Chapter 39
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Chapter 39
The Tower Master swung his staff with tremendous force once more.
"Ugh!"
"Ahhhhh!"
The Crown Prince's Aide and the Minister of Justice, caught off guard, tumbled to the ground.
Standing alone with confidence, the Tower Master let out another sharp cry.
"I heard Namia Loapi is here! Where is she?"
The Emperor, who had been discussing Royal Family audiences, furrowed his brow with a bewildered expression.
In the end, I had no choice but to step forward, trembling.
"I... I am Namia Loapi."
"What? This scrawny thing?"
The Tower Master looked at me in surprise.
Then he crossed his arms and muttered to himself.
"To use many scrolls, muscle is essential... and you have to move scroll boxes every single day."
It was clear why the Tower Master had developed such impressive physique.
In the silence, the Tower Master tapped his staff with a sharp thud.
"I'll ask you directly."
"Yes, sir."
"Is it true that you created 166 defensive scrolls in a single day and activated 172 the next day?"
"Yes, sir."
After my response, a brief silence fell.
I had assumed this information would never reach the Magic Tower...
'Who on earth told the Magic Tower about this? The Tower is so isolated from the outside world—there's no way they would have heard rumors.'
Even our department's Minister showed absolutely no interest.
While I stood bewildered, the Tower Master approached with gleaming eyes.
Then he grabbed my shoulder and spoke.
"You're from the Academy, aren't you? You hid your abilities there?"
"Yes? Yes."
"You didn't want to enter the Magic Tower—you had some personal circumstances?"
"Yes? Yes."
"You kept hiding well, but then a situation arose where you couldn't hide anymore, so you used your abilities?"
"Yes? Yes."
"I see. Everything checks out."
The Tower Master grinned. The old man's laughter was so bright and pure it was startling.
"Then let's go to the Magic Tower now."
"Yes. Yes?"
The Tower Master suddenly flipped me over and hoisted me onto his shoulder.
The world spun in an instant. The Tower Master shouted triumphantly.
"Normally we only accept those under twenty to keep them innocent, but... I absolutely cannot let a genius like this slip away!"
"Yes. Yes?"
"Twenty-three years old, you say? Then you'll live until you're forty."
The Tower Master hoisted me onto his shoulder and turned his gaze toward Crown Prince Kiaros. Then he spoke in one breath.
"Ah, regarding the opinion statement His Highness requested—I'll answer it like this: Namia Loapi is a magical genius and must be brought to the Magic Tower. There is no room for negotiation or discussion. That's final."
I fell into a panic in that instant.
It felt like a demon was whispering in my ear, "Just go!"
Because in the original story, the Magic Tower remained safe even during the war.
'If I get dragged away like this, I can safely spend my time conducting magical research I enjoy at the Magic Tower! I'm confident about ignoring worldly affairs!'
The Magic Tower, indifferent to worldly matters, never involved itself in war whatsoever.
And the forces behind the war never dared to touch the Magic Tower either.
That's why the protagonist later suspected, "Could the Magic Tower be behind this?" Of course, it wasn't.
But I had to come to my senses.
'Get it together, Namia! I need to meet Father! He said he'd find me soon!'
I barely regained my composure and spoke while clinging to the Tower Master's shoulder.
"Um, um... Tower Master. I don't want to go..."
After saying it, I felt somewhat ridiculous.
I had hidden my abilities from the Academy precisely because I didn't want to go to the Magic Tower, so surely he should have realized I wouldn't want to go?
But the Tower Master chuckled and laughed.
"Of course you don't!"
"Yes. Yes?"
"You're going anyway!"
He was absolutely unreasonable. That's when it happened.
The world that had been upside down flipped right-side up again.
Surprisingly, it was Crown Prince Kiaros who snatched me from the Tower Master's grasp and held me.
"It seems Miss Namia Loapi does not wish to go."
Crown Prince Kiaros held me like a princess as he spoke.
"Miss Loapi is an Imperial civil servant. The Imperial Family has a duty to protect her."
He held me so firmly that he would never let me be taken away.
The Tower Master swung his staff and shouted.
"Nonsense!"
A staff wasn't necessary to activate scrolls.
The Tower Master's gait was also perfectly flawless.
From that perspective, the staff was simply a weapon.
"A genius must always be in their proper place!"
Then the Empress tore a club from the wall and stepped forward.
"Is that so? Then Namia should remain as a civil servant!"
