I let my guard down.
I never imagined a situation like this could happen. I hadn’t even considered that I might end up visiting the Mage Tower in the first place.
[5, 4, 3…]
Ah, this is driving me crazy!
With a trembling hand, I finally selected one of the options, unable to move until the last moment. As soon as I did, the shaking in my body miraculously subsided.
A smirk lifted one corner of my lips. Not of my own will.
“What does it matter to you whether this kid came here to play or not? If you’re so upset, why don’t you take it up with the Tower Master?”
I tilted my head slightly to the side, casting a crooked glare at the burly mage.
I couldn’t bring myself to pick the other choices, as they were far too provocative.
“…”
And then I stood there, frozen, while my mind went blank.
Shocked gazes pierced through me from every direction, including from the mage who had caused the commotion in the first place. They, too, stared at me with their mouth hanging open in disbelief.
‘Why do they look like that?’
Even though I had just thrown out a sharp retort, they weren’t blushing with rage. Instead, their eyes were wide with surprise, their mouth agape, as if they’d witnessed something unbelievable.
The other mages around us looked just as stunned.
That’s when I heard a cold voice from behind me. The moment I realized their gazes weren’t directed at me but at something—or someone—behind me.
“Exactly. Why don’t you take it up with me?”
Me…?
With a creaking sound, I slowly turned my head to find Billy and a man I didn’t recognize standing there. Billy was grinning as if he was enjoying the show, and the other man had a soft smile on his face.
They say beastfolk are so terrified when they’re scared that they can’t even scream. That’s exactly what I felt as I froze on the spot.
“What could they possibly be so dissatisfied with?”
The question was directed at the burly mage. His face, already pale, turned ghostly white as he collapsed to his knees with a thud, unable to hold himself up any longer.
Something about the man’s calm tone and kind smile made my skin crawl. I felt like if I said anything further, I might end up on my knees, too. So I carefully stepped back and sat down quietly next to Ed, keeping my mouth shut.
“T-T-T-Tower Master!”
The man they called the Tower Master still wore that unwavering smile. It was as if that expression was permanently fixed on his face.
‘I… I just said that in front of the Tower Master…’
Would it have been better to choose the option criticizing the Mage Tower’s standards?
I had never felt so resentful toward the limited choices I’d been given.
As my mental state crumbled in real time, I noticed Ed looking at me with shining eyes, completely unfazed by the situation.
It seemed he was deeply moved by my earlier remark.
[Affection: 30%]
His Affection had increased by 4% in one go.
Well, dramatic situations like this were bound to leave a bigger impact than small acts of kindness in daily life.
Even though I should’ve been happy about the unprecedented increase, I couldn’t stop glancing at the mage kneeling on the floor, head bowed in submission.
‘Am I next?’
Before coming to the Mage Tower, I had asked Billy about the new Tower Master after hearing he had recently taken over.
“What kind of person is the new Tower Master?”
“A weirdo.”
“…Huh?”
“He enjoys tormenting mages while wearing that smiling face of his.”
Billy’s words about how it wouldn’t do me any good to get close to him echoed endlessly in my mind.
A cold sweat trickled down my back, which had yet to dry from the previous one.
“Stand up. We’ll discuss the details later.”
The Tower Master’s voice was still as gentle as ever.
Which made it all the more terrifying.
The burly mage, trembling like a condemned man awaiting his execution, managed to get to his feet. As he turned to leave, his sunken eyes briefly met mine before averting again.
It was a gaze I instinctively found hard to meet.
“Remi Morton, correct?”
“Yes, yes? Oh, yes!”
Startled, I sprang to my feet and responded, my voice filled with tension.
The man—still smiling in a way that made it hard to believe he enjoyed tormenting others—introduced himself.
“I’m Nick Fren.”
Nick’s brief self-introduction was followed by an amused glance in my direction.
“You’re even more interesting in person.”
…What?
“Let’s head to my room.”
Without further explanation, he snapped his fingers.
Once again, the scenery shifted before my eyes. This time, we were in a neatly organized office-like space.
Unlike the extravagant decor of the other floors of the Mage Tower, this room was unassuming to the point of being modest. Whether it had been deliberately remodeled this way or not, it was clear that Nick’s preferences were reflected here.
“Have a seat.”
Following his instructions, I nervously shuffled over to a sofa and sat down.
Nick took a seat across from me, while Billy leaned against the desk, letting out a deep sigh as he looked at Nick.
“So, uh… you called me because you had something to ask?”
Nick nodded lightly at my question and replied in an endlessly kind voice.
