Finally, Things Start Moving (1)

Apprentice mage. Before a single mage set foot in the Mage Tower.

The modifiers attached to them were varied. Peerless genius. Magical prodigy. Even something like the pride of the family. They couldn't help but have some sense of pride in themselves.

But after entering the Mage Tower.

From the moment they realized that all the knowledge they'd acquired until then was merely a cup of water in the ocean.

They went beyond forgetting those modifiers—they came to see them as embarrassing.

They simply became fledglings of the Mage Tower.

"...Hey. Doesn't something feel off?"

The work of such fledglings was predictable. Tilting their heads and chirping away.

But today.

"Right? It's not just me, huh?!"

The chirping echoing through the floating garden felt unusually secretive. As if wary of anyone overhearing. They lowered their voices as they conversed.

And the subject of that conversation was, naturally.

"That's not a common sight, is it?"

The senior mages.

Senior mage. A position one could only ascend to with pride in the magic they had chosen. Naturally, all twenty senior mages believed their chosen magic was the best.

They couldn't possibly get along.

"Normally, they wouldn't even greet each other..."

Moreover, this wasn't even the regular conference period, was it? The time when senior mages were at their most sensitive. When the honor of their schools was on the line during the regular conferences.

So the scene in the floating garden right now was utterly unfamiliar to the Mage Tower's fledglings.

"...Why are they all gathered like that?"

"And facing each other!"

"Hey, hey, even Senior Mage Banggrit Tom is there."

Indeed. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Banggrit Tom, who had gone missing.

Including him, all twenty senior mages were gathered at one table.

A sight rarely seen even in the Crystal Hall.

And this was a social venue, the floating garden, no less.

But that wasn't all.

"They're not just talking."

A meal laid out on the table.

The senior mages were having breakfast.

An utterly incomprehensible scene by any common sense.

The fledglings began racking their brains in their own way.

"...If we get closer, maybe we can hear something?"

"Are you crazy, Richel? Don't you have any sense? Can't you see even the skilled mages aren't setting foot in the floating garden? This is no ordinary matter!!"

"Of course it's not ordinary. Banggrit Tom came back. But honestly, aren't you curious? What on earth happened to make them sit face-to-face and share a meal like they're on good terms..."

...No, but.

Was that really "on good terms"?

The senior mages' expressions didn't look pleased at all.

"They all look so exhausted."

"Like they've been put through the wringer by someone..."

"Hey, who could put them through the wringer?"

However, strictly speaking, it wasn't all of them.

Among them, one who seemed unchanged from usual.

Yes, one who remained steadfast.

Yes, the existence capable of wearing down those great senior mages.

One who held status equal to the chief mage.

Chief co-researcher Lee Hoyeol.

His posture in handling fork and knife was impeccably exemplary. From his rigidly straight back to the angle of his arms and neck. As if personifying the very word "propriety."

"...Doesn't he look like he's eating well all by himself?"

Unlike the senior mages, who showed not the slightest hint of hunger.

Lee Hoyeol was calmly eating.

Naturally, speculations poured forth at the sight.

"Maybe they all got an earful? You know, like at the regular conference. None of the presentations got a pass, right? They all got picked apart."

"You think he'd do that in the floating garden? While eating?"

"Nah. Even if he's strict, he wouldn't go that far."

"Right. Talking business over a meal is seriously crossing the line!"

But why were they fledglings, if not for this?

They only knew what they knew. And from their level, even peeking wouldn't reveal much.

It was only natural they couldn't grasp the reason.

However, this time, it wasn't just the fledglings.

Apprentice mages weren't the only ones in the dark.

"...I don't even know what to say."

"Better late than never."

"It was something that needed correcting immediately. No choice but to think now's the right time."

Just a few hours ago.

What had transpired at the Mage Tower's top floor.

Was known only to the elder mages, the two chiefs, and the twenty seniors.

The Mage Tower's "internal affairs."

Five elder mages.

Three of them—over half—were demon worshippers.

How long had they been serving demons...?

Were they really chewing meat?

The senior mages' expressions suggested they were chewing something else entirely.

With minds in turmoil, who could tell what went down their throats properly?

The reason they'd gathered in the floating garden was simple.

"Skipping breakfast is a bad habit."

Simply because Lee Hoyeol had said so.

In the heavy silence where no one easily spoke.

The senior mages looked to Lee Hoyeol.

...Was he truly unaffected?

Lee Hoyeol was an adventurer. Strictly speaking, an outsider until recently.

But the Mage Tower's prestige was well-known even among adventurers.

For ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠such a Mage Tower to have been toyed with by demon worshippers.

He should have been shocked like them.

Yet Lee Hoyeol calmly sliced his meat.

And not just that—at the top floor.

His attitude confronting the elders.

What were elder mages? They were demigods who could shake heaven and earth with magic.

Any mage confronting them would be crushed by the mana they exuded.

Overwhelmed, inevitably.

But Lee Hoyeol was different.

Far from overwhelmed.

He even spoke to the elders.

"Foolish worshippers, indeed..."

With words laced with thorns.

Having witnessed it firsthand.

Their evaluation of him shifted dramatically, as expected.

Yes, if not for Lee Hoyeol.

They might not have retrieved Banggrit Tom, or acted on their suspicions.

Thinking of that worst case was horrifying.

The Mage Tower would still be deceived by demon worshippers.

Yes.

Whether they acknowledged it or not.

Everyone in the Mage Tower owed Lee Hoyeol a great debt.

That was why they couldn't refuse his invitation to eat.

In just one day.

Lee Hoyeol had achieved tremendous feats in the Mage Tower.

