Visit (2)
The Alchemist Tower.
A tower open only to alchemists — and an organization sealed off from the world to an extreme degree. Its isolation ran even deeper than that of the Spacetime Magic Tower. At least the Magic Tower posted recruitment notices every year. The Alchemist Tower did not even do that much.
They never reached out first to recruit anyone. Even when someone declared a desire to join, they put the applicant through a merciless battery of trials. What they wanted was neither pedigree nor renown — only raw ability.
Of course, as the times changed, those tightly shut doors had begun to crack open by degrees. Still, they were nowhere near the point of seeking people out and offering them membership.
So why is she here?
Aegis, Elder of the Alchemist Tower. A named character. Neither ally nor villain — a neutral presence. A genius who had risen to the rank of Elder in her early thirties. She had once been a princess of a kingdom, the story went, until she decided the place was too stifling and walked out.
Her defining trait: hopelessly face-obsessed. Handsome men drove her wild.
And that same Aegis was beaming at Evan with a radiant smile.
Ugh.
This is way too much pressure. Not that I can say that out loud.
While Evan sat there feeling thoroughly awkward, Aegis wore a look of pure satisfaction.
He's handsome, isn't he?
First-round pass, right there. Looks like this would put every alchemist in the Tower to shame.
By temperament, most alchemists were not much to look at. They spent their lives shut in rooms, so they tended to be either stick-thin or grossly overweight. They skewed older, too, and the irregular lifestyle left them constantly under the weather.
Evan? He was a little on the lean side — but only just enough that it suited him. If anything, it worked in his favor. That faintly sharp-edged face of his made the look complete.
The eyes pass, too.
That emotionless gaze. Some people might find it chilling; Aegis liked it. Geniuses usually had something off about their focus. Their speech was often clumsy, or extreme. As if they had traded something away in an equivalent exchange. Exactly the type Aegis hated most.
Evan was the precise opposite.
Good, good. He passes.
The old fossils of the Alchemist Tower might disagree, but as far as Aegis herself was concerned, he was in. Wasn't that handsome face alone reason enough to admit him?
So Belia wasn't just being whimsical when she asked me to meet him.
The times had changed, and with them the Alchemist Tower had begun to take steps into the wider world. Their first move had been to secure a stable line of trade for funding. That was how she had come to know Belia, the second daughter of the Golden Merchant Guild — a sharp little thing who knew how to read a room, a younger sister Aegis had grown fond of.
And one day, that girl had told her to go meet someone named Evan Alcarte.
Aegis had been a little surprised. Someone had recommended Evan before she had.
"Th-there was someone who recommended him before me?"
"Yeah. Why? You know Evan too, don't you?"
"Th-then why…"
Belia's flustered reaction had been funny enough to stick in her memory.
Aegis smiled, eyes curving into crescents, and opened her mouth.
"So. You're the next Tower Master?"
"?"
Evan looked at her with those emotionless eyes.
Yes! That blank stare!
Perfect. She had grown thoroughly sick of the madness that every high-level alchemist seemed to carry. They needed at least one dry, flat type like this around.
"I don't understand what you mean."
And formal speech on top of it?
Pass. Pass again!
He was really committed to the bit!
Aegis spoke with genuine admiration.
"What do I mean? You know Gilles de Rais, don't you?"
Gilles de Rais.
The bridge of Evan's nose creased ever so slightly.
Mm, it suits him. Mind if I just look a little longer?
While Aegis propped her chin in her hand and started openly admiring his face, Evan held still under the itch crawling down his back and kept his eyes on her.
It was unbearable.
Could you maybe get your face out of mine?
The pressure was so thick he felt like he was choking on it. Why was she being this intense?
Aegis… at least she's a character I know.
She wasn't a bad character. That only made it worse. It wasn't because she was a woman. She was just staring at his face so blatantly. How was anyone supposed to not feel awkward about that?
"Auntie."
From the seat beside Evan, where she had been quietly chewing on lettuce, Lapis spoke up.
"Stop staring so hard. You'll wear out Evan's skin."
"…Wh-what? Auntie?"
A vein popped on Aegis's pale forehead.
"Kid, I'm still in my thirties, okay? I'm the youngest person in the entire Alchemist Tower, okay?"
"Evan is a teenager. And maybe that group of yours is just too old?"
