Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: A Day in the Violet Magic Tower
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'The Violet Magic Tower is a gathering place for weirdos.'
After denying this statement for three years, hesitating for another three, and finally accepting it after three more... I realized it was an irrefutable truth. This massive epiphany hit me just as my tenure surpassed nine years.
The proof of the statement's validity was unfolding right before my eyes in real time. Could you behold the frenzied Violet Magic Tower mages howling in madness?
"Junior's theory is invincible, and my panty modeling is divine!!"
"Illusion magic isn't for replicating women's underwear—aaargh!!"
"If I develop an amazing illusion spell, Junior promised to shorten the shorts on the shota butler!"
"I've developed an illusion that makes your hands feel like there are five of them—anyone want to try it? Payment: a cute recording of the Tower Master whining about hating bean sprouts!"
"This isn't the curve. Once again, I failed to capture the full beauty of the breasts... I must find the ultimate breasts... but I couldn't..."
Lorelei, the Violet Magic Tower's illusion mage, let out a deep sigh today as well, gazing at her tower's lovable band of misfits.
Looking back, the tower hadn't always been this unhinged. What was it like when I first joined the Violet Magic Tower? Back then, it was filled with world-weary, melancholic magic seekers.
If you seek wealth, go to the Golden Magic Tower. For simple revenge, the Crimson Magic Tower. For pure research, the Azure Magic Tower. Only those with some darkly twisted bent end up here in the Violet Magic Tower.
Not just wealth, but those who crave what doesn't exist in the world.
Not mere revenge, but those who yearn to inflict horrors never before seen.
Not simple inquiry, but those who peek behind the world's veiled curtains.
People chasing not ordinary worldly values, but something warped.
Take that guy right there.
"Junior's always right. He secured the funding, after all. The one who brings funding is a god, a god's words are truth, so Junior's words are all correct."
This man, obsessively researching the optimal transparency levels for various parts of panties in worship of Junior, was astonishingly a mage with fifteen years at the Violet Magic Tower. A man who had even been a candidate for Violet Magic Tower Master in a previous era.
Before his brain got corrupted by Junior's twisted ideals, he'd been researching a curse to convert pleasure into pain. Driven by a single-minded vow to avenge himself against the noble who ruined his life, he'd slaved away with bloodshot eyes to strip every shred of happiness from that man's existence.
But after hanging out with Junior a few times, he wound up like this.
For some reason, the Violet Magic Tower's roster was packed with young blood, so fifteen years of service made you a proper senior. Exaggerating a bit, it put you on par with elders from other towers... (Only relatively speaking. If a real elder from another tower showed up, you'd have to bow your head.)
As the saying goes, clear water at the top makes clear water below. With the top like that, the underlings weren't normal either.
That woman over there, thick glasses on, meticulously sketching a shota butler on paper—she was in her sixth year. Her childhood sweetheart, whom she'd promised marriage to, ran off with a mercenary who passed through town. Desperate to win him back somehow, she'd been studying "mind destruction" and "seduction."
"There's... a person inside the paper...!!"
Ever since she got swept up in Junior's terrifying butler legion, she'd changed. Now her goal was crafting a boyfriend perfectly tailored to her tastes using illusion magic.
And it was all because of Junior... that is, the promising grand mage candidate, the genius illusion mage who created the "Living Illusion of the Violet Tower," owner of the ominous black hair and red eyes, rumored to be dating the Tower Master herself.
Too intimidating to call him "junior," so everyone reverently addressed him as "Junior"—the illusion mage ▒▒▒ was the root cause.
"Damn it, he put 'Recognition Impairment' on his own name again..."
He was also the thoroughly mad bastard who slapped a lock on his own name.
Who holds the top spot in the Violet Magic Tower? Obviously, the Violet Magic Tower Master.
She's cute and clumsy, but no one dares disrespect her. Even the most foul-tempered, shady types fall into obedient postures before her.
Did her cuteness, like the warm sun stripping a traveler's coat, reform even these flawed mages?
No way.
They've all tasted one of her low kicks, that's why they cower.
And here's a perfect example. The tale of a fresh three-year newbie.
"After three months... I finally did it! 'Melbutton's Accuracy-Reduction Force Field'! Staring at the engraved pattern disrupts your focus, making it impossible to land a proper hit—my original artifact! With this, I can avenge my hometown that was burned down..."
"N-New creation? Hng..."
"T-Tower Master, not so suddenly, anything but this—!!"
Tap. Boom.
"S-Sorry... I didn't know it'd shatter from just a flick... B-But... the name's a bit grandiose, don't you think? How about 'Melbutton's Sugar Coating'...?"
"Aaaahhh...!!"
When something you poured your life into shatters from a single gesture, your head bows naturally. The world works that way, and so did the Violet Magic Tower—the law of the jungle reigned supreme.
The Tower Master probably wasn't smashing spells just for fun. Illusion magic is downright terrible in combat. That Melbutton thing would've just gotten stabbed in the side in a real fight.
Sheltered tower researchers don't realize this. They don't get why the Violet Magic Tower has such a bad rep, or why everyone trashes illusion magic.
You only learn after getting blown away by a single shout in real combat.
