Ch.40The Mage Millia (6)

# Mage Millia (6)

At the moment Esmeralda left to hunt down the fleeing Eirene.

The being who had been outside everyone’s consciousness finally began to move.

“Lady Millia. Happy birthday.”

The demon spy, Lug.

Why did he, who had been acting as if he knew nothing but shoveling food, only show himself now when everyone else had disappeared?

“Yes, Lug. Thank you. But are you enjoying the party properly?”

“Yes, thanks to you I’ve been able to taste all sorts of delicacies I’d never normally get to try. I’m grateful for this opportunity.”

“I’m glad you feel that way.”

Lug greeted Millia with visibly elegant manners.

Those who didn’t know Lug might mistake him for a nobleman rather than a porter.

That’s how natural he appeared.

As if he had been born that way.

“Ah, but I think I’ve eaten too much and would like to get some fresh air for exercise. Could you possibly show me the way out of the tower?”

“Really? Alright. I wanted to talk more, but health comes first. We can talk later anyway.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“Yes, follow me. I’ll guide you.”

Millia began walking ahead with an expressionless face.

That’s why Lug, following behind, couldn’t tell.

What expression she was making right now.

“Finally, we’re alone.”

Millia was smiling more brightly than ever before.

However…

Her eyes were more lifeless than ever.

***

Despite the party’s guest of honor leaving, the surrounding mages seemed unbothered.

That’s what Millia meant to them.

The tower’s pride. But never someone they could consider close.

Yes, like an actor in a famous theater troupe.

Everyone thinks they’re amazing, but in reality, no one really knows them.

That’s why Millia was always on the outside, even within the tower.

Lug, walking behind such a Millia, suddenly thought:

‘Could Millia be angry?’

That the expressionless Millia actually seemed to be angry.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t tell who the target was…

“Lady Millia.”

“Yes.”

“I think it might be alright for you to express yourself outwardly a bit.”

“…”

Millia stopped walking.

The two had already left the tower. In a space utterly cold, beyond even the range of magic that had kept the surroundings warm.

She turned around and looked at Lug with her usual expressionless face.

“Express myself outwardly?”

“Ah, yes.”

But to Lug, that expressionless face somehow seemed cold.

And as if to confirm that was true…

“Then Lug, may I ask you something?”

“Yes, Lady Millia. Is there something you’re curious about?”

Millia, with a cold voice, an eerie gaze, and resolute gestures:

“You’re planning to run away now, aren’t you?”

“…”

She warned Lug.

“Don’t, Lug. Don’t run away.”

Her mana interfered with the world as she deployed her magic.

Her new technique, which she had shown to Lug not long ago.

The amorphous, slimy liquid gathered and writhed, blooming like a flower.

The slimy black liquid that bloomed like a flower. And not stopping there, it expanded further and writhed.

Yes, that slimy black liquid was writhing like tentacles.

“Or die.”

Only then did Lug realize.

This was no coincidence.

She had known he was planning to escape from the moment he made the excuse about wanting fresh air.

“I will kill you.”

And that everything she was saying now was completely serious.

***

It was around the time when Esmeralda, Lug, and Eirene were changing into borrowed formal attire for the party at the tower.

Meanwhile, Millia, the star of the party, was talking with Glisha, who had thrown the birthday party for her.

Like a parent and child.

Glisha was one of the more decent tower masters in terms of personality.

Yes, that’s why she tried to have personal conversations.

“Your friends are quite unique.”

“Yes, they all have their own personalities.”

Millia answered Glisha’s question with a perfunctory response.

Glisha nodded even at such a half-hearted answer.

Their conversations were like this.

Because Millia had spent too many years with her emotions faded away.

Because Glisha was used to it, they just repeated these formulaic exchanges. Even knowing she had changed. In the end, the relationship between the two remained unchanged.

This is Glacies Tower.

A place that studies water, freezing, and stasis.

That “stasis” also included not abandoning one’s humanity.

The fact that Glisha was consciously regulating this already made it clear that she too was quite mad.

But she genuinely worried about Millia.

“They’re unique, but I wouldn’t say they’re good friends.”

That’s why she could speak words that might anger Millia without hesitation.

Millia is a wise child.

So if she speaks this directly, she’ll understand.

“They’re all lying. Did you know?”

That’s why Glisha felt no need to hide her true feelings or speak indirectly out of consideration for Millia.

The Millia she knew was a genius who understood immediately without questioning what she was taught.

“The hero is busy watching others’ reactions, and the saintess is busy looking after her own interests. Even that mere porter lives hiding his true self.”

