Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Piling Up
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Returning to the Violet Magic Tower, I found the Violet Magic Tower Master, Yuna, fidgeting restlessly.
To be more precise, her face was strangely flushed bright red. One hand gripped the hem of her skirt, pressing it down, while her thighs were squeezed together tightly. She moved with extreme caution, her upturned eyes fixed on me as she fidgeted.
Because her skirt was already so short, her efforts to pull it down had it half-stuck on her hips instead of her waist. That left a sliver of her lower abdomen peeking out between the skirt and her top. Her skin was pale white.
I cast another self-restraint spell on my libido. Thanks to that, I could stay calm.
"Why are you acting so shy?"
"W-Well, they said it suited me..."
"...Pardon?"
"N-Nothing! How was your hometown trip...?"
"Oh, you know. It was something."
Even in my previous life, my family situation hadn't been great, and this time around, it was just as bad. But more importantly, there was the matter of the Violet Magic Tower being suspected of human trafficking.
Pingbalrez had explained that the chances of the entire Violet Magic Tower being a human trafficking ring were extremely low. His first reason was that if there were movements on that scale, the Imperial Defense Bureau would have picked up intelligence on it.
His second reason was that they weren't black mages, so why would they need people? Honestly, though, about 70% of the research done at the Violet Magic Tower did require human subjects. Like studies turning happiness into pain, for instance.
Pingbalrez's evidence didn't completely dispel my suspicions. Nothing was certain without certainty.
And if you're suspicious, just ask.
Grumbling behind someone's back only leads to tangled misunderstandings that turn into a mess. I threw a straight fastball at the fidgeting Tower Master.
"Tower Master. You're hiding something from me, aren't you."
"N-No, no way?!"
Even if she'd admitted it, she wouldn't have looked this guilty. It was the face of someone with so many skeletons in the closet that they didn't know where to start. I sat on the office sofa and patted my knee.
Lately, the Tower Master had been clinging to parts of me like a sloth whenever she got bored, so I figured she'd do the same this time and prepared a spot in advance.
"Sit down and let's talk. You and me."
"N-Now's kinda... awkward... I'll just stand here!"
"......"
Adults sticking so close together was improper, sure. Still, it left me a bit disappointed. It was like a puppy that always begged to play suddenly saying "Not playing with you" and scampering off, letting a chill autumn wind brush through your chest.
And this wasn't even an animal—it was a person. The emptiness bordered on fear. What did I do wrong? Was she upset that I'd gone to my hometown alone with Pingbalrez?
My thoughts were racing.
No, stay calm. Just ask one thing at a time. The Tower Master wasn't the type to play twenty questions like an ex-girlfriend sulking "Guess why I'm mad." One step at a time, and any one-sided misunderstandings on my part would clear up.
There were two things I wanted to confirm. The Violet Magic Tower's human trafficking suspicions, and how the Tower Master saw me.
I'd clearly chosen the Violet Magic Tower myself. I remembered that decision. I'd liked Yuna, the Violet Magic Tower Master. I felt a clear familial warmth from her. But how did she see me?
The status gap was stark. I was a commoner's child; she was nobility-born. The power difference was just as clear. She was a great mage who'd achieved sublimation; I was a low-rank mage who couldn't even fly.
Honestly, even if she saw me as a pet or a toy, it wouldn't be strange. That would explain a lot—like the aggressive skinship that made me wonder if she even saw me as a man.
If so, then her keeping secrets from me was only natural.
The favor a weakling receives is just pity that can be withdrawn at any time.
That had been true even in this life. A kid from some backwater farming potatoes hadn't had anything to sell, so his father hadn't sold him off.
I was scared.
The Tower Master and I had spent a full ten years together. The courage to ask her right here came from the trust built over those years. Stay calm. We'd spent plenty of time together, and I... thought we were close.
Don't get lost in negative thoughts alone. Doubting endlessly by myself wasn't like me. It wouldn't even get me closer to the truth. I had to ask. Human trafficking, how she saw me, purchasing, my father who sold me, the slums, but, ex-girlfriend, family...
My head spun until it short-circuited, and my mouth moved on its own.
"Are you regularly buying other men, by any chance?"
"...?!"
"No, what I mean is, um. Tower Master, do you like me?"
"...?!!"
"What I'm saying is, are you secretly collecting people...?"
"...!!!!!!"
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I was receiving emergency pampering treatment.
