Translator: Nox

My Nerdy Neighbor Is the Master of the Magic Tower

Chapter 23

Left alone, Cecilia leaned against a tree and spent a long time watching the people, her feet dangling idly.

Laughing, talking, holding hands, running, dancing.

Those ordinary scenes passed by one after another like scenes from a movie.

By the time the street musician’s song had changed for the fifth time, Cecilia, growing a bit bored, stepped out from under the shade.

‘He’s taking much longer than I thought.’

It was at the moment she was debating whether to walk a bit in the direction he had disappeared.

A sudden, strong gust of wind swept in from the opposite direction.

The blast caught her off guard, and her hood was whipped right off her head.

As her hidden, luscious blonde hair scattered in the wind, the eyes of the passersby widened in shock.

“The Saintess-nim?”

‘…Well, I’m screwed.’

Cecilia hurriedly pulled her hood back down, but it was already too late.

“Oh my goodness, it’s the Saintess-nim!”

She had thought she was bored, but she hadn’t wanted this kind of event at all.

‘What a forced crisis.’

It was absurd, but the fact remained that she was in a predicament.

Fortunately, perhaps because they viewed her status as noble, no one approached her easily, but people began to swarm around her like clouds.

“Is that lady the Saintess-nim?”

“I’m telling you, it is! I saw her with my own eyes!”

“Goodness, to see the Saintess-nim in person!”

“Could it be she’s come to look after us?”

Every single gaze was filled with goodwill, a mixture of reverence and affection.

But regardless of the form it took, the attention pouring down on her like rain was nothing but uncomfortable.

‘Let’s just get out of here for now.’

She might end up missing Lien, but as long as she didn’t go too far, it would be fine. Besides, Cecilia trusted the abilities of the Magic Tower Master.

She had just made up her mind to take a step when it happened.

A scream rang out from a nearby alleyway.

“Kyaak! P-Please give it back!”

“Walking around clinking a coin pouch like that… didn’t you want it to be taken?”

The attention of the pedestrians, including Cecilia, shifted toward the alley.

Two burly men were intimidating a young girl.

“There’s less in here than I thought. Is this all?”

“Sob, that’s not my money… I, I don’t have anything else.”

“Hmm, I wonder if this will still be all after you get a beating?”

‘Oh.’

Cecilia marveled at the cliché unfolding before her eyes, appearing at such a perfect time.

This was that thing. The classic trope where the virtuous female lead gets into danger while trying to protect the weak.

‘To think I’d be that protagonist.’

Cecilia looked down blankly at the empty space beside her.

Why was it that the male lead was always absent whenever something requiring physical force happened?

Was it because appearing with a “Ta-da!” later on would create a suspension bridge effect to make her heart flutter?

But heart-fluttering aside, as a powerless Citizen A who grew up in a society where individualism was rampant, she just wanted to ignore the situation.

However, the world was not so easy.

The crowd, which had grown even larger, began to whisper as if they wanted someone specifically to hear.

“My goodness, those rotten scoundrels!”

“Oh dear, this is terrible! They’re going to kill that child!”

“But it’s a relief, at least. The Saintess-nim is here!”

“T-That’s right! Surely the Saintess-nim will save the child!”

Excuse me? Do you not see the size of those men’s forearms?

‘Their arms are as thick as my torso, what power do I have…?’

The expectant gazes were so intense they felt like they were piercing through the back of her head.

But realistically, the most she could do for the child was find and call the guards, who were probably slacking off somewhere.

‘I’m sorry.’

It was just as Cecilia desperately turned her head away to pretend she hadn’t seen.

“Please give it back! If, if that money is gone, the children visiting the Temple today will go hungry!”

‘The Temple?’

Only then did Cecilia realize that the white hem of the clothes beneath the child’s cloak looked familiar.

Even the voice wasn’t strange.

‘No way.’

“This brat talks too much! Who gives a damn if some beggar runts starve or not!”

The trash grabbed the child’s face with a thick hand and yanked it upward.

And the face that was revealed was…

‘Yep, it’s Sena.’

Fuck. I knew it.

I knew the flags would be planted so I couldn’t even run away.

After muttering a few more curses, Cecilia finally stepped forward, biting the bullet.

“What do you think you’re doing? Let go of that hand this instant.”

