TSBSFVW 82

Chapter 82
Bread Thirteen. The Careful Tower Over the Swamp (2)

“If you don’t have an appointment in advance, you can’t meet him.”

“When have I ever come with an appointment?”

The staff at the information desk looked from Maurice to Eli with a troubled expression. Maurice leaned forward and whispered to the employee.

“What’s the problem—like I’m a stranger?”

“This is problematic, Master. We also have rules….”

“I know, I know — the Mage Tower’s rules are strict. That’s why even if an investigation request gets pushed back, we’ve been waiting politely.”

“…….”

“I’m not trying to argue. It’s not for that reason that we came. You know Eddie and I are friends, right?”

“I do… but the higher-ups ordered us not to let outsiders in.”

“Am I an outsider?”

Eli thought for a moment. Yes — an outsider. If not an outsider, then what?

The employee kept wiping the sweat off his face with a handkerchief. He really looked embarrassed. Maurice kept pressing.

“I’ll just sneak a look and come back. Eddie’s up there, isn’t he?”

“Th—that is….”

“Eddie gave me permission to come and go at the top of the Mage Tower anytime, and that right can take precedence over the higher-ups’ instructions. I won’t do anything problematic, so just look the other way for a moment.”

“……Then only the master may go up. No one else.”

The employee’s gaze landed on Eli. Eli wondered if he’d recognized her and was trying to stop her, but she quickly dismissed it as needless self-consciousness. The doleful employee lowered his voice and whispered.

“If I let the master in, I’d be putting my own neck on the line… As you know, I have a rabbit of a child and a bear of a wife at home.”

“If we’re not caught, then it’s fine. Eli, come here.”

Maurice pressed Eli against his side. He covered her with the trailing edge of his cloak and said,

“This makes us one body, doesn’t it?”

“You really are the king of forced reasoning, Master….”

“You have to be like this to be friends with a weirdo like Eddie.”

“I’d never be able to do it, even if I died and came back to life.”

“No need to worry. What brought me here and your letting me in — none of it will be remembered. I’ll quietly look at my friend’s face and leave.”

“You must do so. Really.”

Maurice grinned and promised he’d even write a written pledge if necessary.

“Please, actually write one, a pledge….”

“All right, next time.”

Maurice smiled broadly and pushed open the door leading into the tower. Eli matched his long strides, and when they reached the empty stairwell of the tower she asked,

“Were you really going to write that pledge?”

“What’s so hard about a pledge? A little compensation and a few sincere lines of apology will do.”

“Sincere….”

“Write a sentence that looks sincere. My adjutant — his name is Fitz.”

“Oh, him.”

Eli remembered the short man who always followed Maurice. He was the one who helped buy flour from each mountain region sometimes.

‘He always looked gaunt — must have worked hard….’

If Maurice had insisted on nonsense like this every time, Fitz surely had to do a lot of damage control.

As they climbed the stairs, Maurice said,

“He should be here.”

“Could it be that he isn’t?”

“…….”

“Then Eddie is….”

“Don’t worry. There’s no one who could kill Eddie.”

Just then, someone appeared around the corner at the top of the stairs. Maurice’s face hardened.

“No outsiders allowed. Turn back.”

“If the Tower Master permits….”

“We cannot admit outsiders.”

“Is that the decision of the Council of Elders?”

The man in the robe was silent for a moment, then spoke.

“The Mage Tower is not the personal property of the Tower Master. The Tower Master himself agrees with that.”

“Is it so hard to just show his face for a moment?”

Eli blurted out and the man looked at her. Under the shadow she saw his mouth twist. Thin lips parted and a familiar voice came out.

“Go back. I don’t want to see your face.”

“…Eddie’s voice….”

“Never approach this tower again. Ban Maurice from entering too.”

Hearing the voice, even through someone else’s mouth, took her breath away.

On the gaunt man’s face, the shadowy silhouette of Edmund’s face overlapped. It was the scene Eli must have dreamed dozens of times.

People who changed in an instant and left.

