Thank you raw provider: Esme
Three months before the subjugation of the dream demon.
“Enya is going—you’re going. You’re going? Right? Huh?”
Layla, the chief sorceress of Morgenda’s tower, clung to Enya with her cherry blossom-colored hair fluttering. Enya stumbled as little Layla swayed. Thanks to that, the research journal she was looking at had long since left her grasp.
“You go. I’m not going.”
“No, if the owner of the mage tower doesn’t go, then how can I, a mere affiliated mage, go! Huh!?”
Far from the capital’s outskirts, the Mage Tower of Morgenda did not belong to any territory and stood tall in the middle of a dense forest. There was a reason that the magician Layla belonging to this tower was so unusual.
This is because a banquet to celebrate the victory of Helios Defert, the paladin who defeated the demon king, would soon be held at the imperial palace.
Borders and lords had guarded the empire’s frontiers. Still, the western territory had long since been neglected without a legitimate owner since a government had not existed there for hundreds of years.
Thanks to this, the western territory, which has only a huge triple wall, had been called rather negative names such as ‘abandoned land’ and ‘broken wasteland’ without even an official name.
Meanwhile, the Demon King appeared in the west. Along with this, the number of monsters on the continent surged, and when the ownerless west was put in a defenseless state, the Paladin Helios Defert appeared.
Even the prophets, nobles, and priests unanimously agreed he would die.
However, Helios returned alive with the head of the demon king.
It was only natural that a victory banquet would be held at the imperial castle for him.
He gave up the imperial family surname to become a holy knight, but since he was Helios, who inherited royal blood, the banquet this time was sure to be very grand. It was clear that all kinds of nobles, priests, and wizards would gather in the imperial palace.
However, there was no way the emperor would let his son stay in his Holy Knight position. In other words, the banquet hall was only without swords, but there would be no comparable battlefield.
Given these circumstances, all of this was a nuisance to Enya, who had been secluded in the Mage Tower for a long time.
“I will give you approval. I’ll give you the qualifications of my proxy, so go ahead.”
“Oh, really. Representative attendance is not possible. They say you need to be the Archmage of a magic tower to enter the imperial palace.”
“Do you want to be the Archmage?”
“Say something that makes sense! The mage tower decides the owner, what can I do!”
Morgenda’s mage lord, Enya, squinted one eye as if her bones were hurting.
“Layla, if you go to dinner anyway, there will be nothing but aristocratic bastards acting like wild dogs. It will be boring, let alone fun.”
“That’s why Enya-nim has to go too. Our Mage Tower doesn’t even have one connection. How long will you make the nobles’ elixir?”
She said the coded word elixir, but in fact, it was a medicine for impotence.
It sold quite well because there were quite a few aristocratic men suffering from strict family regulations and had difficulty getting an erection due to psychological pain. She wanted to say something about it being erection pills, but it was awkward to talk about erections in front Layla’s twinkling eyes, which she dared to describe as elixirs.
Rather than that, if she pointed to not having a connection, there was a connection.
“I have connections, and I am close with the crown princess.”
“What kind of friendship is that? It’s just an investor.”
She had nothing to say. Since the Princess is investing in research on erection medicine, she is in a position to bow her head because of the money. The pay was right.
As she grunted and groaned, Layla became more persistent.
“Miss Enya. What should I do if you die of overwork from selling erection pills for the rest of your life? Are we going to become orphans?”
“Where in the world is there a 20-year-old orphan?”
“Enya-nim! Please! Who asked you to sign a contract with a noble? Let’s recruit suitable nobles and use them as erection pill-making dogs, or increase the number of customers. The social hall will be a great fishing spot for dogs and customers.”
Enya scratched her head. Even if she participated in the banquet once, her already low reputation would not suddenly flip, and she could not suddenly seize power, and even if she could, she did not particularly want to treat dogs.
“You’re not going even though Her Highness Crown Princess Ogotai personally invited you?”
In the end, Layla pulled out her last card.
She was referring to Crown Princess Ogotai, who was rather unique. It was not once or twice that the Princess invited Enya, and when she refused, she would come herself. But there was a limit to refusing every time.
‘Even if she’s crazy, she’s still the crown princess.’
Enya was not particularly interested in Helios, ‘the Knight of Light,’ the half-brother of the Crown Princess and the main character of the dinner.
Well, isn’t he a great noble with a great nickname?
He must have been given the title of Knight of Light. He is said to have abandoned the royal family name, but he brought back the head of the demon king and revived the devastated West. His political ability must also be excellent. The relationship between the half-siblings, Ogotai and Helios, was said to be a remarkable friendship.
However, Enya was not a great person to exchange small talk like it being an honor to spend an era with Helios.
‘It’s bothersome.’
No matter, looking at how powerful Ogotai was, the native nobles would not welcome an emerging power like Helios. Enya, who had no plans to get involved in the inevitable political battle, was already utterly exhausted from thinking about it, on top of her constant fatigue.
But it had been a while since Layla was so stubborn, so Enya was hesitant.
“… … It’s a bit hard to take only you.”
“Hassan won’t go anyway. Today, he locked himself up and will only write.”
Hassan was another wizard under Enya’s command, and rather than magic, he stayed in his room and did research. It was said that the novel he wrote as a side job sold very well, but Enya, who had no interest in literature, was not familiar with it.
Unlike Hassan, who was content being alone, Layla was often lonely. So it was natural for the 20-year-old child to bemoan a lonely death since the place where she lived half her life was the Mage Tower.
Enya closed her eyes and groaned before finally raising her hands.
“Prepare … … .”
“Yes! Enya, you are the best!”
“… … and go out. If we leave soon, we will barely arrive at dinner.”
“So what if we’re a little late! You said you will do all four days anyway!”
Enya sighed lightly, patted Layla’s head, and picked up her research journal. When Enya turned her back, Layla’s bright red eyes turned dark.
‘Anyway, Enya-nim is too soft.’
In fact, Layla had no particular complaints about living in seclusion in the mage tower. She often went out for work, but if she could convince Enya to leave, she wouldn’t care where it was as long as they were together.
Layla just used herself as an excuse to make Enya go out to dinner and meet people. She always felt sorry when she saw her pale skin because she had barely been out in the sun for the past five years, or her dark eyes because she couldn’t get a good night’s sleep because she was only doing research.
‘It would be nice if you had a love affair with someone.’
Layla, accustomed to concealing her slyness, clung to the door with a wide grin.
“Then I’ll get ready right away! Enya-nim should also wear her neatest clothes. Leave the hair to Hassan.”
“Are you that excited?”
Enya leaned back in her large chair and spoke nonchalantly.
Who will pay attention to the owner of a small tower, who has no power or anything but the name and the title of the magic tower? It won’t be a big deal.
‘Let’s say hello to the crown princess and leave.’
Her goal was to have a calm, even life that was neither too short nor too long. She did not want to meet any more storms.
Nothing more.
***