For a magician, treating magic stones like consumables is a difficult task.
Even the lowest grade magic stones are still magic stones.
Unless they were filthy rich, it wasn't easy to have such an idea.
However, Reed had more than enough money.
Contracts with the merchant alliance, procurement of raw materials, acquisition of knowledge.
The tower had become incredibly wealthy just from the various grants and favors coming in.
Reed used those funds to not only develop the inside of the Silence Tower but also to foster talent and hold idea contests.
Despite allocating nearly 80% of the funds, there was still enough money left over to buy two average kingdoms.
'War always turns into money...'
Even in a peaceful world, weapons continue to be sold.
Ideas keep increasing, and currently, eight projects are underway in the tower.
Reed was only involved in the "Project: Sunflower".
The development of railguns was carried out by the researchers selected by Kaitlyn Ramos.
Kaitlyn and Reed's research had to focus on "Project: Sunflower".
Reed entered Kaitlyn's laboratory.
Due to the resources and size, the entire three floors were converted into Kaitlyn's lab.
'It's really big...'
The part currently being made was equivalent to a man's chest.
A solidly carved chest, like a Greek soldier statue, took up more than 5 meters and occupied two floors of the Silence Tower.
Kaitlyn was assembling the interior on the support.
The hoses that would become blood vessels and muscles were being drawn by her telekinesis to find their places.
Since it was a design mimicking a human body, without delicate and sophisticated touches, a catastrophic explosion or a complete inability to use the body could occur.
It was a task that no one but Kaitlyn could do.
As she sighed and turned her head, she found Reed below her.
Seeing him looking up at her, she greeted him like a trained puppy.
"Have you arrived?"
"Is it going well?"
"What could be happier than living in the embrace of a man's chest wider than anyone else's?"
Kaitlyn chuckled and made a light joke.
The name attached to this gigantic body was Jotun.
Although it was the same as the headless magician in that it had no head, the difference for Jotun was that only the chest and right arm would be made.
It was being designed to meet the minimum requirements for casting magic and to withstand the powerful backlash of magic.
'At least, I've met the minimum requirements.'
The size of the mana storage that Helios demanded was one that could be supported by an entire tower.
Once the right arm is attached to cast magic, the "Project: Sunflower" will be over.
"Also, I've made some adjustments to your weapon."
"My weapon? The railgun?"
"Yes. After using it once, there were traces of the barrel melting from the heat. I reinforced it with a heat-resistant material since it seemed like it would explode from the barrel after about five uses."
"Good job."
Reed looked at the railgun placed on Kaitlyn's desk.
The gun that had been used to snipe Roderick's right arm to save Phoebe.
'How much did I contribute to creating this?'
At most, he just provided the knowledge.
It was possible because the rest was in the hands of the skilled Kaitlyn.
'She's a reliable ally.'
She's ambitious, but she knows her boundaries and doesn't overstep.
All Reed could do for Kaitlyn was to raise her position and give her money.
She deserved more rewards.
Thinking so, Reed told her.
"Kaitlyn."
"Yes?"
"I'll transfer the copyright of this railgun to you."
"The copyright... to me?!"
Kaitlyn was surprised and stopped talking.
For magicians, copyrights are absolute.
If they say not to use it, it must not be used, and if they ignore the warning and use it, they would be considered an enemy of the continent.
The higher the magic, the stronger the power of copyright.
That's why even joint copyrights can divide power.
Transferring such a copyright was an impossible story for magicians.
That's why Kaitlyn's reaction was perfectly normal.
Reed nodded his head.
"But, isn't this your weapon?"
"Without your technology, these things couldn't have been made anyway. I have no intention of claiming ownership and being greedy."
"Still, this is..."
Kaitlyn tried to argue but closed her eyes tightly.
As he said, it was enough for Kaitlyn to raise her voice.
Denying it would only refuse his favor.
"I understand. Since you said so, I don't know what else to do. Thank you very much."
"Yeah. Be careful and do your best."
Reed turned around with a slight smile.
The reason Kaitlyn couldn't be more stubborn was that she felt something unusual from Reed.
'It felt like he was wrapping things up.'
Kaitlyn couldn't say she had good intuition, but that uneasy feeling didn't leave her mind.
***
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***
Reed was invited to the Sky Chamber Tower.
He visited to precisely measure the space for the weapons to be used in "Project: Sunflower".
He brought elite members from the Silence Tower, but once they arrived at the Sky Chamber Tower, they felt like freshly trained soldiers.
Everything in the Sky Chamber Tower seemed mysterious to their eyes.
Unlike the towers stretching towards the sky commonly seen in the Cloud Continent, the Sky Chamber Tower was famous for being a tower lying sideways.
Rather than feeling like a tower, it seemed like another ecosystem was being maintained, with another island placed in the sky.
As much as it was floating in the shape of an island, such power was necessary.
Reed was facing the material that provided that power.
Like the Earth's core, it was floating in a spherical shape at the center of the Sky Chamber Tower.
Reed's mouth opened involuntarily.
Any magician would see an object shining so big and beautiful that they might think it was a dream.
"Is there so much mana that can be collected from space?"
"It wasn't made overnight. It has been accumulated for nearly 30 years from vast space, so that's possible."
He also heard that the Sky Chamber Tower hesitated several times to expand because it could collapse without mana.
"If you use the mana here, the continent would be destroyed."
