Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Prudencia (1)
It wasn’t a direct arrival.
Ain had thought stepping through the portal Daphne opened would bring them straight to their destination, but that wasn’t the case.
The two of them ended up in an unknown village and walked for several days.
For the first two days, they didn’t even properly know where they were headed.
“Where are we going?”
“The Magic Tower. Isn’t that obvious?”
They didn’t ride any proper carriage. They didn’t even stay in decent inns, only shabby ones when necessary.
On the third day, they shared a single remaining room, and Daphne began giving instructions.
“You need to learn to control mana. When your emotions get intense, it leaks out without you noticing. Learn how to regulate it. The method is—”
Ain, who had been sitting by the window releasing his gray mana, immediately hid it the moment he heard her voice.
“Ah… good.”
“I think I’m getting better at controlling it.”
Ain formed a black star above his palm.
“Thanks to this.”
“Well, you are an apostle. I suppose that’s expected.”
Daphne lay down on the bed and turned her back.
“Um… what should I call you? Master…?”
“Daphne.”
“Huh?”
“Call me by my name. ‘Master’ gives me chills.”
“……”
After sorting out such basic things, they set off again.
Along the way, they took small requests while Daphne taught him common knowledge.
Most of the requests were monster exterminations.
“Monsters may look vicious, but when you kill them, they drop mana stones. Very useful resources. Ever killed one?”
“No. I’ve never even seen one.”
“You really grew up in a peaceful place.”
Whether it was sarcasm or sincerity, he couldn’t tell.
A wolf-like monster growled as it confronted them, and Daphne sliced it cleanly with a whip of water.
“Pick up all the mana stones and bring them back.”
“Yes.”
At the end of each day, they found an inn again.
“The room is small.”
Daphne naturally took the only bed.
“You got a problem with that?”
She glanced at Ain lying on the floor.
“No.”
The next morning, they continued traveling.
He followed Daphne, collecting mana stones and buying supplies.
On the seventh day—
“What day is it now?”
“Five… six… it’s the seventh day.”
“That should be enough.”
Daphne stopped in the middle of a city and snapped her fingers.
A door appeared in front of them.
“Go in. You’ll arrive in front of the Magic Tower in the blink of an eye.”
“……”
Then why did they walk all this time?
Ain placed his hand on the door.
A sensation of being pulled in swallowed him, and blinding light burst out.
A wave of intense dizziness followed.
“Welcome to Prudencia, the City of Wisdom.”
Daphne was already ahead of him.
As the dizziness faded, Ain saw it.
Smooth, streamlined buildings, countless researchers moving through the streets.
Water flowed through channels everywhere, and acacia flower patterns decorated the surroundings.
Above the clouds, a massive magic circle encircled the entire city, slowly rotating.
“This is where you’ll be living from now on.”
Daphne pointed upward.
A tower that pierced the sky.
The Magic Tower.
On the way up to the top floor via a floating platform, people greeted Daphne everywhere.
“Welcome back, Tower Master!”
“Good day, Tower Master!”
Daphne didn’t even glance at them.
Finally, they arrived at the top.
They walked down a narrow corridor and entered her private laboratory.
“Welcome back, Tower Master.”
A researcher waiting inside bowed respectfully.
“What about the reward from the Holy Kingdom?”
“Not needed. I picked up something more interesting.”
Daphne cut her off with a raised hand.
“Something…?”
“That boy. Take him to the 70th floor, feed him, clothe him, and bring him back up. Burn those rags he’s wearing.”
“Yes, understood!”
The researcher didn’t even step past the threshold, only gesturing for Ain to follow.
“What are you waiting for?”
“Oh… yes.”
Ain followed her.
The commercial district on the 70th floor of the Magic Tower was large enough to contain an entire city.
Inside was far bigger than it looked from the outside. Clearly, magic.
“This is a tower-only currency note. Clean yourself up, eat whatever you want, buy clothes, and meet me later! The Tower Master ordered you to be dressed properly!”
The researcher was a cheerful woman.
“Is this normal?”
“Huh? What is?”
“For Daphne to bring people like this.”
“People like what?”
“Like me.”
The researchers passing by kept glancing at him.
Probably because of his ragged clothes.
“You’re the first one. The first person the Tower Master personally brought here, as far as I know.”
“Then… are all these researchers also people she brought?”
