The Magic Tower and Nain Gard

When I woke up in the morning, Bella was sleeping so deeply that someone could have carried her off without her knowing.

At some point while we slept, we'd shifted much closer together. The moment I opened my eyes, Bella's face was right in front of mine, which startled me.

"Haah."

Startling aside, a chill rippled through my body and I shivered.

The room was warm, but my body alone was low in temperature.

It was the consequence of overusing Ancient Magic, leaving me feeling cold.

'I overdid it yesterday. Being cold is only natural.'

I'd used [Rapid Freeze] six times and [Blizzard] five times over the course of a day battling the fishmen. The backlash had driven the cold all the way down to my bones, making me tremble.

Tnk.

I got ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out of bed and took a bottle of liquor from my backpack at the foot of the bed. Downing the high-proof alcohol raised my body temperature enough to make life bearable.

Drinking from morning, living like a drunkard.

I never thought I'd end up like this.

'I have to drink it for now. It's the fastest way to raise my body temperature.'

Heat flared in my stomach as if a fire had been lit. When I set the empty bottle on the table, the sound woke Bella, who rubbed her eyes and looked at me.

"...Nn. What is that? Drinking first thing in the morning? What if you hurt yourself moving around drunk?"

"Incubi don't get drunk, so it's fine."

I told Bella a secret the Dream Demon Clan keeps hidden. We have total alcohol tolerance, so we never get drunk. Drinking is just how we regulate our own body temperature.

"The Ancient Magic I've learned has a physical backlash. The more I use it, the more the chill settles in, and my temperature drops. I need to raise it like this to function properly."

"So if you keep using magic, you could freeze to death?"

"In theory, it's possible. But of course, I'd stop casting long before it actually killed me. And there are plenty of other ways to warm up."

I hadn't really thought deeply about ways to raise my body temperature. But Bella was likely worrying, so I brushed it off.

"I've already made plans so I won't freeze to death, so don't worry."

"As expected, you have a plan for everything, Luke."

Bella looked at me and smiled brightly.

'Truth is, I still don't have any plan.'

I thought to myself as I reached out toward Bella, who was still lying in bed. We needed to leave the villa in the afternoon, so it was time to start getting ready.

"Luke, I'll get up if you call me noona—."

"Noonaaaaa."

"Hehe."

Bella took my hand and pulled herself up.

We each packed our gear and prepared to leave.

*

"Hey, why are you suddenly calling the Vice Guild Master 'noona'? Did something happen last night?"

1 p.m.

At the villa's entrance, I joined my lovers who had already packed. Rebecca and Kate stared at me with puzzled looks at how I'd started addressing Bella so familiarly overnight.

I told my lovers what had happened in the bedroom yesterday.

"Bella told me to call her noona from now on. She says she likes it better."

"Hmm."

Since we knew Bella had a fiancé, my lovers and I didn't make a big deal out of the title.

Suddenly curious, I asked Rebecca.

"By the way, Rebecca, what month were you born?"

"Me? I was born in December."

"Young, huh."

"What do you mean, young?"

I gently stroked Rebecca's hair as she grumbled.

So she was born after me. The season I was born in this world is autumn. The parents who left me at the orphanage told them my name and birthday before running off, so I know for sure.

I could call myself her oppa.

"I was born in October, so I'm older than you. From now on, call me oppa. Got it?"

"Oppa my ass! A two-month difference doesn't make you an oppa. Quit dreaming."

"They say even cold water has a top and bottom, but you won't call me oppa? Come on, call me oppa. Not right now, but when we do mana charging. Let's try an oppa and little sister roleplay in bed just once."

"Okay."

"What? You'll really do it?"

"No, I won't. Pffft."

Rebecca shook her head teasingly, and I deflated like a sad frog meme. Even the penis between my legs drooped in disappointment.

Getting called oppa by pretty girls was my dream.

If Rebecca calls me oppa during mana charging, I'm confident I could ejaculate hands-free right on the spot. The efficiency of our mana charging would skyrocket.

"Heh heh. If you call me noona first, I'll consider it. Ah, but just consider, mind you."

"How are you a noona? You were born after me."

I reluctantly turned my head toward Kate, swallowing my pride.

Kate had been listening to our conversation like a radio program while packing her bag.

"Kate. You're a year younger than me, you know. Isn't it about time you started calling me oppa?"

"Mongma-nim. I have a condition for calling you oppa."

"What condition?"

"If you shout, 'I love Sister Kate more than anyone in the world! My blonde childhood friend is way better than my red-haired first love!' then I'll call you oppa."

"Ah...."

I quietly shut my mouth. Beside me, Rebecca was staring at me with puffed-up cheeks. It looked like if I fell for temptation, I'd get pinched.

"So then, a childhood friend is better than a first love, right? And I'm not just any childhood friend. I heal you and even deliver finishing blows for you. I'm a childhood friend equipped with cutting-edge features. Go on, say it."

"I like both."

Even with two lovers, getting them to call me oppa isn't easy.

I was so crushed by the injustice that I almost cried. As I wiped my eyes on the sleeve of my robe, Bella called out to us from a distance.

"Let's head out. Luke, please thaw the ice wall so we can leave the villa."