Seeing me babbling nonsense with my eyes spinning, the Tower Master issued a yellow alert for speechlessness-from-shock and offered me a lap pillow. "Lie down." I did so immediately.
I'd lain facing her belly and thighs, but today's hypersensitive Tower Master stuttered sweetly, "Turn your head the other way right now, or I'll kill you." So I reluctantly lay facing outward.
The Tower Master's hand brushed my hair back. She'd stroke it gently, then suddenly tie it up in mischief—that was so her. My hair became a palm tree, then returned to normal.
It tickled. And felt a bit embarrassing.
Completely absorbed in playing with my hair, the Tower Master hummed a tune while braiding it. What would my hairstyle end up like?
Deciding to break this awkward, hesitant atmosphere, I opened my mouth.
"Can I touch your calf, maybe?"
"What's with that vague request...?!"
"They say negotiations start with the big asks."
"Just how trivial was what you actually wanted...?"
Surprisingly, she seemed okay with it, so I kneaded the back of her calf. It wasn't anything deep—just that squishy stuff felt good to fiddle with, like slime.
"......"
"...Hey!"
Stroking the fine hairs lightly made her deliver a Yuna-punch to my head. So I switched to massage mode.
She stayed still, so it seemed she liked it. I sneaked a glance to confirm—she had her eyes half-closed, staring ahead. Puffy clouds floated lazily around the Tower Master.
I waited for a good moment, then calmly recounted what had happened in my hometown village. And my suspicion that the entire Violet Magic Tower might be a human trafficking ring. It was as good as asking her to her face if she trafficked people.
If she really was a trafficker, this was extremely dangerous. Asking a mafioso point-blank if they were a criminal would just get you shot more. But I wanted to say it, so I did.
As I confessed, I realized what worried me most.
I just didn't want to be abandoned.
I liked this life. I liked how the Tower Master embraced me even when I acted a bit off-kilter. Even if she was an evil black mage capturing people alive for sacrifices, I'd want to persuade her—or be persuaded.
So please, as long as we could fool around together like this in some form—
"Erelrelele."
"Hiiiiaaah!!"
Deep in sentiment, the sudden reverse erelrele terrified me into a scream. Something tentacle-like suddenly entered my ear—had the Tower Master finally revealed her true colors and was canning my brain?
I knew it. This was supposed to be a grateful event...!
It should've been sweet, even if not romantic, but the double-layered libido suppression spell caused an unintended side effect. Without lust, all that was left was horror. It was genuinely scary.
Seeing my face pale and trembling, the Tower Master trembled too.
She'd mustered courage to cheer me up, but my thriller reaction had clearly wounded her deeply. My brain froze, and I stammered. How to even explain this?
"Why, why do you hate it so much...?! Your face was weird, so I finally did it..."
"No, it's not that. I have the libido suppression spell on..."
"You had that cast...? No wonder!"
"Tower Master, wait, that's a really bad idea—don't shatter the spell...!"
Chop.
With a light swing of her hand, the Tower Master shattered all the libido suppression spells. Memories flashed by like a panorama. Riding on her back, sleeping together, bathing together—the curves I'd felt with all five senses back then—
"Ah."
"Y-You're getting a nosebleed!"
"Ughhh."
"T-Tissue, where's the tissue...?!"
Exaggerating 30%, I thought I'd die from blood loss.
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Was ruining serious atmospheres a Violet Magic Tower tradition?
We bathed, brewed a hot cup of herbal tea each, and sat facing each other at the table. To stage a dignified conversation among cultured people. Elegantly.
I recast the libido suppression spell. One layer only, since two caused side effects.
Slurp.
"This tea has such a lovely aroma, mademoiselle."
"Th-The tea tastes great, uh... mister?"
"You haven't even drunk it yet."
"...It's what you always drink!"
Slurrrp.
The Tower Master blew on hers with a "fufu," took a sip, and spoke.
"It's not that I have nothing to hide. But what I'm hiding is for your own good too."
"So you're admitting to the Violet Magic Tower's human trafficking suspicions?"
"...No. At least since I took over as Tower Master, buying slaves for experiments is forbidden. I'll investigate the village and the tower. If someone's really buying people, they'll become a cactus."
I couldn't imagine turning a person into a cactus, and it scared me.
Heavy emotions swirled slowly in the Tower Master's eyes. She "really" hated human buying and selling.
I felt relieved. The Violet Magic Tower wasn't a den of traffickers. I erased question 2 from the whiteboard in my mind. Great. Now only question 1 remained.
