Chapter 51…
Ellie was so amazed and excited that she clasped her hands tightly and bounced on her toes.
“It didn’t use to feel like this, but now my container’s bigger, and it feels like I don’t have enough mana to fill it up—it’s like being hungry…”
“Exactly! That’s it! You feel stable when the mana is full, but now your mana pool’s grown so much that it’s sloshing around however it wants, and trying to control that just makes it worse!”
“So that’s what happened?”
With Nillit’s explanation, Ellie finally began to grasp her own condition.
“That’s how it is when your mana grows. But you’re small, so it must’ve been even harder to handle. That’s why you kept collapsing and couldn’t wake up until it settled down.”
“Waaah…!”
Ellie pressed her hands together and looked up at Nillit in awe.
“Nillit, you’re really a Grand Mage!”
“Ahem.”
Nillit puffed out her chest arrogantly. Her jewelry jingled again, but now even that sound seemed dazzling.
“Nillit, you’re so cool!”
“Ahem, ahem! There aren’t many magicians in the whole Tower as great as me. You’re really lucky, you know? When you enter the Tower, everyone will treat you with respect once they hear that Nillit brought you in. You’ve caught the right connection.”
“Mm-hm!”
Ellie nodded eagerly, then tilted her head.
“Wait—enter the Tower?”
“Yeah. You’ve got overflowing mana, and you’re already using magic on your own, so naturally you should enter the Tower… except…”
Nillit’s confident tone began to fade.
The normal path for entering the Magic Tower went something like this:
One day, your mana bursts.
Only a tiny fraction of people have mana to begin with, and most don’t even know they do. Without knowing how to control it, their mana explodes—sometimes causing fires, floods, or even their own bodies to burst apart (the last one’s the really unlucky case).The Tower detects it.
Usually, nearby people run to report it to the Tower. Or, a mage senses the mana wave and notifies others of a new mana awakening.They pick someone to go on-site.
Mages never move without gain. They later charge the runaway mana user for travel expenses. The Tower also pays travel and supervision allowances. Still, most mages would rather stay holed up in the Tower than go outside.They bring the person in and teach them how to control their mana.
Even if someone has mana, not everyone becomes a magician. Most can’t use magic because they have too little mana. In those cases, the Tower seals their mana for convenience and sends them home—after collecting a handsome fee, of course.If the person can use magic, they begin training—again, for a hefty tuition fee.
Once they grasp the basics, they either shut themselves in for training or apprentice under a Grand Mage.
At this stage, they’re already recognized as magicians. Once officially certified by the Tower, they’re free to leave—but few do. The Tower offers the best environment for research, and since the Grand Mages all reside there, most stay.
So, to sum it up:
Scholars go to academies. Magicians go to the Tower.
…and kings belong in their palaces.
“…What do we do with you, then?”
Ellie was both a king and a magician.
A very odd kind of magician—one who could use magic but whose mana surged out of control. Had there ever been such a case in history?
Normally, someone like that would be brought to the Tower for training—but she was the king.
There were stories of magicians founding nations and becoming kings, but never of a king entering the Tower to become a magician.
“…What should we do?”
Even for a Grand Mage, this was a headache.
Too many impossible things had happened today.
“Hey, you sure you don’t wanna quit being king and just come to the Tower?”
“I’m going to keep being king!”
“…Yeah, I figured.”
It wasn’t like you could just toss aside being a monarch.
Nillit understood that much.
“Tch. Still, being a magician’s not bad, you know. Look at me—I talk casually even to the king. Magicians and kings, we’re both top of the food chain!”
“I have to be king!” Ellie shouted firmly, leaving no room for compromise.
“I must protect the peace of Nerendis!”
She might need magic one day to prevent the world’s destruction, but for now, staying on the throne was the only way to survive.
Even as Princess Ellia, she had to fulfill her role—to make this kingdom a good place.
“Wow… that’s admirable,” Nillit said flatly, clapping without much enthusiasm.
That overflowing mana, that natural talent for magic—and that childish sense of duty.
Impressive, yes… but also exhausting.
If you thought about it, the kid was basically a walking bomb.
What was she supposed to do with her?
“…Wait, but if you’re king, can’t you also be a magician?”
Nillit spoke as if Ellie had to choose between the two.
That’s what everyone thought.
But Ellie already had mana. She already knew how to use magic. So what did that make her?
“…Well, technically, you are a magician already… just not a complete one. Since you can’t train at the Tower, you could say you’re not official. Why? You wanna be a magician too?”
“It’s not that I want to be one…”
“Then what? Don’t tell me you’re joking.”
“There’s a kind of magic I want to learn.”
Ellie hadn’t invited a magician to her coronation just for formality—she had something she desperately needed to ask.
The magical scars left on the bodies of the late king and queen.
If their deaths hadn’t been accidents…
Ellie wanted to find out who was behind them.
Princess Ellia’s tragic life had begun with their deaths. Whoever caused that had to be found.
And if those same evil people were still watching her, then her life might still be in danger.
“What kind of magic?”
“The kind that kills people.”
Nillit froze.
She’d just been thinking about how to handle this little bomb—and now this?
Did she just say killing magic?
“…Excuse me, what?”
“Can’t you teach it?” Ellie asked innocently. She was completely serious.
“W-Why would you want to learn that?” Nillit stammered, wiping cold sweat.
Was this… one of those legendary stories? The birth of a mad sorcerer destined to destroy the world?
“This is still a secret, but…”
“Uh-huh, I’m listening.”
“I think I’ve seen it before. But I’m not sure, so I want to learn it to confirm.”
“…You saw it?”
Nillit straightened up, frowning.
“Yeah, it might be connected to something really important.”
“Of course it is.”
If a magician was committing murder with magic, the Tower had to intervene.
But murder by magic? That was no small matter.
If what Ellie said was true, the Tower needed to be alerted immediately.
“Do you have any proof?”
“I did, but… not anymore.”
It had been a long time since the funeral. There was no way she could exhume the late king’s body now.
“But I definitely saw it. There was a trace of magic.”
“Hmmm…”
Nillit had confirmed Ellie was a magical prodigy, but still—believing a child’s claim of magical murder without evidence was reckless.
“Can’t you do that kind of magic?”
“…Me?”
Nillit stiffened, caught off guard.
“Yeah, you’re a Grand Mage. Doesn’t that mean you can do everything?”
“….”
At that moment, Nillit truly wanted to meet that so-called brother, Luden, just to ask what on earth he’d been teaching this kid.
“Magicians only specialize in their own fields. They can barely do anything outside that. That’s how magic works. So no—there’s no mage who uses fire magic to kill people.”
“…Really?”
The look on Ellie’s face said the rest:
‘That’s weird—my brother Luden could…’
If she were just an ordinary child, she’d grow up and face reality someday.
But she wasn’t just anyone—she was a king.
Left unchecked, this kid could one day threaten both the Tower and the world.
How could Nillit manage this without turning it into an international incident?
As she pondered that, Ellie suddenly asked:
“Then why did you come here, Nillit?”
“…Huh?”
“You got that letter saying I was dying, right? Weren’t you here to use healing magic on me?”
“…Ah.”
Well… about that…
Sweat began to trickle down Nillit’s back.
This kid was sharp.
Hadn’t she been unconscious until just now?
How could she wake up after a week and immediately start asking such sharp questions?
