The Red Magic Tower's Request

Because of what had happened during the morning lesson, I couldn't focus properly on the Sabokgeom class that followed, and before I knew it evening had arrived. The culprit was still clutched in my hand.

…

It bore the seal of Agresia, Lord of the Red Magic Tower, and the Adventurer's Guild seal as well. Proof that this request form was no prank—that it was a formal commission the Red Magic Tower was issuing to me.

It was absurd. Not a personal request, but one coming from the Magic Tower itself.

The contents only made it worse. No matter how I looked at it, this did not seem like something the Red Magic Tower had failed to solve and was dumping on me.

Look at the wording. Nowhere does it say they couldn't decipher it themselves and were sending it to me. The tone was simply: we received something that needs deciphering, so why don't you give it a try.

Even so, I couldn't easily refuse. Not when they offered a thousand gold as the reward and Raynes was already holding out five hundred gold as an advance…

I really am a slave to capitalism, aren't I?

…Of course I had no choice but to take her hand. The sum was far too large to turn down.

I had wondered whether I ought to head to the Red Magic Tower at once, but Raynes told me that wouldn't be necessary.

"We need to make our own preparations first. I'll come back within a few days—just be ready to move whenever that happens."

Thanks to that, there was no need to rush. Still, I worried whether the other two would accept a commission I had suddenly taken on by myself.

It's a little ridiculous to start fretting after I've already accepted it…

Caesius I could just drag along without a second thought, but what about Clara? I had essentially dragged her into this on my own.

Carrying that worry, I returned home. Yet before I even reached the door, it flew open with a sharp clack. Standing there was none other than Clara.

"…Albrecht."

She had been cooking, it seemed—she was wearing an apron. Looking like that, Clara called my name in a gentle voice and offered me a soft smile.

"…Welcome home."

For a moment I stared at her blankly before coming to my senses and asking,

"How did you know I was coming?"

"…I felt your presence."

Ah.

Whatever anyone said, Clara was a thief skilled enough to have been drafted into the Hero's Party. Of course she would notice me walking up from a distance.

"…Aren't you coming in?"

"Huh? Oh—right."

I stepped inside with her, a little awkwardly. Then Caesius appeared, face covered in flour, looking thoroughly proud of herself for whatever she had been doing.

"Oh, Albrecht. You're back."

"What were you up to?"

"…We were preparing dinner."

Clara said so, pointing at the dough sitting in front of Caesius.

"Mm. This body made it."

"…Albrecht, we figured it would be hard for you to come home and still have to cook dinner."

Clara smiled softly as she spoke.

"…So we wanted to do it for you."

Ah.

I felt like an idiot for having worried about anything at all. Clara would clearly go along with whatever I asked of her.

"…Dinner's cream pasta. Is that all right?"

The way she had followed me the day I left the party, the way she moved for my sake more than anyone else—I was grateful, and that gratitude made me start to misread things ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a little.

Why does she go this far for me?

Could it be that…

"…Albrecht?"

…No. I shouldn't twist Clara's pure kindness into something strange and cause unnecessary trouble.

If things get awkward again, that would be a disaster.

I nodded and answered her question a beat late.

"Pasta sounds great."

"…Okay. I'll have it ready soon."

Watching Clara head back inside and Caesius with her face a complete mess of flour, I couldn't hide my smile as I followed them in.

Over dinner I told Clara and Caesius about the request I had received. They looked puzzled at first, but once I showed them the request form they seemed to realize it was no joke and grew surprised.

"…Albrecht, will you be all right going?"

"Hm?"

"…It's the Red Magic Tower. I don't think it's a place that would be particularly good for you…"

Clara looked worried. Unlike me, who didn't know the full story, and Caesius, who hadn't even existed at the time, she clearly knew what had happened that day.

At this point I was curious myself. Exactly what had transpired between Allen and Agresia back then?

"Clara, can you tell me what happened between the Lord of the Red Magic Tower and me—well, Allen—back then?"

"…Hm?"

"If I know what went on, I'll have a better idea of how to deal with the Tower Lord."

At my request Clara's eyes took on a faintly troubled look. Wondering if it was something she couldn't speak of, I watched her, and she answered honestly.

"…I wasn't actually there, so I don't know the details."

"Ah."

"…I did hear that Allen cleanly rejected her when she came on to him, saying she liked him."

Coming from the usually innocent Clara, the wording was a little harsh. Maybe that incident had left her with a rather poor impression of Agresia.

"…I heard she was rude."

"Hm?"

Was she saying I had been rude? True, publicly rejecting the head of a Magic Tower—of all people—was something that could fairly be called rude, and I would have had no defense.

But I soon realized I had misunderstood.

"…Separate from whether that woman took a liking to Allen, it seems she treated him like a collectible."

…So that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was it. The incident hadn't happened because Allen's personality was trash; Agresia had treated him with extreme disrespect.

