Chapter 185

Episode 185

“A-Are you insulting me?”

“It wasn’t an insult, but advice. How could I be rude to someone who came all this way to help? Besides, this staff seems quite valuable.”

Fabian’s sister, her face flushed red, finally snatched her staff back.

“Never mind that! How did you counter my magic? Where did you learn magic? Who are you…?”

Her expression was angry, but her eyes told a different story.

Endless curiosity.

It was a characteristic of the transition from the early to middle stages of tsundere syndrome.

Countless tsundere characters created by various media only entered the middle stage after meeting a character they liked.

They would act aloof and prickly, but occasionally show their softer side.

And as the main story progressed, their tsundere syndrome would reach its final stage.

I had wondered why there hadn’t been any tsundere characters so far. And it turned out to be a mage.

‘Fabian’s sister must be a protagonist-level character in Queen Maker.’

No matter how prestigious the Magic Tower was, they had to be wary of me in the current situation.

Even without the titles of Kalisto’s Plenipotentiary and the Crown Prince’s envoy, I was the one who suffered the most from Muon’s magic experiments.

I could tell from the attitude of Fabian and the other mages.

They could wield powerful forces of nature, but they didn’t threaten me. It was the opposite, actually.

But the fact that this special event occurred meant I had encountered an important character.

‘She must be a character the developers have high hopes for, even among the protagonists.’

The popularity of tsundere characters had always been strong and would continue to be so.

It felt like I had truly been transported into the game. Well, it was impossible to distinguish between a highly advanced virtual reality game and possession.

Then I should make this girl my subordinate too.

‘That way, conquering the demon realm will be easier. She might even be able to help us cross the Veil Sea.’

“I asked where you learned magic!”

“If you want to know about me, you should introduce yourself first. That’s Imperial etiquette.”

At that moment, the door burst open, and Selendis and Freya rushed in.

“My lord, are you alright?”

“I felt the power of nature. What happened?”

Selendis stood protectively in front of me, her hand on the hilt of her sword. Freya was holding Mistilteinn.

“It’s nothing. I was just greeting the mages from the Magic Tower.”

“Is that so?”

I walked past Fabian’s sister and bowed to the mages.

“Greetings once again. I am O’Brien of House Walker. The Empire desperately needs your help. No one wants the authority of the Magic Tower to be damaged by a few unruly individuals. We would appreciate your cooperation in this construction project.”

The mages’ tense expressions relaxed a bit as I showed them the composure of a possessor. Except for Fabian’s sister, of course.

She was a fire magic master, and her face was as red as lava. It wouldn’t have been strange if steam started erupting from somewhere.

I went straight to my office.

I had set up my office here to build relationships with the mages.

Selendis and Freya, worried about me, followed me. But there was an uninvited guest.

“Wait! How did you do it? Explain yourself!”

“That’s rude. This is the Baron’s office.”

“What’s the meaning of this?”

Selendis and Freya blocked her way.

Having three people with strong personalities gathered in one place was giving me a headache. Their reactions were excessive for some reason.

This must be what they meant by “emotions running high.”

“Sir O’Brien countered my magic. Without even chanting. I need an explanation.”

“Selendis, Freya, you may let her in.”

The two stepped aside, and Fabian’s sister strode towards me.

“Explain yourself. I need a convincing explanation.”

“I heard you’re twins with the Chief Mage, but your personalities are completely opposite.”

“Worldly ties disappear once you enter the Magic Tower. Stop changing the subject and answer my question! How did you counter my secret technique?”

It seemed like I had mimicked this mage’s secret technique.

She could become friends with Jericho. A kind of shared victimhood, you could say.

“It’s a bit difficult to explain. You know better than anyone that no mage would easily teach their secret technique. Am I wrong?”

“Ugh…”

She was about to explode. It wouldn’t have been strange if a red dragon was summoned.

“If you’re that curious, learn from me. You might find a clue.”

“What? Are you telling me to become your disciple?”

“I don’t expect you to become my disciple. You can be my comrade. Decide as you wish.”

It wasn’t just Fabian’s sister who was dissatisfied. Selendis and Freya were also frowning.

Was “comrade” too much?

I had taken everyone else in as subordinates, so they might be unhappy.

“I don’t see what I can learn from helping with the construction here. Are there any other conditions?”

“The main construction will begin when the dwarves arrive from Plantier. Once the construction stabilizes, we’ll be leaving for another place.”

“Another place? Where?”

“The Veil Sea.”

Fabian’s sister frowned at those words. But her eyes were filled with curiosity.

The Veil Sea was a dream destination for mages who pursued knowledge. It was a place where extreme natural phenomena occurred in one place.

“That’s not all. There’s a goal beyond that.”

“There’s more?”

I decided to tell her about opening the gate to the demon realm to defeat the Great Demon Diablo after we got closer.

