episode_0089

Fortunately, the situation quickly settled down. The mages who had come out of their labs upon hearing the commotion soon realized it was nothing serious and returned to their places.

But Celine’s crumpled face showed no sign of returning to normal. She growled with an expression that looked like she wanted to stab someone to death.

“Tradition or whatever. There’s nothing between me and her.”

“…Maybe right now.”

“What?!”

“Ugh, never mind. Anyway, you just have a loud voice. Tsk.”

The 8th Circle Archmage, Ermina, said that and sharply turned her head away. Then, the woman with a gentle expression sitting beside her let out a wry smile.

“Ermina. Don’t be like that. I know you care about Celine, but being so prickly makes things worse.”

“Ha. Who am I caring about?”

“Sigh. Where did the friend who tried to keep Celine from living for revenge go?”

She was a woman with impressive flowing blonde hair and gem-like eyes.

The various constellations embroidered on her pure white robe symbolized her identity. Ashel sat next to Celine and assessed her level.

‘An Archmage. And a high-level one at that.’

The reason he hadn’t felt the unique aura of an Archmage from Ermina was because she was completely hiding her presence.

If Ashel had focused, he would have seen through it immediately, but since there was no particular reason to, he just casually overlooked it.

On the other hand, the mage sitting next to Ermina wasn’t hiding her presence at all. Rather, she was openly displaying it. Because of that, a pure magic, strong enough to make the air tingle, dominated the space.

Was it to assert her authority?

No, no. Ashel quickly realized why she was projecting her magic outwards.

‘All the stars existing in the Magic Tower are being controlled by her magic. Their luminescence, rotation, orbit, resonance, everything. It’s all being done by her hand.’

The conclusion reached after tracing the magic backwards. Ashel let out a silent chuckle and looked at the massive sun floating in the air.

The central lobby of the Magic Tower. A vast space where the walls were entirely made of bookshelves, reminiscent of a library. Similar to a hotel lobby, sofas were placed throughout, an open area where mages freely searched for books or chatted.

Above that.

High above, a bright yellow sun hung, rotating and brightly illuminating its surroundings. Around it, several planets orbited.

A small planetary system created by human hands.

It was a miracle brought about by the hand of a single Archmage. Ashel’s face became quite serious as he looked at her.

‘If I fought, losing is guaranteed. In that case… how far could I go?’

“Disciple of the Great Opening.”

The moment he thought that, she turned her head towards Ashel. Ashel flinched his shoulder and replied.

“Yes, yes.”

“You seem quite competitive. To immediately calculate a battle estimate with a mage you’ve just met. Are all Lightning Mages like that, I wonder? Lady Ena was similar.”

“…I apologize. I was rude.”

“Hmm? Ah… Hehehe. I wasn’t being sarcastic, really. Just pure curiosity. When I met Lady Ena long ago, she also asked me if I wanted to spar sometime.”

Like teacher, like student.

Adding that, she leaned her upper body slightly forward.

“My name is Angelica Edelina. I am also Celine’s teacher.”

“Ugh, Teacher.”

“Yes, my disciple.”

Ashel ignored Celine clinging to Angelica and nodded.

“I am Ashel, a 6th Circle Lightning Mage belonging to the Witch’s Assembly. It is an honor to meet you.”

“6th Circle? That’s one circle higher than Celine. Celine is also called a genius here at our Magic Tower…”

Angelica said in a surprised tone.

Celine buried her face in Angelica’s ample chest and mumbled.

“That bastard isn’t a genius. He’s a monster. I heard he hasn’t even been learning magic for 10 years.”

“Oh my, really?”

“Listen, let me tell you just how crazy that guy is…”

Soon after, Celine began rattling off information about Ashel on his behalf.

Starting from multi-attribute, then unique magic, magic control, sensitivity, etc. Praise mixed with curses flowed from between Celine’s lips.

The person hearing it actually felt more self-conscious. Ashel unnecessarily cleared his throat and sipped his tea. While he was doing that, Ermina, who also had no one to talk to, spoke to him.

“You said your name was Ashel.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Seeing as you didn’t introduce your surname, you don’t seem to be a noble. Ah, I’m not trying to insult you. Just stating a fact. Celine herself was born in a brothel, after all…”

Ermina chuckled and made a playful expression.

“Personally, I’m curious about your opinion.”

“…? What opinion are you referring to?”

