Chapter 7 - I Have a New Sponsor. She’s a Tower Master, and a Dragon.
I Have a New Sponsor. She’s a Tower Master, and a Dragon.
Translator : Elizabeth
Chapter 7
Knock, knock. Creak….
“Who is— Oh! My Lord!”
“Ahem.”
Delford Enersis is a mage.
To put it kindly, the mages of this world are seekers filled with curiosity.
“Is Archion inside?”
“Ye-yes! Just a moment. I’ll go get the Young Master!”
“No. He must be busy with his research. I ask you to guide me through the workshop instead.”
“Heehee, yes sir!”
To put it bluntly, they are madmen who would risk their lives if it meant resolving a magic-related curiosity.
Some might think that’s an exaggeration, but for mages, this kind of inquiry is the very path to reaching the next Circle.
“Haha. The boy. He has organized his alchemy materials remarkably well.”
“Yes! The Young Master showed me something called, um, MSDS? Information on chemical substances? He told me to be careful managing alchemy materials! He’s extremely meticulous about it!”
“Quite right. Some alchemy materials are explosive. They must be handled with care.”
Delford is also a mage who thinks, ‘I love magic research!’ He simply keeps quiet about it because he also holds the position of the Head of the House.
“Is this that MSDS?”
“Yes!”
“Hmm… the management system is firm. This could even be included in basic magic textbooks.”
Of course, he had two reasons for visiting today. First, he wanted to find a clue to reach the next Circle.
Delford was on the verge of the 10th Circle, but he had suddenly hit a plateau. Even though he had delved back into existing magic and dabbled in alchemy… he simply could not overcome the wall of the 10th Circle.
In fact, he couldn't even begin to climb it. Thanks to that, the hair loss he had been holding back with high-circle power was on the verge of recurring.
Whirrrr!Rattle!
“What is that sound?”
“Ah, the Young Master must be using that 'drill' thing!”
“A drill… has he developed another new magic tool? Haha!”
Because of this, Delford sought clues in alchemy. As it happened, wasn't his son, Archion, a genius alchemist?
Archion had newly defined artifacts—or magic tools—that were said to exist only in ancient times through alchemy and implemented them in this world.
If one listened closely to the theories he explained, it was the systematization of natural phenomena that people took for granted! Furthermore, he had interpreted them through formulas and applied them to alchemy!
There were even rumors circulating that Archion dealt in "Magic Engineering," an ancient technology that had been lost. Of course, Archion himself adamantly denied it. Anyway.
“Archion!”
“Oh, Father? What brings you here?”
Going deep into the workshop, he found Archion assembling something on a work table. Seeing that it looked exactly like the pump motor blueprints he had shown before, he seemed to be pre-assembling that pump motor.
“Archion, what is that in your hand?”
“Ah. It’s an electric screwdriver. It’s a tool for driving in nails—or rather, screws—that have spiral grooves carved into them. By swapping out this bit, it can also be used as a tool to drill holes.”
Whirrrr!
He held the electric screwdriver in his hand as he spoke.
The intelligent Delford immediately thought of countless uses for it. Those screws with spiral grooves, and the hole-punching using an electric screwdriver. It could be used in numerous fields. Furniture would be basic; it could be used in the construction of countless wooden buildings, and perhaps even the "factory-ization" of production that Archion spoke of until his breath ran out. Everything might become possible.
Delford felt a thrill deep inside. Archion was called a genius alchemist… but he might be something even greater than that.
“Ahem. I have kept you too long with my curiosity. I stopped by the workshop today because I have something important to discuss.”
“Yes, Father.”
Perhaps that was why a very prestigious guest had requested to meet Archion.
“You know there is a Magic Tower in Lidasid, right?”
“Yes, I buy alchemy materials from there occasionally.”
In the commercial city of Lidasid, there is a Magic Tower. It is literally just the Magic Tower. While other places are called the Red Magic Tower or the Blue Magic Tower depending on their primary magic… this one is simply named the "Lidasid Magic Tower."
There is a reason for that.
“The Tower Master of Lidasid said she wants to see your face.”
“Pardon?”
It had existed since the very beginning of the Empire, and the Tower Master who built it back then had decided that was what it would be called.
“Father. If it isn't too much trouble, may I request verification of a fact? I’m just making sure if I heard correctly.”
“Mm. I can tell you are flustered by the way you nested your questions.”
“That Tower Master… there are rumors that she’s a Dragon. Is she truly a Dragon?”
“She is.”
“Gasp.”
And the Tower Master of Lidasid from back then is the same person as the current Tower Master. She was one of the few Dragons remaining in this world, said to live for over ten thousand years.
“Therefore, I came to give you a heads-up out of concern. I will recite the things you must be careful of in front of a Dragon.”
And after nearly twenty years of seclusion, she was coming to the workshop to see Archion.
“This one is the Master of the Lidasid Magic Tower.”
Tower Master. If one were to add a modifier: The Lidasid Tower Master.
“Address me as Tower Master.”
That was her only title. She refused to reveal her real name and asked only to be called "Tower Master."
To a casual observer, she was a beautiful black-haired lady who could be called the pinnacle of beauty regardless of age or gender. She was a beauty that could ruin a nation, so much so that even an Emperor might fall for her and beg her to be his concubine… but….
“I heard you are the developer of that incandescent bulb and the motor?”
“Yes.”
When one saw the wicked horns on her head and the thick, scaly tail sprouting from her waist… such words were quickly swallowed.
“………”
“………….”
Tap, tap.
She was the essence of living violence, crushing every living thing simply by existing. Some irreverent people grumbled about why the Heavens would mold such monsters, but fundamentally, they are pacifists.
Tap, tap.
