Chapter 204
“I’m sorry, but you cannot go up any farther.”
On the 21st floor of the Magic Library, a woman who appeared to be a librarian blocked my path.
“From the 22nd floor onward, entry is only permitted to those with authorization from the Magic Tower Lord or elder-level professors. You may be a new professor, but… there’s nothing I can do, even for a professor.”
‘……’
Hah.
What is this?
Things already feel like they’re going wrong from the start.
I lifted my gaze toward the staircase leading upward.
Up there.
Somewhere in the library on the 22nd floor, Bone Five’s Secret Chamber exists.
“Excuse me.”
Had she noticed where I was looking?
The librarian spoke sharply.
“Surely you’re not thinking of sneaking in, are you? Don’t even think about it. You’ll be in serious trouble. The entire 22nd floor is enchanted with the Magic Tower Lord’s Magic, so if anyone without permission tries to enter… they’ll be turned into an electric grill on the spot.”
The librarian shook her head.
“There have already been plenty of accidents with new professors trying to get in, hoping to dig through some Forbidden Books. I’m only saying this in case that was your plan…”
“Ah, yes.”
The truth was, I already knew that even without her saying it.
Not to mention the blue barrier stretched between the stairs.
‘What terrifying Energy.’
I could feel a sense of dread from the immense Energy pouring down from above.
‘In that case.’
What should I do?
“By any chance.”
I asked while staring into the librarian’s eyes.
“Are the children of the Ducal House of Eloise also allowed to enter this place?”
“Eloise?”
The librarian met my gaze.
“Hmm, I believe so? As far as I know, students from the Four Great Ducal Houses are allowed to use it. Funny, isn’t it? A library professors can’t enter, but students can… Well, that’s life, isn’t it? Power comes first wherever you go.”
“The Four Great Ducal Houses…?”
“Yes. As you know. Eloise of Fire, Patrick of Water, Heim of Life, and Noah of Earth. Those four families. They are the houses that have shared their history with the Magic Tower.”
So that’s how it works.
By monopolizing knowledge like this, they preserve their power generation after generation…
‘Really.’
Whether it’s here or on Earth, life seems to be the same everywhere in the end.
‘First.’
It seems the quest won’t end unless I get in there.
There are only two options.
Either I go in.
Or Eloise comes out.
“Anyway, thank you.”
After thanking the librarian, I left the library.
For now, it was a tactical retreat.
===
A week passed.
During that time, I asked around here and there, but made no meaningful progress.
Meeting the Magic Tower Lord, Gospelheim, who was said to wield absolute authority, was virtually impossible.
And naturally, I still couldn’t enter the 22nd floor.
I did consider using the emergency passage Bone Five had discovered.
But unless I removed the Trap set by the Magic Tower Lord, it was pointless.
So even now,
‘Ugh.’
inside my private research room on the 20th floor,
I sat alone, racking my brain.
‘When my thoughts get tangled like this…’
training is the answer.
I absentmindedly held out my hand.
Fwoosh!
Now, a stream of fire shot easily from my palm.
And that wasn’t all.
Fwoosh, fwoosh!
The flames that burst forth twisted and danced gracefully like an eastern dragon.
Thanks to my steady training, my proficiency in Sorcery had risen by another level.
I had divided Sorcery into five different manifestations.
Fire, Water, Wood, Metal, and Earth.
They were elements similar to the Essences I possessed, which still remained silent.
I had already trained with the Elder since morning, and just as I was about to rest in my research room—
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
‘The students?’
To be honest,
I had told anyone who wanted to learn to come find me themselves.
But not a single student had come so far.
Well, if they had enough motivation to seek out a professor on their own, they wouldn’t be dropouts in the first place.
“Are you here, Professor?”
The person at the door was Silvia.
A professor from another class, and my Sunbae.
What brought her here?
Clunk!
When I opened the door, Silvia stepped inside.
“What brings you here?”
“Um, well.”
She hesitated for a moment before continuing.
“You haven’t attended the children’s classes for a week, have you? It seems… a few of them joined forces and submitted a petition to Elder Alpen.”
“…Huh?”
Those bastards?
I left them alone because they weren’t worth my time, and they chose to make the first move?
Seeing my reaction, Silvia let out a deep sigh.
“It’s not surprising, but this issue is a little serious.”
According to Silvia, the one who instigated it was a boy named Andrew Patrick.
She said the influence of the Ducal House of Patrick was so overwhelming that it was too much for a mere professor to handle.
If I failed to take some kind of action, the family itself might step in directly.
“For a dropout, he’s an amusing one.”
“Actually… it happened to me too.”
“To you, Silvia?”
“Yes. I was also in charge of F Class for a short while before you arrived, Professor.”
Wow.
That was a surprising piece of information.
“Andrew is a truly frightening child. Once he takes a dislike to someone, he’ll drag them down no matter what.”
“So he’s not just some brat throwing his weight around because of his family?”
“He’s a brat with real skill to back it up. It’s embarrassing to admit, but I also underestimated him and paid dearly for it.”
“Hah.”
A professor got beaten down by him?
Then again, even if Silvia is my Sunbae, she’s still a young professor.
“That’s not all. Even when he causes trouble and fails, no one can expel him because he’s from the Patrick family. In fact, he enjoys staying in F Class…”
“The Magic Tower’s authority is weaker than I thought. To be pushed around by a single family.”
“You don’t understand. The heads of the Four Great Houses are the pillars of the Magic Tower, second only to the Magic Tower Lord.”
‘……’
So it wasn’t that the Magic Tower’s authority was weak.
