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chapter 15
“Wallet? With all the money that guy has, he can just buy another one. Why be so stingy? How much could it have been worth?”
“It seemed like the wallet itself was more important than the money. They said it was an old leather pouch embroidered with the Tower Master’s name.”
“An old leather pouch?”
Yurian narrowed her eyes. Then, as if something suddenly occurred to her, she jumped up and rummaged through the pocket of the robe she had worn yesterday, hanging on the wall. Before long, something so worn-out it couldn’t even be called old—more like a rag—appeared.
Among the public manners Yurian taught her students, there was one: If you see trash on the street, pick it up and throw it in a bin.
That “trash” had been lying on the road on her way back to the Alliance yesterday. She had picked it up to throw away later… and promptly forgot about it.
“What was that Tower Master’s name again?”
Who would’ve thought there’d be a name embroidered on what looked like garbage? Yurian immediately opened the pouch to check what was inside—and her eyes widened. A strange light flickered in her deep blue irises.
“Damn it! I’m the Tower Master, and look at the state I’m in!”
Lucas Kalten grumbled relentlessly—once every thirty seconds without fail. It might’ve been tolerable outdoors, but right now they were running through a narrow underground passage, sealed tight on all sides. His voice, loaded with complaints, echoed back threefold, making the entire group three times more irritated.
The knights running closest to him—there to prevent him from escaping—were reaching the end of their patience.
If you weren’t the Tower Master, seriously—
The Tower Master is already an enemy of the Alliance, but from today, he’s my personal enemy too.
They say the Tower Master will do anything if you pay him… wonder how much it costs to punch him once?
Even so, the reason they were all running together was simple:
To escape the devout, insane paladins who had been praying in someone’s backyard for 18 hours straight.
This passage was originally a Knight Alliance emergency route, meant for fires or attacks. When the local branch leader heard their situation, he deemed it comparable to an emergency and opened it for them.
Even then, revealing the secret passage while outsiders like Yurian and the Tower Master were present was extremely unusual—and generous.
But the Tower Master was not someone who appreciated generosity.
“If they’d just release the mana barrier around the Alliance for a moment, we wouldn’t need this detour. This is why people say if you lack brains, your body suffers.”
“……”
“And moving this many people with teleportation? Knights, not civilians?! It’s common sense that teleportation cost scales with weight! Have you no conscience?!”
Indeed, the reason Yurian’s group had brought Lucas along was to squeeze out—no, receive—his teleportation magic. Both sides needed to avoid being seen by the paladins, and the best way to leave no traces was teleportation.
So they made a temporary alliance:
Lucas, captured as a prisoner, would accompany them and teleport the group out. Once successful, the rest of the captured mages would be freed. Magic couldn’t be used inside the Alliance grounds, so only Lucas was allowed to come.
But they overlooked one crucial issue:
Lucas himself.
Bringing him was a mistake, because he simply would not stop talking.
“Blah blah, blah blah blah! Grumble grumble, grumble grumble—grumble!”
How can a person run and flap his mouth nonstop like that?
Lucas didn’t lose confidence even when surrounded entirely by enemies. On top of that, he used every breath to brag, complain, or demand appreciation. The knights began to doubt whether he even remembered he was a prisoner.
Finally, after one too many rapid-fire complaints, the group reached its limit.
Just then, the long-silent Yurian opened her mouth.
“Hey.”
“‘Hey’? Did the lady just call me ‘hey’?!”
“Do you want to be friends with me?”
“Wh–why would you say something so horrifying?!”
“Then why keep talking to me? Just shut up and run.”
A man with a weak spot sure talks a lot.
Lucas—and even the knights—snapped their mouths shut at her icy tone. Yurian hadn’t slept at all the previous night because paladins were occupying the backyard. That meant she had stayed awake for two nights straight.
Her nerves were so frayed she was fully capable of punching the Tower Master’s noisy face without hesitation.
Sensing the danger in her eyes, Lucas cautiously lowered his gaze.
“—A promise must be kept, wicked woman.”
“Start by keeping yours, prisoner.”
“You—! You never let me win even one sentence!”
“Then why keep starting fights you can’t win?”
Lucas trembled with humiliation. As frustrating as it was, he could never win against her verbally. Realizing saying more would only harm him, he snorted and turned away sharply.
Of course, nobody bothered comforting him for being upset.
Their footsteps echoed for a while in the sudden silence. It felt awkward now that things were quiet; the group exchanged glances, someone about to crack a joke—when Yurian spoke again.
“Sol, I’m sorry.”
“What do you mean?”
“This happened because I got caught. I should’ve been more careful.”
Yurian sighed deeply as she apologized to Sol. She really felt guilty. She doubted she could have handled this situation alone. Thanks to Sol’s abilities and position, they were able to escape this comfortably.
But instead of being helpful, she caused trouble.
Lucas saw his chance and blurted, “Honestly, you are a burden—!”
But everyone ignored him completely, absorbed in the strange atmosphere between Yurian and Sol.
Especially Sol, who panicked, cold sweat running down his face as he waved his hands desperately.
“It is NOT your fault, Lady Yuri! If anything, this all happened because the Tower Master launched you into the shopping district. This is entirely the Tower Master’s fault.”
“Oh, that’s true. It is all his fault.”
“How is that my—?!”
Lucas tried to wedge himself between them again—but the knights promptly shut his mouth.
Because of this damn Tower Master, the mood between those two kept getting ruined. None of them appreciated the interruption.
Those are the eyes of a man who got rejected? No way.
Yurian claimed Sol had turned her down, but the knights half-believed, half-doubted.
Because Sol’s gaze toward Yurian was too deep, too unfathomable for mere loyalty.
If that’s loyalty, then I have no master.
Clearly, there was something between them—even if they didn’t realize it yet.
Average age: 23.
They were young knights—romance was their favorite genre.
“We just need to get through here. Lady Yuri, please be careful.”
“Ah, okay. Tha—wait, what is that?”
But the soft, sweet romantic tension didn’t last long.
As they stepped out of the musty passage toward the light, a long shadow swept over them from above.
