Chapter 49 - The Magic Tower Master's Proposal
Chapter 49 - The Magic Tower Master's Proposal
"They say you call yourselves this. 『Possessor』."
The moment I heard the Magic Tower Master's words, I felt like my head was being smashed in.
My head ached, the sky turned yellow, and goosebumps rose on my spine.
I pretended to be relaxed and smiled, but my palms were already damp with sweat.
Every circuit in my brain seemed to pause, and my heart hammered as if it were going to burst through my ribs.
What do I do! How do I get past this!?
Screw it, whatever!
Instinctively, I kept the corners of my mouth curled up as usual and said,
"I... I don't know what you're talking about. Not from this world? I am, quite clearly, a noble of the Minerva Empire and a subject of His Highness the Prince."
"Hmm, are you playing dumb in front of me?"
"I mean, I'm not..."
Since it's come to this, I have no choice but to insist.
I'm saying I'm not a Possessor, what is she going to do about it!
Magic Tower Master Tia stared straight at my behavior, her green eyes gleaming as she spoke.
"Possessors like you have different colors for their bodies and souls. And you are the same. Are you still going to try to deny it?"
"Yes! You can see things like that!?"
"Yes, I can."
She can see the color of my soul!
Is it like those special eyes from that one ninja manga?
I was flustered by the appearance of an unexpected variable.
What do I do... how do I make an excuse?
As I worried, the Magic Tower Master said,
"Actually, that was a lie. There's no way I could see something like the color of a soul, right?"
"... What!?"
Damn it! Did I get played?
Looking at me with a sly expression, the Magic Tower Master said as if it were amusing.
"But you already know, don't you? That your reaction is proving that what I said is true."
"............"
"Heh, even if you are a Possessor, trying to outsmart me? You're 100 years... no, 40 years too early!"
I let out a sigh.
Has my important secret been discovered just like that?
This storyline about the Magic Tower Master didn't appear in the original work either.
Feeling dazed as if I'd been hit in the back of the head, I half-gave up and said to the Magic Tower Master.
"Magic Tower Master-nim, how did you know about Possessors? Is it really all from literature?"
"Ho-ho, are you doubting my word?"
"Yes."
No matter how much something is written in a book, no one would believe it.
Just like how, even though there are countless books on alien conspiracy theories, no one immediately thinks a strange person they meet for the first time is an alien.
Lunas Tia sat arrogantly on her chair and crossed her legs.
"My grandfather told me that a long, long time ago, he met a 'visitor from another world' like you."
"A visitor from another world?"
"Yes, it was a very long time ago. My grandfather told me they observed this world in the form of creative works from another world. He spoke of it happily, so it seemed like a pleasant memory."
It seems there was a senior I didn't know about.
This crazy senior... did they really spill all this dangerous information?
"Is that all it took for you to know I'm a Possessor?"
"Are you an idiot? Even if I had my grandfather's story, there's no way I'd carelessly suspect someone from the Imperial family just based on that."
"Then how..."
Then how did she become convinced I was a Possessor?
As I had question marks floating over my head, the Magic Tower Master snapped her fingers.
Then, the inside of the room began to change in an instant.
A sky like the Milky Way wrapped around the room, and countless experimental tools and magic materials that looked like a hidden laboratory popped out from within it.
Among them, I could also see 'Laurel Leaf'.
"Who do you think I am? I am the 'Sage of the Green Flower', the Master of the Magic Tower, and the pinnacle of the Empire's mages. If someone who knows about research I haven't revealed to anyone is standing right in front of me, what do you think you would do?"
The Magic Tower Master's expression held absolute self-assurance.
Her own secret research, which she had been preparing secretly without anyone's help.
If there is someone who knows about it, that person can only be an existence from outside this world, a 'Possessor'.
I surrendered to her gaze, from which there was no escape.
"... I was careless. It's my mistake for trying to talk strategy in front of the pinnacle of mages."
"Yes, you admit it quickly. A wise choice."
I felt hollow.
To think my secret, which I had tried so hard to hide, was discovered so futilely...
What happens to me now? Am I going to be dissected on the Magic Tower Master's operating table?
"What do you want from me?"
An existence from outside this world—depending on how it was interpreted, that could be called a heretic.
Thinking that if things went wrong, I could be dragged off to the Heresy Inquisition and forced to drink holy water through my nose, I fell into a state of half-resignation.
But at my words, the Magic Tower Master stretched lazily as if it were nothing and continued.
"Don't worry. I'm just interested in you; I have no intention of harming you."
"Then?"
"First, there is something I want to ask."
"Yes, please go ahead, Magic Tower Master-nim."
"You know the way to solve this problem, don't you?"
"Yes... it's not perfect, but I know a hint I can give you, Magic Tower Master-nim."
"Hmm... as I thought."
