Ch.32Strong Blood Tower (3)

“Sister! Sisteeeeer!!”

The next day.

After posting my explanation and seeing the forum finally calming down, I sighed in relief. When I heard Irina’s voice at my door, I smiled inwardly and opened it.

“I saw your explanation post!”

My smile froze on my face when I saw Irina’s bright expression as she shouted this.

She… saw it?

I briefly worried that she might believe everything I wrote in my explanation, but then I remembered it was still morning, and I had posted it at dawn.

Of course, I couldn’t rule out the possibility that she checked TowerInside as soon as she woke up, but I was certain that wasn’t the case.

If it’s Irina… she definitely wouldn’t go to bed early.

“When did you see that? Don’t tell me you were on your MagicPad until dawn again?”

“Eek!!”

Irina’s expression turned to one of realization at my sharp observation.

This kid… I knew it.

I put my hands on my hips and began scolding her.

“Didn’t I tell you to get proper sleep?”

“But, Sister, you don’t sleep either…” Irina mumbled quietly, fidgeting.

“I don’t need sleep. But Irina, you’re still a child.”

“But Sister, you’re young too!”

“This sister is over a thousand years old.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? That makes you a grandmother, not a sister!”

“…”

Is she looking for a fight?

‘Stay calm… nothing is more foolish than getting angry at a child’s words…’

“Tiny grandma!”

“You need to be taught a lesson.”

And I’m already sensitive about my height!

With an angry smile, I quickly drew blood from my body and formed it into a hammer, then lightly bonked her on the head.

“Ow!”

“Next time, watch what you say, you little rascal.”

“Heeeng…”

Lately, it feels like she’s lost her respect for me… or is that just my imagination?

It has to be.

‘Explanation post…’

I sighed deeply inside.

While my explanation post contained quite a few lies, fortunately Eterna agreed with me that revealing our true relationship now would cause the forum to explode. She consented to my approach.

It would be better to gradually introduce the idea that Eterna and I are close, guiding the conversation until it becomes less of a bombshell, then naturally reveal it.

By then, the news that Eterna and I are close won’t be such important gossip anymore.

It’s already been something of an open secret for a while, so what difference would confirming it make?

By that time, some people might complain that what I posted was a lie, but that can’t be helped.

If they want to nitpick that much, I have nothing to say.

I mean, it’s not like I approached Eterna wanting to be friends. She called me over and showed interest in me without any particular reason. What was I supposed to do?

Honestly, I spent all night thinking about how to explain this, trying to make it sound as natural as possible.

That’s why Irina doesn’t seem to be making a big deal out of it either.

Of course, Irina doesn’t know that Eterna showed interest in me and made me call her “sister,” or that I made money from it.

It’s a secret only Eterna and I know. In a way, you could say Eterna has leverage over me, but…

‘It was too much money…’

How many people could resist such temptation?

To be frank, it’s like dangling money in front of a poor person—more than they could earn in a lifetime—and asking them to lick your toes. Then when they refuse, multiplying the offer by ten.

Honestly, even Buddha would lick like a dog for that much.

No joke, really.

The amount of money Eterna offered me was beyond imagination.

There’s a reason why everyone went crazy when I said I’d take the money and use it for the Blood Tower.

It was enough money to justify such a reaction.

“Sister?”

As I sat there lost in thought, Irina called out to me with a worried expression.

She looks quite adorable, anxiously wondering if I’m going to scold her more.

I chuckled and patted her head.

“Have you eaten yet?”

“No, I wanted to eat with you.”

“I see… I opened a restaurant recently. Would you like to go there together?”

“Oh? I know that place! The Crimson Restaurant!”

So Irina knows about it too.

The Crimson Restaurant.

It was the first thing I did after promising to support the Blood Tower.

‘I managed to open a restaurant for now, but…’

Despite appearances, I haven’t spent the entire month just browsing forums for fun.

Of course, I’ve been thinking hard about what I could do for the Blood Mages.

Among the many posts I read, the most supported and most desperate complaint was that Blood Mages had to go hungry while researching magic.

‘Those bastards were insane…’

I heard that merchants who had been doing business here for generations are complaining now that the Crimson Restaurant has reopened with my support after being closed for 129 years.

They’re upset because all their customers have gone to the Crimson Restaurant, leaving their places empty. But they don’t realize it’s because they’ve been scamming people, and they keep blaming me…

It’s starting to get annoying.

While I don’t need to eat, I can’t resist trying the Crimson Restaurant if it’s as delicious as they say.

I smiled and decided to take Irina there.

“Oh, Sister.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“I heard there are so many people at the restaurant that we’ll have to wait a long time. Is that okay?”

“Ah… I didn’t think of that.”

I need to open more restaurants.

For that, I’ll need to find more talented people and establish a way to bring fresh ingredients into the tower continuously to feed everyone.

And thinking about spending money on that gives me a headache.

‘I should hire an accountant or something…’

It seems like I need to bring in a lot of people. Is that just my imagination?

For now… I should select someone suitable from among our Blood Tower associates.

*Growl*

“Ah… s-sorry, Sister…”

“You must be hungry. Let’s hurry and get something to eat.”

Right now, feeding our adorable Irina is the priority.

I should take some time to think about what to do next.

And…

‘Seria…’

That child who was once my colleague, now the Green Tower Master.

I need to think about how to meet her.

My goodness, there’s so much to do…

* * *

“Damn it!”

A man slammed his fist on the table, seething with anger.

“What the hell is that restaurant?!”

“I heard it’s supposed to be part of the Magic Tower. They provide free meals.”

“You know that’s not what I’m asking about, you idiot!!”

The man gritted his teeth as he glared at the crowded restaurant across the way with bloodshot eyes.

Until recently, most mages with money would come to his restaurant to eat.

The man knew very well that his place was the only option for them, so he ran his business with complete confidence.

It wasn’t particularly strange.

As the owner, he had been price-gouging the Blood Tower mages for generations, making a fortune.

He was simply continuing the business practices of his father and grandfather.

But…

‘Everything changed when that Tower Master arrived…!’

He had heard about the new Tower Master’s appointment.

Until then, he didn’t think much would change.

It was common knowledge that the Blood Tower had no way to make money, even for those who didn’t understand magic.

However, his prediction was completely wrong.

Since the Tower Master’s arrival, customers at his restaurant began to decrease one by one, until they completely disappeared.

The bigger problem was that he couldn’t do anything about it because his opponent was none other than the Tower Master.

If the Tower Master were in front of him, he would have shouted about killing small business owners, but there was no way to meet them. Apparently, they rarely left their room.

“Damn it! In that case… I’m going to the Crimson Restaurant!”

He couldn’t just sit by while his customers were stolen.

After all, he had been an essential part of the Magic Tower for a long time.

It would be a big mistake to think the merchants here would just let this go.

He wasn’t the only one thinking this way.

Most of the other merchants supported him.

So his opinion was justified!

With this conviction, the man decided to wreck the Crimson Restaurant.

He thought those beggars wouldn’t be able to do anything if he destroyed their restaurant.

“Hehehe… I won’t let this slide…!”

“Yeah, sure… do whatever you want…”

The part-timer looked at the man’s sinister smile with a disinterested expression before leaving the restaurant.

As he left, he muttered with a voice tinged with regret that the owner must not care much since he didn’t try to stop him despite his long service.