The Tower of Dawn
Rain and Haven had offered me terms that could hardly have been better, yet I still could not bring myself to say I would follow them to the Magic Tower.
"What has you so deep in thought?"
Haven's questioning gaze settled on me. I speared a small potato from my plate, popped it into my mouth, and answered.
"Rain told me. The mages of the Magic Tower have to carry out missions the tower assigns them on a regular basis. And unless it's for a mission, they don't get to leave the tower very often, right?"
"That's true enough."
"I don't like that kind of thing. I'd rather roam this world freely than be bound to any one place."
"I thought you might say that. I'll make arrangements for your convenience."
Haven spoke as if my concerns were no real obstacle. I tilted my head slightly and asked again.
"Convenience?"
"I'll assign you a long-term mission. The duration will be two to three years at most, and I'll make sure it's nothing particularly difficult. All you'll need to do is return to the tower just before the deadline expires and show your face—simple as that."
At Haven's reply, Rain, seated beside him, frowned and asked,
"Is that even possible?"
"I'm merely extending the mission period a little. Isn't that only natural?"
"Then why don't you ever do that for me?"
Haven fell silent at Rain's question. She kept glaring at her master with sharp, incredulous eyes.
I let out a small sigh and spoke.
"I understand that the conditions Haven is offering are incredibly generous. But I'm still curious."
"Curious about what?"
"What exactly did you see in me that made you propose this? Have you ever even watched me use magic?"
"These eyes can see more than you might think."
Haven answered while pointing to his own eyes. The geometric patterns etched within them were still turning, slowly and endlessly, even now.
"What are those eyes?"
"They are the way I look at the world. Haven't you heard the saying? When your perspective changes, you begin to see what was once invisible…"
"…And what is it you see?"
Haven answered my question with silence, simply looking up toward the top of my head—toward the place where horns would grow. I ran a hand through my hair just in case, but there was nothing there.
Did Haven's eyes really pierce through to my true form?
I regarded his eyes with open suspicion.
Still, I could not bring myself to believe him so easily. After all, I had once revealed my true nature to a mage of the Magic Tower. Recalling my encounter with Leoniss, I asked Haven,
"You didn't just look at information that came into the Magic Tower, did you?"
Haven only smiled without a word and spread his fingers. A moment later I felt a faint flow of mana, and a thin flame rose above his fingertips.
The tiny flame stretched out and traced a circle—almost as if it were mimicking the circle that sat within my own heart.
"Y-you can see… everything…?"
"Not everything. Only faintly."
At Haven's words I instinctively covered my chest a little and put some distance between us. The thought that a secret I had kept hidden had been exposed left me deeply uneasy.
"Do other people in the Magic Tower have eyes like that?"
"These eyes? Hardly…"
Haven let out a soft chuckle at my question.
"What is it…? Wh-what did you see? Tell me too…!"
That was Rain, who had been watching from the side. She seemed to feel a little left out of a conversation that was proceeding without her. Haven, however, coldly ignored his disciple's question and asked me instead,
"Have you decided?"
After a long hesitation I carefully asked Haven,
"To be honest, I'm still suspicious. What do you actually gain by going this far for me?"
"If I said it was kindness without price, would you believe me?"
"No."
Haven smiled faintly at my firm answer and continued.
"One thing. I want only one thing. That you become my disciple."
"Your disciple…?"
"Of course, simply putting your name on the papers would be enough. Though if you wish, I will teach you my magic as well."
"And when I become your disciple, Haven, what do you get out of it?"
"Honor."
The look in Haven's eyes held a conviction close to absolute faith. He truly seemed to believe that if I entered the Magic Tower, I could raise an entirely new tower. I averted my gaze slightly as I answered.
If I could put up with a little inconvenience, it was a proposal with nothing to lose. Being able to act officially under the name of the Magic Tower would make all my future travels considerably easier.
"Could you give me a little time to think…?"
"Of course. Do you plan to stay at this inn?"
"Well, yes, but…"
"Then I'll take the room next door."
"So you can keep watch and make sure I don't run away?"
"What a cold thing to say… I simply wish to grow closer to you."
About two days passed after that. I ran into Haven and Rain now and then while coming and going from the inn, but neither of them brought up the Magic Tower even once.