1. Someone in the Violet Magic Tower / or someone impersonating them is steadily receiving people.
"If the culprit's here, who do you think it is?"
"...I don't want to suspect rashly. They're all family. Instead of pinpointing and investigating, I'm setting a trap. It could be an impersonator too."
"What if you get ambushed and hurt?"
"I'm strong, so it's fine...! I'll win...!"
Her words brimmed with conviction—it was kinda cool. Just how strong was she to declare victory without hesitation? If so, I could leave tower matters to her and relax.
"Then, onto the second agenda."
"Hm?"
"You have some idea why my head's messed up, right?"
"...Wasn't your head always weird?"
"You're changing the subject, so it's something I shouldn't know?"
"Yeah."
Firm. But a sparkle like a morning star flicked in the Tower Master's eyes. Staring at her, she slowly blinked like a cat. In cat-speak, that roughly meant we were sworn brothers.
Trust me, huh.
Hm.
I trusted her.
In exchange, I asked playfully.
"You'll save me even if I do nothing?"
"Yeah, I'll save you."
"Why?"
"'Cause you're my first friend..."
"......"
"Before you came, Violet Magic Tower people were scared of me. They saw me as... more distant than a normal person. We were in the same tower but just did our own research. I didn't approach them either."
"You were cute when we first met."
"Yeah, thanks to you. We tease each other, talk... that's because of you."
"I only remember doing research."
"Right, that research. Collecting session data by telling everyone a 'greatest hits of sad stories,' or handing out 'one-time wish coupons' for body scans..."
"Retrieving those was a nightmare. The scar-faced senior used it as an excuse to body-swap, gave me a headache."
"Are you dodging 'cause you're embarrassed?"
"...Yeah."
...Friends, huh.
Yuna said it was thanks to me, but strictly speaking, I'd been helped more. I still was.
My long-cherished simulation was complete. Now just occasional maintenance and gradual version-ups while enjoying my hobby TRPG.
I wanted to show her so much. TRPG's charm was enjoying a world on the game board. With the simulation, even more broadly. Show oceans to those who'd never seen them, families to the family-less.
If they dreamed of heroes, make them one; knights, give sturdy bodies; love, lovers; strife, worthy foes.
Slowly seduce princes and princesses, snag a dragon heart, and it'd be perfect. Near-infinite power could run a "server" semi-permanently like a game fantasy novel. Or even make a full open world.
But these were as good as done.
So my life goals slot was empty.
I didn't need to repay tenfold, but at least equal the favors received. To Yuna watching me. I wanted to help her somehow.
I etched that thought in my heart, high up where it wouldn't flood.
I'd soon head to the academy. Separated from the Tower Master for a bit.
What could I do there to help her? I pondered briefly, then realized. Mages needed more budget. Budgets grew with tower popularity.
"...You're not thinking something weird, are you?"
Viral illusion magic to lure academy students.
And crafting wonderful school memories wouldn't hurt. My head was full of fun academy events: Trial Tower, hidden pieces, Tamagotchi-like illusion pet-raising, suspiciously award-worthy martial arts manuals.
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"Your Highness."
"Next, I'll explain the academy's faction dynamics. There are two major factions: the Golden Faction and the Rose Badge Faction. The Golden Faction centers on the Golden Tower Master's prized disciple, backed by the Golden Magic Tower's overwhelming wealth—"
"Your Highness."
"The Rose Badge Faction, also called the noble faction, is anti-Golden, centered on Duke Baekryeom's only daughter. Lacking funds but with unique leadership and open minds, they—"
"Your Highness...!!"
"Stop interrupting, you mad wizard. What?"
Second Prince Irid crossed his legs, glaring down at me irritably. My sitting height was taller, so how? Imperial secret technique?
I plastered on a genuinely curious face.
"Why do I need to hear all this?"
"So you understand the power structure and pick your accidents wisely."
Nope, not enough. Channeling a seven-year-old boy's curiosity: endless "Why?" barrage until satisfied—!
I steeled myself and unleashed the whys.
"Why?"
"Picking accidents wisely lets you fulfill your professor duties without getting fired."
"Why?"
"So your abilities can boost the entire student body's combat power and practical experience."
"Why?"
"Boosting academy strength raises the empire's national power while solidifying your position inside."
"Why?"
"A solid position enables long-term stay, letting you closely identify and catch black mage plants inside."
"Why... wait, that's really why?"
"Because I ordered you to."
"Ah."
No wonder the terms were good. Not a vacation at the academy after all.