Chapter 32 – Isn’t That Crazy Talk? No, It’s the Right Thing to Say
“So that’s it. Heh.”
“That? What do you mean by that?”
“I was just confirming whether that was the part you were worried about.”
He shrugged and smiled brightly, as if to reassure me.
“Money? The Magic Tower lacking funds? You don’t need to worry about that at all. To earn your trust, I’ll make sure the subsidy is set even higher.”
“Well… I’ve heard the subsidies have already been reduced lately. How am I supposed to trust that? What if you pay properly for a month or two and then just stop… Oh my. It’s not that I’m doing this for the money, you see. This is merely a small precaution for Shanensia’s sake….”
Perhaps thinking he had almost persuaded me, he nodded while wiping sweat from his face with a handkerchief.
“Of course. It’s natural to be worried. Please, trust me. If you agree to the entrustment, I’ll give you a lump sum at once… So please entrust her not to the Magic Tower, but to me personally—”
That was when it happened. The door suddenly flew open and Shanensia rushed in. The moment she entered, Shasha ran straight to me, tugging anxiously at my clothes.
“Sister… Sister, are you going to send me away? To the Magic Tower…? Do I have to live there?”
I wanted to say no. That it wasn’t like that. That I was only pretending so I could get rid of the Tower Master right in front of her. That I didn’t want her to be hurt. I wanted to say all of it.
Even though we had plenty of time to talk before coming here, I couldn’t bring myself to explain. Shasha’s heart was too transparent. I was afraid she’d make a mistake in front of the Tower Master—and get hurt—so I stayed silent.
I should have told her it was a secret. That this was the plan. That I would never send her away.
Why did I make the wrong choice?
“Shasha… how about we think of something else for a moment? Maybe invite your friends over or—”
I was forcing a gentle smile to calm her when—
“Shanensia. What do you think you’re doing right now?”
It was the Tower Master’s voice. Thick with anger. The Shanensia who had been trembling pitifully just moments ago now bowed her head like a scolded puppy. Even so, her hands kept moving restlessly.
“I told you to stay still when adults are talking. How dare you interrupt?”
“Ah…”
“How rude. I praised you too much, it seems.”
“I’m sorry….”
What the hell is he saying? Why is he crushing my child’s spirit?!
I pulled Shasha tightly into my arms.
“No. Shasha. No one is sending you anywhere.”
“That’s right, Shanensia. The adults were merely discussing where would best protect you.”
Thankfully, the foolish Tower Master completely misunderstood my words.
But Shasha didn’t seem convinced. She clung to my clothes, tears falling silently.
“Ah. So where were we?”
I patted Shasha’s back.
Was I really doing the right thing? Was I just hurting this child again?
Lost in those thoughts, I didn’t answer. The Tower Master urged me on.
“I have quite a bit of money.”
At that, I decided to end it.
Who was I to hurt a child? Who did I think I was, doing something so grand?
There had to be another way. Hurting Shasha like this just to show her the Tower Master’s downfall in front of her… it didn’t feel right.
“Yes. I’m sure you do.”
“You can tell just by looking at me, right? I look like a man with money. Not that I’m boasting, but—”
“Well, if you embezzled that much, of course you’d be rich. That’s why you’re so bloated. Greedy not just for food, but for money too.”
“…What?”
“Did you think I wouldn’t know?”
His eyes widened—though buried in fat, they were more slit than round.
“And what? A moment of rage? I brought Shanensia here to stop trash like you from exploiting her. Entrustment? Don’t make me laugh. There’s no way I’d ever do that.”
“Are you Shanensia’s sister? What are you suddenly talking about?”
“What am I talking about? I never intended to entrust her from the start. I knew you were tormenting my sister, so I came to see it with my own eyes. To bring you down.”
He tilted his head, confused, and I ground my teeth.
“Take good care of her? You did no better than the count and countess. And who do you think you are, crushing my child’s spirit! Telling her to stay quiet when adults speak? That’s why she lives with her head down in places she shouldn’t! All you ever did was think about using Shasha—then stealing all the credit for yourself, just like you always have!”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Why are you acting like this all of a sudden? Are you unwell?”
“Unwell? I’m perfectly sane.”
I forced my anger down.
I had meant to come here long ago.
Wasn’t this man, in the novel, the first Tower Master in history to resign?
