Red Magic Tower (2)
The commission for the Red Magic Tower was finished.
But I couldn't simply leave the tower right away. Perhaps that was only natural—Agresia had decided to keep me there.
"You don't seriously think you can come all the way to my magic tower and just turn around and leave, do you? Setting the commission aside, I'll give you a reward for solving the difficult problem I created. Wait a while."
"A reward…?"
I don't particularly need anything like that. Can't I just go home?
I looked at her with that hope in mind, but Agresia showed no intention of granting my wish.
"That's right. Preparing the reward will take a little time, though, so enjoy a banquet in the meantime. I'll count that as part of the reward for solving the problem as well."
"A banquet…"
Delicious food was always welcome. Caesius would like it too. It wasn't a bad offer.
"Besides, isn't there something you're curious about?"
"Not really…"
"There must be."
Why does she keep insisting there is when the person in question says there isn't? I stared at her, half exasperated. Agresia let out a soft snicker.
"From the looks of it, you haven't been handling mana for very long. Knowing who I am—standing right in front of you—doesn't that make you curious about something?"
"Ah."
So that was what she meant. Understanding her intention, I nodded. At the same time, a new question rose in my mind.
"I appreciate the offer, but…"
If we had been ordinary acquaintances, I might have taken it as simple goodwill. At the very least, though, she and I could hardly be called on good terms.
"Why would you show me that kind of kindness?"
Even if I hadn't done it myself, Allen had. Ours was not a relationship that warranted goodwill. When I asked, genuinely puzzled, Agresia gave a hollow laugh.
"Last time you acted like you didn't remember a thing, and now you're suddenly fretting over it?"
"Well, that's…"
Back then I truly hadn't known, but there was no way for Agresia to realize that. Left without a good answer, I gave an awkward smile. She continued.
"I haven't forgotten the insult from that time, but this is a separate matter. Do I look like some child who can't distinguish public from private—me, the Lord of the Red Magic Tower?"
"Ah, no."
That wasn't it, but…
"Then on what basis are you making this offer?"
"Obviously because you possess a fascinating power."
Agresia rose slowly from her seat and approached. For a moment the urge to flee surged through me, yet she showed no hostility.
She drew near, lowered her voice, and spoke so that only I could hear.
"Your mana can devour other mana, can't it?"
"…"
As expected of a Tower Lord. Others might not have noticed, but she had seen through it. When I didn't deny her words, Agresia smirked.
"It's not even a Mana Eater, yet somehow you're capable of something like that. I still don't understand how. That's why I want to use you as a research subject."
…Isn't that a little too honest about her desires? She had to know how I would react to hearing something like that.
I wondered why she would deliberately say something that only raised my guard—until I heard what came next. Then both her earlier proposal and her motives made sense.
"I'll teach you about mana and magic. In return, you become my research subject."
Agresia smiled lightly as she spoke.
"And stop learning something as mismatched as that whip-sword."
How do you even know about that? Did you dig into my background through Raynes or something?
"…I've only been learning it for a day."
"With a power like yours, why bother with a sword? Obviously you should learn magic—prevent the opponent from using any while you alone cast freely."
"I was thinking of nullifying their mana and then cutting them down with a blade…"
"If the distance is too great, you can't reach them with a sword and they get away. Magic doesn't have that problem. You simply use a binding spell. Once their mana is sealed, they won't even be able to resist."
…She had a point.
Agresia asked,
"So what will you do? If I declare that I'm researching you, even those mages over there with their eyes burning with curiosity will back off."
"…"
It was an extremely attractive offer. A chance to learn from none other than a Tower Lord. Anyone could see opportunities like this didn't come around often.
The dragon at my side couldn't teach human magic, and Clara wasn't a mage either, so she couldn't instruct me. That was why I had settled for the next-best option—giving up on magic and learning the sword instead.
"…But I've already rented a house in Parvata. I need to live there."
"I'll install a spatial-transfer magic circle so you can commute to the tower."
"Isn't that incredibly expensive…?"
I knew the installation required high-ranking mages—expensive specialists—and took a long time, so the cost was no joke. Using it wasn't cheap either; even when traveling as a party we had always taken carriages or walked.
"Is that really all right?"
When I asked about the expense, Agresia looked at me as if she couldn't understand the question.
"I'm doing it for my own research as Tower Lord. Who exactly is going to object?"
"Uh… right."
Being a Tower Lord is something else…
"So, do you accept?"
At Agresia's question, Erinn's wary face suddenly flashed through my mind.
"…?"
I had no idea why I thought of her just then. But the moment passed, and I collected myself and nodded at Agresia's proposal.
"All right."
From my perspective, there was nothing to lose.
"Then from now on, don't bother with martial arts academies or the like. Commute to the magic tower. You'll learn magic from me, and I'll research your mana."
I nodded, then a belated worry surfaced and I asked,
"But this research of yours—you're not going to do anything weird, right? Like make my body strange or something…"
"I'm not researching forbidden arts. Why would I? It might hurt a little, though."
"Hurt?"
"I'll need to extract mana. That will sting somewhat."
So she's going to pull my mana out. Doesn't that mean my mana stat drops?
As if she could read the worry written all over my face, Agresia stared at me with an incredulous look. Then she spoke in a reassuring tone.
