The Master of the White Magic Tower

Magic Tower.

There are five magic towers in this continent.

The Red Magic Tower, the Blue Magic Tower, the Green Magic Tower, the Black Magic Tower.

And finally, the White Magic Tower.

Magic towers boasting a tremendous history of up to a thousand years.

Among them, the relatively less ancient tower is the White Magic Tower, which is about 400 years old.

But the White Magic Tower was really famous among magic towers.

First, the White Magic Tower mostly accepted only women.

Because of this, among noble daughters who had problems or difficulty deciding their path, those with magical talent often went to the White Magic Tower.

And the White Magic Tower possessed incredibly strong power.

The magicians produced from this place were all equipped with tremendous skills, and if a new magical tool or magic was invented, it was often assumed to be from the White Tower in eight or nine cases out of ten.

And one of the biggest reasons lay in the fact that no one knew the identity of the tower master.

The master of the White Magic Tower always dispatched only representatives to the outside without revealing themselves.

So all kinds of rumors circulated.

That the tower master was a non-existent figure, or a criminal from somewhere.

Or a monster living through eternal years.

“Halt, who are you?”

The northern part of the continent, the White Magic Tower.

The two armed magicians guarding its entrance looked at the visitor who had come through the snow.

“I want to meet the tower master.”

A beautiful voice was heard from under the hood.

The magicians on guard looked at each other for a moment, then slightly bowed their heads toward the figure presumed to be a visitor.

“Did you make an appointment in advance?”

“Appointment? No, I didn’t do anything like that.”

“I’m sorry, but it’s difficult to meet the tower master without a prior appointment.”

“Hmm… then…”

A blonde woman who took off her hood, revealing long ears, said,

“Tell her that Lilu of the Arma clan, her old friend, has come to visit.”

Inside the White Magic Tower.

A middle-aged woman was rushing around shouting.

“Tower Master! Where are you! Tower Master!!”

Her name was Elise Alrion.

She is a high-ranking magician who currently holds the position right below the tower master in the White Magic Tower.

Since the tower master is in a situation where she cannot go outside due to circumstances, it’s not an exaggeration to say that Elise handles the external affairs of the tower master.

In reality, she is virtually the tower master, but she always humbly says that she cannot compare to the tower master.

“Where did this person suddenly disappear to again?”

While she was grumbling, a young woman ran from the other side.

“Master! Have you found the Tower Master?”

“No, she’s nowhere to be seen. Really, during such a busy time…”

The woman who called Elise her master brushed back her blue hair and wiped away a bit of sweat.

Since morning, she had been quite exhausted from running around looking for the missing tower master.

“Phew… let’s take a little rest.”

“Yes, Master.”

The woman, who was gathering her tired body, welcomed her master’s words and guided her to a nearby bench.

“By the way, what kind of person is the Tower Master? You said I would know immediately when I see her, but…”

“Hmm, come to think of it, how long has it been since you entered the tower?”

“A little over a year, I think.”

At her disciple’s words, the magician Elise became lost in thought, but quickly changed her expression and said,

“Yes, it’s about time for you to formally greet the Tower Master too, so let’s consider this fortunate.”

“What?”

“Actually, the master of our White Magic Tower…”

“Um… Master? What is that?”

Just as Elise was about to say something, her disciple spoke up.

Following her disciple’s pointing finger, when Elise turned her head, something caught her eye.

Something whitish, slightly protruding from the ceiling.

That translucent and whitish thing seemed alive as it subtly twitched.

“Well, how timely of you to appear.”

Elise sighed, saying that.

“Tower Master, I can see you hiding, please come out.”

“What?”

Does she mean that white, translucent thing is the tower master?

As the disciple was staring at it blankly, it protruded further from the ceiling and descended.

Seeing it, the disciple could understand what her master’s words meant.

And at the same time, the meaning of the saying that the tower master had not changed for 400 years.

“H-how did you know?”

