Chapter – 10
“Sir Joan. Miss Annette. I’ll be back. It might take a little while, so don’t just wait for me—please take care of your own errands.”
I turned back and gave them a bright smile.
Even though the Magic Tower had practically turned into a commercial facility, it still stubbornly maintained one of its proud traditions:
All client consultations must be strictly one-on-one.
Sir Joan didn’t look entirely comfortable letting me go alone, but he didn’t object.
After all, the Magic Tower was considered an impregnable fortress. Not a single theft had ever occurred here. A crime-free zone.
So even Sir Joan could relax, at least while I was inside.
“Welcome, dear customer. I am Roselyn Meyer, a second-class mage assigned to assist you today!”
Another mage greeted me as soon as I entered the consultation room.
I immediately got to the point. I didn’t have time to waste.
“You sell magical ingredients as well as magic tools and scrolls, correct?”
“Of course. What materials do you need?”
“I need the root of a red monkshood, Boyer mountain tulip, Kakulta extract, and Orbi fruit.”
Roselyn quickly wrote down my order and smiled.
“Fortunately, most of these can be prepared right away. Except for one.”
“Excuse me? One?”
“Due to the current narcotics crackdown period, Kakulta extract has been classified as a restricted substance because it contains drug components. I’m very sorry, but we cannot sell it right now.”
Boom.
It felt like lightning struck inside my head.
A drug?! I never heard anything about that!
There had been no mention of this in the novel. The tower master Rizzello had simply provided the materials and the heroine just made the medicine.
So this is where the difference starts between the heroine with golden connections and me…
“Is there… any way to obtain it? I’m in a very urgent situation.”
“I’m truly sorry. We won’t be able to help until the crackdown period ends. Thank you for your understanding.”
My fingertips went cold.
The time-limit curse could be cured by regularly taking a magical antidote made from specific ingredients.
Of course, this antidote formula had been specially developed by Rizzello for the heroine and was not publicly known.
The problem was that it had to be taken consistently for a certain period of time.
The exact duration wasn’t specified in the book, but it seemed like at least half a year.
“Do you know how long the crackdown will last? Will it be longer than six months?”
“Let me see… it should end in about a month.”
One month!
That was manageable.
Relieved, I quickly nodded.
“I see! Thank you. Then I’ll just purchase the other materials for now.”
“I’ll process your payment right away.”
I took out my wallet and paid 23 Mars.
Yesterday, after our contract was finalized, Ian had thoughtfully given me 1,000 Mars in cash.
The rest would be deposited once I opened a bank account.
“Thank you for your purchase. Is there anything else you need?”
“How do I get to the research floors? I heard the magic academy admission consultations are held there. A friend asked me to check.”
I asked quickly, almost cutting her off.
I didn’t have much time. I had to visit the research tower before Sir Joan started wondering why I was taking so long.
“You can access the research floors through the other tower. As you know, the twin towers are right next to each other.”
“I see! Thank you. May I exit through that door?”
I pointed to a different exit than the one I entered.
“Of course. Please use whichever door is convenient.”
“Thank you! Have a good day!”
“You too, dear customer. This has been consultant Roselyn Meyer!”
I didn’t even wait for her farewell to finish before rushing out.
Because I exited through the opposite door, Sir Joan wasn’t visible.
Let’s finish within ten minutes.
I had two objectives for coming to the Magic Tower.
First: obtain ingredients for the antidote to the time-limit curse.
Second—and more urgent: find a way to fake passing the saint verification test.
Surprisingly, this method had also appeared in the original novel.
Of course, deceiving the church wouldn’t be easy.
I planned to meet Tower Master Rizzello directly.
In the original story, the heroine had once needed to pass the saint verification through deception.
And the one who helped her was Rizzello.
Of course, unlike the heroine who had his affection, I’ll have to pay a fortune.
But I had learned that investments must be made boldly when necessary.
The first major expense from the ten million Mars I would receive from Ian would likely be spent here.
Careful not to run into Sir Joan, I exited the tower.
The street leading to the opposite tower was packed with people.
It felt like there was a festival nearby.
As I pushed through the crowd, I suddenly heard a familiar voice.
“P-please stop…!”
“Come on, we’re not bad guys.”
“We just want to have a little fun. Why so stiff?”
