Hill likewise did not think Prout was the one behind all this chaos.
Although he was not particularly sensitive to schemes and plots, he could still tell whether someone was genuinely an idiot.
Besides, he knew of some methods from Hell that traded attributes people already possessed, such as physical strength or rationality, for intelligence... Kament Tower himself might not know those methods, but someone in Sia Tower certainly did.
Honestly, people who could obtain intelligence from devils generally had something special about them.
Devils never made a losing deal.
Hill was genuinely reluctant to admit that Prout had once been capable, but he could hardly deceive even himself just to make himself feel better, could he?
So, after carefully examining Gilbert's memories once more, he also turned his attention to Scott Rommel.
This mage was also a Seventh-Circle Mage, but he had joined Kament Tower much later than Prout had.
Gilbert was not certain of the exact date, but... it should have been after Kament Tower became a tower master.
That made sense. Otherwise, how could Kament Tower have recruited such a gifted student when, despite being the old tower master's apprentice, he was still an outsider?
Precisely because Scott Rommel was renowned for his exceptional magical talent, few people found it strange that he never participated in the Black Mystery Tower's internal struggles and seemed to conceal his presence just like his teacher, who was always wavering between sides.
There were always mages who, after wavering back and forth, chose to immerse themselves in the world of spells... whether among the righteous or the evil, there was never a shortage of scholars.
And in a world governed chiefly by reason, scholars really could be temporarily overlooked in many factional struggles, provided their standing and ability were sufficient to