The moment Manson stuck with me, the work had already begun. If we’re going to start a game, we should make a big move.”

Lenok replied.

At the same time, he released the compressed and raging magic power from his fist forward.

Impact-type common magic

[Shock Buster]

Kwaaaang!!

A powerful shockwave that exploded in front of the Eight Shields’ heavy iron gate.

The thick steel instantly buckled under the attack that far exceeded ordinary physical force, and the gate was torn off.

Crackling!!

“T-The gate!!”

“Who the hell is it!”

The Eight Shields’ front yard was in chaos. Warriors rushed out.

And the expressions of Chen and Manson, with their mouths agape.

Lenok smiled and stood up.

“I hope you like my greeting.”

The proxy battle had begun.