Yet his demeanor remained unchanged.

So unchanged it made peeking pointless.

Yes, unchanged.

Impeccably sensitive to etiquette and decorum.

Such a Lee Hoyeol looked at the table and said.

"Sometimes, there are things more important than appetite."

"...!!!"

What could be more important than appetite?

There were twenty gathered.

Naturally, each had their own answer.

'Oh no. Did I violate table manners?'

'I held the fork and knife wrong...!'

'...Did I order the wrong dish?!'

But their actions were uniform.

Only after his words.

Forks and knives began moving in earnest.

Finally, a proper meal began.

*

Yes, even without appetite, one must eat.

The schedule gets packed starting today.

People move on full stomachs, after all.

Of course, I'll be the busiest.

What can you do? Such is my fate.

A fate with no calm days.

The Mage Tower's top floor.

To cut to the chase, no battle occurred there.

The elder mages—no, demon worshippers now.

They'd tucked tail.

They knew enough to value their lives.

There, I realized.

Those who seek death live, those who seek life die...!

Thanks to preparing for all-out war, that outcome was possible.

The quest succeeded as a result.

I'd brazenly succeeded at the quest that seemed to scream "don't succeed."

...!

The rewards were substantial.

Relationship and influence with the Mage Tower greatly increased.

Even now, wasn't I the one squeezing the most out of the Mage Tower?

Precious magic tomes, of course.

Approved rentals of magic tools and item exports.

And the free breakfast just eaten.

'Can't tell how much until max, but.'

One thing I could be sure of.

This relationship and influence boost felt better than most rewards.

Of course, the quest wasn't over.

True to the Mage Tower's scale.

It was a chain quest, naturally.

And as expected, no easy chain quest.

Indeed, the Mage Tower.

Expect as much as given, clearly.

Quest objectives pouring from the start.

Pouring.

Above all, none looked easy.

For starters, the Tower Master alone.

Even glimpsed at the top floor.

Didn't seem in good shape.

Disposing of the escaped demon worshipper? That meant tracking an elder mage and settling it.

Crowning it all, pursuing ultimate truth.

Looking at those goals...

Felt truly like a Mage Tower member.

Relationship and influence boosted so much.

I got such quests?

Well, anyway.

As the grand goals suggest.

Not something clearable right away.

The quest name was Rebuilding the Mage Tower, after all.

Righting a tower misdesigned who-knows-when-where.

Bound to be tough.

But all begins with one step.

Clack—

So I stepped forward.

Toward the Mage Tower's underground.

*

The Mage Tower has an underground space.

Its role? Merely supporting the tower.

True to the Mage Tower's incomprehensibly vast spaces.

Its structure defied scientific explanation.

Outwardly not tall or vast.

Yet inside, countless floors, each expansive.

A tower built by magic.

Naturally needing a firm foundation.

One unyielding to any magic's mana, eternal time.

Yes, the Mage Tower's underground was that domain of constancy.

Exact name: Mu-Geon (無間).

True to its name, a hellish space.

Some had fallen into that Mu-Geon hell.

The demon worshippers once called elder mages.

The worst sinners in Mage Tower history.

'Damnable space.'

Elder mages who reached magic's "realm."

Yet their mana was useless in Mu-Geon.

Their proud mental fortitude, same.

'How long has passed? A week? A month?'

All senses, including time, long broken.

But they didn't give up.

Yes, Mu-Geon overwhelmed not just them.

"Marcelo. When did you notice?"

Knowing that, they desperately spoke.

Lure that brat Marcelo.

Escape this iron cage.

Maybe flee this damnable Mu-Geon.

'If we escape...'

Repay this humiliation twofold—no, more.

Deceiving with words? Easier than anything.

Even the Mage Tower fell for their tongues.

Moreover, they had reason to engage them.

'Must find the whereabouts of the last one.'

Locate and punish the escaped one.

Mage Tower's top priority now.

So they held hope.

'...Keep your wits, and survive.'

Of course, that hope didn't last.

"You've arrived?"

Silent Marcelo spoke.

His greeting aimed at Lee Hoyeol.

Adventurer and Marcelo's chosen co-researcher.

The moment their faces met, dissonance hit.

'...What is it?'

No hint of fluster from him.

This was Mu-Geon.

Hard to stay sane for first-timers.

A space where time halted, constancy itself.

How could he be so fine?

'Fool him to escape?'

Was that possible?

Sensory malfunction illusion?

Or true reality?

'Impossible...!'

Trickle—

Cold sweat down the spine.

*

Mu-Geon. Domain of constancy.

Hearing Marcelo explain, I thought.

『As next family head, what Grandfell first ingrained was not fluctuating over trivialities. The Claudy family head's seat tolerated no agitation.』

This was a fish in water.

The prediction hit true.

I found Mu-Geon utterly comfortable.

No illusion.

Even Marcelo looked weary.

The demon worshippers, needless to say.

'Initial momentum gone.'

And they didn't even know their expressions.

Judging by state...

─Dispose of the escaped demon worshipper. (In ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Progress)

Might end quicker than expected?

Not just locating, but more info too.

Demon info, of course.

'Elder mages, after all.'

Maybe high-level Arcana Continent knowledge?

No rush, though.

Mu-Geon was my turf.

Home ground, literally.

So, as always, I said.

No need for threats.

Steadfast demeanor was constancy.

"Let us begin the interrogation."

In that sense, I spoke amiably.

...Why do their faces look more miserable?

I wouldn't know the reason.

But not swayed by petty emotions like pity.

That too ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was constancy.