Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: The First Challenger
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A few hours after the extra edition newspapers were distributed, the first user of the magic circle appeared.
The news spread quickly through the Rub mansion and, passed from mouth to mouth, reached the ears of the Wolf Beastkin in the Rub territory in an instant.
"Can you believe it? What a gutsy move. You think just anyone could pull that off?"
"I heard they risked it all just for a single scroll."
"If the rumors are flying like this, they must've come back in one piece, right?"
"Who knows? Who can say what went down at the Magic Tower."
The Beastkin of the Wolf Territory, home to the continent's strongest family head, were reacting like this—there was no need to guess how the other territories felt.
"So, who was it that went to the Magic Tower? Anyone see them?"
A Wolf Beastkin standing in front of the plaza's bisected statue spoke up. At his question, a nearby young Wolf Beastkin shot his hand up high and shouted.
"I saw her! Some big sis came out of the magic circle and headed that way!"
The child pointed toward the road leading to the Rub mansion. The Wolf Beastkin followed his finger with their gazes, then exchanged disbelieving looks and murmured among themselves.
"You serious? If a kid's calling her 'big sis,' she can't be that old."
"Kids that age have no fear, right? Could've been a gutsy dare."
The area around the statue was packed tight with Beastkin who'd flocked there after news of the magic circle's first user broke—no room to step without bumping someone.
Most were townsfolk, but mixed in were mercenaries who roamed the continent taking on dangerous jobs.
The burly, rough-faced mercenaries had been quietly listening to the locals. Then they subtly turned their heads, becoming aware of one another.
It was their competitive instincts kicking in. For men who made their living handling high-risk commissions, this was a direct hit to their pride.
'I should've gone first!'
They all wore similar frustrated expressions.
'Who was the first Beastkin to use the magic circle? Another mercenary?'
Whoever it was, they had to be on a whole other level—someone extraordinarily strong. The mercenaries glared at the magic circle with resentment before leaping toward it in unison, as if on cue.
"Whoa, hey! Can they all jump in at once like that?"
A local shouted in alarm as the mercenaries piled into the magic circle. But they had already vanished.
I stood dumbfounded in the magic goods shop on the first floor of the Magic Tower, at a loss for words at the scene unfolding before me.
'What the heck...?'
Mercenaries showing up already? That should've happened after the magic circle had been around for a while.
I quietly watched from the back as three or four mercenaries jostled to grab their scrolls. Billy, who'd brought me to the tower, did the same.
He hadn't predicted this either and was eyeing them with curiosity. Unlike me, flustered by how far this deviated from the original story, his gaze was one of pure interest.
"May I ask who the very first visitor was?"
"Who was the second one among us?"
"Didn't I get here first?"
"Ah, I don't know who the absolute first was. But the second was the one in the middle."
The mercenaries showed no fear whatsoever, as if they'd forgotten this was the Magic Tower. Clearly, the first visitor had ignited their competitive spirits.
The mage tending the shop handled them with calm courtesy. Outside the tower, anyone would find his gentle features disarming and approachable.
This was exactly the result of my suggestion: intimidating-looking mages might scare customers, so assign ones with kind faces here.
"Haha, that's right!"
The mercenary pegged as the second arrival let out a booming laugh and turned around. That's when he spotted us standing behind him.
His grin froze like someone hit pause. He glanced back and forth between me and Billy for a moment, then quietly elbowed the mercenaries on either side.
"What?"
"What's up?"
The others furrowed their brows and followed his gaze to us. The exact same reaction from before played out again.
'The infamous terror of the continent, huh? Even mercenaries react like that?'
I was still adjusting to their inexplicable response when they all bowed their heads in unison and shouted.
"Greetings, Family Head!"
"An honor to meet you!"
"So the second visitor was you, Family Head!"
They seemed thrilled to see the Billy they'd heard so much about in the flesh. It was my first time witnessing Beastkin react so intensely to him—fascinating.
One mercenary tossed out a particularly fawning line, his eyes full of admiration for Billy. He'd glanced my way moments ago, but now it felt like Billy and the mercenaries were the only ones in the room.
'What's going on? Wasn't he the 'terror incarnate'?'
I'd heard rumors of his brutal methods during his bid to reclaim his family had made him a figure of dread. But apparently, that fear was limited to ordinary Beastkin and children. To those who lived by strength like these mercenaries, Billy was an object of aspiration.
"You've got your scrolls. Now get going."
"Yes, sir!"
They chorused their reply and darted to the magic circle with impressive speed, vanishing in a flash.
The spacious shop had felt chaotic crammed with three hulking mercenaries. Billy's firm dismissal restored a peaceful quiet.
"Here to see the Tower Lord?"
The mage asked calmly after dealing with the rowdy bunch. He looked unfazed, as expected from a Magic Tower mage.
"Someone wanted to browse the magic goods shop."
"Ah, then take your time looking around."
The mage returned to the counter, settled into his chair, and urged us to browse leisurely. He seemed perfectly suited to this job, utterly relaxed.
I strolled slowly, eyeing the shelves lined with various magic items. Some were the very ones Billy had brought in that large box to my room.
'Feels reassuring having a Herbivore Beastkin mage.'
I knew there weren't many Herbivore Beastkin among the Magic Tower mages. Were they assigning one here so visitors from herbivore races wouldn't be intimidated by carnivores?
If so, I wanted to profusely praise whoever came up with that idea.
My heart, which had shrunk seeing those carnivore mercenaries earlier, began to unwind.
"Who do you think the first visitor was?"
I broke the brief silence with a question to Billy. In the original story, it had taken two days for the first attempt—I was dying to know who this quick, brave challenger was.
The mage didn't know their identity either, only that it was some young-looking woman.
I'd learn the truth about that first challenger soon after, from an unexpected source.
Ed was the one who filled me in on the first challenger's identity.
The day after touring the Magic Tower's magic goods shop, I was passing by Ed's classroom. Karen emerged from the door looking exhausted, and right after, Ed peeked out through the open doorway and spotted me. The moment our eyes met, he beamed and ran over.
"Lami! You here to see me again today?"
I eyed the familiar choice window and quickly selected one.
"I was just passing by."
Forcing a straight face to deliver option 2, I immediately switched to a smile. It might seem jarring—stern one second, beaming the next—but Ed took it in stride without a hint of confusion.
"Oh! I heard something huge from Karen."
"Yeah? What?"
For Ed to make such a fuss, my curiosity piqued. He stood on tiptoe and beckoned me to lean in.
I bent down awkwardly, like a glitchy robot, until my face was level with his. The edge of his hand brushed my cheek as he huddled close, glanced around, and whispered.
"The first one to use the magic circle was a maid from our mansion!"
My body, tensed from his fang so near my ear, relaxed instantly. The news was that shocking.
The mysterious Beastkin I'd been so curious about was a maid working at the Rub mansion?
'Ah! She's probably seen Nick around a lot, so less fear of the Magic Tower.'
In the original story, when Ed became Tower Lord and first opened the magic goods shop, I remembered the mansion staff hadn't budged.
'Why was that back then?'
Was there some detail I'd forgotten? Maybe Ed had restricted the mansion staff from using it right away.
Not that there was any real reason for that, but it was intriguing how a servant who'd stayed put in the original had acted so swiftly this time.