34 – Three Ducks (8)
“Ah, is it starting now?”
Snap! As the light entered the crystal ball, the woman sitting at the table adjusted her voice.
Contrary to her lack of enthusiasm, her eyes slightly lifted at the corners, hinting at her strong personality.
Twirling her purplish hair with her fingers, she turned her head towards the screen. She was Herhe Solot, a deficit of the Franz family.
“Ask me anything you’re curious about. Do you have a boyfriend? Don’t ask such useless questions.”
The content of the video was a program called “The Current Ranking of the Most Notable Magicians in magic tower,” which was organized by the Ministry of Life five years ago.
The first place was still occupied by the tower’s rumor-only, and the second place was a rising star from the Magic Department, but neither of them agreed to an interview.
Only Herhe, who came in third place at the time, participated as a panelist and answered a few questions from the anchor along with her impressions.
“Why did I come out? They said they would pay if I came out. Do you know that? Our Summoning School is the most lucrative place in magic tower, except for the Heju School.”
“The summoned creatures that come out of the magic circle, they’re not free. You have to make contracts with companies for weapons and familiars, and the insurance premium is no joke because of the risk of damage…”
“There’s a reason why I can’t use Meteor recklessly. Imagine if you casually picked up a rock from someone else’s mountain and it turned out to be the burial site of your ancestors?”
“It’s like starting a war between families right then and there.”
“Summoner of the Waves? It’s just a fancy name, but the Traphalga Lake in our territory happens to have that power. We only have water left, so shouldn’t we at least sprinkle that?”
“No wonder summoners end up dying. The ranks keep rising, but our family’s money keeps dwindling. Thanks to that, I haven’t even been able to date or have a matchmaking session.”
“…Now that I think about it, I’m getting angry. Instead, I should be the one asking why you’re taking pictures of this nonsense.”
It was a program that ended prematurely after only one episode due to low ratings, but the recording containing that record was left behind in a dusty corner of the warehouse.
The warehouse was located right next to the staircase that the Haiju School used as a temporary lounge.
“Our younger sister, sheesh! Although she can be a bit sharp, she’s really kind…”
“Yeah, yeah, I guess there were circumstances.”
“She’s good at climbing alone, always sending money, and even said she was going to the Traphalga Lake temporarily to earn money…”
“We’ll help you find traces of her in the Haiju School. Oh, is a contract period of about 30 years fine for now? If it expires, we can extend it by 10 years each, through mutual agreement.”
“What happens if she gets injured or becomes too sick to work? Or if she dies?”
“We can alleviate most pain with a curse and some Haiju, so don’t worry. In the case of death, let’s see… There’s another contract here, if you sign it, the Black Mages will come to greet you in the afterlife. Then you can come back and work again…”
“….”
Toby, who had been rambling on about his story and bragging about his sister, signed the contract while wiping away tears.
It was the second day since the investigation committee had been convened in the territory.
“Excuse me. Are you going to keep sitting on the floor there?”
“I was told not to take a step from here.”
“By whom?”
“By Niflheir’s Vina Nethania. Do you have any business?”
“Tsk…”
The magician who had been wandering near the stone floor and had disappeared after our conversation yesterday turned out to be a user.
In his mind, he probably had no idea that he owed his life to me.
Unlike yesterday, the meeting room was so noisy that even sound leaked through the huge door.
While a thorough investigation was being conducted on the fragments of the recovered dimensional gate, I took out the sword I picked up from the treasure room last night.
The sword, faintly shining as it reflected the sunlight, was still constantly sending messages to my account.
At first, I was curious about it, but upon closer inspection, I found a torn piece of a location note tied to the handle.
The contents, written in characters about the size of a finger, were the last words she scribbled before her ID and body solidified.
Gonic, who couldn’t write more than that, had been posting the same message repeatedly until now.
—–
Trapped on the 44th floor, I’m alive: Alive.
Trapped on the 44th floor, I’m alive: I’m here!
Trapped on the 44th floor, I’m alive: Rants here, solo.
Trapped on the 44th floor, I’m alive: In a desperate situation.
Trapped on the 44th floor, I’m alive: Yeong-hon, help.
—–
She combined as many available characters as possible to explain who she was and how she ended up in this situation.
Listening to her, it seemed like she had transferred her soul into the sword she had summoned and survived until now.
Everything was fine, but the part where she discovered that I was the owner of the administrator account was unsettling.
I had locked the location tracking function so that no other adventurers could use it.
Speculating, it seemed to be an error caused by the meeting of the soul of a summoner, who was a magician in the dimensional system, and the torn piece of the note.
Herher Solot, a pseudonym for the imprisoned Eunjang sword, couldn’t stop talking to the person she had met after five years.
—–
From Noble mtl dot com
Trapped on the 44th floor: Galleri
Trapped on the 44th floor: Security, Hyungyeon Department
Trapped on the 44th floor: Juddak
Trapped on the 44th floor: Help me
—–
“Since I’m sorry for breaking you, should I throw you somewhere deeper?”
