Chapter 18
“…The third?”
She asked dazedly, and Ledin nodded.
“Nyx don’t particularly like humans. If anything, they tend to reject them, hostile, some would say. But every so often, on very rare occasions, there have been humans they chose to love. Including you, there have only ever been three.”
Ledin frowned and jerked his chin toward the man twirling in front of her with a smug look.
The man gave a crooked smile and flicked his hand. At that gesture, a pitch-black shadow slithered out from behind him and perched on his shoulder.
[Ugh.]
[Asila, that thing is seriously unpleasant.]
The butterflies swirled nervously, calling one another.
[Should we handle it ourselves?]
Whispering among themselves, the shadow they were watching wasn’t particularly large, but it exuded an unmistakable sense of danger.
Other than its dark red hue, its entire presence and its aura, even its form, felt like something entirely separate from what she’d known.
“Spirits take on different forms depending on their contractor’s mana and temperament.”
The man explained, as if reading her thoughts while she stared intently at the shadow.
When the butterflies fluttering around her began to increase in number, only then did the man raise both hands with a casual “whoa there” and push the shadow back behind him.
“Anyway, get changed. You’ve got to meet the old man.”
Asila glanced at Ledin, not understanding what the man meant. Ledin responded with a warm smile, reassuring.
“The Tower Master wishes to see you. And there are documents to take care of, now that you’ll be officially joining as a spirit mage. I’ll wait outside.”
Ledin asked several times if she was feeling well, if she could move, and only when she was finally able to answer did he look truly relieved. He left the room with the man, closing the door behind them.
Following after the two down the corridor, Asila looked around. The tower’s interior was far more labyrinthine than the exterior had suggested.
The man, watching her wide-eyed glances as they climbed the stairs, chuckled.
“All Spirit Towers are built like this. Take a wrong turn and you might end up walking into a trap for intruders, burned alive, maybe?”
A room housing a monstrous, carnivorous plant grown in collaboration with spirits.
A chamber that instantly incinerated unauthorized entrants, its exit sealed until death.
A corridor flooded with violent magical beasts released solely for research purposes.
He listed off these terrifying traps with unsettling cheer.
“Only your tower would be rigged with nonsense like that.”
Until then, Ledin had walked silently, seemingly deep in thought. Now, he lifted his head and replied with a frosty tone.
“Disregard him. The Northern Tower doesn’t indulge in such vulgar tastes. Spirit barriers are more than sufficient for security. The structure is merely… intricate.”
He invites intruders in just to see them break the wards. That’s who he is.
Polite and respectful until now, Ledin’s tone grew noticeably sharper when it came to this particular man. Asila had already suspected as much, from the moment Ledin had called him insane.
“Ah, I’ve been found out.”
Unfazed, the man grinned again, delighted.
“…We’re here.”
Ignoring him, Ledin stopped before a large room and opened the door without hesitation.
Behind her, the butterflies fluttered their wings, scattering light in their wake.
The Tower Master’s room was unoccupied, a curtain drawn tight over one wall.
In the brightly lit room, Asila blinked at the desk standing squarely in the center. Paperwork was stacked high, so high it nearly touched the ceiling.
Each time the breeze slipped in through the window, the paper tower swayed precariously. A few sheets flapped to the floor.
Ledin let out a sigh and bent down to pick them up, as if this was all routine. The man beside her clicked his tongue.
If there was such a thing as a miracle, it was that that absurdly teetering stack never actually collapsed.
Just then…
“Ah, oooowww!!”
She blinked.
That scream, it had sounded like it belonged to an old man…
Before she could react, Ledin was already striding toward the curtained wall.
Swish.
Sunlight streamed in harshly through the parted curtain.
[It’s Jin.]
[But what’s going on?]
[Maybe they don’t get along with their contractor.]
[What an idiot of a human.]
Squinting against the sudden glare, Asila turned her head toward the butterflies’ chatter.
Clear but forceful wind surged through the open glass doors. Sunlight glinted off the wide panes.
What she had thought was just a curtained window turned out to be a large open terrace.
“That old geezer, what’s wrong with his head? He’s like this every time.”
“Quiet.”
Several massive Jinn the wind spirits, were stationed there, including the very one that had flown her up the tower.
Now, it had the Tower Master, a frail, white-haired old man, dangling by his robes from its mouth.
The old man screamed as he flailed in the air. His eyes caught sight of the new arrivals.
“Lazerdin! Call them off! My head’s going to split! Jin, put me down already!!”
In response, the enormous wind spirit shook its head vigorously with the old man still clutched between its teeth.
“Augh!!”
The old man’s body dangled more dangerously than before, his face pale to the point of collapse.
The butterflies on her shoulder fluttered.
[Definitely a Jin contractor.]
[Look, he has the Wind’s Crest.]
[Then why’s he in that state?]
[Told you.]
[Idiot.]
This time, it seemed the spirits weren’t just talking to her. The old man glanced blankly in her direction, as if he’d heard.
