Chapter 554
Ivory Tower.
The mage faction that had led humanity’s development for 2,000 years.
The turning point that caused them to stumble wasn’t only the rise of the “Era of Necromancers and Priests”, but also one decisive incident that had occurred before then.
At the very top floor of the Ivory Tower, a Dungeon Gate opened.
About 300 years ago, it appeared—a dungeon with an abnormal phenomenon that distorted time. It absorbed and fused all kinds of magic that had existed throughout the tower, growing into humanity’s worst disaster.
“From an outsider’s perspective, it feels like an inevitable explosion waiting to happen.”
A headquarters officer explained.
“After all, the top floor of the Ivory Tower was where they were researching time magic.”
Simon’s eyes widened.
“Time…?”
“Yes. The Ivory Tower has ruled and guided human progress for two millennia. Their desire to conquer even time itself was, in a sense, natural.”
The officer pushed up his glasses and continued.
“They sought to obtain the lost arcane knowledge of the past and secure eternal dominion over the future. That was their arrogance.”
He judged the Dungeon Gate not as a natural disaster, but a man-made catastrophe. The excessive magic aimed at controlling time had, in turn, summoned a dungeon related to time.
In the end, even the Tower Master of that era and his disciples perished. After thousands of deaths, they barely managed to seal the dungeon.
Thus, the Ivory Tower abandoned the ruined tower left by the Gate Incident and relocated to a newly built tower, the current Ivory Tower headquarters.
And the sealed dungeon that remained became the Old Tower.
“People call that place the Tower of Time.”
The officer laced his fingers together and spoke in a low voice.
“But as the years pass and the seal weakens, time’s power has begun to seep out. Inside the Tower of Time, mountains of knowledge accumulated over two thousand years and mysterious, wondrous phenomena now pour forth. The Ivory Tower holds a festival every five years to unveil such ‘mysteries’ to outsiders.”
With a clap of his hands, he concluded:
“That very festival is the Festival of Time, which you will be attending.”
Simon’s eyes sparkled.
“...Th-that sounds fun.”
He had been tense upon hearing it was an assignment, but this sounded like a fascinating place to visit. A site bound by the very flow of the continent’s time—he wanted to see it at least once in his life.
Merida, too, seemed somewhat intrigued, her drowsy eyes scanning the documents.
“And there… what exactly do we do?”
She asked her first question.
“The interior is mysterious, but it is still a dungeon, monsters appear there.”
The officer replied.
“You’ll eliminate monsters, clean the tower, excavate buried knowledge—tasks of that nature. The Ivory Tower’s staff will explain the specifics.”
Not bad at all.
They weren’t being sent to the Ivory Tower’s headquarters, but rather dispatched to enjoy the festival at the Tower of Time while also doing some work.
Though more demanding than an ordinary guest’s experience, it was still a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“As long as you’re wary of unforeseen variables, it should go smoothly.”
The officer then produced two small necklace artifacts from his bag.
“What are these?”
“Artifacts crafted personally by Lady Neftis.”
Simon and Merida each received one.
“She said they would protect you from any potential dangers within the Tower of Time.”
Simon examined his artifact.
At the end of the necklace dangled a tiny clock—different from the one used during the Saintess incident that reversed time.
The officer did not elaborate further. He simply told them to keep it, saying they would naturally understand later.
“For now, you’ll be attending the Festival of Time as invited guests. Here are the detailed documents from the Ivory Tower. Dress codes, rules, and so on are listed here.”
‘A dress code?’
It seemed this festival was rather formal.
“That concludes my instructions. I wish you good fortune.”
After bidding farewell to the officer, Simon and Merida left the parlor.
Night had already fallen, and the two walked side by side down a moonlit corridor.
“……”
Only the sound of footsteps echoed faintly.
Feeling awkward, Simon glanced sideways at Merida. She was nodding off, unable to resist the sleepiness that had finally hit her.
Even while walking.
“Merida, are you alright?”
Her steps halted. Still half-asleep, she opened her subspace, pulled out a blanket, spread it on the floor… and dove straight into it.
She lay down flat on her back.
“Wait! You can’t just sleep here!”
Simon rushed over in alarm to shake her awake.
But Merida suddenly raised her hand, pressing a fingertip to his forehead.
“?!”
Simon staggered and collapsed forward on top of her.
‘S-Sleep?!’
An overwhelming drowsiness assaulted his mind.
‘I almost blacked out instantly…!’
He didn’t know how many stacks she’d applied at once, but even he was barely holding on.
Summoning superhuman willpower, he resisted—
“Hmph.”
Merida’s eyes opened, expressionless.
“Since you’re the man chosen by Phantasus brother, I had expectations.”
Her face remained blank as she spoke.
“But you’re nothing special.”
“M-Merida!”
She pressed her finger to his forehead again. Another layer of Sleep stacked on, and this time Simon crumpled helplessly onto her.
“Y-you…! What are you… doing…!”
“A test.”
Her drowsy, lullaby-like voice drifted from her lips.
“To see whether you’re worthy of receiving the Sleep of the Ikel family.”
“This Sleep…! Release… it…!”
Simon gritted his teeth, but Merida only blinked innocently.
“Is it hard? But it’s just drowsy, warm sleepiness.”
“No, that’s not… the problem…!”
At that moment, laughter echoed from the stairs below.
