Mage Yuni

A petite beauty with an impassive, standoffish countenance.

The mage Yuni quite enjoyed her life as the spellcaster of the Hero's party. In fact, saying she merely enjoyed it was an understatement; she was thoroughly invested in it.

Before joining the party, she had been one of the disciples of the Master of the Magic Tower. Her incantations were unnervingly, almost comically slow, severely limiting her practical utility as a battle mage, but she made up for it with sheer, overwhelming destructive power.

This peculiar style happened to be a perfect fit for the Hero's party, which dragged along entire detachments of paladins to wage wars of attrition and numbers. While the paladins clashed on the front lines, she could leisurely complete her lengthy chanting in the rear, then blast away with a massive payload at just the right moment to earn her keep. It was only one or two spells per battle, yet its firepower stood on a completely different plane compared to Millia, the female knight who could barely protect herself, or Silvina, the elven archer.

Serving as the chief artillery of the Hero's party was, for any mage, a matter of immense prestige. Yet Yuni hadn't joined for prestige.

What she truly loved was watching the show.

Watching Hero Kwon Hee-jin's outrageous antics was unmatched entertainment. Watching him mint and circulate his commemorative coin, Kodana, had been so engrossing that hours slipped by unnoticed.

"Why make a commemorative coin anyway? Do you really need military funding that badly?"

"That's part of it, yeah."

"Then why imbue it with precious divine energy? I get that it's a safeguard against counterfeiting, but is that really necessary? Your face is embossed on it, so it's not like it has any artistic value as an ornament."

"Hey, watch your mouth."

"Tell me honestly~ I'm asking nicely here, aren't I?"

In the early days of the party, when the normally taciturn and deadpan Yuni had crossed her arms and pressed him on the real reason behind the issuance, the Hero had relented, feigning reluctance.

"Give it a few months—no, just a single month—and people will start trading Kodana. They'll be practically drooling to get their hands on even one."

"Why? It's completely useless."

"Utility doesn't matter for shit. As long as supply is capped and people believe it can serve as a benchmark of wealth, the price just shoots to the moon. Not that primitives like you would understand, of course."

"Is that so...?"

And the Hero's words had indeed rung true.

After slaying an Orc Lord roaming the southern continent with a large horde and feigning tearful concern for the common folk, Kodana's price began to twitch. Once they engaged the Demon King's army in earnest, the rally kicked into overdrive. At some point, groundless rumors even circulated that Kodana holders would receive dividend payouts from the Demon King's castle treasures once the campaign succeeded.

Watching people pour their entire life savings into securing a single shoddy gold coin was thoroughly entertaining. It gave her a voyeuristic thrill, akin to secretly admiring an erotic painting. That was also why she had grown close with Kwon Hee-jin. Since he provided such top-tier amusement, humoring him by pretending to be fond of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠him was child's play. And in truth, at some point she had started to feel they genuinely clicked.

As long as I stick with the Hero, I'll never be bored.

That conviction had shattered into pieces. Naturally, it was all because of that battle with the Beast King.

The battle against Beast King Leoneo.

Quite some time had passed, but the memory remained burned into her mind. It was natural to remember the exact day their seemingly smooth crusade had been utterly wrecked.

"Saintess! Look ou—Aaaaargh!"

The sight of paladins lunging at the Beast King only to be slaughtered like cattle.

"Come at me! I'll cut you down in a single stroke!"

Kwon Hee-jin, brandishing the Holy Sword with unearned swagger. And Leoneo, utterly unfazed, charging him like an unstoppable force of nature.

After a chaotic melee, the Beast King had ultimately retreated. No matter how monstrously strong he was, he couldn't completely overcome sheer numerical disadvantage.

"H-He's getting away! Capture him! Get him!"

The Hero had shrieked over and over, clutching his severed, gushing little finger. Millia, the female knight, had charged forward in obedience to that command, but with her meager skills, she couldn't land a single meaningful strike on the heavily wounded Beast King. One dismissive side-kick from Leoneo was all it took to knock her cold.

Spurred by a desperate compulsion that she had to do something, the mage Yuni had belatedly begun ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to chant. Regrettably, Leoneo had vanished long before her incantation was finished. Her flame spell, boasting cataclysmic power, wound up detonating against empty sky. Brilliant plumes of fire bloomed across the heavens, as if mockingly celebrating the downfall of the Hero's party. The party members could only stare in a daze.

...Ever since that day, Yuni found it difficult to enjoy anything. The harsh reality had set in: this crusade was no game.

I thought all I had to do was stand in the back and loose one big blast.

If only her casting speed were slightly faster, or if she possessed the ability to cast while moving, she could have dealt the decisive blow. She couldn't believe she had failed at such a basic task and allowed future calamity to slip away. The image of the blood-drenched Beast King glaring right at her was still vivid. Yuni never wanted to cross paths with that terrifying monster again.

He had displayed such monstrous power despite being ambushed while traveling light to attend a tribesman's wedding. Imagining the carnage he would unleash when leading a proper army was beyond comprehension.

And there was another factor eating away at her motivation: with the crash of Kodana, the Hero's party had become the target of ferocious continental condemnation. She had learned of this just a few days ago during a magic communication with Kwon Hee-jin. While Hee-jin kept his mouth shut about Kodana around the other party members, he tended to be unusually candid with Yuni. He seemed convinced that she was the only one who truly understood him.

