Chapter 363
Chapter 363
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 363
Chapter Title: Preparations at the Violet Magic Tower
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The new year of 454 in the Lion Calendar had dawned.
New Year's Day—the day the calendar resets. December 31st magically turns into January 1st. The sun of the new year rises...
From the planet's perspective, though, there were far more things that stayed the same than changed. The sun was the same, the clouds unchanged, the land just as it was. Dates were just arbitrary labels humans slapped on time, after all.
So humans celebrated them just as arbitrarily. Even though it was merely the passage of time and the turning of the year, they reveled in the feeling of a fresh breeze blowing in. And that sensation wasn't meaningless.
Where the heart goes, action follows.
If they felt the world had transformed entirely and acted accordingly, the new year would surely serve as a splendid prologue to some grand tale.
Households with some leisure in life marked the occasion modestly, preparing special meals. Some set goals like succeeding at a diet, while others swore to slay a dragon before the year was out.
And amid all this...
"Uh, yeah. Loren. Sis... I've got some urgent business, so I won't be home for a while. Yeah. One of my crazy juniors dumped a ton of work on me..."
There was one pitiful mage suffering through New Year's overtime.
Lorelei, a mage of the Violet Magic Tower, leaned against the balcony railing on the 20th floor, fumbling with her communication orb.
She was a woman with a prominent scar across her face, renowned in certain circles as the "Puppet Lorelei," a skilled illusion mage.
"A cake? You baked it yourself...?"
But right now, she was just a wretched, pitiable soul who couldn't go home due to overtime, couldn't get a massage from her little brother, and couldn't even taste his homemade New Year's cake.
Ah, cruel passage of time!
So much to do, yet so little time to do it in?
"Ah, uh-huh. I'll try my best to make it home next week. Sorry, Loren. Your sis will work harder... Huh? Got it, I'll take it easy so I don't wreck my health. Night, Loren. My little bro. Love you."
Mwah, mwah, mwah.
Lorelei peppered the orb with goodbye kisses before cutting the connection. She then lit a mana cigarette, took a drag, and exhaled a thick plume of white smoke.
Just one more, then back inside. Finish the work quick, and maybe she'll see her brother's face next week.
"Ha..."
She stared blankly at the sky with fatigue-clouded eyes. Watching the drifting smoke, she noticed another thin trail rising from below.
Poke.
Lorelei peeked over the balcony edge. Below stood a newbie puffing on a cigarette with a sour expression—and her bouncy, cinnamon-roll curls.
"Hoo... Life's a real bitch."
Her name was Jewel Yurensuto, the younger sister of the Violet Magic Tower Master.
Jewel's roundabout path to the Violet Magic Tower stemmed from her clothing brand venture at Crown Hall crashing spectacularly. In just three days.
One deranged mage commented that it could've won a speedrun contest for fastest store bankruptcy.
Was it a lack of talent? Hardly. Jewel now handled general affairs for the Violet Magic Tower, and wasteful spending had plummeted since she started. She knew how to manage money.
Mages shuddered at the mere rustle of her skirts. She'd slashed sloppy research proposals without mercy.
So why did the clothing shop fail?
Glance.
Jewel looked up, locking eyes with Lorelei. Lorelei gave an awkward nod and offered the usual pleasantries.
"Doing well?"
"Not at all. Never imagined the tower ran on such haphazard methods. The research is all bizarre nonsense... And designing women's underwear should be tailors' work, not mages', right?"
"Still better than the truly horrific stuff, no? Though you say that... I hear she approves budgets even for slightly offbeat projects if the proposal's solid."
Jewel huffed, her cinnamon rolls bouncing.
"Heard it from Sis. Don't meddle in research content. She wants the Violet Magic Tower to be a place for pursuing whatever studies they desire... So I'm just cutting the waste."
Respecting the tower master's wishes, Jewel didn't delve into research details. Whether some lunatic wanted to body-swap with their brother or manifest a fictional shorts-wearing shota to date...
The funding came from a mad mage so favored by the imperial court that it raised eyebrows, so no need to force only "profitable" research.
But curbing waste was entirely different from meddling in content.
Yes, waste.
Heat rising, Jewel pulled a cherished handkerchief from her bosom and gnawed on it furiously. A parade of botched proposals flashed in her mind. Especially that blockhead Melverton.
"How is that rock-head Melverton even a mage? Magic at making money vanish? You know how it felt seeing '∞' in the budget section of his so-called research plan?!"
"Melverton's Accuracy-Reduction Field is still a Violet Tower steady-seller, though."
"Not the product's fault. That bastard—couldn't even secure proper suppliers, got ripped off at every market stall buying materials!"
No wonder they were broke despite big sales. Wealth doesn't accumulate without reason.
If she kept listening, Jewel's rant montage would eat 30 minutes easy. Lorelei cut in before it ramped up.
"I'll head in first, Lady Jewel."
"...Yeah. Take care."
Lorelei tapped ash into the ashtray, carefully gathered it to avoid wind scatter, dumped it, stretched, and glanced at her smoke buddy.
Time to finish research. The crazy junior mage wanted it done by February at latest. The tower mages would grind hard for that.
Work diligently. For tomorrow.
Lorelei ascended to the tower's top floor.
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You can't live in debt, Jewel Yurensuto thought.
Debt was tormenting. Especially mentally. It created a clear superior-inferior dynamic until repaid.
'We made you a noble, didn't we?'
How much had those words suppressed? She wanted no part of it twice over. Even now, having fled her family thanks to her sister, that mindset lingered.
She had to repay the salvation debt. (Unlikely as it was) What if her sister demanded something unreasonable someday, using it as leverage? Like, say, becoming the crazy mage's concubine.
In a happy, healthy scenario, no such demands. She'd probably beg Jewel to ignore the crazy mage instead—two rivals already.
But if misfortune left her sister barren, yet craving a child, and she turned to blood-kin Jewel...?
To firmly say 'NO' then, clear the debt beforehand.
So she ambitiously launched a clothing business in the imperial capital. Who knew the magical girl craze sweeping from Redburn Duchy would tank initial buzz?
Pivoting designs failed when her hired tailor bolted. Left with massive inventory and bigger debts.
Thus, Jewel Yurensuto rejoined the Violet Magic Tower as general manager.
Business failure debts, rescue debts. To shed both packs, tighten belts—while preserving the tower's identity. The master was Yuna, not Jewel.
She stubbed her cigarette on the railing and entered. Today too, hunting waste-mongers with fiery eyes.
"Oh, she's coming! The Jewel's here!"
"Kill the lights, everyone! Save mana stones with darkness!"
"...Hmph, idiots? No lights drop efficiency, ruin eyesight—net waste! Showboating crime. Minus one performance point."
"Gaaah—!!"
Jewel felled another illusion mage today.
Her efforts boosted fiscal efficiency 30%. Yuna bounced excitedly, showering Jewel with cheek kisses.
Still insufficient. Lacking specialist knowledge. Cut waste smarter by understanding the work. Else, create waste eventually.
So, study too.
Found a perfect teacher for illusion magic novices: mana-less, artifact-reliant, but expert. Mushroom-headed kid.
"Ahem, welcome to Illusion Magic Beginner Class. I'm the 'Hypnosis Detective,' and today: three types of mental barriers... Jewel, do we have to?"
Bonus: could generate value.
Beep.
Jewel paused the mana camcorder.
"Tower's education is chaotic. Beginner vids are gold. No chit-chat, start lecturing."
"...Fine. Homework check first. You did yours, Jewel. Alice?"
The other student, Alice, legs crossed on desk, declared boldly.
"Too boring, skipped. Felt unnecessary..."
"Knew it..."
Victim of old Violet Tower experiments, Yuna's friend Alice. Saved miraculously by the mad mage.
Not unscathed. Used as evil god conduit, revived—body info-lifeform-like, frail, dream-plagued. But illusion aptitude skyrocketed.
So she surged with minimal practice; "Hypnosis Detective's" solid-foundation lessons bored her.
She had enthusiasm. Lit up for labs. Just hated drills and homework.
"Mental barriers classify three ways: defensive, trap, restorative. Features first. Defensive preempts intrusion..."
...
The brief two-hour lesson ended.
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The "Hypnosis Detective" halted packing Alice. They had plans.
"Together today. Not forgetting, right?"
"...Today?"
"Today. Delay more, even saintly Senior Lorelei won't let slide."
"Dreams were too wild then."
Jewel interjected. Her purple eyes sparkled slyly—smelling romance. Like her sister, she loved love stories.
"Where to, you two?"
"Ah, well..."
Regrettably, no budding romance. "Hypnosis Detective" pondered, then invited her.
"Join us, Jewel? Might need you."
"...For what? I'll see."
Alice grinned wickedly.
"Once seen, no escape..."
"...?"
The trio headed to the tower's pinnacle—Yuna's office. Tamper with wall mirror; hidden stairs emerge.
A secret upper level. Climb long steps, open door—
"Lorelei, C-3's warping—tighten! Adding illusion stones!"
"Yes, little miss junior."
"...Call me whatever, but that's convoluted, no, Lorelei?"
"You didn't give your name. In the holy city."
Under Aisha—tower's number three—elite Violet mages assembled a massive "something."
A pitch-black pillar. Sharpened to a point.
Jewel recoiled instinctively from the ominous spire. Deep primal dread welled.
"...What is that, Lorelei?"
"Our crazy junior's commission. Core: illusion stones. All tower resources, manpower... Mental annihilation intercontinental ballistic spear launcher."
It was a colossal "Heart-Shattering Profound Arrow," dubbed:
"Longinus."
The one-shot to slay the evil dragon.