The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - LLD Chapter 97: End of a Long Winter (1) (Part 2)

“From financial to political matters—everything. The Predator Merchant Group will become your unconditional sponsor, Iliana.”

Iliana looked flustered, not knowing what to do.

“Uh, I-I don’t really have anything to offer you in return…”

Her gaze fell toward the floor.
After all, support on that level always came with a price.

But just like now, and especially in my previous life,
Iliana had helped me so much.

Even though I never gave her anything in return.
Even though it must have been such a hassle for her.

Iliana, you shared everything you knew with me without holding back.
So just like how you helped me for no reason in our past lives—

“There’s no need for compensation.”

—I’ll help you in this life, no reason required.

Iliana blinked her blue eyes slowly.
Her dazed expression looked as if her mind had stopped processing.

“W-Why would you go so far for me…?”

That fragile look on her face, like a delicate flower blooming through frozen soil—
I’d seen it once before.

Back during the final battle against the Emperor.

—Please… just stay alive…

Iliana had saved me, even at the cost of pushing herself into a berserk state.
In the end, she lost herself and died as something no longer human.

It was thanks to her sacrifice—

That I managed to survive the final battle.
That I was able to spend my last moments with Ian.
That I had a chance to return to the past.

So if you’re asking why I’m doing this for Iliana—

“Because you saved the continent in a past life.”

Technically, she hadn’t quite saved it.
But now, I would make sure she did.

“Well then, I’ll take my leave. There’s somewhere I need to be.”

I stood and left—

Leaving Iliana seated there, motionless like someone whose soul had slipped away.

The place Adrian had just left.

Iliana remained seated quietly.

Her mind had gone blank.

In her family, Iliana had always been alone.
She never once heard a kind word.

No one ever called her by her name.

—You lowborn wench. How dare you show your face here?
—Didn’t your filthy mother seduce the family head?
—That disgusting blood of yours never lies.
—Get lost! Even breathing the same air as you makes me sick!

Iliana’s seat was always tucked away in a dark corner of the estate.
Out of sight, out of mind—forgotten by all.

Her only happiness was sitting alone in the attic, reading books.
When she was absorbed in the knowledge within them, she could forget her worries.

She became used to loneliness.
So she stopped expecting warmth.

When someone offered help, her first instinct was suspicion.
…She couldn’t believe them.
What if it was just another cruel joke?

Help without a price.
That didn’t exist in this world.

Because the law of this world was equivalent exchange.

In a closed system, total energy doesn’t change.
If you gain something, you lose something.
If you receive help, you must pay a fair price.

That was the law Iliana had come to believe in.

Even in the Magic Tower, that law still applied.
Of course it did.
It was a universal and immutable truth.

And yet—

That truth had just been shattered.

Because of Adrian—her unconditional benefactor.

The weight of the coin pouch in her hand—
The multiple pouches lying on the table—

They were hard to believe, but—

They were undeniably real, right in front of her eyes.

And there are no truths without phenomena in this world.

If a phenomenon defies a truth, it doesn’t mean the phenomenon is wrong—
It means the truth was flawed to begin with.

In other words, Iliana’s belief was mistaken.
Help without a price.
Such pure goodwill does exist in this world.

The moment she realized that—

Something began to stir deep in Iliana’s chest.

As if the ice that had frozen her heart was beginning to crack.
As if long-suppressed emotions, hidden away to avoid notice, were finally flooding out.

They burst forth uncontrollably, touching the wounds of her long-buried pain and loneliness.

A storm of emotion.
But it didn’t destroy her mind or spirit.

Rather, it undid the shackles one by one—
melting away her sorrow and anguish.

Magic is the study of interpretation.
It is a continuous process of understanding the principles behind phenomena.

Iliana believed she could uncover the cause behind all phenomena in this world.
She believed she could explain them all.

But for the first time—

“…Hhk.”

She couldn’t explain why the tears were flowing.
She couldn’t explain why her chest felt so warm.

“Hrrk…”

Iliana couldn’t describe this phenomenon.
Not at all.

In a free city, where absolute powers like Monarchs or Lords held no sway—

Such cities were home to a blend of many classes and factions.

From ordinary citizens to merchants, adventurers, mercenaries, and mages.
With no formal hierarchy, diverse groups coexisted.

Each group had created guilds to represent their interests.

“Following your instructions from yesterday, milord, I investigated that Archmage fellow with the help of the Mage Guild.”

Adelon took a deep breath.

“And what a steaming pile of trash he turned out to be!!”

He scowled fiercely as he shouted.

“He’s an Archmage named Craven—and even within the Mage Guild, he’s infamous garbage!”

An Archmage was an elder who had made significant contributions to the field of magic.
They were high-ranking mages supported by the Tower and had the authority to guide and supervise apprentices and novice mages.

“But what he does is no different from a Gang Mage!!”

The corruption in the Tower usually stemmed from Archmages like him.

“He deliberately restricted Iliana’s access to magic books, research data, and experimental equipment—”

And when her research didn’t progress, he blamed it on her incompetence.

“When she did make progress, he gave it low evaluations on purpose, nitpicked every little thing, and then tried to steal the credit for himself!”

On top of that, he assigned her excessive workloads—
even made her do personal chores unrelated to her research—

“And insulted her in public, humiliating her in front of other mages!”

Using that as an excuse to deny her recognition—

“He even refused to teach her proper magic and withheld funding for her research!”

Because of that, Iliana had always lived in poverty.
But even so, she pinched every penny—

“She saved up and, once every couple of months, bought magic books and materials herself from Orpheum, teaching herself magic!”

In other words—

“That guy’s a complete waste of oxygen who should be thrown out immediately!!!”

There was no other trash mage quite like him.

“Damn it…!!”

Adelon clenched his fists tightly, his breathing heavy.
He was raging like it was his problem.

“How could someone do something like that!!!”

…Honestly, he looked angrier than I was.

Translatin_Otaku

•