Tower Master Minerva – 2

‘Though one side already knows it…….’

I had long since realized the true nature of the magic cast on the castle. It wasn’t anyone else, but I heard it directly from the NPC who was the original Minerva.

It was magic that caused no harm to humans and rather helped them. The Lord himself had praised himself, thinking the curse had worked perfectly, but I also knew that the reality was completely different.

However, it was worth hearing why the Emperor had left that bastard to run wild as he pleased.

Even in the game, the Emperor was only described as having simply neglected the former Lord’s arbitrary disbandment of the Silver Dawn Knight Order, with no reason given for his inaction.

Users had to painstakingly gather information and mobilize all their brains to deduce, and even then, it wasn’t 100% certain. So, if I could hear the truth from Minerva’s own lips, I would welcome it with open arms.

“Very well, Minerva-nim. What should I do?”

“For now, just listen to me. What the child needs to help with comes next.”

Minerva picked up a cookie from the table, bit into it with an *odok* sound, and opened her mouth.

“How much do you know about the castle’s magic?”

I quietly swallowed the words “I know everything” that had risen to my throat. It was because I thought there might be differences from the game.

In the game, the Knight Captains’ quarters, which were just ordinary buildings with a training ground, had changed into a large castle, hadn’t they? Other things could have changed too.

“I only know that that human found an ancient curse somewhere, and to torment or kill the Silver Dawn Knight Order, he asked for that curse to be cast on the castle, even giving immense wealth for it.”

“Outwardly, that’s what’s known.”

“……Outwardly, you say?”

“I am the one who used that magic. So, I am the only one who knows the truth, and since I kept my mouth shut, isn’t that natural?”

So far, it was the same.

Minerva’s scarlet tongue peeked out from between her lips, seductively licked the cookie crumbs from her finger, and then went back into her mouth. Her slightly glistening index and middle fingers picked up the next cookie.

“Aurora’s father…… Hmm, perhaps I shouldn’t use that title anymore? The curse that Aurora’s father brought to me was, in fact, not a curse but magic. A very advanced magic that only a powerful few can use.”

*Odok*, the cookie crumbled between her front teeth.

“The child must have realized it too, having lived in that castle and experienced it firsthand, but how convenient is it? As long as you’re careful about things disappearing on their own, you can defy the laws of the world and infinitely increase everything.”

Certainly, it would be convenient.

If the magic were only cast on a specific place instead of the entire castle, it would be an enormous magic that could infinitely supply food or weapons.

To put it extremely, one could put gold in a box and use the magic to create infinite gold. Would magic that restores even mere soup, let alone bread, be unable to create gold?

The fact that Minerva didn’t use the magic for such purposes suggests it’s not omnipotent and has some restrictions, but the detailed circumstances were unknown.

“That’s why I didn’t correct his misunderstanding even more. If it were revealed that the magic wasn’t a curse, the world would surely fall into great chaos. I don’t want that. Don’t you think similarly, child?”

I nodded. It was a fact that could be inferred with just a little thought.

“And one more thing. If his request to cast a curse had been rejected, that fellow would undoubtedly have concocted another wicked scheme, so think of it as simply letting him mistakenly believe his plan succeeded.”

Minerva picked up a few more cookies, gnawed on them *odok-odok*, and then licked her fingers again before continuing to speak.

“Finally, one more thing. Although it’s a very personal reason…… I just didn’t like that fellow.”

‘So there was a difference after all.’

The reason Arcana, Minerva’s original NPC, didn’t bother to correct the former Lord’s misunderstanding was that she had no interest in anything other than magic research.

Whether the former Lord mistakenly thought the magic was a curse or not, and whatever results occurred due to the magic she cast, it was outside Arcana’s interest unless it was related to her research.

But here, she didn’t correct the misunderstanding because she disliked the Lord, and there was a bit more consideration for the Silver Dawn Knight Order mixed in.

‘She’s more human than in the game.’

Arcana had an exceptional talent for annoying people.

“I understand completely. Then, what you said you would tell me next was…….”

“About why Kaikilia spared that bastard? Of course, I’ll tell you.”

The information about the castle’s magic wasn’t significantly different from what I already knew, so there seemed to be no need to hear more.

I carefully changed the subject. It was time to ask what I was truly curious about.

“Outwardly, it’s probably known that Kaikilia, mad with power, killed everyone who had even the slightest potential to threaten her position. And that she spared him because she judged him to be too incompetent to be a threat to the Emperor’s throne.”

“That’s right.”

“As you can guess from the fact that I said it’s the truth, the reality is a little different. Instead, you must also keep secret what you are about to hear.”

“What happens if I can’t do that?”

“Then I just won’t tell you, and that’ll be the end of it. Don’t worry. I have no intention of killing you. What will you do?”

Minerva stared intently at me. Of course, the answer was already decided.

“I will. I will certainly keep it to myself.”

Having come this far, would I really back down? And swearing not to tell others isn’t difficult either.

Hearing my affirmation, Minerva slowly opened her mouth with a very serious expression.

“The real reason is, in fact, because of the demon.”

“Have you been waiting long?”

