Chapter 34

As soon as Sererassie entered the Ivory Tower, she received numerous gazes.

“Sererassie?”

“Your Highness!”

“It’s been a long time!”

“I apologize. Even though I knew how you’ve been living all this time…!”

Even the people at the reception rushed out to ask her news, saying they were worried and greeting her.

There were even those who wanted to convey news to their own masters.

She struggled to calm them down and conveyed that she had come to buy a staff.

The magicians guided her and the two others up through the internal elevator, and she skillfully manipulated the ancient characters glowing on the stone walls, infusing them with mana.

With a humming sound, the elevator started moving.

“Haha.”

She covered her face with one hand and let out a joyful exclamation.

Everything was familiar.

The scenery that entered her eyes, the gazes of the people there.

Being among similar people was always enjoyable.

“Duke Sererassie. May I ask what you just did?”

At that moment, a voice broke her thoughts.

“Oh, Rudi, you can’t read that. It’s Elvish. Circle magic was created by elves, so most grimoires are written in Elvish. What I just did was tell it to go up to the 60th floor.”

She answered kindly, as a true magician would.

“60th floor?”

“The Ivory Tower has up to 100 floors above. It’s 500 meters high. Isn’t that tall?”

“500 meters?!”

Rudi gasped and looked down at his feet.

“Then… how does this work?”

“There’s a well-structured wind magic circle engraved on it that works semi-permanently. Just infuse it with mana and it moves on its own.”

“Wow.”

As she looked at Rudi in awe and Valenciaunos nodding silently with a worried expression, Sererassie returned to reality.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t here to attend the Ivory Tower again.

Her half-brother Valenciaunos was thinking of obtaining magic powers from the Ivory Tower.

‘No way would they heed whatever threats he brings. That’s our weakness. But then, I don’t know where this guy will pop up. Yesterday, one of the kids from the neighboring workshop said there was a huge uproar near Wyvernfit… Could it be even here?’

She didn’t bother to ask what kind of secrets or evidence Valenciaunos had.

The magicians of the Ivory Tower were not people to be concerned about that.

The person she was heading to see even more so.

Go ahead and try it, and get hurt.

She couldn’t say she didn’t feel that way.

But.

‘They wouldn’t just stab me in the stomach and ask for magic powers, would they?’

In her heart, she wasn’t sure that wouldn’t happen.

And that was the problem.

With the development of the full-body plate armor inscribed with incantation circuits, the doctrines of combat magicians had changed too.

Now, even common magic couldn’t inflict critical wounds through that armor.

Therefore, combat magicians were usually accustomed to using powerful area magic while being escorted by soldiers and knights from a distance.

‘Was my master… a Warlock?’

If combat magicians were like that, an ordinary magician would be pierced through the moment a knight pulled out their sword.

And as far as she knew, Valenciaunos had defeated a knight from the Silver Knight Order and was skilled with the sword he learned from Tenitia.

“Oh.”

Sererassie frowned in irritation at her unfamiliar worries.

Thinking about anything outside magic was always an unpleasant affair.

So when she got off the elevator and heard those words, her response was delayed.

“Maid cannot enter.”

“What?”

“The maid is requested to wait in the lobby.”

A magician, appearing to be around her age, propped his staff on the ground and blocked the door.

Since she didn’t remember him, he must have been an unremarkable person or a promising newcomer who had entered in the last year.

And her master would use the unremarkable ones as experiments, so he must be a promising newcomer who joined this past year.

Sererassie first noticed Valenciaunos glancing to see if he might draw his sword and clicked her tongue, saying,

“Rudi is also of noble lineage.”

“Senior. You know, don’t you? In this place, worldly status has no meaning. Only magicians can enter the mage tower.”

Rudi didn’t want him to fight because of him.

“Valen, I’ll wait outside. There’s a sofa here, so it’s fine.”

However, the following words made it hard for even her to suppress a grimace.

“Not in this lobby, but in the first-floor lobby.”

The magician said with a smile still on his face.

“You are supposed to use the stairs, but since you came with Senior Sererassie, I’ll specially take the elevator for you.”

Sererassie saw Valenciaunos grimace.

As royalty, for once she understood his anger.

To treat a maid like this was to disregard the person who brought her.

“How dare a magician do—!”

“Your Highness!”

Just as Valenciaunos was about to reach for the sword at his waist, Rudi grabbed his arm tightly.

“Your Highness, it’s okay. I’ve been wanting to come here, so I’ll take a look around.”

“Rudi. Let go.”

“Just give me a few hours of leave.”

“What?”

It was a completely unexpected statement.

Sererassie, the magician at the entrance, and Valenciaunos all displayed bewildered expressions.

