The Tower Master's Gift
The Magic Tower was nothing short of a dream sanctuary for every mage in existence. Each year, it unleashed spells that left the world stunned, and anything bearing its name sold like wildfire no matter what it was. That was why belonging to the Magic Tower filled so many mages with pride, and why entering its halls became their lifelong goal.
Not everyone felt that way, of course.
But most did.
Paradoxically, the one person who didn’t belong to that majority was none other than the current master of the Magic Tower and professor of the Academy’s magic department.
Aria Celestia.
To her, the Magic Tower was a tedious cage, and the title of Tower Master was nothing more than an empty shell she wanted to toss aside. Even so, she carried out her duties faithfully.
There was only one reason for that.
The carriage came to a stop in front of the Magic Tower with a low creak. The door opened, and the moment the person inside stepped out, every mage in sight bowed their heads in unison.
The one who had appeared was none other than their master—the greatest mage of the current era.
Aria Celestia, Tower Master of the Magic Tower.
“Welcome back, Tower Master.”
Her adjutant, a woman with long navy-blue hair tied to one side, spoke as she watched Aria descend from the carriage.
It had been a while since they’d last seen each other.
Aria smiled the moment she confirmed her adjutant’s face.
“It really has been a while, Claire. Has anything interesting happened in this boring place while I was gone?”
The adjutant, who had been bowing, straightened and followed behind Aria as she answered.
“No, nothing that would cause you concern.”
“That’s a relief. How’s the research coming along these days?”
“I can confidently say it’s progressing smoothly. We haven’t found any issues that might become problems yet.”
“Good. That’s how it should be.”
Aria nodded. By the time they reached her office, she had already begun skimming through the documents left on her desk.
“…Hmm. Nothing out of the ordinary?”
“Correct. Both the sales of magic tools and the mages of the Tower remain stable.”
“That’s good to hear. By the way, did you finish preparing the item I asked for last time?”
“It’s ready. I’ll bring it right away.”
Claire soon returned carrying a box. She carefully placed it on the table, and Aria opened it without hesitation.
“It turned out better than I expected. At this level, even Yohan should like it.”
Aria reached into the box and pulled out the object inside.
A dagger with a blue sheath embroidered in gold.
It had been crafted to resemble the color of Yohan’s eyes and hair—the very item Aria had ordered her adjutant to prepare.
“So it was a gift for Student Yohan.”
“That’s right.”
Aria answered with a smile.
“How have things been at the Academy lately?”
Claire asked, her own face brightening in response to the Tower Master’s smile. Ever since Aria had gone to the Academy, she had begun smiling far more often. Compared to the past, it was a truly groundbreaking change.
“Same as always. Boring, tedious, and the board members are still drowning in greed.”
…Of course, the answer wasn’t exactly positive.
But what did it matter?
Claire kept smiling even at Aria’s words.
“It really is the same, isn’t it?”
“Exactly. If it weren’t for Yohan, I never would have set foot in that place.”
Aria nodded.
The Magic Tower no longer brought her any joy. If not for Yohan, she might have already abandoned everything and disappeared without a trace. At the time, she had already been searching for her successor.
But then Yohan had suddenly appeared, along with his research. His unique way of thinking and fresh ideas had been enough to captivate both her eyes and ears.
“He really is extraordinarily sharp. Researching with him is actually fun.”
If Chancellor Delmar hadn’t handed her that paper from the entrance exam, she never would have known he existed. His distinctive thoughts and novel research had been more than enough to change her mind. That was why she had gone to the Academy to work with him.
‘No matter how I think about it, it really was an excellent decision.’
From her perspective, it had been the best possible choice. Of course, she had to maintain her position as Tower Master to prevent any future complaints, but for the sake of enjoyment, that much was perfectly acceptable.
“You seem to like him quite a lot.”
“I do. I’d love to drag him straight to the Magic Tower. Though I doubt he’d want that.”
“You mentioned his mana capacity is extremely low, right?”
“Yes, it’s strangely low. At that level, he wouldn’t even be able to step inside the Tower. For now, I’ll have to keep watching him at the Academy.”