Embezzlement on a massive scale. And that wasn’t all—he even stole children’s abilities.
That was how he’d risen to the position in the first place. Countless talented mages fled the Tower despite their skill. By the time Shasha grew up, they had even formed their own group after escaping the Tower. There was a leader too, but that wasn’t the point.
The point was: this man was absolute scum.
But I couldn’t find any evidence.
Unlike a novel, evidence didn’t conveniently pop out. All I could do was create proof with words.
If I could just pull him down from that position, finding the victims wouldn’t be hard. Nor would uncovering evidence of abuse against the orphanage children he brought in.
For now, all I had to do was remove him as Tower Master. Once that happened, those who coveted his position would gladly dig up every last one of his crimes.
If I could just expose how he skimmed money by manipulating magic tool prices during the price surge that forced him to step down in the past, he’d collapse. The amount alone would do it.
The novel even mentioned that the money he embezzled was enough to build an entire kingdom.
“Heh. You’ve worked yourself into a frenzy and now you’ve gone quiet. Was something displeasing to you? Ah—if you’re trying to squeeze a bigger lump sum than what I offered earlier—”
“I don’t need it. You’ve been playing games with magic tool prices for quite some time.”
“Are you accusing me without evidence? Let’s stop this nonsense.”
As if struck by guilt, he shook his head and stood up. From where I sat, he looked enormous.
“Now hand Shanensia over. Bringing her here in the first place means you intended to abandon her, doesn’t it?”
“No? What kind of nonsense is that?”
“Oh, please. You were blinded by money too. I’ll toss you a subsidy, so hand Shanensia over.”
“I don’t need your subsidy. I’m keeping Shasha by my side to the very end.”
“The count and countess already agreed to entrust Shanensia to me. Your opinion is irrelevant. Don’t worry—I’ll send you off comfortably. You won’t remember this moment at all. You’ll return in peace. Foolish of you to come here alone.”
Mocking me, the Tower Master slowly reached out—toward Shasha in my arms. Startled, Shasha looked around as if searching for something and began to move her hand.
But before she could, her thin wrist was seized by the Tower Master.
“Trying to use magic? I’ll have to put a magic device on you so you can’t cast without my permission.”
That was when—
The door burst open.
Perfect timing. I’d figured about an hour had passed—and sure enough, it was exact.
Familiar faces rushed in.
“Your Majesty the Empress!! Are you all right?!”
Ron and Ken entered, bringing with them a hooded child. Behind them came the Emperor’s knights, who immediately restrained the Tower Master without hesitation.
“W-What are you doing?!”
Ken was something else—he promptly slapped restraints onto both of the Tower Master’s hands.
“What do you think you’re doing?!”
“It’s obvious what this man was about to do!”
“You didn’t come out even after an hour, so we came up. And on the way, a strange flock of birds moved in perfect formation toward the Tower carrying signals, so… here we are.”
“Ah. Good job. You made it in time.”
At Ron’s confident words and Ken’s calm explanation as he held the Tower Master down, I gave a thumbs-up.
“Did we come to the right place?”
“Yes. Exactly right.”
The Tower Master struggled wildly.
“What is this?! Let go! Release me! Do you know who I am—!”
“You should’ve known when to stop. This is all because you dug your own grave.”
“My fault? You say this is my fault?! I tried to talk things out because you’re Shanensia’s sister, and you pull this kind of stunt—?!”
“Exactly! Who told you to make me walk up here?!”
“What are you—?!”
“I told you to contact me within an hour, and because you didn’t, I had to walk all the way up myself! It took forever just to get to this room! If you’d let me use a portal, things might’ve gone your way. Thanks to your petty power play, everything worked out perfectly.”
Just in case, I’d prepared a few safeguards. Earlier, I’d subtly signaled Shanensia—telling her to call the Pigeon Knight Order.
I’d worried she wouldn’t understand because she was so upset, but it seems I underestimated her.
“What insane nonsense is this?!”
“Insane? This is perfectly reasonable. From now on, I’ll be reporting all of your crimes—so listen quietly.”
“You think you’ll get away with this? Acting like you’re the Empress or something—!”
“I am the Empress. And even if I weren’t, exposing your level of wrongdoing wouldn’t be difficult. I’m going to bring you down.”
