A man sitting in a luxurious chair came down from the ceiling.
“““““Great Sage!?”””””
The five old men shouted in unison. Well, one of them is still sleeping, muttering to himself the whole time.
But rather than that, Great Sage?
The man called by the old men was about thirty years old at most, with slicked back grey hair and sharp eyes.
This man…. could he be….?
“I came here because of the noise but…… it was a baby? No, it’s not. Who are you guys?”
Looking up at the man who asked, Meltera spoke nonchalantly.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you, Deophrastus. So you were the culprit huh.”
Deophrastus……
I thought so.
He was one of my former students. At that time, he had just come to the Tower of the Great Sage and he was quite young. But he was a very good man, and I remember meeting him a few times.
He is a little older now, but.…. considering that hundreds of years have passed since then, it would have been an impossible feat. Unlike Meltera, he’s just a human being after all, so he should have died a long time ago.
“……Hoh~, so you know my name…… Oh, I see. That magic, that voice…… Are you the High Elf Meltera?”
It seems that the other side also recognized Meltera.
“That’s right. You’re already on the verge of old age, but you’ve rejuvenated a lot, haven’t you?”
“……I will return those exact same words to you.”
“Certainly, it was not something that I could have said.”
The old men are flustered by the exchange between the two.
“Is this baby an old friend of the Great Sage?”
“What on earth is going on? Could it be that this baby has lived for hundreds of years, just like the Great Sage…?”
“I can’t believe that someone other than the Great Sage would be able to do something like that….”
Apparently, Deophrastus hasn’t told them about his past.
Deophrastus then commands the old men.
“…… You guys, get out of here.”
“Ah? Great Sage!?”
“T-that’s a bit….…”
The astonished old men tried to object, but Deophrastus did not let them have a say.
“You can’t hear my orders?”
“Uh! D-don’t be absurd!”
“Hurry up and get out of here!”
The five old men then rushed out. One of them, who had been talking in his sleep, walked out while being held by another old man.
After seeing them off, Deophrastus glared at Meltera.
“I don’t know how you’ve survived to this age, but from the looks of it, it appears that you’ve come to rob me of the taboo items.”
“It’s helpful that you get it quickly. I’m sure you understand the dangers very well. So why did you put your hands on it? No, there’s no need to ask. You’ve admired the Great Sage since back then. You were the one who was the loudest advocate among the magicians of the time that the next Great Sage should be appointed.”
As Meltera spoke nonchalantly, Deophrastus’ face contorted in disgust.
“But when the facts came to light, you were soon forced to withdraw from the front lines. This was because there were fewer voices supporting you than expected. That’s also why you stole the taboo items. Then you tried to become a great sage from scratch… Your long-cherished wish of hundreds of years has now come true. You now rule over this magical city and is now revered as a Great Sage by those around you.”
“….…”
Is that why he let those old men call him Great Sage?
It’s no wonder that the construction of this tower looks exactly like the Tower of the Great Sage that I made.
“In any case, it doesn’t belong to you. Return it now.”
“……It’s not yours either, isn’t it?”
“Yes. But it’s only natural that this person would claim it.”
Then Meltera glanced at me.
“……N-No way, that baby….…”
Deophrastus, who had been calm all this time, showed his agitation for the first time.
“It’s been a long time, Deophrastus.”
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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