Chapter 37
“Isn’t the Tower Master supposed to visit the palace to meet the princess?”
“Hmph, until just recently, he came to see her quite regularly. And then what? Now he says there’s no need to meet anymore? Muttered something strange and hasn’t shown his face for days. Even when I ask Arines, she won’t give me a straight answer—it’s maddening.”
King Tian said this, fuming.
“Hero, I want you to go see Princess Arines. She won’t listen to me, but surely she’ll listen to a friend like you. Tell her to persuade the Tower Master.”
“I’ll go right away.”
Leaving the red-faced King Tian behind, I hurried straight toward Arines’s quarters.
“Arines!”
“Oh my, isn’t it the hero? What brings you here without warning?”
“I just came from seeing His Majesty. He said the Tower Master claimed there’s no need to meet you anymore—that he doesn’t even come to the palace now. What’s all this about?”
“First, take a seat. Look at you, you’re sweating! Did you run all the way here?”
Arines handed me a glass of cool water.
I gulped it down in one go and immediately bombarded her with questions.
“You’re not developing the fan anymore? Weren’t you getting along with the Tower Master? Did I misunderstand something?”
Their first meeting had been nearly disastrous.
The Tower Master had been wholly absorbed in uncovering the nature of my power, while Arines had been in shock over the fact that even a handsome man couldn’t stir her heart.
Arines smiled as she replied.
“I realized I’d been approaching him too much like a fan. Once I dropped that mindset and started acting more like a manager helping an idol, we hit it off quickly.”
“So what about the fan?”
“It’s almost finished now. The Tower Master and his mages worked really hard on it.”
In the end, their “fan development alliance” turned out to be surprisingly effective.
No matter how clumsily Arines explained something, the Tower Master always managed to understand her perfectly and produce exactly what she meant. They were, in a sense, the perfect pair—a match made in heaven.
“But then why does he say there’s no need to meet anymore? How can you continue a joint project without even seeing each other?”
“Heh, there’s a way.”
Arines smiled mysteriously, then went to her wardrobe, pulled something wrapped in a thick cloth from deep inside, and placed it on the table.
“What’s that?”
“You haven’t forgotten the original story, have you? Behold! The Tower Master’s masterpiece—his crystal orb for video calls!”
With an almost theatrical flair, Arines whipped off the cloth, revealing a crystal sphere about the size of a soccer ball, the sort witches in fairy tales might use.
“Wow, Choi Dahye, you did it! You actually pulled it off!”
I exclaimed in awe at the sight.
“The Tower Master gave this to you? Don’t tell me he confessed his love along with it? Did a romance blossom while I was off catching shrimp?”
“Unfortunately, nothing like that happened.”
Arines laughed, covered the orb again, and returned it to the wardrobe.
“For now, instead of meeting in person, we agreed to discuss things through the orb. We have a set time every evening for a video call. That way, the Tower Master doesn’t waste time traveling back and forth between the tower and the palace. He’s been swamped with work lately since the fan project is in its final stages.”
“Unbelievable.”
I couldn’t stop myself from gasping in admiration.
This crystal orb had an important place in the original story—it was a love token the Tower Master gave Arines after falling for her.
On the night before Arines’s wedding to Duke Lufellen, the Tower Master, Rio Blair, sneaked into the palace, determined to see her one last time.
Startled by his sudden appearance, Arines listened as he blurted out his confession:
“I fell in love with you the moment I first saw you.”
It was a cliché, trite line if ever there was one.
But Arines was the bride-to-be, deeply in love with Duke Lufellen.
When she gently rejected him, the Tower Master said he felt oddly relieved—and gave her this crystal orb as a parting gift.
He told her to use it whenever she was in danger, promising that if she called his name, he would come to her aid immediately.
Arines accepted it on the condition that they remain friends, and the next day she held her grand wedding ceremony with the duke.
To think that such a meaningful artifact…
…was now being used just to make fan development meetings more convenient?
“Come on, Jianna, you know what the Tower Master’s like. Once he’s fixated on something, he shuts himself away and works himself to death.”
“Oh, I know that well enough. So what?”
“He’s been complaining that he’s too busy to keep traveling to the palace. He’s got so much on his plate managing the mages and all.”
“Can’t he just use teleportation magic?”
“Teleportation is banned inside the palace for security reasons. Since he couldn’t use it, I told him he might as well stop coming and just lend me his crystal orb instead!”
Arines lifted her chin proudly.
“See? Two birds with one stone! He saves time, I get the orb. Win-win!”
“You silly girl, how could you just take the orb? You should’ve gotten the confession along with it!”
“Confession, huh… forget it.”
Arines shook her head with a weary sigh.
“You can’t force feelings, can you? I’d rather not push it. Maybe he’ll fall for me while we’re working together, or maybe not. Whatever happens, happens.”
“Well, must be nice to live that carefree…”
No matter where you go, you’d probably never get stressed.
I sighed, half in admiration and half in envy, as Arines shrugged nonchalantly. Then I suddenly remembered why I’d come here in the first place.
“Right! Arines, you said you talk to the Tower Master every day, right?”
“Mm-hm. Every evening through the crystal orb.”
“Then could you ask him to send a few mages to help us?”
“Mages? What for?”
“The kingdom’s in chaos because of those goblins appearing along the coast. We need to get rid of them somehow.”
“Oh, I actually mentioned that to him already, but he said it wasn’t his responsibility.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I didn’t really press for details. He just said no…”
Arines looked troubled, trailing off.
“Then I’ll talk to him myself.”
Frustrated, I sprang to my feet, dashed to the wardrobe, and grabbed the crystal orb.
“What are you doing?”
Startled, Arines rushed after me, but I was faster.
“Rio Blair, the research-obsessed Tower Master! Can you hear me?”
As I held the orb in both hands and called his name, it began to glow.
Soon, the Tower Master’s face appeared inside it.
“What is this? It’s far from the appointed time… Wait—oh, it’s you?”
Recognizing me, he adjusted his glasses.
“Hero, isn’t it? What business do you have with me?”
“You said you couldn’t send any mages, didn’t you?”
“Ah, so that’s why you called. Yes, that’s correct. I can’t spare even one mage.”
“What? Why not? The whole kingdom’s in turmoil because of those mysterious sea goblins, and I heard you pulled all the mages into the tower!”
“Hero, I assure you, there’s a reason for that.”
“A reason? What could possibly be more important than driving out those monsters?”
“People say I’m a research-crazed recluse. Well, they’re half right. But do you really think I’m keeping them here for my own experiments? No. The truth is, mages are useless against them.”
“Useless? What do you mean?”
“It means magic doesn’t work on those goblins.”
“W-what…?”
I was left speechless.
Magic doesn’t work on the goblins? Then how are we supposed to fight them?
“You should go yourself, Hero. Your power isn’t magic—it might work on them. If that’s all, I’ll end the call here.”
“W-wait! Even my light beams didn’t affect them! That’s why I came to you for—”
“I’ve told you all I know. Goodbye.”
Before I could finish, the Tower Master cut the connection abruptly.
I was left staring at the darkened orb, completely dumbfounded.
