My Nerdy Neighbor Is the Master of the Magic Tower
Chapter 8
As Hiltain had predicted, his superior was more than just difficult—he was a nightmare.
Given Hiltain’s personality, he couldn’t help but speak the blunt truth even if a blade were at his throat. Yet, whenever his boss stared him down with those frigid eyes, cold sweat would pour down his back and his hands would tremble.
I’m going to die before my time at this rate.
One day, while he was seriously considering writing a letter of resignation, his boss suddenly changed without warning.
As if he’d been shot in the head, he started buying up black robes, and his tone—once saturated with boredom—along with his icy attitude, transformed completely.
Then, just a month ago, he finally abandoned the Magic Tower and left.
And of all places, he settled right next door to the Marquis of Weberdin.
Furthermore, he was approaching the Saintess in that revoltingly humble guise.
He surely had some terrible objective.
However, Hiltain didn’t want to know, nor did he care to understand, what kind of horrifying plan was brewing in that head. He simply wanted to escape the workload that had doubled in the absence of the Magic Tower Master as soon as possible.
“So, when do you plan to return?”
“I don’t know.”
“……Then who on earth does?”
“I’m not the one who decides.”
What kind of fresh nonsense is this?
It was a response that made Hiltain feel like both his head and his chest were about to explode.
I want to quit so damn bad.
It was just as Hiltain was barely suppressing the urge to scream at the top of his lungs.
“What else?”
Lien, having pushed back his hood, roughly swept back his disheveled hair.
On his face, finally revealed, there wasn’t a trace of emotion.
To think a man like that is pretending to be a gentle lamb.
Every time his boss’s true nature flickered through, the temperature felt like it dropped ten degrees.
Amidst the suffocating tension he could never get used to, Hiltain clenched his fists.
“‘That place’ has assigned a watcher to you.”
“I know.”
“……Have you already dealt with them?”
“Yeah.”
“How did you…?”
Hiltain’s voice trailed off. He had realized where his boss’s gaze was lingering.
A shovel stained black in the corner of the room, and the daisy field outside the window.
……The watchers had likely already become excellent fertilizer.
He feigned ignorance of the gruesome truth and dutifully continued his report.
“I’ve kept an eye out as you ordered, but catching their tail won’t be easy. Ah, was the reason you moved here directly perhaps because—”
“J-Just watch them well.”
Lien, reverting to his stuttering act, cut him off coldly.
Does he think acting slow makes him look kind?
It was absurd, but since he didn’t want to become the second batch of fertilizer just yet, Hiltain silently bowed his head.
Is it said that one only realizes the value of something once it’s gone?
Inside the swaying carriage.
Cecilia was feeling the preciousness of 21st-century modern civilization—with its brilliant advancements in transportation—to her very bones.
In a world with magic and divine power, how does it make sense that the main mode of transport is a carriage?
It wasn’t her first time riding one, so she had prepared herself to some extent, but she hadn’t expected it to be this difficult to adjust.
The fact that it was dreadfully slow was one thing, but the horrific ride quality was enough to give someone motion sickness even if they didn’t usually have it.
“Cece. Do you feel like you’re going to faint?”
Unlike her, who was dying by the second, Knox—who had been sitting with an elegant posture the entire time—closed the book he was reading.
“My, what a problem. We haven’t even gone halfway yet.”
He examined her with a worried gaze.
“If you really feel like you can’t hold on, make sure to tell me. It’s not actually impossible to walk to the Temple.”
“……Really?”
“Yeah, it only takes a full day of walking. No, wait—with your short legs, maybe two?”
……There was no way he was actually worried.
Even without overthinking it, she could tell the gentle smile on his lips was a mockery.
Don’t worry.
“I hope you bite your tongue.”
“Cece, I think your inner thoughts just slipped out.”
I meant it, you jerk.
Cecilia turned her head away from her useless brother and cast her gaze out the window.
Through the hazy glass, lush greenery and a high-saturation sky flowed slowly by.
Why am I suffering like this inside a carriage when the weather is perfect for a walk?
There was only one reason she was currently going through hell in this carriage.
It was because of a suggestion made by the Marquis several days ago when they crossed paths in the garden.
[The Relief Festival will begin soon. You should greet His Holiness the Pope before then.]
[Ah…….]
[Especially since your role will be significant in this Relief Festival, Cecilia.]
It was phrased as a suggestion, but it was effectively a command, making it impossible to refuse.
Even if she was a ‘fake’ Saintess, her duties to the Weberdin family remained.
[I will.]
On the first day she accepted without much thought, she had even been secretly excited.
Aside from the very beginning of her possession, it was her first outing in a long time.
The moment she heard that not only was her legal roommate accompanying her but that they had to travel by carriage, her mood sank like a stone.
Still, the one silver lining was that the ‘Holy Land’—the former capital of the Empire and where the Grand Temple was located—was close to the Weberdin territory.
Just as Cecilia, who had scraped together every last bit of patience, was on the verge of succumbing to motion sickness, the carriage miraculously came to a halt.
