WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

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◈ The Inept Mage’s Infinite Regression

Chapter 25

As Boen walked out of the dormitory building, he realized why he was feeling strange. Ethan had been missing since morning. While they’d been on vacation, Ethan had always come to find him, and then they’d go to the Combat Magic Society workshop together. Boen felt awkward, but he assumed it was just one of those days. He’d decided to spend some time alone researching magic, and he was in the middle of browsing the shelves in the workshop when someone opened the door and entered. It was Ravina, the president of the society[1].

Ravina peeked into the workshop, only her upper body visible, and said, "What's this, Boen? Are you the only one here?"

"Ah, yes. Hello, President Ravina."

"Where's Ethan?"

"I haven't seen him. What's going on?"

"Professor Rivielton asked me to gather the other students at the academy and bring them to the hall," Ravina replied.

"Professor Rivielton? What for?"

"I don't know. But Professor Rivielton isn't the type to gather students like this. I saw him talking to some other researchers, and from the way he spoke, it might be the headmaster who's calling for the gathering. I don't know the reason. This is the first time something like this has happened since I've been at the academy."

"When do we need to gather?"

"Hmm, probably right now? You should go too, Boen. If you see Ethan on the way, bring him along."

"Understood."

Although Ravina had no idea what was going on, Boen had some suspicions.

‘Could the Empire be making a move?’

Ethan, or more precisely, the Mage Court, had said that everything was fine, but Boen wasn't convinced. It wasn't that he didn't trust the Mage Court, but he knew that the Mage Court didn't place much importance on their informants. Demons were known to blatantly discriminate against humans. To put it bluntly, human informants located at the extremities of their network were of little concern, whether alive or dead.

‘But it's strange that they lent him Terran magic. Or was their goal simply to eliminate Bain?’

That was also a possibility. Mental magic had been a hot topic in the magic community recently. Demons were in opposition to the Mage Council, fearing their growing power. The demons might have wanted to kill Bain, who was gaining prominence among mental mages.

‘But the Inquisition won't just sit back and do nothing.’

Of course, Boen knew more about the Inquisition than the Mage Court. He had never been to Ifnaken, where the demons lived, but he had received training at the Ysoren branch of the Inquisition.

The Inquisition was known to have originated from Damarth Yumaha and recognized the purity of only a few religions that originated here. Their goal was to reject all otherworldly beings that invaded Damarth Yumaha, and among them, Terra was treated especially severely. That aside, their exclusionary activities created a strong sense of camaraderie among Inquisition members. That was why Inquisition members of the same rank, or even of different ranks, respectfully referred to each other as "brothers."

‘Of course, Bain was an exception to that camaraderie…’

Bain had openly told Boen that he’d joined the Inquisition for his own goals, and it seemed he hadn't hidden that fact from the Inquisition either. But, from the Inquisition's perspective, someone like Bain was a valuable asset as long as he cooperated. In a place like Yurmus Magic Academy, where high-ranking mages were scarce, Bain's value was even greater.

Bain's death was definitely a significant loss for the Inquisition.

On his way to the hall, Boen wanted to find Ethan and bring him along, but he failed to find Ethan among the students and researchers who had returned early from vacation.

When he arrived at the hall, Headmaster Aincher Durmus was standing on the podium, with a potted bonsai maple tree in place of his head. Aincher was already speaking.

<…Therefore, due to the serious danger to the academy, opening day will be postponed at least a week. Given the gravity of the situation, I have exercised my voting rights on the Mage Council to delay it further, and it is possible that this year’s entire second semester may be canceled. If that happens, all tuition fees for the second semester will be refunded…>

The students murmured. Canceling a semester was a big deal. While the cost to stay here and the lecture fees wouldn't be a huge burden, a significant portion of Yurmus Magic Academy students were nobility, and nobles had tighter schedules than one might think. Minor scheduling conflicts might include simple parties or noble gatherings, but there were major issues to consider too, such as post-graduation positions or marriage schedules. Rescheduling all of that wouldn't be easy.

Aincher continued to announce follow-up issues and their solutions, then moved on to another topic, the one Boen had been waiting for.

Boen felt confused.

‘The Mage Court, not the Inquisition?’

That didn't make sense.

The Inquisition handled its own problems, especially if it was a matter of revenge.

The only exception was if the Emperor viewed the Inquisition as having failed. In that case, he might send the Mage Court instead—and Bain's disappearance could indeed be interpreted as the Inquisition's failure.