It was that the brat himself was part of the Magic Tower’s power structure.
“This may be meddling, but it would be best if you attended class and… tried to stay on his good side as much as possible.”
“Hmm, that’s not really my style.”
I’m someone who didn’t bother indulging even the Great Demon Dragon or Aranvalon.
And now I’m supposed to indulge some teenage brat with a severe case of chuunibyou?
Any passing Shadow Shepherd would cry if they heard that.
“Anyway, please be careful. I’m sure you applied because you wanted to remain here for a long time… but there’s nothing to gain by making enemies of the Four Great Houses.”
“Thank you for the advice.”
“Ah, and.”
Silvia’s expression turned serious.
“I heard you were asking about the Eloise family in the library?”
“That… reached your ears too, Silvia?”
That librarian.
Her lips are looser than I thought.
“Why are you looking for the Eloise family? You asked me about them before too.”
“Um.”
“And if it’s an Eloise hiding away on the 22nd floor of the library… then it must be Arin Eloise.”
Arin Eloise.
The moment I heard that name, thump!
my heart pounded heavily.
“Arin Eloise…”
It was instinct, a gut feeling.
A feeling that somehow, she was Bone Five’s past.
“Can you tell me more about that child?”
“Arin?”
“Yes.”
“Why that child…”
Silvia looked utterly baffled.
“She’s called the Library Ghost, and it’s well known that she was abandoned by her family, so nobody pays her any attention.”
“…Is that so? Well, well. As a professor and a teacher, how could I possibly ignore a child like that after hearing this? I’m becoming more interested.”
“…?”
It probably sounded like nonsense.
But I was quite serious.
After studying my expression, Silvia let out a small sigh.
“Hah, Arin is the shame of Eloise. She’s the only one in the family with no talent, so she’s stuck in F Class.”
‘……’
“How little do they care about her, when the family doesn’t even interfere even though Andrew openly bullies her?”
Well now.
Andrew Patrick.
That brat shows up here too?
“There are a lot of rumors that she hides in the library because she can’t adapt to the Magic Tower. I’ve tried having counseling sessions with her myself a few times… but she’s incredibly hard to find.”
“…I see.”
An Eloise with no talent.
Hmm.
That doesn’t make sense.
If Arin is Bone Five’s past, then she is an absolute being among absolute beings, someone who rises to become one of the four Magic Tower Lords.
“Ah.”
At that moment, Silvia suddenly clapped her hands.
“That’s right! There is a way to see her.”
“Really?”
My eyes lit up.
“Yes. Now that I think about it, there’s a regular Eloise family gathering on the 18th floor tonight. No matter who Arin is, she won’t be able to skip a family event.”
“…A family event?”
They even do things like that?
Whatever it is, does that mean all the Eloises will be gathered there?
Nicely done, Silvia.
That was useful information.
===
From the 16th to the 20th floor of the Tower, those five floors could be considered one enormous community center.
Small shops, a massive plaza, buildings for cultural activities, and various taverns.
It was a space created for the convenience of the Magic Tower’s members.
Chatter, chatter.
I arrived at the plaza on the 18th floor, where countless people bustled about.
The Elder floated beside me, summoned into the air.
》What’s the occasion for summoning me in the evening?
I could summon the Elder for twelve hours a day.
Since I had already spent eight of those on training in the morning, he could remain for four more hours.
“Didn’t you say so yourself, Elder? That if it seemed like an important event was about to happen, I should never forget to summon you.”
Surprisingly, the Elder enjoyed watching what happened around me even more than training.
He said my journey was more entertaining than resolving his ‘grudge’.
》Hoho, is that today? Well, it’s unlike you to come to a place like this on your own.
The Elder looked around.
Even though we were clearly inside the Tower, the sky was visible overhead, and a river flowed beside us.
It even recreated a peaceful evening sunset.
Is this the power of Magic?
Strum~ Strum!
Someone sat on a bench playing the guitar.
Someone else walked by the river eating ice cream.
They were all members of the Magic Tower, enjoying their break.
》So, what are you planning to do here?
“I’m going to find Bone Five.”
》Bone Five?
“Yes.”
Silvia had told me.
She didn’t know the exact location, but somewhere on the 18th floor, the Eloise family had gathered.
And the way to find an Eloise is simple.
Swoosh.
I closed my eyes and lightly placed a hand on the ground.
Woooong!
Then I drew out the Energy within me.
The manifestation of the [Supreme Azure Mind Method] (S-Class).
‘Find the strongest person nearby.’
Ssssss….
The Energy I poured into the ground spread out in every direction, thin and dense.
Like a net.
How much time passed like that?
“Heup!”
Something was caught at the edge of my Energy.
A person with immense, blazing Energy.
‘Incredible.’
Just brushing against it for a moment made my skin tingle.
And when I measured that sensation roughly—
‘Sophia Silverstone.’
That’s right.
It felt exactly like standing face-to-face with her.
An Energy that dominated everything around it and overwhelmed the space with its mere presence.
‘Amazing.’
If an elder of one of the Four Great Houses was on Sophia’s level, then just how strong is the Magic Tower Lord, Gospelheim?
I slowly reeled in the tightly spread Energy.
Carefully, so I wouldn’t be noticed.
‘In any case.’
I had found the location.
Sssst!
After gathering the Energy back into my body, I stood up.
Step, step.
Then I slowly began to walk.
》Kekeke.
Watching me, the Elder laughed as if he were dying of curiosity.
At the same time, he added,
》Well, well. It looks like something interesting is about to happen again.