Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 696

Oliviera’s words seemed like grasping at straws, but Lenox immediately understood their meaning.

She wouldn’t join Lenox’s Ivory Tower while still involved with the Cartel, so the essence must lie elsewhere.

“You’re lending your name?”

[Since you’ve seen and returned with something, I can afford to be generous in this matter.]

Oliviera said leisurely.

[I cannot allow you to reside in the tower directly, but I will generously overlook you preserving your position and passing on your name.]

“……”

Knowing that he had met his past self in the closed sector, does this mean she’s allowing him the use of her name?

It was a rather self-loving statement, but Lenox focused on the hidden meaning behind her words instead.

Lenox was well aware of the value of having Oliviera Ron Maze’s name on the Magic Tower.

There was a certain prestige and legitimacy to be gained simply by having her name, a mage who had interacted with many others but never belonged to any organization, on the tower.

[You said you’ve roughly met the necessary authority and conditions. But there must be some cornerstones that cannot be obtained simply through acquisition and approval.]

“……”

[Then, the reason that mage escaped from the Magic Tower must be related to that as well.]

The doll’s gaze naturally turned to Tatiana, who was standing next to Lenox.

[Did you perhaps steal a relic from the Fire Magic Tower?]

“……!!”

“Relic?”

As Tatiana frowned at Oliviera’s words, which had instantly seen through their secret, Lenox casually asked back.

[The remains left behind by high-ranking mages after their death. Even if they are just remnants of thoughts, if you gather them and seek unification, they will transform into a power different from magic, a function.]

Oliviera explained.

[It manages the Magic Tower and serves as the basis for the authority and powers granted to the mages belonging to it. You should understand if it’s in a similar context, right?]

“Ah, that’s what you meant……”

The way Tatiana hid the Phoenix Relic, and the fact that the same rosary had forcibly reversed her summoning, were all due to the power of the Magic Tower’s unique management authority.

So, that function was operating through the remnants of the previous tower lord’s thoughts.

If Lenox officially adopts the Phoenix Relic as the Magic Tower’s management authority after establishing the tower, those who belong to it will also be able to use similar functions.

“I don’t think you’ve ever belonged to a Magic Tower, but you seem to know quite a bit about how they operate.”

[If you’ve been to the closed sector, you should know.]

Oliviera laughed as if the words were absurd.

[Who do you think I learned the magic I used from?]

“……”

Lenox pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded.

“Alright. I’ll capture Peisha Grisban and hand her over to you.”

[You’re quick to understand.]

Oliviera’s doll turned back towards the palanquin without hesitation.

[I’ll lend you two presidents. Send the results to my children.]

Two of the presidents managing the Cartel’s business divisions.

Since each of them was a superhuman who had achieved a high level of mastery, they would be a valuable asset in this endeavor.

Lenox nodded, then asked as if something had just occurred to him.

“Ah, and there’s one more thing I’d like to confirm.”

[I grant you permission to speak.]

“Among the magic you used before-”

He lowered his voice slightly and quietly asked about the necessary matter.

Oliviera, upon hearing Lenox’s words, laughed coldly.

[Huhu, you impudent fool…… Are you daring to question me about forgotten magic?]

“I’m just asking for advice because I think it’s necessary.”

At the calm reply, a clear chill seemed to emanate from the other side of the doll, which was tilting its head in confusion.

However, Oliviera pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded as if there was some merit to his words.

[I’ll tell them when I dispatch the presidents. But you’ll realize that understanding the incantation and wielding it are two completely different things.]

“That’s my concern.”

[And the Witch of the Barrage.]

When Oliviera suddenly called out to Tatiana, Tatiana turned to her, slightly startled.

“……What is it?”

[I’ve worked with your master a few times, so I know him.]

Oliviera let out a cold laugh.

[He may overlook minor indulgences, but he will never tolerate those who betray themselves. You must be prepared to bear the consequences of your decisions.]

“……”

[Since he’s in charge of the first gate of the central front, he may not come looking for you right away. But even so, you must keep it in mind.]

As the doll climbed in, the palanquin door slowly closed.

[The reason he sacrificed his disciples on the battlefield was so that he himself could become the most radiant sun.]

Click!

The moment the palanquin door closed, the red giants, who had been standing like statues, turned around, carrying the palanquin.

The palanquin slowly left the library with heavy footsteps.

The attendants, who had been surrounding it tightly, escorted the doll out like ghosts.

Only after the radiance that had been shining far into the distance had completely disappeared did Lenox turn to Tatiana.

