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*the characters’ names and terms might be different due to being translated by a different translator.*
****
“…… No.”
The wizards smiled bitterly and bit their lips.
Barrio Baloxis glanced at Reinhardt’s vanished spot and slowly moved his head to scan the room. While Tower Master, the Magic Tower, and Sky Island, which had been unstable, quickly regained stability. Originally, the Magic Tower would have had to be repaired slowly over a long period of time.
‘And all it took was one finger……..’
Barrio Baloxis knew it. The Magic Tower this time was better than any Tower in the past. As long as he properly settled in the tower. It was not just the Magic Tower. The Sky Island, which had been getting lower in altitude, was now higher than ever. The guard dog of the tower seemed to feel the same thing, and his face twitched.
“Quilt.”
“…… Yes, Lord Barrio.”
“You’re the Sokor the monarch is talking about…no, No, you know where he is, right?”
Quilt’s lips shut tight at Barrio’s words. The shock of being abandoned made his head dizzy.
He nodded slowly, his eyes still fluttering as if he wasn’t quite sure what to do.
“I have to see him. Can you tell me where he is?”
“…….”
He was not sure he could reveal the location of the person the Lord had ordered him to protect. And he didn’t really want to reveal it. It was clear to Quilt that neither Sokor or the lord were immature children.
“I’m not trying to do any harm, I just feel the need for a little conversation. The monarch doesn’t seem to be interested in talking.”
“…… I’m sorry. I can’t tell you recklessly.”
Quilt shook his head after a while. He would have to explain the situation to Ceylon, but Quilt couldn’t speak for himself. He was the one who had to be protected, wasn’t he?
Ah!
The moment he said it, a magic circle was formed on the floor. Quilt’s head turned naturally to the magic he was familiar with.
Ceylon appeared with a staff in his hand, his white robe fluttering.
“Quilt, there’s a problem.. ….”
Ceylon, who was speaking, frowned as if he had noticed a strange air. He moved his gaze slowly, and blinked. Ceylon, who saw Barrio Baloxis and the wizards in disarray with a strange expression on his face, he looked at Quilt again.
“What happened?”
“The Lord has abandoned the magic tower and left.”
“What…?”
Ceylon blinked in dismay. The sudden fall of lightning was very unnerving. Ceylon frowned and asked after a while.
“How….?”
Quilt meekly opened his mouth in response to Ceylon’s question. After a brief explanation of what had happened, Ceylon nodded silently with a slightly serious expression.
“I think it’s because of the attack earlier. He didn’t seem to be in a very good mood.”
“The attack?”
“Well, …… I went to Sokor’s place for a while, and there was a magic circle I’d never seen before, and someone collapsed the building.”
Ceylon spoke quietly at Barrio’s question. There wasn’t much to hide, and it was a problem that should have been reported to the magic tower. The Master of the magic tower was attacked.
“The problem is that while that magic circle was there, the magic wasn’t working at all…….”
“The Lord forced himself to use the magic to break through.”
Barrio nodded.
“Besides, if I told Lady Valletta about this, she would scold my Lord.”
“She’s the soul…. “
Quilt looked bothered by Ceylon’s choice of words. Of course she had a very light attitude towards the Tower Master, but to say the soul…
“As a matter of fact, what kind of person is she?”
“She is still a child. It’s not much different from the Lord…… Perhaps it was because they had been together for a long time, but they were both so unemotional, so untrusting of anyone, that it was as if they were building a world of their own.”
Hearing Ceylon’s, Barrio stroked his beard. Either way, it would be good to be able to bring the Master back.
It would be a shame to leave it as it was. It was such a great ability.
He wanted to see the Master learn what he didn’t know properly and blossom. He wondered if Master knew how amazingly powerful he was.
“A world just for two of them?”
“Should I say they’re everything to each other…..they are the only ones who understand each other.”
Ceylon continued to explain with a look of ambiguity about the actual theory. He couldn’t be sure as he hadn’t seen her in a long time, but as much as Reinhardt clung to her, and she, too believed Reinhardt without a doubt.
“Lady Valletta was also excellent in her abilities in alchemy. She was probably as outstanding among alchemists as our Lord. That’s why they can relate to each other more.”
“Do you think you could carry on a conversation with her if you went went to visit her?”
“Perhaps, since she was a bit better at penetrating the world and pretending to be ordinary rather than the Lord.”
He could tell by looking at them closely. Both Rainhard and Valletta wore thick masks. To some extent, they were suppressing their true nature and hiding their true feelings in order to fit into the ordinary lives.
“Can you guide me?”
“No problem, but she’s not a conniving person, and right now, she’s a little….”
“What’s wrong?”
Ceylon nodded at Quilt’s question. He was in quite a bit of trouble. Now she was in a house of another Duke, and it seemed uncertain what would happen.
“Sokor and the others have identified the lord as the one responsible for the building attack without even listening to me. They took Lady Valletta as an accomplice.”
“What about Lady Valletta?”
“She was almost taken to the imperial palace, but the Duke, Sokor, who was taking care of her, defended her first. However, the situation doesn’t look too good.”