"…"
She couldn't even argue. The average age in the Alchemist Tower was a solid seventy. Alchemy kept their outward appearance young, but inside they were already rotting old men. It couldn't be helped. Ability and time invested tended to scale together. Of course older alchemists filled the Tower. The rare young applicant who showed up usually washed out for lack of skill. There was a reason the water had grown so stagnant.
"…Heh. Heh heh. Fine. This generous soul of mine will just have to stay calm."
Aegis forced the subject elsewhere.
That hit a nerve.
That hit a nerve.
Evan and Lapis thought the same thing, but neither of them showed it.
"…So. What business brings you here?"
"Ah— aah! Nothing major!"
Aegis's expression brightened oddly as she pulled a letter of recommendation from her robes.
Recommender: Gilles de Rais
Count Gilles de Rais's seal was stamped on it in plain view.
Evan's eyes widened a fraction.
…Is he out of his mind?!
Not even a membership recommendation — a Tower Master recommendation? If Evan had already joined the Tower, maybe. But this was his first time meeting anyone from the Alchemist Tower. They were complete strangers. And he was being recommended as Tower Master? Had the man truly lost it?
"Ah, right. Just so we're clear — you didn't threaten Count Gilles de Rais into this, did you?"
"If he were the kind of alchemist whose will could be bent by threats, he would never have belonged to the Alchemist Tower."
"What? Ahahaha! Fair enough!"
Aegis burst out laughing. The respect woven into that blunt voice. She took pride in her affiliation, and being acknowledged for it felt good.
That's a second-round pass right there!
Looks, seriousness, composure. Three conditions met. All that remained was proof of ability!
"Which brings me to the point. Appointing a Tower Master isn't something that just happens because someone writes a recommendation."
Aegis drew out the membership recommendation she had brought along.
"So. How about you take the Alchemist Tower entrance exam while you're at it?"
"I decline."
"Mm, glad you— wait, what?"
Aegis had fully expected him to accept. Evan's refusal left her stunned.
"Why?!"
"Is there a reason I should?"
"Of course there is! Honor comes with it!"
Does honor put food on the table?
The Alchemist Tower. Among the scant few alchemists on the entire continent, only the truly skilled could join. Membership numbered barely twenty. Joining would bring prestige, certainly. An ordinary alchemist would have been tempted.
If Evan had not been a transmigrator.
There's no real benefit. Why would I?
What did membership in the Alchemist Tower actually get you? Honor, and nothing else. Money? Support? None. If anything, it was a role that cost you money. Research assistance, maybe — but.
I don't think I need that kind of help.
What good was asking a pack of lunatics for help? He had already been burned badly enough by the Bluebeard Count. Alchemists of the same stripe were not a trustworthy breed.
Having reached that conclusion in his heart, he saw no reason to walk into an Alchemist Tower stuffed full of madmen.
"Th-then! I can help you with your research!"
"I can manage on my own."
"You're really, truly refusing? For real?!"
"Yes."
"You won't get another chance."
"I apologize."
Given Aegis's personality she wouldn't take offense, but just in case — not because he was afraid of her, of course, but purely for the sake of manners — he bowed his head politely.
She's not mad, right? Did I refuse too hard?
While Evan quietly fretted, Aegis sank into confusion.
W-wait. Am I getting rejected?
This wasn't some request for a mailing address. He was brushing off an invitation to join the Alchemist Tower? When there was only a single exam to take?
A sense of deprivation she had never felt even as a princess of a nation. Was this what it felt like to be the one with no leverage? Her head spun.
That was when it happened.
"Y-Young Masteeeeer!"
Thud, thud, thud!
Dolf pounded on the door. Evan, puzzled, moved a golem. The staff that had been leaning beside the seat of honor was reshaped through Reconstruction into a small golem.
Aegis's eyes lit up.
"W-wait! Is that a golem?!"
"Yes."
"How did you make it?!"
"…By working hard?"
Evan's look said what kind of question is that, and Aegis only grew more bewildered. The method of golem manufacture had been lost long ago. Even the Alchemist Tower had been searching for it with bloodshot eyes. If the underworld had not fallen under Duke Alcarte's jurisdiction, they would have torn the place apart looking. That was how hard they had been hunting.
They said he was an alchemist who mainly worked with golems… was that actually true?
Had Gilles de Rais noticed that first?
A dangerous light kindled in Aegis's eyes. The look of someone who had spotted talent.
Creak.
Evan used the small golem to open the door. Dolf clung to the handle, gasping for breath. Only after several deep gulps of air did he manage to bellow out the news.
