Double the Budget? No, Quadruple It!

Yes. The budget just went quadruple!

Whenever people in the Empire heard the title of Archmage, the first thing that came to mind was confusion. Just who exactly was the Archmage? It made sense. There was only one person officially recognized as the Archmage. Only one person had ever built a magic tower. In essence, he was the greatest and strongest mage alive right now. Yet almost nothing was known about him. The only rumors that circulated were that he stayed locked up in his tower doing research all day. Since so few people had actually seen him in person, those who had never laid eyes on the Archmage would either look puzzled at the name or simply assume he was just a bit stronger than your average mage.

But that was a tremendous misunderstanding.

The reason detailed information about the Archmage wasn't widely known was simply because he himself never revealed much. He was famous for skipping every single official event, so not many people actually knew about him. However, those who understood the truth felt nothing but pure fear the moment they heard the title Archmage.

A mad dog.

He was more obsessed with magic than anyone else, but when someone provoked him or crossed the line even slightly, his behavior became utterly indescribable. If one were to pick the most shocking incident among the things the Archmage had done, it would be the event from several years ago. The child of a great noble house had provoked him and ended up crippled for life, unable to use magic ever again. Naturally, the great noble house tried to hold him accountable.

But the result wasn't the Archmage's punishment. Instead, the entire family nearly collapsed. When they demanded that the Archmage's title be revoked and that he be rendered unable to use magic just like their injured child, he stormed their estate alone and crushed them all. He walked out without so much as a scratch. The words the Archmage left behind at the time still lingered in the minds of everyone who knew the full story of that incident.

It was such a shocking act, yet the Emperor imposed no punishment whatsoever. One could even say he couldn't. That was simply the kind of power the Archmage possessed. Those with even a moderate amount of influence all came to fear the Archmage. The man himself, however, didn't really care. No matter how others looked at him, the only thing that mattered was his magic research.

Normally he was more indifferent and harmless than anyone, but the moment someone crossed the line, he showed zero mercy. Even if that someone happened to be a member of the imperial family.

CRACK!

"Aaaaaaaaagh!"

The prince, slammed face-first into the ground, let out a bloodcurdling scream. Watching the way he was being crushed so hard that the sound of bones shattering could be heard, the Archmage—Leon—stared down with a bored expression.

Around the prince, the royal guards who had charged at him moments ago were also pinned down by gravity magic, unable to move. However, it seemed Leon had deliberately eased the pressure on them. Unlike the prince, they had only been forced to their knees.

Leon glanced over the guards once before turning to the captain who had boldly shouted at him earlier.

"I'm pretty sure you just said you'd kill me. So what are you doing now? Begging for forgiveness?"

He added more force to the pressure weighing down on the guard captain. The man's body slowly bent under the increased weight, his head lowering further. Leon placed his foot on that lowered head and pressed down hard.

BOOOOOOM!

With a tremendous impact, the head slammed into the ground and punched straight through it. Fragments of the building and clouds of dust flew everywhere, blanketing the area. The owner of the head being crushed under Leon's foot barely managed to speak.

"Who... are you...?"

"Does it matter if you know?"

Leon replied lightly and slowly walked forward. He stopped in front of the prince and looked down at him. Taking in the sight of the prince screaming pathetically, he spoke.

"Listen, kid. No matter how much imperial blood you carry or how your father is the Emperor, you still need to know where the line is. Don't you think?"

Technically speaking, the age difference between him and the prince wasn't that big. At most, four years. But before reincarnating into this world, Leon had been twenty-five. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Adding the twelve years he'd lived since then, the prince before him was nothing more than a spoiled brat who didn't understand reality and only knew how to abuse his parents' authority. Nothing more, nothing less.

"You... you think you'll get away with this...?"

"Look at this guy. Still hasn't come to his senses?"

Seeing the prince who still ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠couldn't grasp the situation, Leon let out a sigh. The Emperor was truly competent, so why were his children like this? Tsk. As he clicked his tongue, a sharp voice came from the side.

"S-stop it!"

"...?"

Leon turned his head. The young lady who met his gaze flinched but forced herself to continue speaking.

"T-this is wrong! He's hurting!"

"Oh boy."

