Chapter 562
Click.
Simon pulled out the briefcase he had received from Keyzen Headquarters.
It might not look like much, but it was a secret weapon. Inside the briefcase wasn’t paperwork, but an artifact connected to the magic circles engraved on its surface.
He had already learned how to use it from the headquarters staff. Turning the dials to the right position, he pressed the activation button.
Whiiiiiing!
The device activated, and in Room 38, gray figures and historical anomalies suddenly began to appear.
The device was recording these scenes.
[Interesting! So this is Neftis’ creation.]
Even the Ghost of Time chuckled in amazement.
[Her power is truly remarkable! Far beyond my own abilities.]
-$@&%^@$!!
-@$*#%?
Time and events twisted together chaotically, impossible to make out. Still, once he brought this back, Headquarters would decode the recordings and extract the scenes they wanted.
‘More importantly…’
Simon turned his head to look at the Ghost of Time.
That being had said it himself:
—The Ivory Tower Master is surely plotting some suspicious scheme with this tower!
And the headquarters staff had said the same:
—It’s top secret, so I can’t give you details, but this mission concerns the peace of the continent. The Ivory Tower Master is up to something.
Both stories matched.
Both pointed to the Ivory Tower Master as the mastermind.
‘At this point, it’s clear something is happening inside this tower.’
To sum it up, Keyzen Headquarters had sensed trouble and sent Simon to find clues about what scheme the Ivory Tower Master was plotting.
But the problem was—In four days, something terrible will happen in the tower.
The timing was earlier than headquarters had anticipated. If that statement was true, there wasn’t much time left.
Which meant this wasn’t just about gathering intel, Simon might end up caught directly in the incident.
He turned again to the Ghost of Time.
“You said earlier you wanted to help me.”
[Indeed.]
“Then what do you want? What benefit is there for you in helping me?”
[My goal is simple! I want the Tower of Time to still exist four days from now.]
Simon nodded. The clarity of that purpose was easy to understand.
[If the tower remains, so do I! And for that, your role is crucial.]
“What do you want me to do?”
The Ghost of Time descended to the floor and approached Simon.
[The reason I came to you is none other than this.]
He gestured as though touching Simon’s hair, then plucked out two threadlike strands.
One was sky-blue.
The other, ivory-white.
[Two girls, tightly bound to this tower’s fate.]
As the threads swayed, the figures of two girls emerged in the air.
Simon flushed and quickly averted his gaze. Though only projections, the two rotated before him unclothed.
[They are connected to your past as well. What is your relationship with them?]
“They’re fellow students from my school.”
[I see. They are the key to preventing the coming disaster!]
Simon frowned in surprise.
“Maelyn and Serne?”
[Precisely.]
“But neither of them are even in the Ivory Tower right now.”
[Where they are doesn’t matter.]
The Ghost of Time smirked meaningfully and opened his palm.
[I’ll squeeze out my power to show you their past… and the secrets of the Ivory Tower.]
“…The secrets of the Ivory Tower?”
[Indeed! When you’ve uncovered the whole truth from their pasts, what judgment and action you take will be up to you. Everything depends on your choice.]
His fingers moved as if playing over piano keys.
[The fate of this tower will change depending on your decisions.]
Shhhhhh—
As soon as his words ended, Simon’s vision was swallowed by gray.
‘…….’
Simon slowly opened his eyes.
He realized he had stepped into the gray-tinted history itself.
Kyaaarak!
Kyarururu!
Children were running around, laughing, and playing in a garden.
“Follow me!”
“Yaaay!”
One figure stood out among them.
‘Ah!’
Simon let out a short laugh.
Sky-blue hair, bright blue eyes.
It was unmistakably a young Maelyn.
“Kyaahahaha!”
Even here, Maelyn was the leader. Jumping energetically, she was so spirited she could even boss around the boys her age.
“Maelyn! Time to eat!”
Just then, a man with glasses walked into the garden.
It was Daniella Villene. He looked far younger than when Simon had last seen him at the banquet.
“Daddy! Daddy!”
The little Maelyn ran over, holding out a marble.
“I froze it again! Look!”
“Impressive.”
Daniella knelt down on one knee and patted her head.
“Grandpa and Grandma love it when you freeze marbles, don’t they? The other kids can’t do it, but only you can! They said you’ll surely become the next Ivory Tower Master!”
“That’s right!”
