As the door suddenly burst open, creating an opening to the outside, I saw an opportunity.
“Great, it worked!”
Since there was a chance that Elisabetta might be monitoring me in real-time, I quickly dashed out of the room.
What greeted my eyes was a winding corridor.
Wait, this path is different from when I was first captured… Damn, is the tower’s layout changing on its own?
I nearly despaired for a moment but decided to follow the path anyway.
Normally, in situations like this, if you follow one wall with your hand, you can find your way out of a maze. I adhered to that principle and started walking.
Since there was a chance that Elisabetta might be chasing after me, I moved quickly.
Why am I always being chased by strange women? It’s so unfair!
After walking along the path, I came across a staircase leading downward. I paused. Hmm, should I go down, or would it be better to stay on this floor?
But for some reason, I felt like if I stayed on this floor, Elisabetta would catch up to me soon. It seemed like it would be best to move as far away as possible from the room where I was held captive.
So, I slowly descended the stairs.
“Why is this place so complicated?”
However, as I descended, another maze-like path unfolded before me.
No, let’s think positively. With this complexity, maybe Elisabetta won’t catch up to me so easily.
Following the wall again, I walked through the maze-like path until I heard a human voice coming from somewhere. Instinctively, I listened carefully. Could it be someone from the tower? Would they report me?
I wasn’t sure whether the other wizards in the tower would help Elisabetta capture me or if they would pity me and offer help.
‘No, they still don’t know who I am, right?’
Surely Elisabetta wouldn’t have informed everyone here about me. Maybe I could lie to them and get some help.
Carefully heading towards the sound, I found myself in a large room.
“Ah…”
It looked like a laboratory, with magic flickering everywhere, asserting its presence. Several mages were busily running around, engrossed in their own magical research.
Even though I had appeared, they were so focused on their magic that they didn’t even glance in my direction.
Finally, to catch their attention, I cleared my throat.
“Ahem, ahem.”
At that, they all turned their eyes toward me.
The mages, upon seeing my face, tilted their heads in confusion.
“Who are you?”
“I… I’m a mage invited by Lady Elisabetta. While she was away, I got lost while exploring the tower. Do you know how I can get out of here?”
But as soon as I spoke, the mages’ faces turned to shock. And then…
“The Tower Master kidnapped another mage!”
“No doubt about it.”
Damn it, they figured it out?
What kind of things has Elisabetta been doing?
As I prepared to run away, thinking I had been caught, an unexpected woman approached me.
“Excuse me, did the Tower Master enchant you? Promising to make you the strongest mage in this kingdom?”
“What? No, I—”
“What type of mage are you?”
I hesitated for a moment, but since they seemed to have good intentions towards me, I decided to tell the truth.
“I’m a spatial mage.”
“Oh my gosh!”
The mages gasped in shock at my words.
“No wonder the Tower Master would be interested!”
“Damn, if it goes on like this, you’ll end up following ‘that path’!”
“We have to stop that!”
What are they talking about? What is this ‘path’?
“Guys, let’s stop chatting and could someone, uh, explain to me…?”
“You can’t trust the Tower Master’s words. If you stay here, something terrible will happen to you. You must escape as soon as possible.”
“The truth is, I was already planning to escape. The Tower Master had imprisoned me, but I managed to break out. I’ve been trying to find a way out.”
“Oh my goodness!”
The woman’s eyes widened in shock.
“If the Tower Master is already that interested in you, you’re doomed! You need to escape immediately!”
“I really do want to escape. Can you help me?”
I mustered the courage to ask, and the woman bowed her head deeply.
“But… if it’s discovered that I helped you….”
“You said I would experience something terrible, didn’t you? In that case, shouldn’t you help me?”
“I’m sorry….”
She was evidently terrified of Elisabetta, as the woman couldn’t even lift her head.
“I can’t defy her orders…. Even thinking about it scares me.”
“Why? You’re a human being with free will!”
“Well… but not everyone can be free, can they? Sometimes freedom has to be controlled for the sake of a greater purpose.”
The woman started speaking as if she had been brainwashed.
“Absolute power is the ultimate good. I’m willing to sacrifice anything for it. To gain great power, I can discard immaterial things that can’t be quantified, like freedom, conscience, or ethics… None of those things matter.”
Wow, Elisabetta really did a thorough job brainwashing her!
I couldn’t hold back any longer and spoke out.
“No, that’s not true! Just because something is immaterial doesn’t mean it’s worthless!”
“But… according to my contract, I gave up my freedom to Elisabetta….”
“Freedom cannot be controlled by anything.”
I looked her straight in the eyes and said,
“The only justifiable reason to exercise power against the will of a member of a civilized society is to prevent harm to others. For his own good, whether physical or moral, is not a sufficient reason.*”
*John Stuart Mill, On Liberty
As I recited this, the woman’s face went blank.
“As long as someone isn’t directly harming others, everyone’s freedom should be protected. That’s how both individual lives and societal progress can be achieved.”
Hearing this, the woman slowly blinked her eyes.
“Do you really think society would progress if we guarantee individual freedom?”
“Of course! The greater good is not ‘absolute power,’ but freedom itself!”
“Uh….”
The woman’s eyes wavered as if she was being swayed by my words.
