Chapter 30 – There’s Not a Single Thing I Like
I didn’t even need to look to know what his intentions were—it was painfully obvious. So after a brief glance at the Tower Master, I went inside with Shasha. From the outside, I’d expected something like a small studio room, but the interior was nothing like I imagined.
It wasn’t quite on the level of a room in the imperial palace, but it was about as large as my room at the count’s estate—a spacious office. Completely unlike the gloomy image one usually associates with a magic tower, his room was filled with refined wooden furniture.
The moment we stepped inside, the scent of wood that soothed both body and mind filled the air. Scattered across the floor were magic circles etched with incomprehensible patterns.
“Please, have a seat over here.”
As he spoke, he guided us toward the sofa in the center of the room. Shasha and I were more or less ushered into sitting down.
“I’ll have some tea brought in.”
Shasha, who seemed surprisingly familiar with the place as if she’d been here often, became unusually well-behaved once she sat down—holding my hand tightly. Meanwhile, the Tower Master clapped his hands. At once, a person appeared from a magic circle in the corner.
“You called for me, Tower Master?”
He was an adult—a young man who looked about my age. He bowed politely.
“Bring some tea. We have special guests, so make it something special.”
“Yes, sir.”
“…There’s a portal over there.”
“Oh, you mean the transportation portal? Of course there is. You can’t expect people to climb a tower this tall on foot, so there are portals set up throughout.”
When I showed interest in the portal, his voice rose proudly.
“But not just anyone can handle portals like these. Spatial transfer magic can be dangerous, so it requires a highly skilled mage.”
“A highly skilled mage, huh.”
“Yes. Even over short distances, it requires very delicate adjustments.”
“Are they installed all over the tower?”
He nodded enthusiastically, clearly enjoying the chance to boast.
“Of course.”
“I see. But I suppose guests aren’t allowed to use them?”
“Not at all. They’re set up so guests can come up comfortably as well.”
“Ah.”
“The stairs are so absurdly long that even I can’t manage without portals.”
Looks like he’d forgotten that I’d walked up the stairs myself while he was busy bragging.
“If I’d known there was something so convenient, I would’ve used it too. Walking up was exhausting.”
“Ah, if only I hadn’t forgotten you were coming, I would’ve prepared it right away. My sincerest apologies.”
“It’s fine. If you forgot, there’s not much more to say, is there?”
It’s not exactly decent to keep pressing someone who’s apologizing. Though, to be honest, I kind of wanted to—but no matter what I said, he’d just deflect it like this.
“Ho ho. Thank you for your understanding.”
“But can truly anyone use it? Are there cases where someone can’t?”
“Yes, anyone can. Everyone affiliated with the magic tower carries a magical device that allows portal use—and I made those myself. Ah, but those wearing devices that restrict mana can’t use them. I’m not so benevolent as to transport criminals, you see. If someone wearing such a device—or under mana restriction—tries to use a portal, that restricted part gets severed. Sometimes people who don’t know any better lose their heads—quite literally. It’s rather amusing.”
While he rambled on about things I hadn’t even asked, the man who had disappeared returned through the portal. In his hands was a standard tea set and some simple cookies.
He quickly set the tea before us and vanished again. But nothing was placed in front of Shasha. There were teacups only in front of me and the Tower Master.
“Is there nothing for Shasha?”
“Oh. It seems a mistake was made. Shall I have something brought now?”
“It’s usually like this, isn’t it? You don’t give anything to children? That must be why there’s nothing for Shasha.”
“Ho ho.”
The Tower Master just laughed, seemingly not finding anything strange in what I’d said. I was clearly asking whether he was discriminating against Shasha, yet he only smiled and crunched on his cookies.
“Shasha, would you like to eat something?”
“No, it’s okay, Sister. I’m fine even if I don’t eat.”
“That’s right. If children eat too many snacks from a young age, they pick up bad habits. Of course, Shasha is an exception. Here, Shasha, try a cookie.”
He slid a cookie toward her. Shasha’s expression stiffened slightly, as if she were hesitating.
“No, it’s really okay! I’m a child who knows how to endure!”
“Yes, yes. A child who knows how to endure should endure.”
“Yes!”
So this was how it always was. Watching Shasha look proud of herself for enduring made my chest feel tight—especially knowing how much she loved sweets.
There’s really not a single thing about this I like.
Because of his protruding belly, the crumbs the Tower Master spilled landed neatly atop it. The sight was utterly unpleasant.
Let the child eat a little. Watching him stuff himself like that, as if afraid someone might take it from him, was just pathetic. Seeing no benefit in keeping Shasha here any longer, I spoke to her.
