episode_0035

A sudden request for assistance with Lisir’s elixir intake.

Meltas was dumbfounded, but on the other hand, he felt quite moved.

“Rishir. Do you know the value of this elixir?”

“I think it’s roughly equivalent to a mansion in a big city.”

“Do you have to convert it into material to be satisfied?”

“Not necessarily, but doesn’t this make sense?”

“… Anyway, you asked me for a favor even though you knew the value of this elixir.”

“Oh, did I do something rude?”

“That’s rude. Quite the opposite.”

Taking an elixir was a major matter for a wizard. It would not be an exaggeration to say that his entire life depended on it, and if the value of the elixir was converted into money, it would be enough to live off of for the rest of his life.

What effect can you get from taking such an elixir? It was enough to bring about a turning point in your life.

It can take you to places that would have taken years to reach, or it can open up completely new paths.

In other words, asking for help with taking such a potion was tantamount to entrusting your life to someone. It was impossible unless you had the utmost trust.

“This is not our first meeting, is it? But, you asked me this favor. What if I have a bad feeling after seeing the elixir?”

The title of ‘Master’, the elite of the Magic Tower, is not something that can be obtained just by having skills. They also require popularity and character. Right now, it would not be easy to find someone more trustworthy than Meltas in Bondales. Risir’s judgment was not entirely wrong.

But it wasn’t absolutely right either – the elixir of Risir was a treasure that would make even such trustworthy figures harbor evil intentions. If Meltas were asked, “Please recommend someone who can help you take the elixir,” he could confidently name no more than five people.

In that sense, Meltas was quite pleased with the current situation. Since Risir was placing such utmost trust in him.

Meltas waited for Risir’s answer with anticipation.

Perhaps the answer would be something like, ‘I’ve heard of Lord Meltas’s reputation. If I had to choose one person in Bondales that I absolutely must trust, it would be Lord Meltas.’

The old man already had an image of Risir serving him as his teacher.

“I was confident that Meltas would not harbor ill intentions.”

“Ahem ahem. Why?”

“You saw me get the attention of the Assassin’s Guild Master right before your eyes. I figured you’d be mentally intimidated, so you wouldn’t make a bad decision.”

“… ”

Meltas was surprised. Contrary to expectations, Lisir’s judgment was based on a very cool sense of reason. It had nothing to do with respect, trust, or such recognition!

Meltas was confused as to whether he should upgrade his evaluation of the person named Risir, or be offended that he had been chosen for such a simple reason.

“Separately, I also had a slight feeling that Lord Meltas would not be the type of person to betray his trust over something like this.”

“A little… You, you’re really bad at flattering. If you had just polished up what you said later, you would have made a much better impression.”

“Is that so? But isn’t it strange to completely trust someone you just met today?”

“That’s true. In fact, apart from the good impression I got, my evaluation of you must have been lowered. You. You’re a young man with a clearer sense of reason than I thought. You look indecisive, but that’s quite unexpected.”

“Meltas, if you had just polished up what you said after that, you would have left a much better impression on me. I’m actually quite weak to compliments.”

“I don’t want to tell you something nice. You were talking too excitedly.”

“This is a fruitful conversation. I feel that the deception in my relationship with Lord Meltas is gone and only truth is filled.”

“Where did this come from?”

Meltas shook his head excitedly and began preparing to help with the intake of the elixir.

***

“Rishir. We’re in big trouble.”

“Please, please don’t just say that my elixir is wrong. I’m ready to cry already.”

“On the contrary. Where on earth did this elixir come from?”

“Yes?”

Originally, it was better to know about medicines before taking them. Meltas set out to analyze elixirs for more effective consumption. That’s where the problem arose.

“For now, I can’t figure out the ingredients of the elixir and the magic contained within it.”

“Is that good?”

“That’s a lie! How elaborately and delicately must it have been made to be possible? I can’t even guess.”

Risir felt a sense of foreboding. Now that I think about it, I remember having a similar conversation with Master Pamon.

