Chapter 91
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: Apology from the Magic Tower
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-He must be really anxious with the marriage coming up. I was thinking of sticking around by his side a bit. That okay with you?
What did it matter? She wasn't just anyone—she was my closest friend. Besides, Melissa was right at that age where she should be out having fun like that.
"Sure. Go wild and have your fun."
That had been the plan all along anyway, so what did it matter.
Still, if word about the artifact spread, things were bound to get a little annoying.
I was mulling that over when a knock came at the door. Head Maid Misha stepped in and bowed neatly.
"Young Master."
"Ah, good work. Any changes in the gate's color?"
"No, they say it hasn't shown red at all."
If the spatial magic in the gate shifted from green to red light, that would mean trouble—but thankfully, it seemed there were no issues.
"Good to hear. Looks like the connection's stable for now."
"If word gets out that you've created a teleport gate on your own, it's going to stir up quite a fuss."
"Yeah, probably. But since it's just a prototype, I'm planning to ignore any requests for the time being."
Whether it was the illusion artifact or the teleport gate, either one was bound to cause a commotion.
Of course, unlike the illusion artifact, the teleport gate wasn't fully complete yet.
Safety checks wouldn't wrap up in a day or two, and if there were any incompatibilities between what I'd made and existing gates, it could lead to major problems.
The established teleport gates were crafted with pure magic, while mine was built almost entirely through magitech.
"We have plenty of mana stones for fuel, so now we just need to run periodic tests by sending objects through."
"Um, Young Master?"
Head Maid Misha added cautiously.
"Gaifen Magic Tower sent another message..."
"They did? Just ignore it."
Why bother? I'd already accomplished what I set out to do.
Gaifen Magic Tower had reached out several times after that, but I'd ignored them all.
From the gist of things, I figured they'd realized I'd misunderstood the situation.
They'd probably been genuine about wanting to meet, but some underling had screwed up and offended me.
But I'd ignored it anyway.
If they wanted to apologize, they could come in person. If not, we could just go our separate ways.
I had no intention of pursuing it further.
If Gaifen Magic Tower truly wanted to show me goodwill, they'd come themselves. Otherwise, we'd each mind our own business.
Of course, having them come in person was preferable.
It'd give me leverage to squeeze some compensation out of them.
And sure enough, they must have seen this standoff as a loss on their end, because they acted decisively.
Much faster than I'd expected, a 5th-class mage from Verheim and a girl who appeared to be from the Holy Nation arrived at the mansion.
Accompanied by a priest from the Holy Nation, he gave me a wry smile the moment he saw me.
"Welcome, Elder Verheim. And the lady with you is...?"
"Ah. This is Navel, a high priestess from the Holy Nation."
"I'm Navel. Pleased to meet you, Young Lord Leon Cascadia."
I stared openly at her graceful smile.
Then something caught my eye, forcibly seizing my gaze as it swept over her.
Whoa, a Cerberus...
It was the first time in my life something had drawn my eyes so overwhelmingly.
As I stood there dumbfounded, Luna shuffled in dragging the refrigerator and nudged my calf with light kicks.
"Leon, rude."
"Ah. Sorry about that, I lost myself for a moment. Please, have a seat."
I promptly instructed the servants to guide the two to the drawing room, then fixed Luna with a stare and said,
"Hey, bring out some ice cream and coffee candies."
"No. All mine."
"I'll make more later. Don't want to waste time preparing right now."
She shot me a dissatisfied glance but opened the fridge, pulled out the ice cream and coffee candies, and set them on the table.
"Good heavens, handling a refrigeration artifact with one hand like that..."
"Huh, impressive. That's magic for you."
"Hmph."
She looked triumphant and proud, clearly taking quiet satisfaction in her growing strength.
The two flustered guests cleared their throats and quickly refocused on me.
In response, I casually offered them the ice cream and candies.
"Try some. Just little hobbies of mine."
"What are these?"
While Verheim fidgeted awkwardly, the high priestess Navel's eyes sparkled as she took in the ice cream.
"Ice cream and candies."
"Ice cream? How novel. It's not like fruit-juice shaved ice, nor is it milk..."
She elegantly scooped a bit with a small spoon and slipped it into her mouth.
Her eyes widened.
"Oh..."
She took another spoonful, her cheeks flushing pink.
"It's cold but sweet. I've seen similar frozen treats, but nothing like this. Did you make it yourself?"
Her sparkling eyes suggested she was quite taken with it.
"Glad you like it. Was just tinkering around."
