Damn, is this how the original Aurora felt?
The female lead said she was going to run away, so leave her alone, you obsessive male leads! If she had such a hard time escaping from you, there must have been a reason!
I wanted to burst out in anger, but with a pale face, I couldn’t say anything.
‘Would it be better to reveal how dangerous Princess Eva is and persuade Simone instead…? No, but if he is blinded by power, that might not work either.’
As my mind grew increasingly complicated, Simone calmly gestured to return to the group.
When Simone, with his usual face, and I, looking blue, appeared again, Raffaelo nodded his head and asked.
“Did the conversation go well?”
“Yes, it went well.”
Simone spoke in a tone that seemed to be persuading them.
“It seems best to avoid reporting to Princess Eva, according to what Lady Seraphina said.”
“What?”
“Lady Seraphina personally feels uncomfortable with Princess Eva, and it’s for a very valid reason.”
That’s not it… He just wants to pin everything on me alone…
“Then, Seraphina, what will you do about your money? Are you just going to give up?”
When Raffaelo asked this, I hesitated.
I need to escape from Princess Eva, but does that mean we have to report to her again? Can’t we just run away without reporting?
As I was hesitating, Ghieuspe spoke up.
“There is a way.”
“Huh?”
“I am a magician belonging to the Mage Tower. Therefore, I can get permission from the Mage Tower.”
“…Couldn’t you have said that earlier? You can talk so much now, but why didn’t you say anything before?”
“Lady Seraphina is right. Ghieuspe, I know you’re usually quiet, but sometimes…”
“Ah, why didn’t you say that earlier! Can’t you see you scared that girl?”
After Arkhangelo also expressed his irritation, we decided to contact the Mage Tower as Ghieuspe suggested.
Ghieuspe took out something that looked like a crystal ball from his pocket. My eyes widened when I saw it.
“This existed?”
Strange, even Seraphina doesn’t have any memories of this.
“It was recently invented, and it’s not yet commercialized, so only magicians from the Mage Tower use it.”
“Oh, I see.”
In this world, there were landline phones, but wireless phones had not yet been invented.
It seemed that this crystal ball, with its magical power, played the role of a wireless phone.
Ghieuspe used the crystal ball to contact the Mage Tower. After waiting for a few minutes, Ghieuspe’s crystal ball began to hum.
[“Ghieuspe Ascary.”]
A cold woman’s voice came from the crystal ball. The voice alone was enough to make me tense up; it was quite intimidating.
“Yes, Tower Master.”
Ah, so the woman speaking with Ghieuspe was the Tower Master.
[“You intend to cross over to the Cassan Empire.”]
“Yes. My companions are Raffaelo Nesta, a fire mage, and Seraphina Viviana, an unregistered spatial mage.”
[“…A spatial mage?”]
“She awakened not long ago. We plan to stop by the Mage Tower to register her on our way back.”
[“Hmm…”]
The woman’s voice from the crystal ball sounded somehow intimidating. Seeing my frightened face, Simone lightly patted my shoulder.
[“So, the daughter of Count Viviana has finally awakened as a mage. Though it’s a bit late, being a spatial mage is quite a remarkable talent.”]
“………..”
[“I look forward to seeing her face when you visit the Mage Tower next time.”]
“…Understood.”
[“By the way, why are you heading to the Cassan Empire?”]
“I have a friend to meet.”
[“It’s surprising that Duke Ascary has a friend. Well, we’ll discuss this further when you arrive.”]
The crystal ball communication ended. Ghieuspe nodded to us.
“Permission has been granted.”
“Whew…”
A sigh of relief escaped my lips. Why does the Tower Master speak so intimidatingly?
“Wow, the Tower Master’s cold demeanor is still the same.”
Raffaelo, seemingly wanting to lighten the mood, spoke in a bright tone. I nodded in agreement.
“Indeed, well, at least we have permission now.”
“Alright, let’s head into the forest!”
With Raffaelo’s energetic shout, we followed him into the forest.
Once we pass through this forest, I need to quickly escape from Simone…
***
“There are tire tracks here.”
Raffaelo tracked Aurora’s location through the motorcycle tire marks, and we slowly rode our motorcycles along the rough path.
Regrettably, I was on the same motorcycle as Simone. Naturally, I wanted to avoid him, but Simone quickly placed me on his motorcycle. It seemed he wasn’t lying about not letting me escape.
‘Damn, I feel like I need to learn some escape tips from Aurora.’
As anxiety built up, I opened my eyes wide to stay focused.
‘Losing hope is a foolish act.’*
*Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea
I, too, had faced many crises and hardships on my way to becoming a top instructor. For instance, there was a time when:
“Teacher, I’ll pay you any amount. Please get my child into a university in Seoul! I hope for at least ChungKyungOeSiI!”
A parent once approached me in front of the classroom with this plea.
By the way, ‘ChungKyungOeSiI’ refers to universities located in the heart of Seoul: ChungSim University (Central University), KyungSa University (Celebration University), Hankuk University of Foreign Culture Studies, University of Seoul Sicheong (operated by Seoul City), and Eri Womans University, known for producing strong and independent women like wolves.
It was a crisis for me because, in front of the students, I could be accused of being a corrupt teacher.
In that situation, I handled it like this:
“I’m sorry. Mr. Kim, the math teacher at Megalodon Study, is much more capable than I am. You might want to try going there….”
This was the strategy of ‘passing the buck to someone else.’
Anyway, there will always be a way to get through a crisis. I must escape from this predicament!
After a moment of contemplation, I cautiously observed Simone’s reaction and spoke in a low voice.
“There are a few reasons why you shouldn’t hand me over to Princess Eva. Would you like to hear them?”
“I’m curious to know what they are.”
“First, you need me. I solve Aurora’s quizzes well, making me an essential asset in capturing Aurora.”
“Then I’ll hand you over after that.”
“…Second, if you hand me over to Princess Eva, you don’t know what consequences might follow. I’m a spatial mage, so I could remotely attack you.”
“I’ve never heard of a spell for remote attacks.”
“That’s why I dislike smart people….”
As I muttered irritably, Raffaelo, who was ahead, stopped his motorcycle.
“It’s Aurora’s box!”
As he said, there was a lone box dropped at the point where the forest path ended.
Just like in the previous bandit incident, it seemed she had written her location inside the box.
“Hurry up and open it!”
I also got off the motorcycle and approached Raffaelo, noticing a piece of paper attached to the box.
– [Phew, I narrowly escaped. I really thought I was caught this time!
Curious about my next destination? I’ll give you a hint again.
You can find out by solving the quiz below. Be careful, the box will explode if you get it wrong even once!
While staring at the box, Ghieuspe spoke with a puzzled expression.
“I wonder how Aurora came up with problems that could trouble us.”
Oh, he spoke at length this time? It seems he’s quite surprised.
“Hey, but Aurora isn’t that stupid….”
“Hmm.”
Even Simone agreed with Ghieuspe.
“Aurora was never one for books.”
…That’s strange. In the original, Aurora was a well-educated and intelligent noble lady.
What exactly has changed from the original story? There was nothing reliable.
Anyway, this time Aurora’s quiz was…
“There are three logicians. They entered a bar but hadn’t agreed on whether or not to drink.
In this situation, the bartender asked them,
‘We are offering wine at a discount today. Shall I bring wine for all three of you?’
Then the logicians answered one by one.
‘I don’t know.’
The first logician said.
‘I’m not sure.’
The second logician said.
‘Yes!’
The third logician answered.
The bartender was confused. How many glasses of wine should he bring?”
“Why is this happening?!”
Arkhangelo shouted angrily.
“Just answer whether you’re drinking or not!”
