Chương 9: Chapter 9 - Third Princess, Solana (3)
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I gazed at Solana with a bewildered expression.
My former student, now proudly established as the Third Princess of the Empire and known as the Angel of the Empire, was brazenly forcing the position of Imperial Magic Tower Inspector upon me.
"Are you serious?"
"I am serious."
There was certainly no hint of joking in her eyes or tone; the problem was, if this wasn't a joke, it was an even bigger deal.
"Surely the Third Princess understands the prestige of the Magic Tower?"
"Yes, I understand it well."
"Me, not even a professor at the Academy, but an Inspector of the Magic Tower?"
"Yes, that is correct."
The Academy and the Magic Tower differed like heaven and earth, not just in status but in standards and quality. It was only natural.
The Academy was a cradle of dreams where talents from across the continent gathered to be polished. But the Magic Tower was a place where only the most refined gems could set foot — it was no wonder that the top graduates of the Academy each year publicly declared working at the Magic Tower as their dream.
Solana tilted the teapot, refilling her cup, "As you know, there are a total of six Magic Towers in the Empire."
"The central Imperial Magic Tower, surrounded by five other Towers."
"Correct. You will be in charge of the Imperial Magic Tower."
Imagining a pentagon makes it easy to visualize. The Imperial Tower stood in the center, surrounded at the points by the Black, Red, Purple, Green, and Blue Towers, like the vertices of a pentagon.
That the Imperial Tower held preeminent authority was not even worth explaining.
"With the advancement of scroll technology and the ominous erosion phenomenon…the Imperial Tower's authority is waning. Amidst this, the relations between Towers have escalated beyond mere checks and balances into outright conflicts."
"So?"
"It's a situation that must be resolved, and we need your strength. I believe you can firmly re-establish the authority of the Imperial Tower."
Inspector of the Imperial Magic Tower.
It was a position that could interfere in virtually any matter at the Tower — setting quarterly goals and achievements, schedules, staffing levels, departmental personnel allocations…one could meddle in it all with the Inspector's authority.
But looked at another way, an Inspector could choose to do nothing at all.
"Unfortunately, I do not possess that level of sense of justice."
There was a time when I too burned with passion.
A naive youth when I believed defeating the demonic forces and sealing the portal to the demon realm would usher in tremendous peace, allowing me to escape my doomed fate.
Solana nodded, taking a sip of her tea, "Of course, you don't have to do anything inside the Imperial Tower as Inspector. Some Inspectors choose that path, and it's valid."
"Hmm."
I pondered briefly. Inspector of the Imperial Magic Tower.
A lifetime aspiration and dream for some.
…But I could only shake my head in response.
"There are far too many issues for me to accept outright."
"Issues? What issues?"
Regrettably, Solana did not back down easily. Rather, after hearing my answer, she seemed to have already steeled her resolve, her expression becoming firm.
Since it appeared I could not simply brush her off, I calmly organized my thoughts. Where should I begin?
The Parachute Problem—
"The missions I was in charge of in the past were all top secret. I have no public accomplishments. To others, it would appear I'm being parachuted in. Negative comments towards the Imperial family would pour in."
"No, you do have accomplishments." Solana confidently replied.
"You personally defeated criminals in the Feital region and apprehended a wanted fugitive who entered the Palace of Repentance. That should be more than sufficient."
"......…."
Did she have this planned from the start? The way she conveniently skirted around the Palace of Repentance made it seem like this whole situation was designed for this purpose.
Compensation Issues—
Fortunately, there were still plenty of reasons to refuse.
[Letter of Appointment]
[Ezekiel Hound is hereby appointed Imperial Magic Tower Inspector]
Written just below the line for the appointment was another line—
[The salary is set at 300 gold coins per month.]
Three hundred gold coins; an outrageous amount of money. I exhaled a puff of sunweed smoke and spoke, "Solana, you should take a closer look at civilian life. For a common household, a single Imperial gold piece is enough for over a month's living."
According to the letter, my monthly salary would be enough for a commoner household to live for about 25 years. Preposterous.
"I expected that question. But I'll be paying out of my own personal funds."
