Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 309

“The Second Prince has appeared at an official event.”

“Hmm?” Logan tilted his head, surprised by Damian’s report. The Second Prince was supposed to be missing.

“…What was the Imperial Family’s reaction?”

“Well… they never admitted he was missing in the first place…”

“Ah, right. Was there any mention of those mages?”

“No, sir. Not at all.”

What could be going on?

Weren’t the Black Serpents supposed to be hostile to the Empire?

Or did the Second Prince have the ability to escape their clutches?

No, perhaps the Imperial Family rescued him after all?

“Should we assume the Second Prince was missing and has now returned? And that the battle between the mages and the Imperial Guard was real?”

“Yes, sir. Aserian is still being rebuilt. The Empire has no reason to stage such a thing.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

That’s what makes it so confusing.

“Do we have any information on the Black Serpents?”

“I’m sorry, sir. We have nothing concrete yet.”

“I see…”

Tap. Tap.

Logan’s expression was troubled as he tapped the armrest.

“However, there is a curious development.”

“Hmm?”

“One of the Four Directional Kings has made a move around the time the Second Prince reappeared.”

“What?”

The Four Directional Kings of the Empire rarely leave their royal residences.

The Four Directional Kings are very important. They represent the Emperor’s power. They can only move if the Emperor tells them to.

“The Second Prince reappeared on the day the Eastern Wing King visited the Imperial capital, Aserian, and since then, the Second Prince and the Eastern Wing King have been moving together towards the Eastern Wing King’s residence.”

“…Suspicious.”

“Yes, sir.”

There was far too little information.

We don’t know about the mages with the Black Serpent symbol. We also don’t know what’s happening inside the Imperial Family. Because of this, it’s hard to understand the situation just from what looks suspicious.

“This is giving me a headache.”

Logan sighed deeply and clutched his head, but then he noticed Damian’s face, which was even more rigid than his own.

“…Do you have any idea what’s going on?”

Damian hesitated before cautiously speaking.

“I have no clear evidence, so I will call it mere speculation.”

“Speculation?”

“If the Empire is planning a war, as Your Majesty said, and deliberately creating chaos in the kingdom as part of that plan, then the Second Prince, suspected of being behind Cleo Liebermann, would be the executor or architect of that plan. If all these assumptions are true…”

“They are all true.”

If he wasn’t the mastermind, he couldn’t have appeared with Cleo’s head after disappearing so completely.

As Logan frowned, recalling past memories, Damian continued with an even more hardened expression.

“…Yes, sir. If that’s the case, I can only think that they intend to add the Eastern Wing King’s power to the Second Prince’s efforts.”

“Hmm…”

That made sense.

Having already sent assassins, there was no reason to believe they wouldn’t try something similar again.

But there was a major flaw in that reasoning.

“Another behind-the-scenes operation, instead of an all-out war? Does our kingdom have any weaknesses that could lead to chaos right now?”

Now, Logan controls almost all the power in the Kingdom of McLaine.

Any forces that might rebel have already been uprooted, and those who remain are all in a blood alliance or have an even stronger relationship of trust.

Then wouldn’t war be easier than trying to create internal chaos?

That was Logan’s thought.

However…

“…I apologize, Your Majesty, but there is one issue that could create a major rift within the kingdom.”

“What?”

“Only good things have been happening under Your Majesty’s reign. So, it’s not an immediate problem on the surface, but…”

As Damian continued, Logan couldn’t help but sigh in dismay. Only then did he realize that an unexpected problem existed within the kingdom.

“If it weren’t for you, I would have been so focused on the future that I wouldn’t have noticed the ground crumbling beneath my feet.”

Damian received the king’s admiring gaze with a stiff smile. The matter being discussed was too serious to just enjoy praise.

“The easiest thing to consider is another assassination attempt, like before. But if not that, I suspect they will target that.”

“…That makes sense. No, if I were the enemy, I would target that too. Ha, it painfully hits me how bad my head is. Thank you, Damian.”

Indeed, Damian Nadal, the Viper of the Grandia Liberation Front, deserved his reputation.

When he was on the receiving end of orders in the past, there were many times when he was chilling, even though he was an ally. Damian was a ruthless strategist. He would sacrifice anything for his goals. Logan remembered feeling uneasy around him in the past. He never knew if Damian would sacrifice him too. This made Logan dislike Damian.

However…

“Oh, no, Your Majesty. You are busy with affairs of state, so it’s understandable that you didn’t think that far. I’m always collecting internal and external information, so…”

Watching Damian wave his hands, Logan once again felt that the world had changed.

‘Was this guy always so shy?’

Perhaps the viper he had experienced in his past life was the result of this Damian changing after experiencing the destruction of his homeland.

‘So, I will make sure he doesn’t go through such ups and downs again.’

Logan made that resolution in his heart and patted Damian on the shoulder.

“There’s no need to be humble about this. You can only think about filling in the gaps if you know what’s lacking. If there’s anything like this in the future, don’t hesitate to tell me. I need someone wise like you.”

At that, Damian lowered his head even further.

A king who acknowledges his own shortcomings and even elevates his subjects. Wouldn’t being able to serve such a king be the greatest gift for a subject?

“…I will gladly do so.”

Damian responded to the king’s will with a small smile.