“Not at all.”
The woman shook her head.
“The Tower Master doesn’t bring anyone. You’re the first.”
Whispers spread as they walked.
“Then… what experiment are you here for? I heard there’s a project the Tower Master is personally handling.”
“Experiment?”
“Yes, experiment. You must be an important test subject if she brought you herself.”
“…I’m her disciple.”
The researcher froze.
Then she quickly covered his mouth.
“Don’t ever say things like that jokingly! You’ll get reassigned!”
“Reassigned?”
“Of course. Test subjects get reassigned all the time. The worst outcome is being sent underground…”
“I’m not lying.”
The woman stared at him for a moment, then sighed.
“You’re serious…? The Tower Master’s disciple…”
Murmurs spread around them.
Just saying “disciple” caused this reaction.
“Daphne must be a very important person.”
“Of course she is. She is—”
The researcher looked up, eyes shining.
“One of only four Apostles of ‘Wisdom’ in the entire world.”
After bathing, changing clothes, and eating, Ain returned to the top floor.
Daphne was reading documents at her desk, wearing glasses.
“Um…”
“Sit anywhere.”
Cold words.
The room fell silent.
“What’s your name?”
“Ain.”
“Surname?”
“I don’t have one.”
The air felt heavy.
Daphne was deliberately releasing mana pressure.
She closed her book and stood up.
“I don’t like it, but people call me a witch.”
She removed her glasses.
Click. Click. Click.
She walked closer.
“That’s not entirely wrong.”
Thud.
She stepped between his legs and forced him back in the chair.
“Mages make deals. And every deal has a price.”
Her fingers rested on his throat.
“Can you get angry?”
“…No.”
A thin stream of water wrapped around his neck.
“Can you feel joy?”
“No.”
“Sadness?”
“……”
The water fully coiled around his neck and marked him.
Only after she released her hand did he realize what had happened.
“What was that?”
“A leash.”
“…What?”
“You’re a public enemy of the world.”
“I don’t intend to be…”
His irritation flared for a moment, then faded.
“No.”
Daphne snapped her fingers, opening a door.
“If you behave, I’ll remove it. Your room is on my floor. Go rest. You’ll need to wake up early tomorrow.”
“What are you going to make me do?”
If she said “experiment,” he was ready to fight.
“Worried I’ll make you do something indecent?”
“……”
“If you’re disappointed, sorry. Tomorrow we’ll tour Prudencia and start training.”
“Training?”
“I told you, didn’t I? I’ll make you stronger.”
She smiled faintly.
“So that nothing can ever be taken from you again.”
It was undoubtedly the smile of a witch.
That night, Ain lay in bed and thought.
A clearly inferior existence.
That’s how she saw him.
Not as a human, but as something to be leashed.
He walked to the window.
Outside, the bright sky had already turned dark with heavy rain.
Swoooosh—
He opened the window and let the rain fall into his palm.
Watching it made his chest feel a little less tight.
“Maybe it isn’t so bad.”
Everything he needed was provided.
She didn’t force him into anything truly forbidden.
And he had chosen this path himself.
Knock knock.
Someone knocked.
“Who—”
It was the same researcher from before.
“I was told to give you this…”
She handed him a sword and a pair of gloves.
“The gloves change mana color! You can switch between seven colors using the gem. I’m not sure why you’d need it, but…”
“Thank you.”
He closed the door.
When he put on the gloves and turned the gem, something flowed through his body.
But—
“…Nothing changed.”
From his perspective, the gray mana remained.
“It looks blue to me.”
“….”
Daphne was sitting on his bed.
“When others look at it, it changes.”
“When did you—”
“Just now. Where’s my thank you?”
She closed the window.
“The sword has no special function. Swing it however you want. The gloves are expensive, so take care of them.”
“Yes.”
“…Kids are supposed to get excited when they receive gifts.”
Her body shimmered.
“You’re not cute at all.”
And she vanished.
Left alone, Ain looked at the mirror.
His face was cleaner now.
And a single mark remained on his neck.
Then he noticed something on the desk.
A white acacia flower.
A note beside it.
Welcome to the Magic Tower.
It was hastily written.
Ain gently picked up the flower.
He didn’t know its meaning.
But meanings were something people chose.
“Meaning…”
A new beginning.
That was the meaning he gave the acacia flower.