- “Chapter 64”
“Mouth-Watering”“
““On the first day of the preliminary round at the Clock Tower Square.”“
Riche and the other participants were greeted by a single signpost stuck into the ground of the square.
The magic students, who had come to find the test instructor, Kaisley, gathered around the signpost to discuss the task.
“Is it hide-and-seek? Isn’t that too easy?”
“Does everyone know what the instructor looks like? Should we split up to search?”
“I’m confident in flight magic. I’ll take care of the sky.”
The preliminary round of Kselphon was infamous for having challenging tasks.
Tasks like making a seed sprout that takes a year to germinate, or solving problems that had remained unsolved for centuries.
Sometimes, the tasks were even life-threatening, so hide-and-seek seemed like a minor challenge. Though the preliminary round covered the entire city, making it broader than a typical game of hide-and-seek, it still seemed manageable.
“We’re going to run out of qualification certificates today.”
The students were confident—at least for the first day.
Finding the test instructor, Kaisley, wasn’t as easy as they thought. No, it was extremely difficult.
“We’ve been searching day and night for two days, and there’s not even a single sighting?”
“I… I’ve looked at so many people’s faces that I’m not even sure I’d recognize the instructor’s face if I saw it.”
“We might as well go to another instructor. This is just a waste of time.”
After two days, half of the 12 participants gave up and went to a different test instructor.
By the fourth day, only three remained.
“I’m giving up too. They say Instructor Bashon’s task is easier. Triche, I guarantee no one will succeed in Instructor Kaisley’s task.”
Now, after a week, Riche was the only one left.
[You should go to another instructor too.]
‘I’ll search a bit more.’
Riche replied to Python while walking through the streets.
Python grumbled, not pleased with how much trouble Riche, who was his contractor, was having.
If he had known it would be this difficult, he would have put a star shard in that instructor when they first met during the qualification assessment.
[If I had, I could have found him in no time with my detection ability!]
‘I know, right.’
Riche smiled and agreed with Python. If they had done that, they would have found him long ago.
Who would have thought Kaisley would hide so well that not even a strand of hair could be found?
It seemed this would be a longer endeavor than expected.
[Contractor.]
‘Yes?’
[The black star shard. Should we try using that?]
He was referring to the ring they had found the day they first met Morgan.
Riche and Python had tried various methods to discover the star shard’s unique properties, but they hadn’t found them yet.
[Who knows? Maybe it has a useful property for finding people.]
‘Ah, I’ll give it a try.’
Riche cheerfully gripped the ring and thought of Michelle’s face.
But there was no response.
‘This isn’t it ei-.’
[…What the heck, seriously?!]
If it’s not this, then what could its property possibly be?
What’s the point of having a powerful star shard if they couldn’t even use it?
The anticipation that had built up returned with doubled frustration. Python’s patience, which had been suppressed for several days, finally exploded.
Python leapt off Riche’s shoulder and flopped onto the ground, kicking the air in frustration.
[How can someone like me struggle with something like this?!]
“Pi, Picon.”
Squeak, squeak. The high-pitched squeals of a squirrel echoed noisily through the street.
A squirrel causing a ruckus on the street? It was bound to attract attention.
“That little thing’s got quite a temper.”
“Oh dear, listen to your owner.”
The city wasn’t just filled with participants; there were residents too. Already, some of the passersby had begun commenting on Python.
Riche picked Python up.
[That’s it. Contractor. Let’s forget all this and head to the lakeside. I’ll take this star shard and go to the grave~~!]
‘Calm down…!’
Riche’s head pounded with noise as she squinted with one eye, quickly picking Python up and fleeing the scene.
‘I need to find a place with no people.’
She hurriedly chose the quieter paths, moving quickly until she found an alleyway devoid of people.
There wasn’t a single person walking through it, except for Morgan, who was crouched down on the ground.
Morgan looked up at the suddenly appearing Riche with startled eyes.
[This guy, isn’t he the one who released that monster back then?]
“Triche.”
Morgan stood up quickly at the sight of Riche, who was breathing heavily.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“No, nothing happened.”
Riche was out of breath, having walked quickly, almost running.
She took a moment to catch her breath, watching as Morgan approached her with concern.
Despite her words that nothing was wrong, his face was full of worry. It was the first time she had seen him since the qualification assessment.
For someone she’d only met twice to be so concerned about her—he must be naturally kind-hearted. Even if he was an enemy.
“Morgan, what brings you here…?”
Riche’s mind was a jumble of thoughts—wary of Morgan, yet a little glad to see him, and overheated from all the running. Her question came out a bit confused.
Oops, Morgan was here first, after all.
But Morgan didn’t mind and answered.
“I was playing with a cat.”
“A cat?”
At his words, Riche tilted her head to look behind Morgan.
There, in front of where Morgan had been crouching, was a cat curled up.
A sleek, gray cat.
The cat twitched its tail slightly and meowed softly at Riche.
“…?”
Riche felt an odd sense of familiarity as she looked at the cat.
Hazel eyes that seemed like they had something to say, and gray fur—common enough, but somehow familiar.
“Riche.”
The cat’s appearance gave her a strange feeling, not unlike the feeling she got when she thought of Siekbert with his orange-red fur. She murmured at the cat.
