Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Anyway, It's Not Dimensional Magic
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Even without lighting, his golden hair seemed to glow on its own, and his eyes were a piercing blue like a winter lake.
His crookedly tilted eyebrows and furrowed brow gave off an irritable vibe.
However, the natural elegance draped around him transformed that irritability into dignity.
That young man was one of the emperor's three children, Second Prince Irid.
In a nutshell, he was handsome in a prickly way.
He had a boy knight as his attendant. It was a face I'd seen at the previous Magic Tower achievement presentation. He had seemed awfully interested in the Heavenly Demon.
I roughly secured the malfunctioning Violet Magic Tower Master in a prostrated position and stepped to the front.
"To repay the empire's grace, we've been conducting research day and night without rest, so the Tower Master seems a bit fatigued. It's a sin that we couldn't show proper courtesy to the empire's little sun, but this stems from our loyalty, so please have mercy."
"Too wordy. Is that all?"
"Why have you come to the Magic Tower?"
"...?"
He seemed to like short answers, so I cut straight to the chase, and Second Prince Irid's expression turned blank. Like someone who ordered a tuna sandwich and got jjajangmyeon instead.
"Didn't you just say it was a sin not to show proper courtesy?"
It was a fair point, so I prostrated myself flat on the floor. A crisp, full bow honed by watching historical dramas.
With courtesy shown, I asked again.
"Why have you come to the Magic Tower?"
"Par for the course with you mages—you're all weirdos. I wasn't expecting proper manners anyway. You don't seem interested in chit-chat, so let's get to the point."
"Yes."
"I heard you demonstrated dimensional magic."
"Pardon? This is the Violet Magic Tower, though..."
"You're denying it even after showing it yourself? I heard what happened at the achievement presentation from my attendant. You peeked into another world with dimensional magic, right?"
At that moment, a spark flashed in my mind, and the puzzle pieces clicked together.
The secret behind the suspiciously generous imperial funding.
They thought our research was actual, functional dimensional magic...!
The culprit who caused that misunderstanding was obvious.
The boy now attending Second Prince Irid, who had watched the Heavenly Demon screening with rapt interest.
The other experts had instantly seen through the clumsiness in the Heavenly Demon's movements that I had conjured and harshly criticized it as crude illusion magic. But that boy... he believed the illusion was real.
How lazy must his sword training have been to mistake a non-expert's illusion for the real thing!
To follow Second Prince Irid around, he must have skill or connections—probably the son of a duke or something. Or maybe he was just really good at sucking up...
I had to clear up this misunderstanding.
"It's not dimensional magic. What we're researching is illusion magic."
"Hm?"
"Specifically, illusion magic that shows another world, lets you experience all five senses within it, and allows conversation with the characters implemented inside. Just like falling into another world."
"...Are you messing with me right now?"
"It's the absolute truth. If words don't convince you, would you like to experience it?"
"Experience it—meaning dimensional travel?"
"Illusion magic."
"I don't get why you're playing hide-and-seek like this..., but is dimensional travel safe? Free entry and exit?"
"It's illusion magic, and it's safe. Only your consciousness transfers over, so Your Highness's noble body will simply lie there asleep."
"So, dimensional magic that moves only the soul."
"Not even the soul—just consciousness. And it's illusion magic."
"Fine, I'll give it a try."
"In that case, please sign here."
I pulled out a pre-prepared consent form.
"...?"
Second Prince Irid crossed his arms and fell silent for a moment before speaking.
"Could you step out for a bit?"
"Yes."
I left the reception room—
"...Take that frozen Tower Master with you too."
"Yes."
I hoisted the Violet Magic Tower Master over my shoulder and left the reception room.
Once the Violet Magic Tower Master and her disciple left the room, Second Prince Irid crossed his legs and leaned back comfortably.
Complex thoughts swirled beneath his narrowly opened eyelids. There was much to consider.
Second Prince Irid spoke leisurely.
"The Violet Magic Tower Master... is as frail as the rumors say. Her disciple, the restorer of dimensional magic, seemed pretty bold, but not threatening at all. Was there any reason for you to accompany me here?"
"Even in the hands of a good person, a blade is still a blade, Your Highness."
"And the one guarding me now is the empire's sharpest sword. It's a waste to worry about some village woman's chicken knife with something so precious."
"You're suspicious of my accompaniment."
"Don't you think it's reasonable suspicion? Answer me."
The boy knight wasn't offended by the suspicious gaze. It was a perfectly valid doubt.
