Chapter : 6
Following orders from his superior, Daniel went into hiding, and during that time, he gradually realized just how extraordinary Wiz was—over and over, he realized it. No one could possibly argue against it. Wiz was incredible. To be precise, she was someone who had a thick, solid iron plate over her face. In short, she was an extraordinary person.
Watching Wiz was, in a way, entertaining, but mostly exhausting.
Why? She didn’t seem to have a separate home and appeared to live in the bookstore, but when it came to meals, she naturally went to the house next door—without any apparent agreement with the neighbors. Every meal came with the young artist’s cries leaking outside…
But that wasn’t the end of it.
Out of boredom, Wiz would inflict deep emotional pain on any visiting artists who came to the bookstore, only to send them away. She claimed it was sincere and without malice, but for the recipient, it was even more hurtful.
Of course, Daniel sometimes questioned the judgment of those who came to visit, knowing full well they’d leave hurt.
If Wiz appeared in the small round square along the miscellaneous street, everyone there would attempt to trick her, only to end up mentally exhausted—or even physically hurt.
From what he observed, it was actually Wiz who didn’t approach anyone unless someone approached her first.
She spent most of her time alone in the bookstore, and in the late night or early morning, she bravely went for solo walks. Daniel had the sense that she chose dark, quiet streets. A minor peculiarity, nothing more.
She was that kind of person. Daniel and Mini didn’t even need two full days of surveillance to reach one conclusion: a person this unique would be very hard to find.
When Mini returned with the orders from the tower, and Daniel heard them, both let out sighs of relief.
It was liberation after three days.
To fully enjoy that refreshing feeling, the two of them played a quick game of rock-paper-scissors as a final formality.
A moment later, the losing Daniel opened the bookstore door and entered.
He shook Wiz awake, who had been sleeping with drool on her face. Her reaction was predictable.
“Ah, a visitor? We don’t sell books here, though.”
She wiped the drool with a handkerchief in a neat manner, but her half-lidded sleepy eyes were completely unguarded. Daniel, feeling the rare laughter of a normally composed colleague wash over his back, forced a smile. Had he forgotten again?
“I’m Daniel. I came a few days ago as well.”
“A few days ago…?”
“If you don’t remember, that’s fine. Right now, I need you to come with me to the Silver Fox Tower immediately.”
“Troublesome.”
“I’ll give you candy when we reach the tower.”
“Where? Where do you want me to go?”
Caught.
Daniel watched, bewildered, as Wiz grabbed her cloak, swirled it around, and strode out of the bookstore. She had hurried out at his urging to lock the door, but she looked strangely carefree.
Mini saw his expression and stifled a laugh behind her fist.
Wiz clicked the lock shut.
To think that someone could pile up all those rare books and lock the door with a single key—it made the heart of any observer shrink. Not Wiz, though—Mini and Daniel couldn’t bring themselves to leave the bookstore behind. They wanted to add ten padlocks, chain the door, post ten guards…
Wiz tapped them gently, prompting them to stop looking back.
“Candy.”
“….”
The stiffened minds of the two knights immediately snapped awake.
Gathering the scattered fragments of their awareness, Mini smiled softly.
Even if the bookstore was unsafe, there was nothing they could do at that exact moment.
They were public-service knights of mid-level rank. When a superior gave an order, they had to comply—even adding a little extra flourish if needed. Since they were told to bring Wiz along, doing it swiftly and correctly was the best way forward for their future.
However, as soon as Wiz stepped onto the main street, she led them straight to a fruit candy stall, chatting casually with the vendor.
“Oh, Wiz! Today’s strawberries?”
“How did you know?!”
“It’s the order of eating strawberries.”
“Wow, that’s incredible. You even guessed the preference of a first-time visitor!”
“It’s not your first time. Forget it again? If you remembered they sell candy here, you should’ve remembered that you came too!”
Wiz bought three candies. She handed them out so naturally that the two knights received them almost by accident. They were more shocked that she bought the candy for them than by the act itself.
Wiz smiled brightly and gestured for them to follow.
“Come on, let’s go!”
She looked like a hero embarking on an adventure. Walking with her confident stride, Daniel and Mini couldn’t help but question whether it was appropriate for someone just picking up newspapers to act so boldly.
Daniel, who was more familiar with Wiz than Mini, stared at the candy for a while before passing it back. She had already finished one of the candies in just a few steps. Wiz bowed politely and accepted it. …Another shock. She said thank you!
