Recently, the magical tower of the Empire had been maintaining an atmosphere that was both extraordinarily quiet and simultaneously chaotic.
Quiet and chaotic are words that, at first glance, seem impossible to coexist—like a contradiction in terms.
Ironically, though, no other words could describe the current state of affairs in the magical tower better.
It goes without saying that the magical tower, as a place dedicated to the study of magic, must maintain decorum and silence. Think of it like a library where everyone is expected to keep their mouths shut.
In particular, Aries, the current master of the tower, had a personality that loathed disorder, making this rule even more stringent.
However, recently, there emerged a moment when this unspoken rule within the tower was officially ignored.
And that moment was none other than…
“So, today’s the airing of Fate’s Sky, right?”
“What? This is bad. I still have a few papers due by tomorrow…”
“Huh? Are you saying you’re not going to watch the premiere of Fate’s Sky?”
“No way! That’s crossing the line. Papers can be written tomorrow or the day after, but missing the live broadcast of Fate’s Sky is something you can never make up once today passes!”
On weekends during the evening when Fate’s Sky aired, animated discussions were implicitly allowed within the tower.
Truthfully, there was a certain uneasiness about the anime created by Ragnar within the magical tower.
This wasn’t because the mages thought Ragnar’s anime lacked entertainment value. Even if they were somewhat detached from worldly pleasures, they weren’t psychopaths who couldn’t feel joy.
Rather, it was because watching Ragnar’s anime often left them with a lot of questions and frustrations.
“Damn it, have you ever watched an anime called Knight Shin Chronicle?”
“Oh, yeah, I’ve seen it. It’s super popular among the citizens these days. Why do you ask?”
“The settings in Knight Shin Chronicle are just absurdly ridiculous. Seriously, what? Magic doesn’t affect Outsiders at all?”
“Ah, that part. Yeah, there were a few things I wanted to complain about to the director too. Especially Knight Shin’s dimensional reversal field—it’s a concept that simply doesn’t exist in modern magecraft…”
Indeed, from the perspective of the mages, Ragnar’s anime seemed far removed from reality.
The various magical concepts in Knight Shin Chronicle looked plausible on the surface but were, upon closer inspection, filled with theories so nonsensical they’d make any mage want to spit blood.
And then there was Book of Life and Death, which introduced the supernatural being known as Shinigami and their absurd item, the “Book of Life and Death.”
Sure, it’s an anime, so maybe one could overlook some ridiculous settings. But the real problem was how mages were treated—or rather mistreated—in both of those works.
In Knight Shin Chronicle, magic has no effect on Outsiders, rendering mages useless.
And in Book of Life and Death, the Great Mage meets an instant death at the hands of a cheat item that surpasses all magical concepts.
How could mages possibly enjoy Ragnar’s anime under such circumstances?
Of course, they still watched it while complaining.
Then came the surprise release of Fate’s Sky, following Knight Shin Chronicle and Book of Life and Death. All the mages couldn’t help but cheer at the news.
Because…
“Did you hear? Ragnar’s new work, Fate’s Sky, is said to be an anime focused on mages!”
“What?! Is that true?”
“And apparently, Lady Aries herself collaborated on its production!”
“Gah! If it features mages as main characters and includes proper mage lore, there’s no way I can miss this!”
According to the previews, Fate’s Sky would feature seven mages who summon heroes from the past into the present to fight.
Aries even hinted that among the summoned heroes would be a Great Mage.
With hearts racing, the mages of the tower tuned in to watch Fate’s Sky. And in Episode 9, the Great Mage they had been eagerly anticipating finally made an appearance.
“Hmph, quite the interesting child. I approve.”
“Impossible. Could you possibly be…?”
Yuri stared in shock at the tall-eared woman standing in the middle of the night sky, smiling enigmatically at her.
Because this woman was someone no self-proclaimed mage of the Empire could fail to recognize: Great Mage Psyche.
The first tower master and a legendary figure from the mythic age when magic was as common as breathing, Psyche was said to have wielded magic powerful enough to counteract falling moons.
And now, this legendary Great Mage finally revealed herself in Fate’s Sky.
Any mage affiliated with the tower would have felt their hearts swell with pride at that moment.
“Ah, the first tower master, Lady Psyche, has finally appeared!”