Stoned to death.

Even if she dismissed the "Specific Economic Crimes" gibberish as another of the Hero's usual bizarre rants, the part about being killed was impossible to brush off lightly. Yuni had pressed him, asking, "What on earth are you talking about?" but his response had been evasive and unsatisfactory.

Kwon Hee-jin's rallying cry of "Let's try again!" and his promise of reunion did nothing to soothe Yuni's rising dread.

Why are we being cursed out in the first place?

She pondered it endlessly on her own, but could find no satisfactory answer. After all, Kodana investors were a limited group, and they were all educated aristocrats and elites. They must have known Kodana had zero intrinsic utility when they bought it, so why blame anyone else? No one had forced them to buy it at swordpoint.

Did they honestly believe the rumor about distributing the Demon King's treasures as dividends?

Sure, losing money hurts. It's frustrating and unpleasant.

But does that mean I should have to fear for my life? Why?

Above all, the party members—including Yuni—had merely followed Hero Kwon Hee-jin's orders. A Hero and his party members never had equal standing. That absolute hierarchy was the very reason Kwon Hee-jin had been able to assemble his party based purely on physical attractiveness in the first place. If that was the case, the responsibility rightfully rested entirely on the Hero. To Yuni, the party's mage, that was only logical.

Yeah. I've had enough.

Her mind made up, Yuni nodded to herself and turned to her companions. When the usually quiet Yuni opened her mouth, the eyes of the party members turned toward her.

"Four days? In about that much time, the Hero ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠will arrive."

"Did you communicate with him again?"

"Yeah, this morning. Once he gets here, we'll probably leave this village."

"...Even if we leave now, what difference does it make?"

"Hey. When that happens, I think I'm going to quit the party and go back to the Magic Tower."

At Yuni's sudden declaration, the female knight and the Saintess stared at her as if she had lost her mind. Their faces practically screamed, Now of all times?! They looked as though they wanted to say it was far too late to pull out, but Yuni saw things differently.

"You two and I are in completely different situations."

"Different? How are we different...?"

"You guys are... Never mind."

Yuni decided to keep her mouth shut.

Unlike the Holy Kingdom, which had lost dozens of elite paladins, or imperial high society, which was reeling from the Kodana collapse, the Magic Tower had never waded deep into Kodana waters. That was largely thanks to Yuni repeatedly warning them not to touch it.

Still, if I say it out loud, they might get angry.

It wasn't that she feared the Saintess or the female knight; Yuni's forte was spectating, not squabbling. They would be parting ways soon anyway. There was no need to waste emotional energy.

Yuni decided to conserve her mental reserves. The Hero would return before long. Yuni resolved to escort the party only until they cleared the borders of the Demonic Realm. After that, she would hole up in the Magic Tower for three or four years, paying zero attention to the outside world while quietly dedicating herself to research.

By then, everything would have blown over. That was Yuni's calculation.

At the same time, at the Magic Tower.

The Magic Tower was the sanctuary yearned for by every mage on the continent. While the general public envisioned mages as grandiose figures obliterating hundreds of monsters with flashy spells, the vast majority of tower mages preferred locking themselves away in tiny research cells. Some spent their entire lifespans deciphering a single ancient grimoire before dying of old age, meaning those who paid attention to affairs outside the tower were few and far between.

Of course, the Magic Tower wasn't entirely insulated from the Kodana craze. There were certainly fools who had dabbled in Kodana hoping to easily fund their research, only to lose their shirts. Yet it was undeniable that the tower had taken ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠far less damage overall. In the first place, mages were creatures frantic to purchase expensive reagents immediately rather than park their money in Kodana and wait around for months. Furthermore, Yuni, hailing from the tower herself, had constantly nagged her peers, scolding them: "Don't waste your money on useless junk."

Perhaps because their losses were negligible, an atmosphere had formed within the Magic Tower where people openly ridiculed the outside mages who had suffered ruinous losses in Kodana.

Professor Weber, who had pelted the former Second Prince during the Stoning Game with rapid-fire incantations, was the prime target of their mockery. While mages seriously pursuing earth magic were thrilled, marveling that Professor Weber had seemingly attained an arcane breakthrough, the rest dismissed him as a pathetic idiot. They sneered, claiming he had merely thrown a childish tantrum in tears after losing his fortune.

Up to this point, the Magic Tower seemed safely removed from the raging Kodana storm. However, an ominous undercurrent had recently begun to surface.

First, the research grants disbursed by the Imperial Palace were drastically slashed. The court had even politely asked for understanding, explaining that this wasn't punitive retribution but a genuine budgetary shortfall, leaving the Magic Tower with no room to protest. After all, subsidies were a privilege, not an entitlement.

"Yet in the middle of this budget freeze, they're hiring additional court mages? And exclusively combat specialists? That doesn't make any sense."

And there was another strange phenomenon: the graduating class of the Imperial Academy's Magic Faculty was suddenly shunning the Magic Tower. Even students who had already been informally selected were voluntarily withdrawing their applications. They didn't cite any concrete reasons—just a vague sense of repulsion.

"What is going on...?"

Faced with this unsettling turn of events, even the Magic Tower, habitually indifferent to the outside world, couldn't help but feel a creeping unease.