Anagin Chronicles

Chapter 127. Preparation (2)

To put it bluntly…

It wasn’t a bad proposal.

Kori and Pais. The fact that these two brats volunteered to leave Anagin and enter the Chiron Tower.

The important part here wasn’t that they were entering the Chiron Tower, but that they were leaving Anagin.

It might sound heartless, but to Anagin, Kori, and Pais were more like baggage.

It was true that the two brats were braver and more tenacious than other kids, but they were still just kids. They would only hold back Anagin’s journey.

Considering that whenever Anagin fought, all they could do was stay in a corner and protect themselves, that was an undeniable fact.

Anagin wasn’t unaware of this either, which was why he had initially planned to leave them somewhere suitable. For example, here at the Chiron Tower.

Whether they would accept them or not, it was at least worth trying, wasn’t it?

However, that plan was quickly scrapped.

After he saw those lunatics interfere in a children’s fight and throw Pais into an underground prison.

They called it a tower that raised heroes, but it was nothing but underhanded tricks.

So he gave up on the Chiron Tower and decided to look for another suitable place.

Of course, simply abandoning them was also an option, and not something he hadn’t considered…

But he didn’t like that.

Even if it wasn’t intentional, he had grown attached to them after spending time together.

More than anything, abandoning kids he knew like that—it would be too shameful, and he didn’t want to do it.

Then there was no choice. Even if it was troublesome, he had to find a place that wouldn’t leave a bad taste in his mouth.

It would be quite a hassle…

And then, at that moment, the two brats came forward on their own and asked him to help them enter the Chiron Tower.

Once again, from Anagin’s perspective, it wasn’t a bad proposal.

But it didn’t feel particularly good either. Rather, a strange irritation welled up inside him.

“Why?”

“……”

Perhaps because irritation seeped into his voice, Kori and Pais couldn’t answer right away. They only watched his mood.

“Don’t tell me you’re sulking? Because I said you’d only get in the way?”

Anagin asked, recalling something.

On the way to beat down Hippomenes, the two brats had offered to help, but Anagin had refused, saying they would only be a hindrance.

He was asking if that had hurt them.

It was entirely possible. Kids often made foolish decisions when they sulked.

However, Kori denied it.

“No, I’m not sulking.”

Anagin smirked.

“So you’re not sulking, but it’s still related, huh?”

“……Yes!”

Even while watching Anagin’s mood, Kori gathered courage and answered loudly.

It looked like she had steeled herself for something.

Anagin didn’t miss that. So he changed his attitude.

Not treating Kori as a sulking child acting foolishly, but as a proper individual.

“What’s the reason?”

“I realized it. That my little brother and I are just getting in your way, Big Brother Anagin.”

“Usually in times like this, one is supposed to say that’s not true and that your very existence gives me strength, but... sorry. I hate those kinds of lip-service words. It’s the truth. You two aren’t exactly helpful to me.”

“Hey now...”

The hero aspirants of the New Argonaut Expedition Team, who were listening nearby, spoke up as if telling him to tone it down.

No matter what, that was too harsh to say to kids.

But regardless, Anagin continued.

“But that’s not wrong. Kids usually aren’t helpful—they just get in the way. Considering that, you two are actually pretty impressive.”

A lukewarm statement following a cold one.

Still, because the earlier words had been so harsh, this one sounded relatively warm.

Thanks to that, Kori seemed to relax a little.

“So don’t push yourselves out of guilt. If you just wait a bit, I’ll find somewhere suita—”

“That’s not it. We want to enter here!”

Perhaps he had relaxed too much, Kori cut Anagin off and expressed her own will.

Startled by her own outburst, she quickly covered her mouth, as if she had made a huge mistake.

Just as Kori began shrinking back again, Anagin crouched down to meet her eye level.

“Why?”

Why did she want to enter the Chiron Tower?

After all, wasn’t this the very place that had locked up his brother for such a ridiculous reason? There was no reason to want to go in.

“I—I want to become stronger!”

Kori stuttered slightly, but answered loudly.

