After the presentations of the Magic Towers.
Whoosh, whoosh!
Two days had quickly passed.
Bam, bam!
Usually, after a presentation, it’s common to enjoy socializing during the remaining exchange period. Many young mages would find each other and hook up as couples.
Ka-boom!
But the Imperial Magic Tower was an exception.
Zing!
Hedera quickly issued orders to summon the mages from the Imperial Magic Tower to the black spire’s lodging.
Ping!
The inspector needed to check and record the simple notes made while observing presentations from other towers, and it was necessary to document everything properly with scrolls.
Shhhhhh!
As a result, they were in hot water.
“Are we really making scrolls of each tower’s advanced techniques?”
What the—?!
“I’m not sure we have scrolls big enough for the Green Magic Tower’s top magic! What now?”
Gasp!
“What do you mean ‘what now’? At least record the combination methods!”
Ching!
“Isn’t that my scroll?”
Huh?!
“Wait, that’s not mine! Ugh, it got mixed up again!”
Pfft!
If they could perfectly create even one scroll, it would be a tremendous benefit for the Imperial Tower. However, now they had not one or two, but dozens of tasks piling up…
Bum-bum, bum!
“Everyone, calm down!”
Tap-tap!
Agnes encouraged the mages.
“Precision is more important than speed. If you get too excited, it won’t look good.”
Whoa!
“No way! How can we not be excited about this?!”
Nox, the expert from the Imperial Magic Tower, pushed his glasses up with a giddy expression.
“Are you kidding me? The Imperial Tower extracts advanced techniques from each tower and creates scrolls? Can you think of anything more amazing? This is unprecedented!”
Whoosh!
“…Well, I guess that’s true.”
Giggle!
Their goal wasn’t to sell the scrolls and make a profit. Keeping the information would significantly expand the research scope of the mages at the Imperial Tower.
Nox shouted, still buzzing with excitement.
“If we research based on this and things go very well? Vision techniques from other towers could be born right here at the Imperial Tower!”
Fwoosh!
Other mages couldn’t hide their admiration.
“How could this happen at the Imperial Magic Tower?”
Uwoah!!
“I’ve never experienced anything like this! It’s incredible!”
Wow!
Agnes silently nodded.
“Well, the inspector hasn’t been around much.”
Hmm…
Other mages at the Imperial Tower blinked quietly.
Agnes actually complimented the inspector?
What?!
Agnes, who had always added remarks about disliking him, just did that?
“We might see even more extraordinary things happening in the future. Let’s all give it our all.”
Clap, clap!
Although the mages of the Imperial Tower were unaware of all the details, it was clear something great was happening, wasn’t it?
Whoosh, whoosh!
There was no reason not to work hard.
At that moment, the spire lodging door swung open. A mage from the Imperial Tower brought in a hefty bundle.
“Agnes, I’ve brought it.”
Swish!
“Oh. Thank you for your hard work.”
Thud!
Agnes quickly accepted the bundle.
As it was transferred from hand to hand, the sound of glass clinking echoed. Plus, there were flasks with their tops sticking out everywhere!
“Agnes, what’s that?”
Ping!
“This is a collection of elixirs, one or two from each tower, sent during this exchange. I thought we should deliver them all to the inspector.”
Bam!
“One looks like frost soup, and another like lava soup… Aren’t these two totally opposite elixirs?”
Gulp!
“But I plan to deliver them all.”
Ugh…
…Isn’t the inspector not a cauldron?
Wait, what?
…No, even a cauldron wouldn’t survive that much, would it?
…Can we really dump that on a human?
Hah!!
Well, in the end, no one voiced their concerns.
Twitch, twitch!
Tether, the 2nd Princess’s secretary, also helped the Imperial Tower mages and smiled, seeming pleased as she watched all this.
“Oh, how the atmosphere has changed.”
Bam!
Tether suddenly recalled the past of the Imperial Tower.
Just recalling Hedera’s expression back then was a drastic change. The 2nd Princess would sigh every time she reviewed documents about the Imperial Tower.
Thump, thump!
Even visits in person were the same. The mages appeared indifferent, always stressed, with sunken eyes.
Ugh!
“Hey, what the heck! I put it in correctly, why isn’t it activating?!”
Crash!
“Eh? Wait, isn’t this wrong? Why did it work again?!”
Bing!
But now, wasn’t it all so noisy?
Squeeak!
Even if it looks a little ridiculous, it didn’t matter. Just seeing everyone filled with life and working together was heartwarming.
Gasp!
And all this stemmed from just one person.
“Inspector Ezekiel.”
Wow!
Incredibly, it was something he had accomplished all on his own.
Thud!
So when it came to the notion of giving all those precious elixirs to the inspector, everyone showed no sign of discontent.
Ha-ha!
