I faced Solana with a bewildered look.
My student, now the Empire's 3rd Princess known as the Angel of the
Empire, was proudly forcing the position of Imperial Tower Auditor on me.
"Are you serious?"
"I am serious."
There was no hint of joking in her eyes or tone.
The problem was, if this wasn't a joke, it was even more serious.
"The 3rd Princess surely understands the prestige of the Magic Tower?"
"Of course. I understand it well."
"Not a professor at the Academy, but the auditor of the Magic Tower?"
"Yes. That's correct."
The Academy and the Magic Tower were worlds apart, both in prestige and
in the level and quality of work.
It was a given.
The Academy was a cradle of dreams that gathered and refined talents from
all over the continent, but the Magic Tower was a place where only the
finest, already refined gems could step foot.
Every year, the top students of the Academy would officially state their
dream of working at the Magic Tower.
Solana tilted the teapot to refill the teacups.
"As you know, there are six Magic Towers in the Empire."
"The Central Imperial Tower, surrounded by five other towers."
"That's right. You will be in charge of the Imperial Tower."
Think of it as a pentagon.
The Central Imperial Tower surrounded by the Black, Red, Purple, Green,
and Blue Towers at the vertices of a pentagon.
The authority of the Imperial Tower was exceptionally high, a fact that
hardly needed explaining.
"With the advancement of scroll technology and unusual erosion
phenomena… The authority of the Imperial Tower is not what it used to be.
The relationships between the towers have escalated from rivalry to
conflict."
"So?"
"It needs to be resolved, and I believe you can restore the authority of the
Imperial Tower."
Imperial Tower Auditor.
Setting quarterly goals and performance, schedules, staffing, and
departments of the Imperial Tower… You name it. The auditor has the
power to intervene in almost everything related to the tower.
But on the flip side, the auditor could also do nothing at all.
"Unfortunately, I don't have that level of sense of justice."
There was a time when I was full of passion.
A time when I naively believed that defeating the demons and closing the
gates of the demon world would bring immense peace and save me from
my terminal fate.
Solana nodded and sipped her tea.
"Of course, you don't have to do anything within the Imperial Tower. Such
an auditor is possible too. I mean it."
"Hmm."
I pondered for a moment. The Imperial Tower Auditor.
It might be a lifelong dream and aspiration for someone else.
…But I had to shake my head.
"There are too many issues to accept this blindly."
"Issues? What kind of issues?"
Unfortunately, Solana didn't back down easily. Instead, she looked
determined, as if she had anticipated my response.
It seemed I couldn't refuse with vague excuses, so I collected my thoughts.
Where should I start?
Right, the parachute issue first.
"My past missions were all top secret. I have no public achievements.
People will see me as nothing but a parachute appointment. There will be a
lot of negative talk directed at the royal family."
"No. There are achievements."
Solana answered confidently.
"You personally eradicated criminals in the Fatal region and captured a
wanted criminal in the Penitence Palace. That's more than enough."
"…"
Was this her plan from the start?
I did sense she was avoiding answering questions about the Penitence
Palace, but to think she planned everything from the start for this situation.
But fortunately, I still had plenty of reasons to refuse.
[ Appointment Letter ]
[ Appointing Jaekiel Hound as the Imperial Tower Auditor. ]
There, written right under the appointment letter.
[ The salary is set at 300 gold coins per month. ]
300 gold coins. An absurd amount of wealth.
I exhaled a puff of Sun Grass smoke and spoke.
"Solana, you should look into the people's lives a bit more. A single gold
coin can sustain a commoner family for a month."
According to the appointment letter, my monthly salary could support a
commoner family for about 25 years. How could that be?
"I anticipated that question. But I'm giving it from my personal funds."
"…Personal funds?"
"Yes. I have plenty of saved gold coins. There's no issue, right?"
"…"
In that case, I had nothing to say.
That left me with only one option.
A somewhat rigid but classic method, childish but effective—something I
had often relied on in the past…
—The Emperor might be displeased.
—T-Teacher! Then let's forget I said anything!
Yes, there's nothing like invoking the Emperor.
"The Emperor will be displeased."
"I don't think so."
Solana flipped the appointment letter, revealing a large, square seal.
Something familiar. The seal of the Imperial Jade.
"The Emperor has gladly approved this as well."
"…"
Now, I had no valid reason to refuse.
By this point, I was curious why Solana was so desperate, even to the point
of forcing this on me. So instead of refusing, I decided to ask.
"Solana, why are you going this far?"
"I'm just repaying the kindness you showed me."
"Is that the only reason? I'm asking because it doesn't seem like it."
Then Solana pursed her lips.
I continued speaking to her.
"I need to consider whether I even care about wealth and honor. Even if you
want to help, there are countless ways to do so. Forcing this on me suggests
there are other reasons."
Solana avoided my gaze for a moment.
Of course. Having watched over her since she was young, I couldn't be
fooled. There had to be another reason.
Repaying her teacher's kindness, the situation between the towers… There
had to be a reason that Solana felt was much more important.
Solana sipped her tea for a while, seemingly thinking very carefully about
what to say. So I waited patiently.
Finally, she spoke.
"…Because I read every single word of your letter."
"Oh."
Oh right. The letter.
I felt a cold sweat run down my back.
What exactly had I written? I only remembered the conclusion being a
proposal, but not the exact words.
Meanwhile, Solana continued.
"Each and every word… I could feel the depth of your anguish."
Well, I wrote it while drunk and high on Sun Grass.
Solana continued, her face slightly flushed.
"It was the first time I had encountered such words. They were vague and
difficult to interpret at first glance, but they touched my heart. And above
all, you included a drawing. I liked that."
…Did I include a drawing? That was one of my habits when intoxicated.
I must have drawn it while drunk. What did I draw?
Countless scenarios started running through my mind. Fortunately, Solana
didn't seem to notice.
"You're right. There is a reason I forced this. It's the conclusion I reached
after reading your letter countless times."
"…I see."
"Please trust me for now. I'm asking you."
"I understand what you're saying for now."
I nodded.
The strongest feeling I had at that moment was guilt for having done
something so terrible to Solana.
I felt sorry and pitiful for my own life, unable to escape its terminal fate, but
Solana must have been deeply troubled after reading my letter.
That's why things turned out this way, didn't they?
Solana had been worried about me all along and even planned to use her
own money to keep the position of the Imperial Tower Auditor open for me.
I suddenly felt ashamed.
…I had shown such disgrace as a teacher.
It feels like I've dragged Solana into my misfortune for no reason.
The current troubled state of the empire and the tense atmosphere among
the princesses with the succession to the throne imminent—I felt troubled,
as if I had intruded on an already overwhelming life.
But thanks to it, I was able to steel my resolve.
Wasn't it said that early suppression was crucial for fires? Before this
spreads into an unmanageable blaze, I thought it would be best to reveal
everything and retract now.
Because that would be the least courtesy.
"Solana."
"Yes?"
"About that letter, let's hold off for now…"
Tak.
Solana set her teacup down on the table.
At the same time, I felt an illusion as if the whole world had frozen.
"…Oh, I'm sorry. Were you about to say something?"
"…"
It was a very brief moment, but I clearly caught it. The way her pupils
narrowed conspicuously into four corners, and the moment when her once
benevolent divine power transformed into a chilling aura.
"…It's nothing."
I had an intuition.
Early suppression, my foot.
The fire had already spread to an uncontainable level.