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Chapter 201: Proposal (3)
The concept of the Magic Towers first appeared 680 years ago, introduced to the world by a prophet named Ado Vail.
A force that gathered dozens, even hundreds, of powerful and uncontrollable mages.
It was stronger than most military factions, and the emperor's officials petitioned him daily, insisting that the mages must be kept in check.
But the emperor thought differently.
‘If I put a leash on them, they might behave for now. But eventually, they’ll feel suffocated and bare their fangs and claws.’
So, in the end, he chose sheep over dogs.
Instead of tightening the leash, he granted the mages a place and the rights to act freely.
That’s the main reason each Tower was awarded its own nearby territory.
“...Why the sudden history lesson?”
“Just something this book mentioned.”
Kaya Lockwood, seated in a quiet corner of the library, replied without lifting her eyes from the book.
The man watching her sighed deeply.
“Senior, how long are we going to keep waiting? Let’s just take that Charlotte girl or whoever she is.”
“No.”
Kaya shook her head firmly.
Truthfully, she had thought there wouldn’t be much difference between Charlotte and Oscar.
But after seeing something unbelievable in Sirin, that belief was completely shattered.
‘A mage who unleashes Liberation at an incomplete 6th level…’
Since then, she had been buried in Sirin’s library, reading every ancient text she could find.
Just to see if such a mage had ever existed in history.
‘But there’s no one.’
The result was predictable.
The reason Liberation was considered the domain of Masters only was simple—no one below that level had ever wielded it.
“The mountains beyond are dangerous even for us. We need the strongest one we can get.”
“I get that, but don’t you think we’ve been waiting too long…?”
The man trailed off, eyes narrowing.
He had sensed a multitude of magical presences surrounding the building.
“Senior.”
“Stay still. We have to consider their side too.”
Whether they were wandering travelers or wolves out to eat sheep, the shepherd didn’t know yet.
Since they were the ones who came uninvited, they had to be ready for this kind of reception.
Just then, a calm voice reached their ears.
“Thanks for being considerate of our situation.”
With soft footsteps, a woman approached and sat in the chair opposite Kaya.
Standing behind her like a guard was the one they had been waiting for—Oscar Crucian.
‘…So that’s the White Tower Master, Sasha Maestro.’
The man stared at the petite woman and tensed slightly.
The energy radiating from her was at the peak of 7th level, close enough to 8th to cross over any day.
She was clearly above Kaya and himself, who were only mid-to-low 7th level mages.
‘The White Tower is said to be the weakest of the Four Great Towers, but a Tower Master is still a Tower Master.’
What’s more, dozens of mages were tightly surrounding the library from outside.
‘…If the conversation goes south, we might have to expect some casualties.’
That’s only if they were lucky enough to escape in one piece.
As the heavy silence stretched on, Kaya Lockwood suddenly leapt at Sasha.
“My dear Sasha! It’s been so long! You’re still adorable!”
“Ugh, stop! Don’t do that!”
Sasha groaned, pushing away Kaya who was trying to hug her.
“What are you doing here?”
“That’s a bit cold. Isn’t it our first time seeing each other in years?”
“You’re not my sister or anything!”
Watching them from the side, the man blinked.
“...Senior, you know the White Tower Master?”
“Of course. We used to play together all the time when we were kids.”
At that, Oscar quietly nodded from behind.
‘That’s true. They did hang out often since they were around the same age.’
Usually, Radan would bring Kaya to the White Tower.
They’d play together for days, and when it came time to part, Sasha would cry her eyes out, not wanting to say goodbye.
As if reading his thoughts, Kaya brought it up.
“Don’t you remember? You used to grab my pants and cry, begging me not to leave.”
“I—I never did that!”
As Sasha vehemently denied it, Oscar’s voice echoed in her ear.
—You totally did. I remember it clearly.
—M-Master, please stay out of this!
Casting an annoyed look his way, Sasha crossed her arms firmly.
“Anyway! You must’ve known Sirin was the White Tower’s domain. What are a bunch of criminals doing here?”
“We just felt like dropping by. Unless you want to arrest us?”
Kaya smiled sweetly, holding her hands out in front of her.
Sasha narrowed her eyes, staring at her silently.
“You think I can’t do it?”
“Of course you can. But why would the White Tower bother?”
Just as Kaya said, the members of the Violet Brigade were all officially declared criminals by the Empire.
Each had a bounty of billions of Bels on their heads.
But no Tower seriously attempted to capture them for the reward.
Disturbing a hornet’s nest filled with 7th-level mages or higher meant taking unavoidable damage.
So unless they caused real trouble, most Towers chose to simply keep watch until they left.
‘No one wants to report them to the Empire only to see their land razed in retaliation.’
Seeing Sasha’s face visibly souring, Kaya chuckled.
“Before our little sister gets any angrier, I’ll stop teasing.”
“Then answer my question properly.”
“Fine, fine. We’re here to talk to the kid standing behind you.”
She had business with him?
Oscar narrowed his eyes.
He was suddenly reminded of something Kaya had said back in Baran City, just before they parted.
—I won’t forget the debt I owe tonight. Especially you, kid. Next time, I’ll definitely see you again.
'Is she seriously talking about revenge for what happened back then?'
But if that’s her goal, would she have marched in here so boldly and fearlessly?
Sasha, who thought the same, suddenly had a chill in her voice.
“…With Oscar? Why?”
Kaya raised one corner of her mouth upon reading the wariness blooming in Sasha’s eyes.
“You seem to care about him a lot. Well, it makes sense — that kid’s a genius beyond belief.”
