[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.

Chapter 157: Back to Everyday Life (3)

The next day, the event had completely settled down.

When a festival ends, what remains are happy memories and a mess of trash.

Early in the morning, the mages who had woken up started cleaning their lodgings before leaving.

"I must've grown quite attached. Thinking about leaving makes me feel kind of down."

"You should see a doctor. You're making a fuss over just two weeks."

"...Could you at least try to be sympathetic?"

"Say something that makes sense, and I might."

For a moment, Oscar watched as Fran and Veronica bickered as usual from the morning.

Then, as he entered the meeting room, he noticed Elder Maxim looking around before his gaze settled on him.

"Ah, there you are, Oscar. Step out into the hallway for a moment."

"The hallway?"

"Yes. I don’t know who, but someone asked to see you. Looked like a friend of yours."

A friend?

Did little Oscar—or himself—have anyone he could call a friend?

Fran seemed to have the same thought as he spoke first.

"Another fan, maybe? Plenty of people came looking for you after your performance. Asking for autographs and all."

"Of course, that must be it. As if that guy has any friends."

How rude.

Oscar pouted but didn’t bother refuting it.

Instead, he simply looked at Killian, hoping for a word of warm support.

Noticing his gaze, Killian spoke up with a serious expression.

"Be careful, Oscar. Lately, there’s been an increase in recruitment attempts by cults or pyramid schemes targeting mages and knights. It’s probably because they tend to make good money for their age."

"Forget it."

Expecting anything was his mistake.

Oscar sighed and left the meeting room, passing by the mages cleaning up.

As he stepped into the hallway, he spotted a familiar face.

"Huh? You’re… Kiri Gloria?"

"At least you haven't forgotten my name."

"I'm not the type to forget things like that."

Kiri Gloria, a Level 5 mage from the Black Tower.

It had been a while since their last encounter in the Tomb of the Fallen.

"You were looking for me?"

"Yeah. I came to say thanks."

The reason was obvious.

The Black Tower had finished in fourth place in the tournament.

While that placement matched everyone's expectations, the way they achieved it was completely unexpected.

'They actually managed to knock the Blue Tower out of the top four.'

Of course, that was only possible because the White Tower had fought so hard.

More importantly, Oscar’s strategy in the final match had quickly eliminated the other four towers.

"I didn’t do it for your sake."

"I know. You didn’t take them out just to help us. But the fact remains that we were the ones who benefited the most."

Since she was offering gratitude, there was no reason to refuse.

Oscar shrugged, and she handed him a sheet of stationery.

"What’s this?"

"A thank-you gift."

"Just to be clear, if this is money or anything like that—"

"It’s not, so don’t worry."

Receiving money for helping the Black Tower would cause unnecessary complications.

The Blue Tower, which had tied for fifth place, would undoubtedly throw a fit.

Ripping open the envelope, Oscar found a black business card inside, along with an explanatory note.

A business card?

It was pitch-black, with no writing on it.

Curious, he picked up the note and found elegantly written text alongside clumsy little drawings.

- A one-time talisman to block curses targeting you. With this, you’ll be safe too!

Below that was a doodle of a mage in black robes, stretching out their arms and grinning widely.

Honestly, it looked worse than something an elementary student from the academy would draw.

"What is this?"

"We call it a Guardian Talisman. It’s a type of artifact that lessens the effects of curses targeting you."

"Huh..."

Caught off guard by the unexpected gift, Oscar asked,

"Does it work on curses that are already in effect?"

"Well… if it’s a curse, then probably? Why, have you already been cursed by someone?"

"No, just asking out of curiosity."

He shook his head and stared at the black card.

So, if he had this, would it weaken the Baron of Nightmares' curse as well?

'Not sure how effective it’ll be…'

Hopefully, it would be decent.

He had wanted an artifact like this for a long time, but they were extremely rare.

"Does the Black Tower sell these too?"

"Yeah. It’s nothing too fancy. Since I made it myself, it's probably only at a Level 5 strength."

"Then what’s the most powerful one?"

"The one made by the Tower Master. It can probably block most curses completely."

The Black Tower Master.

Oscar thought for a moment before asking,

"What kind of person is the Tower Master?"

"Someone worth respecting. They took the position during one of the worst times in Black Tower history, but they’ve been doing a great job. Some say the rapid changes under their leadership are hard to keep up with, but personally, I think it’s a good thing."

She didn’t need to elaborate on what those “rapid changes” were.

'This must be one of them.'

The Guardian Talisman in his hand, or the mechanical golems he had seen before.

None of those had existed in the Black Tower he remembered.

Back then, they had only focused on destructive magic.

'If this talisman works well, I’ll buy the highest-grade version, no matter the cost.'

Resolving himself, Oscar lightly waved the business card.

"I’ll put it to good use. Thanks for the gift."

"That settles our debt."

Kiri said firmly, making it clear she considered this an even trade.

She must have thought that receiving something without giving back was akin to being in debt.

Oscar chuckled and nodded.

"Alright, we’ll call it even."

"…Then, see you next time."

"Yeah, see you next time."

With a brief farewell, she left without looking back.

