Chapter 24
“You shouldn’t get any funny ideas after receiving this. In a faraway eastern country, there’s a superstition that if you give someone shoes as a gift, they’ll run away wearing them.”
“You’re not seriously believing such nonsense, are you?”
“Absolutely not. My haenyeo wouldn’t dream of running away from me.”
For some reason, the Grand Duke’s smile looked a little menacing when he said that.
I absolutely must not run away. I need to properly finish the contract and say a formal goodbye before leaving.
“Well, it’s perfect timing. I actually wanted to ask you something, Grand Duke.”
“What is it? My shoe size? Sorry, but the shoes I gave you are very expensive. Even a hero who received ten thousand gold coins in a lump sum can’t get the same ones.”
“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch….”
I have no interest in matching shoes with my employer.
I shook my head, and the Grand Duke smiled mischievously, making an exaggerated gesture as he asked:
“Beautiful hero Jiana, what is it that you wish to ask of me?”
“Hero, all of a sudden? Never mind.”
“I call you hero, so what should I call you instead?”
“You just called me ‘my haenyeo’ a moment ago.”
“Did I?”
The Grand Duke smiled slyly.
“Anyway, what is it you wanted to ask me?”
“I’m planning to visit the Magi Tower to meet the Magi Master. But since I don’t know the geography of the Kingdom of Tian very well, I thought I could ask you to guide me…”
I paused mid-sentence.
“Wait, the Grand Duke isn’t from the Kingdom of Tian either, right?”
“So?”
“I think it would be better to ask Victor, who knows the kingdom’s geography well, to guide me.”
“Jiana, it seems you haven’t heard the rumors at all.”
The Grand Duke’s voice suddenly darkened.
“Wh-what rumors? Why the sudden serious tone?”
“Have you never heard how dangerous the road to the Magi Tower is?”
I stared at him silently, and he shrugged, as if he had expected my reaction.
“Of course, if you had known, you wouldn’t have said that. The Magi Tower isn’t a place just anyone can go. Only someone like me, a Sword Master, can safely accompany you.”
The Grand Duke clenched his fist and puffed out his chest proudly.
“That puny fellow is too weak for me to entrust my haenyeo to him. No matter if he’s your bodyguard, it’s just not possible.”
“Grand Duke, his name isn’t ‘that fellow,’ it’s Victor Collins.”
“Call him whatever you like. But Collins can’t even get near it. Jiana, leave this to me! I’ll make sure you get there safely. The road to the Magi Tower is so dangerous that…”
The Grand Duke launched into a long speech about how perilous the road to the Magi Tower was.
He described intricate traps, terrifying monsters lurking everywhere, and an enormous lake with no measurable width in the middle of which the Magi Tower stood.
“…And you can’t cross the lake by ordinary boat. Only the boat sent by the Magi Tower can take you there. In other words, without the tower’s permission, you can’t even get near it, let alone meet the Magi Master.”
“How do you know so much about the Magi Tower?”
“Me? Obviously, because of that fellow.”
The Grand Duke nodded toward a corner of the bed where Gari was sleeping soundly, snoring lightly.
“You have no idea how much preparation I’ve done to capture that dragon. I’ve sent countless requests for cooperation to the Magi Tower. Of course, all of them were cleanly ignored.”
“Gari isn’t your enemy, you know.”
“I know, I know. But you can’t expect me to like that dragon.”
“Try to get along with Gari, too. I’m going to live with him forever, so if you and Gari are at odds, I’ll never feel at ease.”
“What? Forever…?”
“I told you I’m taking Gari as my companion. I can’t live longer than him, but it’s my duty as a companion to care for him while I’m alive.”
“Forever… with that dragon….”
The Grand Duke looked utterly shocked.
I put on the beautiful summer sandals the Grand Duke gave me and set off with him toward the Magi Tower.
The road wasn’t nearly as dangerous as he had described.
No monsters, just a boar or two wandering about, which the Duke easily dealt with with his sword.
I couldn’t spot a single trap.
‘What? Did he lie? Just to avoid asking Victor?’
But the enormous, blue lake surrounding the Magi Tower was real.
“Wow… even if I shouted at the top of my lungs, the tower wouldn’t hear a thing.”
I gazed at the lake in awe. Its water was crystal clear, like a giant mirror covering the land.
The Magi Tower rose majestically from the center of the lake, topped with a triangular black roof.
“How do we let them know we want to visit?”
“Just ring this bell.”
The Grand Duke picked up a nearby branch and tapped a small black bell hanging by the lake.
Ting. Ting.
“…Are you sure that’s how it works?”
The sound was more of a plink than a clear ding.
He frowned, threw the branch aside, grabbed a rock, and hit the bell again.
Thunk. Thunk.
No good.
I gently pushed him aside, extended my right hand, and shot a stream of magical energy.
‘Let’s see… maybe thirty streams will do.’
“Watch carefully. I’ll show you how to summon the Magi Master.”
The thirty beams spiraled through the air and struck the black bell precisely, and yet, instead of a clear chime, it shattered with a pitiful crash.
Huh? I stared in disbelief. This bell was made by the Magi Tower? Why was it so fragile?
The Duke looked between me and the broken bell and applauded.
“As expected of my haenyeo. I only thought about ringing the bell; I didn’t even consider breaking it.”
“Ahaha, it wasn’t on purpose…”
“Anyway, our intention has been conveyed, so the Magi Tower will respond soon. Let’s wait a moment.”
Not exactly my intention, though… maybe I used too many beams—ten might have sufficed.
Then it happened.
“…I’ve never had visitors make such a ruckus before.”
A black boat silently glided across the lake, and a man stood on it, arms crossed, staring sharply.
His black hair reached his shoulders, his violet eyes seemed to pierce through souls, and his pale skin looked like it had never seen the sun.
This was Leo Blair, the master of the Magi Tower.
“Show me again.”
I was demonstrating my magic streams in front of Leo for the tenth time.
I had tried multiple streams at once before, but never consecutively like this.
“Ugh… Master, I’m tired now.”
“One more. Last one. Come on. Your streams are too weak. Again, one more.”
“Ughhhh!”
I poured all my remaining strength into the spell and collapsed.
‘I just want to see our dragon. Sob.’
The Magi Tower would not allow Gari in, declaring he was a “corrupt being,” since in the world Dahye and I created, dragons were treated like monsters.
‘I am his companion! How can you separate us!’
Of course, Gari’s protests didn’t reach the Magi Master.
Furthermore, the Magi Master forbade the Grand Duke, labeling him a “corrupt being” as well.
‘What? Me too?’
‘Yes. In my eyes, both the dragon and you are the same.’
‘No way… I’m on the same level as that dragon…!’
Even the Grand Duke wailed in despair, but the Magi Master paid no attention.
In the end, I had no choice but to enter the tower alone, leaving the Grand Duke and Gari behind.