“That’s not a good enough reason.”
“I’ll be blunt. I want to hire him.”
“No.”
“…I haven’t even said what the job is yet.”
“Whatever it is, if it involves your mercenary band, it’s bound to be something shady. Either way, the answer is no.”
At Sasha’s firm refusal, Kaya spoke with a half-smile.
“This time it’s not like that. Once you hear it, you might actually be tempted.”
“I’m sorry, but no amount of money will make me hand over Oscar…”
“I think we’ve found Edna’s nest.”
“……!”
Sasha’s expression hardened at those words.
“What did you just say?”
“Edna Sol Laplace. You remember, right? The dragon who used to sigh and give us rides on her back when we begged.”
She was mostly active as Oscar Sage’s personal assistant.
As a dragon, she had a stiff personality, but she occasionally flew them through the skies on her back.
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“……”
Oscar glanced at Sasha, whose breath was slightly uneven with tension.
She had adored Edna since childhood.
Even Edna, who usually found humans bothersome, couldn’t bring herself to treat Sasha coldly.
He remembered her patting Sasha’s head and giving her candy now and then.
“…Where did you hear this? Can it be trusted?”
“Well, that part’s unclear, but you know Neil Brion, right? We found the map in his personal vault.”
“How would he know the location of Edna’s nest?”
“Who knows? I don’t know that much either.”
There were plenty of reasons to be suspicious.
Just as Sasha was about to decline after some deep thought—
—It’s probably really Edna’s nest.
—…!
Her master’s sudden voice echoed in her mind, and she responded without revealing her surprise.
—How do you know that, Master?
—I think the one who planned this whole thing… is His Majesty, the Emperor.
After winning the Night of Mages, Oscar had asked to retrieve the White Tower’s magic, and the Emperor had granted the request.
—But His Majesty said sending troops was impossible. It might provoke the demons.
—Don’t tell me… he hired the Violet Brigade as a substitute?
—They probably don’t even know that themselves. But unless the royal family’s involved, it doesn’t make sense for a map showing Edna’s nest to conveniently show up in Neil Brion’s vault.
The map was likely planted there intentionally by the imperial palace.
The Violet Brigade.
A small elite group of mercenaries, all over level 7, with no ties to the royal family.
They're perfect for crossing the mountains.
But the fact that they wanted to hire him was probably an unexpected variable, even for the Emperor.
Still, Oscar didn’t find the situation all that bad.
‘Better for me to go myself than entrust it to someone clueless.’
Knowing Edna, she would rather destroy the data than hand it to strangers.
He might even have to reveal his identity and persuade her directly.
With that thought, Oscar made up his mind.
—Let’s hear what they want first.
—Yes, Master.
Pretending to be deep in thought, Sasha slowly opened her eyes and asked,
“So hiring Oscar is related to that job, isn’t it?”
“That’s right. Near the Red Mountains, the flow of mana gets extremely unstable. If we want to avoid the eyes of both the Empire and the demons, we need a guide with exceptional mana detection skills.”
“A guide, huh…”
A guide’s job during an expedition isn’t especially dangerous.
The real issue arises if an unavoidable battle breaks out.
“Oscar’s not ready to cross the mountains yet. Especially not if he’s going to be sent off with unknown criminals.”
“You don’t need to worry about that. Only the two of us from the Brigade will be going.”
“...So just the three of you, including Oscar?”
“Unless someone’s truly useful, they’re just dead weight beyond the mountains.”
That actually made sense — Oscar had spent months living in the grey zone beyond the mountains with the White Tower mages.
He agreed with that reasoning.
“Hmm…”
Sasha fell into deep thought.
If they succeeded, they could recover the White Tower’s data.
But if they failed, her master’s life could be in danger.
After weighing her options, she slowly opened her mouth.
“I’ll allow it — conditionally.”
“…Conditionally? What’s the condition?”
“I’m going too. If you refuse, you’re not taking Oscar either.”
Kaya’s eyes widened at the unexpected counteroffer.
“If a mage of your level joins us, that’s great for us… but are you sure?”
“Why wouldn’t I be? I’m just a useless Tower Master who’s always outside handling requests anyway.”
Her voice had a trace of self-mockery.
Kaya turned to look at Oscar.
“Come to think of it, the reason you can leave the tower so freely is thanks to that little guy, huh.”
“Yes. Thanks to Oscar, our tower is rich now. We’re loaded.”
So that’s why she’s so protective of him.
Understanding their relationship, Kaya nodded.
“The pay was going to be ten million bels… but since you’re coming along, I’ll bump it up to thirty million. Sound fair? Plus, you’ll get a cut of any treasure we find in the nest.”
“One more thing.”
Sasha added another condition.
“If we find any White Tower data there, we take it. It was ours to begin with.”
“Fine, whatever.”
Kaya nodded indifferently.
She didn’t seem to believe any of the White Tower’s data would actually be there anyway.
“Alright then, we’re set. The four of us will move together. We’ve already wasted enough time, so if you’re all ready, I’d prefer we depart as soon as possible. How about it?”
“Let’s meet in three days, in the evening. I’ll try to wrap up any business before then.”
“Evening?”
Kaya tilted her head, puzzled by the odd departure time.
“Wouldn’t it be better to leave in the morning, or at least around noon?”
“It’ll be fine.”
Oscar, who had been quiet all this time, finally spoke.
“If we leave then, we’ll arrive before sunset.”
“…Arrive where, exactly?”
He didn’t bother answering Kaya, who tilted her head again in confusion.
She’d find out soon enough anyway.
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