"Th-the Spacetime Magic Tower has come to see you, Young Master!"
"!"
Aegis's eyes flew wide.
The Spacetime Magic Tower! A tower every bit as closed-off as the Alchemist Tower — and every bit as hungry for gifted people!
Her head cleared at last. So that was the plan from the start. He had arranged for both the Alchemist Tower and the Spacetime Magic Tower to come.
"…You. Don't tell me you knew about this?"
"I did not."
Knew about it, my foot.
Evan's face went uncharacteristically stern.
The Spacetime Magic Tower.
A tower said to revere and study time and space — and one about which almost nothing was known. The same held true in the game. The only scrap of information available was that their "hunger for talent" ran deep. To survive the storms of time, one needed gift, or so the saying went. They also practiced a unique magic called spatial awareness, and so always went about with their eyes covered.
"It is an honor to meet you, Young Master Evan Alcarte."
Bandages over both eyes. A robe marked with distinctive patterns. The only part of her face visible was her lips. Female, by the look of it. A mage radiating an air of mystery offered her greeting.
"I am Osera, a mage of the Spacetime Magic Tower."
"…A pleasure. I am Evan Alcarte."
Osera. He knew her. Neutral alignment — if anything, leaning toward the good side. On the rare occasions she appeared, if the player had a connection with the Priestess of the Night Sky, her affection would climb on its own. She would help the player, so long as she did not involve herself too deeply.
Is this… good luck?
Best to stay on friendly terms. When he kindly took her hand in greeting, her lips curved into a gentle arc.
"…You are a kind person."
"…Thank you."
He had nearly cracked at the end there. He had almost let his confusion show. While Evan cleared his throat softly, Osera — eyes covered though they were — turned her head with uncanny precision toward Lapis, as if she truly could feel the space around her.
"I have no intention of causing harm. Please do not worry. I have only come today at a request, for a brief meeting…"
"A request, you say?"
"It was not my own wish. The master of the tower I serve asked that I grant the request of a young lady of overflowing talent."
Don't tell me that's Asella.
He had just been put through Asella's political games. Suspicion rose on its own. Asella did have talent, after all — of the worst kind.
"Kind one. May I observe your talent for a moment?"
"…My talent?"
"I wish to observe how brightly your soul shines. Please grant me this. I shall offer a fitting recompense. Are you familiar with something called the Spacetime Herb?"
Ah!
He knew that name. The Spacetime Herb. A peculiar medicinal plant that grew only in the gaps between time and space. When ingested, it slowed the flow of time within the body. Some even experienced time-loop phenomena. But if properly refined…
You can slow a curse to a crawl.
Processed into a potion and drunk, it could slow the time of a chosen part of the body — an organ gripped by disease, a particular cluster of cells, even a curse. That would be perfect for the Saintess.
She can't actually see souls anyway…
Spatial observation was a formidable ability, but it could not see a soul. Letting her look once should be fine.
Alright! Evan! You've got this!
"…Yes."
"Thank you, kind one."
When Evan nodded, she expressed her gratitude and clasped both of his hands.
"…"
"…"
An awkward silence settled over them.
"…It cannot be observed?"
Excuse me?
"You… are special."
Her grip on his hands tightened. For such delicate hands, the strength was considerable.
"Would you consider joining our Magic Tower?"
"…I am an alchemist."
"That is of no consequence. What does a profession matter in the face of talent?"
Osera pressed closer, almost uncomfortably so.
"I would see you belong to our tower, and let that talent of yours shine."
I… didn't even do anything?
"Honored one. I beg you to accept my proposal."
"Sorry, but we already called dibs."
At that moment the door burst open and Aegis strode in. She had clearly been eavesdropping. She dismissed a tiny trumpet she had fashioned through alchemy and spoke.
"We were here first. Cutting in line is foul play, don't you think?"
"…Elder Aegis. Why are you here?"
"Why else? I came to claim a precious talent. Mind stepping aside?"
Aegis tipped her head. Osera slowly released Evan's hands and folded her own with polite composure. Her tone, however, was anything but polite.
"As high-handed as ever. We still do not know to whom this gentleman will choose to devote his time."
"At the very least, it won't be you."
"To decide that for him is the height of arrogance, Aegis."
The two of them snarled at each other. Two named characters of neutral alignment, beginning to clash.
Wait…
Only then did Evan realize that something had gone terribly wrong.