“Then, about that matter…”

“If the weakness to exploit is clear, it’s easy to prepare countermeasures in advance. Please leave it to me. If the enemy makes a move, I will take the opportunity to resolve that issue completely.”

“Alright. I trust you.”

“Yes, sir!”

Had the conversation with Damian relieved some of the anxiety in his heart?

Logan’s steps were light as he headed towards the Magic Corps, located in the former Royal Magic Tower building, where Clayton was.

Preparations for the internal problem were underway under Damian’s leadership, so now it was time to find a way to make up for the still insufficient military power compared to the Empire. Fortunately, Clayton was finding clues that could be an alternative.

“Ch, charge!”

“We greet Your Majesty!”

“We greet the Monarch of McLaine.”

The knights and soldiers guarding the front of the tower hurriedly knelt as they saw Logan approaching.

“H-how could you come without notice, Your Majesty?”

Even if it was a tower inside the royal palace, it was still a royal visit. The knights couldn’t help but be horrified to see Logan appear alone, without any notice or even escort knights.

Of course, the person in question didn’t care at all.

“Where is Lord Clayton?”

“Ah, he’s inside. Shall I inform him?”

“No, I’ll go in. I can’t disturb someone who’s researching something important.”

“Yes? Ah, yes! I’ll guide you.”

Following the hurriedly turning knight, Logan slowly ascended the tower.

The Magic Tower had existed on this land alongside the dynasty throughout Grandia’s thousand-year history. This Magic Tower was the center for important mages. It was called the Royal Magic Tower, but its real name was the Wizarding Academy. Inside, old murals showed its long history.

The murals showed the history of humans fighting monsters and other races on the high walls of the city when dragons, giants, forest fairies, and earth spirits roamed the continent with overwhelming power.

‘A thousand years ago…’

The murals showed the mages who had built the ‘Hope of the Human Race’ in the eastern continent, the fortress city of Gran, or more precisely, the Kingdom of Grandia. The scenes of history where the lineage of humans had continued even in those days when other races roamed were engraved from the first floor of the tower.

It was a record of history that was the pride of the former Wizarding Academy and the pride of the thousand-year kingdom of Grandia. And now, it was also the basis of the improvement that Clayton and Logan were trying to create again.

‘Fortress city. More precisely, a great magic circle that can be engraved and maintained on the castle.’

In modern times, where knights who can leap over walls of twenty or thirty meters are abundant, the castle walls are no more than a means of buying time from a defensive standpoint.

But a castle, a fortress, with a great magic circle engraved on it is different.

‘According to history, the troops fighting inside Gran gained endless vitality and tireless fighting spirit.’

Although their descendants who were not as skilled had not produced even one mage, the traces of it were engraved throughout the Magic Tower. However, the problem was that Gran was such an old city that the traces of the great magic circle had faded.

– …The other great magic circles have almost no faint traces left. The only remaining protection magic on the walls has reached its limit of renewal. It is expected to stop working within a few years.

– Restoration? Is it impossible?

– It is impossible with the current level of magic. I’m sorry.

The words of Chayson Riverfield, the former Master of the Royal Magic Tower and one of the current Deputy Commanders of the Magic Corps, proved the difficulty of what they were trying to do.

The fact that he had unintentionally learned why Gran of his past life had been so easily destroyed remained a bitter memory.

‘The magic circles of Aserian are reacting so perfectly, though.’

Of course, the history of the Ares Empire is only about half that of Grandia. Considering that even such an empire can barely maintain the great magic circles of Aserian and other major cities, let alone apply them, what Logan was trying to do might have been a very risky thing to try.

But Clayton said it wasn’t reckless, that it was possible.

It began when his disciple, Victoria, found some clues in the research logs, now presumed to belong to the Black Serpents, and in Ignis, the national treasure of Tria, a 6th-class artifact.

– There are commonalities. The school that created this research log and the school that created Ignis are probably the same school.

– A magical formula that doesn’t exist in modern times. If you have the ability to see mana, you can restore the magic circle by comparing Ignis and the log. Furthermore, its application too.

What started with the expectation of simply improving the quality of mass-produced artifacts gave an unexpected clue.

– Half a year. Half a year is all I need. Please leave it to me.

It had already been almost four months since Clayton had started research with Victoria, guaranteeing that.

‘The results should be coming out soon, right?’

With a mix of impatience and anticipation, Logan’s steps quickened on their own.

“This is the place, Your Majesty.”

Perhaps that anticipation was greater than he thought.

The moment the knight said that and pointed to the door, Logan burst into the room without knocking.

The first thing that caught his eye was the sight of strange glass bottles filled with various liquids lined up in abundance. A little embarrassed by the sight, Logan shouted loudly to find the person he wanted.

“Lord Clayton! How is the research going…!”

As the energetic voice echoed through the space, a scream erupted from inside the space filled with glass bottles.

“Gah!? Wh-who is it? At this crucial moment!”

“Kyaa! Master! Don’t look away! F-focus! Ah, no! Mana…!”

“You son of a…!”

Whirr!

No sooner had Logan felt something bad was about to happen than…

Kwwaaaaaaang!

With a tremendous explosion, the entire sixth floor of the Royal Magic Tower was blown away.