New Life (5)
For a moment, her words left me speechless. And it wasn't just me—everyone inside the Adventurer's Guild seemed just as stunned. Every face had gone completely blank.
"Manager, you can't just say things like that here…"
So that story's pretty well-known, huh…?
But saying it out loud in a place like this? The adventurers who'd overheard her all turned to stare at me, muttering among themselves.
"He dumped the Tower Lord…?"
"The Red Magic Tower's Agresia? He dumped that woman? Is he out of his mind?"
The men's reactions were especially intense.
"Whoa, he couldn't even eat what was handed to him on a silver platter."
"Is something wrong with him upstairs?"
…I didn't do it, you bastards.
Getting cursed out for something I'd actually done wouldn't have felt unfair. But taking heat for something I never even did was just absurd.
Regardless of the uproar, the woman they called Manager simply kept muttering to herself.
"But Yohan, was that guy's name Albrecht? Wasn't it Allen or something?"
"Manager, please drop it and focus on the work."
"Ah, right."
Between Agresia last time and these two now, the mages belonging to the Magic Towers all seemed to live deep inside their own little worlds. Every last one of them only ever said whatever they felt like saying.
That aside…
I could tell they were from the Red Magic Tower, but I still had no idea why they'd suddenly come looking for me. Surely the Red Magic Tower Lord hadn't ordered them to drag me back.
"Weren't you traveling with the Hero's party? There's only one of them with you."
She seemed to have recognized Clara. I gave her a simple answer.
"We're not connected anymore. Is that what you came to ask?"
"Ah, no. Well, I am curious about the details, but you wouldn't tell me anyway, would you?"
"You catch on quick."
"Then I'll get to the point. I don't particularly enjoy wasting time."
Finally the main topic. For someone who claimed to hate wasting time, she'd certainly taken her sweet time getting here.
The woman called Manager stepped closer and spoke.
"Albrecht."
"Yes?"
"Did you really smash the wooden training doll that was at the Martial Arts Academy?"
Why is she suddenly asking about that?
The thought had barely formed when the instructor's words from that day flashed through my mind. He'd clearly said the engraving on that wooden doll had been crafted by the Red Magic Tower.
Don't tell me they're here to bill me for repairs?
They said they wouldn't charge me!!
I felt thoroughly betrayed. After a moment of awkward fidgeting, I carefully addressed the Manager.
"…Uh, I don't really have much money on me right now."
"Pardon? No, why would you suddenly bring up money…"
"Huh?"
So it wasn't what I'd thought?
I stared at her in confusion. She spoke in a tone that suggested she'd just realized something.
"…Ah. Did you think I was here to demand repair costs? Then that means you really did smash it yourself, doesn't it?"
"Well, yes. If you're not here for repair costs, then why did you come looking for me?"
I racked my brain for any other reason the Red Magic Tower might seek me out, but nothing came to mind.
When I asked, the answer she gave me was something I never would have expected.
"As far as I know, you're not a mage, yet your understanding of engravings is extraordinary."
"…What?"
Understanding of engravings?
"We examined the wooden doll you destroyed. The engraving we inscribed on it was completely ruined."
"Uh…"
That was probably because of my mana.
"It was as if you'd perfectly understood the structure of a Magic Tower engraving, reverse-engineered it, and dismantled it."
Except they seemed to be under the complete misunderstanding that I'd understood the engraving and dismantled it on purpose.
"That's not—"
"I'm not finished speaking yet."
"Ah, yes."
…Fine. Let her finish first.
"How did you do it? Did you truly comprehend the engraving completely?"
Revealing my ability here would be a problem. It was the kind of power that was best kept hidden—something that only shone brightest when as few people as possible knew about it.
Whether she sensed that or not, even the usually tactless Caesius stayed quiet until I answered. Clara, of course, had always been the silent type.
I hesitated for a moment, but in the end, correcting the misunderstanding seemed worse than…
"…And if I said yes?"
Leaving the misunderstanding alone felt like the better option. Given how clearly high-performance that wooden doll had been, they weren't going to accept "it was just a coincidence" as an answer.
"Hmm. Just as I thought."
She gave a slight nod.
"I'm Raynes. I oversee the Magic Engraving Department of the Red Magic Tower."
"Ah… I see."
