“…Each Magic Tower’s Vision Technique acquisition?”
Anes looked at Ezekiel with wide, shocked eyes.
Of course, Anes already knew that Ezekiel was anything but ordinary. She had anticipated it, but….
‘…Something this incredible?’
She thought something big was coming, but she never imagined it would be this colossal. How could the topic of acquiring Vision Techniques even come up?
The mission that Anes and Ezekiel had originally undertaken was simply to finish the exchange meeting safely.
In fact, just that alone was a monumental challenge. It was on the level of having to fill in a nearly 10-year gap seamlessly.
Yet….
‘Now that goal seems trivial.’
To record and acquire all the Vision Techniques held by each Magic Tower without any omissions? Anes couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed with concern.
“Yeeeeeeah?”
Tether, who was inside the carriage, shot out in a hurry.
“You couldn’t have contacted the Tower Master Second Princess already, so where did such a serious matter come from?!”
“Don’t worry. I talked to His Majesty the Emperor.”
“Eh? H-H-His Majesty the Emperor?”
Now I’m even more worried?!
It was obvious which side held more authority between the Tower Master Second Princess and the Emperor. To think this was the result of an outright conversation with the Emperor.
It was more than enough to shock Anes and Tether.
“Aren’t you taking on an overly reckless mission? If you fail, it seems like the Emperor might be disappointed.”
“On the contrary, I volunteered. I wanted to do it.”
“….”
Anes unconsciously pressed her forehead.
How on earth was he planning to manage this?
Even though she was his dedicated secretary, Anes couldn’t even begin to guess the actions of the Inspector. Who would do something like this just before setting off for the Black Tower?
However, Anes wasn’t naive enough to throw a tantrum. She tried to stay calm and assess the situation.
[ Success ]
Anes jotted those two characters in her notepad.
‘If we can achieve success, it would truly be something monumental.’
Not just a bad level, but enough to overturn the entire situation. The fallen status of the Imperial Tower would soar to great heights once more.
‘The rising fighting spirit of the Imperial Tower, the Emperor’s acknowledgment… Everything seems to lay the groundwork for a golden age.’
It was hard to understand why the Emperor had given such a mission regarding a completely hopeless Imperial Tower, yet Anes continued to jot notes and deliberate.
[ Failure ]
This time, she wrote those two characters down.
‘…It’s not that the Emperor trusts the Imperial Tower and has given this mission, but perhaps he’s looking for a reason to eliminate it outright.’
In simpler terms, it appeared that the Emperor was hoping for failure rather than success. A convenient excuse to dispose of the Imperial Tower that had disappointed him.
At least, that was how it felt to Anes.
Everything pointed only to that.
Having finished her calculations, Anes spoke up. It was just a bonus that she was twisting the cube she held in one hand.
“Inspector, you are truly remarkable.”
“I know.”
Anes’s eyebrows twitched slightly at his quick acknowledgment, but she continued calmly.
“It’s truly a mystery how you came to have an audience with the Emperor. It’s been said that it’s quite rare for a direct mission to be assigned by His Majesty.”
“Well, technically it’s not a mission, but a deal.”
“…Eh, yes. Please save the jokes.”
Anes sighed deeply and elegantly swept her hair behind her ear.
“However, there are too many concerning aspects. The first one being the ridiculous difficulty.”
“Actually, the difficulty isn’t that important.”
“Yeah, I figured you’d say that. But secondly, there’s the matter of relations between the towers.”
Whirrrrr— The cube in Anes’s hand spun.
“If we acquire the Vision Techniques, we can prevent potential terrorist attacks, and it would be a tremendous help to the Imperial Tower. But….”
“But?”
“The relationship between the Imperial Magic Tower and the other towers will likely deteriorate to an irreparable degree.”
“Aha.”
“If the other towers unite to present the Imperial Tower as a common enemy, it won’t be pretty. Am I right?”
Anes looked intently at Ezekiel.
“Of course, you must have understood everything up to this point before accepting the mission, right? Please….”
“Anes.”
Ezekiel called the secretary’s name nonchalantly.
“Yes, Inspector.”
“When exactly has the Imperial Tower ever had a good relationship with the other towers? As far as I know, there’s never been a time like that.”