“No, if the situation is like that, why didn’t you bring her to the Magic Tower?”
The wizards listened to their conversation, stunned by Quilt and Ceylon’s bickering. They couldn’t get used to that way he sounded, as if he was truly worried about Sokor. Weren’t Quilt and Ceylon the two wizards who hated Sokor?
Barrio Baloxis stared at them and smiled gently.
“If you don’t mind, may I come with you?”
“If you are going, how about coming tomorrow?”
“Why?”
“If we go now, it’s office time.”
“…….”
When he questioned Ceylon’s suggestion, the reply came from Quilt again. Barrio’s wrinkles grew even deeper as he watched Ceylon nodding next to him. He wasn’t the only one who was confused. The other wizards were the same. After listening to their opinions, Barrio didn’t dare to be stubborn.
“Then we’ll go together tomorrow at the shift change.”
“I’ll let you know in advance.”
“Please.”
Quilt nodded. He took out his magic wand, chanted a spell for long distance travel, and disappeared with the wizards.
***
“Failed?”
“Yes, the Duke of Delphine stood in front of me with the name of his family. Delphine is a venerable Duke, and with his family’s name on the line, he wouldn’t go out without a fight.”
Gillian reported as he knelt on one knee. The emperor’s mouth twitched slightly. With a frustrated expression he let out a long sigh, stroking his brow.
“I didn’t know that she and Duke Delphine had such a close relationship.”
“It was unexpected for me, too.”
“He’s the type of person who can’t let go of things that are too depressing. The Duke of Delphine is really tiresome.”
However, as long as there was rotten water in the empire, there was nothing good to come from a national standpoint. Sometimes the two most powerful families were trusted people, so the foul muddy water below could not be rampaged recklessly. They were indispensable to the country. Cutting them out for what he wanted was never the right choice.
“We need to make things a little more certain…..”
The emperor furrowed his brows as if he was in trouble. Originally, it was a magic circle that should have exploded the moment that Magic Tower Master made contact with her. He didn’t expect the Duke would be there with her.
“How is the Crown Prince doing?”
“He was quite shocked.”
Gillian stopped speaking for a moment.
“Then the ‘thing’ did something unexpected.”
“What is it?”
Gillian’s expression darkened at the emperor’s counter-question. It was an act for which he could not understand the reason in many directions.
“He’s going to make potions, distribute them to the injured, and create a potion store where anyone can buy it cheaply….”
The emperor’s expression hardened as soon as Gillian finished his words. He smiled bitterly and stroked his chin in annoyance. The emperor’s lips, which had been closed for some time, stretched weirdly and formed a semicircle.
“He’s very clever….”
“What is the meaning of his actions?”
“He’s trying to win the hearts and minds of the people. He dares to use the people as a shield. He knows the true nature of people who are obsessed with his abilities.”
The emperor shook his shoulders happily as if he was having fun. The fact that he hadn’t had such a clever opponent in a long time piqued his interest. Wouldn’t it be very fun for entertainment?
“The potions are monopolized by the imperial family. Naturally, it’s hard for commoners to obtain it. What if we were to sell it to them at a lower price?”
“Everyone would want to buy it, but it would be hard to get enough of it.”
“Even so, the commoners would be able to survive.”
The emperor touched his chin. The Tower Mastsr was clever, but immature and young, probably because he was locked up in a cage for a long time. What he was thinking was unfolding in the emperor’s mind.
“‘All the people will be eyes and ears and hands and feet. If we try to touch him, the backlash will be terrible. We have hired knights to guard him in exchange for watching his every move.”
“……you’re definitely smart.”
“However, I wish I had more time to experience society.”
He hadn’t, so the victory in this matter would be his. It was his fault for showing him the cards. Why not take the initiative and solve the problem with the cards he shown?
“There wouldn’t need to be any bad rumors about the thing.”
“What?”
The emperor crossed his arms and raised his chin.
“Gillian, do you know how to devalue an expensive item?”
“No.”
“If it’s a woman with a reputation for sobriety, you can defile her and drive her into the ground. If it’s a precious and beautiful jewel, you can kill all their owners and start a rumor that the jewel is cursed.”
Gillian’s eyes widened. The emperor just smiled silently. There were many ways to diminish the value of an item. The easiest way was to create a rumor.
“What would be a good rumor about an alchemist who heals people? What is the truth about the one who offered to sell expensive alchemy potions at an exorbitantly low price?”
The emperor’s eyes bent as he recited the sweet words. It was probably because he was in such dire straits that he revealed his strange move, but his thoughts were short.
“It would be even better if there were actual victims. Are you sure you said that the wounded took the potion?”
Yes, the thing gave the medicine to all the wounded.”
“Is that so? And ……… Okay! How about this?”
The emperor’s voice was tinged with joy. His lips began to move without rest, and Gillian took the place of a reply with an occasional nod.
His lips eventually closed slowly in a smile. The thick index finger that the emperor lifted and made a gesture like brutally cutting his neck at an angle.
Gillian silently stared at the Emperor’s moving lips. He looked so happy as he chuckled and shook his shoulders.