“Your robe’s hem was sticking out, Tower Master.”

“I guess this robe has too long a hem after all. I can’t change clothes either.”

The tower master’s appearance, emerging from the ceiling, was clearly revealed.

The tower master, appearing as a young woman with long black hair.

She might be in her mid to late twenties, wearing a robe with long hems, and a large hat on her head.

But if there’s something peculiar, it’s that her entire body is very faint and translucent.

Yes, like a…

“G-ghost?!”

“Aha, that’s always the reaction from those who see me for the first time.”

The tower master nodded with a smile as if she had expected the disciple’s words.

“I’m not a ghost, honestly, I’m a more ambiguous existence, you could say.”

“Wh-what does that…?”

As the disciple was failing to understand the tower master’s words, the sound of someone running down the corridor was heard.

“Tower Master! Were you here?!”

The magician who came running was sweating profusely.

In the overall cool White Magic Tower, to sweat that much, one can roughly guess how frantically she must have been running.

“Magician Samantha. What’s the sudden matter?”

The one who questioned the arriving magician, Samantha, was none other than Elise.

“Ah, Lady Elise. Well… a visitor has come for the Tower Master.”

“For the Tower Master…?”

Elise looked at the tower master standing behind her.

The tower master merely tilted her head as if she didn’t know either.

“W-well, the visitor said she was an old friend of the Tower Master…”

“For me? But I haven’t left the tower once in hundreds of years? I can’t leave…”

At the tower master’s words, Samantha nodded and said,

“Yes… well, the visitor was an elf. She said you would know if she mentioned Lilu of the Arma clan…”

“Bring her in immediately.”

As soon as that name came out of Samantha’s mouth, the tower master’s demeanor changed.

Those translucent eyes were filled with longing.

The reception room of the White Magic Tower.

The elf, Lilu, who had been wearing thick clothes and a robe, sat on the sofa with her hood removed, looking at the being in front of her.

The master of the White Magic Tower is often referred to as the tower master rather than by name, even within the tower.

This is because the tower master herself refuses to be called by her name.

But Lilu didn’t particularly care about such circumstances.

“It’s been a long time, Cheini.”

“Ah… well, I guess it’s fine if it’s you, Lilu. It’s really been a long time.”

“Yes, I heard about your story, but I had to fulfill the guardian role I inherited from my mother.”

“So that means your role has ended now?”

The tower master, Cheini, smiled.

She was truly happy not only because a long-time acquaintance who knew her past had visited, but also because that acquaintance had called her by name.

Though whether she should be called by that name is a bit ambiguous.

“Yes. More importantly, there’s a problem.”

“Hmm? Well… let me hear the details.”

“Before that, just a moment…”

Saying that, as Lilu looked at Elise and her disciple, as well as the magician Samantha who were waiting in the reception room, the tower master gestured to Elise.

Understanding the meaning of that gesture, Elise took her disciple and Samantha and left the room.

And after a moment, Lilu spoke.

“The World Tree Yggdrasil has passed away.”

“What?”

“It’s been more than ten years since he passed away, they say.”

At those words, Tower Master Cheini’s mouth fell open.

Looking into Lilu’s eyes and confirming it wasn’t a lie, Cheini said,

“What are you saying? What was Bellia doing while this happened?”

“Bellia is the culprit who made Lord Yggdrasil that way.”

“Well…”

Saint Bellia, who served the World Tree Yggdrasil even after becoming a spirit, existing only as a soul after death.

Tower Master Cheini couldn’t close her gaping mouth at the fact that such a Bellia had caused Yggdrasil’s death.

“I didn’t know… how on earth did such a thing…”

“It couldn’t be helped. Cheini can’t leave this tower.”

The tower master, Cheini, cannot leave this White Magic Tower.

She is a being formed by thoughts and vast magical power combined within the environment of this White Magic Tower.

