73. I Don’t Sleep With Just Anyone

“Why did you avoid me?”

In the private room of the research wing.

Being interrogated in a space with just the Tower Master and me made my limbs tremble uncontrollably, and cold sweat dripped down my back.

“W-well, it’s not that I avoided you. I was just a bit busy…”

“Busy? Where were you trying to go?”

“That is…”

Home, obviously.

Can’t a guy want to go home?

“You could’ve just come in, seen my face for a moment, and left. Did you dislike that idea so much you tried to run away? You want to buy scrolls but don’t want to see me. You really do whatever you please, don’t you?”

“Wait, did Male-nim rat me out?”

“Male didn’t say anything. It’s just something you’d naturally know if you entered the Magic Tower.”

“Surveillance…”

So I was being watched the moment I stepped into the Tower.

No wonder Male subtly gave me a hint earlier.

He must’ve known the Tower Master would drag me in by force if I tried to leave and deliberately tipped me off.

“The Tower Access Pass isn’t something just anyone can get. You don’t even have an interest in magic studies. The only reason a mere Copper Rank like you can enter the Magic Tower is because of our contract. Am I right?”

“Yes. I have no room for excuses.”

“Good. You shouldn’t make excuses. You were the one trying to avoid me unilaterally.”

The Tower Master stepped closer to me.

Then, she brushed the dust off my shoulders with a few pats before speaking again.

“Did that bitch Moira tell you to avoid me?”

“Huh? N-no. She didn’t say anything like that.”

“Hmm. Then why did you avoid me? Now that I think about it, you’re living with Moira’s daughter, right? Did that girl Yuria say something?”

“No! Neither Moira nor Yuria said anything!”

“Neither of them said a single thing about me?”

“Yes. They really didn’t mention you at all, nor did they tell me anything.”

“Not a single mention? So I’m not even worth mentioning?”

“Huh? No, why are you jumping to that conclusion? Isn’t that just a persecution complex…?”

“What?! Persecution complex?!”

“Eek?!”

Whether out of anger or sheer madness, the Tower Master climbed onto my lap at point-blank range.

“W-what are you doing?! Get off me!”

“No. Endure it. When physical distance closes, emotional distance naturally follows. Since you seem to be avoiding me, I have no choice but to forcibly bridge the gap.”

“What kind of logic is this?!”

“You seem afraid of me, so I have to take drastic measures. I’ll change that perception of yours. From now on, you’ll get turned on just by seeing me.”

“Aah!”

The Tower Master pressed her chest against me.

Does she think everything can be solved by shoving her tits in my face?

‘H-her chest…’

The cleavage looks warm.

It’d be so easy to bury my nose in that valley-but I have to resist!

Wait, no, she shoved them in first. At this point, isn’t she blatantly inviting me?

‘You idiot, resist!’

I had to strain myself to pull my head back before her massive chest touched my face.

If I got buried in those even once, it’d be over. I’d just become the Tower Master’s stud.

“You’re resisting. You could just close your eyes, bury your face in them, and throw a tantrum-wouldn’t that be fine?”

“I’m good…”

“Are you rejecting me because I’m older? But I don’t have any kids. I’m unmarried. Why is Moira acceptable but not me? Can’t you satisfy your lust unless it’s a mother-daughter threesome? Should I go make a kid somewhere?”

“No! Tower Master-nim, have you lost your mind?! What’s with this inferiority complex? Why do you keep comparing yourself to the Guild Leader? Why? You’re plenty attractive on your own.”

“Then why do you keep rejecting me? Your words and actions don’t match. Are you trying to deceive me? I’m suspicious. Did Moira tell you to trick me?”

“Aah!”

This woman is seriously messed up.

Wait, did she get dragged to the Guild Leader and beaten up or something?

Why is she so desperate to compare herself to Moira?

Nothing is more stressful than comparing yourself to others.

“I avoided you because I was scared I’d genuinely fall into lust if I buried my face in your chest. Happy now?”

“What? Genuinely fall for me? Then just fall for me. If you come to me, you can live in luxury for the rest of your life. You can have anything you want. Just come to me. Not anyone else. Me. I’ll cherish you. How about it?”

The Tower Master was urging me to choose her.

It was tempting, but I wasn’t about to give in so easily.

To gauge her sincerity, I looked deep into her eyes.

Only then did I see it clearly.

Not the Tower Master’s massive chest, but her pupils-staring intently, I could tell.

She only saw me as a trophy.

A collectible to show off.

Somehow, my excitement died instantly.

I don’t care for loveless physical relationships.

At the very least, if my appearance matched her sexual preferences.

If it wasn’t me, it wouldn’t work at all.

But if she just wanted to claim me as a bragging right, I’d reject her first.

“Let’s stop joking around. More importantly, Tower Master-nim, you’re not serious about this, are you? I can tell from your eyes. If you’re just playing with me, let’s stop here. Don’t cross the line.”

“…”

As I silently stared into her eyes, the Tower Master distanced herself from me.

Mabel, who had tried to vent her misplaced inferiority toward Moira onto me.

Of course, she didn’t love me.

Ever since gaining the Spirit Eye, I’ve been able to somewhat sense the sincerity in people’s gazes.

The way Yuria and Lady Leah looked at me was completely different from how the Tower Master did.

The Tower Master only saw me as a trophy for bragging rights.

There was no affection or love.

Well, of course.

This is only our second meeting, after all.

No reason to fall in love.

No grounds to like me.

She probably just wanted to mess with Moira.

That petty mindset of, I got the man you wanted first.

She’d expressed similar emotions toward me before, but this time was especially intense.

There must be some personal circumstances.

Maybe Mabel is intensely fixated on Moira.

The problem is that her feelings are inferiority, not admiration.

“Hmm. You’re bolder than I thought.”

