The Restful Flower
I was deep in thought, wrestling with every possible plan, but time refused to pause.
No sharp ideas surfaced. There was nothing I could do right now.
No matter what choice I made, acting would mean I couldn’t get the Megirurun.
I lowered my head, gnawing on my lips, and suddenly a hand landed on my shoulder as the butler of the Ebonic Tower walked past on the upper hallway.
“You look like you’ve been thinking hard, like yesterday. But clearing your mind is necessary in this world.”
I offered no reply. My mind was only circling the two things I wanted to grab at once.
“Lir, you’re here. I thought the path had crossed because I couldn’t see you.”
“Ah, Darek. You’re here.”
Darek, dressed in refined noble attire unlike the academy uniform, spoke first.
Standing beside him was a butler from the Langrand house carrying a massive tub my height.
Simon was at his post.
“Oh, let me introduce them. Father, Mother. This is a close friend from Farnike Academy.”
“Lir Ostrin.”
Darek started introducing me to the man and woman walking beside him, gripping his cane.
The man had a thick mustache added to his face, the kind that would deepen with age. The woman carried the radiant brown hair and striking beauty of a young lady.
I bowed with the proper aristocratic grace I had learned from reprimands in the ranks and greeted them.
Those rigid manners still sat awkwardly in my stomach.
“Well, I heard you were a great knight. I’m looking forward to it, Lady Lir. My name is Blake Ron Langrand.”
“You’re very beautiful, Lady Lir Ostrin.”
Both of them returned the courtesy. My impression of them wasn’t bad at all.
Blake Ron Langrand, Darek’s father, glanced at the sword at my waist and Rondo’s sword on my back.
“Father, I’d like to bring my friend Lir to this dinner as well.”
“I’m fine with it, but I think the final word belongs to the butler, Lord Megaklan.”
“It’s fine. Lir is also a student at Farnike Academy, so I planned on it from the start.”
Lord Megaklan smiled gently at the glances from Blake and Darek.
And soon the gaze turned to me, and I had no choice but to join their dinner.
His legs must be bothering him.
I watched Blake duke limp along with his uncomfortable gait, then followed behind them.
A faint, sinister scent brushed my nose as I headed to the dinner, but it was so slight I ignored it.
***
Lunch.
Inside a grand room on the upper floor of the Ebonic Tower, the Langrand house hosted a luncheon.
The attendees were Lord Megaklan, Darek, Blake duke, the Lady of the Langrand house, and me.
We sat in a wide circle around a large round table, with several Langrand servants and tower errand runners attending to us.
The dishes were heavy on meat, served in courses with vegetables.
“Thank you for welcoming our house in this wonderful manner.”
“Not at all. We were genuinely concerned we might sully the Langrand name.”
I was just a guest, after all.
Megaklan had probably forced me into this dinner to keep me from making trouble elsewhere.
I couldn’t refuse, and Darek had invited me with pure goodwill, so her plan was already working perfectly.
She must have thought things through.
Once the meal began, everyone ate with etiquette and dignity.
I felt uneasy. This formal setting didn’t suit me.
In the battlefield we scarfed down canned food or just ate raw, living to fight another day.
At the academy we maintained some formality, but never like this—never so uncomfortable, never forcing ritual into every single movement.
Still, what could I do? The seat was the seat.
I wrinkled my face, met Darek’s eyes, and forced a smile to eat with the proper manners.
“Might I ask why we were invited to this meal?”
“Of course. As stated in the invitation, the Ebonic Tower is preparing for a research presentation.”
I had expected a silent, awkward meal, but Blake duke jumped straight to the point.
So Megaklan began to explain the purpose behind inviting the Langrand house.
“…We want to test our golems before the presentation. Lord Darek Ron Langrand is the perfect opponent for that.”
“So you were preparing his spear.”
Darek’s confident nod had been expected.
Blake duke turned to Darek, who nodded with pride.
I watched silently from the side.
“Indeed. Five golems are ready. After the dinner, once you’ve rested a little, how about a spar with Lord Darek?”
“That sounds good. It seems you speak with great confidence.”
“I can. We’ve achieved something that could shift the magic towers’ ranking from the ‘Three Towers’ to the ‘Four Towers’.”
The servants around the table froze at the words.
Challenging the long-held status of the Three Towers showed just how arrogant it was.
“Hahahahaha… It’s a pleasure to stand in such history. But that statement seems rather reckless. I doubt you could say that anywhere else.”
“Please consider it confidence. We also owe a deep debt of gratitude to the Langrand house and Lord Darek Ron Langrand.”
It sounded as if the outcome was already decided. No, it was arrogance.
Magicians’ arrogance in this form made me quite uncomfortable.
The dinner ended, leaving only that feeling of unease in my heart.
Darek shot me occasional glances, her eyes full of disapproval for Megaklan’s behavior.
“Shall we rest in the next room with some tea?”
Megaklan gestured to an errand runner and entrusted the Langrand house and me to others, then slowly stood from his seat.
The food wasn’t bad, but the formal setting and my unsettled mood made it feel like it would choke me.
I was about to eat a fruit to settle my stomach when—
KRRRROOOONG!
A massive sound echoed from somewhere in the tower.
“…What was that?”
It faded quickly, but a growing sense of dread tightened around my chest.
“Nothing much. A research presentation is right around the corner, so a minor accident here and there isn’t unusual.”
“Is that so?”
Everyone rose, and we opened the door to follow Megaklan to the next room.
RRRROOOONG!!
“Eek?!”
The entire tower trembled. With the thunderous shake I instinctively raised my hand to my sword.
The Lady of the Langrand house sent me a worried glance, and Darek’s face hardened.
“This isn’t ordinary.”
“…I’ll go first.”
No. No, no.
This wasn’t a simple accident. A tower conducting countless experiments couldn’t shake like this. An explosion was supposed to happen here. That a tower like this would tremble…
I pushed everyone back and stepped forward, grabbing the door with both hands and swinging it open.
KKRRRROOOONG!!!
As I opened the door, the floor shook violently with a roar.
People scattered in panic, the sound of things breaking filling the silent tower.
“AAAAAAAAH!!”
“H-help me!!”
People screamed as they scrambled from below, the floor still shaking, the tower collapsing in sequence.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
We ran straight to the balcony. When I gripped the railing and saw the view, my teeth clenched tight.
Golems. Countless golems were rampaging from the bottom of the tower, smashing it upward.
Dozens upon dozens of golems were squeezing the tower’s neck from below.
“T-the golems…!!”
Megaklan beside me reached out, but there was no controlling them.
Of course. The real threat wasn’t these things.
The moment I opened the door, a thick stench poured down from above, automatically making my body tense and forcing my teeth to grind.
“…Demons.”
Right now, demons stared down at me from above with glowing red eyes.