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Chapter 56
“So what do you want me to do?”
“The most important thing is to know about the Magic Tower.”
“The basic information is in my head.”
Reinhardt lightly tapped his temple with his index finger.
“However, you don’t know the current situation, the magicians in the tower, the situation inside and outside, and the situation on this Sky Island.”
“Sky Island?”
“About ten years ago, this island started to be called the Sky Island. The Magic tower is also called Tartarus.”
Reinhardt folded his arms and nodded.
It’s an island floating in the air. Twelve… He could imagine how much the ‘Magicians of the Beginning’ must have worked hard.
‘Such permanent magic is still impossible for me.’
He was curious about the magic that has lasted for such a long time.
“Uhm, and I think it’s good to learn the basics of magic as well.”
“… You’re kidding, right?”
At Ceylon’s words, Reinhardt responded with a puzzled expression.
What basics – is that what he has to say to someone who can use the most magic?
“I know that you are naturally born with it. However, learning the basics would broaden your horizon.”
Quilt answered him instead. Reinhardt held back a smirk.
Let’s see, let’s see, he was trying to take liberties very well. He straightened himself up as his hand twitched lightly, and let out a low sigh.
“How about learning from Bartio-nim?”
“Don’t tell me you’re talking about the old man who was once a candidate to be the Magic Tower’s Master?”
“Bartio Balloxis loves this tower more than anyone else. If the Lord would ask to learn from him, he would not refuse.”
Reinhardt’s eyes narrowed. He rested his hands on the bed, and leaned halfway.
The ceiling of the Sky Room was quite high. If he wanted to, he could make the night sky fully illuminate.
“You… Did you ever want to see that child smile sincerely?”
Reinhardt sluggishly blinked his eyes.
Has he ever wanted her to smile? Not really. Because he thought it wasn’t necessary.
“Come to think of it, you have been going out for a while now, is there something wrong?”
Reinhardt’s gaze sluggishly reached Ceylon, then lightly fell, as if he had lost interest.
“It’s none of your concern.”
“But…”
Reinhardt cut short Ceylon’s words sharply. Other than that, the recent situation made him feel very unpleasant. What he was aiming for was clear.
“I think the two of you will need to take turns going to Master. Escort her by her side, alternating in a twelve hour shift. If you tell them that I sent you there because the situation is not very good, she’ll understand.”
“Lord.”
In a voice filled with dissatisfaction, Quilt called out to him. Reinhardt lightly waved his hand.
“Treat her like you treat me.”
“Yes, Lord.”
The two men answered at the same time.
Whether he was to be instructed by Bartio or learn anything more about the Magic Tower, the thing that needed to be addressed first was the Imperial side that was threatening her safety.
‘I was wondering what the hell was the reason for the recent events…’
It would not be long before the rumor reaches the capital. The biggest problem was thinking of a way to block it.
“Go now, it’s an order. Once you see it for yourself, you won’t be able to ignore it. My Master is in extreme danger.”
In the end, Ceylon furrowed his brows once again at Reinhardt’s order. He turned and looked at Quilt.
“Quilt, you go first.”
“Haa…”
With an expression that showed his dissatisfaction, he finally released his hand that he was holding behind him.
As he reached out at nothing, a long, black crack appeared in the air.
Quilt reached out to it and pulled something out. It was a long wooden staff.
The staff was decorated with little ornaments. The wood was black as if it was made with charcoal. The staff gradually thinned from the bottom to the top and had a blue mana stone embedded at the top in the shape of a circle.
A staff embedded with mana stones was a necessity for magicians.
“I’ll be back.”
Reinhardt crossed his arms without answering as he got lost in his thoughts once again.
Quilt, who was holding his staff and chanting a spell with the coordinates, disappeared along with a magic circle.
Only Ceylon and Caspelius stood still with Reinhardt in silence in the Sky Room.
***
Huak. Valletta’s brows furrowed at the sudden light that illuminated the room. It was light from a magic circle, so she could guess who it was.
She sighed and closed her notebook.
“You don’t even have patience…”
She turned her body around and slowly blinked. There was a man wearing a black robe.
The man with short black hair and eyes of a similar color was a little familiar to her.
“You were in the mansion…?”
“This is the first time I’m officially greeting you. I am Quilt, Valletta-nim.”
“…”
His greeting was polite but the explicit hostility was surprising. It was the first time she felt such a feeling from a flawless greeting.
Gwang!