“I have to go back! P-please move!”
That was Annette’s voice.
I looked around and spotted her at the entrance of an alley.
Her back was against the wall, surrounded by thugs.
“We’ll show you something fun. Something you church girls have never seen.”
“Is it because she’s from the church? So uptight.”
“Do you just pray all day? Your shoulders are as thin as paper.”
One thug reached for her shoulder.
Before I could think, I stepped into the alley and shouted:
“What do you think you’re doing?!”
“Huh?”
“Who’s this girl?”
The thugs all turned toward me.
It’s okay, I reassured myself.
This was a crowded commercial district. People might not interfere over minor trouble, but if things escalated, someone would at least report it.
“Miss Annette, come here.”
“M-Miss Irene…!”
“Oh? So your name’s Annette? Cute name.”
“The new girl’s name is cute too. Irene, come play with us.”
Instead of backing off, they turned their attention to me.
I glanced toward the street.
But although a few passersby peeked inside, most simply kept walking.
“Why don’t you show us your face, Irene?”
“Yeah, take off the hood. We can’t see you well.”
They slowly approached.
One thug looked closely at my face and blinked.
“W-wait. Haven’t I seen this face in the newspaper?”
“What newspaper? …Wait. It really does look familiar.”
“She looks just like that woman dating the Knight Commander!”
Apparently, they were avid gossip readers.
Once they realized I was Ian’s rumored lover, they became noisy.
“S-she really is the Knight Commander’s woman.”
Maybe this is actually good.
If they knew who I was, they wouldn’t dare touch me.
Unless they were truly insane.
“H-hey, let’s just leave.”
“Yeah… wrong target.”
They began backing away.
I was just about to sigh in relief when—
“Wait.”
The biggest thug stepped forward.
“Aren’t you curious? What kind of woman makes the Knight Commander throw away his purity?”
“….”
He grinned and stepped closer.
“How amazing must you be?”
There he is. The crazy one.
Up close, his eyes looked completely unhinged.
Sensing danger, I turned toward the street to shout for help.
But—
Huh?
A violet barrier blocked the alley entrance.
“Now no one outside can see in. Let’s introduce ourselves properly.”
“Yeah I’m curious too. How’d you seduce him?”
“We just want a look.”
One of them must have cast a barrier spell.
…These lunatics cast a barrier just to harass women?
“D-don’t touch her!”
Annette shouted and stepped in front of me.
Her arms were trembling.
“Oh? Church girl wants to play first?”
They laughed and approached.
Damn it.
I bit my lip and slipped my right hand into my pocket.
“Miss Annette.”
“Y-yes?”
“Run! Now!”
At the same time I shouted, I threw sharp seed-like fruits from my pocket.
Bang! Bang!
They exploded loudly upon hitting the thugs.
“Argh! What is this?!”
“It burns!”
“Miss Annette! Run!”
I grabbed her wrist and ran toward the exit.
But we slammed into the barrier and fell back.
What is this? It blocks physically too?!
“It’s a low-grade barrier! If we hit it hard enough it’ll break!”
“My eyes! It stings!”
While they stumbled around, we kept striking the barrier.
Soon cracks began forming.
It’s working!
Just as I struck harder—
“Ah!”
The barrier suddenly vanished.
I lost my balance and fell forward.
The ground rushed toward me.
I instinctively shut my eyes.
But the impact never came.
Huh?
Something firm and warm caught me.
“Th-thank you…”
I looked up to thank whoever caught me.
And froze.
“Ah, I can see again.”
“These brats! We were just going to play and let you go—huh?”
“W-wait… that person….”
The thugs also froze as they realized the situation.
I gave an extremely awkward smile.
“W-we meet again…?”
Ian did not smile back.
He simply stared at me with cold blue eyes.
“I believe I told you to stay put until the engagement ceremony, my future wife.”
His voice was slow and cold.
Cold sweat ran down my back.
“S-sorry. Haha. I just went out for some fresh air… things got a little complicated.”
“Was the church that suffocating?”
“Haha… it’s just unfamiliar…”
“So.”
He cut me off and smiled coldly.
“What business did you have at the Magic Tower, dear fiancée?”
Gulp.
I swallowed hard.
For the first time, that title sounded terrifying.