This was truly absurd. No matter how sheltered a young lady raised in a greenhouse might be, she wouldn't act this stupid and naive. Or perhaps this was all an act? He couldn't quite remember the original story anymore, but there were protagonists of this type who pretended to be innocent and clueless on purpose. Still, if she could say something like that while clearly terrified...

I'm at a loss for words.

Leon gave up on thinking any further. There ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was no reason to entertain such a stupid conversation. He simply pondered how he should educate this prince who still hadn't learned his lesson. But before he could dwell on it for long—

"I think that's enough, don't you agree?"

At the deep, resonant voice, Leon's head turned. There stood the Emperor, approaching with a rather relaxed smile that didn't match the current situation at all.

Leon looked back and forth between the prince and the Emperor before releasing his magic. The pressure weighing down the guards and the prince naturally lifted. Freed from the crushing force, the prince staggered but somehow managed to stand. Even with broken bones, his stubbornness in forcing himself up was commendable, as expected of the Emperor's son.

The prince gasped harshly and pointed a finger at Leon.

"Your Majesty! This bastard has dared to defile this sacred banquet! Furthermore, he is a liar who claims to have received an invitation from Your Majesty! His head must be severed immediately!"

His voice rang throughout the banquet hall, thick with rage. However, the Emperor simply looked at the prince with an expression of genuine confusion.

"Elios. Let me ask you one thing. Why are you so certain that he is not my guest? What exactly are you basing that on?"

"Pardon? W-well..."

The prince's eyes darted around in panic. This was completely different from what he had expected from the Emperor.

"Above all, I clearly warned you. I told you not to act rashly. Yet here you are, so blinded by a single woman that you can't even read the situation."

"But Your Majesty!"

"While it is true that you are my son, that does not give you the right to be rude to the Archmage. Do you truly not understand even now?"

The Emperor's icy gaze pierced the prince. The prince could only close his mouth helplessly. After all, the source of all his authority and power was the Emperor himself. The reason he could act so boldly was ultimately because of his father, the Emperor. But the Emperor was not taking his side. In fact, it was more accurate to say he couldn't.

The moment the Emperor uttered the title Archmage, the prince finally understood. He too knew very well what the Archmage had done in the past. A cold-blooded man without blood or tears. The strongest being in the current Empire whom even the Emperor could not control. He had never imagined that the Archmage would actually appear at this banquet, which was why this disaster had occurred.

"For the time being, do not even think about leaving your room. This is your punishment for this incident. You know better than anyone what will happen if you disobey. Go see the physician for your wounds."

"...Understood."

The prince trudged away dejectedly. After watching his retreating figure for a moment, Leon turned to face the Emperor before him. The clear smile on the man's lips confirmed everything.

He used me as a damn etiquette instructor.

It was obvious now that the Emperor had orchestrated this situation on purpose. He probably wanted someone to thoroughly beat some sense into his unruly son.

What a crazy bastard.

As expected, the Emperor really was insane. Leon had just confirmed that fact once again.

"I'll be taking my leave first."

The banquet was already ruined. In fact, it hadn't even been an hour since it started. There was no way the event could continue after this, and Leon had no desire to stay any longer in a place that irritated him just by existing.

As he passed the Emperor, he muttered in a voice low enough for only him to hear.

"I won't let this slide so easily."

"I apologize to you. He is my son, but the boy truly lacks manners. I thought it was time someone corrected him."

"The fact that you knew he would provoke me and just stood by is quite displeasing."

"I will handle things here. You should return and cool your head. I will send a letter once the situation is settled."

"..."

One could call it shameless, but Leon decided to think of it as a kind of service fee. If he considered educating that rude prince as the price for doubling the Magic Tower's budget, it wasn't such a bad deal. It was better for his mental health to think positively rather than negatively.

Without hesitation, he left the banquet hall.

A few days after returning to the Magic Tower.

He was continuing his research in the lab when hurried footsteps approached and the door burst open.

"Haaah...!"

"Riel? What's with you?"

The one who flung open the lab door was none other than Riel. In her hands was a single letter.

"Tower Masterrrrr! You need to see this right now!"

"What is it?"

"J-just read it!"

Wondering why she was acting so frantic, Leon took the letter and opened it.

Leon couldn't tear his eyes away from the letter's contents. One minute... two minutes... three minutes... Time continued to pass until finally five ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠whole minutes had gone by.

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh!"

He shouted loud enough to shake the heavens. As expected, the Emperor truly was a god.