Yes, she too was ultimately a mage approaching transcendence. A dogmatic researcher.

Though she claimed it was for Millia’s sake, that was merely an outsider’s perspective.

That’s why she didn’t know.

That this could touch Millia’s sore spot.

“I don’t understand why you keep a demon as a slave, but there’s nothing good about keeping such incompetent trash close to you.”

“Lug is…!”

That Millia could get angry too.

She stopped mid-sentence as if surprised at herself.

But she wasn’t the only one surprised. At this clear expression of emotion unlike her usual self, Glisha’s eyes widened. This wasn’t her usual act. It wasn’t the facade she put on to live among people. Millia was angry.

She couldn’t contain her emotions after hearing insulting remarks about her friend.

More clearly than ever before.

“…Lug is a good friend.”

“You’ve changed… More than I thought, no, that’s not what’s important. Was it because of him?”

Millia’s growth isn’t bad.

But if the cause is a demon, it’s absolutely unacceptable.

Millia belatedly realized her mistake and bowed her head, but Glisha pressed on as if she didn’t care about such things.

For a mage, emotions can be good fuel for growth.

Of course, after reaching a certain level, they become more of a hindrance and are gradually eliminated.

At Millia’s current level, they could still be good medicine.

But it was worrying.

“…But that creature is a demon.”

Because of who the other party was.

The current situation is extremely unstable.

Leviathan, the Demon Lord who had stood firm for decades, was killed, and a new Demon Lord, Belphegor, ascended.

The Celestial Temple, so ancient that its precise history was difficult to estimate, lost its god and collapsed.

The dragon race, which had always claimed to be mediators, began to rampage like madmen, hostile to both humans and demons.

In such a situation, deep interaction with demons wasn’t a good idea.

Glisha advised Millia with a more cautious attitude.

“It’s better not to get too attached to slaves or test subjects…”

“Lug is not a slave!”

“If not a slave, then even worse! Are you saying a demon is freely roaming in human territory?!”

As Millia’s voice unconsciously rose, Glisha raised hers as well.

Though dogmatic, her concern for Millia was genuine.

Millia is the one who can fulfill the common wish of the seven towers.

How could she stand by and watch such a child be enchanted by a demon of unclear origin and thoughts?

Glisha thought of Millia as a daughter, but in reality, she was treating her like a possession.

Millia knew this wasn’t new, but today it felt particularly sad.

Yes, she had been steadily learning emotions, secretly, even when no one was paying attention.

“Millia…”

Seeing Millia start to shed tears, Glisha was finally able to reflect on herself.

Self-observation is a virtue of mages. That’s why they were good at controlling emotions and could eventually eliminate them completely.

That’s why Glisha, who had tried to approach Millia as a parental figure, was swept away by emotions.

She knew it wasn’t good for a mage, but Glisha didn’t control her emotions. Because it was necessary now.

“Millia, I’m sorry. But demons and humans cannot deeply interact.”

No hybrids are born between demons and humans.

If a child is born between them, it will inevitably be a demon.

The problem isn’t simply that hybrids don’t exist. The problem is that there’s a clear line drawn between the two races.

Demons are different from humans.

Fatally different.

“We find it difficult to live together with them. You know that.”

They are beings who struggle with interaction.

Though the Demon Lord’s army maintained discipline and control through the overwhelming power of the Demon Lord, fundamentally, demons were no different from beasts.

They have no affection.

That’s why they casually name themselves and others.

It means they basically have no need to call others.

Getting close to such beings, falling in love with them, is an extremely painful thing. Because they leave at any time. Because they separate from those they’ve been with their whole lives on a mere whim.

“…”

Even Millia found it difficult to respond to Glisha’s sincere advice.

It was actually a problem she was aware of too.

Lug is kind and communicative, but other demons are not.

Most of them are stupid and selfish.

Only soldiers controlled through powerful force or high-ranking demons possess minimal discipline and emotions.

But Lug, as his name suggests, isn’t a high-ranking demon.

“Then…”

Millia thought about this problem too.

She had to worry about it.

It was an issue she had experienced recently.

Because Lug, who had been with her for 3 years, was now only thinking about running away.

Yes, those 3 years that changed Millia’s life might have been just annoying and something to leave behind for Lug.

It might have been something he didn’t care about.

She thought so.

It was too sad.

Therefore…

“I just need to make sure he can’t think that way, right?”

“Millia, you…”

Millia learned necromancy.

Because it seemed like the only way to completely control Lug.

Just as she had been in the past.

Remove emotions and make him a docile doll.