Chapter 20: Denying Any And All Excuse

News of Duke Bryan's death had reached far and wide in a single night. It was a worthwhile detail.

The Dark Nobility in charge of the Psynet found this to be humorous, but also a little concerning.

Although he had many enemies, that didn't change that the Duke was known as a powerful individual.

Although not as powerful as the Crowned King's Royal Guards, he was a 'Royal Wand' candidate.

A title given to the nation's strongest magic user.

Since he was dead, it meant that his assassin was also at the level that could threaten the nation.

Thus, many nobles assisted the investigation.

The modernised forensics team that were tasked with following Knight Orders banded together.

Clara Arcadia, the inheritor of the Dukedom that came out of nowhere not too long ago, also helped.

She allows the Investigator Class individuals that came the next morning to 'open' her predecessor.

Her choice seen as a rational and resolved act.

They were unknowing of the sheer disregard she had for his honour, as well as that of the duchy.

She only cared about getting results quickly…

Regardless, such a dark piece of news only made Adam feel indescribable horror of his own future.

It was hard to think of this incident as good.

'Had this kingdom always been this bad?' Adam started to question how he viewed this nation.

It was early in the morning, but he was still lively.

The rest of his guests still took their time sleeping off the life-threatening incident from last night…

…or well, maybe except one particular Magician.

"Do you always wake up so early?" Sebastian spoke while hiding a piece of metal in his pocket.

It looked like last night's incident caused the Magician to always keep his wand on hand.

You never know when an emergency would occur.

Still, there was something 'contemporary' about the holster on his waist. Like it was a police baton.

Police… baton…

"You too… seem used to waking early."

"It's better for getting exercise into the morning."

"Do all 'Magicians' do that?"

"Maybe…" The white-haired man spoke while stretching his arms, acting like he heard nothing.

But that only made him more curious.

He came closer and looked closely at the figure wearing spare clothing he'd brought with him.

The pouch on the man's waist was just a regular sized 'Bag of Holding'. A popular storage space.

It was said that it was bigger on the inside…

Regardless, that wasn't what was most eye catching when it came to the magic user.

He didn't expect the man to have such a toned body. How strong was he before he got hurt?

And why did he train so hard anyway?

"You're not planning on skipping it today? Last night was pretty dire." He said what he thought.

No one would blame him for lazing around.

"I'm not like that pervert. Being in a bad situation like that just means I have to get even stronger."

"Isn't Simon also included?"

"…Don't compare me with him. That guy isn't someone people like us can make comparisons to."

"You make him sound scary."

"You're the only one who doesn't find him scary." A part of Adam's skull throbbed from hearing that.

Like a memory was close to being recovered.

"So you're always going to train like this?"

"I'll do my part. I'm the only one who can do this."

"…That's nice." It was an admirable mindset, but not one the Landlord could replicate with his actions.

There were knots in his heart yet to be undone…

"You should train too. Don't you want to get stronger before you 'die' again?" Sebas invited.

Though Adam wasn't sure what he meant.

"Training this late wouldn't work…" He knew his own body. It's not like exercise worked instantly.

His stamina would only be wasted uselessly.

And that lazy nature was caught by the well-built magic user. It made him turn become insistent:

"Try it." 

"I couldn't…" Adam waved his arms, but Sebastian was having none of that. He got him to work.

Even though the Landlord could probably throw off his weakened arm or use his authority, he didn't.

Allowing himself to go with the flow of events.

He worked out as the Magician instructed him to.

His arms and legs stretching while being guided on the purpose of each part of the Magician's routine.

After about an hour, both of them were sweating. 

It felt like he couldn't go any further than that.

Somehow, the Landlord felt his efforts were wasted doing nothing. There was no system message.

His Power Stat didn't Rank Up…

An emptiness started to fill his heart, and he almost felt like an hour of his life had been wasted today.

That feeling was incredibly strong…

At least, that was until Sebastian patted his shoulder in an acknowledging way… before saying:

"It gets easier with time." 

He didn't seem criticising or reproachful from the lazy opportunist's weakness. It felt a bit different.

His magic instructor made one point clear though:

"But you have to do it everyday. That's the hardest part about exercising. Laziness wastes all efforts."

Those worse struck a deep chord in his heart.

The emptiness being felt subsided. Adam found himself filled with vitality after accepting his words.

It was the first time he'd ever felt this way…

"This… is difficult and tiring."

"Right?" Sebastian didn't deny that.

"I don't usually do things this way." Those words caused some disappointment, but he didn't stop:

"But I'll do it if you're there to teach me. So if you want me to exercise, you better not skip out."

"…Alright."

The two of them smiled, knowing what the other was thinking. Adam's eyes suddenly sharpened.

Adam used the opportunity while he was off-guard!

"You're used to 'dying', or am I wrong?" He didn't outright call him out, but this was close enough.

The sullen expression Sebas hid became visible.

Such a drastic change in topic was probably outside his expectations, but that was about it.

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Sebastian himself never forgot that incident.

Maybe the reason he was working out despite his injuries was because he couldn't accept his fate.