“This kind of elixir isn’t something you can just get with a lot of money. I’m really curious about its source. It almost seems like it came from a vault belonging to a high-ranking family.”

“Haha. To raid the treasury of a high-ranking family. That’s an exaggeration.”

Risir changed the subject, avoiding eye contact.

“Then what should I do? Should I just drink it? I learned that it is a manly virtue not to ask or question when pouring a glass.”

“What is the virtue of a man? It must be the foolishness of fools. By the way, I have never had a sip of alcohol until I reached this age. Alcohol is a poison that clouds the intellect.”

“Aren’t there situations where you inevitably have to drink alcohol to maintain a smooth social life and interpersonal relationships?”

“Shut up. Anyway, I think taking this elixir will require some extra help.”

“Oh, by any chance was that Marina just now?”

“What kind of nonsense are you talking about? I’m one step ahead of Marina in all areas of knowledge. This is not my area of expertise, I’m just saying.”

Carry it and follow me.

Risir took the elixir and followed Meltas.

***

A group of gloomy wizards huddled together in a dark, cramped tower.

This was the impression that Risir had of the Magic Tower before. After looking around the Magic Tower once, Risir had to admit that it was a prejudice.

The shapes of the buildings were closer to a ‘coffin’ than a ‘tower’ and were organically connected to each other.

The passages connecting the buildings had wide gaps between the columns, giving them an open feel. The warm sunlight streaming through the columns and the well-maintained gardens surrounding them added even more vitality to the open feeling.

“I thought it would be a bit more gloomy since it was called Matop.”

“A common misunderstanding. The tower symbolizes the high value of intellect and the lofty spirit of the students who pursue that value. How-”

Meltas looked at Risir with shining eyes.

“Are you interested in a place called Matap?”

“Shall I tell you what I felt after looking around here?”

“Tell me.”

“Here, isn’t the tuition expensive? I can almost hear the cries of students from under the pillars of the luxurious building.”

“Don’t talk about the Magic Tower as if it were the headquarters of the shamans. And, don’t worry about tuition. There are scholarships and grants.”

“It’s a structure that exploits the majority except for a very small minority. Can I really be included in that very small minority?”

“Ahem. Let’s stop talking about money. There’s nothing more meaningless than applying material standards to academic value.”

Risir. I will make you my disciple!

Meltas’ tearful efforts continued. While moving, he faithfully appealed to Lisir about the strengths of the Gray Tower.

In the process, Meltas came to a surprising realization.

‘Ah! You really don’t care about academic value at all!’

The long history and tradition of the Gray Tower. The meaning and value of belonging to such a tower. These were things that a wizard would naturally be interested in.

Risir had no interest at all. The pride, rights, and duties of being a magician of the magic tower that Meltas spoke of were far removed from his interests. Risir’s goal was to gain the most benefit with the least responsibility. He wanted to enjoy authority without being bound by the magic tower – a superficial and practical expression of such thinking.

In the end, Meltas had no choice but to surrender.

“… By the way, if you belong to the Magic Tower, the path to material gains in various ways will open up. ”

“It’s sudden. But my heart started racing. Can you tell me more?”

“What happened to me…!”

Meltas lamented his situation of having to sacrifice his pride as a scholar to please Risir. However, it was definitely worth it for Risir. At first, he was only interested in his abilities, but as they talked, he became more interested in the person himself.

Lisir’s (excessively) open-minded way of thinking. Meltas thought that this way of thinking matched well with Lisir’s unconventional abilities. Since one thing looked good, naturally the other elements started to look good as well.

Now, he was even reflecting on his own behavior of initially ignoring him as an illegitimate child. If he had not started off wrong, wouldn’t they have been able to build a much better relationship? Meltas thought that he should learn from Risir’s open-mindedness to some extent.

The current behavior could be said to have resulted from such reflection.

“Wow… There’s something called a supporter system in the tower.”

“Are you a supporter?”

