Chapter 168 – The Mage Tower and Nygard

The young wizard named Chelsea was the person I had been waiting for to expel me earlier.
However, from the moment I heard that I was a rune mage, my tone became very polite.

Before I could ask anything, Chelsea tried to confirm my affiliation.

“Sir, excuse me, but are you from Ninggard? I heard that all rune mages belong to Ninggard.”
“That’s not true. I only received the ordeal of awakening as a Rune Mage at the temple, but I did not join. I am a wandering mage whose only class is Rune Mage.”

A wandering mage whose only class is Rune Mage.
While honestly revealing my affiliation, I looked at the other wizards, including Chelsea.
Maybe it’s because of my Ningard background that they treat me so carefully.
Even if you fake your affiliation and go around, you will soon be caught in the society of wizards. It’s better to tell the truth here.

“Hu-. That’s right. But rune mages are talented people that we also value in our Mage Tower. I heard that every time one of you dies, serious damage occurs. Because only rune mages can dig into the source of magic.”
“Does your affiliation really matter?”
“It’s important that you’re a rune mage. I apologize for being rude earlier. You have to look good to the professor to get grades.”
“No, are you saying that credits are given according to intimacy? Is that a magic tower?”
“Ah, it’s not necessarily like that. Depending on the level of intimacy, you can get seeded, even C+. After that, the seeds won’t be eaten.”

Chelsea smiled shyly and held out her hand to me.
She was like a wizard from the Mage Tower who was no different from a slave to grades.

‘Poor bastard.’

Seeing that the professor in charge looks so strict, life in the Mage Tower seems pretty tough.
It’s not as good as Naingard, who practices Mon-Tue-Wed-Thu-Geum-Geum, but it seems that this side is also grinding.

“You worked hard.”
“What? Rune mages are the hard way. No matter how much I studied about rune studies, I couldn’t find the answer. If you were destined to make it your major, you would commit suicide if you were like me.”
“You say a lot of useless words. Please answer my questions.”
“Ah, yes.”

He’s a talkative friend who is needlessly talkative, so he became quiet after pointing things out.
I noticed Bella listening to our conversation right next to me and she immediately asked what I needed to check.

“Did you kill all the fishmen?”
“Yes. I arrived last night and hunted fishmen until dawn. I even used tracking magic to deal with all the hiding people. It’s safe here now, so don’t worry.”
“There’s a strange part. How the hell did you arrive just in time when the fishmen attacked? Even if you take a wagon from Yoensuu to here, it would normally take about a week.”

When asked how he arrived on time, Chelsea gave a simple answer.

“Ah, that’s right. In fact, the Mage Tower already knew the news that the fishermen were gathering at the port city. We are faster than the Kingdom Army when it comes to gathering information. In preparation for an unexpected situation, the professor in charge and we are dispatched in advance. There was. The Magic Tower is an organization that strives to contribute to world peace.”

The Mage’s Tower was completely different from Ninggard, who lived a secluded life.
They prevent conflicts between races in various parts of the continent, or actively develop magic tools for daily use and sell them to continental people.
The kingdom also acknowledged the activities of the mage tower, so it was no surprise that they came to the port city to support them.

“You already knew that the fishmen were attacking? Then why didn’t you give the signal to evacuate in advance?
“To wipe out the fishmen! If Warchief Neptune had noticed our involvement, he would have just run away. We acted alone without informing anyone and were able to catch the impure elements.”
“Then what about the citizens who were attacked by fishmen?”
“It’s a sacrifice for the cause. We mages will remember their noble sacrifice.”

Watching Chelsea speak as if it were natural, I got a little goosebumps. In other words, they risked the sacrifice of civilians to ensure that the ringleaders of the riot were punished.
When we exchanged greetings earlier, I thought he was just a chatty young man, but I can see the side of a wizard belonging to the Mage Tower.

‘Everyone on the Magic Tower side is like this. Because most of the members are descendants of prestigious magic families. I don’t think much of life other than wizards.’

To be treated like a human in the Mage Tower, you have to be at least a wandering wizard.
To think that an organization like this is contributing to world peace is truly a different world.

Well, at least I’m being treated like a human being, so it’ll be fine.
I have no desire to admonish Chelsea about the preciousness of life.
You won’t even eat the seeds anyway. I asked Chelsea one last time if the warchief was definitely dead.

“Where is the warchief’s corpse? I want to see with my own eyes if he is really dead. There is a person in the party who received death threats from the fishmen warchief. I want to check the body to dispel any anxiety.”
“The corpse of the warchief…? Ah, if it’s that guy, Professor Sera has torn it apart and disassembled it. If you look over there, there’s a pile of corpses. It’s rather big.”

When Chelsea looked where she pointed her finger, she noticed a chunk of meat in the corner of the plaza.
It was a corpse in pieces, but someone put it together like a puzzle, so it was possible to recognize the shape without difficulty.

“It looks like a whale. It’s called Neptune.”
“Isn’t it? It’s strange looking, and the body size is filthy big like the Jotuns. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a fishman with a height of 4M.”

A huge monster with the upper body of a whale and the limbs and lower body of a fish. That was the corpse of Neptune, the ringleader who terrorized the port city.
It was a monster that was barely able to be dealt with by a professor-level expert from the Mage Tower who came to support.

