Chapter 622: Let It Go
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 622: Let It Go
She was a conspicuous person, and indeed, she stood out. Even mages, who typically paid little attention to others, stopped in their tracks and whispered upon seeing the Blue Tower Master.
One even approached her directly.
“I admire you so much! I've read all seven volumes of your Theory of Crystal Structures, Lady Elisha! It was so deeply inspiring!”
Even as a strange mage approached her in a state of high excitement, the Blue Tower Master didn't lose her smile.
“Oh? You went to all that trouble. I just scribbled it down as the mood struck me, so it ended up being quite esoteric.”
“W-well, it is difficult... That's why I carry it around to read it all the time! Ah, if it's not too much trouble, could you sign this for me?”
“Of course.”
Taking the offered thesis, the Blue Tower Master pulled out a short fountain pen. It was her staff, though it seemed to have been chosen more for its design than its magical power. Her signature was inscribed on the paper in a stylish cursive.
“I'm cheering for you. Keep working hard. -Elisha.”
“Gasp...! Thank you! I'll treasure it!”
“Hehe. Thank you.”
It’s not simple enough to be understood just by reading it, but I suppose it’s commendable that you tried with that brain of yours.
...Should I call her two-faced, or consistent in her own way?
Her inner self was worse than Lankart. Unlike Lankart, who simply ignored people and didn't even treat them as human, the Blue Tower Master relished her sense of superiority while watching others struggle. The kindness she offered was born from arrogance.
But on the outside, she appeared kinder than anyone.
After she gave the autograph, more mages with similar intentions flocked to her. The Blue Tower Master smiled, a little troubled, and spoke.
“Oh, dear. I've drawn too much attention.”
Lankart retorted irritably.
“It's your fault.”
“What can I do? Moths aren't the only ones drawn to a brilliant light. Humans also flock to a radiant intellect.”
Waving to the gathered mages, the Blue Tower Master soon covered her mouth and muttered.
“But keeping a prior engagement comes first. Sorry, fledglings. I have to go. I have business to attend to.”
The mages seemed to think 'fledglings' was a playful term of endearment for her fans. She was being serious.
“Well, shall we go?”
The Blue Tower Master waved the fountain pen in the air. The empty atmosphere froze, drawing a glittering magic circle in the void.
Unique Magic, Crystallization Theory.
The Blue Tower Master's Unique Magic was Forced Crystallization. As naturally as breathing, she turned the moisture in the air into crystals, drawing a magic circle.
It wasn't freezing. That was merely the result; the essence of Crystallization Theory was to induce a phase transition into a 'crystal' and fix it in place. The magic circle was drawn with the ice of permafrost that would not melt and flow away.
Mana resides within crystal structures. The essence of white magic is to release that mana by breaking down the structure. This is why white magic uses gems as catalysts, and also why black magic is less powerful.
The bodily structures black magic uses as catalysts are infinitely inferior to crystals.
Ice is the same. Its structure is decent, but it melts too easily to be a suitable catalyst. If the structure collapsed at an unintended moment, the mana would scatter. That's why ice catalysts are only barely usable in polar regions.
But the Blue Tower Master was different.
The unmeltable ice held mana and began to glow. A grand spell was completed with astonishing ease. The magic circle surrounding me, Lankart, and the Blue Tower Master melted in an instant, adjusting gravity.
“Ta-da.”
As the Blue Tower Master capped her fountain pen, the ice crystals melted at once, completing the spell. Our bodies floated up in an instant, without any shock.
The Floating Castle is a place where artificial gravity is applied. This precisely manipulated gravity guided us toward the Blue Tower.
A Magic Tower is no simple structure. The reason it takes the form of a tower is because it is a structure that gives form to knowledge.
Knowledge, too, has its schools of thought. At first, it is but a line drawn on empty ground, but as bricks of knowledge are laid one by one, intellectual wanderers arrive. Some of them, seeking a place to rest their reason, settle here and add their own bricks.
Enduring the wind and rain day after day, welcoming countless wanderers. A monumental tower built of intellectual bricks. That is what a Magic Tower is.
A tower of blue crystal, built by mages who explored a world of hardened truths. The Crystal Tower. Known for short as the Blue Tower. The Blue Tower Master, who had guided us to its highest floor, drew a rectangle on the wall with her fountain pen.