The boy knight had reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship, shedding even his physical form. And the current emperor loved placing talent exactly where it was needed. He never used an ox-cleaver to kill a chicken.
There were no exceptions, even for protecting his sons and daughters. When Second Prince Irid was appointed head of the Elf Great Forest expedition, he requested the boy knight as his guard. The emperor refused.
'The danger level of the Elf Great Forest doesn't warrant dispatching a Sword Master.'
In the end, Second Prince Irid lost one eye and one arm in the Elf Great Forest. After three months of intensive treatment, they were restored, but the experience was etched deeply into his mind.
That was why.
This wasn't charging into the heart of the demon realm—it was just visiting the notoriously weak Violet Magic Tower. No grudges, fully amicable. So why was the boy knight tagging along as a 'guard'?
There had to be another reason.
For example, deciding to side with the First Princess or Third Prince. Spying on him under that pretext...
The boy knight, young in appearance but old in soul, easily understood Second Prince Irid's suspicions. And there was plenty of time to dispel them. His clear, youthful voice rang through the reception room.
"I support none of the three. I'm simply carrying out my duties... though you won't believe that. Let me explain further. I was entrusted by His Majesty with three missions. Do you know them?"
"Imperial funding allocation. Imperial defense. Protection of imperial bloodlines from threats."
Second Prince Irid emphasized 'threats'.
"Yes. Specifically, protection from threats we cannot handle. Guarding you in the Elf Great Forest could have been done by someone else."
"Even though I lost an arm and an eye? So this Violet Magic Tower is a threat we can't handle?"
"The Violet Magic Tower Master."
Second Prince Irid's eyebrow twitched at the boy knight's answer.
He knew the boy wasn't lying, but it was hard to believe.
Among all the Magic Towers, the Violet Magic Tower was seen as the weakest.
And the Violet Magic Tower Master he'd just met didn't look that strong.
"Until her disciple announced dimensional magic, all funding to the Violet Magic Tower... went directly to the Violet Magic Tower Master personally."
"Personally? What does that mean?"
"The empire invests in Magic Towers for two reasons. First, 'advancing that school's magic.' Second, 'securing mages in emergencies.' We didn't expect the first from the Violet Magic Tower. Illusion magic lacks practicality."
The sharp-minded Second Prince Irid grasped the point.
"So—that means the Violet Magic Tower Master alone rivals the manpower of all the other Magic Towers combined? That's why they funneled funding as if hiring her personally?"
"It's an evaluation even the Azure Magic Tower Master—considered the most combat-proficient among Tower Masters—hasn't received."
"Coming from you, didn't you say illusion magic lacks practicality?"
"If she had learned fire magic instead of illusion magic, the empire's structure might be different now. She's a genius bordering on monstrous."
"Hard to believe easily... Ha, so that means once-in-a-century geniuses have consecutively chosen the Violet Magic Tower?"
"Something like that."
Second Prince Irid calmed his anger and relaxed his body. No reason to lie, so it must be true.
If true, he had to believe it, even if unbelievable. Clinging to outdated thinking was poison to a ruler.
Second Prince Irid readjusted his mental image.
Violet Magic Tower Master: Frail airhead => Dragon in rabbit's clothing.
Violet Magic Tower Master's disciple: Even a genius in illusion magic would be weak in combat => No wonder he restored functional dimensional magic; this one's a dragon candidate too.
Boy knight: Claims neutrality but sneakily sides with big sis or little bro => True loyalist.
"Moving on. The Tower Master's disciple insists his magic is illusion magic."
"Not playing dumb, surely."
"If I say I'll experience it, will you stop me?"
"There's no lie in saying it's safe. It's equipped with safety measures fine even for presenting to imperial family."
"I'll see it with my own eyes. To judge its value."
Second Prince Irid had a hot-blooded, impulsive nature, but his boldness and courage in stepping forward were commendable. The boy knight didn't stop him.
"I signed. Demonstrate it. That illusion magic you're claiming."
"It really is illusion magic."
"Yeah, the one that shows another world, lets you feel pain, teaches brand-new knowledge, has tons of people wandering around, and lets you communicate and mingle with them—but you claim it's illusion magic."
"Please remember: everything is fiction. Purely imaginary, unrelated to actual events."
"I get it, so just do it."
"In real time, three hours later, we'll call for you, Your Highness. I'll leave a mark on your wrist so you can check return time. And once more, it's fiction."
"You're overly persistent. I kn—"
Second Prince Irid's roar of 'I get it, so if you yap about fiction one more time, I swear I'll halve the funding!' never came.
Because the magic activated, and the TRPG had begun.