If only his mana capacity had been just a little higher, she would have brought him here after graduation. If only it had been just a little higher.
Without fail.
But in his current state, he would likely collapse under the ambient mana pressure inside the Tower.
‘What a shame. Such a shame.’
Aria didn’t bother hiding her disappointment.
“How is the research you’re conducting with Student Yohan progressing?”
“Still the same for now. But he really does have a good eye. All sorts of new ideas keep pouring out.”
“I’d love to take a look at the research process.”
“Don’t even think about it. If you show up after me, the poor kid will faint. He already looks exhausted lately. I sent him some chocolate before I left, but I’m not sure if he ate it.”
At Aria’s words, her adjutant froze mid-motion.
‘Did I just hear that correctly?’
Claire tilted her head slightly, then straightened her posture and asked again.
“You sent him chocolate?”
“Yes. Well, I had someone else deliver it. I told him not to come see me off, but I completely forgot. I asked an appropriate person to run the errand.”
“Tower Master… isn’t Student Yohan male?”
“He is. Why?”
Claire pressed a hand to her forehead. No matter how absorbed Aria was in research and indifferent to the rest of the world, this was simply too much. She had to say something.
“Tower Master, are you aware of the meaning behind a woman giving chocolate to a man?”
“No? There’s a meaning to it?”
Aria tilted her head.
“Yes. Typically, when a woman gives chocolate to a man, it means…”
Claire launched into a passionate explanation that lasted dozens of minutes.
But none of it reached Aria.
After listening to the entire lecture, Aria simply tilted her head again and asked what the problem was.
“But I didn’t give it with that meaning. Yohan probably knows that too, right?”
Oh, for the love of— Tower Master, please.
Claire felt like she was going to faint.
Yohan regained consciousness only a few hours later.
From Zeno’s perspective, it was an impressively quick recovery—clear proof that the medicine he had been force-fed at the Academy had worked wonders.
‘Ah, the infirmary.’
When Yohan opened his eyes, he stared up at the familiar ceiling.
…He hadn’t expected to see this ceiling again.
The assistant must have treated him well.
So far, everything was exactly the same as before. Next, the Chancellor would come and explain the incident, and then he would be offered the chance to drop out.
…I hope the rest of the events stay the same too.
By the way, why is Sir Zeno so quiet…
> Yohan, are you awake? How is your body?
Ah, there he is.
‘Yes, I’m awake. My body… seems fine for the most part. Did anything happen while I was out?’
In response to Yohan’s immediate question, Zeno first resolved the curiosity he himself had been holding.
He explained that the Chancellor had visited, and that Assistant Serafina had come by as well. Yohan listened carefully to everything Zeno said and nodded.
‘I see. I expected the Chancellor, but I didn’t know the assistant had stopped by.’
Yohan looked momentarily surprised, but quickly understood.
Since she had been the first to discover him, she probably wanted to confirm he was truly safe until the end. In the past, she had often visited to check on his condition after incidents like this.
If he thought of it as an extension of that behavior, it wasn’t hard to understand.
Still.
‘Gratitude is gratitude.’
He didn’t know if he would have the time, but he would have to prepare a gift with as much care as possible.
From now on, it was a race against time.
He had to finish everything and leave before Professor Aria returned. Once she came back, the Chancellor would surely withdraw the dropout suggestion.
‘…When is the Chancellor planning to visit?’
With that thought, Yohan raised a hand and gently touched his throat.
‘It doesn’t hurt nearly as much as last time. Maybe I can speak?’
Curious, he slowly sat up in bed. He carefully opened his mouth and tried to force sound from his throat.
“Ah… kuh, …ck.”
No good. He had hoped it wouldn’t hurt, but…
…Ah. I’m bleeding again.
The door burst open.
“Student Yohan, I heard a noise. Are you awake…?”
Yohan’s eyes met those of the infirmary assistant.
He was desperately trying to stop the blood flowing from his mouth with his hand. The assistant’s face turned deathly pale as she shouted.
“…Call the professor immediately!”
Ah, damn. This wasn’t what I wanted.
