The Second Daughter's Trap (3)
“Jane, did you hear the news?”
“What now? Get to the point since you're busy.”
Two high-ranking mages, Bellister and Jane.
They were chatting about the latest rumor stirring up the Magic Tower.
“Adel de Abolumi came out of her room. She even brought a man back from the lower district with her.”
“...What? That useless one?”
Tower Master, Adele de Abolumi.
A former Lord whose father had gone missing and who had been locked away in a corner with no news for years.
“That's what I heard. The apprentices were gossiping about it earlier.”
“Pfft, she finally snapped. Or maybe we should say she lasted longer than expected.”
She was once famous for her genius, but now her magic circuits were completely burned out.
Jane had always been displeased with her.
*I'm the one who deserves the Tower Master's seat more than this useless woman.*
He was a high-ranking mage who had mastered lightning magic to its limits.
He held his position within the tower, but it wasn't enough.
Lately he had been seriously considering stealing the spot.
“So, how about I tell you my plan?”
Bellister had made a suggestion.
“If you're aiming for Tower Master, forget it. The storm will be too much for us to handle.”
“You're in too much of a hurry. We're not the ones we're up against.”
“Don't tell me it's that guy you brought to the tower?”
Bellister nodded.
“He went all the way to the lower district himself to pick him up. Once we dig deeper, something should come out.”
It made sense.
The lower district was full of criminals. Going there personally meant there had to be something to gain.
“...If he was just an ordinary human.”
“Even better. It'll be the perfect chance for us to launch a surprise attack on the Tower Master.”
Jane was growing more enthusiastic.
He couldn't understand how someone blinded by desire knew about his plans to take the Tower Master's seat.
“W-wait, shouldn't we slow down a little?”
“There's no time to waste. I want to pass on my strength as fast as possible.”
Just then, voices of a man and a woman came from outside the room.
Adel and Demian's voices.
“Perfect timing. Shall we settle the score for everything you've done so far?”
“Yeah. It's only fair.”
Jane threw the magic book he was reading across the room and rushed out.
His yellow eyes burned red.
***
“Wait a second, I'll come to you. Please don't push me.”
“You're too slow. Hurry and come to my room.”
“You don't think the other side walks fast...?!”
Adel kept tugging at my foot.
I was exhausted after the big incident yesterday...
[Quest Completed! 500 DP earned!]
(The day before)
*Still managed to pull it off somehow.*
I won't explain the process. No, I can't.
I don't want to remember that guilt-filled memory again.
“And where did you leave your honorifics?”
“I can't get used to it no matter how I try. Just be satisfied with it as is.”
What a shameless look.
My head spins from the completely different attitude compared to Haley.
“I respect etiquette. If you don't follow it, I'll hate you.”
“Go ahead and hate me all you want. I'll make sure to pass on the power properly.”
“You're so selfish...”
It must be because she's a noble daughter.
The self-centered personality unique to children had shown itself.
I had to endure it. What was I supposed to do? Win against a kid and do what?
“Are you that excited? Your face is expressionless but you're all energetic.”
“Expressionless is a habit. I'm extremely excited.”
It felt strange.
Walking around the world with a completely emotionless face, like a retriever.
“You're happy about it, which is good. The wounds were worth it.”
“Don't worry about that. I'll pay you back somehow. I'll give you anything I can.”
I could have made an excuse and skipped it.
I just felt sorry for him and wanted to help.
[Contractor is happy!]
[100 DP earned!]
*I wasn't exactly being paid for it.*
Adel's status window, recognizing me as her contractor.
Thanks to that, I could earn DP whenever she felt happy now.
Even a lot of it.
“Take your time paying me. I'll wait here beside you.”
“...Yeah, thanks.”
Adel honestly expressed her gratitude.
It felt really good.
Maybe finding joy in helping unfortunate children is my nature.
I should open an orphanage later.
Thud!
“Excuse me, I wasn't paying attention.”
Lost in thought, I collided with someone.
I quickly apologized and tried to leave, but
“Stop. Even as a criminal from the lower district, you lack manners.”
I was grabbed by the shoulder.
“...Jane Delia. Stop picking on my guest and get lost.”
“Don't interfere with the young Tower Master. This is a matter of my pride as a high-ranking mage.”
It was clearly an old man with white hair who was ready to throw a tantrum.
Adel looked displeased, as if she knew his identity.
“You did apologize politely. Complaining about manners is unfair.”
“You should respect me. You should never have blocked my path in the first place.”
Ah, this guy was exactly the type who couldn't communicate with anyone.
People who thought the whole world should revolve around their own wishes.
He was the kind of human I hated most.
Bang!
“I challenge you to a duel. Even as a lower-born person, you should understand the meaning of gloves.”
“Stop. We're busy right now.”
I threw him a glove in defiance.
Adel stood in front of me to block him.
