The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 97

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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 97. The End of a Long Winter (1)
At the word “sponsorship,” Iliana sprang to her feet with a start.
With her pale blue hair, she looked exactly like a frog leaping up in surprise.
“S-s-sponsorship?!”
“Yes.”
In truth, recruiting Iliana directly would have been the most straightforward path. After all, I was already planning to establish the Allied Forces anyway.
But I set that thought aside for now.
Not yet.
‘It’s too early to bring her in.’
The timing wasn’t right to draw Iliana into my circle.
There were several reasons for this decision, and the first among them was this:
‘She still lacks too much.’
The current Iliana was not a Sage of Truth.
She had only just shed her apprentice status.
Of course, her actual level far exceeded that of a mere apprentice.
Iliana had surpassed full-fledged mages and reached the tier of a high-ranking mage.
And yet, compared to her previous life, she was woefully incomplete.
In other words, Iliana had not yet reached her full potential.
Isolde was nearly complete.
But Iliana was not.
Of course, her genius-level talent meant completion was merely a matter of time, but….
‘I cannot be the one to complete her.’
I could not teach Iliana, nor should I.
For now, she marvels at my knowledge and is astounded by it, but this knowledge is not truly mine.
It is what I learned from Iliana in my previous life.
And even that foundation has been exhausted.
Iliana needed to learn deeper, more profound magical knowledge.
‘She must remain at the Magic Tower for now.’
The Langritd Magic Tower, where Iliana belonged.
All the magical knowledge of the Continent had its origins there, and it was thus called the cradle of mages today.
Currently, only the knowledge of Langritd Magic Tower could guide Iliana forward.
Until she mastered all that knowledge, until her talent bloomed in full, Iliana had to remain at the Tower.
That said, I had no intention of simply abandoning her to her own devices.
I could certainly help her talent flourish more rapidly.
First, by providing financial support.
Enabling her to pursue magical research freely and without constraint.
“Why… why would you…?”
Iliana’s blue eyes trembled ceaselessly as she asked me.
“Why would you sponsor someone like me… I’m just an apprentice mage….”
“Though that is your current station, through our conversation I have witnessed your exceptional potential.”
At my words, Iliana’s eyes trembled violently.
She was visibly flustered, like someone who had never received a compliment in her entire life.
“M-me?! Me?! Really me?!?!”
I didn’t even need to use Weak Point Detection to see it clearly.
“Yes.”
“Someone like me…! Someone like me…?!”
She held such a low opinion of herself.
Yet across her reddened face, an undeniable joy shone through.
“I’ve never heard this before…! That I… that I have exceptional potential…!”
Iliana bounced on her feet, not knowing what to do with herself.
That was when I let out an involuntary laugh.
Iliana seemed to be contemplating something seriously, and then—
“I’m truly grateful, but….”
She suddenly placed the purse she’d been holding back onto the table.
“I cannot accept the sponsorship.”
…It was unexpected.
No, beyond unexpected—it was bewildering.
“May I ask the reason?”
“W-well….”
Iliana’s small lips trembled.
Her blue eyes rolled back and forth hesitantly, as though she was reluctant to expose her shame.
But soon, as if she’d made a decision, Iliana gently bit her lower lip.
“I am actually… a illegitimate daughter of the Marquis Segretus Family.”
I already knew that.
A daughter born of a concubine—a bastard.
In the noble houses of the Battenberg Kingdom, where monogamy was the norm.
The status of an illegitimate daughter was no different from that of a commoner.
“If you were to sponsor me, the Marquis family would surely….”
I understood why Iliana refused the sponsorship.
The Marquis Segretus Family and House Whitewolf.
Both noble houses of the Battenberg Kingdom—
“I cannot… bring trouble upon you.”
She was worried that I might face retaliation from the Marquis family.
And this statement meant something else.
‘Even after leaving the family, she was still being interfered with?’
In my past life, Iliana rarely spoke of her past.
Especially, she never spoke of her time in the family.
Whenever the topic came up, her expression would darken, so I never pressed further.
I myself held no fond memories of the Whitewolf Family either.
Iliana and I never brought up stories from our time in our respective families.
But.
…Now, I understood.
At last, I grasped it.
The reason why Iliana in her past life and now were so starkly different.