“Saintess-nim, Young Master. We have arrived.”
Even before the driver finished speaking, Cecilia bolted upright.
She didn’t have the luxury of descending gracefully with an escort.
I have to get out right now!
Driven solely by that thought, Cecilia flung the carriage door open with a ‘thud!’ and stepped out.
However, there were two things she had overlooked. First, that a large number of priests had come out to greet them for the visit of such esteemed guests; and second, that her legs were wobbling more than usual due to the motion sickness.
In front of dozens of people, her body lost its balance and tilted sharply.
I’m going to humiliate myself.
She squeezed her eyes shut at the tragic intuition.
However, even as time passed, no sighs of pity erupted from the surroundings.
Instead of the dirt ground, Cecilia hit something as solid as a wall and snapped her eyes open.
“Are you alright?”
A knight with an impression that wasn’t unfamiliar, standing a full head taller than her, was holding her firmly.
“Ah, thank you. You are…….”
“I am Miguel, Vice Commander of the Holy Knights.”
“Sir Miguel.”
“Yes, Saintess-nim.”
The man replied in a low voice, his silver hair fluttering in the breeze.
Beneath it, she stared blankly up into blue eyes as calm as a lake.
Though the lines that formed the man were rugged, there was a softness to him like a flower in full bloom.
……In a word, he was, well, holy-looking.
Cecilia suddenly recalled the first time she had faced him.
It was when several high-ranking priests had visited the Marquis’s estate on an errand for the Pope.
Among the white-haired old men, one man clad in white armor radiated an overwhelming presence.
[Oh my god, Melanie, do you see that man?]
[Pardon?]
[Wow, I really might be inside a book after all.]
Even though it was the early stage of her possession when she was busy digging herself into a hole of gloom, he was a presence that made her forget all her depression.
[Milady, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but not him.]
[No, it’s not like I’m going to do anything…….]
Was it that obvious that my eyes were spinning? Cecilia, feeling embarrassed, cleared her throat.
[I was just curious about his name.]
[There’s no need to know his name. He’s a Holy Knight!]
[What about it?]
[They are people who have dedicated their bodies and souls to God.]
[Ah.]
In short, he was a sour grape—a fruit she couldn’t have.
My interest vanished instantly.
Meeting him again like this was surprising, but that was all.
Cecilia, turning away with the same detached appreciation one might have for a work of art, pulled herself out of the stranger’s arms.
“Miguel, why don’t you look after the Young Master as well as the Saintess?”
Knox, who had followed her out of the carriage, called out to the knight quite familiarly.
“Are you and Sir Miguel acquainted?”
“Of course. He’s my close friend.”
As if boasting of their friendship, Knox draped an arm over Miguel’s broad shoulders.
“Right?”
“Regrettably…… yes.”
“He meant to say ‘luckily.’”
I don’t think so at all.
For some reason, the way Miguel looked at Knox felt similar to how she looked at him.
Mixed with a bit of irritation and patheticness.
However, to Knox, the contempt of others was clearly a reward. Smiling brightly, he suddenly put on a sorrowful expression.
“Our Cece, are you jealous? It’s okay. Even if you’re a soul without a single friend and can’t even get out of a carriage properly, your oppa will be your family and your friend and everything.”
……If I only heard the words, I’d think he was a real romance-fantasy oppa.
It was simply lamentable that his true intention was only to tease her for her friendless state.
“Get lost.”
Cecilia, dismissing him coldly, firmly stepped on the foot Knox was dangling near her.
“Cece, oppa’s foot hurts.”
“Good for you.”
“Could you move your foot?”
“As soon as you move yourself out of my sight.”
When she snapped back icily, Knox finally shut his mouth.
Miguel, who had been watching the siblings’ childish squabble from a front-row seat, likewise turned his back on Knox.
“I heard you came to see His Holiness the Pope, but I’m sorry to say His Holiness is still meeting with the believers.”
“It’s fine. We can wait.”
“I don’t want to wait, though.”
“Thank you for your understanding. Then, would you like to go to the Prayer Room first?”
“Miguel? I said I don’t want to!”
“I’ll do that.”
“Then, your hand.”
Perhaps because of her earlier blunder, Miguel suddenly held out his hand.
It seemed he intended to escort her personally lest she fall again.
The consideration was appreciated, but her motion sickness had subsided enough that she didn’t really need help.
“It’s alright. I think I can walk on my own now…… or maybe not. Yes. Please.”
The moment she spotted the flicker of disappointment on his face, she quickly changed her tune.
When she promptly placed her hand on his iron-like arm, only then did Miguel show a faint smile.
It was a reaction befitting a child of God who found the meaning of life in consideration and service.
The fact that she, who wasn’t even the real Saintess, was being escorted by the Vice Commander of the Holy Knights was beyond moving—it was almost burdensome, but…….
Her character hadn’t rotted to the point where she could spit on a smiling face.
Fortunately, the Prayer Room wasn’t very far.
Miguel stopped in front of a door intricately carved with irises and passionflowers, which were known as the Flowers of God.