"It won't cause permanent mana loss, so don't worry."
"Ah."
"Seeing how little you know, you really must have had no mana at all before. Well, of course—I couldn't have been mistaken."
Agresia continued,
"The fact that someone like you suddenly gained mana… what kind of wind blew that made you want power?"
People who knew the old me were always a bit awkward to deal with. In truth my entire self had changed, so of course my thinking had changed—but when they asked like that, I still had to invent excuses.
"Just…"
I told her the same thing I had once told Erinn.
"I wanted to be useful to the party."
"You left that party, yet you still say things like that so easily?"
"There were circumstances I couldn't help…"
She really knows how to hit a sore spot.
"Well, fine. It's none of my concern."
Agresia pulled something out and held it toward me.
"This is a free-passage permit for the Red Magic Tower. If someone who doesn't know you treats you as an intruder while you're here, show them this."
"Oh, okay."
"Of course…"
Agresia glanced around. I followed her gaze. The mages of the Red Magic Tower were still watching me with eyes full of curiosity.
"I doubt there will be anyone who doesn't know who you are."
…True enough.
While Albrecht was turning the Red Magic Tower upside down, Erinn and her companions were preparing to leave Defern, capital of the Dern Empire.
With the porter gone from the party, packing had become everyone's responsibility. So Erinn and the others were each gathering their own belongings.
The journey to the Red Magic Tower would cover a considerable distance, so they needed to stock up thoroughly on daily necessities and basic supplies.
They had never realized how grueling the work was when Albrecht the porter had always handled it. Efficiently organizing a mountain of gear into limited space was far from easy.
Erinn herself wasn't particularly practiced at it. She kept pulling items out and stuffing them back in, rearranging to make room. At least she had grown up in the countryside as a child, so she was somewhat used to this kind of tidying and adapted quickly. But…
"Um, Erinn?"
Freya approached with a troubled expression.
"This… will everything really fit in this bag?"
"…It will."
The problem was that this noble Saintess had no idea how to make it fit. Which, in hindsight, was only natural.
She had been raised in a noble household from childhood, and once she grew a little older she had lived under the special favor of the Church of Myeongsin. There was no reason she would ever have done menial packing work fit for a laborer.
Erinn gave a small nod, took Freya's bag, and opened it. Sure enough, the contents had been stuffed in haphazardly.
"Of course it won't fit if you pack it like this."
"Ugh…"
Freya hung her head in embarrassment. Erinn began reorganizing the bag for her and let out a quiet sigh inside.
Every group needed someone in the support role for chores. In that regard Albrecht had been extremely capable. Unlike Allen, he had prepared whatever was needed without being told, and every morning he finished packing before anyone asked.
It wasn't as if the party members had failed to appreciate that effort. Before the change it had been a problem that he didn't do it; after the change he performed his role so well it was almost touching. That was why the others had been able to treat the new him so freely.
Ideally Albrecht would come back. But if he refused… they would have no choice but to find a new porter. They couldn't afford to waste this much time packing every single trip.
Erinn thought that rationally, yet deep down she refused to picture anyone other than Albrecht in that position.
She simply hoped he would say he would return.
Lost in thought as she finished packing Freya's bag, a head of black hair suddenly popped up beside her.
"Everyone ready? What, Freya still hasn't finished packing?"
"It was a mess, so I'm redoing it."
It was Ser-Aria. She too came from high birth, but as an elf who protected the forest she had trained as a ranger from a young age. Through dozens of journeys and camping trips she had learned to pack perfectly well on her own.
She took a long pull from her bottle, then burst out laughing.
"Puhaha! The Saintess can't even pack a bag?"
"I-I just haven't done it much…"
"Aria, is Letisia finished?"
"Yep! Letisia's already waiting in the lobby!"
Letisia had lived as a wanderer before joining the party, so packing came naturally to her as well.
In the end, the only one in the party who couldn't pack was…
"Ugh…"
Freya alone. She seemed to realize it too; she hung her head so deeply her ears turned bright red like ripe tomatoes. Seeing that, Ser-Aria laughed cheerfully and clapped her on the shoulder.
"It's fine, it's fine! You'll get used to it!"
"Eep… okay…"
"Puhaha, your reactions are adorable!"
"Stop teasing her, Aria."
Erinn closed the reorganized bag and handed it back to Freya.
"Here. Take it."
"Thank you, Erinn…"
"Let's hurry. We have no idea when he might leave the Red Magic Tower for somewhere else."
Ser-Aria and Freya nodded and followed Erinn out. In the lobby they found Letisia. For some reason she was fidgeting restlessly, like a dog that had lost its master.
"Letisia?"
"Ah—yes?!"
When Erinn spoke, Letisia jumped and spun toward her. The reaction was so odd that Erinn tilted her head.
"What's wrong?"
"Ah, well…"
Letisia hemmed and hawed, then finally changed the subject.
"I-it's nothing. Let's go. We might be late."
"…Ah, okay."
With that, Letisia strode out of the inn first.
To Erinn, Freya, and Ser-Aria alike, Letisia's behavior looked extremely strange—as if she were tense about something.
They had no way of knowing why she was acting that way, or what feelings she carried as she walked.
Albrecht…
Even if they pretended to be fine, the others simply lacked the emotional bandwidth to notice.