Chapter 40
“This part here controls the wind speed. You can adjust it from a very gentle breeze, level 1, to a storm-level gust, level 100.”
The ability to control wind speed is nice — that’s something even a regular fan can do.
But storm-level wind? Isn’t that basically a natural disaster? Why would you even want that in a fan?
Whether I frowned or not, the Tower Master didn’t care and immediately pointed to the next part.
“This part was developed by applying ice and flame magic. It can blow out either cold or hot air.”
Hmm, that actually sounds practical.
“But what are all these hoses? And what’s with that big tank thing?”
“Ah, that’s the core feature.”
The Tower Master pushed his glasses up with his fingertip and asked me back:
“When do people usually need a fan?”
“Um, I guess… when it’s hot?”
“Exactly! You want a cool breeze because it’s hot. Then, what else do you crave when it’s hot?”
“Hmm… cool water?”
“As expected of you, Hero! No wonder you’re best friends with Princess Arines. You’re so perceptive!”
The happier he looked, the more uneasy I became.
“When you’re stuck in the Magic Tower all day doing research, it gets hot and you want some water. But you can’t just get up every time to fetch it, can you? Every second should be devoted to research! And so—!”
He clapped his hands sharply to draw my attention again.
“With the press of this button, the hose will automatically dispense cool water. How’s that? Researchers’ working conditions just got a major upgrade!”
But that wasn’t even the end of it.
“Now, take a look at this.”
He held up a small capsule.
“This capsule can store smells. It’s a groundbreaking invention for improving welfare in the Magic Tower!”
“This capsule can do that?”
“Yes! The weak-willed, whiny apprentices always beg to go home. But the time spent commuting could be used to write five more reports! Commuting is terribly inefficient!”
I was starting to get genuinely scared of this man.
Wait, so you’re saying you don’t even let them go home and just make them work endlessly? This guy might be even worse than Karun!
“So! They can store the smell of their home in this capsule. Plug it into the fan, and when the capsule activates…”
He inserted the capsule into the fan and pressed a button. Immediately, air started blowing—accompanied by a musty, moldy smell.
“I captured the scent of the Tower’s underground lab. Doesn’t it feel like we’re right there again, just from the smell?”
“Ugh, enough! Turn it off!”
I grimaced and shut it off myself. The Tower Master, undeterred, pulled out another capsule.
“This one can store people’s scents! Those who constantly whine about missing their kids can capture their baby’s scent. Then they can feel like their child is right there with them!”
…This man was insane.
Not just regular insane — I’m convinced he was born slightly deranged.
“Picnics? Outings? Know your place. How dare a researcher who can’t even write a proper magic formula dream of taking a day off? But! I’m generous. Store the smell of the sea in a capsule, attach it to the fan, and—”
“Let me guess,” I said. “You’re saying that since the fan makes it smell like the ocean, there’s no need to actually go there?”
“Precisely, Hero! You catch on quickly.”
Tower Master Rio Blair smiled with deep satisfaction.
“I do hope everyone appreciates how tirelessly I strive to improve life in the Magic Tower.”
Appreciate it? Please. They’ll be desperate to escape.
I glanced at Arines, who’d been quietly listening to his nonsense.
And then I froze.
“What the—what’s with that face?”
Arines was holding her hands together, looking on the verge of tears — moved beyond words.
“Uh, Arines?”
“Jiana, isn’t this amazing? How can someone this talented even exist?”
“…What?”
“The Tower Master is incredible. Whenever I said, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if a fan could do this?’ — he actually made it happen!”
The Tower Master’s face glowed with pride. Arines gazed at him like she was bewitched, then leaned toward me and whispered softly:
“You know me. I fall for people at first sight — total sucker for good looks. But this time, it’s different. I fell for his skill! I’m honestly rethinking my shallow past self who believed ‘a man’s looks are everything.’”
“So, let me get this straight,” I said coldly.
“You’re the one who asked the Tower Master to add all these functions?”
We gave him the fan blueprint — and instead of a fan, they built a Magic Tower workplace reform project!
I smacked Arines on the back.
“Get it together! This is exploitation!”
“It’s not exploitation, it’s environmental improvement! The Tower Master is working hard to make the Tower a better place.”
“The princess is absolutely right,” the Tower Master added with a sinister smile.
“For researchers who doze off, I can blast them with level-100 cold air. For those daydreaming, a burst of scorching heat! That’ll wake them right up. Soon the Tower will be operating with perfect efficiency — no wasted time at all!”
Ha. Found the real tyrant here.
Compared to this guy, that duke who only makes me cook once a day is practically a saint.
Tower Master Rio Blair took a bold step toward Arines and grasped her hands tightly.
“Princess Arines, you are a genius. Why can’t I come up with such brilliant ideas? You’re my muse, my endless source of inspiration, the savior of my research life—”
“Alright, that’s enough of that,” I said quickly, cutting him off before he could write an entire hymn of praise.
“Anyway, I have a question. You can remove the water-supplying hose and the scent-storage feature, right?”
“Remove them? But why would you—?”
“Don’t ask why. You can do it, yes?”
“Well, yes, of course…”
“Good.”
It took some detours, but I’d finally gotten the answer I needed from him.
I turned to the two of them and said:
“Let’s start a business together.”
***
“Duke, I think you’re going to have to go there in person.”
The duke’s aide, Elliot, was also a highly skilled intelligence agent.
While his superior, Duke Rupellen, had been busy going on shrimp-fishing dates and goblin-hunting outings with Jiana — building dreams of a rosy future — Elliot had been running himself ragged across the country.
Because his master had ordered him: “Gather all information about the Ancient Dragon.”
It had been five years since the dragon vanished without a trace, so gathering intel wasn’t easy. But Elliot was good at his job, and he’d managed to collect fragments of information here and there.
What he brought today was one of those leads.
“There’s a small library south of the capital,” Elliot reported. “I’ve heard they keep records about the lifespan of dragons, but they don’t lend them to just anyone.”
“South of the capital? How long would it take to get there?”
“If we ride hard, about a day. If we leave now, we can arrive late tonight.”
“No, I must be back in the capital before dinner.”
Elliot blinked, momentarily thrown off.
“…Did I hear that right? It’s the library in Suari Village — south. There’s no way you could make a round trip in a single day.”
“I’ll just install a teleportation circle.”
“…Pardon?”
Elliot stared. “You mean, you’ll set up a teleportation circle? Just for that? It’s easily reachable by horse!”
“Jiana won’t agree to go that far.”
“Lady Jiana…?”
“I have to eat my mermaid’s cooking tonight, no matter what.”
As his master spouted this nonsense, Elliot’s brain kicked into high gear.
“So, to confirm — you’re saying you’ll use a teleportation circle instead of traveling by horse… because you have to be back in time for Lady Jiana’s cooking tonight?”