Everyone knew very well that Ezekiel was capable of something, and he was providing immense benefits to the Imperial Tower.
Boom!
And the work continued for quite some time.
Bam, bam!
Eventually, they faced an inevitable hurdle.
“Agnes, I just don’t get it.”
Pfft!
“I can’t figure out how to replicate this.”
Uh-oh!
Hearing the mages blink in confusion, Agnes responded.
“Well, we have to try harder, what can we do?”
Ding!
“I feel like we need to ask the inspector himself…”
Gulp!
“Stop whining!”
Chirp!
“This isn’t whining. No, just look at this…”
Swish!
The mages nervously handed over a note.
[ 3, 4, 213. It’s easy, so I’ll skip the explanation.]
Huh?!
“…”
After glancing at the note, even Agnes was left speechless.
“What the heck is this?”
Hmm…
It seemed like a note that Ezekiel jotted down after seeing a spell demonstrated at another tower, the problem being Agnes couldn’t understand it one bit.
Scratch, scratch!
The clincher was the final line.
[ It’s easy, so I’ll skip the explanation. ]
What?!
“…Easy? Easy, what?!”
Murmur, murmur!
She found herself muttering blankly.
Agnes then took another look around the lodging. Now that she thought about it, the difference was pretty stark.
Twitch!
The mages looking over the notes from Tether and Agnes were diligently working on something, while those surrounding Ezekiel’s notes were tearing their hair out.
Gasp!
“Hey, can you hand me some more notes?”
Swap!
Agnes gathered several notes and scrutinized them.
[ A summary of the Red Tower’s ‘Flowing Flame’ ]
1. Draw the energy as shown and secure the circuit firmly to prepare to manifest the flame element.
2. Manifest the flame element while considering the water element. Slowly reverse the energy…
Chirp!
Basically, Agnes’ notes were like that.
Snap!
Not knowing much, she had to write down as much as possible.
Whoosh!
Meanwhile, Ezekiel’s notes looked completely different.
[ 324, 135, 1333. Weak. ]
Huh?
[ ←↑→↓↗↙→→↑ Manifestation ]
“What…?”
Brrr!
What on earth is this?
Hmm!
Anyway, it was the exact opposite of Agnes’ notes.
Bang!
Ezekiel had so much knowledge he didn’t need to write in detail. The problem was that most mages couldn’t decipher his notes.
Thud!
She finally rubbed her temples.
“…I’ll have to ask about this later.”
Bam!
After recording all these presentations, the inspector mumbled, “I can’t be satisfied with just this,” and headed out to a social gathering. In other words, he wasn’t here at the moment.
Fwoosh!
That was when—
“Everyone is doing great.”
Clap, clap!
With her unique energy wave, the owner of the Imperial Magic Tower, the 2nd Princess Hedera, stepped into the lodging.
“A meeting with the owner of the Imperial Tower, Your Highness the 2nd Princess!”
Whoa!
All the mages paused their work and jumped up to greet her. Hedera nodded, seemingly unfazed by the mess inside the huge lodging.
“Looks like everyone has been working hard. Am I in the way?”
Uh-oh!
Everyone avoided her gaze.
…She had visited over ten times today already.
Eek!
It seemed she would probably keep popping in regularly. She’d been appearing almost every hour!
Phew!
“Shouldn’t you just stay here all the time?”
Murmur, murmur!
The mages thought to themselves. It was surprisingly hard to stop focusing every hour, dash over, and put on pleasantries.
Bam!
“Hm.”
Sniff, sniff!
Hedera casually surveyed her surroundings.
Swish!
Her eyes fell first on the bundle of elixirs.
“Is that… elixirs?”
Pop!
“Yes. That’s right.”
Clink!
Agnes answered on behalf of everyone.
“Hmm, if you carelessly store them like this, it could turn problematic. The effectiveness might decrease.”
Ugh!
“Well, I’m planning to hand them over right away…”
“Also, no foreign substances should meet the scrolls. The lodging seems a bit unclean.”
Uh-oh!
“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”
Tick tick!
“Has the inspector not visited this place yet?”
Huh?!
Agnes fidgeted with her cube awkwardly.
This was already the tenth time today.
Oops!
She understood the 2nd Princess’s great care for the inspector, but each time she came, Agnes had to pay respects and respond to all her questions, which made progress slow down considerably.
Thump!
Finally, Agnes spoke up.
“Your Highness.”
“Yeah. I’m listening.”
“Actually…”
Stutter, stutter!
Agnes cautiously parted her lips.
“I’ll… do my best.”
Gasp!
Suddenly, silence hung over the area.
Twitch!
Tether, watching from the side, gulped nervously.
This peculiar clash of wills,
Ding!
No, this odd battle of spirits had yet to end.
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