After a sufficient ‘conversation’, Minerva, having sent Delta back to Aurora’s mansion, teleported somewhere else with an excited heart. It was at the bottom of the throne stairs where Kaikilia was seated.

Kaikilia was still propping her chin with her right arm and resting her other arm on the armrest of the throne, looking down with her legs crossed.

Naturally, the composition made it seem as if Kaikilia was looking down on Minerva, but Minerva didn’t mind at all. Minerva was the one who had watched over Kaikilia since she was a baby.

She could easily laugh off such cute behavior.

“For you, that was a short wait. Now tell me what the result was.”

What Delta didn’t know until the very end.

That was, this meeting was not an independent action by Minerva but at Kaikilia’s instigation.

Of course, normally Minerva wouldn’t have accepted such an order, and Kaikilia wouldn’t have given such an order, but this time was different.

Minerva had already developed considerable curiosity about Delta due to the previous incident, and now, for the sake of just one knight, the Holy Nation’s Inquisitor had personally appeared.

Minerva would never let such an interesting situation pass by. That was why she accepted Kaikilia’s request, which was disguised as an order.

If Delta had chosen the option to ask for every reason for coming here, he would have known this fact, but unfortunately, he couldn’t.

Minerva smiled gently.

“That child, they proposed a trade with me?”

“A trade?”

Kaikilia’s eyebrow raised slightly.

“They asked me various questions about teleportation magic, and then asked me to help them a few times later. Saying they would never regret it.”

“Did you accept?”

“Of course.”

“Since you called it a trade, there must have been something offered as compensation. Minerva, you are not the type to do anything that would result in a loss…… What were you offered that you accepted so easily?”

“The Crystal Scroll, known to have disappeared long ago. The condition was to tell me its location.”

“…….”

This time, even Kaikilia’s expressionless face couldn’t help but show surprise.

The Crystal Scroll was one of the ancient scrolls known to have been lost in the distant past. It was an object so incredibly old that even Minerva perceived it as from a distant past.

Kaikilia also remembered hearing about that scroll. When she was very young, Minerva was the one who taught her before she became Emperor.

The problem was that while records of its existence clearly remained, no one knew the content of the most important magic itself.

Countless mages had made every effort to find the ancient scroll, but as if mocking their efforts, not a single one had been found to date.

Such an item was offered as a condition for the trade.

“What kind of help did they request?”

If Minerva could get her hands on the Crystal Scroll, she was the kind of woman who would accept without hesitation, even if it meant starting a war with the Holy Nation. So, surely, an absurd condition-

“They asked for help acquiring a weapon?”

“……Did you just say, a weapon?”

“You heard correctly. They said they needed to acquire a weapon later and asked for my help with that.”

Kaikilia felt her energy drain away. It was that absurd of a statement.

Help acquire a weapon in exchange for finding the Crystal Scroll? Is that weapon buried in the middle of a boiling volcano or deep in the ocean?

“……Enough. Continue.”

Kaikilia let out a faint sigh and waved her hand in the air. It had been quite a while since she had felt such a ridiculous emotion.

“From what part do you want me to start? From the first meeting? Or just the result?”

“Naturally, from the beginning.”

“Then I suppose I should start by saying that the Popes personally transported that child to the Empire. It was probably the Pope of the Moon.”

Hearing that the Pope was directly involved, Kaikilia’s eyes widened.

“Are you saying that those who haven’t even shown their faces outside for the past few years did that?”

-I clearly warned them not to show interest.

Kaikilia, who had instinctively tightened her grip on the armrest of the throne, only relaxed her hand after hearing the *pajik* sound of the armrest cracking and breaking.

But the armrest was already dented in the shape of her grip. Seeing this, Minerva wiggled her finger, and the cracked part returned to its original state.

“They told me to rest assured that they would never covet what is mine, and yet they went and caused trouble anyway. They truly are untrustworthy bitches.”

Recalling the Inquisitor’s direct visit, anger surged again, and her grip tightened once more. *Wajik*, the armrest, unable to withstand the pressure, shattered into pieces.

Each fragment was as sharp as an awl, but Kaikilia’s palm, the one who had crushed it, was perfectly fine, without a single scratch.

Kaikilia, who was staring blankly at her spotless palm, suddenly muttered to herself.

“Minerva. What are the chances that those bitches, who haven’t even shown their faces outside for the past few years, would personally transport a human they have no interest in to the Empire, even using sacred spells?”

“It seems I don’t need to answer. Doesn’t the child already know the answer?”

Minerva’s hand glowed blue. From the shattered throne, a new armrest sprouted, and the broken fragments gathered into one and then disappeared somewhere. And Minerva, too, vanished without a trace.

Now, she would probably be holed up in the Tower of Magic’s workshop again, conducting all sorts of experiments for a while. Kaikilia completely dismissed her from her thoughts. She was too busy thinking about other things right now.

“Summon Aurora and the Silver Dawn Knight Order to the Imperial Palace.”

Kaikilia, who had given the order while looking at the empty air, quietly rose from her seat. Then, the faint presence she had felt where her gaze was directed vanished like scattering mist.

An eerie light gleamed in her golden pupils.

“I shall personally receive them.”