Therefore, she can exist eternally as long as the tower exists, but she cannot leave the tower.

So unless someone tells her, it’s difficult for her to know about circumstances outside the tower.

Moreover, Saint Bellia was using the power stolen from Yggdrasil to perform the magical circulation that Yggdrasil used to do.

It’s true that it would be difficult for Tower Master Cheini to know.

“But Lord Yggdrasil created a new World Tree before passing away.”

“A new World Tree?”

“Currently, they are in the Palaginya Kingdom. They’re only about a year old since birth, so they don’t possess strong power yet…”

At those words, Tower Master Cheini looked slightly relieved.

If a new World Tree is born, grows, and cultivates power to replace Yggdrasil, at least the major crisis can be avoided.

“But we don’t know what Bellia might do. So I came to get some insurance.”

“Hmm… but I can’t leave this tower. It seems difficult for me to help directly.”

Then, Lilu took something out from her bosom.

A pendant with a small magic stone embedded in it.

Although the pendant was already broken and the magic stone had lost its magical power and luster, Tower Master Cheini recognized it.

“This…”

“You remember, right? This is a pendant you made, Cheini.”

Looking at the pendant, worn out to the point where its string was broken, Tower Master Cheini gazed at it as if nostalgic.

“I want to fix this pendant and use it for the new World Tree.”

“But can this pendant be of much help?”

“It was something you made, and if you repair it anew, it would naturally be of great help. After all, you are the witch Cheini, one of the heroes who defeated the Demon King.”

“Strictly speaking, I’m not the real Cheini, just mere residual thoughts.”

Among the heroes who defeated the Demon King, the beast warrior Leos and the witch Cheini disappeared as time passed.

The tower master Cheini here is a being with self-awareness, formed by the residual thoughts of the disappeared witch Cheini combined with vast magical power.

That’s why she didn’t particularly like being called by her name.

“It’s okay. From talking with you today, I know you are the Cheini I know.”

“That’s… a very kind thing to say.”

Cheini used her magic to float the pendant and bring it close to her.

Looking at the pendant, Cheini nodded and said,

“One week, just one week. Wait for me. I’ll show you a perfect repair.”

“Excuse me, Master?”

“What is it?”

In Elise’s research room, her disciple, who was helping Elise, was preoccupied with thoughts about the visitor and the tower master from earlier.

“Earlier, the visitor called the Tower Master ‘Cheini’, right? Could that be…”

“You’ve figured it out. That’s right. The master of our White Magic Tower is indeed that witch Cheini.”

At those words, the disciple let out an exclamation.

The Demon King’s invasion 400 years ago, and the five heroes who defeated that Demon King.

Their story was very famous in the Palaginya Kingdom, the disciple’s homeland.

Above all, how could one not know when the founder of that Palaginya Kingdom was one of those heroes?

“Then, has the deceased witch become a spirit or something?”

“That’s a bit different. The Tower Master always says she is just a thought entity.”

“A thought entity?”

“Yes, that’s why even though she possesses vast power, she cannot leave this tower.”

At those words, the disciple nodded.

She already knew that her master Elise was busy going here and there as the tower master’s proxy.

“Then the fact that the Tower Master’s identity is secret…”

“That’s right. Only people within our White Magic Tower know that the Tower Master is the witch Cheini. It would just cause a commotion if revealed.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, that’s why everyone leaves the tower under a secrecy magic spell.”

While having such a conversation and working, Elise’s work finally came to an end.

The disciple who had helped with it also stretched and loosened her body, and Elise rose from her seat.

“Well, there’s no time to rest. I’ll have to leave the tower again soon, so let’s resume your training.”

“Yes, Master.”

“You’re the type whose skills clearly improve the more you’re taught, so I enjoy teaching you.”

Elise, who was smiling like that, put on a stern expression again and looked straight at her disciple.

“Now, let’s resume training. Are you ready? Liliana.”

“Yes! Let’s start right away.”