Behind her, the man burst into wheezing laughter. Ledin sighed deeply.
The Jinn’s silvery eyes focused sharply, right on her and the man beside her.
[…Nyx.]
She thought she heard the spirit’s deep voice resonate through the air, then a furious gust slammed into them.
She instinctively grabbed Ledin’s sleeve.
When the wind died down and she opened her eyes, the Jinn were gone.
“Uuugh…”
The only thing left where they had been was the Tower Master, collapsed and groaning on the ground, clutching his back.
[They ran.]
[They totally ran.]
[Maybe the two Nix scared them off.]
[Cowards.]
The butterflies giggled cruelly again, and a small shadow peeked out from behind the man’s shoulder, as if echoing the same sentiment.
“Ahem, well, that wasn’t exactly the impression I hoped to make.”
Still groaning, the old man brushed dust off his robes, then straightened up and tried for a composed voice.
“I am Dialune, Tower Master of the North, one of the Four Great Towers.”
Had she not just witnessed him being chewed on by a spirit, she might have taken those words seriously. But seeing him like that, it was hard to muster any real response.
“‘Great Tower,’ my ass.”
The man scoffed beside her. Ledin’s eyes sharpened at him again, but the Tower Master only chuckled as though long accustomed to the dynamic.
He turned to Asila.
“So then. What is Her Highness the Princess’s name?”
She flinched, if only for a moment.
“…Asila.”
She answered slowly.
Not von Celsia. Not von Ludwig. Just her name, belonging to no one, dependent on nothing.
The Tower Master wishes to see you.
Her body had frozen the moment he said “princess,” but now she slowly forced herself to relax.
Long ago, when she had still clung to the Grand Duke, Ledin had quietly mentioned the Tower Master, perhaps even suggesting she go to him. He must have known then that she was the Grand Duchess.
And so, it wasn’t surprising he also knew she had once been a princess. After all, her marriage had been arranged by imperial decree.
Anyone with enough interest could have found out.
She exhaled slowly. She had to stop reacting every time someone used the word “princess.”
That title, along with “Grand Duchess,” no longer defined her.
“I’m no longer a princess or a duchess, so I’d appreciate it if you refrained from referring to me as such.”
She wasn’t all right yet. She only needed to be all right.
So she answered the Tower Master quietly, meeting his gaze.
“Very well. Asila, then mind if I speak casually?”
She gave him permission with a nod. The old man relaxed, eyes settling not on her, but on the butterflies flickering softly on her shoulder.
[What are you staring at, stupid human?]
The man leaning against the far wall chuckled. The Tower Master paid no mind, continuing to study the butterflies.
“Small in form, but still unmistakably Nyx. The mana they contain is considerable. Just keeping them materialized must be a drain. How are you feeling?”
She blinked.
It was true, as both the man and Ledin had said, the butterflies were feeding on her energy, her mana. But she had never really felt burdened by it.
Well, except that one moment, when they had multiplied to an astonishing number to attack the man, it had felt like all the moisture had drained from her body.
The Tower Master looked her over, then chuckled softly.
“They said you contracted with Nix after becoming an adult. I worried, I admit. But it seems I needn’t have. Your mana doesn’t just flow, it overflows. No wonder Nix chose you.”
He added, almost to himself, if you can learn control, you might surpass any spirit mage in this tower.
With a snap of his fingers, he gestured toward the pile of documents.
A wind spirit, much smaller than the ones before, appeared out of thin air and retrieved several pages, delivering them to his outstretched hand.
“Come, sit.”
He pointed to a sofa in the corner and seated himself across from her, handing over the papers.
“These are the basic documents to join the Northern Tower as a spirit mage. With the Tower Master here in person, all that’s left is your signature.”
The documents resembled a kind of contract, detailing benefits from the tower, monthly research funding, and so on.
She skimmed the page, her eyes widening at the enormous sums, not even the Grand Duke’s household had offered her anything close.
Ledin smiled faintly beside her, as if he’d guessed her thoughts.
“Spirit mages hold immense value simply by existing. Even a Spirit Tower has to offer adequate compensation if it wants to retain one.”
She nodded slowly and read through the rest, her fingers trembling slightly.
The weight of it hit her, she was truly becoming a spirit mage.
“Each Tower has its own requirements for joining. But the North is especially generous. It sees the highest number of monster outbreaks, and unlike the others, often has to forcibly draft mages.”
It didn’t take long to fill out the signature field.
“…!”
The moment she handed it back, the Tower Master signed, and the page lit up. Slowly, the light gathered into a single shape.
She stared.
The light condensed and condensed… until, at last, it faded completely.
Where the light had been, only a silver pocket watch remained, its surface engraved with a black circular crest.
The Tower Master pressed the watch into her hand with a broad smile.
“Welcome to the Northern Tower, Asila.”
For someone with nowhere to go and nothing to offer, she had finally found a place to belong.
