Chapter 18
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: 2nd Princess, Hedera (1)
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The space had fallen silent. The atmosphere was already settled.
Zekiel gently tilted the liquor bottle, filling his glass without a single errant bubble. It was a clean pour.
Chomp—
He downed a cool glass in one go, then pulled out a fresh sunweed and lit it. It had barely been a few minutes since he'd entered, but now no one dared show him any insolence.
"First off, about the faction fighting."
Widro and Knox both swallowed dryly at the same time.
One word from Zekiel could drastically change their fates—just a few statements would decide it.
But moments later, what he said was utterly unexpected.
"Go ahead and have at it."
"…?"
Knox and Widro's eyes narrowed in unison.
"No intention of stopping you. But from now on, compete purely on results. No more childish antics among grown adults."
"…."
Both factions clamped their mouths shut, mumbling wordlessly.
Just hours ago, they'd been agonizing over which faction to pull the inspector into.
Now it was the opposite—both factions were squarely in the inspector's palm. They'd gotten completely ensnared.
"Next, the second point."
Zekiel exhaled a puff of smoke.
"I'll be personally involved in every bit of research and training inside the Magic Tower. No exceptions—make sure everyone knows."
"…!"
Everyone stared at Zekiel in shock.
Knox, head of the Practical Faction, wiped his brow with a handkerchief, pushed up his glasses, and cautiously spoke.
"…Who decided that?"
"Me. The Imperial Magic Tower's inspector."
"What about the opinions and backlash from the tower's mages? You know their temperament well, don't you?"
He pressed on hurriedly.
"Magic research is such delicate work that heavy involvement hampers full performance. And meddling in every detail just breeds resentment…."
"I don't care about resentment. Only results."
"Ah, that's a misunderstanding, Inspector. Not involving ourselves doesn't mean we ignore results."
In response, Zekiel simply dropped a thick stack of documents in front of him with a thud. He nodded lightly at Knox—take it and check for yourself.
"…."
Knox examined the stack and froze. It detailed the Imperial Magic Tower's dismal quarterly performance.
"If you're already paying attention and this is the result, the problem's even worse. Isn't this place supposed to gather top talents?"
Knox had no choice but to stay silent.
The tower's results were disastrously poor—unannounced, but real—and Zekiel wasn't someone Knox could afford to challenge lightly.
His throat burned, but he couldn't retort. Instead, he gulped down the liquor bottle like it was water.
"And this year, you have to announce these results. So, the third point."
Zekiel continued.
"Out of the six Magic Towers, the Imperial Magic Tower will take first place."
"…."
Silence stretched out. It was too absurd.
But Zekiel, the source of the quiet, seemed utterly unfazed. If anything, he looked confident, as if stating the obvious.
"…Inspector, you're just setting a goal, right?"
Widro broke the silence first. His tone was far more deferential than before.
"Having big ambitions is good, of course. But actually taking first is a whole other matter—"
"Don't misunderstand."
Zekiel cut him off bluntly.
"The Imperial Magic Tower will take first. Or it'll be disbanded."
The staff all looked stunned.
"What's with the reactions? Isn't it obvious the Imperial Magic Tower should outperform the others? Isn't that natural?"
"No, well…."
They had plenty to say but couldn't voice it.
Everyone except Zekiel found the goal utterly ridiculous.
Claiming first in the performance announcement after a decade meant filling a ten-year gap in one year. Impossible.
"Now, the last one. The most important."
…The most important was last?
What he'd said so far was already monumental. Was something even more radical coming?
They all widened their eyes, stiffening. Some, like Knox, chugged liquor to soothe their parched throats.
"All doctrines left by Hedera in the Imperial Magic Tower—scrapped entirely."
"…Ha."
Knox, tipsy now, let out a short laugh.
"The ancient mage Hedera? From ages ago? We've long discarded her outdated theories. Even with our poor results, isn't this a bit insulting?"
But as he spoke, the room was eerily quiet.
Knox glanced around.
"…."
A chill sobered his buzz. Could it be?
Hedera.
That's exactly what Zekiel had said. Those who'd caught it were already frozen in place.
"…!"
Knox whipped off his glasses in shock.
"Y-You mean the Magic Tower Lord of the Imperial Magic Tower, 2nd Princess Hedera? You're scrapping all the doctrines she left here, starting today?"
His question ignited murmurs.
"Is this really okay…?"
"The Tower Lord outranks even the inspector here. Discarding doctrines she set…?"
In the commotion, one person timidly raised a hand.
Zekiel nodded—speak.