So that was why they called her Manager.
I looked at her, wondering why she was suddenly introducing herself. Raynes met my gaze with clear interest in her eyes and spoke in a confident voice.
"I'd like to make you an offer. Have you ever considered working at the Magic Tower?"
"…What?"
"With that level of engraving comprehension, you could inscribe engravings for our tower without the slightest issue. I honestly can't understand why someone like you is rotting away in a place like this."
"And since I happen to be the head of the Engraving Department, if you simply say yes, I can hire you on the spot."
Raynes made the offer as if she were bestowing a great favor, as if I shouldn't dare miss this chance.
"Come to the Red Magic Tower. Exceptional treatment and compensation will be waiting for you."
"…"
The offer itself was deeply appreciated, but I couldn't join under a lie I'd fabricated.
For one thing, I had no desire to become known as the idiot who got kicked out the moment he set foot in the Magic Tower. I'd only used their misunderstanding as a convenient cover—if I actually started working, the lie would be exposed immediately.
More than that, joining any organization—Magic Tower or otherwise—would keep me from achieving what I'd set out to do. The whole reason I'd chosen the path of an adventurer was so I could hunt down hidden pieces on my own. Belonging to a group would make that impossible.
"I'll have to decline."
"……What?"
"I appreciate the offer, but I have no reason to accept."
Raynes stared at me with a face that clearly said she'd never expected this answer.
"We're done talking, right? We're a bit busy, so we'll be going first."
I turned to Clara.
"Let's go. We need to hit the weapon shop first."
"…Okay."
We walked past Raynes and out of the Adventurer's Guild.
"…Manager?"
Yohan looked at his superior, who had gone completely stiff.
Raynes looked thoroughly shaken. She had never imagined she would be rejected so cleanly without even a moment of consideration.
"…Yohan."
"Yes?"
"Has the prestige of our Red Magic Tower fallen this low?"
"…Of course not."
The Red Magic Tower. Among the six great Magic Towers, it stood as one of the two undisputed pillars alongside the Blue Magic Tower—an organization that could rightfully claim to be the absolute best in the magical world.
"People are desperate just to get in."
Exactly as he said. The moment someone joined the Red Magic Tower, they gained fame and status recognized not only in magical circles but everywhere else as well. Simply belonging to the Red Magic Tower was proof of exceptional ability.
"That man simply doesn't understand the Tower's value. So please don't stress yourself over it and let's head back."
"…I'm starting to feel a little competitive."
"……Excuse me?"
Yohan's face twisted in pure distaste. Raynes was a perfectly fine superior in every other way, but she had one single trait he truly hated.
"The guts to dump the Tower Lord are still intact, I see. Heh. The Manager of the Red Magic Tower herself comes to scout him in person, and he doesn't even hesitate before ignoring the offer."
Namely, she never gave up easily.
"Uh… he doesn't seem interested at all. Maybe we shouldn't waste time on this…"
"Then I'm curious what he'll say if I present even better terms."
Raynes smiled lightly.
"Nothing can stand against overwhelming capital! That is an immutable truth!"
"……"
Yohan let out a long sigh. Then, thinking of the man who had just cut Raynes's offer down without a second thought, he mused to himself.
…That guy's going to have a rough time of it.
Raynes's stubbornness truly defied imagination. Call it pigheadedness if you wanted to be unkind, or an inability to give up if you wanted to be generous. That single personality trait had carried her from the lowest ranks all the way to department manager… It was both her greatest strength and her greatest flaw.
Imagining Albrecht getting caught up in it, Yohan's concern for a man he'd only just met was only natural.
"Manager, the capital we can actually use is still limited."
"I know. That's why I'm going to get authorization."
"…Please tell me you're not thinking what I think you're thinking."
"Want me to guess what you just imagined? Too easy."
Raynes grinned.
"Obviously the Tower's funds are managed by the Tower Lord, so I'll have to contact the Tower Lord!"
Yohan already felt a headache coming on.
"…Manager, what good could possibly come of putting the Tower Lord face-to-face with that man?"
"Oh, come on. Face-to-face? I just want permission to spend the money."
"…The moment she hears about him, she's definitely going to react."
"Surely not. Would the Tower Lord do something so undignified?"
In Yohan's opinion she absolutely would, but Raynes apparently didn't see it that way.
