Chapter 26
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Tower Compensation
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After the meeting wrapped up and I stepped outside, Isel came rushing over in a flurry.
“P-Professor!”
“What’s the matter?”
She caught my listless tone and shot me a look like, *What’s up with this guy?* for a split second, but I ignored it.
“You… put in the request on purpose, didn’t you?”
“You all did the hard work. It wouldn’t do for the grown-ups to just keep their mouths shut. Don’t you think a decent consolation payment is in order?”
It came to mind how outraged she’d been when I told her the investigation team would just sweep it under the rug.
And the sword had broken, to boot.
It wasn’t like we were unearthing the full truth, so it might not be entirely satisfying…
*‘At least they got something out of it, so they shouldn’t feel too bad.’*
I’d singled out the two of them, but the Magic Tower wouldn’t skimp on just them alone.
“Still, to the Tower Lord…”
“What’s it matter? The guy’s loaded.”
I’d wrenched it out of him a bit forcefully, sure, but in the end, it was going straight into their pockets.
They couldn’t complain about that.
Not when they were getting something out of it, anyway.
“Ah… yeah. Well…”
Isel couldn’t quite find the words for it and let out a deep sigh after hemming and hawing.
“But telling them to cry about it was too much…”
“It worked like a charm, didn’t it? I can use that trick plenty more times.”
It was genuinely useful.
Truly, if you just start crying…
Isel flashed a cheeky grin and scurried over, grabbing my sleeve tight.
She leaned her face against my back.
From a distance, it might look like lovers sharing affection, but up close, her eerie words pierced straight through my ears.
“Professor, if you do that, I really won’t let it slide. I mean it.”
Her lifeless eyes stabbed at the back of my neck.
Something told me refusing would be dangerous, so I nodded.
I had no idea how Isel would actually harm me, but it felt like I absolutely couldn’t say no.
Or was this just a chill running down my spine?
“So, what’s the last piece of business? Scarecrow?”
I shot Isel a sidelong glare.
*‘The Knight Department curriculum always included combat training.’*
The Magic Department’s curriculum focused more on theory than immediate combat response.
In other words, it assumed vanguards would always buy time up front.
That was why mages like Elin were vulnerable without a vanguard.
*‘The curriculum isn’t wrong. Large-scale operations always have vanguards protecting the mages.’*
The same went for armies and knight orders.
Mages rarely had to fend off projectiles while casting.
It wasn’t like they were mercenaries; assuming a vanguard was present was perfectly standard.
“Isel, why were you able to stay so calm back then?”
“Hmm… because if I didn’t, no one else would? Honestly, even now, I still wonder how I pulled it off.”
“That’s part of it. But also…”
“You mean whether we have combat experience, right, Professor?”
I gave a small nod.
“Ah, so that’s why you’re training us while handling the Tower’s issues.”
I hadn’t even explained exactly what the Tower’s problem was, but she’d pieced it together from tiny clues.
I picked up her words.
“I doubt the training accidents will end with just that one.”
“Because there’s an insider.”
“We’ll catch them eventually. But we still need to build crisis response skills. Besides, the Tower business is a headache for me too.”
In time, the Tower would handle it internally.
But right before they could resolve it, the tunnels would open up by a hair’s breadth.
Then the mana beasts inside would get contaminated by magic and break free.
That would kick off the pincer attack from the original story.
And I had to stop it.
But as always, I couldn’t step in directly.
*‘That’s why I have to raise Elin somehow.’*
Isel fell into thought.
On the surface, I had no reason to get involved.
Worst case, I could just cut them all down.
*‘The problem is how much more the already derailed story would twist if I did.’*
I wasn’t trying to rewrite the script from scratch—I was just building on the foundation.
I had to keep things steady until the big crisis hit.
Direct intervention was off-limits.
But this was future knowledge Isel didn’t have.
Instead, the Tower had handed me the perfect surface-level excuse.
Isel squeezed her eyes shut.
“It’s a political issue, isn’t it?”
“Ironic, isn’t it?”
“It’s weird. I thought getting strong would mean no restrictions.”
She was right, so I nodded in agreement.
“Exactly. I trained to become someone’s shield, yet the nation babies us over the tiniest scratch.”
It was new to her ears, and Isel looked at me.
“A shield? You, Professor?”
“Strange now, is it?”
“Hmm…”
Isel pretended to mull it over, then shook her head.
“Most people who pick up the sword have reasons like that.”
I snorted at that.
I half-ignored her grumbling *Why are you scoffing?* and mulled over her words.
“Yeah, I just wanted to protect my family. That’s all it was. Nothing special.”
Isel stared at me with an odd look after hearing my answer.
I kept walking without waiting for her as she stopped, and she belatedly ran to catch up.
“Hey! You can’t just leave me behind?!”
Isel sulked the whole way.
* * *
Charlotte gave me a pathetic look.
I was getting used to that gaze by now, but seeing it from what was basically a giant chitinous insect still turned my stomach a bit.
“What is it?”
“No… I mean. Sigh…”
She had something to say but couldn’t figure out where to start.
Charlotte rubbed her forehead.
She looked deeply troubled.
The issue was that her troubles stemmed from looking at me.
“Don’t you feel something off?”
“True, for an Imperial University, it’s got a lot of underlying problems. Attacks, contamination—no rest.”
“That’s a big issue too, but I meant this scenery. This scenery!”
Isel flinched when Charlotte shouted. Why?
“You really look at this lab and feel nothing?!”