“It seems like things have been resolved fairly well.”

“……You’ve secured Oliviera Ron Maze’s name, and you’re saying things have been resolved fairly well?”

Tatiana shook her head, turning to Lenox with a dumbfounded expression.

“I don’t know what that mage, who even refused offers from well-established large magic towers, is thinking. Does she really believe that the magic tower that will be built in Vulcan is worth that much?”

“……”

“It would be great if things work out, but capturing Peisha could be a very difficult task.”

Tatiana, who had worked on the central front for a long time, knew from experience that there was a high possibility of hidden secrets in such suspicious deals.

The fact that Oliviera, who had a high level of pride as well as skill, had readily declared that she would lend her name.

She may have thought that she needed to remind him here that it could be a deal that involved a significant amount of risk and responsibility.

However, Lenox nodded in agreement with Tatiana’s words but shook his head with a refreshing smile.

“Let’s accept the deal for now, and if it doesn’t work out, we can give up then.”

“What?”

“By the time we can decide Peisha’s fate, we’ll have received more than enough cooperation from the presidents.”

Lenox smiled meaningfully.

“We can just get the Cartel’s cooperation, achieve our goal, and then back out.”

“……Will Oliviera allow that?”

“She will.”

Lenox’s eyes, which had turned away, sank deeply.

“After all, the reason she’s readily cooperating in this matter is because it’s related to Dead Rise.”

Dead Rise, a private military company, was a military organization formed by Kaise’s confidants.

Although they are mainly active on the central front now, the past of the leaders of Dead Rise does not disappear.

And if Kaise’s confidants really betrayed Kaise and created Dead Rise.

What would Oliviera, who had once worked with Kaise on the Black Consumer Project, think of them?

It is not clear what Oliviera’s feelings are towards Kaise now, but it is certain that she considered Kaise to be the core of her plan.

If she had changed like this after the failure of the project, it was only natural that she would not be happy with the existence of Dead Rise.

That’s why Lenox thought that Oliviera would cooperate in this matter without having to add any conditions or words.

Kaise’s confidant, the owner of the Ironclad Wings.

Where is Gilleon, now one of the core leaders of Dead Rise, now?

After obtaining one of the Ironclad Wings, Lenox had been secretly waiting for the day he would face him directly, but he still did not seem to have any intention of leaving the central front.

“……”

Until now, they had been walking their own paths without being aware of each other’s existence.

But now, the frequency of their paths overlapping is gradually increasing to the point where they cannot solve their problems without going through the central front and the Three Heads.

After dealing with a member of Dead Rise here, and establishing a new magic tower as a result, they will also have no choice but to turn their attention to Vulcan.

Thinking that far, Lenox leaned on his staff and slowly stood up.

“Everything we needed to do here is done. Let’s go back.”

“Have you decided which of the presidents you’re going to call?”

Tatiana asked as she got up, rubbing her legs.

“Do you know anything about the presidents?”

Tatiana shrugged at Lenox’s question.

“The Cartel’s presidents are known to be filled by external recruitment.”

“The authority and compensation are so high that there are people on the central front who are interested in those vacancies.”

Most of the Cartel’s work is done by the 1st President Virgil and the board of directors, and the heads representing the business divisions tend to be recruited from outside.

This is probably because it is difficult to control the will of the company union, which has its roots in the shadows, unless the head has power.

Oliviera didn’t seem to have much interest in the Cartel’s work, but it was only possible because she had set up the Cartel’s internal system so well.

If Lenox were to establish a magic tower and start operating a distribution company at the same time, he would likely refer to the Cartel’s case.

“I sent a message the moment I heard Oliviera’s words. The headquarters secretariat should have finished confirming it by now.”

“What? Already?”

“The Cartel’s help in this matter isn’t just for dealing with Peisha Grisban.”

In a precarious situation where several large forces, including Dead Rise, have one foot in the outskirts of Vulcan.

Although attention is focused on Peisha, who occupies the satellite factory, Lenox knew that the magic tower would not give up on this matter with just this much.

“If they sent a rosary to retrieve the Phoenix Relic, they wouldn’t be unable to send more forces.”

Lenox said, gently touching the bandage on his left arm.

“The War Mages of the Blaver Magic Tower and the corps of the central front. They may already be in Vulcan. We should check from now on.”

* * *

District 10 of the megacity Vulcan.

The downtown area of the building district where the headquarters of several dinosaur corporations are located.

A luxurious premium hotel located among the skyscrapers that seem to pierce the sky.

As it caters to VIPs who visit for business with Vulcan’s megatech companies, it has luxurious facilities and services.