Instead, Rain came to find me often and asked about everything that had happened to me. Rather than trying to drag me off to the tower, she seemed far more interested in my tales of adventure.
Late one evening I went to the two of them and spoke.
"All right. I'll go to the Magic Tower."
"Splendid words."
And so I left the city together with the two mages. Haven gazed at Nightmare, whom I was riding, with pure admiration.
"Is that really a horse…?"
Rain was just as astonished.
I watched their reactions carefully before speaking up.
"Um. Haven?"
"What is it?"
"Do we have to walk all the way to the Magic Tower?"
"Hmm, perhaps I should have arranged a carriage. That would certainly be faster."
I looked at the two mages with a peculiar expression. They were simply trudging along on foot. Yes—mages, walking. Recalling the grand archmages of my imagination, I asked Haven,
"Isn't there some kind of magic that can take us straight to the Magic Tower…?"
"You mean teleportation, I take it. I'm afraid travel from here to the tower is impossible that way."
"Why?"
"Because the distance is far too great. And the preparations required are so complex that few mages actually use the spell."
"Hmm…"
"You've met a mage who used teleportation before, haven't you?"
At Haven's question I thought of Leoniss and nodded.
Throughout the entire journey to the Magic Tower I exchanged brief questions and answers with Haven about magic. I wanted to know how the mages of this world trained their power, but he would not tell me the method.
"The reason I won't tell you? Because it is a method you have no need of. Walk the path you are already on with conviction."
Haven said that magic was a mystery born of belief. That a mage was a creator who drew what they firmly believed into this world and wrote new laws upon it.
"Of course, not every mage can create new laws. They lack that unshakable belief, and so many choose instead to follow paths already laid down."
One month and two weeks. That was how long it took to reach the Magic Tower. Most of the time was spent at sea.
"Whoa…"
I let out a breath of pure wonder at the sight before me. Beyond a massive wall, enormous towers rose high enough to wear the clouds like cloaks.
"Quite a sight, is it not?"
"It's magnificent…"
Haven and Rain both smiled softly at my reaction.
Beyond the great wall, large and small buildings clustered around the towers that soared into the sky. Inside the walls, an entire city had formed with the towers at its heart.
"Ah—by the way, does the tower have a stable?"
Following Haven and Rain, I stroked Nightmare's mane as I asked. Haven frowned as if the question troubled him.
"There is no stable… but I believe we can prepare a room where that fellow can rest."
The moment we stepped beneath the Magic Tower, surrounding gazes began to gather. I looked around, sensing the movement of mana behind those countless eyes. Most of the people here were mages capable of handling mana.
Just as I was about to approach the largest tower, Haven changed direction and spoke to me.
"Not that way."
"Ah, a different tower?"
The place we arrived at following Haven was the tower standing farthest back. Compared to the others, far fewer people seemed to seek this one out.
"Well then. Let's go in."
Fortunately the entrance to the Magic Tower was large—large enough for Nightmare to pass through.
The moment we stepped inside, countless mages' eyes turned toward us. They stared at the three of us who had just come through the door and began to whisper among themselves.
"The Deputy Tower Master…? And that behind him…"
"Good heavens… isn't that a Hairan purebred?"
"The Deputy Tower Master is back?"
Suddenly Haven, who had been walking at a leisurely pace, stopped in his tracks and spoke.
"You all seem to have a great deal of free time."
The instant Haven finished speaking, the mages who had been whispering while staring our way went deathly pale, bowed their heads, and hurried away.
Watching them, I carefully asked Rain beside me,
"Haven was the Deputy Tower Master…?"
"Yeah. You didn't know?"
"He never told me…"
At that moment Haven turned around and lightly spread both hands. Behind that casual gesture, vast mana began to surge and warp the surrounding space.
"This is…!"
"Allow me to greet you properly. Ceris. I sincerely welcome you to the Tower of Dawn."
Haven's words drifted quietly away. Rather than focusing on his voice, I concentrated on the environment that had begun to change around us.
Walls, floor, ceiling—everything shifted. Even the figures of the mages who had been moving about nearby blurred and vanished.
As I looked around in open panic, Haven chuckled lightly and said,
"This is the teleportation magic you were so curious about. Well? How does it feel to experience it firsthand?"
I blankly shifted my gaze to Rain. She let out a small sigh as if this situation were perfectly familiar, then tossed the bag she had been carrying into a corner.