Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter Title: Reclusive Mage Leo (2)
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The twin towers, once the pride of the Magic Faculty, were no more—one had collapsed.
With only the Ashen Tower remaining, the faculty had no choice but to reorganize.
As a result, starting next semester, cadets from both towers would share classrooms and attend lectures together.
Unsurprisingly, there was backlash.
"I can't take classes with those Ivory Tower snobs!"
"They looked at us like we were worse than bugs, and now we're supposed to be family? I can't accept that!"
The Ashen Tower and Ivory Tower were bitter rivals.
The rift between them ran deeper than the divide between purebloods and half-breeds.
It wasn't something that could be bridged in a fleeting moment.
Fortunately, there was one silver lining.
"Come on, everyone, calm down. We're all mages, aren't we? Why not think of each other as comrades united by a common pursuit?"
"Lady Isolde..."
"Blind hatred isn't good. Let's try to understand one another."
Isolde, the top student across the entire Magic Faculty, had returned.
Neither pureblood nor half-breed, she was a genius who had risen from nothing—a perfect fit for the idiom "a dragon from a gutter."
With mediation from someone like her, both sides had no choice but to acquiesce.
"...Hmph."
And so, the uproar surrounding the Magic Faculty settled—for the time being.
Otilie Kete von Ihen Dorp watched the whole scene from a distance.
She hadn't even been accepted into the Ivory Tower proper, so the merger with the Ashen Tower didn't change much for her.
"Are you Miss Otilie?"
Even Otilie was taken aback when Isolde, the woman with chestnut hair, approached and offered a handshake.
"I've heard the story. You saved the Magic Faculty cadets through your doll."
"...Yeah."
"I was laid up like an idiot in bed, so you did my job for me. Thank you so much. Thanks to you, the Ivory Tower cadets made it out safely. It'd be great if we could all thank you together someday."
Isolde expressed her genuine gratitude with a bright smile.
"It was... nothing."
Otilie averted her gaze slyly.
The woman was kind.
Kind to a fault—perfect, even.
But somehow...
'She's making me uncomfortable.'
Yeah, that was exactly it.
Dolls were better than humans, after all.
Otilie turned her eyes to the vast blue summer sky outside the window and murmured.
"『Leo』, I miss you."
Otilie's mind was filled not with the Magic Faculty's atmosphere, but with thoughts of improving her masterpiece, 『Leo』, hidden away in her dormitory.
The moment morning classes ended that day, the Ashen Tower's faculty summoned Otilie. She thought they'd grilled her enough already, but this seemed to be about something else.
"I've heard all about it, Miss Ihen Dorp."
Everett, the Ashen Tower's guiding professor, was a young-looking woman with faded golden hair.
"They say you rescued the Ivory Tower cadets that night alongside a priest."
The academy seemed convinced that a real person—not a doll—had saved the cadets from the Ivory Tower. It wasn't a bad feeling. At the very least, it proved her doll was so refined it was indistinguishable from a human.
"Miss Otilie, what's your relationship with that priest?"
"Um..."
Otilie pondered for a moment. It wouldn't be hard to say the hero of that night was a doll, not a human. But the truth about 『Leo』 was a secret and promise between Priest Leo and herself alone. She didn't want to tell anyone.
"He's my... muse."
"...Muse?"
"Like a teacher."
"Ah..."
Everett wore a subtle expression but let it slide without pressing further.
"I have no idea why a mage of that caliber would remain a priest... but that's outside my purview, so let's move on."
Everett changed the subject.
"The real reason I called you here is your doll."
"...Doll?"
"The faculty's quite interested in it."
Everett pulled the shattered Edelweiss from an evidence box—one of the makeshift dolls Otilie had used, destroyed by a Predator's attack.
"Your automaton has incredible performance. It's beyond what a single cadet could produce."
"...The previous professor called my doll trash."
"Gregor? He was too stuck on principles—and incompetent, to boot. We're different. The Ashen Tower welcomes new research and innovation more than anyone."
Everett smiled warmly and handed the doll's remains back to Otilie.
"Do you know what the latest field of study in the magic world is?"
"No clue."
"Golems."
"...Golems?"
"That's right. Constructs made of inorganic matter but animated by magic, mimicking living creatures. Research has been booming, to the point that a new school—the Golem Faction—has emerged in the kingdom's Mage Guild."
Golems. Otilie nodded, pure curiosity piqued.