Though he smiled, worry filled Daniella’s expression.
Perhaps sensing it, the little Maelyn tilted her head.
“Daddy, do you not want me to become Ivory Tower Master?”
His pupils trembled violently for a moment. Then, closing his eyes tight, he forced a smile.
“Of course not. I’m proud of you, my daughter.”
“Heeheehee!”
Maelyn flung herself into his arms.
Chuckling, Daniella lifted her up.
“Alright then, let’s go eat—”
“B-big trouble, Lord Daniella!”
A group of robed men rushed toward him.
“What’s the commotion?”
“There’s chaos outside! The Ivory Tower Master has returned!”
“Is that so?”
Daniella looked off into the distance.
“After two years… He certainly took his time.”
“Vanished from the tower without a word for two years, and now he dares show his face again?”
“Calm yourselves. Let us all go and see.”
Daniella smiled faintly at Maelyn.
“Would you like to come too, Maelyn?”
“Mm-hm!”
Together with his group, Daniella descended the stairs to the front gate, where a large crowd was already gathered.
Daniella and the moderates stood opposite the Ivory Tower Master’s radical faction.
Soon—
“The Ivory Tower Master enters!”
Whisper whisper whisper!
At last, after two years, the Ivory Tower Master, Bermude, appeared.
Like Daniella, he too looked far younger than Simon remembered from the banquet.
But then—
“This is outrageous!”
People erupted in protest.
Simon, curious, looked closer and noticed a small hand clasped in Bermude’s.
“The Ivory Tower Master has brought a child!”
It was a filthy little girl with platinum-blonde hair.
The moderates, Daniella’s faction, exploded in anger—but even the radicals, who prized tradition and bloodline, criticized Bermude.
“A child? At this point?!”
“How shameless can you be?!”
Though Bermude’s magical power and authority were unquestioned, there was one problem.
He was incapable of having children.
Without an heir, the moderate faction had only grown stronger, and Daniella’s daughter had already been recognized as the next successor.
And now Bermude had returned with a child.
“This is unacceptable, Tower Master!”
An elder of the Ivory Tower stepped forward.
“Are you claiming you can suddenly bear a child after all this time—”
“I picked her up.”
At Bermude’s blunt words, silence blanketed the crowd.
“I couldn’t ignore a dying child, so I brought her here.”
Bermude’s lust for power was infamous.
Everyone had expected him to brazenly insist she was his own blood. But, unexpectedly, he admitted she was merely a child he had taken in.
The unexpected declaration brought stunned quiet, but only briefly—soon, shouts rang out all around.
“Don’t try such cheap tricks!”
“I’ll make it clear! Unless the child is from one of the Ten Great Families, she cannot be recognized as Ivory Tower blood!”
The elders shouted in outrage.
And those who couldn’t dare direct their anger at the almighty Ivory Tower Master turned their fury toward the child.
“L-look at that filthy thing!”
“A child that reeks of the gutter, to be Ivory Tower Master? Absurd!”
Even the other children joined in, laughing and pointing.
“Beggar! Beggar! She’s a beggar~!”
“A ragamuffin!”
Hahahahahaha!
The platinum-haired girl shrank back in fear, hiding behind the Ivory Tower Master.
“Stand tall.”
But Bermude pushed her forward again.
“If you cower already, you won’t survive here.”
“…Y-yes.”
As the nobles of the Ivory Tower roared their fury and the atmosphere grew menacing—
“Hi there!”
One girl boldly stepped forward to her.
“What’s your name?”
Standing directly in Bermude’s way, she grabbed the beggar girl’s hand with a bright smile.
It was none other than the designated successor.
Maelyn.
‘Wh—when did she…?’
Daniella’s mouth fell open in surprise. He had thought she was right at his side, but somehow, she had darted forward.
The platinum-haired girl looked away shyly and whispered.
“…S-Se, Serne.”
“Nice to meet you, Serne! I’m Maelyn. This is your first time here, right? Let’s play together!”
And before Serne could react, Maelyn pulled her along.
“I’ll show you around!”
“…B-but… my hands are dirty.”
“It’s fine!”
The two little girls ran off into the garden, hand in hand.
The adults could only stare, dumbfounded.
“Well now.”
The Ivory Tower Master smiled.
“You should all be ashamed. Even we adults have lessons to learn from children.”
The elders of the tower shifted awkwardly, unable to speak.
