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Chapter: 28
“Morremo?”
“He’s still insisting that what he did was for the greater good and is even threatening the people interrogating him.”
At Rachel’s report, Pelion let out a deep sigh.
It wasn’t just Morremo—several members of the Mage Tower were causing an uproar, leaving him utterly exhausted. Complaints about his decision poured in like a flood, as though questioning whether he had ever truly earned his long-standing position as Tower Master.
A mage must accept a certain degree of danger for the sake of research.
Are you protecting him simply because he’s family?
He had endured these absurd accusations for more than a day or two. It was truly draining.
The Judicator’s Chain can remain active for up to a month. It consumes enormous mana, so this must be resolved before then.
Trying to overturn the rigid traditions of the Mage Tower was a headache in itself.
“For Ophelia’s safety as well, this needs to be wrapped up as soon as possible,” Rachel added.
Pelion let out a pained groan.
“She’s only just awakened her mana. She needs to form her mana circuits quickly, before she forgets the sensation.”
It was painfully true.
“Come to think of it, the training for new mages starts soon, doesn’t it? Why not send her there?”
“……”
“Oh? That look says you don’t like the idea.”
Pelion didn’t respond. Seeing this, Rachel couldn’t hide her amusement and teased him.
“Aren’t you excited? Wondering just how much of a genius our kid will be, and how she’ll grow in the future?”
Faced with Rachel’s hopeful words, Pelion replied calmly.
“She doesn’t need to be a genius. I just want her to grow up healthy.”
“Oh? That’s surprisingly not something a Tower Master would say. I thought you’d go, She’s my child, of course she has to be a genius.”
Rachel exaggerated his tone mockingly, prompting Pelion to frown.
“What exactly do you think of me?”
“Well, you could’ve done better from the start.”
He had no intention of explaining the long story behind it, so he answered with silence. Rachel snorted, as if she had expected that.
“So what kind of mage do you think Ophelia will become? I hope she joins the Alchemy Division. I’m confident I could teach her well.”
“Dream big.”
Once someone became the Tower Master’s disciple, departmental affiliation was meaningless—they would follow the Tower Master’s teachings alone.
“But what if she suddenly wants to specialize in potions or curses? What then?”
“Then I’ll study it and teach her myself.”
“Why is that so annoyingly unfair?”
Knowing him well, Rachel complained under her breath.
“Magic is dangerous power. If possible, I’d rather she never learned it and lived quietly, but…”
Pelion had seen her desperation—the way she had been willing to chase Morremo away just to learn magic. He didn’t want to steal away a chance she had earned by risking her life.
“She wants it too badly. I can’t help that. And since I’m the greatest mage alive, it’d be absurd for her to be taught by anyone else.”
“Wow. That’s impressive—and still annoying.”
“And that kid is a walking disaster. She needs a responsible adult watching her at all times. Otherwise, she’ll just drag everyone into trouble with her.”
It sounded like overprotection, but Rachel swallowed her words.
“Come on, Ophelia’s a well-behaved child.”
“Her? Well-behaved?”
Just recalling what she’d done while risking her own life made his head spin.
When Pelion asked if she was serious, Rachel raised both thumbs.
“A mage needs guts like that to grow strong.”
He was about to argue when—
The lost-child prevention pendant pinned to his chest flashed.
An emergency signal.
Pelion rose from his seat without hesitation.
“Where are you going?”
As Pelion cast spatial magic without answering, Rachel hurriedly grabbed the hem of his clothes—and was pulled along with him through space.
The sight that greeted them made her gasp.
From the ceiling of what looked like a classroom, water poured down like a torrential rain.
As she turned her head to find Pelion, the downpour abruptly stopped. He was holding a young girl in his arms.
“Tower Master!”
Rachel rushed over, calling out to him. The eyes of those wringing water from their soaked hair went wide.
“Tower Master?”
“Did she just say Tower Master?”
“Wow… you really do get to see the Tower Master when an accident happens.”
Ignoring their chatter, Pelion hurriedly checked Ophelia’s condition.
Mana exhaustion.
Her body had collapsed under the strain of rapid depletion.
Thank goodness.
His eyes met Josh’s, who had been just about to tear apart a magic circle.