Clara continued.

"…Erinn was furious about it too."

"Huh?"

Why would that girl Erinn get angry?

I didn't fully understand, but one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thing had become clear: I had no reason to approach Agresia from a position of inferiority.

The fault was on their side.

Then why was the Red Magic Tower giving me a request like this? Could the Tower Lord be thinking differently about it?

"…Albrecht, I don't think you need to accept it."

Clara still seemed to believe that facing the Lord of the Red Magic Tower was not a good choice.

But I had already taken the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠request form, and abandoning a fortune of a thousand gold for a reason like that simply didn't add up. If I had been the one at fault it might be different, but I wasn't.

I spoke to the worried Clara.

"I didn't do anything wrong, so there's no reason for me to walk on eggshells. If anything, I'm curious why they called for me."

Wanting to ease her concerns, I spoke with a touch of confidence and pointed at the request form.

"Let's meet her. Whatever she wants me to do, I've already taken the advance."

"…Advance?"

"Ah—they gave me an advance along with the request."

I set the five hundred gold coins I had received down in front of Clara and Caesius. Their eyes went round.

"Gold…!"

Especially Caesius—dragons being what they were when it came to treasure—she was practically drooling with greed. I casually pushed her back and said,

"Not a bad deal, right?"

"…If you're fine with it, Albrecht, then I am too."

"Of course I'm fine! For this much gold, a mere mortal's request is nothing."

I hadn't planned on asking you in the first place.

Still, voluntary agreement was better than forcing them into anything. Having secured both of their consent, I nodded.

"Manager Raynes said she'd come within a few days. We can head to the Red Magic Tower then."

"…Okay."

"A Magic Tower, huh. A place where only those among humans with real expertise in magic gather, correct?"

I nodded at Caesius's question. She smiled with clear interest.

"I find myself rather curious about their level of skill."

"…Just so you know in advance—no causing trouble."

"What are you saying. Of course I would never do such a thing."

…I was not reassured in the slightest.

Only a few days after accepting the request, just as she had promised, Raynes and her secretary Johan came to find us.

"Mr. Albrecht, I trust you're ready?"

"…"

The problem was the time she had chosen to arrive: the crack of dawn. Someone had been pounding on the door before sunrise, and it turned out to be…

"…Why are you here so early?"

"Ah, please forgive us. We would have preferred to come in the morning or afternoon ourselves, but circumstances forced our hand."

"Circumstances?"

Raynes nodded at my question. Then, looking a little troubled, she glanced around before speaking quietly.

"I don't know why, but the atmosphere in Parvata has been strange lately. We wanted to leave as soon as possible."

"What do you mean?"

Was something about to happen in Parvata?

As I looked puzzled, Raynes told me something unexpected.

"People who shouldn't be here are showing up."

"?"

"Individuals who aren't originally from Parvata have been scouting the area, and elves have even appeared."

…Elves?

"Elves?"

"Yes. From what I could determine, they aren't ordinary elves. Have you heard of the Shadows of the Forest?"

"Shadows of the Forest?"

It wasn't a name I was hearing for the first time. They were a major NPC group you encountered in one of the game's stage settings—the Elven Forest.

An elven intelligence organization that moved only on the High Elf King's orders. Around the mid-game, when the player entered the Elven Forest, there was an event where you cooperated with them to resolve an incident in the woods.

So their presence around Parvata didn't make much sense. Why would people who only moved on the High Elf King's command be here…

"Something must be about to happen. That's why we want to return to the Magic Tower quickly as well."

"When did the elves start appearing?"

"Since last evening."

Hearing Raynes, I thought it over carefully. If what she said was true, there was a real chance something was going to happen in Parvata.

Whether those elves truly were the Shadows of the Forest or not, if they had actually been set in motion…

Did the High Elf King send them to investigate something?

I didn't know what they were investigating, but if an intelligence group was moving, it certainly wasn't an ordinary matter. As Raynes said, it might be better to leave Parvata for a while as soon as possible.

"The others aren't up yet. Could you wait a little?"

"Of course. We'll wait outside—please come out once you're ready."

I knocked on the door of the room where Clara and Caesius were sleeping. Immediately the door flew open with a clack, and Clara stepped out.

"…Albrecht, who came?"

"Ah, so you already knew."

"…Yeah."

Clara had apparently sensed the two approaching long ago and had already gotten up.

"Then why didn't you come out?"

"…If they were intruders, I was going to deal with them once they entered the house."

…She said something terrifying as if it were nothing.

"They're not intruders. Manager Raynes and her secretary Johan are here."

"…At this hour?"

I explained the situation to Clara and suggested that, given how things stood, we should leave early. Without any real objection, she woke Caesius and came out with me.

Raynes smiled brightly at the sight of us emerging from the house.

"Shall we go, then?"

"Yes."

Leaving the house with Raynes, I thought to myself: please, let nothing happen here.