CHAPTER 89…………………………………………..
The topmost room of the Mage Tower. In the room where the tower’s master should have been, a young man dressed comfortably was sitting.
The wind tousled his bright hair as he leaned against the window.
Tap tap—creak.
A violet eye moved behind the door that had opened on its own.
“Long time no see, Sierra.”
Her expression stiffened as she stepped into the room.
“For someone who greeted me as if we’d never meet again, you’re quite shameless.”
Adrian crossed his legs and sat on the sofa in the center of the room.
The table was scattered with papers.
“Hmm. You made this magic circle, didn’t you?”
Adjusting his glasses, Adrian picked up a sheet and flipped through it casually.
It was the research report Sierra had submitted.
Sierra let out a scoffing laugh, astonished at his dismissive attitude as he lazily brushed back his long hair.
“A dark mage sitting at the top of the Mage Tower… Are all the mages here fools?”
Adrian met her eyes and slowly closed his own.
“Hmm… I don’t look that sinister, do I? So, it wouldn’t be easy to notice me, right?”
Dark mages were typically imagined as wearing black robes and muttering to themselves with heads bowed.
Judging by his flamboyant appearance, Adrian was hardly what one would picture as a dark mage.
“Shameless, indeed.”
She remembered thinking of Adrian when someone mentioned that the modification of the reinforced magic circle had suddenly sped up.
She had expected it, but seeing him occupy this position in person made the danger feel real.
‘What can I even do?’
How could she report and resolve the fact that dark magic had penetrated deep into the kingdom?
Adrian simply smiled faintly as he observed her troubled face.
“You think a dark mage like me wouldn’t sit here? The world doesn’t operate as purely as you think, Sierra.”
Just as he had at the cabin, Adrian suddenly approached and gently lifted her chin with his fingers.
Sierra stiffened, unable to escape the touch, her voice trembling in shock.
“You mean… everyone already knows?”
Adrian examined her startled face from top to bottom, then stepped back with a satisfied smile.
“Well, it doesn’t really matter whether they know or not. There’s always a way, you know?”
After enjoying her shocked expression enough, Adrian flopped back onto the sofa.
He crossed his legs comfortably, and Sierra frowned at his cryptic words.
Even in the Mage Tower, some might have turned a blind eye for a price, whether it was a dark mage or not.
But not everyone in the tower was that petty.
Many, like her, were purely captivated by the study of magic.
“What kind of trick did you pull?”
“Curious, are you? Anyway, the most important thing is that you can never leave this country.”
Adrian tilted his head with a pleased grin.
“How could I hand over someone as talented as you to the enemy? So don’t do anything unnecessary, just behave.”
With that smile, Adrian tore apart the documents Sierra had carefully prepared.
Sierra clenched her fists and bit her lip in frustration as she watched.
He was right.
Since the author had already heavily modified the reinforced magic circle, she had done little herself.
If anything, she had spent more time investigating the modified circle.
The war was on the brink of breaking out.
Her being held here meant only one thing: ensuring she did not hand weapons over to the enemy.
Adrian approached and extended his hand toward her mouth.
Sierra flinched at the proximity and stepped back.
“…I’m going to bleed.”
He lowered his hand, muttering as if frustrated.
But he did not come closer to the cautious Sierra.
“Why… start a war? With your ability, you could easily…”
“Haha. Are you serious, Sierra? Did you really think a mighty dark mage like me could just live peacefully?”
At her words, Adrian laughed heartily, clutching his stomach.
“Heh, naïveté has its limits! Sierra, Sierra, in these times, dark mages… we have nowhere to survive. Not everyone in the world is like you.”
Sierra stared at him from a step back, unsure if he was laughing or crying.
Though outwardly smiling, he somehow seemed as if he were crying.
“War is inevitable. So you should give up, Sierra.”
Sierra returned to the laboratory with a dark expression.
Alec and Theo could not bring themselves to speak to her in that mood.
Ashur, who had been waiting with them, silently approached and took her hand.
Sierra intertwined her fingers with his and rested her head against his chest.
“Haah…”
At her deep sigh, Ashur simply stroked her hair slowly.
After a moment, the true Sierra spoke first.
“My research… was mostly useless.”
“What? That can’t be. What happened?”
The results she had produced while moving around the Mage Tower were actually quite solid.
The previously developed reinforced magic circle only amplified physical abilities to some degree.
This time, inspired by the protective magic circle she had engraved for Ashur, she had designed it to maximize efficiency without harming the body.
It was a device that could play a significant role in the war they envisioned.
But perhaps it seemed trivial to a dark mage.
“Alec, Theo. Do you know where the test subjects are going?”
“Not really. Only that they’re headed to the outskirts of the northern city…”
Alec replied uncertainly.
Judging by the location, it was near the sanctuary.
Were they planning to start the war from there?
“As far as I know, there are a few places in the capital as well.”
Her gaze shifted at Theo’s words.
“Could I… go there?”
“That seems difficult. Your research results haven’t been approved yet, right?”
- “Of course, I’d have to sneak in. Something must be wrong.”
Theo, quick to catch her meaning, suggested a plan.
“…Yes. That’s right.”
- “It’s about time we test the transformation magic.”
“That’s right, Alec. Shall we go?”
“Ugh… when?”
Alec sounded reluctant.
“Now seems best.”
At Sierra’s reply, Alec’s face turned pale.
The transformation magic, which could last about half a day, had already been prepared.
But it alone was not enough to escape.
They needed a plan to evade pursuit after Sierra and Ashur disappeared.
They also had to check if they could avoid the watchers’ eyes.
With only one entrance, the watchers now mostly sat reading or dozing on the sofa.
The Mage Tower’s interior made it easy to be so careless.
Besides, Estevan’s knights guarded the entrance strictly, so there was some peace of mind.
But they probably never imagined this method.
The four men and women slipped into the inner part of the laboratory, the blind spot of the watchers.
When they returned, Sierra’s oddly awkward voice emerged.
“Of course, we can stay here. Take your time.”
Her face was much paler than usual.
“Hmm, hmm. Got it. We’ll be back before sunset, so just take care of this part.”
One wizard glanced at her briefly, then returned to his book.
- “Ah, I’m a woman now… Why me!”
- “You lost the bet. Accept it like a man.”
- “I’m a woman now, so I don’t have to? Ugh, annoying! This feels so weird! Things that should be here aren’t, things that shouldn’t are… What is this! Next time, we swap roles!”
- “No way. If you hated it that much, you could’ve just changed the face.”
- “Even worse!”
Ignoring their grumbling, Sierra, transformed into Alec, mimicked his usual walk and stepped outside.
No one blocked Ashur, who had taken Theo’s form.
‘Success.’
The two entered a nearby alley, smiling at each other.
Though in Alec’s face, Sierra’s expression was visible.
In Theo’s form, Ashur’s eyes shone.
“Hahaha, this feels so strange.”
“Indeed.”
The place Theo had mentioned wasn’t far.
But before stopping there, there was one place they needed to go first.