But the hand-raiser stammered incoherently.
"Exactly one week from now. One week…."
"One week from now, what? Speak clearly."
"Exactly one week from now, Princess Hedera will visit the tower in person. Is this really okay…?"
It wasn't defiance—just pure worry. Could they handle the fallout?
"Yes. Hedera's Magic Tower doctrines will be thoroughly abolished."
Of course, Zekiel himself was perfectly at ease.
"One week is plenty of time, isn't it?"
"…Ah."
Knox clutched his head, staggering as he muttered.
"That's insane. Utterly insane…."
"I've never been sane."
Always. Already. Right now.
Zekiel always had been.
A few hours later.
I'm sitting in my office, reflecting on everything.
First, the four major pushes for the Magic Tower.
One: Ease faction tensions.
Two: Oversee all training and research.
Three: Claim first in the performance announcement.
The first three boiled down to this.
'To meet His Imperial Majesty's conditions, no choice. Have to try every method and give it my all.'
The cushy life of parachuting in, taking Solana's gold, was over the moment the emperor laid out his five conditions.
Just look at a few princesses.
The continent's richest. 4th Princess Chain.
No matter how much gold Solana gave, it couldn't match Chain's wealth. The tower's massive capital was essential.
The monster. 1st Princess Ether.
To surpass her in power and fame—already evoking the emperor's prime—I needed the Magic Tower's full strength.
…Time to pour everything into building this tower.
"The three are set. Now the last one…."
Four: Abolish 2nd Princess Hedera's doctrines for the tower.
Here's what she left behind.
[The Imperial Magic Tower cherishes individual mages' self-realization. Uphold imperial honor and dignity at every moment, but prioritize the freedom to explore magic. Pursue your paths freely.]
Sounds nice, but it really meant:
—Do whatever, as long as it doesn't cause issues.
No ambition, no goals—just self-improvement without social scandal. Total neglect.
'Means all expectations for the tower are gone.'
So, it had to go. Fortunately, Hedera's visit was a week away.
A memory surfaced.
—I believe human magic is wonderful!
—Someday, humans might surpass dragonkin, right?
—Then everyone could get recognition and get along!
Little Hedera used to chatter that endlessly. How did she end up like this? A mix of harsh reality and the winds of time.
Knock knock—
Someone knocked and entered the office.
"First time meeting you. I'm the inspector's direct secretary."
Her ninety-degree bow was impressive, but not as much as the familiar voice and black bob cut. No matter how I looked, it was familiar.
No doubt. It was Anes.
"…."
When I didn't respond after a long moment, Anes peeked up while still bowed.
"…!"
Her eyes went wide, and she shot upright like she'd been electrocuted.
She whipped her head aside—like an ostrich burying its head in crisis.
I approached Anes without hesitation.
"Thought we'd never meet again. We keep running into each other."
"…This is our first meeting."
I tilted my head to meet her eyes; she jerked away the other direction. Her curtain-like bob slapped my cheek.
"Anes, your memory's shot. Think you can secretary like that?"
"Who's Anes?"
"You."
"My name isn't Anes."
Whoosh—whoosh—
Every time I tilted to catch her gaze, Anes dodged. Finally, I chuckled and swept up her hair with my palm.
Under the curtain of black, her face was beet red.
Anes backed away sharply, firing back blankly.
"Why the hell are you the inspector?"
"Why are you my direct secretary?"
Anes mumbled her lips.
"…Resign immediately."
"Why should I? If anyone's leaving, it's you."
"…."
Anes stayed expressionless but blinked rapidly. Clearly uncomfortable.
Finally, she spoke.
"…This tower has no future now."
"Here to report? Then report."
"That was my report. Told you something the principal doesn't know."
With that, Anes neatly gathered documents with telekinesis—elegant as ever.
"A few draft schedules. Pick one you like and use it. I'll be going now."
As Anes turned and walked briskly—
Bang—!
The door flew open, smashing right into her face.
Leaving Anes frozen like time-stopped, a few pale-faced tower staff appeared.
A female staffer glanced around frantically.
"Huh? Anes? You okay? Wait—no, I-Inspector!"
I pulled out a sunweed and lit it.
"Listening."
"The 2nd Princess! The 2nd Princess is visiting!"
I exhaled smoke casually.
"The visit in a week? Already knew."
"No! She changed the schedule!"
The staffer shook her head urgently.
"Tonight! She's coming tonight!"
"…Tonight?"
I stopped chewing the sunweed.
Tonight.
…Didn't see that coming.