Seeing those expressions, the only non-magic person here said,

“Since His Highness Valen is working, Senior Sererassie is working, and that magician is working, wouldn’t it be best if I only took leave? If you come back again next time, um, I’ll find places worth visiting.”

Valenciaunos clenched his teeth.

Sererassie could tell he was suppressing his anger.

“Just play on the bright and wide streets, be careful of pickpockets, and use this all up.”

He handed Rudi three gold coins.

“This… is this enough money to spend in one day?”

Rudi replied that way.

The magician at the entrance smiled, but Sererassie did not.

Would she have laughed in the past?

She didn’t know.

She didn’t particularly want to think about it.

* * *

The room was spacious and luxurious.

Unlike the outer walls, which were entirely white marble, decorations made of red jewels and silver were attached everywhere, gently shining.

“Isn’t a proper staff made and sold at the Ivory Tower?”

“Have you ever seen a knight making and selling a magic sword or divine sword?”

“Now that I hear it like that, it makes sense.”

“Though, sometimes knights want to make their own swords and at least gather the materials.”

“True.”

We sat on the soft sofa, chatting while waiting for the grand magician, the owner of this room.

It wasn’t comfortable being in a room without its owner, but considering the worst-case scenario of what we might have to do, this felt acceptable.

“We’re the same. Normally, we can buy up to a staff with money, but beyond that requires effort.”

“Then most renowned staffs…”

“Usually, the magic they need gathers their own materials to have a magic tool craftsman custom-make one.”

“What materials? Some jewels or twigs?”

“Yeah.”

“And generally, they wouldn’t come looking to snatch a precious staff someone else has made.”

Suddenly, a red lightning bolt sparked in the air, and a soprano-like high voice rang out.

I recognized that magic immediately.

It boasted mobility rivaling modern teleportation with the highest-tier movement magic that rides on lightning to soar through the sky.

Looking up, I saw a woman sitting across from me on the opposite sofa.

She appeared to be more of a top fashion designer than a magician, dressed in a flamboyant outfit.

Her hair shone with a silky luster, red as wine, and her eyes were covered by a mesh veil draped over a large feathered hat.

Over her long, translucent black silk dress with deep waves, she wore a glossy navy blue dress, draping a gray wolf fur shawl over her shoulders.

In her left hand, she held a staff made of black metal, adorned with a pomegranate-sized stone.

“It’s been a year, Sererassie.”

As she greeted her warmly, Sererassie got up from her seat.

In a moment of reflex, I followed suit and bowed.

“Master Gestarte, your mediocre disciple has come to visit after a long time.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.”

I gritted my teeth again as I watched the moment between the apprentice and the master.

To avoid being overwhelmed.

I had met her in my past life as well.

At that time, I was in my forties, but the woman before me looked the same as she did then.

Known as Gestarte, her name, origin, and age were unknown.

She was served as the most skilled in the Electric School and, having pursued the truths of electricity, offered her body and soul to an ancient deity resembling a colossal snake and was consumed.

Even Jayliris had struggled significantly against her, as her vessel was capable of containing an ancient god.

I had once been struck by thirty consecutive red bolts and nearly burned to death.

“You came to get a staff, right?”

“Yes.”

“You respond well.”

Gestarte, who smiled bitterly, waved her hand.

Drawers lined up along one wall opened in unison, and staffs floated into the air.

While I couldn’t identify the exact differences of those staffs, Sererassie dashed toward them, her gold and silver glowing.

“Watch closely. It seems the Duke has something to tell me.”

“Yes!”

While they showed no concern for her, Gestarte and I shared a soft smile simultaneously.

“Now that’s a magician’s typical response.”

“I would consider it an abnormal response for a human. Shouldn’t one of us be worried?”

“Don’t worry. You just have to worry about yourself. There’s no one in this world who can overwhelm me except for your sister.”

“You? Your sister? Well, I’d accept that, but I never thought someone would refer to the Emperor in such a manner.”

Gestarte shook her head.

“I respect him as a magician. Not as an emperor.”

I spoke in a cold voice.

“That’s irreverent.”

“You must have heard from my new disciple when you entered. In here, worldly titles have no meaning. To be precise, everything about the world holds no significance. We are the chosen ones of blood and fate, and we are the ones who make destiny choose us. Special.”

“Yet, you seem to have a fondness for gold, don’t you?”

“We aren’t coveting worldly things. It’s only because you value them that we accept them as payment. I admit that interacting with society is more convenient. Division of labor is efficient. But that’s merely a means to pursue the truth more efficiently.”

I understood her words.

But there was a considerable chasm between understanding and agreeing.

Taking a light breath, I scoffed sharply.

“Then why steal?”

