Chapter 29 : Search

Red hair and red eyes.

Pale white skin and an expression hardened with indifference.

In terms of beauty, she was striking enough to make people turn their heads in the street—but if they knew who she was, they wouldn’t dare.

‘…More likely, they’d lower their gaze and avoid making eye contact.’

Karl, who had been dispatched from the Magic Tower, could do nothing but swallow dryly as he stood before her, looking up into her cold eyes.

And with good reason—it was her, Ophelia.

Ophelia was famous not only for her achievements and talents at a young age, but even more so for her fiery temper, which matched her red hair and eyes.

The moment something displeased her, the moment someone provoked her temper—she wouldn’t hold back.

One of the more well-known stories was of her wiping an entire small nation off the map.

And as for the ones in the Magic Tower who dared pick a fight with her? Rumor has it they’re still missing to this day.

That’s why among mages, there’s even a saying: “You might mess with the Tower Master, but never mess with Ophelia.”

And yet, Karl had to speak to her.

It was the Tower Master’s command.

“…Say that one more time.”

At Ophelia’s chilling voice, Karl swallowed again, forcing himself to speak calmly.

“Lady Ophelia, the Tower Master orders you to come to the Magic Tower immediately.”

“…An order, huh.”

Ophelia murmured with a cold smile at Karl’s words.

The only reason she even followed the Tower Master’s commands was because he had once helped her in a significant way.

A sense of belonging to the Tower? Pride in being part of it? She had none of that.

If anything, if she had focused solely on honing her magic, she might have taken the Tower Master’s position herself by now.

And yet, the current Tower Master was giving her an order.

There was no way Ophelia didn’t know why those old fools were calling her back to the Tower.

‘It’s because of Luen, isn’t it.’

This, too, was expected.

From the moment Luen entered the academy, his power was bound to be exposed to the world.

And the fact that his power was Spirit Magic—well, even if they tried to hide it, it couldn’t be concealed.

‘Not that they’d want to hide it anyway.’

In any case, the moment it became clear his power was Spirit Magic, she knew those old geezers at the

Tower wouldn’t just leave him alone.

“The Tower Master gave me an order, did he.”

“…Y-yes.”

“Told me to come to the Tower… gave me an order.”

Heh.

No matter how she looked at it, it was laughable.

Sure, people say those who forget favors are no better than beasts—but trying to chain her down just because of that one act of kindness? The Tower Master was overstepping.

“Then go back and tell him—”

If he truly believed he had placed a leash on her, he was gravely mistaken.

“Screw that.”

Yes, it was true that the Tower Master had helped her during that incident.

But even then, it was only because it was obvious they would get caught up in it too—he had reluctantly lent a hand.

And even without that, no nation could hold Ophelia accountable for anything.

That’s the kind of being a Grand Mage was.

The only reason she had listened to him at all was because she didn’t want to get entangled in annoying matters.

But now, thinking he could leash her and even go so far as to command her?

She had no intention of tolerating it any longer.

Fwoosh—

Flames, crimson and blazing, began to surge and ripple around Ophelia’s body.

“If you’ve got a problem, come at me.”

Lately—or more accurately, for the past three years—

Ophelia had been doing her utmost to be patient, acting as both mentor and guardian to Luen.

She wanted to be a respectable figure as his teacher, and she didn’t want to fall short compared to Luen’s mother, Luana.

Because of that pressure, Ophelia had kept her temper in check—no cursing, no tantrums.

Well, she did get annoyed when her furnace fire went out in the middle of the night, but still.

Even then, that was her holding back more than most could imagine.

But now.

With Luen not around—

She had no reason to restrain herself toward the Tower Master, who dared provoke her.

And she knew perfectly well that the only reason they were targeting her was to get at Luen.

There was no way she would let this go.

With a bright, toothy smile, Ophelia showed her gleaming white teeth, and Karl instinctively took a few steps back, nodding rapidly.

“C-Can I take that as your answer?”

“…Don’t make me repeat myself.”

“U-Understood. I’ll deliver it as such.”

“Good. Make sure you pass on every single word—exactly as I said it.”

If you don’t wanna die.

At her raw, unfiltered wording, Karl could do nothing but nod.

And even then, he felt secretly relieved—

That she hadn’t turned him into ashes.

That her rage wasn’t directed at him.

One of the main reasons I’ve been able to use my powers freely was, of course, Ophelia.

By writing me a recommendation, Ophelia had made herself Luen Phil Kalbrandt’s sole guardian.

And since Luen Phil Kalbrandt had enrolled and was currently inside the Academy, no one could directly interfere with him.

Which meant the only person they could touch was Ophelia.

But Ophelia wasn’t just anyone.

She was The Grand Mage, Ophelia.

Even in the Tower, messing with her carelessly meant facing her fiery—no, let’s be honest, her explosively temperamental nature.

That’s why I could feel a bit at ease while using my strength.

‘…I guess they’ll be making their move soon.’

No matter how high up someone was—even the Academy’s Director—they couldn’t just lay a hand on a student without a valid reason.

If they did, they’d face serious backlash.

Until Ophelia contacts me, I should be safe.

That didn’t mean I wasn’t worried about Ophelia.

Her personal power was overwhelming—but politically, she had no one to rely on.

That, too, was something that would be resolved soon enough.

Still, I had warned her multiple times to be careful until then…

‘She’s never going to listen.’

She probably let my words go in one ear and out the other.

Ophelia had always been like that.

“…Busy again, huh.”

Early in the morning, after putting on my academy uniform, I sighed quietly and mumbled to myself.

It was only the third day since I’d enrolled at the Academy, yet I already felt like I was running non-stop.

Part of me wondered if I could live a little more leisurely—but if I wanted to achieve my goal, I couldn’t afford to rest even for a moment.

I pulled myself together, tightened my tie, and beside me, Nia looked up and spoke.

“You’re always leaving me behind.”

“…We went out together yesterday.”

“Yesterday didn’t count.”

I gave a small, awkward smile as I patted Nia’s head while she pouted.

She had seemed happy when we first went out, but at some point, her mood had soured.

I didn’t know what had happened, and I doubted she’d answer even if I asked, so I stayed silent.

“Where are you going today?”

As I continued to pat her head, Nia purred contentedly like a cat, her emerald eyes gleaming.

“…I have to meet someone.”

Though Nia could somewhat read my thoughts, she didn’t always use that ability.

She once said that finding things out naturally felt better than reading them.

Honestly, I never quite understood how her mind worked.

Anyway, I answered quietly and let out a long breath.

“Who?”

“That’s something I need to find out.”

The spies within the Academy sending information to Calcento.

And the students who were receiving support from Calcento and the noble territories.

I hadn’t been able to identify them all, and at first, I’d planned to let it slide.

But now, I’d changed my mind.

I was going to track down every single one of them.

Honestly, I could have done that from the start.

After all, I had spirits.

Even excluding the high-ranking spirits I had contracts with, the surrounding elemental spirits always listened when I asked for help.

Even now, information from all over the Academy, gathered by the spirits, was flowing into my mind.

“Want to come with me?”

“Sure.”

I gave a slight smile and nodded.

Because I was thinking of Calcento.

That creeping feeling—like your throat slowly being squeezed shut.

And the despair that came when you finally realized what was happening.

That helplessness I felt three years ago…

I was going to return it to him, exactly as it was.