Chapter 156: Arrival at the Magic Tower

“We have arrived. You’ve endured much.”

In front of the Magic Tower.
As the coachman bowed his head, the party expressed their gratitude, telling him he had done well.

“You’ve worked hard. It must have been difficult with the occasional pursuers and battles, but you handled it wonderfully.”

“It was no ordinary journey. We’re grateful you’ve done so well.”

At Isaac’s and the Grandmaster’s words, the coachman took off his hat, wiped the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief, and smiled.

“Haha, not at all. This is my job, after all.”

Unfortunately, the coachman could not enter the Magic Tower. They were a rather conservative lot and did not permit even a coachman’s entry.

Isaac handed the coachman a separate purse of money he had prepared.
The man hesitated for a moment before accepting it with a kind smile.
He then turned the horses around and headed back toward Evergard.

“Too bad. I wanted to treat him to the seven-colored cookies they sell here!”

Sharen watched the departing carriage, looking disappointed. The coachman, being a bit older, had treated Sharen like a daughter, often giving her snacks.
Perhaps that was why Sharen licked her lips with a hint of regret.
It seemed she wanted to give back as much as she had received.

“I came to the Magic Tower with my father when I was young. Back then, I just thought it was fascinating, but…”

Rianna began a long tale of her past and her impressions as she gazed up at the towering spire.

I’m anxious, not knowing when or how she might explode.

Isaac glanced at Rianna with a worried expression.
There were times, like now, when Rianna would pour out stories of her past or her feelings.

It felt just like those moments when seeing something triggered a memory.
For example, when she saw a flower last time, she had launched into a long speech about her past and memories connected with Isaac, the ‘Lilac.’

The first thing I’m going to do is ask for a muzzle.

There were surprisingly few things that could be used as a gag. Especially for Rianna, who could crush even a steel muzzle with her teeth.
The Magic Tower had many peculiar items, so Isaac held out considerable hope that they could fashion a sturdy muzzle for her.

“…”

Because his fingers hurt.

There were things Rianna shouldn’t say.
Whenever she was about to say something shameful or excessively honest, Isaac would put his fingers in her mouth.
Each time, Rianna would either bite or lick them.
At some point, it had started to feel a bit excessive.

And so, they entered the Magic Tower.

“It’s changed more than I thought. The streets of the Magic Tower I saw as a child didn’t feel like this—”

“Gods, you’re so damn loud.”

“Sister, your throat’s going to give out at this rate.”

“It’s not like I’m talking because I want to. That building over there is—”

The two chided Rianna, who was muttering beside them.
By now, the group had grown used to it and simply walked on, letting it be.

Just then, a group of female mages walking down the street saw Isaac and approached with bright smiles.

“Oh my, Sir Isaac! You’ve returned?”

“Ah! It’s been a while! Did you just arrive? Shall I prepare a potion for you to relieve your travel fatigue?”

“…”

Isaac’s gaze momentarily flickered to Rianna.
No, the entire party’s gaze turned in her direction.

Rianna’s eyes widened as she looked at the women, and she opened her mouth to speak.

“Who do you think you’re flirting with? Get lost, right n—”

“Ahem-hem!”

Fortunately, the Grandmaster was quicker this time, clamping a hand over Rianna’s mouth.
Isaac stepped forward and smiled kindly at the mages.

“Ha, haha… It seems she’s in a bad mood, having just returned. You know, right? She’s a Helmont, after all.”

“Ah.”

“Tch, see you later.”

She’s a Helmont.*
*It was truly a magical phrase.
The female mages clicked their tongues but left, making their displeasure clear.
Rianna’s eyes followed their backs, as if vowing not to forget.

“What’s wrong with being a Helmont?!”

Sharen grumbled and kicked a stone on the path. It flew with so much force that it embedded itself in the wall of a building. Seeing this, Sharen whistled and pretended not to notice.

“…That’s why people say things like ‘she’s a Helmont.’”

“Inferno Surge!”

She shot an Inferno Surge, but it contained little Crimson Essence, amounting to nothing more than a playful squabble.

After firing the blast, Sharen immediately went over to Rianna’s side and began to tattle.

“See, Sister? Isaac even has a fan club in the Magic Tower! What’s he doing, showing off just because he’s handsome?!”

Where on earth did she learn such words?

She often used rough language, perhaps from spending too much time with the Grandmaster, Nameless, or the former thief, Damian.

…Or Lohengrin taught her.

In any case, there were far too many people around Sharen who could be a bad influence.

“Hmph! Just you wait! I’ll grow up too, right? Then I’ll get taller and all curvy and have my own fan club. And Isaac, you’ll have to be my fan club president! Got it?!”