Yohan felt genuinely sorry.
> Did you really have to do that?
‘Hahaha.’
He gave an awkward smile.
After that, Yohan received additional treatment. Fortunately, the amount of bleeding was far less than the first time, and he managed to stay conscious throughout the entire process.
Then came the consultation with the professor from the medical department.
In truth, this was the second time Yohan was hearing the explanation, but he listened quietly nonetheless.
‘It can’t hurt to listen again.’
He paid close attention to the professor’s words.
“Student Yohan, it would be best if you avoid using your voice as much as possible for now.”
Yohan nodded.
“As for your current condition…”
The medical professor continued his explanation, and Yohan nodded diligently as he listened.
The conclusion was the same as before. His throat had been damaged by poison. The fact that he had survived at all was thanks to his unusually low mana capacity. The Academy promised to do everything possible to treat him.
“That’s all for now. Your condition seems stable, so we’d like to run some additional tests. Would that be alright, Student Yohan?”
Yohan nodded, his eyes clearly conveying that they could proceed with anything. The professor and his assistant brought over several pieces of equipment and began the examination.
And just as Yohan was finishing all the tests, someone came to see him.
“It’s been a while, Student Yohan. This is our first proper face-to-face meeting since the entrance ceremony, isn’t it?”
It was the Chancellor of the Academy.
Academy Chancellor.
Kassian Delmar.
Had he not been the Chancellor, and had his old injury not held him back, he would have stood at the very forefront of the hero’s party.
‘Every time I see him, I can’t help but wonder how someone like him ever got injured.’
His presence was so overwhelmingly powerful that even Yohan—who had faced countless Giants—felt it was rock-solid.
‘…Though in the past, he stopped appearing at some point.’
That was why having a private audience with him was an incredibly rare event. For the Yohan of the original timeline, this was only the second meeting since the entrance ceremony.
But for the current Yohan, who had lived through so many regressions…
This was the moment he had been waiting for the most.
“First, how is your body?”
Yohan nodded. At the moment, this was the only way he could express himself.
“It seems I’ve been inconsiderate. I heard you cannot speak. It would be best to confirm your intentions through writing. Is that acceptable?”
Yohan nodded once more. The Chancellor immediately ordered paper and a quill pen to be brought over, and soon everything was ready for written communication.
“I’ll ask you a few things first.”
What followed was Yohan’s statement regarding the incident.
‘Let’s get this over with quickly.’
Deciding their punishment was practically a set procedure by now.
Yohan answered faithfully.
Yohan and the Chancellor exchanged several questions and answers. Since it was a serious incident, most of the conversation consisted of the Chancellor asking and Yohan replying, so there was no difficulty.
All the questions were the same as before.
‘It’s about time now.’
Every question related to the incident had been asked. Now it was time to hear the punishment for the perpetrators and receive the suggestion to drop out.
A brief silence fell. Then the Chancellor spoke.
“The three students identified as the perpetrators will be expelled. In fact, I already delivered the expulsion notice before coming to see you.”
— I see.
Kassian nodded.
“So you don’t need to worry about them anymore. The Academy promises to do its utmost to ensure such an incident never happens again.”
Yohan nodded.
Now that he had received the punishment, it was time for the dropout suggestion.
Yohan stared at the Chancellor.
“I am aware that you have suffered an irreparable wound, Student Yohan. If you wish, I will make arrangements for you to leave the Academy. Of course, we will provide all necessary support.”
— Are you suggesting I drop out?
Yohan wrote the question on the paper.
It was the same question as before.
“That is correct. However, you must make your decision before Professor Aria returns. She will not let you go easily. If she comes back, this offer will be withdrawn.”
Yohan nodded.
He needed a moment of silence here. If he answered without hesitation, it would raise suspicion.
…Stay calm.
Yohan put on an expression of deep thought and paused, his hand hovering over the paper.
It was the same moment as before.
But now, it was time to give a different answer.
Just as Yohan was about to move his hand—
“By the way, did you drink that tea even though you knew there was poison in it?”
…If only he hadn’t heard that question, everything would have been exactly the same as before.
What is with this guy?