The Flower of Rest
"Hmm... If you've come to get the Megirurun, the timing isn't the best right now."
"Why? Isn't this place the one that handles the most Megirurun?"
The young brown-haired mage with short hair nodded at my words, but her face still showed reluctance.
"That's right. But I've heard that Megirurun inside the tower is almost all gone."
"Didn't Ebonic Tower handle the most distribution of Megirurun?"
Tsk. I clicked my tongue.
That would be a problem. I had come here on purpose because I had heard that today was the peak season for Megirurun, hoping the tower would have stockpiled plenty.
But even if I rushed back to the capital now, or checked any other route... those important items were probably all tied up in contracts anyway.
"I don't know much myself. I'm just an intern, so I don't really know anything yet."
"...
Should I still go back to the capital right now to grab some stock?
No. No matter where I looked, the good potions would vanish quickly like they always did. The Megirurun would be impossible to find too.
Whatever the case, I had to get it here.
"Here, who's the person in charge of Megirurun? I need to meet them."
"It's no use meeting them anyway. They're pretty stubborn."
"It doesn't matter. Just tell me. Hurry."
I was trying to force a deal somehow.
From what I remembered, the price of Megirurun was something I could afford with my current balance. Of course, it would eat up a few months of living expenses...
But right now, I didn't even know if I'd be able to return to my body at all. A little money wasn't that important.
"Then... hmm. Come with me. I'll show you to the room."
Yuria made a reluctant face, but when I pushed hard, she glanced around at the others' eyes before reluctantly leading me up to the upper floors of the tower.
Even in the middle of that, countless mages were researching magic tools and spells in every single room I had passed so far.
Their eyes and actions were all rushed and exhausted. It was obvious.
The people I passed looked surprised when they saw the sword hanging from my waist, but they just glanced at it and kept walking.
Is the inside of the tower really like this? It's a bit different from what I expected.
The royal mages all looked polished and shiny, their eyes alive with irritation.
But here it felt like the soldiers of a knight unit who had just finished a march and were returning home.
While my attention was distracted by the exhausted people, my body had already reached the upper floors of the tower.
Yuria guided me in one direction and stopped right in front of a large door, but no response came even after knocking.
"Ah, they're not here?"
At that moment, a man's voice came from a side corridor.
"If you're looking for the vice-tower master, give up for today. He's in the middle of his last experiment, so he'll come out from the basement tomorrow."
"...
"Lir-nim?"
The man who looked like a researcher from the tower said that and turned to walk elsewhere.
Yuria looked at me with an awkward expression.
Things really aren't working out.
I scratched my head and asked for other options, but since Yuria was an intern and the vice-tower master held all the authority over Megirurun, she didn't even know the location herself.
It couldn't be helped. I guess I had no choice but to wait until tomorrow.
***
The inside of the tower looked simple and tall from the outside, but it had dorm-like facilities and a cafeteria, so the living conditions weren't bad.
However, the ventilation wasn't great, so it felt stuffy. There were many devices and mages were doing their own research, so the fluctuating magic power was worrying.
The people here seemed used to it and didn't care much.
Anyway, I spent the whole day wandering the tower.
There wasn't even the look of lowering the knights like in the royal magic corps. No, everyone looked exhausted and drained of energy, so there wasn't even room to care about anyone.
Those spell-wielding bastards. How weak they are... if demons invaded, could they even fight back?
Anyway, when it got dark outside, I sat on a chair in Yuria's room while changing into pajamas.
Yuria took out a blanket and spread it on the floor, then sipped warm tea from a mug.
"By the way, do they all look this tired every day? It seems like there aren't many people walking around compared to the tower's size."
There were fewer people than the facilities. Or, compared to the flow of magic power that my sensitive senses could feel, there were very few people moving around.
All day today, besides Yuria, I hadn't seen anyone without dark circles under their eyes.
"Ah, there's a research presentation in a few days."