Creating a door on the tower's outer wall, she led us inside. After closing the door, she solidified the scattered crystals and spoke.
“There. Not even the most heinous, wanted black mage could be found if they hid here. You can relax. You're welcome to thank me, too.”
Me, sheltering a wanted black mage. How superior can I be? I must be the only mage in this entire Floating Castle who can empathize with a black mage's circumstances.
This was driving me crazy. I was grateful, but reading her mind with my telepathy felt like it was diluting the emotion. Still, this arrogance was useful to me. I'd play along for now.
“Thank you. And I mean that sincerely, not just because you told me to. I'm glad there's someone who understands that I'm just a harmless black mage from the Military State.”
“Well, I do hold the title of Director of the Intelligence Bureau.”
“The Intelligence Bureau?”
“The Federation Intelligence Bureau. It's the department that collects and manages information from outside the Mage Federation. Thanks to that, I'm better informed than other mages. I'm quick on the trends, too.”
As she subtly showed off her clothes and accessories, a hint of pride was visible. Even I, a native of the Military State with no knowledge of fashion, could tell her attire was something to be proud of.
“For your information, your best friend, Lankart, is in the same division. He's my subordinate. There's no better informant than one of the chosen who came from the world below.”
I glanced at Lankart, who hastily made an excuse.
“Don't misunderstand. Me being under her is just a formality. You're still my boss, Huey.”
“That's not the important part.”
Best friend? What's that about? If we're getting technical, you're closer to a business partner.
“I appreciate your help. But wouldn't it be more efficient to just clear my wanted status?”
“That's impossible,” the Blue Tower Master replied instantly.
“It's a principle among mages not to interfere in another's domain. Be it magic or power. You can't expect the same common sense here as in the world below, understand?”
I wonder if that blank face can even grasp my meaning. Lankart said he was 'more exceptional than himself,' but he doesn't look it. Especially since he was born in a country as intellectually bankrupt as the Military State, he may never overcome his foolishness.
So she has her own lines she won't cross. I guess that's what happens when kindness is for self-satisfaction, not self-sacrifice. In that case, it's better to stay quietly on her good side.
“I understand...”
As I mumbled with a deflated attitude, the Blue Tower Master flashed another bright smile.
“That said, I won't sell you out, so don't worry. To be honest, I find it a bit strange myself. He may be a black mage, but once it was known he was from the Military State, they should have realized how weak and insignificant his power is. I wonder if a bounty was really necessary.”
“Pwahahaha!”
That burst of laughter wasn't from me. As Lankart clutched his stomach, laughing, the Blue Tower Master slightly lowered her sunglasses. Lankart waved his hand and said.
“Kekeke. You're not so special after all. The Security Bureau has a better assessment of Huey than you do.”
“What's that supposed to mean? Is there some information I'm not aware of?”
“Information? I've told you time and again. You're the one who failed to understand.”
Perhaps because Lankart was one of the chosen she acknowledged, the Blue Tower Master focused and replied to his words.
“I don't think your friend is that dangerous. On the contrary, he seems quite good-natured and harmless.”
“The logic of a right-hander can only judge the world of right-handers. You, right-hander, you still don't know. You don't know what kind of power Huey has obtained...!”
“Hey, Lankart. Quiet down. What power are you talking about?”
That cut Lankart's words short. It's nice that you rate me so highly, but don't do it in front of other people. I need to be perceived as ordinary.
It's one of two things. Either Lankart is being deceived, or I am. There's no way I'm being deceived, so Lankart must be the one. Even with outstanding talent, one's perception can become warped if their environment is backward.
...In a way, she's truly amazing.
In any case, having concluded that part of the conversation, the Blue Tower Master clasped her hands together and said.
“We're adults, so let's take care of business first. Lankart. Start with your report on the mysterious explosion at the Tree of Genesis.”
“Huey was there. I guess Nevida must have gotten on his bad side.”
“As if.”
I quickly corrected him and told her the truth.
That we were kidnapped by Nevida and blew up the Tree of Genesis to escape. Shei did it, of course.