Fwoooosh—
The vision ended.
Simon blinked, finding himself once again inside Room 38.
[Well, a minute has passed. What do you think of seeing their past?]
The Ghost of Time asked. Simon touched his forehead, staring blankly before speaking.
“Did you really just show me the past?”
[Of course. Can’t you tell?]
“…What if you fabricated it to trick me?”
[Hoho! You wound me! If you doubt me, ask the two of them yourself.]
“……”
True enough.
Simon already knew at least the outlines of Maelyn and Serne’s past. He had thought from the start their histories were genuine.
[Looks like that artifact has finished collecting data.]
Click!
The briefcase shut down. A small blue light in one compartment showed that the footage had been recorded properly.
Outside, dawn was breaking. He had to return to his quarters before anyone noticed.
[You’ll be heading to the 63rd floor tomorrow at dawn, won’t you?]
“…Yes. I suppose so.”
[Then I’ll see you there! I’ll help you break the security again. And, of course, tell you the next story about the two girls.]
He stroked his rabbit mask as he spoke.
[If you want me to, that is.]
Simon slowly nodded.
* * *
Morning arrived.
After struggling back to his room, Simon found it a complete mess thanks to Merida’s wild sleep habits.
At least she had tired herself out—no more sleep-curses were flying around. Simon was able to snatch a bit of rest himself.
He had been deep asleep for some time when—knock knock.
“…Who is it?”
“…M-Mird.”
It was Mird, one of the Ivory Tower kids, who had suffered badly at Merida’s hands.
No sooner had Simon opened the door than she dropped flat to the ground.
“I-I came to let you know it’s breakfast time! No—I came to escort you there!”
“Alright.”
Simon woke Merida, and the two of them took the magic circle elevator down to the banquet hall on the first floor.
The invited guests were already dining.
“It was the greatest night of my life! I witnessed the founding of the Shahed Kingdom! I wept tears of joy!”
“I must see it at once! Which floor did you view it from?!”
Excited chatter filled the room as the guests compared notes on the phenomena they had seen the night before.
Simon and Merida, still groggy, sat down at a table.
“I’ll bring your food!”
Mird stammered nervously. The dark circles under her eyes proved she hadn’t slept a wink since Merida had thrashed her.
“Relax.”
Merida said bluntly.
“The adults will look at us funny otherwise.”
“…Y-yes! No—I mean, okay!”
Just meeting Merida’s eyes made Mird flinch. Simon stood.
“We’ll get our food ourselves. And Mird.”
“Hm?”
“Would it be possible for us to use quarters on the 60th floor today? I’d like to clean there.”
Of course, his real motive was to be closer to the 63rd floor for tomorrow at dawn.
“Well, if you’re willing to take care of the trickier upper floors, that’d help us… but are you sure?”
“Yeah. There are anomalies up there I want to observe.”
“Alright, I’ll find you an empty room.”
With that, Mird hurried off. Simon and Merida began eating their breakfast.
Then Simon spotted a familiar face.
“You still haven’t captured Girdon?”
“He’s a necromancer who uses space magic. Difficult to track. Still, we’ve sealed off everything above the 70th floor—he won’t escape down.”
It was a voice Simon knew well.
Daniella Villene was speaking with others.
“Merida, I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Mm.”
Simon walked over. Just then, Daniella finished his talk and greeted him warmly.
“Ah, Student Council President Simon. Did you rest well?”
“Yes, thanks to your care.”
In truth, between his secret mission and Merida, he had hardly slept at all. The two of them sat down together.
“Come to think of it, I heard Maelyn visited the Tower of Time once.”
“Hoho, yes, when she was a child.”
Simon made small talk with Daniella—naturally, the subject was Maelyn.
“At school, Maelyn and Serne don’t get along, and it troubles me.”
Simon deliberately cast out the bait. Daniella laughed awkwardly.
“Our Ivory Tower has the same headache.”
“I’ve heard…”
Simon’s eyes sharpened.
“…that they used to be very close. That when they first met, Maelyn boldly stood in front of the Tower Master, grabbed Serne’s hand, and pulled her away, saying she’d show her around?”
At those words—
Daniella’s face twisted with discomfort.
“…Hmph. Hmhm. Hoho… My daughter has quite the stories, doesn’t she.”
The more Simon spoke with Daniella, the more certain he became.
What he had seen earlier wasn’t fabrication.
It was the truth.
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters