Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: What Were You Up To?
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I went looking for the Violet Magic Tower Master because I had something to ask her, but for some reason, nobody knew where she was. Even when I asked a passing senior with the facial scar.
"She must be right by your side, above you, behind you, or below you, Junior."
"What does that mean?"
"It's you who sticks right next to the Tower Master every single day. How would I know?"
That was the kind of response I got. Anyone overhearing might think we slept together, bathed together, the works.
Of course, that did happen sometimes.
Like when we'd both pass out from exhaustion during research and end up sleeping side by side by accident, or when I'd doze off in the shower and she'd wash me up.
But nothing indecent ever happened. This was the third thing I paid attention to in Tower life. Relationships between men and women.
Once you start getting conscious of the messy stuff, things get awkwardly endless. No matter how many thick layers of years you've built up, one slip-up confession can crumble it all. That's man-woman dynamics for you.
The Tower Master was like family to me. I didn't want to risk screwing that up with some mistake.
That's where the all-purpose Illusion Magic came in. I'd tweaked it so even if I felt desire, it wouldn't lead to any physical reactions. No blushing, nothing like that.
Anyway.
What I'd wanted to ask her about was ways to boost my combat power. After that brutal fight with the guardian golem on our last outing, I'd realized something: mindlessly spamming Illusion Magic just gets you pummeled like a dust mop.
So I'd come up with countermeasures, but whether they'd actually work was anyone's guess.
I also wanted her to inspect my swordsmanship and give me some career advice. I'd seen it with my own eyes—the First Princess Elaine unleashing Storm Fist and turning into Flying Princess. Having witnessed that, I couldn't just let it slide.
Molting.
I wanted to molt too.
The First Princess's Wind Gauntlets of the Overture was a spell I could use too. It specialized in Illusion Magic, but that didn't restrict learning other spells. Yet the Wind Gauntlets she cast were a full-on storm.
Watching that scene, I thought, Maybe I could too? So I quietly murmured Bloodwind. Predictably, nothing happened—just a mini fan's worth of breeze.
Molting seemed like some kind of ultimate or awakening move. From what I could tell, it ran on the power of the heart. Even pouring my all into every spell I knew got me zilch.
The Violet Magic Tower Master and grand archmage Yuna had surpassed molting, reaching Sublimation, hadn't she? As the ultimate technique senior, she might teach me... or at least give me a clue.
So I searched the bathrooms (just knocked), peeked in her bedroom, checked if she was hiding in the research wing by visiting every senior's lab, and even threw a low kick at a stand-in.
And in the simulation room—where I figured she absolutely wouldn't be—I finally found her. She was lying on the magic circle, jacked in, so I hailed her via external voice chat.
"Tower Master, what're you doing in there?"
-I-I was just... messing around! Yeah!
"Ah, sure. Looks like it."
Glancing at the display, it showed the internal situation in dot graphics. Inside the sim, you could spectate the control room in full 360-degree 3D, but outside, budget and mana constraints meant dot graphics.
The Tower Master's dot was sweating bullets. Probably busted for playing alone.
Next to her were Centra's dot, Phero's dot, and all sorts of random junk scattered around. Hard to make out in dots, but there were definitely swords, dresses, and cakes.
I tossed it out casually.
"Wanna play together?"
-Uh, um?
"More fun with two than solo, right?"
-I-I'm fine either way.
"Craving the after-story? I could rewind it if you want. Or reset once and make you the protagonist for a New Game Plus. Plot tweaks, of course."
-R-Reset no...!!
While Violet Tower Master Yuna desperately defended while staring at the sky, Centra and Phero watched the sharp clash between the wicked evil god and the kind good god.
The evil god had so casually uttered "reset." It was the apocalypse. Centra and Phero froze in place, trembling.
Yuna hid her hands behind her back, frantically signaling the two.
I'll handle this somehow, so stay out of sight and quiet...!!
The evil god kept spitting out horrifying possibilities.
-World crossover sounds fun, Tower Master. Centra'd shine in a wasteland.
"N-No, I-I just moved her there out of boredom...!"
The evil god talked about shipping Centra—who'd poured all her memories and experiences into Crown Hall—off to a strange world.
-What-if games are a blast. Like if Phero were a girl, or Centra a guy. Wanna tweak the models a bit? Your butlers love that stuff, right?
"Th-That's no, just stop...!"
Or swapping genders. (Centra seriously pondered how to explain that to Irid if it happened.)
After that, the good god Yuna mustered courage to shield against the evil god's barrage of nightmares. The evil god's voice grew darker and more sinister with each word. The Tower Master hadn't played with him, so he was a bit sulky.
-Well, everyone needs alone time sometimes... Got it. I'll head to the research wing and work. Consult when you're done playing and have time.
"Y-Yeah, coming out soon...!!"