“That’s right. But honestly, that was just an excuse.”
“Pardon?”
“I just wanted to meet the beastfolk who sent a letter to the Mage Tower.”
…What?
“You don’t seem all that brave, though.”
???
Wait. This way of speaking felt oddly familiar.
Suddenly, the memory of exchanging messages with the Mage Tower back at the Morton estate flashed through my mind.
If you opened the door, doesn’t that mean I’m supposed to come in?
The Mage Tower doesn’t deal in such matters. I recommend trading with the Zebra Territory instead.
I was curious because it’s the first time someone has sent a personal letter to the Mage Tower.
Ah, my ears are hurting—please lower your voice a little.
That subtly rude… no, slightly grating tone.
“Could it be…?”
“Could it?”
“That weird guy I was communicating with back then…!”
“Oh, you finally realized? You’re slower than I thought.”
Wow, he’s right. Now it makes sense.
The poor sound quality of the magic communication scroll back then had prevented me from recognizing the voice.
Ed, who was sitting beside me, leaned forward slightly to look up at me, his round eyes brimming with curiosity.
“Remi, do you know the Tower Master?”
“Huh? Oh, rather than know him…”
“Of course you do. You’ve been secretly exchanging messages with him, after all.”
“Why would you say it like that?!”
This Tower Master was so different from the countless rumors claiming he was some kind of demon king.
The more I spoke with him, the more I found myself speaking casually, despite being a carnivorous beastfolk. It was unsettling.
Nick chuckled as if joking and cleared his throat before getting to the point.
“While part of the reason I called you here was curiosity, I do have a legitimate reason as well.”
As I had been told, the purpose of my summons to the Mage Tower was to investigate life in areas with no proper mages.
When I asked what the investigation was for, Nick’s response—saying the Mage Tower might provide mages to such regions—genuinely shocked me.
The Mage Tower? Doing something like that? It was so out of character for their image.
Noticing my surprised expression, Nick smiled brightly.
“I thought I’d take a different path than my predecessors.”
His reason was simple. Not because he wanted to improve the Mage Tower’s image or do good deeds, but simply because he found it interesting.
Since he was interested, he was doing it. And if he lost interest, he might stop at any time.
The Q&A session ended more quickly than expected.
I also learned a few updates I hadn’t been particularly curious about.
“It seems the Sheep Territory has decided to resume receiving magical support from the Kangaroo Territory. They even paid a hefty sum to renew their contract.”
So that’s how it ended. Well, after my marriage fell apart, Raymond didn’t really have any other options besides the Kangaroo Territory.
Exhausted despite having done very little, I sluggishly exited the Tower Master’s office. I had intended to leave with just Ed, but Nick and Billy followed us out as well.
We descended to a storage-like space on the floor below, where mages were busy transporting magical items they had crafted. Occasionally, I spotted herbivorous beastfolk, which was a bit of a relief.
Ed’s eyes sparkled with curiosity as he stared at the magical items, each encased in transparent boxes of various shapes, being carried around.
Now that I was about to leave the Mage Tower, I felt more at ease. With a gentle smile, I turned to ask Ed if there were any magical items that interested him.
Nick, the Tower Master who had unnecessarily tagged along, was still standing beside me. But since I wouldn’t see him again soon, I was less bothered than before. Though he was still intimidating.
However, the options didn’t seem to care about my sense of peace.
[1. A kid is just a kid. Look at him wagging his tail over something like this.
- What’s so fascinating about that? These are all pretty common things.
- If there’s something you want, ask your uncle. Who knows? He might get rid of the Tower Master and hand you the entire Mage Tower.]
What kind of madness was this?!
We’ve been getting along so well lately… why is this happening to me?!
Looking at the magical items being transported, it was clear none of them were “common.” And pressing the third option felt like a one-way ticket to never seeing Nick or Billy again.
But pressing the first option?
No, I couldn’t do that either.
I glanced at Billy and Nick, who were still standing nearby, with trembling eyes. It was clear that no matter what I said, I’d end up annoying one of them.
And then it happened.
Crash!
“Huh?!”
A mage who had seemed unsteady suddenly tripped over nothing and toppled forward, spilling a box of magical items toward me.
“…What?”
In the chaos, my body was shoved, and, against my will, I accidentally pressed one of the options.
What followed was my voice, sharp and cutting, emerging from my mouth.
“A kid is just a kid. Look at him wagging his tail over something like this.”
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thanks! 2 or 3! noooo she chose 1! in that case, i would follow up with “you have the potential to make better things when you grow up, i believe in you!” rofl