A Talentless Mage Devours a Disaster-Class Future - Chapter 48

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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 48

Exion Medical Ward.

The corridor was hushed. Patient rooms lined up beneath soft lighting, the occasional footfall and the soft creak of doors opening and closing. It was a scene no different from any other ward.

At the far end of the corridor, someone’s footsteps came to a halt.

“Sigh…”

Seria Croitz.
The Grand Duchess of the Rustian Federation.

Aion Iscar’s former fiancée—or perhaps more accurately, his former betrothed, a position ambiguous in its own right.

It was she who had stopped there.

“It hasn’t grown cold yet, has it?”

Seria adjusted her grip on the thermos bottle she’d been clutching. Cocoa—brewed thick in the northern style.

Now that Arcane Engineering had advanced, special containers that preserved temperature were common enough in circulation.

“It’s been less than an hour since I prepared it, Miss.”
“…Is that all?”
“Yes, Miss.”
“Well, if Oliver says so, then I suppose that’s how it is.”

Beside Seria stood Oliver.

In his crisp black tuxedo and bow tie, he cut an impeccable figure—the very picture of a proper butler.

Save for one detail: his head, crowned with a monocle, was unmistakably owl-like.

Oliver was an owl-type humanoid.

“Miss, we’ve barely walked twenty meters and you’ve stopped for the third time already.”
“I haven’t stopped. I was merely catching my breath.”
“Might you be suffering from some lung ailment of which I’m unaware?”
“…”

Seria glanced away as if to avoid the subject, then turned back to Oliver and spoke.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Like what, Miss?”

Seria knitted her brow. Yet Oliver’s expression remained unchanged.

“They say that young people of this age are naturally clumsy with their feelings, but Miss Seria, you seem to have taken it to extremes.”
“Stop jumping to conclusions. That’s not what I meant at all. You heard what I said—that person hasn’t managed to make even a single friend yet. Now, as someone from the north myself, am I not allowed to extend even a measure of compassion?”
“Of course not, Miss.”
“Then what?”
“Simply that if it were merely compassion, there would have been no need for you to come in person. You could have had a servant deliver it in your stead.”

Seria answered with a sullen expression, as if dodging the point.

“…That would be strange too, wouldn’t it?”
“Indeed, Miss.”

Oliver’s question hung in the air unanswered. Each time Seria opened her mouth, she felt herself sinking deeper into a mire of her own making.

Oliver paused for a moment, then added carefully:

“Should I report this visit separately to your father?”
“…No. Absolutely not.”

The answer came far too quickly.
Seria cleared her throat and offered an explanation.

“It’s not worth reporting. It was simply a visit. Besides, Father has been rather displeased about any entanglement with the Iscar Family lately….”
“Understood. I’ll record it as nothing more than a routine visit.”
“…I said don’t record it at all.”

That was when voices and footsteps echoed from the corridor near the patient ward.

Thump-thump-thump—

Students came pouring out. Far more than she’d expected.

“Sounds like he’s about to wake up.”
“Thank goodness. Really.”
“Mmm-hmm.”

Seria’s eyes went wide.

“Oli—Oliver.”
“Yes, Miss?”
“H-hide. Now!”
“I fail to see why I would need to conceal myself, Miss.”

Whoosh—

Seria seized Oliver by the sleeve and dragged him around the corner of the corridor.

“Miss, there is no student in this academy who would recognize me.”
“Shh. Be quiet.”
“….”

Oliver fell silent for a moment. Then, very softly, he murmured:

“It’s quite all right that you wish me to comply, Miss, but I should mention—the thermos contains Cocoa.”
“I know that. Why?”
“I merely wondered whether you’d mistaken it for an explosive device, Miss.”

The students filtered away, and the corridor fell quiet once more.
Seria peered cautiously around the corner. Empty.

“…I think they’ve gone.”

She took her first careful step, clutching the thermos tightly to her chest. Then stopped. She scanned the corridor once more. One more step. And froze again.

Pressed flat against the wall, barely breathing, moving like a ghost.

“Miss.”

Oliver’s voice came softly.