In the shower room of the top-floor suite, a naked man walked out, emitting clouds of steam.

Whoosh!

At the same time as he swept back his hair and squeezed out the water, all the moisture on his body dried up and disappeared.

The man, who had blown away the moisture with a single gesture, ran his finger over the table.

The moment he turned his gaze from the dazzling downtown area of the city spread out outside the window to the inside of the room.

Whoosh!

The table that the man had touched turned into a pile of ashes and piled up on the floor.

“……”

He knelt reverently and began to carefully scatter the collected ashes on the floor of the room.

The man, who had completed a small magic circle on the floor with the ashes, large enough for one person to step into, then took off his gown and stood on the magic circle with his eyes closed.

At that moment, a spark that had risen from under the man’s feet slowly began to eat away at his body and burn it.

Whoosh, whoosh!

The sensation of his whole body burning from his toes.

However, the man’s expression was as calm as if he felt no pain at all.

Eventually, the flames that had started from his toes completely covered the man’s body, and the moment he turned into a blazing ball of fire.

Kugugung!

The man’s consciousness reversed from his head, and a huge corridor of fire unfolded before his eyes.

Whoosh!

A vast corridor completely covered with flames boiling all around.

A collection of heat that would cause any human to burn away without a trace the moment they stepped into this place.

However, the man, covered in flames that were burning his whole body, walked slowly into the corridor without a care.

The already wide corridor expanded further as he walked forward, slowly splitting apart.

Thud, thud……!!

A vast hall of flames that stretched out as far as the eye could see.

Only eight huge altars, located at the end of that conscious world that burned everything, maintained their form intact.

On each altar, a huge sun with a different color and shape was rotating and burning.

Kugwagwagwa!!!!

Eight altars. But there were only five suns burning on the altars.

There were no suns on the first, second, and seventh altars.

The man opened his mouth slowly in front of the eighth altar without a word.

“Master.”

Crack……!!

What was located on the altar was a sun that scattered flames like a bluish mist.

The surface of the sun, which seemed to be wrapped in plasma all over its body, was covered with precarious cracks that looked as if they would break at any moment.

Without waiting for an answer, the man said.

“5-Rosary Melter Halfman died in the process of tracking 3-Rosary Tatiana Chiglet.”

[……]

“The Dead Rise headquarters has informed us that they cannot confirm the relevant information. It is presumed that they intend to proceed with the plan according to the existing contract.”

At that moment, the eighth sun that was burning on the altar seemed to twitch.

The man continued to speak.

“I have discussed it with the Vulcan City Government, but they have replied that I should resolve it with the approved magic tower. They don’t seem to have any intention of intervening.”

[……]

The man hesitated slightly before speaking again.

“It is difficult to take follow-up measures without the preparation of the Soul-Burning of the Heat-Age Ceremony. If there is a secret plan……”

[Duren.]

The eighth sun twitched greatly, then emitted a wave of energy.

“……Yes, Master.”

[Your knowledge is still shallow, and your judgment is slow.]

“……”

[The Vulcan Central Council is not so incompetent that they would make up excuses. They don’t even respond to worthless questions.]

“Then……”

[The talk about the magic tower is not a lie. There is some merit in the question you asked that aligns with the direction of the Central Council.]

The answer to talk to a magic tower that does not exist in Vulcan.

The tower lord had seen through the fact that the answer itself contained a different meaning on the spot.

[It can only be seen that there is a magic tower that has recently received approval from the Central Council and is preparing for establishment.]

“……!!”

The establishment of a new magic tower that is not permitted to anyone in the megacity.

Duren, realizing the meaning of those words, stiffened his neck with a look of agitation.

“Are you saying that they not only granted permission for its establishment, but also think it’s okay for that fact to be made public?”

[That must be it…… I don’t know what turned the hearts of those stubborn old men……]

The tower lord, who had been pondering with a leisurely tone, slowly smiled.

[Go back and tell the old men of the Central Council. That I will write the name of the main body in the new magic tower that will be built in Vulcan.]

“……Wouldn’t there be an appointee on that side as well?”

[It doesn’t matter how they come out. I intend to meet the appointed tower lord directly and receive the transfer. And if I can get a positive answer……]

Kugugugu……!!

Along with the resounding energy, the eighth sun burned even more fiercely and bent.

The surface of the sun split open, transforming into a smile like the teeth of a huge beast.

Hot flames dripped down like saliva from under the long, stretched-out tongue.

[Tell them that I will go to Vulcan myself.]