Translator: Nox

My Nerdy Neighbor Is the Master of the Magic Tower

Chapter 22

Truthfully, she had realized the man was lying the moment she saw his old shoes.

Claiming to have been separated from his servant implied he was a noble, and it made no sense for a man of high status—one supposedly so sickly he could barely walk—to have such worn-out footwear.

‘Then he must have approached with some ulterior motive.’

Judging by Lien’s uncharacteristic reaction and the way the man had stepped forward to support him, it wasn’t hard to guess that he was one of Lien’s subordinates or colleagues.

But what was the point of prying?

Sometimes, one had to act a little oblivious.

‘If he showed up so openly, it must be urgent.’

It seemed their conversation might run long. Thinking this, Cecilia trudged toward the shade.

* * *

As soon as they were out of Cecilia’s sight and had turned into a deserted path, Lien let go of the body he was holding.

Thud. The man fell pitifully to the ground and let out a faint groan.

“Ugh, I really think something might have broken…”

“Do you actually want to develop a chronic illness?”

“Of course not.”

The man sprang up as if he had never fallen. Hiltain, his clothes a mess from rolling around, tentatively stole a glance at his superior’s face.

In truth, he knew very well what his boss hated most.

Being annoyed, and having his orders disobeyed.

And Hiltain was currently annoying him by defying the order not to come looking for him.

As expected, the aura emanating from the man grew rougher and heavier, reflecting his displeasure.

“…Hiltain.”

“Yes.”

“Did I… ever give you permission to follow me here?”

The stuttering tone he was feigning, the nonsensical black robe, and even the large doll the size of a torso held in one arm were all utterly ridiculous.

And yet, as Hiltain met those calm violet eyes, goosebumps erupted down his spine.

Flinching, Hiltain instinctively took a step back and bowed his head deeply.

“I apologize.”

The boldness he’d mustered when shamelessly appearing before the Saintess and his boss had shriveled away pathetically, but he was still the closest aide to the rumor-shrouded Magic Tower Master.

Even with the sensation of being strangled, Hiltain stubbornly kept talking.

“If you dislike me following you like this, you can simply return to the Magic Tower.”

“…”

“No, I advise you—please return. Work requiring the Master’s approval has piled up like a mountain.”

It was a remark so insolent that his colleagues would have gasped, wondering if he had finally gone mad from overwork.

But at this rate, whether he died at his boss’s hand or from the workload, a short life was guaranteed either way.

So, even if he were to die on this very road, he had to say what needed to be said.

However, even in the face of his subordinate’s rebellion, the other man merely furrowed his brow as if it were a nuisance.

“You… you should just be the Magic Tower Master then.”

“May I hand you my resignation right now?”

Hiltain fumbled to pull out the resignation letter he always kept tucked in his chest. In that same instant, it flared up and vanished into ash.

“…My life.”

Having lost his last hope, Hiltain’s shoulders slumped dejectedly.

His cold-hearted boss ignored his subordinate’s misery and cast his gaze elsewhere.

It was in the general direction of where they had started.

Was it just a delusion that he looked a bit anxious?

‘No way.’

Shaking off the idle thought, Hiltain quickly got to the point.

“I have an urgent matter to report, so I took the liberty of seeking you out.”

“…An urgent matter?”

“Yes. Duke Delanche has realized that the Tower Master is in Weberdin.”

Delanche.

At those three syllables, an irritated sigh immediately escaped his boss.

Brushing a hand roughly over his face, Lien spoke irritably.

“Then that makes things simple. Tell him I’ll handle things here myself, so stay out of it.”

And don’t even think about doing anything foolish.

The added tone was incomparably more sinister than before.

Hiltain, turning even paler, nodded silently.

Unfortunately, while his boss’s mood was hitting rock bottom, there was still one more piece of bad news left.

“And there is one more person who has discovered the Tower Master’s location.”

“…It seems so.”

Lien, his brow now deeply furrowed, cast his gaze behind Hiltain.

“Come out.”

In fact, he had been sensing a bothersome presence nearby since he began walking through the festival with Cecilia.

No sooner had Lien issued his cold command than a small figure popped out from around the corner.

“Hee-hee, you caught me.”

It was a boy with the physical build of a five-year-old.

