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"…… Of course, because you're suspicious.”
Yareli expressed her thoughts openly and honestly.
"Ah…… May I ask what part of me you find displeasurable?"
"It's not that I find you displeasurable. Quite the opposite, actually."
Oliver cocked his head. Her words were sincere.
Personally, she didn't find him displeasing, but suspicious. It felt contradictory.
Perhaps even the speaker felt this, as she hesitated for a moment before shaking her head, as if to shake off her complex thoughts.
"Of course…… At first, I didn't like you. Because you took too many vacations, even though most people would do anything to set foot in the Tower."
"Ah…… I regret that too."
"I don't personally like people like that. The gentlemen who enter the Tower just to build their networks and gain experience. It might help economically, but it muddies the water overall."
Oliver agreed to a certain extent.
Early in the semester, he had seen such people being invited here and there.
Gentlemen who donate and enter the tower only to build their network and experience usually just pretended to work, and they did not even come to work properly.
For them, it was more important to build experience in the Tower and socialize with the people here.
Of course, there were quite a few Tower students who hung out with such people, but anyway, Oliver had a rough idea of what Yareli was talking about.
"Um…… I'm not one of those gentlemen."
Oliver said, recalling one of the many rumors that had been swirling around him.
Yareli nodded her head.
"Yes, I know. I've seen you work a few times. You're certainly not like the usual gentleman. You seem to know quite a bit about magic, and especially, you couldn't have persuaded Derrick if you were a gentleman."
"Ah…… That was a task assigned by the professor."
"Just because you're assigned doesn't mean you'll succeed…… That's impressive."
Yareli said, sincerely and without any pretense.
Despite her blunt demeanor, she was good at acknowledging others.
"Thank you for the compliment…… Then why do you find me suspicious?"
"Do you know why Derick happened to miss class?"
Instead of answering the question, Yareli posed another one. Oliver tilted his head.
"I'm not sure…… I've only heard rumors."
"Can you tell me even just the rumors?"
"……I heard that he fought with a warlock at a party and lost."
"Yes, that's correct. In front of the city's wealthy people. It's quite a fatal thing."
"Yes, I understand."
"So, I advised him not to fight. It's dangerous…… Do you know why he fought with the warlock?"
Just as he was about to answer that it was because of the new power generation investment of Derick's family, the Redhill family.
Oliver, seeing Yareli glow with emotion as she hunted for her prey, opened his mouth.
"Um…… I know there was some kind of dispute, but I don't know the details."
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
"…… The warlock logically criticized the Redhill family's business and that's why they ended up fighting. That's strange. That should've been included in the rumors."
Once again, Yareli threw a bait, and Oliver avoided it.
"I'm sorry. I didn't hear the details. It was something I overheard."
"I see."
"Um…… What does that have to do with me being suspicious?"
"……No, it doesn't."
For the first time, Yareli lied.
It was a mystery how far she was suspicious, and while he wanted to discuss it, Oliver realized that it was not a good idea to pursue the subject, and decided to change the topic.
He had something he wanted to ask as well.
"May I ask a question as well?"
"What is it?"
"I'm not sure why I'm suspicious, but being suspicious is…… So why did you help me earlier? Wouldn't it have been better not to help me?"
Oliver asked, recalling the time he trusted Yareli and was attacked by Bathory's disciple.
If Yareli hadn't helped him, he would have been pricked by the hatpin and dragged away.
"I couldn't just ignore a Tower person in danger, regardless of my suspicions."
"……A Tower person?”
"Yes. Whatever happens, Mr. Zenon, you work hard in the tower."
This was also sincere.
Yareli was concerned for Oliver's safety in an official capacity, apart from her personal doubts.
While it was limited to those who worked hard in the tower, she was still one of the more generous people he'd met in the tower, considering that the tower's principle was to not consider anyone who wasn't a student or wizard as a Tower person.
It seemed he made the right choice to come to the tower, as suggested by Merlin.
Apart from reading the books, he came to see the people in the Tower, and there were quite a few interesting people here.
Filled with curiosity, Oliver slowly approached Yareli.
It was so natural that he didn't realize the distance had closed until he was nearly nose-to-nose with her.
"Why are you doing this?"
"Can I ask you one more question? It's something I've wanted to ask for a long time."
"……"
"Why did you enroll in Professor Kevin's class?"
Yareli flinched.
It was not as straightforward as Kevin's words, but perhaps because of the tension between her father and Kevin, she was a bit sensitive to this question.
"…Why do you ask?"
Oliver was about to say it was because of the stories about Kevin and Yareli's father, but sensing the situation, he gave another reason. He thought if he pressed too hard, he wouldn't get a proper answer.
"It's not that, it's just that so many students came to look for the class because Ms. Yareli enrolled in the professor's class…. Personally, I'm thankful, but I just can't quite understand. You could attend better classes, couldn't you?"
"…Professor Kevin's class wasn't too bad."
"I agree with you on that. However, this is the professor's first semester, and his reputation isn't good, so you couldn't have known it would be good beforehand, could you?"
As Oliver pressed on without touching the sensitive core, Yareli gradually reacted but did not show it externally.
Oliver was satisfied.
What should he say… He often failed to get what he wanted and only annoyed people whenever he spoke, but not this time.
Thanks to the time he spent in Landa, he felt he had learned to talk around issues more eloquently.
He was somewhat proud of himself.
Yareli thought for a moment before giving a sincere response.
