A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special - Chapter 29

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 29. The Magic Tower, Temporal Chess (1)

“Grrrraaahhh!”
Fury burned through him.
Kraken thrashed, desperate to rise, but——
“Ugh! Ughhhh!”
Crack.
Every bone, every muscle screamed in protest. His magic was sealed. His body was pinned.
At last, Kraken surrendered the struggle and looked up at Dezir through unfocused eyes.
One question gnawed at him—unanswered. How had this boy deployed 4th Circle Magic?
Dezir unclenched Kraken’s fist and retrieved the Mana Stone.
The stone’s true state was revealed then, and at a glance it was undeniably strange. Blue light swirled violently inside the Mana Stone, a tempest contained within.
Kraken could sense it clearly: the internal mana within that solid external casing was spinning with ferocious intensity.
‘He used the Mana Stone’s mana?’
It was supposed to be impossible—drawing on internal mana from a Mana Stone without an Enchantment. The fact was common knowledge by now, almost a truism.
Yet the boy before him wielded that stone’s mana as though he were mocking such established truth, handling it with perfect ease.
Of course, with no Enchantment applied.
‘That’s impossible!’
Dezir read the thought written plain across Kraken’s face and gave an easy shrug.
“It’s remarkable, isn’t it? When I first saw this technique myself, I felt exactly as you do right now. I understand completely.”
Dezir knelt and removed the mask from Kraken’s face. Meeting his gaze, he spoke.
“Are you curious? If you wish, I could teach you.”
“……!”
Kraken’s body trembled once.
Curious. Honest to the void, he could not help but be curious.
A technique that defied modern theory about Mana Stones!
Technology decades ahead of the present!
With such mastery, one could seize everything the Magic Tower now possessed.
“Do you want to know?”
Kraken cared nothing for their fight just moments ago. Pride was forfeit. This knowledge was worth far more.
His head moved up and down—desperately, with profound deference.
Dezir’s smile then was radiant, and——
“Then you’ll pay the price first.”
He amplified the gravitational force.
Twelve times over.
“Gahhk!”
Kraken shrieked once and lost consciousness on the spot.
Thus ended, on the seventh of July, the attack on the Magic Tower by the Outer.

* * *

“I’m at a loss for how to thank you all.”
In the Magic Tower’s reception hall, Prelude and Dezir’s party gathered together.
“In truth, without you, we would have suffered a catastrophic loss. I don’t even want to imagine what would have happened if the Outer had taken that Mana Stone.”
Prelude lowered his head.
“Thank you, Dezir. And thank you to all your party members for your cooperation.”
Fram, seated across from him, barely suppressed a laugh. Not so long ago, he’d dismissed Dezir as utterly mad.
He had accepted the proposal only because Dezir knew about Reugnel’s tears—not because he’d fully trusted Dezir’s words.
Until the Outer actually appeared, the looks Dezir’s party had received were, in retrospect, dreadful.
‘Though I suppose I can’t entirely blame them for their position…….’
Fram felt a measure of sympathy. In all honesty, he’d harbored doubts himself.
And why shouldn’t he? Out of nowhere, an attack? Who in this world was mad enough to assault the Magic Tower, the greatest enterprise on the continent?
‘But in the end, Dezir was right all along…….’
The Outer did appear, exactly as he’d said. And by his plan, every last one of them was eliminated.
Even Kraken, who’d led them, was taken into custody.
And a 2nd-Class Mana Stone recovered besides.
Dezir’s party had delivered spectacular results.
‘I apologize for doubting you, even for a moment, Dezir.’
Fram resolved from that point forward to trust Dezir absolutely.
He would harbor no doubts about any decision he made. He would believe him, no matter how outlandish the claim.
His eyes conveyed infinite trust toward Dezir.
Of course, Dezir had no inkling of receiving such a gaze and continued forward with the conversation.
“I’m glad it was helpful. But I’d like to discuss the matter of compensation for the commission.”
“Ah, compensation.”
Cause and effect.
Commission and compensation.
The conversation shifted toward the matter of payment.
“Currently, our Magic Tower is considering 120 Gold as compensation.”
Romantica started in surprise.
“One hundred and twenty Gold? Are you serious?”
“Quite serious. Given what you’ve all accomplished, this level of reward is only natural.”
Romantica nudged Dezir, who sat silently beside her.
“Hey, what are you doing? You were just grumbling the other day about how tight party operations funds have been. With that money, we’d have enough to cover a full year—no, six years of operational expenses!”
Prelude threw his support behind Romantica’s words.
“Exactly. And you won’t need the Magic Tower’s support anymore. With sufficient funds secured like this.”
Dezir had been seeking support from the Magic Tower. Prelude remembered that fact clearly.
“The original compensation was actually 100 Gold. But upon investigation, I discovered that you, Dezir, had been unable to submit a support application due to unfortunate circumstances. For that reason, I added an extra 20 Gold from my own authority. While it falls short of the Magic Tower’s full support package, it’s a considerable sum nonetheless.”
Clink.
A leather pouch containing a total of 120 Gold was placed on the table.
But Dezir didn’t even glance in that direction as he spoke.
“Prelude.”
“Yes?”
“Do you remember what I said at the beginning?”
“Ah, yes. I do remember.”
Prelude did remember.
That very conversation from this morning.