"Presentation?"
"The tower has to report results every year. The kingdom's support funding depends on that. That's why everyone's pushing their research hard, as you see."
"Yuria doesn't have to do it?"
At that, Yuria pointed her finger at the yellow pattern embroidered on the chest part of the robe hanging on the hanger.
"I told you earlier, I'm just an intern. It's a bit different from normal interns. You can think of it as one of the few students selected by the tower. So I'm at the stage of learning from my seniors' research."
In other words, it was the word I heard that the tower had selected her as a promising talent.
That's why, unlike other regular researchers and mages, Yuria seemed to have a pretty relaxed time.
"Ah, that's right. Since the knight came... just a second."
Yuria opened the door to a small room, a storeroom, and rummaged around inside.
Then she pulled out something and showed it to me. It was a small bow.
"There aren't many places to see a knight here. And since the knight came, I thought I'd try learning how to use a bow."
"Using a bow as a mage seems a bit unusual, doesn't it?"
"It's just a hobby. Mages can use swords too, and knights can use magic, right?"
That's true. There's no rule that mages can't use swords.
Holding the bow, the posture of pulling the string was clumsy but roughly basic.
She must have been practicing alone with a textbook or something.
Suddenly.
I stood up from the chair and grabbed Yuria's arm, which was trembling from pulling the bowstring.
"Like this. Put strength in your belly, slowly exhale and inhale, don't hold your breath."
I grabbed her shoulder that looked like it was about to collapse and straightened it a little. That made her posture come out better.
Telling Yuria to hold it with a grim expression, I adjusted her legs a little apart while she got the posture right.
And.
"Shoot while holding your breath."
Thwack.
The small bowstring bounced back to its original shape.
The posture was straight and there wasn't much movement. Even though basic shoulder and arm strength was lacking, it would be fine if she practiced more.
Yuria let out a shallow breath and tried to put down the bow.
"Want to try a little more?"
"Y-yes?"
"Since a knight came by chance, shouldn't you learn as much as possible?"
"Th-that's right...
Yuria, sweating profusely from the effort, picked up the bow again.
Even if it was hard, keep going because skill improves. I figured Yuria would stop if she wanted to rest, so I kept practicing.
Teaching someone is a fun time.
Especially watching a beginner grow every hour. No, every minute.
The fact that Yuria was as enthusiastic as the sweat dripping from her was probably comforting. Hobbies were always fun.
After about an hour, when I declared a break, Yuria collapsed on the floor.
A tenacious and excellent student.
"You've worked hard. As long as you remember that, everything will be fine."
"Y-yes...
Was it really that hard?
Actually, I hadn't even run. I had just pulled the bowstring. And the bow wasn't even a small one.
"Do you know where the water is? I also need to use the restroom."
"Ah, I'll come with you, ugh?!"
Yuria, whose whole body was drenched in sweat, couldn't stand up easily.
"Just tell me. I'll go alone. I have good night vision."
"U-um... go right after the right turn, then straight, you'll see a corridor, and in there turn right again and you'll find the storeroom and restroom."
"First, rest here."
I opened the door to Yuria's room and stepped out. The corridor was dark and the air felt stuffy, so it wasn't pleasant.
It felt even stronger that the mages were pushing their research even harder in the rooms.
I should go quickly.
I turned the right corner and came out to the central corridor of the tower. The center of the tower was open, so I could see all the other floors.
I walked with my hand on the wall through the dim tower.
From below, loud noises came, so I approached the railing and looked down. Several people were carrying boxes on their shoulders and moving something.
Among them, one person was commanding them with a voice not very loud.
"Bring more Megirurun! Don't just leave them to die!"
Soon, people were bringing many boxes. I had heard they were Megirurun, and that they were almost gone from the tower.
And why were they moving Megirurun at this time of night? Don't just leave them to die?
I smelled something ominous and reflexively started moving cautiously down below where the Megirurun was being moved.