"She'll provide me with support, and then if she happens to run into him after we've successfully recruited him into the Tower… well, who knows."
"…That is one way of looking at it."
Knowing Agresia, she probably would do exactly what Raynes described. In that situation, unlike before, Agresia would hold all the cards as the clear superior.
But still…
He had his doubts about whether it would work. The saying that overwhelming capital could accomplish anything wasn't wrong, but these people didn't seem like they needed that much money in the first place.
Just a moment ago, Yohan had happened to notice. The request form they'd been carrying out was Rank D.
If they needed a large sum of money, they would have used the woman standing right next to him to clear Rank S requests instead.
He still didn't know why she was here separately, but she was one of Hero Erinn's party members.
According to the Red Magic Tower's intelligence… she was a monster—the most outstanding practitioner of every thief-class profession currently active. She was skilled enough to clear Rank S requests solo and still have room to spare.
The fact that they weren't doing that meant they didn't need a large sum of money right away.
"Hurry up and contact the Tower, Yohan!"
"…Yes."
Unlike the confident Raynes, Yohan felt nothing but a thick cloud of unease about how this would turn out.
We bought a Geumswaebong of a reasonably suitable size at the weapon shop and stepped back outside. I held it upright for them to see.
"Does it look okay? What do you think?"
"You look like a thug."
"You want another headbutt?"
"You asked me what I thought and then…"
Caesius muttered as if she were the one being wronged.
"Still, calling a person a thug? Really?"
"Albrecht, you're already huge, and now you're carrying that club. Of course you look like one. I was merely describing the overall impression."
Unbelievable.
Then Clara gave a small shake of her head.
"…No. It looks fine."
As expected, Clara was the only one who ever said nice things to me.
"Clara, you can be honest about this. Doesn't he look rather menacing carrying a weapon like that?"
"You…"
"…No."
Clara spoke in a firm voice.
"…Albrecht doesn't look menacing."
I hadn't expected her to go that far for me. She really did have a kind heart. She'd lived alone all this time, must have met plenty of terrible people and seen plenty of ugly things… yet environment clearly didn't determine everything about a person.
Thanks to her, I could answer Caesius with confidence.
"See? She says it's fine."
"…Honestly. With such a reliable ally on your side, there's no winning against you."
Caesius continued.
"What a devoted Albrecht-watcher."
"What are you even saying."
Maybe it was because I hadn't been making her do headbutts lately, but her tone was gradually getting cocky again. Once we got home, I'd have to put her through some proper discipline…
"…I-It's not like that."
For a second I doubted my own ears. The voice completely blew every stray thought out of my head.
It was a voice denying Caesius's words while sounding thoroughly embarrassed—a tone from Clara I had never heard in my life. Startled, I looked over. Clara's eyes had gone round.
Then, just as quickly, she looked at me with those pure eyes of hers, the way she always did.
"…Let's hurry. We still need to buy furniture when we get back."
"…Y-Yeah. We should."
Had I imagined it? No—her voice had definitely been a little different from usual.
But looking at her again, Clara wore the same calm expression as always. The light smile she gave whenever I looked at her was the same too.
Maybe not…
I must have imagined it. Or maybe it was just a hallucination born from my own less-than-pure desires.
Out on the street, I pointed at a passing carriage.
"Let's take a carriage. It looks like the village is a bit of a distance."
"…Okay."
Clara nodded and began looking around at the carriages going by, as if she were looking forward to whichever one we'd end up riding. Her head turned slightly to follow one of them, and that was when I froze for a second.
…Huh?
It was only for an instant, but I saw it clearly. The tip of Clara's ear—just behind it—had turned a little red.
"…Albrecht."
"……Yeah?"
"…Over there."
Clara pointed at a carriage that had stopped after spotting us.
"Where are you headed?"
"…Ah, could you take us to this village here?"
"Let's see… Ah, of course I can. But I've heard monsters have been showing up around there lately. You sure about that?"
"Yes, we're going because of a request, so…"
"Ah, adventurers, then. Climb on. I'll get you there quick."
Even as I held out the request form and stated our destination, my mind was somewhere else entirely.
That voice I'd heard a moment ago, and the way Clara's ear had flushed red…
"…Yes, please."
I just couldn't get them out of my head.