"I'd love to have it every day, but... rules prevent that."
"I'll pack some for you."
She gave a faint smile at my words.
"Elder Verheim, what brings you all this way...?"
I asked even though I knew the reason.
"Ahem, you reached out to the tower recently. Seems the fellow handling communications was rude to you. So I came in person. My deepest apologies."
He bowed politely.
"Honestly, I was a bit hurt. Thought it was just polite lip service."
"No, not at all! Gaifen Magic Tower truly wishes to maintain good relations with you... Well, that sounds like an excuse now."
He spoke with a bitter expression.
"If you'd like compensation for this, we're prepared to pay any amount, Young Lord."
"Then I won't refuse."
"Uh..."
"Aren't you giving that away?"
I pointed to the small box he'd brought.
There was no reason to fall out with Elder Verheim over some lowly mage.
Besides, I'd built ties with Verheim, not specifically Gaifen.
I smirked, and he let out a helpless chuckle.
"Guess I overthought you, Young Lord. It's a gift personally selected by the Tower Lord."
What emerged from the box he offered was a small stone.
But I recognized its value immediately.
"A mana stone. Top-grade, no less."
Mana stones were common enough, but once they crossed a certain threshold, their value skyrocketed astronomically.
Top-grade? Considering the magitech applications, it was an incredible item.
"Isn't this too much? You didn't have to go this far."
"It's both an apology and an investment, you could say."
He chuckled heartily.
"You neutralized a kraken without breaking a sweat and whipped up a teleport gate. Frankly, we're dying to see what you'll come up with next."
In other words, if I needed help with future projects, they wanted me to come to them.
Gaifen Magic Tower was sizable—not a bad option.
"I'll keep that in mind."
Not that I had plans for anything new right now.
"Then, is Lady Navel here for the same reason as Elder Verheim?"
"Ah... no. I have separate business and came to see you personally, Young Lord."
As my gaze shifted from Verheim to the high priestess Navel, she startled—spoon still in her mouth, blissful expression fading—and quickly composed herself.
"It's an honor to meet the famous Leon in person."
"The honor is mine, to meet such a lofty light of the Holy Nation."
"I'm merely a humble servant."
High Priestess Navel.
But given her position, she looked far too young.
Not just youthful-looking—she was genuinely young.
A high priestess from the Holy Nation, yet young and still pure.
And yet, she carried something immense, far beyond an ordinary priest.
It was subtle enough that, without my vast aura reserves, I'd have just felt an odd vibe.
Yeah. Only one person in the world fit this profile.
Nadia Ten Lilibel.
The Holy Nation's most sacred being.
The Saintess.
Ah, so that's why Navel.
Whatever the case, if she wanted to hide her identity, I had no intention of prying.
The position of Saintess carried that much weight.
Turning down a high priestess's proposal was one thing, but rejecting the Saintess's? The backlash could be severe.
That's why she'd come as a high priestess.
"Young Lord. Mind if I take a look at that teleport gate you made? Whatever you and Lady Navel have to discuss doesn't seem like something I should butt into."
"Of course, feel free. Oh, before you go, check out the statue in the territory square. If you like it, spread the word around."
Keeping that masterpiece to ourselves would be a waste.
"Statue? Ah, the Cascadia Count's. Hmm, not sure if that's his image, but..."
"I made it a few days ago. My little sister doesn't know yet."
I grinned mischievously as I spoke, and he burst into laughter.
"Kuhahaha, got it. I'll make sure to stop by."
After he left, Navel and I shared a moment of silence before she slowly met my eyes.
She seemed to hesitate briefly, then spoke.
"That garden outside... Did the Cascadia Count design it?"
"My mother did."
"Ahh. Then your mother..."
"She's passed away."
"Oh... I'm sorry."
She flustered about.
On the surface, a holy, elegant girl who seemed detached from the world, forever in prayer—but from the moment I saw her, I'd felt a strange familiarity.
Now I knew what it was.
The Saintess vibe.
Unlike the Holy Nation's cunning veterans, she was remarkably pure.
Honestly, I didn't mind people like her.
I was pretty awkward with people myself.
Never learned how to deal with them in Labyrinthos.
So conversing with those jaded at human interaction wasn't exactly pleasant.
Alright. Plus ten points.
I mentally bumped up my internal score for her and asked calmly,
"So, what brings you here, Lady Navel?"
"Yes."
"I'm just a retainer of a remote border count family."
"Would it be different if that retainer was the continent's greatest genius?"