The Second Stratum's Administrator
Do-yun tossed the question at Ciel halfheartedly, already expecting another "I don't know."
"Ciel. Do you happen to know anything about the Manager Angel of the Second Stratum?"
"Hmm, a little?"
The unexpected answer made him blink in surprise.
"You know something?"
"Yes. I met him briefly at the Fairy Academy."
Come to think of it, Ciel had mentioned receiving training at some academy before being assigned to the Tower. He had never pressed her for details—any attempt to dig for information would only make her deflect—but he never imagined she might have had prior contact with the angels themselves.
"What was he like? Do you at least know his personality?"
Right before he entered the tenth floor, he had faced Remiel. She had clearly said that the Manager Angel of the Second Stratum was already prepared to send Do-yun back to the Tower of Trials. Yet Do-yun had used his Wish Ticket to declare his intention to remain in the Tower of Ascension.
It wouldn't be strange if he got irritated that I changed my mind halfway.
He had only decided the climb was manageable after finishing the tutorial and starting to ascend, but from the angels' perspective—having worked to resolve a sudden anomaly—it must have been absurd. For all he knew, the moment he stepped out, he might be met by an angel openly seething with rage.
"He was a very unique person. If something didn't meet his personal standards, he simply refused to speak with you at all."
Ciel's face scrunched up as she dug through her memories. Clearly their past acquaintance had not been a pleasant one.
"At least he's not the type to suddenly explode in anger. There are other ways he can be irritating, though."
"So there's room for persuasion, is that it?"
Having confirmed that much, Do-yun decided he would learn the rest through direct experience. The golden door before them was already gleaming as if it might open at any second.
A burst of light.
Before long the door swung open, flooding the Sanctuary Room with sacred radiance. From within, a boy emerged at a slow, reverent pace.
"Greetings. I am Tabriel, Manager Angel of the Second Stratum."
Unlike Remiel, this angel still wore the form of a young boy. Yet the eyes behind that youthful face held a depth of wisdom that made any guess at his age impossible.
Trying to estimate an angel's age from their appearance was nonsense from the start.
The instant the door opened, Do-yun had flattened himself against the floor. Now he carefully lifted his head to study the newcomer. Tabriel carried a book so thick it looked like a legal codex tucked under one arm, and a pair of glasses—most unangel-like—rested on the bridge of his nose. The way they shimmered with golden light, the color of divine power, made it clear they were no ordinary spectacles.
"So you are the singularity the Manager Angel of the First Stratum spoke of so often."
While Do-yun examined him, Tabriel studied Do-yun in return. The gaze felt less like it was looking at a person and more like a scholar analyzing research data—or a test subject.
"Remiel talked about me?"
The words slipped out before Do-yun could stop them. He immediately regretted the interruption, but Tabriel seemed unbothered by the impertinence and answered readily.
"Of course. You are an impurity that has interfered with Her long-laid plans."
Her.
That same unnameable pronoun again. Do-yun's brow furrowed.
Remiel used the exact same word.
A being whose name even the angels dared not speak. Something that could only be called a god—had that entity created this Tower?
"I came to see the face of a human bold enough to request a favor of an angel and then reverse it."
Tabriel trailed off mid-sentence as his careful survey of Do-yun shifted past him and settled on Ciel standing nearby.
"I never expected to meet my former student again."
"Hello!"
The moment Tabriel's gaze touched her, Ciel bowed deeply at the waist like a granddaughter greeting her grandfather. When she had faced Remiel she had been too terrified to do anything but tremble; this time, perhaps because they already knew each other, she somehow managed to keep her wits about her.
"I've been making good use of the system techniques Tabriel-nim taught me!"
"Oh? That is fortunate to hear."
So Ciel's skill with the system came from Tabriel's instruction. No wonder she had seemed so proficient—they had been student and teacher.
"You showed talent even during your Academy days. I always believed you would do well."
"Aww, it's all because Tabriel-nim taught me so well!"
A brief exchange of compliments passed between them. Yet from that short conversation Do-yun extracted one piece of information he could never let slip by.
"There is no need for modesty. Being the first human-born student in history to take the top rank at the Academy is no small feat."
"Ah—ahaha."
At Tabriel's offhand remark, Ciel's expression froze. A forced smile still clung to her lips, but her eyes darted frantically from side to side.
So she really was human-born.
Last time he asked, she had avoided the question of her origins to the very end. He had suspected as much from her reactions, but suspicion and certainty carried entirely different weights.
And still the oblivious Tabriel showed no intention of stopping.
"And from a world that had already fallen, no less—not even one that overcame its destruction. A truly exceptional case."
"Tabriel-nim!"
Ciel could no longer hold back and cried out. The warm atmosphere vanished as if cold water had been dumped over it. Her face flushed red; for a moment she seemed to forget that the person standing before her was her former teacher.
"Ah. I forgot you dislike talk of the past. Let us return to the matter at hand, then."
Tabriel merely shrugged at her reaction. At a glance it looked callous and rude, but in his own way it was consideration—he simply had not expected her to be so sensitive about her history. What the fuming, breathing Ciel wanted was not an apology for the careless topic; she wanted the subject changed as quickly as possible so they could escape this uncomfortable moment.
"I will ask once more. Are you truly certain you have no intention of returning to the Tower of Trials?"
This time Tabriel addressed Do-yun. Golden eyes gleaming behind the lenses fixed on him as if this chance would never come again.
"Sending you back is something only I, who hold the authority of transfer, can do. Once you pass the Second Stratum, this opportunity will not return."
But Do-yun had already finished his deliberation. His answer did not change.
"I'm fine. I want to keep climbing the Tower."
"Hmm. Well, very well. This too must be part of Her design."
Tabriel nodded as though he had reached some understanding.
"Even so, I cannot send you off empty-handed when you travel with my former student."
The moment he heard those words, Do-yun felt his eyes light up.
A reward!
Thanks to Ciel's connection, he was even getting free compensation like this.
While Do-yun clenched his fist to keep from showing his delight, Tabriel's eyes suddenly gleamed with interest as he considered what would be appropriate.
"You seem to be rather favored by the Manager Angel of the First Stratum."
"Pardon?"
For a moment Do-yun could not understand what Tabriel was saying. Favored by Remiel? He would swear those frost-sharp eyes had never held so much as a speck of affection.
Is he talking about that?
Still bewildered, Do-yun thought of the item sleeping in his inventory even now.
Remiel's Feather.
According to the system it had no special function—only a name—so he had simply been holding onto it.
"It may disrupt the balance… but considering that you travel with my student, I shall extend a measure of goodwill this once."
After a brief moment of thought, Tabriel plucked a single luminous feather from his own wing and held it out. Do-yun reached for it almost without thinking, and information about the feather appeared before his eyes.
◈ No further details available
Once again, nothing but the name. If they were going to hand these out, they could at least give enough information to use them properly.
As Do-yun scowled, Tabriel's low, even voice reached his ear.
"It has little power on its own for now, but once you gather three feathers, something rather remarkable will occur."
Three feathers.
That meant he would have to meet yet another angel.
"Heh. I look forward to the day you learn the true meaning of the feathers."
Yet the smiling Tabriel showed not the slightest intention of explaining the effect. Was his tongue cursed with thorns if he ever gave a straight answer?
Do-yun filled his mind with thoroughly blasphemous thoughts, then had no choice but to tuck Tabriel's feather away next to Remiel's.
I'll see just how incredible the finished product turns out to be.
Something that required three SSS-Rank material items just to complete… whatever it was, once it was finished it would surely become a trump card.
"Then I shall take my leave here. I will be watching to see just how great a variable you, the singularity, will create."
Until the very moment he retreated beyond the golden door, Tabriel regarded Do-yun with an inscrutable gaze.
A heavy thud.
The golden door slammed shut and vanished into light. The instant it did, Do-yun sprang to his feet and turned toward Ciel.
The fairy who always kept her energy high now had eyes completely drained of life. They had not spent long together, but as comrades who had crossed the line between life and death, he could not help worrying.
"You okay?"
"Of course! I'm perfectly fine!"
The forced answer came at the same moment she flicked her fingers. A translucent notification window rose before her eyes—almost like a wall she was raising to keep him from coming any closer.
You have successfully cleared the First Stratum!
As a reward, you have been granted an E-Rank Skill Selection Ticket.
Do-yun ignored the system alert without a second thought and simply sat down beside her. Even setting aside the practical calculation that a fairy obtained through an EX-Rank Summon Ticket mattered more than an E-Rank Skill Selection Ticket, he was not so shameless that he could ignore a tiny child who looked ready to break at any moment.
He settled next to Ciel and said nothing more.
Sometimes, rather than clumsy words of comfort, simply being there was the greater strength.
At the end of a long silence…
"…I was born in a world that was falling to ruin, just like you, Doyun-nim."
At last, the story of her past began to leave Ciel's lips.