“Shasha, do you want to go outside and play for a bit first?”
“Um, yes! I’ll go play with my friends!”
When the child guarding the tower entrance opened the door and came in, Shasha happily followed him out.
“What was I saying earlier? Ah yes—I mentioned that seeing heads get cut off is quite an amusing spectacle. That’s why I usually don’t explain it. Though by now, most people seem to have figured it out.”
What exactly is amusing about that? I’m not defending criminals, but who does he think he is, deciding people’s fates without even explaining? There could be innocent people among them.
“For that reason, I’m undoubtedly a highly skilled mage. That’s how I rose to the position of Tower Master.”
“Oh. I see.”
How could someone be this utterly detestable? I could only shake my head as I looked at him.
When my reaction failed to satisfy him, he stopped boasting and quietly studied me.
“What’s the matter?”
“I heard rumors that Shasha’s older sister abducted her and ran away. I thought you wouldn’t come, so I was surprised when you did.”
“Rumors? My mother must’ve told you herself.”
“Ho ho.”
“If I’d truly kidnapped Shasha, I wouldn’t have come just because you asked.”
I’d thought she was being cherished, but seeing that this place was no different from the count’s estate only fueled my anger.
“And calling it ‘kidnapping’ is rather ridiculous.”
“What’s ridiculous about it? If you took her when she didn’t want to go, that’s kidnapping.”
“Did I take her when she didn’t want to go? Are you saying Shasha didn’t want to come with me?”
“I don’t know about that, but her parents—the Count and Countess—certainly didn’t want it. That’s why it’s kidnapping.”
“How interesting.”
I hardened my expression as I looked at him. He really did seem to say whatever pleased him just because he had a mouth.
“Shasha wanted to leave that place. I simply honored what the child wanted.”
“Oh? Shasha wanted to leave? Really?”
“Because of what the Count and Countess did, His Majesty the Emperor also gave his permission—under the name of protection, not kidnapping. By your logic, are you saying His Majesty condones kidnapping? No matter how many privileges the magic tower enjoys, that’s an exceedingly rude statement.”
“Ho ho. I only felt sorry for Shasha. At such a young age, how much she must miss her parents.”
“Well, the very idea that a child must naturally miss their parents is contradictory in itself.”
Perhaps sensing my anger, he tried to change the mood, twirling his finger slightly and nudging the teacup in front of me closer.
“That may be so. It seems I was mistaken. In any case, why don’t we talk over some tea? It’s quite good.”
“I’ll pass.”
Would you drink it? All the cookie crumbs that didn’t fall on his belly had scattered through the air and into the tea. Disgusting, honestly. Where did he even learn table manners? Really.
“Then let’s change the subject. I hear Lady Isabella is to become Her Majesty the Empress.”
“Yes.”
“Congratulations. The position of Empress, no less.”
The Count and Countess must be thrilled. His mouth began to form those words, then quickly returned to a neutral expression—as if he’d only just realized how much I disliked them.
In the end, he smiled awkwardly.
“I hear there are quite a lot of children in the magic tower.”
Now it was my turn to change the atmosphere. There was something I needed to discuss with him, so I suppressed the anger and irritation welling up inside me and resolved to put on a mask.
To get what I wanted, I had to restrain my emotions as much as possible.
“Ho ho. Did Shasha tell you that?”
“Yes. She said they even went on picnics together. It surprised me. I wouldn’t have expected so many children in the magic tower. I heard most mages here are men—are they their children?”
For generations, the magic tower had not favored female mages. There was a prejudice that they were weaker than male mages, and even if a woman was exceptionally talented, she was rarely allowed to stand out.
Female knights, female mages, female nobles—positions of power were all occupied by men. Women were considered beings to be protected, and if they were too capable, they were thought to lose their appeal.
Things had improved somewhat by now, but men who already held power still feared having their positions taken and remained wary of talented women.
If society at large was like that, the magic tower—where they were tightly bound together—was even worse.
Even if there had been a brilliant woman, they would’ve been too busy stealing her achievements.
Considering that not a single female mage’s name had been properly recorded over hundreds, even thousands of years, it was obvious.
That was why the presence of so many children here felt strange. Men worked outside; women worked inside the home.
Naturally, the primary caregiver for children was the mother. Things were better now than before due to improvements in women’s rights, but still—
Nobles had people they could entrust their children to, but those without such means often brought their children to their workplaces. Even so, it was almost unheard of for men to do so.
Seeming to grasp my meaning immediately, he nodded.
“No. They aren’t anyone’s children. Or perhaps… they are someone’s children, after all.”
As if he’d thought of a strange joke, the Tower Master let out a sudden, unexpected chuckle.