At Bella's request, I picked up my staff and approached the ice wall. Rebecca and Kate each drew their weapons and followed behind me. No one knew what might be waiting beyond this thick ice wall.

'Has the fishmen uprising been suppressed?'

Yesterday, the fishmen tribes of the Western Continent gathered and attacked the city. The suppression might not be over. In a flooded port city, if the fishmen decided to wage a guerrilla war, they could hold out tenaciously.

"Hagalaz. Melt."

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠chanted the spell and struck the ice wall with my staff. Since Ancient Magic increased in efficiency based on impact, it was better to hit hard even when thawing. Bam! Bam! As I pounded, the spot I struck rapidly melted away.

Soon, an entrance opened in the ice wall surrounding the villa.

I led the group outside and looked around.

"There's no one on the beach, Bella noona."

"Let's head to the city. The water has receded a lot more than yesterday."

The beach was empty due to the uprising. The water that had been ankle-deep had dropped significantly, making it easy to move around. We immediately headed into the city, where we found citizens pumping water out of flooded buildings.

"Peaceful, isn't it."

There were no more fishmen attacking the city. Only a few fishman corpses lying in street corners. I grabbed a citizen and asked what had happened with the fishmen attack.

"Excuse me. What happened to all the fishmen? Those bastards swarmed the place yesterday and made a mess, didn't they? Are they still fighting?"

"Rest assured. Those scum were completely wiped out last night. From what I heard, their leader, the one commanding them, was captured and executed."

A middle-aged citizen answered my question.

I felt puzzled by the answer.

"If you mean the one commanding the fishmen, the Great Chief Neptune? He's dead?"

The Great Chief is dead?

This was the Great Chief who commanded the bodyguard that had pushed me to the brink of death. Honestly, I'd been prepared for him to come after us and for a desperate battle.

"Neptune...? Ah, yes. That was the name. If you go to the central square now, you'll see his corpse hanging from the execution platform."

The Great Chief of the fishmen species, executed. What a hollow end. The tension drained away and I felt relieved, but I still wanted to confirm his death with my own eyes.

"Who on earth captured the Great Chief? The knights of Lotus City?"

"No. Lord Cloud's knights fought the Great Chief and most of them were killed. The Great Chief infiltrated the lord's castle alone and, they say, slaughtered all the troops guarding it. Fortunately, before the lord died, reinforcements arrived from outside the city."

"Reinforcements? The kingdom's army?"

"Not the army, but mages. The mages from the Magic Tower came to save us last night. They mopped up the remaining fishmen and even took out the Great Chief. We're very grateful to them."

The Magic Tower mages came to the port city as reinforcements.

Hearing the abruptly familiar name of that organization threw me into confusion.

"The Magic Tower is in Yoen-su, you know. It takes about a week by carriage to reach the port city. And you're saying they came as reinforcements ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in a single day? That doesn't make sense..."

"Well, I don't know the details. Maybe they used some incredible magic to fly here? If you want to know more, go meet the mages yourself. They're staying in the central square right now."

Mages did have good means of transportation. But on the Midgard Continent, convenient travel methods like portals or spatial movement magic hadn't been developed. Meaning, it should have been impossible to shorten a week-long journey down to a single day.

"Thank you for your time."

I ended the conversation with the middle-aged citizen and immediately went with my group to the central square. In the wide plaza before an execution platform, I could see the decapitated fishmen corpses laid out.

"Ugh. That fishy stench."

"The smell is atrocious."

My lovers covered their noses because of the fishy odor coming from the corpses.

I spotted the mages gathered near the execution platform and approached them. But before I could say anything, they noticed me first.

"Halt. Who are you?"

They were all mages holding magic staves.

Since they'd obtained a class like I had, you could call them skilled mages. But among them, there was one particularly stern-looking woman. Clearly wary of an incubus, she gripped her staff tightly.

"I'm an adventurer on a quest. I have something to ask."

"What, you're not going to pretend to ask a question and then grope my chest before running off, are you?"

"No, I'm not!"

I heard the younger mages around her calling her 'Professor.' The older woman seemed to be the one leading this group of mages.

"Professor Sera! What should we do about that incubus? Shall I chase him off?"

"Just say the word! We'll protect ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠our supervising professor!"

The younger mages were staring at this Professor Sera and fiddling with their staves when suddenly, Professor Sera, who had been watching me intently, let out a puzzled voice.

"No, wait. That staff... I've seen it somewhere many times before..."

The stern female professor's gaze landed on the pure white quarterstaff I was holding. As she examined the quarterstaff, she suddenly spoke in a flustered voice.

"A quarterstaff? You don't happen to be a Rune Mage, do you?"

"I am."

As expected of a professor, she quickly identified its type just from a brief look. Only a Rune Mage like me uses a quarterstaff as a magic staff.

Once the female professor realized my identity, she stopped the younger mages.

"...Do not treat that dream demon rudely. A wandering mage is one thing, but messing with a Rune Mage could be troublesome. Everyone, show respect to a researcher of Ancient Magic."

"Yes, ma'am!"

The female professor's attitude changed.

Simply revealing that I was a Rune Mage made them treat me with respect.

It was a world of difference from my days as a third-rate wandering mage.

"Chelsea! You answer this Rune Mage's questions."

"Understood, Professor Sera."

Soon, one of the young mages stepped forward to answer my questions.