[21st Round] The Tower of Sage?
▶ Question: Are you sure you want to leave them like this?
‘It’s alright, Trainee Teacher!’
I had spent enough time with the Sword Princess.
Her influence on the Northern Continent was strong, which meant she’d be fine. I also taught my son a lesson that would make him even stronger within a year.
“How did it go, cowardly hubby?’
“I don’t understand what you mean.
Two days after the grand wedding, I quietly escaped at dawn and reunited with Ssosia, waiting for me outside the estate.
“Stop fooling around. You know what I mean.”
“Better yet, why don’t you tell me about Lanuvel.”
“I couldn’t find her. But the Hero-Summoning Magic Circle was definitely activated. I have a feeling that won’t be the last time, too. So, how’s the Sword Princess?”
“She’s in good health.”
She had a very strong spine and excellent regenerative abilities.
“What’s with that answer?”
“I’m just telling you how it is. She’s the first-ever to heal from a herniated disc instantly.”
“Hmph! If you don’t want to talk about it, then don’t…”
“Do you want to hear that your pelvis is more beautiful?”
“What?! Don’t make me sound like a lustful, love-hungry demon!”
“Heh~”
She denied it, but my cowardly wife’s sullen expression betrayed her.
“Tsk…”
“Tell me openly that you couldn’t find your place because of jealousy.”
“Where did that stupid assumption come from?! I am not at all offended by my husband who conceived a child with someone else then returned to her for marriage!”
“Ugh. Being popular is so difficult.”
“Do not flatter yourself!”
We moved swiftly while talking to each other.
The First Spirit, who had been lazing around on my head all day and sniffing at me, asked a good question for the first time in a long time.
“Where are you going, Drug Hero?”
“To the Tower of Sage.”
We went to the Magic Kingdom’s city where Sage, the strongest wizard of the 4th curriculum, lived.
When we entered the 5th curriculum, Connoisseur Shakespeare took his throne, but that didn’t mean Sage was weak enough to be ignored.
Moreover, this was the Northern Continent, an area in which he had great influence.
There were other reasons as well.
“Like?”
“Have you finally calmed down? Agh!”
“Stop teasing me unless you want me to tell your mother that she’s got another daughter-in-law. Just remember that I’ve already created my own messenger account.”
“That’s too cruel!”
My cowardly wife not only poked my side but also decided to blackmail me. Even for a demon, she was stooping too low!
“I just need to take a photo of her so I can provide evidence.”
“I apologize!”
“Hey, hubby… I’m not complaining, but didn’t you give up too quickly?”
“It’s because I’m a good son.”
And totally not because mom’s tennis racket scared me.
“I think I’ve said this before, but your stories make it sound like your mom can split the universe in half with her tennis racket.”
“You’ve read too many novels, Ssosia.”
My mother was an ordinary housewife who had her apron taken away from her by my father even though she was a great cook.
She didn’t have the ability to tear apart the universe.
She couldn’t even cut carrots on a cutting board, let alone the universe.
“By the way, hubby, why did you decide to meet Sage? As with the Sword Princess, do you want to reveal your true identity and ask for cooperation?”
“…”
“What?”
“How do you know that, Ssosia?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
My cowardly wife was immediately embarrassed.
All the evidence pointed to her guilt, but her compassionate MAX-Class husband decided to turn a blind eye to this.
For as long as she didn’t tell my mother anything, that is.
“The reason for meeting him is simple. The Hero-Summoning Magic Circle requires many rare catalysts. When I was looking for ways to get home during my first round, I realized how rare and valuable those objects are. Therefore, if we assume that Lanuvel created this circle in the usual way, then Sage most likely helped her in this.”
“I get that, but will he even be honest? He can just falsify the ledger.”
“Since when did you become so smart?”
“This is nothing for the Hero’s ideal wife, even though I didn’t even have a grandiose and important wedding ceremony.”
“…”
It seemed like she was obsessed with this a lot.
I thought she should just focus on being happy since I found her pelvis the perfect one out there for me instead of thinking about such a burdensome ritual like a wedding, but my wife, like the nobles, seemed to suffer from vanity.
How should I calm her down?
At that moment, a flying stingray caught my eye.
“Se-e-e-ex?”
Exactly! That was the answer!
“I gave you an expensive foreign car, cowardly wife.”
“… I am indeed a successful woman who received a space horse from her husband! There is no need to rush the wedding ceremony. We have to make it grand, after all!”
“Yes, yes…”
Although she hadn’t shaken off her strange obsession with the wedding, she still seemed to be satisfied and couldn’t get over the horse yet.
***
Every time trends changed, so did a thriving industry.
A city and province’s economic rise and fall depended on which industry they specialized in.
Agriculture, tourism, industry, information services, gambling, leisure, fishing, trade…
However, in any industry, the one who took the leading position would have the power to survive any crisis.
This rule also applied to the Fantasy World.
“This run-down town is the Tower of Sage…?”
“Run-down or not, this is definitely it, my hubby who gave me a spare horse.”
“Se-ee-e-ex!”
The Tower of Sage I knew was the jewel of Fantasy.
Now, however, it was more like a manor house with a pagoda that could be found anywhere on the Northern Continent.
“It’s worth investigating…”
“Stop before your hand slips off again, hubby.”
“Why should I?”
“Your wife shall interview the locals herself with her space horse, which is a sign of success for women.”
“… Okay.”
I decided to trust Ssosia, who for some reason emphasized being a “successful woman.”
At least she wouldn’t run around and agree to the locals’ every request, which my companions did in my first round, ultimately making my life much more difficult.