"…I wanted to attend a class taught by someone who had reached the top of the Tower and obtained a master's position, even in a disadvantaged environment."
"Oh… Is that so?"
"Yes… I had some leeway with my grades. Is that strange?"
"No, not at all. It sounds like a great story… Thank you for answering. Also, thank you for your help. I was able to survive thanks to you.”
Having received a satisfactory answer, Oliver was ready to say goodbye.
"According to the etiquette, I should treat you to a meal later, but since we won't have time for that, please let me know if you need help in the future. I will help you if I can. Thank you once again for your help. Well then, I should be going-"
"Wait."
"Yes?"
"The woman from before… You really don't know who she is?"
"Um… I don't know."
Oliver lied.
***
Pant. Pant. Pant.
Elizabeth Unna, the daughter and disciple of Bathory, gasped for breath.
Although half her body was dead, she still needed to breathe because the other half was alive. The unbearably stinky smell of the sewer mercilessly invaded her nostrils.
She had just gotten used to this kind of life recently, otherwise she would have vomited all the blood she had drunk today.
"Are you okay?"
"What happened?"
"Did you not find it?"
"Are you injured?"
Her sisters, who were also her fellow disciples, gathered around like chicks and worriedly inspected her condition and asked.
The total number of them, including Unna herself, was only five.
Originally, there were more than ten times that many sisters, but it was a mystery how it had come to this.
‘…Did it start happening after Mother disappeared?’
Unna thought.
About Bathory, their Master and the one who gave them their second life.
She had crossed the ocean to England to take revenge on the swindling Tower men and reclaim her rightful status.
Befitting her name, she silently occupied an institution of the Tower and made grand plans to embezzle all of the Tower's resources and knowledge.
Bathory kept Unna informed regularly, so Unna knew better than anyone.
Unna was the one who had been left in charge of the main base while Bathory was away.
However, one day, suddenly, the contact from Mother Bathory was cut off.
Without any warning.
Not only that, all contact was also lost with dozens of sisters who had followed Bathory to assist her.
It was obviously an unusual event.
So, Unna sent her sisters to check out the situation and soon heard some unbelievable news.
A worker from the Tower who had been dispatched for an investigation had brought a solver and had gone to Mountain Pace, where Mother Bathory was, and defeated her.
It was utter nonsense.
Mother was a powerful adversary who would stand against Human-meat Chef no matter what, and the sisters who followed her to assist her were also more than capable, easily on par with average wizards.
But for just two people, two ordinary duos, to defeat her, Unna could neither logically nor emotionally accept it.
She couldn't even imagine that others would have received this news.
‘Was it from that time…?'
News of Mother had spread to other black magic organizations, leading to a challenge from many warlock families who coveted the blood elixir recipe.
The blood elixir, which gave health and vigor to men and the blessing of youth to women, was coveted by all.
It was merely the existence of Bathory, who stood against Human-meat Chef, that suppressed it.
So, when Bathory disappeared, everyone moved as they wished.
To be honest, it was fine at first.
Because they, raised by Mother, were quite capable. They even retaliated against some families, annihilating them, and took great joy in making them into materials.
A superior warlock was also a good ingredient for black magic.
However, everything went downhill when she appeared.
The younger sister of Human-meat Chef.
They had only heard rumors about her, but when they saw her for the first time, she appeared with her brother's followers and attacked them.
Although it was a secret technique of black magic, she appeared in her early twenties, with a face that showed no signs of hardship, and performed a spell that drove them, who were brewing in the basement, into a corner.
As a result, dozens of sisters and more slaves suffered devastating damage, and Unna could only flee with Mother's research materials and diary and about ten sisters.
‘Even then, most of them died due to the persistent pursuit of the Human-meat Chef and the attacks of other families.'
Unna thought as she looked at her sisters, who now numbered only a handful.
Maybe she came to Landa not to find Mother, but to escape from pursuit and attacks.
Of course, that's not to say she didn't want to find Mother. Just that such hope is waning.
Isn't that so?
If Mother was safe, she would have shown up in front of them by now.
Mother may be immobile or, in the worst case, may have died.
‘But I can't say it… If even that hope is taken away…'
Unna fell into a dark sense of responsibility and agony, fearing she may have lost Mother and having the fate of the Bathory family in her hands.
At the moment when she felt suffocated by her own pressure, her sisters, her fellow disciples, spoke up.
"Are you okay? You seem fine on the outside, but are you hurt somewhere?"
Unna returned to reality at their words and responded.
"No, I'm fine… Don't worry about it."
"Then, that's a relief… What happened that made you retreat so urgently? Did you get caught by a powerful wizard or a warlock here?"
Unna shook her head.
"I did meet a girl with more skill than I expected, but it's not serious. I just retreated because things could get bigger. It's not pleasant to have things getting bigger in our current situation."
Nobody could say anything. After being attacked by the Human-meat Chef's sister and other warlocks, they had lost both money and personnel and only five people were hiding in a sewer in a foreign land without a base.
In the sagging atmosphere, Unna skillfully brought out some good news.
"But it's not that there's absolutely no gain. I found him."
"Him?"
"Zenon Bright. I waited for him at the entertainment district, and as expected, I ran into him. He revealed his name to me."
"Great, Unna! You're amazing!"
"Now that I've confirmed his face, we can peel off the skin of the Tower officials and approach him. And then-"
"-What will you do?"
A voice came from the other side of the sewer.
It was Oliver.
(To be Continued)
OR
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