The Blue Magic Tower
Did you receive the message…?
Rose knocked softly on the door of the Blue Magic Tower.
The Blue Magic Tower looked rundown. Its walls were cracked in places, and the once-blue exterior was peeling away, turning gray.
“…It’s shabby.”
“Well, of course it is. Magic towers were always short on research funds. And the Blue one hasn’t produced any real results in years. That’s why their grants got cut first.”
Now that I thought about it, the difference was obvious.
Beyond the Blue Tower stood the Crimson and Green Towers, gleaming from afar. Their walls had been freshly painted, and faint magical lights glowed through every window.
The spire decorations even sparkled, as if someone cleaned them every day.
“Ugh, so dusty.”
Rose coughed and brushed the dust away with a wind spell.
“You can cast spells here? You must have used some mana getting this far.”
“You don’t know your own sister? I’m the top of the academy’s graduating class. By mana standards, even most Magic Tower Masters can’t keep up with me.”
Yeah, the sheer presence of that barrier spell was impressive.
“Please… please come back to us. The chess association is going to go bankrupt!”
“I’m dying. I’m really going to die. I get killed and blackmailed how many times a day…”
“Sir Andrihe’s going to retire because he lost his will! Please help!”
The mustached figures were desperately banging on the barrier, so I felt a little sympathy.
But I was already tired of this. If they didn’t like it, they should’ve hired proper challengers on their own.
Squeak.
The old door creaked open.
A lukewarm wind flowed out, carrying the scent of dust, old paper, and faint burnt magic stone.
My heart started racing for some reason.
“W-who are you…?”
“You first.”
“Hey! We’re the visitors!”
Rose’s hand clamped down on my head and forced me to bow.
“Sorry. My name is Dicles Rose, and this is Reven Graham. We’re interested in exploring the tower—if that’s alright?”
“Ah, ah… the academy’s top graduate, R-Rose? And R-Reven??? Could it be the chess champion who surrendered three times in a row at the finals and gave up the title…”
Rose smiled awkwardly.
“Y-yes… that’s Reven.”
Somehow, Rose’s grip on my head tightened.
Messy silver hair. Half-falling round glasses. Dark circles that looked like he hadn’t slept in days.
Anyone would say he was a classic research slave.
“W-well, shall we come back another time?”
“N-no! It’s an honor! O-of course it’s fine!”
She shuffled aside, holding a stack of papers carefully so she wouldn’t drop them. She looked exactly like a young research assistant who’d just been given a task.
Following her guidance, the inside of the Blue Magic Tower came into view.
The mess wasn’t just on the outside. It was inside too.
Unsorted papers piled up like mountains. Some sheets were so scattered on the floor you had to step on them. The magic lamps hanging from the ceiling flickered as if they’d go out any second.
On the desks were awakening potions of unknown origin, and the researchers inside them moved like zombies.
“I-I want to sleep… If I succeed at this one last thing…”
“Research funds… I’ll do anything with just research funds…”
“Hehe…!!! Kehehe…!!!”
This was a magic tower?
Even Rose, who had gone through grad school at the academy, found it excessive. She forced a smile while carefully avoiding the papers on the floor.
“H-haha… I-it’s a bit messy, right? W-we’ve been really busy lately…”
“N-no, it’s not that bad.”
I said it was fine, but my toes were trembling hard. My eyes had already scanned the exit three times.
“I-I see? You, as an academy graduate, have talent as a magic tower researcher…”
When I looked into the researcher’s eyes, it felt like I was being sucked into a deep abyss.
“Ah, that’s…”
Rose naturally stepped behind me.
Even I, who had a fair amount of mental immunity from years of junk-game experience, felt that kind of madness was out of bounds.
I glanced at one of the scattered papers.
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