I did too. I thought it'd work until I got pummeled in the field. Instead of a valuable lesson, I got a huge scar on my face. Oh, and my left eye as tuition on top.
So the Tower Master shows them a bitter taste upfront as prevention.
"Crunch crunch... ehehehe..."
"......"
She isn't doing it for fun... right?
Who’s the second-in-command of the Violet Magic Tower? There's debate, but in my personal opinion, it's Junior.
Some say it's because he's grand mage material. Others because he's a whiz at illusion magic. My take is a bit different.
Traditionally, isn't the second the right-hand of the top dog? Even if they're incompetent or dumb, if the top dotes on them utterly, they become number two. Especially if the top wields absolute power.
"Hey, isn't it about time we modeled some other stuff too...?"
"Extras can just have their features smudged roughly, but we'll need a high-end model like Heart, right?"
"Um... should I share my body data...?"
"No thanks."
"Ugh."
See that tender exchange? Inside the Violet Magic Tower, the consensus is "there's some weird vibe, but not that yet." But I think they're already a couple.
There's decisive proof.
This was from one day when I passed by under "Invisibility" and overheard their chat by chance.
"Oh, off to bathe again today?"
"D-Don't say it like I don't wash!"
"Everyone finds it such a hassle. Even the seniors only do it once a week. The Tower Master too, right?"
"Sh-Showing me something like that...!"
What the hell did you show the Tower Master, Junior?
Junior stood out from day one at the tower. He bathed daily and washed his hands constantly. I thought it might be that obsessive cleanliness disorder you hear about.
Then suddenly, the Tower Master started bathing every day too.
People don't die from bathing once a week. Do you think skipping means you'll get sick or infested with bugs? Sickness and bugs come from polluted air. And the tower's air is managed by cleansing magic and holy water.
So those two bathing religiously every day is suspicious. What on earth are they doing that requires daily washes? Wiping away traces that'd be trouble if discovered? And what kind of traces...?
I have several hypotheses on this, but I won't voice them.
Anyway, it's true Junior brought a fresh breeze to the tower. Fresh funding too. Fresh magic as well.
Everyone's excited, no doubt. A grand mage's rise elevates the whole tower's status.
Plus, they're thrilled at the prospect of finally getting proper "guidance."
The Tower Master sucks at teaching. She pulls it off "just like that" with her innate genius. Her original spells are so vicious no one dares attempt them.
Junior's magic, on the other hand, is different from hers. It demands insane computation power, but with enough manpower and time invested, it's reproducible. He's great at teaching others too.
If Junior keeps rising to grand mage status and shares his knowledge with the Violet Magic Tower...
A lot would change.
As I shoveled down oatmeal porridge while whittling a ring-shaped artifact, Charlie—our fifteen-year panty enthusiast senior—struck up a conversation.
"Lorelei, coming along well?"
"Ah, yeah. Kinda."
"You're a rare one. If relic exploration's your lifelong dream... wouldn't the Golden Magic Tower have been better? All that money, practical magic too."
"I've told you over and over: relic hunting with my little sister is the goal."
My sister and I dreamed of being adventurers. Exploring ruins across the continent, uncovering the world's secrets... becoming cool adventurers like our parents.
But the dream shattered. My sister lost both legs in a carriage accident. She'd gotten distracted by a butterfly and nearly got hit; she pushed me out of the way and took the hit instead.
That's why I started studying illusion magic.
"Lorelei's Possession."
The spell I'm developing. Its effect: forcibly controlling another's body. I plan to use it to gift my body to my sister.
Still a long way to completion, but someday, for sure.
Mulling over my cherished dream, I noticed Charlie pulling up a chair and sitting.
He had something to say, so I paused my artifact tuning and turned to him.
"Something up?"
"With funding rolling in... and rumors of Second Prince Irid's visit spreading, we're seeing more newbies poking around the tower."
"Never thought I'd see the day crowds flock to the Violet Magic Tower."
"Back when we were broke and filthy, even thieves skipped us—no scraps to steal. Now it's different. Some are bound to come with ulterior motives."
"Well... the Tower Master'll sort 'em out, right?"
"We gotta clean house before she lifts a finger. How many years you got again?"
"Nine."
"Ah, yeah... that explains it. You wouldn't know."
Charlie rubbed his forehead with a sigh, scanned the surroundings, confirmed no one was around, and finally spoke.
"Lorelei, ever seen an old-timer in the Violet Magic Tower?"
"Nope. Oldest looks mid-forties at best?"
I'd chalked it up to coincidence without much thought. But for Charlie to get this serious... there must be a reason.
"Think hard: why no swarms of elders like other towers? Why are twenty-year vets the top seniors here?"
"Got it..."
Charlie added one last thing.
"Don't take the Tower Master too lightly."
With that, he stood and left. The shadow on his face, the distant look in his eyes like he was reminiscing... What happened? Maybe the Violet Magic Tower hides some dark secret—
"Hey!! Junior and the Tower Master were kissing!!"
"What?! Gotta go see!"
Charlie bolted off without a shred of dignity.
I muttered in disbelief.
"...Don't take her too lightly, he says..."