Magic Tower (5)

Magic was the art of taking the mana within one's body as a resource and shaping it into a desired phenomenon.

To call forth magic with mana, two processes were absolutely essential: calculation and chanting. You calculated with the mind, chanted with the throat, and poured your will into the mana of the heart—only then did the phenomenon you sought take form. That was magic.

For proper magic, not a single step of that process could be missing. Of course, seasoned mages could cast low-tier spells with calculation and will alone, skipping the chant entirely. But that was only possible because low-tier calculations were simple. The moment a spell rose even to mid-tier, chanting became indispensable.

That was why, when Rin lost her vocal cords in the Abyss of Despair, she had despaired from the depths of her soul. Every effort she had poured into her craft, every scrap of talent that had allowed her to exist as Rin the mage, had turned to foam and vanished.

Yet Rin was a genius, and a mage was a being who always had to make rational, wise decisions. She could not afford to drown in despair and waste time and life. So, without even giving her heart a moment to settle, she rose from her seat and began searching for another path. That was the judgment befitting a rational, wise mage.

From the instant she returned to the Magic Tower, Rin threw herself into countless endeavors—researching magic formulas, developing magitech devices, capturing and dissecting magical spirits. She could not bear the fact that she had become useless. So she worked far harder than she ever had before her throat was torn out.

The result: she achieved success in every field she touched. When a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠genius also put in effort, there was nothing she could not accomplish. But for Rin, gaining achievements that way was like drinking seawater when you were thirsty. No success, no matter how brilliant, could even spark a tiny flame compared to the radiance she had once enjoyed.

Her magical knowledge grew as she researched formulas, built devices, and dissected spirits—but she could not use any of it. When she handed the formulas she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had developed to other mages and told them to try, they rejected them as far too difficult and inefficient. The talent once praised as heaven-sent had become a shackle the moment she lost her voice.

Born with a gift so overwhelming that ordinary achievements could never satisfy her—that was the life she now lived. The longer it continued, the deeper her thirst and frustration grew, and the heart she had never properly soothed began to rot and fester.

And today, when mind and heart finally reached their limit, she had fled the Magic Tower.

Is that true?

"Yes. I came here to heal Lady Rin's throat."

That was how Rin met Offen.

"Mmm, this is delicious. Ri—Rin. Try some. How is it? Good, right?"

Yeah, it's good. Thanks, Eve.

"Ehehe. Wh-what are you saying…"

Rin accepted the spoonful of ice cream Eve offered and ate it. Across from her sat a blond man with a brown-haired maid at his side. His name was Offen Termin, rank Baron, head of the Termin family.

On paper he was nothing special—someone Rin would never have given a second glance under normal circumstances. But he was no ordinary baron.

What Eve said earlier… is it true?

"Yes, it is. I destroyed the Abyss of the Army, and I restored Lord Gid's legs."

Offen Termin was a man who could destroy a Great Rift and restore lost body parts. The claim was absurd, almost impossible to believe—yet Eve sitting right beside him was the most solid proof imaginable.

The man who took Eve—who never served under anyone—as his maid. I can't sense anything from him, but he's clearly no ordinary person.

Rin faced Offen squarely and wrote neat letters in the air with her mana quill.

You said you came here to heal my throat. What do I need to do for you?

According to Eve, Gid had become Offen's subordinate in exchange for having his legs restored. Taking the Hero as a maid and putting the Hero party's warrior to work as a laborer… it was a deal no merchant could ever have imagined. And Rin suspected she would not escape that same shrewdness either.

Just say it. Anything within my power—I'll do it all.

Rin had been born with heaven-sent talent. She had done everything she wanted and obtained everything she desired. She had never known lack, and so she had never once in her life felt true desperation.

Then her throat was ruined in the Abyss of Despair, and she could no longer cast mid-tier magic or higher. Everything she had once taken ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for granted stopped being guaranteed, and she learned just how wretched lack could be. Now she desperately wanted everything she had once enjoyed.

If this man can truly heal my throat, I'll give him anything he wants.

That was why she could not let the hope before her slip away.

If he wants my body, I'll give it. If he wants my life after the healing, he can have that too. If he needs a personal mage, I'll become one. Just say the word. I'll offer him everything.

The principle of any deal was to assume the other party's maximum demand and then bargain it down to something reasonable. Rin was a wise mage, better at negotiation than anyone else in the Hero party. Yet right now she had no intention of haggling. She was ready to give Offen whatever he asked for, sincerely and without reservation.

So please… just let me use magic again.

Because to Rin, magic was more precious than anything else.

Having steeled herself, she looked at Offen. He scratched his cheek awkwardly and answered.

"Uh, well… if you just prepare the materials needed for the treatment, I don't need any other compensation."

…What?

No compensation needed. That was clearly what Offen had said.

Just prepare the materials and that's it? What kind of absurdly generous nonsense is that?

Most people would have rejoiced with both hands raised if a trading partner said something like that. Rin could not. Because no one was greedier than the person who claimed they wanted nothing in return.

No. Just say it. It's not just anyone—you're healing my throat.

Full of wariness, Rin began racing letters across the air toward Offen.

If you tell me to become your personal mage, I will. If you want my life after the healing, I'll give you that too. If it's my body you want, you can have it as much as you like.

"Ri—Rin?! You can't do that!"

Eve grabbed her shoulders in a panic at the offer of her body.

No, Eve. Don't stop me. Getting my magic back is more important to me than my life.

Rin shook her head lightly and faced Offen head-on. Resolve and wariness burned together in her blue eyes.

The greatest genius mage in Magic Tower history, the mage of the Hero party. This is your chance to do whatever you want with me—Rin. Even the Emperor of the Empire never got me. So if there's something you want, just say it. Don't give me empty words about not needing anything and try to dodge.

It was an extremely direct way of speaking.

"A-ah? Ri-Rin and Baron Offen? Wh-why? I mean, Baron Offen is very handsome, but Rin isn't the type to fall for a face alone…"

Eve was sinking into a swamp of misunderstanding under the heat of Rin's blunt words. Offen finally opened his closed mouth and answered.

"I truly want nothing from Lady Rin."

The same answer as before: he wanted nothing.

Rin ground her teeth and pressed her mana quill hard, pouring emotion into the letters she wrote in the air.

Why?

Offen replied as if the question itself were obvious.

"Because I don't need Lady Rin."

…Huh?

It was a sentence the greatest genius mage in history had never heard in her entire life.

In Crack Kingdom, the most difficult and high-nosed character of all—the greatest genius mage in Magic Tower history, Rin—was right now…

"Ri—Rin…! Baron Offen is a normal person! I-if you grip his arm that hard, it hurts!"

"Lady Mage, please stop. The young master's arm is bruising."

Take back what you said about not needing me! I'm not letting go until you do!

…clinging to someone for the first time in her life.