Chapter 113
Chapter 113
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: Tower of Wisdom: Lua Polaris (2)
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The formal mage of the Blue Tower, Lua Polaris, had never once set foot in the upper levels of the tower since joining it.
That made sense, considering that until recently, she had been living the life of an apprentice mage, enduring all sorts of scoldings from her master.
Not to mention, the upper levels of the tower were a secretive space where countless classified documents and secret grimoires were stored.
For a young woman who had only recently been promoted to formal mage, the strictly controlled upper levels of the tower were a place straight out of her dreams.
And now—
Lua Polaris found herself in the tower lord's office, located in the deepest part of those very upper levels.
“Wow……!”
—The Blue Tower Lord, Abior.
A mage granted permission to reside on the highest floor of the grand tower that pierced the heavens.
A small exclamation of awe escaped Lua's lips as she stepped into the domain of such an archmage.
Hoo, whoosh—
Facing the office's scenery, Lua took a deep breath to steady herself.
“The elder said to wait comfortably until the vice tower lord arrives, right……?”
The reason Lua Polaris had come here today was, naturally, the anticipated meeting with the vice tower lord.
However, there was still a bit of time before the vice tower lord arrived for the meeting.
During that time, she had been given free rein to explore the tower lord's office.
“…….”
Swish—
Lua's eyes quietly scanned the Blue Tower Lord's office.
Soon enough, her gaze turned with interest to a bookshelf placed in one corner of the office.
A large wooden bookshelf stood against the wall.
It was packed tightly with books of all kinds.
“These are books the tower lord collected personally… There must be some amazing grimoires hidden here.”
Hmmm—
Lua's sparkling eyes fixed on the tower lord's secret collection.
Which book should she check first—
Luxurious dilemmas bloomed in her mind.
“If I find a rare grimoire, I might rack up some serious contribution points…….”
These were books personally gathered by the Blue Tower Lord, who stood at the pinnacle of the tower.
It was entirely possible that one of them held some extraordinary magic.
If she offered a decent spell to the Illusion Archives Celestia, she could earn substantial contribution points.
Lua's eyes gleamed with clear anticipation.
“Hmm… For now, maybe I'll just pull one out at random and take a look.”
After pondering positively for quite a while.
Before long, Lua reached out and pulled at a book wedged in one corner of the shelf.
Sliide—
The moment Lua's hand tugged at the book with its rough cover.
Clunk, came a loud noise, and bewilderment washed over Lua's face as she tried to extract it.
“Why… won't this come out……?”
Thud, clack—
The book she was pulling remained stuck in the shelf, showing no sign of budging.
Was there something wrong with that particular book?
In her panic, Lua hurriedly tried to pull out a few nearby books.
However, every one she chose stayed firmly lodged in the shelf, with no indication of coming loose.
“Ah……?”
Lua's eyes stared at the books that wouldn't come out.
And then, right before her eyes as she tugged at them, some kind of change began to occur.
Rumble rumble rumblle—
After Lua pulled at the other books, the bookshelf against the wall suddenly started to move.
“Th-the, th-the, the bookshelf……!”
Lua Polaris blankly watched the bookshelf begin to shift.
Rumble groooan—
Accompanied by vibrations shaking the floor, the heavy bookshelf slid to the right.
It seemed a mechanism was installed that activated the bookshelf's movement upon meeting certain conditions.
Moreover, beyond the moving bookshelf, a secretive space filled with suspicious books came into view.
“…….”
Groooan, thud—!
After the bookshelf came to a complete stop with a loud noise.
Lua finally realized what she had done, staring at the space beyond with eyes full of extreme embarrassment.
No one could look at it and think it was anything ordinary.
“No way… it’s not dangerous, is it……?”
She wondered if she had stumbled upon a secret space hidden by the Blue Tower Lord.
That thought crossed Lua's mind.
Blink, blink—
Lua's eyes stared blankly at the secret space for several seconds.
Gazing at the revealed area beyond the bookshelf, she soon called out to Johan in a trembling, flustered voice.
“J-J-Johan! Johaaan……!”
- “Lua Polaris. What’s going on all of a sudden?”
“Big trouble! I think I… just opened the tower lord’s secret space……!”
No matter how she looked at it, it wasn’t a normal space.
The elder’s instruction to wait comfortably here surely didn’t mean to snoop into the office’s secret space.
And yet, despite herself, Lua had done something utterly ridiculous.