“Is it by chance that you’re trying to request support from the Magic Tower?”
“Something along those lines.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I must decline that proposal.”
“What!”
“What!”
Two cries erupted simultaneously—from Fram and Romantica, of course.
Despite their protest, Dezir shook his head.
“I won’t accept compensation in Gold. Instead, I have a different request.”
Prelude straightened his half-tilted glasses.
“But, but Dezir, the application deadline for support requests closed on July 3rd. Even this cannot be changed by anyone. This is a rule set by the Magic Tower. Not even the Tower Master himself can break a rule once it has been established.”
This was precisely why he had set the compensation at 120 Gold without hesitation. It was partly an apology, but also intended to ensure no lingering resentment.
Dezir exhaled slowly.
“You’ve misunderstood again. I have no intention of asking the Magic Tower to accept my support application.”
“Then… what is your proposal?”
As his prediction failed and all his offers were rejected, Prelude asked in bewilderment.
And Dezir answered.
His request was simpler than expected and not difficult, yet no matter how much Prelude thought about it, it made no sense.
“Allow me to play Chess with the Tower Master.”

Chapter 7. The Magic Tower, Time, and Chess

Alteia, the city-state that serves as the center of magical engineering.
Mana-powered vehicles moved along elevated roads woven together like a spider’s web, and towering buildings clustered around them.
Here stood the headquarters of the Magic Tower, called the greatest enterprise on the continent.
“Are you truly certain about this, Dezir?”
“What do you mean?”
Dezir Armang and Prelude stood in a cylindrical elevator shaft piercing the heart of the Magic Tower’s main headquarters. Fram and Romantica had gone sightseeing around the city and weren’t present.
As Prelude’s skilled hands manipulated the elevator controls, it began ascending rapidly.
“Chess, I mean. You performed so brilliantly, and yet all you ask for is a game of chess……”
“Different people desire different rewards, I suppose.”
“But even so — a mere 120 Gold?”
Prelude let out a sigh.
“And I can’t fathom what the Tower Master was thinking, accepting such an absurd proposal.”
“Perhaps it was precisely because I declined the 120 Gold that the Tower Master agreed to the chess match.”
Dezir replied.
“It seems the Tower Master takes interest in things that are out of the ordinary.”
Clank.
The elevator stopped, and the doors opened.
Before them lay countless libraries lined with books.
Specialized texts crammed into bookshelves. A blackboard covered in formulas so intricate that the mere sight of them induced headaches. Heavy curtains blocked out the sunlight. Instead, lamps enchanted with Light Magic on Mana Stones illuminated the chamber.
‘Even the lamps use Mana Stones.’
At the center of the room—where one could indirectly experience the wealth of the Magic Tower—stood a man who had lifted his eyes from his book to regard Dezir.
Long eyelashes, a high, proud nose, immaculate pale skin that tolerated no imperfection, and lips of vivid crimson that accentuated it all—he was a man of striking beauty, with sharply defined features.
Though he was nearly in his nineties, his appearance suggested someone in his mid-forties.
‘His face hasn’t changed a bit.’
Despite countless resolutions, the moment Dezir stood before him, emotion surged unbidden in his chest. He had to labor to keep it from showing.
Jord Exarion.
The continent’s mightiest mage, then and now, and never again.
The architect who had led the resurgence of great magical civilization.
His accomplishments were innumerable—enough to fill an entire volume.
In fact, books chronicling his deeds existed. Tomes thicker than encyclopedias.
“I’ve brought the student.”
“Well done. You may go.”
There was an antiquated quality to his speech.
Atop a black circular table sat an ivory-hued Chess Board.
“Sit.”
Dezir sat across from him.
“I’d have liked to treat you to tea and play at leisure if I had the time, but I have a meeting in exactly twenty-seven minutes. So that’s not possible.”
“I’m already deeply grateful that you’ve accepted such an unworthy proposal.”
“Thank you for your understanding. Well then, let’s begin the game at once.”
There was nothing else said.
That was the end of it.
The conversation had been focused solely on the purpose of chess. Jord’s tone carried a barely concealed urgency to finish quickly.
He placed a piece on the board.
“Which rules would you prefer? Imperial Rules, or the Western Kingdom Alliance rules?”
“Northern Sea Rules.”
Jord’s eyes gleamed for a moment.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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