Chapter 43

The aura shot out from Zerno and instantly wrapped around Serkael.

Of course, Serkael didn’t just let himself be caught. As he swiftly leaped back and began chanting, cracks began to form in the chains of aura with the chanting of the spell.

“D-Did the Tower Master just retreat? Wait, is he chanting? He’s actually chanting a spell?

“A jump? He can do something like that?”

“No, the chanting is even more surprising! The man who always used magic without chanting is actually chanting now… that means the attack was that powerful!”

“What’s with all the fuss? This is all just a dream.”

While the wizards were still reeling, this time, it was Akain who stepped forward.

Zerno was a perfect all-rounder, mastering magic, divine magic, martial arts, strategy, and everything in between. On the other hand, he was exceptional in one field.

Lowering his center of gravity, he swiftly closed in on Serkael and swung his sword.

Clang—!

Serkael quickly created a barrier, but Akain’s sword shattered it instantly.

“You seriously thought that weak little thing could hold me back?”

Serkael’s eyebrow twitched.

“And did you really think I’d just sit back and defend?”

In a split second, a dense array of magic circles appeared beneath Serkael’s feet.

‘It’s an explosion spell!’

The people around here were all going to get caught in it.

Not that it really mattered to me, but…!

‘My Petra!’

“Stop—!”

I shouted and rushed toward Akain and Serkael. Throwing myself between them, I spread my arms wide.

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?! That scrawny guy is a mage, isn’t he? What do you think will happen if you jump in while he’s casting?!”

“The payment I want for this deal is your body. A wrecked body is worthless, so step back.”

“You… you piece of s***… What the hell did you just say?”

“Shut up, idiot. That’s your final warning.”

The fight wasn’t showing any signs of stopping.

Even the atmosphere among the wizards and Zerno was getting tense. At this point, the wizards seemed to be leaning toward supporting Serkael, the Master of the Magic Tower. Some of them were already chanting spells.

At the same time, a dark aura was also starting to emanate from beneath Zerno’s feet.

‘I don’t care if they brawl or break into a dance-off somewhere else, just as long as my Petra doesn’t get dragged into it here.’

So, for now, the priority was to mediate the fight.

“Introduce yourselves.”

“Introduce? Why the hell would I bother with that scrawny—”

“That ‘scrawny guy’ is Serkael, the Master of the Tower.”

“…What?”

Akain and Zerno’s expressions hardened.

The Master of the Magic Tower rubbed his neck with an irritated expression. The other wizards shot angry glares at the brothers, who had just stormed in and attacked the Tower Master out of nowhere.

Serkael finally spoke.

“Why should I waste my time getting introduced to creatures with less intelligence than wild animals? Tell them to get lost. I want nothing to do with them.”

“Those ‘wild animals’ are the young master and the heir of Delosif.”

“….”

Serkael’s brow creased.

Even though he might not know Akain, there was no way he would forget Zerno’s name. Delosif was the patron family that poured money into his research like it was nothing. And Zerno’s signature was on all of those documents. The wizards who had been yelling things like, ‘Are they crazy?’, ‘Have they lost their minds?’ and ‘We should chop off their limbs and toss them out’ instantly went quiet.

And then.

“Hiccup—!”

The wizard who had just threatened to cut off their limbs was the first to start hiccuping uncontrollably. A few seconds later, all the wizards dropped to the floor, shouting in unison.

“Our eyes failed to recognize such a noble face. We shall gouge them out!”

“Actually, my dream has always been to assassinate the Master of the Magic Tower!”

“Please step on my back and ascend the stairs!”

While the wizards quivered in fear, the brothers and Serkael glared at each other in displeasure.

“That weakling is the pompous Tower Master?”

“Those wild animals are my wallet?”

Grrr.

Seeing that Akain let out a low growl and looked ready to lunge at Serkael again, I quickly threw my arms around his waist.

“Serkael! Give us some space! We need to talk first!”

“I don’t waste my time talking to idiots—”

“Yes, you will—!!!!”

I hadn’t even shouted this loud when Cleas was rolling around disgustingly with Mikarin in front of my mom’s photo. Even I was surprised by how loud I had yelled, so it was no wonder everyone else was as well. I thought Akain would shout back just as fiercely, but strangely, he was unusually quiet.

‘Why is he being so quiet?’

Still holding onto his waist, I looked up at Akain.

His expression was completely blank, like his soul had left his body.

‘….?’

︵‿୨ ₊‧꒰ა ୨ৎ ໒꒱ ‧₊ ୧‿︵

The top floor of the Magic Tower, the Tower Master’s room.

Akain narrowed his eyes and spoke.

“You, weakling—no, Tower Master. I demand an apology for your crude remarks.”

“Crude remarks?”

“I’m talking about the comment where you dared to insult the young lady of the duke’s family!”

“…If you refuse, then we’ll send a formal complaint.”

Zerno chimed in after Akain, his tone icy.

The energy radiating from the two brothers was intense.

But I was confused.

‘…Serkael insulted me?’

“I want your body.”

Sure, he did say that…

But the look in his eyes when he said it was the same as when I first recognized the potential in Brown, his top slave… no, his researcher.

The look of a researcher who had just discovered a fascinating research subject.

‘Basically, he wants to study me, someone who got their mana completely drained by the soul stone’s rampage but was back on their feet in a matter of days.’

Sure enough, Serkael was holding a book titled Recovery of Mana in his hand. As he flipped through the pages, he muttered irritably.

“I honestly don’t understand why you’re so angry. Are high-ranking nobles that incapable of accepting pure curiosity?”

=Why are they so angry? With how fast she recovered her mana, it’s only natural for a researcher to be curious.

That was what he meant, but Akain gritted his teeth.

“Pure curiosity? Disgusting. Perverts like you always try to dress up their filthy desires as something innocent.”

=How dare he disguise his sleazy intentions as innocent curiosity?

“Desire? Fine, call it desire if you want. But my desire is essential for the advancement of humanity.”

=A researcher’s curiosity might be a desire to uncover the truth. But this kind of curiosity pushes humanity forward.

“You… you filthy animal! What kind of garbage are you spouting?! Why the hell would the advancement of humanity depend on you breeding with my sister?! Brother, I can’t take this anymore! Tower Master or not…!”

‘…Yeah, that one doesn’t need much explaining.’

Akain reached for his sword again, and Zerno didn’t bother stopping him.

I slammed both hands down on the table with a loud bang!

“Enough.”

“Enough?! That bastard just said he wants to have se—I mean, a deeper relationship with you?!”

“I’m not breeding with Serkael. You’re misunderstanding, brother.”

“B-Breeding… That bastard has been teaching you such filthy words—!”

But Akain was the one who brought up the word ‘breeding’ first.

I let out a long sigh and answered.

“Serkael just wants to study my body.”

“That’s what I said! He’s saying he wants to strip you down and… wait, what?”

“As a researcher, he’s purely interested in investigating how I managed to recover so quickly.”

“….”

Akain wasn’t the only one left speechless.

Even Zerno’s eyes had widened, which almost never happened. A moment later, Akain’s face flushed bright red. He stammered and then yelled out.

“Then why didn’t you just say that instead of making it sound so misleading…!!”