“And that night, he went to Rebecca and—!”
“Really? Really? Did they kiss?”
“I saw it myself! He wrapped his arm around her waist…”
The two female students, chattering excitedly, suddenly froze.
“?!”
Before them:
A blanket strewn across the floor.
A girl lying defenseless on her back.
A boy straddling her, struggling and writhing on top.
The sight of entangled bodies, so blatant and raw, made their faces flush red as though they’d seen a ghost.
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaa!”
“A-a-at school! At school! At school!”
A scene they’d only ever read about in novels unfolding right before their eyes—so shocking their eyes spun in dizzy circles.
“Wait!”
Simon cried out, face burning red.
“This isn’t what it looks like—!”
“Sorry for interruptingggggg!!”
The two girls bolted back down the stairs in a frenzy.
Simon groaned.
“Merida! What was that supposed to be?!”
Merida, either oblivious or unconcerned, only tilted her head in puzzlement.
By now, Simon was starting to get angry. He couldn’t just take this lying down.
“!”
Merida’s eyelids trembled, then she forced strength into her gaze.
“How dare you… huhmm—challenge me with that technique?”
“You… started it… first…”
“No holding… back…”
Meanwhile, the two female students hiding below the stairs clutched their mouths, trembling.
“W-what technique are they fighting with?!”
“And what do they mean, who started first?!”
Unable to withstand the suggestive tone of their exchange, the girls abandoned their eavesdropping and fled, faces flushed bright red.
“Haa… haa…”
By then, Simon and Merida were evenly matched, each stacking four Sleep layers while pressing their forefingers against each other’s foreheads.
“Drowsy… aren’t you? You could just… sleep…”
Simon forced a hazy smile through blurred pupils.
“That’s… my line…”
Merida muttered, blinking heavily.
Simon exploded his Darkness throughout his body, forcing himself into an awakened state just to endure. Merida was the same, black mists of Darkness billowing from her form.
From afar, the sight of two students lying entangled on a blanket, spewing black mist into the air, looked utterly bizarre.
As their contest dragged on, both realized the truth: if this continued, they might both end up asleep right here.
“Let’s… release it on three.”
“…Fine.”
“One… two… three.”
“……”
“……”
“Why didn’t… you release it?”
“You… said it… not me.”
Their sanity was at its breaking point. At last, Simon, being a little more rational, sighed.
“Alright… I’ll release first… you follow.”
Merida, at her limit with half-closed eyes, bit her lip and nodded. Simon lifted his uncooperative arms and forced them together.
Clap!
The sound of palms meeting echoed—
And Merida’s eyes flew wide open.
“There.”
In a flash, she sat up from the blanket. Now Simon lay defenseless, with her straddling on top.
“I win.”
Her finger pressed against his forehead like a gun barrel. Simon, his face flushed red, sputtered:
“That’s not what we… agreed… and also—don’t just climb on top like that…!”
Merida raised her finger meaningfully from his forehead. Then—
Snap!
She flicked her finger, and the drowsiness vanished as though exorcised.
“That’s enough.”
Lowering her hand, she spoke calmly. Simon, who had been squeezing every drop of Darkness from himself, finally relaxed with relief.
Hm. Hm.
A cough sounded nearby. Simon’s head turned sharply—
The headquarters officer, holding his documents, was watching with a faintly amused smile.
“…Ah. I’m doomed.”
Fortunately, the officer didn’t reprimand them.
He simply mediated their quarrel with composure and sent them off to the dorms.
‘Please, just don’t let weird rumors spread around school…’
Simon thought anxiously as he walked, until he noticed a business card sticking slightly out of his shirt pocket.
It had been slipped in secretly by the officer. On the back, words were written:
[Apologies for the trouble, but please return to the parlor. Alone, of course.]
No wonder things had been smoothed over so easily.
He was going to get scolded. Maybe even reported to the professors.
Though technically innocent, Simon felt guilty enough to drag himself back toward the parlor.
“You’ve arrived. Please, sit.”
The officer sat as he had earlier, posture unchanged. Simon hurriedly sat down and blurted:
“Please hear me out! What happened was—!”
“Ah, youth is a wonderful thing.”
The officer’s lips curved upward.
“At that age, it happens to everyone. I was no exception. I still recall my secret encounters with the girl from Toxicology. Our first meeting was when she laced my meal with laxatives before a duel eva—”
“I’m not interested!!”
Simon frantically waved his arms in an X, shaking his head violently. The officer leaned back with a disappointed sigh.
“Very well, then let’s move on to the main point.”
He waved his hand in the air. Suddenly, the surroundings were sealed off by layers of pitch-black barriers.
Multiple soundproofing and isolation magic circles enveloped the room.
“A little precaution. What we discuss now is top secret.”
The atmosphere shifted.
Opening a subspace, the officer pulled a pitch-black envelope from his case and handed it to Simon.
“This mission must not be disclosed—even to your partner, Merida.”
A task entrusted solely to Simon.
“The Ivory Tower invited two students under the pretense of dispatch for the Festival of Time, which occurs once every five years. Keyzen accepted the proposal. The two of you will carry out dispatch duties within the Tower of Time. That is the public story.”
Simon listened, his face tightening with nervousness as he pulled a crisp white sheet of paper from the black envelope.
“From here on, what I tell you is a classified mission entrusted directly to the Student Council President.”
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters