To the Magic Tower
Yes or No. If I had to choose, it’s obviously a yes! Why on earth would I turn down the chance to ditch this miserable slave life for a cushy, warm-and-cozy existence? The magic tower would have plenty of resources, no worries about food, and a steady allowance. There’d even be servants to handle the chores, so I wouldn’t have to get my hands dirty with laundry or cleaning anymore. It wasn’t a decision that required any real thought. If Natasha was the one extending the invitation so eagerly, then from my perspective it was pure profit.
“Juno. May I interpret this silence as agreement?”
Oh. Ding-dong-dang. How did she know it was a green light? This time, it really is the chance for a total life reversal. A stronger intuition than when I first met Altrong washed over me. If my life were drawn as a straight line, I was standing at a major turning point. If you’re born a man, you’ve got to swim in the big waters at least once! I couldn’t stay a frog in a well forever. At least if it were a well, I could try infinite jumps to escape. Thanks to that rotten mage Altrong, I’d been nothing more than a fish trapped in an aquarium prison.
A remote barony. Buried in the forest of a tiny rural village in that small territory, I’d always wondered what the outside world was like. Secretly, I’d kept the desire to go beyond this narrow fishbowl and step onto the wider stage called the world tucked away in my heart. The magic tower—maybe the moment I heard those two short words, my choice was already decided.
“You’ll come to the tower, won’t you? Hm? Hm?”
Natasha’s eyes, brimming with earnest hope, blinked straight at me.
“Yes. I’ll go. To the magic tower.”
“Really? Truly?”
Nod, nod. The moment I bobbed my chin, Natasha squealed with joy like a child who’d just received a surprise gift.
“I’m so, so grateful that you’re allowing it!”
She bounced on the spot like a little kid. I was the one getting a free ride into the tower on a golden parachute, yet she looked even more moved than I did.
“It’s a relief I don’t have to kidnap you. If you’d refused, I was planning to take you by force. I even considered knocking you out or turning you into a frog for the trip.”
“Excuse me?”
Kidnap? Are we talking about the same word I know?
“Hehe. It was a joke. Just a joke.”
That didn’t look like a joke. The truth was written plain as day in the crescent-moon curve of her eyes. She’d been serious. It seemed she’d intended to bring me to the tower no matter what. Whether I liked it or not, maybe my fate had always been to go there.
“Oh dear. This isn’t the time for that. Juno, let’s depart at once!”
“Is the tower far away?”
“It is quite far. But with teleportation magic, we can arrive in the blink of an eye.”
“We’re here. This is it.”
After leaving the forest path, I pointed at the thatched cottage with its wide field. The house I’d shared with Altrong. I’d returned on my own two feet not only to pack my things, but above all to say a final goodbye. Leaving without a word would’ve left me feeling like I’d forgotten to wipe after using the bathroom. It wasn’t that I’d grown fond of the old man or felt pity for him living alone. The fraud, the slave-driving, the constant beatings with his staff—they were all infuriating. Still, thanks to him I’d learned how to farm, escaped beggary, and managed to put food in my mouth. After living under the same roof for years, the least I could do was show basic courtesy as a fellow human being.
In human relationships, proper closure is important. Thinking of all the rotten things Altrong had done made me want to leave without a backward glance, but at least a single farewell would make my departure feel lighter.
“This is the house you lived in with the old man?”
“Yes.”
I’d already given Natasha a rough explanation—the tearful tale of how I went from beggar to Altrong’s slave and suffered terribly. She’d patted my back with pity, saying she’d had no idea I carried such a story. And now, standing before the cottage…
“Must you really greet a man as despicable as that?”
She was huffing even more than I was, nostrils flaring like a baby dragon.
“I was tempted to just leave, but giving proper notice will let me feel at ease.”
“If that is truly your wish… Very well. Go open the door. I must see for myself what kind of sour-faced fellow he is!”