"But your automaton surpasses the standard Golem Faction research. Sure, it's enhanced by Ihen Dorp's secret arts, but even so, we see tremendous potential in your technology."
"...What are you getting at?"
"We'll invite a Golem Faction professor to the Ashen Tower to help your talents fully bloom. We've already submitted a petition to the academy."
Everett continued with a kind smile.
"In other words, the Magic Faculty will open a new class just for you. The entire faculty agrees. We see that much potential in you."
"..."
"Miss Otilie, your talent is precious. The Ashen Tower won't let it go to waste."
The moment Otilie heard this, an intense wave of fatigue washed over her. It sounded just like what that white-haired woman who had visited her dormitory recently had said. - Your abilities are valuable. They can't rot in a dump like this. Join me, and we'll bring a new order to this rotten world. Doesn't that sound fun? "..."
Otilie thought for a moment before replying.
"No thanks."
"Good choice. Then, about your meeting with the Golem Faction professor..."
Everett blinked several times mid-sentence.
"...W-wait. Miss Otilie, what did you just say?"
"I said no."
"H-hold on. Won't you reconsider? Out of hundreds of cadets in the Magic Faculty, this is a class made just for you. Do you know how extraordinary that privilege is...?"
"I do."
Otilie wasn't an idiot. She knew full well how unprecedented Everett's offer was.
"But still, no."
"..."
A chilly silence filled the Ashen Tower staff room. Everett broke it first.
"May I... ask why?"
"..."
Otilie hesitated before answering.
"I already have a teacher. That's enough for me."
It wasn't wrong. With her muse, Otilie could achieve her dreams on her own.
It took a few more days before I grasped the rumors in more detail. To sum them up: - 'The blond priest at the west chapel is actually a high-ranking mage in disguise.' What nonsense was this? But as the saying goes, rumors spread like wildfire, and people saw what they wanted to see, believed what they wanted to believe.
"Priest, could you cast a fireball for us?"
"...What?"
"Oh, fireball might be too dangerous? How about a flame wall, then?"
I can't cast them. If I could, I'd have used one against the Shades, you brats.
"No wonder his skin's so dark... Must be from mastering fire magic."
"The blond hair could be from excessive mana overflow."
"Ah! I read about that in a book! Overflow phenomenon, right?" ...What book? Bullshit. My hair's been blond since birth, and my skin's tanned from rolling in the sun, you damn kids. And please, just leave already?
"...Sigh."
For some reason, a few of the morning mass attendees wore conical wizard hats—curiosity seekers from the Magic Faculty, no doubt. Baseless rumors and speculation spread like wildfire, turning my quiet chapel into a madhouse. I had a hunch about the source.
"That doll girl..."
Otilie Kete von Ihen Dorp. When Otilie visited the confessional recently and said she'd name her new doll after me, I happily agreed. But...
"She never said it'd look exactly like me..."
I hadn't anticipated this mess when she excitedly boasted about her "Leo" doll. Otilie's doll—wearing my face—had cast high-tier fire magic in the Ivory Tower. Perfect recipe for misunderstanding. 'What a shitshow.' Even my reliable friend, Priest Lowen, had probed subtly.
"Uh, Priest Leo. Were you a mage by any chance?"
"No."
"Ah-ha! I knew it!"
It was driving me insane. 'I need to clear this up somehow...' The biggest problem? I was still an academy priest, technically. If the rumors grew, the higher-ups might investigate me. It flew in the face of my goal: live quietly like a mouse.
"Ah, Priest Leo, take a look! The offering box is overflowing!"
The one upside? More visitors meant more coins piling up. At least I wouldn't starve. I muddled through my anxious days like that.
"Are you Priest Leo?"
"...Who might you be?"
A woman in uniform with faded blond hair visited the chapel. She didn't seem there for prayer or confession—more like she had business with me personally.
"First time meeting. I'm Everett Ruttinger, guiding professor of the Ashen Tower."
Magic Faculty guiding professor. My face twisted the moment I heard it. It had come at last. I carefully explained.
"Um... those rumors are all twisted. It wasn't me. It was all..."
"Ah, I understand. I know why you're here, Priest." 'What the hell do you think my reason is?' Before I could ask, Everett extended her hand. I shook it reluctantly.
"Ho ho."
For some reason, curiosity gleamed in Everett's eyes during the handshake.
"Priest Leo, why not join the Magic Faculty?"
"...Pardon?"
"To fill Gregor's vacancy—as the next guiding professor for the 'Ivory Tower.'" This is fucked.