‘Ha, to think I’d be spitting out the typical lines of a righteous female lead.’

Shame and irritation surged simultaneously, but her body moved faithfully toward them.

“Saintess-nim!”

Regardless of her mood hitting rock bottom, Sena looked as if she had met her savior.

“What’s this now?”

Yes, I am the prospective Saintess who got caught by a goddamn flag and pushed into the jaws of death.

But with so many eyes watching, she couldn’t show that she was intimidated by a mere thug.

“Acting out at the Relief Festival… do you not even recognize the Saintess?”

Cecilia tilted her chin up and sneered coldly.

‘Was I too arrogant?’

As she feared, she must have shredded the trash’s thin patience, as the man dropped Sena with an irritated expression.

“What?”

“It seems your ears aren’t any better than your eyes.”

Cecilia forced her trembling voice to steady as she called Sena to her side.

“Come here, Sena.”

“Sob, Saintess-nim!”

Sena came running and threw herself into Cecilia’s arms.

She might have been defiant, but she was clearly terrified; her small shoulders were shaking pitifully.

“You must have been very scared.”

As Cecilia patted the child’s back to comfort her, Sena spoke up through her tears.

“Sniff, yes! It, it was my first festival, so the priest entrusted me with an errand… but, but those people stole the money! I, I was going to buy snacks to give to the children….”

“I see.”

The children she mentioned were likely hungry orphans who had come for the Relief Festival.

One could easily deduce that from Sena’s clothing. To steal money from a child while knowing that…

Regardless of being scared, she felt angry.

So, the moment she turned her eyes sharply, intending to snap at them one more time, her anger vanished like a lie.

“Well, look at this noble Saintess coming out.”

It was because the trash, who had approached right in front of her before she knew it, was radiating a murderous aura.

Cecilia hid Sena behind her back and forced herself to keep her head held high.

“If you understand, why don’t you back off while I’m speaking nicely?”

“But what can we do? We’re uneducated bastards who believe in this rather than God.”

Grinning with a mouth marked by a long horizontal scar, the man pulled out a dark red axe he had been carrying on his back.

No, looking closer, the top of the blade was silver. That wasn’t a dark red axe; it was just dried blood.

‘I shouldn’t have looked closely.’

What kind of thug goes around brandishing an axe?

‘I’m so scared I might pee myself.’

Was she going to become the first female lead to wet herself?

She was a commoner who used to make a fuss about dying from the pain of a fruit knife cut. If she even got grazed by that axe, it would surely be a festival of blood—meaning she would definitely faint.

Cecilia stared seriously at the trash who looked like he had just escaped from prison.

“What are you glaring at? You want those fancy eyeballs plucked out?”

No.

She couldn’t bring herself to look away out of pride, so she lowered her gaze to the man’s philtrum instead.

Ironically, her only source of hope was this shitty cliché.

Because when the female lead is in danger, the male lead will appear with impeccable timing!

‘…He will appear, right?’

However, contrary to her expectations, it was the people who had retreated dozens of steps behind her who suddenly spoke up.

“You trash! Go die!”

“God will be furious!”

“Saintess-nim, you do not have to forgive those lawless people!”

From behind her, the people showered insults at the trash.

‘No, instead of riling them up, just call the guards!’

“Is it because you’re some Saintess brat? You have a creative way of asking me to cut your throat quickly.”

“No…!”

‘I’m not the one who was running my mouth!’

She felt so wronged she wanted to smack her own forehead.

Just then, Sena, who had been trembling behind her, suddenly jumped out to the side and shouted at the top of her lungs.

“Don’t touch the Saintess-nim! You trash!”

The man in front of her was indeed trash, and his courage to get angry for someone else was appreciated, but unfortunately, it was not the appropriate action.

Because the trash’s face hardened with a chill that was incomparable to before.

“That screeching is fucking annoying. I’ll send you both to God together.”

Without exaggeration, the man, who was about two heads taller than her, hoisted the axe.

Cecilia quickly scanned the surroundings, but unfortunately, there was still no sign of Lien anywhere.

‘Is my neck going to get sliced like this?’

The final Plan Z for going back was ‘trying to die,’ but to think she would be attempting it here.

Her resignation lasted only a moment.

Realizing a beat late that the axe was aimed not at her but at Sena beside her, Cecilia hurriedly reached out.