Return (2)
Return (2)
The Tower of Harmonization used its Authority to link the five Towers.
Thanks to that, the Tower Masters, who would otherwise have been isolated in their Towers with no contact, could at least exchange a few words.
Even that link had been severed for a period after they exhausted themselves bringing Lee Ha-yul here, and was only recently restored.
Either way, the Tower Master of Harmonization enabled conversation between the Tower Masters.
[I've never seen you act like this before. To see that cold-blooded soul looking so forlorn... I've lived long, and now I've seen it all!]
"......"
[The Savior's completely bewitched you! Honestly, I can't blame you! Wow, as those racial traits grow more prominent, that already pretty face just...]
The problem was that the Tower Master of Harmonization had an exasperating personality.
To be precise, she talked too much.
Some might call it warm and friendly, but to certain others it was nothing but noise.
"Hoo..."
Ariel closed her eyes briefly, then opened them and wordlessly began reading a book.
It was a coping method they'd developed over the long years they'd worked together before becoming Tower Masters.
Her chatterbox nature was innate, so trying to beat it out of her was a tall order.
And since she was a colleague she'd genuinely grown attached to, that felt wrong. It was best to simply let her yak while getting on with her own work.
The Tower Master of Harmonization at least had the self-awareness to know she was noisy, so she didn't mind rambling on even if the other party ignored her.
[Even so, didn't you go a little overboard? Pressed right up against him, rubbing your chest, getting your body scent all over him? Huh? I swear I nearly had a heart attack.]
- Flinch
Ariel's shoulders, which had been ignoring the voice, gave a faint tremble.
[I never imagined you, of all people, would pull that, Miss Ariel! Honestly, if your old self had seen this, she would've flipped her eyes back and fainted!]
"...That was unavoidable. Blocking the curse outright is impossible, and I couldn't very well leave Lee Ha-yul unattended... easing the curse like that was necessary..."
[I get all that, but, hmm... maybe a little personal bias crept in...? Honestly, I do wonder if you really had to go that far.]
"Personal bias? Don't speak so carelessly. Do you have any idea how deeply I agonized over that decision?"
To Ariel, by her own reckoning, it was a choice she had truly agonized over.
As the Tower Master of Harmonization had said: pressing their bodies together, offering her chest, allowing him to take in her scent...
To Ariel, those were unspeakably indecent acts she had never once imagined.
She had agonized over whether or not to do it—how dare this person dismiss it all as mere personal bias?
That was a remark she couldn't let slide.
[Didn't it get better later? And after that, you still willingly offered yourself... honestly, it looked like you were on the verge of nursing him from your own breast come nighttime.]
"...You're exceptionally sharp-tongued today. What grievance are you taking out on me, exactly?"
Sensing the conversation was heading into unfavorable territory, Ariel deftly changed the subject.
Harmonization, oblivious, kept grumbling.
[You're the only one I can talk to...]
The Tower Masters of Space and Observation had passed their Authorities to Lee Ha-yul and were now bearing the resultant constraints.
The Tower Master of Growth had some leeway, but recently lost it after personally absorbing the constraints that struck Lee Ha-yul when he tried to speak of his curses.
On top of that, the Tower Master of Growth was already managing Siyoram and raising an army corps with the Tower Master of Knowledge.
Direct conversation with her would be difficult for a while.
Thus, the only conversation partner left aside from Knowledge was—
"And that's precisely why I'm asking. What is it you really want?"
[I want to meet the Savior too!]
Under Ariel's persistent prodding, the Tower Master of Harmonization blurted out the true feelings she'd been concealing.
[I want to stroke that head too! I want to hug him! There's so much I can offer, too! Why only you!]
"Good heavens..."
At that voice—those emotions laid bare—Ariel's mouth fell open in a daze.
"...Whether Lee Ha-yul would ever permit someone like you close is a secondary matter. Frankly, if you hadn't run your mouth so recklessly back then, we might have had a bit more leeway."
[That's! That's...]
"To throw those precious points into the dirt like that—once again, your mouth has brought disaster. Is there a curse on those lips of yours? How you survived those brutal times with a mouth like that still baffles me."
The Tower Master of Harmonization was a superhuman who manifested a Mind Speech-type unique ability.
It was the source record of the technique known as sound transmission: the ability to convey intent directly into another's mind without passing through the mouth.
Not an ability that directly contributed to combat, but—
In a frantic battle, the mind-speech series, capable of delivering thoughts accurately, swiftly, and over long distances, commanded proper respect.
The problem was that the Tower Master of Harmonization deployed it in tandem with her mouth, pummeling the target with a double-barreled torrent of abuse.
[Nngh... th, that's... true. I was too hasty... But you have to admit, it was understandable!]
The Tower Master of Harmonization wailed back.
[Synergy with an Authority? I don't know how an external ability could have such good synergy, but I can accept it! The Savior is an amazing child, so he'd pull through somehow! But what kind of situation is it when a curse has synergy with another curse?!]
By all logic, Lee Ha-yul's curses shouldn't have been that strong.
No matter how much their side was losing the war, they were actively neutralizing the curses. A curse involving an incarnation should have been an absolute impossibility.
The curses meant to hinder his growth had instead been turned to his advantage, and the curse grades themselves should've been lower. They had to be.
But they rose. Monstrously so.
And thus, a catastrophe occurred: Ha-yul couldn't even perceive the Status Window that Harmonization had worked so hard to connect.