"…Your personal funds?"
"Yes, I have plenty of saved gold pieces, so it won't be a problem."
"...…"
If that was the case, I had nothing further to say on that matter.
This left me with only one choice remaining.
A somewhat rigid but orthodox method, childish yet highly effective — a tactic I frequently used in the past…
— His Majesty the Emperor would likely find it distasteful.
— Ah, Master ! Then let's forget I said that!
Yes, nothing beats invoking His Majesty.
"His Majesty the Emperor would find this distasteful."
"I don't think so."
Solana flipped over the appointment letter, revealing a large square seal prominently displayed. Familiar — it was the mark of the imperial jade seal.
"His Majesty has readily given his permission."
"….."
Now I had no valid reasons left to refuse.
At this point, I grew curious why Solana was so insistent, going beyond mere persuasion to effectively forcing this on me. So instead of refusing, I decided to ask—
"Solana, why are you going to such lengths?"
"I'm simply repaying the debt of gratitude I owe you as my teacher."
"Is that the only reason? I ask because it doesn't seem so."
Solana's lips quivered slightly.
I continued, "I may need to ponder whether wealth and honor appeal to me, but even if you wish to assist, there are countless ways to do so. There must be another reason you're forcing this particular method."
For a brief moment, she averted her gaze from mine.
So that's how it is. My eyes that watched over her from a young age cannot be deceived. She did indeed have another reason.
One more important to her than repaying a debt of gratitude to her teacher or the circumstances between the Towers. Something she felt was far more crucial.
Solana fidgeted with her tea for a moment, clearly carefully considering her next words, so I patiently waited. It seems she had another very significant reason for insisting I take the Inspector position, beyond repaying a debt of gratitude.
Eventually, she spoke.
"…Because I read your letter, every single word."
"Ah."
Ah yes, the letter. At that moment, I felt a cold sweat trickling down my back. What exactly had I written in that letter? I only remembered that it concluded with a proposal, but the exact words eluded me.
Solana continued, "Every single word… I could feel the depth of your anguish."
Hmm, I wrote it while drunk and under the influence of sunweed.
Her face flushed slightly as she added, "They were sentences I had never encountered before. Cryptic at first glance, yet the feelings came across. But more than anything, you included a drawing with it. I liked that."
…I had included a drawing too? One of my habits when drinking.
I must have drawn something while intoxicated, but what could it have been? My mind raced with countless possibilities. Thankfully, Solana didn't seem to notice.
"You're right, Master. There is a reason I'm insisting on this method. It's the conclusion I reached after reading your letter countless times."
"…I see."
"First, please trust me. I have a request."
"I understand the gist of what you're saying." I nodded.
At this moment, the strongest feeling I had was of regret for putting Solana through such an ordeal with that letter.
While it's true I felt indignant and pitied my own fate of being unable to escape my doomed lifespan, Solana must have agonized tremendously after reading my letter.
Which led to this current situation.
She has been worrying about me this whole time, even going so far as to leave the Imperial Tower Inspector position vacant and willing to pay me salary out of her personal funds. I felt ashamed.
'…I have acted shamelessly unbecoming of a teacher.'
It feels like I needlessly dragged Solana into my own misfortune.
With the Empire's recent troubles and the atmosphere among the Princesses preceding the succession of the throne, her life was already burdened enough without me brazenly intruding like this. My heart was troubled.
Yet, thanks to this, I had resolved my mind.
They say early suppression is crucial for fires, do they not? Before this situation grows into an uncontrollable blaze, I feel laying everything bare and resolving it now was the best course — the minimum courtesy.
"Solana."
"Yes?"
"About that letter, I think we should put it aside for now…"
THUNK.
Solana firmly set her teacup down on the table.
Simultaneously, I got the illusion that the entire world has frozen over.
"…Ah, my apologies. Were you about to say something?"
"...…."
It was only for a brief instant, but I clearly saw it. Her eyes narrowing with a gleam of white, the benevolent holy power she usually exuded shifting into a cold, chilling aura.
"…It's nothing."
I realized with dread—
Forget early suppression.
…The fire has already spread beyond the point of being extinguished.
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