The Empress swung the club and blocked the staff.
Meanwhile, Crown Prince Kiaros leaped backward with me still in his arms.
The Empress laughed with a snort and shouted at the top of her voice.
"Our Namia is an incredibly brilliant genius civil servant! She memorizes all the laws and meticulously reviews every document! She does her work exceptionally well and writes excellent reports! She even creates the most bizarre scrolls we've never seen before, helping the Royal Family in the most astounding ways!"
"Are you insane? Are you really comparing a civil servant to a mage right now?"
"Did you just make a discriminatory remark about occupations? Really? In an age where mercenaries become Empresses?"
The Tower Master and the Empress clashed in rapid succession. Their skill levels were perfectly matched.
The Empress blocked my path and shouted.
"I will never let anyone take my Namia Loapi away!"
In an instant, the chamber descended into chaos.
However, since it was the Empress's Chamber, no one could say a word about it.
Throughout all this, the Emperor remained silent.
"Your Majesty, shouldn't we try to stop them?"
The Minister of Justice, standing right beside the Emperor, spoke carefully.
But the Emperor simply smiled contentedly.
"No, no."
The Emperor patted the Minister of Justice on the back and spoke.
"I'm a selfish parent—I don't want to interfere with my son's precious moment."
At those words, Crown Prince Kiaros let out a heavy sigh. Then he whispered softly.
"Well, Your Majesty... you're under a misunderstanding."
"I see."
"...Don't people usually ask what the misunderstanding is?"
Even as he spoke, the Empress and Tower Master's hand-to-hand combat continued, destroying every piece of furniture in the room.
Crown Prince Kiaros leaped backward once more, shielding me from the Empress's club. Then he continued awkwardly.
"It's... the misunderstanding that I've liked you for a long time."
"I see."
"...Don't people usually ask why, or at least show some surprise?"
That was when it happened.
Realizing he couldn't overpower the Empress by force, the Tower Master threw down his staff.
Then he suddenly sat at the table and raised his chin.
"Fine, let's discuss something else for now."
It was a remarkable shift in demeanor.
"I heard the Crown Prince requested access permissions to the Scroll Creation Department."
The Minister of Justice, who had let out a heavy sigh, then trudged over and sat beside the Tower Master.
And he spoke as if offering a correction.
"It's the Scroll Management Department, Tower Master."
"Ah, is that so? Anyway, that place."
Crown Prince Kiaros let out a heavy sigh. Then, setting me down, he spoke.
"It's the Scroll Management Department."
As expected, Crown Prince Kiaros was the only one who knew our department's name correctly.
Crown Prince Kiaros even pulled up a chair and guided me to it.
'Can I really sit here?'
And so, six people found themselves seated at the table.
The Aide busily swept away fragments of the club and staff.
'I'm in a position even lower than that Aide, aren't I?'
The table with six seated figures felt like sitting on pins and needles.
The Emperor, the Empress, Crown Prince Kiaros, the Tower Master, the Minister of Justice, and a low-ranking civil servant.
If Crown Prince Kiaros hadn't personally guided me to my seat, I would naturally have assisted the Crown Prince's Aide instead.
"The Magic Tower expresses profound regret regarding this matter."
The Tower Master spoke solemnly, his expression rigid and unyielding.
I'd anticipated problems would arise, but this was indeed grave.
'As expected. It seems the Minister's petition bore fruit.'
Though I'd heard news of dismissals...
Still, if word spread that I'd used those viewing privileges to dismiss numerous Scroll Management Department officials en masse, it would create tremendous friction.
I was rolling my eyes and gauging the situation when it happened.
"As a means to resolve this regret, we demand that Namia Loapi enter the Magic Tower."
...What?
Wasn't that matter already settled?
Then the Empress slammed the table and spoke.
"Is this regret really important now? Don't you know spies keep appearing from that Scroll department or whatever?"
"I don't know!"
"You don't know that those department people slandered me and participated in an assassination attempt on the Crown Prince?"
"I don't know!"
The Empress and the Tower Master continued their exchange, their voices ringing out loudly.
In a way, it seemed their levels of discourse matched perfectly.
"We need to dismantle that entire department right now!"
No, this can't happen!
Just as I desperately gazed at the Tower Master, hoping he might stop this...
"Is that so?"
A gleam of delight spread across the Tower Master's face like madness.
"Then all the staff will be dismissed. The Magic Tower will take Namia Loapi, who will no longer be a civil servant."
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org