Ch.42Meeting Place (6)

“Pfft… kuk… Puhahaha!”

The story of how he brazenly attacked the Blood Tower, and all the atrocities he committed in front of me.

And then how he confidently challenged me thinking I was weak, only to be overwhelmingly defeated and become docile.

It didn’t matter anyway since my power was already half-known.

The fact that I easily destroyed the Magic Tower’s protective magic had already become an open secret. Among magicians who knew about the footage taken at that time, the prevailing opinion was that while they weren’t sure how I compared to Eterna, I was at least stronger than most Tower Masters.

People were saying that if I could break through a Magic Tower’s protective magic, I might be comparable to the Red Tower Master who was similarly evaluated to be capable of destroying a tower’s protective magic… From the Red Tower Master’s perspective, he might have thought I was worth challenging.

But that was merely baseless speculation from those who didn’t know the real story.

In reality…

“Please stop…”

Ignius slumped in his chair and muttered.

After finishing the discussion about everything that had just happened, Ignius was left in despair, looking completely burned out.

He looked like he had set himself on fire for some kind of self-immolation.

“Haaah… This is unbelievable… Pfuhehe…”

Even after the story ended, Seria couldn’t stop laughing. She kept shaking her shoulders, glanced at the Red Tower Master for a moment, and then—

“Puhahahahaha!!”

She burst into laughter again.

‘Judging by their behavior, they must know each other…’

From their power struggle when they first met, I thought they didn’t get along, but it seemed they had more of a frenemy relationship.

Though calling them frenemies might be a stretch given Seria’s age… there’s quite an age difference.

But from an outsider’s perspective, it looked like a girl around my age was teasing a man, with me joining in.

Is this what they call a “mesu gaki” or whatever?

‘This is ridiculous…’

Even I find this situation so absurd that I can’t help but laugh.

‘Still, I’m relieved.’

That little elf who was always chattering and clinging to me… honestly, I was worried whether she could make friends after I disappeared.

“You went around bragging about being the strongest, and look at you now, huh?”

“Shut up…”

Seeing this, I think my worries were unnecessary.

“Don’t be too hard on him. He has magical skills worthy of his pride. It’s just that his opponent was me.”

When I made this bold declaration, he raised his head and looked at me.

His expression showed he wanted to fight right away.

“What, are you looking to challenge me again?”

“I can’t stand losing.”

The Red Tower Master glared at me with blazing eyes.

I smirked in response.

Yes, this was the attitude that lived up to his reputation.

“Sorry, but we’re done for today.”

“Then can I come tomorrow?”

“No, just don’t come for the entire month.”

I don’t want to fight again.

You’re terrible at it.

Hearing what essentially amounted to a refusal to fight him again, his face turned red and blue with anger.

“There’s no need to rush. The day will come when we fight again. You know that, don’t you?”

“…Are you talking about the Greatest Magic Tower Tournament?”

“Yes.”

We’ll fight plenty there, so what’s the point of determining who’s stronger here?

It’s a waste of time.

I’m a busy person with a lot to do.

The only reason I’m making time now is because they came as guests and we’re meeting for the first time, so I want to make a good impression. And since we’re both Tower Masters, even if from different towers, I’m just being courteous.

If it had been Eterna who came here instead of them, I would have just ignored her and gone about my business.

“The Greatest Magic Tower Tournament…”

Seria, who had been listening from the side, fell into thought.

It must be an unfamiliar concept for her.

Until now, Magic Towers had maintained complementary relationships with each other.

Although they were busy criticizing each other on the MagicPad, they were essentially in a cooperative relationship.

So it’s not strange that she would react this way to a new initiative that completely breaks this paradigm.

“…”

Ignius, who had been pondering my statement about meeting again at the Greatest Magic Tower Tournament, suddenly widened his eyes as if struck by a good idea and jumped to his feet.

“Yes, that’s it!”

With a reaction suggesting he’d had a brilliant idea, he turned to me with a smirk.

“The Greatest Magic Tower Tournament, you’re participating?”

“Of course. Isn’t it a tournament that every Magic Tower must participate in?”

I nodded as I said this.

It’s a tournament we must participate in by Eterna’s order.

‘I heard it’s going to be a huge tournament that all citizens of the Magical Kingdom can watch.’

It’s essentially a massive tournament broadcast nationwide.

If we don’t prepare properly, we could disappoint not only the magicians of the Magic Tower but also the citizens of the Magical Kingdom.

If we didn’t want to see the image of the Magic Tower literally plummet, it was best to prepare as much as possible.

While our Blood Tower’s image couldn’t fall any lower, that was precisely why we wanted to use this as an opportunity.

If the tournament is broadcast live to all citizens, just showing how amazing Blood Mages are could exponentially increase the number of magicians entering the Blood Tower!

It’s a win-win method to elevate the Blood Tower’s status and increase the number of magicians who will join us.

They’re also giving prize money to the winner of the Greatest Magic Tower Tournament.

There’s nothing but benefits, so of course I should work hard.

Since we can’t fall any lower, we can only go up from here. Whatever happens, it will help us rather than make things worse.

“I will definitely win that tournament.”

Ignius declared with a passionate expression.

Huh, an outright declaration of victory.

He must really look down on our Blood Tower.

I also grinned and wiggled my finger.

“Go ahead and try if you want. The Blood Tower under my rule will never back down.”

In response to my provocation, Ignius clenched his fist, got up from his seat, and left the room.

“He’s leaving without saying goodbye, that guy.”

Seria clicked her tongue, but I didn’t mind.

I heard he acts like a madman except in front of Lady Eterna, but he was well-behaved in front of me too, which I found amusing enough.

“Well then now…”

I turned my head toward Seria.

Until now, we couldn’t have a proper conversation because Ignius was here, but now that he’s gone, we can discuss what I want to talk about.

“It’s about time we get to the main point.”

“As expected… you know why I came here.”

I nodded at Seria’s words.

Of course I couldn’t not know.

Rather, I was wondering why she came so late.

“Did something happen? You came much later than I expected.”

It’s been more than a month since I claimed to be Count Vladimir’s successor.

If she was going to come, she should have come earlier, but the fact that she only arrived now, a month and a week later, can only be explained by her being busy with matters at the Green Tower.

My guess seemed correct as Seria sighed and nodded.

“Our side has some serious generational conflicts. Dealing with the old folks in the Council of Elders isn’t easy. I don’t understand why they had such strong objections to me just visiting the Blood Tower… I was only able to come out this time by using the change in top management as an excuse to force my way out.”

Seria pouted as she spoke, seeming full of complaints.

The Green Tower seems tougher than I thought.

Well, thinking about it, if most members are elves, it’s natural that it would become an ultra-aged tower.

Hmm, generational conflict is something humanity hasn’t been able to solve for ages, so it probably won’t be solved in our lifetime either.

However, since there was tremendous dissatisfaction among high-level and top-level magicians about the change in top management, using this as an excuse would likely get permission.

Those are some formidable old folks.

“Haah…”

She had thought she wanted to become a Tower Master after defeating the Demon King, but now that she actually became one, she complained that it was completely different from what she had imagined.

Judging by her grimacing expression as she muttered, the Green Tower must be having a lot of difficulties too.

‘Still, I doubt it’s as bad as our Blood Tower.’

We have it the hardest.

Thinking that to myself, I opened my mouth.

“So, where should we start our conversation?”

Where should I start to elicit an interesting reaction?

I pondered internally as I carefully began to speak.