"I only like adults. Even if they lack talent, I can use them as skeleton soldiers."
"Then why are you interested in a child like Rosaria?"
"They say she twisted the pillar of the tower into a sphere. That frail little girl."
"The pillar of the tower…?"
Dolores was left in shock.
Freesia raised one eyebrow as she looked at the astonished Dolores.
"What? I thought you were also targeting that little girl, but I guess not?"
"I... "
Dolores couldn't continue her sentence.
She hadn't kept tabs like the Tower of the Black Sky, so she hadn't heard the news before arriving.
Seeing Dolores like this, Freesia's face displayed a mischievous smile.
"It seems your childhood friend only worries about you."
"I came here only to keep an eye on things. It's purely for the relationship between the tower masters."
"Let's leave it at that."
Freesia didn't want to continue the wordplay.
"Child of Silence."
"Yes."
She showed her open palm.
"Five projects."
"What...?"
"I said I would give you five projects being conducted in the Black Sky."
It was an offer filled with more questions than joy.
Dolores couldn't even grasp what Freesia was talking about, but she flicked her fingers.
Thud!
Five makeshift bound books were placed on the table.
"These are top-notch projects. The calculations are 99% complete, and they only need a finishing touch. As long as you're not an idiot who ruins already cooked rice, you should be able to finish them."
As she said, almost everything had been formalized, and the hypotheses had been proven through experiments. It was as if they only needed a period at the end.
'On top of that, they're important main projects.'
The Tower Master of the Black Sky was also known as the eternal girl of the black sky, but she had the characteristics of being the strongest among the necromancers called the "Empress of the Undead."
As befitting her reputation, the projects she had researched were all enhancement spells to strengthen the power of necromancers.
Transferring the authority of these projects meant that Reed, the Tower Master of Silence, would need to grant permission for the use of these spells.
That alone could be a negotiation card.
'In the world of mages, information is the most important.'
The tower master's conference was a compulsory gathering created to respond to the official mages, but they also had secrets from each other.
Freesia had been hiding these projects until now.
And she revealed them to Reed.
"What should I offer you in return?"
"What do you think?"
It seemed like she didn't need to say it.
It was Rosaria.
"How about this? To adopt the little monster who folded the tower's pillar, is this enough?"
Is it enough?
Reed smiled and replied.
"Shouldn't the foundation of a negotiation at least appear to be an equal effort?"
"Are you saying I went too far? I wish that was the case."
"I believe the wise Freesia will understand well enough."
Resting her chin on her hand, Freesia glared at Reed through her fingers.
She certainly didn't mean that she had offered too much; rather, she had wagered too little.
That raised a question.
'What gives him such confidence?'
The projects Freesia had put forth were ones the Tower of Silence could stake its life on.
They were high-quality projects that couldn't be acquired with just money.
As the Tower Master, Reed would have known this.
That's why she couldn't understand why the balance was tipped towards the girl rather than the reputation of the tower.
"Does that mean the girl is that important? One who is fragile enough to burst if stepped on?"
"Yes."
Reed answered without hesitation.
Freesia hesitated for a moment at that response.
There was no smile on her cold, composed face.
She raised her hand again and flicked her fingers.
Snap!
Thud!
Two more books were placed on top of the project stack.
"Let's make it seven."
Upon hearing this, Dolores was even more surprised.
Giving away seven important projects was virtually equivalent to completely eliminating their performance within a quarter.
It was a fatal loss for the tower.
Not only the Tower Master of the Black Sky but also other tower masters had never done such a thing.
On the contrary, Reed responded without batting an eye.
"I refuse."
Squirm.
Her thin black eyebrows twitched.
"How strange. The Tower Master of the Wallin had a reaction, but the Tower Master of Silence remains unmoved."
"Why would I be swayed if I never intended to negotiate in the first place?"
"Why is that? Tower Master of Silence, just a month ago, I saw you scrambling to catch a big fish. But today, you seem uncharacteristically hesitant."
Freesia's narrowed eyes began to emit a red glow.
Seeing this, Dolores tensed up.
In that situation, Reed's calm demeanour was rather strange.
"In that case, let's not talk further and tire our mouths. I'll say just one thing."
"One thing?"
Freesia's face contorted.
The girl wearing a mask’s face had turned into a witch.
No, in fact, a sinister mist began to spread behind her.
The white marble was instantly stained black, and everything became sticky like tar.
Cold air started to pour out from one side.
Dolores was countering the mist.
"Black Sky Tower Master, please stop. This is going too far."
"Fine, I'll let you have one more word. Depending on what comes out of your mouth, the fate of your tower will be decided today."
"Black Sky!"
"Stay still. This is between Silence and me. Even if I cause a commotion, you won't be harmed. So..."
Don't interfere.
She sent that look and glared at Reed again.
"You seem to be confused, kid. What we're doing is not a transaction. What I'm doing is sympathy and favor, and you show the appropriate gratitude for it."
The initiative is with me, not you.
It was a self-centered, queenly thought.
There were none who dared to defy her under the Black Sky.
Even though it was said that the tower masters were forbidden from fighting, Black Sky was not bound by such rules.
Although she was the youngest in appearance among the tower masters, she was the second oldest at 131 years old.
She had no intention of being patient, as she was an experienced elder who could have seen everything the world had to offer.
If something was hidden, she would inflict pain to reveal it.
If they didn't listen, she would make them listen even if she had to kill them.
The self-centered queen who thought everything in the world belonged to her.
That was precisely Freesia Vulcan Darkrider.
"Go ahead and talk, kid."
"..."
Reed stood up from his seat.
He walked into the sticky mist of death.
There was not a single moment of hesitation in his demeanor.
"Re-Reed..."
Dolores unconsciously called Reed's name.
Without even acknowledging that he heard her, Reed walked straight with his back straight and his head held high.
Golden hues began to swirl in his slightly open eyes.
It meant that the mana within Reed was resisting the deadly energy Freesia emitted.
He placed one hand on the skull decoration and the other on the handle.
He leaned his face toward Freesia, who was looking up at him with red eyes.
"As I said earlier, I'll say just one thing."
But his resistance was not a simple defiance.
Reed had made up his mind ever since Freesia came for Rosaria.
A deep voice rang clearly in both tower masters' ears.
"Even if it costs me my life, I will not hand over that child."