Daniel, momentarily forgetting she was a scholar from the Central Tower, stared at her intently. Mini nudged him with her elbow, a reminder to regain composure. Then she subtly shifted the conversation so Wiz wouldn’t look at Daniel.
“By the way, Wiz, what do you research at the Central Tower? How do you come to have such rare books?”
“Hmm.”
“….”
“Just a bit of this and that…”
“So, by ‘this and that,’ you mean you study various things?”
“Yes, something like that.”
“Then could you give an example from those ‘various things’?”
She asked as gently as possible.
Wiz knew they were persistently questioning her, but that was the basics of investigation. In Mini’s line of work, failing to ask necessary questions out of politeness was considered foolish.
Wiz looked at Mini and placed one hand on her cheek, her pale gray eyes rolling.
“Hmm… let’s see. If I were to give one example…”
Her eyes rolled from the inner corner of her left eye to the outer corner of her right, gazing diagonally at the sky, her head tilted cutely.
“Hmm. I study fools.”
“…Excuse me?”
Daniel questioned her, convinced he misheard. Mini did too, or perhaps Wiz misspoke.
Yet Wiz seemed to fix her gaze on Daniel as if observing him carefully, touching her chin instead of her cheek, narrowing her eyes, and now looking at his chest rather than his face. Not an unpleasant gaze. He waited.
“Hmm… I feel like I’ve seen them somewhere before?”
And she raised his blood pressure. Daniel, guessing what Wiz muttered, bit the inside of his cheek.
Mini caught Wiz when she almost stumbled and swallowed her laugh. Daniel carefully answered, trying not to grind his teeth.
“I told you we met a few days ago.”
“Oh, right! Right! Uh, so your name is…?”
“Daniel.”
“Ah, right. Mr. Dying Message.”
“….”
Headache? Stomachache? He wasn’t sure if it was physical or emotional. This novel human struck something inside him.
He even recalled the people cheering after dealing with Wiz a few days ago. The man who struck Wiz on the back of the head—truly a hero, Daniel agreed.
He washed his face without realizing it and asked:
“How can you forget every single time? You forgot me in just one day last time.”
“Well… it’s a bit embarrassing, but I like to start each day with a fresh mind.”
…Not exactly the same.
Daniel forced a pained smile, trying not to be rude.
“Saying ‘start fresh’ doesn’t mean we should completely empty our minds every day.”
And he had just been rude.
He began to wonder what kind of environment she grew up in. But Wiz, showing no sign of embarrassment, waved her hands seriously.
“What are you talking about? I never forget important things.”
“For example?”
“Meal times. When I want to eat, I can go next door. Tomorrow, the tower will give me my living expenses. Today, I dust the books. Today, the third volume of Riririri Wizard Pyorolrong is released.”
“So us?”
“Visitors can never be more important than the third volume of Riririri Wizard Pyorolrong, right?”
“….”
So how many times must they tell her they’d met before?
Even thinking she had grown on them, Daniel felt a sudden surge of emotion. His expression darkened. Mini changed the topic to distract him.
“Anyway, Wiz, you said you study fools, right?”
“Yes? Yes.”
“Do you study scholars of magic?”
Daniel, shocked by this question, blinked at his colleague.
Mini seemed not to notice that Wiz had just called scholars fools. Perhaps the ‘Wiz disease’ had transferred over a few days.
Wiz didn’t argue and answered naturally.
“That sounds fun, but no.”
She paused tapping a transparent strawberry candy with her tongue and examined it carefully, gradually smiling.
Surely, she had forgotten the conversation. Daniel and Mini exchanged glances. Daniel nudged Wiz to wake her up.
“So, who exactly do you call fools?”
“Oh, just…”
“Just?”
“Just those who can do magic.”
Only magicians could do magic.
Neither of them had expected such an answer.
It made sense: magicians were intellectual geniuses, and their actions often required extraordinary intelligence. Alchemy, which they treated like their own body, was a profound discipline. Even if they weren’t from the Central Tower, they knew far more than ordinary people.
Seeing a magician called a fool by someone was a first.
And the fact that it was Wiz calling them fools would deeply sadden the magicians.
Mini asked cautiously:
“Why are they fools?”
“Because they are.”
“….”
“Actually, some are dullards, carrying their brains for boredom, why were they born, it’s a waste to breathe, die, I wish they’d die, I’ll kill them, etc.”
Now that was malicious. They were no longer surprised, just shocked. Wiz’s expression and voice remained cheerful.
Daniel decided to ask directly, clearing his throat.
“Do you perhaps dislike magicians?”
(To be continued)