“I believe we are currently presenting an exceedingly suspicious appearance to anyone who might observe us.”
“Please be quiet.”

One step, then stop. One step, then stop.

“Hey, you there—stop right there.”

Seria’s feet went rigid.

“What are you doing lurking around the ward like that? If you have business—”

She turned coldly to answer him.

“You seem to have misunderstood, but I’m… hm?”
“…Uh?”

Her words caught unexpectedly.

Seria recognized the man who had seized her arm.

“You’re… that person from back then….”
“You’re….”

The Hazel Dormitory fire.
The man who had hurled curses even when Aion was clearly still inside.

— He can’t get out.
— …Don’t speak recklessly.

“Why are you here…?”

He was standing guard before none other than Aion Iscar’s hospital room.

Unless Aion had saved his life, such a thing would be utterly impossible given the attitude he’d shown before.

“…That’s what I’d like to know. I don’t understand it myself.”
“…….”
“Did you come to see how the kid is doing because you’re worried?”
“…W-Who said anything about worrying? Why would you think that?”
“…? You were the same way last time.”
“That was….”

Oliver stepped forward to rescue Seria from her predicament, offering a light bow.

“I am Oliver, in the employ of the Croitz Family.”
“A pleasure, Oliver.”
“The young lady has prepared a modest gesture of concern for Master Aion’s condition.”
“…Oliver.”

Seria was displeased at Oliver’s unbidden intervention, yet he proceeded without hesitation.

“It is warm cocoa. We would appreciate it if you could deliver it before it cools.”
“…Well, I’ll pass it on.”
“How is Master Aion’s condition?”
“He’s fine. They say he’ll wake soon. Apparently the strain on his mind was only temporary.”
“That is indeed a relief.”
“You’re not going to visit? You came all this way—you won’t even look in on him?”

As Oliver turned his gaze toward Seria, she shook her head firmly.

“…It doesn’t seem the right time today. Next time, I’ll choose a better moment.”
“So, no escort to the door?”
“That will be fine.”

Seria and Oliver exchanged cautious glances before quietly slipping away.

Left alone, Kael picked up the Thermos Bottle filled with Cocoa, his expression turning sullen.

“…Why do I have to deal with this kind of mess, honestly.”

Click—

Kael opened the hospital room door, then—

stopped.
Aion sat half-propped up in bed, his eyes fixed on him.

Their gazes collided.

“…You’re awake?”
“…Why are you here? And that is….”

The Thermos Bottle in Kael’s hands.

A misunderstanding was beginning to bloom.

“Wait, no!! I didn’t prepare this!!”
“…I see.”
“I’m serious. I should’ve just told you to come in.”
“…Who was here?”
“A woman from Rustian. You don’t know her?”

Aion nodded, quickly grasping the situation.

“So Seria came and left.”
“This happens often, doesn’t it? Even the Healing Magic specialist at the Medical Ward has learned your name by now.”
“You were part of it last time too.”
“…Right, I was.”

Kael let out a quiet chuckle and set the Thermos Bottle on the side table.

“It’s Cocoa.”
“Good.”

Aion poured the Cocoa into a Mug as he spoke.

“What about you?”
“I’m fine. Why would I drink something meant for you? Go ahead.”

Slurp…

Warmth spread through his body, heating not just his frame but his chest as well.

“But why are you here anyway?”
“Huh, are you interrogating me the moment you wake up?”
“No, just genuine curiosity.”
“…I had a feeling those two would try something again.”
“…Ah.”

Aion understood immediately.

“It’s pretty clear those thugs are responsible for the state you’re in, isn’t it? But since you didn’t kick the bucket, I figured they might try something else. So I kept watch myself.”
“…Thank you.”
“……!”

Kael’s eyes went wide, and he waved his hands frantically.

“W-what! That’s not—it wasn’t a matter of heart or anything like that. It was just my judgment, that’s all.”
“Right. So.”

Aion asked something different.

“How long was I unconscious?”
“About half a day? It should be evening by now. Not that long, all things considered.”
“That’s a relief.”
“With luck, you could be discharged today. You don’t have any actual injuries anyway.”

At least there was that small mercy.