Compared to Anagin’s voice, it was still small, but her determination was clear.

“Why do you want to become stronger?”

“...Because only by becoming strong can I protect the people I cherish and help those I want to help!”

“……”

“So first, I want to become stronger! Strong enough to protect others, to help… and to do what I truly want!”

For words coming from a child, it was quite a striking declaration.

Those around felt complicated emotions, thinking he had been too influenced by Anagin.

Everyone except one.

Unlike the others, who looked bitter, Anagin grinned, the corners of his lips curling upward.

Then, still crouched down, he turned his head and looked at Tramachus.

“Hey, is there a way to get these brats into the Chiron Tower?”

* * *

Entering the Chiron Tower was no easy task.

Although it was said to be a place that nurtured heroes, at the same time, it was also a place where one could raise their reputation and even climb the social ladder.

In short, the competition was fierce.

It was the result of lofty ideals mixed with harsh reality.

Ah, of course, Anagin had no intention of commenting on that. It wasn’t his concern, nor was he interested.

Anyway, the point was that the Chiron Tower was not a place just anyone could enter.

Usually, only those of noble blood—royalty or aristocrats—could enter without issue, and only a handful of merchants who had made long-term donations could barely gain entry.

For everyone else, they either had to possess outstanding talent or demonstrate extraordinary determination.

In other words, they had to endure hardships so extreme that it was practically a way of saying “don’t even try.”

So Kori and Pais would have had to go through that.

Under normal circumstances.

But this time was an exception.

”We’ll help.”

Tramachus of Flame, Thyreos of Enhancement, Lynceus of Farsight—and eventually even Irida of the Wind.

The New Argonaut Expedition Team, who aimed to become heroes, stepped in to help.

Driven by guilt over not being able to help when Pais had been unjustly imprisoned before, as well as their personal fondness for the two kids, they actively decided to assist.

They didn’t just promise to get them into the Chiron Tower; they essentially promised to become their patrons.

It was an incredible promise. Even Anagin acknowledged that.

Irida was a princess, Tramachus was royalty, and all of them were promising practitioners with bright futures.

With them as backing, something like what happened before would never occur again.

The New Argonaut Expedition Team proved they weren’t just talking by acting immediately.

Led by Tramachus, they went to find the head butler and requested that Kori and Pais be allowed into the Chiron Tower.

After a brief conversation, the head butler visited Chiron and returned with the news that they were permitted to enter.

All of this happened within just a few hours.

Compared to the resolve Kori and Pais had shown, it felt a bit anticlimactic.

But since it worked out, there was nothing to complain about. Faster was better, after all.

“I’ve come to take in the new trainees. These two, correct?”

An instructor from the first floor of the Chiron Tower came to take Kori and Pais, and Anagin handed the two brats over without hesitation.

Since they had each decided on their path, there was no reason to drag it out.

Surprisingly, Sphinx also let Kori and Pais go more easily than expected.

Since she usually took such good care of them, he had thought she might make a big fuss, crying and protesting.

“Knowing when to let go is important too.”

As if reading Anagin’s thoughts, Sphinx spoke.

There was something subtly loaded in her words. As if she had experienced something similar before.

Anagin didn’t bother to pry.

“We’ll be going now.”

“Take care! Big Brother!”

Kori and Pais left bravely without crying.

Anagin gave them a casual wave, and then returned to his business.

Kori and Pais’s leaving was one thing, but Anagin had his own matters to handle.

“I’ve come to pick up my items.”

Anagin went to the 5th floor of the Chiron Tower to find Grumbal.

He was the tower’s blacksmith, a dwarf, and the person Anagin had entrusted with repairing and enhancing his items.

Given how the 5th floor had been turned into a wreck, Anagin had expected him to be injured, but he looked surprisingly fine.

“You’ve come.”

Grumbal greeted Anagin while sitting in a corner of what could almost be called a ruined forge.

The other workers were cleaning up the surroundings alongside the tower’s attendants.

Collapsed walls, stone floors gouged in places, scattered tools and broken objects…

It was enough to imagine just how violently the interspatial boar had rampaged.