“Umm?”
Anes tilted her head.
“What’s the current relationship between the Imperial Tower and the others?”
“Well, looking at the current situation… Well, of course….”
Anes hesitated.
“The Imperial Magic Tower is acknowledged as the highest and at least maintains basic manners. Also….”
“It’s all just a tactic to draw the others out. They’re just waiting for the perfect day to completely butcher us during this exchange meeting.”
“…”
She had no words to respond.
“Anes.”
“Yes?”
“Why are you being so servile?”
“…Eh? Are you saying I’m being servile?”
Anes blinked, but Ezekiel remained unperturbed.
“Exactly, who are we threatened by right now?”
“That would be….”
The other five towers excluding the Imperial Tower.
For some time now, they had completely ignored the reporting system and had started honing their blades by themselves. Those blades were naturally aimed at both the Empire and the Imperial Tower.
“While they may smile on the surface, they hide their swords behind their backs, and you want us to just keep smiling? Do you think doing that will make them drop their swords?”
“….”
“That’s like begging to be stabbed.”
Ezekiel inhaled the Sunweed smoke and exhaled.
“We need to be strong instead of being friendly and servile. We must ensure they never dare draw or wield those hidden swords.”
Anes could only close her mouth.
There was not a single flaw in Ezekiel’s words.
Somehow, she had grown accustomed to defeat, and without realizing it, perhaps she had become servile. She had long stopped imagining the Imperial Tower becoming stronger.
But if the Imperial Tower could become such a feared entity, what was there to lose? Even if the towers hid their weapons, they would never dare use them.
“Are you saying that you’re going to show the overwhelming prestige of the imperial family to preemptively mitigate future damage?”
“Exactly.”
Ezekiel nodded.
“It’s not exactly a grand matter, is it? It’s only right for the Imperial Magic Tower to be at least that formidable, don’t you think?”
Anes nodded her head this time too.
Still, there was one more thing she wanted to hear.
“Inspector, I still have a question.”
“Go ahead.”
“If the Imperial Tower gains significant prestige, won’t the other towers just conceal their Vision Techniques even more? That seems like the most obvious outcome.”
“Exactly.”
“We might secure our safety, but it’ll be difficult to acquire the Vision Techniques. If we try to pry them away too aggressively, it could lead to an all-out war.”
Then Ezekiel stared at Anes blankly.
“…”
After a long moment of silence, he picked up a stem of the Sunweed.
“…Anes.”
“Yes, Inspector.”
“Are you an idiot?”
“Yes?”
“Why would you try to take them by force? There are other ways to go about it.”
“….”
“Would you openly take a cub from a mother beast that’s fiercely guarding it?”
Ezekiel continued as if it were utterly absurd.
“Of course, it would fight back. Why on earth would you make it obvious? My secretary really is a fool.”
“….”
Anes clenched her eyes shut.
A vein popped vertically on the forehead of the secretary with her eyes closed. She knew the methods of stealing something secretly. However, she thought it was nearly impossible.
“Are you suggesting we should take it quietly?”
“We’re not thieves. How could we be so disgraceful?”
“Then…!”
“Don’t worry.”
Ezekiel dismissed Anes’s concerns.
“I already have a plan.”
“What kind of plan? Please share it with me.”
“How can I explain it simply?”
Huuuh—
“Ah, right.”
Ezekiel exhaled the Sunweed smoke and chuckled.
“You take it without them noticing. That’s how we do it.”
.
.
.
.
That’s when Tether shouted.
“Hey, hey, hey! But what do we do now?!”
She looked at her wristwatch and yelled.
“By now, we should have at least arrived at the village near the Black Tower! Only 10 minutes left…!”
“…?”
That’s right. Departure and arrival.
Ezekiel suddenly remembered what he had forgotten.
Now that he thought about it.
…Anes, why hadn’t they set off yet?
The Inspector’s head whipped toward Anes.
“Anes, why on earth haven’t we departed?!”
“Oh, um, that’s…”
Anes’s expression grew uncharacteristically awkward.
Then, she hesitated and said.
“The truth is, it’s not that we didn’t depart, but that we couldn’t.”
…What? Why couldn’t they depart?
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