Tremble tremble—
As her shaking hand groped the bookshelf.
Johan’s calm voice echoed from beyond the brooch.
- “Lucky or unlucky, I can’t tell. Your handling of things is beyond me sometimes.”
“Th-that’s… Your capable subordinate is in a real pickle right now……!”
- “Well, since it’s already open, why not take a look around. Even if you get caught, it won’t be a big deal.”
She had ended up peeking into the Blue Tower Lord’s secretive space.
Yet, Johan spoke to her as if even that was no issue, telling her to scout it out.
It seemed the archmage of the library had different standards for what constituted danger compared to ordinary people.
Ugh—
Lua’s face, staring into the secret space, took on a troubled expression.
“Johan? Johaaan……?”
- “…….”
“Don’t abandon your capable subordinate……!”
However, no matter how desperately she called Johan’s name, no further response came from the archmage.
Had the communication magic embedded in the brooch cut off?
Or was the mischievous archmage deliberately ignoring her calls?
Either way, it was something Lua Polaris couldn’t know.
“…….”
For a moment, Lua’s eyes glared at the secret space with tension.
Swish, shh—
Turning her head to look left and right, she eventually squeezed her eyes shut and took one step forward.
From the moment she had accidentally discovered the secret space, incurring the vice tower lord’s suspicion was inevitable.
So, if she was going to get in trouble anyway, she figured she might as well commit fully and take the punishment.
“Ex-excuse meee—.”
Her trembling footsteps entered the depths of the secret space.
Click, clack—
Having entered the tower lord’s secret space, Lua carefully examined the cramped area.
Perhaps because it was hidden, the secret space didn’t seem all that large.
Bookshelves placed at narrow intervals, and in the center, a massive crystal orb.
Those were all that filled the secret space.
“Hmm… Simpler than I thought?”
Her impression of the hidden space slipped from Lua’s lips.
Had the Blue Tower Lord created this space to hide some special magic?
Aside from the bookshelves and crystal orb, there wasn’t anything noteworthy.
Swish—
Lua’s gaze now turned to the crystal orb.
At the base of the crystal orb, which emanated emptiness, there was a stone tablet engraved with ancient script.
“Ancient script… Doesn’t seem too difficult. I might be able to decipher it…….”
Thanks to her exchanges with the doctor, Lua had reached a point where she could interpret ancient script to some degree.
With that, a confident expression on her face, she began reading the characters engraved on the stone tablet.
Hmmm, ahem—
Clearing her throat, the contents of the stone tablet flowed from Lua’s mouth line by line.
“—The origin of magic. Homage to the forgotten miracle.”
The interpretation of the ancient script on the stone tablet.
Perhaps because it was written long ago, it consisted of rather stale and rigid phrasing.
“—Praise the holy starlight that delivered the first mystery to the foolish advisor, Ornea.”
The next line on the stone tablet came out.
It was a highly intriguing passage, but it didn’t seem to hold any magical function in itself.
Lua’s gaze naturally shifted to the following line.
“—In accordance with the ancient covenant, we have erected six beacons to reach the great wisdom.”
After reading the final line on the stone tablet, Lua’s eyes turned to the massive crystal orb atop it.
The ash-gray crystal orb, having long exhausted its function, stood motionless, emitting no mana whatsoever.
It was the kind of appearance Polaris No. 1 might have if it broke.
Hmmm—
Stroking the brim of her witch hat, Lua’s gaze intently studied the crystal orb before her.
“……The first mystery? Ancient covenant?”
Recalling the words on the stone tablet, Lua’s eyes took on a thoughtful glint.
Every phrase on the stone tablet seemed to carry profound meaning.
The origin of magic. The first mystery.
Holy starlight.
None were to be taken lightly.
Especially the phrase ‘six beacons,’ which evoked the six towers of the empire.
“Something made in the early days when the towers were founded……?”
Tap, tap—
As Lua pondered, idly tapping one of her shoes.
Before long, an unfamiliar voice suddenly whispered into her ear.
“Indeed, you have quite the bold streak, Lua Polaris.”
“Eek……?!”
Right behind where Lua stood.
From there came the voice of a mature man.
Whoosh—
Startled by the unfamiliar voice, Lua whipped around to see sharp eyes staring at her.
The vice tower lord of the Blue Tower—
The mage who had summoned Lua Polaris here had arrived late in the tower lord’s office.