“I’m actually very timid.”

“Now I see why that bitch Moira likes you. You don’t give in easily. And you don’t cower either? What are you? Some Eastern noble?”

“Huh? What are you talking about? I’m just a commoner.”

“A commoner who’s scared of me but still talks back. And tries to speak honestly. Interesting. I heard rumors you’re a womanizer, but you seem more restrained than expected?”

“I’ve never been a womanizer! That’s a complete lie!”

“I heard you keep two female slaves. That you live with Yuria. That you frequent parties and labyrinths composed entirely of women? And you still claim you’re not a playboy? Are you impotent or something?”

“What? How do you know all this? Are you stalking me?”

“Well, because that bitch Moira has her eyes on you.”

She’s seriously obsessed with Moira.

This woman clearly had some kind of grudge against Moira.

That’s why she kept provoking me-to get under Moira’s skin. But it failed. She won’t bother me anymore, right?

“Well, if you’re not interested in me, fine. Hmph. Good women like me are hard to come by.”

“Yes. I hope you meet someone good, Tower Master-nim.”

“The problem is there are no good people. Sigh. It’s tough.”

Good people are hard to find.

Most are just passable.

“By the way, you said you were buying scrolls. Are you entering the labyrinth?”

“Yes. I plan to go pretty deep this time.”

“You must be part of the Saintess’s party.”

“How did you know?”

“It’s obvious if you think about how things are unfolding.”

The Tower Master seemed to already know the Saintess’s party would descend into the underground city to subjugate the heretics.

“You’re going down to the underground city. You remember what I asked of you last time, right?”

“Yes. You wanted me to gather information if I encountered any monsters capable of speech.”

“Correct. Glad you remember.”

Back then, I hadn’t met Olivia yet and had no related information, but now I understood what Tower Master Mabel wanted.

‘Monsters capable of speech. The Tower Master is looking for neutral NPCs.’

According to the information I got from Olivia, there’s a neutral NPC in the underground city who can send you to a simple dungeon if you complete certain requests.

‘Spider Den and Snake Nest.’

If you complete Arachne and Frogman’s requests and raise your affinity with them, you can enter places called the Spider Den and Snake Nest.

Mabel must’ve come across some related literature somewhere.

She probably asked me to find the locations of Arachne and Frogman for her.

The crucial point is that Mabel doesn’t even know the keywords ‘Arachne’ and ‘Frogman.’

She only knows they’re monsters capable of speech.

‘Information advantage. Do I really need to tell the Tower Master about the simple dungeon?’

It’s better to monopolize this kind of information.

No need to share it with the shady Magic Tower.

‘If I play the middleman right, I could reap insane profits.’

If what Mabel wants is somewhere in the Spider Den or Snake Nest, I can just find it myself, hand it over, and get paid.

Teaching her how to fish would severely impact my business, so I’ll just sell her the fish.

Is there any reason to reveal my honey pot? No. None at all. So let’s not mention the simple dungeon.

“Now that I think about it, we were supposed to experiment with your special ability too.”

“Right.”

“Sit here for a moment.”

As I sat on the chair, Mabel slipped a bracelet onto my wrist.

“What’s this?”

“How should I describe it… Let’s call it a Direction Fixer for ability expansion.”

“That’s a ridiculously long name.”

“Let’s shorten it to Ability Fixer.”

“Ability Fixer? Aren’t abilities fixed once you get them?”

“Correct. And this is an accessory that fixes the attribute of your next ability.”

“Huh? What… Is it really possible to influence what ability you get next?”

“I’m not entirely sure. That’s why I’m testing it on you. I designed it to resonate with your Dimensional Pouch. This way, the likelihood of your next ability being space-attribute increases dramatically. How about it? Spatial magic requires genius-level comprehension to master. You’ll be able to bypass that prerequisite.”

Just hearing about it was mind-blowing.

The Dimensional Pouch alone is already an S-tier ability. If I could get abilities like teleportation, spatial distortion, or spatial severing…

‘If my mana capacity allows it, I could become the strongest in the labyrinth city.’

Not just in theory-I’d genuinely be the strongest.

Most mages who use spatial magic spend their entire lives mastering just one spell.

“If I’d known you’d give me such an amazing bracelet, I would’ve come sooner.”

“That’s why I told you to come on Wednesday.”

“Ugh. I had things to do last week too… I didn’t know you’d give me something this good. I thought the ‘experiment’ would involve cutting me open and drawing blood.”

“Drawing blood? How archaic.”

“But is the bracelet’s effect reliable?”

“It’s not certain-that’s why I’m testing it on you. It might completely defy my expectations. That’s why this is still experimental. If it works, you benefit, and the experiment succeeds-win-win. Space-attribute abilities are hard to come by. If it fails, well, too bad.”

“I see.”

There are only three people in the labyrinth city with a Dimensional Pouch.

One of them has retired, and another is missing in the labyrinth.

For all intents and purposes, I’m the only living, active person with a Dimensional Pouch.

That’s why I became the test subject.

“In any case, the bracelet has no additional effects. It’s just tuned to fix the direction of your ability, so you can wear it as usual. If it breaks, the experiment fails, so be careful.”

“Got it. I’ll be extra cautious.”

“Good. Then go safely. Come back alive and let me know the results.”

“Yes. I’ll return in about a week.”

I bid farewell and left the Tower Master’s private lab.

For someone who was dragged in, I got out relatively unscathed. Sure, I was briefly distracted by her chest, but I managed to escape.

Still, I ended up with something I never expected.

If this thing can fix the direction of my ability, it means I can somewhat steer what attribute I get next.

With this data, Mabel will probably conduct more experiments.

“Sigh. I’m exhausted.”

Let’s go home.

Yuria might be back by now.

I miss her this evening.