"Today they had a moment?"
"But they're a couple?"
"…And even adoption?"
The story was absurd, but it somewhat made sense, so the men burst into
laughter.
"Wahahahahaha!"
The restaurant was filled with uproarious laughter.
"Even such insignificant folks come to a restaurant for a meal!"
"Good, I won't feel guilty about robbing them."
"Just think of it as punishment. Wahaha!"
Amidst the mocking and jeering, the members of the Imperial Tower were
busy communicating telepathically.
─What do you mean by 'had a moment'?
─All three of us shouted different things!
─Well, at least we hid our identities properly.
Jaekiel had a point. Thanks to that, they didn't seem to suspect they were
from the Imperial Tower.
─Anyway, Auditor, they all seem to be robbers. What should we do?
─Do I really need to answer that?
At that moment.
Someone picked up a dagger with great momentum.
"Let's start by killing the daughter! They'll be ecstatic, won't they?"
The man threw the dagger with impressive speed and power, showing it
wasn't his first time.
Swish!
─By the way, Anes, I didn't expect you to introduce us as a couple.
─Don't misunderstand. I was just doing my best to hide the fact that we're
from the Imperial Tower and the Imperial Family.
─Who doesn't know that? It's just surprising.
─Doing my best means I acted purely out of duty. Acting purely out of duty
means I excluded all emotions, and excluding all emotions means I never…
─Gyaaa! Aren't you going to stop the dagger?!
At that moment, Tether screamed telepathically.
Clang!
An ice spike shot out and deflected the dagger, then embedded itself in the
forehead of the thrower.
"Wh-When did he throw the dagger…?!"
The faces of the men showed shock.
It was understandable. The speed of Jaekiel's ice magic was beyond the
perception of ordinary men.
'…My skill level is rising.'
Jaekiel realized that his skill in ice magic and his own abilities were
improving. If this was what he could do with a potion, it would be even
more impressive with the Sun Water.
…He started to feel even more motivated.
Jaekiel took out a lollipop and put it in his mouth.
"Throwing a dagger at a happy family, that's inhuman. Robbers are worse
than beasts."
As he approached, freezing the ground beneath him, the men's faces filled
with fear. Jaekiel continued to intensify the cold without hesitation.
The fact that they threw a dagger at Tether without hesitation meant they
had easily killed young girls before, so these were people who couldn't be
left alive.
"W-Wait a minute!"
One of the men shouted urgently.
Fwoooosh!
The entire interior of the restaurant froze white.
Well, except for the one who just shouted 'wait a minute'.
"Anes, paper and pen."
The Auditor received the requested items without a word.
He created a desk and chair out of ice, then seated the remaining man and
put his arm around his shoulder.
"Write down everything you know about this area."
Shatter!
He shattered one of the frozen men nearby.
"The more detailed the information, the more intact your corpse will be."
The restaurant where everyone was frozen solid.
Anes examined the contents written on the paper.
"This area where we arrived, it seems the Black Tower intentionally drove
bandits and criminals into it. It says they have occupied the entire place."
Tether's eyes widened as she listened.
"Instead of arresting them, they drove them into an entire neighborhood?
What kind of idea is that?!"
"They seem to be trying to make things difficult for us."
Tether clenched her fist. Her rabbit-like face was filled with anger.
"Those insolent bastards!"
Tether finally let out her anger.
"Auditor! We don't need to comply with their requests about the cursed
sword or anything else! We should just go to the tower and punish them
immediately!"
Anes nodded as well.
"Yes. I think they've crossed the line by far. It's clear we need a plan."
"We can't just stand by here! Isn't the Imperial Tower supposed to monitor
and punish other towers? So right now…!"
"Enough."
Jaekiel interrupted Tether with a short command.
As if he knew, he nodded while sucking on the lollipop.
"Don't worry. I will definitely punish the Black Tower's insolence."
"Then let's go to the tower immediately…"
"But."
Jaekiel's tone became serious.
"Rushing in, breaking everything, and killing everyone, that's not what we
call punishment by the Imperial Tower."
His gaze turned to Tether.
"Tether."
"Y-Yes?"
"Why has the Imperial Family neglected the affairs between the towers?"