Hearing Sharen’s words, Rianna shook her head, freeing herself from the Grandmaster’s grip, and said.

“Sharen, you can’t have the body you want.”

“Why not?”

“Because this is as big as Helmonts get.”

Rianna spoke with a grim expression.
Was she saying this because of the Vassalization?
Or was she using the Vassalization as an excuse to speak the truth?

Either way, Rianna’s expression was pained.

“Mother wasn’t very well-endowed either, you know.”

Rianna delivered the final blow to a disbelieving Sharen.
Hearing this, Sharen sniffled, then shrugged her shoulders and replied.

“I take after Father.”

“…”

As they engaged in somewhat pointless chatter, they arrived at the tallest crystal tower.

It was the place where the Magic Tower Master lived and conducted his research.
Upon entering, they found Nameless sprawled out, yawning with a bottle of liquor in his hand.

“Hm?”

Seeing them, Nameless shot up and approached.

“Haha! You’re finally here? Hey, little disciple! It’s been crazy here!”

“Don’t you ‘little disciple’ him. Isaac, don’t mind this drunkard.”

The Grandmaster immediately pushed Nameless aside.
But even as he was pushed back, Nameless reeked of alcohol and continued.

“Ah, come on. It’s a fun story, I tell you. You see—”

Just as Nameless was about to cackle and continue, the Magic Tower Master, Legant, emerged, scratching the back of his head.

“Can someone do something about this drunk? He says it’s for Sorcery research, but he’s been sitting around drinking all day.”

Then his eyes fell on Rianna behind the Grandmaster, and he smiled brightly.

“You saved her.”

That was enough.
Legant was pleased that Isaac’s party had succeeded, but he was also delighted that he had one more specimen for his research on Sorcery.

“With two people under a Sorcery curse, a more detailed analysis will be possible. By comparing their commonalities and differences—”

“Is he under Vassalization, too?”

At the Grandmaster’s question, Isaac couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.
Among them, asking if someone was under Vassalization whenever they talked too much had become a trend.

Though Rianna, the one who started the trend, didn’t particularly like it.

Legant pushed Nameless and the Grandmaster aside and went directly to Rianna, smiling.

“Oh my. The restraints are quite something. Don’t you worry. I’ll remove the curse and return you to your old self.”

“Ah, about that. Actually—”

Isaac mentioned his encounter with the Blood Demon and relayed the additional information he had learned about Vassalization.

“Ha, that’s absurd. Is Vassalization truly such a cheating technique?”

At Legant’s words, Isaac wore a bitter expression. He had thought about Vassalization many times.

To be frank, it wasn’t a very efficient form of Sorcery.

No.

“In fact, from the Primeval Transcendent’s perspective, this is a rather disadvantageous spell.”

“Disadvantageous? When it lets them control humans at will and turn them into their slaves?”

“But isn’t the price for it high? Rianna alone had to sever her left arm to pay the price.”

In the case of Arandel Helmont, five Primordial Transcendents had died.
The price they must have paid would certainly not have been light.

“The Primeval Transcendents possess the strength of a hundred men each. There’s no need for them to pay a price to place a vassal curse on a single human.”

Wasn’t that so?
Why would they bother paying a price to take a human when they could kill them with a single gesture?

“It’s because she’s a Helmont. Because of the unique nature of the Helmonts, they are worth turning into a vassal, even at a great sacrifice.”

Legant pondered for a moment, then nodded with a hollow laugh.

“True, it’s not like you can plant them as a spy, can you?”

As he and Legant continued their discussion on Vassalization.

“Isaac, this place smells weird.”

Rianna interjected.
It was because of the Vassalization, but Rianna wore an apologetic expression.

“Oh, right, I need a muzzle. She keeps speaking her inner thoughts because of the Vassalization, and I need to stop that.”

“Hm? She speaks her inner thoughts?”

“Yes, she had a muzzle before, but it broke. It seems Helmonts have strong teeth…”

“Isaac is cool.”

“…”

“…”

“Isaac is the coolest.”

Legant stared intently at Rianna.

“You smell.”

“This is serious,” Legant muttered.
Hearing this, the Grandmaster and Nameless burst out laughing.

Amidst all this, Isaac frowned as he looked at Sharen, who had been standing silently with her arms crossed the entire time.

“What’s with you?”

Normally, Sharen would have been the first to laugh and tease.
But Sharen straightened her eyebrows, pretending to be strict and solemn, and answered.

“I take after Father.”

“…Right.”

Do whatever you want.