■ Emerald Tower □
“Did you guys have fun last night without me?”
This was the first thing Dorothea said to me as soon as we met in the morning, almost like a greeting.
Apparently, the walls of the room were thin enough that the sound traveled directly to Dorothea, who was staying in the next room.
Since arguing about it seemed futile, I decided to admit it straightforwardly.
“Yeah, it was amazing.”
To my surprise, it wasn’t me but Barnett who seemed flustered.
“What? You can just say that?”
“This guy doesn’t care about such things. In fact, he might not even mind if I joined in.”
Dorothea, despite her rough language, turned out to be surprisingly submissive when it came to men.
She said she wouldn’t mind if I had fun with others, as long as I didn’t leave her.
Well, mutual understanding can indeed establish such kinds of relationships, right?
After smearing butter on her pancake and taking a big bite, Dorothea twirled her fork while asking Barnett.
“Barnett, are you serious?”
“No, not really….”
“Then that’s fine. Let me know if you ever get serious.”
With the main party member casually cutting off the conversation, Barnett became even more confused.
Anyway, after everyone laid their cards on the table, the awkward atmosphere around the table completely disappeared.
Seeing Dorothea enjoying her pancakes made me order the same, while Barnett simply ordered tea and toast.
Since our journey was set to resume today, the inn’s breakfast area was bustling with activity. [[#]] Five days passed in the blink of an eye.
During our travels, there were several incidents, both big and small. However, since we weren’t the only adventurers around, we managed to handle everything smoothly each time.
Most importantly, as we moved from the border region toward the capital area, the security situation naturally improved day by day.
What truly exhausted us was dealing with two female lions that kept attacking us every night without rest.
Barnett’s stamina was no joke.
Thanks to those eight days of nonstop movement, we finally arrived at the capital, Oz.
“So this is the heart of Oz, huh.”
Barnett momentarily removed the helmet on her head and looked up at the city walls surrounding Oz, marveling at them.
The Constantinople Wall, a symbol of Oz.
After the empire fell, refugees gathered around this wall, known for being the most robust in the empire, and built what would become the fortified city of Oz.
Initially founded as a city-state, over time its influence expanded. Though it never fully matched the old empire, it recovered enough prosperity that the name “Oz,” originally just the city’s name, became synonymous with the entire kingdom.
As many people entered Oz, there was a long line stretching before the city gates.
We were roughly in the middle of the queue, having waited nearly an hour already.
As the capital of a nation, inspections upon entering Oz were quite thorough.
Though we had insurance in place, I couldn’t help but feel slightly nervous.
While Barnett and Dorothea, visiting Oz for the first time, looked around curiously, the long line steadily diminished until it was finally our caravan’s turn.
“All right! Show your permits in order and proceed!”
The soldiers guarding the city gate worked efficiently, each handling a specific task.
We quickly positioned ourselves behind the caravan staff.
“Next!”
It took about three seconds to check each travel permit.
Anyone presenting a forged permit would be denied entry and expelled from the city.
In my case, though, I had no reason to worry.
Emerald Tower exerts the most influence in Oz.
Powerful mages were treated with as much respect as nobles or clerics, and the gold medal I possessed was practically a VIP pass.
“Next!”
After about ten minutes, it was finally my turn.
A guard with a prominent nose extended his hand toward me.
“Travel permit.”
I immediately pulled out my medal from my coat.
The moment the guard saw it, he flinched but quickly regained composure and shouted.
“Next!”
Next was Dorothea.
She also held a gold medal, similar to mine.
Although Ruby Tower didn’t wield significant influence here, it was still considered the home of witches, so the locals tended to fear mages from there.
“Next!”
Dorothea passed through the gate without issue, leaving only Barnett, who unlike us, was a Dullahan whose original identity had been erased and thus carried a forged permit.
The soldier inspected the permit Barnett handed over, flipping it front and back before shaking it up and down.
“This feels a bit too light…”
“Hold on.”
I quickly interrupted him.
“The weight of a permit can change over time due to wear and tear, right?”
As I said this, I subtly tapped his shoulder, causing the guard’s expression to momentarily blank out.
“Yes… that’s true….”
“If so, please let her through.”
After I spoke, the guard snapped back to normal and called out.
“Next!”