As the child walked unnaturally, like a puppet on strings, dark magic circles visible only to mages were drawn on his cheeks and forehead.

“Hi, Lien. How have you been?”

The boy gave a crooked smile, his eyes unfocused.

“I told you to s-stop using that magic, it’s disgusting.”

“I couldn’t help it. You tied me up in the Magic Tower and left, so I couldn’t come in person, could I? Besides, I told you this magic doesn’t harm the host’s body.”

The boy shrugged exaggeratedly.

“Anyway, what’s with that funny way of talking? I heard you’ve been acting a bit crazy lately, but I didn’t think it was actually true\!”

Lien looked at Hiltain beside him without a word.

Hiltain, his shoulders twitching, moved closer to the child for no reason.

“If I hadn’t seen it for myself today, I never would have believed it\! You, blushing and smiling\! It was so creepy I almost screamed\!”

“…”

“So, what kind of game are you playing? Don’t tell me you’ve finally opened your eyes to the beauty of women?”

“Stop talking nonsense…”

“It’s happy news, but of all people, the Saintess-nim? That’s a bit of a twisted taste…”

“Asilien Chetwynd.”

The babbling child snapped his mouth shut.

Lien’s face, which had been filled only with fatigue and disdain, was now terrifyingly frozen.

“Alright, alright, don’t make that face\! It’s actually scary\!”

The startled child—no, ‘Asilien’—shouted back.

“I even lent you my name and I’m acting as the proxy Tower Master, you’re really too much.”

Asilien grumbled to Hiltain, asking if he wasn’t truly a cold-blooded bastard.

However, three chillingly uttered syllables cut the complaining short.

“Just the business.”

“If you spoke a bit more kindly, your tongue wouldn’t fall out… Fine, I’ll report\!”

“…”

“Your subordinates and I are continuing the surveillance on ‘that place’ you mentioned, but there’s no unusual movement. To begin with, it’s difficult to even get close to there.”

Lien didn’t seem particularly disappointed, as if he had expected the result.

The boy shook his head and continued with a faint sigh.

“So, when are you coming back? Pretending to be you works once or twice, but those old geezers at the Tower have probably noticed by now.”

“…Soon.”

Lien’s gaze lingered on the doll in his hand.

He thought of the woman who would be waiting for him not too far away.

The person who had accepted him as a friend, not a gardener. The person who had tolerated him, the leader of the mages.

Unlike ‘that person’ who had looked at him with disdain, told him to get lost, and never spared him a glance, she was the one who reached out her hand, smiled, and gave him gifts.

But he was well aware that it was only because she knew him as ‘Asilien Chetwynd.’

‘If she finds out my real name, then no longer…’

Therefore, before this short period of grace ended, he had to achieve his original purpose.

Even if it meant deceiving her until the very end and returning to his place by his own feet.

“Is that the end of the report?”

“Ah, I have one more piece of personal advice. If you want to make a woman happy, instead of bundling up like that, you need to boldly strip off…\!”

Before the long-winded nonsense could finish, Lien made a sharp gesture in the air.

Immediately, the magic circles engraved on the child vanished completely.

The boy blinked, and focus returned to his eyes. He wondered why he was standing alone in the middle of the road. Tilting his head in confusion, the child immediately ran back into the crowd.

Hiltain, watching the small back of the child as he rejoined his friends, suddenly spoke up.

“Lastly, the item you requested has been completed.”

Whether he was happy about the declaration of a return, Hiltain’s face had brightened considerably as he pulled a palm-sized box from his chest and handed it over.

Lien took the box and clicked the lid open.

Inside the box lay a necklace set with an amber gemstone that perfectly resembled someone’s eyes.

“As you ordered, I minimized the traces of magic. Even the Pope likely won’t notice it.”

This was also one of the reasons Hiltain had ended up looking like a sick man. Fortunately, it seemed to pass inspection, as Lien pulled the necklace out and shoved it into his pocket.

“Then, I shall wait for you in the Capital.”

Only after even Hiltain had obediently withdrawn did Lien check the time.

Things had been delayed longer than expected.

It was just as he was hurriedly starting to walk.

“I heard the Saintess-nim is over there?”

“Really? Hey, let’s go quick\!”

The Saintess. At those two words that caught his ear, his expression hardened like stone.

A faint wind stirred, and not even his shadow remained where he had stood.