Click.
The voice from the sky cut off.
The Tower Master let out a deflating sigh and slumped down. He seemed a little miffed, but she could spend three hours tweaking models with him... or if that didn't cut it, chant the magic spell.
'She wants to hear your thoughts on the character's panties.'
Shed have to endure an hour of embarrassing monologue, but better than leaving him salty. He got annoyingly prickly when hurt.
"...I-Is it... over, god...?"
"Yeah, we... lived."
"We lived...!!"
Phero threw his arms up in victory. At the same moment, the boy realized why this world was full of suffering. The evil god had spilled the truth. No wonder the good god had dodged explaining!
"........."
The Tower Master vowed to take her village massacre idea for Phero to the grave.
A while later, the Tower Master came to me. She eyed my face all suspiciously, then said,
"I-I wanna hear about... the character's panties..."
Hmm.
Looks like my sulky act had worked. Seizing the moment, I rambled on about what panties would suit the Tower Master best. I stopped before her face exploded.
Then we shifted to a productive, wholesome topic. My original goal.
"How do you molt?"
"...It bugs you?"
"Looks useful... and guys can't resist ultimates."
"Hmm, for you right now... might be tough..."
"Why."
"U-Uwaa! D-Don't shove your face in!"
"At least a convincing reason."
"You want it baaad...?!"
Can you resist an ultimate? I couldn't.
The Tower Master gently pushed my chin and forehead back with her soft hands, explaining.
"Molting and Sublimation change your soul to gain power. The most basic way to reshape a soul is drawing intense emotions from memories. But... your memories aren't intact, right?"
"...Huh?"
Suddenly accused of early-onset dementia. I opened my mouth to protest—then closed it. Thinking it over, yeah, there were blanks. A lot.
Past life memories were still sharp. But this life's... fuzzy. Specifically, I couldn't recall my potato-farming parents' names. And there was a childhood friend heroine I played with in the village...
Early-onset dementia, huh.
"D-Don't worry too much! It's fixable. Yeah. I'm working hard on it!"
"...There's this novel I read funnily in my past life? About raising a protagonist who periodically loses memories."
"Do you know how hard I'm workinggg...!!"
Fuming at the sneak diss, the Tower Master pinched my cheeks. For all her words, I didn't doubt her. I heard more explanation.
"So, maybe aim for molting after recovering memories. Like I said, unstable molting's like madness magic. Get it in shaky times, and boom—qi deviation. Right?"
"...But just from that, sounds like there are other ways?"
"Yeah. Since reshaping the soul's the key, you can force it artificially. By crushing or wounding the soul."
"And those who mess with souls directly... we call black mages, right?"
"Yep. That's why black mages still hold power. Even with the whole world against them, they don't get wiped out. 'Cause their everyday spells are basically moltings."
The consultation ended on hold.
She'd protect me solidly, so relax and have fun. Once everything settled, we could take it slow.
Sometimes I wondered why the Tower Master was so good to me. Liked my intermittently handsome face? Or my pheromones working overtime?
Felt like she saw someone else in me too. Like with Elaine.
"Heading to my hometown."
"...Hometown?"
"Yeah. The memory gaps bug me. Just a quick check."
It was nagging at me now.
Sorting through the blanks, my dementia seemed to hit low-priority memories first. Useless ones vanished quickest. Prized memories lingered last.
Brains really were best born sharp. How else could you infer memory gaps? Prime archmage material. That's me.
Flip it: forgotten stuff was low-priority. What was so forgettable about potato-farming hometown days?
"Academy's soon, so no free time later. Remove the necklace, Tower Master."
"B-But outside's dangerous...!"
"Neck snapping's quicker. And I'm not going alone. Second Prince said he'd assign someone? She's sticking with me through academy, so bonding trip on the way..."
"A girl?!"
"Yeah, a girl."
"No!"
The Tower Master growled.
Stunned by the unexpected pushback, I heard clicking heels. A woman in a sharp suit and ponytail entered the parlor.
Cool, edgy look with horn-rimmed glasses, pink hair. Prejudiced, but tradition says pink hair means—
"Imperial Defense Bureau field agent, Yuri Lanster. As of today, escorting ID Crazy Mage."
"W-Woman's a no...!"
"I like women. Pleased to meet you."
"Uh, wha...?"
Sudden orientation reveal froze the protesting Tower Master. I froze too, processing.
My sharp brain spotted the issue fast. If true, she'd eye the Tower Master shady-like. Tower Master was cute.
And yep, already shady-eyeing. Following her pink-haired gaze—to the Tower Master's absolute territory between stockings and skirt. Unacceptable. Why? Couldn't say.
"Pleased, Pink-haired Lez."
"Likewise, Crazy Mage."
Sparks flew between me and the handshake Pink-haired Lez.