Valletta looked down at the snow tiger that cutely ran to her and bit her legs, not sure whether it was a droopy puppy or a tiger cub.
She lightly pushed it with her feet, but it approached again and bit the hem of her dress.
Quilt’s brows narrowed.
‘… A snow tiger?’
He doesn’t understand why there was an animal, close to being a rare creature, in a mansion of a Sokor.
Quilt raised his head with a frown.
“Did that guy send you?”
“Yes, from today onwards and until my Lord’s order is fulfilled, me and another magician named Ceylon wil escort Valletta-nim in turn for twelve hours each.”
“Why?”
“I was told to tell you that the situation is not going well.”
Even Quilt did not hear what was going on. The fact that he was his closest aid did not change, but his master does not discuss anything with him.
Even with the question posed today, he doesn’t know how long it has been since he received a question.
Each time he would go out without saying anything and would come back suddenly, was enough to upset them.
“Ah… As expected.”
Once she heard the story, she let out a low sigh as if she understood something. Quilt’s eyes slightly widened when he saw her, who immediately understood what he could not figure out.
“Did that guy ever touch the Crown Prince and some magicians?”
“Yes, the Sokor, no, the human Crown Prince’s spirit user’s spirits were killed by him, forcibly disconnecting them, and he disabled five priests.”
“…”
“Also, he carried out a sadistic act on a dozen magicians, who asked him to prove that he was the Magic Tower’s Master, and then healed them.”
Valletta sank into the chair with her hand pressing her forehead.
Since he had already inserted the flag, it was only natural for things to happen. It will be noisy in the capital and elsewhere as soon as in a few days.
‘If that was the case, how would the ‘Lost’ disease happen?’
Valletta, who furrowed her brows, slowly tapped her notebook with a pen.
Quilt, who was silently watching her, opened his mouth.
“Valletta-nim, do you know what is going on?”
“Did you not hear it from that guy?”
“…”
Valletta slowly rolled her eyes as if thinking about it, then shrugged her shoulders.
If he didn’t say anything, he must have a good reason or he thought he didn’t need to say anything.
“Then, it’s not a big deal. It’s none of your concern.”
“…”
Quilt’s face contorted again.
Seeing that expression, Valletta rubbed her nape. Having someone by your side seemed to be troublesome in many ways.
For him and for herself as well.
“And when escorting, keep your expression as blank as possible.”
“Aren’t you going to send me away?”
“I think I know why he sent you.”
Since the Emperor was his opponent, he must be anxious.
And if something like what occurred in the novel really did happen, the Magic Tower would be a battlefield for a while.
Many would doubt him, and many would turn their backs on him.
‘… Even so, these two were by his side until the very end.’
When he asked them to die, they would really proceed to die. Reinhardt regarded them as dogs to raise or tools, and the two people in front of him took it as something that was natural.
Knock, knock.
Valletta got up from her seat at the knocking sound and opened the locked door.
Although Quilt does not like the ‘Sokor’, he still made his face expressionless in an instant and took a step back, just like she said.
“What?”
“Ah, the Master told me to postpone dinner and come here to ask what you would like to eat. What should I tell him?”
“Oh? It doesn’t matter to me, tell him to do what he’s comfortable with. And that I’ll go down soon.”
“Yes, I understand.”
After Valletta answered without any hesitation, the maid bent down with a bright expression on her face, closed the door and walked away again.
‘Everything is good…’
However, she was a bit wary on how she would explain him. The day she was caught sleeping on the same bed as Reinhardt, she received quite a scolding from Carlon Delphine.
‘I’ve heard many times that I shouldn’t recklessly let such a brute to sleep next to me.’
Thinking about it again, it was a bit tiring.
“Mr. Henchman, do you mind going out for a moment? I’ll change my clothes and come out.”
“… It’s Quilt.”
Despite Quilt’s rebuttal, Valletta simply pointed at the door without a word.
He nodded with his brows furrowed and turned around. After seeing that Quilt had gone out, Valletta hid the notebook deep inside the drawer.
It was written in Korean, not the Empire’s language, but either way, it was not good to be caught.
It was not a foreign language to her since it was the first ever writing system that I saw. If she wrote it in the Empire’s language, it would cause more problems if the content got found out.
‘It’s best not to get caught for various reasons.’
After a quick shower and changing into outdoor clothes, Valletta opened the door.
Gwang!
Valletta turned her eyes around at the sound of whining as she stepped out of the room. Puppy… No, the snow tiger was hugging her ankle with its two short paws.
***