Iliana’s extraordinarily developed peak intellect [A+].
It was never a blessing without drawbacks.
As evident from the notation of peak intellect [A+], accelerated aging was inevitable.
The brain suffered more severe damage, and consequently, the risk of falling into mental illness became alarmingly high.
Because her intellectual sensitivity was so acute, every single thing and person in this world became a source of psychological stress.
The talent of insight [L] only accelerated this deterioration further.
In other words.
‘She was broken.’
The Iliana of her past life was broken.
A genius talent that surpassed even dragons.
That brilliant intellect had consumed Iliana from within.
“So, that’s why you entered Langritd Magic Tower?”
A marquis held a rank higher than a count among the nobility.
Especially Baron Segretus, who served as ‘Prime Minister’—the second most powerful political leader after the king.
There was nowhere within the Battenberg Kingdom that could withstand the pressure of Baron Segretus.
The cradle of all mages across the Continent, Langritd Magic Tower.
Only a place of that caliber could endure the pressure from the Marquis Segretus Family.
“H-how did you…?”
Iliana trembled in shock and bewilderment.
“It wasn’t entirely that reason…”
Of course, there was genuine affection and love for magic as well.
But ultimately, the desire to escape from the Marquis Segretus Family must have been the driving force.
“Is that also why you never left the Stone Seat Mage’s shadow?”
The authority of the Stone Seat Mage.
The system of Langritd Magic Tower that protected apprentice mages.
“You deliberately remained an apprentice mage.”
By utilizing both of these, you could have remained free from the Marquis Family’s interference.
“….”
Iliana said nothing.
I pressed the purse back into her small hand.
“Please accept it.”
“…Eh?”
“I will bear all the pressure from the Marquis Family myself.”
Iliana’s sapphire-like blue eyes trembled greatly.
“Y-yes…? Really?”
“With this money, pursue whatever you wish to buy, eat, and research. I will shoulder all responsibility and pressure that comes with it.”
“N-no, I… I can’t…!”
“Additionally, I will sponsor you with an additional one million gold per month going forward.”
“Y-yes…?!”
“Should you require more funds, please contact the Predator Merchant Company at any time. I will provide whatever additional support you need.”
“W-what…?!!?!”
“Beyond financial matters, we will also support you politically in every way. The Predator Merchant Company shall become your unconditional patron.”
Iliana stood bewildered, at a loss for words.
“I… I have nothing I can possibly give you in return…”
Iliana’s gaze fell downward.
Such generous sponsorship demanded an equivalent price in return, after all.
But even now, and especially in my past life.
I had received tremendous help from Iliana.
Despite my offering nothing in return.
Even though it must have been terribly inconvenient for you.
Iliana, you shared all your knowledge with me without reservation.
So Iliana.
Just as you helped me without reason in your past life.
“No compensation is necessary.”
In this life, I will help you without reason.
Iliana’s blue eyes blinked slowly.
Her expression vacant, as though her thoughts had frozen entirely.
“Why… why would you do this for me…?”
That expression—like a delicate flower blooming with difficulty upon frozen earth—.
I had seen that face before.
During the final confrontation with The Emperor.
—Please… please just let me live…
Iliana, who saved me while driving herself to madness.
She who ultimately lost herself, meeting death as something no longer human.
Because of Iliana’s sacrifice—.
I was able to survive in the end.
I was able to spend my final moments with Ian.
Through that, I was able to return to the past.
Therefore, if you ask why I do this much for Iliana—.
“Because you saved the Continent in your past life.”
Strictly speaking, you did not save it.
But from now on, I will make it so.
“Then I shall take my leave now. There is somewhere I must go.”
I rose from my seat—.
Iliana remained sitting in place, motionless as one in a daze.
* * *
In the space Adrian had vacated.
Iliana sat motionless in that spot.
My mind drifted in a haze of emptiness.
Within my family, I had always been alone.
I could never hear a single kind word.
No one ever called me by my name.
“Vulgar wretch. What gives you the audacity to show your face here?”
“Your lowborn mother seduced the family head, didn’t she?”
“In any case, where could that tainted blood possibly go?”
“Get out of here! Even breathing the same air as you is revolting!”
My place in the family had always been in some forgotten corner.
I existed in darkness, beyond the reach of anyone’s gaze or attention.