"Uh… because… it's an issue between the towers?"
"The Imperial Tower hasn't fulfilled its duties for over ten years. The
Imperial Family could have intervened directly."
"Oh, that's right? Uh… Wait… Why is that…?!"
Instead of answering, Jaekiel created two rough ice spikes on the desk, then
clenched his fist and spoke.
"Watch."
Bang!
He slammed down on one of the spikes, shattering it.
"If the Imperial Family intervenes, it will end up like this. The Black Tower
might disappear, but it's never a fundamental solution. It only looks like it's
gone."
Jaekiel's hand now moved towards the other spike.
"But."
Ssss!
He didn't break the remaining spike. He continued to shape and refine it
until it took the form of a magnificent tower.
"Remove only the unnecessary parts perfectly. This is what the Imperial
Family truly desires, and at the same time, this is what the Imperial Tower
must truly do."
"Oh…"
"The task we have to do, it's called purification."
"…"
Focusing solely on Jaekiel's words, both Tether and Anes quietly blinked.
Jaekiel quietly thought to himself.
'Technically, it's not the Imperial Family but the Emperor's stance.'
Well, it didn't matter.
The Emperor's stance was effectively the Imperial Family's stance.
The Emperor's ability was probably 'annihilation.'
Jaekiel was able to make a deal because he could handle things differently
from the Emperor. But what if he handled things exactly like the Emperor?
Jaekiel's unique advantage would disappear, and the Emperor would no
longer make deals with him, leading to a path where he couldn't obtain the
Sun Water.
Anyway, it just so happened that Jaekiel's goal aligned with the Imperial
Tower's goal. From now on, he just needed to focus all his efforts on
purifying the Black Tower.
Good. He had finished his thoughts.
"Tether."
"Y-Yes?"
"When does the presentation start?"
"Today is just the opening day of the exchange meeting, and the
presentations start at the tower the day after tomorrow."
"Good."
Jaekiel nodded.
"Let's gather all the information, and on the day of the presentation, recite
all the charges one by one and execute them all."
"…"
Anes and Tether blinked simultaneously.
"Why? Is there a problem?"
This time, both shook their heads simultaneously.
"No, it's just…"
Anes blinked rapidly.
"I didn't realize the Auditor was so thoughtful. I didn't expect you to
consider the original stance of the Imperial Tower. I must have misjudged
you."
Is that a compliment?
It must be a compliment, right?
Tether scratched the back of her head.
"I think I was short-sighted. I just wanted to vent my anger emotionally. I
shouldn't have done that…"
Jaekiel calmly chewed on his lollipop.
"The Imperial Tower has neglected its duties for over ten years. It's
understandable that it feels unfamiliar now, but let's gradually get used to
it."
"Sounds good! Let's do it!"
Tether, determined, raised her hand and shouted. She surprisingly had a
sense of justice.
"Tether, you can go to the tower ahead of time. You're a secretary, right?
It's not strange for you to be by the Princess's side."
"I'm also part of the Imperial Family! How can I stand by and watch such
evil deeds? I will do my best to achieve justice!"
She shouted confidently despite her small stature. Jaekiel thought she was
quite admirable.
Anes swept her hair behind her ear.
"Then we'll depart immediately. The paper that man wrote on also has
information about the altar for the cursed sword."
"Is it far?"
"Not at all, it's very close."
The three nodded simultaneously.
Leaving the completely frozen restaurant behind.
Two people stopped in front of the restaurant.
"…"
The sight of the entire restaurant building frozen solid was something they
couldn't pass by. They also wielded ice magic.
"The ice is extremely precise. Who could it be?"
"I haven't heard of anyone from our tower passing by."
The two, wearing blue robes and pursuing the art of ice magic, were
magicians of the Blue Tower.
That's why they were deeply puzzled.
Who could have such a high level of ice magic?
At that moment.
Coincidentally, a family was leisurely exiting the restaurant. A young man,
a woman, and a rabbit-like daughter.
One of the magicians pointed at them with his index finger.
"That family. It seems like they did this."
"Let's chase them immediately."
After saying that, he shook his head.
"No, we need to stop them immediately. Hey!"
A loud voice echoed.
The family walking ahead stopped in their tracks.