So Anagin was a bit surprised.

He had expected Grumbal to start cursing and blaming him the moment he saw him, but instead, he was calm.

He soon heard the reason why.

“I was the one who accepted the request. Failing to control a rampaging magical tool is also my responsibility.”

Despite his rough personality, Grumbal seemed to have a strong sense of professional responsibility, as he didn’t shift the blame onto Anagin.

Although the interspatial magical tool had gone berserk because of Anagin’s request, he acknowledged that, fundamentally, it was his own failure for not being able to handle it.

A professionalism worthy of respect.

Anagin responded in kind.

“Then shouldn’t the damages be charged to you, not me?”

“Did you come here to pick a fight with me?”

“Ah, no, that’s not it.”

Anagin denied it and revealed the real reason he came: to retrieve the magical tools he had left.

He showed ’Pairon’ (Enhanced Interspatial Bag) strapped to his waist.

“I’ve already recovered Pairon, so please return the rest of my items. If they’re finished.”

Since Pairon had already been retrieved, there were three items left.

Giant’s Bed.

Infinite-Length Magic Rope.

A self-repairing cloak.

He had been worried they might have been damaged when Pairon went berserk, but fortunately, that wasn’t the case.

Grumbal tapped his bronze belt, and the surrounding space distorted as he pulled out three items.

Their forms had changed somewhat, but Anagin could still recognize them as his own.

“Wait.”

Just as Anagin reached out to inspect them, Grumbal stopped him. Was something wrong?

”What is it?”

“Pairon? You gave it a name?”

Grumbal asked about the name of the Interspatial Bag.

Well, it made sense—this was the first time he was hearing it.

“Yes. It looked like it was about to run away, so I named it on the spot. Calling it an Interspatial Bag feels weird, doesn’t it?”

“Does the name have any meaning?”

“No. I just combined the names of its original owners. The boar hide was Paia, and the interspatial cloak was Neiron. Together, they make Pairon.”

A simple and intuitive name.

Grumbal didn’t react much and simply nodded.

“You handled it well.”

“With what?”

“For magical tools with strong egos, it’s better to give them a name. Using the name of a previous owner is one method. Did you learn that somewhere?”

“No. I just went with what felt right.”

“Good. One more thing.”

“What is it?”

“I heard you killed a bishop of the Barbaroi Cult… Is that true?”

Anagin wasn’t flustered.

He already knew that the Chiron Tower read the Talaria Weekly.

Normally, he would have answered casually, but since this was someone who had taken his request, he gave a slightly more thoughtful reply.

“Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a bishop, but something like a bishop.”

Anagin explained his fight with Hippomenes and the abilities he had displayed. Referencing the story of Meleager, he defined Hippomenes not as a full bishop, but as something that had been on the verge of becoming one.

However, instead of being disappointed, Grumbal showed even greater interest.

“So, bishop-level at least. Impressive.”

“Ah, speaking of which, there’s something I want to ask about this Beast Devourer.”

Anagin drew the Beast Devourer from his waist.

“It’s gained a pattern.”

Grumbal said, looking at the pig-shaped mark on the blade. Anagin explained.

“It formed after I cut off Hippomenes’ head. It absorbed his blood, the energy inside his body, and the surrounding flames.”

“It must have gained a new ability.”

As expected of a craftsman who handled magical tools, the conversation moved quickly.

“Yes, pig summoning. The problem is…”

Seeing is believing. Instead of explaining further, Anagin demonstrated.

As he infused it with Energy, the Beast Devourer responded, summoning a small, flaming piglet.

Oink. Oink.

“This is the extent of it. Even if I pour in more energy, it just increases the number.”

“Looks like something else needs to be added.”

After hearing the explanation, Grumbal said that and took something out from his bronze belt.

A hammer imbued with flames.

The small flaming piglet Anagin had summoned seemed to take interest in the hammer Grumbal had taken out.

Oink! Oink!

It opened its snout and began devouring the magic imbued within the hammer.