“It’s a system that recognizes the rights of those who directly or indirectly help the magicians of the Magic Tower. If you want to use your favorite expression, you can think of it as a system that allows you to enjoy the rights of a Magic Tower member without expensive tuition, difficult studies, or strict obligations. ”

“!!! No, do we have such an advanced system!?”

“Is that what advanced means? Anyway, it’s not as omnipotent as you think. The supporters’ rights are greatly limited compared to the affiliated magicians.”

“Still, if you’re a supporter of the Tower of Magic, you won’t be ignored as an illegitimate child anywhere else, right?”

“To some extent, yes. The name of the Tower of Magic is by no means light.”

This is where the main topic starts.

Meltas paused for a moment and then opened his mouth.

“By the way, if you become a magician affiliated with the Magic Tower, you will definitely be respected wherever you go. I guarantee it on my name.”

“Oh…”

“So, Risir, do you want to learn magic from me?”

“That means, will you become the disciple of Lord Meltas?-”

“Yes! That’s it!”

“But, I already have someone I consider my teacher.”

“What!!!”

Kookung.

Meltas froze in place, his face looking as if he had been struck by lightning.

But soon he applies the (overly) open-minded skills he learned through his meeting with Risir.

“Then I don’t mind being the second teacher.”

“What.”

Kookung.

Risir stood still, his face as if struck by lightning.

“Is that how a priest-student relationship works?”

“What can’t be done? Learning is a never-ending journey. Setting limits is like locking yourself in an iron cage with your own hands.”

“That’s a good point, but…I’m sorry, but do you plan on getting interested in black magic or necromancy in the near future? Your eyes seem a little too bright right now.”

“Anyway, I hope you take it seriously.”

“Yes. I will take note of that. By the way, what does it mean to be a supporter?”

“Is it right to say that you’ll take note of it and then immediately say that? By taking note of it, you mean you’ll take note of my suggestion?”

“Oh no. Why are you so slimy?”

“Btw, tsk. You damn brat. Just wait and see. I will definitely take you as my disciple.”

“Oh my god.”

Risir became mentally confused.

‘For the first time in my life, the target of my harassment was an old man with dreadlocks…!’

***

The effect of the barrier. The grounds of the magic tower were much larger than they appeared from outside.

The two people who walked for a long time across the grounds of the Magic Tower arrived at the Alchemy Hall, located opposite the Magic Hall.

“Ah, Master Meltas.”

As he was walking down the hallway, several female students recognized Meltas and approached him. They had been chatting happily and jokingly until just a moment ago, but they greeted Meltas politely and then ran away.

‘Professors and students… It’s just like school.’

Risir walked down the hallway with such feelings.

“Huh?”

His footsteps suddenly stopped.

It was a place where female students had gathered. There was a woman lying down there. There were documents strewn all around, and each document had footprints on it.

“Ahem. I ended up showing an embarrassing side of myself.”

Should we say that this is like school? A scene of bullying. Meltas, who had shown the corruption of the rooftop, coughed in vain and hurried his steps. In order to leave the place as quickly as possible.

“Rishir?”

But before I knew it, Risir had disappeared from my side. He was crouching down next to the woman, picking up documents.

‘Isn’t this just like other people’s work?’

It was because I saw my old self superimposed on her.

“…”

Meltas looked at Risir as if he were a different species.

A unique type of eye where the colors of the black and white sclera are reversed.

The woman who was being bullied was a half-demon. This may be the reason why Meltas felt sorry for the woman but did not think of helping her.

By worldly standards, the normal side was the group of female students who had been harassing her as a half-demon, and the abnormal side was Risir who was willing to help her as a half-demon.

The woman sat there blankly while Risir collected the paper.

And he quietly looked at Risir with his characteristic reverse eyes, as if he was watching a mysterious phenomenon happening right before his eyes.

“Did I meddle in something for no reason?”

Risir asked the woman, handing her a bundle of documents he had collected. The woman shook her head.

“No. Thanks for helping me.”

With an emotionless expression and emotionless voice, she replied.

Risir nodded and offered her a hand.

“…”

She looked at Risir’s hand for a long time and then spoke cautiously.