Naturally, I didn't mention that I was the King of Humans and Nevida's number one target. It wasn't exactly a secret, but there was no need to show my hand first.
The Blue Tower Master pointed out the gap in the story.
“That's strange. Nevida has no reason to kidnap you.”
“Are you an idiot? There's plenty of reason to kidnap Huey. To take that power for herself...”
“I told you to be quiet.”
She must have thought the reason was insufficient. Time to sell Shei out.
“I have a companion named Shei. He came with me, but we got separated when he was locked up by the Security Bureau. The thing is, he possesses a relic of the Divine. I suspect that's what Nevida was after.”
I had planned to emphasize how powerful and dangerous Shei was, but there was no need. The Blue Tower Master spoke.
“You're talking about the relic of Mother Earth.”
“Huh? You know about it?”
“Of course. The Divine are beings who have a great influence on the magical world. We keep a close watch on their movements.”
If the Magic Towers were towers of intellect, built up brick by brick with knowledge and magic, the Divine were colossal towers that had existed there from the very beginning.
But... a relic of the Divine at this particular time. Things are getting quite complicated. If it weren't for me, the situation might have become a tangled mess.
“I'm already aware of your companion's movements.”
“Oh, as expected of the Intelligence Bureau.”
He came looking for me first, but that, too, must be the fruit of my brilliant intellect and the mercy I showed to a commoner.
I wonder if Shei knows what the Blue Tower Master is thinking. Maybe she only helped him because she found him that foolish and pathetic.
The Blue Tower Master took out a small crystal orb. A Resonance Crystal Orb, a magical tool that linked two crystals with identical structures, allowing the vibrations of one to be transmitted to the other. Capable of transmitting not only sound but also light, the crystal orb was a symbolic invention of the Crystal Tower.
The Blue Tower Master brought her lips close to the clear crystal orb and spoke.
“Siquel. Are you there?”
[Yes, Lady Elisha! This is Siquel. Is there anything you need!]
“You know that kid who came to the Blue Tower the other day? I'm going to meet him. Send him over.”
[Understood! I'll check on it right away!]
A voice filled with reverence came from beyond the crystal orb. Having given her command, the Blue Tower Master set the orb down and said.
“Well. We have a little time to spare, so shall we have a private chat?”
“A private chat? I don't know much worth talking about...”
“I won't ask any difficult questions. I'm simply curious about how the commoners of the world below live. So, what should we drink? Green tea? Coffee?”
Without giving me a chance to refuse, the Blue Tower Master picked up her fountain pen. She drew the shape of a cup in the air, and upon activating her Unique Magic, a cup of that exact shape popped into existence. The Blue Tower Master dropped a water crystal into it and gave it a slight push toward me. The cup slid slowly across the table and stopped in front of me. A fine, almost invisible layer of ice had formed on the tabletop.
She had created a path of ice for the cup. It was a use of her Unique Magic as natural as breathing. It wasn't as absolute as the Green Tower Master's one-way street, but it seemed far more versatile. I was genuinely impressed.
“That's a very delicate Unique Magic.”
“Hahaha. It's blatant flattery, but it feels nice.”
“And useful, too. You call it crystallization, but it's closer to material creation... Aside from the limited physical properties, it's even superior to alchemy.”
“I like your analysis, too. This is the first time I've felt so good while someone was critiquing my Unique Magic. So, what about yours?”
“Pardon?”
The Blue Tower Master tilted her cup slightly and asked.
“You're Lankart's 'friend,' aren't you? For Lankart, who has a stronger sense of superiority than the chosen born and raised in the Floating Castle, to call you a 'friend,' I assumed you must have awakened a Unique Magic as well... Am I wrong?”
“I don't have anything like a Unique Magic.”
“Unable to awaken a Unique Magic, and unlearned in white magic. Are you really just a pure commoner? My, my.”
She looked slightly disappointed. It made me sad to wonder what I did to deserve this kind of treatment.
With nothing more to say, I was just sipping my water. Suddenly, the Resonance Crystal flashed and an urgent voice came through.
[Lady Elisha!]
“What is it?”
[A battle has broken out in the Floating Castle! The person you asked for is fighting the Black Tower Master!]
What kind of trouble are you causing now, Shei?