🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 45
“Alm, what are you doing! Come back quickly so we can do the experiment!”
“Kkan. The Master of the Tower has a guest.”
“What? Our Tower Master has a guest? Really? Who is it?!”
Kkan used magic to project the first floor into the air. The person wearing the robe—allowed only for guests of the Tower Master—had their hat pulled down so far that you could barely see their face.
“Whoa, is it a woman? Or a man? Is the Tower Master finally dating someone?”
The guest’s gender didn’t matter to Kkan. Whether male or female, it was the Tower Master’s choice.
What mattered was having someone sharp enough to manage the Tower Master’s moods and prevent them from overworking.
“No, probably not a lover.”
“Why not?”
When Alm’s denial caused Kkan to wail in despair, Alm, clearly uninterested in Kkan’s cries, pushed him into a room and slammed the door.
“Alm? Hey, Alm! Open the door! You’re the one besides the Tower Master who’s good at barrier magic here! Hey, hey!”
Having experienced such noise many times, Alm used sound-blocking and reflection magic. He knew the commotion would return eventually.
“I wonder… Since they’re the Tower Master’s guest, could it be related to Rachel?”
Alm quietly watched the spot where the person had disappeared from the first floor, hoping they would leave without incident. He had no idea what kind of trouble she might bring.
“This is insane.”
I pressed my oversized Tower Master’s robe down tightly. I could tell people were using magic to spy on me because I was the Tower Master’s guest, but I ignored it. Being noticed here wouldn’t end well.
That afternoon, a note was left on my desk. Of course, the papers on the desk caught my attention, but that wasn’t important.
The note was from the Tower Master himself.
Sure, Leonor had once been the Tower Master, but that was long ago, and the situation was different now.
This tower was like a kingdom on its own.
The black mages executed at the public execution probably didn’t know the tower existed. They had either lived outside and manifested magical power later, or left the world behind voluntarily to enter the tower.
In other words, even the Emperor didn’t know the tower existed. Most others didn’t either. That meant no one could stop the tower, and if someone disappeared inside, no one could find them.
Moreover, the tower had grown stronger. Even feeling the flow of magical power upon entering made that obvious.
And the reaction to being called the Tower Master’s guest showed that the Tower Master’s authority had definitely grown.
But here’s the problem: Rachel supposedly erased the memories of the archmages and the Tower Master. She’s currently sealed from using her circle.
The Tower Master is far stronger and overwhelming. Could her memory erasure really work?
No. Absolutely not. I had been distracted by Rachel pretending to be a friend and talking a lot, so I had forgotten this.
Would the Tower Master leave me alone while I’m digging up information about black magic? Hundreds of years ago, black magic caused a temporary distrust of mages. Wouldn’t the Tower Master try to prevent that kind of chaos now?
I thought Rachel had let me investigate black magic freely, but now it was the Tower Master. I couldn’t live peacefully. I never could, really, since I started rewriting the original story.
So why respond to the Tower Master’s invitation?
Because the only place with books on black magic now is outside the tower. I can’t afford to make him angrier. Also, I didn’t know who the current Tower Master was, but if I didn’t go, someone else would come.
The note had a strong threatening tone.
Even though I was stronger and had more magical power, attacking the Tower Master recklessly would make the whole tower turn against me. That would be trouble.
I planned to stay put as long as he didn’t strike first. I didn’t want to see more blood like I had in Alena’s time.
“Please come to the top floor of the tower.”
Ding. A transparent window appeared briefly before vanishing.
The new Tower Master’s magic control was pretty good.
“Top floor… 43rd floor, huh.” I immediately used teleportation magic. The space warped, and all the spells people had been using to spy on me were swept away.
“Hmm. You’ve visited the tower several times, I see. You know the 43rd floor is the top.”
Damn it.
Even mages who lived in the tower didn’t always know where the top was.
The top floor was the Tower Master’s room. Only archmages would have reason to go there, not juniors.
But a young lady from a count’s family, who had only been here once, knew? It felt like she was urging me to doubt her.