Thanks to that, Barnett safely passed through the gate and asked curiously.
“What did you just do?”
I shrugged and showed her the magic circle drawn on my palm.
“A simple suggestion spell. It’s quite useful when doing illegal stuff.”
“It would bounce off anyone with high mana resistance, though.”
Dorothea chimed in, placing one hand on her hip.
“Anyway, the human kingdom has developed quite a bit. Back in the day, it was basically just a village pretending to be a kingdom.”
“When exactly are you referring to?”
“I’m not sure exactly. The Great Master mentioned it.”
If Dorothea respected someone enough to call them “Great Master,” they must hold a significant position within Ruby Tower.
Both witches and mages tend to live unnaturally long lives depending on their level, so they often describe ancient events as if they happened recently.
At any rate, now that we’d successfully passed through the gate, all that remained was saying goodbye to the caravan we’d relied on for about a week.
We visited a senior officer of the caravan to collect our payment, and the officer, recognizing us, greeted us warmly.
“Here is your reward. Since you worked harder than the others during this trip, I’ve made sure to give you a generous amount.”
“Thank you.”
After pocketing the bag of silver coins, the officer cautiously asked,
“If you have some free time, would you like to join us for a meal at the caravan?”
“That’s unnecessary.”
“But please, stay just a little longer…”
“No, thank you. We need to head to the Magic Tower right away.”
I firmly declined his offer and stepped outside.
Business relationships should ideally be clean and clear.
Waiting outside for me was Dorothea, who asked,
“Did you get the money?”
“It’s here.”
Upon hearing this, Dorothea grinned and said,
“We’ve suffered enough sleeping on the ground. Let’s splurge a bit today.”
“You just want to drink alcohol, don’t you.”
Dorothea chuckled without denying it.
Sighing quietly while shaking my head at her, I eventually nodded.
“Fine, since it’s money we earned together. I’ll take you to my regular spot.”
“Yay! Alcohol!”
Dorothea cheered joyfully.
Looking at her now, it was clear she suffered from severe alcohol addiction.
Watching her from the side, Barnett asked worriedly,
“Is it okay to start drinking as soon as we arrive in the capital?”
“We’re not going straight to drink. We need to stop by the Magic Tower first.”
I explained this while grabbing Dorothea by the nape.
“Alright, young lady. Let’s work first, then drink.”
“What kind of work?”
“We need to find a local collaborator, don’t we.”
Our mission involved assassinating the leader of a nation.
Naturally, it would be wise to secure some backup.
And I knew exactly the person who could play that role.
“Let’s go see our Master.”
Emerald Tower stood out even among the stone buildings, which were limited to five stories, boasting an unmatched height.
If elemental magic hadn’t been actively used during its construction, creating such towering architecture with current technology would have been impossible.
I entered Emerald Tower through a back door reserved for authorized personnel.
“Wow.”
Behind me, Barnett and Dorothea couldn’t help but express their admiration.
It had been about a year and a half since I last returned, yet the interior of Emerald Tower always remained breathtakingly beautiful.
Wasn’t it called fractal design?
The perfectly symmetrical internal structure of the tower provided a calming effect to those who gazed upon it.
Sunlight filtered through the green stained-glass windows decorating the exterior walls, refracting through crystal orbs and lighting up the inside of the tower like midday.
Dodging the numerous wizards walking around, I boarded a floating stone designated for ascending to the top floor.
Infusing it with wind mana caused the floating stone to rise silently into the air.
When it reached the top floor, it stopped.
Holding onto the railing, I stepped off the floating stone and approached the office of my master, where an unfamiliar secretary stood guard.
“What brings you here?”
“I’m here to see the old hag.”
“Pardon?”
I tossed the gold medal I pulled from my coat at the bewildered secretary.
Her eyes widened upon reading the name inscribed on it. After all, word had spread that the apprentice of the tower’s master, who had ventured into Doom Land with the Hero Party, had gone missing without a trace.
“Please wait a moment!”
As the secretary hurried to grab me, I barged straight into the master’s office.
“Old hag! I’m back!”
Ignoring the secretary’s protests and entering, I found sitting at the desk—
“Not ‘old hag’ to your master, I see. You haven’t changed a bit.”
Not the hoary-haired elder with a white feather fan, but an unfamiliar black-haired girl.