Where there are meetings, there are also partings.

It was time to say goodbye to this artificial island.

* * *

The journey back to the White Tower was exhausting.

Of course, if the mages riding in carriages had heard that, they would have been furious.

After all, he had returned in a luxury automobile.

‘It’s just easier to fly, and I could use the flight practice.’

It was about time that young Oscar fully grasped the sensation of "flight," even in his small body.

As a mage of the White Tower, he had to be better than anyone at land, sea, and aerial battles.

“Ahhh, we’re home!”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

“Ugh, my body is so stiff, I feel like I’d break if you just poked me.”

“I’m soaking in hot water today, no matter what.”

The mages cheered as they arrived at the White Tower and headed to their respective rooms.

Oscar was no different.

After parting with the special forces members, he returned to his room and opened the door.

“……”

A room untouched for weeks, chilled by the cold air.

Oscar walked in slowly, put water in the kettle, and set it to boil before asking,

“Coffee? Tea?”

“……”

After a brief silence, what came back was admiration.

“Phew, you really are amazing. Oh, and I’ll have tea, please.”

The owner of the youthful voice was Sasha Maestro.

She dispelled her invisibility magic and asked,

“When did you realize I was following you?”

“From the start.”

Oscar turned around and smirked as he replied.

“Of all people, if your presence suddenly disappears, how could I not notice?”

“I see… So, once my presence has been detected, hiding is meaningless.”

“That’s the number one cause of death for assassins.”

They believe their concealment is perfect and that their target is unaware of their presence.

But if they encounter a mage who constantly analyzes everything around them, they’re as good as dead.

She sat on the sofa and asked,

“Aren’t you tired? Constantly analyzing your surroundings like that.”

“Well… I’m pretty sure it was exhausting at first…”

But now, he barely even thought about it.

At some point, it had become as natural as breathing or blinking.

“It’s good training. You should do it consistently when you remember.”

“Yes, sir.”

As the water boiled, Oscar steeped the tea.

The rising steam deepened the silence in the room.

“So, what was it? Why were you trailing me while hiding your presence?”

“Oh, that…”

Blowing on her tea, Sasha looked a bit embarrassed.

“I heard about it. That you met with the Red Tower Master and the representative of the Yellow Tower.”

Oscar flinched at her words.

‘…Of course, they’d be worried that I might transfer to another magic tower.’

Given that there was already a precedent with Lloyd, their concern was understandable.

Smiling gently, Oscar reassured her.

“Don’t worry. My roots are deeply embedded in the White Tower. I won’t go anywhere.”

“Huh? Oh, that was never in doubt. That’s not the issue.”

Sasha blinked, as if confused by his response, and continued.

“The problem is the other side. They might covet your talent and try to abduct you, right? I needed to make sure you could handle that properly.”

“…I see.”

Well, it made sense.

She had always been overshadowed by her older brothers, but Sasha had shown odd tendencies since childhood.

Oscar sipped his tea and asked,

“So, did I pass?”

“Hmm… Yes, I don’t think there’s much to worry about.”

She grinned and pulled out several newspapers from her pocket.

“The first thing I did when I arrived was check the news. It’s already going wild about the White Tower and you.”

“Hm.”

Curious, Oscar picked up the papers and skimmed through the headlines.

[White Tower: ‘There may be setbacks, but never downfall.’ Achieves championship victory with outstanding performance at the Mages’ Night.]

[The wind had always been blowing—we were just too blind to see it. The White Tower, the biggest surprise of the tournament.]

[Bottom to Top: The White Tower writes an unforgettable story.]

[Blue Tower, finishing in a disappointing joint 5th place, declares, ‘We don’t particularly care about rankings.’]

[The Four Great Magic Towers: Do they still maintain an absolute gap? The Black and Blood Towers raise doubts.]

[The Four Great Magic Towers in crisis: A sign of new ranking shifts?]

[White Tower launches a special limited-edition potion sale and a 15% discount across all products to celebrate their victory.]

“Hm.”

The response was certainly intense.

One thing was clear—the argument that the White Tower should be expelled from the Four Great Magic Towers had disappeared completely.

‘At the very least, we’ve established justification.’

For this year’s White Night Festival, the chances of the White Tower being expelled from the Four Great Magic Towers had significantly decreased.

If they were removed now, people would undoubtedly start asking questions.

“Oh, and I met with Uncle Emperor—ah, I mean, His Majesty.”

Oscar used a crystal ball to share the conversation they had.

After hearing everything, Sasha clenched her small fists with excitement.

“At last… We can finally recover Master’s research!”

“It’s not guaranteed yet. The Imperial Palace will contact me once they’re ready to proceed.”

“We’ve already waited twenty years. A little more won’t hurt.”

She beamed, as if they had already retrieved the research.

Of course, getting it back wouldn’t be as easy as she imagined.

They would have to venture beyond the Red Mountain Range into the Gray Zone, where Edna was said to be.

‘And even if we recover the research, the real challenge starts then.’

Not many factions would want to see the White Tower reclaim its former glory.

For now, all he could do was continue growing stronger until the Imperial Palace reached out.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]