Those words burst forth like a fireball.

“Steal?”

“The automatic scribe, Urglim’s penpoint. Isn’t that behavior too worldly for someone who claims not to covet worldly things?”

For a moment, a twitch appeared on Gestarte’s face.

Sererassie, who had been happily swinging her staff behind her, turned to look at this conversation.

She was making a face as if she had fallen from the clouds to the ground.

“Don’t say you didn’t know. You twisted it all up while doing multiple requests, didn’t you? Don’t say you didn’t know. Aren’t you the elder of the mage tower? If you knew, then join in, and if you didn’t, then you’re incompetent.”

I spoke with a slight guilt for criticizing her precious person.

“Your words are lengthy. It seems you have demands.”

Gestarte succinctly hit the point.

“Please sell me a magic power.”

I brought up the topic I had been waiting for.

“No. That’s our property.”

And I was decisively rejected.

“Then I will report to the Emperor.”

“No matter how powerful Jayliris is, I doubt she would confront the Ivory Tower directly.”

That was partially true.

I smiled, saying,

“There’s no need to confront the Ivory Tower directly.”

“What?”

“You need only target Gestarte. I doubt the Ivory Tower would band together to fight. They are far too busy pursuing their truth to be bothered with breaking ties with the world; dreamers wouldn’t do that, would they?”

“You.”

“When Sererassie was dragged to the Imperial Palace a year ago, it was the same. Once you’ve entered, you cannot leave. It’s war. If it had been declared, they would have sent her to the Ivory Tower for daily commuting. Even you would have persuaded the elders with your teeth clenched, ensuring that at least she wouldn’t have ended up in the red-light district.”

I cut sharply, recalling Sererassie’s end and momentarily feeling a surge of emotion.

She was someone who shouldn’t have died like that in such a place.

“These heartless and selfish people.”

“You…!”

Flames of red sparked from Gestarte’s forehead.

Unlike the sages in ancient stories, the personalities of magicians were mostly abysmal.

Those who could change reality when displeased had no need to compromise with their surroundings.

I drew in my mana, watching her movements.

She was a wizard of at least the sixth circle, and if she had learned something outside of Circle magic, it was hard to tell how strong she was.

At that moment, blue electricity sprang from behind me.

“Master.”

Sererassie, having grabbed a staff, had somehow appeared behind me.

* * *

Sererassie looked at her beloved master, feeling a severe headache.

It was a headache produced by thinking of anything outside of magic.

She knew.

That she wasn’t doing her best to protect herself.

Sererassie tightly closed and opened her eyes.

“It has been a long year, Master.”

Shadows were cast across her face, one eye shining while the other dull and sunken.

“Indeed.”

“Magicians dream, pursue, and yearn.”

“That’s right.”

“When I came to my senses just looking at the sky, I found myself in a well.”

Gestarte said nothing.

“To dream, it seems I need to see what’s beneath my feet.”

She merely listened quietly to her old disciple’s words.

“But Master, you wouldn’t be someone who wakes even if falling into a well.”

“That’s a good metaphor.”

“I will examine what’s at your feet, and what lies beneath the Ivory Tower.”

In the forest, one could not see the forest itself.

Now, Sererassie was no longer a person of the Ivory Tower.

Thus, she could see the Ivory Tower.

She still had an affection for her hometown.

A hometown she could not return to.

“You cannot dream with just one eye closed.”

Gestarte did not nod.

However, Sererassie would not back down.

“I am both royalty and a magician. Whether good or bad, I am both unavoidably myself.”

Her head throbbed severely.

“I have received a commission from the Emperor. I will become the court’s most prominent magician. As a court magician from the Ivory Tower, I will represent both. I will be the bridge that conveys the words of the Ivory Tower to the Imperial Court.”

“You will surely fall and be ruined. One cannot belong to two places at once.”

“In fact, I have begun to doubt if I have ever truly belonged anywhere.”

Gestarte fell silent.

“I think it would be more enjoyable to believe it hasn’t been so.”

“Trying to walk two paths at once…”

“That is the dream I have formed from today. A goal I pursue and yearn for.”

Upon hearing her disciple’s declaration, the elder of the Electric School sighed.

“…Your half-siblings have the talent of picking the favorable moment to change the topic.”

Sererassie glared at Valenciaunos.

Valenciaunos shrugged.

She suddenly realized his intentions.

That it might be quite enjoyable to keep doing so sent chills down her spine.

“You mentioned you began to doubt that you belonged anywhere?”

“Yes.”

“Then prove that doubt wrong. With magic power.”

“Isn’t a staff enough?”

“You’ve convinced an Ivory Tower disciple, so you must convince a court magician as well.”