The Gias Territory at noon is always filled with the sounds of people.
Merchants calling out to tourists, voices rising as they play Bang, and the excited chatter as the reservation date for Abracadabra approaches.
With Abracadabra leading the way and Bang recently gaining fame even beyond the Gias Territory, the Gias Territory and Arkhé Magic Tower are becoming hotspots not just in the western part of the Empire but also in the east, south, and center.
Despite the vastness of the territory, every corner is packed with people. With so many nobles and influential figures around, the magicians of Arkhé Magic Tower are busy patrolling for safety.
But even they can’t cover everything, and some places inevitably get overlooked.
Like one of the dark alleys scattered throughout the territory.
“Hey, old man. This is our spot. Get lost.”
“…Unfortunately, I’m supposed to meet someone here.”
“What the hell are you talking about? Can’t you hear the boss? You want a broken leg before you get it? Stop being a pain and scram!”
Every territory has its alleys and those who live in them. Right now, three young beggars were surrounding an old beggar.
The Arkhé Territory, filled with nobles and influential figures, is, in other words, a paradise for beggars.
What’s a small amount to the high and mighty is a fortune to beggars.
As long as they don’t cross the line by grabbing someone’s pants, the tower’s magicians don’t stop them. Realistically, the territory is vast, beggars are many, and magicians are few.
So, the beggars living in the shadows have their own rules.
Like their own designated spots.
From their perspective, the three beggars were in the right.
However.
“I’m sorry for breaking your rules. So, just wait a little longer.”
“What… the…”
“Huh…?”
“Ugh…”
As the old beggar waved his hand in the air, the expressions of the beggars who were about to attack him turned strange, and they suddenly lost all strength in their bodies.
Then.
“Let’s go…”
“Yes, boss…”
“Okay…”
They just shuffled away to another spot.
A complete opposite of their earlier behavior, shouting at the old beggar to leave.
After sending the beggars away with just a wave, the old beggar, now alone in the alley, enjoyed the sunlight pouring down on him.
Then, he slowly turned his head.
“You’ve arrived, outsider.”
“…You seem quite at ease, Diogenes.”
“Being a beggar means being more at ease than anyone else in the world. By the way, could you move a bit to the side? You’re blocking the sunlight, and it’s getting cold.”
Kyle Byron, who had slightly stepped aside, leaned against the wall, almost lying down opposite Diogenes.
Unlike their last meeting, there was no maid or Water Tiger by his side.
Kyle Byron, unpacking something he had brought, couldn’t hide his tension.
“What’s this…?”
“It’s the board game you requested, Diogenes. A game that can be played solo, with no probability elements at all.”
The quality was shoddy. Just hand-drawn pictures and other components made of paper, not even properly finished.
But for Diogenes, what mattered was the inside, not the outside.
“This is… I see. So this is the kind of game it is.”
After just glancing at the unfolded pictures and touching them a few times, Diogenes understood what kind of board game this was.
And how creative the concept was.
“Impressive. Truly remarkable.”
After a long…
Even he, who has lived through the ages, had never seen a board game like this before.
The game starts with the premise of being trapped somewhere, where you search for clues and solve puzzles within a limited space.
Since all the choices and thoughts throughout the process are up to the player, there’s no room for probability to intervene.
It truly was a game that met Diogenes’ demands.
“But… it doesn’t take more than an hour.”
“…As expected.”
“Master Olfin Glassburn must have tried this too. He already knew the issues.”
“Yes.”
Even ordinary people, let alone average magicians, would have taken quite some time to solve this.
But the one who commissioned Kyle Byron was an Archmage. Naturally, they had to apply standards far beyond ‘average.’
While it might pass as a popular board game, it was bound to fail as a game made solely for Diogenes.
“Truly a pity. If there were more challenging problems, it would have been a perfect game.”
“………”
“Don’t be disappointed. Many have tried to relieve my boredom, but few have succeeded. Outsider, you did well.”
So.
“…Huh?”
“Although the request failed, consider this a gift.”
As Diogenes’ hand lightly touched Kyle Byron, Kyle instantly felt a refreshing sensation throughout his body.
All the physical issues from sitting in a chair for three days—stiff joints, poor circulation, and tense muscles—were gone.
His body, which had been recovering in bed and barely able to walk, returned to its original state in an instant.
“I cleaned your body.”
“…Is this similar to when you sent those beggars away?”
“Back then, I only cleaned their ‘desires.’ I cleaned their desire to drive me away and beg, so they left. But no matter how much you clean, desires will always return. They’ll come back eventually.”
“About the survey where you mentioned that it’s okay if the game can only be played once…”
“Yes, I was even more surprised that the game met that condition. After all, I can just clean my memory and play it again.”
Cleaning others’ wounds, someone’s desires, and even his own memories.
Diogenes’ Cleaning Magic had long surpassed the conventional framework of ‘Cleaning Magic.’
He himself calls it Cleaning Magic, but perhaps it’s an entirely different kind of magic.
Kyle Byron, like all the magicians who had encountered Diogenes, pondered this question.
And.
He also realized that the next ‘cleaning’ might be directed at him.
“…I’ve been thinking. Despite wandering around to find people like me to relieve boredom, Diogenes’ whereabouts are hardly known.”
“Hmm…?”
“Is it because you clean the memories of those who fail the request?”
“…You really are an outsider. Quick on the uptake. But don’t misunderstand. This is my consideration.”
“Consideration, you say?”
“Many seek me, and I’m confident I won’t be caught by them, but those I visit are different. Once, I visited a painter, failed the request, and left without cleaning his memory. Those seeking me ended up harming the painter.”
“………”
“Of course, there were many times when nothing happened, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay to leave it be.”
“Master Olfin, the tower’s magicians, my maid, and even the Water Tiger know that Diogenes visited me. Cleaning my memory alone would be meaningless.”
