Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Purple Magic Tower
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“The lord of the Purple Magic Tower...?”
Ariana asked the man extending his hand to me, her voice full of disbelief.
But it wasn't him who answered her question.
“Tower Lord! You're jumping in recklessly again—huh?”
A woman with long purple hair and golden eyes came rushing urgently from deeper in the alley.
Judging by her attire, she was a mage from the Purple Magic Tower, and it seemed she'd come to fetch the tower lord standing before me.
She froze for a moment upon spotting me and Ariana.
“If you're from the Holy Kingdom... could it be...?”
“I'm Saintess Ariana Astraea.”
“Ah, I knew it!”
She beamed as if she'd expected it after Ariana's introduction, then sidled up to the tower lord and hooked her arm through his before introducing herself.
“I'm Belinda Vision, vice tower lord of the Purple Magic Tower. I assist the tower lord right by his side.”
“Really... this is the tower lord?”
Ariana couldn't quite believe it, probably due to his suspicious appearance.
“My apologies. It seems my mask isn't helping my credibility.”
The tower lord soon removed his mask to prove his innocence.
“!! His face...!”
Even with my eyes wide open and staring right at it, I couldn't make out what he looked like. It was an eerie phenomenon.
This had to be one of the feats only illusion magic could achieve.
An old man? A young man? Male? Female? Even seeing it for real, I truly can't tell.
I'd seen this scene in the game before, but unlike back then—where his face just kept shifting endlessly—now that I was experiencing the magic firsthand, his face remained unchanged in my vision, yet I still couldn't discern its features.
“...Sorry for doubting you.”
“No need. Most people react the same way when they see me.”
He responded kindly to Ariana's apology, then lightly brushed his hand over his face.
The illusion magic dissipated, revealing his true face.
Black hair and stark white eyes.
Pale skin, as if he rarely saw sunlight.
If Ruin was a fierce handsome man, this one gave off the vibe of a frail, delicate beauty.
“Since we've run into each other like this, why don't you come along? We just took down a black mage.”
“Ah, sure!”
As Ariana agreed, Belinda—who had been arm-in-arm with Tower Lord Blind—approached me cautiously.
“Um, Holy Knight, sir?”
“Hm? What is it?”
She hesitated, opening and closing her mouth carefully.
Looking up at me with deep blue eyes full of apology, she said,
“If it's not too much trouble, could you carry that black mage for us...? We're short-handed with just the two of us...”
“Ah. Sure, no problem.”
One might think if there were two people, one of them could carry him.
But I accepted her request without hesitation.
“Thank you so much! Our tower lord needs me to support him...”
“What? Is he hurt?!”
Ariana reacted immediately to the word “support.”
Blind waved his hand lightly at the deeply worried girl.
“Haha, no. The truth is, I'm blind... Belinda's always by my side helping me out. I'm truly grateful for it.”
“Ah...”
He was blind, after all.
There was no reason for me to refuse helping someone like that.
Lifting a grown man was a piece of cake for me now—nothing like my previous life.
As I easily hoisted the black mage over my shoulder, Ariana scanned our surroundings warily, her senses on high alert.
She was surely checking for any threats to Blind.
As expected of a saintess.
And so, we smoothly made our way to the Purple Magic Tower.
***
The moment we arrived at the Purple Magic Tower.
“Tower Loooord!”
“Tower Lord!”
“Lord of the Tower!”
“Tower Lord!”
We were greeted by a swarm of children.
Blind scooped up one particularly young-looking kid into his arms.
“Remy, were you good while I was gone? No mischief?”
“Yeah! Remy di'nt cause no trouble!”
“Good job. I'll tell Belinda to make your favorite pancakes today.”
“Yaaay!”
He chatted naturally with the kids, as if it were routine.
Gazing at him in astonishment, Ariana turned to Belinda beside her.
“These children...?”
“They're the ones our tower lord has taken in. He patrols regularly and brings in abandoned street kids, letting them live here in the tower. He's been doing it ever since he took over, so he's raised more disciples than you can count.”
“Wow...”
Ariana looked at Blind with eyes brimming with admiration.
Belinda, clearly excited, continued her explanation beside her.
“Our tower lord is the youngest ever to hold the position, and he's developed tons of innovative spells using illusion magic—like clone magic or the Room of Time and Spirit. All the massive fortune he's earned from them? He pours it straight into taking in and raising these kids.”
“...He's truly amazing.”
Ariana was genuinely impressed.
I felt the same; I held Blind in high regard too.
In the game, I'd just thought, Oh, nice NPC doing good deeds, and moved on. But living in this world myself, I could see he was nothing short of an angel.
Priests might take in a stray kid or two thanks to their faith in the goddess, but Blind was a mage—and he scooped up every child he saw.
If I'd possessed someone in this city, he might've taken me in.
He's one of the top saints in this world, and one of the people I respect most.
“Alright, everyone. We have some very important guests in the tower today, so mind your manners. Playtime comes after, okay?”
“Yes!”
“Yeth!”
“Got it!”
“Read us a story after?”
“Haha, you got it. Now, everyone, time to greet them properly?”
At Blind's words, the children promptly placed their hands on their navels.
They turned to me and Ariana.
“Hello!!”
They shouted in unison and bowed at a perfect ninety degrees.
“Oh my, hello! Nice to meet you all!”
Catching sight of this rare scene in another world, Ariana's energy spiked as she greeted the kids loudly.
Afterward, we headed inside the Purple Magic Tower.
“Wow... it's definitely got a different vibe from the other magic towers.”
Unlike the other towers, which were strictly focused on research with a heavy atmosphere, the Purple Magic Tower's interior centered around children's education.
Every few steps, we could glimpse through the glass windows.
-What's the answer to this problem?
-A! Fake Mage is an illusion mage!
-Correct!
Mages from the Purple Magic Tower teaching the children magic.
“Sorry, it's a bit noisy since this is the kids' education area.”
“Not at all! I actually love this atmosphere much more!”
“I'm glad to hear that.”
Blind smiled and walked ahead.
A staircase lay before him.
“Tower Lord, stairs ahead.”
“Yes, Belinda.”
Belinda, stuck to his side, pressed a button next to the stairs.
The moment she did.
-Whirr...
Mana stirred beneath Blind's feet, and his body gently floated up, ascending the stairs like an escalator.
“Wow...”
Ariana stared in awe at the wondrous sight.
Belinda smiled and gestured for us to stand in front too.
Once Ariana and I positioned ourselves at the stairs, she pressed the button again.
-Whirr...
Our bodies lifted, carrying us effortlessly up to the top without moving a muscle.
I'd seen it in the game, but it's still amazing.
An escalator from another world.
Belinda arrived shortly after from above, then stuck back to Blind's side and proceeded.
The upper floors finally felt like a research hub, unlike downstairs.
“Our tower teaches children too, but research comes first as a magic tower. So we split it: kids below, mages above.”
It made sense—kids in a lab could cause accidents.
We walked for a while longer.
“Here we are. Let's talk inside.”
[Tower Lord's Room♡]
We arrived at a door with a sign that looked like one of the kids had scribbled it.
Blind opened it right away and ushered us in.
“Whoa! You finally made it!”
“You're...”
Prelia was inside.
[Guruk.]
Along with whatever that Gu Poison thing was.