Creaaak. I opened the door as usual and stepped inside. The second our eyes meet, he’ll yell that it’s almost dinnertime and ask where I’ve been wandering instead of preparing the meal.
Altrong sat at the table, scribbling something on paper with a quill. Sure enough, he launched into his usual line.
“It’s almost dinnertime, yet instead of preparing the meal you’ve been gallivanting about and only now return?”
That one sentence should have kicked off a seventeen-verse nagging cycle, but Altrong’s vocal cords fell deathly silent. The moment he spotted Natasha behind me, he froze in place, quill still in hand.
“……Lady Natasha?”
At almost the same time, Natasha, standing behind me, cried out in surprise.
“Are you not Altrong?”
What? They knew each other?
In the confusion, my greeting was pushed aside and the cottage became the site of their reunion. While Natasha and Altrong talked inside, I waited outdoors. I went to the stable in the backyard, fed the mule I’d raised, refilled its water trough, and stroked its coat in farewell.
“Nureongi. You’ve worked hard all this time. Even without me, stay healthy and live long. Don’t worry about food just because I’m gone. The old man may work you to the bone, but he never lets you starve, right?”
When I gently patted the mule’s neck, it let out a soft whinny and nuzzled its head against me. Whether it sensed I was leaving, it pressed its head into me more insistently than usual, trying to burrow into my arms.
“You’re telling me not to go? Sorry, but I’m heading to the magic tower to become a mage. You know that, don’t you? My dream. Becoming a mage. They say the tower has abundant resources and a better environment for study.”
Whinny. I ran my hand through its mane and chuckled. I almost felt bad leaving without feeding Nureongi. Coming back home had been the right choice. It was the only living thing I’d grown attached to while slaving away under that exploitative boss. Before I left, I had to make sure it was fed. Farewell, comrade.
Still, their conversation is taking a while. What exactly is their relationship? They’d said it would only take a moment, yet an hour had passed with no sign of ending. Just what was their connection? The instant Altrong saw Natasha, he’d adopted an extremely respectful attitude, as if addressing a superior. He was the same Altrong who acted so eccentrically toward the villagers that he had no drinking buddies. Seeing him lower himself and show such meticulous courtesy to someone was a sight I’d never witnessed before. I didn’t know the details, but if Altrong was behaving like a docile lamb, then Natasha was clearly the stronger of the two.
While I was lost in thought, Natasha came to the stable.
“Have you finished talking?”
“We have, but Altrong says he has something to tell you. He wants you to come to the hill with the large rock.”
. . .
I climbed the hill where Altrong was waiting. It was the spot with the large, thick-trunked tree and the rock—the place where Altrong and I sometimes went to catch the breeze and pass the time because the view was nice. Altrong sat beneath the tree, staring blankly into the air. Today, the white beard fluttering in the wind looked lifeless, and his shoulders sagged in a way that didn’t suit him at all.
“Tch. A country bumpkin like you, magic? Do you think magic is so easy?”
Yeah. That’s the Altrong I know.
“No matter what you say, I’m going. I was going to leave without a word, but I came to say goodbye one last time.”
“Speaking as if you’re doing me a favor. I made you live like a human instead of a beggar, and now what? You’re going to throw it all away? Ungrateful brat. You’d abandon your benefactor for some petty dream?”
“Hah. Even a passing dog would laugh at that. Taking in a child and raising him as a slave—what kind of benefactor does that? You’re an exploitative boss. What, did all the real benefactors in this world die already? You never taught me a single bit of magic.”
“I never promised to teach you magic? I said I’d pass on the knowledge I possessed. I kept my promise to keep you from starving!”
“That’s just self-justification. Put your hand on your conscience and do some self-reflection. You lured me in by acting like you’d teach me magic, and then… Well, I guess your conscience got stewed and eaten a long time ago, so what’s the point.”
While I was grumbling in disbelief, Altrong pulled a sheet of paper from his sleeve and thrust it in front of me.