The weakness he had no way of recovering from…

This sudden question was something his magic instructor could've totally refuted or brushed off.

However, he didn't confirm or deny it.

Adam expected him to ignore those words, but that inquiry hit so close to home that he loosened up.

Though that didn't mean Sebastian relaxed…

"Aaah…" He groaned while messaging the back of his neck. It looked like he was having a migraine.

The white-haired man laid down on the sofa.

A faintly discernible spark of electricity could be seen on the tips of his finger, along with the glow of Spell Circles deeply imbued into his body. This scene was what he thought was a delicate topic.

So he didn't bring it up easily…

Instead, that look of pain was more important.

"Do you need any medicine?" The Landlord felt the face of the Magician was weaker than his mask.

The act he had put on all this time was fading…

"…Painkillers." Adam reacted to this world and brought the strongest ones from a nearby cabinet.

Sebastian immediately grabbed the glass of water he poured and downed the type he really needed.

From what he could tell on the box, they were meant to suppress the pain of internal injuries.

It made him worry… about his friend's condition.

At least, he wanted to believe they were 'friends'.

Not acquaintances who just happened to pass each other, but a person he could always rely on.

He gathered up his courage to ask him straight:

"Does this happen often?"

"I've told you before, right? I'm on life supports."

"But I thought you'd still be okay."

"My body is being held together with glue. It's not like the state I'm in is any better than Simon's."

"Didn't you say 'no comparisons'?"

"It's fine. We literally have the same type of life supports, only mine are a bit different from his."

"How so?"

"The materials…" Sebas hesitated, but decided it to be a secret not worth keeping from his Landlord:

"Have you ever seen Simon sober?" This question was met with confusion, he didn't understand it.

"There shouldn't be a difference."

"There shouldn't, but he's a lot different than when he's sober than drunk. His limits… are unstable."

"I think you mean unfathomable."

"No… 'unstable'." The Magician tilted his glass and gave it back to him, then continued in a deep tone:

"He was the one who carved the 'Life Support Circle Engravings' onto me. I only gave directions."

This sounded too absurd to be true.

"Right… I'm sure he did. Someone who has no Mana definitely drew those circles onto your body."

"He used… his 'Life Force' to engrave it onto me." It was these words that finally painted the scene.

He imagined a sober- No, the person in his imagination didn't have a face. Adam couldn't even think of a version of Simon being sober. Much more drawing a 'Life Circle' thing on Sebastian's body.

"Maybe he was younger back then…" The Landlord thought that's why the geezer looked like that.

It sounded like a truly tragic story.

"Ah, no… He always looked like that."

"…" Now this was embarrassing.

"Ah-!" Interrupting his embarrassment was a slight twitching. Sebastian grunted in pain once again.

His hand messaging his nerves to numb them.

"That looks like magic."

"It is. I'm altering my nerves."

"You're… altering…"

"Don't mind it much. I make sure to numb my sense of pain regularly. I mean, you know my Skill."

"Does it hurt that bad?"

"More than you think…" The white-haired man then revealed more about his signature Unique Skill.

As it was a lower grade than Adam's immortality, a lot of supplementary skills were missing within it.

Most important was lacking a regenerative ability…

From what Sebastian explained, it looked like he had been stitching himself together like a ragdoll.

It was to the point that his nerves were always under pressure from his body trying to cope.

His natural healing was corrected by the Life Circles, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt at all.

'Why do you exercise then?' Adam inwardly felt lacking. Like he was the only one without resolve.

He couldn't believe Sebastian would even get out of bed… What kind of drive was pushing him?

On top of that, the reason for his migraine. He knew it had to do with what happened earlier.

"Wait, umm… Your head was shot earlier, right?"

"Don't bring that up."

"I'm not trying to make things awkward. It's just that, err… How did use magic with a broken head?"

"My ability doesn't make sense, that's why. But let's not pretend that's what you're curious about."

"…Was I too obvious?" Seeing how Adam was embarrassedly scratching his cheek, he replied:

"It's not a secret. Yeah, I was part of an elite unit back in my world that protected the populace."

"So you were basically a Black Ops leader, or a SWAT Team trooper?" His eyes were shining.

As someone who'd grown up watching a bunch of entertainment, he found such a concept 'cool'!

"Actually… It was more of a Vigilante Corps. I got injured on my last assignment, which failed-"

"Then let's put all that behind us!"

"We might as well… Anyway, have you thought about the power you're cultivating from now on?"

"That's…" Seeing that hesitant expression, it was clear a clear conclusion had yet to be reached.

"That's fine. Shane gave me some instructions on how to teach you this morning. He can't be here."

"Why not?"

"Apparently, something had come up."

"Then why you of all people?" It wasn't like there was any point of connection between the two.

"…You're joking, right?" 

This response made the Landlord realise what he'd missed. There were only two reliable people here.

Kang Hyuk was excluded.

"Still…" It wasn't like what he said was wrong. He'd have to go through Simon to get to this Sebastian.

But that's where he was wrong.

"Let me tell you why." The Magician leaned close and whispered an incredible story into his ear.

The world seem crazy after hearing about it.

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