“We’re here. Thank you for your hard work.”
In front of the tower, the party bowed to the coachman in gratitude.
“You must’ve been exhausted with all the chases and skirmishes, yet you handled it splendidly.”
“It certainly wasn’t an ordinary journey,” the Grandmaster added. “We’re grateful.”
The coachman removed his hat, wiped away sweat with a handkerchief, and smiled.
“Haha, not at all. It’s my job.”
Because of the tower’s strict rules, the coachman couldn’t enter.
Isaac handed him an extra pouch of coins. After a brief hesitation, the coachman accepted it with a friendly grin and drove the carriage back toward Evergard.
“What a pity. I wanted him to try the seven-colored cookies they sell here!” Sharen sighed, watching the wagon roll away. The older driver had treated her like a daughter and often slipped her snacks, and now she wished she could return the favor.
“I ca once as a child with Father,” Rihanna said, gazing up at the soaring spire. “Back then, I only thought it looked wondrous ….”
That thing could blow any minute, Isaac thought, glancing anxiously her way. Whenever sothing triggered Rihanna’s mories, she would launch into a long monologue—like the ti a bed of flowers sent her off on lilacs and old stories of him.
First order of business: get her a gag.
Finding one tough enough had proven tricky—she could bend iron with her teeth—but surely the tower’s artisans could craft sothing worthy.
“……”
His fingers still ached from the last ti. Whenever Rihanna was about to blurt out sothing shaful or painfully honest, Isaac would stick a finger in her mouth to quiet her, only for her to bite or lick it. The whole ritual had long since crossed the line.
They stepped through the gate.
“It’s changed so much. The streets I saw as a kid weren’t—”
“You’re unbelievably loud.”
“At this rate her voice will crack,” Sharen muttered.
“I don’t talk because I want to!” Rihanna shot back. “That Vassalization on—”
Used to the bickering, the others simply walked on.
A group of female mages spotted Isaac, faces lighting up as they hurried over.
“Oh my, Isaac-nim! You’re back?”
“Ah! It’s been ages! Just arrived? I could brew you a potion to shake off road fatigue!”
“……”
All eyes drifted to Rihanna.
She stared wide-eyed at the won, then opened her mouth.
“And who exactly are you flirting with? Back off—”
“A-hem!”
The Grandmaster clamped a hand over her mouth just in ti. Isaac stepped forward with a polite smile.
“H-haha… She’s cranky after the trip. You know—she’s from Helmut.”
“Ah.”
“Fine, we’ll talk later.”
Just like magic, the word Helmut made the won click their tongues and leave. Rihanna’s eyes followed their backs as if vowing revenge.
“What’s wrong with Helmut?!” Sharen grumbled, kicking a pebble. She kicked so hard the stone lodged in a wall; she whistled innocently.
“That’s exactly why people say, ’because you’re from Helmut”.”
“Red Flas—ha!” she yelled. The spell fizzled with a dull thud—far too little mana.
Afterward, she hurried up to Rihanna.
“Did you see that, unnie? Isaac even has a fan club here! Is he posing ’cause he thinks he’s handso or what?!”
Where does she learn this stuff? Maybe from the Grandmaster, Naless, the thief-born Damien… or Lohengrin. Too many bad influences around Sharen.
“Just you wait! When I’m grown—tall, curvy—I’ll stroll around with my own fan club. Isaac’ll have to be its president, got it?!”
Rihanna shook free of the Grandmaster’s hand and answered flatly.
“Sharen, that body you want isn’t happening.”
“Why not?”
“Helmut blood only takes you so far.”
She spoke with a pained look—whether blaming the Vassalization or using it to tell a hard truth.
“Mother wasn’t exactly… well-endowed,” Rihanna finished, delivering the coup de grâce.
Sniffling, Sharen shrugged. “I take after Father.”
“……”
After that bit of idle chatter they reached the tallest crystal spire.
The Tower Lord’s Laboratory.
The place where the Tower Master lives and conducts research.
No sooner had they stepped inside than Naless greeted them with a yawn, half-lounging, a liquor bottle dangling from one hand.
“Hm?”
As soon as she spotted them, Naless jumped up and hurried over.
“Haha! Finally back, are you? Hey, young disciple! This place was crazy!”
“Don’t call him ‘young disciple.’ Isaac, pay no mind to the drunk,” the Grandmaster said, shoving her aside.
Even while being pushed back, Naless waved the bottle, reeking of alcohol.
“Aw, co on—it’s a great story! See, what happened was—”
Before she could launch in, Tower Master Regant appeared, scratching the back of his head.
“Could soone deal with that drunk? Research or not, she’s spent the entire day glued to that bottle.”
Then he noticed Rihanna behind the Grandmaster, and his face lit up.
“You rescued her.”
That alone told him enough. Regant was delighted both by their success and by gaining one more specin for ritual analysis.
“With two people under the sa Vassalization, we can do a much finer reading. Compare what’s shared, what’s different—”
“Is that thing the vassalization?” the Grandmaster asked.
Isaac let out a small laugh—around here, whenever soone talked too much, the running joke was to ask if they’d been under Vassalization.
The Vassalized herself, Rihanna, didn’t find it funny.
Pushing Naless and the Grandmaster aside, Regant walked straight to Rihanna and smiled kindly.
“Those restraints look nasty. Don’t worry—I’ll lift the curse and return you to normal.”
“Actually,” Isaac began, and told him what they’d learned about the Vassalization from the blood fiend.
“Unbelievable. Is the Vassalization always this broken?” Regant muttered.
Isaac’s expression turned sour; he’d mulled it over many tis.
“Strictly speaking, it’s a losing proposition for a transcendent.”
“Losing? They can bend humans to their will, make them slaves.”
“At a huge price. For Rihanna, it was paid with a left arm.”
In Arandel Helmut’s case, five primitive transcendents had died—their sacrifice could not have been cheap.
“A transcendent is worth a hundred n. Why sink that cost into binding a single human?”
“They could kill with a flick of the wrist,” Isaac went on. “Why pay and keep a Vassalization at all?”
“Because it’s Helmut. The bloodline is… peculiar enough that the Vassalization is worth the sacrifice.”
Regant thought a mont, then laughed dryly. “And you can’t slip them in as spies, either.”
While the two of them kept dissecting the spell—
“Isaac, sothing slls weird,” Rihanna cut in, looking apologetic; side-effect of the Vassalization.
“Right—I need a gag. The Vassalization makes her blurt out every inner thought.”
“She just… says whatever she’s thinking?”
“Yes. We had a gag, but it broke. Helmut’s teeth are… durable.”
“Isaac is amazing,” Rihanna mumbled.
“……”
“Isaac is the most amazing.”
Regant stared. “You reek of him.”
“This is serious,” he muttered, while the Grandmaster and Naless burst out laughing.
All the while, Sharen stood with arms folded, silent. Isaac frowned.
“What’s with you?”
Normally she’d be the first to tease him. Sharen straightened her brows, trying for stern and dignified.
“I take after Father.”
“…Right. Whatever you say.”
[TL: LOL. Sharen is the best. ]
---The End Of The Chapter---
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