‘I’m glad I died here. If we were chased by him, we would all be killed.’

It was an enemy that could not be defeated at the level of a second-class wizard who had awakened his class. If that guy ran away and continued his assassination attempts, Bella would be doomed.
Citizens were sacrificed by the Mage Tower’s single action, but Bella’s life was assuredly safe.

I spoke to Bella, who was watching the corpse.
Bella’s breathing became rough, as if she remembered what happened when she was attacked by Garrod.

“Bella-sister. Can you see the corpse? That’s the fish man who tried to assassinate my sister. Since the victim is dead, you can sleep comfortably from now on.”
“Yes… I should thank the people who came from the Mage Tower.”

Galod dies, and his warchief, Neptune, is captured and executed.
Now that the fishmen have been slaughtered, we can safely return to Yoensuu.

The time has come to finish Bella’s escort quest.
I told Chelsea I didn’t want to ask any more questions and sent him back to the wizards.

“You may go back.”
“If we meet later, can I ask you something about runes? I’ll give you money. Hehe.”
“I’ll do anything for money. I’m an adventurer.”
“You’re a strange person. I heard that rune mages don’t intervene in the world, but you’re different. Anyway, have a nice day.”

After parting ways with Chelsea, we immediately walked downtown and out of town.
It was a trip that I gained a lot from, but I was also very tired. I feel like I want to go back to Yoensu and rest.

“Hannah. Let’s move in a wagon from here. The ground is dry.”
“Okay. I’ll return the wagon to its original size, so everyone please step back.”

After walking out of the collapsed gates, on the road Hannah returned the reduced wagon to its original size.
After tying the horses from her cottage to her carriage, Hanna climbed into her driver’s seat.

“You may board. We will take you comfortably to Yoensuu.”

There are no words that sound more pleasant than this now that she can ride in the carriage.
Her ttubeok life, which lasted for several days, was over. I went up to the spacious guest room with my lovers and drooped.

“Bella-sister. Are you feeling anxious? Now that the warchief is dead, there’s no reason to be anxious.”
“…Is that right?”
“Then why are you sitting next to me?”
“Ah, ahaha. My heart is pounding when Mr. Luke isn’t by my side yet. He’ll be by my side until I get back to Yoensu. It’s an escort quest. Mr. Luke’s quest isn’t over yet.”
“Hmm.”

Even after the carriage had started, I had to keep the seat next to Bella. Rebecca and Kate in the back seat looked at Bella questioningly.
Up until now, I had been quiet because I remembered that I had a fiancé, but it seems that they also had some doubts.

“No matter how you look at it, it looks like flirting…”
“Rebecca unnie. I heard you’re engaged to someone. Could it be that someone who’s not good enough for adventurers like us to say something?”
“If it was Gura, it would be a real bitch. But it’s a bit suspicious.”

As the two chatted, Rebecca couldn’t overcome her curiosity and she talked to Bella about her.
At the words fox year, Bella was shaking her hands.

“Hey, Mr. Bugilma.”
“Yeah? What’s going on? I’m a good friend who has never lied in front of an adventurer.”
“I understand. But can someone who has a fiancé stay with Luke? Then, what if rumors spread to the fiancée? What, what was the fiancée’s name…?”

After rolling her head for a moment, Rebecca remembered the name of her fiancé, Bella.
No, she couldn’t remember her name correctly, so she only remembered her last name.

“That’s right! It was Mr. Pawn! It’s dangerous if Mr. Pawn finds out about this scene!”
“Well, the exact full name is Aluis von Weber. I’ll also be separated from Mr. Luke when I go back to Yoensuu. It’s an escort quest, so I’m just asking for a legitimate favor, but isn’t that okay?”

Bella smiled awkwardly and turned her head to face Rebecca.
Rebecca put her chin on the back of her seat and stared at her Bella.

“Of course I can ask for a favor. But it seems that Mr. Bugilma’s request has a lot of selfishness? Why does the carriage smell like a cat?”
“Hey, does it smell like a cat?”
“The stray cat smell!”

Is Bella’s true identity a stray cat?
Hearing her words, I almost jumped out of my seat.
This is because tension quickly flowed between the lovers and Bella, who had been quiet for a while. Rebecca growled without fear at all even in front of the second guild master.

“Tell me honestly. You’re not in this world, are you?”

She was driven to a crisis, but Bella opened her mouth with a rather calm expression.

“Is there any proof that there is no evidence? Of course he’s a real person. I’m honestly angry because I suddenly doubted it. Shall we ask Mr. Luke to give me a massage at all?”
“I’ll give you a massage. Mr. Bugilma.”

Rebecca laughed and reached her hand over her back and rubbed Bella’s shoulder.
A moan came out of Bella’s voice because the massage was subtly powerful.

“Ugh! Hauh! Haaa…!”
“Is it too strong? Shall I weaken it?”
“No! Haaagh! It’s okay if you push it as much as you like!”

The atmosphere inside the carriage continued to be thrilling until we returned to Joensuu.

But it is not yet time for Bella and her my lovers to part.
After the escort quest, Bella promised to buy us food.

It was dinner with Bella.
I am very much looking forward to it.

It must be a luxurious meal that I have never eaten before.