—–
Trapped on the 44th floor: Juddak!!!!
Trapped on the 44th floor: Gently! Gently!
—–
But you’re a sword, useless compared to a spear.
I swung the elegant curve of the blade through the air.
Only my wrist felt stiff, there was no sense of weight at all.
If I kept it, it would only be burdensome, and if I returned it to those who knew her, it would reveal my identity, which would be troublesome.
In that case, burying it in a place where no one’s hands would reach seemed the cleanest option.
— Help me, Juddak!!
“Hmm? No need for that. It’s also cold, so it’s just resting in the wardrobe. Or what about the bottom of the lake?”
— No! No!!
“Do you hate it? Then how about taking care of the bulletin board? It must be nice for you to be able to stay up all night and chat. On sunny days, I’ll occasionally leave it to you to sharpen me at the blacksmith’s.”
Feeling my annoyance, Sal Sal appealed to me desperately.
The sword trembled, creating a small crack on the stone chair.
Within the distorted summoning circle, a glimpse of a woman’s underwear, half-visible, was revealed.
I wondered if she was trying to offer some treasure she had hidden during her human days, but I heard an unexpected proposal.
— Sohan, dimensional!! Storage!
“Use it as an inventory?”
— Possible!! Delivery possible!!
“Hmm….”
I briefly thought about the existence of the point shop.
Creating a bulletin board made it more difficult for troublemakers to be found, but fundamentally it was a good system.
Most users made an effort not to block themselves because they had an attachment to their own IDs.
The frequency of creating dummy accounts had significantly decreased compared to before.
With Sal Sal, I could deliver more meaningful rewards.
Although I didn’t know their exact abilities, it was a great merit to be able to freely command a summoner who had reached at least the intermediate level.
“Well, then let’s think about it until we leave the battlefield for now.”
— Sarang!! Ju…duck, esor!
“Oh, but I will ask for the blacksmith, right?”
— ……
“If you do well, I’ll try to find a way for you to return to your original form later.”
The Sword of Judak.
When I think about it, it’s quite a cool naming.
I decided to take it with me, looking forward to the day of the Gallery Daisukcheong with Salsali.
Now, if only this boring meeting would end, I could go home.
Just as I was thinking that, the tightly closed door opened and the high-ranking wizards poured out.
Christina came to me before I could find Vianna, like a puppy waiting for its owner.
Her mischievous gaze was fixed on the ice cake on my lap.
“You almost broke it all?”
“Yes, Vianna said she would give me a spell if I break it until I leave the stage.”
“A spell? Are you talking about the total sum of magic power that Niflheim possesses?”
Now that I think about it, Vianna used the same expression.
When I nodded, Christina looked even more puzzled.
“You seem very calm. Do you know what it means for a pure-blooded wizard to give you a spell?”
“Does it have a special meaning?”
“Of course!! Opening up the unique verses of alchemy, which are the foundation of magic, to others completely tarnishes the essence that has been preserved since the cradle!”
“Is there a simpler analogy to understand?”
“Well… Ah, there!”
Christina pointed her finger at Vianna, who happened to be walking by.
She was coming this way quickly to push away a man following her with a slightly impressed expression.
“He’s the owner of the Ondra family, ranked third in the current White Goose hierarchy. His name… was it Vincent? Anyway, he’s a well-known orthodox elemental scholar, a few steps higher in reputation than Fluvea when it comes to the elemental system magic.”
“I see.”
“The fact that pure-blooded families provide magic is a kind of transaction with people like them. It’s about mixing blood to continue the lineage and secure a position in the new cradle, in simple terms.”
“….”
“Especially for someone like Bina, who can’t even get along with most pure-blooded individuals, let alone the Baekga. What on earth is she thinking… Bina! Come here right now!”
A pure-blooded mage was a being that existed halfway beyond the realm of humans.
They lived for hundreds of years without aging or losing their magical power.
They never included just anyone in their family lineage, as they pursued pure bloodlines solely for greater magic.
I examined Vincent, who had been mentioned as a potential candidate.
He looked quite uneasy as he discussed ownership of the common field.
“Could you exclude the Trafalgar Lake at least as much as Niflheim’s actions?”
“I can’t decide that on my own.”
“It’s not just about asking for damages. If we establish a good relationship with you in the future, we could even consider a marriage alliance…”
“Bina! Do you even have any thoughts or not? Ah, I’m sorry. Let’s talk privately for a moment.”
When Christina intervened, he stepped back and grimaced.
As he repeatedly opened and closed his location notes, I caught sight of a familiar ID.
“Metis, the Water Mage.”
He was the leader of the bees who orchestrated the train terror and the one who impersonated me in the gallery.
“Should I handle it here?”
The situation couldn’t be better.
This place was crowded, and he was clearly a highly esteemed mage from the Baekga.
But at the moment when he opened the ‘S-Rank Restricted Access Folder’, which was incomparable to what he had sent to Arthur, and tried to approach him…
“Gently?”
– Kill!!!
Suddenly, the sword at his waist trembled.