It seemed she had cast magic before her mana circuits had even properly settled.
And an advanced magic circle, at that.
Pelion looked at Sabre, the instructor, with disbelief. Soaked to the bone, Sabre brushed back his wet hair and smiled awkwardly.
“I was curious just how talented she was, so I wanted to check. But Miss Ophelia drew the magic circle incorrectly. By the time I noticed—ta-da—this happened.”
It was an excuse worse than useless.
“You knew it was wrong and still watched until she ran out of mana?”
“Accidents like this are part of new mage training. It wouldn’t be the Mage Tower without them.”
Strangely enough, every time new recruits arrived, there were always arrogant fools like Rosine. What had just happened was practically a ritual meant to crush that arrogance.
“But the hallway’s a complete mess too,” Rachel said after glancing outside.
Sabre blinked.
“Haha.”
“Haha?”
The problem this time was that the person involved wasn’t an ordinary trainee—but Ophelia, who possessed exceptional talent and potential.
Pelion turned to Rachel, who had come closer.
“Well-behaved, you said?”
Rachel hastily retracted her earlier statement.
“She’s definitely a troublemaker.”
A perfectly fitting word.
“And a genius too.”
As expected of Pelion’s daughter.
Anyone who had refused to acknowledge Ophelia until now would have no choice but to shut up after seeing this.
“Haaah…”
Worried about the future rushing toward him, Pelion could only sigh.
When I opened my eyes in the morning, the first thing I saw was Pelion sitting by my side.
At the same time, everything I’d done yesterday flashed through my mind.
A deluge, not just a few drops…
After causing an accident like that, it was only natural that Pelion would hear about it.
“I’m sorry for wrecking the classroom. I really didn’t think the spell would activate.”
I immediately sat up and bowed my head. A familiar sigh followed.
“I’m losing my mind.”
He gently laid me back down on the bed.
“First of all, what happened yesterday wasn’t your fault. It was Sabre’s for setting up such a ridiculous situation.”
I thought he’d be angry.
Since he’d stayed by my side despite how busy he was, I’d assumed he’d come prepared to scold me severely.
“But going to class on your own without saying anything was wrong.”
As expected.
He really was angry.
“Now then, give me your hand so I can check your condition.”
“Yes.”
I obediently held out my hand. He took it carefully and closed his eyes.
“You formed your mana circuits on your own. How did you do it?”
“I followed a notebook Rionar lent me.”
“I see.”
After that, conversation ceased between us. I wanted to break the growing silence, but couldn’t.
The tight feeling that had lingered in my chest for days suddenly gave way to a racing heartbeat.
Just as nausea began to rise, a cool sensation flowed through my body.
Like a stream of water, the power swept through me, searching—until it reached my heart.
At the same time, my heartbeat grew even faster.
Unable to endure the urge to vomit, I clenched my fist. As if to reassure me, he gently patted my hand.
Strangely enough, that small motion calmed the turmoil in my stomach. It felt as though soft music had soothed my agitation.
A moment later, he opened his eyes and looked at me with a troubled expression.
“You tried to control power you didn’t fully understand, building the circuits based only on summarized notes. Naturally, it would’ve been difficult to manage your mana. So you went looking for proper instruction and slipped into the new mage classes, didn’t you?”
Even though this wasn’t the time for it, I couldn’t help but nod in admiration at his flawless deduction.
“Deciding to attend classes was a good judgment. What troubles me is that, as your guardian, I didn’t realize what was happening until now.”
Is he upset because I acted on my own? Is he really angry?
He crossed his arms and fell into deep thought.
“Since the mana circuits are already formed, you’ll continue attending classes…”
I wanted to ask what he was thinking, but I was afraid of upsetting him further, so I stayed silent.
“There’s a lot I want to say right now, but… let’s deal with Morremo properly first and talk when things settle down.”
His expression darkened, clearly displeased with the situation.
“Until then, eat well, sleep well, and attend your classes properly.”
His words, however, were warm.
“And if anything dangerous happens, don’t forget to call for me—just like you did this time.”
I hadn’t realized that being worried about by someone could make my heart feel so warm.
Overwhelmed by the unfamiliar feeling, I could only nod instead of replying.
