Chapter 52
「[Breaking News!] A monster incident near the Imperial Capital—revealed to be the act of the current Tower Master…
The Imperial Palace has issued an arrest warrant for the current Tower Master, Laciel Celeste, and has vowed to do everything in its power to resolve this incident swiftly…」
Tracia threw down the newspaper she’d been reading onto her desk with a sigh.
When the head of all mages goes astray, it damages the image of the entire profession.
And when public hostility toward mages spreads, it directly affects the sales of the shops and trading companies run by mages.
Of course, magic tools had become essential conveniences in everyday life—and once people got used to such comforts, it was nearly impossible to return to a life without them.
But not all magic tools were necessities. Many were luxury items—costly trinkets people could live without.
And when the demand for those high-end tools dropped, the financial blow was significant.
Thinking about how the public would be swept up in this wave of outrage made Tracia uneasy.
Ever since Laciel had become Tower Master three years ago, rumors about him had circulated nonstop. Still, mere gossip was one thing—being officially branded a traitor to the Empire was another entirely.
“Honestly… a man who’s never done anyone any good.”
She muttered irritably, pressing her fingers against her temple.
At that moment, a knock sounded, followed by her butler’s voice.
“My lady, you have a visitor.”
“I’m not in the mood to meet anyone today. Make up an excuse and send them away.”
Tracia cut him off before he could even say who it was.
The butler gave a brief reply and withdrew.
But only a moment later, another knock came.
“Uh, my lady. The guest insists they’ll wait until you’re free, even if it takes all night.”
Tracia frowned deeply at the persistence.
Who in the world just shows up uninvited and refuses to leave?
She grumbled inwardly but eventually gave in, deciding it would be faster to see whoever it was and send them away quickly.
“Fine. Bring them in.”
A few moments later, the door opened.
Tracia’s brow rose as she saw who stepped into her office.
“…Lady Rohain?”
“Good evening, Viscountess.”
Tracia looked at Elses, who greeted her with a bright smile, and replied with a sullen tone.
“You must think I have nothing better to do—dropping by unannounced like this.”
“Oh? Aren’t we friends? I figured, since I’m friends with your friend, that makes us friends too.”
Elses replied with feigned innocence, her tone light and teasing.
Something about her playful smile made Tracia’s jaw tighten.
She let out a dry laugh.
“Who’s friends with who? I told you, I never liked that girl.”
“Hmm, really? Yet you still made her a bracelet, didn’t you?”
Elses toyed with the transparent bracelet on her wrist, her words laced with knowing amusement.
Tracia pressed her lips together, bristling.
She even talks just like that annoying girl. Unbelievable.
With an awkward cough, she changed the subject.
“Ahem! Anyway, what do you want? I’m not in the mood for visitors today.”
“I’ll get straight to the point. Do you trust the Tower Master?”
The name that had ruined her mood all day made Tracia’s expression twist instinctively.
“No. There are far more trustworthy people than him.”
When she’d first met him, she’d almost been captivated by that striking, otherworldly face of his.
But after working under him for a time, that illusion had vanished completely.
“Then do you really think he’s behind this incident?”
“I don’t know the truth, but… if it’s about opening some kind of dimensional gate or whatever, I can believe it.”
“Why do you think that?”
Elses’s relentless questioning made Tracia realize she’d spoken too freely, and she clamped her mouth shut.
Her suspicion wasn’t based on rumors alone.
Two years ago, when she had just become a mage and worked under Laciel—his obsession had been creating a “gateway to another dimension.”
…Though that project ended in failure.
Still, it wasn’t something she wanted to share.
Whether she liked him or not, revealing such a dangerous secret could ruin lives—including her own.
Experience had taught her that the safest way to survive such matters was to stay uninvolved.
“I just mean… with that man, nothing would surprise me. He’s capable of anything.”
She brushed the question aside vaguely. Fortunately, Elses didn’t seem to notice she was hiding something.
Instead, she asked another question.
“Are you close to the Tower Master?”
“No, not at all. I’d rather erase the time I spent working with him. Does that answer your question?”
“So, whether he ends up in prison or not doesn’t matter to you?”
“Not in the slightest. In fact, it’d be great if he went quietly.”
Elses nodded, as if she’d been waiting for that answer.
“In that case, could you get me into the Tower?”
“…Wait, what? How did we get from the Tower Master to that?”
“Because I’m going to capture him.”
Tracia blinked.
She looked at Elses as if she’d just declared she was going to wrestle a dragon.
Elses said it so casually, as though she were mentioning a minor errand.
Tracia let out a short, disbelieving laugh.
“You came all the way here just to joke with me? I didn’t let you in to hear nonsense.”
“It’s not a joke.”
Elses glanced at the newspaper on Tracia’s desk, immediately understanding why her mood had soured today.
“I can solve your problem for you.”
“My problem? What do you even know about that?”
“The decline in your trading company’s profits. I can help you fix it.”
Tracia’s eyes widened.
She’d known Elses had an unusually sharp understanding of the market, but the fact that she could grasp her worries from a single newspaper was startling.
“…And how do you plan to fix it?”
“First, we catch La— I mean, the Tower Master. Then we spread the story that we defeated him using equipment crafted by the Fren Trading Company.”
Tracia’s eyes narrowed as she listened to the girl’s confident tone.
Admittedly, equipment-type magic tools were among the most expensive and profitable products.
The stronger the gear, the greater the combat power. The stronger the fighter, the higher-ranked monsters they could hunt—and those monsters dropped rarer, more valuable materials.
In short, money begot more money.
If they claimed that Fren’s equipment was powerful enough to defeat the Tower Master himself, it would sell faster than they could make it.
But Tracia poured cold water on her enthusiasm.
“That plan’s rejected.”
Sure, it was brilliant—if only it were remotely possible.
“The Tower Master isn’t just any man. He’s the hero who once saved this world from the Demon God.”
Even if Elses was stronger than the average person, there was no way she could compete with that.
“You really think you could beat a monster like him? Even with the best gear money can buy, you’d be a fledgling chick standing before a dragon.”
Tracia spoke coldly on purpose—she didn’t want the naïve noblewoman to harbor dangerous delusions.
But as soon as she finished, the easy smile vanished from Elses’s face.
Good. Maybe now she understands reality.
Tracia expected her to back down.
Instead, Elses said quietly—yet with unshakable conviction,
“I will win.”
“…”
“No—I will definitely win.”
Her golden eyes lowered slightly, burning with a mix of emotions—rage, grief, and something even deeper.
“I have to stop him.”
No one else can do it. It has to be me.
The intensity of her voice made Tracia falter, her expression confused.
In those steady amber eyes, beneath the storm of feeling, burned an unyielding determination—a certainty that refused to waver.
In that instant, even knowing how impossible it was, Tracia couldn’t bring herself to argue further.
It was absurd to think a young noblewoman could defeat a man like that—a monster in human skin.
If anything, Elses was far more likely to die by his hand.
And yet…
Why do I want to believe her?
Why did she suddenly want to bet on this impossible girl’s resolve?
