Chapter 41
Chapter 41
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Magic Items and the Tower Shop Opens
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Here, I’ve brought some magic items that should help protect Lady Morton’s body.”
Billy set down a large box on the floor with a pleased expression. I stared dazedly at the box stuffed full of miscellaneous items before shifting my gaze to Billy.
He was looking at me with eyes brimming with pride.
“Ah… Thank you. There’s so much here.”
I figured I should offer my thanks before asking what all this was. As soon as the words left my mouth, I stepped over to the box, bent down, and rummaged through its contents.
“What’s all this stuff?”
I picked up something that looked like a scrawny tree branch and asked. Billy began explaining each item one by one.
I half-listened to his explanations while scanning the contents of the box.
Truth be told, I could guess what they were even without his help. The box Billy had brought was exactly the same as the one I’d seen in the Magic Tower’s warehouse back when I became a sheep.
I hadn’t expected him to just haul it out like this. Raiding the Magic Tower’s warehouse without a second thought—it was astonishing how casually he mentioned it.
Is it because he’s friends with the Tower Lord?
To think he could freely plunder the Magic Tower’s warehouse like that. Ignoring my surprised reaction, Billy picked up a few items and explained their uses.
“This one hides your appearance when you wear it on your body. It’ll come in handy whenever you need to conceal yourself. And this one…”
The more he explained, the more I wondered why such great items had been gathering dust in storage only to end up with me.
He’d brought every single thing that might help me defend myself when I was alone…
“Is this really okay…?”
When I asked worriedly, Billy added that he’d only take out what I needed right away and return the rest to the Magic Tower.
“Oh, extras are being distributed across the continent today.”
Billy looked up suddenly as if he’d just remembered something while setting aside the few items I’d chosen.
“What extras?”
Extras were for urgent news, so it couldn’t be the zebra incident from days ago. Nothing came to mind, so I just rolled my eyes.
“Lady Lami!!”
Just as Billy opened his mouth, Ed came rushing in from outside, clutching something in his hands.
Through the wide-open door, I could see servants passing by holding the same kind of paper Ed had.
“The Magic Tower… the Magic Tower turned into a shop!”
Ed shouted, wildly waving the paper in his hand. It was the very extra Billy had just mentioned.
If it weren’t for me, Ed—who would have opened his own shop at the Magic Tower far in the future—wouldn’t be rushing in so shocked. I straightened his messy hair and took the extra from him.
My eyes went wide as I read the brief article.
It’s only been a few days since I suggested it—how did they open already?
Amazed, I turned to Billy and showed him the extra.
“How did you open the shop so quickly?”
“The Magic Tower has plenty of workers.”
“Ah…”
His solemn answer somehow left me subdued. Did he mean the mages I’d seen before?
They must have worked their tails off.
I recalled the mage who’d grumbled jealously in front of me and Ed, only to get thoroughly chewed out. Once on the Tower Lord’s bad side, they’d be slaving away like that mage for a good while.
The gorilla who’d visited the mansion for Ed’s mana measurement back then had probably pitched in big time to set up the shop.
Still, for things to move this fast…
Billy must have conveyed my idea perfectly.
I glanced at Ed, who was admiring the magic items in the box, and Billy standing watch over him. I wanted to say thanks, but with Ed here, I felt obligated to call Billy by name.
I’d tried it during Luna Je’s time too, but it had ended in failure.
Why is saying his name so hard?
It should just be a matter of getting the word out. Yet my lips wouldn’t move easily.
Noticing me hesitating with something to say, Billy gave me a puzzled look.
I swallowed dryly and spoke in a trembling voice like a goat’s bleat.
“Thank you for putting my suggestion into action so quickly, Bi—Billy.”
It was the historic moment I first uttered Billy’s name aloud. I said it so easily in my head—“Billy this,” “Billy that”—so why was it this tough to say for real?
I quickly checked Ed’s expression. He stood there with his mouth agape in surprise for a moment before breaking into a big grin and looking up at Billy, as if gauging his reaction.
“You’re welcome.”
But Billy replied calmly, without a hint of surprise. He was smiling, but he always had that smile on, so it didn’t feel special.
His composure—unlike my own shyness—put me at ease. I figured I could call his name more often from now on.
“Huh? Lady Lami, your ears are red!”
Then Ed pointed at my ear and yelled. His face and tone reeked of teasing intent.
I hurriedly covered both ears with my hands. Was it because he said it? My palms felt burning hot against them.
“B-but when does the magic goods shop open?”
I swiftly changed the subject. If this kept up, my face would turn tomato-red.
“Today. Want to go check it out?”
“Really? Ed, do you want to go too?”
“Hmm… It’d probably be empty right now, so not fun.”
Ed narrowed his eyes at my question, pondered, and decided based on his sharp prediction. If even Ed—who’d been in and out of the Magic Tower multiple times—thought that, I could guess the beastkin reactions to the extra without seeing them.
We agreed to head to the Magic Tower later once word got out that the first customers had arrived.
And sure enough, within a few hours, we learned that the first beastkin had teleported to the Magic Tower using a magic circle.
“Did you see this? They’re giving out magic scrolls if you go to the Magic Tower!”
“A thousand of them? Wait, isn’t the Magic Tower the last place to do something like this?”
“What, so it’s a fake extra? But this is from a reputable publisher.”
When the extras were distributed, the Rub mansion servants quickly got their hands on them too. Shocked by the Magic Tower’s uncharacteristic move, they gathered and buzzed with whispers.
Most reactions were negative.
It’s just exaggerated rumors turned into an extra, there’s no reason for the Magic Tower to do this, who’d risk their life for a scroll—those opinions dominated.
At that moment, one maid silently staring holes into her extra gripped her rag tightly.
If I can just resell this, I could make a fortune.
It was Anna, a maid who hadn’t been at the Rub mansion long. She fiddled with the blue thread bracelet on her wrist and reread the extra.
The thread bracelet was a precious gift from her only family—her little sister, who had recently escaped magic slave life and returned home.
The Tower Lord didn’t seem that scary.
She recalled Nick, the Tower Lord she’d seen just once.
At the time, Anna was walking the corridor with a basket piled high with laundry, blocking her view. She nearly collided with someone ahead who smoothly sidestepped.
She apologized profusely, and only then did she see the man’s face.
Anna still couldn’t forget Nick’s kind words and warm smile.
“We didn’t bump into each other—what’s there to be sorry about?”
Some beastkin might question if that was really kind, but his voice was so gentle, his expression so warm.
Any beastkin seeing Nick’s face and hearing his voice in that moment would have felt he was a kind soul.
For Anna, just starting as a mansion maid and barely adjusting to the life, it was her first taste of such gentleness.
Then another maid spotted Nick from afar and approached. The title she used nearly made Anna flip over in shock.
“Young Master Nick! The Family Head is at the training grounds right now.”
“Is he? Thanks. And from now on, call me Tower Lord. I think that suits me better.”
Tower Lord. The very person who had saved her sister—a magic slave with barely enough mana to work properly.
She’d heard from her sister about the Magic Tower’s slave rescue operation.
From then on, Anna’s view of the Magic Tower completely changed. It couldn’t possibly be the scary place it once was with someone like him in charge.
Anna immediately decided to check the exact location of the magic circle.