But I was still interested to see what Ssosia would do.
… She wagged her pelvis.
At that moment, the First Spirit spoke up.
“Although my niece looks pathetic, please do your best to understand her, Drug Hero. She’s always been jealous of her friend, who achieved success much earlier than others.”
“Which friend?”
“I’m not sure, but she’s probably the one who gave my niece her slime.”
“I see…”
It was hard for me to imagine.
Who was this person who was able to assign Master Mollan to Ssosia as her mentor?
Whoever she was, she was apparently a very successful friend.
“I beg your pardon, but can I ask you a question?”
“Hmm? Oh, a goddess…”
“If you stare at me so openly, my husband, a jealous-type, might break your spine.”
“Ahem!”
“So, can I ask you a question?”
“Sure. The opportunity to communicate with such beauty is a great honor and joy for me. You are the second most beautiful woman I have ever met. Ask me anything!”
“Thank you. Now, then…”
Ssosia, who hid her horns and changed her skin color to be human-like, caught a random passer-by on the street and started asking him about various matters.
Name of this place, feudal lord, job, history…
Eavesdropping, I realized that my guess was correct.
Sage’s Tower had lost its position at the top.
Worried about his spine, the random passer-by said something interesting.
“Madam, haven’t you heard the saying, ‘Magic in the west, Mollan in the North,’ which has become popular lately?”
In the 4th curriculum, the Northern Continent was considered the home of magic.
And the Tower of Sage was considered the most advanced city in terms of magic on the Northern Continent.
However, it was just an ordinary rural town now, which such beauties like Ssosia would never visit.
“By your standards, there are no cities in the world of Fantasy that you would not consider rural, Drug Hero.”
“Of course, Addicted Spirit. The only exception is the capital of the Eternal Night Empire on the Western Continent.”
Shakespeare’s wife was definitely a beautiful woman, but not as beautiful as Ssosia.
However, she had the potential to become the first and most beautiful woman, while the curse of being second forever bound Ssosia.
“Are you insulting me in your thoughts again, cowardly hubby?”
“No.”
“Tsk. I’ll let it go! Let me summarize the information I’ve gathered. History has changed since one of the Five Great Disasters, the Phantom King, became the Connoisseur.”
“I already know that.”
“The Northern Continent was famous for the fact that many people were born here predisposed to magic, which is why this place’s magic industry used to be so advanced… The current birth rate didn’t change, but this place is experiencing a decline since all of its wizards keep leaving for the Western Continent once they have raised enough money for training.”
“Instead, religion came to the forefront.”
“Right. The main religion of the Northern Continent is Mollan’s Teachings, which my husband preaches. As it turns out, I raised God.”
“Mollan~”
Master Mollan, sitting in Ssosia’s arms, swayed happily from side to side.
“So Sage also went to study abroad?”
“Well…”
“Come on, out with it. It doesn’t really matter anyway.”
“Sage fell morally. We can put it that way.”
“As I said, nothing special… Wait. Fell morally? Sage?”
“Yes.”
“…”
I couldn’t believe it.
Sage, a man so innocent that his nose bled whenever he saw women’s underwear, had become a scoundrel?
How was this possible?
Ssosia’s tone sounded bitter.
“That’s what always being second can do.”
***
If someone who thought they were the best were to be suddenly overshadowed by a person even better than them and consequently lost everyone’s support due to the fact, they would be left with two options.
They would either try their best to regain the leading position or compromise the opponent to look better against them.
And if one was impatient, they could do both at the same time.
“Sage! The girl I was supposed to meet today is missing!”
“Please help, Sage! My sister is missing!”
“I haven’t seen my daughter since yesterday! Please find her, Sage!”
In the 4th curriculum, the entire city was called the Tower of Sage, but now only the tower in the city’s center bore that name.
That served as evidence that Sage’s social status fell significantly, but this didn’t mean he was forgotten.
He was still in second place, after all.
He appeared in response to the complaints of the townspeople.
During the 4th curriculum, he would rarely leave the tower whenever someone called him. Now, he would almost jump down from it.
He still looked like an innocent youth, but…
“The disappearance of young women in the city has continued since last year. It must be the work of the Western Continent’s Shakespeare, the evil wizard! Rumor has it that he is sacrificing young and beautiful women to Demon Lord Parmamon!”
Even now, both of his nostrils were plugged with scraps of paper.
That aside, what he said sounded funny.
Physically speaking, Shakespeare could never kidnap women from such a distant country and somehow donate them to me. There was no point in it in the first place.
Such lies…
Sage was still far from my Fabrication and Incitement’s ranks.
“Elaborate on the instructions you gave Shakespeare through the mollanphone, cowardly hubby.”
“Why should I do such nonsense, Ssosia?”
“Because you are Kang Han Soo.”
“Is that logic from some parallel universe?”
“Hmph!”
“…”
My wife seemed determined to just piss me off, unlike the silly Fantasy dwellers.
“Is this the handiwork of Shakespeare?”
“That’s it! That envious married man is to blame for everything!”
“Only Sage should be trusted!”
Connoisseur Shakespear now lived with the most beautiful woman on the Western Continent. What made it better was that she never grew old and could only drink her husband’s blood.
But he sparked a flurry of anger in a rural town on the Northern Continent.
It was an incomprehensible phenomenon.
If such despicable agitation and lies flourished on the Northern Continent while the Connoisseur and I were doing our research, we definitely would’ve noticed it.
Then the reason why this could happen was…
“Bug.”
“Husband.”
Ssosia and I expressed our opinions at the same time. However, our opinions did not coincide.
I really had nothing to do with it!