"It won't be enough to destroy the continent. If the continent is destroyed, it would be when the tower falls and collides."
'Not a bad idea to drop a giant meteor as a last resort.'
Even though he was about to say that, he quickly swallowed it back, imagining apologizing.
Helios, unaware of Reed's thoughts, guided him to the next room.
"This is the mana you'll use for the weapon you'll create."
The core that supported the Sky Chamber Tower was impressive, but the mana he would use separately was no less formidable.
If it was immeasurable before, this time it was an amount that could be measured with certainty.
'It's enough to operate two Silence Towers.'
In other words, it meant that he would use an amount equal to half of the two towers to cast a magic bolt that could deal five times more damage.
'No living creature would survive, that's for sure.'
Although he had doubts, he couldn't create weapons if he worried about that.
The most important thing was victory.
It's not too late to think about safety and aftermath after victory.
"Can the Jotun you create handle all this mana?"
"It's probably impossible. Our chief engineer said that the maximum is one tower's worth."
"What about increasing the number?"
"That should be possible, but the problem is that it would take at least twice as long."
"Hmm..."
Helios sighed regretfully.
"Unless it's at the level of an Eternal Hole, it's impossible."
"Can't you compromise on the power?"
Bombarding with the mana of five towers is still a very damaging magic.
It seemed sufficient to annihilate the disaster.
However, Helios shook his head.
"It won't be enough. A being that cannot be stopped by human power will undoubtedly require more power than we can imagine. If it's not at this level, our human future will undoubtedly be bleak."
Although he thought dealing damage worth thirteen towers was excessive, he was also right.
Since it's an item used when human potential is insufficient, its power must exceed imagination.
Reed nodded his head and told Helios.
"I'll give it a try."
***
After finishing his trip to the Sky Chamber Tower, Reed returned to his office.
Phoebe was waiting in front of the office.
It was unusual.
Her desk was in the entrance hallway, so it was strange for her to be waiting in front of the office.
Reed sensed that it wasn't an ordinary matter.
"What brings you here?"
"Well... I have a question."
"Go ahead."
Phoebe hesitated and then spoke with difficulty.
"Did you... already know?"
"What are you talking about?"
Phoebe handed him a document.
It was a document containing the details of the Astheria extermination incident.
It was a significant event, so the report was quite thick, containing analyses from many scholars.
Reed was well aware of its contents.
So, he could guess why Phoebe had come here.
"Do you know all of this?"
Her naive-looking eyes seemed to demand trust, and he hesitated between telling her a gentle lie or a cruel truth.
"Yes."
Reed threw the truth.
Phoebe slightly bit her lower lip.
"And... is all this true? That I was brainwashed by the lord?"
"I knew that too."
"...Why didn't you tell me?"
The reason he didn't tell her.
At first, it was because he didn't know about Phoebe's past.
However, as Reed's original memories merged, he could fully understand Phoebe.
Why he hadn't mentioned it.
"Sometimes the truth is cruel."
At that time, Phoebe was already exhausted.
Telling her the truth would only make her more miserable.
He didn't carelessly mention such unnecessary things to create a stepping stone for her recovery.
"Why didn't you tell me the truth?"
"I said I would be your ally. I promised to be on your side no matter what you believe."
You reap what you sow.
Phoebe's blind faith was possible because Reed had blindly believed her.
He stood by her side even when others disparaged Roderick.
He stood by her side even when the truth was revealed using all available evidence and methods.
Even if Phoebe didn't believe it when the person involved appeared and revealed the truth, Reed would still be on her side.
Reed had been treating Phoebe with such feelings.
"I see."
Phoebe's hands trembled as she listened to his words.
She was angry.
It wasn't anger towards Reed, who unconditionally believed in her.
"If only I were as smart as Dolores... I could've figured this out on my own..."
She resented her own foolishness.
Phoebe closed her eyes tightly and lowered her head.
"Phoebe..."
Reed tried to comfort her by grabbing her shoulder.
That's when it happened.
Phoebe suddenly embraced Reed.
Her boldness, unusual for her, left Reed's hands momentarily lost.
"I'm a fool."
She said.
"Just like you said, I pretend to like something, and then I end up really liking it, like a foolish child."
Her embrace became stronger.
"So now I don't know what I like. I'm scared that these feelings toward you might not actually be false."
"..."
"What do you think of me?"
Reed wrapped his arms around her shoulders and hugged her back.
The horns on her head touched his chest, but he didn't care.
"You are just as special to me as Dolores. A very precious person."
He knew this alone wouldn't be enough.
But he was sure that no matter how he answered, he wouldn't be able to persuade her.
Phoebe carefully pushed away the hand that embraced her.
"If you say that out of pity... please don't. I'm fine."
Phoebe smiled.
It was a smile that was incomparably sorrowful.
"You don't have to love me. I'll always be here. My home is here, and the one I serve is my master, the Tower Master. I'll be here until you tell me to disappear because you don't want to see my face anymore. Always..."
Tears welled up, and her eyes became moist.
She tried to hold back the tears and smiled brightly.
Phoebe stepped back with those words.
"I'll go now."
Reed couldn't hold onto Phoebe.
'Now I think I know why I couldn't say I loved her.'
It was instinct.
If, even a little, he said that out of pity for her situation, and that pity was something Reed himself wasn't even aware of, then all that would be left for her would be pain.
As Phoebe said, Reed really needed to reflect on whether he was doing all this out of pity for her or not.