“It’ll be dirty.”

“It’s dirty?”

A being that has received both the blessing and curse of Mana. A demon. A half-demon with demon blood mixed in inherits some of the racial characteristics of the demon.

Imprinting was a typical example.

The woman held up both hands and showed them to Risir. Her hands were engraved with geometrical patterns of crimson blood vessels. Her arms, revealed by the sleeves of her robe, were wrapped in a dark-colored robe.

“I used to wear gloves, but now they were taken away.”

She clenched and unclenched her hands repeatedly. Even as she told the unpleasant story, her expression and voice remained emotionless.

Thanks to that, Risir was able to treat her relatively comfortably.

“It’s okay. I’m an illegitimate child too.”

“?”

Eventually, the woman stood up, holding Risir’s hand.

“That’s fun.”

The woman frowned – unnaturally lifting one corner of her mouth, as if trying to force emotion onto her emotionless expression.

And then he turned his back and left.

Risir and Meltas also resumed walking.

“…”

“…”

“…”

As we went our separate ways, the three of us happened to be walking down the hallway side by side.

“Ahem.”

It was Meltas who broke the silence.

“Didoah. Is Master Tulan in the lab?”

“No, Master Meltas. Master Tulan is currently away.”

“Oh no.”

“?”

Late, Risir turned his questioning gaze towards Meltas.

Did you know each other?

“She is Master Tulan’s assistant.”

Ahem. And then the words continue as if making an excuse.

“By the way, if I show kindness to Didoa, it will make Didoa uncomfortable.”

“Nobody said anything.”

“I’m saying this because I was really hurt, so just take it as it is.”

Didoa nodded next to him.

“Master Meltas is right. It’s late to say this, but if possible, it’d be best to avoid getting involved with me. The people of the Magic Tower will never look kindly on you.”

A while later, Risir and Meltas finally arrived at their destination.

It was the office and laboratory of Tulan, an elite alchemist of the Gray Tower.

Didoa opened the door and ushered the two in. True to her word, Tulan was away.

Didoa guided Risir and Meltas to the sofa in the center of the room. Then she took a cup from the cupboard and showed it to them.

“No, I’m fine.”

“I thought about it well. The glass that touched my hand is dirty.”

“…Now that I think about it, I’m a little thirsty. Can I have some tea, please?

Didoa quickly got into the car and dropped it off in front of Risir and Meltas. She stood next to them, fidgeting with her hands as if she didn’t know what to do with them.

“Ahem. Didoa. I never asked for tea.”

Meltas glanced at Didoa’s hand and said with an awkward look.

“That’s perfect. I’m a bit thirsty right now.”

“…No. Okay. Just drink it.”

Oddly, Meltas took a sip of tea and opened his mouth.

“Didoa. When will Master Tulan return?”

“I’ll probably be back around sunset.”

“…That’s awkward.”

“Was that the person who would provide the help that Lord Meltas spoke of, Master Tulan?”

“Ah. Master Tulan is one of the most skilled alchemists in this Gray Tower.”

“Is it impossible to take the elixir without his help?”

“That’s not it. It’s just that he was the first alchemist that came to mind. Actually, I think any skilled alchemist would be fine.”

As he listened to the story, Risir’s gaze turned to Didoa.

“I heard that you said that Didoa was Master Tulan’s assistant?”

“…Rishir, really?”

“If he’s the assistant of the most orthodox alchemist in the Magic Tower, isn’t his skill guaranteed?”

“…Oh my god.”

Meltas stroked his braided beard, trying to calm his anxiety.

Let’s entrust that precious elixir to the half-demon tribe!

“So, Mr. Didoa, are you okay?”

“…”

Didoa’s gaze turned out the window.

***

Didoa.

Today was an important day for her.

The day when plans that have been in preparation for a long time come to fruition.

“…No. It’s okay. I’ll help you if you need help.”

Didoa decided to postpone the plan.

It was a moment when the lives of several alchemists, including Master Tulan, were extended.