At my words, the Magic Tower Master stared straight at me and began to think about something.
She looked me over from my face to my toes as if evaluating something, then nodded as if she had made up her mind.
What on earth is she thinking?
Coming here and using my Possessor buff to predict others' thoughts, only to have my own thoughts predicted—it was incredibly nerve-wracking.
"Alright, then let's do this."
"Do what?"
"I will help you. It's the best way for my student, for the elves, and for the Empire."
"Th-thank you."
The Magic Tower Master answered readily.
She's going to help me this easily?
I'm a bit worried, but I nodded at her straightforward offer to help me.
Then the Magic Tower Master continued.
"Instead... after the work is done, I want you to grant me one request."
"One request?"
"Yes, just one."
"Um... may I know what kind of request it is?"
"I can't tell you that right now."
I was flustered by the Magic Tower Master's words.
What kind of request is it that she's being so secretive about?
I was conflicted about how to take the Magic Tower Master's words.
This feels a bit ominous... what do I do?
"Don't worry too much. It's not a request that threatens your life or harms the Empire."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, it's a request solely to satisfy my personal curiosity. That much is certain."
I was conflicted by the Magic Tower Master's words.
A request to satisfy her curiosity... is she going to analyze my skill?
Since I needed the Magic Tower Master's cooperation to solve this problem, I had no other choice and accepted her proposal.
"Understood. I have no other choice."
"Heh, good, you thought well. The deal is struck."
The Magic Tower Master and I shook hands to seal the contract.
The elf's soft, warm hand felt truly soft.
Having finished our conversation, we went back downstairs.
As soon as we came down from the room, Camilla, who had been waiting anxiously, ran over and grabbed my arm.
"Edric! What on earth did you talk about? Did the Master treat you rudely?"
Camilla said, looking at me very anxiously.
I told Camilla the excuse I had roughly thought of upstairs.
"It's nothing, Camilla-nim. The Magic Tower Master was curious about how I guessed the research content, so we had a bit of an academic discussion."
"That's right, my student. This child's brain works much better than I thought. Now, let's get back to the main point and solve the difficulties in my research."
Magic Tower Master Tia played along with me craftily.
And she spread the research materials she had shown me upstairs onto the table and began talking about potions.
After explaining for a while about potions—things I didn't know but Camilla understood—the Magic Tower Master stated the final core issue.
"The problem is a high-concentration catalyst that condenses the earth's mana. Laurel leaves have been playing that role, but I haven't found a plant to replace them yet. No matter how much mana I pour in, the plant just burns up quickly."
Yes, this was the part that the Magic Tower Master couldn't solve in the original work and struggled with for a long time.
What solved this problem wasn't the original protagonist's Possessor knowledge, but the wisdom of the barbarians.
I brought out the knowledge I had seen.
"Magic Tower Master-nim, looking for the earth's mana only in 'plants' might be a stereotype. Plants grow by consuming mana, but things that 'rot' while holding mana actually concentrate energy."
"Things that rot? What are you talking about?"
In the original work, the Northern Barbarians were preventing similar diseases in a different way.
That was...
"It's waste from living creatures... poop."
"P-poop!?"
At my words, Camilla's expression rotted instantly.
Yes, it was a bit of a dirty story.
But since it was a story that absolutely had to be told, I said,
"They say that among the primitive treatments of the Northern Barbarians, there is something called the 'Rotten Land Treatment'."
"Rotten Land Treatment?"
"Yes, they say that if you mix soil containing mana, animal excrement, and ordinary grass and ferment it for a long time, the mana of the ley lines condenses in the process. They say they applied it to their bodies to make their internal organs healthy."
This method, which is similar to making fertilizer, shocked everyone in the original work as a shocking treatment.
But with this treatment, the Northern Barbarians were protecting the health of their internal organs, and the Magic Tower Master also got a hint from this to complete the new Mahat Potion.
It was the same now.
While Camilla was unable to compose herself at the mention of poop, Magic Tower Master Lunas Tia had a dazed expression as if struck by lightning, and soon began to mutter with a crazed smile.
"Microbial mana filtration... circulation... direct absorption of ley lines...! Yes! Plants 'use' the ley lines' mana, but fermentation 'fixes' the mana! It's possible! This is definitely possible!"
"M-Master?"
As if she had realized something, the Magic Tower Master grabbed Camilla's hand with crazed eyes.
And she headed with her to the second floor where she had been talking to me just a moment ago.
"Come! Let's go, my student! To the laboratory, immediately! You'll need to use your flame magic to finely control the fermentation temperature!"
"I-I don't want to, Master! Poop, of all things! Edric, help me!"
Watching the princess being dragged away while screaming, I offered a silent prayer.
I'm sorry, Camilla.
Think of it as a noble sacrifice to save the Empire.