Chapter 37
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: A Slightly Unusual (?) Neighbor
Is it because the ingredients I put in were that good?
Even without amplifying the potency, an S+ grade elixir came out.
The penalty was just something I needed to endure for an hour, which was nothing compared to the one I'd given the Professor.
The moment I saw this elixir, a pretty good idea popped into my head.
"I've gotta take this into the Tower and drink it... ideally by myself."
I wasn't entirely sure just how strong I was right now.
But at this point—with Marrow Cleansing (S), Fighting Spirit (B+), and now Contempt for the Weak (A) in my arsenal—it was clear I'd stepped way beyond the realm of an ordinary Climber.
So if someone like me snapped into a panic frenzy...
"...That'd be horrifying."
To use an analogy, it'd be like a touchy teen joyriding a fully revved 5-ton truck.
No doubt it'd cause all sorts of collateral damage around me, and I'd rack up a black history stain to match.
In that sense, heading into the Tower alone to take the elixir was a brilliant plan.
In the Tower, even if I went berserk during the panic and smashed everything in sight, I wouldn't have to feel any guilt.
I wouldn't have to show that pathetic side of myself to my two daughters or the Professor, either.
And in the process, I'd probably take down plenty of monsters on whatever floor I landed on. One stone, three birds—a perfect strategy.
"Today's me... might actually be a little smart?"
Somehow, it felt like ever since I got handsome, my brain had leveled up too.
I was starting to get scared of just how perfect I was becoming—even of myself.
Anyway.
After basking in a dopamine hit from my flawless plan and indulging in a bit of self-congratulation,
I felt bad interrupting the Professor while she was focused, but I needed her help to pull this off. So I headed back to the mansion and explained the situation.
[I got a payment notification out of the blue and wondered what you'd bought this time... and you'd whipped up something insane again.]
[Anyway, you're saying you'll head into the Tower, take the elixir, and leave Lulu and Arin with me in the meantime?]
"Exactly!"
[Hmm... The plan itself isn't bad. I don't think even my magic can handle this elixir's penalty.]
[Your other options are me suppressing you by force or locking you somewhere. So yeah, taking it in the Tower is a solid choice.]
[I'm mostly tapped out keeping the magic circle active anyway, no spare mana to help.]
"Magic circle... you mean those patterns on the walls and floor?"
I glanced around the lab at the intricate designs the Professor had mentioned.
Complex geometric symbols crammed everywhere in vivid colors.
Just looking at them made my head spin—they were clearly no ordinary magic circles.
[Yeah. These are triple-layered magic circles stacking effects to mitigate petrification, deadly poison, and mana backlash.]
[Layered on top: mana absorption stabilization and affinity amplification. Plus about 100 dummy golems of various types to absorb status ailments instead...]
Yeah... or something like that.
I didn't understand a word of it, so I was letting her explanation go in one ear and out the other.
[So don't worry about Lulu and Arin. Go ahead to the Tower.]
[I'll call an acquaintance who lives nearby just in case. No need to stress.]
"Ah, in that case, I'm grateful."
...
......?
"Wait, an acquaintance you live with???"
It was only halfway through my rote response when
the Professor's total bombshell snapped me awake.
What the hell did she just say? Right around then,
memories from before I moved here started surfacing.
-[Tower Knowledge PhD☑: Yeah. The building I live in is shared with my acquaintances. It's warded with location-tracking blocks and all sorts of protective magic.]
Come to think of it... she mentioned that offhand in our 1-on-1 chat...?
She'd said she had a few acquaintances living together.
But I'd come and gone from the Professor's place plenty of times without ever running into them.
So when I asked her about it,
[I must've phrased it confusingly.]
[To be precise, they don't live in the same house. My other acquaintances each have their own vacant places they like nearby.]
"Then why put it like...?"
[Blame it on me being a mage. To a mage, everything in our domain feels connected like one big building.]
[From my perspective, you're living right next door, and the others are in farther rooms. That's the idea.]
"I s-see...?"
Hmm... The world of mages is truly profound.
Something deep and mysterious that a mere mortal like me can't comprehend.
No wonder some mages go half-mad chasing truth down weird paths.
But here's the thing.
By the Professor's analogy...
Doesn't that mean I'm living under the same roof as the Professor—and all her acquaintances?
...No way, right?
Her acquaintances aren't all women... are they?
My brief anxiety over the gender of this soon-to-arrive acquaintance faded quickly.
Back home with the Professor, I fed Lulu and Arin—who'd just woken up—and explained the situation.
"Nyaa... I don't wanna be away from Daddy-nyaa..."
"Arin doesn't want that either..."
"But if Daddy-nyaa wants to get stronger, we can't get in the way-nyaa..."
"...You'll come back quick, right?"
"Of course. An hour at most."
"Nyaa... Fine, take my cape-nyaa. You have to come back safe-nyaa...?"
"Hing... I wanna lend you something too, but I don't have anything..."
"How about this: Soon we'll visit your acquaintance the blacksmith leader. I'll ask her to make Arin some gear?"
"...Yes...!"