“The Tactile Sensation Reading was abnormal, wasn’t it?”
“…Yes. Whether it’s a malfunction in the Soul Projection Device or someone tampered with the readings, that should come to light soon enough.”

Kael continued in a low voice.

“It’s too early to say for certain, but if it’s not a mechanical error, then the culprits are obvious enough. They manipulated the Tactile Sensation Reading on the Soul Projection Device. You would have experienced real pain equivalent to actual physical damage—the kind of burning agony that runs from head to toe.”
“Hmm….”
“Do you know what the others are saying about you?”
“I haven’t really paid attention to that sort of thing.”

Kael bared his teeth in a grin.

“They’re calling you a stubborn bastard. Some say you’re insane. Because what you did—completing a spell while enduring that kind of agony—isn’t something an ordinary person could manage. Are you aware of that?”
“…I suppose.”

Aion paused for a moment, then nodded.

“That seems about right.”
“Anyway, I’m not displeased that there are finally others who agree with my assessment of you.”

A low chuckle escaped him.

“But those bastards who did this to you—you’re going to do something about them, right? I know we settled things in the Mock Battle, but that’s it? You’re not under the impression we’re saints or something?”
“……I owe them a debt.”
“…Are you going to kill them?”

The two of them stared at each other, eyes wide.

“…That might be too far.”
“It probably would be.”

If Aion were in a warzone right now, it might be the sort of vengeance worth contemplating. But this was a Magic Academy.

‘I don’t want to find myself facing expulsion again.’

Kael raised an eyebrow. He didn’t press further.

He studied Aion once more, head to toe.

“You seem… a bit different somehow.”
“…Do I?”
“I can’t quite put my finger on it, but your whole presence feels…”

Aion didn’t answer. Instead, he gazed up at the ceiling.

‘Is it because my Realm has risen?’

If that weren’t the case, Kael wouldn’t have brought it up at all.

Kael paused, choosing his words carefully, then spoke.

“Aion. That thing Lenar told me—I passed it on to you too, didn’t I?”
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend?”
“……I think I’m starting to understand what that really means.”

Kael’s mouth twisted into a smirk.
Aion, by contrast, leaned his head back and looked at him with something like revulsion.

“…It’s not that. The Mock Battle—really impressive stuff. Watching those melting wretches’ skulls cave in like that was quite the spectacle. You should’ve seen it yourself… Khekheuk….”
“…That’s sinister.”
“Take it as a compliment.”

Whoosh—

Kael rose to his feet as he spoke.

“Anyway, since you’re awake, I’ll let the desk know and be on my way.”
“…Thanks for your trouble.”

Click.

After he left, silence settled over the room for a moment.
But only for a moment, truly.

【Flame: …He’s gone?】
【Torrent: …Looks like it?】

As if they’d been waiting for this, the Ultimate Points began to chatter freely.

【Flame: Damn it all, at my age I never thought I’d have to mind a boy’s mood.】
【Torrent: The Kael Pairon I knew wasn’t like this at all—watching him change is almost unsettling.】
【Life: His meeting with Aion seems to have altered him… somewhat.】
【Blitz: Kehehehehe! Trash noble! Beast! What’s gotten into him?】

Aion clutched his throbbing head and spoke up.

“I woke up without issue, at least. Arcane Engineering—I’m asking just in case, but even though my Realm has risen, there’s no change in Yggdrasil?”

【Arcane Engineering: A timely question. To answer it…】

The Ultimate Point of Arcane Engineering replied briefly.

【Arcane Engineering: There’s no way that’s true.】

Ding!

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[!] Confirming normal vital functions of the user.
[!] Tier advancement detected.
[!] Review the updated statistics.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

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The Talentless Mage Devours a Catastrophic Future — Chapter 48

Author
Wang Mofang
Publisher
Daon Creative
Planning / Editing / Production
Yeon
Cover Design
Dali

UCI
G720:N+A036-20260706063.0048

© 2026, Wang Mofang

※ This e-book is protected by the Copyright Law of the Republic of Korea.
No part or all of the contents of this work may be reprocessed in any form without the permission of the author and publisher.

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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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