Moreover, since she knew Leonor and had stayed in the tower a long time, suspicion grew.
“…Tower Master, I greet you.”
After a tense silence, I bowed.
He waved his hand lightly, eyes narrowing like a venomous snake.
“You’re my guest, not a member of the tower’s mages, correct?”
Why did that sound like, “You know the top floor is the 43rd even though you’re not a tower mage…” to me?
“I have a question for you.”
The Tower Master relaxed slightly in his chair, eyes brightening. I felt it was finally happening and gripped my hands.
“Where did Rachel go?”
“…Excuse me?”
Wasn’t this the time to ask about black magic?
I looked dumbfounded. I felt like I’d taken the bait.
“R-Rachel?”
“Yes. Did you think I was going to ask about black magic?”
He smirked. The Tower Master’s tone was teasing, but I wasn’t scared to answer. I had to get things done today.
“Yes. I expected you might ask that.”
“Hmm. I won’t interfere. Rachel wants to teach you black magic, so I’ll let her.”
The Tower Master’s ears reddened slightly as he avoided my gaze. I sensed something in his words.
Rachel again? Could it be…
“Are you in love with Rachel?”
I shouted in surprise. The Tower Master kept his expression neutral, but his ears and cheeks were very honest.
I imagined Rachel and the Tower Master side by side. Somehow, they looked good together, even if mismatched.
But socially awkward Rachel… could she even date? She learned friendship from books—would she learn romance the same way?
Her strong personality didn’t help, either.
“Ha! Rachel knows too?”
“Of course. She made it obvious enough.”
“…Were you rejected?”
I looked at him pityingly. Since he didn’t correct the statement about unrequited love, it had to be true.
“No! I wasn’t rejected!”
“That’s okay. Sometimes reality is hard to face.”
“No, really, I wasn’t!”
“Distorting reality at such a young age… well, not everything in life works out. Cheer up!”
“Argh!”
He ruffled his once-neat hair roughly.
I stopped teasing him. Teasing only works before someone gets angry. Otherwise, they’ll vent later at others.
“Uh, sorry. Just joking.”
“It’s fine… I lost control for a moment too.”
If I said “Trying to act serious now” he’d really get mad.
“By the way, you know Rachel likes you, so why haven’t you confessed?”
Honestly, I should have started with black magic, but curiosity about romance was stronger. People love other people’s love stories.
“…Right. She shows it, but I wasn’t sure if she liked me, so I didn’t confess. I like certainty in everything.”
“If you need certainty, you’ll never date anyone.”
I laid down the facts for the frustrating Tower Master.
Knowing someone likes you is good, but to know for sure, you have to hear it. Actions alone can mislead you.
“If someone likes you, you won’t know unless they tell you. Some people are just kind to everyone, which can be misread. If Rachel wants certainty, what will you do?”
If neither speaks, but both want certainty, dating is impossible. Maybe they could drop hints, but that’s all.
“I-I haven’t thought about it…”
Conclusion: The Tower Master is clever in magic but clueless in these matters.
He probably summoned me to ask about Rachel, but chose poorly.
“Tower Master, I haven’t known Rachel for more than two days, so I can’t help. As for your question, she went to meet the Fire Dragon.”
“Fire Dragon?”
Ah, I hadn’t told him about the curse.
What should I do? Tell him or not?
I decided to skip the Ventus story and explained the rest. Rachel might be upset later, but the Tower Master had the right to manage mages’ conditions.
“Hah. So you kept experimenting with unstable magic and ended up cursed?”
I could hear his teeth grit.
The Tower Master really liked Rachel sincerely. For some reason, I felt relieved.
Anyway, we agreed to be friends. Hmph.
“But one thing I don’t get. Why did you go to find the Fire Dragon instead of her?”
He asked sharply, not missing a detail. Since Ventus wasn’t involved, it was hard to explain why I went.
“I can hear you thinking. Answer.”
Weren’t we just having a decent moment…?
I had tears in my eyes as I opened my mouth. If it weren’t Rachel who came in…
