Chapter 106

The moment Babel’s tower collapsed, and the mana stones rained down upon the city.

It seemed some of the humans in Babel had witnessed their master being reborn not in human form.

Who wouldn’t be shocked seeing some black humanoid shape burst out and destroy the top of the tower?

And then came the strike of light. A single blow that shattered Babel’s tower. It was truly the divine judgment of a god.

Some of the humans who saw this spectacle quickly fled from Babel.

Shouting that Babel had angered the gods.

Well, their reaction wasn’t really that strange. After all, it did look like divine judgment.

But… this judgment wasn’t aimed at the other humans in Babel. Hmm… stop overreacting.

Anyway, many humans fled swiftly, while those who stayed bowed deeply as they saw me and the hero standing atop the ruins of the tower.

“O representative of the goddess! Please punish us!”

“Some monstrous being existed within Babel’s tower, and we were unaware! Forgive our ignorance!”

Hmm. But this really isn’t the fault of these humans.

That guy secretly absorbed dark-infused mana stones in madness. How could these humans have possibly noticed or stopped him?

Thus, I forgave their so-called sins.

Not that it was even a sin to begin with.

I spoke to the humans bowing before me.

“First off, let’s change the name of Babel. It feels ominous.”

A tower that collapses every time it rises shouldn’t keep its name, right?

“So, what name should we use?”

“Hmm… I didn’t exactly prepare one.”

“Could we suggest a name ourselves?”

“Yes, if you come up with something good, that’d be fine.”

Then the humans raised their heads from their bows and began whispering amongst themselves.

“How about Sodom?”

“Nope.”

“Gomorrah?”

“Rejected.”

Their naming skills were atrocious.

Why do they keep picking such names? Do they have some desire for destruction or something?

Just call it Magellan already! It’s a city of mages after all! Ah, though that place got wrecked too eventually…

Maybe I should just name it myself. Yeah.

Hmm… but thinking of a name is harder than expected. What should it be?

“Hmm… Procyon?”

“What?”

“Let’s go with Procyon. For the city’s name.”

Which star was it again? I vaguely remember it being part of the Winter Triangle.

“Procyon… understood. We shall rename this city Procyon.”

Better than Babel’s ominous name, right? Anyway.

“But… now that the ruler of Babel has fallen, what should we do…?”

Hmm. What indeed.

This city must continue under a new name, and supplying mages with mana stones can’t be neglected.

Hmm. Right. The life temple will handle managing the mana stones going forward.

Additionally, during inspections, they’ll collect dark fragments to ensure others aren’t exposed.

Since this guy turned into a demon due to excessive exposure to dark shards and curiosity leading him closer.

We should suppress and seal those dark fragments using Shamash’s power, preventing others from getting close.

Hmm… if you think this guy transformed because of overexposure to dark fragments…

Isn’t the hero also somewhat at risk?

Hmm… I’ll worry about that later.

“Was the rise of this city solely due to that person’s efforts?”

At my words, the mages shook their heads slightly.

“That person played a big role, but it was the result of everyone’s hard work.”

“So, what’s the problem?”

If we remove the problematic individual, can’t the rest unite and move forward?

“Divide the city into sections, create temporary representatives for each section, and let them gather to hold meetings to lead the city. That should work, right?”

“Temporary representatives… and their meetings…?”

“Yes. If one person continues ruling, there might be more cases like this. Better to govern by dividing responsibilities.”

The mages nodded slightly at my words.

Because when one person holds too much power, incidents like this happen—especially with powerful things like mana stones and magic scrolls.

Minimize the authority of rulers. This way, if someone goes berserk, others can restrain them.

“Understood. Thank you for your wise counsel. Moving forward, the mages of Babel—no, Procyon—will remember this person’s mistakes and constrain ourselves to avoid repeating them.”

No need to go that far…

But seeing the determined resolution in the mage’s eyes, I remained silent.

All I could do was nod.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

A city once called Babel. Now known as Procyon.

Its rulers are neither king nor lord but seven tower masters.

Seven towers symbolized by different colors. Their representatives together govern Procyon.

“So, you’re saying the budget allocation is unfair?! Clearly, we have the largest number of members, so we should get the biggest share!”

The red tower, specializing in elemental magic of the main four attributes.

“Huh? We’re no slouch in numbers either. Plus, we need extra funds for maintaining summoned creatures. Our headcount easily doubles yours!”

The orange tower, excelling in contract magic through summons.

“Hmm. You have many mouths to feed despite lacking strength. Perhaps focusing on self-improvement would be better?”

The yellow tower, enhancing physical capabilities with magical empowerment.

“Well, it can’t be helped. By the way, looking at this year’s budget plan, it seems the donations from the Church of Life have slightly decreased…”

The green tower, famous for revival magic through mana and recovery spells, distinct from the Church of Life’s healing magic.

“If you love the Church of Life so much, why don’t you join them instead of staying in Procyon? Tch.”

The blue tower, skilled in illusions affecting the mind.

“……”

Once persecuted as necromancers, now recognized by the Church of Life and reformed into soul magic, the indigo tower.

“Uh, well, you see…”

And finally, the seventh tower. The violet tower, which replaced the prophecy school.

“Alchemy does cost a lot, but we generate the most revenue…”

The alchemy school.

“Well, that may be true, but isn’t this excessive?!”

“It’s not really excessive… Compared to last year, each tower’s allocation has increased. Though the overall budget ratio might’ve dropped…”

“Hmm… Technically, if you only count silver coins, maybe. But this isn’t just about simple amounts.”

The blue tower’s master adjusted his glasses as he spoke.

“The budget ratio reflects each tower’s pride. It connects to ‘how much stake Procyon has in each tower.’ You, being new as a tower master, might not fully grasp this yet.”

“Blue. Show some manners. Despite being young, this is still a tower master.”

The green tower’s master spoke, but the blue tower’s master ignored it and turned away.

“Honestly. Sorry, these fools only know magic and lack etiquette.”

“Keh, it’s fine. I anticipated this level of resistance. Besides, negotiations with the Church of Life are already done, so no worries.”

At that, the violet tower’s master smiled sweetly.

“We agreed to increase production and lower prices for recovery potions. Thanks to that, everything went smoothly.”

“Oh my. That’s great news. But…”

The green tower’s master smiled faintly.

“I’m responsible for communication between the towers and the Church of Life, yet I heard nothing about this. When exactly did you contact them?”

“Aaah… Well, during discussions about potion supplies… So… Uh…”

The green tower’s master’s eyes weren’t smiling at all.

“I’m sorry…”

“In the future, please inform us beforehand. Understood?”

The small silver-haired girl, the violet tower’s master, nodded slightly and adjusted her wide-brimmed hat.

A hat adorned with strange horn-like decorations.

– An excerpt from Procyon’s Tower Council Records.