“You're next after this man, Tower Master. I'll settle the score for what you've done so far.”
“What did I ever do to you? All I wanted was your position.”
“...If it weren't for the barrier of that old man, your kind would already be screaming and dying—”
“You can't just say that.”
This grandpa had crossed a line.
I couldn't forgive anyone for touching children.
“Demian, just ignore him.”
“Don’t worry. Just watch from here.”
[Special Quest Triggered!]
Reward: 1000 DP, 2 useful rewards
Failure / Rejection Penalty: Unfortunate event occurs
[Accept?]
*Perfect timing.*
It was actually lucky.
I also needed to show her some of the skills I was supposed to teach her.
“I’ll demonstrate the demon’s fighting method.”
***
“No restrictions on attacks from either side. Battle ends when the opponent is about to die. Satisfied?”
“No issues. Do as you like.”
The sparring match took place in the training hall within the facility.
“Jane! Burn that sneaky bastard with lightning!”
“What kind of place is this where lower-district trash can crawl up here!?”
A huge amount of cheers and insults surrounded them.
When I was with Adel, he was invisible, but once I was gone, their voices started coming out one by one.
Not a single person was cheering for me.
“How bitter. Everyone must be hoping I lose.”
Ah, exactly one person. Adele was excluded.
When I looked back, I saw her waving her cheering stick enthusiastically.
“It’s really surprising where you got that thing.”
I was being cheered for, so I couldn’t show a shameful appearance.
Zzzzt!
*Do you think there’s time to think?!*
Lightning sparked from Jane’s hand, signaling the start of the battle.
A torrent of blue lightning rushed toward me in an instant.
*Annoying. I can’t dodge like I did in the forest.*
I lowered my head and barely evaded it.
Did the name of high-ranking mage mean something? The energy was fast and dense, making it hard to control with magic.
“Like a rat, how long can you keep dodging?!”
“The last line was too obvious. Don’t you have anything more creative?”
“Kyaaaah! Even if roasted alive, it’ll still be too cool!!”
Whoa, that was too harsh.
The old man really had a weak spot for taunts.
The one who was so cold had now become furious to the point of overheating.
...A little too much.
*I’m deliberately provoking him into carelessness.*
Looking at his magic, he seemed like an experienced expert.
It was weird that he reacted so strongly to such a provocation.
There had to be some hidden move.
In that case, I needed a counter too.
Zzzzt!!
“Gah...! This is indeed a sharp attack worthy of the lightning magic genius!”
“...Eh. T-that’s right! Your power must be exceeding your limits!”
As expected, when I took the hit on purpose, he showed his panic.
By the way, there was no damage at all. This body was just too sturdy.
“Don’t hold back! Roll away quickly!”
“From the beginning, he’s been mocking a lot. I’ll have to look at his face later.”
Defense was fine, but the problem was offense.
There was no way to pull out a gun here. That would be overkill, right?
“Was it Jane? It seems the only magic you can use is that?”
“It’s enough. It’s enough to deal with useless mages who can’t even cast spells!”
Compressed high-voltage lightning flew from his hand.
Kwa-kwa-kwa!
It rose high into the sky, then became a bolt and fell toward me.
“You lasted a long time! This is the end!”
The size was so massive that dodging looked difficult.
I had been waiting for this moment all along.
“Shadow Move.”
With the activation sound, my figure vanished in an instant.
Where I reappeared was right on top of Jane’s shadow.
“Eh?! I thought maybe you were a necromancer!”
“Call it whatever you want. Surprised?”
“Not at all. Variables like this are within my expectations.”
My hand rushed toward his neck, but Jane blocked it easily.
It was a situation already predicted. But,
Splish.
*How sharp. I wonder if you thought of this too.*
My other hand held the turquoise liquid Jane had hidden in his pocket.
“That’s... not the circuit-crushing reagent, right? Why is it coming out of Jane-nim’s hand?”
“Did you plan to use that during the sparring match? A publicly known forbidden potion from the Magic Tower?”
Hearing that, it seemed like a rather dangerous item.
I had thought he had been hiding one hand in his cloak the whole time, so there must be something.
“No, no! That’s not it!”
Jane started defending himself to the spectators.
Looking at how much he was denying it, it was probably an overpowered drug for even a single sparring match.
Like bringing hydrochloric acid to a friendly match.
This could be useful.
“That’s right! This is just a mana potion.”
“...What?”
I was a naive youth outside the Magic Tower.
Not knowing what the circuit-crushing reagent was or anything else was normal.
“As you were using lightning magic, your mana ran out. This is just a substitute for that.”
“W-wait! Don’t come closer with that!”
Why did you touch Adel?
If you had just targeted me and left, you wouldn’t have gone this far.
“I’ll feed it to you myself. This will replenish your power!”
“Please, please! I beg you, don’t—!!”
This was the just thing to do.
It had nothing to do with my selfishness.