They showed a bit of resistance at the idea of separating from me for the first time ever,
but my daughters soon accepted it and understood me going into the Tower alone.
I wrapped Lulu's loaned cape around my neck and geared up to enter.
And that's when.
Kiiiek-!
Gravel—gravel—gravel—
The gate creaked open with the familiar crunch of gravel underfoot. I turned to look,
and there was the acquaintance the Professor had called as backup for any emergencies.
My first impression of this "neighbor" was...
[Karin, you made it? Sorry for dragging you out at this hour.]
"It's fine! Serving my liege's command is a vassal's duty—it's only natural!"
'...A total knockout!'
She was a stunning beauty whose figure and face could rival the Professor's—enough to turn heads like a celebrity and then slap you twice over.
'Ahh... damn it... my hands and feet are shaking again...'
I'd sworn not to let this happen anymore,
but the fear of people (especially beauties) etched into my DNA was creeping back up.
Looked like I really needed to chug that self-esteem booster ASAP.
But such thoughts were short-lived.
'...Wait, did she just call the Professor "my liege"?'
If I hadn't misheard, her speech and those closed eyes were pretty unusual.
'Does the Professor have a taste for that sort of thing?' I wondered if I should start calling her "liege" too when—
[Benefactor, cut it out. No more weird thoughts.]
"Not that?"
[No!]
[Sigh... Listen without jumping to conclusions. Karin's a Japanese Climber born in Korea. She learned Korean from historical dramas, so that's her speech pattern. Don't mind it.]
[Though... it's kinda sloppy, not even proper historical drama level...]
"Then the 'liege' title...?"
[That? She helped me out way back, and she's insisted on treating me as her eternal liege ever since. No matter how many times I tell her to drop it, she won't listen. I gave up.]
"My liege! What do you mean by that?! From the day you saved this near-dead life of mine, you have been our eternal liege!"
[Sigh... Anyway, yeah.]
"Haha... She's got quite the personality."
[Yeah. But can you top it...?]
"?"
[...Nothing.]
Anyway.
From what I gathered listening to the acquaintance continue,
"Those Management Agency scum treated me and the other foreign Climbers like slaves with unfair contracts. To survive, we had no choice but to break the terms and strike back..."
"Management Agency-nyaa! Total jerks-nyaa! If Lulu were there, I'd have burned them all-nyaa!"
"We ambushed successfully and took down all their Climbers, but clearing the Tower under penalties was next to impossible..."
"Bad people! If Arin were there, I'd have fed them all to the sharks!"
<Shaa-!>
"Our desperate comrades fell one by one, and just as I was on the brink of death myself... my liege used that precious spatial scroll to summon us here!"
[I'd been planning to pull you all out for a while. Timing worked out perfectly.]
"Professor-nyaa! Amazing-nyaa! As expected from the one who beat us sisters-nyaa!"
"Hm... This might earn you some points as Daddy-candidate material."
"...Liege as a husband candidate...?"
[Just ignore the kids. Don't read into it.]
So, summing up her story:
The Management Agency forced unfair contracts on her and other foreign Climbers, turning them into virtual slaves.
They rebelled but nearly all died failing to clear the Tower under penalties.
The Professor, who'd known but couldn't intervene rashly, seized the perfect moment and used a prepped spatial scroll to bring them here. Got it?
'Management Agency are real scum.'
If I'd connected with the Professor just a bit later, I might've gone through the same grind.
Thinking back now sent chills down my spine.
How did they keep churning out these horrors? The fact that the Agency even existed was a miracle.
"Ahem... I got carried away and prattled on in front of our guests. My apologies. It must've been too heavy for those two ordinary girls..."
"?"
Hold up.
Did she just call Arin and Lulu "ordinary girls"...?
Looking at my daughters with their blatantly animalistic features?
Sensing something off, I shot the Professor a questioning glance,
and she let out a soft sigh before explaining.
[By now you've probably noticed, but Karin's blind from her contract penalty—lost both eyes.]
[Her skills and traits make daily life no issue, but she misses fine details like this sometimes. Can't be helped.]
[Fun fact: She can still see Tower-related stuff despite being blind. Notifications, status windows, that sort. That's why I chat via them too.]
"My liege...? Does that mean... I was rude to our guests again!?!?"
[It's not a big deal. Calm down.]
"Kuh...! No helping it now...!! Here, I shall atone as a samurai with ritual disembowelment...!!!"
[Hey! I told you no more of that! Your speech is historical drama, but why go full samurai only then?!]
"I am a warrior! A swordmaster specialized in katana! That makes me a samurai! Thus, my atonement must be samurai-style...!!!"
[Then commit to the samurai concept fully! Why only half-ass the speech?!]
"Thank you for everything. My liege—!! We'll meet in the next life—!!!"
[Please listen to me for once!]
'Kim Harin' uses Mana Chains.
Chaaa-lang-!
"Haha, what a mess."
......
In the end, the blind samurai's atonement seppuku show got shut down by the Professor's chains.
She settled for dogeza (fully clothed) as compromise, and only then could I finally head into the Tower.
[Entering the Tower.]
......