“Why are you silent?”
It means that if there is no peace, they will reclaim it physically. That is why they are called the essence of violence.
Fortunately, Archion was used to this kind of atmosphere. He had lived for years under a wicked professor, and he had lived for over a decade watching his step under the nasty Lucretia and her children!
“It is so overwhelming to behold the Tower Master’s presence that I….”
“Discard the flowery language.”
“Yes.”
Unfortunately, she was the type that wasn't swayed by compliments on her appearance. Archion didn't want to be squashed, so he made himself as small as possible.
“Archion Enersis.”
“Yes! Professor!”
“I may be an honorary professor and honorary president of the Academy, but call me Tower Master. Honestly….”
Thud.
What she pulled out of her robe was an improved incandescent bulb and a portable fan.
The bulb was being mass-produced now, so that was one thing, but there were only four finished portable fans in existence. One for Delford, one for Goldie, and two for that damn Madam Lucretia.
In that moment, Archion saw the engraving on the pillar of the fan she presented: ‘To Delford, my dear Father.’Father, you got yours snatched too…!!
“Explain the operating principles of these two products.”
The great Dragon and Tower Master suddenly demanded an explanation of the principles.
“Yes!”
Archion’s mind spun as fast as it did during his Master’s thesis defense as he explained in detail how the two products worked.
The product presentation (forced upon him) that began at noon—
“Mm. I understand.”
—ended only after the sun had set.
Archion recalled the time back in university when he had referenced his professor’s doctoral thesis for a presentation. He saw the same sparkling eyes of that wicked professor from those days in this Dragon!!
“Magic is what developed after noticing that there are certain laws in natural phenomena. However, Archion Enersis, you have discovered laws even in areas that are not magical.”
“I do not think, phew, it is such a, pant, great thing.”
“You’ve suddenly become polite. Honestly….”
Which part did Student Archion reference? Student Archion claimed it was possible even though the speed of material accumulation was different; how did he find that? What different values did he set at that time? etc.
Archion really should not have been lured by the professor’s words back then when he said, "I’ll buy you dinner, let’s talk."
“Archion Enersis. Become my disciple.”
“Pardon?”
Just like right now. The look in the Tower Master’s eyes was exactly like that wicked professor!
“I will give you wealth and prosperity that would make anyone in the Empire envious, and honor equal to that of the Emperor.”
“Wait, please give me a chance to speak!”
“Continue to identify the laws of nature under me. Current magic is stagnant, focused only on spilling blood. If you bestow your alchemical knowledge upon all mages—”
Archion had no intention of repeating the mistakes of the past.
“Tower Master!”
Therefore, Archion made a decision.
Lidasid Magic Tower. Top floor. The Tower Master’s workshop, boasting a sense of restraint with high-quality wood.
“I have no intention of belonging to any place for the time being. Though Enersis is an exception since it is my home.”
“Ha.”
Tap, tap, tap.
The Tower Master had been given a "request to leave" by Archion. Perhaps she was quite displeased, as she continued to tap the desk with her pointed finger.
“For a human subject who cannot even live for a hundred years. To dare….”
A young human male who acted arrogant just because he identified a few natural laws… had kicked out a Dragon and a Tower Master who boasted a thousand-year history!
Someone who was practically an infant, far below her in terms of magical knowledge.
Crunch!
“Ah. Dear me.”
By the time her resentment was halfway resolved, the desk was riddled with holes like a sponge.
“Have it replaced by tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
After dealing with the innocent desk… the Tower Master tilted her teacup to calm herself.
“For a human subject who cannot live for a hundred years, the way he mocks me is exactly like that fellow….”
She thought back to an Enersis from a thousand years ago.
“—Girl, I want to use magic one day to make people shed smiles instead of blood! Men, women, children, the elderly, nobles, commoners! You’ll help me, right?!”
“I understand, so stop patting me! You’re messing up my hair!”
The surname of the genius Archmage in the Hero’s party was also Enersis. Back then, the Tower Master was like a sister to the Hero’s dragon companion. Therefore, she knew them all inside and out.
“Tsk, unable to let go of lingering attachments.”
The sparkle the Tower Master had seen in that Enersis back then… she saw it in Archion today. Whether it was that fellow or his descendant, for bugs that couldn't live a hundred years, how they shone with potential!
Grit.
The ecstasy, which felt like it would blind her, was more beautiful than any jewel stored in her lair. A noble beauty she wanted to display forever in a corner of her lair….
Grit!
Dragons occasionally find themselves wanting such things. As if it were a life duty. When that happens, they sometimes become as atrocious as the evil dragons in history books.
“Very well, Archion.”
It will soothe a ten-thousand-year-long tedious life. I must achieve it by any means necessary.
The Tower Master pulled out a piece of paper and began to write something down hurriedly.
And the next day.
Bang!
“My son! What have you done!”
“Pardon?”
Archion, who had been working in the workshop, saw the barging Delford and thought of the saying: "Doubt can lead to trouble."
“That cold-blooded Tower Master….”
“Ah…….”
As I thought, kicking out the Tower Master was a mistake. I shouldn't have spoken my mind! Archion squeezed his eyes shut—
“She says she will sponsor you!”
“Pardon?”
“And for the rest of your life! Hahaha! How on earth did you coax that Dragon!”
He was dumbfounded that he had gained another major sponsor on par with the Head of Enersis.
“Why… me?”
“Naturally, it must be thanks to your outstanding knowledge and skill! Come to the Lord’s study at once! Her representative has arrived with the contract!”
“Oh, yes. Right.”
‘Does that Dragon... by any chance, like being treated coldly?’
With an absurd suspicion, Archion hurriedly moved his feet.