“We’ll cross the Veil Sea and go to a new continent. We have some work to do there. There will be considerable resistance in the process. Experience is important for a combat-oriented mage, so that should be enough. What do you say?”

“…”

“If necessary, I’ll speak to the Crown Prince. We’ll need a long leave of absence.”

Fabian’s sister couldn’t make a decision easily.

“Take your time to think about it. You’ll have to stay here for a while anyway.”

You shouldn’t give a tsundere time to think. It’s better to make them make an emotional decision.

I cast the magic I had learned from Fabian’s sister, without chanting.

*Snap! Snap! Snap!*

Four brilliant projectiles of different attributes started orbiting around me.

All I had to do was give her a meaningful smile, and it was game over. She wouldn’t be able to sleep out of curiosity.

“Ugh… I have no choice. Fine. I’ll follow you as your comrade. But don’t get me wrong. It’s only because I want to know how you countered my secret magic!”

“I see. Alright. I’ll send a letter to the Crown Prince.”

“But let’s set a time limit. If I haven’t mastered your secret technique by the time we return from the new continent, you have to teach me yourself.”

It was an impossible request, even before it was rude. Only I could use the system.

“I heard skilled mages can understand the principles just by watching. It seems I misjudged you.”

“Ugh… How could you say that…!”

“Learn by observing. Well, it would be a different story if you became my disciple.”

That would never happen.

As expected, Fabian’s sister gave up. It seemed like becoming my disciple was worse than death for her.

“If you’re lying to me or anything, I won’t forgive you.”

“Could you at least tell me your name?”

“Ophelia Flameheart. That’s my name.”

*Slam!*

She slammed the door shut and left. She was truly willful until the very end.

‘Flameheart… fire magic specialty for sure.’

When you entered the Magic Tower, you severed ties with the secular world. So they used titles instead of their family names.

I wanted to recruit Fabian into our family as well, but it was too early. I could do that after the construction here was complete.

“My lord, she’s rude. I don’t think she’s suitable to be your comrade.”

“If that’s how she appeared to you, Selendis, then you’re probably right.”

“But why did you accept her as a comrade? There are plenty of mages here.”

Freya also expressed her dissatisfaction frankly. I crossed my arms and stared at them.

My subordinates finally calmed down and bowed their heads.

“Selendis, you know how I’ve recruited my subordinates so far. She seemed like someone with great potential. She’s my comrade now, but I’ll make her work for House Walker someday.”

“Understood, my lord.”

“You don’t have to treat her as a superior just because she’s my comrade. You can keep your distance like you are now. I won’t force you.”

“…”

Judging by their reactions, it didn’t seem like they would become close.

That evening, Jericho returned to the accommodations after finishing his work. He looked completely exhausted.

“Ugh… This is so tiring. I’m going to die before the construction even begins. Mages are such a strange race. How can they be so curious? Don’t they get tired?”

“Look who’s talking. You’re a mage too.”

“Not to that extent. Sigh, anyway, the mana storage development is going well. I’ve laid out the basic ideas. We’ll start the demonstration tomorrow.”

“Any news from Plantier?”

“No. I’m guessing they’ve probably departed by now. They wouldn’t be short on funds to gather the dwarves.”

Jericho suddenly sat up straight, as if he had remembered something.

“Oh, right! I heard Fabian’s sister became your comrade, Inspector? What happened?”

“Who told you that?”

“Fabian mentioned it. He said you chose a difficult path.”

That was actually good. Even if he had severed ties with the secular world, he would still be concerned about his sister.

“I think she has great potential, so I’m planning to bring her into our family. We’ll be crossing the Veil Sea soon. So I accepted her as a comrade for now.”

“You’ve finally made up your mind.”

“You and Selendis are precious to me. I need to lighten your burden. I don’t know what happened to Savion, but I’ll restore to its former master.”

“So you can work him even harder.”

I chuckled. It was Jericho’s way of encouragement.

We needed strong people to liberate Savion. We couldn’t bring an army with us.

“But if you restore Savion, won’t Lady Selendis have to stay there? She has to become queen. What are you going to do?”

“If Selendis wants to stay, I’ll let her.”

“That’s not like you, Inspector. Are you under some kind of charm spell? You should be saying you’ll work her to death.”

“Having a king as a subordinate isn’t bad either, is it?”

“Hahaha! As expected of the Inspector! You play on a different level!”

At that moment, I sensed a presence.

It wasn’t just someone passing by. They had been lingering outside the door while I was talking to Jericho.

I walked towards the door, silencing my footsteps.

Then I flung the door open, and Ophelia, startled, fell on her butt.

“Ugh… You scared me!”

“I didn’t know you had a hobby of eavesdropping.”

“I wasn’t eavesdropping!”

“Then why were you here? For so long?”

“Th-That’s…”

Ophelia blushed and averted her gaze.

It was so typical that I didn’t even need to use Mind’s Eye.