A flood of blame, and everything slipping away like sand between fingers — dreams that vanished.

“Wait, Eddie….”

“I warned you not to come near.”

As soon as Eli involuntarily stepped forward, a voice cooled over her like frost. It was even more terrifying than she had prepared for. Eli hid her trembling hand at her back.

“Why are you suddenly like this? Eddie, you’re there, right? Don’t hide — come out and talk.”

Maurice pushed Eli behind him and raised his voice.

“The Tower Master has finally come to his senses. You realize what kind of person you are now.”

This time it was the man’s voice.

“Selling poisoned food — you have some nerve.”

“Wait, there was nothing wrong with the food!”

“The sample we received wasn’t like that.”

“What kind of thing have you done!”

Maurice snapped.

“This is offensive. We simply analyzed the sample we received. It was perishable food, and we’ll soon announce the results: that consuming it may cause stomachache, diarrhea and headaches.”

“That’s nonsense. Any food will spoil if it’s not stored properly! If that’s the problem, you should have prohibited raw fish and meat first!”

“I don’t know about such standards. We only investigate the problematic parts.”

“This isn’t fair!”

“How amusing. Do you have the right to speak of fairness, Master? Haven’t you used any means — connections or bribes — without discrimination to get what you wanted?”

“I’ve never done anything that would be considered problematic.”

“We know that. We haven’t done anything problematic either. So please leave now. The Tower Master wishes it so as well.”

“…….”

“Must we summon people and cause a public commotion?”

“We’ll go for now, but later you’d better come with a proper explanation, Eddie.”

“…….”

“I wasn’t talking to you. Come on, Eli.”

Maurice grabbed Eli’s arm.

Only when Maurice’s arm held hers did Eli come to her senses.

“Oh, uh. Right. Let’s go.”

The man’s gaze was cold and full of weary disgust. As Maurice led Eli away, she kept glancing back, as if Edmund himself were standing there instead of the man.

‘Eddie is unharmed, right….’

Eli couldn’t understand why Edmund’s attitude had suddenly changed, but the important thing was his safety.

“There must be a reason, Eli.”

“As long as he’s safe. I heard his voice….”

“Let’s wait and see what excuse they give. He’ll probably come crying to apologize.”

“…….”

“The problem will be the Mage Tower’s announcement. The request we sent to Yan’s Mage Tower will take at least a few months. We also sent requests to the nearby countries’ towers, so if we get multiple notarizations….”

“What good is proving our innocence after months?”

“Eli.”

“If the Mage Tower makes an announcement, even the people who were going to eat it will feel uneasy and stop eating….”

“Trust me. There are many methods. It will just take time.”

Maurice had several methods in mind.

It was all too expected that Duke McClure would set some trap.

Smear campaigns are simple and effective.

Whether true or not, they harm reputation and there’s little you can do, so it’s perfect for slowly draining someone’s will.

What was unexpected was Edmund.

‘I thought Ban’s influence might sway things, but I didn’t expect it to threaten Eddie as well.’

Edmund was a living human weapon. The Council of Elders didn’t put him loose out of fondness — they had their reasons. Still, no one dared touch him, so they left him be.

What measures had been taken to make Edmund force himself away from Eli?

‘I understand now.’

Maurice glanced at Eli. Now that a leash had been put on a beast, who wouldn’t use it?

Ban, Edmund and Eli had become absurdly close — like overly-friendly siblings.

‘Eli, I’m hungry!’

‘Has a beggar moved into that thin stomach?’

‘I’m hungry too, Eli.’

‘If you have any conscience, go get something to eat, both of you.’

‘I don’t want to eat anything you didn’t give me.’

‘Why fill your stomach with something tasteless when you could eat something tastier?’

‘So shameless — maybe they left them here.’

Eli looked to Maurice for consent. The expression on her face wasn’t one of disgust, but a smile trying to hide her joy.

At that moment, Maurice couldn’t answer right away and just shrugged his shoulders — she realized later it had been jealousy that silenced him.

They were that close.

Close enough that everyone could see.

That was the problem.