Her eyebrows trembled as she pressed me. Hoping I’d get it, I scanned the lab as she suggested.
The curtains I’d torn down last time were now a fresh pink, there were some dolls, and cute cushions on the sofa.
Character pencil sharpeners? Pretty pens? Hmm.
Nothing wrong there.
I gave it a once-over and looked back at Charlotte.
She eyed me intently, like *Finally got it?*
“No issues. If anything, it’s less barren now.”
“No, ugh. Seriously… you.”
Charlotte mimed her head exploding and turned to Isel.
“Isel…!”
“U-Um! Lady Charlotte. It’s like this! I…”
“No matter what, how do you turn a man’s lab into something this girly?!”
Isel shrank back.
Like a criminal awaiting the noose after her crime.
She looked so pitiful I had to step in.
“Charlotte, I gave Isel full responsibility for furnishing the lab. If you’re scolding someone, make it me.”
“Fine, then explain yourself! What do you think people will say when they see this lab? Huh?!”
Isel fidgeted and picked up a doll from the cabinet.
“P-Professor. Isn’t this doll cute?”
She pressed it to her face and wiggled its arms.
Clearly imitating the doll moving on its own.
A cat doll?
Hmm…
With a giant human cockroach lurking nearby, it didn’t stir much, but it wasn’t bad.
“Not bad at all.”
Charlotte clutched her neck dramatically.
Then her eyes gleamed as she glared at Isel.
“That guy’s often clueless, so you have to look after him. Not like this.”
She grabbed a person-sized long pillow.
A black cat one, made for hugging in bed.
“You sleep with that here?”
Her eyes mixed disbelief and suspicion.
Her pupils shook—she’d clearly misunderstood things between me and Isel.
“No, that’s not mine…”
“If not yours, then that guy’s?”
The door slid open just as I tried to interject.
Both their gazes naturally turned to it.
There stood a petite silver-haired half-elf. Elin.
“Uh… that.”
Elin looked confused at the scene, then pointed at the long black cat pillow in Charlotte’s hands.
From that gesture, the owner was obvious.
Not Isel’s, so… probably the newcomer’s.
I silently observed the situation.
Elin averted her eyes from the black cat pillow Charlotte held, grasping the vibe.
Charlotte glanced between me and Elin, then rubbed her forehead.
“Charlotte, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but it’s a misunderstanding.”
“…You didn’t touch the student? Not even a double dip.”
“I haven’t touched anyone.”
No clue what “double” meant, but it sounded like a dire threat to my social standing. Had to deny it immediately.
“So why are you here?”
“Sigh, I’ll let the dodge slide this once.”
Charlotte pressed her temples and squeezed her eyes shut.
“For the training incident. Investigation team and checking on Isel’s safety.”
“I see. You’re part of the investigation team?”
I nodded and leaned back in my chair.
“I figured it’d be safe with you here, but better safe than sorry.”
Charlotte’s suspicions were justified.
Aiden hadn’t stepped up in the original.
Which meant the palace might now realize they needed to rein him in properly.
“…Professor wouldn’t stand by and watch injustice.”
Elin murmured a quiet rebuttal.
Charlotte looked at me again.
She fell silent, at a loss for words.
That gaze screamed *Playing the field with girls, huh?* mockery.
“…”
Fine, Isel was one thing, but why was this cockroach girl sticking around my lab?
*‘I explained the runes, the training’s done… why…’*
Something about clearing up a failed misunderstanding between me and Elin.
What misunderstanding was there between us?
None that I could think of.
“…The kids are sharp. Setting aside what’s between you…”
“For the last time, there’s nothing between us.”
“Got it. Got it. Anyway, what’s this?”
Charlotte showed me a notice she’d brought.
[Magic Tower Combat Training Practice Recruitment: Toskantana Aiden Pisvolt]
“You’ve heard about the Tower, right?”
“Yeah, that’s why fact-finding is urgent. It’s classified, but releasing it to civilians like this isn’t…”
“We’ve decided to frame it like an intentional project.”
Charlotte narrowed her eyes.
This was real.
“You serious?”
“The training accident happened because the Tower secretly pulled forces. Letting it slide risks repeats, and we can’t just wait around. It needs resolving.”
“Even so, you shouldn’t step up.”
“I’m not resolving it. Besides, if a knight order showed up instead of me, the students would know something’s wrong. We don’t want to escalate.”
“So you make it look like a project? What do you gain?”
I closed my eyes, deep in thought.
“We treat it like a Tower-hosted experiment. Use student manpower, give them combat experience, and quietly cover the incident.”
But Charlotte’s eyes remained cold.
“Contaminated mana beasts. Could be another training disaster. If there’s an insider, casualties could spread.”
With an insider, a big event like this was risky.
But I dismissed the suspicion outright.
*‘The insider won’t move.’*
She knew her own body was precious.
What might move instead…
My nerves shifted elsewhere.
The supervising professor from the training.
She seemed mentally worn down, but she wouldn’t miss this chance.
“That’s why I’m overseeing. The training mishap was my oversight. If the insider moves this time…”
I trailed off, but the inference was easy.
Charlotte still looked displeased as she eyed me.
Her gaze was like staring at a cold-blooded killer, but I couldn’t back down.
This had to be settled before the tunnels.
“You’re using the students as bait.”
“Don’t worry. No one will get hurt.”
I laid bare the conviction in my chest.
After mulling it over long, Charlotte left the lab with a whatever-you-want wave.