Chapter 4: Mad Dog
“Hey, newbie. You ever seen a shady-looking guy over at headquarters?”
“A… shady-looking guy?”
What kind of vague description was that?
Besides, unlike the Deepdale branch, headquarters had thousands of tower mages. Just in the Service Division alone, there were seven full teams.
More importantly, that wasn’t what Burkin was interested in right now. What really mattered to her was: why had she been assigned to the Item Development Department?
“Um, more than that, is this really the Item Development Department?”
“Why do you keep asking the same thing? Tsk, this newbie’s really a bit dense, isn’t she?”
Item Development Department.
In this place, where the empire’s leading magi-engineers gathered, calling someone “dense” was one of the worst insults. And Burkin knew that well.
Back in the academy, she was a top student, often graduating at the top of her class. But that was just the academy — a small pond. Here, in a sea of geniuses, even she couldn’t make waves.
She swallowed hard and looked around before finally bowing deeply to the department chief.
“Excuse me, but I think there’s been a mistake. I’ll head down to the lobby and check in.”
“What? What’s there to be confused about?”
“I just need to contact HQ really quickly. Please wait just a moment.”
She had to find out what was going on. After working in the Service Division for eight years, why would she be assigned to Item Development?
Before anyone from the department could stop her, Burkin hurried back to the magic transport box she’d arrived in. As she approached, it opened up, as if waiting just for her.
And just then—
Another transport box arrived beside hers. Someone else had just arrived at the Item Development Department.
But Burkin didn’t wait to see who it was. She quickly got into her own box. At that moment, someone stepped out of the adjacent one.
Burkin’s red hair and the man’s gray hair brushed past each other.
Whoosh…
As soon as Burkin stepped in, the magic transport box closed its doors. Through the narrowing gap, she caught a glimpse of the gray-haired man’s back.
“Chief Willem! The Mad Dog is back!”
“Wh-What?! Liam…! Why are you—?”
The entire department erupted at the man’s arrival. That was all Burkin saw. The door had closed, and the world outside disappeared.
He must be someone important, if even the notoriously proud Item Development team was thrown into chaos like this.
But none of it mattered to Burkin. What mattered now was: why was she assigned here instead of the Service Division?
That man’s arrival didn’t matter.
…Or so she thought.
At least, until now.
“Liam…! What are you doing here?!”
Liam Moore.
Was there anyone in the Magic Tower who didn’t know that name?
Sure, people in remote branches might not know what he looked like, but his name? Unmistakable.
Liam Moore was the empire’s one and only archmage.
“But didn’t you go to HQ…? Weren’t you going to be gone for a while?”
It had been over two weeks since Liam left for headquarters. Officially, it was a “business trip,” but everyone in the Item Development Department knew better.
The mad dog had bitten someone again.
No one dared tell him to stop. They were just grateful it wasn’t them this time.
“Wait… You’re not coming back for good, are you?”
“Yep.”
He nodded casually, and Chief Willem’s face crumbled like the world had just ended.
“Why?! Already?!”
“Chief, is your blood pressure okay?!”
As Willem’s face turned beet red, the researchers around him grew concerned. Every time Liam was involved, Willem’s blood pressure spiked dangerously.
But Liam, the very cause of that spike, didn’t even glance his way. Instead, he muttered,
“She came here.”
“What? Who did?”
“Burkin Redfield.”
A quiet whisper.
Liam repeated that short name over and over again, as if trying to memorize it with his lips.
Even just saying her name made it feel like her sweet mana was tickling his nose. He let out a satisfied sigh.
She smelled like soap in reality, but her mana… was sweeter than anyone’s.
Mana had no scent. The sweetness Liam sensed was nothing more than his own delusion.
And yet… strangely enough, even Burkin’s soap smell seemed sweet to him.
Liam opened his eyes lazily and stared at Chief Willem standing before him. The chief looked flustered.
“Bur-Burkin Redfield? Never heard of her. Ha ha… nope, not a clue.”
One thing was clear: Willem was a terrible liar.
The moment he heard the name “Burkin Redfield,” one image flashed through his mind like lightning.
The beautiful newbie with red hair from earlier.
“Ah, yes! Hello. I’m Burkin Redfield, newly transferred from headquarters…”
She had introduced herself clearly.
Liam Moore hadn’t come to the wrong place.
He had tracked the scent of his prey right to her. A hunting dog never lets go once it’s bitten. There was no way he’d made a mistake.
“Hmph, I don’t think anyone by that name is here. R-Right…?”
“Yeah, that’s right! We don’t know anyone like that…”
The department scrambled to follow Willem’s lead, matching his awkward lie with their own. Whenever Liam was involved, everyone wanted to keep their distance.
Liam showed no reaction to their poor acting.
He just lowered his gaze to the floor. His long, dark lashes cast elegant shadows on his face.
“Soap scent.”
“What? Soap? Did someone just come from the bathroom?”
Willem panicked and sniffed around, even burying his nose in his sleeve just to check.
But he hadn’t showered, so there was no reason he’d smell like soap. This place, full of old artifacts and chemical materials, certainly wouldn’t.
That’s when Liam smiled.
He lifted his golden eyes and looked straight at Willem, his lips curling upward.
“Why lie?”
You were here.
Willem’s last two strands of hair stood on end.
Everyone had been playing along with their clumsy lies to fool Liam. But the moment that word — “lie” — left his mouth, the room went completely silent.
Everyone had the same thought:
The mad dog smelled it.
The tension in the air was unbearable. And as always, it was up to Chief Willem to smooth things over. He wiped the sweat pouring from his forehead and stammered,
“Sh-She was here… but only for a moment! Really, just a second! We don’t even know where she went!”
Was this what all archmages were like? Did they all have senses that surpassed human limits, like elves or werewolves in legends?
Willem wouldn’t know. Liam was the only archmage he’d ever met.
And that sole archmage simply replied to his pleading with—
“I’ll be back.”
A breezy farewell.
Everyone had lied to Liam in perfect unison, expecting a chaotic blow-up… but somehow, the mad dog let it go. Willem was overwhelmed with gratitude just for that.
People moved aside to make way for Liam, clearing a path to his magic transport box.
And just then—Willem’s wristwatch let out a shrill alarm.
Desperate to muffle the sound, he waved his hand, but he couldn’t hide the floating blue bell symbol hovering around his wrist. Glancing around, he quickly peeked at the message.
[Dear Willem, it’s Gendal. About that newbie we sent over…]
Of course, the message had to be about this exact situation.
Willem debated whether or not to tell Liam.
But it was Liam who made that decision for him.
“Excuse or lie — be ready.”
That snapped Willem out of it. He meant the lies they had told earlier.
Of course. The mad dog wasn’t going to just let this go.
Willem stopped hesitating. He called out to Liam as he was heading to the transport box.
“H-Hey, Liam. Are you… going after Burkin Redfield?”
The moment he said her name, Liam stopped in his tracks — as if he had been waiting for that.
It was the price of lying.
And so, Willem sold out Burkin Redfield, whom he had only met that morning.
That’s how society works.
You do whatever it takes to survive.
💬 Magic Tower Survival Tip!
Magic transport boxes consume the mana of the rider to operate.
That’s why ordinary people can’t use them!
