Chapter 50
Chapter 50
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: Mage's Heart (5)
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Special prize.
When they heard those words, what Tiona and Diana pictured was a bit more intimate and private time with Arthur.
The slight opening that the iron-walled Arthur had shown, a signal that he'd give his attention to whichever of them performed better.
What exactly did they imagine?
Well... it was too embarrassing to say...
"Ice cream."
But what it absolutely wasn't was food.
"Actually, since I figured Tiona might start craving it soon, I began preparing it last night."
"...?"
"...?"
"Eating cake and ice cream back-to-back like this isn't exactly proper, but since I brought it up first, there's no helping it."
Ice cream was one thing even magic couldn't speed up much.
Flash-freezing it with a bang ruined the texture, making it crumbly and tasteless.
Plus, to get that soft, creamy mouthfeel, you had to whip in a lot of air—mixing it once when it was partially frozen, then again a bit later, repeating the process.
So, out of all the desserts I could make, ice cream was by far the most labor-intensive.
Three scoops for the victorious Tiona.
And one scoop for the defeated Diana.
I served them in pretty glasses with little spoons, but their faces didn't light up with anticipation...
"...?"
"...?"
...at all.
I got the hint.
I got the hint, but they clamped their mouths shut and pretended not to notice.
"...?"
"...?"
Zzt.
Zzt zzt.
"Eat it before it melts. I really can't make this often."
The spoons moved. Their eyes stayed locked on me.
I hoped deep down that once the ice cream hit their tongues, the tension might melt away like the treat itself.
Zzzzt.
Zzzzt zzzt zzzzt.
Whoa.
This was uncomfortable as hell. I could feel stress churning in my gut like it'd turn into ulcers.
Is this why getting tangled in love triangles has such a high mortality rate? Even without a kitchen knife ending, the sheer stress would wreck your health.
'This is driving me insane.'
Having multiple women like me sounds great, right? Wrong—it's pure agony.
Especially when I couldn't pick either one, nor could I make them leave; they had to stick around.
Like I said from the start, I'm just a regular guy.
Give me one woman for a peaceful, happy life—that's all I want.
The thrill of juggling multiple lovers like some Casanova? Even if you paid me, I'd pass.
And a love triangle between original protagonist party members, no less? Are you kidding?
"The protagonist's party assembles to save the world!"
"Oh, but now the White Mage and Red Witch are at each other's throats over romance!"
"Party disbanded! World doomed! Boo, trash! Boo, idiot!"
I want no part of that ending. Please, absolutely not.
Especially since I knew exactly how horrific this world's apocalypse could be.
"...?"
"...?"
Zzzzt zzzt.
Zzzzt zzzt zzzt zzzt.
Anything—anything to break this atmosphere!
"Diana, you're definitely not a married woman, right?"
(The ice cream scraped clean to the bottom.) The glass flew straight at me.
I caught it, because somehow it felt like I should.
Two days later.
"Hmm..."
The Pink Tower Lord, back in the capital, sized Diana up in our home.
The pointed witch's hat at its peak exuded authority that only a select few female mages could wear, and Diana was visibly tense under it.
"...Gulp."
"As expected of my disciple. You've found another promising sprout this time."
Diana beamed noticeably and bowed her head.
"To hear such words from the Tower Lord of the Verdant Flame Mage Tower—it's an honor!"
Diana was impeccably polite.
But from a spectator's view, it left something to be desired.
'Darn. Should've warned her ahead of time.'
Mages tend to be eccentric.
Tower Lords are the pinnacle of eccentricity.
And eccentrics tend to rate fellow weirdos higher than overly polite, diligent types.
Diana didn't need top marks from the Pink Tower Lord, but higher was always better.
"Hmm..."
Right before my eyes, the interest in Diana flickering in the Pink Tower Lord's pink eyes seemed to dim just a touch.
"Born to the Levios family. Showed talent in incantations and elemental magic as a child, but then devoted herself solely to alchemy afterward."
"Yes."
"Any achievements as an alchemist?"
"This is a paper I contributed to... and this is a new material I developed recently."
The silicone lump Diana presented wasn't shaped like a breast this time—just a plain sphere.
Her feelings toward the prosthetic breasts she'd invented were deeply mixed.
Part of her was proud.
But another part was ashamed she'd made them at all.
Actually, the shame seemed more about needing them for herself more than anyone else.
If Diana had large breasts and invented them to help others, she'd probably just be straightforwardly proud.
"A new material?"
The Pink Tower Lord grabbed the ball and squeezed it.
"Intriguing. I'm no alchemist—barely dabbled—but even I can see this has tons of uses."
And then she displayed startlingly sharp insight.
"Don't tell me this is for giving curves to flat-chested girls like you?"
Classic Tower Lord!
"The most useless application of this stuff."
Arrogance on another level. Tower Lord through and through!
And Diana's response?
"...What? What did you just say?!"
She trembled, then exploded.
"You wouldn't get it, being born with those big fatty lumps already attached! How heartbreaking it is to lack them!! This!"
Diana jabbed at her own chest.
"Do you have any idea how depressing it is for a woman!? Imagine how many it'd save from pain and suffering if it could conquer this sorrow! The most useless? Ha! It's the most noble thing for humanity! Ugh, and you're a Tower Lord? That's all you've got—"
She snapped back to reality mid-rant and flinched hard.
"Eek...! W-What did I just say?!"
Diana bowed frantically.
"I'm sorry! Truly, I'm so sorry!!"
"...?"
The Pink Tower Lord silently pulled out a mana cigarette, bit it, and nodded at me.
"Disciple, light."
"Light it yourself."
"It absorbs mana better when my disciple lights it for me."
"That doesn't make sense."
But from experience, the Pink Tower Lord never backed down from a whine like this with words alone.
"Suuuup... Fwooo..."
I lit it, and our mage mentor deeply inhaled the mana before pointing at Diana.
"Hey, why not just bring this one straight to our tower?"
Diana's head shot up in shock. Why had her evaluation gone up?
"I'd like to start her as an intern, at least."
"An intern...!"
Diana gulped.
"It'd be an honor, but I don't have the money for internship fees yet...!"
"...?"
"...??"
The Pink Tower Lord and I exchanged puzzled looks. What word had we just heard?
Speaking for our mentor, I asked.
"Internship fees... what?"
"Huh? Internships are for letting useless people build experience, so don't they pay the employer? Or... am I wrong?"
Maybe sensing the Pink Tower Lord's gaze, her tone shifted back to polite.
"...Did Shackla's workshop do that to you?"
"Do that...? Isn't it all like that?"
Diana fidgeted.
"I came to the capital straight from my hometown, and everywhere said the same—that even good places like this charge fees. Oh, of course I don't believe the last part! Surely others only charge a little—"
"From now on, erase everything Shackla told you that's unrelated to alchemy from your mind."
And I added a line to my mental to-do list: Squeeze Shackla a bit harder.
"Listen up, Diana. Interns help out around the organization, so they get paid. At minimum, they get room and board while learning the trade."
"...Huh?"
Diana blinked blankly.
Some ruthless employers exploited unpaid interns and got branded black companies.
But negative pay? That was a whole other dimension.
"So... I can intern without paying? For real?"
"That's what I—"
"To learn under Lady Pink Pink, Tower Lord—what an honor!"
Ah.
That was it.