Chapter 99: The Dean of the Magic Tower
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 99: The Dean of the Magic Tower
“It’s only been a month!”
Resin screamed at the person standing before her.
However, the Magic Tower’s guide remained unfazed, simply holding out a room key.
“It has been a month, Miss Resin. The room we provided you until now was a facility intended for research. However, the Magic Tower’s steering committee has judged that such a place is far too extravagant for someone who spends all their time obsessing over external news and their own appearance.”
“I told you to let me into the dungeon! I need materials to conduct research!”
“As a member of a Hero-rank party, surely you are well aware that entry into the dungeon is forbidden for groups of fewer than three people?”
“I am the salutatorian of the Magic Tower! As the salutatorian, I am entitled to certain privileges!”
When her logic was blocked by the rules, all Resin could do was shriek.
The guide scratched her cheek listlessly. It had been itching for a while now.
“The salutatorian of the Magic Tower… how many years ago was that?”
“Wh-what?”
“The Magic Tower produces a new class of graduates every year. Do you understand? Every year, there is a new valedictorian and salutatorian. And those top graduates are achieving outstanding results, both within the tower and beyond. Lady Narupa is the most prominent example.”
At the mention of Narupa’s name, Resin bit her lip.
Resin was certain she was far superior, yet the Magic Tower had granted the honor of valedictorian to Narupa instead of her. Even though Resin’s magical firepower and flair were vastly greater.
To Resin, Narupa was nothing more than a cunning mage whose only talent was petty tricks, like playing cat’s cradle with mana. At least, that was how Resin saw it.
That’s why she sells magitech products that mimic magic instead of being an adventurer who puts her life on the line. Just because she made some money with those cheap tricks, she thinks she can act all high and mighty!
“That bitch isn’t a mage; she’s a businesswoman. I don’t know how much money she’s funneling into the tower, but the Magic Tower should be providing a platform for real mages to excel!”
“If you were a real mage, shouldn’t you be conducting research or forming a plan to excel? Resin, your actions fall into neither category. You haven’t submitted a single research proposal, yet you do nothing but bark demands. You’re no different from the power-hungry fools of the secular world. Though, I suppose the one saving grace is that you have no actual power.”
“Are you daring to insult me?”
“You are the one insulting the Magic Tower.”
The guide’s tone shifted. The politeness vanished, replaced by a cold, oppressive weight.
“We gave you a room out of respect for your status as the salutatorian and a mage from a Hero-rank party, and this is how you behave? Do you think the Magic Tower is a church? Do you see this as a place that provides beds for the homeless?”
“You know our situation perfectly well! I’ve been requesting entry into the dungeon repeatedly, but you haven’t given me a single chance. What am I supposed to do?”
“Overcoming such obstacles is what a mage does, and forging a path forward is the duty of an adventurer, is it not? Ah, but you are a former adventurer, aren’t you? From a Hero-rank party, no less?”
The guide held out the room key one last time.
“If you don’t want it, I’ll take it back. But in that case, you must vacate the Magic Tower immediately.”
“You bastard…”
Resin snatched the key away and ground her teeth.
“You will regret this.”
Once I get Lord Alto back, I’ll rip that woman’s throat out, she resolved. She would tell him every single detail of the humiliation his woman suffered at the Magic Tower and make them pay the price.
As the two glared at each other in silence, a junior staff member came running toward the guide, waving a letter.
“Manager, a reply has arrived from Lady Narupa. She says she expects to arrive within five days. The party consists of five people, including Lady Narupa and Alto—”
“Can’t you see I’m speaking with a guest?”
The guide glared at the junior, rebuking her for her loose tongue.
“I-I’m sorry.”
The junior bowed her head in apology, but she didn’t seem particularly upset.
A mage should naturally possess the observation skills to notice such things. However, Resin’s entire focus was pinned on the words the junior had thoughtlessly blurted out.
Narupa. And Alto.
Alto Bertrand was coming to the Magic Tower.
The realization, which was easy enough to deduce, sent a surge of excitement through Resin.
The chance has come.
Finally, the opportunity!
“Let’s end this meaningless conversation here,” Resin said.
“My thoughts exactly. By the way, is it still true that there are no party size restrictions for up to the third floor of the Magic Tower Dungeon?”
“You already know the answer, so why ask?”
“Hmph. Send me the research proposal forms by the end of the day. I’ll submit them immediately.”
“Ah.”
At the welcome news, the guide regained her smile and her polite tone.