But Ethan, the Mage Court's informant, was already here. The Inquisition's failure had been orchestrated by the Mage Court, so why would the Mage Court attack Yurmus? The Mage Court had nothing to gain.

"The Empire has attacked neighboring nations and is still trying to invade, but Yurmus isn't a border nation. Even if they temporarily occupy it, they will face attacks from the Mage Council, Kardien, and Sodel, which are border nations. Can they even occupy it? There are over fifty high-ranking mages in Yurmus alone. What is the Mage Court's maximum strength?"

As Aincher's words began to repeat, Boen walked out of the hall.

‘No matter how I think about it, it doesn't make sense. The Mage Court wouldn't just visit for an investigation. They already have Ethan, so they should know everything. If it were the Inquisition, that would be one thing. The only explanation that makes sense is the Emperor. The Emperor could sternly decide that the Inquisition failed and then task the Mage Court with the job. But even then… with Ethan here…’

At the end of all these questions, there was only one answer.

‘Ethan lied to me.’

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Boen went to the first place he thought of to find Ethan: Ethan's room. If Ethan wasn't there, he would have to go check the society's workshop, then the hall, the surrounding forest, and even the Great Library Labyrinth.

Thankfully, Ethan was in his room. He was looking out the window, but upon Boen’s arrival, he turned to face Boen and sat on the windowsill.

"What's this, Boen? What brings you here? You don’t normally come to my room first."

Boen was rendered momentarily speechless by Ethan's calm demeanor.

"…Ethan,” Boen said eventually. “I was looking for you."

"What's the matter?"

"Didn't you hear? They say the Mage Court might attack the academy."

"Ah, that." Ethan said, "I sent a letter to Headmaster Aincher. I added a few more pieces of evidence. From the Empire's perspective, they can't contact a low-ranking Inquisition member, and Bain, a high-ranking member, is dead. This is proof that Bain was a high-ranking member. The Empire moves the Mage Court when the Inquisition fails in its jurisdiction, and they consider this kind of failure serious because they believe it was caused by a dark mage."

Boen opened his mouth but was so stunned that he barely managed to say, "…Why?"

"I'll be honest with you, I'm not a spy or informant for the Mage Court. You probably figured that out already, right? When I approached you, when I suggested we look for a dark mage, I had no connection to the Mage Court. The information about Maya didn't come from the Mage Court either, and after killing Maya, I didn't pass any information to the Mage Court. The power of Terra, the handgun, wasn't given to me by the Mage Court either."

"Then your knowledge about demons…"

"I studied hard. If you knew how much I studied, you'd be a little impressed. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you. Anyway, the Mage Court, the Inquisition, the Empire, and maybe even the Emperor are probably very curious about what's happening at Yurmus Magic Academy right now. Bain, a high-ranking member, disappeared, but they haven’t heard anything. They don't even know why Bain disappeared, whether he died or betrayed them. But with the rumor that the Mage Court might attack, they'll be on high alert, which will make things even more difficult. I'm not sure how the Mage Court will approach this yet."

Boen collected his thoughts and said, "I trusted you, Ethan! I thought of you as… a friend."

"So?" Ethan asked. "Did I betray that trust?"

Sunlight flooded into Ethan's dorm room, and Ethan, backlit, was shrouded in shadow. Boen couldn't read Ethan's expression.

Boen couldn't answer the question, so he asked one instead: "You're a dark mage, aren't you?"

"Correct."

"A dark mage of Terra."

"Correct."

Ethan drew his handgun. He didn't point it at Boen, he just stared at it as if seeing it for the first time.

"This is mine too. The Inquisition has regulations regarding 'dark mages of Terra,' unlike other dark mages, right?"

"Yeah."

"And it’s that dark mages of Terra are to be killed on sight?"

"That’s right."

"Then are you going to kill me?"

"…"

Boen was silent for a long time before saying, "No."

"Why not?"

"I only followed that regulation because of Bain. He said he would release me from the Contract of Pasitaros if I killed a Terran dark mage. Bain is dead, and the Contract of Pasitaros has already been released… Whether a Terran dark mage exists or not doesn't matter to me anymore. But…" Boen paused. "This is different. Ethan… I can't trust you."

"What's there not to trust?"

"How can I trust someone who has never, ever been truthful?"

"What if all those lies were for your sake?" Ethan asked. "I gave you what you wanted. I freed you from Bain and the Empire. You're free. Don't you think that's what a true friend would do?"

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[1] It’s not currently clear whether “Ravina” is a typo of “Linav” or a separate character who is also president of the Combat Magic Society. For now, we’re leaving it as is, but we may update this later if we get more information.