[And what was that?! How does a mere curse block even Observation?! Even if his eyes are sealed, the Status Window should be visible; even if I concede a hundred times, Observation should obviously detect him, but—!]
Harmonization's voice carried a weight of indignation and regret.
Ariel frowned at the ringing voice, but she didn't reject those words outright.
Of course, running her mouth so rashly was Harmonization's own fault.
Yet parts of the Tower Master of Harmonization's misjudgment were understandable.
The Status Window—the Player Correction System—was a function created using the Towers of Harmonization and Knowledge.
Of those, the connection and output of the Status Window were handled by Harmonization's Authority, so...
Even if he were blind, the information linked through Harmonization's Authority should have been perceptible by default.
But the curse blocked even the Authority's recognition.
It blocked Harmonization's information, and it blocked Observation, which should've allowed him to perceive the Status Window.
The hologram manifested through Harmonization's Authority was perceivable, yet the Status Window, likewise manifested through the same Authority, was completely unrecognizable.
It was a fatal variable none of the Tower Masters, including Ariel, had anticipated.
How could anyone think that a paltry curse would obstruct an Authority... obstruct the Status Window?
[...The Savior will intervene in the Reverse Side, won't he?]
"Based on the will you've been insisting to me... yes, I believe he shall."
A moment later.
At the Tower Master of Harmonization's carefully proffered words, Ariel sank into deep thought.
The Reverse Side.
The catastrophe that would befall this world.
Lee Ha-yul would intervene beforehand to reduce the damage.
* * *
[Yeon-hwa and Seo-yul have arrived]
[They're about to head down to the first floor; would you like to rest, Miss Baek A-rin?]
The process of melting the cold energy that saturated Baek A-rin's body required immense precision.
Afraid that A-rin might be harmed, I had to focus so intently that I closed off all external observation except Crisis Observation.
That was why only now, at the moment the work finished, could I observe Yeon-hwa and Seo-yul arriving at the mansion.
"No, I'm feeling much better now, so I'll go down as well."
[I've melted all the cold energy, but... are you sure you're all right? Lying still for a day would be...]
"The doctor's skill was so good that I think I'm fully healed. And it's not like we're fighting; just heading down to chat. Why not?"
Baek A-rin answered with a shrug of her shoulders.
I gave a nod, my chin still resting on A-rin's chest.
The cold energy inside Baek A-rin's body was mostly melted.
To be precise, it would be more accurate to say that the cold energy freezing her body had been melted, driven out, and condensed into her heart.
We weren't engaging in fierce combat; light movement should be no problem.
Earlier, any violent motion risked her body shattering into pieces, but that was no longer the case now.
With all the cold energy melted, and having exposed her to Calamity Flame for a time to thaw even her cold-tinged body, Baek A-rin's complexion had improved greatly.
- Squish...
For the flip side of that, perhaps... Since the cold energy had melted back into water energy, Baek A-rin's skin had become incredibly moist.
I discreetly rubbed my cheek against the chest I'd propped my chin on.
Instead of that stiff, chilly flesh from before, soft and lukewarm skin grazed my cheek.
The texture was much better than before.
Put bluntly, it felt even better than the usual cool Baek A-rin.
If only I could catch her body scent here, that'd be even better...
"Go down ahead of me. I'll wash up quickly, change clothes, and come down."
[Ah.]
Baek A-rin let out a small laugh and patted my back, making me open my mouth.
Come to think of it, Baek A-rin was in her underwear.
And even that was soaked through with what looked like sweat—or something.
She couldn't exactly stroll around the mansion like this.
With a soft grunt, Baek A-rin stroked my cheek a few times, then rose from the bed and headed for the wardrobe.
She swung the wardrobe open without hesitation and, paying no mind to my presence, started pulling items out without a pause.
Considering that utterly unhesitating behavior, I thought she might strip off even her underwear right there, so I swiftly turned around.
[Yes, I'll head down first.]
"Yes, yes, I'll follow shortly."
- Clack
I shut the door, then belatedly realized my pants, which I hadn't removed, were soaked through.
'Maybe I should've taken off my pants too...'
I manifested a simple everyday magic spell.
I drew out all the moisture from the pants and attempted to evaporate it completely—
'Ah, right. This was Azure Sea water energy.'
It wasn't the kind of energy a simple household spell could handle.
Fwoosh! After evaporating the water energy with Calamity Flame, I dried the pants and stored them in subspace.
Then I took out an identical set and put them on.
Miss Ariel had handed me several sets, so I could just cycle through them.
After giving myself a suitable drying, I was ready.
My heart thumping, I clomped my way down the stairs.
.
.
.
"Ha-yul, you want to try going out for once?"
"...Where? The magic tool crafting contest? I'm confident now, you know. I trained hard and came back..."
"No? The cross-dressing contest."
"We finally reunited after so long, and that's the first thing you say, Yeon-hwa..."
Hong Yeon-hwa's face was dripping with mischief.
My eyes, having captured that expression, quivered in terror.
* * *
[Savior Correction System: Pioneering Progress]
[The system is measuring the approaching catastrophe]
[Generating Quest 「Reverse Side」]
[The system will assist the Savior's actions with all its strength]
...
[Player Correction System: Pioneering Progress]
[Generating Quest 「Birth Festival」]
...
[Generating Quest 「Cross-dressing Contest」]