“I shall see that they are delivered to you without delay, Miss Resin.”
“Stop grinning. It’s disgusting.”
Despite the rude response, the guide performed her duty to the end. She wasn’t even particularly bothered. To her, a cornered rat trying to bite was merely pathetic.
* * *
“I did as you ordered, but will it be alright? Disclosing confidential information…”
“It was his instruction. He said he wants to see ‘new possibilities.’”
The junior whispered as she watched Resin walk away. The guide reacted dismissively and took the letter the junior was holding.
“But Manager… Miss Resin is practically crippled now. She was caught cheating on her party leader, that leader turned out to be Alto Bertrand, and the party’s actual skills were exposed as a sham. What kind of ‘possibility’ could a woman like that—”
“That is why you are still a low-ranking staff member.”
The guide unfastened a few buttons on her blouse. Her suppressed cleavage was revealed, making it easier for her to breathe.
“Possibilities exist in everyone.”
“Well, that’s true, but… it’s rare for a mage who can’t even control their own emotions to make a comeback.”
“When did I ever say I was talking about her personal chance of success?”
“Pardon?”
The guide began unbuttoning the stunned junior’s blouse as well. Unfortunately, the junior’s body was meager. It was partly because she was still growing.
“We are only judging the possibility of her being of use to the Magic Tower. It doesn’t matter what happens to that woman. Whether she makes a comeback or falls into a deeper abyss, as long as she is helpful to us, that is all that matters.”
With her clothes loosened enough to almost reveal the tips of her breasts, the guide slowly turned around.
“Isn’t that right, Dean?”
“Muehehehe…”
The guide and the junior had already been summoned to a different space.
In the center of the room sat a short, hairy man. His body was covered in hair, but more strikingly, crystalline growths—like gemstones—protruded from various parts of his skin.
Despite his hideous appearance, both the guide and the junior felt a tingle between their legs.
“Silone, you have ripened quite exquisitely. The potential I saw in you has manifested exactly as I desired.”
“It is all thanks to your grace, Dean.”
“Come here.”
The guide, Silone, knelt without hesitation. Crawling on all fours toward the man, she began to lick the crystals on his body without a moment’s pause.
“Haa… Dean…!”
The junior could not contain herself either and pleaded with the Dean.
“Please, give me a Seed of Blooming as well…!”
“Yes, yes! Adrian, you come to me too.”
The desperate Adrian did not crawl like Silone. She rushed forward, ignoring her superior Silone, and busied herself kissing the Dean’s lips.
“Dean…! Dean…!”
“Muehehe… Mmm…!”
As he received the affections of the two women, the Dean felt a surge of heat rising from deep within.
The Dean did not hold back.
Seeing the heat-laden energy pulsing from the Dean, Silone licked the source of that energy from the base all the way to the tip.
“Hah! Haa…!”
The Dean’s essence spilled over Silone’s face. It felt exactly like molten wax coating her skin.
The Dean sighed in satisfaction and gestured with his chin.
“Adrian, it is yours. I prepared this for you.”
“Thank you.”
Adrian sucked up every drop of the Seed of Blooming that was trickling down Silone’s face. Silone remained perfectly still, waiting for Adrian to finish consuming it.
“A fine sight. It warms my heart to see the two of you getting along so well without fighting. Muehehehe…”
As the Dean laboriously raised his arms, Silone and Adrian snuggled into his embrace. As they took turns kissing him, magic stone crystals fell from the Dean’s body with a clatter.
“That is enough. This should be plenty of magic stones to give to Narupa.”
“Dean, you are pushing yourself too hard. Perhaps we should suggest adjusting the supply of magic stones to Lady Narupa…”
“No, Silone. Muehehe… I can give as much as needed for my precious disciple.”
The Dean gave a sinister smile at Silone’s concern.
“And for that disciple’s partner as well. Muehehehe!”
“He is an ominous man. I heard he is someone who acts wildly without rhyme or reason.”
“He is also a man who understands the weight of words. That is what makes him fearsome. Do not worry. I have a plan.”
Silone and Adrian already knew of the plan, but they were still worried.
“Are the sacrifices being prepared steadily?”
“Yes. But Dean, there is no telling what those people might do.”
“Adrian, trust me. I shall personally use them as sacrifices to be born anew.”
When that time came, the Dean of the Magic Tower would finally be able to achieve his long-cherished dream.
“Muehehehe…! I look forward to it!”
Within the Magic Tower, three different groups with three different agendas began to move toward their respective goals.