“Marriage, that is, marriage. Being united with Celine. What do you think?”

“…”

Ashel didn’t answer immediately and casually glanced sideways at Celine, who was nestled in Angelica’s embrace.

Seeing that she had no reaction, it seemed she was focused on her conversation with Angelica. But he noticed that one part of Angelica’s consciousness was slightly directed this way.

She had divided her thought process while talking with Celine. It was truly something an Archmage would do.

Ashel chose his words for a moment, then opened his mouth with a quite serious expression.

“Celine is a good woman. Although she’s quite playful, that’s limited only to people she’s close to. She’s quite cold to people she’s not acquainted with.”

“Mm.”

“It could be a drawback, but I don’t feel that way. Rather, I like the feeling that she focuses only on me. I also like her unique playfulness.”

“…”

“If I were to marry her… I think I could live quite happily. A wife like a friend. A smile she only shows to me. Just thinking about things like that makes me smile unconsciously.”

Honestly, he had never thought that. Ashel’s current remarks were entirely spontaneous.

Isn’t that obvious? Who thinks about what it would be like to marry their friend normally?

Of course, he wasn’t completely making things up. He had quickly analyzed Celine in his mind and presented an objective evaluation in a plausible manner.

No matter how playfully Ermina asked, if his answer was also light, his first impression would obviously be ruined. He also had to discuss sparring later, so he needed to avoid ruining his impression beforehand as much as possible.

Therefore, answering as seriously and thoughtfully as possible was the right thing to do. At least, Ashel thought so.

“Celine’s talent is great. She will certainly become an Archmage someday. I know this because I also dream of reaching the same level. She will definitely become a remarkable person.”

“…”

“And, in order to be by her side, I must also become a remarkable person. However, I am still lacking. I haven’t reached a level I’m satisfied with. So, I would like to avoid being united with her right now. An engagement, perhaps, is another matter… Haha, anyway, isn’t Celine’s opinion important too? It seems there’s no point in me just talking to myself.”

Ashel scratched his cheek, feigning an awkward expression.

And silence fell.

Even Ermina, who had been listening intently.

Even Angelica, who had been dividing her cognitive abilities.

Even Celine, who had been chattering loudly.

All of them were staring at Ashel with their mouths tightly shut. The moment Ashel felt those gazes and became flustered.

“You.”

Ermina moved her hands like lightning and firmly grasped both of Ashel’s hands. Then, with sparkling eyes, she said.

“You absolutely must marry our Celine. Honestly, everything just now was a joke. To begin with, hardly any Magic Towers nowadays bring up traditions. Would a progressive place like the Aurora Magic Tower be bound by tradition? It was all just me joking to provoke her. But this time, it’s not.”

“…Just a moment.”

“You. You absolutely must marry Celine. You’re the only one who can live with a scatterbrain like that. This is a forced sale. You can’t avoid it.”

“No…”

Ashel avoided Ermina’s burdensome gaze and looked at Angelica as if asking for help.

But Angelica was also teary-eyed and covering her mouth with her hand.

“Ah, it’s so romantic. So romantic…”

“Please, just listen to me firstㅡ”

“No, it’s fine. I’ve fully grasped the depth of affection you have for Celine.”

What kind of nonsense is this now?

“You said an engagement is okay, right? I’ll persuade Celine as much as possible, so think about the ring beforehand. We’ll have a grand engagement ceremony.”

Angelica waved her hand, giving Ashel no chance to speak.

“I’ll send a letter to Lady Ena beforehand. Don’t worry.”

“Huh?!”

Ashel was appalled.

He could somehow explain away their misunderstanding or forced sale. But that was impossible! He must not let her send a letter to Ena! If he didn’t want to see the Magic Tower disintegrate into thin air, he absolutely had to stop it!

But Ashel’s desperate struggle didn’t reach the Archmage.

“I’ve sent it. I sent a telepathic message to the dedicated postman residing in the Magic Tower, so the letter will probably arrive within a month.”

“Ah, ah…”

“Oh my. So happy you can’t close your mouth? Ahahaha.”

Ashel’s soul left his body. He turned his head towards Celine with an expression full of despair. It was a plea for her to help him, at least.

“…”!

But the moment Celine’s eyes met Ashel’s, she blushed and sharply turned her head away.

His last hope was beautifully shattered.

“Ah…”

Ashel slumped onto the sofa and stared blankly into the air.

I’m screwed.