“To ransack the forbidden vault right from the first meeting— this is a first for such audacity.”
“Huh? This place… is the forbidden vault……?”
“Figuring out the forbidden vault’s code must have been tricky, yet you solved it in such a short time. It seems your title of genius isn’t just for show.”
Lua’s bewildered gaze met the vice tower lord’s.
Truthfully, from Lua’s perspective, she felt a bit wronged.
She had just randomly pulled at some books, so how was she supposed to know a forbidden vault would appear?
However, it was far too late to explain that now.
After all, the vice tower lord was looking at her with eyes brimming with intense interest.
“Indeed. You need that level of ability to even qualify as a candidate for next tower lord.”
“…….”
“Take a seat. We’ll begin the meeting now.”
Swish—
Saying that, the vice tower lord settled into a nearby chair.
Lua Polaris’s gaze met the vice tower lord’s piercing eyes.
“……Y-yes.”
The genius mage of the Blue Tower, Lua Polaris.
The time for her meeting had arrived.
* * * * * *
Vice Chairman of the Extreme Arcane Research Society, Allandorf Petreus.
A long-time friend of the mad doctor—Begerton Antares—and a user of the Forbidden Rite, Allandorf was a man of rather refined hobbies.
Exchanging insights on magic with outstanding mages from around the world.
That was one of Allandorf’s few pastimes.
Of course, mages who failed to meet his standards would suffer the punishment of becoming his ‘dolls.’
However, even that had become less frequent lately.
The reason was, naturally, a certain dangerous archmage he had encountered some time ago.
“It’s about time I invited some guests again—”
An nameless archmage who had made a grand library his domain.
Ever since his soul was torn apart after crossing that archmage, Allandorf had refrained from inviting mages.
The silver lining was that his injuries from back then had mostly healed recently.
He could now operate multiple dolls simultaneously without issue, just like before.
“Phew… To avoid another rough encounter this time, I suppose I’ll have to choose my targets carefully.”
Still, even with his injuries healed, he had no desire to face that archmage again.
Considering the attitude he had shown before, a reunion would likely end with his soul being shredded to pieces.
The best course was to avoid being dragged into that archmage’s mental space.
With a sigh, Allandorf’s hand checked the senders of the letters before him.
Rustle, rustle—
As Allandorf’s slender fingers flipped through the letters one by one.
“…….”
Swish—
Spotting a name amid the thick stack, Allandorf’s face suddenly twisted.
That was because a familiar name had entered his view.
—Lua Polaris.
During his time lurking in the capital, she was the young mage drawing attention as the ‘prodigy.’
To Allandorf, she was a mage akin to a nightmare, and now she had sent an invitation using the name of the noble he currently possessed.
“Horrible, simply horrible. I hope we never cross paths again.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Allandorf tossed the letter in his hand into the fireplace.
Whoosh—
The letter in the fireplace burned away rapidly.
The mage’s eyes, having lived over a century, quietly watched the flames.
“…….”
For a moment, lost in sentiment, Allandorf stared at the letter.
Thud, thud—!
From outside the office where Allandorf resided, a familiar butler’s voice rang out clearly.
“Master, it’s William.”
The butler, William—
A servant Allandorf kept regardless of his identities.
“What is it, William.”
“There’s something urgent I must report to you, master.”
“Come in.”
At Allandorf’s command, butler William promptly opened the door and entered.
Creeeak—
William, entering the office, bowed politely.
Allandorf’s gaze turned to him.
“If William speaks so gravely, it must be different from the usual daily reports. What is it?”
“I received an urgent crystal orb message from our informants in the capital.”
“…….”
“They’ve confirmed an envelope sent under the name ‘Abior’ to the northern region of the continent.”
The report from William’s lips.
Hearing it, Allandorf’s expression grew serious.
—Blue Tower Lord, Abior.
That name was one of the very familiar ones to Allandorf.
“A letter sent in the tower lord’s name?”
“……Yes.”
Ha—
Allandorf let out a hollow laugh at William’s report.
Wearing an expression as if he’d heard news of a long-lost friend, he spoke with subtle nuance.
“It seems the chairman is finally involving himself in Blue Tower matters after all this time.”
Allandorf’s hand quietly picked up a pen.
Information always fetches a price.
That held true for Allandorf Petreus as well.
Especially in matters involving the towers, far more interests were at play than usual.
It looked like he’d need to focus on gathering funds for the time being.