“…Instructor Kaisley?”
It was a muttered question, but loud enough for everyone to hear.
Morgan and Python both stared at Riche in confusion.
[What are you talking about, Contractor? That’s just a cat—.]
Python was about to dismiss the idea of a cat being an instructor when suddenly—
“Oh my.”
The cat’s meow was replaced by a lively woman’s voice.
“How did you figure it out?”
All eyes—Riche’s, Morgan’s, and Python’s—turned to the cat. The cat stood up, stretched, and began to quickly chant under its breath for about 8 seconds.
Then, it began walking towards Riche, and as it did, its body slowly expanded, taking on a human shape.
Standing before them was a woman in her late twenties, with a petite height of just over 150cm, short gray hair, and hazel eyes that tilted upward like a cat’s.
This was Kaisley, the second-in-command of the Magic Tower and one of the exam instructors for Kselphon. A magic stone embedded in a choker around her neck glittered like a decoration.
“Just as I’ve heard, you’re impressive, Triche Lodwick. You found the exam instructor.”
Kaisley smiled brightly as she stood in front of Riche, extending her hand as if to shake it. But just as Riche reached out to take it—
There was a sharp, ominous click at her wrist. And then, the same sound came from Morgan’s wrist beside her.
Kaisley had fastened a handcuff to each of their wrists.
“Handcuffs?”
“Instructor, what is this…?”
Morgan and Riche looked visibly startled by her sudden action.
Kaisley smirked, finding the situation amusing.
“But you haven’t quite caught the instructor yet, have you?”
“Ah!”
If you want to receive the pass, try catching me tight.
Riche, recalling the content of the signpost, exclaimed and reached out her hand.
But Kaisley was quicker. She deftly dodged Riche’s grasp and leaped onto the wall behind her.
[Contractor! Smash the wall!]
‘Right!’
To get the pass, they needed to catch Kaisley. Riche hurriedly began chanting a destruction spell.
“…Huh?”
But nothing happened.
She tried chanting the same spell several more times and even attempted to use Python’s destructive power. Yet, the surroundings remained eerily calm.
What was going on?
From atop the wall, Kaisley spoke with a hint of pity in her voice, directed at Riche, who seemed unsure of what to do.
“Oh dear, it seems you can’t use magic?”
It was as if she had anticipated this situation all along.
Meanwhile, Python, having discovered the cause, shouted out.
[Those handcuffs—they’re trapping the star’s power inside your body!]
The star’s power—in other words, it was preventing Riche from using magic by trapping her magical energy. Riche questioned Kaisley.
“Instructor, did you seal my magic with these handcuffs?”
“…Impressive.”
Rather than answering directly, Kaisley murmured under her breath, too quietly for anyone else to hear. It was pure admiration.
Riche was right. The handcuffs Kaisley had placed on her were designed to block the flow of magic.
‘It’s still in the secret development phase at the Magic Tower, so it hasn’t been exposed to the outside world yet.’
That’s why she had also cuffed Morgan Dayal, who knew how to use magic. Although she also had a slight ulterior motive of wanting to see these two attractive individuals stuck together.
Nevertheless, the handcuffs she had placed weren’t something that could be easily identified for their purpose.
‘She even saw through my transformation magic. No wonder the elders were clamoring to bring her in.’
Kaisley thought of the elders of the Magic Tower who had said, “Make sure you bring Triche Lodwick back to the tower after Kselphon.” She shrugged her shoulders.
The Magic Tower, an organization of wizards from all over the world.
Within the tower, nationality, status, and wealth were meaningless.
What mattered was skill—strength above all.
‘Too bad I didn’t get to test her properly during the qualification round.’
If only there hadn’t been orders from the organizers not to kill contestants since they weren’t yet official participants.
She was curious to see how strong the rumored genius, Triche Lodwick, really was. The thought of fighting her was enticing, but they were still in the preliminaries.
As the second-in-command of the Magic Tower, she couldn’t be caught in just a week.
“Well then, you two, I hope you enjoy your time together.”
“W-Wait, Instructor! You need to remove the handcuffs-!”
Riche shouted urgently as Kaisley seemed ready to leave, but Kaisley jumped off the other side of the wall, disappearing from Riche’s sight.
‘What should we do?’
[Should I chase after her?]
Just as Python was rolling up his sleeves, determined to catch her this time—
“Triche. These handcuffs… the chain stretches.”
Morgan, who had been standing behind Riche, spoke up. Then, suddenly, Riche’s body lifted off the ground and into Morgan’s firm embrace. A warm, comforting scent filled Riche’s senses.
Startled by the sudden turn of events, Riche stiffened. Morgan, still calm, asked her:
“Do we just need to catch the instructor?”
“Y-Yes.”
Riche nodded, still a bit dazed. Morgan, holding Riche securely, dashed off in the direction where Kaisley had disappeared.
“ “ “
A few hours later.
“That guy, isn’t he Morgan Dayal? Last year’s champion.”
“Oh my gosh. It really is him. Who’s that with him? His girlfriend?”
“You don’t know? That’s Triche Lodwick. She’s rumored to be a strong contender for the championship… Are the two top contenders dating?”
Inside a café.
Riche and Morgan sat side by side, holding hands, under the curious gazes of the other patrons.