Reading books alone in that cramped attic was my only happiness. When I lost myself in the knowledge within those pages, I could forget all my worries and sorrows.
And so, I grew accustomed to loneliness.
And so, I stopped expecting warmth.
Whenever someone extended a helping hand, I suspected them first.
…I could not trust.
What if it were another cruel jest?
Help without cost.
Such a thing does not exist in this world.
The law of this world is equivalent exchange.
In an isolated system, the total amount of energy does not change.
When you gain one thing, you lose another.
When you receive help, you must pay a corresponding price.
This was the law of the world I had learned until now.
Even in the Magic Tower, that law held true.
Of course it did.
It was an absolute, immutable truth that pierced through all existence.
And yet….
Now that law has shattered into fragments.
Because Adrian became an unconditional patron.
The weighty sensation of the coin purse felt at my fingertips—.
The multiple coin purses placed upon the table—.
They are far too difficult to believe.
Yet they are a ‘phenomenon’ plainly visible before my eyes.
And in this world, there is no law without phenomena.
If a phenomenon occurs that contradicts a law, it does not suggest the phenomenon is wrong, but rather that the existing law was flawed.
In other words, my thinking was mistaken.
Help without cost.
Such pure goodwill exists in this world.
The moment I realized this.
Something began to stir within Iliana’s chest.
It was as though the ice that had frozen deep within her heart was finally shattering.
The emotions she had hidden away to avoid drawing attention came flooding forth at last.
They poured out in torrents, caressing the pain and loneliness she had buried for so long.
A tempest of emotion raged through her.
Yet it did not destroy Iliana’s mind and spirit.
Instead, it loosened the shackles that had bound her one by one, melting away the accumulated sorrow and anguish.
Magic is the study of interpretation.
It is an endless process of grasping and understanding the principles behind phenomena.
Iliana could illuminate the causes behind every phenomenon in the world and explain their principles.
She had been so certain of this.
But for the first time.
“…Hic.”
Why were tears suddenly streaming down her face?
Why was her heart suddenly growing so warm?
“Hic….”
Iliana could not explain this phenomenon at all.
* * *
The Free City—a place without absolute authority like lords and sovereigns.
In such a free city, diverse classes and factions coexist.
From ordinary citizens to merchants, adventurers, mercenaries, and mages.
With no hierarchy, a multitude of classes existed.
And each class had established guilds to represent their interests.
“As Adrian instructed yesterday, Schönne sought the aid of the Mage Guild to investigate that Stone Seat Mage, and here’s what we found.”
Adlern drew in a deep breath.
“He’s an absolute piece of garbage!!”
His expression twisted in fury as he shouted.
“A Stone Seat Mage named Craven—he’s notorious garbage even within the Mage Guild!!”
A Stone Seat Mage is a venerable elder who has achieved outstanding accomplishments in the magical world.
As a high-ranking mage supported by the Tower, they guide and oversee apprentice and novice mages, making them authorities among mages.
“His conduct was no different from that of Vister the mage!!”
Most of the irregularities within the Magic Tower stemmed from Stone Seat Mages.
“Starting with deliberately restricting Iliana’s access to magical texts, research materials, and experimental equipment that she needed—”
When research stalled, he would attribute it to Iliana’s incompetence, while—
“Whenever she produced results, he would deliberately undervalue them, nitpick unnecessarily, and steal her research as his own!!”
On top of that, he assigned her excessive tasks and made her do personal errands unrelated to research—
“He publicly denounced and humiliated her in front of other mages!!”
Using this as a pretext to prevent her achievements from being recognized—
“He refused to teach her magic properly under the guise of punishing her incompetence, and failed to provide sufficient research funds—”
Because of this, Iliana had always lived a life of poverty, yet despite her circumstances, she scraped together every last coin she could find—.
“Once every two or three months, she would purchase magical texts and research materials from Orpheum and teach herself magic in solitude, or so I’m told!”
In other words.
“She is nothing but garbage that should be disposed of immediately!!!”
Even garbage had never encountered such a garbage mage.
“Tch…!!”
Adlern finished speaking and drew in a ragged breath, his fists clenching tightly.
Adlern was furious, as if this were his own personal matter.
“How could such a thing be allowed!!!”
…Somehow, Adlern seemed far more enraged than I was.

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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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