“Of course, I know that too. It was the same with others.”
“………”
Diogenes smiled at the response. What could his last answer mean?
Could it mean that Diogenes’ “cleaning” could even affect the Archmage?
Just as Diogenes reached out again and was about to wave his hand toward Kyle Byron…
“Then, next game.”
“………Huh?”
“What you just played was just one of the samples. I brought others too, so let’s try these first.”
“Oh ho……?”
At Kyle Byron’s words, Diogenes stopped his Cleaning Magic.
He stared at the newly taken-out, still shoddy Escape Room Board Game, lost in thought.
“……This is also impressive. But it still doesn’t reach an hour.”
Even though he prepared two, was it unavoidable?
Diogenes, feeling a rare sense of regret, tried to clean Kyle Byron’s memories.
“If this one isn’t to your liking, there’s another game!”
“………How many of these Escape Room Board Games did you bring?”
“Huh? For an Archmage like you, the number of games here is…….”
“All I know is Cleaning Magic. I can clean the games in that bundle, but I can’t do anything else.”
The only thing possible is cleaning, and no other magic can be used.
Kyle Byron looked at Diogenes, who casually mentioned what could be his own weakness.
“25. Adela worked really hard.”
“Did you make that many……all with different settings and puzzles?”
“That’s about right. Let’s try this game first…….”
This Escape Room Board Game isn’t something you can complete just by throwing in puzzles.
The puzzles seem separate but are connected by a single clue, and that clue is used for another puzzle.
It’s impossible unless you meticulously plan the structure from start to finish.
And they made 25 of them in just a week, huh?
Even though all 25 Escape Room Board Games combined took less than 2 hours to play.
Diogenes’ eyes sparkled as he looked at Kyle Byron, who seemed disheartened.
“As expected……just making a lot of them wasn’t enough to solve the problem.”
“………….”
“Now, I have no more games to show you. Do as you please.”
“………If you give me more time.”
“Huh?”
“If you wait a little longer……would it be possible?”
Kyle Byron didn’t know, but this was the first time Diogenes had ever mentioned extending the deadline.
He had requested countless artists and craftsmen to relieve his boredom, but if they failed within the set time, he would thoroughly clean their memories and leave.
Yet, Diogenes was now, for the first time, thinking it was “a waste.”
“A week, or even a month if you want. What will you do?”
“……The answer is obvious. If the client is generous enough to wait, I’ll definitely make it happen.”
“A good answer. I’ll……trust you.”
The conversation ends here.
Diogenes thought so and closed his eyes, feeling the sunlight again, but…
“………Do you still have something to say?”
“Shall we have a casual chat? Do you dislike it?”
“Casual chat…….”
“What we just did was just confirming the request, wasn’t it? I often chat with Master Olfin, so I wanted to try it with you too, Diogenes.”
“Do as you wish.”
Come to think of it, how often had he had a normal chat without any specific purpose?
Thinking about it, Diogenes, still with his eyes closed, nodded.
“I’ve been curious since we first met, but why do you act like a beggar?”
“Beggar…”
“Acting, huh.”
“Well, aren’t you an Archmage? Is there really a need to act like a beggar just for that Cleaning Magic… or is there some magical restriction or something?”
“Interesting words. But the order is wrong.”
“Huh?”
“I didn’t become an Archmage and then a beggar. I was a beggar from the start.”
“Then where did you learn Cleaning Magic?”
“It’s a magic I picked up from a spellbook thrown in a trash can. I kept using it, and eventually, people started calling me by the grandiose title of Archmage. Though, ‘Beggar Archmage’ would be more accurate than ‘Archmage Beggar.'”
“…Don’t you ever think about leaving the beggar life? As an Archmage, you could receive better treatment than anyone.”
“Not at all. I love my life as it is. I’m freer than anyone, traveling the continent without a care, begging for alms. It’s quite nice.”
“Traveling? You keep wandering around the Empire?”
“Well, you could say that. If I half-clean my existence, I can roam around in a state similar to a soul. At that point, I’m faster than most carriages, which is quite convenient.”
“Traveling… roaming… at high speed…?”
“Outsider?”
“…The continent, traveling. Ah, yes! That’s it!!”
After a brief shiver, Kyle Byron suddenly stood up, bowing his head to Diogenes with extreme excitement.
“Master Diogenes, thank you! I found a breakthrough in your words!”
“Uh, so…?”
“You said you’d give me more time. No need to wait long—I’ll bring it to you as soon as it’s done!”
*Tap.*
Without giving Diogenes a chance to respond, Kyle Byron sprinted toward the Magic Tower. Watching his retreating figure, Diogenes slightly raised the corner of his mouth.
“Alright… I’ll be waiting.”
He felt a bit of hope for that eccentric guy. It was a shame to clean away his memories.
Feeling slightly better, Diogenes tried to take a nap in the sunlight, but soon opened his eyes again.
“I knew they’d come, but four of them? That’s unexpected.”
“You haven’t changed, Diogenes. Why not learn a simple detection spell?”
“You know that’s impossible for me, Stella Varnicion.”
“Long time no see, Beggar Archmage.”
“It’s been a while since we last met, Master Bantain Terra.”
“This old beggar… is the famous Beggar Archmage?”
“You must be Shisha Glesia, right? A new face.”
“Diogenes.”
“…Master Olfin Glassburn.”
“Did you clean away your own presence? Sneaking in like this, I can only assume you have ill intentions.”
“I have no choice but to apologize for that. But if you knew I was coming, you wouldn’t have sent… Kyle Byron to me.”
“……”
“Don’t just stand there. Everyone, take a seat. The timing is a bit early, and we’re a bit short on members, but…”
“This will still be a gathering of Archmages.”