“Chris? Akemanes? They’re all mere mortals compared to the greatness of Lady Psyche, who obviously surpasses such heroes by leaps and bounds!”
But then…
“Uh… What…?”
As the mages watched anxiously, their eyes widened in disbelief.
Because…
“Unbelievable! My magic was nullified the moment it touched her body due to her overwhelming anti-magic resistance!”
“I admit I was slightly nervous, hearing she was a legendary Great Mage… but this is all she can do?”
The moment Yuri summoned the knight—a young girl—Psyche’s magic was instantly rendered powerless against her.
“All heroes summoned through this ritual possess formidable anti-magic resistance. Thus, the weakest link in this ritual is clearly you, Witch.”
The calm tone in which the young girl addressed Psyche was essentially a form of balance patching.
Without the “anti-magic resistance” setting, Fate’s Sky would have become nothing more than a show where the Great Mage dominated everything.
I mean, who could possibly survive if the Great Mage were to launch fatal spells from afar?
So Ragnar added this setting to maintain tension and immerse the audience—but naturally, this only enraged the mages further.
Unfortunately for them, their suffering didn’t end there.
“…My body is breaking apart.”
“Fire, Claw Solaris!”
“KYAAAAAAAAAAAH!”
The mysterious archer’s arrow pierced through all of Psyche’s magical barriers, leaving her critically wounded.
By this point, the mages who had been so excited about Psyche’s appearance in the anime were left feeling utterly deflated.
“How could this happen? Lady Psyche couldn’t even defend against that girl, let alone the archer’s arrow…”
“True, that arrow was strong enough to wound even the great hero Akemanes, but even so… this feels a bit much.”
As the first tower master and a Great Mage, she hadn’t managed to make any significant contributions before experiencing a humiliating defeat.
Could it be… that Ragnar intended to portray mages as weaklings even in Fate’s Sky?
“Ragnar, you bastard! You’re also a mage, yet you’ve set us up to look so weak!”
“Ungrateful fool! As Aries’ disciple, shouldn’t he have made Psyche the strongest—not just human, but universal supreme?”
Just as the mages were grinding their teeth and hurling insults at Ragnar…
“Forgive me, my lord.”
Back at base, Psyche bowed humbly before the man who was now her master, calmly recounting the events of the battle.
“As for the girl and the archer, I attempted to eliminate one of them here—but failed. Please forgive me.”
“It’s not your fault, Psyche.”
The stern-looking man, Psyche’s master, shook his head and spoke.
“You’ve been summoned into this era and can no longer generate magic independently as you did in life. Because of this, you couldn’t properly use the magic you once commanded. Facing both the girl and the archer in such a weakened state, your defeat was inevitable.”
“If you had your full power, you could have easily taken down the other six. So I won’t blame you.”
Though gruff, the man offered comforting words to Psyche, which brought the mages watching a small sense of relief.
“So that’s how it was… Now that I think about it, her defeat makes sense.”
“Of course! How could brute swordsmen ever defeat a Great Mage without such a setup?”
But then…
“So, Psyche. Did you exhaust all your magic in this battle? Do you need a replenishment?”
“Yes… please, my lord.”
Instantly.
“……”
“……”
Every mage watching TV froze.
What? Magic replenishment?
Between a man and a woman?
Does this mean… that kind of scene will appear?
At nine o’clock on a Saturday night, when teenagers might still be watching?
Ragnar, you son of a…
You know what you’re doing, don’t you?
The Great Mage’s defeat was merely buildup for a magic replenishment scene?
Hmm… Well, I guess we can accept it.
Thus, the mages awaited the next scene with a mix of anticipation and excitement.
And then…
Click.
As the two shared a shy kiss, the male mages gathered there erupted in cheers.
“There it is, the kiss-click!”
“Heh-heh! That’s the stuff!”
“But didn’t Lady Aries say that there’s an even greater method of magic replenishment between a man and a woman?”
“Something stronger than a kiss…? Ugh… I don’t know about that…”
“Is there really something stronger than a kiss in this world? Haha, nonsense. If such a thing existed, I wouldn’t still be single at this age!”
“I know nothing. Don’t fill my brain with trashy thoughts!”
The male mages of the tower, all over 25 years old, had been forced to remain celibate.
